Winderfull ship. Excellent Enertainment and foods

This was my first cruise and I was really excited and had pretty high expectations. Most of my expectations were met except for the food, I found it quite disappointing. I had always heard that the food on cruises was wonderful and I did not find it to be all that great. The menu choices were nice and the meal was presented well but the flavors were sometimes odd and lacking distinction. For some people the food might have been great and I think if I was not as much of a food lover as I am I probably would have been satisfied, I just left knowing that I could have done better and that is not how I want to feel when I am eating in a restaurant. I give them credit because they are serving so many people at a time but it was still not what I had hoped for. The beds were amazing; the cruise was the best sleep I have ever gotten. I thought it was weird that there are not any clocks in the rooms, but the wake up call is very useful. Coco Cay was awesome!! That was the best part of the ship by far; I could have spent all week there. Over all it was a nice, clean ship and it was well worth the money.

This was not our first cruise so I was expecting at least the same if not a better cruise this time around. I heard from others who have sailed with Royal Caribbean how great their cruise was but this is not what we experienced. We were not that impressed. The ship was beautiful and things seemed to be updated. But the last cruise I was on was with Carnival and I was more impressed with that cruise overall and it was even an older ship.

Our stateroom was very nice. The whole room was comfortable to be in. The drawback to the rooms was our room steward. He was nice and did keep the room very clean and tidy but did not replenish things as he should have. People in our group had to ask repeatedly for ice. It might seem like something small to complain about but when you are in need of ice and you are not getting it when you ask for it, it becomes a big deal. Our beach towels were missing on the first day of the cruise. We only had to ask once for them and from then on he kept the towels replenished.
We were a bit disappointed with the service on board also. Our entire group was promised a booking package of wine, a fruit plate, and a certificate for gaming tokens waiting in our room upon arrival. Half of our group got slippers instead of the fruit plate the bottle of wine, and the casino certificate by the second day of travel. The rest of our group got these items on the last day and night of travel at sea and this was only after repeated trips and calls to the service desk or guest relations. The staff apologized and blamed in on computer problems. This was a bit frustrating.

Many of the shows that we attended were not impressive at all. The show people were very obviously lip synching. That was a huge turn off for me. When I go to see a singing and dancing show I fully expect the dancers and singers to actually perform the songs. They also seemed to be lacking in their desire to perform.
The comedians were pretty funny. The adult comedy show was a bit too raunchy for our taste but the other shows were quite funny. We found those to be pleasing.
The games played on ship were also very entertaining and enjoyable.

The food on the ship was nice. I was expecting something different though. On cruise ships you expect to have a wide variety of foods that are exotic or at least not what you would normally eat at home. This cruise had normal foods that I would make or get at a buffet somewhere. And the buffet items were pretty much the same everyday We were not served much seafood besides fish. That was a constant on the menu. When we cruised with Carnival we had filet mignon, lobster, specially prepared chicken and fish, etc. We did not get any of that on this cruise. There was a specialty restaurant that we could have gone to for better cuts of steak, pork and so forth but we had to pay $25.00 a person to go there. I am thinking that the ship didn't serve the better, more exotic foods at the normal dining rooms so that we were forced to pay a high price to eat them at the specialty restaurant if we wanted that.
The waiters in the main dining room were very nice and helpful. Our waiters were pleasant and very attentive to our needs. I did find the overall staff on our Carnival cruise to be more impressive though.
The food on this cruise was not available 24 hours a day as Carnival's was. There were two different places, besides the main dining room, that we could get free food from on the R.C. ship but they were not always open. The casual dining area would be open most of the day but closed from 11:00-noon and 3-6:30. These were critical hours because we would have to be back on the ship during these afternoon hours. When we got back from our excursions we would be hungry and want to eat but nothing was opened except a snack window that offered pizza, hamburger and hotdogs. Then a lot of people would be there to eat and it would take quite a long time to get the food and the staff seemed to be overwhelmed with the sudden rush of people that were off the ship for their excursions and so forth.
Another thing I noticed, small but important at the time, was the fact that the ice cream machine was not opened all day as on the Carnival cruise. There was a Ben and Jerry's store on ship but we had to pay a high price for an ice cream. Why pay when there is a free machine on board? But again, as with the dining room, I think that they closed the one and offered more at another so we would be forced to pay.

