Mediterranean Shipping Cruises

SS Rhapsody

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Operator:Mediterranean Shipping Cruises
Year Built / Last Refurbished: 1977 / 1995
Length / Tonnage: 537 / 17,495
Number of Cabins / Passengers: 425 / 850
Officers / Crew: Italian / Italian
Operating Area: Mediterranean, transAtlantic, South America

Built in a Danish yard and then towed to an Italian yard for installation of her accommodations, fitting and decor, this ship was first named the CUNARD CONQUEST, a moniker wisely dumped after a few pundits pointed out to Cunard Line that such a name would only upset the locals wherever in the Caribbean this ship would travel. And since her twin sister ship's name was CUNARD COUNTESS (these were going to be Cunard's "Sea Class"...as if they were expecting to build further classes of ships....which they did not), Cunard re named this one CUNARD PRINCESS. When she was building in the mid 1970s, some observers postulated that these twins would be the last two passenger/cruise ships to be built for any line, anywhere...well that sorry prediction did not come to pass... but for Cunard, it did... these two ships were Cunard's swan song....the five ships they added to their fleet in the twenty two years remaining to them before they were absorbed by Carnival Cruises, were second hand tonnage bought from other owners.. When these sisters were designed, Cunard didn't have much to go on, for reactive and conservative as ever, their management recognized not one single trend on cruising's horizon and thus developed a pair of ships best described as an acquired taste.

Expecting to have the commanding position in the growing cruise trade that they had long enjoyed on the North Atlantic, Cunard's pompous management wanted these two ships to work together ad infinitum on seven day cruises from San Juan, Puerto Rico. The cruising public was not as impressed with Cunard's name as was Cunard's staff, and the passengers flocked to other ships in such numbers that the Cunard Line had to find alternate areas of employment for the CUNARD PRINCESS. So our brochure collection includes advertising for her seven night cruises from New York to Bermuda, transcanal cruises, Mexican "Riviera" cruises, Alaska cruises, and finally at the end of the eighties, Mediterranean and Canary Islands cruises....and on these last, she proved extraordinarily popular with the British market, and she ran so full that Cunard did not have to heavily discount her fares. Then came the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait, and the eventual American military response.

The U.S. Government chartered the CUNARD PRINCESS and had her tie up in Bahrain, where from Christmas Eve, 1990 through the end of the following summer, she was an "R & R" center for American soldiers who, relieved from duty for a few days, would be flown from their bases in Saudi Arabia or Kuwait to Bahrain, and be given three or four days on the ship, where they would be given the equivalent of a cruise to nowhere on a ship that didn't move. Alcohol, though, was tightly controlled. After this charter work, the ship was sent to Malta, where she was cleaned up and put back into Cunard's cruise service. Flushed with the success of their MONTEREY, Starlauro Cruises bought her in January, 1995, passing her on that October to Mediterranean Shipping Cruises, who renamed her RHAPSODY.

No one ever came away hating the PRINCESS and COUNTESS, but few people screamed enthusiasm for them either...these twins have always been good, serviceable choices for very nice cruises...and the RHAPSODY still is a good ship for a very nice cruise. If you are like most, you will pick the RHAPSODY for her itineraries, and I expect her history and most other facts and features about her to be thoroughly secondary, if ranking that high, among the list of reasons to consider her. She's a good solid ship, but that's not why I would consider her for a cruise. Every time I open up an MSC brochure and see an itinerary I like, I want to take her because of who runs her. I like ships crewed by Italians. These ships are homey and comfortable to me. If you are not happy in a multi lingual environment, keep away. But then again, if you are not happy in a multi lingual environment, why would you leave the confines of the United States? But if that is of no concern to you, will feel safe and happy on and MSC ship.

Up top on Seven Deck is a multi-purpose lounge featuring a piano bar, a musicians' platform, a dance floor, a bar, and conversation groupings. Blackjack tables are set up in the aft, port corner and BIG TALL WINDOWS are all around to give spectacular views forward and to the sides...most popular at aperitif time, it's easy to see why...yet...like almost every other such lounge aboard cruise ships...it's underutilized much of the time..and I don't know why...Aft is open deck space, lido flanking the pool...near the funnel housing is a small gym...and aft are both table tennis and a space where you can practice your golf swing. Head down to Six Deck and you find the open promenade, main lounge (the Showboat) and the entertainment complex known here as the 8 Bells Indoor/Outdoor Recreation Center. With a dance floor, slot machines and casino nearby, nothing ever puts a damper on evening and late night revelry in here. Abaft is a terrace where more than one couple has whiled away a few romantic hours under a Mediterranean moon...Below, at the after end of Five Deck is a cinema, a library gallery and the small Clipper Lounge.

