Never again! The worst cruise ever!!

Rhapsody of the Seas Cruise Review to Caribbean - Western

Cruises: 4-6 cruises
Review: 1
Helpful Votes: 46

Overall rating:

2.7 out of 5
Rhapsody of the Seas

7 Night Western Caribbean (Tampa Roundtrip)

Sail date: February 25, 2018

Ship: Rhapsody of the Seas

Cabin type: Inside

Cabin number: 7525

Traveled as: Couple

Reviewed: 6 years ago

Review summary

Don't book this ship, class, or company. It was the senior cruise from hell. A total waste of money.

Embarkation

1 out of 5
The good: The process was fine in Port. The whole process from curb to cabin took about 45min. The bad: All luggage was left in the centrium lobby instead of by our door (or inside our cabin like on most ships). We had to sift through hundreds of bags before finding our own. Know that your bags will be available for ANYONE TO TAKE and or loot through.

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

1 out of 5
First and foremost, two words that should never be spoken on a cruise is " I'm hungry!". The drinks are watered down and blatantly obvious by day 5. Only caught a buzz on the beer and never achieved drunk status all week. We had the unlimited drink package and even tried to get drunk. It's impossible unless you drink beer. I'm talking 5 long islands, 5 Tito's and Cran, 4 patron sunrises and STILL not feeling it. Im a lightweight too. It was beyond obvious that the liquor was watered down. Of course day 1 had the strongest drinks but that's always a given. Windjammer: Breakfast was consistently boring. It was the same thing every morning. Waffles only on 2 days of the cruise (no toppings whatsoever). The French toast was either raw (still soggy wet) or stale (hard crust so dense it could break teeth) and all juice was cocktail meaning only 3% actual juice. Lunch and dinner: The 15 items were the same every single day, alternating between adding friend chicken and fish. Creating the illusion of variety. Zero variety and half the selection of most ships. Bread is always hard to eat unless eating sliced bread. The meats were more miss than hit. The coke machine makes everything taste like diet(cans available upon request). All complimentary drinks are watered down and burn your throat. All tea is unsweetened. Coffee machines are almost always empty and if not they're full of grounds. Solarium Park Cafe: Random selection and hours of operation and never consistent. The serving staff was always friendly and bering smiles. Their supervisor however was quite bitter and seemed frustrated by everyone (co-workers and guests, equally). The only time she smiled was when she was making fun of the guy serving the guests. We felt horrible for him because it seemed like he didn't know he was the butt of her joke. We were embarrassed for him. He was often the only person attending the station. All day long. He was ALWAYS there and always smiling! The selection was always "off". He simply couldn't keep up with the demand. They ran out of crucial items like hot dogs with no buns, half-baked pizza, and random items. They even listed food in the Windjammer from midnight-2am (midnight buffet?) NOPE! They closed the entire aft section of the ship to guests(for a private event) around 10pm. Chairs were even barricading the outside section on deck 10. Zero access to all venues past the lido pool, on all decks. The midnight buffet was really the poor guy that works the park cafe, serving pizza and hotdogs with no buns. Seriously, the no buns thing was common. I even hyped up our entire table about a midnight buffet. We laughed about it later but I felt like a lier. Main Dining room: The menu was very limited and filet mignon/lobster is only available for a $35-40 upcharge. On a seven day cruise there was lobster tail on the last formal night. DO NOT PURCHASE PREMIUM SELECTIONS!!! We Purchased the surf and turf. My medium/well was WELL DONE and basically not edible and the tail was split down the middle. His medium was RARE. THE Next night we purchased the whole Maine lobster. It was also awful. Very little meat and obviously cooked hours, if not the night before. We spent a lot of money trying the premium menu selections and was disappointed every single time! DON'T WASTE YOUR MONEY! The selections we're always delicious off the main menu. Wait staff was always friendly unless you asked for more than one entree, which is a common thing on other cruise lines. Lava cake was cooked days before and reheated before plating.