Overall our cruise was great. We had excellent weather and we had fun.
I would recommend Cozumel and Key West to anyone. They were very nice places to visit and there was much to do on your own. Belize was not so nice. We had an excursion there, an ATV ride in the Rainforest. That was fun and interesting but we had a bit of trouble finding our check point. The city was not a place I wanted to spend much time in. I did not feel safe in this city and we were even offered drugs. Not so surprising I guess, just a bit freaky. I was glad to be back on the ship after visiting there. At any of the ports there were great excursions for our group to go on.

We thank Eric Lam for all of his help and patience in booking our cruise for us. Our group will most likely book another cruise in a few years but we will probably book with one of Carnival's larger and newer ships.

This was not our first cruise, so we knew what to expect. Everyone we knew raved at how Royal Caribbean is the best, but we were not so impressed. The ship is very nice and updated, but we have been on three other cruises before on Carnival and think that Carnival was more impressive, especially with their food and shows.

Our stateroom was very nice, but the room steward was not very good at replenishing items in our room and didn't do the same in our rooms as others in our group. Had to ask several times for ice, pool towels and so forth.

Food was very nice and presentable, but not much for exotic foods. Carnival had more items to pick from that you normally wouldn't have had at home. Waitstaff was very good and friendly though.

Food was not available 24 hours as Carnival does. One area would have food till 3pm and then somewhere else would not open till 6pm. When we got back from excursions during the day to come back and eat, we couldn't. And had a late seating for dinner.

Many of the shows were not as impressive as to what we have experienced in the past as well. I guess we have spoiled before and had higher expectations. So, we ended up skipping the last couple nights of shows.

Overall, we had a great ship, great weather and fun. We were all just a little disappointed with the service, especially when our entire group was supposed to get wine, gaming chips and so forth and on the last night of the cruise, three of our cabins finally received these items after numerous visits to their desk. A little frustrating and guest services told me that they had computer problems.

Would recommend Cozumel and Key West to anyone. Belize was okay. Great excursions for our group to participate in. Thanks to Eric for all his assistance and patience. We will more than likely plan another group cruise in a couple years, but most likely on one of Carnival's larger ships.

Hi....I wanted to thank everyone who gave such good advice to a newbie cruiser, and to let you know how it went for us.

My wife and I returned from our fist ever cruise last week. Fantastic is all we can say!!! We took this short four night cruise to "test the waters" (no pun intended) to see if she would enjoy cruising, as she tends to get motion sickness and is an insulin dependant diabetic, who watches her diet very closely.

Both getting on and off the ship was effortless and well organized. We arrived at the Ft. Lauderdale Cruise Terminal at about 10:30 AM and were on board by 11:30-11:45. By the time we enjoyed a great lunch at the Windjammer, our cabin was ready. We met our cabin steward (sorry..I can't remember his name) and he had already made sure the refrigerator we had requested (to keep insulin at the proper temperature) was in the cabin, plugged in and pre cooled. That was the last we saw of him, but he was very efficient at keeping our cabin neat and clean with no problems whatsoever. My wife especially appreciated the towel animals (a swan with sunglasses, a hanging monkey and a sting ray with wrapped candy mints for eyes) that were left every night except the first night. We had an outside cabin, misdhip on deck three. With everything we have read on these boards, we were aprehensive about the size of the cabin and especially the shower. Not to worry!!!! Although the cabin is on the small side, it is ingeniously laid out with plenty of room to store everything...even though we grossly overpacked. Sure...the shower is small and the shower curtain sticks like glue, but the water pressure was good, the water hot and we managed to get ourselves clean. What more could we want? !!! We only felt bad for the cabin steward who had to mop up wet floors. There seems to be no way to keep the shower from spilling onto the bathroom floor.

