Rhapsody of the Seas Cruise Reviews - Reviews

where to start?  I must give credit though to the musicians, stewards, waiters, entertainers who worked long hours and in general did a good job. RC has no customer service and is not geared towards service.  The internet usually did not work in the cabin (mine was on deck 8 with a balcony). I had to go to the center of the ship. RC gave me 50% discount for three days and charged me full price for the remaining two weeks. Second night on board, I discovered blood on my sheet as I turned the covers! No stewards around at that hour.  So a crew member who managed to get fresh sheets and I changed the sheets together.  He hadn't done this before. Any apologies from RC? No! I will not mention cancellations of excursions.  Most grievous lack in service was the luggage. Cruise ended in Chile. We docked and were bussed to the terminal nearby.  About a dozen of us could not find our suitcases. We filed reports with an RC representative. I asked the rep to call the ship and report the missing luggage. He did not.  A very, very, long frustrating story short, I got my suitcase one month and two days later. Any apologies? No! Any compensation? No! Curtious service from the lost luggage department? No!  These are some of the reasons for the "no star" rating from me.  

Overall, the cruise was really good.  The check-in was extremely slow to get registered for this cruise, and this was very not common given my prior experiences.  However, they did not seem to know how to deal with this.

The cruise itself was good with friendly staff and good food.  The entertainment could be better as there are a lot of sea days on this cruise, so you have to enjoy cruising and being on the ship. 

The weather did not cooperate so we could not do "around the horn".  I was extremely impressed with the Captain that he took very serious the safety of the passengers and crew.  The captain does not control the weather, but he does control the decisions based upon the weather.  He did a great job keeping us informed, and I enjoyed the updates from Captain Dimas. 

I would not recommend this cruise for first time cruisers.  I would recommend going on a shorter cruise first to see if you enjoy this type of vacation.  Then springboard into this cruise.  I truly enjoyed my time in South America and the staff on this ship.  There is a lot to see on this cruise that you would not be able to see in such a short time.  The cost of the cruise was also very reasonable. 

The staff, especially the Casino and guest services were brilliant. The accommodations and the food were excellent. My only complaint was the Internet/WiFi. It was expensive and did not work most of the time.

A lack of passenger concern damaged an otherwise fine cruise.  They canceled all the post-cruise Rome excursions which included our city transfers.  We found out by accident when it was credited on our bill.  They didn't contact us about this until the last evening.  We did manage to book the bus transfer where they said we got the last two seats.  It turned out they combined two groups and the bus was still half empty.   They made no effort to combine the excursion groups they cancelled.  We would have taken any of the other tours, as I'm sure would others.  Since our hotel and others had no Sunday Vatican tours and we got there too late on Friday to book, so we missed this classic part of the trip.  Inexcusable!  

Also called at Olympia during a garbage strike.  Venue was filled with flies.  They moved to the ship for the last two days, including the buffet.  

Otherwise the food was good, service was solid and ports were excellent.  Spa was overpriced.  

Overall good cruise and great itineraries. Stateroom is more spacious than those we stayed in the cruise ships of Holland America and Celebrity.

But internet charges are too high and one has to pay the fees of the whole day even for a few minute use.

We spent 5 days prior to cruise exploring Rome and then did trip. Athens was constantly on strike, so we never made it. Booked a private tour in Santorini with a small van which could go places the ships buses could not.

I was disappointed in the cruise overall. The décor was outdated, the entertainment was somewhat tacky and the ship had an odor which smelled like sewage in several areas including the dining room on several nights. The food was mostly mediocre. Most of the service was very good however - the wait staff and room stewart were excellent. The largest disappointment was with the cruise line customer service desk and its lack of information. My party and I were planning to rent a car from a location just across from the pier entrance and the service desk as well as the cruise director told us that there was NO way to get to the pier entrance except by cab (which was limited to the 21 local taxis in town), walk or private car service. They said that Royal Caribbean had a service at $25/person that could get us there. We decided to get up extra early and walk our baggage off the boat to catch one of the 21 taxis available only to find out that there in fact was a FREE shuttle to get us to the entrance of the pier. I cannot understand how Royal Caribbean does not know that there is a shuttle service for this port, which is a very large port where Royal Caribbean cruises leave from on a weekly basis. It seemed like just another way for them to make money. During the cruise we met several other passengers who were told the same information and were contemplating alternate methods just like we were.

