All Things Rhapsody of the Seas

[samoyedlover24]

Since other posters made threads on other Royal Caribbean ships, such as "All Things Monarch of the Seas", I would like to start a thread on Rhapsody of the Seas. Hopefully, this thread will stay active for a long time, like others, so we can keep giving new cruisers information on this beautiful ship. So, start adding things like pictures of her, interior and exterior, your favorite staterooms with the option of pictures of those rooms, favorite shows, favorite places and places to hang out, favorite itinerary, etc. Stuff like that is what I'm looking for. Don't be afraid to add more things than I asked for, just go ahead and post all things and everything of Rhapsody of the Seas. Thanks!

 

—samoyedlover24

[hucifer]

I'm all over this thread, except I haven't sailed her yet. :D

 

ETA: I've been wondering why no one has started one yet.

[Past it]

i am interested as well, not been on her yet either, i have researched and looked at heaps of pics. will tell all when i return. As she is on her way here to Australia :D you might not get many recent threads. If you look on P&O side she is often talked about !! All ships departing from Australia are discussed there and many have sailed on her when she is deployed for a few months each year.

[Funbobby68]

Just got off the Rhapsody , fantastic ship , best place to be is the Champagne Bar on Deck 4 , when you get there , say hello to Donjie and Godwin the 2 bartenders , let them know Rick AKA ********* sent you , these guys can entertain better than some of the shows on the ship

[Hot Chilli]

I was hoping this thread would have more replies.....

 

I'm sailing next year and after all the info I can get!

[didiaust]

I did a very long review in NOV 2008 of Rhapsody - if you can find it it might help search posts started by me

 

It should help a few people as there is a lot of detail

 

Di

[MD_Dan]

We were on Rhapsody last year. It was our first RCCI cruise. This year, we sailed on Enchantment - another Vision Class ship. We enjoyed both ships but this is what we enjoyed more with Rhapsody:

- The crew was very nice and polite.

- There were two soft-serve ice-cream stations on Rhapsody.

- The space that had Chops on Enchantment was a nice quiet place that we used to read and work puzzles.

- We liked all the entertainment and directors (Keith and Frankie) better.

 

The only thing I didn't like about Rhapsody was the vibration.

[samoyedlover24]

We were on Rhapsody last year. It was our first RCCI cruise. This year, we sailed on Enchantment - another Vision Class ship. We enjoyed both ships but this is what we enjoyed more with Rhapsody:

- The crew was very nice and polite.

- There were two soft-serve ice-cream stations on Rhapsody.

- The space that had Chops on Enchantment was a nice quiet place that we used to read and work puzzles.

- We liked all the entertainment and directors (Keith and Frankie) better.

 

The only thing I didn't like about Rhapsody was the vibration.

MD Dan,

Thanks for your input and the first reply in this thread! I hope to sail her again soon!

 

—samoyedlover24

[not2old]

We were on the Rhapsody last Sept to Alaska. We loved everything about this ship! Easy to navigate, the staff was the friendliest we have ever had and the whole sailing experience was superb. We enjoyed the Solarium, the music before dinner in the Centrum was relaxing and the ship overall was beautiful We leave on Oct 7th on the Enchantment and we are looking forward to the "stretched" version of the Rhapsody!

[shmthaus]

We have sailed Rhapsody several times out of Galveston, but not the Alaskan or Aussie itineraries.

 

She was our first cruise and we fell in love with her. Each time we sailed her, it was like homecoming. Just the right size and while in Texas, the crew was absolutely wonderful.

 

When RCL decided to pull her from Galveston, there was an email campaign to keep her in Tx, but alas, it was to no avail. Now we only get Voyager from Nov - April and then starting Nov 2011, we get Mariner. Nice big ships, but Rhapsody was "our ship".

 

We are very jealous of those who get to sail her now. For pics, go to my webshots link in my sig.

[critterchick]

Actually, there is another thread with the exact same title: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=778550&highlight=rhapsody

 

She's a bit beaten up physically, but our experience in February was fantastic - she has an amazing crew that aims to please, the food was terrific and we can't wait to be back onboard her in April.

[IWORK2CRUISE]

We just returned from the repo cruise from Vancouver to Hawaii. WOW, what a cruise we had.

The friendliest of crews.

The ship is a little older but has a lot of character that you miss out on with the newer ships.

The Shall We Dance lounge is so beautiful with the murals of Fred & Ginger. Not to mention their statues outside.

The Schooner bar is a little small but very comfortable.

Moonlight Bay is a lovely but little used room. They do however have some flat screen TV’s so that you can check in on sports or just sit by a window and watch the sea. Someone started a giant jigsaw puzzle and people would drop in to add a piece here and there. I forgot to check on the status, though!

