Voyager cruise 1-18-2009

This is long, so if you're in a hurry, feel free to move on...

Otherwise, go ahead and settle in...

Pictures - http://www.flickr.com/photos/austinlw/sets

We booked our Voyager of the Seas cruise last June. We picked the week of MLK Day because my wife and I would only have to take 4 vacation days off of work rather than 5, but the prices were still low season prices.

Sunday Jan 18:

Wifey and I left home in Austin at 7AM. This was our 4th cruise out of Galveston (Grand Princess, Rhapsody, Conquest), and we have a routine down now. After a stop in Bastrop for Starbucks, a stop in La Grange for kolaches, and a stop at Baybrook Mall in Webster for a restroom break, we arrived in Galveston just before 11AM as planned. Severe wreckage from Hurricane Ike was still evident as we arrived at Galveston. I decided to detour down 61st St to the seawall on the way to the ship. Along 61st St there were a couple of wrecked boats on dry land. Along the seawall and passing through the beautiful old homes as we cut across the island, things looked much better (on the surface anyway). Then once again there still was a lot of wreckage in the vicinity of the EZ Cruise parking lot.

Not too many cars in the EZ Cruise lot when we arrived about 11:15. We didn’t wait for the shuttle, we just dragged our bags a couple of blocks to the terminal. No crowd problems at all, we were hustled right through and were boarding the ship by 11:45. Whoo-hoo! The Galveston port folks were awesome. Easiest cruise ship boarding we’ve done – and this was our 5th.

Couldn’t access our room (7636) until 1:30, so we toured the ship and ate some lunch at the Windjammer. Once into the room our luggage arrived quickly, so we unpacked and changed clothes because it turned out to be warmer than forecast. The boarding process was so efficient that they moved up the muster drill a half hour from 4:45 to 4:15 in preparation for heading on out.:)

Voyager first had to head up the channel a little ways to turn around, before returning past the Strand and the idle Carnival Conquest, who was taking the week off for a makeover. Calypso band, boat drinks, sunset, off we go...

Wifey was not quite satisfied with our dining room table situation during our first dinner, so after dinner she talked to the maitre d’ (Joe Fernandez) to see if we could be changed to a 2-top (realizing of course that they are in high demand). He said he would see what he could do. As it turned out, the next day she ran into him at lunch and he called her by name and asked if she had received his message, that he had gotten us a 2-top table. My wife couldn’t believe he recognized her and remembered her name (add yet another to the list of reasons we love Royal Caribbean). We made sure he got a good tip at the end of the week, at which time he still recognized her and called her by name.

To be honest, it took me a full day and night to get back into Caribbean cruise mode and really relax and go with it. By the end of the 1st day at sea, I was there. I think the wine tasting that afternoon probably helped. Several of the wines were not to Wifey’s liking (too dry, too much tannin, etc.) so instead of pouring the leftovers into the available water glass (which is alcohol abuse IMO), she poured her leftovers into my glass (yet another unexpected benefit of marriage). So needless to say, after that, I was feelin’ hot, hot, hot.

Monday was the first formal night, so we made a point to be all decked out by 5 and make it around to all of the available photographers who were using a background we liked, in hopes of getting at least 1 keeper. We must hold some world record for cruise ship picture posing, because we made it around to about 5 photographers in time to go to dinner at 5:30 at our wonderful new 2-top table in the Magic Flute dining room.

Our waiters, Eduardo from Peru and Anthony from India, took great care of us all week. They were professional and friendly. Anthony made sure we had all the bread we could handle, and then some. He’s from the Goa region of India, not far from Mumbai (Bombay), which he explained was settled by the Portuguese. We like to make it a point to ask our waiters about the places they come from and about their families. It adds so much to our cruise experience, and they seem to enjoy it too.

Great show put on by the RC singers and dancers that night. The band and singers and dancers were very talented. Sometimes it seemed like the singers were not matched well with songs (particularly Mimi with the big Aretha Franklin-style voice), but they seem to do their best with the shows they’re given.

