dp

I (48yo)will be going with a group of older ladies (71-80yo)as this is my birthday gift to my mother for her 80th birthday. Sailing in Jan. '03 from Galveston, our ports will be Key West, Belize City and Cozumel. I've read about each destination in other's reports, but wonder if anyone who has been can give me suggestions as to the shore excursions that would be enjoyable to this group. Two of the ladies will not be as active as the other 4 of us, but would like to be able to include them in some of the fun off the ship. My initial impressions are that Key West seems to be a place to take one of the tours around town. My mother is interested in seeing some Mayan ruins in Belize; can anyone suggest which excursion would be best, but not too strenuous? I'm interested in the wildlife aspect of that stop; how is the tour involving a boat ride up a river? And Cozumel? I've been there once on a day trip and thought maybe a drive around the island to see the ruins there and the scenery on the other side of the island would be nice; except for me and my mom, I don't think the others would be interested in snorkelling. Any comments or suggestions based on your experiences in these ports for a group in this age range? Thanks in advance.

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Debbie

dp: I also am going on the Rhapsody in January. We leave Jan 19th. Are you on the same ship? I can't answer about Belize or Cozumel as I also am looking for information. My Husband,(56)my best friend (48) and myself (44) are looking into cave tubing if anyone has any information. About Key West, I personally would not purchase any tours from the ship. Everything you want is right at the port. There is a trolley (bus) that is a nice tour and will take you around town including past Hemingway's house. This is mostly a tourist town with lots of shops and bars. You can do several walking tours also on your own. Hopefully this will help you. You are welcome to write to me at me email address if I can be of further assistance.

dp

We'll be on the Jan. 5th sailing. I'm suspecting that 2 of the ladies will spend most of their time on the ship and not really get into seeing the ports. I would love to do the cave tubing and my mother (80yo) would even enjoy it as she enjoys the water. The other two, I can't really see doing that. We don't all have to stay together, but probably will try to choose activities that we all (or 4 of us) will enjoy. Thanks for the info on Key West. So you can catch the trolley close to the port? What is the difference in that and the &quot;conch&quot; train? I guess after taking a little ride around town, it would be mostly a walking around-looking in shops kind of place. Also I've heard they have some pretty interesting entertainers near the port area in the evening. <BR><BR>I've told everyone to look over their cruise brochures and get a feel for the excursions available and then we'll talk about what we're going to do when we all meet at the ship (coming from 3 different parts of TX).

Debbie

&quot;Conch&quot; Train is what the Tolley Bus is called in Key West. And you can buy your ticket just a few steps from where we'll be docked. Have a great time. Let me know as soon as you get back how your trip was. We'll be going the week after you come back so we'll look forward to hearing from you. Debbie

Brad

Hi,<BR><BR>I just returned this past Sunday December 15th from the cruise you mention on the Rhapsody. Fortunately, I knew this ship as I had taken it to Alaska in 1998. You will love thie ship. I have been on 11 cruises and find the Rhapsody to be the best so far.<BR>At Key West you dock around 4pm, not tender, right next to Mallory Sqare dock. You can walk off the ship and peruse the bazaar style shoping area there as you watch the sunset. There are jugglers, fire eaters, trained animal acts etc..free. As an option a big hit was the conch train tour. Not really a train but a series of open air carts connected to the main cart, they will drive you around town and hit the hot spots. There is plaenty of shopping indoors in the Duval street area close to the ship as well.<BR>We went to the ruins (Xenatunic) on the Guatemalan border on Belize after a 25 minute boat tender ride fromt he ship. There was a long bus ride, buit made enjoyable on an air conditioned bus. We received a lot of intersting facts and stories on the way up. We were at the site about an hour. Optionally you can climb the ruins. We did it but if you have someone with ambulatory challenges, I do not recommend the climb. On the way up we stopped for a bathroom break and on the way back for lunch at a local restaurant. The meal was chipped beef and mexican selections, not up to the standards of the wondeful you will have on the Rhapsody but edible. There is a closer ruin you but this one was said to be more spectacular. It is not on the scale of Chitzen itza, Macchu Picchu or Teotihuacan but impressive. <BR>We had been to Cozumel a few times before so we just shopped at the dock area. The weather was threatening so original plans to go to Xcarat (recommended) were trashed. We were also tired from all the things we had done. Oh, and please, have the chocolate souffle when offered onthe ship. It is light and served with a warm amaretto cream..to die for. Sorry this is long, but if you have any other questions about hte ship, ports, food etc I will be happy to write you direct.

