NOTE: The purpose and intent of this post is NOT aimed at providing a review of the cruise ship.
In April, we embarked on an 8-night western Caribbean cruise aboard Royal Caribbean Rhapsody of the Seas. Rhapsody was built in 1997 and is Royal Caribbean’s second-oldest ship. Our three prior cruises had been on newer ships, which is certainly our preference. However, we were itinerary-focused this time and knew that only the older, smaller ships sail to two of the locations we wanted to visit. We were glad to have visited these two locations, but we did not particularly enjoy our overall cruise ship experience, and we are reluctant to cruise on an older ship again, despite the itinerary.
We always arrive at the port of call the day prior to the cruise; this year, it was out of Tampa. We stayed at Home2 Suites by Hilton – Channel District, which was awesome! The hotel is located in a beautiful, newer area of Tampa, surrounded by great restaurants. However, the greatest aspect of this hotel, and the reason why I selected it, is due to the proximity to the cruise port – we could see the ship from our hotel window. Since it is only about two blocks from the port, we walked there!
This was my (Stella) fourth cruise and Larry’s fifth. We were blessed with another cruise with perfect weather! Some of you may recall from the post of our 2025 cruise that we had mentioned we were going to visit a resort this year instead of going on a cruise. We came close to pursuing that path as I had booked and then canceled reservations at El Presidente’ in Cozumel. After that, I had booked a cruise, with a similar itinerary, on Celebrity Beyond cruise ship. However, after having trouble with solidifying the excursions for that cruise, I canceled it, forfeiting the $500 deposit. Ouch! After much consideration, we booked this cruise on Rhapsody two months prior to the sail date.
The focal point of this post is to discuss our experiences with the excursions that we selected, NOT to “critique” every aspect of the excursion itself (i.e. the tour guides, organization, equipment, etc.). Please see below to read about our thoughts and experiences associated with each of the excursions. (These are the specific excursion names on Royal Caribbean’s website). At both Grand Cayman and Cozumel, our excursions only had a small number of people, which makes excursions more pleasant.
The four ports of call we visited on Rhapsody of the Seas were: 1) Grand Cayman 2) Belize 3) Cozumel 4) Costa Maya.
Saturday – Sunday (4/4/26 – 4/12/26)
1) Grand Cayman ~ Grand Cayman Snorkel:
This is one of the new locations that we were interested in snorkeling. Like the Cozumel excursion (below), the two snorkeling spots are just a few minutes from the dock. The first stop is Bob Soto’s Reef, aka Cheeseburger Reef, where we had ample time exploring the reef in the clear aquamarine water. In addition to an abundance of fish, we saw a large barracuda and three enormous tarpons. It was a good thing that the tour operator had warned us of the possibility of seeing these, otherwise they could have been mistaken for sharks. Each of these tarpon had to be at least four feet in length, minimum. Afterwards, we were escorted to an underwater shipwreck, Wreck of the Cali, to snorkel around. The Cali was a four-masted barquentine, a steel schooner, 200+ feet long, which sank just North of George Town Harbor in 1944 after catching fire. Declared a navigational hazard, the British army used an overabundant amount of dynamite to sink the ship where it lies today, approximately at a depth of 20 feet. It was neat to look at, but there were not many fish near it, aside from a large tarpon. After snorkeling, we ate a delicious lunch at Rackam’s Waterfront Restaurant & Bar before returning to the ship.
GRAND CAYMAN FINAL THOUGHTS:
This is a small cruise port where guests are tendered to shore. This was my first experience with a boat tender, and it went very smoothly. And, for a smaller port, we were pleasantly surprised that there was a good variety of excursions to choose from. Grand Cayman is an island that we would consider visiting in the future, although it does not have a pronounced Caribbean ‘vibe’ like other islands (in our opinion), so if that is what you are wanting, this may not provide that overall feel for you.
2) Belize City ~ Sharks, Rays, Barrier Reef Snorkeling & Island Getaway:
This is the other new location that we were interested in snorkeling. The excursion was very full, almost to the point of being overcrowded. The first stop is a reef near Caye Caulker; the boat ride is about 45 minutes. We had ample time to snorkel, but there was little marine life, and the corals were unhealthy. We only saw a few purple fans and that was it. The excursion then stops at a shallow area where guests can get in the water to snorkel with stingrays and nurse sharks. There were too many people, causing the sand to get stirred up, which then impacted visibility. Plus, the water is very shallow, so you pretty much just stand there and watch them float around (as best you can given the lack of visibility). And, we have our own thoughts about touching these creatures because it can impact the natural slime coating their bodies, which acts a barrier against bacteria. Afterward, we were whisked away to “The Split” at the North end of the southern half of Caye Caulker, a beach area where you can order lunch at the Lazy Lizard Bar & Grill and wait to be taken back to the cruise port. We ordered chicken nachos and were hoping for a unique Belizean flavor profile, but they didn’t meet our expectations. However, one bonus, as we headed back to the cruise port, a group of dolphins magically appeared and put on a small show for us.
BELIZE FINAL THOUGHTS:
Like Grand Cayman, this is a small cruise port where guests are tendered to shore. We have heard that The Port Belize Ltd. is in the process of building a new cruise port that would be able to accommodate the larger ships. However, I don’t think we would cruise here in the future for snorkeling. Instead, we would visit a snorkel-specific resort that would take us to numerous snorkeling locations so we can see different reefs. We have read (and watched clips) about the beautiful snorkeling locations in Belize, but Caye Caulker fell short for us. And, this excursion just fell short of the hype for us as well. There were too many people in the shark/ray area, as other tours were in Shark Ray Alley as well, and the Island Getaway portion is just wasted time (for us). It is important to note that there were not many excursion opportunities for this port location.