The Broadway Melodies Theater is small but very old world elegant. The seating is alternating individual and banquette style.

The Windjammer was well situated and at breakfast they had some pre-prepared individual omelets which I found to be a nice addition. Of course, one could also wait in line for a specially prepared omelet.

We were very relaxed on this cruise and only had one dinner and one lunch in the MDR. I will say that it was a lovely room. We had elected My Time Dining and did not have a reservation for the 1st formal night that we went. We “thought” that 8:00 might be a good time and to our great pleasure we had no wait at all. The waiter really tried to tempt me with dessert but the fact is that I was just too full! It must have been the extra bread that I dipped in the escargot!

Go to the MDR for lunch on a sea day. It is called "30 Bistro" (or similar.) They have a terrific salad bar. You select your ingredients and they chop them all up for you. You can then have them add chicken, shrimp or anchovies. (I had shrimp and it was wonderful.) These salads can be your meals or your starters for a three course served meal on sea days.

The Solarium is really lovely and does include a Solarium Cafe that was open in the late afternoon and evenings until 2:00 am.

There was frequent entertainment in the Centrum. The lowest level (4) is the Champagne Terrace and it was fun to be above, as well.

We did not go the disco in the Viking Crown as that is not our usual choice. They did have the Diamond cocktail hour up there in the upper level and it was great at sunset. The Viking Crown is also a nice spot for reading in the morning hours.

We enjoy walking on cruises and the walking area on deck 10 was well planned. There is actually more room to walk along the sides where the loungers are above the pool than there was on Explorer. 4 laps = 1 mile.

For those who enjoy shade in the afternoon it was nice that they had a number of tables along the windows on deck 9. Smoking is permitted on the Starboard side.

The gym is a bit small and the initial turn-out for morning stretch and exercise classes was quite large so they moved the morning classes to the dance floor of the Shall We Dance lounge. Hawaii was so busy that I didn’t go on port days.

Check out the spa specials. I went for a great special one day that included a body brush, a back, neck & shoulder massage, a foot & ankle massage, and an express facial and scalp massage!

[samoyedlover24]

Thanks guys for all the responses with information! Keep it coming, please!

 

—samoyedlover24

[dea71]

We just returned from the repo cruise from Vancouver to Hawaii. WOW, what a cruise we had.

The friendliest of crews.

The ship is a little older but has a lot of character that you miss out on with the newer ships.

The Shall We Dance lounge is so beautiful with the murals of Fred & Ginger. Not to mention their statues outside.

The Schooner bar is a little small but very comfortable.

Moonlight Bay is a lovely but little used room. They do however have some flat screen TV’s so that you can check in on sports or just sit by a window and watch the sea. Someone started a giant jigsaw puzzle and people would drop in to add a piece here and there. I forgot to check on the status, though!

The Broadway Melodies Theater is small but very old world elegant. The seating is alternating individual and banquette style.

The Windjammer was well situated and at breakfast they had some pre-prepared individual omelets which I found to be a nice addition. Of course, one could also wait in line for a specially prepared omelet.

We were very relaxed on this cruise and only had one dinner and one lunch in the MDR. I will say that it was a lovely room. We had elected My Time Dining and did not have a reservation for the 1st formal night that we went. We “thought” that 8:00 might be a good time and to our great pleasure we had no wait at all. The waiter really tried to tempt me with dessert but the fact is that I was just too full! It must have been the extra bread that I dipped in the escargot!

Go to the MDR for lunch on a sea day. It is called "30 Bistro" (or similar.) They have a terrific salad bar. You select your ingredients and they chop them all up for you. You can then have them add chicken, shrimp or anchovies. (I had shrimp and it was wonderful.) These salads can be your meals or your starters for a three course served meal on sea days.

The Solarium is really lovely and does include a Solarium Cafe that was open in the late afternoon and evenings until 2:00 am.

There was frequent entertainment in the Centrum. The lowest level (4) is the Champagne Terrace and it was fun to be above, as well.

We did not go the disco in the Viking Crown as that is not our usual choice. They did have the Diamond cocktail hour up there in the upper level and it was great at sunset. The Viking Crown is also a nice spot for reading in the morning hours.

We enjoy walking on cruises and the walking area on deck 10 was well planned. There is actually more room to walk along the sides where the loungers are above the pool than there was on Explorer. 4 laps = 1 mile.

For those who enjoy shade in the afternoon it was nice that they had a number of tables along the windows on deck 9. Smoking is permitted on the Starboard side.

