This cruise was very good overall. Embarking in Vancouver was a DISASTER (It took us 3 hours) but that was more the Port of Vancouver's fault than RCL. Our room was as expected... nothing more nothing less. Food in the main dining room was not as good as normal. I'm not sure anybody at out table was wowed with more than 1 meal in the 11 we received. Oddly enough, though, food in the windjammer was better than normal. We always eat breakfasts up there, and are usually quite tired of the food up there within a week. This time, that didn't happen. Although the fare up there was typical, the quality of it was better. We did try Chops once... well worth it! The evening entertainment on this sailing was quite good. The cruise director and staff were the least friendly/charismatic we have seen, but the captain was the most friendly we have seen! There was a little less in daytime activities during the 5 sea days than I would have expected. Regarding the ship itself.... Rhapsody isn't the biggest and newest, but she is quite clean and has been upgraded recently. All in all, the cruise was good, and I would not hesitate to do it again. Read Less

My wife and I did our second cruise on the Rhapsody. We wanted to do a cruise and Hawaii was the perfect place for a honeymoon. We got engaged just before our first cruise a year before on Majesty of the Seas. Flight into Vancouver was fine, the bus ride to the port was a little long but the driver did a good job of entertaining during the drive. Embarking took longer than expected as they stated we were leaving from an atypical pier. Once on the ship, i was worried the days at sea would get long, just the opposite. We had time to stay up late, sleep in, enjoy the room service, and just enjoy each others company. it was during this time that we found our favorite place on the ship (deck 5, promenade deck). We would grab some drinks, a book, or a deck of cards and just watch the sea go by. Occasionally a lonely whale or a few dolphins or flying fish would keep us company. One morning we woke up to watch the TV route tracker suddenly deviate from a straight line. Captain Hempstead later came overhead to say we had to deviate to assist a vessel in distress. This added to the joy of the cruise and a little excitement at sea with still keeping us on schedule (nice job RC!). We arrived at Lahina, Maui did a snorkeling excursion and went to Haleakala Park (Ty was our driver, he rocked). the two days. The next day we were at Hilo and did a tour of Volcanoes Nat'l park and saw the ne-ne geese. The following day we were at Kauai and went to Waimea canyon, it was beautiful. Bus AC broke but we managed. The last day was Honolulu. We got off the ship early and caught a cab to Pearl Harbor to get passes for the Arizona tour. As with all past cruises, the rooms have been good, the staff amazing, and the food great and always plentiful! We enjoy room service for an early morning or late night snack Read Less

Originally we had booked the Sept. 2015 cruise to Hawaii, but it was cancelled and RCI was nice enough to give us a $400.00 OBC. So we decided to go early, Sept. 2014. Flight We booked all of the flight arrangements separately from RCI, mainly due to the fact that I like layovers of about 1.5 hours. Now we flew straight from LAX so it wouldn't have been a big deal. We took Air Canada and it was a smooth flight into Vancouver. We had heard that customs once you get off the plane can be rather long, but it took us 20 min. total to get our luggage and get through customs. Travel to Embarkation We decided to get the transfer service to make it easier with the luggage. After we got out of customs there were a couple of very nice ladies waiting for us and guided us to where we needed to be. We stood outside under the overhang for about 1/2 hour to wait on the bus which wasn't too bad considering we got there at 0945. My only gripe about this was the "smoke" smell in the area while we waited. The bus driver was nice enough, and comical at times; however, he drove us all the way through Vancouver. I'm not sure if there was a faster way to get to the port but it took us forever and I really didn't need a bus tour of Chinatown in Vancouver. The Rhapsody was not in the usual port, it was in a commercial port that clearly wasn't setup for passenger vessels. This is a major point of contention for me, especially since I have travelled out of Canaveral, Lauderdale, and Miami before where within a half hour your on the ship. They had us enter a building and start sepentining our way through the line. There was not RCI representative at that point, just port staff. it took us about an hour to get through that part to get through the security checkpoint. This was the first time we saw anyone from RCI. I had to grad an employee to tell them that we had suite tickets so I could bypass some of the line. In all it took us about 2 hours to get on the boat. I felt for some of the people, I heard that it took 4 hours to get on for some, in fact they were still getting people on when the the lifeboat drills were occurring at 1530. Cabin 8502 Obviously, I had to pay the money to have a little more space. I have spoiled myself with suites in the past and it is hard to go back to some of the other categories. The wife and I like the separate spaces the the suites offer because she can go to bed early and I can stay up and watch tv or whatever and it doesn't bother her. The cabin is what you would expect of a OS cabin, all the nice amenities, even a bade in the bathroom. My wife is a fan of the jetted tub. The room is large, it is on the starboard side of the ship right next to the royal suite on deck 8 in the forward part of the ship. It is very far forward that no one comes down your hallway, except the folks staying in the royal suite and the bridge crew, since the door to the bridge is about 30 feet from the cabin door. Our only gripes about this room is that, (1) it is right over the Windjammer, so there is noise of rolling carts and of things dropping at different times of the day and night, and (2) there is this creaking and popping noises in the ceiling panels while the ship is at sea, and there seems to be something loose in the bulkhead between this suite and the Royal Suite....constant knocking. Entertainment The entertainment on this cruise was mediocre as it was all geared toward Hawaii and the Polynesian....Maybe I'm just spoiled with the Oasis and Freedom class type shows. Activities The activities on this cruise where pretty standard for what you would see on every RCI ship; however, there are like a total for 10 kids on this ship....mostly mid-late aged people...why the hell are they playing kids movies and cartoons on the big screen by the pool. It seems that the Cruise director or entertainment director didn't look at the age breakdown when planning this week. Also this was week one of the NFL season.....NO games, RCI needs to enter into a deal with NFL to cover games. The internet worked great on this cruise even when we were in the middle of nowhere in the North Pacific. I gladly pay the fee just to keep up with family and friends and occasional work emails that I am tracking. Dining I was somewhat disappointed on the dining except the specialty restaurants, Chops and Giovannis. The Windjammer food felt and tasted like cafeteria food with the exception of the made to order items. We Really like the new Park Cafe in the Solarium, for both breakfast and lunch options. Staff The suite attendant, Raj, was great. There are a lot of crew that were great that I either don't remember their name or never go it, but all were polite. I really like Captain Rob, he made himself available a number of occasions throughout the cruise. Aid at Sea On day 3, the Captain came on the overhead and stated that the Coast Guard had asked ROS to assist a boat. We veered off course approx. 30 miles to help this boat in distress, no biggie, gave them some fuel and sent them on their way, but I fell that the entire cruise liked that event. In Conclusion All in all, it was a cruise vacation to Hawaii......can't complain too much i suppose, I standby RCI as a cruise line and a product. I will be a Diamond member at the conclusion of this cruise, and I look forward to many more cruises and years with Royal Caribbean.   Read Less

We have been loyal RCL cruisers for many years. We tried other cruise lines and always come back to RCL for the WOW factor. We booked this cruise for the destination and that is just what we got. A boat ride with poor meal selection, horrible entertainment, and employees who are going through the motions on an entry level ship to "pay their dues" so they can upgrade to a better ship contract in their next contract. The staff were all nice and professional, but the undercurrent is present. They could not wait to get off this ship. We felt the same way. Dining was always an exercise in wishing you went to the Windjammer instead of the Main Dining Room because the choices were horrible. We paid extra for an upgraded meal out of desperation. We finally, gave up and went to the Windjammer for more variety and booked a Specialty Dinner. Being "steered away" from the Main Dining Room by a poor menu selection to force people to pay for upgrades helps the Company bottom line only short term. You have degraded your reputation and turned away future loyalty. This will ultimately hurt your brand no matter how "Big" you build your ships. The consensus of people we questioned was totally in line with our feelings. This cruise was sailed by a greater number of Diamond and Diamond Plus loyalist and they are the people we questioned. We know RCL reads reviews on Cruise Critic and so the comments are written more as an open letter to RCL to rethink their future plans to nurture their brand or lose market share to competition who are now stepping up their game with large ships with the WOW factor. RCL has the same lame songs, marches and kudos on every cruise without any change. It is typical of the Catskills camp formate. Don't put baby in the corner. Entertainment was dull and filling a time slot rather than entetaining. Pulling people into a theater to sell drinks before a show just to have them get up to leave out of boredom, just reinforces RCL's goal. Bottom line. We will sail RCL in the future, but only the newest ships with the newest innovations. They seem to be given the quality entertainment. We have noticed on the newest ship RCL will be copying their competition with multiple dining options. Also, we will try the competition again pulling our loyalty away from RCL. It is looking like an all inclusive vacation is in our future. Read Less

