Review: Rhapsody 7 day Island Hop, out of Barbados, with a toddler

[cruiselvr04]

Thanks for your review.  I’ve wondered what a cruise with all those ports would be like.  We’ve been to Dominica, St Lucia and Granada but not the others. I think I’d have to stay awhile in Barbados after just to rest up.  Whew, that’s busy!

[link99]

Did you have once or twice a day cabin Service.

[milford_cruiser]

5 hours ago, link99 said:

 

2 Did you notice a High Security Presence in Trinidad. We have seen the State Department Warnings. Thus doing a Ship excursion. Did you have a chance to try the Bake N Shark?

 

We were on the same cruise and took the ships bus tour to Maracas Bay. No security presence to speak of but everyone felt very safe on the beach.  The Bake & Shark is good. Awesome? No. But good. $25US for a sandwich, chicken tenders, fries, and 2 beers. We went to Richard’s - the locals said they go to Annette’s which is next door. 

[link99]

5 minutes ago, milford_cruiser said:

We were on the same cruise and took the ships bus tour to Maracas Bay. No security presence to speak of but everyone felt very safe on the beach.  The Bake & Shark is good. Awesome? No. But good. $25US for a sandwich, chicken tenders, fries, and 2 beers. We went to Richard’s - the locals said they go to Annette’s which is next door. 

Excellent.Thank You . We booked the same tour. Definitely looking forward to the Bake &Shark How was the Beach and Water? We’re their vendors for Chairs. 

[jacobtsf]

14 hours ago, link99 said:

Did you have once or twice a day cabin Service.

Twice a day. Herri knew our schedule pretty well and was usually in our room minutes after we would head to breakfast, and minutes after we would head to dinner (I had to run back to the room a few times for forgotten items during both meals and he was there). 

[jacobtsf]

On 3/13/2023 at 4:42 PM, sumrgurl99 said:

What advice do you have for cruising with toddlers? We’ve cruised a bunch pre-kids pre-Covid, but will be taking our 2 and 3 (almost 4) year old on their first cruise soon. We live near the port so no flying involved for this first time at least. Did you take/use a stroller? 

The biggest piece of advice is to have a lot of patience, things are going to be different and they will react to that. For the three year old, get them super excited about the trip. About 10 days before we flew we started telling our daughter all about Barbados and what we planned to do, and then every day after we talked about the next port. By the time we flew she could list every stop we were making and what she was most excited for at each stop. 
 

I really prefer private or small group tours (who know a toddler will be along) with a toddler, or if it is somewhere where you can go about on your own even better. We make sure to have lots of water (juice when she was younger) and snacks (goldfish, peanut butter crackers, apple sauce pouches) in our bag when off the ship. And if she feels like she needs to nap that is ok too. 
 

You need to be ok with this trip mostly being about the kids. You won’t be out late partying, you probably can’t go to the shows. I don’t know what class ship you will be on, but your 2 year old will not be allowed in Adventure Ocean (some of the ships have the nursery, but that costs money), and your 3 year old has to be COMPLETELY potty trained. Our daughter loves music, and loves to watch the bands all around the ship and dance. 
 

Our daughter is pretty used to restaurants on land but we did get her an Amazon kids fire tablet that only comes out at dinner time on cruises, and can only be used after ordering and while waiting for food. We put on games that help her work on drawing letters and numbers, work on matching skills, etc. 
 

We bring our umbrella stroller, but we only use it at the airport, when first boarding the ship, and when disembarking on the final day. It just makes our experience a little easier. 

[milford_cruiser]

22 hours ago, link99 said:

Excellent.Thank You . We booked the same tour. Definitely looking forward to the Bake &Shark How was the Beach and Water? We’re their vendors for Chairs. 

Chair vendor met us right as we crossed the street after getting off the bus and took us to a place to sit. $20US for 2 chairs and an umbrella.  They called the water a little choppy while we were there, but we mostly swim in the ocean in Maine and it was perfect - some waves, but *WAY* warmer!

 

Photos below are the beach from the water and the water from the beach chair.

[jacobtsf]

Thanks to a fellow cruiser, here are scans of the Cruise Compasses

cruisecompass day 1.pdf cruisecompass day 2.pdf cruisecompass day 3.pdf cruisecompass day 4.pdf cruisecompass day 5.pdf cruisecompass day 6.pdf cruisecompass day 7.pdf cruisecompass day 8.pdf

[jacobtsf]

Here is the promised video of the whale breaching.

[cruisegal40]

Thank you so much for doing this. Hoping to bump this up as I am looking at this ship for next September and wondering about her condition after 2022 she was updated. Wondering if anyone can tell me what the upgrades were besides new carpet and pool upgrades.

 

 

[coaster]

40 minutes ago, cruisegal40 said:

Thank you so much for doing this. Hoping to bump this up as I am looking at this ship for next September and wondering about her condition after 2022 she was updated. Wondering if anyone can tell me what the upgrades were besides new carpet and pool upgrades.

 

 

Hopefully they updated the poster artwork in the cabin corridors. They were really faded back in 2020 and depressing to look at. Cabin drawers also broken and nothing done when reported to guest services. Nothing major, but just a sign of neglect that should be addressed if Royal plans on keeping their Vision class ships around for a few more years.

[cruisegal40]

22 hours ago, coaster said:

Hopefully they updated the poster artwork in the cabin corridors. They were really faded back in 2020 and depressing to look at. Cabin drawers also broken and nothing done when reported to guest services. Nothing major, but just a sign of neglect that should be addressed if Royal plans on keeping their Vision class ships around for a few more years.

This is what has  me worried. I was hoping more might chime in that have been on her recently.

[Biker19]

14 minutes ago, cruisegal40 said:

This is what has  me worried. I was hoping more might chime in that have been on her recently.

Very unlikely you'll see much of a noticeable update in the general areas. The condition of your particular cabin is specific to that cabin.

Edited November 14, 2023 by Biker19

[cruisegal40]

22 hours ago, Biker19 said:

Very unlikely you'll see much of a noticeable update in the general areas. The condition of your particular cabin is specific to that cabin.

One could always hope. 

[vacationlover_mn]

I realize that your trip was several months ago.  However, was wondering if you could give your thoughts on the ship, since there are so few reviews here about it.  DH and I LOVE the big ships, but are running out of new (affordable ;)) ones to try.  Thought it would be interesting to do something smaller.