Choose this cruise to experience Greece and its food, drink and culture. The good is that Princess did an awesome job on embarkment (no wait) and disembarkment. Excursion organization and cleanliness, and great staff. It couldn’t have been any better. I rated 4 stars because I wouldn’t take this cruise again. It was boring. Entertainment was for older people ( we were a party of 8 in our late 50s and early 60s). Pool parties and piano bar weren’t what we had on other cruise lines. After dinner we struggled to find things to do. We were looking for dancing or comedy. There was one great band with a woman singer that we found 2 nights and that was the entertainment highlight. We had people in our party fall asleep and leave during auditorium shows. We did trivia a few times and that was fun. Food and drink were awesome. Service was exemplary. Shore excursions ... mostly good, organized, good guides and clean bus on all with no waits. Crete we did a beach excursion and when we got there there weren’t enough lounge chairs for our party to be together, stained cushions on loungers and you couldn’t swim cause of the rocks .. not what we expected. Now Corfus excursion was awesome town and cooking class. Highlight of the trip. We booked wanting to see white beaches and bluest water with the white buildings and saw none:(. Too windy to go to Mykonos (which we booked for) and princess did nothing for us that day ie, free drinks, more entertainment so that felt like a wasted day. One more thing, we were on a Greek cruise and the nightly dining had no Italian or Greek food or appetizers. Would highly recommend they change this to have 2 or 3 options for the area every night. Also the wine and beer of that region would be a plus. Would recommend this cruise for older people. Read Less

Moderate to smaller ship and that was a positive. Rome as embark Location and itinerary were reasons for our selection and price seemed fair. Reputation of Holland America was good per friends but cruise turned out to be boring. AARP had written a favorable review about this particular cruise. Excursions were good, car rentals on two occasions went smoothly but onboard no beverages beyond tea and lemonade and water - so this got very old. Corking fee if you brought back wine or beer. No WiFi either. We ended up paying so we could post pics and updates with family. Ship was dated in its decor but very clean. Just wasn’t thrilled with anything onboard. Majority of cruisers were over fifty with little diversity. In the future I would seek more educational and hands on programs onboard. That came only on the excursions which are add ons and not Holland America run. Most had similar backgrounds and truthfully a more broad range of travelers would have made the cruise better. Maybe two children onboard. Will try another cruise line. Read Less

Holland America’s greatest flaw is not providing enough accurate information. This is not a new problem. We have observed this on all our HAL cruises. Celebrity does a much better job. There are so many ways that the information services could be improved. For example: •Put the port talks on the TV like you used to. We can’t always attend in person. •If you list port information on the TV, give real information and not just photos. And show all the ports, not just a few. •If an excursion is only for back-to-back cruisers, say so in the description. Don’t make me go to the desk and stand in line to find that out. •The maps in the brochure and the interactive maps didn’t always agree! Good grief. •There should be a way to hear the announcements in the room. It is very hard to hear them otherwise. We have to run to the door and open it when we think we hear an announcement, and we often miss it. Other cruise lines have a switch with an option to hear in the room or not. •There are others.... can’t list them all. The food on the ship was OK, but I only had one meal that I thought was excellent. On the positive side, the bed in our cabin was the most comfortable bed I have ever slept in! The cabin attendants and waiters were superb. And I love the soap and shampoo with their nice fragrance and tingle. Read Less

