Rhapsody Review (Western Caribbean) - 7/29/07 - Very Long!

[jjstexas]

We just got back from our 7-day Western Caribbean on the Rhapsody of the Seas. This is a review of the ship’s portion and a summary of the ports – I’ll put a more detailed review of what we did in each port on the port’s individual threads. Sorry in advance that this is so long!

 

This was the best cruise of our short history of three. We were celebrating my having taken the Texas bar the week before, and we had a great time fitting the occasion, complete with downing a wine package and several pina coladas.

 

We departed from Galveston and used Dolphin 81 parking which is on the highway as you come into Galveston. It was the same or slightly less than others closer to the ship ($50 for 7 nights).We did wait about 20-25 minutes for a van to come back, but when it did come, it was air-conditioned and relatively quick.

 

We have never checked in as late as we did this time (2 p.m.), and it was a little bit of a madhouse; we vowed never to come so late again (we boarded the Splendour at 11:30 a.m. for the same official departure time in March and encountered no crowds, and much less harried port officials). There was no lemonade/cookies as there were in our departure for the Splendour in March (somehow we made it through, haha, just noting this). We finally got aboard and headed straight for the room.

 

The ship was well-maintained although beginning to show its age, as others have noted. We were in Room 2048 – an oceanview on Deck 2 as the result of our oceanview guarantee. The room was fine with us, especially for the price (i.e., wife between taking bar and starting work, and husband in residency). We ended up staying in the room sometimes 5 or 6 hours a day, but the size never got to us as I thought it might for a 7-night cruise. Our room steward, Otto, was very cheerful. We had a couple of missteps – he came in once despite the do not disturb sign, trash was left remaining on the desk pretty much every day, and he removed an empty toilet paper roll and didn’t leave us any toilet paper after, which made for an awkward moment, especially when there were no room stewards in the hall when we found out (!). But, bless his heart, we gave him quite a workout, I’m sure, because as I mentioned, we just read in bed or watched movies for at least a couple of hours each day and almost always took a nap, so he had to make up the bed multiple times a day. The bedding, by the way, is fluffy and yummy; there are also a million pillows for any pillow addict like me.

 

Dinner that night, as pretty much every night, was really excellent; we went to the dining room every night. We had the best waiter we had ever had – Carlito – who was friendly in and out of the dining room (we actually saw him at the port in Galveston when we returned), made excellent recommendations, and never failed to have a smile on his face. We requested a table for 2, but unlike our last cruise, got a table for 6 with two other couples similar in our age. We enjoyed them very much; we decided to continue requesting a table for 2 (we like as few of the inevitable commentaries on attorneys as possible when on vacation) but not to try to switch if we get at a bigger table. Some of our favorites during the week for dining room lunch included the quesadillas, the cookies and cream cheesecake, and the WONDERFUL olive tapenade (which for some reason is completely unavailable at dinner – this is the third cruise that I have asked to see if we can get that at dinner – each time I get an awkward response). Some of our favorites for dinner included the shrimp and risotto appetizer, the veal tortellacci (everyone at our table went crazy over this), the tiger shrimp, lobster (cooked actually VERY well) and the dessert sampler plates. Along with another couple at our table, we generally ended up going to the Windjammer for small seconds of whatever we had particularly enjoyed, especially since almost everything on the dining room menu was also in the Windjammer.

 

On the ship, we were mostly lazy and worthless, but we spent some time in the casino, which had a very friendly staff. We went to the Cruise Critic Meeting (which, as seems to be the norm judging from the post-cruise reviews was at about half the RSVPs) on the first full day. I would really encourage everyone to go to this. If guilt motivates you, as it did us when we suddenly got the “shys” right before, the crew works hard putting out nice appetizers and having prizes, etc. Everyone got a pad and pen with a lanyard (which was appropriate and cute for a cruise critic party – we took notes at the wine tasting with it). They also had the infamous mouse, and my husband won a really nice hat that he wore the entire cruise, as well as one of the waterproof lanyard things for money and our seapasses – something we wouldn’t have bought, which came in really handy. We didn’t talk much or stay long, but we did enjoy being there and met up with someone going on the same excursion as us the next day (hey Sherrybaby!). We also went to the wine tasting, which we thought was nicer than the same tasting on the Splendour.

 

We appreciated the Crown and Anchor coupons and used most of them (the best was the free wine-tasting). We did get the pictures frames (the blue pleather ones), which we appreciated, but they did give us “Vision of the Seas” frames – I just left a note for our steward to see if he could find anything with the Rhapsody’s name or with no ship name on it, and we had two Rhapsody frames in our room the next night.