My last few cruises on RCI have been less than satisfactory, but the Rhapsody was outstanding. I believe a ship experience reflects the Captain and in our case Captain Rob was one of the best I've sailed with. His dry humor made his noon reports a high point (ocean depth is 20,000 feet...and 3 inches). He was around the ship often, participated in things such as the cake making (although he built a ship not an airplane as instructed). The crew was always trying to help passengers, no request was ignored. Finally, there were Loyalty Ambassadors that did more than sell next cruises. The C&A events made me feel valued. The cruise director Graham Seymour and his staff did a great job with providing choices, especially on the long 5 day sea crossing. Entertainers were all good, except for one comedian who fell flat. Enjoyed the late release movies shown in the theater. Don't like the shows in the centrum, the layout makes it possible for only a few people (those who are obnoxious & pushy to get to the rail) to actually see much. The casino, although not as generous as I'd like, was kept non smoking so you could really enjoy playing. Embark in Honolulu was easy, although it had been delayed a few hours for Coast Guard, which we were notified of. Shore excursions through the ship were handled well, except for the Luau on Maui, which is a tender port. There was mass confusion as to which buses to get on and the luau itself was not worth the very high cost. Would recommend a private vendor instead. When hundreds of people came back to the ship at the same time there was some waiting for a tender (they had put on one extra tender but that was still not enough). One excursion was cancelled by the vendor and I was notified well in advance and my sea pass account was credited. This cruise added 3 days from last time I did it. The day in Kauai was too short to see & do all, will just have to come back. Full day in Victoria, if you've done the Gardens suggest a stop in downtown at Miniature World. My dining experience varied. I was with a group of 10 friends at a large table in the main dining room for early seating. The first 2 nights the service was incredibly slow, appetizers had not been served after an hour and were then cold. One person at our table called over the head waiter and threw a hissy fit. After that they changed the process so they would take our orders for appetizers and main courses at the same time and reduced the time between courses. We later learned the dining room crew was short at least 50 staff, no idea why, but we saw the head waiters all serving meals and clearing. Our service shifted over to outstanding, the head waiter started asking us what items we'd like to have served the next night and he would bring us "off menu" entrees - one night it was lasagna, several nights he brought us platters of appetizers and for dessert brought out large bowls of blueberries & strawberries to go with vanilla ice cream. Preferred drinks and special requests were remembered by the waiters, who were always trying hard. I was the only one at the table who doesn't like seafood or heavy sauces, so I ate in the Windjammer a few nights and was well pleased with the selection, presentation, and service. Without asking, a crew member would help me carry my plate to a table (never had a problem finding a table). I ordered room service a few times and was pleased with the promptness, accuracy of the order and the waiter. Be careful if you order bacon, I asked for one order, thinking a few slices, got about a pound. When we left Hilo the plan was to sail by the volcanco to see lava flow. Captain Rob stayed in the area for an extra hour, but there just was no lava flow, you could barely see a red glow from the caldera. I was glad I had seen a spectacular sight of lava back in 2009. We had a very smooth sailing overall, although coming across a few days were wet & cold. The debark in Vancouver was smoothest I've ever been thru there. We filled out forms ahead of time so we didn't actually talk to customs. Luggage was in proper area, free carts available, followed signs to taxis, staff there were directing lines. I was off the ship at 8:30AM, in a cab by 8:50AM. Amazing. This was one of my favorite cruises on RCI so far, thanks to one of the best ship crews. The Rhapsody is a great size ship and very attractive. Be sure to allow a few days before in Honolulu and stay a day or two in Vancouver. With all of the ship reassignments not sure what ship will be doing this route, hate to see the Rhapsody leave. Read Less

I'm sure the ship may have been a Rhapsody at some point but it needs to be retired. Hawaii and Canada were lovely and was the only saving grace. I'm not sure why RCL has invested in trying to put a band-aid on this boat instead of just replacing it with one of the newer vessels. The refurbish was a waste of good money. You can see that they tried, but unfortunately they failed miserably. The service on the vessel was as raggamuffin as the ship itself. There were times where we were trying to scavenger hunt food. Real food, not that Park Cafe salad nonsense. I took off 20 pounds before the cruise so I could eat like I wanted to on the cruise. 24 Hour ice cream bar was non existent. I understand cut backs to keep the fares reasonable but food is a primary attraction of cruising and whoever heard of being hungry on a cruise. One morning my only expectation was milk and cereal for breakfast and they could not supply whole milk. I was told they didn't have any more yet miraculously two days later the Pacific Ocean managed to produce vitamin D fortified and pastuerized whole milk. I'm not an extravagant person and usually don't take advantage of all that cruising offers, and yet I still managed to be underwhelmed by this cruise experience.It was horrible and this cruise was not inexpensive. The staff and crew were coming off of an Extended Austrailian tour and picking up the additional passengers in Honolulu. It was evident that while it was my first day of the cruise, it was not theirs and their energy levels were conspicuosly depleted. So between the clock striking midnight turning the ship back into a pumpkin and the over worked under paid exhausted staff this was just the worst cruise ever. Oh, and just to add some additional color they never met me at the airport,and I had to find my own way to the cruise terminal. Then they blamed me for the oversight asking why didn't I call although I did, twice. Should have cruised NCL. They were at the airport colleting their passengers. Read Less

Sailed the Rapsody to Alaska two years ago. The experience other than the entertainment was a total delight. This sailing was an utter disappointment. I had bragged the Rapsody up to our companions to the extent that |I was embarrassed. They must think I have little taste at all. This is our fifth time sailing RCI. There will never be another. They have no pride in their ship. The same dirty glasses left beside machines in the casino from morning to night. We never once saw staff wiping down machines or cleaning around them to cut back on the illness the Rapsody is now having. The tables on the pool deck as well as the ones in the Park Café were sticky. We asked for wet cloths to wipe them down ourselves. Instead of coming to our assistance, we were handed a cloth to do it ourselves. Not a high classed joint. The entertainment was wonderful. Some of the best shows we have seen on RCI. Then there is the food. While two years ago I enjoyed each and every meal..........This cruise all but one meal were worse than I can express. Plates from all tables were going back after passengers had only picked at them. We concluded the staff must be using the food from The Australian stock. Perhaps they need to deplete that stock before re stocking in Vancouver to the Alaska cruises start. The wind jammer was a bit better but always seemed to be repeating the same offerings every few days. They ran out of so many things and everyone was complaining. We enjoyed a Blue Moon Beer a few days into the cruise. When two days later we ordered another, we were told they did not stock this brand of beer. They argued with us when we told the bartender in the casino we had just had one two days before. Anyway.........they must have ran out of that too. There was lots of shinning being done, but chair arms in the eating areas were never seen being wiped down. Very little vacuuming was done in our state rooms and elsewhere on the ship. Also tell me,......why do the staff in the wind jammer sweep crumbs and such from around your table while people are eating at it? Can't they take note and sweep after people have finished their meal? Our room was next to the stairs. It took a few days but we got used to the noise. Our stateroom was large enough and also very comfy. I sound like a real whiner. I am not a cruise snob, as this is only our seventh cruise. I do however, know the difference between treated like a guest on a great cruise line with wonderful food and attentive staff...........now we have experienced the other. Read Less

Pros Staff on the whole very professional with a couple of outstanding staff members and their teams. Attitude very good and also very pleasant people who looked like they were truly enjoying their positions. Chefs dining table and restaurants also worthwhile. Wine and dine package was also very good. Enjoyed a good Australian wine for a reasonable price, considering. Cons We were advised check in and boarding times were delayed due to an outbreak of gastrointestinal illness from previous sailing which couldn't be avoided but could have been helped by the general cleanliness of the ship. Guests were asked to constantly wash hands but the Windjammer floor and tables were continually dirty, food wasn't vacuumed up from the night before and the area on the floor around the windows was very unclean. Food was dried on to some tables in this area and the waste bins had to be touched to dispose of paraphernalia. Entertainment wasn't anything special onboard but RCL seemed to get some enjoyment by singing OLE OLE OLE and waving napkins in the air every night in the Edelweiss dining room. If you want to purchase from the onboard shops beware, I bought a watch indicating on the ticket it had been reduced by $40 when in actual fact I had paid more than if purchasing from a regular shop. Disembarkation was a nightmare with older guests forced to wait for shuttle services in the hot sun, some for nearly two hours without shade and water. Read Less

Having just read "MADMACS" review I thought I would give him some insight into his Hawaiian cruise in September as we have just done the same one in reverse. We cruised with Rhapsody of the Seas but I think Radiance may be a better experience.  Don't get me wrong we loved our cruise, but the Rhapsody is getting a little tired and is being relocated next year anyway.  We have cruised on quite a few "lines" but must admit I have a soft spot for the "Princess" line due to the quality and variety of food and entertainment and ease of embarking and disembarking. Our first experience of RCL was a lovely surprise, the staff made the cruise. They had time to talk to you and NOTHING was a problem, the service was exceptional, always smiling faces, wonderful people. In saying this we prepaid our gratuities and were so glad we did as it would be so hard to know who to tip, even though we did extra tipping for extra service received. Although the ship seemed near capacity there was always somewhere on the ship that you could find some space of your own. I personally liked the solarium area (no charge) and frequented the Park café for breakfast and snacks throughout the day. No children allowed.....although you would not have imagined there were about 100 on board. We visited Isle of Pines, Vanuatu,Champagne Bay, Apia and PagoPago and decided to do our " own thing" and hired taxi drivers in Vanuatu and Apia .Both were excellent showing us their island and showing us the "island way, one even took us to his village. Be sure to barter the price and talk to frequent travellers on the ship to get some hints as to what to pay etc Always keep your eye on the time as the ship won't wait for you if you are late and not on one of their land tours. Isle of Pines and Champagne Bay had beautiful swimming beaches. HINT.. take your own snorkel gear AND shoes to wear in water to make it easier on the feet. Please talk to the villagers on the small islands who come down to meet the ships and support them with their wares, they are so nice to talk to and not "pushy" and appreciate you taking your time with them. Don't just walk on their island and takeover their beaches and ignore them. Now the downside, not many of these. I had read reviews on the food on this ship before I went and it was exactly what was said. The food in the dining room eventually improved but the first two nights was very ordinary, and the food in the Windjammer café varied very little as did the food in the Park Café although nice and fresh. Always predictable unfortunately. No surprises anywhere, a bit tiring after 16 days. Disembarking in Hawaii was disappointing, some 2hours later than when we were scheduled. Lack of communication with staff in the "holding" lounges led to passengers left sitting waiting with no explanation as to why we were running so late. I don't know what happened to people who had planes to catch! Luggage collection worked fine. In closing I must comment on the effort of all staff in keeping the ship so hygienic and clean, always wiping hand rails and regular cleaning of facilities, hopefully keeping the dreaded "gastro" at bay. All in all a wonderful holiday, would definitely try another ship in the RCL one day.   Read Less

