This was our third cruise, second with RC (Alaska was first). Aside from the challenge of getting to Civitavecchia from Rome, and navigating the port via shuttle, embarkation was a breeze.
Ship: Good staff and relatively nice experience aboard ship. After the second cruise on this class ship (Rhapsody and Jewel) I think I am done with that ship/line. The entertainment was pretty good. The room is what one would expect from a cruise ship in this class- nice but small, less posh than other cruise lines. This line is great for families- less overtly drunken behaviour, good programming for the kids.
Dining: the food in the buffet was mediocre at best, so we did most dinners in the upcharged restaurants or the typical dinner seating. That food got monotonous even after a few days so then we tried to eat off ship as much as possible. The windjammer buffet was pretty mediocre.
Smaller than Holland America, less storage, and less posh. Holland America has MUCH more comfy beds- and much larger bathroom. Not surprisingly, it caters to an older clientelle, apparently. The dining rooms were also much more posh and food was better overall. But we enjoyed the rear balcony, and seeing the greek isles. Our room attendant was really great.
We spent a day in Rome and took the train to Civitavecchia. Long walk from the train station to the port shuttle terminal, and not easily found. We found a great shuttle driver randomly who took us right to the ship. Great guy. Only think worth doing here in our opinion is getting on the ship.
One of our best days- we walked off the ship and wandered around the ancient city. Had coffee, lunch, shopped on our own, saw the palace and street of knights... many great things and stayed out of the most crowded areas where most people congregated. Really good day.