Name: Karen Messina
Email: VRKaren@aol.com
Age: 36
Occupation: teacher
NumberOfCruises: 2
TravelAgent: No
Ship: RoyalCaribbean-Rhapsody
SailingDate: 08/01/98
Itinerary: Alaska
FoodDiningRoom: 92
CruiseDirector: 90
CabinComfort: 98
FoodRoomService:
CruiseStaff: 90
CabinAmenities: 97
FoodLidoDeck: 85
DiningRoomService: 100
CabinQuietness: 100
FoodMidnightBuffets: 87
CabinSteward: 100
ShoreExcVariety: 100
FoodVariety: 95
DeckService: 98
ShoreExcValue: 80
GoodForHoneymoon:
CasinoStaff: 100
PrivateIsland:
GoodForFamilies: 98
LoungeService: 95
TenderService: 98
GoodForSeniors:
BeautySalonStaff:
EntertainmentLounges: 99
WheelchairAccess:
ExerciseFacilities: 90
EntertShowLounge: 90
OverallPortsofCall: 99
BeautySalon:
EntertainmentPoolside:
CruiseActivities: 97
Casino: 98
AirSeaProgram:
MedicalFacilities:
ShipCleanliness: 92
EmbarkDisembark: 99
DiscoNightclubs: 99
DeckSpace: 98
Stabilization: 99
ShopsOnBoard: 95
SpaceRatio: 96
OverallCruiseValue: 99
Submit: Submit Review
Date: 24 Aug 1998
Time: 04:36:51
Remote Name: 152.163.207.71
Remote User:

Comments

Wow! What a vacation! My husband, 12-year-old son, and I had a wonderful time visiting Alaska aboard the Rhapsody of the Seas on the August 1, 1998
voyage. We joined my father-in-law and four other friends for this cruise. My husband, Ken, has been on several cruises and is a certified cruise addict. I,
on the other hand, have been on only one previous cruise and did not enjoy it at all, (it was a small, older ship with lots of rough sea days). Now I know
what all the fuss is about! The Rhapsody of the Seas is a gorgeous ship. Some of the photos in the brochure made the ship’s decor look a bit gaudy, but I
was pleasantly surprised at how lovely the Rhapsody truly is. The ship seems to have been truly designed for viewing the beauty of Alaska. Most of the
lounges, bars, restaurants, and decks had huge floor-to-ceiling windows. Our cabin had a window as well. It was worth every extra penny of the
upgrade. We visited a friend’s inside room and it felt claustrophobic. Speaking of rooms, our cabin steward, Dave, was wonderful. He always had ice in
the ice bucket and made our room look so nice, especially with the turn down service. Embarkation was a breeze (so was debarkation) and we had no
problems whatsoever. Our luggage was delivered to our cabin within a couple of hours of our arrival (embarkation was at 1:00 although we got on at
12:30). The crew were all very friendly and made us feel welcome. The ‘welcome aboard’ buffet lunch was good. It was the only lunch buffet we
experienced on our trip since we preferred the dining room. Our restaurant staff were professional, courteous, and very friendly. Everyone at our table
was very impressed. Our waiter, Faviz, assured us from the very beginning that he only wanted to please us. True to his word, he cheerfully replaced
unwanted menu items and eagerly brought back seconds for any food item requested. This was very nice since our son can be a bit picky. The food
ranged from good to excellent, with a few exceptions. The dining rooms’ dinner rolls are to die for! We could have made a meal out of the rolls alone.
Also, all of the soups we tried were excellent, especially the chilled ones. The fillet mignon, fish dishes, and Florida orange vinaigrette were wonderful.
Although I did not try any pasta my husband said they were all very tasty with a variety of fresh grated cheeses. I must say that most of the appetizers
looked a bit ho-hum although everyone at our table raved about the nightly smoked fish. I tried a bite and was not impressed. Sorry, I like my fish cooked.
Many of the desserts looked or sounded better than they tasted. We love Creme Brulee, but the ships’ version was obviously from a box. It was an odd
shade of orange and seemed reminiscent of something found in a cafeteria.. By the way, the dining room offered sodas at no additional charge. As for
the Alaskan ports, we visited Juneau, Skagway, Haines, Glacier Bay, and Ketchikan. The excursions were all high priced but some were worth it. Tip: make
sure you purchase excursion tickets early. We took our time and almost missed out on all of the tours. In Juneau we opted for the Juneau Wildlife cruise
and were awed by pods of orcas, humpback whales, porpoises, sea lions, and seals. This was the highlight of our Alaskan vacation. The cost was $85 for
adults and about half the price for kids. Our son loved it as much as we did. In Skagway we took the White Pass Railway trip which cost about $89 each.
Frankly, after all of the rave reviews we have heard about this excursion we expected to be wowed. Instead, we were ready to get off at the top and take
a cab back. The engine fumes really gagged us on the way back (do not sit in the first or last car) and it became unpleasantly warm. There were a lot of
senior citizens on board who enjoyed the ride. For us, this excursion was a bit boring because you are sitting for 3 1/2 hours! I would rather have gone
on a tour of the town. Skagway has a colorful past and we didn’t have enough time to really see everything in town because of the train trip. Our favorite
port was Ketchikan. The day we were in port the weather was drizzly, but even the rain could not hide the charm of this lovely town. We hadn’t made any
excursion plans for Ketchikan so we walked around the town, had lunch on the ship, and then took a $20 per person city bus tour. We bought tickets for
the tour right at the pier and we had a great time seeing Ketchikan. Our tour guide/bus driver knew everyone in town so we heard about the history of
this house or the bear that broke into that store. Our guide took us to see bald eagles (they are huge!), the famous totem pole park, and the main sights
about the town. This was not a posh, sleek-packaged tour but I would recommend it if you really want to get a ‘feel’ for the town and its people. Overall,
our trip was absolutely wonderful. We would highly recommend the Rhapsody of the Seas and look forward to trying out other RCI ships in the future. As
for the ‘negatives’ about our cruise, here they are. Some of our friends complained about loud music above their rooms each night or less than subtle
vibrations in their cabins. We did not experience that. Our room was perfect. As I mentioned above, some of the food looked better than it tasted, but I
think that is to be expected when you are serving 2,000 people. Also, some of the entertainment was very mediocre. We loved a couple of the comedians
(the first and the last ones) but two of the older comedians tried to get laughs by making put-downs about kids, ethnic groups, etc. Sorry, but we did not
laugh. Oh! I forgot to mention that Jim Nabors was terrific! He was so funny and told great stories that had the audience roaring with laughter. No
complaints there. If you have any questions, please write to VRKaren@aol.com.

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