We flew from the Gold Coast to Sydney early on departure day to board the ship. We caught the shuttle from the airport to the overseas passenger terminal at Circular Quay and were able to store our baggage in the vans provided by RCI. We passed a few hours with friends before returning to the ship around 2pm.

Boarding was simple. No queues. Straight thru to collect seapasses and board the Rhapsody. Our bags were already at the cabins when we got aboard. The cabin was clean and comfortable and certainly adequate.

Lunch was available in the Windjammer cafe, passengers were swimming in the pool, playing shuffleboard and generally making the most of the facilities. We liked the look of the ship from the beginning. Plenty of glass making the most of the ocean views. People had mentioned the ship looking it's age, being a bit old etc however we thought it was comfortable and clean. We've sailed in ships a lot older than this. Read more