Review--Rhapsody of the Seas--August 26, 2007

Rhapsody of the Seas Review 8.26.2007

Just The Facts
Rhapsody of the Seas
August 26-September 1, 2007
Captain: Olav Gunner Nysetter
Cruise Director: Eric Dowis
Ports: Galveston-Cozumel-Roatan-Playa del Carman-Progreso-Galveston
Weather: Good all week, hot during the day.

This cruise was booked while on board last year and is scheduled as the FINAL round trip sailing from Galveston. This was our forth time on the Rhapsody which is DW’s favorite ship.

Day Zero--Saturday
We have very dear friends (DF’s) Scott & Nancy, who have never sailed before, sailing with us on this cruise. They met us at our place so we actually began with a pre cruise party, test sampling several pitchers of mojitos while preparing for the weeks events.

Day One--Sunday--Embarkation
We left the ranch at 6:00 a.m. and had an easy drive to Galveston. We were early, about 10:45 a.m. so we dropped the passengers and luggage at the pier and took the car to EZ Cruise parking. (It was Cathy, the managers, Birthday.) DF’s needed luggage tags so they had that all worked out by the time I walked back to the pier from EZ Cruise. We checked in without problem and proceeded to the waiting area. Our last RH cruise boarded at 11:25, but we didn’t board until noon so there were a lot of people in the waiting area. We boarded with group one and were on the ship in good order.

The Windjammer buffet is again very good, especially the roast beef. Our cabin was ready at 1:15 so we dropped off our bags and took DF’s on a tour of the ship. We had our first cocktail in the Viking Crown Lounge. We returned to the cabin and our checked bags were inside, it’s great to be unpacked and settled before muster drill. Our C-C group had prearranged to wear mardi gras beads so it was easy to see many of our online friends following muster drill. I wore my Cruise Critic T-shirt during the day so many folks introduced themselves which was great, as we will be spending more time with our first time cruising DF’s this time out. We had a visit to the Windjammer as dinner is so late and they had a wonderful Stir-Fry bar set up which is one of the new items featured. The Welcome Aboard Show was at 8:00 pm for both seating. The CD is Eric Dowis and the entertainment for the welcome show was Los Pampas Gauchos. I can see they have gone to fewer comedians and more visual entertainment before the Asia trip. We have late seating in the dining room as requested. We have a nice 6 top table with Lisa and Chris, our new BFFW (best friends for a week) a honeymooning couple (mid 30’s) from Wales. Dinner was good. The Vidalia onion tart and Tuscan soup were best. I had the recommended seafood but should have gone for the steak from the alternative menu. We retired early this evening.

Day Two--Monday--at Sea
We slept in this morning then had room service breakfast on the balcony. Relaxed in the solarium until the Cocktail Seminar in the Shall We Dance Lounge. We had four drinks: Cosmopolitan, Bahama Mama, Yellow Bird, & BBC. Our little group of DF’s & BFFW had great fun. I missed our scheduled C-C Meet & Mingle as it was scheduled at the same time as the Cocktail Seminar. We had a late Windjammer lunch then an afternoon nap. Our DF’s met us for wine, cheese & fruit in our cabin/balcony prior to the Captain’s Reception. We have been on board as long as Captain Olav as he has just joined the ship. Formal dinner was very good. I had shrimp cocktail, escargot, beef, & Grand Mariner soufflé for desert. We had a 30th Anniversary cake delivered for our DF’s and it came with the the waiters singing the RCL standard “Happy Versary to You” We were really the very last to leave the dining room this evening.

Day Three--Tuesday--Cozumel
The weather is again very nice. Calm seas, fair winds. We began with small early room service breakfast on the balcony as they woke us up with a phone call. I later met our DF’s in the dining room for proper breakfast. One of the waiters recognized me from a previous cruise which was very interesting. I had the eggs benedict which were good. We left the ship about 10:00 and rented a jeep for the day. Our goal was to go to Playa Bonita, but were told that the road wasn’t open on the ‘wild side’ due to hurricane Dean last week. We stopped first at Paradise Beach for a round of drinks. It was crowded, but I did hit the water just to cool off. We were off to attempt the circle of the island. We stopped at Punta Sur just to view the waves and the park was closed due to the road into the park being completely washed out. The main road around the island was also washed out in several locations on the ‘wild side’; however, we were able to make it all the way to Playa Bonita. Ricky our favorite waiter was there (12 years) and we got a table on the patio. The girls had a special sangria drink and Dos XX for the guys. The water was fantastic once you got past a bit of hurricane debris (just broken coral, fans, shells, etc.) along the first few feet of surf. After some guacamole and chips we headed for San Migel. We went to Havana Blue for mojitos, which were excellent. The girls went shopping and the guys went to Panchos Backyard for a late lunch. We had a great day in Cozumel and we returned to the ship about 4:30 . On board we relaxed and cooled off in the pool. We attended the production show, Piano Man, in the theater which was before late seating dining. The show was very good. They have four new feature singers from our RH cruise six months ago. They were younger, but IMHO better. Dinner was good. Maryland Crab cake, Salad, Pork Chop, and Baked Alaska were my selections. We enjoyed the balcony for a while before retiring.

Day Four--Wednesday--Roatan
I had a Windjammer breakfast and DW had room service on the balcony. We have been to Roatan several times, but this was the first time we have been able to see the mainland of Honduras. Very impressive with the large mountain ranges. Usually they are covered in clouds, but it was a very clear morning (you couldn’t see them after noon). Since we have been here many times we had nothing major planned. Our DF’s took an all-day island tour and we took a bicycle taxi to Coxen Hole and walked down hill back to the ship looking at a few shops on the way. Lunch in Windjammer which I have found consistently has very good lunch selections. My choices were: corned beef, pork cutlets, sweet & sour chicken. When not eating today we enjoyed the ship, especially the Solarium. We had drinks with fruit & cheese on the balcony for sail away. The show was before dinner and featured comedian/singer Roger Behr who had a great act. Dinner was very good, I had the Steak from the alternative menu, Jalapeño potato soup and the BBB for desert. The service was excellent and again we were last to leave the dining room as the company was so good.

Day Five--Thursday--Playa del Carmen
We were originally scheduled to stop at Costa Maya on this day, but it was hit by Hurricane Dean last week and the pier was destroyed. PDC is a good replacement port. I had a dining room breakfast this morning. Good, but the room service and Windjammer breakfasts are equally as good. We stayed on the ship and swam while most pax were concerning themselves with tender tickets and going ashore. After a Windjammer lunch we took the tender to Playa del Carmen. I found a Cuban Bar right away and hung there while the others shopped. Very good mojitos @ 50 pesos each. Didn’t do much else as it was very hot and we returned to the ship by 4:00. This would be an excellent place to take a tour to Tulum, go to Xcaret, or take excursions, but we were in Playa twice last year so we just took it easy this year. Did not want to fight crowds in the heat. DW headed back to the solarium for a swim. We hosted our own party on the balcony rather than attend the Crown & Anchor get together. We again ordered fruit and cheese plates to snack on and enjoyed cocktails with DF’s and BFFW. Tonight is the second formal night. Lobster was the choice for most at dinner and yes a second lobster was available to those who wished. I thought the dinner was good, but not great. The production show was Pure Country and it was very good. Also later was the Gala Buffet at midnight. Didn’t make it after the lobster, but heard it was great.

