Just off the Rhapsody - Wow!

[compman9]

I have never been on a ship that old - to say it looked every day of its 22 years is an understatement

 

The layout is brilliant - It would be great to see a new smaller ship with a similar design, but good grief this was as tired as any 2 star hotel I have ever stayed in

 

I know RCI own Pullmantur and Tui, but surely this would be too awful to palm off on them

[Clarea]

We thought she was in great shape inside.  Royal generally does a good job keeping up the ships.

[compman9]

29 minutes ago, Host Clarea said:

We thought she was in great shape inside.  Royal generally does a good job keeping up the ships.

 

I would love an expanded explanation of your view

 

There wasn't a section of the bathroom that was not grotty and worn, the rubber tiles had years of grime, all wooden surfaces were chipped and/or paint worn

 

All fixtures and fittings were beyond normal descriptions of aged - they were literally 22 years old! The light fittings were corroded around the ancient brass colouring - we even had one light fitting where the shaded was so yellowed it actually cast a yellow glow over the room! The vinyl hacking of the bathroom door was peeling away

 

We had two rooms adjacent, so it wasn't an odd example 

 

It was clean. Of course it was clean, but your highly positive comment, without detail to explain your view seems alarmingly partisan

 

[Clarea]

Maybe we don't notice the same issues as you do, but we would be very happy to cruise on Rhapsody again.

[awestover89]

36 minutes ago, compman9 said:

 

It was clean. Of course it was clean, but your highly positive comment, without detail to explain your view seems alarmingly partisan

 

 

Honestly your original was highly negative without detail to explain your view, just that it looked 22 years old and worse than a 2 star hotel (although you did elaborate some in your second post)

 

We've never been on Rhapsody but are booked on her next May, so would look forward to all details, positive and negative

[pstone1]

1 hour ago, compman9 said:

 

I would love an expanded explanation of your view

 

There wasn't a section of the bathroom that was not grotty and worn, the rubber tiles had years of grime, all wooden surfaces were chipped and/or paint worn

 

All fixtures and fittings were beyond normal descriptions of aged - they were literally 22 years old! The light fittings were corroded around the ancient brass colouring - we even had one light fitting where the shaded was so yellowed it actually cast a yellow glow over the room! The vinyl hacking of the bathroom door was peeling away

 

We had two rooms adjacent, so it wasn't an odd example 

 

It was clean. Of course it was clean, but your highly positive comment, without detail to explain your view seems alarmingly partisan

 

 

We spent almost the entire month of December on Rhapsody in a JS and were very happy with our cabin and cruises!  Neither my husband or I saw anything like you describe.  We thought the ship was very well taken care of and had no issues with its' condition.  I wish we were sailing on RH again soon!  

[robandana]

We also spent 4 weeks aboard the Rhapsody from Venice to Tampa (never actually made it to Tampa....we had to disembark in PC because of a big storm in the Gulf) and we loved her....I must say that we did not spend much time looking for corrosion and chipped wooden surfaces....(I guess if you go looking you can always find flaws...)

 

All and all we found the Rhapsody of the Seas and her crew to be in great shape and also hope to be sailing on her soon...

[cruiselvr04]

We’ve never been on a brand new ship.  Every cruise we see the cabin somewhat beat up.  How can they not be, in use 365 days a year.  Even after refurbishment the drawers stick and wood is chipped here and there. Guess we are just used to that.  The bathrooms are however clean.  If yours was not that could be due to poor cabin cleaning which would be reflective of the steward.  We have seem some really clean cabins and some really dusty dirty ones especially in the corners.  

 

All that hat said it has never diminished our enjoyment of the cruise. 

[Biker19]

Thor part deux?

[RCCL Fan]

We're booked next year...  

 

After years of sailing new ships and mega ships, we were super nervous to book Vision of the Seas earlier this year.

 

Not only did we love that old ship, we booked Enchantment which we're going on in a few weeks, and Rhapsody  next year.

 

Sure she's old, i expect some things to look bad, but RCI usually does a great job keeping up their ships.

 

Like another poster, i'm eager to read all reviews and see all thoughts, but would be surprised to hear it was so bad.