Tuesday was the only morning we had to wake up really early, for our Tulum ruins and Beach Break excursion. I was surprised to open our balcony door and find that the cool front that had come through Texas on Saturday had made it to Cozumel ahead of us – it was probably in the upper 60’s and crystal clear.

To make sure we had some sort of breakfast (since we didn’t know how long it would be before we could eat again), we had picked up some sandwiches and pizza from Café Promenade late the night before. Here is my first criticism of Voyager. Our tour was to meet at 6:45 in the theater. Arrival in Cozumel was at 7AM. Yet, neither the Windjammer nor the dining room had breakfast available for the early tour folks. And the room service breakfast menu doesn’t start until 7. It seems to me that with several tours meeting so early, there should be special arrangements made and announced to open these services early, at least on early port days, so that early tours can eat a good breakfast before heading out. Café Promenade pastries (all that’s available at 6AM) don’t cut it. They don’t even have bagels available. As it turns out, it was good that we did what we did, because we wouldn’t see any food again on our tour until noon.

Suggestion to Royal Caribbean: For Texas-based cruises, have some good breakfast tacos available at 6AM at Café Promenade, particularly on early port days. Also have warm bagels and cream cheese (including low-fat) available. That’s what we Texans like to eat in the morning! That’s our early morning grab and run food! I guarantee Texans will appreciate it. Not to mention good migas or chilaquiles in the dining room and/or Windjammer. The “Mexican-style scrambled eggs” with the puny little bits of bell pepper in the Windjammer are pathetic. Serve some GOOD Mexican food on Voyager on any future Texas-based ships and (most of) the guests will love it!

The winds and waves on Tuesday were from the NW, so the first half of the ferry ride to Playa del Carmen was rockin’ and rollin’. As we got closer to PdC, the water got much calmer. We were glad we didn’t plan on beaching or snorkeling on the W side of Cozumel that day like we usually do.

The guide (Andres) led us through PdC to our bus, and told us about the Mayans, their counting system, and their astronomy, all the way to Tulum. When we reached Tulum, we spent 20 minutes or so at a shopping complex by the parking area so everyone could have their turn in the somewhat dicey restrooms. By the time we left there and had walked the half mile to the ruins, we only got about 45 minutes at the actual site, and the guide wanted to ‘splain everything and lead us around. I took it upon myself to break off from the group so I could walk around and take pictures and video, while keeping the group within eyesight. We were only allowed about 10-15 minutes on our own before we needed to head back to the bus. Overall, I was glad that we did even the somewhat brief Tulum tour, since I had never been there before, but had seen lots of pictures of it. It’s most definitely worth seeing. But I really want to return with my wife on our own and spend at least 2 or 3 hours there (with a written brochure explaining what we’re seeing – I’m a visual learner), plus another 1 or 2 hours at the gorgeous beach just below the cliff where the ruins are.

On the way to the bus, as we passed a bar next to the parking lot where a bunch of people were huddled watching President Obama give his inaugural speech. How weird it seemed for us to be at Tulum while such a historical event was going on in the US, and to see the local folks watching it on TV in Mexico. No time to stop and watch though, we had to get to the beach (and the food)! ;-)

The beach we went to, a few miles S of Tulum, was just absolutely drop dead gorgeous. We enjoyed a Mexican buffet under a large open air talapa and then walked out onto a spectacular white sand beach and bright aqua calm water. OMG that place was beautiful! We had a nice amount of time there before heading back to the ferry and the ship. The ferry made it back to the ferry pier right next to Voyager’s pier (no taxi ride involved), at 3:15. With the all aboard time being 3:30, so there was no time for shopping or dilly-dallying.

That night we ate dinner at Portofino. Super food and service, well worth the $20 pp fee. The calamari appetizer was nice and light. My halibut and Wifey’s seafood skewers were wonderful. And the desserts were unbelievable. Mine was tiramisu in a chocolate cup with a shooter of B52 (layered drink with Kahlua and Irish cream) on the side. Naturally, I poured it all into the tiramisu for one of the most wicked desserts I’ve ever consumed. Wifey had a nice flourless chocolate cake that she loved too.

