Bravo Cruise feedback
Self Famil Report – Bravo Music Cruise Royal Caribbean
If you love music and people watching as well as all the others joys of cruising, then a Music Cruise is for you. The Music starts at 11am and continues at various venues throughout the ship until 1am.
First things first. Check in was a dream. Admittedly we turned up very near to the allotted time of 11.30am with our documentation ready. Pays to know a good travel consultant! We were aware that our cabins would not be ready until around 1pm but with our luggage off our hands this left time for initial exploring, a much needed coffee after our early start and one final look at our emails. Our balcony stateroom number 9236 was then ready with plenty of room, a sitting area and a good size balcony. Very satisfactory!
The entertainment on board was amazing. We chose the Bravo cruise departure for the departure date however any of the three music cruises, Rock and Roll, Country or Bravo would have offered the same great experience. The music on the Bravo cruise was a mix of blues, soul, classical, easy operatic and even a smidge of country rock and blue grass. Each night every passenger was guaranteed a seat in the theatre to see the headline act…..two sessions pre planned and well planned. Extra day performances were on offer and we deliberately tried various seating angles. In almost all night sessions it was easy to be seated within 4 rows of the front…..without having to camp out.
The evening headline acts which were the highlights for us, include Jane Rutter, Liz Callaway, Grigoryan Brothers, Emma Pask, David Hobson, Mark Vincent, David Shannon and the 32 piece Metropolitan Orchestra. On top of that lineup, every day in other bars and lounges and the atrium, we were treated to an array of wonderful talent (1 or 2 should have been nightly head line acts). Your Cruise Compass newsletter, delivered each afternoon to your cabin, informed you of the coming events for the next day so you could plan to see your favorites. Worthy of mention: Big Ol’ Bus Band and our pick, Libby O’Donovan (sensational, her own inimitable style Black Coffee, Walkin’ After Midnight, My Baby Just Cares For Me) wherever she played filled every seat, window ledge, pot plant rim and allowed floor space.
You can choose from many and varied dining options. We chose the main dining room mostly at night…..and occasionally for breakfast. Excellent table waiters. As each meal was sampled, the waiters would ensure you were happy with the choice made and gently insist on replacing a meal if you hesitated with an approval. The Wind Jammer Café was a great place for brunch and the Park Café for a snack if you consciously missed breakfast or lunch. Even a Dog House for hotdogs and the like. There were also specialist Japanese, Mexican and Italian and The Chops Grille. We tried the Grill which was worth the small supplement.
Service in general was excellent, and equal if not better to what we have experienced on more up market cruises where personnel could learn a thing or two from Radiance of the Seas personnel!
Shore excursions were available by tender at Mare and Mystery Island and perfect for beach goers. Noumea, for us was another pleasant visit ( 2nd visit after some 20 years ago visiting Anse Vata). We enjoyed a well-organized local tour, local cuisine and a wander around. All tendering was efficiently managed.
Radiance of the Seas offers a well-managed customer service desk, a good library, outdoor cinema, gym, spa, pool, rock climbing and mini golf and many nooks and crannies where you can sit quietly, to read, play chess or have a quiet tete a tete.
Overall the ship is kept very clean. It is in need of a little varnish here and there and perhaps some minor soft refurbishment but this did not take away from the overall experience and we would travel again on this ship anytime.
Disembarkation was smooth and efficient too.
Finally, we thought the cost of this cruise was great value for money. If we had to travel independently to enjoy a Headliner, buy front row seat tickets and possible overnight accommodation to see all those performers it would cost much more than the fare for this wonderful music experience. So it is certainly worth every dollar. So the 2016 repertoire starts with Kiri Te Kanawa, Teddy Tahu Rhodes and Marina Prior but I imagine there will be so much more