Windjammer Cafe

3 out of 5

Breakfast was consistently boring. It was the same thing every morning. Waffles only on 2 days of the cruise (no toppings whatsoever). The French toast was either raw (still soggy wet) or stale (hard crust so dense it could break teeth) and all juice was cocktail meaning only 3% actual juice. Lunch and dinner: The 15 items were the same every single day, alternating between adding friend chicken and fish. Creating the illusion of variety. Zero variety and half the selection of most ships. Bread is always hard to eat unless eating sliced bread. The meats were more miss than hit. The coke machine makes everything taste like diet(cans available upon request). All complimentary drinks are watered down and burn your throat. All tea is unsweetened. Coffee machines are almost always empty and if not they're full of grounds.

Windjammer Cafe

3 out of 5

Breakfast was consistently boring. It was the same thing every morning. Waffles only on 2 days of the cruise (no toppings whatsoever). The French toast was either raw (still soggy wet) or stale (hard crust so dense it could break teeth) and all juice was cocktail meaning only 3% actual juice. Lunch and dinner: The 15 items were the same every single day, alternating between adding friend chicken and fish. Creating the illusion of variety. Zero variety and half the selection of most ships. Bread is always hard to eat unless eating sliced bread. The meats were more miss than hit. The coke machine makes everything taste like diet(cans available upon request). All complimentary drinks are watered down and burn your throat. All tea is unsweetened. Coffee machines are almost always empty and if not they're full of grounds.

Windjammer Cafe

3 out of 5

Breakfast was consistently boring. It was the same thing every morning. Waffles only on 2 days of the cruise (no toppings whatsoever). The French toast was either raw (still soggy wet) or stale (hard crust so dense it could break teeth) and all juice was cocktail meaning only 3% actual juice. Lunch and dinner: The 15 items were the same every single day, alternating between adding friend chicken and fish. Creating the illusion of variety. Zero variety and half the selection of most ships. Bread is always hard to eat unless eating sliced bread. The meats were more miss than hit. The coke machine makes everything taste like diet(cans available upon request). All complimentary drinks are watered down and burn your throat. All tea is unsweetened. Coffee machines are almost always empty and if not they're full of grounds.

Windjammer Cafe

3 out of 5

Breakfast was consistently boring. It was the same thing every morning. Waffles only on 2 days of the cruise (no toppings whatsoever). The French toast was either raw (still soggy wet) or stale (hard crust so dense it could break teeth) and all juice was cocktail meaning only 3% actual juice. Lunch and dinner: The 15 items were the same every single day, alternating between adding friend chicken and fish. Creating the illusion of variety. Zero variety and half the selection of most ships. Bread is always hard to eat unless eating sliced bread. The meats were more miss than hit. The coke machine makes everything taste like diet(cans available upon request). All complimentary drinks are watered down and burn your throat. All tea is unsweetened. Coffee machines are almost always empty and if not they're full of grounds.

Main Dining Room

3 out of 5

The menu was very limited and filet mignon/lobster is only available for a $35-40 upcharge. On a seven day cruise there was lobster tail on the last formal night. DO NOT PURCHASE PREMIUM SELECTIONS!!! We Purchased the surf and turf. My medium/well was WELL DONE and basically not edible and the tail was split down the middle. His medium was RARE. THE Next night we purchased the whole Maine lobster. It was also awful. Very little meat and obviously cooked hours, if not the night before. We spent a lot of money trying the premium menu selections and was disappointed every single time! DON'T WASTE YOUR MONEY! The selections we're always delicious off the main menu. Wait staff was always friendly unless you asked for more than one entree, which is a common thing on other cruise lines. Lava cake was cooked days before and reheated before plating.

Windjammer Cafe

3 out of 5

Breakfast was consistently boring. It was the same thing every morning. Waffles only on 2 days of the cruise (no toppings whatsoever). The French toast was either raw (still soggy wet) or stale (hard crust so dense it could break teeth) and all juice was cocktail meaning only 3% actual juice. Lunch and dinner: The 15 items were the same every single day, alternating between adding friend chicken and fish. Creating the illusion of variety. Zero variety and half the selection of most ships. Bread is always hard to eat unless eating sliced bread. The meats were more miss than hit. The coke machine makes everything taste like diet(cans available upon request). All complimentary drinks are watered down and burn your throat. All tea is unsweetened. Coffee machines are almost always empty and if not they're full of grounds.