We knew when we booked that the Rhapsody of the Seas was an older ship that had been refurbished several years ago. The ship was in great condition and our stateroom (a Superior Balcony) was good sized, clean and in good condition. Bed was comfortable and there was plenty of closet space and room to move around.

We enjoyed dinner at the Chef's Table, Giovanni's (our favorite) and Chops Grille while on board. The only disappointment is that by booking these evenings, we missed out on the Captain's welcome reception and a couple of shows. The Chef's table was an elegant evening... only 12 people for dinner and each course was explained by the chef and the presentation was lovely. Due to the more intimate setting, we were able to get to know several of the other people dining with us and truly enjoyed their company throughout the evening and the rest of the week.

Giovanni's was spectacular! Way too much food but everything was fantastic. We followed the recommendations of our waiter who gave us great information about each selection. It was a perfect meal and we considered going back a 2nd time on the last night of the cruise but decided to join our dinner companions at our assigned table in the main dining room. Escargot was on the menu every night much to my husband's delight but the entree selections were slightly less wonderful than we had enjoyed on other cruise lines.  The food was good but the selections were somewhat blah in our modest opinion.

The two shows we attended were absolutely wonderful... amazing talent. We particularly enjoyed the Schooner Bar. There was a talented piano player/singer there every evening as well as trivia games throughout the week.

The pool area offered live music every day and there seemed to be plenty of room for everyone. The Windjammer cafe (a huge cafeteria) offered plenty of options although this was not my husband's favorite. He's not very fond of cafeteria style eating but he was able to find selections that he enjoyed. I enjoyed the Windjammer much more than he did but I don't mind cafeteria style eating. They offered plenty of greens, fruits, pastas, breads, and a variety of entree items to satisfy the tastes of the people from many different cultures that were on the ship. Breakfast options were plentiful and we enjoyed breakfast there every morning rather than going to the main dining room.

All in all, it was a great week and we would definitely do it again. The cruise itinerary was great (four Greek Islands) and a couple of days at sea. 

Is been a couple of years since my cruise on Rhapsody but I remember it like it was yesterday. It was my first cruise and I learnt a lot about this type of holiday. The food was great and ship was in good condition for its age. There is not much you can really do if you’re a young person. The ship is small and got a bit bored after 5 days. The cruise sailed from Italy and 70% of people were italian and 20% spanish and it was anoying they had to translate everything they said in italian and spanish, even the shows. I’m not racist but I found the italian people very noisy and rude, pushing and skiping the queues everywhere. It will probably be my last time sailing from there.

This was the smallest vessel I have sailed on and there was something special about the intimacy felt with the staff and passenger that I have subsequently felt. I met the captain at returners function which was actually quite enjoyable and many of the senior officers. My only complaint was that we arrived early afternoon into Santorini after three other vessels were already anchored and ended up departing late because of the queues getting back down to the docks. But what made it worse was that they only scheduled 4 hours ashore clearly not nearly enough time. But overall a really great journey with some lovely ports.

Ship is dated and a lot smaller than my prior Western Caribbean cruise ship. It was impossible to get a chair or mat near the pool for the 'days at sea' - doesn't have the capacity to accommodate the number of people on board. Also the entertainment and shows are identical to the other Royal cruise - e.g. belly flop competition, love & marriage show, quest show, etc. Even the restaurants have the same name e.g. Windjamer and Chops Grille. I sure hope the other Royal cruises have more originality and uniqueness. Also despite being on the 8th floor, we were near the back of the ship where you could hear the annoying and constant pulsatile noise of the ship motor.

We had a wonderful time mainly because we got to explore Italy, Greece, and Turkey. Some places we never thought we would go. Cruising is the best way to travel and I would recommend it for anyone.

I experienced this cruise with my husband and grown children. We thoroughly enjoyed the entire time on board the Rhapsody of the Seas and were impressed with the always helpful and pleasant staff. Our stateroom was kept in top shape and most needs were readily attended to when we were about the ship. The only negative that we experienced was the lack of sufficient lounge chairs on the two "at sea" days. Our favorite part was visiting the numerous ports of call in Greece and Turkey. This kept us very busy as 7 of the 11 days we were docked or tendered at one of those ports. We arrived back home and felt we needed another vacation to recuperate!  All in all, this is a fantastic way to visit multiple locations while traveling with a group of 6.