We took a 12 night cruise on Rhapsody of the Seas from Vancouver to Hawaii. We arrived in Vancouver the night before and stayed at the Pan Pacific. What a beautiful hotel. They made the process so simple! Once we called the bell hop to pick up our luggage we did not see it again until we were on the ship. We have taken several cruises and are very loyal to RC. We love the service that we receive on their ships and this one was no exception. A special thank you to Belle from the activities staff and Chef Daniel who is the Sous Chef for the specialty restaurants. They were able to pull off a special surprise for my husband for our anniversary. It was greatly appreciated and meant so much! Also, the activities staff did a great job of engaging the passengers during the many parties and specialty events they had. We loved all the ports of call. The process at each port was organized and easy. Snorkeling in Kona and Maui were wonderful. The cruise ship stayed in Maui overnight and it was nice that the tenders in Maui ran late into the night, allowing the possibility for passengers to easily go back and forth. We took a helicopter ride in Maui also and that was beautiful. Our cabin was a junior suite on deck 8 and right off the elevators. We really liked the location. The height of the ceiling was a little low for my husband when he was in the tub but he made it work. The service in the dining room was terrific and I can't say enough good things about the specialty restaurants cuisine and service. We didn't attend all the nightly shows but we did enjoy the ones we were at. When also spent three days at the Hilton Hawaiian Village after the cruise. Although the resort was beautiful, the customer service was hit and miss there and that was for a diamond member! I realize the service on the boat may have spoiled us but I was disappointed with the service at the Hilton. Read Less

Well, this is my first review of a cruise on Cruise Critic. We just arrived home after our 12 night cruise from Vancouver to Hawaii on the Rhapsody of the Seas. We started our cruise by arriving a day early so we could start acclimating to the time change coming from NY. We stayed at the Pan Pacific which is located right above the cruise terminal. It could not have been any easier to embark the next day. We were able to send our bags down at 10:30 am and we were on board the ship just after 11:00 am. When we first arrived on board we were greeted by a very friendly and helpful staff. We knew just then that this would be a great cruise. After receiving our luggage and getting into our cabin, I knew I had made the right choice to choose an aft cabin suite. The balcony was as large as the room and the views in whatever port we were in were just amazing. No, we did not spend the whole cruise on our balcony or in the cabin. LOL. We booked the Chef's Table dinner before embarking with the package for the other restaurants because we thought it would be nice to enjoy a fantastic dinner on our 25th anniversary. This was by far the best dining experience we had on the ship the whole 12 nights. Don't think that the rest of the nights were bad. They were all good and the food was always up to or better than par restaurant dining. We purchased the premium alcohol package before embarking also. We felt that having 5 or so drinks a day while at sea would be worth the package. It tuned out to be well worth the price. The ship remained as clean the entire time as it was the day embarked. The staff only grew more friendly with every day that passed. We participated in a lot of on board activities hosted by the cruise director which were all a lot of fun. You certainly become well known on a ship when you participate. We did meet the captain on the first formal night for pictures. We have taken pictures with other ship captains and that was the last time we saw them. Captain Sullivan was much different. When we did see him again, he asked us "How are you enjoying your 25th Anniversary cruise?" WOW, he actually remembered us from taking a quick photo with him. We did see him throughout the rest of the cruise and he was a very personable man that takes the time to get to know and enjoy his guests. The entire staff worked so hard to make our cruise a very special one. I do have to give great praise to the R Bar staff for really going the extra distance for my wife and myself. This bar led by Mixologist Joseph Foster went above and beyond what others rarely ever do. When they knew it was our anniversary and we were having dinner at the Chef's table, they sent an anniversary cake to the table for us. We shared with the rest of the guests and had a very memorable evening. The ports of call were all very beautiful and a lot of friendships have been made. All of that being said there were some things that could possibly be changed that would make this cruise even better. The nightly shows at the theater were at best dull. Some other venues on the ship were good but not great. Our favorite show was the Hawaiian band. These guys were great. Work definitely has to be done for entertainment. We did cruise through a debris field one night and picked up a rather large fishing net in one prop. This caused the ship to vibrate quite violently. Nothing could be done until we reached land. Hey, this happens. No fault of the Captain or crew. They did fix as soon as possible. Overall, this was a great cruise. If I had to rate out of 5 I would certainly give it a 4.5 due to lack of decent entertainment. Read Less

Lets start with..... Dirty rooms when we arrived, dirty plates in the nightstands, rooms not vacuumed, etc... -YUCK!! Dinner at Chops Grill on Mothers Day: Steaks were not that great, we had better in the dining room. After being at dinner for over 2 hours with a 4 year old, we asked "may we please have a piece of cake to go, he can't sit here any longer" (have you ever sat with a 4 year old in a nice restaurant for 2 hours-an hour was his max) Our waiter asked the restaurant manager who responded "NO, desserts cannot leave the restaurant" My first thought was ummm we can take food from the buffet area what's the difference. Well that set the tone for the entire cruise we were met with the words "No, sorry we cannot help you" often. What do you do at 3:15am-I was sleeping until my mom knocked on the door and said hurry get up the rooms are flooding. A hot water pipe burst, our rooms were filling up with water-hot water at that-ankle deep by the time we had gotten up. Please note: NOBODY from Royal Caribbean knocked on our doors to advise us of what was going on. We were throwing towels and robes down on the floor and grabbing up the laptops and camera equipment up so they would not get ruined. Nobody from the ship came to check on us!! I understand that problems happen but I do not understand the lack of response or help from the ship. Yes, they changed our carpet the next day, but the hall was wet and stinky for days!!! Parents, you will never believe this one- Adventure Ocean was so tiny (it was 1 room, 1 very small room with a reception area) Our son came back the first day a little upset about his experience so we asked to be able to observe what was going on. The answer was NO we do not allow parents to observe the kids. ummmmmm..... I can walk into my childs school at anytime to check on him, do not tell me I cant see what you are doing with my kid especially when he came back crying after the first day-what are you trying to hide. He never went back!! Day 11 of our cruise we hit a rough waters, OMG..... there was vomit and the smell of vomit everywhere!! EEEEWWWW even for a mom of a toddler!! Now for a few positive things: Giovannis restaurant was super amazingly yummy and our waiter Alejandro was awesome. Alex Godoy the guest services manager sat down with us when we were finally at our wits end with the service and helped to make our vacation a little better. Our waiter Elmer and the assistant Ajay were super nice and always ready to assist my son and our family with our dinner requests. Needless to say we will never be cruising Rhapsody again. We have sailed with Royal and Celebrity numerous times, this time Royal really let us down. Families this is not a cruise ship for you!! Read Less

I must say, having been first time Cruisers with our 2 children, aged 3 and 11, i was extremely skeptical prior to boarding due to the disappointing reviews i was reading months prior to us leaving. Lucky for me i am extremely open minded....I have nothing but positive things to recap with Royal Carribbean's Rhapsody of the Seas. Our Cruise was for 18 nights from Sydney through the Trans-Pacific Islands and disembarking in Honolulu.Boarding the ship in Sydney was an absolute Breeze. The whole process of checking our boarding passes through to Passport clearance took us around 45 minutes, extremely well organised i must add, seeing as though there was well over 2000 people boarding that day.My Time Dining for us was'nt really an option, seeing as though we had a 3 year old that just cant sit still, we did eat there on the few occasions and it was lovely, the Waiters are fantastic and extremely attentive. Always looking to make your Cruise experience a positive one, so they don't mind going the extra mile if requested.The Windjammer Cafe? Brilliant! Sooooooo much food all the time! And always so fresh! And always so much variety aswell! We ate at the Windjammer for the majority of our Cruise....excellent service, the waiters are awesome, especially with the kids, so friendly.The Adventure Ocean Programme? These guys made our cruise! Lets just say we never really saw our children at all, our 11 year old had a 12am curfew and was off with a bunch of friends joining in the various activities they had arranged for that age group, and our 3 year old absolutely LOVED the Kids Club that it was even a STRUGGLE to pick her up at 10pm for Bedtime.....she just never wanted to LEAVE! The staff in the Kids Club are absolutely amazing, and if they ever read this review, might i just add many thanks again for enlightening our childrens cruise experience X 1000. Its now 3 weeks since we desembarked and they are STILL talking about how fantastic you all are! There are many different activities throughout the day to participate in, from Bingo to craft classes, Nintendo WII sports competitions, pool volley ball comps, dance classes,Quiz's, Belly flop competitions (which my Husband won. So if you are reading this and were on the same Cruise, yes, you know who i am...lol!) The Cruise Director Luke and his sidekick Patrick were also fabulous and incredibly humorous and entertaining. A bunch of laughs all the time.Nothing but positive feedback here! We had an absolute HOOT on this cruise, 18 days of fun in the sun and BLISS! Looking forward to our next!......(My advice to all the negative reviews in which i read prior to boarding which left me ever so skeptical?Stop looking at things to nitpick at and lighten up? Your on HOLIDAY, relax, chill out, dont stress over the little things, nothing is ever going to be perfect....because nobody is.)I hope this review helps....especially those travelling with children. Rhapsody of the Seas? Yep. We are WRAPPED! Read Less

