This was our third Royal Caribbean cruise, and we chose it because of the itinerary. We wanted to see more of Australia than just Sydney or Melbourne. The cruise itself was wonderful with lovely staff and friendly cruisers. Granted, most people are of the "nearly dead" category, but we still met some great people. We loved the extra activities onboard during the sea days (water color, port talks, dancing lessons, jewelry making, scrapbooking, knitting group).

Our day cruising the fjords was absolutely beautiful. But the tours were very expensive and unorganized. Don't do a tour in Wellington. It's an easily walkable city and the museum is great (and free!). We did the farm tour in Akaroa because I wanted to see a sheep sheared. While that was fascinating, the owner of the farm talked way too much. In Dunedin we arranged a tour on our own, and I was very nervous about them getting us back in time. It ended up being a fabulous day, and I will book tours on my own again!! (We saved $100 each compared to a similar tour that the ship offered, and it was a small group with a fabulous guide.) In Melbourne we did a free walking tour (like the one we did in Sydney before the cruise). There isn't much in Adelaide, so we did the wildlife park tour to Cleland Park, which was great. Esperance was a dilemma because the only thing I could see to do was to go to the beach, and that tour was expensive. But, we did it, and I'm glad we did. We went to 2 beaches which were beautiful, and since it was a terribly hot day, the cool water was refreshing. (Stonehenge was stupid. I still don't get it.) Lastly, we chose to do the 6 hour tour of Perth before being taken to the airport. While the river cruise was nice, we had just gotten off a cruise ship!! The rest of the tour was driving around and around the same city, and stopping for 1/2 hour for a FAST lunch. I'm not sure why the rush, but it was a bit disappointing.

I agree with some of the other reviewers that the ship needs a little TLC, which it is supposed to get soon. There were people continuing on to do the next cruise, and I don't think I could do that--too little room in the cabin and not enough quiet places to go to. The food was great. We treated ourselves to one night at Chop's, which was delicious. However, there was not much variety on the menu (lots of lamb), and some nights it was "guess I'll have the salmon again." I have to say some of the entertainment was great (the band and cruise singers and dancers, and the guest pianist and cellist), but there were a few nights we walked out because the "entertainment" was so bad. Read more