Rhapsody Of The Seas

The 1997-built Rhapsody of the Seas cruise ship is of the Vision-class Royal Caribbean liners, with sisterships Vision OTS, Grandeur OTS, Enchantment OTS, Legend OTS (now Marella Discovery 2), Splendour OTS (now Marella Discovery).

The vessel (IMO number 9116864) is currently Bahamas-flagged (MMSI 311805000) and registered in Nassau.

History - construction and ownership

Royal Caribbean International (RCI) is a US passenger shipping company, trademarked travel brand, and subsidiary owned by Royal Caribbean Group (RCG/shipowner). RCI was established in 1968 and currently has over 1/5 of the worldwide cruise market. RCI also has RCG's largest fleet by both vessel number and GT tonnage (ship sizes and capacities).

All RCI liners have names ending with "of the Seas".

The 2000-passenger ship Rhapsody OTS is one of Royal Caribbean's older liners. In addition to a family suite and new staterooms being added, upgrades to the ship included new dining venues, an outdoor movie screen poolside, lounges for elite past guests, digital signage and a nursery.

The first RCI vessels to offer balconies in a number of categories, the Vision-class ships feature acres of glass skylights allowing sunlight to flood in. Each ship boasts a soaring central atrium at its heart anchored by a chic bar filling with music after dark - the ideal spot for watching the aerial performances overhead.

Decks and Cabins

Rhapsody Of The Seas staterooms (1013 total, in 24 grades) include 98 Suites, 136 Balcony, 372 Oceanviews, 407 Inside. Cabin sizes vary between 130-150-190 ft2 (12-14-18 m2). Most cabin balconies are sized 40 ft2 / 4 m2. The largest is the Royal Suite (1185 ft2 / 110 m2 plus 140 ft2 / 13 m2 terrace). Wheelchair-accessible cabins are 14.

The boat has 12 decks, of which 11 are passenger-accessible and 5 with cabins.

Shipboard dining options - Food and Drinks

Rhapsody of the Seas got a new image with the refurbishment in March 2012. The US$16 million makeover was part of Royal Caribbean's USD 300 million, 3-year "Royal Advantage" fleet renovation program for adding facilities and amenities found on the Oasis-class liners. A number of Oasis-class dining options were added to Rhapsody of the Seas, effectively doubling the choices. New dining venues include the Asian Izumi, the Italian Giovanni's Table serving family-style dishes and Park Cafe deli - a casual bistro concept borrowed from Oasis and Allure. The ribbon was also cut on a new Chops Grille, Royal Caribbean's signature option for grilled meats and seafood (US$30 per person), and the Chef's Table, a US$95 wine-paired dinner hosted by the executive chef and sommelier.

Follows the complete list of Rhapsody of the Seas restaurants and food bars.

• Edelweiss Restaurant (1090-seat aft Dining Room; offers Brasserie 30 lunch on sea days; Chef's Table)
• Windjammer Cafe Lido buffet restaurant (710-seat, offers Early Breakfast at 6:30 a.m., Breakfast between 7-11:30 am, Lunch 11.30-3:30 pm, Dinner 6.30-9 p.m.)
• Chops Grille (specialty restaurant; reservations recommended)
• Giovanni's Table (79-seat Italian specialty restaurant)
• Izumi (Asian specialty restaurant)
• Park Cafe (76-seat deli restaurant; complimentary - serves the Solarium area).

Shipboard entertainment options - Fun and Sport

The hub of Rhapsody OTS' entertainment is the Centrum Atrium, which got a complete makeover during drydock 2012. Its lowest level is on Deck 4, where the R Bar serves classic martinis in a '60s mod decor setting. All the action takes place there, including art auctions, ballroom dance classes, cooking demos, audience-participation games and late-night dance parties.

The Centrum Atrium soars up to Deck 8. The upper reaches were outfitted with rigging and stage lighting for aerial acrobatic performances.

The ship features a few main lounges. Broadway Melodies is one of the most functional with seating on fixed banquettes, which provides adequate space to enter and exit. Space is maximized as the tables have been eliminated in favor of comfy drink holders on armrests. The theatre is done up in jade-green marble, with furniture in matching leather and turquoise brocade. On a week-long cruise, expect several performances by the ship's singers and dancers, as well as a few specialty acts.

Additional amenities include Complimentary 24-hour Room-Service, Supervised Youth program, Internet/WiFi Access, Laundry, Self-Serve Laundromats (14).

Follows the complete list of Rhapsody of the Seas lounges, clubs and other entertainment venues for kids, teens and adults.

• Broadway Melodies Theatre (870-seat, features grand production shows with dance, acrobatics, comedy and games)
• Photo Gallery and Shop; Art Gallery
• The Centrum (7-deck atrium and social hub, offers aerial acrobatics entertainment); Shall We Dance Lounge (300-seat show entertainment lounge); Crown Lounge (fka Diamond Club Lounge & Bar for past guests only); Concierge Club (suite and past guests only); Viking Crown Lounge and Nightclub
• R Bar (66-seat cocktail bar); Cafe Latte-tudes Bar (36-seat specialty coffee bar, Starbucks Coffee); Schooner Bar (145-seat piano bar)
• Centrum Boutiques (duty-free; clothes, perfumes, accessories, jewelry, logo souvenirs, General Store/alcohol and cigarettes)
• Casino Royale (282-seat)
• Royal Caribbean Online Center (Internet computers room; 24-hour)
• Vitality at Sea Spa and Fitness Center; 6 jacuzzis; 3 swimming pools
• Solarium lounge (includes Cafe Bar, pool bar and adults-only pool area)
• Outdoor Movie Screen
• Video Games Arcade; FantaSeas Teen Center and Disco; Royal Babies and Tots Nursery
• Adventure Beach; Adventure Ocean kids lounge area
• Sports Court (golf simulator, table tennis, basketball court); Crystal Canopy; Jogging Track; Rock-climbing Wall.

