TRIP REPORT -Rhapsody of the Seas -Tampa- January 14 2017!!

[gumbypee]

Ohhh dessert by the pool tv sounds amazing!

it was very fun to chill out there and watch the movie with desserts

 

[DVC_Chris]

We board the Rhapsody in less than three weeks. Do you remember which night formal night was?

 

[gumbypee]

We board the Rhapsody in less than three weeks. Do you remember which night formal night was?

There were two formal nights - night 2 and night 6

Ask any other questions and I will try to help!!

 

[DVC_Chris]

The only other question I have is do you remember what movies they played under the stars?

 

[gumbypee]

The only other question I have is do you remember what movies they played under the stars?

They played:
Father of the Bride
Queen of Katwe
Middle School
Playoff NFL games also

 

[gumbypee]

OK so next day was Costa Maya day!!I heard later that the previous week they couldn't even dock there so we were lucky to dock - it's also known as "Costa Maybe"

So I got up and went to Windjammer for waffles for breakfast then I went to theater to wait to get of the ship. They were still manuevering. My friend was scuba diving and had an excursion a little later.

Time for ship's excursion: Beach Snorkel!

these were some dancers right out front - don't know if it is authentic Mayan stuff or if they were just dancing to get tips LoL (random people in photos)

 

[gumbypee]

I am having compuyer issues - will try to post more when i can....grrrr

 

[gumbypee]

 

[gumbypee]

so back to Beach Snorkel - as I got in the line, Jorge came over and said that the currents were pretty strong and so if we were not strong swimmers or wanted to we were allowed to change tours. I decided to try it anyways.

(My friend who went to scuba dive, all the divers said it was too dangerous but the harbormaster said it was fine - another scuba excursion was cancelled too. since they all thought it was unsafe they did not go - Royal was gracious enough to refund her money back - yay customer service for RCCL!!!)

We took about a ten minute bus ride to Tequila Beach. Then it was off to the snorkel area- life vest, fins, mask, snorkel - check! We got to keep the snorkel too since I guess they buy cheap ones so they don't have to clean them. We walked a bit on the beach, stepped into the water and put our fins on and just started snorkeling there. The current was failry strong but it was doable.

i liked all the grass

puffer fish?

guide picked up starfish

I thought this was cool- I am guessing the current made these stripes

another guide found a conch

saw a turtle too!!! But alas, no pic!

another guide said he saw a moray eel but I didn't see it.

pointing out a yellow stingray!

overall a good snorkel

then it was back to the beach to chill

it was an open bar so I had four rum punches but did not taste any alcohol LOL

laid out, red book, went in water, all for a few hours and then off to find taxi that was included. Got back to port and walked around then took the long walk back to ship. Got onboard and showered and got sand all over the bathroom - sorry Hippolito (stateroom attendant) Off to Windjammer for very late lunch

 

[rndmr2]

Sounds like a fun excursion. My DH and I went on a Princess cruise on our Honeymoon (2003) to the Western Caribbean (we did Cozumel, Costa Maya, Grand Cayman and the Princess island, they weren't doing Roatan or Belize back then). We had a nice beach day in Costa Maya, it was pretty windy, looks like you were having wind too from the Palm trees in your pics. Was the water pretty warm?

 

[gumbypee]

Sounds like a fun excursion. My DH and I went on a Princess cruise on our Honeymoon (2003) to the Western Caribbean (we did Cozumel, Costa Maya, Grand Cayman and the Princess island, they weren't doing Roatan or Belize back then). We had a nice beach day in Costa Maya, it was pretty windy, looks like you were having wind too from the Palm trees in your pics. Was the water pretty warm?

The water was a little cool but not too bad. Very easy to get used to it in like a minute. I kept going back in the water to cool off after laying out and having the sun beating down!

 

[mevelandry]

The ship is beautiful!!!

 

[gumbypee]

The ship is beautiful!!!

yes she is! She seemed very well taken care of and very clean

 

[DnA2010]

Great report! We've been on Oasis and Freedom

 

[gumbypee]

Great report! We've been on Oasis and Freedom

glad you are enjoying it - it is fun to relive it. What did you think of Oasis? That is a mega ship, right?

