My Review of Rhapsody - South Pacific Cruise

[Shiraz49]

Hi Jas, really glad you lived the Rhapsody, as we may have mentioned we placed it well ahead of Princess (althoughwe throughly enjoyed ourselves as well) with only the old Norwegian Wind slightly ahead mainly because it's more like what an old ocean cruiser was about. The Rhapsody, her staff and asia were a trully wonderful experience.

You'd have no problem with the hawkers in Asia once you've managed to deal with (or get rid of) the Fijian hawkers ( ??? were they Fijians or like in the past mainly Indian?)

 

ps your call on a local restaurant for dinner, you can fill us in first hand.

[anderss22]

GREAT review! Thanks heaps for sharing!

*sigh* Can't decide whether awesome stories like this make me more excited about our next cruise coming soon OR slightly annoyed that it's still 117 Sleeps away!

 

 

 

I am sure you are rather busy having just got back, But if you get a chance could you please tell me ( If you remember) the name of this place / where abouts it is.

 

 

It was either Turtle Beach or Turtle Bay Resort. Cannot remember which one it was..;)

[Debsta]

It's Turtle Bay Resort. That's where we went to on a Buggy Adventure :D We were going to to Cascade Waterfalls after but we had to get back to the ship early :(

[cazz0069]

Jas this is the best start to a review EVER and is soooooooooooo true:cool:..your work deserves to be in print.....:D:D love it...cheers Shiona

 

Thanks Shiona. I will post the rest in the next couple of days. I got on my high horse a little bit regarding the bad experience in Fiji, but i think its important to have people aware of what goes on :)

 

Tom, i will message you on FB, we are way overdue for a `ketchup` :)

[p_toasty]

Great review Jason you deserve a literary award!!! Hey in Vila, can i walk from the boat to town or is it too far? I am booked in for a massage in town and am concerned i may get ripped off by some dodgy taxi driver?:D

[thied]

Great review Jason you deserve a literary award!!! Hey in Vila, can i walk from the boat to town or is it too far? I am booked in for a massage in town and am concerned i may get ripped off by some dodgy taxi driver?:D

no taxi just mini bus. and $ 3.00 oer person

[thied]

as per the norm only half the story will be told on cruise critic .

[yamcrzr]

Sharon, Juri was amazing (besides being cute to boot ;)) he was so personable and so friendly. He does his job well and seems to enjoy it. We made a point of finding him on the last day and giving him some money just to say thanks. Him and the little asian girl Ton, in the champagne bar were just fantastic

 

We did exactly the same thing, felt we had to give him (and Sofia and Alejandro - our other 2 favourite bar people) a little extra for their hard work. Just meant we had to go back to the Viking bar after dinner, had a huuuuuuuge night and got off the ship with the biggest hangover known to man........:eek:

 

Awesome ship.........loved the whole experience!!! Can't wait for the Radiance now.:D

 

Cheers

Sharon

[cazz0069]

Great review Jason you deserve a literary award!!! Hey in Vila, can i walk from the boat to town or is it too far? I am booked in for a massage in town and am concerned i may get ripped off by some dodgy taxi driver?:D

 

The walk into town would take a while Paula, so will need to get a taxi. Just haggle!!! Some people were quoted $50, whereas others got a ride into town for $20...:)

[thied]

The walk into town would take a while Paula, so will need to get a taxi. Just haggle!!! Some people were quoted $50, whereas others got a ride into town for $20...:)

 

 

(Some people were quoted $50) but how many people were there in the group that were quoted $50?

 

How many people were there in the other group that were quoted for $20?

 

 

 

 

.

[Goodyab]

The walk into town would take a while Paula, so will need to get a taxi. Just haggle!!! Some people were quoted $50, whereas others got a ride into town for $20...:)

 

Jas,

We got our taxi driver from the ship into town (once i barted) down to $8 he started at $20 (one way) then once we had finished looking around in town got another taxi for $20 to Cascade Waterfalls.

The taxi driver then waited for us and took us back to the ship for $30...:)

Hope this helps...so you can get into town for $8 and there was four of us:)

Cheers Angie:)

[cazz0069]

(Some people were quoted $50) but how many people were there in the group that were quoted $50?

 

How many people were there in the other group that were quoted for $20?

 

 

 

Not really important Thied...

[rkmw]

hi JAS good reveiw i enjoyed it very much

 

i can remember our first cruise to Suva and it was on the Rhapsody and an old couple got rolled for their money but we have been back quite a few times and had no trouble.....even Vlia has some rouge taxi drivers that you have to watch out for

[thied]

(Some people were quoted $50) but how many people were there in the group that were quoted $50?