 

We enjoyed Cozumel – we did the Royal Swim, which we booked directly through Chankanaab Park. This was more intensive (kiss, hug, foot push, fin pull) than the ship’s excursion and less expensive. It also included admission to the park. We had a fantastic time at the Swim (not to be missed!) – the pictures were good, and actually worth the money (although we also took our own). We didn’t buy the video ($50), although another couple at our table paid another couple less to get a copy of the DVD for less. After the Swim, we wandered through the gardens of the park and looked at the sculptures, which was fun. There is also a portion of the park where a little old woman makes homemade corn tortillas that you can try with salsa. We left the park, and then went to what is still one of our highlights of the trip, La Choza, the best restaurant we visited all week in any of the ports. We went there at the recommendation of an employee at the park, and we enjoyed it so much – excellent chips and dip, fantastic ceviche, and the best flan we had ever had (and I HATE flan). It was GREAT. It is also a few blocks from all the shopping that is encouraged on the ship.

 

Next, we went to Roatan. We had booked Victor Boddens Tours and had a good time. We snorkeled at Half Moon Bay, saw the monkeys, and did the Zipline. This was probably our second or third favorite port.

 

Our favorite was Costa Maya. We took the bus to the beach and ended up at El Faro. We had a FANTASTIC time. Excellent chips and dip, reasonable prices (5 for 10 beers, $4 frozen drinks that were relatively big), decent service, and free chairs all day. There is a little bit of snorkeling here. We also did most of our shopping here and had a great time bartering and laughing with the vendors. This was truly a Corona-commercial beach. It was beautiful.

 

Last, we went to Progresso. We rode the $2 bus, which was really a great thing to be able to see the city and scope out where we might go next. We went to Shark’s; great pina coladas (with fresh cinnamon on top – YUMMY!) but honestly kind of rude service. The beach was different than Costa Maya, Roatan, and Cozumel – a little dirtier, the water is not clear at all, but there are some small waves – unlike the other ports – so that was fun.

 

We really loved something about all these ports and think this is a great itinerary; it has something for everyone – we were not crazy about Progresso but loved Costa Maya; others loved Roatan the best.

 

Our cruise ended with the good, the great, and the ugly. The good was that we finally made it to Adult Day Care with Derek Lewis on the final night and wished we had gone every night! SO much fun! The great was buying a single bingo ticket on the last afternoon and WINNING THE FINAL BINGO JACKPOT (splitting with one other couple!) (again, GREAT for anybody, REALLY great for a young couple like us). The ugly was departure. Our group was called an hour late, and there was a child running rampant in the lounge getting on everyone’s nerves. Whew.

 

All in all, though, this was a terrific cruise. The ENTIRE crew was very friendly (if there is a difference between the old crew and the crew going to the new itinerary, we couldn’t tell!). The food was fantastic; the service excellent. There was a lot to do on board (we just didn’t do much of it). The ports were all beautiful and unique in their own way. Winning Bingo also had a significant impact on how much we loved this cruise, haha (Goodbye, Seapass balance!) If there’s not a ship in Galveston after the Voyager, we probably won’t be going on a cruise anytime soon, but we definitely had an excellent cruise. I’d be happy to answer any questions, but I will say we weren’t out of the room a lot unless we were in port, so we probably can’t answer many questions about individual staff members on board.

[jjstexas]

I forgot to mention the entertainment.

 

The shows with the Royal Caribbean Singers and Dancers were really fantastic. The vocalists - particularly the two female vocalists were truly excellent. There was a Piano Man show (featuring songs from piano singer/songwriters) and of course a Pure Country Show. Both were excellent. There was a show by Los Pampas Gauchos that we were too pooped to attend. The finale show was good - it featured two of the singers, including one female vocalist singing a song she had written herself that was actually very good. There was then a puppet-type group that was lame at first and then later pretty cute, followed by a comedian-magician show that was probably good if you like magicians. There are also loveseats in the theaters, which are kind of nice and have a table next to them.

 

We did not make it to all the shows, but essentially, if it has the Rhapsody ship singers, you should go to it.

[wolfganghowell]

First off - congrats on taking the bar and I see the Proud Pug Mom so I like you a lot because I had the greatest pug ever - Igor is across the bridge but I know he is snorting to his little heart's content there. :)

 

Thanks for the review - its appreciated. We are doing this itinerary too and although we have different things on our agenda, it is always nice to hear new perspectives.

