I Sailed in the Smallest Cabin on Royal Caribbean’s (2nd) Oldest Ship. Here’s What It Was Really Like…

Above is Rhapsody of the Seas. It was built in 1997 — 27 years ago. That was the same year that Titanic (the movie) premiered. Just the next year Bellagio in Las Vegas opened.

It’s an understatement to say cruising has come a long way since then. At about 79,000 gross tons, Rhapsody is one of the smallest ships in the Royal Caribbean fleet. It carries just under 2,000 passengers at double occupancy. For comparison, Wonder of the Seas, shown above docked alongside at CocoCay, comes in at 235,000 gross tons. That’s three times the size and it carries 5,700 passengers at double occupancy.

Yeah, there’s just a little bit of difference between new and old.

And that’s what I wanted to experience first hand, so I booked a three-day cruise from Fort Lauderdale aboard Rhapsody of the Seas. Given that I was already sailing on a nearly 30-year-old ship, I decided to take things one step farther, booking the smallest cabin on the ship I could find. In this case, it was an ocean view room on the second deck that came in at a tiny 126 square feet according to the Royal Caribbean website.

I know that cruise lines love to show off the lavish suites and bright new ships, but what’s on the complete other end of the spectrum?

First Impressions Around the Ship

First things first, whenever I sail an older ship, I am always amazed at the condition the ship is in. This ship has been sailing nearly non-stop for almost three decades with literally millions of passengers coming and going, and it still seems to be in great shape. Sure, if you look hard enough you’ll find some wear and tear, but it’s far from being instantly noticeable.

But if the upkeep of the ship jumped out to me, so did how dated it felt. Rhapsody was built in 1997 and Royal Caribbean says it was last refurbished in 2012 — more than a decade ago. I believe it.

Carpets have a lot of ’90s era floral designs. There’s wood paneling everywhere, and there is lots of polished metal in public areas. No doubt that when Rhapsody debuted in the late 1990s this was in style. Today, it’s far from it.

Up topside, I was definitely more impressed. Here the pool deck looked very similar to what you find on other Royal Caribbean ships whether built 25 years ago or 5 years ago. In fact, I thought that considering the size of the ship, the pool area felt nice and open. Lots of loungers, a decent sized pool, and everything felt kept up well.

But there are also some big differences between this ship and something built more recently. In particular, Royal Caribbean is known for advertising all the adrenaline-pumping things to do on their ships. And normally there is a ton to do on the pool deck. That’s definitely not the case here. Things like the Flowrider or waterslides or mini golf or ziplines? Yeah, they aren’t there. There is a rock-climbing wall and some neat little spots to lay out, but that’s it.

One spot I do have to mention is the Solarium on the ship. Even though a small size, there was one on Rhapsody. But it actually served as a perfect example for the dated style I mentioned.

Now, I thought the Solarium space was pretty nice. It’s covered, has its own pool and hot tub, but for a reason I can only attribute to the Luxor hotel being built a few years earlier in Las Vegas, the Solarium ran with an Egyptian theme.

There are hieroglyphics around the pool and even pharaoh heads overlooking the spot. Maybe this was popular back in the late ’90s. Today, it’s just seems completely random.

My Home Onboard: The Smallest Cabin Available

What about that tiny cabin? Well, after exploring the ship for a bit, my cabin was ready. Remember for this cruise I booked the smallest room I could find, which was an oceanview cabin coming in at 126 square feet. This room was also on the second deck — the absolute lowest passenger deck on the ship and all the way at the end of the hall at the back. In other words, I’m tucked away as far as you can get.

Opening up the room for the first time, I had a couple of surprises. Let’s start with the good. First, I was surprised at the space. In my mind, I would be staying in a shoebox for three days.

Actually, there was plenty of room for me — especially sailing solo. This cabin would be fine for two people sailing together. Even back then, cruise cabins were really good at making efficient use of space, and I’ve definitely stayed in some smaller cabins before. So my entire apprehension about the room size turned out to be absolutely nothing.

But walking in, I was also surprised by the smell of bleach. It got so bad — literally making my eyes water — that I sniffed around until I realized it was coming from the shower. I turned it on and rinsed down the entire thing and it worked like magic killed the smell. Still, not a great first impression.

