Rhapsody of the seas

Hi

Di and I have booked and confirmed our cruise on the Rhapsody on 19th October 2008.Any other CCers booked on this cruise.Would be good to hear from you.

Col & Di:)

Hi Col and Di

I notice you sailed on the Superstar Leo in 2004. I took my sister in law for a weekend cruise out of Sydney in February that year. Were you on one of those short cruises?

We are hoping to book Rhapsody for 22/11 but business is really quiet for us at this time of the year and we are trying to scrape up the deposit. Got a really good price from an on-line agency. Pretty much half P&O.

Jenny

Hi Jenny,

We flew to Brisbane and picked up Leo .Sailed up to the whitsundays,cairns ,hamilton island then beriisy then sydney 10 glorious days.We have sailed on Virgo ( leos sister ship out of singapore) a few times .its a great ship but i would fly to singapore just for the cruise but incoporate it with a land based holiday like 10 days in phukett then hpo on the ship to finish off the holiday.

We got a great deal with rhapsody 1215.00 usd for 13 nights doesnt get any better.

I will be able to tell what its like

Cheers

Col & Di:)

Hi, we are booked on 13 December 08 .... boat looks great .. will be hanging for review !!!

I also was on the Australias ...

I also was on the Australias ...

Have you seen what she looks like now?

Karen

Yes !,I have spoken to you before .. I used to go to a site and you gave me another ... alot of memories their for a lot of people...: (

Yes !,I have spoken to you before .. I used to go to a site and you gave me another ... alot of memories their for a lot of people...: (

Oh ok. I've spoken to so many people about the Australis I forget who I've spoken to. I certainly have a lot of great memories of her.

Karen

Hi, we are booked on 13 December 08 .... boat looks great .. will be hanging for review !!!

 

I also was on the Australias ...

Are you booked on the 11 night Rhapsody from Sydney to Cooktown & back? I am checking out o/s versus balcony cabins on the 2/12/08 cruise. Can get an o/s category I for $1690pp incl. gratuities & all charges whereas a balcony will b roughly $2965 pp. ...after an inside on Sun Princess 14 n. to NZ we'd like a bit more space!

Cheers,

Andrea

A friend of ours has been interested in the Rhapsody cruise in Jan to Tassie.(ME TOO!!!!)

He was told by a TA that he needs a passport for this cruise, is this so?

I wouldnt think so as its in Aussie waters but maybe soneone might know?

The info would help me too as My kids dont have passports and I really want to do this one!

Just gotta convince "you know who" ;)

A friend of ours has been interested in the Rhapsody cruise in Jan to Tassie.(ME TOO!!!!)

He was told by a TA that he needs a passport for this cruise, is this so?

I wouldnt think so as its in Aussie waters but maybe soneone might know?

 

The info would help me too as My kids dont have passports and I really want to do this one!

Just gotta convince "you know who" ;)

I doubt that the info from the TA is correct. We were on the 2 nighter from B'ne to Sydney in March (having been on for the previous 12 nights). The passengers boarding just for the 2 nighter did not have to have a passport and we did not have to go through Immigration. I know Skyrules (one of the CCers) was on this 2 nighter and will be able to confirm this. If I am correct, then the next step is to check this with Rhapsody or with the Immigration Dept. There is no point in paying for passports if they are not needed. :):)

A friend of ours has been interested in the Rhapsody cruise in Jan to Tassie.(ME TOO!!!!)

He was told by a TA that he needs a passport for this cruise, is this so?

I wouldnt think so as its in Aussie waters but maybe soneone might know?

Just gotta convince "you know who" ;)

Tell him I will leave my Safari Suit at home if it will help. The price of this one has gone up a bit since the bargain basement intro prices, but still plenty of available cabins.

I wouldn't think you need a passport, but ring or email the Aussie RCCL agency (this is the booking centre, not a T\A) to be sure of passports from the horses mouth.

Discover The World Marketing

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Phone: (02) 99593696

Email: rccl@discoveramerica.com.au

I am looking at Rhapsody Dec 13 for 10 nights. Both RCI websites and some sites advertised on CC show cheapest inside cabin @ $US 799 which sounds like an amazing price. It just sounds too cheap, apart from the fuel and tipping charges , are there any other hidden costs or taxes that I need to be aware of when booking on these sites?

thanks

Go through and do a 'fake' booking on Royal Caribbean's website. Go through and select your options, cabins etc. You should get to a pricing page. This includes taxes etc. Good luck, and have fun.:)

I am looking at Rhapsody Dec 13 for 10 nights. Both RCI websites and some sites advertised on CC show cheapest inside cabin @ $US 799 which sounds like an amazing price. It just sounds too cheap, apart from the fuel and tipping charges , are there any other hidden costs or taxes that I need to be aware of when booking on these sites?