 

Did you notice anything up with the Windjammer? We know they are working on it for at least the next 2 weeks.

 

Glad you had fun and congratulations too on the Jackpot. That should really help with any law or med school bills - not to mention that Evil Seapass account.

 

Final question - do you remember the names of any of the casino dealers? we are wondering if any of the ones we tortured last November are still there. Thanks!

[sajeffc]

I was on Rhapsody 7/22 to 7/29 and I remember a dealer named Xi from China and a dealer named Michelle from Great Britain. Xi was the fastest Blackjack dealer I've ever seen. I was down $100 before I knew what hit me....Did I mention Eric Dowis, the CD, who was outstanding.....

 

We loved Rhapsody and we are just sick that she's leaving and even more sock that a replacment summer schedule for '08 doesn;t seem to be in the cards for RCI.

[kittymom65]

Thanks for the review, and congrats on the bingo jackpot!

[cot427]

Was this the cruise the the Windjammer was closed for some time on the cruise, or I am thinking of another cruise ship and sailing?

[montgomeryfamily]

Congrats on winning the jackpot!! :)

 

Was Chris your cruise director?

[jjstexas]

Thanks all!

 

Montgomery Family - No, Erik Dowis was the cruise director, and he was the funniest, least cheesy cruise director we have had! We really, really enjoyed him. You can't miss him as a "special judge" at the karoake American-Idol style night.

 

cot427 - I don't remember the Windjammer being closed or hearing anything about that...I think that must be another cruise! :)

 

sajeffc - Thanks for naming some of the dealers for wolfganghowell, because I don't remember any. My husband also said that Xi sounded very familiar. We can now see what people were so loyal to the Rhapsody, and we are so disappointed it will be leaving just as we have fallen in love with it too!

 

wolfganghowell - My condolences on Igor - we have the number 2 and 3 best pugs ever, apparently, and I sure missed their snoring on the ship! We didn't notice anything unusual about the Windjammer - I did think the layout (which apparently was altered at dry dock at the beginning of the year) was slightly better than when I was on it for a short cruise in 2005, but other than that, it was pretty usual - the double-circular main portion, then three rectangular tables on each side, as well as the omelet station in the middle. I did not notice any closing of the Windjammer, other than of course when they were about to close, that they would close one side as they were cleaning up.

 

And yes, the bingo jackpot was a fantastic gift which wiped out the (substantial!) Seapass and a little more besides. We were very lucky in all respects - to win Bingo, to have been on the Rhapsody before it leaves, and to have a fantastic cruise before we begin practice. Any other questions? I'm afraid I haven't been very helpful...apparently unless it has to do with room 2048 or somewhere one eats, we didn't see much of it! :D

[douglinc@msn.com]

Thanks for the review, we will be on the Rhapsody 8-19. Glad you had a great cruise.

 

Doug

[Apoggi]

Great review and congrats on winning the Bingo Jackpot. I know that would make anyone's cruise a whole lot better.

 

Ann

[hince57]

jjs - i'm going to piggyback on your review (and i haven't read yours yet, so i'm just going to copy and paste my thoughts now, read yours, then comapre notes!!)

 

here's mine:

 

Our Party – Me, wife, daughter (3 years old), son (1 year old), father, mother, brother, grandmother, aunt

Staterooms –

8013: grandmother and aunt

8017: father, mother and daughter

8019: me, wife and son

8025: brother

Day 1 – Embarkation – We arrived in Galveston at 11:30. We had not worked out the parking situation beforehand, but I remembered reading that EZ Cruise and Lighthouse were the highest recommended lots. We went with the latter and were very pleased with them. It cost $50 for the week. We were in the terminal at about 11:45, and were on board the ship at about 12:30. There was a rather large crowd waiting to board in the terminal, and we were able to bypass it because our grandmother was in a wheelchair. The gentleman at the parking lot said that the passengers from the previous week’s cruise had taken a long time to disembark, so that further delayed the newly-arrived passengers. Regardless, embarking was rather smooth (despite having to wait for them to reprint my son’s SetSail pass - the printer for the SetSail passes had been broken and they were trying fix it). Once onboard, we went to the Windjammer (WJ) for lunch. Decent food. Afterward, the staterooms were ready. We went to our room expecting that the crib we had requested would be in there. It was not, and despite several calls to housekeeping, guest relations, etc, we could not get our hands on the crib so our son could take a nap. The crib was delivered at about 4:30, and a nap was futile (our son was ok in spite of that). Our stateroom attendant was Jing. Although she was very sweet and always offering help, we thought she seemed a bit overwhelmed (at one point, she told us that she had 46 staterooms to look after…not sure if that’s a lot, but it sure seems like it!!!). That evening we took our kids to early dining. Our waiter was Joseph (don’t recall the asst’s name, but I’ll explain why that is in a sec). Dinner was good. Turned in that evening after an OK first day.

