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   Cruise Travel - Reader Reviews

Welcome to Your Favorites, where you have the opportunity to share your travel experiences with fellow Internet Travelers around the world.


Royal Caribbean International

MV Rhapsody of the Seas

Your Rating:Three Stars
Reviewed by: Jay Square
# previous cruises: 2
Date of Trip: September 3, 2006
Itinerary: Caribbean - Western

Overview
We enjoyed the cruise overall. Embarkation was much better than the Carnival cruise we went on last year. We were on the boat and in our room within 20 minutes of arriving in Galveston. We did have some major issues though...see below.

Public Areas
We enjoyed the Schooner Bar the most, but that is only because that is where most of the trivia and name that tune took place. You certainly don't want to be there after Bingo in the Shall We Dance lounge lets out...it like a herd of cattle trying to trample you. The art auctions make getting through the main floor very difficult. We also found that there was so few seats for the art auction that we passed on it all together.

Food and Service
The food was nice but if it was after hours, you were stuck with bad pizza, rubbery cheeseburgers or leftover lasagna. I did enjoy the fact that if you did not like the fancy dinners on the menu, you could order from what I called "The Safe Menu". This menu was offered every night and had simple dishes like a chicken breast and veggies or a plain pasta dish. This came in handy a few times (I am a very picky eater).

Cabins
We had a large oceanview stateroom and our attendants were great. Here's what wasn't great...On Day 4 I received a towel in my stateroom that had a huge blood stain that was clearly fresh. I took the towel to the Solarium to get it exchanged but couldn't find new towels or a pool attendant. I eventually went to the main pool area where again, I couldn't find a new towel or a pool attendant. I had to flag down one of the waiters who had to search for someone to help me. He eventually got into the towel exchange room and graciously gave me two towels for my troubles. By the time I got back to the Solarium, my husband had finished his swim and since it was so close to dinner time, I barely got in the pool before I had to get out.

After my swim, I opened up one of the towels and I was pleased to see that it was clean and figured that it was just a fluke that I received that other towel. I proceeded to open up the other towel and found a large lipstick stain. At this point I am thinking that I just have plain old bad luck.

The next day, I went to use one of the new towels left in my stateroom and after two incidents I thought it was best to open them up and see if they were clean. I was again, very disappointed to see a very big disgusting brown mark. At this point I'd had it. This was just too much. I took the towel to the purser and explained what had been happening hoping that he/she would take care of it. The gentleman at the purser's desk was less than friendly and tried to tell me that it was just a burn mark. I asked him how I could ensure that I would get a clean towel and he sent me back up to the main pool where again, I could not find a replacement or a pool attendant. After 10 minutes of scrambling around Deck 9 I got frustrated, dropped the towel and had to give up my daily swim before dinner.

Entertainment
We were far to tired to take in many of the shows. Pure Country was great though...we really enjoyed that one.

Activities
I would have like to spend more time at the gym and spa but here is why I didn't...On day 2, my husband and I attended an acupuncture seminar. After the seminar we booked a consultation. After the consultation we were interested but didn't really see the need to spend the money at the time. Dr. Dunn made arrangements for us to receive the at port discount and even told me that he would issue a super bill when his contract was completed in November so that we could get the money back from our insurance company. At this point I thought we had nothing to lose - but, I was wrong.

At 4:15 that afternoon, my husband Joseph went for his treatment. After the treatment, Dr. Dunn tried to pressure him into spending over $50 for a bottle of supplements and to book another treatment. Joseph declined and Dr. Dunn seemed quite upset.

My appointment took place at 9am on day 3. Again, after the treatment, Dr. Dunn tried to pressure me into buying a bottle of oil for $113. I flat out told him that was ludicrously over priced. Then he started to get me to book another appointment knowing that we just wanted to give it a try. I told him that I wanted to check our schedule as we had many activities planned for the week - after all we were on vacation. He basically started putting me down telling me that I am not putting my health first and that I should be more than willing to put my vacation plans aside for his treatments.

As I went to pay I asked him how I could get in touch with him after his contract to get the super bill he promised before we booked the treatment. He then changed his tune and said that he wouldn't do it if we only booked one treatment. Well he certainly left that out when trying to get our business.

I pretty much left that session in tears and felt so ripped off. The worst part was that a few hours after the treatment, my carpal tunnel flared up so bad that I could hardly lift my fork at lunch. I have now returned to work with more pain than when I left. I have had to invest extra money into massage therapy to correct the damage and may have to undergo surgery again to perform my job duties.

Who Goes
Well...we are in our early 30's and thought that we would find more people our age to get along with. It turns out that the best people we met were over the age of 60. We met a great couple from Houston that sat with us at dinner and we always had a blast together.

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