I'm late posting this review, but wanted to make a few comments regarding our recent cruise on the Rhapsody of the Seas. This was the 12-night Vancouver to Hawaii cruise in September. We've cruised many times and enjoy RCI and Princess the most. This was our first time on the Rhapsody of the Seas and we like this size of ship. There were lots of signs of its recent refurbishment. New carpet, paint, upholstery, flat screen tv's, etc. Overall the ship is well maintained and even though there are signs of its age, none of these are a distraction. Pre-Cruise/Embarkation: We stayed at the Marriott Pinacle for three nights prior to the cruise. Weather was perfect and we enjoyed exploring Vancouver. This is a great hotel in the perfect location. It is only a couple of blocks to the cruise terminal and we just rolled our luggage over for embarkation. We arrived at about 11:30 and deposited our bags with the porters. They recommended we shop around in Vancouver a bit and come back in a couple of hours to avoid the crowds. We declined their invitation and got in line. We were processed in less than an hour. Those that followed their advice ended up waiting several hours to get on board. Entertainment: The singers and dance team on the ship are some of the best we've ever seen. The shows were a bit dated, but the performers were all very talented. Often we have seen performers that look fresh from a high school production. But that was not the case here. And the additional performers were also excellent. Food: We booked anytime dining but were very disappointed with the food in the main dining room. In fact, after a couple of nights we decided to eat our remaining dinners in the Windjammer Cafe. Honestly, the main courses and appetizers were bland and not very interesting. We never eat in the alternative restaurants as we've always enjoyed the food in main dining rooms. This cruise was the one exception. That being said, we did enjoy several breakfasts in the main dining room. Food in the Windjammer was very good and we felt the atmosphere at dinner time was much more relaxing and the same friendly crowd seemed to be there every night. There was a large group of Indians on the cruise, so one side of the buffet had some interesting Indian food offerings. I was disappointed in desserts overall on the cruise. The one time we saw a cheesecake selection, it was terrible. Hopefully, this will not be the case on our upcoming cruise on the Mariner. Cabin: We've cruised in balcony cabins, outside and inside cabins. Generally we book the cheapest cabin available which helps me justify cruising a little more often. We aren't in the cabin much, so we booked a large inside (#4465)on the Rhapsody. We were satisfied with the cabin until the sixth night. Apparently our cabin was adjacent to a galley or storage room. At 1:30 am someone began doing dishes, storing pots and pans or moving shelving. The noise was incredible and sounded like they were right in the cabin. After half an hour I called the front desk. They sent a security team to our room who verified the noise and they went to stop it. When it began again an hour later, I called the front desk again. Finally it stopped. After three nights of this, they moved us to another cabin. And while this fixed the problem, I was a little disappointed that they couldn't fix the real problem, but just escaped it by moving us. We feel sorry for the next people that get this cabin. I was amazed that the ship had a policy that allowed for such noisy work to take place in rooms adjacent to sleeping cabins. Itinerary: We enjoyed the five sea days and the ship seemed to have a lot of activities to keep passengers busy throughout the day. I enjoyed the morning lecture series and the afternoon series on the history of the areas visited. Excellent. Mind you, I'm happy with my book and a comfortable chair, but my wife did enjoy the activities. It was our first trip to Hawaii. And we loved it. Maui, Day 1 we rented a car and drove from Lahaina up the west coast to Kapalua. We stopped along the way at Ka'anapali Beach and several other beaches. We hiked to the Nakalele blow hole and sampled the famous banana bread in Kahakuloa. Great day. One tip: if you're going to rent a car, go with Hertz. Their office is right in Lahaina and is a short 15 minute walk from the pier. Day 2 we booked a snorkeling excursion with Hawaii Ocean Project. We snorkeled off the island of Lanai and then off a sunken pier near Lahaina. Not the best snorkeling we've experienced but the crew was friendly and the food was great. If your cruise stops in Lahaina, there are lots of kiosks offering low priced excursions. Unless you arrive at a busy time, you can get away with a last minute choice here. Hilo, Hawaii - here we booked the Waterfalls Spectacular excursion through the ship. We visited several waterfalls and were able to swim in one. Then finished with a great lunch. Weather was perfect. Kona, Hawaii - here we also booked through the ship a snorkel trip with Captain Zodiac. I would strongle recommend this group. Great fun and great value. Kauai - here we rented a car for the day and drove from Nawillwili to Waimea Canyon. A shuttle picked us up at the pier for a short drive to the airport and our car rental. Waimea Canyon is incredible and the weather again was perfect. We had no cloud cover even at altitude. Simply beautiful. When we got back to town that afternoon we had time to drive over to Wailua Falls. Oahu - we stayed an extra five days in Waikiki and thoroughly enjoyed the trip, including visits to Pearl Harbor, the Polynesian Cultural Center, North Shore and more. Great place, great time. Miscellaneous: Just wanted to make one mention regarding the captain of this ship. As stated earlier, we've cruised quite a bit, but we have never seen a ships captain as friendly and professional as this one. He had a great sense of humor, was very approachable and added a pleasant spirit to the cruise. Captain Hempstead is the best we've ever seen. Again, there were some bumps along the way in this cruise, but none that diminished our enjoyment. Would be happy to answer any questions. Read Less

Since we live in the greater Vancouver area, we did not require pre-cruise accommodation. With 3 ships embarking at the same time, 2 of which were RCI, getting on board was extremely slow and we were left sitting for over 2 hrs before our row of seats was finally called to enter the standing line to check-in. The ship finally left an hour late. The Rhapsody of the Seas is one of the older and smaller ships in the RCI fleet, in the 2nd to bottom group of Vision ships. Though the ship was refitted a few months ago with a huge facelift, little things still reminded you of its age and size. We ate Brkfst and lunch almost exclusively at the Windjammer Buffett. The food selection was good, not great. We had lunch one day at Izumi's, which was a nice change - the extra $ was worth it. I also had 1 Brkfst in the MDR which I enjoyed. Usually had a late afternoon wrap or salad at the Park Cafe to tie me over until our late dinner seating at 8:30 pm. I enjoyed my spa treatment of a foot massage & pedicure, and the price wasn't too bad. We did find the 5 days at sea got a bit long and other than swimming and/or drinking, there wasn't a whole lot to do. We partook in the daily trivia, bingo, poker tournament etc. Though it would have been nice to have non-tournament poker games going on. The $100 buy in tournament, only secured you a spot in the final tournament, so no winnings until the last day. Once we landed in Lahaina on day 7, the days flew by. Our large inside cabin, had a lot of storage space. We had to have the lock fixed on the washroom door, and we could hear things being moved around above us in the R-bar frequently. Read Less

It was as expected: do as much as or as little as you want. We embarked in Sydney and as we had travelled on Rhapsody before we were anxious to see the refit upgrades. The centrum sculpture has been removed and the aerial mechanics installed. Later we were to see the aerial acrobats and it was a fantastic show. We were in a balcony room and it was well appointed with kettle and tea making facilities, a fridge with soft drinks and unlike other hotels etc. the cost of the items in the fridge reflected the same price as that over the bar - $2.50 per can. We chose to make this a relaxing holiday and spend much of our mornings in the quiet Viking Crown Lounge reading or the likes, we'd make it to the Schooner bar for a pre lunch beverage and then decide what to do for the afternoon based on the list of activities. Sometimes watch a movie, maybe a nanny nap, maybe a swim or something else. Prior to dinner we enjoyed watching the sunset from the Viking Crown Lounge and after dinner, a show and /or head to the centrum or the bar or the casino. This is how we choose to cruise. We choose not to go to the restaurant for dinner, we always eat at the Windjammer for dinner and either the windjammer or the new Park Cafe for lunch. Great innovation for the cafe as those that want a smaller lunch can do so without being tempted with the other delights at the buffet. Downfalls: not many really. The Viking Crown Lounge has been invaded by a Japanese style restaurant, Isumis, which the smell and the music spoil the ambiance especially during quiet time. They have installed a platinum club in part of the same area which has reduces the general seating area and put in a few lounges in the rest of the area which has detracted from the previous single chairs facing the pool that made the area so attractive. Secondly, we were God Members of the Crown and Anchor Society and had a special line to embark. We were the first in line to get to the special queue and ended up waiting longer in that queue than the rest as our cards were not in the special line but a runner had to go to the other area with a list of names to get their seapass cards and return. This took much longer than queuing in the normal line - so much for privileges. All in all we had a great cruise and are looking forward to next years cruise on the Navigator of the Seas. Read Less

