Rhapsody of the Seas

Rhapsody of the Seas is a Vision-class ship from 1997, about 78,900 tonnes, around 2,400 passengers. The Vision ships were designed around glass. A Centrum atrium rises six decks with the Viking Crown Lounge at its top, and the Solarium sits under a glass roof. The intent was to look outward rather than fill the ship with attractions, and that decision explains Rhapsody better than it explains her sisters, because she has spent most of her career being sent somewhere scenic. Six years out of Galveston. A repositioning across the South Pacific in 2007, then five consecutive extended Australia and New Zealand seasons, with Asia and Alaska in between, ending in winter 2014 to 2015. Her reported 54 million dollar revitalisation in 2012 was done at Sembawang in Singapore rather than Florida, which tells you where she was working.

She is not in Australia now. Her current homeport is San Juan, on seven-night Southern Caribbean round trips, taken over from Radiance of the Seas in a swap that sent Radiance to Tampa. San Juan sailings run into 2028, with a Mediterranean summer in 2027 from Piraeus, plus Barcelona and Istanbul departures either side. What she does well follows from her size: port days are easy because getting off takes minutes. The Solarium is the best room aboard, adults-only, quiet and usable in poor weather, with Park Cafe at its aft end for the sensible lunch. Chops Grille and Giovanni's Table share deck 6 aft, Izumi is up on deck 12, and the Edelweiss dining room spans decks 4 and 5. Reviewers return again and again to the crew.

The criticism is mostly about age. Cruise Critic's editors rate her 3.5 out of 5, praising service and consistency but noting that the entertainment amuses rather than wows and that only two stateroom decks have balconies at all. Member reviews cite maintenance, tired fittings, few power sockets and small cabins. She has also taken weather hard on occasion, including a rogue wave off Santorini in 2016 that broke cabin windows on decks 2 and 3.

She suits people who want ports, short walks and a crew that learns your name. She does not suit families expecting waterslides, or anyone assuming the ship in the advertising.

Cabin choice matters more here than on a big ship. Fewer venues means noise is concentrated rather than spread. The Centrum is her spine, and cabins ringing it hear the bands and the late sets. The pool deck and Windjammer sit on deck 9, so cabins immediately below get deck chairs scraping at dawn. The theatre is forward on the lower decks, and the show carries upward. Forward low cabins feel the sea more. With balconies confined to two decks, most people end up in ocean-view or inside cabins, where good and bad bookings differ almost entirely by position. We should be straight with you. Our per-cabin quiet and convenience scores are not yet published for Rhapsody. We are still mapping her venues deck by deck, and we would rather publish nothing than publish a guess.

Browse the deck plan and check what sits above and below before you book.