I was so excited to go on this cruise so soon after my first cruise. (I went on a Carnival cruise in May of this year with my husband, then 16 month old daughter, 2 best girlfriends and another couple with a toddler. That cruise was great and you can read about it, it was the Carnival Ecstasy.) This more recent cruise with Royal Caribbean was an unexpected surprise. I hadn't planned on cruising for a while, at least until Isabella was 2 or 3, but circumstances changed and I wasn't about to turn it down! This time my hubby had to stay home and I went with a large group of family members, there were 14 of us total. I LOVE cruising with large groups of people, it's the best way to spend time together, but still do your own thing. This review will be a bit of a comparison with my last cruise since they were so close together and they are the only 2 I have ever done. Okay, on to the review:

The ship: Rhapsody of the Seas is a gorgeous ship! Quite a bit classier than Carnival's Ecstasy, but I totally expected that. The theme for this ship is music. The common areas were gorgeous and for the most part tastefully decorated. If you read my last review, you know this is what I felt was seriously lacking on the Carnival cruise.

One of the best parts of the ship was the Solarium. It was a gorgeous room decorated in any Egyptian theme with a pool and 2 hot tubs. No children are allowed during certain parts of the day. Even though (or perhaps because) I have a child I can totally appreciate this! It was a very nice relaxing room. As a side note though, I found it odd that this is where they chose to place the 24 hour pizza and French fry buffet! So, basically kids had to file through and see the area that they weren't allowed to go! Pretty funny. The main pool/deck area was fun and probably a little nicer than Carnivals, but not nearly the party atmosphere as Carnival, which had it's pluses and minuses. There was something fun about the atmosphere on the Carnival ship that Rhapsody was lacking. Perhaps the more "sophisticated" crowd is a little more jaded to cruising? Read more