Rhapsody of the Seas Review
Rhapsody of the Seas - Eastern Med - Fabulous!
Rating by category
Additional details
We are a family with 2 teens – 15 and 16. We aim to enjoy our holidays so don’t stress if the towels are smaller than they should be (which they are) or if Guest Services give us a spare room key that didn’t work, meaning we have to queue at Guest Services again (which they did). We approach holidays with a positive attitude and we had a fabulous time on the Rhapsody.
Embarkation in Venice was well organised and painless, though our cases did not make it to the cabins before dinner. Disembarkation was also very smooth and we cleared the ship and got into Venice before 9 a.m.
There was plenty of organised activities onboard – dance lessons, quizzes, art auctions, zumba etc. Some – the bellyflop contest, sexiest man competition, karaoke – were not our cup of tea, so we simply didn’t go. We enjoyed the evening shows – though our teenage son found the ship productions (Pure Country, Ballroom Fever, Piano Man) a bit repetitive. The Headline acts were all enjoyable but we missed the Comedy Lounge that Carnival offered in addition to the main theatre shows. We really enjoyed watching the movies – either in the theatre during sea days or on the pool deck at night.
Cabin Review
Junior Suite
We had a junior suite on Deck 8. Toiletries were provided and there were 2 American and 2 European plugs in the bedroom. Cabin came with a filter coffee maker, kettle and fridge too. There was some noise from the pool deck (both music when on our balcony and from the people traffic when in the cabins) but we were up early, back late and rarely slept in the afternoon, so it was not an issue for us. We thought there was more than sufficient storage and everything worked well including the air conditioning. Our room steward was excellent – bringing extra towels, hangers, glasses etc as needed and getting an issue with the sink fixed before we even noticed the problem. Beds were comfortable, though a demisting mirror in the bathroom would have been useful. Photos on RCL’s website were a fair representation of the room. The ship is due for a refit later this year but it is not showing excessive signs of wear or age.
The tannoy announcements could not be heard in the cabins clearly though you could switch to a tv channel to hear them. TV had the usual options of RCL channels plus English news and various American shows, plus limited channels in other European languages. Unlike Carnival, there was not a film channel.
There are no I-Pads provided by RCL on this ship, though this might change at the refit later this year.
Port Reviews
Corfu
Corfu – the number 17 bus leaves from port and takes you into town for less than 2 Euros each. We walked back – it took less than 30 mins – but the bus would be available too. There were also plenty of taxis for 10 Euros to town. We visited the Old and New forts and vaguely followed a walking tour we had pulled together beforehand.
Mykonos
Mykonos – we tendered right into the town rather than the ship using the port, which meant we could wander easily around these pretty streets and visit the windmills. There is a small beach in town and it was lovely to swim there.
Zadar
Zadar – the taxi should be about £6 to town. It is even written on the side of the taxis but the drivers we spoke too all wanted 20 Euros or Kuna equivalent to £19 one way! We do not mind people making a living but this felt like we were being taken advantage of. It also meant the ship’s shuttle at $12pp return was actually cheaper!!! We therefore returned to ship and took the shuttle bus and wandered the old town, including visiting the Illusion Museum, for about 3 hrs. Again we had pulled together a walking tour before joining the cruise. It is really too far to walk from the port and apart from taxis, there is nothing at the port (limited shelter, no shops etc) – it is very new so facilities will no doubt improve.
Venice
Easy and efficient embarkation. Spent 4 days post-cruise exploring this lovely city.