Rhapsody of the Seas Review

Disappointed in the Rhapsody

Review for Alaska Cruise on Rhapsody of the Seas
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runchadrun
6-10 Cruises • Age 50s

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Sail Date: May 2013
Cabin: Junior Suite

This was our third cruise on Royal Caribbean and we’re sad to say that we were disappointed in the Rhapsody.StateroomA few days before we were set to leave the Upgrade Fairy paid a visit and we were moved from a D1 balcony on deck 7 to junior suite 8010, which is an accessible room. This was our first time in a suite (if you really want to count a JS as a suite) and the room was huge compared to what we were used to. The main thing that makes it an accessible room is the large bathroom with an open, wheel-in shower. The bathroom floor is entirely flat (though it does slope down to the drain) so if you don't place the floor mat just right you'll get water everywhere. And the shower curtain has a habit of sticking to you.Unfortunately that area of the ship is very, very loud. There's a service elevator almost across the hall and there's constant activity of moving stuff in and out. You also get a lot of noise from the Windjammer which is directly above. But the thing that bugged us the most was the sound of an alarm clock going off at all hours of the night and day. Our neighbors in 8012 thought it was us; we thought it was them. We went to guest services to complain about they noise and they didn't know what it was. I tried to investigate what it was but the sound never lasted long enough for me to get out of the cabin and track it down. By day 6 of our 7 day cruise I finally figured out what it was--the fire door for the Windjammer entrance directly above us. Whenever they close the door the alarm sounds and they liked to open and close that door a lot to let crew in and out, even when the Windjammer wasn't open. We went to guest services to complain and they said they would talk to the Windjammer manager to try to minimize how often they open and closed the door. We also got an apology and some compensation (though we weren't looking for it) for our trouble.FoodWe don't eat in the MDR, ever. The only time we went in was to see what it looked like. All of our meals were taken in the Windjammer, Park Cafe, or room service for two breakfasts. The room service was standard RC food service, though one morning they delivered our breakfast at 6:45 instead of the 7:30 we requested.We were rather disappointed in the Windjammer. The food was consistently industrial. I'm a vegetarian and found that the vegetarian options were typically salad, steamed veggies, and pasta. Other RC ship's we've been on have had more options. And many items that may have been vegetarian weren't marked either way. Also, I had to search for condiments since they seemed to move with every meal. Sometimes the vinegar and oil were next to the salad bar, sometimes they were next to the desserts. Searching for ketchup was always an adventure. The ice machine on the starboard side was broken for most of the cruise (a crew member told me it had been broken for months). And the coffee--several times there were coffee grounds coating the bottom of my cup when I got to the bottom of it. And on top of it all, you had Purell-la de Vil wanting you to use sanitizer every time you walked in the door. I’m well into my 40s and I know how to wash my hands, thank you very much.EntertainmentWe don't normally partake in the shows (not really our thing.) We watched the aerial show in the Centrum and it was OK.SolariumOur favorite place to relax is in the Solarium because it’s supposed to be quiet and peaceful with no kids. Unfortunately they let kids in there in the afternoons because of “inclement weather” even though the sun was shining and it was about 70 degrees. And the peaceful oasis was spoiled by several groups of adults playing very loud games of cards. You also had crew constantly running carts of stuff through, making a lot of noise on the stone tile. On the plus side, the Park Café is right there and you can grab a quick bite.iPadThe iPads in the room were all but useless except to look up the account statement. The Cruise Compass information was a day or two old and shore excursion ordering didn't work at all.And what happened to the map on the TV with our route and current position? We really like knowing where we are and I don't know why they got rid of that. All we had was the camera from the bridge.

Cabin Review

Junior Suite

Cabin JS

Accessible room so the bathroom is large. A lot of noise from the Windjammer above and the service elevator across the hall. Location is convenient for the Windjammer, Adventure Ocean, and the theater.

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