 

Can you share some photos from your trip?  We'd love to see her!

[ZiggaZagga17]

2 hours ago, RCCL Fan said:

We're booked next year...  

 

After years of sailing new ships and mega ships, we were super nervous to book Vision of the Seas earlier this year.

 

Not only did we love that old ship, we booked Enchantment which we're going on in a few weeks, and Rhapsody  next year.

 

Sure she's old, i expect some things to look bad, but RCI usually does a great job keeping up their ships.

 

Like another poster, i'm eager to read all reviews and see all thoughts, but would be surprised to hear it was so bad.

 

Can you share some photos from your trip?  We'd love to see her!

We were on Jewel in June for a quick 4 nighter, and having travelled on nothing smaller than Navigator and for that matter avid Oasis class lovers I was a tad anxious on whether Jewel would be my thing - we also had a 9 nighter booked prior to this for this coming October so the 4 nighter was the litmus test so to speak!

The ship I thought was very nice, tastefully set up and maximised the space without it seeming cramped. 

We're not ones for the windjammer, especially on Embarkation day, but it was a breeze and there's supplementary areas in and around the WJ (outside eating/inside but with comfy loungers) which I thought worked well.

The staff seemed happier ( sometimes on the bigger ships they appear a lot more - put upon? ) and the food seemed of a better quality in the MDR - again maybe a size v time v numbers of patrons aspect?

I know my post is specifically about the Jewel, but I hope it helps and maybe allays any anxiety with regards to cruising on a smaller ship?

Happy Cruising  

[Tin can]

14 hours ago, compman9 said:

 

I know RCI own Pullmantur and Tui, but surely this would be too awful to palm off on them

 

I genuinely didn’t know they owned Tui although I know Splendour Of The Sea ended up at Tui.

 

Tui probably turns over more than the cruise side of the business as they are a massive company here in Europe. You Learn something new every day.

 

 

[compman9]

12 hours ago, robandana said:

We also spent 4 weeks aboard the Rhapsody from Venice to Tampa (never actually made it to Tampa....we had to disembark in PC because of a big storm in the Gulf) and we loved her....I must say that we did not spend much time looking for corrosion and chipped wooden surfaces....(I guess if you go looking you can always find flaws...)

 

All and all we found the Rhapsody of the Seas and her crew to be in great shape and also hope to be sailing on her soon...

 

Thank your for your passive aggressive comment - highly typical of social media interaction

 

No one goes to look for flaws - They were completely evident

 

It is a very old ship that has been cared for as best as it could be - Literally everything is dated. Very dated. Worst of all are the shiny arm rests on every single chair on public areas and those rubberised loungers. My goodness, why have they not got rid of these by now?

 

Older people might not notice as much because modern day tastes are completely different, but then you also get highly positive comments from loyalists that bare no relation to facts

 

As I said, I love the layout of the ship. I can fully understand why some would love a modern version of a similar design. I certainly would

 

 

 

 

[123funcruiser]

3 hours ago, Tin can said:

 

I genuinely didn’t know they owned Tui although I know Splendour Of The Sea ended up at Tui.

 

Tui probably turns over more than the cruise side of the business as they are a massive company here in Europe. You Learn something new every day.

 

 

 

RCCL does not own TUI. RCCL owns 50% in a Joint venture of TUI Cruises, while the other 50% of TUI Cruises are owned By TUI. 

[not-enough-cruising]

13 minutes ago, 123funcruiser said:

 

RCCL does not own TUI. RCCL owns 50% in a Joint venture of TUI Cruises, while the other 50% of TUI Cruises are owned By TUI. 

you beat me to it

[Nirrakel]

We sailed on Rhapsody a year ago and I honestly never noticed any problems with Rhapsody looking old or tired and our room was fine! I’m not massively picky but I think I would have noticed any problems! I personally loved Rhapsody, the customer service was probably the best of the ships that I’ve been on (Anthem, Jewel and Rhapsody). 

 

To compare her to a 2 star hotel is just crazy and completely unfounded and unfair unless something major has occurred in the last year!! 