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This was a 10 night Italy and Greek Isles cruise. Let me first say, our suite was amazing. We were on Deck 10 (Room 1122) conveniently located near the elevators just outside the library. The suite was spacious and comfortable and soundproof when we were in the room. Our deck was large with a table, chairs and a chaise lounge and we used it as often as we could. Our Butler Nikola was the a wonderful young man who was there to please. I can't say enough nice things about him. He was responsive to all of our needs, professional, competent, and genuine. He went out of his way to make sure we had what we needed. Thank you Nikola. I'm sorry we didn't get to see you before we disembarked. Our first stop on our cruise was Sicily (Messina) Italy. We signed up for the bike ride down Mt Etna. We didn't find out until we returned to our room after dinner that our excursion had been canceled. It was the one excursion we were really looking forward to, but apparently there weren't enough people signed up for it. We ran into another couple who had also signed up for it and they told us when they booked it, they were told it was almost sold out. Not sure what happened here, but it was a disappointing start to the cruise. Our next stop was Mykonos. We signed up for the excursion to Delos. We enjoyed walking around the ruins and the museum and our tour guide was very good. After the tour, the ferry let us out at Mykonos and we were able to explore the area. We had lunch and walked around the shops. The streets are like a maze and was nice enough. One of our favorite stops was Ephesus (Kusadasi) Turkey. We decided on the Turkish Vineyard Experience for our excursion here and we were happy we did. The drive alone to the winery was worth it to see the countryside and the winery and the wines were just perfect. It was a relaxing and enjoyable excursion. Then we were taken to a rug maker. We loved the demonstration of the rug making and were blown away by the silk worm demonstration. The rugs were absolutely beautiful and two couples purchased rugs, but there was never any pressure to buy one. I highly recommend this excursion! Rhodes Greece was okay. I didn't plan an excursion for this day, so we just walked into the old walled city which is very touristy. We had lunch here and it was good. We bought a few souvenirs and then returned to the ship. Santorini, Greece was absolutely wonderful. On this excursion we took a bus ride to Oia and then stopped at a winery. We loved Oia, and had our favorite meal of the trip here. The winery didn't come close to the one in Turkey, so don't expect much except the view from there is spectacular. Athens, Greece. We discovered the hop on hop off bus here and that ended up being the perfect way for us to see the Acropolis. It was breathtaking to see. We were blown away by the traffic there though, so be prepared for that. Naples Italy. Here, we walked around Naples in the morning on our own and grabbed a slice of pizza...it was the best pizza I have ever tasted! It was Sunday, so not a lot was open, but there was a place right outside the pier that we ate at and it was delicious! In the afternoon, we went on a Naples City Sights tour and I feel like we saw every inch we could by bus. We stopped at a cafe and had a gelato that was very good as well. I would have given this cruise a 5, but I was disappointed by the canceled excursion in Sicily and one night when we were in our suite watching the celebrity channel on excursions we saw an excursion from Naples to Ischia. When I asked about it no one seemed to know anything about it. Not sure why they advertise it if it is not available. Read Less

Two couples we know recommended Celebrity, so being our 35th Wedding Anniversary we decided to go on our first cruise ever in September 2016 to the Greek islands. So glad we chose Celebrity. From the moment we boarded,it was a fabulous experience. The man selling drink packages as we boarded, turned out to be the bartender at the World Class bar named Lazar. Three days in to our cruise, Lazar saw my husband and said "hi Eric, where is your wife, Carmen?" He actually remembered our names, unbelievable! The staff were very attentive. They surprised us with a Happy Anniversary poster on our stateroom door, a bottle of champagne, and a cake after our wonderful dinner at the "Murano" restaurant. Every restaurant even the buffet was excellent. Our favourite was the Murano, the lobster flambé was to die for! The waiters and maitre d were all very attentive and professional. At every restaurant, the Maitre d would advise me about Gluten free options without me having to ask. The Crew was available during the evening to say hello to. We were invited onto the front deck for a gathering which was nice, and at that time, the officer in charge arranged a tour of the ship and kitchen which we enjoyed very much. Our stateroom attendant, Klyne, made sure we had everything we needed. Every day at 4:30 we would have our gluten free appetizers on our balcony. He kept our room spotless. We opted for the Aqua class which gave us access to the Blu Restaurant and Persian Garden Spa. I treated myself to a most wonderful facial. So relaxing. If you are in to fitness and the gym, Reflection has a terrific trainer, Alex. Wish he lived close to us in Canada. We would inspire me to get into shape. The evening entertainment hosted by Martin, was always fun. He certainly keeps you entertained with his jokes. Liam also a host of entertainment, was great fun too. Loved the Abba night. Every night there was activity and shows. Lots of fun. We did our own excursions, so I cannot comment on celebrity's trips, but we were always met with ice cold towels and fruit infused water on our arrival to the ship. I don't know if other cruise lines do that, but this was a nice treat after a hot day. All in all we highly recommend Celebrity, Reflection. The ship is beautiful, and the staff/crew treat you like a "celebrity". Read Less

