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Hong Kong and Vietnam on Rhapsaody of the Seas |
| Reviewed By: Baldwin, Aston, Stone, Staffordshire on 20th May 2008 |
| Cruise Line: Royal Caribbean Cruises |
Times cruised before: 6-10 |
| Cruise Ship: Rhapsody of the Seas |
Sailed:
March,
2008 |
| Destination: Far East |
Age: 46-55 |
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This holiday was in fact two cruises a 6 night with a 2 night repositional cruise on the end. Starting and ending in Hong Kong with the repositional part taking us to Shanghai.
This was our first cruise on RCI and we had some reservations with regards to food and service. However Rhapsody was excellent. It is an older ship but was in good condition. It appeared to have had some type of refit recently with cabins smart and comfortable in appearance. We had an inside cabin on the 4th floor centrally situated. Facilities in the cabins were good with tea and coffee making facilities, no hot chocolate for night time drinks though. Hair dryer and 14 inch conventional tv supplemented the facilities. Plenty of choice of viewing my only comment was that it took several days before I found out where to find out what was on and when. Beds were comfortable and changed daily with the additional service of towel annimatics. That being the shaping of your fresh evening towels into animals such as elephants tortoises, snakes, frogs and monkeys. The wardrobes were really quite spacious with the added advantage of 180 degree opening doors so easy access to them could be offered without restricting the passageway. The only negative comment being the door to the cupboard housing the safe was loose to begin with and the screws finally came out before we left.
Dinning was good with the buffet being very enjoyable. Unlike many other cruise ships the buffet was at the front of the ship in a semi circle under the bridge. This provided for good panoramic viewing whilst eating when at sea or in port. Being a far east cruise with many Asians onboard the menu did cater for them which meant a slightly reduced choice for us Europeans, but this did not detract from the buffet selection. Buffet meal times were pretty well adhered to but it only meant that some areas were restricted whilst in preparation for other meals. Main meals in the restaurant were good with the reservation that meals were repeated on the 2-night cruise. I hope this is not a pattern that is adopted throughout as we have booked a 13 night cruise on Brilliance of the Seas and I would expect at least 14 nights of different meals with no repetition. The main restaurant was also closed whilst in port. Again I am not sure if this was purely because this cruise was not at capacity or if this is a feature of RCI cruises. It was a shame as my wife and I enjoy eating lunch in the main restaurant, as it is a good chance to meet other guests and swap tales. Generally food was available somewhere at most times so there is no excuse for returning thin! An interesting item was the offered wine packages. If you are like us and enjoy wine with your evening meals then three different packages were offered to provide a price reduction on your eventual wine bill. Basically depending on the package taken it meant one evening’s free wine. A nice idea as their wine prices are a little on the high side.
Entertainment was good and varied with magicians and cabaret acts as well as a very competent on board troupe that did 2 excellent stage shows. Unfortunately again 1 of these was repeated on the 2 night repositional cruise and was probably down to the fact that this mini cruise was more of a media experience for the Asian guests as this was a trial for cruises starting next year in China on Legend of the Seas.
An excellent feature was the tour of the theatre and backstage area conducted by the members of the troupe, stagehands and stage manager. A well-organized tour that provided a very lively insight into how the shows happen and what goes on backstage. After the tour the next stage show took on a completely new look as far as my wife and I were concerned.
Open areas of the ship were welcoming and well laid out with pleasant nooks and crannies to find and hide away in. The pool area was good with many beds available all around the ship. Unfortunately the weather was not so good as to allow us a lot of time on deck in the sun. But the adult’s only swimming pool and Jacuzzi area with its sliding roof provided a quiet relaxing area by the pool on those not so good days.
The crew were very good with many Chinese speaking staff to cater for the Chinese visitors. As with many of our previous cruises we found places that we liked to visit in the evenings after meals or shows and in these areas the staff were attentive, and good fun whilst still maintaining the distinction between staff and guests. We even tipped our headwaiter for excellent service, which is not a common occurrence with us.
The itinerary was good with two places in Vietnam being visited, Hanoi and Danang and two places in China. Sanya and Hong Kong. The visits to Hanoi and Danang are slightly misleading because the ports are actually about 2 hours drive from these places so the all day trips left at 07.30 and arrived back at 18.00. Long days travelling, often with not as much time as you wish to spend at the places. Sanya was a seaside town and offered us the chance to visit the Hot Springs. A very enjoyable half-day trip with the unmissable experience of the Fish spring. This is lying in a shallow warm pool surrounded by lots of little fish that appear to be kissing you all over. It is said that they are removing the dead skin. I perhaps needed a lot more time there for them to do a good job!
All in all an excellent first experience with RCI and one I would recommended. If you are thinking of going to the Far East then check out their range of cruises for next year. It is an expanding area and the welcome we received at the ports was very good.
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| Quality of Food |  |
| Windjammer buffet with very good salad selections | | Entertainment | |
| Generally all very good with the on board stage troupes shows being of special importance. | | Shore Excursions |  |
| Trip to Sanya Hot Springs very good others long days with much travelling. | | Staff |  |
| All the staff we had contact with were very good inmcluding our head waiter who sorted a very difficult table arrangement very well. | | Children's Facilities | n/a |
| | Onboard Activities | |
| To my knowledge yes although we did not make great use of them ourselves. | | Cabins | |
| Clean pleasant cabins with all the facilities you would need situated in very pleasing carpeted corridors quiet and relatively spacious. | | Overall Rating | |
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