 

How many people were there in the other group that were quoted for $20?

 

 

 

Not really important Thied...

yes it is as the quote of $50 if it was for 2 people $25 each very dear trip to town or if was for 10 people $5 each and thats why I asked just so people know its better to work as a group and get a better deal when it comes to these busses.and the new people reading this get an idea on what the prices are and how it works. but its all good thank you for your help.

[cazz0069]

Good point i suppose.....Get as many people as possible to share is definetely the way to go :)

[Drelix]

Great reiview.

 

I never thought of scammers at all might have to be more aware of them.

[thied]

Great reiview.

 

I never thought of scammers at all might have to be more aware of them.

what about the children selling the week old news papers down town just a little scam.

[Australian family]

Love your review.

 

Sorry to hear about Suva. Was the fellow that ripped you off a Fijian Indian, or a native Fijian? Fiji is full of Indians.

 

The first time I went to Suva in the 80's we were approached by this Fijian and he was so vulgar, I won't repeat it on here what he said. But it was disgusting, and not very nice they way he talked to a group of young women.

[cazz0069]

Love your review.

 

Sorry to hear about Suva. Was the fellow that ripped you off a Fijian Indian, or a native Fijian? Fiji is full of Indians.

 

The first time I went to Suva in the 80's we were approached by this Fijian and he was so vulgar, I won't repeat it on here what he said. But it was disgusting, and not very nice they way he talked to a group of young women.

 

He looked Fijian. Interesting you should say that as the first thing he did was warned us about going into the indian run shops and that he would take us to a genuine Fijian one which incedently was run by Indians!!!! I should have known something dodgy was going down. I think i was fooled by his photo id. I should have also clicked when he asked us where we were from and then proceeded to tell us he had a friend in Bondi :rolleyes: He then kissed our hands:eek:

[Australian family]

He looked Fijian. Interesting you should say that as the first thing he did was warned us about going into the indian run shops and that he would take us to a genuine Fijian one which incedently was run by Indians!!!! I should have known something dodgy was going down. I think i was fooled by his photo id. I should have also clicked when he asked us where we were from and then proceeded to tell us he had a friend in Bondi :rolleyes: He then kissed our hands:eek:

 

Oh I hope you scrubbed those hands!:eek::eek:

 

I guess you won't be booking a return holiday to Fiji.:D:D

 

Are you now going to try out the Radiance of the Seas?

[LOVE cruising!]

Great review so far!

 

An idea for those wishing to get transport. We paid $10 for 4 of us to go to the Duty Free shops from the Ship. Then once there, my husband & I walked a little way up the road (maybe 40m) & caught the local's bus to the Golf Course for $3.50 for the both of us. We then caught the bus again to the Cascades for a bit less than that. Unfortunately we jumped in a bus for the way home only to find that the circus people from the ship had hired him for the day & he charged us $20 (once we got to the ship mind you). If we had known, we would have waited for the next one. We were told by the locals that the bus trip to the ship would be about $4 each from the Cascades. The buses are not flash by any means, but the people are friendly. Do yourself a favour & change some money into Vatu before getting off the ship as paying in their money is always cheaper. When looking for a local bus, bus stops are everywhere & just watch for their number plates having a 'B' on them. When you see one, just wave your arm, they will stop. Unfortunately we also saw an elderly couple get taken back to the ship early on in the day & he handed over a $50 note!:eek: Hope this helps.

[anderss22]

Great review so far!

 

An idea for those wishing to get transport. We paid $10 for 4 of us to go to the Duty Free shops from the Ship. Then once there, my husband & I walked a little way up the road (maybe 40m) & caught the local's bus to the Golf Course for $3.50 for the both of us. We then caught the bus again to the Cascades for a bit less than that. Unfortunately we jumped in a bus for the way home only to find that the circus people from the ship had hired him for the day & he charged us $20 (once we got to the ship mind you). If we had known, we would have waited for the next one. We were told by the locals that the bus trip to the ship would be about $4 each from the Cascades. The buses are not flash by any means, but the people are friendly. Do yourself a favour & change some money into Vatu before getting off the ship as paying in their money is always cheaper. When looking for a local bus, bus stops are everywhere & just watch for their number plates having a 'B' on them. When you see one, just wave your arm, they will stop. Unfortunately we also saw an elderly couple get taken back to the ship early on in the day & he handed over a $50 note!:eek: Hope this helps.

 

Yes Definately get some Vatu and use that for payment... It was heaps cheaper than the amount of AUS or US they were asking for... Its just as well I took the vatu and knew what the exchange rate was. I can see how people would get taken for a ride using the the AUS or US dollars. Vatu all the way when in Vanuatu!