Day Six--Friday--Progreso
We arrived at Progreso about 10:00 a.m. in fact a bit early. I was able to get down to deck 1 just as they cleared the ship and was actually the 1st person off the ship. I wanted to get off early to assure that we could get a rental car. They do not have that many at the pier. We got a nice 4-door sedan and began our day by driving to Dzibilchaltun Mayan ruins and Museum. We had been before but our DF’s had not. It was interesting, but very hot. I did enjoy a swim in the Cenote. From there we drove to Xcambo to see those Mayan ruins. These were smaller but again very interesting and located near the coast and the Laguna Rosada which is the home to large groups of Flamingos. There were many more Flamingos than we had seen in previous trips, but we had not gone all the way to Laguna Rosada either. We then headed back to Progreso and our favorite restaurant/bar, Le Saint Bonnet. We always set on the bar side as we linger to enjoy drinks as well as the food. My old friend Carlos remembered me AND the number of times I had visited. DW bought some very nice embroidery pieces from roaming Mayan vendors and we enjoyed a few mariachis while relaxing in the bar. DW believes this port has the best shopping values of any of the ports. We returned the rental car about 6:30 and enjoyed the large mariachis band playing in the pier area from the aft balcony which faces the pier since the Rhapsody backs into the dock area. Dinner was scheduled for 8:45 tonight due to late port departure. I had shrimp cocktail and the NY strip steak. The DF’s & BFFW visited the Viking Lounge, but too much port fun for the old timers.

Day Seven--Saturday--Sept. 1st--at Sea
It rained during the night, but the weather is clear and the seas are very smooth. Room service breakfast again this morning. Relaxing in the solarium pool area is the agenda of the day. Another good location for relaxation and sun is on deck five (muster/lifeboat) deck. I had my first lunch in the dining room just to check it and it was good, I had the Buffalo chicken sandwich. The guys played the Ultimate Trivia, but didn’t even get close. Who know how many ridges are on the edge of a dime? (118) I also had to check tea in the Windjammer just because I hadn’t all week. The scones were very good and they had a great selection of sandwiches, tacos, finger foods, etc.

Flourescence was the show preceding the final farewell production show. Tonight is unique as it’s the farewell show for both the RH Galveston sailing's and the entire group of singers and dancers. The troupe were able to perform their own selections and interpretive dances. It was very good. Some acts better than others. The Friendship Celebration Parade between dinners was both sad and interesting as they did play up the fact that they were sorry to be leaving Galveston, the Rhapsody's home port for five years. The final dinner was as usual very good. I had the Chicken Marsala. The melting chocolate cake was a great desert. A final farewell to the waiters and new friends. We skipped the late shows in order to pack and be up early the next morning.

Debarkation--Sunday
No room service on debarkation morning. We had some milk and snacks we had saved. This was Captain Olav's first docking in Galveston and he did take his time in the turning basin. It did allow us time to see the dolphins in the harbor, we didn't see any at sail away. We also had a good view of the aft balcony cabin on the Conquest we will have in a few weeks. We did the self assist debarkation and it went fairly well. I picked up the car and drove back to pick up the others. It went fairly slow but we were still off the island by 8:45 am. Brunch at Ana’s in Hearne, Texas, famous for great miga's. Home by 1:45 p.m.

Ship
I do think that the Rhapsody has gone through a transition and we’ll see if it keeps its reputation as the Friendliest Ship on the Seas. Yes there was vibration, and more than on our previous RH cruises. I really like the changes in the Windjammer, but DW said she liked the previous layout. There are more individual smaller stations for food, salad, breads, and one station that alternates from a Stir Fry Bar, Deli Bar, Pasta Bar, etc. that is excellent. The passageways are narrow on Rhapsody so be careful. Again, yes the vibration is much more noticeable, but we are on a moving ship.

Crew
The staff and crew are very good. Our waiter Cleo from India and his assistant from China were very good. The head waiter, Chris from England, was unique and reminded DW of a Harry Potter house elf. Our cabin steward, from China, was very good. He went above and beyond usual tasks and cleaning. The staff is very Asian oriented now. Most from China, but also Indonesia, India, and the Philippines. Less from Eastern Europe, Caribbean, and Americas. The Asian crew are very good. Sometimes there would be a language barrier, but they are so willing to help in any way. Eric, the cruise director is very good, not too much, if you know what I mean. He’s taking a vacation following this cruise coming back when the Voyager arrives in Galveston. I look forward to seeing him on the Voyager.

Cabin
We had cabin 7652 which is an aft with the large extended wrap balcony. We had booked this last year on The RH in order to get this cabin. When we arrived the bathroom had a sour smell. We notified our Steward and he said he would really clean well that evening. He did and it was fine. There are no public aft stairs so it is a long walk to the elevator/stairs mid ship. The advantage of this cabin is the large balcony and we used it this voyage.

Food
If you have read this far you probably have figuired out that I like food. The new room service breakfast menu has fewer selections than previously, but still more than most cruise lines, so it is a great option. Our two favorite room service items are the fruit plate and the cheese plate. They did not disappoint. The cheese plate consists of five different cheeses and garnished with a few strawberries, walnuts, and dried apricots. It is served with water biscuits or saltines. The fruit plate has grapes. pineapple, kiwi, melon, strawberry, and orange slice. It is garnished with mint. Both are great. Lunch is the same menu each day with one special item that does change daily. All the bread selections are very good on board. The Windjammer buffet is also very good and better than many other lines. I actually prefer the Windjammer luncheon by far over the dining room. Many more selections and variety of food. There are ice creme and yogurt machines.

Needs Improvement
The water jets on the entry steps of the Solarium pool never worked. Loyalty Ambassador.

Final
We really enjoyed the cruise and met some very nice people including many C-C members and we had an excellent dinner table group. The weather was fantastic all week although hot during the day. Another great cruise!

Flamingos at Laguna Rosada

Review--Grand Princess--March 17, 2007

Review--Grand Princess--March 17, 2007
Just The Facts
Grand Princess
March 17-March 24, 2007
Captain: Edward Perrin
Cruise Director: James Ibrahim
Ports: Galveston-Costa Maya-Roatan-Belize-Cozumel-Galveston
Weather: Excellent all week

Day 1-Embarkation- Woke early to finish packing and also checked the Galveston Harbor Cam web site. The Grand is not yet docked, which is a worrisome thing. You want to see your ship before beginning the drive. We left the Ranch about 6:30 and drove strait through without major delays so we decided if possible to drop off the bags at the pier before parking at EZ Cruise. We had spotted the Grand while crossing the Galveston Island bridge so no worries. It was only a bit late as we found out. We dropped the bags and DW at terminal one just after 11:00 a.m. I went to EZ Cruise and parked without problem. There was a long line of people waiting to board shuttles with their bags for the pier so we did the right thing. I just walked the 2+ blocks. A slight delay waiting for security, but the line ran smoothly. After we cleared security we went to the “priority check in” and we were checked in without a wait. They had not begun boarding so we made our way to the waiting area and we were taken to the priority area which was just a few seats along the wall beyond the waiting area. The person who took us began the boarding process so our timing on everything was perfect. We were onboard about 11:45. We took our bags to the cabin and luckily it was ready and available. We went down to the Divinci dining room and it was not serving. Only big disappointment of the day. We went to the buffet and it was OK, but I had my heart set on the dining room. After lunch we went to the cabin to rest and relax. The thermostat didn’t work so we told our steward who said she reported it. The fan was blowing hot air, but we left the verandah door open which neutralized the temperature. We exchanged our “elite’ bar for items we would use while waiting. Our bags came fairly quickly. We were unpacked and settled in by 2:30. We had our own welcome aboard drinks on the balcony and watched all the activity of ‘sailing/turn around day at the pier. The weather was wonderful and there were a lot of people walking around Galveston and the Strand. The balcony on deck 14 give you a great view across the island.