The Rhapsody was fresh out of refit in Singapore just before this 18 day cruise from Sydney, Australia to Honolulu, Hawaii. So the physical facility is the best this ship will ever likely get and is in some ways quite impressive. (My wife and I completed a 28 day cruise on the Dawn Princess a couple of hours before boarding Rhapsody at Sydney's Circular Quay, so I'm comparing an immediate memory of those two ships and our cruises on them.) As you read the following, keep in mind that by the time my wife and I boarded Rhapsody, after 28 days on Dawn, we were pretty much 'cruised out' already - so others on this same cruise might have much more pleasant memories of it. 1. Food: Food quality and selection and availability were vastly inferior to that on Dawn Princess, almost unacceptable. In the self-serve Windjammer buffet on Rhapsody I often saw wilted veggies and empty pans that had not yet been refilled, and many strange dishes with strange names that nobody seemed to want to try. Annoyingly, you had to find and pickup your own cloth napkin that wrapped, get this, only a knife and fork. If you had yogurt or any dish requiring a spoon you had to get up (and risk losing your table) and search for a spoon! The buffet was only open a few hours a day and was often overcrowded, requiring a walkabout to find an empty seat. Dare leave your table to get a drink or dessert, or seconds, and you might return to find it had been cleared and was now occupied by someone else. Sit down dining was crowded but the food was better (though nowhere near that on Dawn Princess) and the service was excellent. "24 hour self-serve ice-cream" was very tasty but turned out to not be available until 11 a.m. and closed at an early evening hour - and was often out of cones or ice-cream - very poorly serviced. 2. Service: The first few days, the hotel crew seemed to be untrained, unfriendly, and not knowing what they were doing, especially in the buffet. And maybe that was true, the ship was on its first cruise after a refit and maybe most crew joined up in Sydney? We saw a remarkable improvement in the buffet service as the days progressed, they even got around to bringing us drinks and welcoming and thanked us as we entered and left the buffet. (But the food itself didn't get much better.) Our stateroom steward had worked for another line before and was friendly but just average in taking care of our room. Dining room service was absolutely great, very fast, very friendly, a bit intrusive. 3. Staterooms: We had a balcony on Dawn Princess but took a "superior interior" room on the 8th deck on Rhapsody for economy. It was a nice sized room but there was always a hum as if a diesel engine was running nearby. (We told ourselves we'd ignore it - needed that attitude...) The bed and pillows were not very comfortable but acceptable. But get this: Royal Caribbean did not even provide shampoo or conditioner or body lotion, just a dispenser of liquid soap in the shower and a small bar of soap at the sink that was rarely replaced. 4. Programs and entertainment: Some not very good, but a beautiful theater. 5. Excursions: horribly expensive, very poor value. 6. There are NO self-serve washers, dryers, or irons on this ship! You can stuff a small plastic bag with dirty clothes pay $15 a bag and some 36 or so hours later get the clothes back clean but thoroughly wrinkled. This was the most common complaint we heard from fellow passengers - the lack of self-serve laundry. 7. Tip: Do NOT book an airport transfer with Royal Caribbean! We booked on the ship, thinking they'd handle our checked luggage, and were charged $25 each to be transferred from the Channel Street dock in Honolulu to the airport. I asked why we didn't get tickets or vouchers and was told that the number and color of the debarking tags on our luggage was proof that we had paid and we'd be found by the driver. But getting off the ship was absolute chaos once we'd left the ship itself! There were no reps from Royal Caribbean to help outside and mobs of people trying to find where to go. We had to handle all our luggage, even that we'd checked, and had to look for the transfer vehicle ourselves, shoving our way through crowds. It took me about 40 minutes to finally luck out and find the right bus by asking the right person. We (dangerously) had to walk behind a long line of idling buses because of the crowds to get our luggage to that bus. And there, we had to surrender our stateroom key or the only copy of our ship expenditures printout to the suspicious driver who paid no attention to luggage tags. And we found out that local vans were transferring to the airport for only seven dollars per person, instead of the $25 each Royal Caribbean had gouged from us and just took our money and 'ran'! So, our first cruise on Royal Caribbean, and most likely our last, unless we get lured into trying one of their megaships. Hope you have a better experience on Rhapsody of the Seas than we did... Read Less

