RCCL-Rhapsody of the Seas

[Patrick Fahey]

I am going on the Rhapsody of the Seas next month out of Galveston and
would like to get some feedback from anyone who has taken this cruise.
Thanks..Barbara

[D Ball]

Barbara:

I think I'm the resident Rhapsody booster! I love to hype our ships out
of Houston/Galveston in hopes that more cruise lines will send more ships
our way. It'd be nice to have more choices.

Anyway, we sailed the Rhaspody for two weeks over the holidays and had a
great time. In brief, I think she's a lovely ship, with aesthetically pleasing
design and decor; nice size and layout for ease of remembering places and
smooth traffic flow; minor evidence of the wear and tear to be expected in
an 'older' ship, but well-maintained, and she is returning to Texas after
a week in dry dock for a little "makeover," so should appear fresh; RCI has
notoriously small cabins, but they are well-designed for allowing you to
stow everything away for a clutter-free room; my favorite public areas were
the Solarium, a serene (relatively) pool area, the clubby library with a
nifty mini-observation deck and the daily NYTimes Fax (turns into a cigar
bar at 9p) and the Schooner Bar for fun around the piano; the food was surprisingly
good in both the dining room and Windjammer buffet--a new chef has been on
board since late fall, and as of the holidays, her efforts had rocketed the
Rhapsody's weekly pax dining ratings to the highest/near highest among RCI's
fleet; we enjoyed great service from our dining and cabin service attendants;
the onboard musicians and performers were very talented--we thought the two
musical review productions were well done, and the illusionists' show (LeRaf?)
was entertaining; the theme nights (C&W, 50s/60s/70s dance and Caribbean)
provide late night fun, and there is one midnight buffet and one midnight
chocoholics extravaganza; I hear a new, popular cruise director is on board,
which would address the only negative we noted about our cruise.

We had a balcony and an inside cabin on deck 7, aft of the central elevators,
and the upgrade fairy delivered a doorbell suite on 8 in lieu of the balcony
for week two. If you want more info about your cabin/location, feel free
to ask. Also, we cruised with our kids (9 and 11), so if you have any kid-oriented
questions, fire away.

You'll have tons of options for fun in Cozumel, Grand Cayman and Key West.
I like the itinerary, too, as the timing of your port stops maximizes both
port and At Sea time.

If you are driving to the port and staying the night before you cruise, note
that a number of Galveston hotels offer free car park during your cruise
week + shuttle to the port. You can poke around at www.galveston.com to
get more info on lodging, restaurant, attractions and events calendar. If
you are driving to the port and parking, note the helpful info at the port's
website, http://www.portofgalveston.com/cruiseinformation/index.html.

There have been several more recent Rhapsody reviews posted on r.t.c. Use
the search feature of your newsreader to find them, or go to http://groups.google.com
and use the advanced search feature, inputting "Rhapsody" as your keyword,
"rec.travel.cruises" as the group, and a desired date range, e.g., 01/01/02
to date to get the most current postings. If you don't know what port activities
are available beyond the ship's excursions and would like ideas, search past
r.t.c. posts. Cozumel and Grand Cayman are two of the most-visited and beloved
ports in the Carib, and you'll get all sorts of tips.

Last, but not least, www.rccl.com actually has quite a lot of information
about things cruisers like to know in advance of their Royal Carib sail,
and in addition to the many excellent cruise review sites out there, including
r.t.c.'s web host of sorts, www.seacruisereviews.com, I like this non-commercial
site dedicatd to Royal Carib cruisers featuring a cruise calendar and lots
of reviews,
http://www.evensens.net/rccl/calendar.html.

Happy planning and anticipation! Let us know how you enjoyed your Rhapsody
cruise when you return.

Diana Ball
near Houston, TX

[Albert Nurick]

"Patrick Fahey" <pfa...@ix.netcom.com> wrote in message
news:a9dh9i$gjc$1...@slb3.atl.mindspring.net...

> I am going on the Rhapsody of the Seas next month out of Galveston and
> would like to get some feedback from anyone who has taken this cruise.
> Thanks..Barbara

We're sailing on Rhapsody on May 5; when's your departure?

--
Albert Nurick
alb...@nurick.com
www.nurick.com

[Chuck]

Thanks Diana, we are sailing on the Rhapsody in Sept. and really looking
forward to it. We only just returned from a western Caribbean cruise on the
Carnival Inspiration and had a wonderful time. Looking forward to the
different cruise line for a comparison.

Thanks again
Chuck

"D Ball" <di...@nospamball.net> wrote in message
news:3cbb0043$1...@newsa.ev1.net...

[Spoo...@webtv.net]

Sailing on the RHAPSODY on May 12th....when are you sailing? We have
met one other couple via this newsgroup who will be sailing on the 12th
also. Know we will all have fun!!!

[Jim]

Even thought your post is directed at someone else, I thought I would jump
in. We're sailing on April 28. If I remember, I will let you know how it
was. Might remind me if I forget and you're interested. Any other Rhapsody
sailors on that date out there?
Jim

<Spoo...@webtv.net> wrote in message
news:6034-3CB...@storefull-2172.public.lawson.webtv.net...

[Bobby Schmidt]

My wife and I will be on the April 28th departure.

Regards,
Bobby and Janelle
Richardson, TX

"Jim" <jdu...@vvm.com> wrote in message
news:xIYu8.73879$%8.62...@bin2.nnrp.aus1.giganews.com...