Thread: Rhapsody Passengers

Is it just me or have the passengers on Rhapsody become a little less the typical RCI cruise passenger and more the "I'm going to wear a tank top and shorts to dinner/get drunk and loud/knock people over in the buffet" type.

Don't get me wrong - I still love to cruise on this ship and enjoy myself. But our last cruise it seems that the passengers were a little less well behaved than before.

I guess I'm just wondering if cruising is catching on so strongly in Texas that people are realizing what a bargain it is but are not willing to adjust their behavior for the traditional cruise experience.

I feel the same way. The last time I was on back in December it seemed that way also. Strange.

We didn't experience that during our Janaury cruise on Rhapsody - it may depend on whether it's "amateur week" for cruisers...more first-timers during Spring Breaks, Summer, etc.? Just a guess.
We've generally found the predominantly Texas pax to be very cordial, friendly and well-behaved.

LL

Judging by the amount of people in the Crown & ANchor party , I don't think it was all newbies. Hey, don't get me wrong - I can be the giggly fool in the bar too but there were several groups in the Schooner Bar who were so loud that it made it impossible to be in there. And the behavior and dress of so many in the dining room was shocking.

I'm a Texas girl and I don't lose a lot of sleep on the dress code/chair hog etc etc issues. I was just stunned by the lowest common denominator behavior I saw and how different it was from the year before. (We cruised the exact same week by the way)

I did not find this either the last time we were on the Rhapsody but it has been 18 months.......

What we are finding.......is RC, especially the 7 night Caribbean cruises are becoming more and more casual..........JMO........and that doesn't necessarily make it bad either.

We were on the Jan. 29th sailing this year and we did not experience this type of behavior from the passengers at all. I have been on other Rhapsody cruises where this type of behavior was more prevalent though. I think it's just the individual sailings.

OK good to hear - I totally get the concept of off weeks or bad weeks. I am happy to hear that it doesn't appear to be a trend. I guess I should just cruise with Spikey every time - that way I am assured of well behaved passengers. Hee hee!

Originally Posted by Lightsluvr

We didn't experience that during our Janaury cruise on Rhapsody - it may depend on whether it's "amateur weeks" for cruisers...more first-timers during Spring Breaks, Summer, etc.? Just a guess.
We've generally found the predominantly Texas pax to be very cordial, friendly and well-behaved.

LL

My cruise on Rhapsody was about 16 months ago.
I found the passengers to be the best I've sailed
with on any RCCL cruise. No other even came close.
If I lived in Texas, I'd be on that ship every chance
I had.

Reggie

I have found that what you saw is more and more common on RCL ships. It is not just the Rhapsody. RCL states a dress code for dinner but does not enforce it.

Every ship that I have sailed on has always stated "no shorts in the dining room for dinner" I have personal witnessed people turned away at the door on some lines. On RCL they are allowed in.

Another thing that we observed in the past was that the overall dress sailing from LA was more formal than ships sailing out of Florida. This is no longer true.

I must admit that I tend to be more casual on cruises than I use to be. I do still wear a tux on formal night, but I no longer pack a jacket & tie for any other nights.

If it were just contained to wardrobe, I wouldn't care. The stuff that surprised me was more behavior oriented. We have a saying for that in Texas but I don't want to insult trailer park dwellers!! <smile> I also don't mind getting giggly from foo foo drinks but there were so many loud mouth drunks in some lounges I thought I was at a truck stop.

Again - I don't want to appear to be bashing. We met nice people, we had a nice time and we will return to Rhapsody. I was just wondering if others have noticed a steady change in the type of passenger. Carnival always had the reputation for being the booze cruise, the party cruise, the tank top and flip flop ship. I don't mean that derogatory - I think life is all about choices. It's just if that is what Rhapsody is going to turn into, I want to be prepared for it and not expect the relatively tasteful middle class experience of the past.