Royal Caribbean, Rhapsody of the Seas Reviews

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Good Points: Accommodations. If RCCL did anything right, it was the suite. We opted for a junior suite with balcony and were very happy with the stateroom. Well appointed, very comfortable, spacious for two persons, clean and maintained each day by our attendant Rosa. An added feature was her artistic ability for making animal creations from a bath towel and placing it on the bed each night. The balcony was well worth the money in our opinion. Room service was on time and good. The nightly entertainment was superb for the most part. Beautiful music provided by a violinist and guitarist was pleasing to the, while sipping a glass of wine in the Centrum prior to dinner. During dinner more of the same. Especially loved How Great Thou Art, which was played several times throughout the cruise. Activities aboard the ship were appreciated and well attended. Kudos to assistant waiter Joran and waiter Nelo, the affable Indian who consistently did a superb job of serving our table of eight. Each evening dinner was the highlight of our cruise, as we sat with 6 delightful San Antonions to discuss the days events and share companionship. Perhaps Christmas cards will follow. The nightly entertainment in the spacious theatre was superb for the most part. Singers and dancers, a Mexican Gaucho act, a magician, a juggler and Johnny Thunder of The Drifters fame rounded out the week of entertainment. Outdoor pool staff were friendly and responsive. Plenty of towels. Ship was clean, as were public toilet facilities. An art action aboard the ship was a bit tacky in my opinion but was obviously welcomed by some shoppers.

Bad Points: Oh where to begin. How about as soon as we are bused to the Port of Galveston where at noon we are handed a letter outlining problems galore. Relax, RCCL will credit each account with a paltry $20. I spent more than $20 just to buy a sweatshirt to keep warm in late afternoon. My luggage was at the terminal and I am in short sleeves. Ship leaves port at 11:30pm Sunday rather than scheduled sail of 5pm. Two thousand vacationers were herded inside or left outside of the terminal for 3 hours whilst waiting to board Rhapsody. Utter confusion! Tempers flare and a police officer is then posted at the door. We were told it also happened this past December. RCCL conveniently forgot to tell us when booking this trip, that the main breakfast/luncheon Windjammer Cafe would be closed for the entire sail. Dishes were lying around the indoor pool area, as it was now the make-shift luncheon site. Quality of solarium site lunch was very poor. Smokers were allowed in the Casino and Schooner Bar. We may have spent more dollars if banned entirely. From now on it's only smoke free cruising for us.

General comments: Where's the boss? This is my third cruise, albeit the last one was 17 years ago. However I know what I like and I know what a cruise-line should deliver considering the amount of money my wife and I spent on hotel, air fare and stateroom accommodations. One veteran cruiser told us never to take a cruise the following week after a ship leaves dry dock. No kidding! Was it any wonder the Captain was not found in a reception line on the night of his champagne party. Indeed there was no reception line and therefore most did not get to personally meet our Captain. Nor did he visit our dinner table in the lovely Edelweiss dining room. Upon check out time we were shocked to find a charge of $111.20 for one internet call on Tuesday. Thanks to the purser staff, the obvious mistake was rectified quickly. However, sorry but any chance of having us sail with RCCL in the future went up in smoke so to speak. Royal Caribbean cruise liners should stay in dry dock until they are ready to provide the great sailing vacation promoted in the brochure. Get better organized and don't hide the Captain when big waves of criticism roll over your bow due to screw ups.

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