After muster drill we met the Cruise Critic roll-call group at the Oasis bar. A very well attended event and a good mixer. We met so many wonderful people. We attended the Welcome Show and met the new CD, James Ibrahim. The comedian was Cary Long who was good. We have late sitting dinner in the Botticelli at 8:15. A nice table completely aft in the dining room. I had shrimp cocktail, mushroom soup and the prime rib. It was good, but not super. Got off to rocky start with waiter, I waited for a menu for a long while after being seated although everyone else had a menu. Also didn’t serve or offer condiments for my iced tea. We’ll see how that works out tomorrow night. Following dinner we went to the cabin and it was like a sauna. Very hot. We called the purser and they sent someone right away. They worked on a temporary fix so I went to the casino and played the Texas hold’em table. I could only last until 1:00 a.m. and just did OK. It was very interesting though. The table was nonsmoking which was nice. The cabin was cooler by the time I got back, so no major problem.

Day 2-at sea- The weather is nice, perhaps a bit cool. I had breakfast, Eggs Benedict, in the dining room and it was very good. They have a different specialty item each morning and I want to again try each during the week. I visited the internet cafe and the connections were good considering we are at sea. Not as crowed as usual. The new system for platinum & elite seems very simple. I think 90% will never notice a difference. I don’t consider it a down grade of benefits at all. Since you no longer swipe your card, it keeps people from opening a row of computers for their kids to play games. Maintenance came to the cabin to fix the thermostat and something in the blower itself. Seems to work fine now. We passed the Ecstasy going south at about 11:30. I ate lunch, Red Snapper, in the dining room. and DW had a buffet from Horizon court and ate on the balcony. We took a nap and missed tea so we ordered light snacks for the cabin. This is formal night and the Captains Gala Cocktail Party. For dinner I had the tournedos of beef and a soufflé for desert. Very good and the service was excellent tonight. We went to the Princess Theater and saw the production show Cinematastic. This was the third time we have seen this show and I found myself concentrating on the ‘dance captain' who we met on a previous cruise. What a bundle of energy. After the show we went to the casino. Tonight is no smoking night in the casino. It seem to be very busy and very noticeable was that people were much better dressed. My thought is yes they get more people than normal and the dinner dress indicates perhaps ‘new’ people into the casino. We went by the Horizon court late as our cabin is on Lido deck. DW was impressed with the selection that late. I made a little desert/fruit plate to take back to the cabin. Tonight we set our clocks back one hour. I think this will place ships time and all our ports on the same time.

Day 3-Costa Maya-The weather is beautiful this morning. Eggs Florentine was the feature breakfast in the dining room and it was good. We docked in Costa Maya next to the Carnival Liberty. From our balcony, which is only about six cabins from the bridge, we have a perfect view of the Captain maneuvering the ship into dock. He backed it into the inner side of the pier. A+ Just after we docked the Carnival Holiday docked in the 3rd position. It was interesting contrasting the newest and oldest of the Carnival ships. Our balcony cabin faced the Liberty so it was also easy to compare the Grand with the Liberty as well. The Liberty seem to be at least one deck higher than the Grand. A nice looking ship.

We went to shore about noon and met up with Cruise Critic friends at El Faro in Mahahual. Spent the afternoon enjoying: mojitos, mariachis and good company. Mojito Monday was quite fun. The ship sailed on time at 6:00 p.m. We had in cabin tea delivered to our cabin and we had our own sail away party on the balcony. Amazingly the Costa Maya Harbor Master tied down the Liberty and wouldn’t allow her to leave. I’m anxious to hear what that was all about. We watched until we could no longer see her. I read on the internet that she was still there very late into the evening.

Tonight is Italian night in the dining room. The eggplant parmesan was excellent, my favorite dish on the Grand. I had it as both appetizer and entree. Tiramisu for desert. Mojito Monday had caught up with me so I retired after dinner.

Day 4-Roatan- It was cloudy very early but cleared by midmorning. The featured breakfast was a special French Toast and DW actually joined me for breakfast this morning. We decided to stay aboard ship today. This was our forth visit to Roatan and we have seen and done almost everything on the island. We enjoyed time at the spa pool, lunch in dining room, internet cafe, and the cabin. Again enjoyed sail away from the balcony. We left at 5:00 and it was still very much daylight and a beautiful day. The sea was like glass. It was Caribbean night in the dining room, one of the weaker menus so I had the New York strip steak which was good. The Caribbean Party is now amidship on Lido deck which is very nice, you can’t use MUTS for movies, but they showed live shots of the party. The poker tables and satellite tournament were full this evening.

Day 5-Belize- Another beautiful day in the Caribbean. Huevos Rancheros was the breakfast in the dining room and very good. My plan today is to go to Caye Caulker and DW, who usually stays aboard in Belize, decided she would go ashore as well. After tendering to Belize City I went to see my friend Marvin at Ecological Tours and he agreed to let us ride one of his snorkel boats over and and back to Caye Caulker. The ride over was rough as we were fighting the ‘easterly' and current. The ‘easterly' winds did provide a great cool breeze off of the caribbean all day though. The boat dropped us off about 11:30 am and this gave us a full 3+ hours on the island. First stop was the Wet Lizard located at the split. Alma is still tending bar. The split had a lot of young folks enjoying the water and sun. Several Bilikins later we began our tour of the island. This is a very laid-back out of the way location with sandy streets and no vehicles. Beautiful boutique looking buildings painted in pastels with palm trees and beach everywhere you look. You can easily see from one side of the island to the other. We bought some banana bread and a meat pie from a bicycle vendor and it was quite good. His wife made them fresh that morning. We met the snorkeling group and returned to Belize City. Much smoother and faster return. We tendered back to the ship by 4:15.

This was the second formal night. Dinner was very good. Escargot was the appetizer and I had the Beef tournedos of beef with lobster. Before retiring we attended the Motor City show which was very good.
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Day 6-Cozumel-Again another beautiful day. The Lumberjack breakfast was featured in the dining room. This is the best of the specialty breakfasts. There were six ships in port for only four berths. International pier can now dock two ships which is a recent development. It does help the odds. We were fortunate that we docked at Punta Langosta which is walking distance of town. The Ecstasy was opposite us. We went to town about 10:00 a.m. and went by Mayan Pearl to see Nelly. I got a haircut at Antonio’s while DW shopped. We went down to Havana Blue for mojitos. Jorge still makes the best mojitos in the Caribbean IMHO. We took a taxi back to the ship about 1:30 pm. in time for lunch in the dining room. I took a nap and DW went to a movie in the Princess theater. We watched the sail away and saw two people rushing to the boat as we pulled away. They boarded the pilot boat and caught the ship coming up the rope ladder. Both were crew members who worked in the casino. We ate with friends taking advantage of the ‘anytime dining’. We may just have to try that next cruise. Dinner tonight was good. I had the crab legs. This was also French onion soup night-very good. Following dinner I played Texas Hold’em until very late. Guess who the dealer was...yes one of the late crew members. He supposedly forgot to change his watch back earlier in the cruise so he was off ships time. We also had to set our clocks forward tonight which was easy to do since I was still awake.

Day 7-at Sea-Seas were a little higher overnight, but nothing compared to the last Grand cruise. We got fruit from Horizon court and ate on the balcony. We have caught up with the Ecstasy who left Cozumel two hours ahead of us. Nice watching her from the balcony and we passed her before noon.

We were again invited to the Captains Luncheon as we are frequent cruisers. We sat with Passenger Services Director Franco Consavari & his lovely wife Jo. Franco is head of all Hotel services on board. The food & desert was very good, I had the lamb. We talked with the Captain and also saw Chief Technical Officer John Bates and his wife Linda. We had met John & Linda previously and really enjoy them. Also a chance to meet some of the other officers aboard ship.

We went to afternoon tea and enjoyed the scones which are very good. We walked around the ship and enjoyed the day. We went to the Farewell Variety show featuring Chris Linn and Rollin’Jay Moore. Farewell Dinner was good. I had prime rib. The Baked Alaska parade has returned and it was a very good dessert. Time to cash casino chips and settle sail card account. Did well on poker table, covered the on board account and coming home with some extra pocket $. We returned to the cabin to pack and prepare for debarkation which took the rest of the evening.

