A cruise before Christmas

7 Dec 2019

We took a preholiday vacation before what was sure to be a busy Christmas.  It was a seven-day cruise on the Rhapsody of the Sea out of Tampa, FL. This was our first time leaving from this port which is a lot smaller than the east coast cruise ports. Just in front of our ship was the American Victory moored at the Maritime Museum.  These ships played a vital role during WWII, carrying men and supplies to and from the battlefields of Europe. If we come back, it will be on the list of things to do.

 The Rhapsody of the Sea is one of the smaller ships in the fleet and has a quite different feel than the larger ones.  We found that our balcony room has one of the best layouts that we had before.  It made the room seem much larger.  One of the things we enjoy most on cruises is spending time on our balcony and the different sea views.

The ship has most of the usual attractions just reduced a bit in size and variety.

Our first port of call was Key West, FL.  We have been here several times over the years but is was still fun to experience the towns lively atmosphere.

We took a trolley tour of the downtown area and learned some things we did not know from our past visits.  It is well worth it to get the real feel of the town. Our guide pointed out that the cemetery holds three times more folks than currently live in town.

We enjoyed a good lunch including margaritas and great views.

We then strolled some of the busy downtown streets.

Moored at the Navy pier is the retired Coast Guard Cutter Ingham.  It is the last of her class afloat and has an impressive history with over 50 years of service.  Unfortunately, the museum was closed while we were in port.