Disembarking was well organized. We had color green and were up early. We took advantage of a good breakfast at the Windjammer. After that, we went to our assigned area and waited for our color to be called. That happened within a short time, and we were off the ship (reluctantly), baggage in hand by 10:30 AM. No muss, no fuss with very little standing in line. This was another surprise after reading some of the horror stories posted here. Although not related to disembarkation, I thought I'd mention that the muster drill, held the first afternoon on board, also was not a bad as we were led to believe. We saw only 3 or 4 people give the crew a hard time...2 ladies? wanted to bring their drinks with them and could not understand why they were not allowed to do so......another couple of ladies ? complained loudly and vociferously that the orange life jacket did not match their outfits. They were obviously not joking, either. To each his own, I guess. The drill was over with 1/2 to 3/4 hour.

The ship itself is beautiful...much nicer than we expected, due to her age. The recent "stretch job" is hardly visible and the entire ship is as clean as a whistle, with cleaning being carried out seemingly around the clock. Unfortunately, due to the short duration of this cruise, we didn't have a chance to see the entire ship, but what we did see was impressive.

In our opinion, the entertain was ok, but not great. This is probably due to our own personal tastes, as it seemed like everyone around us was enjoying it. We saw a juggler, who was just ok, a comedian was so-so and the one production show we saw was a disappointment. We did not attend the second production show as my wife had dancing on her mind, and we spent the evening at Boleros with the salsa dancing. This is not meant to be a complaint, but merely our own opinion.

We ate breakfast and lunch at the Windjammer every day, except the one morning that my wife had an early spa appointment. We ordered room service that morning and the food and service were both excellent. The Windjammer meals were more than good. The variety of choices was amazing and everything we tried was good, especially the roast chicken at lunch. The only item I didn't care for was the scrambled eggs the first morning, but I remedied that by ordering eggs over at the omelet bar the rest of the cruise. That did the trick!! One person who really merits special mention is Maurice from Jamaica, one of the Windjammer wait staff. He couldn't do enough for us and he could have been a comedy act himself!! Ya Mon!!!! We apprecited the crewmember stationed at the Windjammer entrances, making certain everyone sanitized their hands before entering. That goes a long way towards keeping the "bug" from ruining a vacation. We were also impressed by the many (though not obtrusive) announcements throughout the ship to keep hands washed with soap and hot water we heard throughout the cruise.

We had dinner every night at the My Fair Lady Dining Room, and what an experience that was!! We were seated at table 99, a table for eight.. We had pleasant tablemeates with whom we had a good time and good conversation. The best part, though, was the wait staff. They were: Head Waiter Ricardo, from the Phillipines, who visited our table at least twice each evening....Waiter Chris from the Phillipines and Jaoa (sp?) from India. These guys were GREAT!!!! They really added to the pleasure of cruising. They were efficient, helpful with suggestions, comedic and just a pleasure to be around. We had a few moments to speak with each of them about their homes and families etc. and really enjoyed talking with them. Chris, our waiter, knew of my wife's diabetes and went above and beyond in making sure he suggested the proper meals and he made sure he pointed out the sugar free desserts she could enjoy. Royal Caribbean is indeed fortunate to have them all!!!Although we opted for the prepaid suggested tips, a little extra cash went in to each of their envelopes along with the voucher. They worked very hard to please us and they surely deserved more than the suggested amount.

The dining room food was all delicious, and served at the proper temperature and with a flair. The only meal I had that was not great was the prime rib. I asked for a medium cut and it was served a little too well done and somewhat dry for my taste. Since it was certainly not inedible, I said nothing to Chris. If I had said something, he would have been apologizing the rest of the cruise!!! Everyone at our table commented at one time or another how well everything was presented and how good everything was. Have we had better meals at expensive upscale restaurants? Sure....but for the amount of meals being prepared at the same time, each and every meal was more than acceptable ....in fact, rather good. We also enjoyed the entertainment presented by the wait staff with their parade of nations, etc.

