I was hoping for the best after reading recent reviews on Rhapsody, most of which were not good. I was looking forward to having a well-known cruiseline in Asia. I have sailed on Carnival, Princess, Norwegian, and this is my first time on Royal Caribbean. RC was not up to par with the others. Overall, the ship was nice, but the service and food were a major disappointment.
THE SHIP/CABIN The ship was spacious and nice. We had an superior interior cabin for 3 people, and it was spacious. There was a lot of closet space, and the bedding and duvet covers were a nice touch. The pool area is very nice also. The casino was ridiculously empty. Why? Because the minimum for the card tables started at $15 or $20. Yes, blackjack started at $15 a hand. The result was half the casino tables were empty. Again, a stupid error by RC because had they started the minimum at $5 like most other ships, they would have made a ton of money.
FOOD The food on Rhapsody was definitely NOT up to par of the other ships I have been on. The buffet was so-so, and the dining room experience (although the dining room itself was beautifully designed) was also disappointing. No lobster in any dinner menu, and the food was blah. Like another review wrote, Carnival had WAY better food (sad, I know), and Norweigian and Princess were way better than Carnival. The Windjammer buffet was crowded, especially on embarkment day. For some crazy reason, they only opened half of Windjammer most of the time (except for the disembarkment day), and everyone was fighting for a table. Why they did not open the other half when there were clearly not enough tables is beyond me. I heard someone complain, but nothing was done.