 

[gumbypee]

After the shower, I went to Windjammer for a late lunch of pizza, pasta, and of course strawberry-kiwi water

Then I went to Shall We Dance Lounge for Cha Cha class

artsy fartsy attempt

I was hoping more people would show up for the Cha Cha class but there were only a few. It wasn't like other dance classes I have been to (I do East Coast Swing and Lindy Hop for fun) where you dance in a circle and switch partners every few minutes. This was for "couples" so I became a guy/lead and danced with this other lady. It was fun still but I prefer to be a follow.

Then a group on board was teaching a flash mob dance (I forget the name but it was for a group against domestic violence against women or something like that and the nation wide flash mob was going to be in February I think)

Then I went next door to the Schooner Bar for Tribond Trivia - what do three things have in common? example: a cruise ship, a truck, river? answer: beds. It was hard!! I only got 8 out of 15!

Then I went up to pool deck to meet my friend and we had dinner at at Windjammer. I just made a sandwich out of chicken, cheese, and rolls.

We went to Theater for comedian/magician guy at 6:30 and he was pretty good and entertaining. After that we went and watched the Paradce of Flags in the Centrum. Crew members representing different countries had their flags and they announced how many crew from each country. It was cool. Over 800 crew members onboard from 62 countries. Back to Windjammer to bring cookies back to room to chill (notice how much we liked the cookes?!?!)

This was waiting for us:

cruise director Patricio (I think that was his name)

yes, i took a picture of a plastic tree (I didnt realize it was fake to the amusement of my friend)

 

[Shanna-like-Banana]

Great report! We've been on Oasis and Freedom

If you could point out some of the biggest differences between the ships from a passengers perspective, what would be your top 5 items between the Oasis vs Rhapsody ?

My Girl Scout troop is looking into another cruise, some of us are leaning toward wanting to go on the Oasis and some are leaning toward the alternating routes the Rhapsody takes.

 

[Mrsjvb]

If you could point out some of the biggest differences between the ships from a passengers perspective, what would be your top 5 items between the Oasis vs Rhapsody ?

My Girl Scout troop is looking into another cruise, some of us are leaning toward wanting to go on the Oasis and some are leaning toward the alternating routes the Rhapsody takes.

you are basically talking about the largest most bells and whistles laden ship versus the smallest least tricked out ship( I am not counting Majesty and Empress which are classes unto themselves as far as raison d'etre)

Oasis class ships will have the most on board activities that would appeal to pre teen and teen girls.

 

[gumbypee]

If you could point out some of the biggest differences between the ships from a passengers perspective, what would be your top 5 items between the Oasis vs Rhapsody ?

My Girl Scout troop is looking into another cruise, some of us are leaning toward wanting to go on the Oasis and some are leaning toward the alternating routes the Rhapsody takes.

Personally I choose the cruises based on locations of ports I go to. And location of port I am close to. so that is how i ended up on Rhapsody. I was a little worried about smallness but I realized I LIKE smaller ships. I think the mega ships would be too big for me. The entertainment was fine, like trivia and line dances and stuff but the nighttime shows were a little lackluster. I like the broadway style shows on Disney ships. I havent been on oasis so I can't really give a comparison. There was a rock climbing wall. But I don't know what the kids clubs and teen clubs were like.

sorry for rambling - watching super bowl and typing LOL

 

[gumbypee]

Thursday, January 19 - Cozumel Day!

Walked right out for my Island Roots and Chocolate Traditions tour. We drove out to Mayan Cacao Company and on way Edwin, the guide, told us about Cozumel. He was actually from Mayan descent and spoke Mayan, Spanish, and English. Boas are not native to Cozumel bit Hollywood brought some over to film Tarzan and left a few behind. They ate up all monkeys and some birds. They have programs to catch and release them back on mainland. Six cruise ships were in port that day. Chocolate place:

In Mayan it was two words: Choco latte (my spelling) but the Spaniards mispronounced it as one word, chocolate. It was used as currency too and this was a cool poster

We saw another guide give a demo on making chocolate from the beans, rolling them out, adding old spice, cinnamon, and paprika (to give a red color - used to be made with blood so the paprika coloring was symbolic) That was how Mayans made.

We got a small cup of 90% chocolate. It was ok, a bit bitter. you could add spices but I drank as it was

Then into the gift shop where there were samples of chocolates to try that you could buy.