Just back, Voyager 12/13 fog-delayed cruise

[jcross2]

Just back home from Voyager 12/13 out of Galveston ... a brief review!

 

In spite of the fog delay and missing Roatan, we still had a terrific time on this cruise.

 

Embarkation: took a taxi from our hotel to the port, arrived shortly after noon. Very short lines, maybe a bit more slow-moving than usual, though. (Training new agents? Very few desks were manned at first, but then, we were early. More agents were arriving as we checked in.)

 

Still, it took only about 20 minutes to get our Seapass card, and about 20 minutes more before they started boarding around 1 p.m. Rooms were ready when we boarded.

 

We had a cabin crawl planned for the next morning, so I called all the hosts and the people who had contacted me asking to be guests, and left voice messages to remind & reconfirm that we would still meet in our cabin around noon the next day. (Lora, you were the very first one I called ... I'm so sorry you didn't get my voicemail??)

 

Unpacked our carryons, checked our dining room rez, and enjoyed the ship. Captain announced that the muster drill would be held the next morning, as we wouldn't be leaving that night due to fog closing the port. He said that if we were able to leave the next day by early afternoon, we could still make Roatan, but he couldn't predict how the weather would turn out, of course.

 

We had our informal meet-and-greet as scheduled in the VC at 3:30, with a good turnout despite the football game conflict. Enjoyed meeting our roll call friends; what a great group! We discussed the Cabin Crawl again briefly and reconfirmed that we would still hold it as scheduled, despite the fact that the official M&M would be rescheduled by RCL. (It now conflicted with muster drill.)

 

First night's dinner was 30 minutes later than scheduled, as announced on board, but everything was very good. After the opening night show, we were looking forward to hearing more from the amazing vocalists.

 

The Diamond "event" (wine & champagne) did not happen this first night; we were told it was due to lack of personnel. Found out later that many of the crew were in line until 8 p.m. with customs and immigration, so this sounded very plausible.

 

Monday morning, we were still fogged in. We had our muster drill (so glad we don't have to wear those vests now!) and then met in our cabin to start the Cabin Crawl. Afterwards, about 10 of us had lunch together in the dining room, where the waiters went to a lot of trouble to arrange a large table for us on short notice.

 

There was a brief lifting of the fog, and Conquest sailed out. We were hoping to soon follow, but the fog quickly socked in the harbor again. Since Conquest had been docked heading out, they didn't have to turn in the basin; Voyager, however, was docked headed in (as they had arrived in the fog the morning before, albeit on time) and could not risk turning in the small basin (30 meters clearance on each end, the Captain said!) without decent visibility.

 

So we were there for another night. No chance now of making Roatan. The announcement was made that those wishing to disembark could do so up until 11 that night, and they would be given a voucher in the amount that they had paid, to be applied to a future cruise.

 

We have been on cruises before that have missed a port due to weather, and while it is a disappointment, it has never ruined a cruise for us. I can understand how others may feel differently, but for us, the decision was easy; we stayed.

 

The official Meet & Mingle was held the next day (Tuesday) at 11 a.m. Mike, the cruise director, hosted the event and answered questions. He said that 811 people had elected to disembark the night before.

 

We set sail for Costa Maya and arrived at our scheduled time on Thursday. We had signed up for an independent tour of the Chacchoben Mayan ruins and a visit to a lagoon for lunch, kayaking and swimming. Had a fantastic time! The ruins were amazing, and our guide was the most knowledgeable and engaging we have ever met.

 

Friday was Cozumel, again on time, where we went to Nachi Cocom for the day and relaxed on the beach. This was our first visit to this beach, and we plan to go back. The beach was quiet, clean, and shady, and the service was terrific. Best grilled grouper I've ever had, and the guacamole & ceviche were top notch.

 

The waves were way too high for water sports, which was a bit of a disappointment, but we'll try another time. (I heard from another CC'er that their submersible tour was canceled due to the wind & waves.) They also had a very clean freshwater pool and hot tub, as well as an open air restaurant.

