Lesley and Bill’s Caribbean Cruise

To celebrate our 42nd wedding anniversary we went on a 7-day Caribbean cruise. We chose as our ship the Royal Caribbean International “Rhapsody of the Seas”. This nine-year-old luxury ship is 915 feet in length with 11 decks and comfortably carries almost 2,400 passengers. A crew of 754 men and women from 26 different countries mans the ship. “Rhapsody” is one of about 15 ships operated by Royal Caribbean International.

After dropping our luggage at the ship’s terminal and parking the car in a long term lot we boarded Rhapsody in Galveston at about 1:30 PM on Sunday, June 18th. We had chosen a large ocean view stateroom on the second deck near the bow on the port side of the ship. Our window looked right out onto the water and when underway we could sometimes see the white foam on the waves created by the movement of this huge vessel through the water.

We also had a perfect view of other ships passing by. Upon our arrival aboard Rhapsody we were handed two Royal Caribbean International credit cards that are known as “Sea Pass Cards”. Aboard ship, the Sea Pass Card was used to purchase everything. No money changed hands aboard ship. One’s Sea Pass Card became very important and very valuable. If someone lost his Sea Pass Card, the finder could use it for drinks, special services and any shopping in the many ship’s stores. We were told if we did lose our card that it should be immediately reported to the Purser’s Desk. The lost card would be cancelled and a new one issued. The Sea Pass Card also contained our dinner seating time and table number. For dinner we ate at the same table each night in the main dining room. Breakfast and lunch were open seating. Our dinner; however, was served by the same headwaiter, waiter and assistant waiter. Each dinner seating at either 6:00 PM or 8:30 PM was for approximately 1,200 passengers. When we took our seats we were presented with a menu that had five “starters” or appetizers, 2 salads, 8 entrees and 5 desserts. We could order as many items as we wished- 2 or 3 desserts if we wanted. There were 2 formal dinner nights when a suit and tie or tuxedo was required for gentlemen and an evening gown or cocktail dress for ladies. The wait staff was always dressed in immaculately tailored uniforms that showed their status- headwaiter, waiter and assistant waiter. From the time we sat down until we were served our starter was usually about 5 to 8 minutes. The entire dinner, all courses, took about 1-1/2 hours.

Day 2 was spent at sea. We discovered the two saltwater swimming pools aboard ship. One was open air on deck 9. There were hundreds of traditional deck chairs all around the pool with hundreds of bikini-clad young ladies sunning themselves. There were guys, too. We also discovered the four hot tubs. The second pool was also on deck 9. It was housed in a glass solarium that made the pool and large room look like an Egyptian Bath. The second pool was also saltwater with three very, very powerful Jacuzzi pumps. The water seemed to boil with rushing water and billions of air bubbles. Both pools were equipped with a bar. The outdoor pool had a Caribbean band that played most of the day and night. One of their instruments included a steel drum. The solarium pool was quieter and no one under the age of 16 could use the facilities. The ocean waters were the deepest, darkest blue we have ever seen. Our ship was so large that we seldom felt any movement at all. We toured all of the ship, walked on deck, soaked-up some sun by the pool and just relaxed. Everywhere there was live music and FOOD! The Captain announced that on Rhapsody everyone is required to eat every 12 minutes. We cheated a little from time to time.

Day 3: our first port of call was Key West, Florida. There were about 25 different excursions available in Key West. We could, if we wanted, have booked an excursion and pay for it with our Sea Pass Card. Whenever we left the ship we had to present our Sea Pass Cards to ship security and the card was read by one of the ship’s computers. A photo record was kept showing that we had left the ship. Excursion groups formed on the pier just outside the ship. We chose no excursion activity in Key West. We just wanted to wander through the town, sightsee and shop. We were impressed by how colorful many of the town’s buildings were: yellow, green, purple, red and blue. Of course there were also white buildings with red tile roofs. We also saw many, many roosters and chickens walking freely on sidewalks, in the streets and inside shops. There were hardly any air conditioned shops or businesses in Key West. We were in awe of the large number of really expensive jewelry stores there were selling gold, silver, diamonds, rubies and other gemstones. There were also shops that sold “fake” jewelry. On almost every corner there was an open-air bar with loud, live-music. It was very hot in Key West. After about 2-1/2 hours of wandering through Mallory Square and some shops we decided to return to the ship. At the entrance of the ship we had to present our Sea Pass Card to security. It was again read and a photo record was kept of our return to the ship. I accidentally presented Lesley’s card and I was pulled to the side by two security officers and questioned. As soon as Lesley presented my card, the matter was quickly resolved and we were allowed to board ship. At all 3 of our ports of call the same security procedures were in place. Rhapsody was scheduled to depart Key West at midnight. A huge pool party got underway at 10:00 PM. There was, of course, lots and lots of food: barbecued ribs, beef, chicken, hamburgers and hot dogs. Two huge, beautiful, 4 foot tall ice sculptures decorated the lavish 100-foot-long spread of fresh, sliced and diced fruit. There were all sorts of wonderful baked breads and desserts; and, of course, Blue Bell Ice Cream. The Royal Caribbean Steel Band was playing loudly and everyone danced the Samba and anything else that felt good. Persons off our ship must have been very envious of us and wished they had gotten an invitation to this late night party. Our ship slowly pulled away from the pier in Key West and really rocked to the sounds of West Indies music, laughter and the sounds of hundreds of passengers enjoying themselves while knowing they didn’t have to get up the next morning and go to work.