As to shore excursions, Key West was a little bit of a disappointment....only because of the short time we were in port. We arrived at 7AM and had to be back on board no later than 1:30 PM. We has only time to take the Conch Train tour and it was enjoyable, but we wished we had more time in that port.

Cozumel was a blast!!! Taking kind advice from several of you who answered my posts about being a newbie, I booked a Swim with the Dolphins tour through the ship as a surprise to my wife. She's a devout animal lover and I havn't seen such a big smile on her face in a long, long time. Thanks for the suggestion!! We both thoroughly enjoyed this tour and WILL do it again. The only suggestion we have is to have the ship and/or the tour operator suggest some kind of swim footwear be worn. A large part of the time is spent in standing on a platform, whose floor is open steel grating, and is submerged so that one stands in about waist deep water. Trying to balance against the natural wave action, in bare feet on the grating is hard on the feet and quite uncomfortable. That was, however, a small inconvenience to an otherwise very enjoyable tour. Next time we'll bring swim shoes.

As to my wife's propensity to motion sickness, she was fine until Sunday, the final day and our only sea day. We were returning from Cozumel to Ft. Lauderdale when the seas started to build. The major snow storm that hit the entire East Coast on Tuesday and Wednesday 2/13 and 14, had its beginnings in the area we were cruising. It was raining all day, cold and with high winds. The ship got to "rocking and rolling". My wife started feeling a little queazy so she took a meclazine tablet prescribed by her doctor. After lying in the cabin for about an hour, she felt much better. She got up and we went to the Windjammer for lunch. What else?!!!!She was fine from that point on.

All in all..it was a great time. We found that cruising is a ball and we will definitely do it again. Now that we have this trial run under our belts, we'll take a longer cruise next time, possibly the Eastern Caribbean. Wherever we go, it will definitely be on Royal Caribbean. In case anyone is wondering...no, I don't work for Royal Caribbean, nor am I a plant on these boards!!!

Even though, as first time cruisers, we have nothing to compare it to, we thought this cruise was top notch. I don't see how anyone in the entire crew could have done anything more to make our vacation a success. It looks to us like RCI has it down pat!! In our opinion, if anyone feels a need to complain as is prevalant on these boards, they have either had a much, much different experience than we, or they are not happy unleess they have something to complain about!

Sorry if this was too long...but I'm new at this.

We have recently returned from a Christmas Cruise to South America aboard the Splendour of the Seas. We had been to the Greek Islands on this ship in 2006 and it felt small (affecting choice of dining and other features) after travelling on The Brilliance of the Seas, the QM2 and other, larger ships. Although we didn't want to travel on this ship again, the timing and itinerary fitted in with our plans, so we proceeded. In summary, we were extremely disappointed with the trip and would not recommend it. Most of the passengers were Brazilian and we speak no Portuguese. It took four hours to get on board, having arrived at the ship due to a complete lack of organisation at Santos. Because we all got so frustrated at the lack of communication, people in the queue ("line") started shouting at the administrators and security had to be called at one point. They did not communicate in English during the check-in and this made it difficult for us, as we do not know the Portuguese words for the colours (priority categories).

The food was the worst we have experienced on an RCI cruise and choice of dining was limited, due to the size of the ship. The excursions were very limited. Christmas was not particularly evident, apart from a few trees and Carols sung on Christmas Eve. I believe this was the first time they had operated this cruise. Let's hope they improve on what we experienced.

We sailed around the Caribbean on The Brilliance of the Seas in March 2003, which was our first cruise with RCI. The ship was only about one year old at that point and we had a Junior Suite. We thoroughly enjoyed ourselves and choose RCI above other operators, as a result of our initial experience with them. Highly recommended.

I sailed on the Explorer of the Seas to Bermuda Oct. 21, 2007.This was a five night cruise to Bermuda. I must preface my review by saying I previously sailed the Freedom of the Seas and loved that ship. I found myself making comparisons between the ships.