Day 2 – At Sea – It was a relatively uneventful day. Our daughter did Adventure Ocean (AO), and seemed to enjoy it (she ended it up going 3 days total). We took our son to the babies’ time (forget what they call it). There really isn’t much of interest to do at this. The class leader was nice, but the only thing that happens is that the teacher will take out some toys, and you’ll play with them while she pitches Fisher Price. On Day 1, we had requested a babysitter for each day during dinner. Guest Relations called us that morning to tell us that the only babysitter they had available could babysit every evening from 8:30 until whenever. We’re not sure why this was the only one available considering that we had our request in by 1:00 on Day 1. It ended up being a blessing in disguise because we ended up deciding to switch to a late dinner seating (and subsequently put our kids to bed before the babysitter arrived). At the late dinner seating, our waiter was Made (Filipino) and asst was Sheldan (from St Vincent) at table 198. They were both very good, and the kicker was that we were right near the entertainers. As an aside, we noticed two gentlemen, one playing an acoustic guitar and the other a violin, and everyone noted how good they were. By the third day (and after going up and talking to them!), I figured out that it was the infamous Dick and Teddy. They were both wonderful performers (I bought 2 CDs), and we found out on the last evening that ours was their last cruise. The M&M was also on day 2, but we could not attend in lieu of my wife’s spa appointment and my tending to the baby.

Day 3 - Cozumel – We arrived in Cozumel with no issues (we were docked at every stop). I had read some good things about Paradise beach, so we decided to go there. We took the kids there in the morning, but went back in the afternoon without them (their grandparents looked after them). We enjoyed our time out there despite losing my sunglasses on a Waverunner. Formal night was good. The food wasn’t extraordinary, but we enjoyed it nonetheless. On this, and most, nights, we would take our kids to the WJ at 6:30, take them back to the room at 7 (our daughter went to a couple of shows) and have them in bed about 8. I really liked set up of the WJ. It seemed to make traffic flow well.

Day 4 – Roatan – I didn’t know what to expect in Roatan. I had heard some folks say it was the nicest place they had seen in the Caribbean and others have said that the sand fleas were unbearable! We found it to be somewhere in between. Once off the pier, it was unfortunate to see the poverty in the city (hopefully that can change with the tourist dollars), but we found the beach to be exquisite. We booked the Coral Cay (turtle farm, etc) excursion through the RCCL. The turtle farm was ok, but the beach was gorgeous. If I get the chance to go back, I’ll surely have to try one of the Victor Bodden tours!

Day 5 – Costa Maya – My father, brother and I decided we wanted to try to do some fishing. I’m not much of a fisherman but decided to entertain them. We did not want to do the 7 hour, $700 (219/person) tour through the ship, so we decided to take our chances off the ship. There was a place just off the pier that would take us out for 2 hours (ended up being 4 hours) for $180 total. They drove us out to the beach where we waited 45 minutes longer than we were supposed to, and our guide really didn’t speak much English…but, we had a very good time! Our guide was a good fisherman who was able to teach us despite the language barrier. I was also the only one to catch anything…2 barracuda! I think we enjoyed it much better than we would have enjoyed the ship’s fishing tour.

Day 6 – Progresso – My wife really wanted to do the Cave Snorkeling tour, but when we tried to book it circa Day 4, they said it was sold out and they waitlisted us. We decided to go talk to the tour guide to see if he could squeeze us in. We went down to the pier shortly after docking, where the tour guide told us they were still waiting on 3 people (there were 3 of us who wanted to go). Coincidentally, we filled up the final 3 spots in the van. HOWEVER, once we got on the bus, we soon realized that we were in store for a 90 minute van ride (each way) and a 30 minute horse-led cart ride (each way). The van ride got old, but the horse-cart ride was kinda cool. There are 4-person carts led by a mini horse along a 2-foot wide rail system. We ended up going to 2 different “cenotes” (i.e. waterholes inside of caves). We had a good time, but if you don’t like riding in a car, then this one may not be for you! This was the only day we saw rain. Every other day seemed to be sunny and 90!

