This was my 30th cruise, most with Royal, and my first on a Vision Class ship (last ship was the megaship Wonder of the Seas). The Rhapsody perfectly represents what used to be innovative wow factors back in the 90s, especially the multi-deck Centrum with glass elevators - an area where so many of the ship's features and venues are located, or close to, including Guest Services, Shore Excursions, the Casino, Shops, Schooner Bar, Chops Grille, Cafe Lattetudes, R Bar, Photos, evening musicians. It made it easy to find so many places and things to do without having to go too far. One of my favorite things was the quality of the main theater shows and the number of shows. There were 6 different shows on my 7-night cruise, 1 for every night except the first night (the ship departed San Juan at 8 pm the first night). It was great looking forward to a high-quality show after dinner every night. There was a great variety, with something for everyone, but all were consistently excellent. For this cruise I booked a very reasonably-priced 2 bedroom/2 bath Grand Suite (for half the price of just a standard Grand Suite on Royal's newer and larger ships), located close to the elevators. While the suite holds up to 8 people, there were just 2 of us, so each had their own bedroom and bathroom and a large shared living room. Although a bit dated looking, it was probably my favorite of all the suites I've stayed in (including an Owner's Suite and Royal Suite), because of the spacious unique layout, the midship location, the 2 bathrooms that gave us independence, and again, the extremely reasonable low price. One of the perks of staying in a Grand Suite or above is access to the exclusive Concierge Lounge (also known as the Suites Lounge), located centrally on Deck 11 next to the Viking Crown Lounge. While we also had access to the Deck 6 aft Crown Lounge (for those at Diamond level and above), we always went to the Concierge Lounge because it was much closer and easier to get to from our midship suite and had a great view. And, every evening, complimentary appetizers and drinks were served (in the Crown Lounge you must pay for drinks or use your digital Crown and Anchor free drink vouchers). But, for us, the best thing about the Concierge Lounge was Suite Concierge Dmitriy Krasylnykov from Ukraine. By far, he was the best Concierge we've encountered, and I cannot say enough good things about Dmitriy. He made a point of constantly interacting with the guests and getting to know everyone on a personal level so you always felt welcomed. He also pre-cruise made Giovanni's dinner reservations for us (better steaks than in Chops Grille!), found and turned in my lost $140 casino voucher, and made arrangements for wheelchair disembarkation. He knew and greeted us by name whenever we saw him anywhere on the ship. For other positives, Rhapsody has what I think is one of the best-designed and larger Schooner Bars. I also really liked the aft's large and sideways Shall We Dance lounge, where many secondary shows and activities took place. We chose Rhapsody because of its itinerary, and leaving from San Juan allows it to go deeper into the Caribbean with less-visited ports. It was our first visit to St. Croix and St. Lucia, and we enjoyed all the ports. So many staff made it special too by always going above and beyond, always with a smile, and remembering us by name, and what we liked. Would I go on the megaships again Yes (I'm booked on Quantum and Symphony later this year). Would I go on a Vision or Radiance class ship again Yes. The variety of the layouts of each class of ships helps keep cruising interesting instead of immediately knowing where everything is. And, while Rhapsody doesn't have all the bells and whistles of the megaships' pool decks, those things don't interest us anyway. On Rhapsody, we always found plenty to do and plenty of room and we thoroughly enjoyed revisiting a smaller class ship after many years.
Pros: Less-traveled ports, consistent quality shows, everything easy to find, wonderful crew