3) Cozumel, Mexico ~ 3 Reef Snorkel by Boat:
This was our second time visiting this port of call and our second time going on this same excursion. The snorkeling last year was fantastic and was the reason we had considered staying in Cozumel for a week at El Presidente.’ Further, we were pleased to find that we even had the same tour operator (Chavito) as last year! The awesome aspect of this excursion is that the three snorkeling sites are all close to the ship dock, so you don’t spend a lot of time on the boat getting to the snorkeling destination, which equates to more snorkeling time! The three reefs you visit are: Paradise Reef (Paraíso Reef), Dzul-Ha Reef and Paradise Deep Reef (Paraíso Reef). These are drift snorkels and are based on the direction of current at the time, but do not be deceived, as the current can be strong at times and you will have to kick a bit to keep up with the group. We saw various types of fish, a massive King crab, a squid, and a sea snake! After the excursion, we ate lunch at Señor Frog’s, where we each had one of their iconic by-the-yard cocktails that was way more alcohol than we should have had.
COZUMEL, MEXICO FINAL THOUGHTS:
Royal Caribbean offers a vast variety of land and water-based excursions in Cozumel. We would like to do many of them, which is partly why we were interested in staying Cozumel for a week. There is a lot to do on this island, and the locals are eager for business from tourists. While we highly recommend this specific excursion for snorkeling, it is understandable that it can be hard to choose since there are so many great options. A couple who snorkeled with us mentioned this was the best they’ve experienced on their travels. We hope you will give it a try! And tell Chavito that Larry and Stella say, “Hello!”
In December of 2026, Royal Caribbean will open the Royal Beach Club Cozumel. This is the same concept as the Royal Beach Club Paradise Island in Nassau, Bahamas, which opened this year. If this is your vibe, instead of doing an excursion, give it a try. For us, we will stick with the excursions in Cozumel or stay in Cozumel for a week.
4) Costa Maya ~ Glass Bottom Boat, Snorkel & Beach Break:
We visited this port of call last year, but our excursion had been canceled due to the wind. And, the original excursion that I had booked for this year (Power Catamaran & Snorkel) was also canceled, for an unknown reason, so I had to rush to find another one. From our past experiences, we prefer excursions that do not have a ‘beach’ component associated with them because we want to snorkel – not sit around on a beach. However, this was the only other snorkeling excursion that was offered at Costa Maya.
The excursion got off to a rocky start due to significant disorganization and started 45 minutes late as a result. Once we were loaded onto the bus, we were dropped off at the dock and boarded a glass bottom boat, which was not impressive. One positive aspect of this excursion is that the snorkeling site is only a short ride from the dock, like in Cozumel and Grand Cayman. NOTE: The picture of the glass bottom boat on Royal Caribbean’s website is not what the excursion boat looks like.
I had read online that snorkeling in Costa Maya is supposed to be great, with vibrant coral and lots of sea life. For us, it was a complete letdown. The water was murky with a greenish hue, the corals were unhealthy and we saw very little sea life. We suspect one of the reasons for this is the overabundance of sargassum that Mahahual is attempting to get a handle on. This is not a fault of the excursion itself or the operators, although I wonder if they could’ve chosen a different snorkeling location. To add to the letdown, the area designated for the ‘beach break’ is located close to the boat dock in a fishing village. It was extremely unappealing to the point of being an eyesore.
COSTA MAYA, MEXICO FINAL THOUGHTS:
We do not have any interest in doing another excursion at this port of call and we do not recommend this particular excursion. Royal Caribbean has plans to open Perfect Day Costa Maya, which is currently on hold. The concept is the same as Perfect Day CocoCay in the Bahamas, but this new one will be expansive and offer so much more! We are hoping that kayaks will be available and that there will be a great snorkeling spot there.
FINAL CRUISE THOUGHTS:
As I mentioned above, we chose this cruise specifically so we could snorkel at Grand Cayman and Belize, and returning to Cozumel was a bonus. We had exceptional snorkeling at two of the four ports in addition to perfect weather. But we struggled with some of the aspects of sailing on such an old ship; there were some surprises that we had not anticipated. On a positive note, however, the interior of Rhapsody of the Seas is beautiful, classy and elegant. It represents the ‘classic cruising’ era before the big, exciting ships came into the scene. This also explains the large presence of an older population aboard the ship. And, neither of us got sick this time with a flu virus or COVID!
Larry and I exchanged thoughts on which of our four cruises we enjoyed the most. All of them have been unique; three on Royal Caribbean and one on Carnival. While we do not desire to sail on Carnival again, that was still my favorite cruise because of the exposure to the island of Aruba (and we had great snorkeling, overall, on that cruise). We both fell in love with this island and we often think about having a vacation condo there since it is outside of the hurricane belt. Larry’s favorite cruise was our first cruise when Wonder of the Seas was brand new and went to the eastern Caribbean islands.
For next year, we have two ideas. The first idea is to cruise on Legend of the Seas, which sails to Aruba, Curacao, Cabo Rojo, and Perfect Day CocoCay. Visiting Cabo Rojo would be new for us, and we are eager to return to Aruba. Legend of the Seas is a brand-new ship in Royal Caribbean’s Icon class, and we know it will be mind-blowing! Our second idea is to spend a week at Turneffe Island Resort in Belize, something we have wanted to do for the past few years. We change our minds multiple times, so who knows which one it will be at this point, although we are both leaning towards the cruise.
If you have never cruised before and do not know where to begin, we recommend subscribing to some cruise vlogs on YouTube. Some vlogs are specific to different cruise lines, while others discuss all of them. The information they provide is invaluable. Also, here are the links to our three prior cruises:
PRIOR CARIBBEAN CRUISES:
2025 Western Caribbean Cruise + Wekiwa Springs State Park Adventure