From :  jjm11@pdq.net (Jack McKeon)
Subject :    Review
Date :    Mon, 16 Dec 2002 16:31:33 -0500
 
This was our tenth cruise, second on RCCI.  We had sailed on Rhapsody's sister ship, Grandeur, a few years ago.  One of the biggest draws was sailing out of Galveston as we live about 25 miles north of Houston.  Avoiding air travel was a delight.  To arrive at the terminal, don't follow the directions on the Galveston Cruises website.  Go past 25th Street to the next light and make a left.  You go right by Fisherman's Wharf.  Drop off your spouse with the luggage and take the car to the designated parking lot.  Free shuttles take you to the ship.  It is best to designate a meeting place - "bottom of escalator" or "top of escalator."  You must then pass through security.  There is an alcohol confiscation table, so if you plan to bring spirits on board, make sure it is well camouflaged.  Checking in is immensely easier and faster if you fill out the online embarkation forms ahead of time.  All your data are in the computer and the agent does not have to type in your handwritten information.  And that's it!

The trip on Rhapsody is an excellent value.  Not all that expensive and the food and service were as expected.  We ate in the dining room every night and dressed formally on two nights.  Only about 20% of the men wore tuxedos; but it makes packing so much easier.  There was no semiformal night, every other night was casual.  There is one feature at dinner we took advantage of - Wine and Dine.  Rhapsody's wine list is fairly limited with no premium labels available.  But they offer wine with dinner for the seven nights from a more limited list for $109 plus 15%.  I felt this was an excellent value.  Several bartenders advised us not to purchase the discount card because it wasn't a good value.  If you drink a lot of beer, you would be paying $3.25 for beer you buy for $2.75 undividually.  Plus, if you use it for spirits and pay less, you reduce the tip income of the bartenders.

At Key West we rode on the restored PT boat.  What a kick!  Once out past the marker buoys, the Capt increased speed to 40 knots and toured some historical points.  He then began making torpedo runs at some of the tour  boats.  He would race at their broadside at 40 knots, execute a sharp turn at 100 feet and his mate would fire a shotgun blast to simulate the torpedo.  I would love to get some feedback from anyone on one of those boats as to what it was like to see us racing toward them at that speed.  I know everyone enjoyed themselves on this excursion.  At Cozumel we took the Jeep Safari.  Jeeps that have only been four-wheeling and have 70,000 kilometers on the odometer aren't in the best of shape.  A couple did break down on our journey, but the guides took care of them.  The secret of enjoyable four-wheeling is to go slow.  Not everyone knew this and there were some sore backsides afterwards.  The road to the beach is very rocky and causes a lot of jarring if you're going too fast.  If you're able to shift into second, you're probably going too fast.  We didn't go ashore at Belize and got mixed reports from those who did. Some vowing they'd never go again.  But other had a great time cave tubing - no crocs but lots of bats.  We booked the excursions online about two weeks prior to the cruise.

I would recommend this cruise to anyone looking for an excellent value, especially if it convenient to drive to Galveston.

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