Debarkation-We arrive in Galveston and were docked at about 7:00 a.m. They did use a tug to assist the turn around in the turning basin. We are doing self-debarkation and were assigned numbers 350-351. We went to the Vista Lounge about 7:20 and I was a bit worried about going the opposite direction of the gangway. Soon they called for the 100 & 200 numbers and shortly afterward called the 300’s. We got off in very good shape. They had four + customs agents working on the pier-no problems. We walked over to EZ Cruise parking and were pulling out of the parking lot at 8:00 a.m. Arrived home about 1:00 p.m..

Ship / PAX: All the public rooms were well maintained and very clean. The ship doesn’t look worn in any way. There are lots of spaces for various cruise activities on all the public decks. There were a lot of people from Oklahoma and Kansas on board as it is ‘spring break’ for them. More kids than we are used to, but all in all it was a good mix of passengers. Princess did add a group of "Youth Security" personnel due to spring break season. They seemed to have everything under control.

Cabin: We were in a starboard side Lido deck balcony a little more forward than in December. Very good view of the bridge. We did have the new bedding this cruise (didn’t in December). The cabins are smaller than Carnival and does not have a couch. Smaller closets and bath area storage than RCL and Carnival. The cabin is quite adequate though. There was the bar set up and some of the other Elite perks. MaryAnn our Stateroom Steward was good. The cabin safe uses a code. Once the air conditioning problems were fixed all was fine. No towel animals, but none were expected. Just a nice clean cabin.

Food: As many know the Horizon Court set up is probably not ideal. The food was good though. And food is available 24 hours. Very good to excellent food in the dining room. The wait service is generally the best of any cruise line I have experienced. Our waiter, Nick, from Romania was good. Most all the staff are good. We may use ‘Anytime’ next cruise, but you would miss out on some specialty items such as Baked Alaska, Bananas Foster, etc. The sandwiches served at tea are smaller, probably more like proper tea sandwiches. Previously they were on small rolls and croissants and ‘man sized’ tea sandwiches.

3 Suggestions: A line for Elite/Platinum guests at Pursers office. Missed the sea bass usually served on 1st sea day. Review sail accounts on television.

Cruise: We had a great time on this cruise, but usually always do. Everything is so well done and the crew is outstanding. It’s a shame that the Grand isn’t returning to Galveston next year. The Crew or staff would not confirm any rumors about any other Princess ship coming to the new Houston Cruise Ship Terminal in 2008/9 other than what most of us already suspect.
Again, we loved the ports of call on this sailing. We also had a wonderful time with the new friends we met on board. This cruise goes down as one of our better cruises.

Most Improved/Best Improvement: Photographers. On our previous Grand cruises the photographers were very intrusive. Especially during dinner and sometimes on debarkation in ports. One girl in particular in December we avoided like the plague. After rearranging our dinner table in the middle of eating for a photo we swore off photographers especially her. She also actually accosted us upon leaving the ship for walking around her little barrier she set up. It was unsafe, held up debarkation, and a huge inconvenience to those who didn’t want photos. Very bad form. There are plenty of photo opportunities for passengers without accosting passengers. Not EVERYONE wants a photo. On this cruise the photographers were polite and would pass if told a photo was not wanted. A much needed improvement, one I also mentioned to Franco Consavari at the Captains lunch.

Link to great photos of this cruise by our friend John:
http://jisgren.smugmug.com/gallery/2626691/1/138643856#138643856

Review--Shark Ray Alley Snorkel & Caye Caulker Tour

Review--Shark Ray Alley Snorkel & Caye Caulker Beach Tour
Ecological Tours & Services--Belize C.A.

I have had the pleasure of taking the Snorkel & Reef tour offered by Ecological Tours / Wet ‘n Wild on a couple of occasions while in Belize. It is a very simple process to meet the tours at the pier in Belize City. You can check-in at the Ecological Tours kiosk located directly on the front of the boardwalk where the cruise ship tenders dock. They have several boats which leave in the morning and return you well before the last tender back to your cruise ship is scheduled to leave. A typical tour consists of a 30-40 minute trip to the barrier reef and a snorkeling opportunity at Caye Caulker Marine Reserve and Coral Gardens which is a protected underwater national park. The park and reef area have a large number of tropical fish and eels in addition to the beautiful coral and reef. You also visit the Shark/Stingray alley for opportunities to view stingrays, nurse sharks, barracuda and other sea life. All snorkel gear and instruction is included. Following your water adventures you have 45+ minutes on Caye Caulker for lunch and to visit the unique shops on this remote barrier island.

I really enjoyed my tours with Ecological Tours and would highly recommend them to anyone.

They also offer tours for cave-tubing and into the interior.

http://www.ecotoursbelize.com/snorkeling.html

Norway Photo from long ago

Not really a review, but interesting.......

My dear wife is a volunteer at the local theater. The next play takes place in the 1970-80's and they mention going on a cruise in the dialogue. She asked me if I had any old photos they could use to place as a prop on the stage. I searched the old cruise box and came up with this photo. It's 25 years old this year I believe.

Review--Rhapsody of the Seas--January 14, 2007

Rhapsody of the Seas January 14-21, 2007

Just The Facts
Rhapsody of the Seas
January 14-January 21, 2007
Captain: Anders Ingebrigtsen
Cruise Director: Abe Hughes
Ports: Galveston-Key West-Grand Cayman-Cozumel-Galveston
Weather: Excellent all week

This cruise was booked while on board last year. This was our third time on the Rhapsody which is DW’s favorite ship.

Day Zero--Saturday--Travel
Usually we drive down to Galveston on the day of debarkation; however, there is an ice storm forecast for our area and ice has begun to form on the trees by our house. (We do live on a mountain). We quickly finished packing and left for Galveston just after 1:00 pm. We got out of ice danger by Waco, but it did rain the entire way to Houston. The temperature got warmer the further south we went. We had a great Mexican dinner at Mary’s Alamo Cafe in Hearne, Texas. We arrived at the LaQuinta in the west beach area of Galveston just after 6:00 pm. The room was a very large suite. No Gaidos because of the big late lunch. We did enjoy the movie, Wedding Crashers, which was featured that night. Following the movie I went to get a snack and there was a wedding party staying on our floor. Interesting.

Day One--Sunday--Embarkation
We enjoyed a casual morning especially knowing we were already in Galveston. It is very foggy, but the Galveston harbor web cam showed the ships already in port so there was no fear about delays. We dropped our bags off at terminal two about 10:45 am and drove to EZCruise parking. We walked back to the terminal and was checked in by 11:25 am. A short wait and they began boarding at 11:35 (scheduled for 11:45 on sign). We were on board by 11:40 waiting for the Windjammer to open at noon. The Windjammer buffet is again very good, especially the roast beef. Our cabin was late being ready so we toured the ship. We noticed our bags in the elevator area of our deck and helped by taking them to our cabin which was now ready. Nice to be unpacked and settled before muster drill.

Our C-C group had prearranged to wear mardi gras beads so it was easy to find our new friends following muster drill. We sailed just a bit late and the dolphins did put on a show.

The Welcome Aboard Show was good. The new CD is Abe Hughes and the comedian for the welcome show was Ralph Achilles. We have late seating in the dining room as requested. They announced dinner would be delayed by 15 minutes tonight due to late bag distribution and departure. Dinner was very good. The Vidalia onion tart and Tuscan soup were best. I had the steak from the alternative menu. (BTW-the real reason for delaying dinner is so that they can serve/sell wine at the first dinner seating without paying Texas taxes.)

