Review (Not Live) of Rhapsody of the Seas - 23 Oct to 4 Nov 2012

Hi all

I have had the pleasure of reading so many reviews on CC that I wanted to give back, so here is my review of our recent cruise on Rhapsody of the Seas.

We departed Sydney on 23 October and returned on 4 November - ports of call were Isle of Pines, Vila, Denarau, Suva and Lifou. We had a fabulous cruise and the Captain and crew on Rhapsody are absolutely awesome. Thanks to the Concierge Pretty Shamu, our Room Attendant - Chris, our waiters - Yuliadi (Yuli) and Benson (Ben), our drink waiter - Clinton and a waiter from the table next to us - Lester, the Cruise Director - Casey and Activities Manager - Patrick all made this cruise even better.

Stateroom:

We stayed in a RFS on Deck 8 - 8520 - loved loved loved this stateroom as we had so much space.

Balcony

Lounge

Desk in Hallway (I bought this water prior to boarding) and the kids had the soda package so the two cups are the ones they get to use.

Main bedroom

walk-in robe

Floor to ceiling window in lounge area

Over the first few days we tried out most of the restaurants on Rhapsody. On the first night it was my birthday, I had pre-booked and paid for dinner in Chops Grille and we had the BEST steak. We will definitely be dining there again (on our next cruise of course).

We had breakfast almost everyday in the Edelweiss Dining Room - favourite choice was Bircher Muesli and French Toast with Bacon. Eggs Benny was another favourite as well. You can also have pastries, muffins and fruit bun and the full range of packaged cereal, fruit, yoghurt and juice from what they call the "Granola Bar".

We often had lunch at the "Park Cafe" which had the most AMAZING Roast Beef Rolls and salads. They would make up your salad for you with mixed lettuce, tomato, cucumber, prawns, ham etc ... plus choice of potato salad and some others (sorry only tried the potato salad). They also had toasties and other rolls/sandwiches and desserts. We really liked this place. My son told me today that he had pizza and nachos at this cafe at midnight!!!

Edelweiss MDR 8.30 seating - again great food, over the 12 nights the menu was never the same, although I did have the chicken breast with seasonal herbs quite a few times (mainly because I really liked it). It is 3 courses and once the waiters get to know you, they will bring you multiple desserts if you can't choose one! Great entertain in the MDR as well ....

Windjammer Buffet - we didn't eat here very much but the food was great and there was an extensive range of food to chose from. The kids liked to make hot dogs and hamburgers and the hot chips/fries were very nice!

We had a routine whereby we went to the Concierge Lounge at 5pm, then to the show at 7pm, dinner at 8.30 pm, late night parties starting at 10.15pm in the centrum.

Here's a picture of Patrick (the Activities Manager), myself and daughter at the 70's party ...

Main Dining Room (Us with the Waiters)

Our Concierge - Pretty (from the Concierge Lounge)

My favourite Drink Waiter

Steak from Chops Grille

Dessert from MDR (Birthday Cake!!!!)

Entertainment

The shows on Rhapsody were also very good .... Casey, the Cruise Director and Patrick, the Activities Manager have a morning TV show ... you must watch it - they talk about the Drink of the Day, the activities for the day and always have a daily quiz with prizes. Check it out on the TV in the stateroom.

We went to most of the shows at the 7pm time slot.

Here are some photos around Rhapsody of the Seas .... including the Halloween Party (that's my daughter in the photo), MDR Executive Chef and Chefs Parade, Royal Caribbean Singers and Dancers (show time)....

Oops the beds aren't made .... 2nd bedroom of RFS 8520 on Rhapsody

We departed Sydney on 23 October and returned on 4 November - ports of call were Isle of Pines, Vila, Denarau, Suva and Lifou.

Oh what an itinerary! Looking forward to this review!! :)

Thank you for 'giving back'... we're booked for the Rhapsody next May and have been finding it hard to find detailed reviews on her :)

Love the space in the RFS - we currently have 4 rooms booked and if the price was right would combine at least 2 of those rooms into the RFS for the points and perks! I am surprised that the balcony is so small though - not much bigger than the regular balcony rooms :(

Here are some of my favourite photos (taken by the kids) of our ports of call ....