 

Disembarkation was the best we have ever experienced. We had Grey 1 tags (first off after self-assist) and left as scheduled shortly after 8 a.m. Found our luggage easily, quickly went through customs and immigration (this time, all 10 of their booths were staffed .... yay!) and were in our van headed home by 9:20 a.m.

 

Random notes & observations:

 

- We thought the vocalists were among the very best we have heard on a ship. We attended both production shows, and greatly enjoyed them. I especially appreciate the fact that the ship's orchestra provides the music for the shows, rather than there being canned music.

 

- The ice skating show is not to be missed. We had seen this show before, but still enjoyed seeing it again. They have a new soloist who does a hula hoop routine, in place of the guy who did the metal hoop thing last year.

 

- The December Diamond Event consisted of: two gifts: a magnet and a very nice pen for each of us, and a flyer with offers of discounts, up to $600 obc, on selected cruises.

 

- The Diamond nightly event was never crowded, and we enjoyed meeting both roll call members and others there for the four nights we attended.

 

- There was a special luncheon for Platinum and up members on the last sea day, with complimentary wine, four courses, and a choice of a fish or beef entree. It was lovely, and a great way to finish up the cruise! I do hope Voyager continues this tradition.

 

- Taxis: our taxi driver told us that they had now been relegated to a distant lane hidden behind all the tour buses, where they could not be seen from the terminal at all. He worried that people wouldn't even realize taxis are available there, when in reality they are ready & waiting for fares.

 

- Voyager arrived on time this morning, the weather was clear and cool, and the Captain turned her around in the basin before docking.

 

- Although we had to cancel our independent snorkeling tour in Roatan, the tour operator offered a full refund. (We plan to just apply our deposit to a future visit.)

 

In short, we enjoyed the cruise and plan to go on Voyager of the Seas again in the future. Hopefully many times!

 

Jan

[dbali]

So glad you enjoyed your cruise. We got off the TA the day you boarded. It was a miracle that we made it to the dock - the fog was so bad.

 

Hope to sail the VOS again real soon.

[wolfganghowell]

Jan - welcome home. So sorry to hear of your delays but glad the rest of the week went well. Couple of questions:

 

Is late seating at 8 pm like it was last year? Love that - funny how 30 minutes make a difference.

 

I've heard the Diamond Happy Hour is in Cleopatra's Needle? Is this still the case? And do they have the reserved area in the MDR for breakfast? We experienced that on Mariner last month and really liked that breakfast option.

 

Did you get to experience Adult Daycare at Night? ;)

[jcross2]

dbali, that fog was so thick Sunday morning that we were surprised y'all made it in on time from the TA! Conquest was much later, I think. With so many international pax on those TA's, I'm sure everyone was glad that y'all docked in time so they could make their flights home.

 

Jan - welcome home. So sorry to hear of your delays but glad the rest of the week went well. Couple of questions:

 

Is late seating at 8 pm like it was last year? Love that - funny how 30 minutes make a difference.

 

Yes, the late seating was 8 pm, early was 5:30; only exception was the first night, probably because so many of their staff were still going through customs and immigration?

 

I've heard the Diamond Happy Hour is in Cleopatra's Needle? Is this still the case? And do they have the reserved area in the MDR for breakfast? We experienced that on Mariner last month and really liked that breakfast option.

 

The Diamond nightly event was held up on Deck 14 in that smaller lounge, port side, beside the Viking Crown lounge. I really enjoyed that venue, since we had those floor-to-ceiling windows and could enjoy the sunsets.

 

They did offer the breakfast, which included comp. specialty coffees; however, we did not make it down there this cruise.

 

Did you get to experience Adult Daycare at Night? ;)

 

We didn't make it down to Derek's show this time, but have enjoyed it before; DH even participated once, on Rhapsody, and I have the CD to hold over his head forevermore! :D

 

Jan

[jjb415]

Thanks for posting, I've been wondering about how things went onboard the fogged in ship !! :)

[wolfganghowell]

Thanks for the info. Seems like the Diamond event is the same location that they used to use as "overflow" for the Concierge lounge. I agree - good location for nice sunset views. Mariner's was in the disco - it was nice but always empty and of course no view. I think dinner the first night is always 30 minutes later.

