Rhapsody of the Seas Information

[kawagama]

Four of us are looking to book an October cruise to the Greek Islands. It seems that the only lines that do this are RCI, MSC and Costa at that time (that are in our budget). The two itineraries that we are looking at leave from Venice and that means the Rhapsody of the Seas. The reviews I have been reading are not great and I don't want to book something that will be a poor experience. I have only been on one cruise (with HAL) to Alaska. Our friends have never been. I would like this to be a good experience. Will we be disappointed, or should we just ignore all the negative reviews and forge ahead to book? Any advice would be greatly appreciated! Thanks so much.

[Hoppe44]

Four of us are looking to book an October cruise to the Greek Islands. It seems that the only lines that do this are RCI, MSC and Costa at that time (that are in our budget). The two itineraries that we are looking at leave from Venice and that means the Rhapsody of the Seas. The reviews I have been reading are not great and I don't want to book something that will be a poor experience. I have only been on one cruise (with HAL) to Alaska. Our friends have never been. I would like this to be a good experience. Will we be disappointed, or should we just ignore all the negative reviews and forge ahead to book? Any advice would be greatly appreciated! Thanks so much.

 

 

Hi,

 

super quick response but I'm on here because Im defending the ship it seems. I just got off my first cruise ever and it was on the Rhapsody of the Seas, Jan 21-28. I enjoyed the trip and really enjoyed the ship. The ship is on the smaller size, so you will have to decide if thats okay.

 

What kind of questions do you have? Ask away and I will answer them. We really enjoyed it and would go again. Don't listen to the negative reviews. People who have a bad time always post about it, its American culture. We like to complain about bad things and never really talk about the good. Its who we are.

 

Feel free to ask away and I will give my opinion. Im a 22 year old first time cruiser. So take that into account :)

[EllaDuChien]

Four of us are looking to book an October cruise to the Greek Islands. It seems that the only lines that do this are RCI, MSC and Costa at that time (that are in our budget). The two itineraries that we are looking at leave from Venice and that means the Rhapsody of the Seas. The reviews I have been reading are not great and I don't want to book something that will be a poor experience. I have only been on one cruise (with HAL) to Alaska. Our friends have never been. I would like this to be a good experience. Will we be disappointed, or should we just ignore all the negative reviews and forge ahead to book? Any advice would be greatly appreciated! Thanks so much.

 

We did the Rhapsody out of Venice this past July and LOVED it! She is an older ship, but the staff was great and the ports were amazing! Please let me know if you have any questions.

 

We visited Katakolon, Chania (Crete), Athens, Thessaloniki, Kusadasi, Santorini, and Dubrovnik, with an overnight in Venice. It was a bucket list cruise for sure!

[kawagama]

We are two retired couples, so on the other end of the spectrum than you! Were the cabins and beds comfortable? Was the food good? That's basically the negatives I'm seeing. We are Canadian, so on the polite side (lol), and aren't fussy high society types. We are looking for comfort and decent food, basically. Thank you for responding!

[kawagama]

The itinerary we are looking at is slightly different, but in the same area. We are two retired couples from Canada and are simply looking for comfortable rooms (beds) and decent food. We aren't super fussy, but want to make sure we aren't disappointed. Were you happy with the food selections and your accommodation?

[Hoppe44]

We are two retired couples, so on the other end of the spectrum than you! Were the cabins and beds comfortable? Was the food good? That's basically the negatives I'm seeing. We are Canadian, so on the polite side (lol), and aren't fussy high society types. We are looking for comfort and decent food, basically. Thank you for responding!

 

There we actually a lot of Canadians on our trip. I think they announced something like 160+! We sat with a couple at dinner from Canada and they were fantastic.

 

I felt the beds were fine. Nothing spectacular, but nothing wrong with them. We had an inside cabin on deck 4. 4007 to be specific if you look up a deck plan. I would recommend finding a room in the middle of the ship and low if you can (unless you want a balcony). Rhapsody is a small ship so being in the front or back of the ship and in rough seas = a lot of bobbing. Think of the ship as a teeter totter. It doesn't move as much in the middle.

 

We also aren't too fussy and actually kind of felt awkward at times with all the dinning being so formal (normal for cruises). The food was great and if you didn't like something, just send it back and they will bring you something back quickly. I promise you, they have read the bad reviews. They even mentioned them to us. They are working hard to get better and I really think it was fantastic. However we aren't up right and anything like what they provided would have felt great to us to be honest.

[willing292]

We were in the Med on Rhapsody last year and really enjoyed it. The smaller ships are great for getting into smaller ports. Fewer passengers means the ports are less crowded as well. The ship was in fine shape.

 

 

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[Clarea]

We are on Rhapsody now and see no major issues with the ship and crew as a whole. Our stateroom cannot get below 75 F, but I found that on quite a number of ships on the last few years.

