Booked this cruise for the itinerary. As we were touring Spain prior to the cruise, we decided to treat ourselves to a Junior Suite, to get a few extras and space. We were pleased with the suite, however the location deck 8 was right under the lido deck and the noise during the day varied from music, kids running, chairs scraping etc. Why would they put premium cabins under this public area? Lesson learned for future bookings. With a nice big balcony, a lounger chair or reclining chairs would have been great. The ship is smaller than we're use to, but that was ok. Embarkation was fast and efficient as we arrived around 10:30 am.

One huge surprise was a 22% VAT tax on everything purchased onboard. Obviously, many didn't shop as much as they would have. The food in the dining room was pretty good as was the windjammer. Variety was lacking on some days, and often many stations weren't ready at opening times. Nice to see a small selection of gluten free items. Disappointing not to find a 24 pizzeria, and the self serve ice creams machines were out of order a lot. Bar service on the pool deck was nowhere to be seen, and the lineups at the bar to self order with one bartender a nitemare. Usually you can't get rid of the servers trying to sell the drink of the day, never saw one.

Found the live music entertainers, pretty sad, and definitely "cruiseship quality" and really much like elevator music. The best music was during Zumba classes, and was the most energy I saw on the ship. Atrium live music was dreadful, out of tune band trying to sing Beatles etc, failed miserably. Good place for a nap during solo artists performances. We've been on 17 cruises, are in our 60's, and really enjoy cruising, which we did on the Rhap, but it was a real snoozer. Also, no stateroom expense account info or shore excursions on the TV. We did all DIY in the ports, except a private tour in Athens with 16 other CC members, which was outstanding. The pool area is small, and really not kid friendly. The solarium is where you want to go. Sounds like I've said a lot of negative things...but this is why you're reading CC reviews. There are positives which you've already seen on previous posts.