Snotarni

We were just at Squid Lips a few weeks ago !  Some friends of ours from VA were going on a charter cruise (Royal Caribbean) and a bunch of us went up to see them off.  We had dinner at Squid Lips the night before they left on their cruise.  We had a great time.

Probably not good for OP's trip; but we spend (a lot some) time at the Carib Brewery; within a mile or so of the port...  'cause, you know...  beer.  😉

Maya Chan is a great beach day!!

But they have an 8-hour port stop.  They just arrive so late that they miss the entire morning and KSC usually closes around 6pm.  I'm not sure it's worth the admission price x4 to only get a half a day at KSC.  
It might be more cost effective to rent a car for the day and explore the Cape Canaveral/Cocoa/Melbourne area if you are really itching to get out and do something at this port.  It will keep you much closer than trekking all the way to Orlando.  The area has a lot of public parks and river/mangrove areas that you can find a kayaking tour-- some where you may be able to see manatees and dolphins up close.  You can drive out to Cocoa Village which is a quaint little shopping area.  One of the more touristy things to do is take a visit to Ron John Surf Shop up on Cocoa Beach.  You could spend a few hours at the beach even if you like.  There's also the Brevard Zoo up in Melbourne.
Otherwise stay on the ship and enjoy it.

I'm not sure it would be cheap, but I recommend, if you have a full day in Cape Canaveral, that you spend it at the Space Center.  There is so much to see.  I would definitely NOT try and see any theme parks.  They are too far away and the time is too limiting to really do much.

Awesome!

We're getting our quote from Kelley...   looking like a fun one!!  I did this many years ago on a grey-hulled ship...  😉

We're getting our quote from Kelley...   looking like a fun one!!  I did this many years ago on a grey-hulled ship...  😉

We're getting our quote from Kelley...   looking like a fun one!!  I did this many years ago on a grey-hulled ship...  😉

We have booked this one and the return trip, too.  Never been on Rhapsody, so looking forward to it.

Concern? No.
Rhapsody is an old, small ship. You gotta be okay with that. It's gonna be fun and offering a classic cruising experience. They'll keep maintenance going, but if you want to look for rust there or chipped something there, it may not be the ship for you.
While Vision Class isn't my favorite, I think by virtue of having a group cruise here and so many friends onboard, the ship will be secondary. Plus the amazing itinerary.

We're thinking about this one, too

Many things when cruising are not for everyone.  Drink packages make sense for some but not for others.  Dining packages make sense for some but not for others.  The Key makes sense for some but not for others.  Welcome to cruising.  

Hopefully they all get banned for life! Cruising is supposed to be fun and relaxing not WWE. 

Malt Vinegar 4Life!

Wait, is there another camp??

