A Floating Low End Hotel

Item: Rhapsody of the Seas
Rating: 2.3
Author: egl1983leon

Rhapsody of the Seas Cruise Review to Caribbean - Western

egl1983leon

Contributor Level: Deck Hand

Cruises: 1 cruise (first)

Review: 1

Helpful Votes: 50

Overall rating:

2.3 out of 5

Verified Review

7 Night Western Caribbean (Tampa Roundtrip)

Sail date: December 10, 2017

Ship: Rhapsody of the Seas

Cabin type: Suite

Cabin number: 8060

Traveled as: Couple

Reviewed: 6 years ago

Review summary

Being a first timer and thinking that Royal Caribbean was number one we would be hard pressed to do another cruise. This ship is very tired and it is clear that Royal Caribbean has little interest in their older ships. Being a novice I thought their standards would be the same across all their products. On-board illness is more that squirting sanitizer on patrons hands. Basic cleanliness is a baseline,

Embarkation

1 out of 5

The process getting you checked in and onto the ship was first class.

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

1 out of 5

Food was cold, tasteless (except for dishes that had a ton of salt. It didn't matter if it was the buffet or dinning room.

Onboard Activities

3 out of 5

Plenty of activities.

Entertainment

3 out of 5

About what we expected.

Service and Staff

4 out of 5

Staff made the week livable.

Ship Quality

1 out of 5

Pig Pen. Windows so dirty you had a hard time seeing out. Stateroom was never vacuumed all week. Common area kept clean except for difficult area to dust. Not an annual cleaning event. Buffet room had lots of crumbs under table feet.

Cabin / Stateroom

1 out of 5

Other than an sink update in the bathroom and new rugs,10 years ago, the room is as it was 20+ years ago when the ship was commissioned.

Ship tip

Go to a newer ship where there may be an increased level of maintenance and cleaning.

Thumbs up

Ports of call

Tampa, Florida

3 out of 5

Key West, Florida

3 out of 5

Cozumel, Mexico

3 out of 5

Belize City, Belize

1 out of 5

Costa Maya (Mahahual), Mexico

3 out of 5

Disembarkation

4 out of 5

Fast and easy.

6 Comments

Woobiescoobie 6 years ago

Certainly wouldn't mind another transatlantic on Liberty of the Seas, but she's still doing Caribbean sailings.

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Woobiescoobie 6 years ago

If somebody ponies up for the $265 million before we leave Barcelona in December 2018 we might be on a different ship

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jim0517 6 years ago

Thank you for your honest review. RC is aware the problems with this ship are many. So much so they have canceled the rehab and put the ship on the market. Asking price 265 million.

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lj73 6 years ago

I had the privilege of sailing on this ship in October. We sailed out of Venice. Is the ship old?? Yes!!! Does she need a bit of love?? Yes!!! We never had any problems with cleanliness or lack of hygiene. To blame the staff for lack of hygiene, ridiculous!!! It’s basic common sense to always wash your hands when using the bathroom, cover your mouth when coughing and sneezing!! Dispose of any tissues and then wash your hands!!! Always remember coughs and sneezes spread diseases!!! But some people do lack these basic requirements and then blame someone else when they get ill!!!

Thumbs Up 3

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Woobiescoobie 6 years ago

I believe the next refitting for Rhapsody is April 2018. The last upgrades were in 2016. She is an old girl for sure since her first sailing in 1997. There have been a few recent reviews of this ship that were very complimentary and others not so flattering. Anything I've seen regarding this ship's Mediterranean sailings out of Venice between 2016 and 2017 has been favorable.

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funboomer47 6 years ago

It is the passengers that need to be more sanitary. They use the bathroom without washing their hands. They cough and sneeze all over everything and infect everyone else. I have been on many cruises and the cruiselines and that includes Royal Caribbean are constantly cleaning to try to keep germs down and to keep the ship clean. That ship is probably scheduled for a refurbishment soon.

Thumbs Up 5

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Other reviews of this sailing

Very bad, do not go.

Wonderful Cruise

Nice