Scathing reviews of new Aussie ships

[davethescot]

I have been reading quite a few reviews about Voyager and Carnival Spirit and the majority have been less than favourable, to say the least.

 

I have to say that I went on the one night sampler of the Voyager and thought the ship was great but the clientele was the problem. I did also think that Voyager has a lot to offer but the staterooms and some public areas are looking a bit tired. This seems to be a common theme on Australian ships.

 

I was just keen to hear other Aussie cruisers views on the new ships. I think part of the problem might be that we have really high expectations. There was a lot of hype about the growth of cruising in Australia and that fact that we were getting all these 'new' ships.

 

Personally I am quite disappointed as it does feel that we are the poor relation and often get ships that are far from new.

 

I have sailed on most of the ships in Australia and I think the Radiance is great but the others are all quite tired and rough around the edges.

 

Wouldn't it be great if these companies can have the courage of their convictions and actually give us a brand new ship to sail on.

 

I regularly buy a cruise for my parents for Christmas, they are based in Europe. The selection of new ships is amazing and prices usually quite reasonable.

 

I'm not having a massive whinge. I have had a fantastic experience on all of the cruises I have been on. I do think that things are on the up here and there is certainly more variety than there was even 2 years ago but I feel that we still have a way to go.

[cruisin-m]

Definitely agree that we get the older hand me downs sent here but just from my perspective I don't exactly mind this as I find the older ships far more comfortable with better traditional designs.

 

For example old ships have fantastic top decks especially at the back of the ship, whilst new ships are covered in balconies for revenue raising.

 

Guess it's a toss up, both have pros and cons.

 

I've also noticed that when cruise ships come to Australia from US the reviews noticably drop even though the standards are the same, maybe we just have really good standards haha

[davethescot]

Definitely agree that we get the older hand me downs sent here but just from my perspective I don't exactly mind this as I find the older ships far more comfortable with better traditional designs.

 

For example old ships have fantastic top decks especially at the back of the ship, whilst new ships are covered in balconies for revenue raising.

 

Guess it's a toss up, both have pros and cons.

 

I've also noticed that when cruise ships come to Australia from US the reviews noticably drop even though the standards are the same, maybe we just have really good standards haha

 

Yeah good points.

[Royalty X]

Look at it this way, Carnival could've sent us one of their Fantasy class ships and RCI could've sent us one of the Sovereign class ships, but they didn't. Considering that we're used to the P&O Australia ships and the oldest of the Princess fleet, I think it's great that they've sent us the newer ships. They may not be brand new, but neither are the rest of their fleets. Everything ages, and the fact that we haven't been given the oldest of their fleets is a very good sign that we're not the bottom of the barrel.

[rugbypopsie]

Our share of the cruising market has tripled since 2006. As we become more discerning about what we will accept and give the cruise lines our feedback they will have to up the ante to retain our custom. Cheap fares to Asia and other cruising hubs like Singapore make it relatively easy and cheap for Aussies to access many more ships. I do agree about the layout of some of the older ships...I love open air areas, terraces and bigger staterooms..my last ship was completely rebuilt from a 1970 ferry and it was absolutely first class.

 

I think Voyager will be popular, RCL is a quality line but perhaps is overdue for a refurb.

 

Sue

[NSWP]

Simple, the Americans like the new ships so we get the older ships, even VOS and Celebrity Solstice are getting a little old for the North Americans, so, 'Send 'em down to Australia' we will fill them up and no complain. WRONG !

[6andy6]

I think cruise ships are getting the tail end of the 'consumer cyclone'

 

By that I mean consumers in this country have been waking up in the last couple of years to the fact that price wise ( and otherwise) we are royally ripped off and more so now with parity of the Aussie dollar. And that means we are also getting annoyed at the hand me downs (mainly from the US) of everything whether it be senior managers sent out for a 'holiday' to run the colonial office, software for computers charged at double the price, airfares also charged much higher going over there than what it costs to come here even by our own national carrier and even ships which are old but try still charge top dollar, but then dumb down the offering.

 

Basically I think Australians are tired of being related like idiots which is becoming more and more harder to do with Internet access and our ability to research....but companies seen to be slow at picking up.

 

Perfect example is the lack of price drops being passed on here whereas its par of the course in the US - but lines like to pretend it doesn't happen.

[Guest012]

There have been no scathing cruise reviews of the Voyager herself only the quality of person and their low life behaviour on a one night sampler, which is in no way indicative of how an actual cruise on her is conducted.

