Rhapsody of the Seas for sale?

[Biker19]

I hate the Royal Esplanade and the way it is designed and to me, it doesn't feel very Royal Caribbean. I also had a few other issues and will not sail the Anthem again.

However, if they update the 4th and 5th Quantum Class ships and add some things like slides etc, I may return to one as there were many things I did enjoy (North Star, Indoor Pools, Bumper Cars etc).

So, hate Quantum class, will never sail it again, until, they add a slide, then all's well. Got it.

[Joe12]

So, hate Quantum class, will never sail it again, until, they add a slide, then all's well. Got it.

 

Read my full post before commenting, please. I never said I "hate" the class, I said I hate the Esplanade, and despite some issues with the Anthem that would mean I would avoid her in the future, if the future Quantum ships are updated, I would give one of them a try.

I also said that there were things that I DID like about the ship.

[Biker19]

I never said I "hate" the class, .

 

.Actually, the Quantum Class isn't for me.

 

That Esplenade you hate will still be there on Q4, 5.

[grapau27]

Me too!! Please, RCI...bring our sweet Enchantment back home to PC where she belongs! Was NOT a good trade off giving us MJ in her place. :mad:

I agree it was ideal having a 4 night Bahamas cruise February 2016 after a short break in WDW.

 

We cruise with RCCL and P&O.

[Hoopster95]

... but like you said the design is a bit strange.

I hate the Royal Esplanade and the way it is designed and to me, it doesn't feel very Royal Caribbean.

 

Yep, I've only read this 5 million times on all the old Quantum threads... "It's not Royal Caribbean" so obviously the design is strange and just no good.

 

So, hate Quantum class, will never sail it again, until, they add a slide, then all's well. Got it.

 

roflmao!!! ;p:')

 

Hoopster - who thinks Biker should publish all of his end-of-post quips into a book :D

[island lady]

You do realize Oasis is only a year older than Allure

 

 

LOL!! It was a joke. :rolleyes::p

 

But indeed, PC got the older of the four OA class ships, we never get a new one. :( And Majesty...do you consider that an old ship? ;)

[island lady]

Allure is a rust bucket too. Anything older than a year old is "tired".

 

Just like my smart phone. Was "old" when I left the store after purchase. ;p

[diknjoe]

Our hope is that the smaller ships won't be abandoned EVER. We booked Rhapsody on last year's Harmony TA. Last time we will sail on anything larger than "Freedom" class.

 

You have to work to see the ocean and you rarely feel it . It feels more like a land based resort than a ship.

 

While the shows are second to none, the reservation process took over a month, and you don't know what else might be going on at the same time you make your reservation. We had to stand for the earlier Ice Show rather than miss the White Party.

 

We were moved to 'My time" without our permission.

 

If you want English bacon, Eggs to order, or prunes at breakfast you have to wander around to restaurants other than Windjammer.

 

The experience was more work and less like vacation. We just want a nice meal and a show without all the planning. PLEASE keep enough smaller and older ships around for those of us who enjoy them.

 

Thank You!

 

D&J

[MaryAnn&Don]

Just noticed this thread. We are booked on Rhapsody next February. I wonder if they will keep the same route and just move another ship in it's place if it sells. Really was looking forward to getting back to Belize and Roatan.

[Biker19]

While the shows are second to none, the reservation process took over a month, and you don't know what else might be going on at the same time you make your reservation. We had to stand for the earlier Ice Show rather than miss the White Party.

 

We were moved to 'My time" without our permission.

 

If you want English bacon, Eggs to order, or prunes at breakfast you have to wander around to restaurants other than Windjammer.

All of those could happen on just about any ship, nothing to do with size.

[coolbluegreenseas]

Interesting thread about Rhapsody being up for sale. I put down a deposit while on board the Anthem for the Dec 2018 transatlantic from Barcelona to Tampa. Taking a wait and see attitude.

[uksimonusa]

Yeah...you guys made out!! You get the new Harmony and Symphony plus still keeping Allure, then we get the "old" Oasis up here. We dearly miss Freedom also. Port Canaveral: Hand me down central. :cool:

 

We did get Mariner in 2003 ;)

[island lady]

We did get Mariner in 2003 ;)

 

That's true...and Mariner was my very first cruise with Royal. Spent the "half

century" celebration on her. Though at that time, did not realize that PC was her

very first home port?

 

Fourteen years since a new ship...shame. And here we got our hopes us with that

brand new terminal #1 also.

[diknjoe]

All of those could happen on just about any ship, nothing to do with size.

 

We have cruised on 10 different Royal ships, and it happened ONLY on Harmony. For us, 5,000 plus passengers is too big. For other folks it may be fine. It's just not fine for us

 

If the theater can't accommodate 1/2 the guests; for us the ship is too big.

 

If Windjammer can no longer function as a "one stop shop" ; for us, the ship is too big.