The captain warned us that night that the port at Grand Cayman was closed due to rough seas, and that they would try to do what they could to get us ashore there. Ruh-roh.:(

The next morning we lined up at 7:40 for the tender ticket distribution at 8, and got tickets on tender #1. The captain soon informed us that the George Town port was still closed, but we would be tendering to a place around on the S side of Grand Cayman (called Spotts), and that taxis would be available there to take us to town for $5 pp. A number of shore excursions were cancelled, so a long line of people lined up at the shore excursions desk to see if they could make other arrangements, which made getting any other information almost impossible.

Wifey and I had planned to check out Sunset House (a diver’s hotel just south of town) for snorkeling, since we had snorkeled at Eden Rock several times, and spend a little time at 7 Mile Beach. So we contemplated our options (quite difficult to do with no available info regarding the area where we were landing), and decided to go ahead and taxi to Sunset House anyway to see what was possible for today and check it out for the future.

This leads me to my 2nd criticism. There is just not enough information available about the ports of call, in the form of information brochures and/or maps, on board for people who want to venture out and do activities on their own. Sure there is plenty of shopping information, but for anything else you may want to do, you had better do all of your own research online before you leave home – which I always do. However here we were, tendering to a little dock on a sparsely populated part of the island with no stores, restaurants, or anything else, and no information about the immediate area within walking distance. Any dive shops nearby? Who knows? No one onboard the ship apparently. :confused:

Suggestion to Royal Caribbean: Make more information available in brochure form (and/or on TV) regarding ports of call, not just limited to shopping, but water activities and food services. If people could easily put their hands on printed information, it would help shorten the lines at the excursions and guest services desks and improve guests' satisfaction overall with their Royal Caribbean cruise.

Tender #1 pulled up to the ship, but their crew wouldn’t let anyone board because they said was bouncing around too much. It wasn’t that bad (as Tracy told them), so the boat crew was told if they wouldn’t let us board, get out of the way and we’ll board the next boat, which was right there waiting its turn. So that boat moved away and the next boat pulled up, and we loaded without incident.

Once onshore we climbed into a crowded taxi that dropped us off at Sunset House on its way into town. The nice lady at the front desk told us that snorkeling would be impossible that day (and when we saw the water we knew why). So we just relaxed at their bar by the water and had lunch and adult beverages while watching the waves smash against the rocks and splashing 20-30 feet high. No, snorkeling would not be advisable that day. Two different people, including a waitress, told us that Eden Rock was their favorite place to snorkel (in good conditions), so on future trips we’ll just plan to keep doing what we’ve done before. From Sunset House we could see that there were huge waves over on 7 Mile Beach, so we decided to just head back to the ship early rather than going there. And they weren’t kidding about the port not being safe enough for the tenders. It wasn’t.

I managed to get into the ice show that night with no ticket right before show time, after they had admitted all the folks with tickets. It was good and entertaining, but not fabulous.

Thursday, as we approached Montego Bay, it was quite cloudy and dark, especially over the mountains. Wifey and I had signed up for the trip to Negril, so we hoped it would be sunny there. Turned out we had the right plan. We left in the taxi/van about 9:45 headed to Margaritaville on the beach in Negril. Clear sunny skies and beautiful. Weather could not have been nicer. However, the water was pretty churned up, so it probably was not as pretty as it would normally be. No big waves like at Grand Cayman - I could see that there was a protective reef several hundred yards out. The excursion allowed us 3 full hours at Margaritaville, so we were pleased to have enough time to get something to eat and drink, walk about a half mile up the beach and back, and lay back in one of their lounge chairs a while. I do have to say that the food and service were not as good at the Negril Margaritaville as we have experienced at other locations, including the one in Montego Bay, but that little detail didn’t even put a dent in such a great day. After the beach, we headed to a small shopping complex called “Times Square” for about a half hour before heading back to Montego Bay and the ship, arriving about 4:15. Nice long excursion and certainly a great deal for the $39 pp price.

