Activities on Rhapsody?

I've only done one cruise before, which was a Western Med trip on Allure. There is a rather detailed and photo-dense trip report here.

Now my DW is talking about going on a Greek Islands tour on Rhapsody of the Seas in 2018, but I worry a bit about whether the smaller ship can keep my family occupied. DD will be 18 and DS 16 in June, but when I ask them what they liked about the last cruise they cite FloRider, the climbing walls, the Windjammer, Theatre Under The Stars and the other entertainment as being the things they really enjoyed.

I guess the Windjammer would still be there, but does a smaller ship like Rhapsody have any of the entertainment that worked so well last time?

Rhapsody has the pool big screen that shows movies at night and a rock climbing wall.

I took my kids (17&14) on the Rhapsody for 11 night cruise from Venice last summer. They also are used to Flowrider, etc. I will tell you that we spent so much time off the ship in the ports, that it really didn't end up being much of an issue. This summer we took the Freedom from Barcelona and neither child ever used the Flowrider. The cruises are so port intensive, they really didn't miss it. They would really be bothered if we had many sea days, but in Europe that doesn't usually happen.

I think they have a ping pong table.

But only 1 ball.

And one of the rackets is missing....

Thank you for these useful answers

I've only done one cruise before, which was a Western Med trip on Allure. There is a rather detailed and photo-dense trip report here.

 

Now my DW is talking about going on a Greek Islands tour on Rhapsody of the Seas in 2018, but I worry a bit about whether the smaller ship can keep my family occupied. DD will be 18 and DS 16 in June, but when I ask them what they liked about the last cruise they cite FloRider, the climbing walls, the Windjammer, Theatre Under The Stars and the other entertainment as being the things they really enjoyed.

 

I guess the Windjammer would still be there, but does a smaller ship like Rhapsody have any of the entertainment that worked so well last time?

Hello!

I remember you were on the same Allure sailing as me in 2015. I followed your review after the cruise.

I have been on the Enchantment (Rhapsody's sister) in 2011, and didn't really care for it. It was the only cruise we actually have regrets about. The Vision Class are pretty ships, but there is little to do for teenagers, and I think it would be really underwhelming if they had only been on Allure before. Pretty much just a pool and the teen club. Avoid Radiance Class ships as well for the same reasons.

Maybe a better idea to stick with what you already know and do the Symphony out of Barcelona. Same class of ship as AL but with some new additions. I have spent 3 weeks on Harmony over the past 11 months, and think it is perfect for teens.

Hi Joe12, great to hear from you!

That is what I worry about. I believe that - for the kids at least - a cruise is mostly about "on the boat" - my wife and I might go exploring but it's not what excites them. And that's what worries me about the Rhapsody.

Thanks for your thoughts,

/alan

I just came back from Rhapsody and yes there is not much as a big entertainment in the ship.

There is Rock climbing if you are interested. A ping pong table. 2 pools (one is outdoor and one is indoor)

The gym is really small, even the Casino is small from what I expected.

Other than that, they aren't really anything WOW to offer at Rhapsody. We took it because we want to visit those ports and the ship fits our schedule. I would love to sail with Harmony, Allure, Symphony (available next year).