 

If standing in line for more than an hour to see a show is how folks want to spend their cruise vacation, its just not for us.

 

If only 5,000 plus ships are the future for Royal this Diamond member will spend his $ elsewhere.

 

This says nothing about cities with smaller ports that would have to be abandoned by Royal.

 

Different strokes , folks. That's all it is.

 

D&J

[uksimonusa]

That's true...and Mariner was my very first cruise with Royal. Spent the "half

century" celebration on her. Though at that time, did not realize that PC was her

very first home port?

 

Fourteen years since a new ship...shame. And here we got our hopes us with that

brand new terminal #1 also.

 

I know, Harmony or Symphony should have come here instead of Oasis.

[island lady]

I know, Harmony or Symphony should have come here instead of Oasis.

 

 

In a perfect world, we would have received a third ship here. One that does longer cruises as an option. I was thrilled when we got Explorer for a short time doing those nine night cruises, but even though those sailings went out totally full for the whole winter season.....it did not happen again.

 

Getting Majesty as a replacement for Enchantment....not a good trade off at all. :mad:

[brunello22]

Ugh! Great catch... my bad. Had to recheck my file of ships. Thx :)

Interesting to note that Voyager is only a year older than Vision... I wonder when Edge Class comes along (and Quantum IV & V, and Oasis V & VI) if they'll try to sell of Voyager (1999) & Explorer(2000) rather than Radiance (2001)... interesting times the next few years with all the massive new builds coming on line. These boards will explode if/when a Voyager or Radiance Class gets sold :eek::mad:

 

Sorry, another correction :)

 

Actually, it is the other way around ... Vision (1998) is 1 year older than Voyager (1999).

 

I agree with your comment about the Voyager and Radiance class ... Radiance-class is my favorite class in the RCI fleet and I would be sad to see any other them leave.

[MaryAnn&Don]

I agree about the Ship size and the wait to get into various venues, especially the entertainment if on standby. By making reservations early, we have avoided getting shut out. But it does surprise me how small they made the main theater in the Oasis class ships. Been on Allure 2x and Oasis 1x and Anthem 1X. Never did not get our reserved seats, and never had to wait for more than 15 minutes, but that is because we reserved early on-line. Windjammer is another story. Just not enough seating so we just rarely go there anymore. True for all ship sizes.

 

Anyway we just got off Serenade and booked Symphony of the Seas for Nov 17, 2018 for the Western Caribbean.

[Hoopster95]

Sorry, another correction :)

Actually, it is the other way around ... Vision (1998) is 1 year older than Voyager (1999).

 

Ugh again! :o;p ... I knew that. Why my brain told my fingers to type it backwards is another story! Thx for correcting :D

[coolbluegreenseas]

So, here is how I plan on dealing with the uncertainty: set a Google alert for Rhapsody of the Seas, pay absolutely nothing more towards the cruise for the next 16 months and not purchase airfare before final payment. There is an article about the sale of Legend that indicates the lead time is about 6-8 months between sale of the vessel and when RCI turns over the keys. If we get to September 1, 2018 and the ship has not been sold, it should be safe to make final payment and purchase airfare for the trip. No need to give money to RCI that may as well remain in my back account until the last minute.

 

Article about Legend of the Seas and the lead time between sale and when new owners took possession:

 

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/business/tourism/fl-royal-legend-ship-sale-20160602-story.html

[FireStation46]

I paid off the cruise already. I have not booked flights nor hotel yet.

I wonder how a pending sale will infulence the attitude of the crew?

I will hold for now. Next week onboard the Oasis i can check with our concierge on other sailings that month and maybe flip the reservation over.

We are kind of done with eastern Carribean and saw our next and Rhapsody as a change of scenery.

 

Tampa

Grand Cayman

Cozumel

Belize

Costa Maya

Tampa

[Biker19]

There is an article about the sale of Legend that indicates the lead time is about 6-8 months between sale of the vessel and when RCI turns over the keys.

While that timing may be true, you will likely get more warning than that from RCI - we got about one year warning for Legend. Granted, there will likely to be a gap between when you find out about it on CC and "official" announcement from RCI, but you should get more than 8 months warning.

[MaryAnn&Don]

While I booked the RoS because of the Key West POC, I wonder what other ships they would put in place that does Key West, Cozumel, Roatan, Belize? I also wanted to try Havana but from one in the "Next Cruise" department, no plans yet for 2018. Havana was very difficult to arrange this year and highly subject to the political situation. It is not on the table right now for 2018.

[Clarea]

While I booked the RoS because of the Key West POC, I wonder what other ships they would put in place that does Key West, Cozumel, Roatan, Belize?...

They already have Brilliance doing 4/5 day cruises from Tampa. I suppose they could change her itineraries if they thought 7 day cruises would be more popular.

[MaryAnn&Don]

Bob- Thanks for the tip. I will check into it.