Last Chance for Summer Sailings
By: Louise Goldsbury, Cruise Weekly

The countdown has begun for Australia's "wave season", less than one month away, but limited spaces are still available on Rhapsody of the Seas.

As Rhapsody of the Seas leaves Vancouver this week to make her way back to Sydney, Royal Caribbean has revealed that limited spots are still available on cruises from Australian ports this summer, including school holidays.

Rhapsody, the largest and newest superliner based in Australia, arrives in Sydney at 5am on 17 October for her third season down under.

Adam Armstrong, commercial manager of Royal Caribbean Cruises Australia, told CW there was still time for a last-minute purchase.

"We have small amounts of availability on most cruises, although some are now completely sold out," he said.

"Some of our cruises are still six or seven months away but there isn't a great deal of space remaining and we wanted to give consumers one last chance to see what's left."

Demand for Rhapsody of the Seas cruises has been so high that the company has run out of summer 2009/10 brochures and had to produce a new flyer, to be released tomorrow through travel agents.

"We're going to carry more Australians than ever before this year," Armstrong said, adding that more families were getting onboard.

The ship's Adventure Ocean program offers a wide range of activities for children, such as shipbuilding regattas, talent shows, scavenger hunts and video arcade games, and it also offers a dedicated area for teenagers.

"So mums and dads can enjoy some much-earned kids-free time during the day, and on selected nights, the youth staff host dinners [for children] in the casual restaurant," Armstrong said.

Royal Caribbean also has a babysitting service for infants aged from one year old.

School holiday cruises include a 14-night New Zealand itinerary departing 7 January; a 10-night tropical Queensland cruise departing 2 April; and a 16-night Hawaii and Tahiti cruise departing 12 April. Prices for the 2009/10 season start at $1299 per person (twin-share) for an eight-night Tasmania cruise.

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