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My wife booked this cruise, we are a married couple, myself aged 62 and my spouse aged 56. We flew from Gatwick to Rome Leonardi de Vinci airport, then transferred to Civitavecchia port of embarkcation, a tirering first leg but we were well looked after, tip, make sure you carry with you all cruise documentation and have passports to hand, lost count as to how many times we had to show them. Our signing in procedure to board the ship was well organised and simple, any questions you have were quickly responded to in well spoken English, language was never a challenge througout as almost all staff seemed to be well versed with multiple well developed language skills. Finding our cabin was straight forward, one or two wrong turns on the way but with a big ship that is part of the fun and discovering what is around the next corner or on the next level. Plenty of guiding maps well located if you lose your way, which we did many times. Our cabin was roomy, very clean and had a lovely freshness smell, our luggage had arrived earlier and was quickly unpacked. Plenty of cupboard and wardrobe space. Empty cases stowed under beds. Ensuite shower, bathroom is well designed giving the guest the maximum area in the shower, gave top marks for this, as taking a shower was very enjoyable with plenty of room to move about. We booked the 'My Dining' option which gives the maximum flexabillity, I feel this is the best option as your not pinned down to an exact meal time schedule. We headed off to find something to eat and seek out the 'Windjammer' restaurant, it was quickly found, and huge. A super amount of food and beverages, from sausage, burger and chips to curries, rice, carvery, fish, salads and desserts and everything in between. A feast. All is well planned and exceptionally well organised with a superb service level offered by all the very friendly multi national assistant staff. Slept well in our cabin in well proportioned very comfortable beds, absolutely no noise even though the cruise partying had begun throughout the ship. Top marks again. Breakfast seemed to last for an age as there is so much choice, a very high standard of catering is maintained comprehensively during the cruise. Booked the restaurant for a couple of visits and the same very high standard was apparent. Top marks again. Ships activities are impressive well planned and delivers well into the early hours of morning, catering for all comers. The main swimming pools, both indoors with a very tropical personality and outdoor with a very much disco large viwing screen party time feel, are fairly large areas but like most cruise ships I have sailed need to be three times the size to accommadate thousands of guests on hot sunny days especially out to sea, non excurtion days. So plan an early rise, get some breakfast and head to the swimming pool area, all before 8am. Plenty of activities around the pools including superb barbecues. Ships evening theatre shows are of a very high standard. There are formal dress evenings, but everything is of a very casual comfortable laid back nature, just wondering around the ship in the early or late evening was highly enjoyable, plenty of late snacking, coctails, disco, casino or a cup of hot chocolate and bed, very chilled out for families, teenagers and young adults. Top marks again. Shore excursions are all value for money, very well timed and organised. There is plenty of choice for an arranged excursion or to go ashore and do your own thing, plenty of advice is available at a dedicated rather large advisery, excursions, booking centre. Top marks again. End of the voyage disembarkation is organised with exceptional detail and control. Best leaving a ship we have experienced. Top marks again. Summing up this cruise. One word , Excellent. Will definately try another with Royal Caribbean. Please add more cruise departures from the Port of Southampton. Read Less

We chose this cruise because we love to cruise to Greece and this cruise offered ports we have not visited. We have been on 40 cruises and do three a year. This ship was very boring because there was little entertainment. One night they showed "Jungle Book Movie" for the 8pm & 10pm shows come on. Lucky for us the movies in the staterooms where free. I have never spent so much time in my cabin. Very little music anywhere on the ship. The A/C in the cabin worked now and then. The toilet did not flush so we have to us public one. The shower falsest had to be replaced because only hot water came out. The refrigerator did not get cold just one thing after another. The best thing about the ship was the service. Dining in the main dining room was hit or miss but service was the best we'd had in years. Read Less

We arrived in Rome 2 days before the cruise left and had an amazing time exploring the Vatican, Colosseum, Trevi Fountain and the Pantheon. Ahhhh... the food in Rome was to die for. We stayed at a small B&B, A View Or Rome, and loved it. Embarkation was a piece of cake. We arrived at Civitavecchia at 11:15 and we were on board at 11:45! Our stateroom was very clean and had plenty of closet space. We were a bit disappointed in the food in the main dining room, Tides. On other cruise lines there was always a night of where the menu had special choices. Filet Mignon or Lobster tails. They were available but for a surcharge. We did eat in Chops and Giovanni's. The food and service was outstanding. We will probably purchase the 5 dinner package for specialty dining the next time we cruise on RCI. I will say, however, that the service in the main dining room was exceptional. Both the waiter and head waiters were very helpful and very entertaining. The food in Windjammer for breakfast was good. Although I found the bacon to be extremely salty and didn't have it again after the 2nd morning. The choices for lunches was very good. We loved Messina. My husband's parents were from there. He remembered the astronomical clock from when he was a child. It brought back many fond memories for him. Mykonos was lovely. We went to the beach on our own. Beach transfer through RCI was $39 pp. We shared a cab over for 15 euros per couple. We took the bus back for 2 euros each. Royal Caribbean charged $12 pp for a shuttle into Mykonos. There was a water taxi right in port that charged 2 euros pp to head over. Big savings. Total cost going to the beach ourselves was 31 euros per couple as opposed to almost 80 euros per couple. Ephesus' country side was beautiful. My own insecurities with being in Turkey kept us from doing any tours there. We did go into town but the merchants were like vultures and made us very uncomfortable so we just went back to the ship and sat by the pool. Santorini was absolutely beautiful. We decided to explore on our own. We actually walked up to the top rather then using the tram. It was an adventure. Dodging donkey dung and then having to hug the wall when the donkey's came trotting down was a bit scary.. but I'm really glad we did it. We opted to take the tram down. The view from the top was spectacular. We booked the Ancient Athens tour and was very disappointed in it. The fact that it started pouring didn't help matters. I thought the cost of $59 pp was very steep for what we got...which wasn't much. A ride to Acropolis Hill and a ride to the Ancient Olympic Stadium. That was pretty much it. The tour guide was lovely, but there really wasn't much for her to talk about. We did get to shop in Plaka for an hour and a half. Athens on a whole was a big let down. A very cosmopolitan town with graffiti everywhere. If we stopped at this port again on a future cruise, I would probably opt to stay on board. We booked the Naples tour through Joe Bananas tour of Italy. It was 120 euros pp. Best money spent on entire cruise. We had a driver that took us to Sorrento, Positano and Pompei. Loved the shopping in Sorrento & Positano. The lunch that was included with the tour was the best meal we had the entire trip! We never thought the food would stop coming. It was beyond amazing. We enjoyed the tour of Pompei. Disembarking was smooth also. We had transfers through the cruise line to take us to the airport. That was very convenient. Our stateroom steward, Jose was a joy. Cabin was always kept clean. We thoroughly enjoyed this cruise. We would most definitely do it again! Read Less

