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MV Voyager - anyone got photos to share?


KencoMan
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We're looking at the Escape to Madeira and Azores cruise in May-2015 onboard MV Voyager from Voyages of Discovery.

 

But... there are almost no photos of the MV Voyager other than a couple on their website. :confused:

 

Has anyone got some photos to share? We especially want to know about the Balcony Suites - can you sit on the balcony, or is it just a sliding door and railings?

 

Hope someone can help.

KencoMan

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  • 2 months later...

BtJust back - will try to upload some of our shots onboard ship. Overall, the website photos are accurate and somewhere out there on the net is a wonderful video of all the features in the standard cabins - closets, plugs, drawers etc. Basic but we found them adequate for our recent 21 day cruise.

 

Two different classes of balcony suites - one deck has a simple cantilevered shallow balcony with no protective coverings. Think there was room for a two small chairs and best for standing only when the weather was good. People liked these cabins and their full windows going out to the shallow balcony allowed nice viewing from inside the room. I assume these "balconies" were added on during a later refurbishment - cutting holes for the floor length glass doors and tacking on the over-hanging shallow perch.

 

The floor above this had balconies that were typically of a cruise ship - built in to the original design and sheltered. I suspect those cabins had far more seating room on the balcony deck itself. Either looks like they would be a fine choice and a great location - personally I think the first balcony deck would be best because it is closer to both the buffet/lido deck and the main dining/activity deck. One deck up and one deck down. But you do get that more limited outside balcony.

Edited by OlsSalt
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  • 3 weeks later...

We had booked a cruise on that ship to the Black Sea last year, but cancelled it when it became a very different sort of Black Sea itinerary. We still wanted to know what the ship is like being very fond of Swan Hellenic who are connected, so thank you for the link, which I viewed last night.

 

Just by chance really we got a postal communication this morning with a very good offer on a Turkey and Greece cruise starting 23rd Sept.

 

We have just booked it so will find out for ourselves soon and will do a review on return. I am a little wary though as we normally pay more to choose our cabin, etc., but at least it is open dining on that ship with a self service, if the main restaurant is busy.

 

Keeping our fingers crossed we do not have a very noisy cabin though. Then there are problems in Greece and unrest in Turkey, but you have to take chances sometimes or you could spend all year sitting at home.

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A later discussion with British friends indicated Swan Hellenic had the reputation of much more upscale in both ship and passengers, than Voyager. I just posted my review on the Cruise Critic Member Review, so it offers a few more details about our recent Voyager cruise.

 

One thing that came as a pleasant surprise when comparing apples to oranges is our final bill only had a hundred and so dollars in extra charges - wine, things bought in the shop etc. So what you see is what you get in your final cruise price, including airfare on this particular Voyager cruise.

 

Whereas our other final bills on other ships add all the daily "voluntary" service charges etc and we also have to pay for our destination airfares. They don't make it easy to compare these things, do they.

 

I would recommend taking ear-plugs ....just in case you get one of the noisy cabins. Happens on these smaller ships and sometimes there is not much one can do. Looking forward to your report when you get back.

 

It is a small, basic ship, goes to great places, has a wonderful mix of passengers, good food and excellent enrichment offerings. If that is enough, and the price is right, you will have a wonderful time working around some of its other quirks.

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Thanks, have alredy seen your review and I think it is much as we thought. Definately need to keep fingers crossed but it is the sort of ship we normally go for as our holidays are always chosen by destination, and smaller, more unusual ports if a cruise - you cannot have it all ways.

 

I have just put a question about dress codes on a fresh thread, labelled dress code - if you can you help with that I would be most appreciative.

 

Thanks,

 

Barbara

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Just looked at a video of the Swan Hellenic Minerva and the Voyager looks a bit spiffier in some aspects but it looks like Minerva handles the larger entertainment venue better and the outdoor space and walking space might be better too - but similar passenger mix and dress with lots of book readers too. Lack of forward outside viewing spots was another Voyager drawback -only one on the top deck or the inside forward lounge which had only limited viewing spots. But lots of room to move around up on top deck when coming into ports.

Edited by OlsSalt
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Thanks for all the info. We tend to travel for the ports, so is definitely worth trying. We are doing this cruise partly as a trial as we are interested in doing something with them further afield. It also replaces our lost visit to Istanbul and my husband's chance to see Troy, which we lost on the Black Sea Itinerary. We were impressed that we were refunded our deposit for that, but as we had lost three ports in Crimea and the two days in Odessa were looking iffy, (they did not go), there was not a lot of option for them, but I think other companies would have pushed us to accept a voucher instead of a refund, so we had expected a fight for the refund.

 

If our cabin is that bad in Sept/Oct we can have the odd nap when the ship is docked and at the price we have paid, will not feel so bad about wasting time in port. They do seem to be upping the initial prices a lot though - perhaps they are mindful that they want to make even modestly reduced prices seem good! Problems in Greece, the recent attack on Brits in Tunisia and Turkey's proximity to Syria could put people off a cruise of Turkey and Greece at present, which has affected prices a lot. We are also thinking that so many places are becoming off limits that we want to do Turkey on a 'while we can' basis. I still think my most likely time to die travelling is on a British Motorway!

 

Cheers,

 

Barbara

Edited by tring
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I always had a travel rule: politically unstable areas off season to get the best prices and fewer crowds.

 

Places are always so different in real time compared to the headlines, but the Tunisia incident was truly horrific. Yet, nothing could have predicted that moment, that place and those people.

 

And it looks like Syria is now going to be off the map for a long, long time. There was a little window where the new cruise line Voyages of Antiquity was going to showcase all those fabulous Mediterranean spots that were starting to open up finally, then just as quickly snapped shut again.

 

Agree, highways at home are still more dangerous but not being able to count on an expected itinerary in this part of the world is a risk these day too.

Edited by OlsSalt
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I always had a travel rule: politically unstable areas off season to get the best prices and fewer crowds.

 

We seem to be very similar in our outlook.

 

We have been fairly regular visitors to Tunisia over the last 20 years (about 10 times). We have booked cheap packages to a decent, but conveniently placed hotels and often gone off for one or more nights by train or with a hire car. We have seen and done a lot at leisure without being herded round and met lots of lovely people. It makes us so sad for the people and country of Tunisia as well as the tourists, after all crime and serious accidents happen in the 'western world' as well. Return to travel there will no doubt mean hotels are gated tourist enclaves with little opportunity to leave them or for local people to benefit from the tourism. I would never have felt happy in Tunisia lying on a public beach in swimwear though and we were always dressed respectfully when outside the hotel grounds.

 

We hear a lot about gun incidents in the US and the fact people are allowed to just roam round with guns in their possession, which is extremely unsettling for us. I also remember Americans being wary to travel over here when we had IRA terrorist attacks in the UK in the past. All these events, though few and far between, seem so senseless and often because politicians or just ordinary people cannot align themselves with the view of others. I grew up post second world war and I could never understand why all that death and destruction happened just because politicians or leaders could not respect other people and their way of life.

 

One thing about holidays is that we tend not to see the news which must be good!

 

Cheers and happy travels,

 

Barbara

Edited by tring
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All signs lead to you enjoying your Voyager trip very much.

 

I still miss her a lot right now, and wish were back on enjoying everything we found so delightful about our all too short time together on board.

Edited by OlsSalt
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