The ship is really fine and the staff are awesome. The weather was spectacular and passengers were diverse and fun. The port of calls were numerous and different. Only way to see the Aegean Sea -- easy and comprehensive. Highly recommended by us.

This particular sailing was a shocker from the get go.  While the checkin process was very smooth, the port address on my Sea Pass form, sent us to the wrong port.  Couldn't believe it. $10 out of our way for no apparent reason.  

Once on board, we ran into Diamonds and Diamond Plus guest who were furious about the internet changes.  No more buying minutes, it was listed as $49.95 a day,or you could get a whopping big savingsavings by buying a package for the entire cruise that appeared to be over $299.00.  I joined the furious, stood in line and expressed my disappointment.

I mean come on RCL.  Your bean counters attempting to increase profits is mecenary on this level.  In 2015, Internet is cheap and almost a necessity to stay in touch for both business and personal means.  To charge people that much money is going to cost you customers in the future.  Bad move.

The next shock was reading that anyone signing up for a Beverage package would get 15% off, but wait, it doesn't apply to those who ordered one on line for the benefit of RCL. I needless to say, complained about this and they appeared to credit my account. Without telling me they had, so I thought it hadn't happened.  But they really didn't.  I ended up paying twice, even though they don't think I did.  Very bad move RCL.  Not cool at all.

Next as a Facilitator/Trainer for years teaching Diversity Training, Non-Discrimination Practices, etc. It was a shock to see a Senior Manager Tour Director put down a staff member in public on the stage, by mocking her accent, accusing her of being late when in fact she was in the back checking people in, and telling her to speak slowly because no one could understand her.  IT was disrespectful, rude and left a bad taste.  I lost a tremendous amount of respect for Graham, who can be quite humorous, when he doesn't practice it at the expense of another staff member.

On the other hand, the regular staff are excellent. From the bartenders to the room stewards, to the restaurant servers almost all are excellent.  Management should take a lesson from their dedicated staff.  It just seemed they were all inexperienced and incapable of dealing with the simplest of issues.

I'm not sure I'll be sailing with RCL in the future.

This ship is one of the smaller Royal Caribbean ships but still a good one. There is so much to do like a water slide for kids, a massive kids club, a rock climbing wall and so much more. There is exceptional service and wonderful shows

This ship is amazing for first time cruisers , the staff are lovely and the ship is a good size , this also cruise also isn’t to expensive, it may not be the flashiest but I think that’s what makes it different, if you’re thinking of going on this ship do it

This is out second time we go to Alaska on this ship.  We love the food, the solarium and the rock climbing. 

3 of us shared an inside cabin, and the pullman is just as good as the regular bed.  The size of the ship is just about right.  It didn't rock too much at night, so we all had a good night sleep.  Room services and dining services folks are all friendly and care to the details.

I missed the omelet station during breakfast, they now only do egg station.  Although I wish to see more variety of food in breakfast time, the lunch and dinner selections are just for all with different dietary preferences.

We put ourselves in cruise control and as we stepped on board. We left all our stress on the dock.

We were treated like we were royalty. and when something did not go the way we expected it was fixed in seconds and we went on our like like nothing happened. 

You will never know the meaning of the word amazing until you see a Glacier with your own eyes.

This was our first cruise, so I didn't know what to expect.  The room was lovely and fairly spacious and the service was wonderful.  The servers at the restaurants were extremely accommodating and pleasant.  The Windjammer serves thousands of meals a day which boggles my mind, but, since you asked..................even though there were many options, I had a terrible time finding anything that looked/sounded appealing.  I tried some of the dishes and didn't eat more than a few bites.  Many of the dishes were foreign to me and the descriptions weren't helpful.  Is seems like food that I thought that I was familiar with, such as a simple carrot salad, was nothing like any carrot salad that I have ever had and was seasoned strangely......The deli had nice turkey and ham salad, and the bacon, eggs, muffins, etc were good...........One issue was that during the cruise, start to finish, the areas where you got your ice, juice, etc either had an ice machine that didn't work and a drink fountain that did or vise versa so you would get your drink at one location and add ice at another.  They started adding a tub of ice at the locations where the ice machine was not working, which was not sanitary, so I don't know how many people used them.......

I hope this is helpful.  I am just giving my opinion..

Thanks for asking...........Sherry