This was a wonderful cruise! This was our second cruise aboard Reflection and we have previously sailed on Solstice so we are very familiar with the boat. We chose the Celebrity transportation pkg to get from the Rome airport to the ship and back at the end. It was expensive but worth it. We tried Aqua class for the first time and won't bother again. The only advantage was eating in BLU and it wasn't that great. We are not much for things like Duck and their standby steak was over cooked and tough. First stop was Santorini, Greece. Did the ship's tour, wine tasting and to see the whole island. Cost $89 each but it was the only way to go. Then to Athens where we joined a group in the parking lot for a bus tour at $25 each (much less than the ship's offer) had a great tour and saw everything. We learned about this tour when we got off the cable car in Santorini as a young woman was handing out brochures. We were quite satisfied. We didn't go ashore on day 2 as we saw it all. Next day it was on to Mykonos where we just did our own thing, walked around it's small island and we had a good day. Day 6 in Kusadasi Turkey. Got off the ship and hired a private taxi for 60 Euros and he took us to all the sites. It was a good deal because it rained all day and we could view a lot of things from the taxi without getting wet as happened to those on the tour buses. Next was Bodrum, again we self toured and it was a lot of walking but we were impressed with the cleanliness and all the retail. Great place to buy imitation hand bags and watches. On to Crete, our favorite stop. Small island so we were able to walk from the ship to the downtown area. Enjoyed the day walking around the harbor and the fort. The last stop was Naples. We loved the Amalfi Coast in 2011 and we were happy to see it again. We e-mailed ahead to our previous tour guide Giuseppe (demurogiuseppe@ibero.it.) He met us at the ship where we chose a few others to join us in his nephews 8 passenger Taxi for a ride to Sorentino and lunch at a fabulous family restaurant in the hills overlooking the Med. All in all it was a great time followed by a long trip home. Only complaint was the entertainment on the ship was not up to par but that's OK just hang at the Martini Bar and say hi to Airies. Read Less

This was our 22nd cruise and 8th with Celebrity. We were in Sky Suite 6102. Overall, we had a fantastic cruise. The ship is in really good condition, everything looks new and works well. And the ship is clean, the staff are always cleaning the elevators and stairways. We had originally booked a balcony but upgraded to a suite when the suite prices reduced. The Sky Suites are great, lots of storage and walking room, additional seating, larger bathroom with full bath, and a larger balcony. Suite 6102 is also handy to the mid-ship elevator and stairs but on the starboard side. The room was quiet although you can hear the constant air conditioning hum. We have a butler, Ryan, and a stateroom attendant, Urban. Both are really good, Urban is like a magician - we go out for a bit and when we come back the room is cleaned or turned down or whatever. He is really quick. We see Ryan the most, he brings afternoon canapés and tea/coffee, and he arranges anything you need for the room. Brings room service, takes the laundry etc. He is really good and very friendly. The service is really outstanding. The best thing about the suite is the access to Luminae Restaurant for your meals and Michael's Club for drinks and snacks (pastries and coffee available at breakfast and appetisers in the afternoon, drinks of any type available anytime). Service in both Luminae and Michael's Club is also outstanding. We were mainly served by Anthony in Luminae and Angela in Michael's Club, but the other wait staff are really good too. Both Anthony and Angela keep on eye out and anticipate what you might want or need. Fabulous service. The food in Luminae was really high quality, and delicious. But if you don't want what is on offer you can ask for something from the Main Dining Room menu. We did this for dessert once (Celebrity's New York Cheesecake is my husband's favourite). We also ate in Tuscan Grille, Ocean Liners, and Bistro on Five. All of these have a cover charge, and the food and service is excellent in all. Everyone is keen to help you and ensure you have a great time onboard. The Concierge for the suites is Megan, and she was fabulous. Looks after any bookings for shore excursions or specialty restaurants that you want and saves you time and hassle. No queuing at guest services needed, Megan sorts everything out. She also manages any issues you may have, and provides general advice as well. She is a real asset to the ship. Constellation has the new fast internet system on board. And it is quick! You can buy various options or blocks of time. If you are a Elite you get 90 minutes free. For unlimited constant access, the price on our cruise was USD$199 for the whole cruise, and 50 per cent off for a second person or device in the same cabin. I was uploading photos onto Facebook and it was really quick, just a couple of minutes to load a dozen photos. Very fast and simple to sign up with immediate access. There is also an IT room with computers you can use so you don't need to bring your own device. It is so quick I saw people using Skype. Amazing. The itinerary was busy, we had 9 ports including an overnight in Venice in a 12 night cruise. The weather was great, we had a shower in Rhodes but otherwise we had fine days. We did ship tours in Athens and Venice, private tours in Naples, Ephesus and Santorini. And for Rhodes, Valetta, Mykonos and Crete we did our own walking around. The sail in to Valetta was beautiful, and the shopping was great as it was largely tax free. The sail in to Venice was a stand-out, we sailed down the Grand Canal at 1pm in the sunshine. Just beautiful. Read Less