Day Two--Monday--at Sea
We slept in this morning then had breakfast in the Windjammer. Relaxed until the scheduled C-C meeting in the Moonlight Lounge. Our cruise director, Abe Hughes, even stopped by to say hello. RCL provided canapés, a gift (note pad) for everyone, and a several raffle prizes. The weather and seas have been fantastic much better than our previous several cruises. We skipped the Captains reception which was held in the Shall We Dance Lounge as we watched a movie in the cabin. Formal dinner was very good. I had shrimp cocktail, escargot, beef, & Grand Mariner soufflé for desert. The production show after dinner was very good as well, Piano Man, featuring the RCL Singers & Dancers.

Day Three--Tuesday--at Sea/Key West
The weather is again very nice. Calm seas, fair winds. We began with room service breakfast and slept most of the morning. One of the advantages of an inside cabin. Resting up for Key West night. DW spent most of the rest of the day in the Solarium swimming and relaxing. They served southern style pork chops & potatoes with onions in the Windjammer. I was looking forward to this lunch since last Rhapsody trip. We watched the port activity as we approached Key West. The Enchantment of the Seas leaves port as we arrive. Pretty cool as the two ships pass each other and acknowledge with the horns. A lot of traffic as there was a regatta ending a sail and we were all heading into port at the same time. Key West: The weather was much better (cooler) than our previous trips to Key West so we thought we walk the entire length of Duvall street to the Southern Most Point marker. A nice walk and on the way we stopped for chocolate dipped key lime pie at the Blond Giraffe. Heading back up Duvall we stopped for drinks at a couple places and ended up at Sloppy Joe’s for a while. Wanting to do something different and unique to Key West, we attended a Drag Queen Show at the Aquabar club. (The 801 and LaTeDa were the other choices) It was different and unique all right. Who knew Dolly Parton, Liza Minelli, Karen Walker, and Madonna were all going to be in Key West? We returned to the ship about 11:00 and had a late snack. We were too tired from the walking to stay up for the sail away buffet on deck and retired.

Day Four--Wednesday--at Sea
Room service breakfast works very well so we did it once again. We had purchased tickets to the Cocktail Seminar at Sea which was at 12:15. This was entertaining, but they have one fewer drink than we had in September. They passed out samples of: Cosmopolitans, Bahama Mamas, Yellow Birds, & BBC’s (Baileys-Bananna-Coloda mix). Also they passed out four coupons when they collected the tickets so no extra samples this time. Lunch in Windjammer which I have found has very good lunch selections. I had the roast beef. They don’t do a formal tea on Rhapsody, but they have light snacks, similar to tea, in the Windjammer. I did sample the scones and bread pudding. They did have some meats and cheeses as well. Dinner was good. Maryland Crab cake, New England clam chowder, Pork chop, and Baked Alaska were my selections. When not eating today we enjoyed the ship especially the Solarium.

Day Five--Thursday--Grand Cayman
I had my first dining room breakfast this morning. Good, but the room service and Windjammer breakfasts are equally as good. We did go ashore this time (we didn’t in September), but only long enough to get some liquor to take home, diet coke for the rest of the cruise, and some pirate items for DD at home feeding the animals. We were back on the Rhapsody before noon and enjoyed the Solarium for the rest of the day. I did have a steam in the sauna after lunch in the Windjammer. Corned beef & cabbage was very good. DW said the coconut surprise cookies were excellent. We used our C&A coupons for 2 for 1 Bahama mama’s and Cosmopolitans for the 4:00 sail away. Back to the solarium for a swim/hot tub. We ordered fruit and cheese plates to snack on before the Crown & Anchor get together. We had a glass of champagne at the C&W reception. Tonight is the second formal night. Lobster was the choice for most at dinner and yes a second lobster was available to those who wished. I thought the dinner was good, but not great. The production show was Pure Country and it was very good. Also later was the Gala Buffet at midnight. Didn’t make it after the lobster, but heard it was great.

Day Six--Friday--Cozumel
We docked at Punta Langosta with the Conquest across from us. The Mariner was at the International pier. Three ships in port are not bad at all. No too crowded in town. We have been to Cozumel more than 35 times and seven times in the past year so we usually never make specific plans and ‘play it by ear’ depending on mood and weather. Today we went to see Nelly at Mayan Pearl as DW needed some items. While DW had some items custom made I spent an hour in the internet store and got a haircut at Antonio's. We walked down to Havana Blue for a couple of mojitos, then some shopping on the way back. Everyone was back on the ship in good order and we actually pulled out a few minutes early. There was some friendly cheers between the Conquest and Rhapsody pax as we pulled away. There was only on production show and it was The Hughes Brothers from Branson, MO. The theater was packed-SRO and they were very good. Dinner was great, my favorite of the cruise. I ordered Shrimp cocktail, Onion soup, and the New York strip steak. The steak was perfect so I ordered a second just to make sure. It too was excellent. We did go to see Ralph Achilles late comedy show.

Day Seven--Saturday--at Sea
Room service breakfast again this morning. Relaxing in the solarium pool area is again the agenda of the day. Another good location for relaxation and sun is on deck five (muster/lifeboat) deck. As the ship progresses the weather is getting cooler and cloudier the further north we go. The farewell production show was good and the International Parade between dinners was very good. The final dinner was as usual very good. I had the steak from the alternative menu, but probably should have gone with the chicken marsala. A final farewell to the waiters and new friends. We skipped the late shows in order to pack and be up early the next morning.

Debarkation--Sunday
No room service on debarkation morning. We had some milk and snacks we had saved. We did the self assist debarkation and it went fairly well. There was a slight hold up because of rain. We did ride the EZCruise parking shuttle which took a bit longer than walking, but we were still off the island by 8:15 am. Brunch at Ana’s in Hearne, Texas, famous for great Miga's. Home by 1:00 p.m.

Ship
I do think that the Rhapsody does deserve its reputation as the friendliest ship on the seas. There were more non-Texans on board than my previous RH cruises. More bookings from cold states and Canada during winter is my guess. The ship itself does show some wear and needs the upcoming dry dock. Yes there was vibration, but less than in September. I only noticed it on deck 9 in the Solarium and usually while sailing slower or once still. The passageways are narrow on Rhapsody so be careful.

Crew
The staff and crew are very good. Our waiter Maximo from Chile and assistant waiter Kemper from St. Lucia were very good. Kemper especially was the best assistant waiter I have ever had. Never an empty glass. Always the correct condiment. Since announcing the move to Asia, they have been gradually changing the crew and staff nationalities. More from Asia, India, and the Philippines. Less from Europe, Caribbean, and Americas. I’m sure it will be more so when we return to the Rhapsody for the LAST sailing to/from Galveston in August. A note for Mrs. Hughes: This was our first cruise on RH that Dan Whitney was not the cruise director so we were really observing Abe all week. He did a great job. We saw him all over the ship including the Cruise Critic meeting. He refreshed the standard CD jokes and was very good with the passengers. He will do well with RCL.

Cabin
We had originally booked this as an I/S cabin bargain fare while onboard the Rhapsody last year. Basically needing a few extra cruises to make Platinum before we have our Voyager b2b next year. We did later upgrade from deck 2 to far aft deck 7 last i/s-cabin 7653. We did try for a very late up-buy, but all the JS and balcony cabins were sold out. The cabin is located all the way aft in the area of the aft wraps which we love. Melene was our room steward and did a great job for us. We also saw Dale our room steward from September. The cabin is fine for two people. There are no public aft stairs so it is a long walk to the elevator/stairs mid ship. There is some noise from the Lounge below, but we normally sleep with the TV on so it didn’t bother us that much. There is also noise in the mornings from the laundry closet on the back wall of the cabin. The steward use these to access laundry and they do slam the doors. The cabin needs updating and It will be in February so we’ll have the new bedding, etc. on our Rhapsody cruise in August. We did enjoy this cabin. We will enjoy 7651 better.

