Cruise Passenger > Reviews > Review: Rhapsody of the Seas

Review: Rhapsody of the Seas

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28 Nov 2010

Day 1

Day 1 on Rhapsody of the Seas was longer than I had planned, and while it involved boarding a big and exciting cruise ship it largely involved sitting in Circular Quay. A cloudless sunny day and Sydney is picture postcard perfect so we decide to get a ferry across the harbour to meet the big ship.

We’re early – the kids have been packed and ready for this holiday for a week, and up since dawn ready to board, so we head for Windjammer Café, the buffet restaurant at the bow of the ship, for lunch. My son does a quick tour of the buffet bar and gives me a hug – Roast meat and gravy don’t feature heavily on the menu at home.

Then it’s a bit of exploration, a swim and discussion of onboard activities before dinner and the long wait for the ship to sail, which finally happens close to midnight. And its far, far more exciting than leaving an airport. This is old-school.

Boarding a ship for my first family cruise is a bit like entering another dimension. The décor is’80s art deco, with brass and mirrors everywhere you look. The people play whist and bridge and use a Community Board to organise meetings for Red Hat Societies and Friends of Dorothy. It’s going to be interesting that’s for sure.

Day 2

After a long day waiting to leave Sydney, our first day sailing is all about figuring out how the whole thing works. Activities, kids’ clubs and meal times – how do we actually find all these things?

After another trip to the buffet for breakfast wander about a bit aimlessly looking for inspiration – the top deck is incredibly windy and it’s not bad fun trying to walk against it. There is ocean in every direction as far as I can see – it’s a strange isolated sensation.

We lounge around playing Uno and Scrabble until our allotted lunch hour and then head for the main attraction as far as Mary (9) is concerned. Pets at Sea, open only between 2pm and 3pm, where you can stuff your own plush animal and dress him in a range of Royal Caribbean clothing. We’ve gone for a horse dressed as a chef and named him Shef.

“Because he is a chef and it would be kind of weird if his name was spelled with a C.”

You just can’t argue with logic like that. Or at least I can’t.

Shef joins us for an afternoon matinee and retires for a nap before our first formal ship dinner, which is, possibly the poshest dinner my kids have been to – there are toddlers in tuxedos and lots of little girls that would look more at home at a wedding with posies. Bet their mums had fun dressing them.

Day 3

We’re starting to get the hang of cruising and have even formed ourselves a routine, or at least starting to see the need for one. For as far as you can see in every direction there is water, which varies in colour from dark grey to dark blue.

Luckily Rhapsody has oodles to do (there are 400 kids on board) so we’re able to whittle away at the entertainment guide until we find something to suit us (or rather, suit my kids). So mornings is breakfast at the Windjammer Café, followed by Uno and Scrabble in the Moonlight Room and a swim in the wave pool. It’s not actually a wave pool – there’s a bit of swell.

Lunch at Windjammer (there’s an argument about this which I lose) and then we head for the stern for some rock-climbing. Once we’ve worn blisters on our fingers we head for the theatre to watch Toy Story 3 (the third time I’ve seen this, but it’s that good).

That brings us neatly to dinner with our lovely waiter, Kostya, who’s so attentive he evens cuts up Mary’s meat for her. Bless him!