Brad

one last thing. Tubing through the caves. We wanted to do it but we wnated to do the ruins more. People whop tubed in Belize said it was great but had to walk up hill in the mud carrying their tube before going inthe water. Teh water was a cold 72 degrees so it was a bit of a jolt. They were given lights for their heads to see inthe caves and it was a thrilling experience but after being in the water 3 hours they were cold and their rears were a bit tired of sitting on the tube but htey all said they would do it again. AT Xcarat in Cozumel you can do tube/cave floatinf too for 30 minutes, vist some ruins and a zoo, etc but I do not know anyone who did it.

dp

Brad, thanks for your info. Our group is converging on Galveston from Dallas, San Antonio and Houston area. I have heard good things about the ship and we're all looking forward to the trip. It looks like a conch train trip and seeing the sights and shopping close to the port in Key West sounds good. Did you hear of anyone taking the PT boat trip in the harbor? My dad, having served in WWII, and watching all the old war movies with him makes doing something like that a fascination for me. It sounds like we have the evening and next morning there. I'm going to share you comments with the others regarding the ruins in Belize. I have been to Chichen Itza, so this would be more for my mother who's never seen Mayan (or any other) ruins. It will depend on if they want to do a full day on the tour you took or just see the &quot;closer&quot; one. I'm 99.9% sure I won't get them on any tubes for 3 hours in 72 deg. water...LOL. As for Cozumel, being as that is the last stop, it'll all depend on how tired everyone is. I don't know if they'll want to deal with making the ferry trip to the mainland to go somewhere like Xcaret or Tulum. I'd still love to pile them in a jeep and cruise around the island. I appreciate your comments though and will let you know how things went. We leave jan 5th. Two of my co-workers will be on the Jan. 26th sailing, so they're waiting to hear how our trip goes. Thanks again.

Brad

dp..<BR><BR>Funny you mention the PT boat. We saw it at the dock right next to where the ship diembarked. The PT boat looked kinda fake. It was small and looked like a converted cabin cruiser painted gray. They had guns on the front and maybe the boat was real...but it didn't look it. It was more DIsneyesque looking than real. There were a few senior male tourists, probably ex-military, on it but they appeared to be a bit disappointed, based on the look on their face. They looked a bit embarrased to be on it. You can wait and elect to see the thing before you pay to do it if you are not sure. I would. <BR>BTW Belize is a very poor country and where you dock is dangerous. It is not a place to go to shore alone and shop. There are police with machine guns occasionally seen due to the crime. Onthe buses and out of the initial town we were ok. It is a beautiful country. Our waiter advised that if we did not do a tour..then just to stay on the ship. After seeing it, I agree . <BR>

dp

Brad, I thought I had posted a response to your last post, but guess I didn't. I appreciate you honesty regarding the PT boat situation. Sounds like I will pass on that. I think we'll take the conch train tour and just walk around the area near the port. Thanks again.

dp

I've returned from the Rhapsody and will say the cruise itself was great and the ship beautiful. Food was great and plentiful. Service was great; had the best waiters, 2nd seating (not so many kids then thankfully, as there were many on the ship) and were very happy with our cabin (1st time to have an outside cabin w/ window). Entertainment was varied and generally very good; many activities every day to keep you busy if so desired. In Key West, we did the conch train/shipwreck museum/aquarium tour; it was cold and windy there. In Belize, 4 of us went on the Lamanai ruins/New River safari tour and though it was a long day, was enjoyable. I would agree not to venture out into Belize City on your own. And the tourism village at the dock is very small and limited as to shopping. Tablemates of ours went on the Shark Ray Alley/beach snorkelling and the cave tubing tours had a great time. If I had not been with an &quot;older&quot; group, I would have probably done the shark tour. In Cozumel, again, with the group we had, we chose an underwater boat tour, but our tablemates who went on a snorkelling/Playa Sol beach day really had a great time. Probably 90% of the cruisers were from Texas with others being from all over the world. I only saw one man being very verbally negative the entire week with nothing the staff offered being &quot;good enough&quot; to appease him and it was obvious he's just a bitter person generally. I was sure glad he was not at our dinner table! The 2 less-active ladies in our group ended up being a strain on our otherwise great week, as I ended up having to take care of all their paperwork on check-in and departure and carry their bags at both ends and see to them getting to meals, shows, etc. on the ship the whole week. I learned my lesson on that one. I would definitely go on the Rhapsody again. And do not miss the midnight chocolate buffet; it was beautiful! BTW, I second the earlier post about the chocolate souffle; it was fabulous!