Itineraries

Rhapsody of the Seas itinerary program is based on Australia and Alaska roundtrips from, respectively, Sydney NSW and Seattle WA, and visiting Hawaii during repositioning. Rhapsody OTS also offers voyages in Europe (Mediterranean departures from homeports Civitavecchia/Rome-Ravenna-Piraeus/Athens-Barcelona) and occasionally in South America (from Santos and Buenos Aires), with Transatlantic crossings (RepositionCruises.com) between Europe and South America.

For winter 2022-2023, Rhapsody OTS was homeported in Bridgetown Barbados (starting November 2022), to operate 5-7-8-14-night roundtrips. The itineraries were themed as "Southern Caribbean Island Hop" (5-night and 7-night), "Southern Caribbean Adventure" (7-night), "Southern Caribbean Holiday" (8-night), "Ultimate Caribbean" (14-night).

During the summers of 2022 and 2023 (August-September) the ship was homeported in Limassol (Cyprus Island, Greece). The 7-day roundtrips visited ports in Greece (Thessaloniki), Greek Islands (Rhodes, Santorini, Mykonos, Skiathos), Turkey (Istanbul, Kusadasi), Israel (Haifa, Ashdod), and Egypt (Alexandria, Port Said). Roundtrips from Israel (Haifa) are also offered.

For winter 2023-2024 (December-April), Rhapsody OTS had scheduled an (RCI-first) Caribbean and Latin America program based on 3x departure ports/homeports - two in Panama (Colon, and Panama City/Fuerte Amador) and one in Colombia (Cartagena). The 7-night roundtrip itineraries visited the Panama Canal (full transit between Colon and Fuerte Amador) and Holland's ABC islands (Aruba, Bonaire, Curacao) in the Leeward Antilles. The Panama Canal itinerary (8x departures from Fuerte Amador) was planned to visit Cartagena, and Costa Rica's Puntarenas and Quepos. However, in Aug 2023, this program was unexpectedly canceled and replaced with 7-day Southern Caribbean itineraries leaving roundtrip from (homeports) Colon and Cartagena and excluding the Panama Canal transition.

Rhapsody OTS was built by Chantiers de l'Atlantique Shipyard (St Nazaire, France). The inaugural cruise (maiden voyage) started on May 19, 1997.The ship's godmother was Bodil Wilhelmsen - the wife of Gjert Wilhelmsen (principal stockholder in RCCL).

Ship's Atrium is 6-deck tall and called Centrum. Its bottom floor (lobby level) has a bar, grand piano and a large dance floor. The Centrum's main level is also home for many activities like trivia games, cooking classes, song and dance aerial acrobatics performances, art auctions. And there is no chance for missing the fun here because you should pass this area to get anywhere on the ship. The top of the Centrum is for the Viking Crown Lounge area - "the place" for your scenery views during the voyage.

The liner's namesakes are the cruiseferry GNV Rhapsody (1996), and the riverboats Amadeus Rhapsody (1998) and River Rhapsody (1999).

Rhapsody OTS refurbishments review

The list of deckplan changes after drydock refurbishment 2012 (April) included:

• upgraded amenities in all staterooms (HDTVs, renovated bathrooms, interiors, linens, furniture)
• Jumbotron (huge poolside LED screen for movies / located close to the main pool on Lido Deck)
• new lounges ("Diamond" and "Concierge")
• new dining options ("Giovanni's Table" Trattoria/Italian cuisine, "Izumi"/Asian cuisine, "Chops Grille"/steakhouse, "Chef's Table"/limited capacity intimate dining, Viking Crown's new a la carte menu, the free-of-charge deli "Park Cafe")
• Nursery
• upgraded "Centrum" (Atrium entertainment program / acrobatic shows)
• R Bar (1960s-themed lounge)
• Wi-Fi coverage was upgraded to shipwide.
• Digital signage boards were installed.

Rhapsody OTS' drydock in 2025 (May) was in Freeport (Bahamas) and mainly for general maintenance and classification works. The drydocking also included a general hotel upkeep (public areas and staterooms), including new carpets, upholstery and furniture.

The ship's drydocking in 2022 (April-May) was for routine maintenance works and conducted at Damen Shiprepair Brest (France). The project included hull cleaning and painting, mechanical works (machinery inspections and upgrades, including of the propulsion system and the engines), outdoor spaces renovations (sundeck, swimming pools), recarpeting of all indoor public areas (hallways, bars, lounges).

Rhapsody OTS' previous drydock was in 2016 December.

Ex-Barbados cruises 2022-2023

For winter 2022-2023, Rhapsody OTS was homeported in Bridgetown Barbados (November 20, 2022, thru April 16, 2023), with a unique schedule of 5-7-8-14-night roundtrip itineraries.

7-day "Southern Caribbean Island Hop" itinerary (from USD 1100 pp with double occupancy)

14-day "Ultimate Caribbean Cruise" itinerary (US$ 3100 pp)

5-day "Southern Caribbean Island Hop" itinerary (US$ 890 pp)

7-day "Southern Caribbean Adventure" itinerary (US$ 770 pp)

Itineraries 2017 changes

In May-October, 2017, Rhapsody will operate in Europe (Mediterranean) on 7-night round trips from Venice Italy. Follows Transatlantic repositioning to Tampa Florida for Caribbean cruises (starting on November 19, 2017). The previously scheduled Canada New England cruises from home-port Cape Liberty (Bayonne New Jersey / New York) will be operated by Vision of the Seas.