Day 7 – At Sea – The only thing I’ll point out about today is that I placed third in the poker tournament! Otherwise, I was able to get my first hot stone massage, which I thoroughly enjoyed. We said our goodbyes to our waitstaff, and packed up for the next day.

Day 8 – Disembarkation – My son gave us a wake-up call at 4:30 in the morning, so we spent the better half of the morning entertaining him. We decided to do the express disembarkation, so we carried our own bags. The line was pretty long and we ended up being in the line for customs for about 75 minutes. I was livid at the behavior of some guests who blatantly weaved through people to get toward the front of the line. I was about ready to smack a family upside their collective head for their behavior (i.e., trying to cut between me and my family and others). Perhaps the line would have been quicker if it weren’t for those idiots. Once past customs, Lighthouse parking had us to our car within 5 minutes. I was so livid over the line for disembarking that it left a very bad taste in my mouth.

Thoughts:

- Stateroom: We stayed in the largest interior rooms the Rhapsody has to offer that we shared with our one year old. With the exception of the day of disembarkation, he slept well. I only pray that we were not too great of a distraction to our neighbors. One of our neighbors was my parents with whom we shared a connecting door. They claimed that noise wasn’t an issue, so I hope that others were not bothered.

- Dining: The WJ marginally exceeded my high expectations while the Dining room was slightly below my high expectations. Some of the food (the Mahi mahi comes to mind) seemed bland, but the lobster was exceptional.

- Activities: Our daughter enjoyed AO, and I enjoyed the casino. I didn’t attend the shows, but my parents tell me they were good (they mentioned Los pampas gauchos as one of their favorites). I remember being a Bingo fan in my earlier days, but they seemed to have tricked it up so much that it’s over the top (i.e. complex games rather than simple line BINGO). What ever happened to good ole fashioned BINGO?! I went to the Quest for the first time, and my brother and I thoroughly enjoyed it. The CD was Eric Dowis (sp?), and he seemed to do well in the few times we saw him.

- Ports: Roatan was the most pleasant surprise of the cruise, Cozumel was great as usual, and Progresso and Costa Maya were so-so.

- Overall: On a scale of 1 to 10, I’d probably give this a 7. It’s about what I expected, so take that for what it’s worth. I expected to be pleased, but also hope that my expectations are exceeded. A lot of it may be the result of the changing crew. As mentioned in earlier reviews, the crew is now distinctively Asian (a crew member in AO said that you will need to speak Cantonese and Mandarin to work in AO once they get to Asia) because many seemed reluctant (although some were very eccentric and great…especially toward our toddler!) and somewhat obtuse.

[hince57]

I was on Rhapsody 7/22 to 7/29 and I remember a dealer named Xi from China and a dealer named Michelle from Great Britain. Xi was the fastest Blackjack dealer I've ever seen. I was down $100 before I knew what hit me....Did I mention Eric Dowis, the CD, who was outstanding.....

 

We loved Rhapsody and we are just sick that she's leaving and even more sock that a replacment summer schedule for '08 doesn;t seem to be in the cards for RCI.

 

 

i remember xi...she was very fast...we got along real well with brandi from australia, though!

[montgomeryfamily]

On what nights were the formal nights? From the review, it sounds like the first formal night wasn't on the night of the first day at sea but instead on the first port day in Cozumel? On past sailings of this intinerary, it was on the first sea day. Has this changed?

 

On what day was the second day--Progresso port day?

[wolfganghowell]

Hince - could you go into more detail on your Progreso excursion? We're signed up for that but 3 hours total driving doesn't seem like something Mr Wolf is gonna groove on. Did you really feel it was a cool experience or just ok? I too believe formal dinners on this itinerary to be Monday (at sea) and Thursday (Costa Maya).

[Snoozeman]

jjs-Good review. Thanks. DW prefers not to eat in the dining room for lunch, your tip on the olive tapenade may get her there. (she's a vegetarian) Is it on the everyday lunch or a specific day? At dinner did you order escargot or a shrimp cocktail? If so, did you receive a cocktail fork? I have heard a disappointing rumor about the silver settings.

 

Looks like you made some good choices on excursions and buying the bingo ticket.

[jjstexas]

Snoozeman - Yeah, the tapenade is definitely the reason to go into the dining room. I am trying to think of the vegetarian selections and am only coming up with (obviously) salad, but I am sure they have something else. The olive tapenade is every day at lunch in the dining room, but they do not have lunch in the dining room every day. I think they had it on the sea days, and then only on the Progreso port day because we did not port until noon. The other port days, there is only lunch in the Windjammer and the Solarium. That is a good question about the escargot, because now that you say that, I do not believe there was a cocktail fork, which is unusual. Unfortunately, the butter and garlic overcame me, and I had to eat it anyway.

