We sailed on the Rhapsody of the Seas on June 29th, 2003. We have cruised only once before on the Norway. I have to say we were disappointed in the cruise.

There were some good things about the ship & the cruise. We had an outside cabin with a window. The cabin had plenty of storage space & it was big enough for the two of us.

Getting on & off the ship was pretty smooth also. We used the Dolphin parking instead of the cruise terminal parking. I would highly recommend Dolphin. It was much easier & quicker.

The ship is beautiful and seems to be well kept. We did not notice a lot of wear and tear. There were many little lounges and areas where you could sit and watch people or just look out the windows.

However, if you are looking for relaxation, and/or a romantic cruise experience, avoid this ship. It was loaded with families. The children ran amok on the ship. They played in the stairwells all hours of the day and night. They ran people down. Their parents simply turned them loose on the ship. We actually saw a small boy of about 4 or 5 years old playing in the elevators at 11:00 at night. No adult anywhere around. A child molester would have a field day on this ship!

If you want to use the outdoor pool or hot tubs, good luck. The outdoor pool area looks like a bunch of beached whales. There are so many people that you cannot get close to the pool. Forget the hot tubs. The chair hogs get out early & save 5, 6, 7 chairs at a time. RCI did not pick up any towels on chairs on our trip. The adults sitting around drinking even crowded out the kids at the shallow end of the pool. I don’t think some of those folks ever left the pool for the entire cruise!

The solarium pool (indoor) was better, but it was supposed to be designated for people 16 and over. Not so. RCL did not enforce this. Also the hot tubs at the solarium pool were supposed to be a food free drink free area. We observed kids sitting in the hot tubs with burgers and fries every day. Yuck!

Everywhere you turned there were mobs of people. The staff was generally disinterested. They were businesslike at best, and rude in some situations. The wait staff pushed drinks on you at every opportunity. If you said no, there was another person right behind to ask you again.

The food was just so-so. There were some B-B-Q ribs (I use the term B-B-Q very loosely) that showed up at least five different times at buffets, The Windjammer, and even in the Dining room.

The passengers on this ship also wore shorts in the dining room (which is supposed to be prohibited).

We were under the impression that RCL would maybe be a notch above a Carnival ship or even a Norwegian ship. Not so. It is a floating mass-market resort, geared toward families. For a real cruise experience I would recommend you look elsewhere.