Food
The room service breakfast has more selections than most cruise lines, so it is a great option. Our two favorite room service items are the fruit plate and the cheese plate. They did not disappoint and were even better than we had them in September and 10 times better than on The Splendour of the Seas last month. The cheese plate consists of five different cheeses and garnished with a few strawberries, walnuts, and dried apricots. It is served with water biscuits or saltines. The fruit plate has grapes. pineapple, kiwi, melon, strawberry, and orange slice. It is garnished with mint. Both are great.

Lunch is the same menu each day with one special item that does change daily. You can order a banana split for desert at lunch. All the bread selections are very good on board. The Windjammer buffet is also very good and better than other lines. There are ice creme and yogurt machines in the Windjammer. The steaks were the best food item and excellent on this cruise.
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Needs Improvement
The water jets at the entry steps of the pool in the Solarium never worked. Smoking was much improved from previous RH cruise. New signs on port side decks reminded that it was nonsmoking. IMHO-The Schooner Bar should be nonsmoking as you have to walk through it to get to the various other venues. This will be moot when she goes to Asia, but that is a while yet. Also the self-debarkation should be limited to one bag & one carry on per person.

Final
We really enjoyed the cruise and met some very nice people including a good C-C group and excellent dinner table group. The weather was fantastic all week. Another great cruise!

Review--Splendour of the Seas--December 9, 2006

Splendour of the Seas--December 9-14, 2006

Second part of a b2b cruise. Grand Princess/Splendour of the Seas from Galveston, Texas 12/2 - 12/14. Our first time on Splendour, third RCCL cruise.

Day 1-Embarkation- This was the smoothest embarkation I have ever experienced. We disembarked the Grand Princess almost 11:00 a.m. which was late, but as planned as we would prefer to wait on the Grand than in a waiting room at the terminal. We zipped through customs and our porter took our bags all the way to Terminal 2 to be checked in with RCCL. We just finished when our neighbors and DD pulled into the terminal drop off. We unloaded those bags and then dropped the car at EZ Cruise and walked back to terminal. It was about noon and we proceeded to security and check in. That was no problem as there were no lines at either. We had our choice of agents, got our sail/room/seapass card and was on the ship in minutes. First stop the windjammer for lunch. Our cabins were ready at 1:00 and we dropped off our carry on bags and set about to explore the ship. We enjoyed music and the cocktails in the beautiful Centrum (atrium). We attended the Welcome Show with comedian Greg Otto. The cruise director is Simeon Baker. We have late seating dinner in the King and I dining room. Dinner was good, I had prime rib. We retired after dinner. Seas started getting rougher as we went south.

Day 2-at sea- The seas are choppy and the weather is overcast and windy. Similar to what we just came through last week, but a bit better. I met friends in the dinning room for breakfast. Eggs Benedict were very good. Also check out the windjammer and breakfast looked good in there. DW had room service. They opened the solarium to kids from noon to 2:00 pm because of the bad weather. We set on deck with friends and also had Windjammer lunch there as well. DW and DD went to solarium pool, but they soon closed that because of high seas. Although the pool attendants repeatedly monitored the situation, one by one parents took small children into the hot tub. Finally other adults gave up. The attendants were very busy trying to keep water off the floor as the pool waves were very high and over the sides. Tonight is formal night and the Captains reception was this evening although we didn’t attend choosing to watch the Cowboy game on Latin-American ESPN. We did attend dinner. I had Shrimp cocktail, escargot, sea bass, and Grand mariner Soufflé for desert. There were a lot of people missing from dinner. The weather has gotten worse. The feature show was comedian John Joseph. There were few who attended due to weather, but it was an excellent show. Very funny, one of the best I have seen on a cruise ship.

Day 3-Cozumel- The morning is cloudy and misting rain. We docked about 7:00 am at the International Pier, but not many rushed ashore and several tours were canceled. Breakfast in dining room and off the ship about 9:00 am. Very easy debarkation since there was no rush to shore. We rented a car for five of us and first stop was Dzul Ha for snorkeling. It was overcast, but we made the effort and it was quite good. You can snorkel from shore and there is no cost. While we were there several of the tours brought their groups to this area. There was a wide variety of fish. It would have been ideal if it had been better weather. We proceeded to Paradise Beach for a rest and a couple of drinks. Not crowded at all. We then drove around to the east side of the island and stopped at Playa Bonita which has always been one of our favorite places in Cozumel. The waves and surf were very high on this side of the island. We ordered guacamole and shrimp cocktails which were quite good. We went to San Miguel for some shopping and visited the usual haunts: Havana Blue for a mojito, Mayan Pearl, Cinco Soles, Viva Mexico, and some cafe & Mariachis time on the square. We returned the car and returned to the ship about 4:00. I napped through one of my favorite pastimes, watching the late arrivals, but it must have gone smooth as we sailed away on time before 7:00 pm. Diner in the Dining room. There were many more people than last night. The feature entertainer was Claude Eric a vocalist who was good.

Day 4-Costa Maya- This is the best day so far, but still overcast. We docked about 7:00 a.m. and we have a short stay here. It was interesting watching the Disney Magic dock next to us. A nice ship. DD wants to take a Disney cruise. After a dining room breakfast we went into Costa Maya and took a van to Mahaual. We made the El Faro our HQ for the day. We rented a skiff to take four of us out snorkeling ($15 pp). The water was murky due to recent rains and high waves. Better snorkeling yesterday in Cozumel. We had lunch & drinks and three had a massage while there. A beautiful day on the beach. We returned to the ship about 2:15 for a 3:00 departure. After refreshing and a snack I did my favorite thing, watching late comers arrive back. We actually left two people confirmed to me by the dock master who knew I was keeping a count given to me by the Splendour security. Poor Robert and friend. I rested until the evening show, Los Pampa Gauchos which was very good. Dinner was good, prime rib and lobster for me. I saw our waitress, Nevin, carry the biggest tray of food orders I have ever seen. Soon afterward she was gone and another waiter finished our desert orders. Quest and the Gala buffet was tonight, but I chose to retire after dinner.

Day 5-at Sea- Smoother seas overnight, but interesting news. It seems during the night we have returned to Cancun to debark an ailing crew member at 6:30 am. Yes it was Nevin, our waitress. A good late breakfast in the dining room. The Captains morning update indicated that we are now nine hours behind schedule with expected arrival in Galveston about 4:00 pm tomorrow. Children have taken over the ship. They are in the Solarium ALL the time not just the designated times. Tried the crapes which are located in the Solarium. They are very good. I relaxed all afternoon and watched a movie in the cabin. The fruit plate and cheese plate from room service was better than earlier in the week. Tonight was the debut of the new production show, Dancin’ Through the Movies. This was the first time we have seen the dancers. The new troupe came aboard when we did. I guess that's why we didn’t have movies in the theater as they were rehearsing for the debut show. It was a good show, some bugs to work out, but best (only) show of the cruise. We of course had a new waiter for dinner. I had prime rib and Mahi Mahi. After dinner DD and I spent some time in the internet cafe. They are not charging because of the ship being late, but it had been hard to get in because of the lines to use the computers.

Day 6-at Sea- Our extra sea day! They have scheduled shows and activities and we got a new abbreviated Cruise Compass. Breakfast in the dining room and some time on the internet took the morning. Interesting seeing the all the oil derricks in the Gulf, usually always dark when we go by them. The Captain kept us informed and did say we would meet our goal of docking by 4:00 pm. As we approached Galveston we entered a huge fog bank and we slowed to a crawl. It was interesting and the ship was frequently blasting its fog horn. I thought we’d never make it by 4:00pm, but after about half an hour through the fog the buildings of Galveston were in view. We were home.