 

Montgomery family: Formal nights were the first full day (the first sea day) and Costa Maya day, which was the fourth full day of the cruise.

[Snoozeman]

Snoozeman - Yeah, the tapenade is definitely the reason to go into the dining room. I am trying to think of the vegetarian selections and am only coming up with (obviously) salad, but I am sure they have something else. The olive tapenade is every day at lunch in the dining room, but they do not have lunch in the dining room every day. I think they had it on the sea days, and then only on the Progreso port day because we did not port until noon. The other port days, there is only lunch in the Windjammer and the Solarium. That is a good question about the escargot, because now that you say that, I do not believe there was a cocktail fork, which is unusual. Unfortunately, the butter and garlic overcame me, and I had to eat it anyway.

 

Thanks so much. DW walked in just as I opened and read your reply. She's committed to a lunch in DR. She normally is a Windjammer or usually the salad bar in the solarium person. One of the reasons we are a bit concerned about the Windjammer status for our week. I'm a dining room guy myself and love the beef!;)

 

I guess I will take my cocktail forks with me, it's just too hard to use the salad forks in the indentions on the escargot plate. I'm sure I'm too picky, but it's just another dumbing down of service.:rolleyes: Glad they were good though.

 

Thanks again.:)

[montgomeryfamily]

There is no special silverware anymore. On both our December and March cruises on the Rhapsody, only regular dinner forks were given to eat the shrimp cocktail and escargot. So yes, Snoozeman, bring your own. :)

 

Thanks for the info on the formal nights. In reading the second review on this thread, it sounded like this had changed and I'm glad to know that it had not.

[Snoozeman]

There is no special silverware anymore. On both our December and March cruises on the Rhapsody, only regular dinner forks were given to eat the shrimp cocktail and escargot. So yes, Snoozeman, bring your own. :)

 

:) Kathy, that is funny, but I really will. When I returned from the Splendour I bid on a very nice antique silver cocktail fork from the old Waldorf Astoria off of eBay just with that in mind.

 

When telling DW about the olive tapenade, I asked where my 'cocktail fork' was located (shes the wife-she should know;)) and neither of us know what I did with it. But I'll find it by our cruise. Hopefully it's in the cruise chest.

[wolfganghowell]

Y'know, I remember now that I had to use the salad fork for my escargot. Ah - escargot. Soon my snaily little friends I will eat 2 portions of you and drop hints for any extra on the other nights. Another reason why Celebrity gets the edge. My waiter brought me escargot EVERY NIGHT!!!

[Snoozeman]

Y'know, I remember now that I had to use the salad fork for my escargot. Ah - escargot. Soon my snaily little friends I will eat 2 portions of you and drop hints for any extra on the other nights. Another reason why Celebrity gets the edge. My waiter brought me escargot EVERY NIGHT!!!

 

Wouldn't that be great. I like it as well. Between the escargot and tapenade, I'm getting hungry.

 

I'll let ya'll know on the roll call if I find my cocktail fork. I'll have my pinkie raised when I'm using it as well.:)

[sajeffc]

Snoozeman, I didn't get any cocktail forks and I didn't get a bouillion spoon, either. There was, however, a plethora of silverware at each meal.

[Snoozeman]

Snoozeman, I didn't get any cocktail forks and I didn't get a bouillion spoon, either. There was, however, a plethora of silverware at each meal.

 

:)Well I can't take everything, I better draw the line a tiny fork......

 

 

Thanks though

[hince57]

Hince - could you go into more detail on your Progreso excursion? We're signed up for that but 3 hours total driving doesn't seem like something Mr Wolf is gonna groove on. Did you really feel it was a cool experience or just ok?

 

sure...let me see. they take you into the countryside in 15 passenger vans. you see a couple of interesting things. a gothic-style church, some old mayan structures, and the towns themselves are pretty interesting. i think the horse-drawn rail cart ride was pretty cool. it is quite bumpy though. the waterholes in the caves were a lot of fun if you ask me. there was an older couple (in their 60s maybe) who had some trouble though because you have to be able to pull yourself up onto a step to get out of the water. the view is really cool.

 

i think it's worth it simply from the perspective that it is so unique...if it were just another beach or boat ride, it would be a different story...

[wolfganghowell]

few more- were the vans air conditioned? and since this takes all day what did you do for lunch or did you just eat before you went and take some snacks to eat on the drive.