Isle of Pines

Vila - Cascade Waterfalls

Denarau, Fiji

Suva, Fiji

Lifou

The girls had henna or mehandi (pronounced mandi) temporary tattoos put on in a beauty/hair salon in Suva, Fiji. They only last about 2 weeks and took about 1 and 1/2 hours to paint on.

I asked some of the locals where I could get some wooden plates, bowls etc ... we were advised to go to the handicraft markets near the sea wall ... this stall was located on the port side (nearest where the ships dock) of the market (which has two hallways) and 3 or 4 stalls in. You will find it easily as the products are much better than many of the others in the same building.

I bought a few plate, nut bowl and 2 large flower bowls for less than $100 AUD. I paid for them in Australian Dollars as well.

This photo is of the market itself ... don't be deceived by the sad faced ladies!!!

We did the Bridge Tour and here is a photo of us with Captain Rob Hempstead ... he is known to be one of RCI's best Captains, some of the crew said that it is more difficult to manage the smaller and older RCI ships than the big ones like Oasis. Captain Rob gave a daily high noon (12 noon) report over the PA system ... and we really did feel as though we were at our "home away from home". We spent about 30 minutes in the bridge ... the second photo is the view from the bridge ..!!

View from the bridge ( the place to watch for pirates LOL)

I hope you enjoy my photos and if you have any questions please ask...

Here is a link to more photos on photo bucket .... I am still uploading them so keep checking back if you are interested !!!

http://s1356.beta.photobucket.com/user/Aleisha65/library/Cruise%202012

Thank you for 'giving back'... we're booked for the Rhapsody next May and have been finding it hard to find detailed reviews on her :)

 

Love the space in the RFS - we currently have 4 rooms booked and if the price was right would combine at least 2 of those rooms into the RFS for the points and perks! I am surprised that the balcony is so small though - not much bigger than the regular balcony rooms :(

Beth C

Agree the balcony is standard size, but the wall to ceiling window was great (when it was clean) if it was windy or you just wanted to sit/lie on the lounge and look out to sea.

I love the Rhapsody and plan on taking an Alaska cruise in 2014 for our 50th Anniversary. Thank you for you great review. One question is Ben and Jerry's still on deck 6? I hope Captain Rod is still guiding her for Alaska in 2014. I have to add, we Texans want her back.;)

I love the Rhapsody and plan on taking an Alaska cruise in 2014 for our 50th Anniversary. Thank you for you great review. One question is Ben and Jerry's still on deck 6? I hope Captain Rod is still guiding her for Alaska in 2014. I have to add, we Texans want her back.;)

Peggy yes B&J's is still on Deck 6 next to Latte-tudes (well they are part of the same food outlet).

We want to go to Alaska too! Just trying to work out when!!

I hope Captain Rob is on Rhapsody for many more years, he doesn't look old enough to retire.

Hi Miami65

Just a couple of quick questions the water bottle package you purchased what size were the bottles.

Also were the soda and water packages worth the cost?

Can you buy the bottles individually as you require them an if so do you know the cost?

Last question what is the approximate cost of a can or cordial?

Thanks:)

Thanks for the review.

Hi Miami65

 

Just a couple of quick questions the water bottle package you purchased what size were the bottles.

 

Also were the soda and water packages worth the cost?

 

Can you buy the bottles individually as you require them an if so do you know the cost?

 

Last question what is the approximate cost of a can or cordial?

 

Thanks:)

Jools

The bottle size was 1 litre. I purchased 12 bottles prior to sailing via the RCI website for $44. On board one bottle was $4.75 or u could buy packages of 8, 12, 16 or 24 and get a 35% discount.

The soda package was $60 and was based on a daily rate for 12 days and it was definitely worth it, i cant tell u how much cans were as we didnt buy any.

There are premix drink machines around the ship and in windjammer, near the pool and park cafe which has Free lemon squash, no sugar strawberry-kiwi and mango and some thing else type cordial plus tea coffee and hot chocolate. There are also a few soft serve ice cream machines on the pool deck with vanilla, chocolate and vanill/chocolate mix.