This was our third time sailing with Celebrity but have sailed on other lines. Both my husband and I loved this cruise and the ship. We stayed in Rome three nights before embarking in Civitavecchia. We opted to take the airport bus from FCO to Termini train station. It was a mob scene to load our own luggage and board the bus--never again. This was our third time in Rome and it was great to see again. We stayed at the Hotel Opera Roma which was about 7 minutes walk from the Termini train station. The area was great for walking to most sights in the city. We took the train to the cruise port and then shared a cab to the cruise port entrance. The cab driver dropped us off in front of the ship. Embarkation was easy and we ate lunch in the Oceanview Café. At about 1 pm our rooms were ready. We were thrilled with our inside cabin(8148 Vista deck), much larger than we have had on either Princess or Holland America. Our cabin stewards were always friendly and both did a great job. We ate most meals at the Oceanview Café, breakfast and lunch were the best meals, had cheeseburgers at the Mast Grill, also good. We had the traditional 6 pm dining in the Opus dining room-meals were good and the service was great. We ate dinner in the Opus about 7 times during the cruise but did not visit any of the other dining venues. My husband and I only drink the occasional beer and soda pop so we did not opt for any of the drinks packages. We tend to pick cruises that are itinerary intense and have very few sea days - we usually just veg out on sea days so we don't really participate in the shipboard activities except for the enrichment talks, enjoying the music in the atrium. We also enjoyed watching the on demand movies in our cabin - we thought this was a great way to relax at the end of our day. We booked three shore excursions with Celebrity- 1. Santorini - Oia and Fira with a wine tasting - I loved Santorini and this excursion was great as was the wine. 2. Oracle of Delphi with lunch. This spot was located about 2 hours from Athens. This was interesting but really enjoyed the museum where all artifacts were on display. Lunch consisted of Greek dishes and was quite good. 3. Ephesus - 1/2 day. We enjoyed Ephesus very much but was glad to be back on the ship. We had an overnight in Athens, which I wasn't too happy about when we booked this cruise. We booked the hop on hop off bus(our first time doing this) on the second day and this actually turned out to be a really great day, but unfortunately, not enough time to see everything. This leaves us something for the next trip. The hop on hop off bus stops outside the ship's terminal building. What a great way to see a city! Mykonos was a great island to visit, we opted to walk around ourselves. I wanted to see the windmills so after asking for directions four times, we found the windmills. We then wandered around for a few hours. If the street (alleys?) names were posted anywhere we could not find them. Bodrum - we visited the castle and did a bit of shopping. Crete - we took the bus from the port to Chania. Walked through the marketplace and around the old port. Naples - we'd been there before so we just walked around and then headed back to the ship for lunch We chose the Celebrity transfer from the ship to the airport. Disembarkation was easy and efficient. Our bags were taken during the evening. After breakfast we went to the assigned lounge for disembarkation. Bags were easy to find. We had a great cruise, some things we would do differently, but we loved the cruise and this ship. Read Less

