Rhapsody of the Seas Review

3.5 / 5.0
1,502 reviews

Rhapsody of the Seas - Sydney to South Pacific - February 2014

Review for the South Pacific Cruise on Rhapsody of the Seas
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rws4711
2-5 Cruises • Age 70s

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Sail Date: Feb 2014

Four months ago we sailed on the Voyager of the Seas from Singapore to Sydney, so this cruise was a very good opportunity to compare the Voyager with the Rhapsody. We arrived at the time allocated by the cruise line for check-in and all was good sailing. The check-in was without any problems and took about 20 minutes after having dropped our bags at the drop-off point. We were able to get straight to our cabin for a quick inspection before visiting the Windjammer Restaurant for a light snack. The first impression was yes the Rhapsody shows its age but the ship is well looked after and very clean. It is obviously a lot smaller than the Voyager but that was expected and we actually found this a plus. When we returned to our stateroom our luggage was waiting for us.

Now first to the Stateroom. It was well appointed but there were a number of things which I considered a drawback. On our previous cruises we have always had a small bar fridge in the room but this was sadly missing which meant that all the cool drinks you find usually in the fridge were placed on the dresser taking up room. The second problem I encountered was that unlike the Voyager we had no electric kettle in the room. I am in urgent need of a cup of coffee in the morning and my main complaint about the Voyager was that while a kettle and tea was provided, coffee was not. Being smart (I thought) I brought some instant coffee on board expecting to find a kettle and was very disappointed. However after speaking to our Cabin Steward he organized a kettle for us and I was very happy once again. Another thing I did not like was the size of the bathroom, but what really annoyed me most was the plastic shower curtain which sticks to your body no matter how you stand in the shower. There are further small drawbacks in comparison to the Voyager such as the entertainment system which has no movie channel and the display of the route and map of the ship is hard to see and understand. Furthermore there are no electronic updates about the charges and the money you spend on-board which means that every couple of days we had to go to customer service to get an interim statement.

All of the above is much better on the Voyager but then the Rhapsody has other aspects which are very positive. The Rhapsody is very easy to navigate and it is hard to get lost. The mixture of people on this cruise was great. We found quite a number of younger people and young families on board and as 80% of the passengers were Australians, the atmosphere on board was much more lively than on the Voyager.

Cabin Review

The Stateroom was well appointed with excellent linen but there were a number of things which I considered a drawback. On our previous cruises we have always had a small bar fridge in the room but this was sadly missing which meant that all the cool drinks you find usually in the fridge were placed on the dresser taking up room. It was possible to order ice from the steward but a fridge would be more convenient. The second problem I encountered was that unlike the Voyager we had no electric kettle in the room. I am in urgent need of a cup of coffee in the morning and my main complaint about the Voyager was that while a kettle and tea was provided, coffee was not. Being smart (I thought) I brought some instant coffee on board the Rhapsody expecting to find a kettle and was very disappointed. However after speaking to our Cabin Steward he organized a kettle for us and I was very happy once again. Another thing I did not like was the smaller size of the bathroom, but what really annoyed me most was the plastic shower curtain which sticks to your body no matter how you stand in the shower. There are further small drawbacks in comparison to the Voyager such as the entertainment system which has no movie channel and the display of the route and map of the ship is hard to see and understand. Furthermore there are no electronic updates about the charges and the money you spend on-board which means that every couple of days we had to go to customer service to get an interim statement.All of the above is much better on the Voyager but then the Rhapsody has other many aspects which are very positive.

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