EMBARKATION: We drove to the Cape Liberty port and embarkation was a breeze. We arrived at the pier building at 12:30 PM, dropped our luggage and continued past the terminal to the long term parking. Parking was $80 for a 5 night cruise, payable in cash or by Visa or Master Card.

We walked back to the terminal after parking and showed our i.d. and Seapass printout and were given a bus number. We were in cabin 1343 and proceeded to the line for deck 10. We were immediately greeted by an agent, the check in process took five minutes. We were directed around the corner to have our picture taken for our Seapass card, took an embarkation photo and by the time we were finished, our bus number was called. We got on the bus and were on the ship within 15 minutes.

Since it was a little before 1:00 PM and too early to get to our room, we went to the Windjammer Cafe for lunch. It was fairly crowded and we shared a table with two others. Food was okay - nothing spectacular, but plenty of choices. I felt we had more choices on FOS than Explorer and the quality of food was a bit better as well. We then proceeded to our dining room to try and have our dinner changed from late to early seating. We were quickly accommodated and then proceeded to our room.

CABIN: We had inside cabin 1343 on deck. 10. It was a very short walk from the aft elevators and in a great location. The room was small, but there was plenty of storage space. The beds were pushed together, which left absolutely no room to get out of the side of the bed to use the bathroom. We found our cabin attendant (Amanda, who provided outstanding service throughout the cruise) and she moved the beds and also cleaned out the mini-bar in the fridge for us. With the beds moved apart, there was plenty of room to walk in between the beds.

The carpets and couch were a bit worn in our cabin, but not filthy. The quilt on the bed when the beds were doubled had a few holes in it. With the beds split, the bedding was fine. no holes or worn spots. I was concerned about noise in our room because we were directly under the Windjammer. There was nothing to fear. The only noise we heard was on the second night at about 11 PM and sounded like something being dragged across the room. Other than that, it was very quiet.

We did notice during the cruise bags of cut up carpet in the hallways during the day. It seemed that some of the cabins were having their carpets replaced, but not ours.

FOOD & DINING SERVICE: We were assigned to Columbus Dining Room, table 524 early seating. We were not happy with the service by our head waiter. We and our table mates arrived promptly, yet our waiter did not take any orders until all three of his tables were seated. Then he was able to serve all three tables at the same time rather than one at a time, making service easier for him. That was a big issue, since neither of the other tables was ever on time.

The first night, we sat without him taking our order for nearly a half hour. The second night, he had begun taking our order after we sat for 15 minutes when the next table came in . He stopped taking our order to put the napkins on the laps of the late guests. Those at our table were very unhappy with this situation. We weren't served an appetizer until 40 minutes after we were seated.

On the third night, the only show was at 7:45 and we knew we would not make the show if we ate in the dining room. We decided to eat in the Windjammer, but did go to the dining room to tell our waiter so he would not hold up the dinner for our table mates. The waiter was no where to be found, but we approached the Maitre D and told him of our situation.

He was very apologetic and asked us to please eat in the dining room and he would ensure we would be out in time to get to the show. We opted to not take a chance and the head waiter assured us he would take care of the problem. He did take care of it - our table mates told us later on that dinner was served promptly and they were out of the dining room in a little over an hour after sitting down. We did go back to the dining room after that and found that the service had improved and the waiter was no longer waiting for all three tables to start taking orders and serving.

The food was good, but not the best I've ever had. Steaks and filet mignon were outstanding and cooked to order. Some of the fish dishes were excellent but people did complain that the same fish (cod) served the first night was terrific, but terrible on the third night. I love the cold fruit soups and found all of them good. The desserts were not as tasty as the desserts on FOS. Lobster was on Wednesday night and very good. We had lunch in the dining room on Monday and I did enjoy that - I felt the food quality was much better than the Windjammer and should have eaten there more.