Not at all interested in Royal Caribbean's big ship activities. I'm not into sky diving, surfing, rock climbing or zip lining so I figured the 2000 person Rhapsody would be a good choice I like the smaller ships. Not good choice at all. Embarkation: They shared terminal space with Costa. Signage was so small our driver missed it first time by. Then they used 8 1/2 X 11" paper to label where to drop your luggage and to check in, so walking around in circles was the start. We arrived between 10:45 and 11:00 and had no delays in checking in. Once on board was another story. Enter deck 1 and nobody to direct you where to go, but they sure had people just inside the door trying to sell you something already. They had signs up only wanting you to use only half the elevators so they could bring up luggage. I guess they have no crew only service elevators. Try to find our cabin first only to find hallway doors closed and signs saying can't get to your cabin till 13:00. Find our way up to the Windjammer Buffet. I always circle once to get a feel for what's available. See some fish and tried to pick up a piece. It was so over cooked and dried out it could have been used to side your house, the sauce just ran off of it. Looked at the roast beef that looked over cooked and dried out and was cold. After deciding on salad we went to explore the ship until 13:00. Ship looked nice but did notice smell in the stairway between decks 4 to 6. Went down to our floor at 13:00 still couldn't get in until 13:15. For the first three mornings in the buffet they had pre-cooked fried eggs and omelets. They were so overcooked and cold you could play ping pong with them. Everything out on the buffet was cold. The bacon was so under cooked the fat hadn't even started to render yet and was grey. In fact the only rare to medium rare meet to be found was the bacon. Tried the lamb in the MDR one night, of course ordered med-rare came out well done, was so tough and strong smelling I think they were trying to pass off mutton as lamb. They have a bar in the back of the ship called Shall We Dance. I think the only thing it was used for was art auctions and trivia games. Every nigh they have to use the main atrium as their live performance/dance hall. Once that madness was over at 24:00 we got to listen to hydraulic pumps for the next 30 minutes. Main stage shows were good. Royal Caribbean dancers did a good job and the Elton John impersonator was good. Usually the volume worked it's way to the loud side by the end of the shows. They had no side entertainment other than musical type shows and they were in the atrium usually. Other than a magician main stage show one night, there was no comedian or other type shows throughout the ship. Disembarkation went very well. Coffee and rolls were available in the main theater and most all groups were called before their scheduled time. Our disembarkation time was 07:45 and I think we were off the ship by 07:40. They had people in the baggage area directing you to your luggage tag group which helped and was nice. I feel that between the poor quality of food, the fact that every night in the MDR they had people from the three specialty restaurants trying to sell you a meal there, and the fact they kept up with the hard sell even after you said no. It was $25.00 for the martini demonstration and $35.00 to take the galley tour. Their activities during the day were not that interesting and we skipped almost all of them. I don't see myself sailing on Royal Caribbean again. Read Less

This cruise included destinations I always wanted to visit: Mykonos and Santorini and started/ended in Rome which we also wanted to explore. We went on two shore excursions to Epheseus in Turkey (Kusadasi port) which we were delightfully surprised to enjoy as much as we did and Athens which was more hectic as the crowds at the Acropolis were huge. We had amazing weather in each port and despite reading other reviews, NEVER had an issue finding a lounge chair and chose a few nights in my time dining and the rest in the Windjammer Cafe buffet which we loved. We enjoyed the onboard shows, had a great oceanview room kept immaculately clean by the staff and truly enjoyed the experience from start to finish. In Santorini, we chose to get off the tender and take a speedboat to Oia for 10 Euros which included a bus transfer to Fira and then we took the cablecar down to the port/tender and had a great day away from the crowds/formal tours. In Mykonos, we just wandered the streets as well as Katakalon...enjoyed seaside dining, drinks and free wifi wherever we sat and ordered since we refused to pay the exorbitant wifi fees on board. We HIGHLY recommend this cruise! We did a full day in Rome before we left with half day golf cart tour with Roberto of www.tours-europe.com and then a 3 hour Vatican private tour he arranged and when we returned to Civitavecchia, he arranged a guide to meet us at the ship and take us to a day of touring in Tuscania, Civita di Bagnoregio and Orvieto which was amazing. Truly, a dream trip for us :-) Read Less

We had cabin 8100, a JS facing the back of the ship. The cabin and balcony size were outstanding BUT this is an older ship and it simply cannot handle speeds in excess of 15 knots even with calm seas without without causing severe shakes and rattles and where in the back of the ship, but worse in the cabins itself. The first night out at sea at over 20 knots with a calm ocean you simply could not sleep in the cabin, the rattle and shaking was like a 7.0 on the Richter scale. Worse, it would be calm and quiet for about 5 seconds and then the shaking would start for about 10 seconds and it did this all the time! I finally complaint in the early morning and it was perfectly calm for about an hour before it started back up again. When the ship slows down to about 15 knots there are no issues - I believe that there is an imbalance in the propulsion system that resonates like crazy when they crank up the engines! The food situation on Royal Caribbean ships like this one is becoming impossible! The main cafeteria shuts down between 3pm and 6pm and the only food available are snacks in the little cafe by the solarium - imagine 2000 people coming back from their excursions and wanting food! The cafe simply could not handle it and room service takes way too long, so if you like to eat on your schedule better look for another cruise line. In general, Rhapsody is a tired old ship. The shows at night were extremely mediocre and the entertainers 3rd rate at best. Good thing that the ports were interesting as the ship left a lot to be desired. Read Less