[jcross2]

Thanks for the info. Seems like the Diamond event is the same location that they used to use as "overflow" for the Concierge lounge. I agree - good location for nice sunset views. Mariner's was in the disco - it was nice but always empty and of course no view. I think dinner the first night is always 30 minutes later.

 

Yes, we also loved having windows ... the Vault disco (is that the name?) on Mariner is so dark!

 

Did not realize that about first night's seating always being 30 min. later! I need to be more observant.

 

We switched to my time dining on this cruise, for the first time, and it worked out just great. Possibly that was due to the smaller crowd, but we never had to wait for a table even without a reservation. And the service was excellent.

 

Jan

[Shewuf]

I was on the Conquest, and, although you were right behind us, there were times when we couldn't see you at all. Just as we pulled away from the dock on Monday, the fog rushed back in, worse than ever. We slowly made our way out of Galveston, not seeing a thing. The captain kept blowing the horn, to warn anything else out there that we were coming. A bit frightening. We lost Freeport off of our itinerary, and reversed our arrivals in Nassau and Key West. When we got ashore in Key West, a flash flood hit, and we were all suddenly knee deep in water on the sidewalk. We also had winds that almost kept our captain from docking there at all. Still, I didn't hear one complaint from anyone. We all agreed that it was just a "Griswold" vacation and laughed. The captain said he could feel his hair turning white, with one misadventure after another. We were late getting into Galveston because of wind, too. It was certainly a trip to remember. ;)

[Bigtex1622]

What is a cabin crawl?

[TEXASMUNK]

Folks that meet on the M & M will set up their own "tour" usually starting with a lower deck inside cabin and moving up to the highest level cabin any one particular member might have. They are fun..especially when adult beverages are included...and folks get the opportunity to see various caliber of cabins.

[jcross2]

Shewuf, a Griswold vacation, too funny! Sounds like y'all had a great time!

 

Texasmunk, thanks for explaining the cabin crawl for Bigtex!

 

Jan

[Amy1118]

The Diamond nightly event was held up on Deck 14 in that smaller lounge, port side, beside the Viking Crown lounge. I really enjoyed that venue, since we had those floor-to-ceiling windows and could enjoy the sunsets.

 

Jan

Jan, that's great news. I had heard the Mariner held it either in the disco (Dragon's Lair on the Mariner) or the Lotus Lounge (Mariner's version of Cleopatra's Needle), neither of which have windows. I hope they still have it on deck 14 next fall when I do the TA. (I think that room you described is called Cloud Nine?)

 

Thanks for the review. Glad you had a good time.

[wolfganghowell]

Ironically, Cloud Nine is what was used for the overflow Concierge Lounge for HH. :rolleyes:

[Bradiego]

Jan , it does sound like you still had a great cruise even though the weather delay and you made it the best you can with the circumstances. We can't wait to go on her in February 2010.

[jcross2]

Jan, that's great news. I had heard the Mariner held it either in the disco (Dragon's Lair on the Mariner) or the Lotus Lounge (Mariner's version of Cleopatra's Needle), neither of which have windows. I hope they still have it on deck 14 next fall when I do the TA. (I think that room you described is called Cloud Nine?)

 

Thanks for the review. Glad you had a good time.

 

Hiya Amy! Yes, that was it, Cloud Nine. Will keep fingers crossed for you that they use it on the TA, but have to add, that on our Voyager TA last fall they used Cleopatra's Needle due to the high numbers of D and D+. There weren't too many of us on this week-long cruise.

 

Ironically, Cloud Nine is what was used for the overflow Concierge Lounge for HH. :rolleyes:

 

Yes, makes one go hmmm ...

 

Jan , it does sound like you still had a great cruise even though the weather delay and you made it the best you can with the circumstances. We can't wait to go on her in February 2010.

 

Bradiego, yes, we had a lovely cruise! Voyager is a great ship, and her staff is just outstanding. The cruise director, Mike, is also one of the best I've seen. I know you'll have a wonderful time!

 

Jan

[sgermic]

I arrived at the port at 12:30 and I didn't get onto the ship until 3:45, even when I used the Crown and Anchor lines. Strange.

