We have taken 10 Royal Caribbean cruises. We love Royal Caribbean. However, the greed of the cruise lines is starting to show! We decided to take a cruise on the Rhapsody of the Seas because friends of ours were already booked. We have cruised Allure (2), Oasis (2), Navigator (2), Freedom (2) and Serenade of the Seas. Based on our previous experience we figured "it's Royal Caribbean, the Rhapsody will be nice." The Rhapsody is A DUMP! The ship SHOULD NOT be a part of the RC fleet. There is rust on almost every connection, the chairs slats are missing, the bar chairs have rips -- it really is a DUMP! Most of the staff are very bad and rude. I get the feeling this boat is used as a training ship for new hires.
The entertainment was SO BAD. You know it's bad when the crowd laughs at the singers because the are so off key and bad. They had a Country Show and my wife honestly thought it was a satire because singers and dancers were so bad. We were on ship during the NCAA Championship game. THE ONLY PLACE YOU COULD WATCH IT WAS ON A 40" TV IN THE SCHOONER BAR IN FRONT OF TWO COUCHES AND TWO CHAIRS. Oh, they did have it on two 24" monitors in the casino. Why not play it on the large outside pool screen??? There were 12 people out there watching some out of date movie. Over half the boat was from Michigan and they all tried to fit into a 12" x 12" area in the Schooner Bar. I have to mention we did a beach excursion and the price was $59. We were on the 4th row with half the boat on about 90 feet of the Seven Mile beach. The lady telling us where to sit was selling the same seats, with a better view to people who walked up for $20!! Whatever you do seriously look at Norwegian. They are at least trying to win customers. Royal Caribbean has lost a ton of luster in my eyes.