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.
Casey Chambers & Beccy Cole – best friends performing together on the last night, Choose Your Cruise Cruisin Country 4
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.
Hugely generous Caprese Salad in Giovanni’s Table, Rhapsody of the Seas, Choose Your Cruise Cruising Country 4
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.
A very small selection of salads available in the Windjammer Cafe, Rhapsody of the Seas, Choose Your Cruise
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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There might be lots of things to do on cruises like sun baking, swimming, entertainment, shopping, gambling, exercise and more but cruise ships learned long ago, it’s the food people remember. I’ve been on a few cruises and dinner was always special.
Our favourite holidays were cruises Amanda, you are never too young or too old to enjoy one. It makes me want to pack my bag and head off again, this one would have been right up my alley.
Oh I love cruising, I did used to think it was the older persons way to travel, but now, it’s right up there with being the only way to travel. The food is amazing, the service generally speaking just superb and the entertainment brilliant. Glad Ya had a Rippa time, the countdown until I set sail is on now for me, 38 days I think. Boom! Bring it. 🙂
What a fabulous trip. I have been to Alaska on the Diamond Princess and loved every single second.
Amanda you got some great shots of the buffet. Usually when I try and get pics of them they don’t look anywhere near as good!
Thanks Lorraine. Actually, they let me get in after set-up, but before the starving hordes descended – that’s why it’s all untouched!
What a fun sounding trip indeed! It’s a great idea to organize the cruise around a theme like that. The food does look yummy, I’m interested in seeing the galley tour too xox
This would be the sort of cruise I would like focused on music. Such a great idea
We went on our first cruise as a family in January and also sailed out from Circular Quay. I loved it and can easily see myself becoming a cruise junkie. We have booked a different holiday for this January but I keep getting emails from the cruise company we booked with last year and I’m wondering if we made the right choice. I do hope this year’s holiday lives up to the cruise or I’ll be in a lot of trouble from everyone else in the family. It’s so true that cruises have the best entertainment – and there’s so much to do on board it’s difficult to find the time to sleep! xx
Never been on a cruise Amanda, but you make it sound like a must-do. Food looks awesome. Imagine how awful though if you suffered from sea-sickness and couldn’t eat anything!
Cruising isn’t my thing at all, Amanda, but your photos make this sound fabulous.
What a week you had! We went on the CC2 in 2012 as a birthday treat for my husband, a country music fan. Our first cruise, we had the time of our lives! So much so that lying on that perfect tropical beach at Isle of Pines I decided that this was the lifestyle for me – and decided to retire!