Sporting chance ... rock climbing aboard the Radiance of the Seas.
Lynne Whiley watches as her daughter learns the ropes aboard the Radiance of the Seas. Next stop: the spa.
It's just after 9pm and we're playing shuffleboard when I realise the ship has slowed, fog is closing in and a brisk breeze has come up. We're aboard the Radiance of the Seas, sailing along the north-east coast of Tasmania for a dawn arrival in Hobart.
When the bridge sounds the foghorn at about one-minute intervals, it's all so deliciously atmospheric it puts me in mind of those old black-and-white movies in which men wearing trenchcoats lean on the ship's rail to conspire with women wearing an air of intrigue.
As gusts of cold air blow, passengers desert the decks and my daughter and I begin a round of wind-assisted mini golf until we hear shrieks and splashing sounds nearby. Shouldn't everyone else be indoors, dining or dancing, at the theatre or watching a film?
Not the Young Teens. I've seen this group at various locales - lurking by the ice-cream machine in Windjammer Cafe, playing Wii and strolling the decks with an air of collective intent. But like the wizards of the Harry Potter series who vanish from our world to Platform 9-3/4, the YT's seem to pop up, then disappear just as quickly, as though to a parallel universe of shipboard Hide and Seek.
Tonight, however, they've broken cover. Boys and girls are hurtling down the ship's giant waterslide, yelling and racing to climb the slide's stairs again. They seem oblivious to the fog, wind and stiff dip in air temperature and when I look up, sure enough, in the observation tower sits a supervisor.
I had heard the 2500-passenger Radiance has plenty to offer kids on holiday, so I brought mine along, but I hadn't expected its crew to go above and beyond the call of duty on a night such as this - turning on the slide's warm water, flinging themselves down the slide on occasion and keeping watch, wrapped in towels and shivering, until the YTs call stumps.
My daughter and I boarded the Radiance in Adelaide as part of its maiden summer season in the southern hemisphere. Fresh from a multimillion-dollar refurbishment, the vessel has several fine-dining and specialty restaurants in addition to its main dining room, a bevy of adults-only zones including solarium, spa and fitness centre, wi-fi availability throughout and an excellent collection of contemporary art.
Owned by the US-based multinational Royal Caribbean International, Radiance has been cruising from Sydney and Fremantle on itineraries of between two and 18 nights' duration, including cruises to New Zealand, circumnavigations via the Top End and journeys to the South Pacific.
The ship leaves in April to spend our winter months in Alaska. However, Royal Caribbean is keen to capture a bigger share of the local market - research undertaken by Access Economics indicates cruising by Australians is tipped to represent as much as 5 per cent of the global cruise market by 2020 - so Radiance will return to Australia in October.
When it does, it will be accompanied by a big-sister vessel, the massive Voyager of the Seas. That ship has an indoor ice rink, inline skating track and, as with Radiance, a free supervised Adventure Ocean program for children.
After a day at sea accompanying my seven-year-old daughter in rounds of play at the waterslide, pool, sports court, pool, running track, pool and the rock-climbing wall (parent boast: Jean made it to the top and rang the bell), I'm hankering for a few hours to myself so we make for the ship's Adventure Ocean zone.
It's a massive area staffed by crew who must each have a university degree and several years' experience working with children as a minimum requirement.
Crew undergo background checks and ships' training and when I look around the zone, each crew member I see also appears to have a winning smile.
I poke my nose into the nearby nursery (soft wall and floor coverings, soft toys); peek through a window into the zone for children aged 9-11 (big indoor sports floor next to the outdoor sports deck); then watch as Jean is welcomed into the Explorers room (ages 6-8), where staff issue her with wristband identification.
By the time I've finished the paperwork at Explorers' reception, she's disappeared into a brightly decorated hinterland populated by her peers, where paints and scavenger hunts await.
My preferred shipboard haunts include the spa and a central coffee bar but I like to roam before I settle somewhere with a book, so I head for the passenger stairs, where landings bear a selection of contemporary artwork and, combined, form vertical walking galleries.
Intriguing photographic works by the British artist David Buckland and Sweden's Dag Alveng hang on well-lit walls; in a corner of one landing is a scale model of an Eames chair (circa 1960); in another are works by Philippe Starck and Frank Gehry.
Most modern lines have invested in creating areas on board that are decorated with a distinct personality in the hope that passengers will find a bar, lounge, deck or nook that suits them. I open a door near the sports deck to discover a room with a cluster of pinball machines and simulation games; around a corner on another deck I find a small cafe serving crisp salads and sandwiches.
By the time I've made my way down to Deck 6 I'm feeling a bit blase about the sheer variety and depth of what this ship offers - until I see the cannon. It is gnarled and blackened and smells good despite its 1520 provenance and it sits in a companionable antique arsenal at the entrance to a series of bars and lounges that have firm, deep, leather chairs.
On a wall near the cannon is a French naval service gun said to have been used in the 18th century. Just as the Adventure Ocean area is for kids, the spa, gym and running track suits the wellbeing brigade and specialty restaurants the gourmands, it's clear that the bars and lounges near the cannon are for passengers who fancy billiards, chess and sports TV broadcast at a low volume.
Later, when I pick up my child from the Adventure Ocean club, I tell her there's an old cannon far below in another part of the ship. She wants to know if it has a seat; if it's a kids' ride. No, it's the real thing, I say. But I can't imagine it will be long before the range of children's amusements on cruise ships expands even more to meet the needs of families at sea.
Lynne Whiley travelled courtesy of Royal Caribbean.
FAST FACTS
Cruising there
Radiance of the Seas calls at Hobart on two 18-night Australia-New Zealand cruises in 2012-2013, priced from $2035 a person, if booked by February 29, 2012.
Prices start from $999 a person for eight nights to the South Pacific; and from $1975 a person for a 16-night Top End circumnavigation. Price includes accommodation based on twin occupancy, meals in the ship's main dining room and cafes, taxes, fees and on-board tips. Phone 1800 754 500; see www.royalcaribbean.com.au.
The Adventure Ocean club is open 9am-10pm daily (8pm-2am for teens) and is free.
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