Rhapsody of Seas - Alaska

[Ariel35]

Hi,

 

Has anyone been on Rhapsody? I'm looking at booking an Alaska cruise for my brother in May. Any pointers? How is the ship? Is May good, or should I wait till June and do Radiance?

 

Thanks...

[birdylady]

We did Rhapsody last May and had a fantastic time. The only 'issue' that was of note was the occassional 'smell' that you could detect in the aft/startboard area. So, if you book, just book a cabin away from there. It was a great ship, well cared for and the crew did a great job. The Capt did a phenomenal job getting us up close to the glacier. You felt you could almost reach out and touch it. Granted, it was FREEZING at that point, but I guess if it weren't the glacier wouldn't be there. :D Oh, and speaking of weather, each day in port, we had to take our coats off before noon as the weather was super too.

 

Enjoy.

Erika

(p.s. If you go down to post #14, you'll have a better spaced version of my review - http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1217526)

[kniwolf]

May was perfect for that cruise! We did it in May 2009. It was 60 degrees the entire time, and only rained one night :) I've been all over the world, and that cruise is where I saw some of the most beautiful things in my life.

 

As for the boat, it was fantastic. No specialty restaurants, but everything that we had in the MDR was good.

 

The only catch to going in may is that you do miss the big salmon run. If the salmon run is going in June, you may want to wait until then (of course, there will probably be more people, but you should be able to see much more wildlife).

[sailawayjack]

Hi,

 

Has anyone been on Rhapsody? I'm looking at booking an Alaska cruise for my brother in May. Any pointers? How is the ship? Is May good, or should I wait till June and do Radiance?

 

Thanks...

 

:cool:I went the first week in September, wish I'd gone in July. More expensive, but weather was better. Wife wanted to see bears, but Sep was too late. Had JS, rear aft corner. Huge balcony which wrapped around. Plenty of room and great views. Only regret was the fact that since each stop was short, trips were limited near coast. Took train ride and it was great. Glacier, blue ice was fantastic. It is a trip that I would not miss, but if I went again, I'd go for a week ahead of time.:cool:

[NancyIL]

Hi,

 

Has anyone been on Rhapsody? I'm looking at booking an Alaska cruise for my brother in May. Any pointers? How is the ship? Is May good, or should I wait till June and do Radiance?

 

Thanks...

 

The Radiance has a much better itinerary than Rhapsody, although it is a one-way cruise. The Radiance will have just come out of an extensive drydock in June and should be in great shape.

[Ariel35]

Thank you all so much for your posts!

 

I think he would love the Radiance, especially as the itinerary is more intensive. The only limiting factor is getting time off work; he's busier in June. I'm just afraid that if I wait and he's busy then he'll be unable to go....

 

I do have another question... has anyone sailed Norwegian? How was it?

[Ariel35]

We did Rhapsody last May and had a fantastic time. The only 'issue' that was of note was the occassional 'smell' that you could detect in the aft/startboard area. So, if you book, just book a cabin away from there. It was a great ship, well cared for and the crew did a great job. The Capt did a phenomenal job getting us up close to the glacier. You felt you could almost reach out and touch it. Granted, it was FREEZING at that point, but I guess if it weren't the glacier wouldn't be there. :D Oh, and speaking of weather, each day in port, we had to take our coats off before noon as the weather was super too.

 

Enjoy.

Erika

(p.s. If you go down to post #14, you'll have a better spaced version of my review - http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1217526)

 

 

Thanks Erika! I loved your review! I was/am a bit nervous about booking this trip for them, as my brother's quite particular. I just want them to have a good time and enjoy. Your review has eased my concerns. One quick question...would you recommend a room on the starboard or port side? I'm looking at booking a balcony midship for them.

Thanks!

[birdylady]

Thanks Erika! I loved your review! I was/am a bit nervous about booking this trip for them, as my brother's quite particular. I just want them to have a good time and enjoy. Your review has eased my concerns. One quick question...would you recommend a room on the starboard or port side? I'm looking at booking a balcony midship for them.

Thanks!

You are more than welcome. I'm glad my review can still be helpful.

We had cabin 7060 a port balcony cabin. It was great. I am one that tends towards motion sickness so we always try midship. This worked well. The only day I had any problem with that concern, EVERYONE had that concern due to some rouch seas. And it wasn't the whole day. We knew we had to have a balcony for Alaska. And it was perfect for when we came into Hubbard Glacier. We got to watch all morning from the comfort of our cabin. I don't know if the captain always turns the ship the way he did, but in this case we got to watch the turn from our cabin as well so we saw everything very well. And since it was FREEZING (and I MEAN freezing), we could step into the cabin every few minutes to warm up.

 

Hope this helps.

Erika

[NancyIL]

You are more than welcome. I'm glad my review can still be helpful.

