| CW sails with Rhapsody of the Seas

Royal Caribbean’s recent $54
million makeover of Rhapsody
of the Seas has added three
specialty restaurants and 21
more cabins, including an
owner’s suite, but has also
reduced the passenger capacity.
THE month-long refurbishment, said to be
the largest dry-dock operation of its type to
take place in Singapore, seems designed to
raise the vessel to a far more stylish level and
appeal to passengers who want affordable
cruising but are prepared to pay extra for finer
cuisine and exclusive treats.
Despite the extra accommodation the ship
now carries 100 less passengers, as cabins
were enlarged by removing the facility for
third and fourth berths, and the emphasis is
now on couples, with the ship now carrying a
maximum of 2000.
It left Sydney on 13 Apr, carrying 1940
people, on an 18-day repositioning voyage to
Hawaii, from where it will travel to Alaska for
a five-month season.
Part of the upgrade includes a smart, new
Concierge Club for top-level Crown and
Anchor club members (or frequent cruisers), a
quiet sanctuary near the Viking Crown Lounge,
complete with a personal attendant and
complimentary evening drinks and canapés.
In addition to the three new extra-charge
restaurants, the ship now offers a delicatessen
style eatery, the Park Café, which is similar to
the spa café venues available on RCI’s sister
line, the 4.5 star Celebrity Cruises.
The trio of surcharge restaurants, Izumi,
Chops Grille and Giovanni’s Table, specialising
in sushi and hot-rock cooking, prime steaks
and Italian cuisine respectively, are as goodlooking
as anything you’d find on land and
well priced at around $20 to $30 a head.
The latter two are located on Deck 6 in an area
previously considered a bit of a ‘dead area’ on
the ship, while Izumi occupies a totally
revamped area of Deck 11, also hived off from
the previously much-large Viking Crown lounge.
The refurb has also included a makeover of
all cabins and much of the furniture and
fittings in public rooms – and it shows.
Cabins are clear and bright with new
diaphanous drapes, pleasant carpets, bedding
and new flat screen TVs, while all furniture in
the Edelweiss dining room has been
re-upholstered and there are new carpets
virtually throughout the ship.
The biggest change occurred in the redesigned
Centrum: the former dramatic (and muchloved
according to some guests) sculpture has
gone and has been replaced with various
chandeliers and big wheels that are used as
props for aerial gymnasts and entertainers.
The Centrum area, with its totally jazzy R bar
– said to look like the set of Mad Men, but I’m
not too sure – has been changed into an
entertainment area, rather than a quiet place
to have a drink.