[cazz0069]

Yes Definately get some Vatu and use that for payment... It was heaps cheaper than the amount of AUS or US they were asking for... Its just as well I took the vatu and knew what the exchange rate was. I can see how people would get taken for a ride using the the AUS or US dollars. Vatu all the way when in Vanuatu!

 

 

Although Andrew, having said that remember how the girl at that Turtle beach was going to charge us more had we paid with Vatu...I think it would have been alot more had we paid for it that way :)

[anderss22]

Although Andrew, having said that remember how the girl at that Turtle beach was going to charge us more had we paid with Vatu...I think it would have been alot more had we paid for it that way :)

 

Yes you are right.... MY BAD!! Ok heres the hot tip.. Take dual currencies and be aware of exchange rates... ;)

[cazz0069]

Food: RCL doesnt have a speciality restaurant, so really the only places to eat are the Edelweiss Restaurant and the Windjammer. Theres also the Solarium Cafe but thats really just snacks like Pizza and very bland burgers (i think this is also the hangout when people get the munchies after a night at the Viking Club lounge) Food is always a plenty! Dont be afraid to ask your waiter for 2nds or 3rd or even a couple of each courses. There really is alot of choice. One thing that was really dissapointing was the lack of or more to the point the non existance of Lobster and Bombe Alaska on the last formal night. I hang for these nights on cruises, and even the Fairstar did it, so the fact RCL dont offer it really let it down. Be sure to check out wine packages, i know online you can pick a package but if you are like us and like your Aussie and NZ wines, then wait till your onboard and you can purchase a passage thats made up of entirely those. A 10 bottle package cost us $287. Overall i am going to have to say Princess wins the challenge in relation to better food. The mere fact that they give you the Lobster and Bombe means they win but after alot of ummmming and arrrring i did find that the overall quality and presenation of the food were not up to the standard of Princess.

 

Staff: The staff really do make a cruise and as previously mentioned there were some amazing staff that just made our cruise so enjoyable. Make friends with the bar staff, get in their good books and they make you the most fantastic drinks often with far more booze in it then what the recipe requires. Our cabin steward although friendly rarely spoke to us, didnt introduce himself, and was barely seen. Although he did his job adequately, he didnt do anything that really endeared himself to us. Everything was done to the bare minimum. We were lucky we dont expect much, but i heard someone else complaining that there cabin steward just wasnt available so make of it what you will.

 

Entertainment: As i mentioned before, unlike Princess, RCL on takes advantage of one of its theatres for productions. All shows will be in the Broadway Melodies Theatre. We had some great performers. We had 2 magicians, A Pianist, A Celine Dion Impersonater (the only performer i have ever seen who got a standing ovation on a cruise) She was truly amazing, singing exactly like her, and also doing her accent while remaining in character and talking to the audience. About 30 minutes into the show she breaks character and talks to the audience as herself telling us she won a TV show in the UK where people impersonate their idols. She truly was fantastic. So you can imagine my disgust when 2 old biddies at breakfast were saying how bad she was they had to walk out....They are so lucky their rolling walkers aren't permanently imbeded in their backsides, they made me so mad. I pointed out to them that had they stuck around they would have witnessed the standing ovation. The other one mentioned that she never had never heard any of Celines songs so maybe that was why they didnt like it. At this point Eric had to restrain me from force feeding them their rolling walkers. The final show, was very special with 2 of the cruise staff serenading the audience, followed by a very funny juggler and an amazing acrobatic show. It concluded with the dancers singing some type of goodbye song, followed by all the heads of staff, including the captain and various waiters, bar staff, room attendants etc walking on to the stage waving goodbye...It was a lovely goodbye which admittedly got me a little choked up. Overall i was really happy with the entertainment. Just remember if you miss a show unlike Princess, you dont get a chance to see it again. All shows are on twice a night. Our 12 night cruise saw only 2 Broadway productions, all the rest were guests.

 

Overall: So as you can see we had an amazing time. We had seas that were calmer than my grandmother on a glass of red and half a white valium which i am so grateful for. I cant recommend enough the importance of registering for a roll call. What a chance to make some amazing friends which we did. As the cruise was coming to an end Eric and i tried to way the pros and cons of Princess and RCL and trust me it was really hard. RCL certainly comes out on top in relation to the ship itself Rhapsody is truly a marvel. I challenge anyone to say why this ship isnt just the best that Oz has on offer. But having said that i think Princess some things better. But each to his own i say. Without a doubt i have missed something here, so as i think of it i will add, otherwise ask away and jolt my memory if there is something i have not covered.