We had cabin 7060 a port balcony cabin. It was great. I am one that tends towards motion sickness so we always try midship. This worked well. The only day I had any problem with that concern, EVERYONE had that concern due to some rouch seas. And it wasn't the whole day. We knew we had to have a balcony for Alaska. And it was perfect for when we came into Hubbard Glacier. We got to watch all morning from the comfort of our cabin. I don't know if the captain always turns the ship the way he did, but in this case we got to watch the turn from our cabin as well so we saw everything very well. And since it was FREEZING (and I MEAN freezing), we could step into the cabin every few minutes to warm up.

 

Hope this helps.

Erika

Your cruise on Rhapsody went to Hubbard Glacier? Rhapsody goes to Tracy Arm in 2011 and to only 2 Alaska ports (Juneau and Skagway). For those reasons, Rhapsody is one of the LAST ships I would choose for Alaska - especially for a first-time Alaska cruiser. I don't care how nice the ship is: if you want to see Alaska - choose a better itinerary.

[birdylady]

Your cruise on Rhapsody went to Hubbard Glacier? Rhapsody goes to Tracy Arm in 2011 and to only 2 Alaska ports (Juneau and Skagway). For those reasons, Rhapsody is one of the LAST ships I would choose for Alaska - especially for a first-time Alaska cruiser. I don't care how nice the ship is: if you want to see Alaska - choose a better itinerary.

Nancy,

 

Thank you for correcting me. You are correct, it WAS Tracy Arm Fjord. My mistake. Brain fade at early hours today. Sorry.

 

Erika

[NancyIL]

Nancy,

 

Thank you for correcting me. You are correct, it WAS Tracy Arm Fjord. My mistake. Brain fade at early hours today. Sorry.

 

Erika

 

Thanks, Erika. You were very fortunate to have seen the Sawyer glaciers at the end of Tracy Arm, as many ships get iced out.

[Ariel35]

Hmmm.... Now I'm not sure. I know they won't get up to Hubbard Glacier but those don't begin till June.

 

Erika... was the Rhapsody your first Alaskan cruise or had you been before?

[NancyIL]

Hmmm.... Now I'm not sure. I know they won't get up to Hubbard Glacier but those don't begin till June.

 

Erika... was the Rhapsody your first Alaskan cruise or had you been before?

 

Radiance's Alaska cruises don't begin until June because it will be in dry dock just before. I have sailed with Royal Caribbean more than any other cruise line, but my Alaska cruises have been on Princess and Holland America.

[Ariel35]

How did you find Holland America?

[NancyIL]

How did you find Holland America?

 

Um...how old is your brother? ;) HAL does a great job in Alaska, and I'm cruising to Alaska with them again this August. I think Princess has prettier ships, and they remind me of RCI's Vision and Radiance-class ships. However, I chose HAL because of the itinerary.

 

My 3rd Alaska cruise was on Princess to Tracy Arm the last week of May. The two previous cruises had gotten all the way down Tracy Arm to see the glaciers, but my cruise was iced out. l would've been disappointed if it had been my first and/or only cruise to Alaska.

 

**By the way - you might want to give Celebrity a glance, as the Millennium has the same one-way itinerary as Radiance, and Century has a nice roundtrip itinerary from Vancouver.

[Ariel35]

Um...how old is your brother? ;) HAL does a great job in Alaska, and I'm cruising to Alaska with them again this August. I think Princess has prettier ships, and they remind me of RCI's Vision and Radiance-class ships. However, I chose HAL because of the itinerary.

 

My 3rd Alaska cruise was on Princess to Tracy Arm the last week of May. The two previous cruises had gotten all the way down Tracy Arm to see the glaciers, but my cruise was iced out. l would've been disappointed if it had been my first and/or only cruise to Alaska.

 

**By the way - you might want to give Celebrity a glance, as the Millennium has the same one-way itinerary as Radiance, and Century has a nice roundtrip itinerary from Vancouver.

 

Lol... thanks! I am so indecisive! He is 39... not a partier. Would you recommend Tracy Arm or Hubbard Glacier? Also is the train ride in Skagway worth it?

 

I'll look into Celebrity as well.

 

I was looking at RCI because I've cruised with them just last week (my first cruise ever :) and it was fantastic!

[negc]

We have done similar cruisetours on both Princess and RCI and while the Princess cruisetour was very good, the RCI cruisetour was superior in almost every aspect. Radiance itinerary is, IMHO, preferable to a cruise from Seattle, and since it is having so many great features added during the drydock, I would seriously consider booking her.

[NancyIL]

Lol... thanks! I am so indecisive! He is 39... not a partier. Would you recommend Tracy Arm or Hubbard Glacier? Also is the train ride in Skagway worth it?

 

I'll look into Celebrity as well.

 

I was looking at RCI because I've cruised with them just last week (my first cruise ever :) and it was fantastic!

 

I would recommend Glacier Bay or Hubbard Glacier over Tracy Arm. RCI and Celebrity don't go to Glacier Bay.

[Ariel35]

Thanks for the advice... I'm looking into it.