Beautiful Pictures!

I hope you enjoy my photos and if you have any questions please ask...

 

Here is a link to more photos on photo bucket .... I am still uploading them so keep checking back if you are interested !!!

 

http://s1356.beta.photobucket.com/user/Aleisha65/library/Cruise%202012

Thanks for all the information. I just booked a 16 day cruise on the Rhapsody from Sydney to Honolulu in April of 2014. Since this is such a long cruise, and we are also spending a week in Australia prior to the cruise, I was wondering if the ship had any self service laundry facilities? NCL offers once or twice a week a wash and fold laundry service for $25 for anything you can fit in a paper bag. Does the Rhapsody offer any of these services?

Thanks for all the information. I just booked a 16 day cruise on the Rhapsody from Sydney to Honolulu in April of 2014. Since this is such a long cruise, and we are also spending a week in Australia prior to the cruise, I was wondering if the ship had any self service laundry facilities? NCL offers once or twice a week a wash and fold laundry service for $25 for anything you can fit in a paper bag. Does the Rhapsody offer any of these services?

No self-service laundry on RCCL ships. On your 16 day cruise, they will probably have 3 special $25 wash and fold bags offered. These are for you can stuff in a plastic laundry bag and are for items like socks, t-shirts, and underwear.

Here's a laundry price list for items not eligible for the $25 bag:

http://media.royalcaribbean.com/content/en_US/pdf/LaundryPriceList.pdf

Thanks for all the information. I just booked a 16 day cruise on the Rhapsody from Sydney to Honolulu in April of 2014. Since this is such a long cruise, and we are also spending a week in Australia prior to the cruise, I was wondering if the ship had any self service laundry facilities? NCL offers once or twice a week a wash and fold laundry service for $25 for anything you can fit in a paper bag. Does the Rhapsody offer any of these services?

cmh

On our recent 12 night cruise we were offered a laundry bag which we could fill with items for $15. It was offered twice and the service took 24 hours. Like clarea said, stuff as many t-shirts, undies socks and items like that in the bag, all came back folded very neatly.

Thanks for the post. I was originally booked on Rhapsody in a RFS (deck 7) for Jan but had to cancel as my mom needed an operation last week. I am planning to rebook after she is discharged from hospital and if her doctor gives the ok. I have a few questions,

1) Are cabins on Deck 8 noisy? I have read that it is below the pool area and that it can become noisy at night with people presumably cleaners pulling chairs around. I have 2 young kids so we are likely to head to bed early.

2) Both RFS rooms look smaller than I thought. My original booking is for 5 adults and 2 young kids (2 and 5), will we be very crowded?

3) I doubt my original RFS on deck 7 is still available, so I have been looking at Grand Suite as well, do you think we are better off in 2 Grand Suites?

4) How did you find the sea? I am concerned someone from my family will get sea sick, I had a midship cabin, but cabins are very limited now, I won't have much choice.

Thanks advance for your help. So glad there is someone who has done Rhapsody recently.

Hi LoveCruisingCC

Here are answers to your questions:

1) Yes they are noisy both from pool parties and chairs being moved on the pool deck above. We also found that there was a vibration in the floor of 8520 which I only noticed when the ship was going at around 15 knots (apologies if I mentioned this in my review) but one night it was driving me crazy and I called Guest Relations who sent up a guy in overalls with a torch. I asked him to stand near the bed and sofa-bed where the vibration was, he did and said I will tell Guest Relations. I laughed ... I had already told them, but after speaking to other people cabin vibration seems to be something that happens on older ships or so that's what people say. Friends on the same cruise stayed in RFS 7102 and they had no problems and the lounge area appears to be a bit larger than the ones of deck 8.

