The journey to Hong Kong and thus on to the ship was relatively straight forward and uneventful. We could have had an incident with the taxi from the airport to the Royal Caribbean meeting point, as the driver did struggle to close the boot of his car over my really rather large suitcase (two small children could comfortably sleep in it...) – “What did you bring ?!!!” – but with a little string the problem was solved. 

 

Welcomed aboard, we were pleasantly surprised to discover our cabin to be bijou but accommodating, with ample storage for both of us to completely unpack and store our cases ;-) We have twin beds and a sofa which would open out as another bed for a family. Ronald, our cabin assistant, called by to introduce himself… “You must be Sallie…. And you must be Jane…… I have seen your photographs on your website. ExpatWoman… very good. Not for me, but very good” !! What a nice man ;-) We reported for muster at 4.30pm, trussed up in life jackets and were attentive to the position of the life boats. That settled, we got on to priority number 2 and phoned the spa.   And then priority no.3…. by 5.30pm we were stood on the deck, raising a glass to Hong Kong as we left its shores.

 

We had flown overnight with a brief nod at breakfast, and because of the time change, missed lunch, so were happy to be allocated the earlier of the two dinner sittings, 6.00pm and 8.30pm. There will be no problem switching to the later sitting for the rest of the cruise should we choose. We opted for the Eidelweiss Restaurant which was full with a good, chatty atmosphere of guests making friends. The a la carte menu offered an appetizing selection, as did the wine list. 

 

Before settling in for an early night, we opted for room service breakfast but over-lollopped somewhat, ordering everything. Thus we were greeted at 8.30am, by a waiter bearing two trays of OJ, fresh coffee, fresh fruit, scrambled eggs, bacon, tomato, sausage, hash browns, toast and a selection of Danish…..  Pulling back the curtains, we are very much ‘out at sea’, and with the sun shining, enjoyed breakfast on the balcony; how very civilized. Sallie looked at the ship’s daily news sheet and read out the long list of activities we had already missed. A varied program for the day was mapped out before us, but the option to relax with a good book, and good coffee is winning right now. And we do have those spa treatments to look forward to later this afternoon.
 

The ship is enormous; a big floating hotel of course, with capacity for 2,400 passengers. Facilities include both indoor and outdoor swimming pools, a jogging track and gym, theatre, dance hall, disco, several gaming rooms, bars including a champagne bar ;-), restaurants and coffee bars, children’s facilities, a climbing wall…. As I type, Sallie has gone to the gym and I have found the library, which is wireless: marvelous. We have completed immigration forms for the arrival in Japan tomorrow and have nothing else to do today but please ourselves. We both felt a bit funny about leaving the children, all be it in safe and loving hands, and indeed were very happy to get through, to call to say good night, but having said that, a week away with a girlfriend… how lucky are we?!

 

 

 As a fairly keen fan of exercise I was delighted by the on board gym, which is equipped with plenty of running machines, bikes, cross trainers and both fixed and free weights. The gym is located at the top of the ship at the back, with a view across the ocean and I was lucky enough to spot a whale breaching in the distance. (My nine year old son was later to quiz me in great detail as to “What type of whale, Mum?” which required some inventiveness on my part.)

 

Lunch was served in either the WindJammer Restaurant offering an extensive buffet, or the more formal Edelweiss. We chose the latter and had not only a good lunch but very entertaining company, meeting up with a group of experienced cruisers from Brighton, with an apparently limitless line in great jokes and stories. Of all the people we met on board over the week, only one, very nice Aussie couple were on their first cruise, and they were technically on their second, having booked back to back cruises, and been in Vietnam the week before. Most of the passengers we met on board were on their 2nd, 4th, 10th cruise... It would seem that once bitten by the bug, it’s hard to resist being lured back to sea.

 

The afternoon shot by with us both trying out different spa treatments. The spa technicians are all Steiner trained, the same as our own Wafi Cleopatra’s so we at least knew what to expect. I had a great facial, followed by both mani and pedicures whilst Jane enjoyed a hot stone massage, deeply relaxing, and managed to stay awake for almost the whole treatment….
 