Day 4 was spent at sea in route to George Town, Grand Cayman Island, British West Indies. All the children congregated in and around the outdoor pool and in the game rooms. One activity at the outdoor pool was a “Sexy Leg” contest. All the contestants were men. Next was a “Miss Biceps” contest. Just imagine two-dozen bikini-clad babes showing-off their “muscles”! Next was the “Belly Flop” contest. That was a riot. Two rounds of 8 guys jumping, belly first into the pool. Those were fun to watch.

There was food and drink all over the ship. There was a pizza, hamburger, hot dog, French fry bar near the Egyptian Solarium pool. These fast foods were served until midnight, every night. Youngsters could visit and eat pizza, burgers, dogs and fries- no swimming. There were hundreds of deck chairs in the solarium, too.

Wonderful meals were served three times each day, buffet style in the Windjammer Café near the bow of the ship on deck 9. The Windjammer probably seated 5 or 6 hundred passengers. No alcoholic beverages were served in the Windjammer. The Windjammer’s walls were made of glass and we had a perfect view of where we were headed. The Windjammer was an alternative for passengers who wanted to eat a really good meal in informal attire- swim suits with cover-ups, shorts and pull-over shirts and any kind of shoes, sandals or flip-flops. The variety of foods available was mind-boggling.

There was a large lounge called, “Shall We Dance”. You guessed it- dancing the night way into the wee hours of the morning. Uniformed drink waiters served all sorts of beautiful tropical and traditional drinks. Live music varied from Country-Western to Popular to Disco to Rock ‘n Roll. An hour before our first formal dinner on Tuesday night we went to a Champaign and Cocktail reception for the Captain of the ship. The Captain bought all the drinks and there was a dance band playing traditional ballroom dance music. We all had several crystal glasses of the Captain’s Champagne. Also in the “Shall We Dance” lounge day games were played: Bingo, Quest, and Name That Tune. There were also classes on how to make animals out of tightly folded and rolled towels, line dancing, and ice sculpting. More risqué games were played in the evening and late-night hours. Some of these games always seemed to result in men losing their trousers and ladies losing their blouses. These adult-only, late night games were in good fun and everyone remained clothed in at least their underwear.

Day 5: our next port of call was George Town, Grand Cayman Island, British West Indies. Our ship had to drop anchor about ¼ mile from the pier in George Town. To go ashore we had to be taken by “tenders”, boats about 75 feet long that are used as taxis or shuttles. It takes a long time to shuttle 2,300 passengers from the ship to the pier. “Tendedring” isn’t a lot of fun. On the ship we had booked a snorkeling excursion that took Lesley and me and about 30 others to a sunken shipwreck. Our excursion boat was about 40 feet long and had plenty of shade. We were loaned masks, snorkels and heavy black rubber flippers. The equipment was top-of-the-line. The sunken ship was in about 12 feet of water. We saw many different colored fish- mostly small yellow-and-white and brilliant blue. There were many large schools of gray fish about the size of my hand that came very near us. At several times we were completely surrounded by these schools of gray fish. We saw two very large black fish, too. They weren’t sharks; but, some people thought they might be. We snorkeled over the wreck for about ½ hour. We had bought a disposable underwater camera and took some pictures. Hope they turned-out good. The film was ASA 800 speed. Then, after everyone got back onto the excursion boat, we motored over to a coral reef. The most-shallow part of the reef was in about 12 feet of water. The reef drifted down to a plateau of about 50 feet deep. The excursion boat captain told us that about 1/8 mile off the stern of the excursion boat was a drop-off of 6,000 feet. Needless to say, we didn’t try to see the drop-off. We did see many more colorful fish over the reef. Lesley had never snorkeled before other than in our pool where we practiced. She did really well snorkeling over the sunken ship and the coral reef and taking pictures with the underwater camera. I had a great time, too. Everyone on the excursion seemed to really enjoy the crystal clear water and the colorful fish.