2) Ok so the bedding is likes this, main bedroom closest to the balcony has a queen bed which could be 2 singles, 2nd bedroom has queen bed which also can be 2 singles and 2 pullman beds that come down from the ceiling, sofa-bed in the lounge room (comfortably sleeps 2 but doesn't fold out like the traditional sofa beds that fold down from the back, it's hard to describe but it's like 2 single beds joined together and you sleep head to toe from arm to arm - not as comfortable as the queen/single beds. I am aware that you can also ask for a roll-away but I can't comment on them as we didn't use them. Depending on where the adults intend on sleeping and I really think the 2 and 5 year olds couldn't sleep on the pullman beds from the ceiling as they would fall a long way if they fell out of bed, it could be crowded. The 2nd bedroom really only just fits the beds when split into 2 singles and the pullmans are down. But you only sleep there .... I am also aware that RFS 7102 has 1 x 3 seater lounge and 3 single lounges in the lounge area, whereas RFS 8520 had 1 x 3 seater and 2 single lounges - not sure why!

3) You never know it might be available on deck 7 ... mmmm we met some people who were staying in a grand suite and there was 3 of them, whilst the room was reasonable in size it was crowded particularly with their luggage stacked in the corner. Main difference though is that the RFS has 2 small bathrooms (one with bath tub which is slightly larger) and the Grand suites have a larger marble bathroom. So depending on what combination of adults and kids you put in the room they might be OK, you could also get a roll-away in there.

4) I'm not going to lie, the seas from Sydney the first night and 2 days were 5 metres and coming back the last 2 days (but not as large as heading out of sydney). My BFF had recently travelled to the US so we had Bonine and we all took it the night before and every night. My son who is 14, immediately got dizzy when we hit the open seas out of sydney heads so I took him back to the room gave him another Bonine, a green apple and he lied down ... 20 minutes later he was fine. The Bonine didn't effect us re: drowsiness but my 18 year old daughter did fall asleep a few times (nanna nap time) but she didn't mind. We did sleep well though. A lot of people were sea sick but they had not taken any precautions or even considered this. RCI ships sell Bonine for 8 for $8 and I believe also give out seasick meds at the medical centre (deck 1 on rhapsody). My friend boxes of 24 for $10 in the US and someone said you can buy them on Amazon (just not sure about getting them through customs). I also took travel calm but didn't use it. I think if you are positive about the rocking and rolling of the sea you adjust pretty quickly, but you will notice that when you get to dry land you will feel that the earth is moving and you sway about a little.

Midship cabins are definately better and you don't feel the up and down of the ship as much, you feel the sideways rolling. When the swell was 5m I sat on deck 4 in the centrum for a few hours and watched the waves as they look different from deck 8 and it was amazing (sorry sounds crazy I know!). Would recommend that if you are worried then you should try to get midship and maybe the deck 7 ones are a bit better because they are lower (both for sea sickness and noise). Grand suites are further forward and of course the up and down movement is more noticeable.

One thing I didn't like was eating in Windjammer ... the up and down movement just put me off ... I didn't feel sick but just didn't like it so avoided that eatery on the sea days.

Happy to answer any more questions you have.

Aleisha

7102 is what I had. Interesting that the config is different between this and yours on Deck 8, would have thought they are all the same.

I do prefer RFS as I am travelling with my parents and my mother in law. Whilst they get along well, it is not appropriate for them to share a room together. However, if they aren't, it means my family of 4 will need to split if we are to get 2 separate rooms, either sending my 5 years old to my parents or me and my 2 years old go to my parents. It is not ideal as my kids would like to be together. There is no more connecting rooms left.

Is port or starboard side better? Once again, I may not have much options anyway, but is good to know.

LoveCruisingCC

As u wld know from the deck plans 8520 is starboard side and it was more often than not the side that was facing the ports or islands if we had to tender ... But i dont know if that was just specific to the ports we went to.

Your family of 4 cld go in the 2nd bedroom but you and hubby wld need to sleep on the top pullman beds and your MIL cld have the sofa bed. Or if your MIL didnt mind you and hubby cld have the 2nd bedroom and keep the beds together and one of your kids could share the sofa bed and you could ask for a rollaway.

The glass sliding door between the main bedroom and lounge is sound proof and there is a curtain for privacy.

Bump