The gym is a bit small and the initial turn-out for morning stretch and exercise classes was quite large so they moved the morning classes to the dance floor of the Shall We Dance lounge. Hawaii was so busy that I didn’t go on port days.

Check out the spa specials. I went for a great special one day that included a body brush, a back, neck & shoulder massage, a foot & ankle massage, and an express facial and scalp massage!

 

 

Thanks for all that info - we are travelling on Rhapsody in 5 weeks and cannot wait.

 

We cruised on her last December and loved it - all the glass makes her a lovely 'open' ship and always has a great spot to just watch the world go by!! The crew were fantastic. Our kids loved Adventure Ocean and it was very well organised and always had something different for the kids to do.

 

It looks like we will need to check out more of the Champagne Bar this time around - wasn't especially exciting last time (although we did enjoy the Schooner Bar).

 

I didn't try the Day Spa last time but may try to take advantage of the specials this time around - the one mentioned above sounds very indulgent!!

 

Our cabin was very comfortable - we had an outside cabin on Deck 3 - was nice to have a sofa instead of having to sit on beds all the time. Cabins had lots of storage and suitcases fit under the bed (we had always been on P&O before and storing of suitcases was always a bug bear of mine!) We have a Jnr Suite this time - will miss the bunk beds - NOT!

 

The ship is really easy to get around and has a great pool area! We enjoyed the outdoor buffets on sea days - no need to head inside to eat just hang around the pool!

 

Last time we had My Time Dining - but this time around we are happy to have first sitting - MTD was great but with 8 of us we still felt the need to book the same time every night (with 4 kids it was easier/quicker to have the same waiter every night) and it sort of defeated the purpose of flexible dining. Plus we also found that the ship's entertainment was centred more around the set dining times - eg. shows, bar entertainment and even photographs - so if you had dinner at say 7pm you kind of were lost in between (hope that makes sense!)

 

Cannot think of anything else right now - long weekend brain!!

 

Cheers

Dea

[shmthaus]

Off Topic

 

Samoyedlover24, I take it that you have a Samoyed? I had a female for 13yrs and she was a wonderful member of our family. I had to put her down several years ago because she developed tumors in her lungs. I think that was one of the saddest days on my life. If I ever decide to get another large dog, it would be a Samoyed. They have a wonderful temperament and are extremely loyal and protective. Plus they are very beautiful.

 

If you do have a Samoyed, I would love to see pics.

[Eric97123]

Thanks for starting this thread, it has answered several questions I had about the ship. My wife and I are taking her from Vancouver to Hawaii next Sept and looking forward to it since it will be our first cruise. All of my cruising has been on a 45 ft+ sailboat so not having to stand watch in the middle of the night or sleeping on bed that is leaning 45 degrees will be nice :)

[samoyedlover24]

Off Topic

 

Samoyedlover24, I take it that you have a Samoyed? I had a female for 13yrs and she was a wonderful member of our family. I had to put her down several years ago because she developed tumors in her lungs. I think that was one of the saddest days on my life. If I ever decide to get another large dog, it would be a Samoyed. They have a wonderful temperament and are extremely loyal and protective. Plus they are very beautiful.

 

If you do have a Samoyed, I would love to see pics.

Yes, I do, shmthaus. Her name is Sasha and she turned 3 in August. My computer won't let me post any pictures, though, for some reason.

[samoyedlover24]

Thank you dea71 and IWORKTOCRUISE,

 

You posted a lot of good info to start out this thread. I hope that this thread gets more posts in time, so like the thread, "All Things Monarch of the Seas", it will stay active for quite a few years.

 

—samoyedlover24

[samoyedlover24]

Anyone want to add anything more?

[monakayk]

It has been a few years since I have sailed on the Rhapsody of the Seas, but we really enjoyed our cruise. If anyone would like to read my review, just click the link below:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=417145

 

Also, below my signature are photos of the ship and our cruise on her.

[samoyedlover24]

If anyone is going on the Rhapsody soon, could you post a review with pictures when you get back, maybe? Thanks!

 

—samoyedlover24

[aussiespirit]

We are sailing on the Rhapsody on Mar 6th next year, I promise to do a good review and put up some pics on our return, this cruise is from Perth Australia to Sydney Australia via New Zealand and Tasmania so there should be lots of really good photo opportunities, we are looking forward to it and eagerly counting down the days.

[BaileyandBella]

Is she going into dry dock to be stretched, as someone posted in this thread?

 

Thanks

[elcydcruiser]

Thanks for starting this thread. I was on Enchantment right after she was stretched and thoroughly enjoyed her. My DSis & I are on Rhapsody next Aug. As of now, no one has joined my Aug 5th thread. I'm looking forward to my own private cruise:D on RofS.