aussielozzie18

Thank you all. We are taking our 7 Grand Children, ages 1 to 12 years, on the Oasis and wanted to make sure we didn't need suits for them.

For formal nights on the Rhapsody, I dressed up but my kids are not comfortable in formal wear so my teen son wore long pants with a belt and a collared shirt. My teen daughter wore a "nice" plain top with sleeves and plain long black pants. The MDR staff will not expect your grandchildren to be wearing suits or ties.

We had two formal nights on a recent Rhapsody Cruise. The ladies in particular wore some gorgeous gowns. I cannot remember seeing many tuxes but if you dress up you will not look out of place.

I feel your pain. I have a hubby who is a very light sleeper and a cruise for him would be ruined if he had to put up with constant noise, anytime of the day. I also understand that you are frustrated because you were aware of noise issues before you booked and you tried to not have that issue again.

I would second others suggestions and go with lots of research before your next cruise.

I have a son who suffers motion sickness and the first thing I learnt from CC was the need to go down low and in the midships. When I went to my TA, the first thing I mentioned was my son;s issue and she spent 45mins working out the best cabin available for him on the ships that we planned to book.

I also learnt early on CC to never to book the deck under any restaurants or pools due to noise issues.

Finally, if you are looking for an alternative, can I suggest the Rhapsody of the Seas. Only cruised once but loved her and we found Deck 2 to be nice and quiet.

Good explanation Barry. Another thing we have seen on TV before is that the brain takes 3 days to adjust to different circumstances. So the theory about trying to confirm it's own reality is along those lines. Apparently after 3 days roughly you get used to your new reality, and your brain adjusts. So everyone has put forward elements of what happens.

 

I do think though that saying it is all in the mind in such an abrupt way - while possibly factually proven if you are educated - is a bit like a short boss I had once telling me that fat people are just very unhappy. Maybe there is an element to that, but while I could work on my weight, he was NEVER going to get taller! I could not come to his level of rudeness however, and while it annoyed me that he was so personal and rude, I just gave him a pass as he was leaving soon anyhow! :eek:

Got off the Rhapsody on Saturday morning. Stopped walking like a drunken sailor on Monday - so three days seems right

On the Rhapsody, my favourite things were:

1. Sleeping in, in my inside cabin

2. Doing a few laps of the top deck and enjoying fresh air and gorgeous views of the sea

3. Taking a dip in the Solarium pool and then relaxing on the lounges and reading a really good book all afternoon.

4. Dinner in the Edelweiss - excellent food and wonderful waiters

5. Watching the amazing aerial performances in the Centrum

Btw, if anyone finds a waterproof camera at Jinek Bay on their next cruise - that would be ours - dropped as son was climbing up the new steps - there were tears!

Haha greetings! Weirdos unite! ;) we likely will get some souvenirs and maybe a cute something for our daughters back home. I'm a photographer so I've got s weak spot for photos. I can't see myself buying more than one though. How much are they? Oh and what is an appropriate tip for room service?

 

Also - I've never been to a club and really wanted to go on the ship. Are they usually smoking zones? I'm asthmatic so I may have to avoid it. :/

 

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I only bought one photo 5 x 7 and it was $16.95 USD.

Is the duty free grog much cheaper than Uncle D. Murphy's specials? I was lead to believe that they weren't :confused:

I bought I litre of Kahlua for $25 USD for my Dad. He said he couldnt get 1 litre here.

We went through alot of the Evian water. I can;t remember the size but they bigger than a normal bottler of water and were $5.70 per bottle.

Sorry, just one more thing to throw into the mix. What day do you stop in Noumea? I believe alot of the shops are closed on a Sunday.

We did the ship tour to Amedee Lighthouse Island at Noumea instead and it was fabulous. Pricey but well worth it.

Just wanted to add my two cents worth. I was booking my first cruise for this Christmas just gone. I was choosing between the Rhapsody and the Radiance. They left Sydney a day apart and the main difference in the itinerary was Champagne Bay.

Not many cruises go to Champagne Bay and it came highly recommended. So, we went with the itinerary that included it. We just loved it. Absolutely gorgeous spot. Tropical blue water, white sandy beach. Lots of markets. Friendly locals. You can also do tours to Blue Hole with the locals but the main beach was so lovely we couldnt drag ourselves away to do a tour. We had a full day there and loved every minute of it.

We just loved the Rhapsody but I hear equally good things about the Radiance.

Hey Gae.

We're going on 2 cruises together!!! Oct 13 and Feb '14.

See you on our roll call, Meet & Mingle, and on board.:)

 

There are new metal steps at Lifou, and no charge to snorkel.:)

I was there for a Tsunami alert in February.