Debarkation-I expected a mass rush to deck four and indeed people began camping out down there at 1:30pm. We got separated from our friends as we were several decks apart and agreed to meet only later if possible we do have separate vehicles). We docked about 3:40 and they began unloading baggage soon afterward. I knew the “self/easy-off” pax would be intermingled with the color tag pax, but not as bad as I had expected. The Centrum was packed with people. The first people began leaving the ship right at 4:00. We were observing from the upper decks and thought should we attempt to leave or wait. We developed a game plan and decided to go for it. We retrieved our bags from deck 8, took the rear elevators down and used the outer deck to get to the departure area. We avoided the Centrum and they allowed us to merge onto the gangway. It was orderly considering. We went through customs without any problems and wheeled our luggage to the EZ Cruise shuttle. We got on the bus and as luck would have it they went to Lot #2 first. We were actually at our vehicle by 4:50 pm. I consider it amazing.

Cabin: We have the large interior cabin (8519) on deck 8. We could have upgraded to O/V, but wanted the larger cabin since there were the three of us. A full size couch is in the cabin. In fact it is larger than the BA balcony cabin we had last week on the Grand. We do have the new RCCL bedding. It is nice, very similar to the Carnival bedding system. You can hear deck noise from the lido deck above, especially when the band plays, but it is a great location and the noise is not that bad. There is a video-in and audio-in on the TV. No refrigerator on the I/S cabins even in the larger premium ones. Our cabin steward, Rogie, was very good. He kept the ice chest full and fulfilled some special requests.

Food: Dining room food is good to very good. The service is good, but far below Princess. The best feature of the dining room is the nice piano music during dinner. The room service menu on RCCL is much better than Princess or Carnival with a wider selection and variety; however, service can be hit or miss. One thing I could not believe was the lack of silver for some courses, specifically escargot and shrimp cocktails. The headwaiter said they only had the proper silver in the “elegant” restaurants. I believe she was referring to the premium restaurants, but that indicates to me that the main dining room is not an “elegant” venue. Perhaps so as I saw shorts worn for dinner on some occasions. I must say that the waiters were very accommodating with our selections and offered second entrees or deserts without question.

Ship: The ship itself is beautiful. 'Twas well decorated for Christmas. More decorations than on the Grand in fact. The Centrum, King & I Dining Room, and the 42nd Street Theater are especially beautiful. Housekeeping may be a bit off. I noticed recent rings/watermarks on tables, dirty tables, etc. i.e.--they pick up your glass, etc. but don't wipe the table. There is a Concierge lounge. I loved the 3-D schematic ships in each Centrum lobby. Great maps and details of the ship. They didn’t have enough hand sanitizers IMHO and people didn’t seem to use them either.

Cruise: We would have enjoyed the cruise much more if we had not just come from the Grand Princess. You could not help but compare the two and the Grand is an exquisite ship. We vowed not to compare in front of DD and our friends, we hate to be “one of those” people. I did get a bug by day 3.5 and limited some of my activities. BUT overall I thought this was a wonderful cruise and a great value. It was great to have the family and neighbors together.

A great small ship, a great value and a great cruise.

Review--Grand Princess--December 2, 2006

Grand Princess December 2-9, 2006

First part of a b2b cruise. Grand Princess/Splendour of the Seas from Galveston, Texas 12/2 - 12/14. Elite Princess members, but only second time on Grand Princess.

Day 1-Embarkation- Woke early and checked Galveston Harbor Cam web site. The Grand is already docked, which is a good thing. You want to see your ship before beginning the drive. I didn’t think of the significance of it at the time, but there were no other ships docked. Left Bosque county and arrived in Galveston in good time approximately 4+ hours. Lots of traffic in Galveston and streets blocked due to Dickens on the Strand. We dropped our bags off at the pier and returned to EZ Cruise parking. Big problems due to the very late arrival of the Ecstasy. There were no parking places in Lot 1 (I usually walk since I have already dropped bags) and was forced to park in Lot 2. The process took over an hour just to park and then longer to shuttle to the pier. Of course it wasn’t EZ Cruise parking fault that the Ecstasy was so late nor the added delays due to Dickens on the Strand. We joked that at least our bags are on the way.

Once we arrive at the pier there was some delay in getting through security, but once we approached the check-in area everything got much better. We were able to skip to the VIP line and were checked in very quickly. It was about 1:20 so about 2 hours from parking to actually boarding ship, twice the normal time. We were in time for the luncheon in the DiVinci dining room which was very nice. Finally we could begin to relax and enjoy the cruise. Table service is so nice. after lunch we saw old & new friends right away which is nice that early on board. We then went to our cabin and noticed that yes our bags had beat us there. Took bags into room and began setting up for the week. We have cabin L-255. A balcony cabin on Lido deck. Good location as there is a lot going on on Lido deck. Primarily the pool, MUTS, and Horizon Court. Traded out bar setup (Elite perk) for preferred items. A fruit bowl, cookies, and chocolate cover strawberries were delivered to the room. A quick tour of the ship and it’s time for muster drill which is done very well on Princess ships. Our muster station was the Painted Dessert restaurant. After muster our Cruise Critic group met at the Oasis bar for sail away. A very nice group of people. As mentioned Dickens on the Strand was going on so we could see the colorful costumes and the tall sailing ship Elissa was manned all the way up it’s masts. A few words of encouragement was shouted to the crew of the Elissa, Hold Fast, being my favorite. Of course the dolphins escorted us out of Galveston harbor. Since it was very cool everyone went indoors. We met friends in the Wheelhouse for cocktails. The Wheelhouse being a beautiful bar is one of my favorites. The Oklahoma-Nebraska football game is on MUTS and I saw the decisive drive before going to dinner. Oklahoma looks very good. We didn’t set at our table, but at a table with friends. Dinner was very good. Following dinner we skipped the welcome show and retired for the evening.

Day 2-at sea- The weather was very foggy and overcast and it had rained during the night so it was slow going for pool & outdoor activities. I had breakfast, Eggs Benedict, in the dining room and it was very good. They have a different specialty item each morning and I want to try each during the week. I visited the internet cafe and the connections were good considering we are at sea. We met a lot of our C-C group for the trivia contest midmorning. It was fun and more fun visiting with friends. We did lunch in the dining room (Sea Bass) and explored more of the ship. DW went to a movie in the Princess Theater. The weather improved as the day went along. They delivered a large plate of canapés, one of the Elite perks. They were very good, but too much for us so we shared with friends. The Dallas Cowboy-NY Giants football game was on MUTS this afternoon. Lots of Cowboy fans in Cowboy colors watching from the Lido and Sun decks. We watched the second half and it was quite fun. The view of the sun going down, the football game on the big screen, friend & drinks, a super way to enjoy the evening! The best sports bar at sea for sure. Tonight is formal night and we attended the Captains reception which is held in the atrium area. We sat in our assigned table this evening. The waiter and assistant Matre'd had been waiting for us as they acknowledged the special diet (vegetarian) for DW. The Matre'd stating he would make a special vegetarian minestrone soup for DW on Italian night (he is Italian, he can probably handle it) Another example of the personalized service. We attended the production show which was Curtains Up a salute to broadway shows. It was good and they did Oklahoma as the finale which is a personal favorite of mine. Too tired for the Disco through the Decades so we retired.