Windjammer Cafe

3 out of 5

Breakfast was consistently boring. It was the same thing every morning. Waffles only on 2 days of the cruise (no toppings whatsoever). The French toast was either raw (still soggy wet) or stale (hard crust so dense it could break teeth) and all juice was cocktail meaning only 3% actual juice. Lunch and dinner: The 15 items were the same every single day, alternating between adding friend chicken and fish. Creating the illusion of variety. Zero variety and half the selection of most ships. Bread is always hard to eat unless eating sliced bread. The meats were more miss than hit. The coke machine makes everything taste like diet(cans available upon request). All complimentary drinks are watered down and burn your throat. All tea is unsweetened. Coffee machines are almost always empty and if not they're full of grounds.

Park Cafe

2 out of 5

Random selection and hours of operation and never consistent. The serving staff was always friendly and bering smiles. Their supervisor however was quite bitter and seemed frustrated by everyone (co-workers and guests, equally). The only time she smiled was when she was making fun of the guy serving the guests. We felt horrible for him because it seemed like he didn't know he was the butt of her joke. We were embarrassed for him. He was often the only person attending the station. All day long. He was ALWAYS there and always smiling! The selection was always "off". He simply couldn't keep up with the demand. They ran out of crucial items like hot dogs with no buns, half-baked pizza, and random items. They even listed food in the Windjammer from midnight-2am (midnight buffet?) NOPE! They closed the entire aft section of the ship to guests(for a private event) around 10pm. Chairs were even barricading the outside section on deck 10. Zero access to all venues past the lido pool, on all decks. The midnight buffet was really the poor guy that works the park cafe, serving pizza and hotdogs with no buns. Seriously, the no buns thing was common. I even hyped up our entire table about a midnight buffet. We laughed about it later but I felt like a lier.

Windjammer Cafe

3 out of 5

Breakfast was consistently boring. It was the same thing every morning. Waffles only on 2 days of the cruise (no toppings whatsoever). The French toast was either raw (still soggy wet) or stale (hard crust so dense it could break teeth) and all juice was cocktail meaning only 3% actual juice. Lunch and dinner: The 15 items were the same every single day, alternating between adding friend chicken and fish. Creating the illusion of variety. Zero variety and half the selection of most ships. Bread is always hard to eat unless eating sliced bread. The meats were more miss than hit. The coke machine makes everything taste like diet(cans available upon request). All complimentary drinks are watered down and burn your throat. All tea is unsweetened. Coffee machines are almost always empty and if not they're full of grounds.

Windjammer Cafe

3 out of 5

Breakfast was consistently boring. It was the same thing every morning. Waffles only on 2 days of the cruise (no toppings whatsoever). The French toast was either raw (still soggy wet) or stale (hard crust so dense it could break teeth) and all juice was cocktail meaning only 3% actual juice. Lunch and dinner: The 15 items were the same every single day, alternating between adding friend chicken and fish. Creating the illusion of variety. Zero variety and half the selection of most ships. Bread is always hard to eat unless eating sliced bread. The meats were more miss than hit. The coke machine makes everything taste like diet(cans available upon request). All complimentary drinks are watered down and burn your throat. All tea is unsweetened. Coffee machines are almost always empty and if not they're full of grounds.

Windjammer Cafe

3 out of 5

Breakfast was consistently boring. It was the same thing every morning. Waffles only on 2 days of the cruise (no toppings whatsoever). The French toast was either raw (still soggy wet) or stale (hard crust so dense it could break teeth) and all juice was cocktail meaning only 3% actual juice. Lunch and dinner: The 15 items were the same every single day, alternating between adding friend chicken and fish. Creating the illusion of variety. Zero variety and half the selection of most ships. Bread is always hard to eat unless eating sliced bread. The meats were more miss than hit. The coke machine makes everything taste like diet(cans available upon request). All complimentary drinks are watered down and burn your throat. All tea is unsweetened. Coffee machines are almost always empty and if not they're full of grounds.

