Some cruise lines –including Carnival — have sold ships as they look to transform their fleets in the wake of the health crisis.
Could Royal Caribbean join that list?
Signs point to that possibility. We ran across a listing on the ship-selling website YachtWorld.com for Royal Caribbean’s Rhapsody of the Seas. The current list price is $150,000,000, but the listing makes it clear that the price is negotiable.
There is no date of when the ship was first listed for sale. We asked the broker behind the listing, but they told us they were not at liberty to share details.
It’s important to note that while the listing doesn’t mention the Rhapsody of the Seas by name, in the first image of the listing you can clearly see the ship’s name written on its hull. The listing simply calls the ship “1997 Cruise Ship, 2417 Passengers, Stock No. S2509”.
Rhapsody of the Seas was, in fact, built in 1997 and can carry just over 2,400 passengers. The 78,491 gross tonnage listed on the YachtWorld website also matches the tonnage listed by Royal Caribbean.
Among the other features listed are 999 passenger cabins, which include 613 outside cabins and 386 inside cabins. A total of 223 cabins feature balconies.
The Rhapsody also has a 4-star rating for its accommodations. As for amenities, Royal Caribbean lists seven restaurants, youth areas, spa, salon, two pools, six whirlpools, a rock-climbing wall, outdoor movie screen, an arcade and a jogging track.
The ship is currently sitting off the coast of Venezuela, along with several other Royal Caribbean ships. Currently it is scheduled to sail 7-night trips from Tampa starting in November. In fact, sailings aboard the ship are available for booking all the way until April 2022. If the ship were to be sold, these cruises would likely either be cancelled or switched to another vessel.
But it may be that the Rhapsody of the Seas continues as part of Royal Caribbean’s fleet for the time being. After all, this isn’t the first time that the Rhapsody of the Seas has been noticed as for sale. A thread on CruiseCritic.com from April 2017 highlighted a similar listing back then.
Of course, cruise ship sales have been in the headlines recently. Carnival Corporation — parent of Carnival, Princess, and many other lines — announced it would dispose of 13 ships. That number was later increased to 15. It recently announced that two of those ships — Carnival Fantasy and Carnival Inspiration — have already been sold.
In other words, the sale of the Rhapsody of the Seas wouldn’t be unprecedented.
We reached out to both Royal Caribbean and the Port of Tampa for any comment on the listing, but have yet to receive word. We will update if we hear anything.