Day 3-Costa Maya- Eggs Florentine was the feature breakfast in the dining room and it was good. The morning is cloudy with scattered occasional rain. While most were debarking in Costa Maya, we enjoyed the morning at the spa pool. There had to be a thermostat problem as the pool was extremely warm/hot. Much hotter than the hot tubs. It was very refreshing as rain drops created steam. It was one giant sauna although you couldn’t stay in the pool long because of the heat. We went to shore about noon and met up with friends at El Faro in Mahahual. Spent the afternoon enjoying mojitos and good company. Mojito Monday was quite fun. Some excitement when a thunderstorm came through, but it cleared following a 15 minute rain. DW enjoyed a beach massage at the set up next to El Faro. We went down to check out Pez Quatro and from there took a cab back to the dock area. One last dip in the large pool and swim up bar located at the Costa Maya pier. The ship sailed at 6:00 p.m. Tonight is Italian night in the dining room. The eggplant parmesan was excellent. DW missed dinner as she was resting from the big day. The waiters took her the special vegetarian minestrone soup they had prepared for her. It was very good. Very thoughtful of the wait staff. The internet wasn’t working due to cloud cover so back to the cabin. Mojito Monday had caught up with me so I retired early.

Day 4-Roatan- It rained very early but cleared by 8:00 a.m. The featured breakfast was a special French Toast. We met our group of C-C friends for our own personal tour about 9:30 and hired a van for the day for $20 pp. We went first to the West End where the girls shopped and the guys went ot the Spotted Ray, a restaurant/bar which is built out over the water. Interesting place with birds, good views, and good local beer. We then went to Fosters Beach Club located in the West End. From there you could swim, snorkel, or eat & drink enjoying the beautiful view and beach. We were originally going to make another stop since we had our own van, but stayed at Fosters since it had everything you need. We did arrived back in time for late afternoon tea which was quite good. I had expected some small sandwiches along with the usual scones and sweets, but the small sandwiches were both larger and more variety than expected. What a great place for a snack in addition to the tea & sweets. Susan Howard (actress from Dallas) sat at the adjoining table. After tea we then watched sail away from the balcony cabin as well as the sunset and moon rise. Very pretty out this evening. Time for a movie on the TV before dinner. It was Caribbean night in the dining room, one of the weaker menus so I had the New York strip steak which was very good. The Caribbean Party on the rear decks was very nice. Don’t miss it.

Day 5-Belize- The day started cloudy. Huevos Rancheros was the breakfast in the dining room and very good. Belize is a tender port, but we caught a tender, without any problem, about 8:30. Interesting to watch the albatross circle over Belize City harbor. Snorkel Trip: I booked a snorkel trip with Ecological Tours with friends. We went out on a Wet and Wild boat for about a 45 minute trip to the barrier reef. The weather was beautiful. We stopped first at the Caye Caulker Marine Reserve and Coral Gardens which is a protected underwater national park. There was a large variety of fish and coral. We had a full 45 minutes of snorkel time which was about right. Next stop was the Shark Ray Alley. There were numerous stingrays and nurse sharks. Also a barracuda. We spent about 30 minutes here. Next stop was Caye Caulker. We only had an hour here so we quickly went to the split for Bilikins beers at the Lazy Lizard. Also had to sample the Lizard juice. This is a very beautiful spot and a hidden treasure on Caye Caulker. The trip got back to Belize City about 3:30. Time for a last minute beer at the Iguana at the pier with the “little man” We arrived back on ship about 4:30. Time for a hot tub and swim in the spa area pool. DW spent the day on the ship and enjoyed three movie, one in the theater, the others on cabin TV. We enjoyed watching the ship maneuver through the straights following the buoys. There was the lights of other cruise ships ahead and behind us. A lovely evening on the balcony. This was the second formal night. First they delivered fancy chocolate covered strawberries to the cabin. Dinner was very good. Escargot was the appetizer and I had the New York strip steak again with lobster.

Day 6-Cozumel-Again the day started out cloudy. The Lumberjack breakfast was featured in the dining room. There were six ships in port for only three berths and we were fortunate in two ways. We docked at Punta Langosta which is walking distance of town. Very fortunate. We have no excursions planned since we will be back in Cozumel on Tuesday. We went to town about 10:00 a.m. and DW bought jewelry at Mayan Pearl for Christmas gifts. I got a haircut at Antonio’s while she shopped. We went down to Havana Blue for mojitos and ran into Towmater who was doing the same. The best mojitos in the Caribbean IMHO. DW said the raspberry mojito was also good. Went to a cafe on the square for some guacamole and people watching which is also fun. The sky seemed threatening and it was windy, but it never rained. It made for a cool comfortable day. We did some more shopping and returned to the ship about 4:00 pm. I had arranged with our cabin stewart for ice buckets for a sail away DosXX party. We met on deck 7 above the gangway to watch the late comers and drunks board. We had a great time razzing the pax of the Voyager of the Seas which docked next to us. The Princess security and officers at first didn’t know hat to think about our group, but as time got later they actually would give us the count of missing pax. We were able to greet the final two by name as they were calling those names over the PA. Great fun. Thanks C-C group for making it so. Always my favorite thing to do in Cozumel. The lights of the six ships looked great sailing out of the strait of Cozumel heading north. Dinner tonight was good. DW had another specialty vegetarian dish made for her: stuffed peppers and stuffed zucchini. I had the crab legs and Chicken Kiev. This was also French onion soup night. We went to Princess Theater for the Cinematastic show.

Day 7-at Sea-Very rough seas overnight and into the morning. All the outer decks are closed. Very few at breakfast this morning, Eggs Benedict again featured. Spent some time in internet cafe before weather closed down the connections. We were invited to the Captains Luncheon as we are frequent cruisers. We were fortunate enough to sit with the captain this time. The food & desert was fantastic. The captain said we experienced some 20’ swells during the night. We went to afternoon tea at 4:00 and play some trivia and games following. The seas were calmer the further north we went, but still rough. Dinner was good. I had prime rib. The Baked Alaska parade has returned and it was a good dessert. We returned to the cabin to pack which took the rest of the evening. Got the bags into the hallway just before midnight.

Debarkation-We had breakfast in the dining room. The feature was scrambled eggs with asparagus. We usually do the self disembark, but since we are taking the Splendour of the Seas out today we decided to take our time. Good thing we weren’t in a hurry as our color/deck wasn’t called until almost 11:00 a.m. We spent time in the Vista lounge waiting. It went very smooth once we were called and they did keep our Sign&Sail Cards. We found our bag, went through customs, and the porter took our bags all the way to Terminal 2 for us. We actually met our DD and neighbors as they pulled into the terminal. So we are ready for the second leg of our b2b.

Ship: The ship is very nice and was decorated for Christmas. We took advantage of the spa area much more this time as our cabin was just below. No new bedding as yet, but I understand that is coming. All the public rooms were well maintained and very clean.

Cabin: smaller than Carnival and not does not have a couch. Smaller closets and bath area storage than RCL and Carnival. The cabin is quite adequate though. There was the bar set up and other Elite perks. Edward our Stateroom Steward was super.

Food: Very good food in the dining room. The best we have had in a long time. The wait service is the best of any cruise line I have experienced. Our waiter, Constantine, was excellent. All the staff are very good. They do all the proper and little things that should be done. The white gloves worn by the staff on formal night for example. Also if you don’t drink coffee, they remove the cup & saucer, not turn the cup over as on some cruise lines. The little things make a big difference when it comes to service. I must say that I appreciate enforcement of the rules when it comes to attire, i.e. not hats in dining room at any time, no sandals, no jeans, etc. I found myself upgrading, wearing pants for breakfast or lunch on port days although you can wear shorts if you wish. In addition to the hand sanitizers found everywhere they gave you additional as you entered the dining rooms. It was said that, "the Grand pax have the cleanest hands in the Caribbean".

Cruise: We had a great time on this cruise. The Grand wasn’t one of DW’s favorites until this cruise, but this one won her over. Everything is so well done and the crew is outstanding. It’s a shame that the Grand isn’t returning next year. The Captain would not confirm any rumors about the Emerald or any other Princess ship coming to the new Houston Cruise Ship Terminal in 2008. We loved the ports of call on this sailing. We also had a wonderful time with the friends, both old and new, we met on board.

This cruise goes down as one of the very best we have ever experienced
and probably the best ever.