 

Seija & family

 

Sailed

Rhapsody x 11

Radiance

P&O x 5

Carnival Spirit (don't bother)

 

Booked

Radiance x 3

Rhapsody x 2

Volendam

Sea Princess x 2

 

Planning

Voyager or Celebrity Solstice

Re: Lifou/Jinek Bay. You are correct there is new steps for Jinek Bay. Incorrect re no charge.

We were there over Christmas on the Rhapsody, it was $15pp AUD to snorkel.

No payment at Jinek Bay, no snorkel.

You can swim/snorkel at the main beach for free. We didnt as it was too windy.

Does anyone have any recent compasses (South Pacific) for Rhapsody of the Seas?

I have a nice little folder of all the Cruise Compasses from the Christmas Cruise just gone. Been showing them to all friends and colleagues.

Each cruise compass is 4 pages and the cruise was 10 days, so is anything in particular you want to read?

I don't know how to upload them on CC but if you are prepared to give out your email addresses, I would be happy to email.

Your Compass scans again Ken: Interesting to see the reference to Make A Wish and their 'Wishes at Sea' programme. I'm hoping that this may be a regular cruise activity, and not a special one off for the cruise you were on.

 

One of our sons is the president for Make A Wish (Brisbane South East Branch) and at 33 years old he's been a volunteer for the past 13 years. We've done our bit supporting him and the foundation in those years, but it would be a special privilege to do so at sea.

Hi

I was on the Rhapsody at Christmas and the "Walk for Wishes" was scheduled with the Captain and Cruise Director in attendance. Unfortunately, we woke up to rain and the walk was cancelled but t-shirts were on sale in the Centrum and heavily promoted. Such a great cause, we bought one for each family member.

You have every right to vent. Gee whiz, if that was me I would be doing my block. That is almost the entire cost of my cruise!

I spent $500.00

This was consisted of

a) Internet (teen daughter)

b) Mini bar (we drank alot of the Evian water & packets of M & Ms were irresistable)

c) souvenirs & gifts

d) make a wish t-shirts

e) daily glass of champers

f) One cruise photo

Port tour was paid before cruise, I only bought one cruise photo, did not go to the Casino, I did not go to Latitudes (where you pay for coffee etc) and tips were pre-paid.

Looking at the OP's signature, it looks like he sailed the day after we arrived home:D

As I said in my post I didn't know the reason but I was sure there was one. RCI was great how they handled the situation from start to finish. They had life preservers out immediately and had 2 other ships on the area launching life preservers. We were stopped over 4 hours but only 2 hours delayed getting off the ship. They were very accommodating working with early flights.letting the guest stay in their rooms and keeping the windjammer open later. This was my first cruise and am already looking into sailing with RCI next year.

At our Captain's Q & A, the Captain addressed a question of how search & rescues are conducted. He said one of the first things they do is throw several life rings into water as this allows them to see where the current is taking them. Using the liferings, they can work out which area the person overboard is likely to float to. He also said they use a grid pattern - starting small and working outwards. Usually, any other cruise line in the vicinity will stop their cruise to assist with the search & rescue. The Captain of the vessel the passenger went overboard from is in charge of the search & rescue and he liaises with local authorities.

It was my birthday during the cruise we just returned from, and he bought me a dozen roses and had the room steward create two kissing towel swans with rose petals strewn all over the bed, with two petals placed carefully, one on the top of each swan head. WOW!!!!!!!

That is beautiful. Happy Birthday to you. What a lovely hubby you have:)

It would be interesting to know if those who don't experience sea "sickness" are the only ones who experience land "sickness".

Yes I would be very interested. As I said in my original statement, seasickness on board wasn't a problem, it was "land sickness" that I had to deal with - is it the same thing?

On our last cruise (Mariner, 2008), our son got sick and was quarantined for 48 hours and we were quarantined for 24 hours (not sick, but to make sure). Thank goodness we had a balcony to save our sanity.

I can understand the reason for quarantine. But being quarantined in an inside cabin with the tv playing the same episode every single day and the other episodes being not in English - I would go stir crazy.

Promite..........? Wash your mouth out with soap!! Ha ha!

I blame my English parents.

Glad to hear you enjoyed the Aussie hospitality. We had vegemite on toast most mornings for breakky on our cruise, it left from Brissy so catered for the Aussie crowd! I was so excited to see it on board!

Yes, I had vegemite and toast every morning too. Surprised to find it in the Windjammer on the Rhapsody. At home I actually prefer promite.

Hi aussielozzie.

No SeaPrincess. Or ship of the damned after noro virus outbreak! :D

 

Apparently they normally have a max of 200 kids, so the kids clubs musta been working overtime! :)

Norovirus. Shudder. Hope you weren;t afflicted. Not the xmas present you want to get.

Loving your review. Your comments about Patrick McMahon were spot on. I found this applied to most of the Production Shows - they did seem designed for the older generation.

If you see Sam McCool "comedian" - please give us your take on him - he didnt go down too well with our cruise audience.