The purpose of our cruise was strictly for relaxation. This cruise accomplished our goal. There were many good things and a few disappointing aspects to the cruise. To start with, we drove to Tampa for debarkation but didn’t realize that Gasparilla festivities were taking place. Arriving at the port, the signage was not very good. There were 2 Royal Caribbean ships in port but we didn’t see signs directing us to the correct drop off. We ended up asking one of the police officers directing traffic. Also after dropping off the luggage, the garage is on the left side of the road making it difficult to enter the garage. Once we entered the debarkation building, things ran smoothly from there. The weather in Florida had turned cold with rain that stayed with use the first 2 days.

1st Port – Isla Roatan was a rain out. Kudos to the Rhapsody Excursion desk for canceling and refunding the excursion that rain negatively affected. We ended up going ashore but only staying in the port area. We’ve been to Roatan before and were looking forward to the ATV excursion but were glad not to get out in the weather.

2nd Port – Belize City was probably the worst of the ports we visited. This was our 3rd visit. The first time the port was pretty shabby. Only used for excursion drop off. The second time the new port had been open a short time. Plenty of shops, restaurants and bars. Food and drink were good and the shops fun to go thru. This time the port showed it age. The shops and food were not as enjoyable and more costly as they were before and the drinks were not very good. The tender times were about 30 minutes each way due to the shallow waters. One main issue with this port is the lack of amenities for cargo ships. I was told that every thing has to be delivered elsewhere and transported to the city increasing costs. Read more