Windjammer Cafe

3 out of 5

Breakfast was consistently boring. It was the same thing every morning. Waffles only on 2 days of the cruise (no toppings whatsoever). The French toast was either raw (still soggy wet) or stale (hard crust so dense it could break teeth) and all juice was cocktail meaning only 3% actual juice. Lunch and dinner: The 15 items were the same every single day, alternating between adding friend chicken and fish. Creating the illusion of variety. Zero variety and half the selection of most ships. Bread is always hard to eat unless eating sliced bread. The meats were more miss than hit. The coke machine makes everything taste like diet(cans available upon request). All complimentary drinks are watered down and burn your throat. All tea is unsweetened. Coffee machines are almost always empty and if not they're full of grounds.

Viking Crown Lounge

3 out of 5

Staff was friendly but I was harassed by a staff member when my glass was broke on the dance floor. He shouted at me that I ruined the party and they were shutting down now because of it. All 30 people in there left after hearing him say this and they turned on the house lights. As soon as he cleaned up the glass they cranked up the music and the party continued. Except, EVERYONE LEFT after he shouted at me so it was just us 4 guests being shunned by pissed off bartenders. They lost out on all that money because the cleaning staff shouted at me that the party was over. It looked like my fault for them loosing money but the cleaner actually ended it. Other than that, it was always dead in there. Except for the few creepy old men staring at the people in the pool area.

Windjammer Cafe

3 out of 5

Breakfast was consistently boring. It was the same thing every morning. Waffles only on 2 days of the cruise (no toppings whatsoever). The French toast was either raw (still soggy wet) or stale (hard crust so dense it could break teeth) and all juice was cocktail meaning only 3% actual juice. Lunch and dinner: The 15 items were the same every single day, alternating between adding friend chicken and fish. Creating the illusion of variety. Zero variety and half the selection of most ships. Bread is always hard to eat unless eating sliced bread. The meats were more miss than hit. The coke machine makes everything taste like diet(cans available upon request). All complimentary drinks are watered down and burn your throat. All tea is unsweetened. Coffee machines are almost always empty and if not they're full of grounds.

Main Lounge

4 out of 5

Poolside bar on lido was great. The staff was always AWESOME! The only downfall was that it closed every night at 10:30.

Windjammer Cafe

3 out of 5

Breakfast was consistently boring. It was the same thing every morning. Waffles only on 2 days of the cruise (no toppings whatsoever). The French toast was either raw (still soggy wet) or stale (hard crust so dense it could break teeth) and all juice was cocktail meaning only 3% actual juice. Lunch and dinner: The 15 items were the same every single day, alternating between adding friend chicken and fish. Creating the illusion of variety. Zero variety and half the selection of most ships. Bread is always hard to eat unless eating sliced bread. The meats were more miss than hit. The coke machine makes everything taste like diet(cans available upon request). All complimentary drinks are watered down and burn your throat. All tea is unsweetened. Coffee machines are almost always empty and if not they're full of grounds.

Windjammer Cafe

3 out of 5

Breakfast was consistently boring. It was the same thing every morning. Waffles only on 2 days of the cruise (no toppings whatsoever). The French toast was either raw (still soggy wet) or stale (hard crust so dense it could break teeth) and all juice was cocktail meaning only 3% actual juice. Lunch and dinner: The 15 items were the same every single day, alternating between adding friend chicken and fish. Creating the illusion of variety. Zero variety and half the selection of most ships. Bread is always hard to eat unless eating sliced bread. The meats were more miss than hit. The coke machine makes everything taste like diet(cans available upon request). All complimentary drinks are watered down and burn your throat. All tea is unsweetened. Coffee machines are almost always empty and if not they're full of grounds.

Windjammer Cafe

3 out of 5

Breakfast was consistently boring. It was the same thing every morning. Waffles only on 2 days of the cruise (no toppings whatsoever). The French toast was either raw (still soggy wet) or stale (hard crust so dense it could break teeth) and all juice was cocktail meaning only 3% actual juice. Lunch and dinner: The 15 items were the same every single day, alternating between adding friend chicken and fish. Creating the illusion of variety. Zero variety and half the selection of most ships. Bread is always hard to eat unless eating sliced bread. The meats were more miss than hit. The coke machine makes everything taste like diet(cans available upon request). All complimentary drinks are watered down and burn your throat. All tea is unsweetened. Coffee machines are almost always empty and if not they're full of grounds.