Our cruise was fabulous so much so for the first time we bought the DVD:D:D, no one said this ship is NEW she has just celebrated her 13th birthday and for her age is looking fine and her facilities fantastic.....who does a ship this size suit IMO she is perfect for families and young to mid cruisers....seniors i would be less inclined to offer her up as the best product.

The only disappointment we encountered was the poor cleaning of the Windjammer and the shabby overdue for laundering uniform of our dining attendant, neither of these would have been tolerated in the past.. Not going to comment on quality of food as every cruise line has lowered their standards in this area, do not miss Portofino/Chops Restaurant, menu covers both, well worth the $20 same can be said for Johnny Rockets....

 

For us VOS is way toooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo big and unfortunately when you are that big you lack true cruise ship atmosphere.....she is a people carrier first.....so after the Mariner it will be back to the littlies for us.

I am a Princess fan and still remain so.....:D;):D

[bazzaw]

There have been no scathing cruise reviews of the Voyager herself only the quality of person and their low life behaviour on a one night sampler, which is in no way indicative of how an actual cruise on her is conducted.

 

I think you have nailed it . There appears to me to be nothing wrong with the ship - just with some of /many of? the Aussies who went on the one night cruise out of Sydney. I know that cruiselines don't like to have their multi-million dollar ships lying around doing nothing, even for one night, but have they not yet learned the foolishness of appealing to the lowest common denominator?? - especially for the sake of a one night cruise.

 

Barry

[Aussieflyer]

Some of the ship reviews on CC (and these were for longer itineraries) indicate that people have been less than impressed. The quality of food seems to be a big issue - for us poor food is a deal breaker so it would be a real concern.

From general reading it seems that people feel VOS is not as good as Radiance or Rhapsody though that might be because people are more familiar with these ships.

I would hope that most people who have a genuine interest in cruising know enough to recognise that the very short cruises bring out a certain type of passenger and would look past that to the ship's amenities and layout etc.

[bazzaw]

Some of the ship reviews on CC (and these were for longer itineraries) indicate that people have been less than impressed. The quality of food seems to be a big issue - for us poor food is a deal breaker so it would be a real concern.

From general reading it seems that people feel VOS is not as good as Radiance or Rhapsody though that might be because people are more familiar with these ships.

I would hope that most people who have a genuine interest in cruising know enough to recognise that the very short cruises bring out a certain type of passenger and would look past that to the ship's amenities and layout etc.

 

It is FAR too early to be making judgement about VOS (when operating in Aussie waters). Radiance and Rhapsody have been here for a while and have settled down - I really hear nothing but good about them. Give VOS a chance. I am not paying too much attention to reviews of relocation cruises and one night "cruise to nowhere cruises"., As far as I am concerned, VOS was on a relocation cruise until it arrived in Sydney.

 

Barry

[Aussieflyer]

It is FAR too early to be making judgement about VOS (when operating in Aussie waters). Radiance and Rhapsody have been here for a while and have settled down - I really hear nothing but good about them. Give VOS a chance. I am not paying too much attention to reviews of relocation cruises and one night "cruise to nowhere cruises"., As far as I am concerned, VOS was on a relocation cruise until it arrived in Sydney.

 

Barry

 

I agree - and I wait with interest to see what cruisers here think about the ship. What I was pointing out was that there have been some poor reviews which have nothing to do with the cruise to nowhere issues.

IMO spending time on any ship (with one or two exceptions) is better than being home.

[Cruisegroover]

Some of the ship reviews on CC (and these were for longer itineraries) indicate that people have been less than impressed. The quality of food seems to be a big issue - for us poor food is a deal breaker so it would be a real concern.

From general reading it seems that people feel VOS is not as good as Radiance or Rhapsody though that might be because people are more familiar with these ships.

I would hope that most people who have a genuine interest in cruising know enough to recognise that the very short cruises bring out a certain type of passenger and would look past that to the ship's amenities and layout etc.

 

Actually in the last two weeks I have been on both VOS and Rhapsody and the menu on VOS MDR was excatly the same as the ROS MDR.

 

The food on some the recent VOS cruises may have been a 'westernised' version for the Chinese as the Asian cruises were marketed as "Chinese Immersion Cruises" especially for the Chinese. A bit like when I went to China on a tour we got 'westernised' Chinese food which was not typical of what they eat locally. Hence why people didn't like it very much.