after reading some reviews on here about the rhapsody of the seas and the ports such as Santorini, Athens etc, we were a bit nervous but the reviews are a lot of nonsense. 10/10. can not fault our cruise, the ports, the boat nor the staff. EXCELLENT!!!! would highly recommend it to everyone. It is filled with excitement for all age groups. From pool parties and competitions to casinos, line dancing and all sorts. We were never left with nothing to do. Excellent value for money with the drinks package. Also we dined in the Edelweiss Restaurant and the staff there were amazing, kept us all entertained with their songs and dance for the whole restaurant. We are looking into booking our next one already and we are just back. 10/10 without a doubt!!! Read Less

Things that I didn’t like about Rhapsody of the Sea: Food- Food tasted like hospital food - it actually came out on the same type of covered plate they give you in a hospital. They brought fresh squeezed OJ to your table at breakfast, but you had to pay $5.50 for a glass- otherwise you got some other OJ?? Always ran out of coffee at breakfast buffet in morn. If you wanted a decent meal, you had to go to one of the three specialty restaurants, which cost additional $40 per couple. We felt it very unfair to have to pay to get decent food. The specialty rest. on other cruises were available if you wanted to try something different or more private- not to just get a decent meal. Excursions- 2 of our booked excursions were cancelled the night before- one reason was mechanical failure?? and the other was not enough response, although we were told they had 22 people sign up and it was an expensive tour $149.00 per person. The tours that we did go on , never started on time. On one occasion we were waiting around 30 minutes past the time. On one tour at the end we were brought to 1 store only (in Athens where there is a whole shopping area) The items in this 1 store were almost triple the price elsewhere . I bought a bowl for $10 the day before, and this shop had the exact same bowl for $25. I questioned the tour guide and she stated it was part of the tour. I asked her if they paid the cruise ship for the stop and she could not answer me. Stateroom- we never received any amenities (shampoo, condit, body wash etc) We were told that they started only giving them to suite staterooms. Water constantly ran out of shower into bathroom. We wound up taking showers in the Spa, because although they had the exact same type of showers, the showers in the spa had a door, unlike just a curtain in our room. Entertainment- below par- used to Broadway or Las Vegas type shows, and these were not of that quality at all. NEVER got a lounge chair by the pool- we sat in chairs we dragged from the dining room. If you ate lunch around pool, it was a long time before anyone came to clear them- both times I had to ask for someone to come. Positive- Our waitstaff and cabin attendant were very good and the Greek Islands were AMAZING!! Read Less

We just came off the Rhapsody and had a most enjoyable cruise. The ship is absolutely beautiful. While not new, she was recently refurbished and is very well maintained. Loved her color schemes and the overall decor. Plus she rides very smoothly. We had a GS which was excellent and really enjoyed the great space and large balcony, plus amazing bathroom. Food in the MDR and Windjammer were both excellent, well prepared and tasty. The crew was awesome, very hardworking and friendly. Entertainment was surprisingly good, there were two production shows with good singing, plus they had a string band from London one night and an Italian singer another night. While the ship was almost completely full, the ship is well designed and overall, we never experienced bottlenecks anywhere except sometimes when disembarking for shore excursions and once at the Windjammer. Overall, this ranks as one of the best cruises we have taken so far. We highly recommend the ship and would love to go back on her some day! Read Less

