BLUEY Cruise Ship Playset with Slide, 15+ Accessories, 2

An expansive playset that still feels incomplete
I’m not certain the cruise ship in this playset is depicted in any episode of the Bluey show, but I haven’t watched many episodes. This ship is a very large playset, and the clamshell design folding out makes it seem convenient for carrying and storing its own accessories. (Though the clamshell isn’t fully enclosed due to the folding slide, and smaller accessories like food and drink items seem like they’d be easy to lose unless using a separate, enclosed container like a sandwich bag.)

Bluey and Bingo are included with the playset, but the product’s packaging seems to suggest combining with other playsets to populate the cruise ship. (Notably, there are accessories that seem to imply parental supervision for the two but their parents aren’t present.) The two figures have articulation at the arms (independent rotation), legs (rotating together to a seated position), and tail. The bottom of the feet have two 5 mm ports, as does the butt when legs are rotated into a seated position. In this playset, that’s mostly for connecting to the included smaller boat, though I believe they’re likely compatible with other playsets in the same toyline. This smaller boat has a driver’s seat where you can place either figure, as well as a spot for the other to stand or sit behind the driver, and yet another port for the parasail accessory to attach if you want one of them being pulled along in the air. The boat’s seat (as well as the other chairs in the playset) all have tail holes, which seems like a fun detail to me in making Bluey’s world more logically consistent.

When opened, the left side has a cabin for Bluey, Bingo, and their non-included parents on the upper level. This cabin includes two fold-out bunk beds for the children and an adult-sized bed for the absent parents. Below that, there’s a lounge/eating area on the lower level. The lounge area is mostly implied, with the included accessories (table, chairs, and food) likely sitting in front of the opened cruise ship rather than inside of it.

The right side contains most of the interactive elements. There’s a slide from the top of the cruise ship down to a separate pool accessory on ground level. The curved upper section of the slide is a separate piece for you to attach, though it can remain attached even as you close the ship back up. The connection between the upper section and lower section of the slide (the lower section being an attached, extending piece, similar to an extending ladder) isn’t very strong, and maintaining the correct angle for the lower section seems to mostly rely on the height from being attached to the pool accessory. This slide works well and even when the ship is closed, though Bluey and Bingo tend to get stuck in the gap on the deck where the lower section is attached (but folded up while the ship is closed). Product images seem to depict the pool filled with water, and there’s an included pizza floatie to go with the pool, but I haven’t yet tried filling it up with water to avoid causing a mess.

The more mechanically interesting interactive element is the rock-climbing wall. The safety harness is attached to a mechanism on top (the small green tower) which slowly raises the character seated in the harness back up after you pull the string down. While doing so, if you have the parasail attached to the top of the green tower, it will spin in circles above the ship.

Aside from having to assemble the slide and the boat’s driver seat, there are several stickers that have to be placed by the end user. The cruise ship’s larger walls have printed designs, so these stickers are for smaller pieces or accessories like the bunk beds. The stickers have rather strong adhesive that makes repositioning difficult (I felt like I’d tear them if I was too hasty when repositioning) so I’d recommend handling this for your children instead of leaving them to apply stickers on their own. In particular, there’s a sticker for the interior of a small food station accessory that seems like a very tight fit, and a two-piece elevator sticker (separated by a protruding section in the plastic) that needs manual alignment. I think it’s easier to place the smaller bottom sticker first and then align the top sticker with the bottom sticker.

Most of the accessories seem safe for children to play with, but the smallest accessories for food and drink (one food, two drinks) may be unsafe for very young children since they’re small enough to be swallowed and they are representations of food. (Based on the stickers, I think the food item is meant to represent a plate of fish and chips.) Our toddler (21 months) doesn’t seem to be in too much danger with most of the items in the playset, but I’ve kept the smallest accessories stowed away until she’s older. She also doesn’t really grasp the interactive elements well, but does enjoy when we use the rock-climbing wall’s mechanism to raise up one of the dogs or have one spinning around on top in the parasail.

I do think this is a nice playset, but also feel it’s somewhat incomplete due to the Heeler parents not being included while accessories are present that draw attention to their absence. (Aside from the adult bed, I also feel a parent would fit best driving the boat while the children marvel at the scenery.) I’d recommend this playset if you already have other compatible Bluey playsets and figures to use with this one (especially one with the parents), but I don’t think I’d recommend it as a first set if you don’t have others yet. Not because the playset is poor quality (aside from maybe wishing the stickers were easier to deal with), but because I don’t think it makes much sense as a self-contained experience for a child to act out Bluey scenes.