I would like to start off by saying Thank You to Royal Caribbean for adding to our wonderful wedding/honeymoon. We truly enjoyed our trip as a whole, and you helped make it memorable. Now... on with the review. After getting engaged February, a year earlier (2011), we've decided to go to Hawaii for our wedding. And, for our honeymoon, a cruise of sorts. For me, this was my 2nd cruise, so most of my review, I have something to compare it to. My last cruise was with Costa Cruise lines, on the Magica. After speaking with friends, many recommended RCCL, and reading some reviews, I've learned that it was one of the best cruise lines out there. We looked at various options, some of which were cruises leaving Vancouver, San Diego or Los Angeles, all of which meant we'd be on the seas for 8-10 days, with limited time in Hawaii itself. So we started looking at relocation cruises, and there were two options available at the time we were looking at and coincidentally, both were Royal Caribbean. I guess relocation cruises are more expensive than standard, but that was the price to pay for a far away vacation. The two ship available were the Radiance of the Seas and Rhapsody of the Seas. Radiance, which was a larger class ship, had 1 extra night on its agenda, but that extra night cost $500 per person, so we chose the 11 night Rhapsody cruise instead. A couple of uncontrollable facts to start off with. First off, this cruise takes place at the end of April, in the Pacific. Although, this makes weather and temperature comfortable in Hawaii itself, it does get cold by the 2nd/3rd day at sea towards Vancouver. Also, because it's slightly more expensive and it takes place in April, most college and kids are still in school (or have just finished and started working), so I'd say 65% of the passengers were 65 or older, which makes it for a very elderly/senior cruise. Great if you want peace and quiet, but as my review will point out, it does have its downside. Also, coincidentally, May 2012 had a super moon, which meant the tides were about 15% higher than normal... that may or may not have any effect, but because the ship is a smaller class ship, and the Pacific has big waves, it was a rocky ride the days at seas. Many people got sick on the ship, so if you easily succumb to seasickness, consider a larger ship. 1) Price. As I mentioned earlier, it is a relocation cruise, so, it typically has a higher price point. A year earlier, end of February, when we checked the prices, we felt it was reasonable. By May, a year earlier, when we finally booked, we found the prices were all about 25% higher for the following year. This might be a rookie mistake, by booking early, but we wanted a guaranteed room for our trip. What we found was, that after our final payment was made some 60 days before the trip (due date), prices dropped. What made me notice available space was the fact that family of ours got upgraded from Balcony to Suite for free after the fact (because they were seniors, whereas we were not), along with friends of family who booked after the 60 days / last minute, and got a suite at a cheaper price than all of us. For future cruises, we will book only 60 days from the cruise itself to get the best deals possible. And we may consider dealing directly with the cruiseline, instead of an agent. The price didn't include alcohol... which is no surprise. It also did not include freshly squeezed juices or soda pop. Although other juices were available, (which was fantastic by the way), I was told by friends that the pop was diluted and eventually not worth it. They had to pay extra to get canned pop, on top of what they already paid for fountain pop. Finally, it's a smaller ship. I'd understand if the ship was a larger class ship with tons of amenities, but it was a smaller ship, so price was a little high for this. Maybe it was the fact that there are limited relocation cruises from Hawaii. 3 out of 5. 2) Service. Good service all-round. Our stateroom attendant, was funny, charming and friendly. Same could be said with the Waiting staff at all restaurants. Professional and courteous. For many, (because it's a relocation), they've been at sea anywhere from 2 to 8 months (we were told) and the fact they still had a smile on their face, shows determination to offer great service. Only on a couple occasions where we found some surprises. For example, on our 2nd day at sea, we noticed one of the chairs in one of the lounges to be broken. We immediately pointed it out, and the first response we got was, "oh... sit there instead." It took 3 different attendants to have someone take the chair and put it aside. But what made it worse, is that on our last day at sea... I found the exact same chair, in the same lounge ... still broken. In general however, service was great, and for that I give it 4.5 out of 5. 3) Pool. One key point I really enjoyed was the fact that the pools were open late. On the Costa Magica, both pools and jacuzzi were closed at 8pm, and if you're like me, and after the 9pm Theatre Show, you want to head out to the pool and relax before going to bed, the fact the pools were open until midnight was amazing. Look up at the stars, and enjoy. Their stateroom documents pointed out that "certain pools" were open 24hrs... which really meant that the jacuzzis closed at midnight while the pools themselves stayed open, at your own risk of course. There were two pools on the ship. One outdoor, one indoor. By day 3 at sea, it was almost unbearable swimming outside, let alone sit outside. So having an interior pool was great. However, one big no-no. As I said earlier, it's an older clientele, so one of the rules was, while in warm climate, no kids were allowed in the indoor pool. But once in colder climates, kids were allowed in the pool between Noon & 2pm and again between 4pm & 6pm. I counted, at the most 30 kids under the age of 18 on this ship, one of which was a 5 year old girl who loved swimming, from friends of ours. 2 days before hitting Vancouver, the little girl was enjoying her swim, alone, in the indoor pool, where at 2pm, an attendant, dressed in a Parka, kicked her out of the pool and was told to swim outside. I understand rules are rules, but this one didn't make sense to me. Once in a colder climate, anyone should be allowed in the indoor pool, especially when no one else is swimming. Towel service was outside on the deck by the pool. Opened between 7am and 10pm. First off, it should be open as late as the pools. That said, I felt bad for the attendant who had to sit out there, during 12c temperature with 40 mph winds. I understand the logic behind it, but the smarter thing would be, make towels available in the staterooms, and if some go missing, then charge the stateroom, as per usual. By day 7, no one was on the pool deck as it was too cold, so why have the towel service there? Pool amenities, I give a 4 out 5. 4) Stateroom. Real simple. It was clean, large, and well decorated. You could tell that it was recently upgraded. Couldn't have asked for better. 5 out of 5. 5) Food quality. There was the Main Dining room, Windjammer (buffet lounge), Park Cafe and 3 pay-per-use fancy restaurants. Main Dining Room's food, we only used for dinner time 4 times. We were told lunch and breakfast were delicious. But for us, the dinner was the only time we used it, and it was very good. Three course meal, with fairly good options. The quality was great. It still fascinates me the quantity and turn around the chefs produce at dinner time. For a first time cruiser, I would think they wouldn't know the alternatives. As a 2nd time cruiser, I found that Costa had more choices, or ... 'higher grades' of food. For example, Rhapsody had only 1 lobster night... where as I've seen lobster served more frequently on the other. Filet mignon once. Only a 3 course meal, where I've seen 5 course meals on the other ship. I'm simply being picky at this point because the food was fantastic, but I can see where some people would give it a negative review. Main Dining Food quality: 4 out of 5. Windjammer Food quality... well... it's buffet. At dinner time, they had some of the Main Dining food available with added bonus. They always had pasta, but the sauces were watered down. They had great salads. And a good variety of desserts. But the quality at Windjammer was hit and miss. Every other day, it felt like dinner was good/bad. One day, Chicken Cordon Blue, the next day, Tacos. Didn't feel consistent. What we ended up doing for dinner was dropping by Windjammer first to see if what the quality was like... if we liked it, we stayed. If we didn't, we went over to the Main Dining (since we had My Time, but that's for later down below). Lunches were standard too... pasta, chicken, sandwiches, hot dogs, burger and pizza. No complaints on the lunches. And definitely no complaints for breakfast. Plenty of fruits, eggs, pancakes, bacon galore, etc... Windjammer quality: 3.5 out of 5. Park Cafe is simply a cafe that served sandwiches and desserts. Not much needs to be said. The other 3 restaurants were Japanese, Italian and Grill, with $15, $20 and $30 cover (respectively). The Japanese you also had a la carte prices. Italian didn't include gratuity. Like other specialty restaurants, these were also above and beyond great. Quality, quantity, and service was all above par. You don't have to use these, but they are there for your enjoyment. We tried the Japanese and Italian. They were fantastic.. no ifs or buts. However you pay extra. And because of the additional fee, I've knocked down a point and give them 4 out of 5. 6) My Time dining. Beware!!!! First, if you use My Time then you have to prepay gratuity. No problem, if fact, it made things easier, didn't need to do math at the end of our cruise. It begs though, why not include gratuity in the cruise price? I guess because you'd get sub-par service???? I don't know, I think it's becoming a little ridiculous. Regardless, the advantage of using My Time is that you're not typically set to the ships' dining schedule... at 6 and 8. You're supposed to have the freedom to choose whatever time you want to eat at. But what we found was that, they take reservations. It's not first come first serve. After speaking with others on the ship, we found that most of the Senior citizens made reservations as far back as last JULY. That's right. They all booked their dinner reservations between 5:30 and 7. So you could never get into the dining room until after 7 and in most cases, after 7:30. I'm guessing those people didn't want to be assigned dinner at 8, so they took My Time and forced a 6pm dinner. That was definitely annoying and was a big reason why we dined at Windjammer and the two Specialty restaurants '½ the time. What makes it worse is that, the "prepaid gratuity" no longer goes to those who served us at Windjammer or the Specialty restaurants. So our Dining Room Waiters received full gratuity amounts, even though they only served us less than half the time. I'd advise anyone to avoid My Time, on this ship (as we were told there are better My Times out there) and use your gratuity accordingly. My Time review 2.5 out of 5 7) Food Availability. This, along with My Time, are my two least favourite features of this cruise. Their food availability didn't make much sense to me. For 6 days, we were at port, and if you're adventurous, it means you were out and about during the day. You had to be back on the ship by 4pm. Main Dining was open for breakfast 7 to 9:30 (not so great for those who sleep in), noon to 2 for lunch, and 5:30 to 9:30 for dinner. Windjammer opened at 6:30 with cold foods and 7am warm foods were available. They had a nice over-lap system at 11:00 where '½ the bar became lunch. Lunch was served from 11:30 to 3. To 3pm. Windjammer didn't open up again until 6:30pm. The only thing available from 3 to 6:30 (5:30 if you're one of those Senior Citizens My Time Diners) was Park Cafe which offered a couple sandwich selections, pasta salads and cakes. This was a bit disappointing. Especially after being out and about all day, back on ship at 4, and have very little available for you to eat, with Main Dining seating at 7:30. That did not make sense. To make matters worse, lets say you did have a meal at 7 or 7:30, but wanted to make the 9pm Theatre Show. After that, you want to go to the jacuzzi and relax with a snack. Unfortunately for you, there is nothing open between 9:30 and 11pm. You cannot get a meal anywhere between those times. You might think, it's only an hour and half. Sure, but once Park Cafe opens at 11pm, the only thing they're servicing is Nachos, Calzones and Cheese Pizza. This definitely surprised me. Room service was available until midnight for free (a $4 fee between midnight and 5am), but their menu choices were limited to Spinach Dip, Veggies, Cheeze/Pepperoni Pizza, chicken finger like food and another option I can't remember, delivered only to the room. I guess things could be worse, and maybe I'm being picky, but I thought, like all-inclusives offer, that food would be available almost always. For this, I will give 2.5 out of 5. 8) Entertainment. First off, Casey the cruise director was fantastic. And his staff even better. Cheerful, funny, entertaining. Couldn't ask for a better crew of entertainers. The cruise performers were college graduates/students and worked very hard during their performances. But felt little to no attachment to them compared to Costa. What would have been nice to see was those performers helping out with other activities, poolside, lounges, or even Embarkation. The activities on-board were good. Lots of trivia, lectures, arts & crafts. Some paying, some free. Poolside ban was repetitive, playing 50's rock and Calypso, on a daily cycle. The cruise show band however were extremely talented and were definitely not used/seen enough. As for shows, it felt like they were geared more towards the older crowd. And by older crowd, again, 65 and over. In some ways, I felt bad for the middle aged group, who are young enough to appreciate and enjoy youthful shows and activities (which seemed available after 11:30pm) but were stuck with Barry Manilow, (he's good an all, but only at bedtime). Entertainment is subjective... so... for that I'm giving them 4 out of 5. Other notes: no self-serve laundry. I was stuck using their $25 bag for laundry, and 3 of my shirts got ruined with some sort of ink spots. Embarkation wasn't bad, but debarkation took forever, mostly cause of Canadian Customs. Vancouver port had two ships arriving at the same time that day. (Both RCCL) All in all, my general experience was good. I would give 3.5, but since I must give round numbers, I'm passing it along as a 4. Read Less

This was our 14th cruise and it was for us to celebrate our 57th wedding anniversary. We have experienced cruising on 7 different cruise lines, some as small as 500 passengers and on some as large as 3,000+ passengers. This was our 3rd different RCCL ship, and we have never been disappointed with RCCL. The ship was exceptionally clean, not a day passed that we didn't see multiple crew members cleaning bannisters, windows, floors, etc. Without a doubt, the crew on the Rhapsody of the Seas, overall, was the the most friendly and courteous that we had ever experienced. Being retired from an executive position at Walt Disney World I am very qualified to access guest relations, and this crew would have passed approval at Disney. The entertainment was varied to appeal to all desired tastes and was indeed entertaining. We always prefer having our dinners in the Main Dining Room, after all, this is one of the special features in cruising. Our waiter and his assistant, both from China, were the best we have ever experienced. After our 1st night of dining and selecting particular beverages and breads, we found those same items already awaiting us each night when we arrived at our sittings at the table. Our ports were all enjoyable and interesting. Debarkation in Honolulu was exceptionally quick and easy. The only slightly inconvenience that we experienced were delays in tendering, using the ships boats, several times. The Captains updates each noon were delightful, very informative, friendly, and we could even understand what he was saying, clean English. I am right now working on arranging for us to later in 2012 to take a Panama Canal Cruise on a RCCL ship. Read Less