This is the big night onboard; formal dress for all. The Captain hosts a cocktail party early evening. We were honoured to be invited to join him for dinner afterwards, and arrived at the appointed hour, to be met by Ricky Garbutt, our very entertaining Head of Security, who escorted us through to the main dining room where we waited for The Master to arrive. Captain Olav Gunnar Nyseter is Norwegian, now based in Baltimore, and has recently completed 46 years at sea. He joined Royal Caribbean before it was Royal Caribbean, has seen many changes of course, working on most of the ships and routes, and we were interested to quiz him about his experiences. He heads up a crew of over 700 from some 51 nationalities on Rhapsody, and typically is away from home for three to four months at a time. He was particularly proud to tell us that his son has also recently become a Captain with Royal Caribbean; father and son being the oldest and youngest Captains in the fleet. The guests at the Captain’s table were an eclectic group, all experienced cruisers and very interesting; Japanese & Polish couples living in Canada, a British couple and of course Jane & I, British living in Dubai; plenty to talk about. Dinner was good and we retired from there to the Champagne Bar with some of our new friends to continue the evening, where we met the first of several Welsh couples who clearly must have been consulting their crystal balls; celebrating that Welsh rugby win several days in advance!  At every social occasion we have met great people, all keen to chat and have a laugh and that is probably one of the greatest memories I will take with me. Our evening ended very late. Luckily we can have a lie in tomorrow! 

 

Day Three – Okinawa, Japan 

After a full day at sea yesterday, we watched the shores of Japan appear in the distance, and still newbies to cruising, were interested to observe the process as the ship docked in the port of Okinawa. The Japanese government had recently introduced new immigration rules and we were all required to complete paperwork, and have finger print scans. It was clearly a bit of a pain but with additional crew taken on to assist in scheduling the requirements to minimize the impact on passengers, it was all managed quite smoothly. Top tip…. take a book when you expect to be queuing!

 

Our trip this afternoon was to a castle with a rich history of both Chinese and Japanese influence. We were a little thwarted by the weather (and got quite exited by the booth at the end of the tour selling egg fried rice and sweet corn soup!). It’s Spring here and although not really cold, a grey sky soon gave way to a light drizzle. There’s another lesson learned – pack a raincoat or an umbrella. More sunshine and we would have explored what looked like pretty gardens. We stopped at a shopping mall on the way back to the ship but, coming from Dubai, were not overly impressed by the stores on offer. 
 

The Japanese fashions were cute but, given neither of us are a size 2, not really for us. We have noticed throughout the holiday that the tours have not been particularly commercial. I can’t remember the last time I went on a tour before this, anywhere, without being filed into the obligatory craft shop, jewelry store, papyrus/perfume factory… There have been shopping opportunities here but not quite so calculated, leaving us free to explore. 

 

Back on board, we opted for a quiet evening at the Windjammer Restaurant, followed by a wander around the art exhibition on deck six, chatting with James, the resident art expert.

 

 

The alarm went off at 0800, at 0815 we were in a pilates class. Unless you have tried balancing on one leg with your opposite arm in front of you, whilst on the tenth deck of a gently rolling ship, you maybe won’t appreciate the nature of the challenge. We just about managed, and felt that breakfast at the Windjammer was our due, before heading back to our stateroom balcony to watch Keelung come into view. The Taiwanese welcome was fab; lots of dancers, Chinese dragons and entertainment. 
 

The immigration process was also much simpler and we were soon off the ship and onto a tour bus where we were met by possibly the most cheerful guide I have ever met. Fabulous Austina was immense fun and laughed throughout the day… at just about everything. Our first stop was along the rugged coastline where we clamboured over rocks before nipping in to a little café for the best coffee of the trip. With no common language between us but a good deal of smiling and nodding, we managed to convey our needs and appreciation.  

The main focus of our trip was to an old gold mining town called Chiufen where Austina took us to a Tao temple and explained a little about her religion, Taoism, which has a very good set up for problem solving. The temple deities and carvings were very interesting, quite different to what we'd seen before. And then on to the charming town itself. We were shown how jasmine tea should be served, in an exquisite old tea house and sampled local delicacies of dried plums and some really more-ish biscuits, so we brought some more home with us. We were then shown an art gallery before being allowed to wander off on our own.
 