 

thanks

Check if their price includes port charges. They are usually inclusive here, but some US brands\agents add later.

Did a 'mock' booking on an Inside Guarantee. Here are the results.

Price Breakdown

Guest 1 Cruise Fare $799.00 USD

Guest 2 Cruise Fare $799.00 USD

Fuel Supplement: $100.00 USD

Taxes/Fees $107.72 USD

Package Total $1,805.72 USD

All that has to be added on is gratuities I think.:o

Did a 'mock' booking on an Inside Guarantee. Here are the results.

 

Price Breakdown

 

Guest 1 Cruise Fare $799.00 USD

Guest 2 Cruise Fare $799.00 USD

Fuel Supplement: $100.00 USD

Taxes/Fees $107.72 USD

Package Total $1,805.72 USD

 

All that has to be added on is gratuities I think.:o

Which cruise is that , I am on 13th December 08, you also have to add $97 US for tipping, Compulsory ..

Which cruise is that , I am on 13th December 08, you also have to add $97 US for tipping, Compulsory ..

hi tigerman, i have 3 cruises booked on the rhapsody and i can pay my own tips

rkmw

Which cruise is that , I am on 13th December 08, you also have to add $97 US for tipping, Compulsory ..

That is the 13th of December. With tips it brings it just short of $2000USD for two in total.

We decided to prepay the tips for the 35 nights now, rather than later!!;) Get them over and done with. One less hassle to think of....

hi tigerman, i have 3 cruises booked on the rhapsody and i can pay my own tips

 

rkmw

Hi there, Yes, I am paying my own tips as well, however if you look into it you have to buy vouchers to a minimum of $97 per person.. good or bad service there is NO way around it , so My kids have to also pay the tips ,,, well it still ends up a good price compared tp P&O ,,

Cheere.

Hi there, Yes, I am paying my own tips as well, however if you look into it you have to buy vouchers to a minimum of $97 per person.. good or bad service there is NO way around it , so My kids have to also pay the tips ,,, well it still ends up a good price compared tp P&O ,,

 

Cheere.

hi tigerman, no one mentioned about vouchers to me, i booked online thru two different T/A, this is what is says

Gratuities are additional and payable onboard

maybe when i pay my final payment they may mention it then about the vouchers

I think the vouchers are what you recieve towrds the end of the cruise to give to the appropriate staff member??:confused: I may be wrong.

We prepaid our gratuities, as it was included in our package, back in 2005 on the Voyager. We recieved the 'vouchers' on the last day @ sea. It is then up to you to give to the staff member. All it has inside is a piece of paper with your name I think. Can't remember.:o

I could be going off on the completely wrong track here, but this is what it sounds like to me.:confused:

My understanding is this:

1. You pay before you go - you will be given vouchers to put in the tips envelopes to give to the staff at the end of the cruse. Most Aussie TA's for RCCL have you pay them before you cruise, probably because they think a lot of Aussies are not accustomed to paying tips, but if you book through a US TA then you don't have to do this if you don't want to.

2. You pay once on board - go to the pursers desk and ask to have them added to your cruise card and they will give you vouchers toward the end of the cruise and you just put them in the tipping envelopes so you have something to give the stewards/waiters etc. (so it doesn't look like you stiffed them!).

3. You pay cash - put the cash in the tips envelopes and give them out as above.

It seems to me RCCL makes it hard for you NOT to pay the tips....

Cheers,

I think you've hit the nail on the head kimba_99.:)

It seems to me RCCL makes it hard for you NOT to pay the tips....

 

Cheers,

True. P&O Aus subsidise the tipping we are not accustomed to, so the staff are paid a similar amount to other countries where tipping is common. I guess RCCL are worried about passengers not budgeting into their cruise, and removing them to "pay with cash" later.

RCCL's Australian booking agent stipulates that all Aussie based Rhapsody cruises have tips paid upfront. I guess they are aware that if they do it the usual way, the staff would be getting less wages than they get in the US.

Considering the price we paid for our Tassie cruise, even when tips and fuel subsidy are added, the price is still more than $100pp per day cheaper than the Dawn Princess one that cruises a month later.

While the tips on P&O are far cheaper, and only apply to passengers over 12, Princozz is $10AU for all passengers, similar to RCCL's $9.75 US

Which cruise is that , I am on 13th December 08, you also have to add $97 US for tipping, Compulsory ..

Same cruise as yours Tigerman... sounds like great value for this cruise, i think i will also book it tomorrow....

Thanks Jarrod and Jeff, i also did a mock quote and am still surprised at the cost.. I will ring around a few of the agents tomorrow to see if they can better RCI??

What can i expect with Rhapsody v Princess in terms of service and food? I was very impressed with Princess service... cheers