[jcross2]

I arrived at the port at 12:30 and I didn't get onto the ship until 3:45, even when I used the Crown and Anchor lines. Strange.

 

Wow, for you to stand 3+ hours in line is totally unacceptable! And I saw someone else here say they waited 4 hours. Yikes.

 

I did notice that the lines were fast building up behind us, although they were quite short when we arrived around noon; 25-30 minutes can make a big difference, I guess, as you arrived at 12:30 and waited over 3 times as long as we did.

 

When we arrived, the line for security had only about 5-6 people ahead of us, so that was fast.

 

Then the line for check-in had 3-4 parties ahead of us, but they alternated ours with the special needs line. So there were maybe 8 parties total ahead of us, being directed to various desks. Many desks were still unmanned at that time.

 

It did take longer than usual to actually get the Seapasses; usually it's 2 minutes, this time, more like 15. I still think they may have had computer problems that day. Anyone know?

 

I do know, for sure, that they let us on the ship around 1 pm. As we were standing at the counter waiting for the Seapass cards, they announced that boarding would begin soon, at 1:00, quote, "an hour earlier than the stated time."

 

We waited maybe 20 minutes in the SRO holding area, and then boarded shortly after 1. Total time from taxi to room, about an hour.

 

Like you, we also used the Crown & Anchor line; the other line was already longer.

 

Let's hope Galveston and RCL can pinpoint the problems or issues and correct them soon. This is not how it usually goes, boarding VOS in Galveston! It's usually a breeze.

 

Hope the embarkation on your next cruise goes much faster for you!

 

Regards,

Jan

[sgermic]

The huge problem we noticed was with the luggage.

 

You know that area that the porters use to store luggage, well they didn't have their doors open for them to unload their carts. I'm guessing it was because there were still bags in there from the previous sailing, and they can't mix them for customs reasons. So there was no where from them to go, and the sidewalk with passenger drop off filled very quickly, with a mess of chaos trying to figure out where lines started and ended.

 

The porters' carts were full, and we all had to wait with our luggage because we couldn't leave them unattended. It was really a circus balancing act, watching the porters pile the luggage as high as possible on their carts. They really lifted A LOT of weight.

 

I'm glad things went smoothly for you though. I feel lucky that I didn't have to wait in the long line that stretched to Harborside Dr. Did you see that? Crrraaazzzy.

[jcross2]

I didn't see the line stretching to Harborside ... sounds crazy, you're right.

 

Don't know what was up with the luggage. A porter took ours and loaded it on his cart when we exited our taxi, as usual; we tipped, and went directly inside to check in. I didn't notice where the porter took the luggage from there.

 

We've always had such friendly, efficient service from the Galveston porters, especially when we were traveling with my elderly father.

 

From your description, it sounds like they were running out of space; probably had lots of bags from the transatlantic to deal with, too.

 

Our bags got to our room around 7, a bit later than usual, but not bad.

 

Jan

[39august]

What were the non-smoking bars, please.

[sgermic]

Yeah the porters were so nice. I kept cringing at the amount of weight they were lifting and heaving over their heads! Even though they couldn't take the luggage anywhere because the customs area was closed off, they still took it to make the process a little bit easier for some folks. I thought that was very considerate.

[jcross2]

What were the non-smoking bars, please.

 

The port side of the Viking Crown was non-smoking, I'm pretty sure. Seemed like more bars were non-smoking than not. But I don't have my Compasses handy ... hopefully someone else can give you a better answer!

 

Jan

[Cruisin Redhead]

JCrooss2, Can you post the daily compasses from the cruise. I am going in 2 weeks and would love to see them. Thanks!!!!

[jcross2]

JCrooss2, Can you post the daily compasses from the cruise. I am going in 2 weeks and would love to see them. Thanks!!!!

 

Hi Cruisin Redhead, would love to do that for you, but we are on a slooooww dialup in the middle of nowhere ... plus I often lose my connection, whenever the wind blows around our antique phone lines, having to start any uploads all over again, and again ...

 

So it's nearly impossible for me to get them all uploaded in a reasonable time frame, and we are leaving soon.

 

Hopefully someone else with a "real" internet connection will offer to post them for you!

 

Regards,

Jan