Chiufen was brilliant, lots of tiny cobbled streets, with more food stalls than anywhere I have ever been before. The smells ranged from very yummy to really yucky! But, the food on offer was really interesting, a real cultural experience. I had some great ‘stinky tofu’ and we both enjoyed taro deep fried on a stick so that it resembled a huge potato crisp. Much of what we saw was too bizarre for us to even think about eating. It was Saturday and Chiufen is a popular weekend destination. The shopping and food stalls are primarily aimed at the Taiwanese, and the experience was all the better for it. The tiny streets are packed and we were soon the only European faces in the crowd. Just as interesting to see what everyone else is buying, as it was to mooch ourselves. The shopping was brilliant with some interesting souvenirs to be purchased; a thoroughly great day.

 

We returned to the ship not feeling quite up to a night ‘on the town’ but with only ourselves to get ready, no taxis to plan or reservations to make, it didn’t take long to revitalise. Having not yet got to any of the shows which take place each evening, twice nightly, in the Broadway Melodies Theatre we felt a visit was long overdue. We had missed Ballroom Fever, Justino & Daniello and the Magician John Taylor but, given we can both sing along (or at least think we can...) with Crystal Gayle and Johnny Cash, “Pure Country” was clearly the show for us. We thought it would be a laugh, and indeed it was. And after all that frivolity we felt compelled to go to the disco where we strutted our stuff to seventies favourites. Once again it was two a.m. How time flies.....

 

 

 Kaohsiu is in the south of Taiwan, which is tropical. The sun shone brightly, typical for this time of year, and once again we met with an enthusiastic welcome from the Taiwanese shore party. Another cheery guide chatted informatively about her country and people as we headed off for a little cultural exploration at a renowned Buddhist temple. Kaohsiu is a pretty port leading in to an attractive, modern city. Our guide mentioned that a Dubai-based hotel group is developing one of the better beaches at the southern tip. I suspect Taiwan is a beauty to be discovered, but given Dubai’s PR prowess, we can rest assured it soon will be. The countryside is lush and green, and it was a pleasant drive to the temple… which is ENORMOUS ! And stunning. I won’t go on… but if you have the opportunity to holiday in this area, then I wouldn’t miss either of these two interesting tours. And maybe it would have been good to have had more time, to explore the city or the beach areas.

 

We had a very interesting wholly vegetarian (holy vegetarian) lunch at the temple, with more and more dishes being brought out, resembling amongst other things, raw tuna, sweet and sour chicken, beef in pepper sauce and chicken nuggets. Amazing what can be done to replicate texture.

 

Back to the ship by 2.30pm for a relaxing afternoon, and sat on our balcony it occurred to us that we really like being at sea. It’s very relaxing just to sit and watch the sea pass by, or to read… And if you’re not looking for relaxation the alternatives are numerous. Sallie insisted we try the climbing wall which, being on the top deck, right at the back of the ship, looked a tad daunting for someone not comfortable with heights but hey ho…. Of course Sallie nipped up there like a mountain goat but by half way I would happily have given up. Much vocal encouragement from below ensured that I rang the damn bell !!! Sallie headed off to the busy gym and I took a bracing walk along the jogging track. Lots of people were sunbathing and I expect there will be a few pink bodies at dinner this evening.

 

I walked back through the shopping arcade and the casino, both moderately busy for a quiet Sunday afternoon. The resident violinist was entertaining a small group taking coffee on deck six. Not usually my favourite instrument but early evenings have been a pleasure listening to this very talented gentleman work his magic. A smattering of people in the internet café, and in the library, and an announcement proclaimed Evan Almighty to be the family movie showing this afternoon. There is indeed something for everyone on board. 
 
 

Day Six - Time to go Home 

Day six we were heading back to Hong Kong having had a fabulous holiday, with some lasting great memories, and now ready to get back to our families. Captain Olav will be taking Rhapsody on a couple more cruises from the Hong Kong port, and then it will be Shanghai and eventually Alaska ; something completely different. After the summer season they will go back down under to Australia, New Zealand and many of the Pacific Islands ; plenty of variety for passengers and crew.

  

Looking back over our holiday, we'd got a few pre-conceptions awry. We didn't even get close to suffering from motion sickness. We weren't surrounded by octagenarians in Dynasty garb. We weren't obliged to play bingo or try line dancing. We did have a great time, met some fab people, and although, in looking forward to the cruise we had focused mainly on the destinations, all new to us, we were surprised just how much we just enjoyed life on board. We are clearly destined to join the ranks of experienced cruisers. I suspect, as for everyone else we met, once is never enough.