As Diamond Plus members, we were looking forward to sailing for the first time on Rhapsody of the Seas. We are fans of the smaller ships and have been on Grandeur of the Seas numerous times. We flew down to Tampa same day as cruise with no problems, aside from having to be at the airport by 4:30 in the morning! Took an Uber, which we highly recommend, from airport. Only $8.50 for the two of us but could have accommodated 4 people for the same rate. Taxi's there run $28.00. Pier check in was not as smooth as Baltimore or Cape Liberty, seemed crowded, lines all over the place, but organized, I guess. First impression when boarding ship was that it is well worn. Same age as Grandeur but just not as up to par. Don't want to say it was not clean, just worn out. Attempted to go into buffet, but was so over-run with people, that we had to settle for a hot dog! This ship along with the location and the people from this region love the buffet, never saw a time when it was not bursting at the seams with passengers, with the exception of early morning. My wife is glad they are still offering room service for breakfast at no additional charge, hot oatmeal, toast, bagels, fruit and coffee, a well appreciated service on this particular cruise. One piece of advice that we can offer regarding room service is that as long as you tip from day one, they will never make a mistake on your order and it will get there when requested! Had dinner in the MDR every night, waiter and assistant were good, but overworked. They definitely had more tables than they could handle efficiently, not their fault. Food overall was what we expected, good. Lunch was always just a snack at one of the cafes or if lucky, the Windjammer. Cabin steward, as usual, was great. Kept everything clean, worked very hard, worth the extra tip at the end. Entertainment was the usual, could have had better guest entertainers, but satisfied overall. Walked our own luggage off ship, Uber waiting to take us for an early flight home.