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Royal Caribbean International

MV Rhapsody of the Seas

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Reviewed by: Kim Strum
# previous cruises: 3
Date of Trip: July 23, 2006
Itinerary: Caribbean - Western

Getting on and off the ship was fabulous. Ports of call were also great. This ship is not a very high class experience - only 2 midnight buffets - lots of kids, lots of loud people on board. Personally this was NOT my favorite cruise as the ship needs to be renovated - activities were lacking in spirit and fun, too much emphasis on 'extra cost' activities. This would be a good first cruise for families with children or people who are on a group trip. Intimate it is not.

All public areas were nice. However, evenings were difficult to maneuver many areas due to photography set ups in large common areas around ship. Photographers would situate people on stairs making it impossible for others to pass by. Several common areas had musical type entertainment - but mostly the 'backup' music was c/d with the entertainer playing guitar etc....again, not very 'classy' type of setting.

Food was so-so. Service in main dining room at 8:30 seating was AWFUL....never left dining room before 10:15 or later - never offered a drink and when requested it came by the time the entree was served. Food often arrived cold or luke warm. Wait staff seemed preoccupied and not at all the friendly staff that we have normally encountered on Ships. Asst. waiter had problem with translation of english & often just ignored requests that he couldn't understand. Main waiter was quiet and not at all apologic for problems with service. Tables near us were served desert before we got our salad. This happened nightly! Windjammer had ok food - no service to speak of. Room service was good, prompt but menu was very limited. Only two midnight buffets - one was Chocolate Buffet, but was so crowded it was crazy - also, served other food besides chocolate & guests were encouraged - pushed? - to put cover on plate and go to cabins to eat. Not elegant by any means. Other midnight buffet was open for 1 hour only with the food being ok - but taken away while some guests were putting food on their plates - serving utensils were removed from the hands of one guest after he put food on his plate! Unbelieveable! Hamburgers, pizza etc - available by adult pool for all guests - very limited food - no sweets & lots of kids hanging around with half eaten plates left on all tables.

Cabin was adequate size for 3 people. However, very dingy, in need of renovation and simply put - dirty! Curtains had so many holes you could see daylight with them closed. Sofa bed was falling apart and the cushions were filthy and smelled horrible. Pillows were very flat - bed was very hard. A/C didn't work up to full power & had to be repaired first day - then still wasn't really comfy. Bathroom was good size, shower curtain rather than door made it appear it was larger. Closet and storage space was adequate - again for 3 people. Room safe was nice to have - fridge full of cokes and water for a price! Our room steward was awful. Met him on 2nd day - he cleaned room MAYBE 5 times during 7 day cruise - never entered the room 2 or 3 of the days we were on board. Kept asking for beach towels, he said none were available. Never got any. Looked forward to being 'pampered' and entertained w/towel animals - got 3 for entire cruise - pampered - not at all by any stretch of the imagination. Sad to say the least.

Shows were, in a word, fair. Not up to the standard we expected, by way of explanation we were told the singers/dancers were coming to the end of their 6 month stint on the ship at the end of our cruise, and were tired and ready to get off the ship! Silly game shows were fair, but nothing to brag about. Too much emphasis on the bingo games - again at an extra price. Actually not a broadway type of experience if this is what you are looking for - as I was - and certainly nothing you would really ever go to see if you weren't 'captive' on the ship.

Ocho Rios - most all good shore excursions were booked by time we got our documents - so we had to book on board. Lousey choices - Dunns River Falls & Dolphin Cove - was to be 3 1/2 hours, but lasted 6 hourse. Billed as a 'cruise' -with free rum punch, beer, sodas - cruise was only 40 minutes at 9:30am - too early for most to consider drinking! Dropped at Dunns River Falls w/ guides who were pushie about wanting tips and then made us go to market where they had 'friends' waiting to jump us for purchases. Again, tips were strongly encouraged at every available opportunity! Couldn't figure out what we were tipping for! THEN we were taken to large parking lot & guides left & said busses would take us to Dolphin Cove - waited almost 45 min. for bus in 100 degree heat! Dolphin Cove was pretty, however, everthing was an extra price and tips were again STRONGLY suggested - Grand Cayman Stingray tour was good - except too many people - kicking screaming and generally elbow to elbow. 13 boats wtih 60 plus passengers each in one small area - stingrays were around, but hard to see due to people kicking up sand from bottom. Snorkeling was impossible due to the amount of people in area - had to wear a vest that made it even harder to go underwater to even look for sealife. Cozumel - Catamaran and Snorkel trip was AWESOME...nice boat, small group of people great guides and lots of sealife to see. No pressure to tip and very knowledgeable and friendly crew on boat. NO pressure to buy anything extra, no pressure to tip, fun crew and great in all aspects.

Dinner mates were great. Others on ship included many, many children, several babies, and LOTS of teenagers. Most were well behaved, yet somewhat overwhelming in sheer numbers.