This was our fifth cruise and our first with Royal Caribbean. We had previously cruised with P & O and Carnival. Our last cruise was with Carnival in the Western Caribbean in October 2009. We wanted to try cruising from Australia again and were aware that the cruises leaving Australia didn't have all the bells and whistles that the newer ships in the US and Europe have been blessed with. We intentionally did not want to compare, we just wanted to have a lot of fun with our two kids. After all, we were looking to expand our horizons rather than restrict them! The embarkation process was very smooth and quick. We arrived at the port at Circular Quay at around 11.10am. We were sitting on the ship in the Windjammer by 11:45am. It was great. Very organised and smooth. We didn't have luggage tags to bring with us, but had learned from an earlier trip into the port that you go to the porters and they have them for you. We had booked an inside cabin for 4 people on deck four. I was very surprised to find out that we were required to all sleep in separate bunks. We had found on previous cruises that the two bottom beds could be pushed together to form a queen bed. We were disappointed to find that owing to RCI OH&S policy or some similar reason, the bottom bunks could not be combined. I think we should have been informed of this. This definitely was not our preference for 17 nights. The cruise was more expensive than most other cruises we had experienced, but we accepted that because it was a Christmas and New Year cruise, RCI may have extra costs to cover with regard to all the extra things they may choose to do. This was definitely not the case. On Christmas Eve, we experienced Christmas carol singing and a midnight mass. These were very enjoyable. However on Christmas Day they had very little on both for adults and for kids. Santa came at 9am to the kids. That was fun and the kids all got a gift. However due to bad weather and in my opinion lack of organisation there was nothing else on during the day. Kids programs were not running and the adult's pool was only allowing kids in it during 12-2pm and 4- 8pm. Actually at 2pm all kids were removed from the pool by security so adults could get in. The kids were told to go to the outside pool. It was a wet, cold and a little rough, not really an option unless you want to spend the rest of the holiday sick. The room stewards, restaurant staff and some of the drinks waiters were wonderful. They did their absolute best to provide you with everything you requested. However it appears that the restaurant staff, don't talk to the drinks staff and no one talks to the room stewards. We could not count the number of times we had to request used glasses be removed from our room as the room stewards were unable to differentiate between the purchased glasses and the normal glasses. Furthermore, it was very difficult at times to acquire a drink at dinner at our table - and the drink waiter was very surly! The service in Edelweiss was good however the options available for meals was extremely poor and the standard of cruise meals you would normally expect was just not there. We could have Filet Mignon every night but would have had to pay $14.95US for the privilege. No Lobster, Filet Mignon, Beef Wellington, Bomb Alaska and the list goes on. It appears that RCI have made cuts, however they have not dropped their prices. 2nd rate food for first rate cruise prices. On previous cruises, we were spoilt for choices in the restaurant. During this cruise, we were looking for excuses to experience the fine dining experience! We were located at the front of the ship and 2 of the lifts did not work for 14 days of the cruise. It was very difficult to get to the Windjammer unless you walked up five flights of stairs. As we are reasonably fit, we chose to take the stairs; unfortunately, some of our cruise companions were more elderly & less infirm & had no other option than to wait unreasonable lengths of time for THE lift (1 out of 3) to arrive! But for us the worst part of the cruise was the photographers. In the past 4 cruises we have been on, we have purchased every port photo. However it appears for the photographers on Rhapsody working was not really a priority. We exited off the ship in Christchurch at approximately 10.30am and there were no photographers. That evening I went and complained to Guest Services. To date I have had no response. The next day we were getting off in Picton. We exited the ship at approximately 9.15am and again it appears that they were a little busy to do the job, for which they are engaged. We generally buy most photos and get lots taken, however on this cruise it appeared to be amateur hour. We had photos taken of our children, where the cuffs on shirts were not right, labels on ties could be seen etc etc etc. On the past four cruises we have found the photographers knew exactly what they were doing and indicated that things needed to be fixed before the photograph was taken. On Christmas Night the photographers didn't go to all tables to have photos taken. Considering we were with our children we would have loved a family photo. Oh well, I suppose it was just not to be, but obviously RCI don't believe that photography is a good way to make money, because if they did they would need to make extensive changes to the way they operate. Instead of continually getting annoyed, we just started to laugh about the photographic "amateur hour". Incidentally, upon complaining about the photographic department to Guest Services, we also enquired as to how we can access our shipboard account within our room. We were advised that that option was not available upon "this ship", but they could provide it every 48 hours upon our request. We requested it, but guess what? It didn't happen!!! That being said, some parts and services of the ship were great. The Viking Crown Lounge is a great addition to this ship and other companies should consider something like this for themselves. The children's staff was great and our kids had a wonderful time and have made friends for life. We had children in the 9-11 and 12-14 age groups. In fact our eldest son on previous cruises had not enjoyed the children's facilities as much as he did on this cruise. The majority of the shows were for elderly people. We are a family group and in the end stopped going to the shows because of the poor quality of some of them. However that being said, we acknowledge that everyone's needs have to be catered for. It appears that RCI may be taking clients who travel from Australia for granted by providing second rate food. If RCI think this is the way that will help them get over any issues from the global credit crunch we think they are mistaken. In good conscience we cannot recommend RCI as the best cruise line I have ever sailed on. In fact we would recommend to everyone that they should look at Carnival Cruise Lines as we believe the service, food and entertainment they offer is excellent and it has nothing to do with the age of the ship. We believe it is extremely unlikely that we will cruise with RCI again anywhere in the world. There are better options with other cruise lines. For those first time cruisers, welcome to cruising; from those of us more experienced cruisers, please consider that cruising has so much more to offer!!! In our opinion, Rhapsody of the Seas simply went through the motions. That being said, we enjoyed our holiday (as a good or bad cruise is still cruising) and are looking forward to our next cruising experience. We may just be a little more selective ...