Jump to content

Thoughts on Rhapsody


RedRambler

Recommended Posts

The school system I teach in had a 2 hour delay due to extreme windchill temps, so I thought what better time to look into booking another cruise.  I came across a couple of cruises on the Rhapsody that interested me. What I am needing is some first hand opinions of the ship.  Anything good, bad or otherwise would be very helping in my decision making.  Our recent cruise have been on Oasis class ships, so thought this might be a good change up.  Let me know your thoughts!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Rhapsody is a perfectly good ship, and I think most would enjoy it. I think the key understanding for you is that it doesn't have anywhere near the features that the Oasis class does in terms of flowriders, zip lines, a ton of restaurants, etc.  It's a different kind of cruise experience (which is still plenty fun).

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Exactly, as Matt said, it doesn't have all the bells & whistles, and for my wife and I, that's just fine ..... We were on Rhapsody's sister ship, Grandeur, back in September, and I can honestly say, it's the best cruise I've had yet.  Being a smaller ship, it seemed more cozy and personable (of course, the largest I'd ever been on was Voyager Class - so that's the best I could compare to.)  I guess the real question is, what are you looking for in a cruise?  Do you have kids?  Ages?  What do they want in a cruise vacation?

 

We have a cruise booked on Rhapsody in the Spring of '18 - We had absolutely no reservation in booking it, Thanks to Grandeur and our new found love of the Vision Class, Rhapsody seemed like a ship that would make us feel at home.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Exactly, as Matt said, it doesn't have all the bells & whistles, and for my wife and I, that's just fine ..... We were on Rhapsody's sister ship, Grandeur, back in September, and I can honestly say, it's the best cruise I've had yet.  Being a smaller ship, it seemed more cozy and personable (of course, the largest I'd ever been on was Voyager Class - so that's the best I could compare to.)  I guess the real question is, what are you looking for in a cruise?  Do you have kids?  Ages?  What do they want in a cruise vacation?

 

We have a cruise booked on Rhapsody in the Spring of '18 - We had absolutely no reservation in booking it, Thanks to Grandeur and our new found love of the Vision Class, Rhapsody seemed like a ship that would make us feel at home.

We were on the Rhapsody in Alaska. On the Grandeur for a nine day Bermuda/Caribbean cruise. Will be on a 9 day Canada/New England cruise sometime in 2018 on the Grandeur. Have been on Allure twice, but I love the smaller ships. We will be on the Anthem starting 12/23/2016.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  I guess the real question is, what are you looking for in a cruise?  Do you have kids?  Ages?  What do they want in a cruise vacation?

 

All my wife and I need are Chops, Giovannis, and a Solarium pool.  Our two boys, ages 15 and 8, need the bells and whistles of the bigger ships. Although my 8 year would be content to spend all day everyday in the water.  My main goal is to enjoy, relax, and do nothing.  Also we don't always take our kids with us for the relaxing.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

All my wife and I need are Chops, Giovannis, and a Solarium pool.  Our two boys, ages 15 and 8, need the bells and whistles of the bigger ships. Although my 8 year would be content to spend all day everyday in the water.  My main goal is to enjoy, relax, and do nothing.  Also we don't always take our kids with us for the relaxing.

 

The only added dimension I would consider would be the number of calls and available shore excursions on the itinerary. The Oasis class ships will tend to have one to two more days at sea than a typical Rhapsody itinerary, so having those Oasis bells and whistles becomes that much important; however, you might be able to compensate for the missing Oasis features on Rhapsody if you're spending more time ashore doing activities the kids like. I'm pretty sure that if I gave my 10-yo daughter the choice between an Oasis cruise with one day of snorkelling vs. Rhapsody with three days of snorkelling, she'd probably take Rhapsody.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The only added dimension I would consider would be the number of calls and available shore excursions on the itinerary. The Oasis class ships will tend to have one to two more days at sea than a typical Rhapsody itinerary, so having those Oasis bells and whistles becomes that much important; however, you might be able to compensate for the missing Oasis features on Rhapsody if you're spending more time ashore doing activities the kids like. I'm pretty sure that if I gave my 10-yo daughter the choice between an Oasis cruise with one day of snorkelling vs. Rhapsody with three days of snorkelling, she'd probably take Rhapsody.

That's a fair point.  I think the primary time when the differences are noticeable are in the evening. On Oasis class ship, there is so much going on, but Rhapsody will have a more limited set (relatively speaking) of things to do.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

That's a fair point. I think the primary time when the differences are noticeable are in the evening. On Oasis class ship, there is so much going on, but Rhapsody will have a more limited set (relatively speaking) of things to do.

Depending on the itinerary, this could be a good thing especially if port days are long or involve overnight stops. Thus is one of the reasons we opted for a Radiance class ship in Europe even when the Allure was there. We decided to save the Allure for a less interesting itinerary with more port days so that we could enjoy everything she has to offer.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

That's a fair point.  I think the primary time when the differences are noticeable are in the evening. On Oasis class ship, there is so much going on, but Rhapsody will have a more limited set (relatively speaking) of things to do.

 

And this comes back to a different strokes for different folks point. After dinner and going to the main show in the theatre, are you more inclined to think to yourself:

  1. ... it's time to head back to the cabin to turn in and get a head start on tomorrow; or,
  2. ... the night has just begun what should I do next?

If you're the early riser (or you want to get your kids to bed), you might not miss the extra evening options on the bigger ships as much, but if you're a night owl they'll make a big difference.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
×
×
  • Create New...