Royal Caribbean International
Rhapsody of the Seas Cruise Review
Western Caribbean

Callie
Age: 25
Occupation: Student
Number of Cruises: 1
Sailing Date: August 27th, 2006

My husband and I chose Rhapsody of the Seas for our honeymoon mainly because the price was so reasonable. Unfortunately, hurricane Ernesto was heading towards the ports of call that we were scheduled to visit, Key West, Grand Caymans and Cozumel. We set sail with the itinerary still up in the air. We eventually were scheduled to visit Belize and Costa Maya, as well as Cozumel.

The ship was beautiful, but we had problems right off the bat. First, we were encouraged by the woman at the check-in to establish a cash account, even though we both had credit cards. She told us that cash accounts were easier, and that there were ample opportunities to access ATMs. Moments later as we boarded the ship we realized that the onboard ATM was broken. We immediately set up a credit account, but we had no cash to use while in port. We were told at the purser’s desk to use the ATMs on port. We tried - they are in local currency and were in Spanish.

Despite this problem, we had a great time. The food in the Windjammer was so-so, but in the formal dining room the food was wonderful. We were seated with two other honeymoon couples, and had a wonderful time with them. Our wait staff was outstanding - Suparti from Indonesia, Beni from India and head waiter Ernesto from the Philippines. They were one of the highlights of our trip. When we said goodbye, we all were crying.

Belize City was dirty and scary. We spent most of the time dodging the hustlers trying to sell us things. My husband and I wanted to get our hair braided, and we found two women to do this. They told us that one of the men in the tourist area took all their money, so thus were charging us double. We did not enjoy our time in Belize.

Costa Maya was a lot of fun, however. We walked through the shopping area and ate lunch at Banditos. It was a lot of fun. In Cozumel, we took a ferry to Playa De Carmen, where we went to the Tulum Mayan ruins and the Xel-Ha water park. Although we had a blast at the ruins, I would recommend that people spend all day at Xel-Ha. There is so much to do and not enough day. We could have stayed for days.

All of the tour guides were very friendly and professional. Our bus broke down on the way back to the ferry, but the tour guide stayed calm and relaxed and we made it back just in time to catch the tender to the cruise ship. Totally worth it.

Most of the people on board were Texans, and everyone was very friendly. Los Pampas Gauchos was awesome. All in all, it was an incredible experience and we had a wonderful honeymoon. My only regret is not bringing more cash!!








 

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