Food at the Windjammer was disappointing. The selection was not as big as was available on FOS, the food was over salted and some of it was bland. On many other ships, tablecloths are on the tables in the Cafe at dinner - not on this ship. There were also not as many sugar free desserts.

We did have breakfast in the dining room one morning and it was delightful. Food was cooked perfectly.

We ate a few times in Cafe Promenade. Pizza was available, as were sandwiches and some desserts. I prefer the larger ships that have both Sorrento' s Pizza and Cafe Promenade. There were more food varieties and more tables. On sea days, it was hard to get a table.

We ate at Portofino's the last night Service was excellent, food was good.

THE SHIP: The ship is a smaller version of FOS. The ship was in good condition for a seven year old ship. Not a lot of signs of wear and tear. Missing are the H20 water park and the Flow Rider. The Solarium pool was very enjoyable. The other pools were a bit more crowded, but to my astonishment, it was never difficult to find a chair on sea days near either pool. Whether it was because it was cool out and not as many people used the pools, or if this cruise didn't have chair hogs, I don't know, but it was delightful to be able to find a seat after lunch.

The Promenade is lovely, but the shops are really a waste. I haven't been on a ship in which I saw so few people shopping. The high end jewelry store was pretty empty most of the time. The Logo shop had a lot of items, but very few kids sizes. The Liquor Shop was the busiest shop. Since many of the passengers had driven to the ship and didn't have the issue of getting liquor home on an airplane, I believe that drove a lot of business to that store.

There are a lot of places you can go to on the ship and not feel crowded. The 19th Hole on deck 14 was a great spot to watch the Rock Climbing and Basketball activities. There is also an inline skate park (that I didn't notice anyone using) and it also overlooks the mini-golf. The golf course could use new turf. The Crow's Nest, Dizzy's, Viking Crown Lounge, Cloud Nine and Sevens Hearts are on this deck.

We didn't use the gym or the spa but did walk the track every day. Get there early, that was the most popular spot on the ship by 9 AM.

ACTIVITIES & SHOWS: I didn't feel there were enough activities on this ship, particularly on sea days. There was the usual Bingo, Aerobics Classes, Trivia. However, many times the venues were so small and because there was not more activities going on, it was SRO. At a towel folding class in the Schooner bar, there were so many people you couldn't see what the staff was doing.

We missed the show the first night with comedian Rick Starr and magician Peter Gross but heard from people we asked the show was good and did get to see it on the t.v. in our room later on. We only saw one Production Show (Wild, Cool & Swingin')with the Singers and Dancers and it was awful. We left after 20 minutes. We weren't the only ones - everyone we spoke to that night and the next day did not like the show either. We heard better singers at Family Karaoke (seriously - I was sorry that was only one hour).

The third night, the featured singer was John Christie, who was very good. Reminded me very much of Peter Allen. We skipped the productions show the next night and the ship was rocking too hard for us to stay for the show the last night.

Do not miss the Ice Show or Quest. Our cruise director was Dave Chapman. He was pretty good but it was his last cruise on the ship. He is very quick and has a great sense of humor.

BERMUDA: If you love the beach, Bermuda is the place for you. Elbow or Horseshoe Beaches are must see's. If you are not a beach lover (like me), there is not a lot to do. This was my second time to Bermuda and I had already done the Botanical Gardens and Caves. While I usually like doing a catamaran excursion, I didn't bother this time because I was concerned it might be too cool to swim.This time, we opted to buy a one day bus pass on the ship.
The ship docked in King's Wharf. On a previous cruise, we docked in St. George and Hamilton. I prefer King's Wharf. There is not much to do in Hamilton besides expensive shopping. Souvenir shopping on the Wharf was much better. We got off the ship and walked to the high speed ferry to Hamilton. After walking around Hamilton a bit, we walked to the bus terminal and went to St. George to the Perfume Factory. While we were told we could get a tour, there were only two women in the shop and both were busy with customers, so a tour was out of the question (but I did get my Frangiapani perfume).