In her main Dining Room, the RHAPSODY serves her passengers at two sittings...you can ask for the smoking section when you book. Because these ships are so heavily booked by Europeans who eat later than we Yankees, dinner sittings begin a few minutes later than many U.S. based cruise lines....so if you don't like getting your main course served to you after 9:30 at night, you may find second sitting...which starts at 8:45, a little too late for you. If you are reading this in English, you will probably want first sitting, because with a 7:00 start up time, you will get your main course around 7:45, and that's generally late enough for most of us, whether we are from the U.S., the U.K. or Canada. Because of this, first sitting attracts a larger quotient of English speakers, and second sitting will undoubtedly be the choice of all Latin Americans, Spaniards, Portuguese and most Italians on board, with the French, Dutch, Germans and Scandinavians divided on eating time preferences.

Watch out when lunches or dinners are served in "open sitting"...get there early or you may just face a long wait for a table...of course you could take your food from the buffet...but American passengers, in particular, fond of breakfast and lunch buffets as they are...seem to shy away from dinner buffets when they are offered...The "outdoor dining" option here is under cover...shaded from hot sun. That same MSC emphasis on quality is as evident here as in the dining rooms of her fleetmates. In general the food is very good and the Italian dishes were superb...Like each of the MSC ships, the RHAPSODY's kitchens have specialties...but since I don't know if you plan to sail in her in Mediterranean or other waters...I don't presume to suggest to tell you which dishes will please you most.

I don't like tiny cabins and I have been relentless in my criticism of ships who accommodate their passengers in "pens"...so even though I wish I could continue my usual unstinting praise for an MSC ship...I can't...Her cabins are very small and for me that is a BIG "NO-NO"...and thus when it comes to cabins...I find this ship lacking...as is her twin...now in Royal Olympic Cruise's fleet as the OLYMPIC COUNTESS...I find all the cabins in the RHAPSODY EXCEPT those in the two highest grades...categories one and two...too damn small...I hear nothing good about the forward facing category threes for that matter. Category four rooms have windows, while all other grades have portholes...otherwise there is no discernable difference...insides are as diabolically small as their mates across halls...and in either type...my shoulders fully fill the doorframes. Bathrooms are goofily small and closets are separated from rooms by curtains. I was troubled by the decibel level as well as verbosity of the many daily announcements...strategically placed speakers in corridor ceilings broadcast whether you want the news or not..and a few people tell me that the cabin walls are thin and they heard things better left unsaid... Besides a reasonable amount of space I like the TVs and refrigerators in the mini suites and suites. Once all is said and done...the RHAPSODY has some cabins that totally satisfy me...the world's toughest cabin diva...so don't let her small cabins stop you...she's a good ship.

In some measure depends on where she is going. On her voyages of greatest interest to us...the positioning trips between Europe and South America, you will find a nice mix of nationalities and a big percentage of travelers having a common love of sea travel....that's why they are here....to make the crossing from one place to another. And these are people who require less organized entertainment than most other cruise passengers. On her South American cruises, expect overwhelmingly high numbers of Brazilian and Argentine passengers, people who are vacationing and getting a great value for their reais and pesos. These are travelers who know how to and love to party. They will stay up late, so if you are on one of these cruises in the winter, don't be surprised should you find yourself getting ready to samba the night away. In Europe, the RHAPSODY attracts large numbers of value seeking vacationers and her Mediterranean cruises draw lots of passengers from all of Western Europe. A fair number of Americans have begun to discover that cruising Europe with European passengers is not only a highly logical plan, but has allowed them a distinct view of Europe not so readily apparent to shiploads of passengers limited to American and Canadian citizens.

While the RHAPSODY tends to spend the changing seasons in regular cruise rotations, she handles her traffic in different areas of the world. Novembers usually see her setting out on a fairly long positioning cruise.

No matter what I think of a specific ship, any ship operated by an Italian outfit is going to have a certain edge for me, and while there is no more Italian Line passenger service, and I know I will never encounter the likes of Italian Line again, the influences that line had on me for the first twenty seven years of my life are so strong....and my connections to Italy so real that I am unlikely to squawk about much of anything when I sail with an Italian crew.

I think that no matter who you are, you can have a lot of fun in this ship. My caveat...you already know....her cabins are too small for me, and to me that's a big no no....but small cabins are okay with most people....if it weren't, an awful lot of cruise ships would be running empty... and the RHAPSODY might be more than OK for you....you might love her. Very fairly priced, her cruises provide good value, and there's a lot I like about her. There isn't a lot of pretension here, but don't expect to rub elbows with the remnants of Italian royalty. Just revel in that Italian spirit of love of life. The food is fine, the itineraries good, and then there's that Italian charm... UNBEATABLE!