Now, having seen the rest of the ship, I wasn’t surprised that yeah, this room isn’t the most contemporary. This one felt considerably older and not near as nice. And there was also a weird fascination with mirrors everywhere (likely to make the room feel larger). It’s still unnerving to have a huge mirror on the wall literally right next to the bed.

But unlike how well the public areas had been kept up, the cabin was definitely showing a lot more wear.

Drawers had definitely seen better days. The couch showed a lot of wear and what appeared to be some stains on the seat. And the shower was definitely not new.

Having sailed dozens of cruises, I know that older ships… well, they can feel like this. But I also imagine what someone new to cruising might think if this was their first impression of what’s cruising is like.

What Life’s Like on a Nearly 30-Year-Old Cruise Ship

As this cruise set sail, I knew already that the experience wouldn’t be the same as on other cruises, or even other Royal Caribbean ships. But for my 68 hours on board, I was going to make the most of it, and this wasn’t some disaster or horror story.

But when you consider how high the bar has been set in cruising — especially when it comes to Royal Caribbean and everything you can see, do, and eat on most of their ships — this cruise was just not the same. The ship can make such a huge difference in your vacation.

Let’s talk about some of what I really liked, and there were some definite benefits of the smaller size.

Many people feel that smaller and older ships are more manageable. That was definitely the case here. The ship never felt overly crowded and getting around was very straightforward. And with fewer decks, it was also much faster to get where you wanted to go without having to deal with elevators or take a ton of stairs.

There were also a couple of features that I’d love to see on newer ships like the two-story outdoor promenade near the water. It’s amazing how the higher ceiling makes this spot feel so much more open.

And another thing that seems to have gone away is the “crown” that sits above the pool deck overlooking everything. Seems like these days on modern ships this area often an exclusive restaurant so you can’t just go in and take in the view. On Rhapsody of the Seas, it was the Viking Crown Lounge. There was hardly anyone here and it was like being in a nest that sits up above the ship with some amazing sweeping views.

This cruise also visited CocoCay and Nassau. For CocoCay, I scored a deal and was able to snag a jet-ski excursion and entrance to the waterpark for a little over $100 all in… together. That’s a fantastic price. Needless to say, riding waterslides and being out on the water is ridiculously fun, especially when it’s at about half the cost of what you’d normally pay.

Since I paid for the excursions at CocoCay, in Nassau I just took off exploring around the port area. I hit Junkanoo Beach, saw a lot of sites around town, visited Fort Fincastle and then the Queen’s Staircase. The staircase is one spot I have always heard about but never visited. It’s a great spot with a breeze that runs through the walls and the canopy growing overhead. It’s quick to see, but I think it’s worth a visit.

When on the ship, however, it was a different story. I mentioned some of the benefits of an older and smaller ship. But the big drawback is that for a cruise line that’s known for packing so much onto its ships, this was severely lacking.

Let’s talk about food. If you want to eat what’s included with your fare, then it’s the Windjammer buffet or the main dining room. There is occasionally a small café serving items in the Solarium, but that’s it. And given the size of the ship, the variety on that buffet was also pretty small.

Meanwhile, there were four different specialty restaurants serving on the ship, meaning that the majority of places to grab a bite cost extra.

And with the smaller ship, the things to do and entertainment options were definitely far fewer compared to today’s modern ships.

I know for some people, that’s exactly what they want — a calmer cruise that’s about just hanging out instead of doing a lot. For me, if this short cruise had a day at sea instead of two ports, I’m not sure how I’d keep myself entertained.

What’s the Verdict of Sailing This Ship?

So what’s the bottom line after spending three days on one of Royal Caribbean’s oldest ships? I’m a big fan of Royal Caribbean because I love how they pack so much onboard from things to do to entertainment to food. It’s impossible to be bored.

Rhapsody of the Seas felt like it belonged to a different cruise line in that respect. It certainly belongs to a different era.

Now this wasn’t a terrible time. Visiting the ports was great and there were some features about the ship that I did like. But overall the ship is dated, the room shows plenty of age, and overall the experience onboard is nowhere near what’s offered on today’s ships.

If you’re someone that likes the cruise to be about ports of call instead of the ship, or you want the simplest, low-key cruise you can find, this might be a good fit. For me, it’s something I’m glad I got to experience, but I’ll stick to Royal Caribbean’s newer ships.

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