7 night cruise starting in Rome and stopping in Santorini, Mykonos, Athens and Katakalon (ancient Olympia) with a sea day at beginning and end. You don't arrive at the first stop, Santorini, until 1 pm and we found the tender process very slow so we didn't manage to get off the ship until after 2 pm. By that time the queue for the funicular up to Thira was long and everyone was getting hot and fractious. Thira is a pretty town with lovely views, souvenir shops and bars and restaurants, but I'd definitely recommend a dip in the sea before going up there. We took a boat trip from the old port (not a RC trip - we found ourselves) around the volcano and swimming in the caldera, which was truly one of the best experiences I have ever had. Timing of other stops - morning to late afternoon, is much better. We didn't take any of the RC tours but all sights very accessible independently. Dining - we dined every night in the Edelweiss, early sitting. We were really happy with the food, standard of service (Demaciano and Frank) and very much enjoyed the company of our table companions. Our young teenagers were always made to feel very welcome, and some of the waiters also did a great sideline in magic tricks (Jaycee especially). Entertainment - there was something for everyone - my teenage daughter especially enjoyed the dancers and the acrobatics; my husband loved the piano bar and the singer Anthony Michaels, and the 70s disco inferno party was a spectacular and a real blast. The kids loved the rock climbing wall and Harriet and Stefan were very kind and encouraging. My one real gripe was the sunbed situation on sea days. On the first day we didn't even manage to get one sunbed between the four of us, so many beds were "reserved" with towels, despite notices on the poolside saying this was not allowed. On the second morning, staff did start putting post it notes on sunbeds, limiting "reservations" to 30 minutes, but this was too little, too late. On the last day we were up really early to get our spot and ended up behaving like a family of meerkats every time someone wanted to get up to get a drink or do something else - not very relaxing. The staff are so excellent every where else I do think there should be more focus on this aspect - e.g. staff helping people to find a spot, clearing items left on sunbeds themselves rather than leaving passengers to do this; and having more beds in reserve on sea days - there was additional deck space which could be used. The Windjammer is equally crowded, especially at breakfast times, with guests pretty rude, pushing and getting irritated. We mostly didn't get a table inside, but Windjammer is the only choice for breakfast if you wish to eat before 8:30 ( and you have to if you want a sunbed!). Contary to other reviews I've read, I thought the Windjammer food was ok for a mass produced buffet. Only other thing to mention is the wifi, which at 20 USD per day for one device is a complete rip off. I understand that service will be constrained at sea, but once in port, free wifi should be available - we are in the 21st century after all. Read Less

The Rhapsody of the Seas is showing its age. But so is it's crew. Compared to newer designs, Rhapsody of the Seas doesn't feel large enough for the capacity it holds. But beyond that, other gripes emerge. The food in the main dining room being of worse quality than the Windjammer buffet doesn't bode well for RCL. The crew tries hard but there are limitations. The saving grace for our cruise was the destinations themselves,. I've been on other cruise ships whose itinerary was repeated for me and we enjoyed ourselves on board. That would not be the case on the Rhapsody. Read Less

My wife and I have cruised on NCL and Celebrity and are really fans of cruising. This was our fourth cruise. However, our recent voyage on Rhapsody of the Seas is making us rethink going again soon. On our recent cruise to the Greek Islands there were not enough deck chairs. That meant that you could never sleep late because you had to get a deck chair or risk sitting on the deck on a towel. What was worse, the deck patrol went around putting postits on the chairs with the time you left them. Stay anywhere more than one half hour, they physically took your chair away. My wife and I ate our meals with one of us getting food and one guarding the chairs. If you have ever been in a meeting and worried about feeding the parking meter, then you know the ambiance of Rhapsody. Not relaxing. The buffet at breakfast and lunch magically transports you back in time. Close your eyes and you are back in your college dining hall. I have seen corned beef hash before, but never swimming in either water or grease on the bottom of the chafing dish. Bacon was a stuck together mass. Dinners in the main dining room were good, and Chops was as good as any NYC steakhouse. While the ship was always announcing things where you could spend money on an activity, there was not a word said when we cruised by what we later learned is one of the most famous active volcanoes in Italy. The ship smells of sewage at various places. A husband and wife told us the story of blaming each other for the smell and finally spraying hairspray in the room to cover the odor. Except for the "trapeze" act and battle of the sexes on the last night of the cruise, the entertainment that we saw was mediocre. (The violin ensemble was terrific, however.) Shore excursions were wonderful. Delos should not be missed. If you are going to go to Delos (when in Mykonos), skip the Akitari ruins shore excursion on Santorini. The tour of Olympia and the winery on Katakolon should not be missed. The staff tries hard. If you buy a restaurant package, don't expect Izumi to know you have already prepaid for your food. The maitre d' is a wonderful woman who cares about the guests, but there is a lack of communication somewhere. Read Less

After a few days in Rome, we boarded the Emerald Princess for the next portion of our retirement celebration. Embarkation was very simple and we were on the ship quite quickly. Having planned the excursions ahead time, we were able to simply settle in and begin to unpack. Cabin A417 is nicely located in the middle of the ship and only a few flights below the main decks. Pros - deck measured out for walking/jogging (3 laps = 1 mile), flexible dining times, great cabin steward Jose, fruit being in the room on a daily basis, wait staff in most restaurants very pleasant, art auction was fun with the experts helping us find what was "our" style of painting, trivia games were entertaining Cons - limited fitness equipment for weight lifting - not a single bar bell, excursions over booked and not coordinated well (they needed 3 or 4 busses for some and that is fine but then divide out the arrival times so everyone does not spend their time waiting in lines), limited food choices - hard for a diabetic to calculate, more desserts than main entrees Read Less