Schooner Bar

5 out of 5

Best drinks on the boat! Staff was always lively and in good spirits! Music was always live and geared toward the older crowd.

Onboard Activities

1 out of 5
Pools we're closed most of the time. Even while in Port and on sea days. It's weird to have the lido deck packed with sun-bathers and the pool be netted off. Hot tubs were at a consistent temperature of 99% which feels just like lukewarm bath water. Sauna and steam were virtually abandoned and we felt like we had it all to ourselves for the entire 7 days.

Casino Royale

2 out of 5

Tightest slots I've ever seen! DONT WASTE YOUR MONEY! The best time for a payout was when they hosted an event in the casino. Other than those few times mentioned, it was always take, take, take. The staff was always friendly and the bar was great too! The master key machine is a scam! Not a single winner on our cruise. They had a few places missing but they said the winners we're on the previous cruise. I bet they say that on every cruise. I love to play on-board but this boat is TIGHT! TIGHT! TIGHT!

Rock Climbing Wall

5 out of 5

Looked safe but there was never a guest on it. We didn't see a single soul on it for the entire 7 days.

Swimming Pools

1 out of 5

Pools netted off for entire days and closed early daily. Once they closed the lido pool at 4:30 and never reopened it. We had just sailed away from grand Cayman islands and everyone was sunning around the pool but it was closed. They also NEVER DRAINED THE POOLS for the ENTIRE 7 DAYS. I bet we were swimming in water from the previous cruise. THAT'S SO FREAKING NASTY!!

Day Spa and Fitness Center

2 out of 5

Deserted wasteland of black mold. Only saw 3 other people using the steam and sauna on a 7 day cruise. The shower heads were falling apart and even shooting water into the light fixture above the shower stall. Mold everywhere and a musky stench that permeated into the hallway. The staff was friendly but heard the services were overpriced b.s.

Jogging Track

3 out of 5

Nothing like jogging on huge pieces of bowing metal. Warped sections make for seriously sore joints. Chairs were always in the way so don't expect an easy run. Those under the track get the nice soothing sound of thunder as joggers circle the track above.

Whirlpools

1 out of 5

Basically lukewarm bath water. Closed at random times.

Solarium

1 out of 5

Kids were always in there. No matter the weather outside. We had zero rain on our cruise but kids ran all over in there at all times. The pool was closed at random times and the glass cover was only open for a few hours while in 1 single port on the entire 7 days. Dirty dishes on tables at all times and left for hours. It was seriously gross. Chair covers were moldy and saturated with sweat from other guests. It's a breeding ground for Mrsa. Black mold in every shower stall.

Entertainment

1 out of 5
Chorale style singing for every genre. It is had to watch ballet moves in the country western show. Singing was great for a lounge but let's not call it Broadway style if it's not. That might have worked in the Mediterranean but not in the states.

Broadway Theater

4 out of 5

The best thing was the late night comedy acts. Other than that, don't waste your time.

Service and Staff

3 out of 5
The staff was always exceptional. From the stewards to the wait staff, this crew rocked! I had a few issues of them making up rules as they went but whatever. Bingo was a joke and if you want to win the cruise, use the electronic game boards.