[robandana]

4 hours ago, compman9 said:

 

Thank your for your passive aggressive comment - highly typical of social media interaction

 

No one goes to look for flaws - They were completely evident

 

It is a very old ship that has been cared for as best as it could be - Literally everything is dated. Very dated. Worst of all are the shiny arm rests on every single chair on public areas and those rubberised loungers. My goodness, why have they not got rid of these by now?

 

Older people might not notice as much because modern day tastes are completely different, but then you also get highly positive comments from loyalists that bare no relation to facts

 

As I said, I love the layout of the ship. I can fully understand why some would love a modern version of a similar design. I certainly would

 

 

 

 

Thanks for your outlook on my comments. 

[sgmn]

3 hours ago, Nirrakel said:

 

To compare her to a 2 star hotel is just crazy and completely unfounded and unfair unless something major has occurred in the last year!! 

We sailed on her in June of this year and thought it was a fab cruise. Yes she is an older lady now and maybe a bit knocked around the edges but we loved the cruise. Interesting ports, good entertainment, fab DL and  food was pretty good too

[Tin can]

4 hours ago, 123funcruiser said:

 

RCCL does not own TUI. RCCL owns 50% in a Joint venture of TUI Cruises, while the other 50% of TUI Cruises are owned By TUI. 

 

Thank you for that, I was very surprised at what was initially stated.

[FlashFingers]

After looking at a virtual tour of one of the mega ships (Independence), I will be quite happy to sail on the smaller ships like Rhapsody and Radiance -- love the solarium -- even though they are older. The huge ship reminded me of going to a shopping mall, you could get lost! Maybe it's because I am in my sixties and appreciate a more relaxed, peaceful environment without lots of crowds.

[ZiggaZagga17]

7 minutes ago, FlashFingers said:

After looking at a virtual tour of one of the mega ships (Independence), I will be quite happy to sail on the smaller ships like Rhapsody and Radiance -- love the solarium -- even though they are older. The huge ship reminded me of going to a shopping mall, you could get lost! Maybe it's because I am in my sixties and appreciate a more relaxed, peaceful environment without lots of crowds.

If you'd expect to get lost on a ship the size of Indy (Freedom Class) then if you were ever to cruise on an Oasis class I'd leave a forwarding address - 🤣😂😁  

[tyescruiser]

We sailed on Rhapsody in January and loved it. She is an older style but seemed to me to be in good shape. The crew was outstanding and the food was very good. I would not hesitate to sail on her again.

[coaster]

Booked again on Rhapsody in January. Our third cruise in three years on her. We had a broken drawer that was never fixed after we reported it on our last cruise. Posters are very faded in the hallways. Still love her though. Food was great along with the crew. Glad Royal still has a variety of ships in their fleet.  A 22 year old ship is not that old. Just off Empress that is almost 30 years old for a second time and she is still a beauty.

Edited September 8, 2019 by coaster

[goldfish65]

On ‎9‎/‎7‎/‎2019 at 2:33 PM, compman9 said:

I have never been on a ship that old - to say it looked every day of its 22 years is an understatement

 

The layout is brilliant - It would be great to see a new smaller ship with a similar design, but good grief this was as tired as any 2 star hotel I have ever stayed in

 

I know RCI own Pullmantur and Tui, but surely this would be too awful to palm off on them

 

Thanks for this review, it's a big world, some folks are truly uncomfortable in outdated and/or worn furnishings. Lots of reviews from all ages who love the ship as it is. For me the older surroundings are a reminder of what was (to me) a more gracious era, and I just don't care if things are worn.  Nothing wrong with either viewpoint. Mind you if my cabin is grimy, I'll ask nicely for them to fix it.

 

 

Edited September 9, 2019 by goldfish65

[MJDMV]

It's what you make of it commensurate to your expectations. I think Rhapsody is an excellent ship: happy crew, excellent food and restaurants, great ports - I never heard the word 'no'. 

Yes there's a bit of wear and tear but so what? My Jag isn't perfect but it's still a Jag!!

Enjoy and stop looking for worn furniture and light fittings.🤣