Anyone been on Rhapsody recently?

[vswan]

I know it's an older ship without all the bells and whistles, but the itinerary looks good and the price is attractive.

 

A bit of background. My daughter (early 40's) and I took a cruise last year on the Oasis and she decided we should make it a yearly outing. My niece (mid 30's) was widowed in November and my daughter has invited her to go along on our next adventure. My daughter and I have both cruised a lot, on both newer and older ships. My niece has never cruised. Would it be a mistake to take her on an older ship as her first adventure? If it was just me, it would be a no brainer - better itinerary over bells and whistles.

 

We are looking at a balcony cabin, although I wouldn't be opposed to upping to a junior suite for the extra space. Looking at the ship specs it looks like the only option for a third person is the pull out couch. Is that the case? I would be more comfortable with a pull down bed for a third person. Have looked at the 2 bedroom suite, but the cost more than doubles and I don't see a lot of benefit to the suite (wifi, drinks?) on this level of ship. Have also looked at getting one inside cabin across the hall, but would have to pay single supplement on that and that would jump the price a lot. (I'm the one with the checkbook, LOL) Looking at one of the aft balconies/jr. suites to get more outside space for three people. Are there any drawbacks to afts on this ship?

 

 

[Ourusualbeach]

Just now, vswan said:

I don't see a lot of benefit to the suite (wifi, drinks?) on this level of ship.

Those are not suite perks on this class of ship.  

 

You would get complimentary drinks in the suite lounge 5pm to 8pm 

[jacobtsf]

We were on in March (review linked below), and the ship was awesome. Yes, it is older, and it does not have all the bells and whistles, but there are definite bonuses to cruising on the smaller ships. You actually get to meet people cruising with you, and the crew really gets to know you.  If you have any specific questions feel free to ask.

 

 

[Tlbecker1]

We were in a JS for a TA in November.  You are correct, no bells and whistles and only a few venues to hang out in.  There was a pullout in our room for a 3rd person.  We didn’t open it up, so I am not sure what the condition was.  We were in an AFT JS balcony and we really loved it.  

[ajtaylor29]

I haven't sailed on Rhapsody yet but am booked for this summer. Our cruise will be out of San Juan with 5 stops in 7 days - so very port intensive and only 1 sea day. If yours is anything like this itinerary, i would say that your niece will be too busy in ports to care whether there are bells and whistles or not! On a cruise with multiple sea days, some of those fun things on the big ships are great, but not critical to me either way.

That said, we've sailed old and new, big and small, love them all (mostly!)Took our extended family to Europe last year on Explorer (older, smaller) and everyone loved it, including a couple of first-time cruisers.

If we're booking just to get on a ship and go SOMEWHERE, we tend to go for the new big ships with lots to do, since they tend to run on the most popular routes (how many times can we go to Cozumel? or Labadee?). But if we're seeking out a new or interesting itinerary it almost always works out to be on the older, smaller ships., and we've yet to be disappointed.

Enjoy!

[vswan]

Thanks everyone for your input. The itinerary I'm looking at would only have one sea day so think the older/smaller ship would not be an issue versus the port days.

[Twenty2020]

Seems to me that the best time to take someone on an older ship would be their first cruise, as they have nothing to compare it to. Pls bring a port heavy cruise, the ship becomes less relevant.

 

I think most 'complaints' you see on these older ships is from someone that goes once or twice on an Oasis class ship, then guess on one of these and complains there is 'nothing to do'. 

 

 

[Viajera7]

I was there in June 2023 and everything on the ship worked well and the itinerary was great (Greek Isles). You  a have port intensive itinerary so you’re not going to spend a lot time in the cabin. As long as everything works well on the ship, you’re good and you’re doing the right thing asking here. After my experience on the Enchantment OTS last month, I won’t be taking any old ship until I ask about its condition before I book.