We took the bus back to Hamilton and decided instead of taking the ferry back to the Wharf, we would take the bus. What didn't appear to be too far on the map ended up being over an hour's ride by bus. Take my advice - use the ferry to go back.

On day two we decided to explore the Wharf and to my delight, I found a Snorkel Park that was not there when I last visited 5 year ago. It is located next to the Dolphin Swim. It is free to get in, you can rent a chair and umbrella for $10 each (or $25.00 for two chairs and two umbrellas) and enjoy a small beach right next to the pier. There is a restaurant and rentals of snorkel equipment and other items. It was wonderful and if I were to ever go back, I'd just spend my time there.

Disembarkation: We were out of our room and sitting at Bolero's by 7:20 AM. Disembarkation did not begin until 9:20. Apparently, it took longer than usual for the ship to be cleared. We had lavender tags and were the third group called off. After a slight back up on the stairs, we were off the ship within 15 minutes and lined up to get a bus. We waited for the second bus and were quickly inside the terminal. For the first time ever, I found my bags immediately - the bags were right where they were supposed to be, and even next to each other. It was a quick trip through Customs and we were in our car five minutes later.

This is a good family cruise - there were quite a few kids on the ship who seemed to be thoroughly enjoying themselves. Most of the passengers were from the tri-state area and I didn't see any boorish or poor behavior, with the exception of some people who felt the need to jump on the elevators in front of people waiting in wheelchairs. It was a real pleasure to be able to drive to a cruise instead of the stress of flying.

I did like the FOS a bit better than this ship, but for an older ship, she is in good shape and provides a nice experience. The quality of the production shows was not good, but the shows featuring other performers were good. For a five day getaway, this is a good choice.

My husband and I have never been on a cruise ship before but have always been fascinated by the pictures and stories we have heard. This Christmas my husband surprised me with a 7 night cruise on the Rhapsody of the Seas leaving out of Galveston, Texas on January 16th thru January 23rd and bound for stops at Key West, Florida, Georgetown, Cayman Islands & Cozumel, Mexico. This trip was a last minute decision as we had a year filled with stress due to a serious work related back injury my husband had suffered and a pending back surgery 2 days after the cruise was to end and an 81 year old mother that needs constant care.

I wondered how on earth we could possibly get everything together on time and break free of all the stress the year had put us through. My first response when he told me was utter shock, how could we begin to relax and enjoy ourselves with so much to handle. Somehow we managed to get all the arrangements in order and I found that the closer it got the more excited we became. Just the thought of the two of us all alone after very few vacations and almost 35 years of marriage was a fantasy.

From the moment our flight took off from Las Vegas, Nevada (we live in Utah) the fantasy became a wonderful dream come true. Our flight landed in Houston and we had a shuttle transfer by bus to the port in Galveston. Everyone on the bus was excited and the driver was very cheerful, when we pulled up and seen the Rhapsody of the Seas we were ecstatic. The ship was beautiful and we couldn't wait to board. Everything was handled quickly and efficiently and within a short time we had our Sea Pass card and we were welcomed aboard.

At every moment there was someone friendly and inviting with answers to any and all questions we had. We roamed the ship for the first couple of hours and couldn't believe how gorgeous it was. Delicious Pina Coladas, Jamaican Music, Country Music, Rock Music, and great live shows, excellent food in the dining room and buffet and so many things to see and do.

I can't say enough about all of our personal staff, whether in the dining room, poolside, lounges or even our room attendant. We no sooner would leave our room and everything was perfectly back in place. Each night became a treat as the pillows were uniquely arranged and there was an animal made out of towels on the bed with treats on our pillows and a schedule for the next day. We would lay on the bed each night and make plans for tomorrow.

Needless to say all good things have to come to an end and we were not ready to return home. The ship had become a comforting home away from home and the ocean and the experience provided us with the relaxation we needed so badly. We were not able to go to Georgetown because of the hurricane damage suffered there but instead were taken to Costa Maya where we enjoyed a day on the beach.

