Southeast Bureau Chief Ernest Blum was a visitor aboard the
Rhapsody of the Seas during its preinaugural trade events in Miami.
Here are his impressions of the $275 million liner:
MIAMI -- Before the Rhapsody of the Seas sailed on its inaugural
voyage to Los Angeles May 19, travel agents in New York and Miami
had the opportunity to view the fourth of the six "Project Vision"
liners of Royal Caribbean International.
But the occasion actually was a first: the Rhapsody, at 78,491
tons, is the largest ship ever entered into the Royal Caribbean
fleet, the first of two sister ships, each with 2,000 lower berths
and a total capacity of 2,435 passengers.
The sister ship is the Vision of the Seas, which will be
introduced next year.
The first two Project Vision ships were also sisters, the
69,100-ton, 1,804 lower-berth Legend of the Seas and the Splendour
of the Seas.
And representing the mid-size class in the series was the third
of the Project Vision ships, the Grandeur of the Seas, at 74,000
tons and 1,950 lower berths.
The sister ship will be the Enchantment of the Seas, coming into
service this summer.
If it seems like you can't tell the players without a program, a
simple way to remember the differences is this: the first two
Project Vision ships, the Legend and the Splendour, are one
class.
The most publicized feature of both ships is the whimsical
18-hole miniature golf course at the stern.
The four larger entries make up another class, sans golf but
with virtually all of the other congenial features of the Project
Vision ships.
One hallmark of all six of the ships: the extraordinary expanse
of exterior glass sheathing, explaining why Royal Caribbean has
dubbed all six young vessels "ships of light."
Each of the ships also features Royal Caribbean's elegant
Solariums, with their glass canopies designed to allow maximum
light exposure. The one on the Rhapsody boasts an ancient Egyptian
theme.
A third hallmark: the innovative design of the seven-deck- high
atriums, called Centrums, which launched the concept of a vertical
entertainment and relaxation space on passenger ships.
The Centrum of the Rhapsody, whose elegant color accents are
ivory and tan, set amid expanses of marble and brass, is quite
engaging.
From the piano area and Champagne Bar at the base of the
Centrum, which together form a center of nightlife, guests can take
elevators to the Viking Crown Lounge at the top, another night
mecca.
During the daytime, the Centrum provides a series of charming
public rooms, including the Library, Card Room, Crown & Anchor
Study and Explorers Club.
Even clusters of sofas on two of the Centrum's decks are
engaging places to relax.
The restful ambience is encouraged by the surrounding glass
walls, called Centrum Balconies, extending into the ship's outdoor
promenades and providing panoramic views.
The Centrum's charm, including its tranquility during the day,
stems from Royal Caribbean's decision to remove the purser's and
excursion desks from the base of the Centrum and move them to the
deck above.
The moves essentially converts the Centrum into a lounge,
offering relative serenity while still providing good access.
Adding to the space's sparkle are an overhead glass canopy and
rows of giant portholes on each side of the ship.
Crowning it all is the Centrum's aerial sculpture, consisting of
seven wooden blades curling like a vortex through the mid-reaches
of the seven-deck space.
The largest of its blades is 65 feet long, curled into a 40-foot
reach.
A less permanent showpiece of the Centrum, at least in Miami,
was a scene of an underwater coral reef, created from pulled sugar
by the ship's pastry supervisor, Jean Marc.
From the Centrum, it's just a few steps to the entrance of the
ship's two-deck-high formal restaurant, the Edelweiss Dining
Room.
Here, as in the Centrum, huge portholes open up the space to
light on the main floor; seating in the mezzanine is surrounded by
glass walls.
The dining room, whose pale, ice-blue tones lend a sense of
elegance and dignity, has a contemporary feel.
An expansive chandelier with a geometrical design and expanses
of glazed glass add to the elegance. There also are murals
depicting stately fin de siecle ladies.
The Windjammer Cafe at the bow of the ship is the line's eighth
lido restaurant that provides spectacular panoramic sea views
similar to those seen by Capt. Tor Stangeland on the bridge one
deck below.
The room features a whimsical hanging sculpture of a Viking
ship, which upon closer inspection turns out to be the spread-out
body of a woman, whose several pairs of arms are the ship's
oars.
The main showroom, the 42nd Street Theater, is a two-deck-high
formal theater with a balcony and padded theater seats. The decor
is upbeat and glamorous.
But perhaps more engaging is the ship's second showroom, the Top
Hat Lounge, overlooking the stern and a wall of picture
windows.
The curvilinear room, which boasts a large dance floor, has an
Art Deco feel.
The Rhapsody's conference center, featured on all Project Vision
ships, is quite spacious, accommodating 200 people in as many as
five breakout rooms.
Also notably spacious is the Rhapsody's version of Royal
Caribbean's Schooner Piano Bar, whose nautical ropes are actually
dipped in turpentine to enhance the nautical ambience.
As on other Project Vision ships, the Casino Royale is dense in
slots and thin on artistic imagination, limited to hackneyed decor
statements.
The ship's boutique area is also curious, lining a passageway
that is so low in height that the members of the Miami Heat NBA
basketball team couldn't walk through it in an upright
position.
But other ship's amenities, including the spacious children's
and teen centers, are admirable.
So is the spacious outdoor promenade and the vast expanse of
sundeck, which extends as far as the ship's bow.
Of the Rhapsody's 1,000 cabins and staterooms, 593 face outside
and 229 have balconies. Another 14 are designed for travelers with
disabilities.
Cabins on the Project Vision class are significantly larger than
on previous Royal Caribbean ships, with 225 cabins having areas of
195 square feet or more.
On average, the Vision cabins are about 25% larger than on the
Sovereign-class ships, with the Rhapsody's standard outside cabin
measuring 154 square feet and a standard inside cabin measuring 146
square feet.
The cabins, with lovely pastel coloring and handsome wood
furnishings, are up to the line's exquisite cabin decor
standards.