Ship Quality

1 out of 5
Zero continued areas on-board. You are constantly going up or down to get to a venue. You cannot walk and entire deck from front to back. DIRTIEST SHIP EVER! Windows are always filthy, dirty dishes everywhere. Cleaning crew pushes trash cans around which include their dirty (black with grime) mops, trash, rags to "clean" tables, and trash bags to collect cups for reuse. Yes, that cocktail glass you're drinking out of has been inside one of these wheeled trash bins. It's beyond nasty! Extension cords hanging out of the canopy on the lido deck. Black mold covers the ceiling on the lido deck but they covered it up with the canopy. Although you can clearly see it. I'm also sure they dumped our sewage while at see one night. The smell was so bad you couldn't go outside that night without gagging. It was talked about by everyone the entire next day. Gross! I also got paint on my new dress shirt because they painted without putting up notice. I have a wonderful red shirt now with a big white stripe on it. CHECK YOU GLASSES! Every other one seems to be dirty. Silverware was clean and the plates were too! The staff walk past messes like guests do. No one seemed to mind the room service dishes as they littered the hallways for hours on end. Seriously, dirty dishes sat in the hallway for at least 8 hours at a time.

Cabin / Stateroom

5 out of 5
The cabin was awesome! Bigger than most interior rooms and was pitch black with the lights off. I always woke in a panic because I could never tell what time it was. Romy was fantastic and met every single need. She was very friendly and cleaned the rooms above levels of expectations. Although it is located above the theater, it was never a problem. Not a single peep was heard while inside the cabin or while sleeping.

Ship tip

Book on a different ship, class, or company. I'll never sail on Royal ever again. I have sailed on other companies and this was my first time on Royal. I heard the Royal exeriance was in a class above the rest. I've spent years convincing my husband to take a cruise. He had never been in one and didn't like the idea if it. I hyped him up about the wonderful food and experience of cruising. After hearing that royal was the best, we strayed from my loyal cruise company and decided to book with Royal. I was 100% dissatisfied and look like a phony after taking this cruise. Every single thing I raved about was an utter disappointment with Royal. I'll never step foot on another Royal Caribbean Ship for as long as I live. When you pay more right out of the gate for a cruise, you expect higher standards. This didn't even cover the basics. It was like paying to stay at the Ritz Carlton but ending up at a roadside motel. NEVER AGAIN! Go with Carnival!

Ports of call

Tampa, Florida

3 out of 5
Nothing really close for those in Port.

George Town, Grand Cayman

5 out of 5
7 mile is my favorite beach! Royal Palm is great but don't be tricked into paying for entry.

Cozumel, Mexico

5 out of 5
Rented a car from avis, days before our trip. Cost us $28 for the whole day. Drove the entire island and visited our favorite place, new little Miami!

Belize City, Belize

3 out of 5
No, for the 300th time, I DO NOT WANT MY HAIR BRAIDED! LOL! There isn't really anything else to do other than walk around the little port.

Costa Maya (Mahahual), Mexico

2 out of 5
Port was nice but beware of the water park! The slides will beat you to death. Keep in mind I'm kind of a brute and don't bruise easily. My legs and back are bruised severely from going down the slides. $200 later we were so beaten up that we left after only being there for 2 hours. 45 minutes of that was spent on the zip-line. The pain was not worth the price. It's no wonder that Disney backed out of it.

Disembarkation

2 out of 5
Breakfast was ruined by multiple crew members telling us to hurry up because they were FUMIGATION THE PLACE in 5 minutes. I work in the food industry and they were covering everything WRONG for a FUMIGATION. Every plate, cup, drink station, and highchair was exposed to the fumigation chemicals. Other than that, getting off the boat was simple and fast. Too bad our breakfast was ruined and it was also our last moments on the boat. It definitely left a bad taste in our mouths. *pun intended*
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5 Comments

cruisereckoning    3 years ago

Sorry for your disappointment

Steve3739    6 years ago

Sounds like you would be better off on Carnival so you can get your drunk on.

NatiCruiser    6 years ago

I have been on small ships full of old people before. I don't need bells and whistles. I do however expect a level of standard higher that that of the fry guy at McDonald's. My review had nothing really to do with the guests or staff. Other than the party being cut short for being too loud. It was 10:15 with the next day at sea. It was based on observation and from chatting with other guests. Who were loyal to Royal. I was not alone in seeing what a mess the ship was. I even tried to not vocalize my opinion too much because I didn't want to ruin it for my cruisemate. I'm sure other ships are wonderful but this was a mistake and I don't want anyone to be a victim of a bad vacation.

NatiCruiser    6 years ago

Why what? Lol

DerekMire    6 years ago

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