Hi folks,
There has been a lot of negative reviewing lately.  An old adage in customer relations is that people are more likely to review when they're unhappy.  So as a counter balance, here's a review of my recent sail on Explorer out of Miami.
First, I know everyone's experiences are different and there are many factors that make a trip good or not.  We went on this sail for our 40th Anniversary with our good friends, my expectations were tempered and I was determined to enjoy it no matter the issues.
Our trip from Boston to Miami was dicey.  We flew on the 24th.  Our flight got rescheduled twice during the day from 2:00 -> 4:30 -> 6:45.  When a flight gets rescheduled that many times, the worry sets in.  But we made it off the ground, landed 5 hours late, had a fiasco with the hotel shuttle, but made it to the hotel a bit after midnight.  As long as we were in Miami, all was good.
Boarding in Saturday morning was a breeze.  We were making dining reservations by 11:30, eat before it got busy, then got a lay of the land for the afternoon.  When we were boarding, we noticed a group of employees waiting to get on which made me feel better.  On that note, at Captain's Corner, we were told that the ship was fully staffed except for shop clerks and spa workers.  The biggest issue was inexperience.  They were training more staff than normal.  The inexperience showed at times, but the staff worked hard to make everyone's time enjoyable.
So let's get the negative out of the way, mixed with some positive.....The two main complaints are the dining experience (we had a special situation) and the overall entertainment.
One of our friends has severe Celiac.  That led to some issues mostly because the team we had for the 1st half of the trip had trouble coordinating her diet needs. We had assigned MTD times, the first night was perfect, our friend was assured her needs would be handled, more on that later. We had 3 nights of specialty dining.  We went straight to Chops to schedule everything, particularly eating at Chops on the 26th, our anniversary.  All seemed well until we arrived there on that day and were told our reservation was for the next night.  In fact, all our reservations were off by one day.  After giving them some sad puppy eyes, they accommodated us, rescheduled the other 2 nights, but now the MTD slots were all messed up.  While we were eating, the head waiter came over to apologize for the mixup, 3 other people were also booked for the wrong day.  I'm assuming inexperience on the part of the person who booked our times. That first night in Chops was rough.  We clearly had an inexperienced server and the meal dragged on for close to 3 hours.  At one point, we could see the head waiter gesturing to our waiter to pick up the pace.  Eventually, the head waiter took over our table and moved things along.  The other 2 nights of specialty were great. The MTD got worse over the next few days.  The staff kept losing our friend's order for gluten free and scrambled to find food for her.  Also, the table was always occupied.  Turns out that the people at our table were always showing up for their time late and holding up the table.  They initially got us another table quickly, but the next night, they told us to come back in 20-30.  When we went back, they were still there, so they put us at another nearby table.  Next night, rinse and repeat, they were just finishing that main course at 7PM.  So we insisted on any table, they sat us in a different section.  The experience suddenly became great.  The head waiter made sure our friend got everything she needed, kept checking on us, the waiter and assistant were great.  When we left, we asked to have the same table for the last night which they did. Entertainment was "meh".  Really not the fault of the performers, the shows were just not well designed.  The singers were not up to the usual RC standards, but we made the most of it, the performers gave it what they had, but they couldn't overcome the material they had to work with.  I really enjoyed the Ice Show.  The headliner was a bit of a  painful experience, excellent voice, but tried to hard to be a Vegas entertainer and it just didn't work. All the above being said, it was a more positive experience than it seems.  First, the bars were fully staffed, the servers were always to be found.  They were always friendly and helpful, we got to know a few of them and made sure to tip extra to show our appreciation.  The ship was full, but it never felt full.  There were many families, lots of teens, but they were never an intrusion and most were very polite and well behaved.  The pool area was busy, but we tend to do the pool early and do other things later, so we never had a problem getting chairs.  Our room steward was on top of things, quickly got me my CPAP supplies (even though I had filled out the form ahead of time), kept our room clean and always had clean towels for us.  When we scrambled to reschedule excursions due to the itinerary change, the desk was helpful.  It helped that we took advantage of the app and our time at the desk was to resolve a couple of small issues.
The excursions were mostly good.  In Labadee, we rented the beach lounger.  They were nice, but the beach area was rocky.  Luckily there was a clear path in one section to get past the rocks.  Next time in Labadee, we'll just take advantage of the free beach.  The Dominican was not good, no fault of Royal.  We went to Biyahibe Beach Break.  They took us to a resort for the afternoon.  The resort was a bit in need of repair.  But the worst issue was the beach was unusable.  The rocks and coral were unpassable.  Very few people went in the water.  We went to the pool which was just OK.  They were short staffed at the pool bar and all we had for food was a burger or hot dog.  I would strongly discourage anyone from booking that if they stop at the Dominican.
Our last 2 stops were changed due to TS Bonnie.  We were supposed to be in Curacao and Aruba, but the storm was passing those islands on the days we were supposed to be there.  Very disappointing, but we can't control the weather.  So we went to Jamaica and Coco Cay.  We decided to just to port shopping in Jamaica and then spent the day by the pool with almost no one else there.  In Coco Cay, we splurged and went to the Coco Beach Club.  We felt it was worth the price, best day of the trip.  The beach and pool are great, but the food and service is what really put it over the top.  Best meal of the week in any venue.  And the server was on top of our friend's dietary needs.
Our trip back to Boston could not have gone any better.  We were off the ship so quickly and at the airport so early, that we were able to get on a flight 4 hours earlier than what we had booked.  
So that's the review.  Overall another excellent cruise despite some of the issues.  I think each passing week will improve as the ships get their staff fully trained.  We're already looking at our next sail

Check out Aruba’s Hidden gems excursion offered by RCL. You can do that in the morning which leaves you ample time to go to the beach and explore the city.

Please add:
April 28, 2023 - Independence of the Seas
 

I would never miss an opportunity to snorkel!!

For what you want to do in Curacao, I highly recommend reaching out to Edo at VIP Curacao.  http://www.viptourscuracao.com/  He will customize a tour for you that can include all three, and your guide will drive you everywhere.  We have done this twice now, and had two completely different tour days, both amazing. 
We happened to have Bernice training as a guide on our first tour, and she was so good we requested her again when we went back.  She took us to local lunch spots with great food both times.  We didn't want to shop, but it was an option and she did show us around the shopping area in case we wanted to go back.  In addition to all the usual tour stops - the plantation, a snorkel one trip at the turtle spot and the other at the tug boat, scenic overlooks, the bat cave, etc - she also was willing to hike to the top of Mt. Cristobal with us and on our second visit she walked us through a neighborhood that has engaged in a mural painting revitalization project, where we saw some beautiful paintings and learned a lot about local culture.  Basically, anything that you are interested in, this tour will cater to.  
All of their guides are very good and Edo's communication is superb.  Just tell him what you are thinking and he will make it happen.  Or, if you have no idea, ask him to curate a best day for you. 

I've researched Aruba and found the streetcar trolley which is free and will go to downtown. Also, they have public buses that run regularly and you can buy a one day pass for $10 that allows you to get on and off as much as you want.

Snorkeling on the Sea Cow in Bonaire was well run. They split up the snorkelers into 3 small groups so it is not crowded in the water. They also make two snorkeling stops. 

I had to wait for my dog to leave the room.  It's become a bone of contention between us.  🤣

If everyone had 200Mbps (the national average) it wouldn't be the average.  Thanks for bringing down our national average... 🙂