Last 2 days at sea were very nice and relaxing. The karaoke superstar show and the cooking demonstration (cake decorating) were really entertaining and hilarious. The karaoke commentary from Eric and Tracy made it one of the funniest shows I have ever seen on a cruise ship (particularly when, after Tracy accidentally fell out of her chair, Eric went backstage and brought out duct tape, strapping Tracy into her chair). Don’t miss either of these events, if you will be on Voyager in the near future.

Debarkation was almost as smooth as embarkation. We chose to be in express group A, which meant we had to be ready to exit by 7:30 and carry our own bags. No problem mon. We were off the ship, through customs, and leaving the EZ Cruise parking lot by 8:20, and after a few stops along the way for Starbucks, gas, and lunch, we were back home in Austin by 12:30.

I always have mixed feelings about leaving a cruise ship. On one hand it’s very sad to end such a great vacation, but on the other hand it’s a matter of survival. If I were to stay on that ship, I’m afraid I’d be dead within a month from all of the great food and alcohol. Better to just make myself get off and head back to the gym… ;)

Thanks for sharing your cruise review; have u posted this under member reviews?

Cheers

Love the pictures! thanks for sharing.

"have u posted this under member reviews?"

Yes, I posted it Sunday, but it has not appeared there yet. So I decided to go ahead and post it here, since I spent some time on it and people might benefit from it. Plus I added the link to my pictures.

Thanks so much - I've had Review Withdrawal so I feel so much better now. ;)

Thanks for the review. We'll be doing this cruise in March. Can you tell me more about Negril? How long a drive is it from the dock? On a calmer day is there snokeling? other beach activites? I have two teenagers so they will want to have activities.

Awesome review and photos - thanks for posting!

I'm not from Texas, but I'd love to see RCI add some breakfast tacos, huevos rancheros, etc. to their breakfast menu too. Great suggestion!

Where is that beautiful beach w/ crystal clear blue water? Did they have the quest show and love and marriage games? Were the show any good? Thanks JOY :) We're going on the Voyager Dec. 13 (if anyone wants to join us for a discount - I have it w/ triple A (AAA), and was on the Mariner back in Nov. and loved her - Did you go to any shows, how were they?

We will be on the Voyager soon, on the same itinerary and same type of cabin, so it was great to read your review and see the photos. We will also be driving to Galveston from Austin (flying in there because we got a low fare). We will probably stop at Starbucks too.

Austinlw-

What place in La Grange do you use for Kolaches? Have you tried their fruit ones? If my MIL doesn't send some home with DW when DD goes to stay with MIL, I may have to get some on the way out to check the work at the ranch tomorrow.

Very nice review, fair and balanced! Sounds like a good option for GC to get ashore under bad circumstances...glad you got to head to shore!!!

Great review! I can't wait for our turn :)

Thanks for the review. We'll be doing this cruise in March. Can you tell me more about Negril? How long a drive is it from the dock? On a calmer day is there snokeling? other beach activites? I have two teenagers so they will want to have activities.

Negril is about 70 miles from the dock at Montego Bay. However, you can't expect to drive it in an hour. It's a well paved, but narrow and windy road that goes through several towns with lots of traffic and people walking right next to the road. From what I saw, and we didn't really get to the actual town, Negril is a long strip of low rise, low key beach resorts in a wide variety of price ranges, from * to *****. Margaritaville is only part of the way down the Negril 7 Mile Beach, so I can't tell you much more. It's at the western tip of the island, which is pretty flat. Don't know about snorkeling near the beach, but I would guess that you would need to get a boat to the offshore reef to see anything, because the beach was all sand, at least where we were. Your teenagers may get an eyefull if they wander up and down the beach (as we did) - some of the resorts have pretty loose dress codes, if you get my drift. ;)

Where is that beautiful beach w/ crystal clear blue water? Did they have the quest show and love and marriage games? Were the show any good? Thanks JOY :) We're going on the Voyager Dec. 13 (if anyone wants to join us for a discount - I have it w/ triple A (AAA), and was on the Mariner back in Nov. and loved her - Did you go to any shows, how were they?