We cannot say enough about all the wonderful memories and times that Royal Caribbean Cruises and Rhapsody of Seas gave to us.An

Our recent cruise was on Navigator of the Seas to the Eastern Caribbean.
Since I used this site frequently when planning our trip, I will add my opinions and impressions hoping to help those of you who are planning a trip in the future.

This ships two great strengths are the ship itself and the service. There are many grand areas including stairways and the atrium with its beautiful chandeliers. Some of the floors were done with inlaid wood. The solarium is of gorgeous tile with insets of Italian scenes. The service was outstanding.

While I have no strong negative feelings about any part of the cruise, I would say that I was a bit disappointed in the food. The meals we ate in the main dining room, as a rule, were better than those in the less formal areas. The food in the Windjammer and the Promenade Café were comparable to most cafeterias. The food was plentiful, but I found it rather mundane.
Most desserts were unremarkable. The bread was typically dry. I certainly found plenty (actually more than plenty) of food at any time of the day, and there was a variety of food at every mealtime and during the snacking hours.
The midnight buffet was well worth staying up for. The presentation was lovely with many ice sculptures and fabulous cakes. However, much of what I ate was not remarkable. Every cake I tasted was dry, for example, despite their beauty.

We enjoyed all ports which included San Juan, St. Thomas, St. Maarten, and Nassau. Nassau was my least favorite. It might be helpful to know that on St. Maarten there is a boat taxi for which you can buy a $5 pass that lasts all day. We enjoyed using that since we could then go back and forth between the boat and the shopping area and the beach. The shopping area was within walking distance at all ports. We took a cab to Magens Bay on St.
Thomas, but the water was especially rough that day. The cab driver (for an extra charge naturally) took us to a different beach. By going both places, we were able to see the island which is beautiful. The beach he took us to was beautiful, but I think it is a beach typically used by those in the condos around it. We were pretty much asked to leave, although I do think it was a public beach, though a very small one. By mid-day it was very crowded, and I overheard several people who were evidently staying in condos nearby complaining about all the cruise people on ?their? beach. We had a couple of hours there, though, and enjoyed our time. Unless you are planning to buy jewelry or liquor, there is little shopping except for t-shirts and other touristy odds and ends.

This was our first cruise after going to Europe many times on our own, so I was worried about so many people. I was actually surprised at how much I enjoyed the trip. The ?herd? issue is easily resolved if you will just not try to get off the ship as soon as it docks and not wait until last minute to go onboard. Seating for the evening meal was by assigned table which proved to be a great system. During the first day at sea, the pool area was crowded, but that was the only time I felt cramped. There were times when the Windjammer restaurant was crowded, but we soon learned to avoid those times so we could more easily find a place to sit.

We had a stateroom with a balcony which I thoroughly enjoyed and felt was worth the extra money. My husband said he didn?t think he would mind being without one. We enjoyed the ship itself and weren?t in our rooms all that much, but I still liked having a balcony and will probably always want one.
The room was predictably small as was the bathroom, but I didn?t have high expectations there.

We went to shows each night, but we didn?t participate in the other odds and ends such as ?great legs contest? for men or the equivalent of the ?marriage game.? The shows, including an ice show were all enjoyable.

I have motion sickness and worried about that issue, but I didn?t not have major problems. I definitely knew we were on a ship. Some say that the larger ships don?t have motion issues, but I felt it. We had rough seas the first night. The cruise director even mentioned that fact, and said that we were using the Bahamian channel rather than going out to sea because of the rough seas. There were other times when I saw people stumbling a bit. I was not drinking, so I was sure my stumbling was due to the boat.

Embarkation went as well as could be expected. However, disembarking seemed cumbersome. We were assigned a time, but our color was called about 30 minutes earlier than listed. However, we still stood in line about an hour.
I had prepared myself for that eventuality and didn?t get too distressed.
That is all part of the routine.

I can honestly and enthusiastically recommend the ship and the ports.