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I love cruising, and I love RCI. My first 3 cruises were all Caribbean bound on the Liberty of the Seas, and needless to say that's an amazing, exciting, fun ship. I was a little apprehensive going on something as small as the Rhapsody, but with Alaska there wasn't much choice.
The Rhapsody is a good ship, but it's not nearly as exciting as the Freedom class, and you can definitely feel it's not as large. What amazed me about the Liberty was I could go a few different places and find myself alone outside of my room. On the Rhapsody that's pretty much impossible. The Library and Card Room have been replaced by new Staterooms, and that pretty much leaves you with lounges or the balconies behind the Solarium - However, with an Alaskan cruise it's pretty chilly to be outside so those weren't an option except on Port days when you weren't moving.
All that said, I could easily tell that there wasn't nearly as many people on board (1000 less), and that is nice. Coming and Going off the ship on Port days was a breeze, and boarding was fantastic (Seattle). Also, the Liberty had impressive staff/service, but I was blown away by the staff on this ship. Most that I talked to had done their rounds on the other, larger ships and were now working on the Rhapsody - that experience was very easy to notice. Also, we had a 'Captains Corner' where for an hour we could do a QA with the Captain - never had one of those on the Liberty. It was cool to get some inside stories and information on how the ship works. I must say Cruise Operations fascinate me.
A few complaints - our bed was not very comfortable. I'm not used to a hard bed, and unfortunately our mattresses weren't very cozy, they were not replaced in this last major upgrade. However, we were bargain basement inside staterooms, perhaps the Balcony did get new mattresses. Also, this ship has shower curtains (Liberty has a nice slide door, a'la capsule) and it was annoying having to always peel it off me. Other than that the staterooms were as expected - nice and tight!
Windjammer was great, Dining Room was fantastic, Solarium Park Cafe had some okay selection. I really missed Sorrento's and the Cafe Promenade. However, I did end up eating less than normal so I wasn't sick all the time ;)
Overall it was a great cruise, I wouldn't hesitate to do an Alaskan Cruise again. The ports were great, and we had phenomenal weather. I would recommend this cruise. Keep in mind, I am offering this review with a pretty biased view towards the Liberty, so take my ship concerns as you will.
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