After we returned to the pier from the excursion boat Lesley and I walked around in George Town and browsed the jewelry and T-shirt shops. It was very, very hot on Grand Cayman Island. The native residents of George Town weren’t as friendly as those in Key West. The Grand Caymanites wanted our money; but, they didn’t talk much or smile. We were glad to return to Rhapsody for a nice hot shower, clean clothes and another wonderful meal in the Windjammer Café.

Several couples our age met us at the Solarium pool later that afternoon. We swam in the saltwater pool with the swift currents and then gathered in the two large hot tubs for a soak in fresh, churning, hot water. Really, really refreshing! Then it was back into the cold saltwater pool for a swim and good conversation.

Then it was time to return to our large ocean view stateroom for another hot shower and dinner clothes. After dinner we strolled on deck and watched the sun set over the British West Indies. We met several couples in the Centrum, a huge atrium in the Rhapsody that goes from deck 4 all the way up to deck 10 where the roof is all glass. We danced the night away to live music and got to know about each other’s grandchildren. When our feet were really tired from dancing the cha-cha, two-step and samba, we all agreed to meet in the Solarium Pool for a near midnight swim and hot tub. We finally got to bed about 2:00 AM. We slept-in that morning- slept until about 8:00 AM when we had a “He-Man-Breakfast” in the Windjammer Café.

Day 6: our last port of call was Cozumel, Mexico. We didn’t book an excursion for Cozumel. Our ship tied-up to the pier; so, we could walk ashore. Our ship’s berth was about 4 miles from downtown Cozumel. There were duty-free shops near the pier and we browsed several of them. Lesley bought some T-shirts and some pure vanilla. We took one of the hundreds of taxis that take passengers from the pier to the shopping area in downtown Cozumel- about a 4 mile ride. Most of the popular shops are along this one road with ocean on one side and hundreds of shops on the other. Cozumel was almost wiped-out in the year 2000. Many buildings are still just rubble. The shops have built new, small buildings in and around many of the destroyed brick buildings. I guess life must go on for the shopkeepers. There were many, many fine jewelry stores that sell all brands of wristwatches. I purchased a “Chanel J12 Automatic” watch for a really good price. Lesley purchased a beautiful gold and diamond-chip necklace and earring set, also for a really good price. We walked and shopped along the road headed back to the pier and the ship. We walked until our feet really hurt and then we caught a taxi back to the ship. We boarded the ship and had a late lunch in the Windjammer Café.

Each night of the cruise there was a live show in the “Broadway Melodies Theatre”. This theatre seats about 1,000 people. Some nights the Royal Caribbean Singers and Dancers put on the show. Three nights there were more famous acts that boarded our ship in port, performed in the beautiful theatre and got off the ship at the next port to board another Royal Caribbean International cruise ship. We saw: Los Tampas Gauchos from Argentina, Tribute (the most famous salute to “The Temptations”) and Scotty Cavanaugh (a world famous juggler) All the live entertainment was really top notch. Each show lasted about an hour.

Our 7th day and night were spent at sea in route back to Galveston. We gathered in several lounges during the evening and had good conversation with many other couples, comparing our shopping successes and talking about going home. We had been completely pampered for a whole week and we hated to give it up. We had been told that after we departed the ship on Sunday morning, the ship would be completely cleaned from top to bottom and tons and tons of food supplies would be brought aboard for the next cruise that would depart Galveston that afternoon at 5 PM.

Our departure from our cruise was very well organized. Royal Caribbean International personnel assisted getting us to the US Customs area. We had to declare all our purchases and we were allowed $800.00 duty free merchandise. We declared only about $300.00 worth of goods- clothing and jewelry. We retrieved our 3 suitcases from the sea of thousands of suitcases. Each suitcase was marked with a brightly colored tag that indicated our stateroom deck number and either port or starboard side of the ship. We were guided to an area where we caught a shuttle bus that took our suitcases and us to the car. Our cruise was over; but, we will remember it for a long, long time.