Sailing from Sydney is always a beautiful time, the lights are so nice. We headed to Lautoka Fiji and after days we were looking forward to getting off, unfortunately I did not book any tours as we had been there before, mistake Lautoka is a filthy dirty city. The bus drops you at Jacks Duty Free store and that's the only place you should go buy your stuff and get back on the bus to the ship. Those that went on tours said they were well worth it and seen the beautiful side of Fiji.Sailing on to Raiatea French Polynesia - WOW WOW WOW the Captain told us all to be on deck to witness the breathtaking scenery when we made our way around the islands, it was truly spectacular. Unfortunately it was so chaotic at the port to try and book tours and to hire a car was impossible. Even those who pre booked missed their tours because the guides did not wait for them. We managed a snorkeling trip which was great.Off to Bora Bora - and this place is heaven on earth, people wonderful, water indescribably beautiful, tours great - we did a swim with the sharks and stingrays and well worth it. Back from that we headed of on a tour of the island which only takes about 1.5 hours and Annie and her husband were wonderful guides. You have to see this beautiful place to believe it.Off to Papeete - meet by the Tahitian dances on the wharf it was lovely, walked around to find a hire car place but gave that a miss as the driving was crazy. Hired a taxi with the driver Dianna to take us around the island as son wanted to go to Teahupoo - where the world surfing is held once a year - well worth it, 5 and a half hours later returned to the ship. Papeete is a dirty, disgusting island the Tahitians seem to live in poverty whilst the French live very well off.Moorea - French Polynesia next beautiful as Bora Bora again decided to swim with sharks and stingrays and enjoyed the experience again. Then off for a BBQ lunch on an island. This was like swimming in an aquarium so beautiful. Passed on the chicken for lunch just had the rice and bread roll, those that ate the chicken all seemed to end up sick over the next day or two. Lots of cats hanging around your feet on the island and dogs. The staff for this tour washing the dirty bowls etc in the ocean and then served up the next lot of food.?????Off to Honolulu and our final place, love Hawaii this was my 8th time and it is still great, and wonderful shopping.Overall the ship spectacular, the staff went above and beyond what was expected of them. Food fabulous, show amazing, casino great, bingo fantastic won $780 on the second day. Seas perfect, weather perfect Captain mentioned that this was the most perfect cruise he has ever had, perfect weather and perfect seas.Our Head Waiter Roel was just fantastic and his Assistant Waiter Florencio was always so attentive.I had previously read reviews from previous passengers who commented on alot of things about this ship, but they need to get their heads out of the rear end because the decor, the stateroom, the furnishing, the shows, the food, the staff, the activities were ALL FANTASTIC. The kids loved the teen lounge, we only seen them if they turned up for our time dining in the Edelweiss Room they met so many new friends and loved every day of the cruise.We all cried when we had to get off. Best holiday a family could ever ask for. Read Less

This cruise was a first for me on RCCL. Great ship, with great service. The ports were amazing. The food on the ship was not outstanding but palatable.Thanks to the Cruise Director Bobby Brown for great shows at sea.The performances of the comedian, Kelly Monteith, the Puppet Man, Mark Merchand, and the guitar wiz Mario were outstanding.Those entertainers were so accessible and nice to see a group of Aussies and Americans having a blast!This is my first time to post to Cruise Critic, so not going to take time to fill out everything.The experience was great and lots of fun.Nuff Said! Read Less

This was another great cruise, but it ought to be said we have never had a bad one. The itinerary was good, the ship was in good shape, the weather was beautiful and the food was plentiful, fresh and well-prepared - for the most part*. We spent three days on the Big Island prior to flying to Honolulu for the cruise. Embarkation seemed a bit awkward - more so than others we have experienced, but not too bad. A note here regarding photos, while it seemed prices have dropped a bit which is a good thing, it also was apparent to us the photographers did not take the time to pose the photos so none of our pictures turned out good enough for us to want to purchase. Every photo they took was done in such a rush and it was obvious in the finished product. The one time we stood for a formal set of shots, the photographer - against our advice - posed us in ways we knew would not be 'natural' looking, and so we didn't like those either. Photographers, if you are reading this, spend a minute or two more with your subjects, give them general guidelines of what you are trying to achieve, listen to what they want, and you will sell more photos.Now, I have already said good things about the food*, but it didn't appear at first that we were going to be happy with the Windjammer. The first day, we arrived about 3 or 3:30 p.m. and went to have lunch there, but found the food to be dry, flavorless and in short supply. This was our experience for both of our first two meals there - that we arrived between lunch and dinner time and that we found the food less than satisfactory. We were pleasantly surprised to find a huge improvement with subsequent meals. We decided our initial experience had been due to our bad timing.We have found overall, since our first cruise 10 years ago, the experience has gone downhill somewhat. We have cruised six different cruise lines and see this as pretty consistent across the industry. That is not to say it was bad, just not what it was when we started cruising. We also see that if anything, prices have gone down in that time, so what has been lost in quality has been made up for in price, allowing more of us to cruise more often...The crew on Rhapsody was wonderful. Every crew member we encountered was very helpful and friendly and willing to give excellent service. This is not one of the areas I was referring to in the preceding paragraph. Our cabin and the whole ship was kept spotless and beautiful - thank you Putra. The Captain was very available and we encountered him several times during our cruise.I was concerned about the sea days - five towards the end of the cruise, but there were several Explorer Academy offerings - lectures and craft classes, cooking and demos, so we found there was plenty to do each day. On the last few days, the weather turned quite chilly and the solarium was the place to be. We did find a few chair hogs there who thought they needed to save their chairs for hours while they were off doing other things, but even that seemed to be kept to a minimum.We had the main seating for dinner and sat at a table for ten. We enjoy this part of cruising - meeting and getting to know new people, however, an oval table for ten is too many in my opinion. One of the couples only showed up twice for dinner, leaving an awkward spacing, with whoever was seated at the end being left out. It was much too noisy for easy flow of conversation in this arrangement. The food, again was good, but lobster was served only once, there were only two formal nights and we saw an obvious lack of beef entrees. I was surprised to find pizza (wild mushrooms and goat cheese) and calzone offered. There were a lot more vegetarian offerings. Service was excellent - thank you, Antonio and Olena! Read Less

We just completed a 12-night sailing on the Rhapsody of the Seas and I had checked out several reviews on here prior to sailing as we were a little apprehensive to take a smaller, older ship after having sailed many times on the Radiance and the Serenade, but the Rhapsody was the only ship doing the itinerary we wanted at this time of year. All doubts were quelled the moment we stepped onto this ship! She was refitted in 2007 and looks like she was just launched! Our cabin was immaculate and undoubtedly had the best beds we have ever had! Thick mattress with a pillowtop! Much better than the Rhapsody and Serenade beds. The only downside on this ship were the tiny tvs in the cabin, but not a big deal as we rarely watched it. The Centrum area was by far better than the Radiance class of ships - more open with more multi-levels, allowing for more ease of traffic. The casino had a greater selection of machines than other ships and was totally smoke-free (Yay!) and the shops were much better laid out. The food was outstanding and once again, the service impeccable. In fact, in 23 cruises I don't think we have ever had better dining room service. If you have the opportunity to have Orlando and Felizio as your waiter and assistant waiter, then you are in for a treat! We are off on the Mariner of the Seas next month, but it's going to be hard to top the service we just received. I would highly recommend the Rhapsody to anyone! Read Less