[Mgugs46]

We are sailing on this ship in July/Aug in the Mediterranean. I have read some bad reviews, but some really good ones as well. Honestly, I care more about the ports of call than whether the ship has a zipline, or mini-golf, etc.

 

The one we are going on leaves from Venice as well, and hits Dubrovnik, Ephesus, Santorini, and Olympia. We are also spending another day in Venice on the back end.

 

I have been really wanting to get to Venice (I have been to Italy but stayed in Rome and Florence), Santorini and Croatia - but was afraid I would be bored with say a week in Santorini or Croatia, so this itinerary really appealed to me.

 

We are in a Junior Suite, and so long as the food is edible, I can't imagine we will have a bad time.

[kawagama]

Thank you! We aren't looking for golf or zip lines either. Our itinerary hits Kotor, Corfu, Athens, Mykonos, and Argostoli. I was hoping for Santorini, but our friends were worried about a stop in Turkey, so we opted for this one instead. Just booked it last night!

[gumbypee]

/i was on her a few weeks ago for Western Caribean trip and had a blast. It is what you make of it - and with a med trip I think the ports of call are most important. The rooms are small, like any cruise, but it is just for showering and sleeping :)

 

it was very well maintained, clean, beautiful, friendly staff and crew.

 

I am a bland, picky eater and I ate most nights in Windjammer (buffet) and they had a nice selection of a variety of foods each night. I THINK you can see what is on the menu in the main dining room at the electronic boards near the elevators, but I didn't realize that, but we were happy with Windjammer

 

glad to see you booked it!

[aubreyc1988]

We did the Rhapsody out of Venice this past July and LOVED it! She is an older ship, but the staff was great and the ports were amazing! Please let me know if you have any questions.

 

We visited Katakolon, Chania (Crete), Athens, Thessaloniki, Kusadasi, Santorini, and Dubrovnik, with an overnight in Venice. It was a bucket list cruise for sure!

 

I am looking at a 7 night Med cruise out of Venice and would love ANY tips you may have pre cruise, booking tips, where you stayed before and after, flights, etc...

[aubreyc1988]

We are on Rhapsody now and see no major issues with the ship and crew as a whole. Our stateroom cannot get below 75 F, but I found that on quite a number of ships on the last few years.

 

will you be doing a review, I hope? What is your itinerary

[EllaDuChien]

I am looking at a 7 night Med cruise out of Venice and would love ANY tips you may have pre cruise, booking tips, where you stayed before and after, flights, etc...

 

 

 

Precruise I rented an apartment on Home Away. It was perfect, a short walk to the Ali Laguna stop, close to restaurant, and grocery stores, and most important...gelato!! And since I needed to sleep 4 ppl, an apartment was a less expensive option than two hotel rooms. We stayed three days pre-cruise, it came out to about $100/night.

 

Flights are always crazy expensive unless you can go off season, which we could not.

 

In Venice we took a free walking tour that gave us some really good info on places kind of off the beaten path.

 

We also stayed one night post-cruise in the Hilton Molino. It's on a different island in the Bay of Venice. Totally different experience, but still nice.

 

Happy to answer any questions you might have.

[aubreyc1988]

Precruise I rented an apartment on Home Away. It was perfect, a short walk to the Ali Laguna stop, close to restaurant, and grocery stores, and most important...gelato!! And since I needed to sleep 4 ppl, an apartment was a less expensive option than two hotel rooms. We stayed three days pre-cruise, it came out to about $100/night.

 

Flights are always crazy expensive unless you can go off season, which we could not.

 

In Venice we took a free walking tour that gave us some really good info on places kind of off the beaten path.

 

We also stayed one night post-cruise in the Hilton Molino. It's on a different island in the Bay of Venice. Totally different experience, but still nice.

 

Happy to answer any questions you might have.

 

 

 

I've been looking at airbnb for options, and have seen some options for 100-150.00 with views of the grand canal. Is this a good area to pre cruise stay/post cruise stay? Most likely will be going over Labor Day, probably arriving the day before the cruise, leaving the day after the cruise. So obviously I want to try to be in a great area where I can see and do a lot in Venice pre and post cruise. Price is not a big factor as much as being safe and in a good area for sightseeing

 

 

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[EllaDuChien]

I've been looking at airbnb for options, and have seen some options for 100-150.00 with views of the grand canal. Is this a good area to pre cruise stay/post cruise stay? Most likely will be going over Labor Day, probably arriving the day before the cruise, leaving the day after the cruise. So obviously I want to try to be in a great area where I can see and do a lot in Venice pre and post cruise. Price is not a big factor as much as being safe and in a good area for sightseeing

 

 

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Pretty much anywhere along the canal is good. The closer you get to the big sights, (Rialto, St. Marks, etc.) the more expensive it will be but if you are near the canal, you will have access to transportation to anywhere you want to go. There was no place in Venice that we felt unsafe, even after dark as two women and two children. Granted we weren't out past midnight but no problems walking to get gelato after dinner.