A Week-Long Party – Cruisin’ Country with Choose Your Cruise

There are some travel experiences that I had thought were best saved for my twilight years (you know – bus trips round New Zealand, garden tours of the Southern Highlands, things like that) but since I spent a week on board Royal Caribbean International’s gorgeous “Rhapsody of the Seas” partying on Choose Your Cruise Cruisin Country 4 I’ve had to review that list & remove cruising from it!

Choose Your Cruise are an Adelaide-based business who present several music-themed cruises out of Sydney every year on the Royal Caribbean line. Each cruise is basically a week-long party with tropical day-trips and each has a different musical motif –  think cruises with names like Rock the Boat and Cruise ‘n’ Groove. The Bloke and I have a distinct fondness for roots, blues and country so a seven night tropical cruise on Cruisin Country 4 was a no brainer for us.  The idea of themed cruises is absolutely inspired as it immediately gives all of the passengers a common point of interest – not a bad thing when you throw hundreds of people together for a week or so – and the warmth and friendliness of both the crew and our fellow passengers was obvious from the minute we stepped aboard.

The guys at Choose Your Cruise don’t muck around when it comes to selecting the entertainment and the numerous performers on our cruise included several of my personal Australian favourites like Casey Chambers, Beccy Cole and Shane Nicholson along with longtime country stars John Williamson, Graeme Connors and US country VIP’s The Bellamy Brothers. The major stars performed in the evenings in the beautiful Broadway Melodies Theatre (a stunning and exceptionally comfortable venue, with fully seated drinks service), but there are multiple music venues on the ship. The live music from various bands and performers (and not a dud among them!) starts at about 10 in the morning and continues until well into the wee small hours on stages and in bars, usually with the major stars taking part in impromptu jam sessions after a few drinks.

There’s heaps to do on board this party ship and when you’re not listening to live music you can be learning to line or square dance, attend song writing or guitar workshops, visit the gym, have a pampering session in the Vitality Day Spa (my favourite spot), do walking laps of the top deck, attempt the climbing wall, swim, read, snooze or eat. And oh, can you eat.

There are multiple restaurants, bistros, cafes and bars on board and, with the exception of four specialist dining experiences, all of your food is included in the cost of your ticket. From light snacks on the pool deck, to vast buffets in the bistro and fine dining in the formal dining rooms – oh, and full room service at no extra charge –  there’s no way you are going to go hungry. I’d heard some less than flattering things about cruise ship food in the past, but I was very impressed with the offerings from Royal Caribbean and could easily see how stories of an average weight gain of 4-5 kilos per punter, per cruise could well be true. In general the food was good to very good, with some of it just plain exceptional.

The above dishes are from two of the specialty restaurants, both of which cost extra but are ridiculously affordable. For a cover charge of just $25 per head in Giovanni’s Table you can order whatever you want from the a la carte menu – and as much of it as you want. Chops Grille is similar, but slightly more expensive, depending upon what you order. By far the most popular spot to eat was The Windjammer Cafe and their buffets at breakfast, lunch and dinner were a vast spread of fresh, diverse food – with some sugar-free desserts and a dedicated gluten-free area.

Of course, I felt it was my personal duty to eat as widely as possible to give you, dear reader, a full impression of the culinary treats available. I also toured the massive galley, but am saving that story for another day. All in all, this was a fantastic experience for both The Bloke and me and I’d do it again in a heartbeat. There’s no such thing as too much music or too much food in my book.

Check out some of Choose Your Cruise‘s upcoming trips and the featured artists – you might just find yourself rethinking the whole cruising experience!

While Lambs’ Ears and Honey and her Bloke cruised as guests of Choose Your Cruise, these opinions are strictly her own.

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