We had been researching this Cruise for over twelve months with regular dialogue with all the great people on the Cruise critic Site. My wife and I were cruising with her sister and brother in law. It was our second cruise together having been on the almost last cruise of Pacific Sky up in Asia. We chose to arrive in Sydney the night before and stayed in a little hotel in the Rocks. Great location as long as you don't mind dragging enough luggage for 21 days, up a narrow stair way. No Lifts you see. The location meant we could go down to the terminal early to get a feel for the ship. The baggage handlers were quite willing to accept our bags well before the advertised embarkation times so we took advantage of that. We were able to go through the embarkation process relatively smoothly being toward the front of the line, but I think those arriving later would have had a longer wait. Access to our cabins was not available till after lunch so we had our first experience with the Windjammer. As most passengers on board were new things didn't flow quite as smoothly as they did latter on, had the occasional lunch here and less frequent breakfast - found the more organised dinning room less effort. Who want's to get their own food when someone will do it for you. Cabin was aft on Deck 3. Bit of a walk to the dinning room but saved us from having to do extra laps to compensate for the meals. The service from our cabin attendant was excellent; she couldn't do enough for us. Only problems with the cabin - toilet system backed up morning of day 3 - 1st call to maintenance resulted in the toilet being cleaned but still didn't flush. 2nd call latter in the day, again toilet cleaned promptly but still didn't flush. 3rd call at 11pm finally got everything resolved. While it would have been better to have the whole problem rectified after the first call, we didn't have any further problems with it the entire cruise nor did it unduly inconvenience us. We did hear the occasional bang or crash from the kitchen on deck 4 above us, but not enough to interrupt a good night's sleep. Our Travel Agent had picked MyTime Dinning for us, which meant for us dinner was in the upstairs dinning section (deck 5) and gratuities were all prepaid. First experience with trying to book a 7.00pm sitting on the first night wasn't good. We arrived just before 7.00 to be told there would be a 45 minute wait. ("My Time" Dinning suddenly became" TheirTime" Dinning. I was persuaded by the Head Waiter to give it another try before we moved to set time dinning (it was also suggested to book either an earlier or latter time) We booked an earlier time the next night and everything flowed very smoothly. Apart from one night (Laihana), we generally booked between 6.00 and 6.30 and had the same table and waiters for the entire cruise which was great. They quickly got to know what we wanted and were always very accommodating. Both couples had purchased a Wine package (platinum- differing number of bottles) and that worked out well (wine mark-up was 150% compared to retail prices) , but with us all having different tastes we often had four bottles on the go at once. If we didn't finish them they were put o bed in the wine locker ready for the next night. (Didn't arrange to get any sent to the cabin but I believe that is an option too). Bought a second small package towards the end after the first one ran out). Whether the package represents value for money will depend on your wine choices within the package helps to know the individual bottle prices. From other reviews I've read of fellow CC travellers, I'd have to say the upstairs kitchen on deck 5 performs better than the larger kitchen for the main dinning room. Hot Food was always hot (being early sittings we always got the choices we wanted) Service was prompt. The Filet Mignon which I had twice was excellent on both occasions. All staff upstairs were very attentive. The range of choices suited me down to the ground (although whoever said Australian won't eat lobster that's why it wasn't on the menu really needs t do more research). Notable omission The guest entertainment was a mixed bag, and we attended about 80% of the shows only a couple of acts didn't really do it for us. But may be we weren't the right demographic as others did enjoy them. The Production numbers were all well staged, well sung, well danced but I felt the audience were superfluous to the performance. The way in which the productions are put together didn't really lend itself to audience "engagement". There was no real dialogue with the audience in my opinion although the production values were high. Pick of the entertainment for us was Anselmo Boles in the Schooner Bar, got the whole place jumping and really knows how to work a room. The guest lecture series on Hollywood Murders was fascinating (if you like that sort of thing) - I did my wife didn't - but there was always plenty of activities if one didn't suit. The ship organised two services for Anzac day, a dawn service and a memorial service which was very moving. It might have had something to do with the domination of Australians on board but it was very much appreciated. Many of the crew asked about the significance of the day and were very respectful The Ports - Papeete - Dead on a Sunday - most things were shut including the Market- we should have gone on an organised tour of some sort - (pity we couldn't have gone slower and arrived on a Monday) Moorea - Private tour with Moorea ATV - brilliant fun for a small group they have 5 ATV's for hire (each holds two people - automatics - and the terrain while spectacular isn't too rough for the inexperienced - 3 hours very well spent. With great photo's Bora Bora - Private tour with Patrick - brilliant for a large group of 36. Swimming with Stingrays, sharks, fantastic lunch of BBQ Crayfish, Suckling Pig, Chicken, Beef and local vegetable with French wine on a private motu. Then a trip round Bora Bora by motorised outrigger A highlight of the entire cruise. (Thanks Lynn for allowing us to join) (Thanks also to the Cruise Director for helping us tender off as a group even though these were private tours - asking at a CC Mix and Mingle with 75 fellow CC members helps) Raiatea - walked around town but we should have tried harder to find something more organised. Maui - Booked a Hire Car and travelled to top of Haleakala - Spectacular views from well above the clouds. We would have loved to spend more time in Laihana too. Honolulu - great place to spend a week (another three or four would have been better) Memorable and moving experience at the Hale Koa Luau too (Thanks for the invite Dennis) In Summary - Would we do it again - Yes - with Rhapsody of the Seas - Yes. Were there things that could have been better Yes, just not enough in our experience to detract from the overall package. Best advice is to us e the roll call forum - it's a great source of information and knowledge and you communicate with great people for all over the globe, then you finally get to meet which enhances the cruising experience even more. Read Less

So, after having enjoyed a lovely cruise on Rhapsody in October 2008, we decided to rebook and set sail for Hawaii via Tahiti, sailing out of Sydney on 12 April 2010. Check in was busy but smooth, cabin was on deck 2. We spent quite some time studying deck layout to find a cabin which would offer us quietness and be close to amenities. Cabin 2587 had only one next door neighbour and was adjacent to the glass elevators - perfect we thought. Unpacked, met our cabin steward then set off to wave goodbye to Sydney as we set off on our 16 night wonderful cruise. WRONG Into cabin 2587 at around 8pm to change for dinner... 'what is that clanging noise?' we wondered...Back to cabin at 11pm after meeting our new dining companions... then from that time to 2.30am on the morning of Day 4 we wondered 'what is that clanging noise?' every 8 minutes or so! Yes, every 8 to 10 minutes, 24 hours a day, there was a lound series of clanging, metal banging on metal sounds which lasted up to 10 times... this made sleep impossible, both during the night and during the day... We were turning into sleep deprived zombies. So off to the Pursers' Desk on Day 2 to seek assistance.. hah! Purser 1's response: you will have to keep coming back to report it every time you hear it. I was incredulous... it is happening all the time, it is happening now. Oh.. I will send someone up to have a look. So we waited and waited but finally gave up, the clanging was driving us mad, and went up on deck. Came back to change for dinner, the steward tells us that someone came down to listen. And so? the upshot? Nothing Day 3: Another night of going crazy... down to Pursers Desk again. Purser 2's reply: see Purser 1's reply above.. (and for good measure we found out she did not even enter the complaint. What about an emergency room? I ask. What about the room where the winner of the Bingo upgrade must have left? Her reply: I don't know anything about that Bingo winner, and the emergency room is for emergencies only. I would think that a man suffering a chronic illness who had no sleep for 50+ hours would be considered a risk...! An hour later and I am getting madder and madder thinking about the whole situation.. my husband who has a chronic health issue, cannot put up with 14 more nights of no sleep with no chance of afternoon naps either. So I go back and explain this to Purser 3, who genuinely seems to take an interest. But... nothing done again by the time we drag our sleep deprived selves into the cabin again. So, at 2:30am my husband goes down and says 'please do something' to Purser 4. He sends up 2 security guards, they listen, then go away, then at around 3am we get a call from Purser 3 - you can go into cabin 3087. So we move all our stuff up ourselves and finally get into bed at around 4am. We were allocated the so called Emergency Room, cabin 3087. And what surprises were in store for us in that cabin! 1) no sleep till midnight each night as it is directly under the band/speaker area of the Champagne Bar on deck 4 2) Broken cabinet hinges 3) Broken light switch 4) Scuff marks on the walls And to top it off... large blood stains on the mattress protector, and other unidentified stains... So... overall we had a horrible cruise on a ship which has deteriorated in staff service, and housekeeping has fallen far short since our last trip in October 2008. As regards another review, whoever told the reviewer that Australians don't eat lobster was a fool.. many of us love lobster and while it is best fresh, we are fine with eating it from frozen too.. that is a total fabrication. Windjammer: food available was abundant, but some of the chairs are badly stained, carpet is dingy and a couple of times when I unrolled my serviette it was stained, and there was food on knives. Service there was great from some, poor from others. For example: we had three plates on our table, two we had finished with, one with meat we were about to eat... waiter asks "You finished?" My husband replies "yes, with these two but not this one" pointing to the meat filled plate. Waiter leans over as we turn our heads to talk to each other and picks up and walks away with all three plates! A young waiter stands at the entrance of the Windjammer saying 'hallo, hallo'. I enter straight from the restroom where I have washed my hands so walk past. "come back" he calls out, 'and clean your hands." I remonstrate and tell him I have just been to the restroom. "you must clean your hands" he calls out loudly to me. Then another man walks past.. "You must come back and clean your hands" calls out the waiter. "It is good for your hands. You must come and do it. It is dirty if you don't". This young man needs a lesson in how to talk to customers. Dining Room: Our head waiter was often not concentrating and on our table of 10 most nights either our starter or main courses were served to the wrong person Solarium Cafe: Eat there as a last resort. Food is not fresh at all, cakes and biscuits, cheeses, salad greens etc are laid out in the open in an area which is as stifling as a sauna. By the end of the evening, cheese slices are curling at the ends and brownies are dried out. Staff in there are not at all interested in serving, more interested in chatting among themselves and not listening to what you order. For example: my husband ordered a hamburger. 'You want fries with that?" the young disinterested man drawled. No thanks, my husband replied But the guy wasn't listening at all, too busy talking about his uncle's car dealership, and busy dishing fries up onto my husband's plate! Deckchairs are numerous but on deck 5 in particular there are a lot with peeling plastic. And unfortunately, we were in the same cycle of entertainers/shows, so we sat through shows we had seen only 18 months previously. We were unaware of this at the time of booking. Overall the ship gives the impression of a 2.5 - 3 star ship now, a far cry from 18 months ago. While the public areas such as the Centrum, the shopping arcade, the Library and the stair rails are all gleaming and glistening, corridors, some cabins and outside areas are not. We were very disappointed in the ship, particularly in comparison to only 18 months ago, and will not cruise on it again. Having said that, the large number of Germans aboard seemed to be having a wonderful time, monopolising most of the deck chairs around both pools from early morning, and many Australians, particularly those whose children were being happily entertained in the kids' areas, were also enjoying themselves. I am glad we have enjoyed our two previous cruises and have good memories from those, as if this had been our first cruise, it would have been our last. We will not chance cruising with Royal Caribbean again. Read Less