We went to the 2 shows by the RC singers and dancers, which were very good. The live band backing them up is excellent. Love and Marriage was typically funny. Eric and Tracy and their teasing back and forth made it even funnier. Yes, we went to the Quest. It was packed and held in Studio B, where the ice show is. Typically silly, but fun. One of the best shows was the Kareaoke Superstar contest. First of all, there were several folks on our ship that week who were really very good singers. But what made it even better was the commentary by Eric and Tracy (a la American Idol). They were hysterical. They were not mean (like on the TV show). They were very positive with everyone, but really funny!

Oh, and that beach was just a few miles S of Tulum. It was a place called Akii'in or something like that - it had an A and a k and a bunch of i's and an apostrophe. :)

Austinlw-

 

What place in La Grange do you use for Kolaches? Have you tried their fruit ones?

I think it's called "Weikel's" or something like that. It's right by Hwy 71 at the turnoff to go into town as you approach from Austin. I always stop there on my way to the Houston area to stretch my legs and get a (usually mid-morning) snack. It makes a big difference how fresh they are, and you can't really tell until you bite into one. If they are not fresh, they're still pretty good. But if they're really fresh, OMG, they're like fresh baked doughy dinner rolls with a fruit filling. And I like cherry, peach, and blueberry - preferably the ones that also have some cream cheese. YUM! I usually don't eat that kind of stuff - too much fat and cholesterol, but make an exception every once in a while for these. You have to live while you're alive, otherwise what's the point in trying to stay healthy?

We will be on the Voyager soon, on the same itinerary and same type of cabin, so it was great to read your review and see the photos. We will also be driving to Galveston from Austin (flying in there because we got a low fare). We will probably stop at Starbucks too.

If you're flying in to the Austin airport, it'll be really easy to get on 71 towards Houston. You can get to Galveston from there in probably 3 and 1/2 hours. And it's a nice pleasant drive with rolling hills and lots of trees until you get to between Columbus and Sealy on I-10, where it gets very flat with few trees (coastal plain). Once into Houston we usually go right into downtown and take I-45. They've widened the Katy freeway (I-10) to enough lanes that it keeps moving pretty fast. However, if it's rush hour, you might want to take the Sam Houston Beltway (toll road) around Houston. But Voyager leaves on Sunday, so traffic is usually not a problem to get to the ship.

I think it's called "Weikel's" or something like that. It's right by Hwy 71 at the turnoff to go into town as you approach from Austin. I always stop there on my way to the Houston area to stretch my legs and get a (usually mid-morning) snack. It makes a big difference how fresh they are, and you can't really tell until you bite into one. If they are not fresh, they're still pretty good. But if they're really fresh, OMG, they're like fresh baked doughy dinner rolls with a fruit filling. And I like cherry, peach, and blueberry - preferably the ones that also have some cream cheese. YUM! I usually don't eat that kind of stuff - too much fat and cholesterol, but make an exception every once in a while for these. You have to live while you're alive, otherwise what's the point in trying to stay healthy?

Right by wally world. That is about 10-15 minutes from the ranch depending on how fast I am driving. I was too sick to get out to the ranch this morning...we will see if tomorrow I go out move the cattle and pay the fence guy if he is done.

I was also on this cruise and enjoyed the Merrill Osmond of the Osmond Brothers show. He had lots of pictures and videos of their concerts especially during the 1970's and 1980's. He was very friendly and stayed after the show to meet any fans who wanted to meet him. He took pictures and signed autographs for any who wanted them.

It was a great week and very relaxing for me.

Marlene

Thanks so much for the review and pictures--we'll be on Voyager 4/12 and the ship looks great! Thanks for taking the time to post all the info.

Thank you for taking the time to prepare and post your review with so much good and interesting information!!!

Enjoyed your review--we were on the 2/1 sailing and had high winds too. We had to go to the other side of Grand Cayman as well, and then missed Jamaica completely. But we still had a great time!!

Great review and thanks, what tour did you take to Tulum? Was it one you booked or threw RCCL?

Thanks,

Tom