If you are considering a trip to Greece, Royal Caribbean’s Vision-class ship, Rhapsody of the Seas, should be on the top of your list. Departing from Venice, Italy, Rhapsody of the Seas alternates between a 7-night Greek Isles cruise and a 7-night Greece and Croatia itinerary visiting popular ports like Mykonos, Athens, Kotor, and Dubrovnik. The ship also seasonally homeports in Tampa offering Caribbean cruises.

While we have not had the opportunity to visit Greece or to sail on Rhapsody of the Seas, fellow travel blogger Savannah has recently returned from her cruise and wants to share why she loved the ship in this week’s guest post.

10 Reasons to Cruise on Rhapsody of the Seas

I recently had the perfect first cruise experience: the 7-night Greek Isles cruise on Rhapsody of the Seas. If you haven’t checked out this ship yet- you should! Here are 10 reasons to cruise on Rhapsody of the Seas.

The Food

You have three included food options on Rhapsody of the Seas, each with its own special merits. You have the Windjammer Café, the Edelweiss restaurant, and the Park Café. My recommendations: Make yourself salmon eggs benedict in the Windjammer for breakfast, where gluten-free options are labelled. Pay a little extra for flex dining at Edelweiss, and order as many appetizers there as you like. Get the brie and prosciutto panini as a late-night snack. Yum.

10 Reasons to Cruise on Rhapsody of the Seas – Windjammer Selections

The Specialty Restaurants

So, I have to be honest here. I loved the included options so much that I never went to any of the specialty restaurants on board. You can choose from Chops Grille, Giovanni’s Table, and Izumi. The Viking Crown Lounge also offers tapas-style dishes. The ultimate in dining experiences is the Chef’s Table Experience, which is a $95 wine-paired, 5-course dinner hosted by the executive chef and sommelier. This is the one dining option I was itching to try, but because of a series of unfortunate events, our “extras” budget was completely shot for this trip.

The Intimate Size

With a guest capacity of almost 2,000, Rhapsody of the Seas is one of the smaller ships owned by Royal Caribbean. Because of this, it is not a problem to get from your massage appointment (from 5-5:50pm) to dinner (reservations at 6pm) on time! Trust me- I did this the first day.

Rhapsody of the Seas

The Service

Our stateroom attendant was amazing. Our room was spotless, there were always whimsical towel animals left in our room, and he knew our names from the first time we walked on the ship! I even saw him once in a different part of the ship- he smiled and said, “Hey Savannah! How’s your day going?”

Even though he was almost the only staffer who knew my name the entire cruise, Jorge wasn’t the only great person. The bartenders, massage therapists, and especially our servers in the Edelweiss restaurant (Michaela from Romania and Melvin from India) were outstanding. I cannot sing their praises enough!

10 Reasons to Cruise on Rhapsody of the Seas – Towel Animal

The Staff

The service was very personalized, but the general staff was fantastic as well. They not only provided great service, they seemed like they were great human beings. Sometimes you have staff that seem like Naomi from the 2005 movie “Waiting”: nice to you at the table but opposite with her co-workers and in the kitchen. And that just makes everyone uncomfortable.

The Giveaways

Let’s just be clear, the giveaways at the duty-free shops are all a gimmick to get you to buy stuff. That said, you can actually win stuff! I won a lanyard my first night on the ship!

Here’s the thing: most of the giveaways happen at a time when you’re free. You’re only other plan is to hang out at the bar, so you might as well try to win something!

The Excursions

Some people say to just stick with the cruise excursions because they’re easier and you know what you’re getting into. Most people say to find your own excursions to save money. So, I decided to do both.

I loved the two excursions I went on through the ship- the Blue Cave Speed Boat Adventure in Kotor & Mountain Biking in Corfu, and I enjoyed the ones I did on my own just as much. The Blue Cave Speed Boat Adventure was a 45-minute boat ride out to Blue Cave, followed by an hour or so on a nearby secluded beach. (Check out our adventure here!) The mountain biking in Corfu was awesome, but not for the faint-hearted or completely out of shape! They told us we would be biking for approximately 2 hours, but they neglected to tell us that it was almost all up a mountain, and it was quite strenuous. The views, snacks, and wine, however, were well worth the long climb. If you don’t want to break a sweat during your excursion, there were several other options in Corfu focused on just the snacks and wine, not exercise. The ship-organized excursions were very well orchestrated, and you’re guaranteed to not miss the ship!

Exploring Greece on an Excursion

Free Art at the Art Auction

I really enjoyed the art auctions. Not because I’m really that into art, but because I like pretending that I’m pretentious while sipping on free champagne. Also, we enjoyed getting a couple of pieces of free art just for attending. One was a raffle winning. My boyfriend accidentally bought a piece because they’re a little sneaky. So, be on your guard.

Complimentary Youth Program

I don’t have kids, but I can easily imagine that parents would need some time away from them while on vacation. Rhapsody of the Seas has you covered! There is a great kid’s area with programs, games, and activities for your little ones. The Adventure Ocean kid’s program is available across all itineraries on the ship.

The Lifetime Memories

This is a really lame reason, but it’s completely true! I loved almost every second of exploring the Greek islands! I say almost because you can’t literally love every second. But it was definitely awesome.

Comments

Have you sailed on Rhapsody of the Seas in Greece? What were your favorite aspects of the ship and the itinerary? Drop us an anchor below to share your experiences cruising on this ship.
[author] [author_image timthumb=’on’]https://eatsleepcruise.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/Savannah.jpg.optimal.jpg[/author_image] [author_info]Savannah (Savvi) is a good ole Southern girl with a background in finance and a lust for adventure. She loves to rack up all kinds of experiences of traveling and enjoying life, all while teaching people how to do it in a sustainable manner. Savvi believes that anyone can travel as long as they know how to manage their money and plan for the unexpected. She currently lives as an expat in Europe, but plans to move back to the States in the summer of 2018. If you have any questions about how to start traveling, she’d love to help you out![/author_info] [/author]