 

The prove will be in pudding when we hear more about VOS in next few months.

[Aussieflyer]

Cruisegroover, interesting points - we were on the 2 nighter ROS but did not eat in the MDR (ending up in specialty restaurants). I would have thought that the food should be comparable. We had the worst Chinese food on a Viking Yangtze River cruise - just awful so I hope they don't try to "Australianise" the menu!

[The_Big_M]

I was just keen to hear other Aussie cruisers views on the new ships. I think part of the problem might be that we have really high expectations. There was a lot of hype about the growth of cruising in Australia and that fact that we were getting all these 'new' ships.

 

Personally I am quite disappointed as it does feel that we are the poor relation and often get ships that are far from new.

 

I have sailed on most of the ships in Australia and I think the Radiance is great but the others are all quite tired and rough around the edges.

 

I think expectations is part of it... in some part unrealistic.

 

Remember where these RCL ships spend the rest of the year - in the US! So it's not true that we're the poor cousin or get the oldest ships, they move in a place appropriate to demand. Other older ships that we don't see are also based in the US. It's understandable that their newest are also launched in their home market though. If we had our own cruise line, would many local cruisers be happy if it launched a new ship to serve - overseas!? I'm sure most would cry blue murder, about it being "unAustralian" and so forth.

 

As for the experiences onboard, it's amusing to hear preferences as many veteran US cruisers rate Rhapsody as one of the best for service wherever it is, and enjoy cruises on her. So it's not the case that newer is automatically best either.

 

Enjoy that we get to cruise, and appreciate that we have a range of choices. If you don't like one line, surely there's another that will appeal. But keep in mind it could be passengers, itinerary or a whole bunch of other things too.

[avalon007]

Voyager I believe is due for her refurbishment in 2014, Radiance was done in 2011 & Rhapsody this year.

 

I'm confident that VOS will be fine & don't expect an issue with the food, staff or fellow passengers on our NZ cruise.

 

There is this thread in the RCCL forum with links to a comprehensive blog on VOS by a couple that have also cruised Radiance, they seem to have found VOS to be a good ship to be on.

 

Radiance actually has one of the most loyal followings if you read the RCCL forums often & I have a feeling I will still prefer her size to VOS, but still expect to enjoy VOS.

 

As pointed out these ships return to the overseas markets in our Autumn/Winter, VOS is doing more Asia & Radiance/Rhapsody do Alaska.

So we aren't getting the dregs, in fact we have 2 out of 3 of the RCCL ships based here being some of the most recently refurbished, in another 18 months or so it will be 3 out 3.:)

 

You can see where each RCCL ship sails here.

[Sutho]

I have a little view that harsh reviews keep cruise lines honest and help keep their product up to scratch.

 

All ships have a prime life and use by date. The ships like Voyager of the Seas, Carnival Spirit are still reasonably new and modern in strict terms. Some of them have had refits and been upgraded like Rhapsody of the Seas and Radiance of the Seas have been brought into line with the Oasis class. If ships are not kept up to scratch and become drains on the cruise line then eventually they are send on their merry way.

[Feen Machine]

:)

I think cruise ships are getting the tail end of the 'consumer cyclone'

 

By that I mean consumers in this country have been waking up in the last couple of years to the fact that price wise ( and otherwise) we are royally ripped off and more so now with parity of the Aussie dollar. And that means we are also getting annoyed at the hand me downs (mainly from the US) of everything whether it be senior managers sent out for a 'holiday' to run the colonial office, software for computers charged at double the price, airfares also charged much higher going over there than what it costs to come here even by our own national carrier and even ships which are old but try still charge top dollar, but then dumb down the offering.

 

Basically I think Australians are tired of being related like idiots which is becoming more and more harder to do with Internet access and our ability to research....but companies seen to be slow at picking up.

 

Perfect example is the lack of price drops being passed on here whereas its par of the course in the US - but lines like to pretend it doesn't happen.

 

Hi I AGREE WITH YOU ,BUT WHAT CAN WE DO ABOUT IT ,I DON`T MIND PAYING FOR ANYTHING,BUT I HATE BEING RIP OFF,AND THATS IS WHAT THEY ARE DOING TO US AUSSIE .:o:p TO EVERYONE . IT GOES UP 20%

[voyager70]

With the addition of RCL's two Sunshine Class ships & possibly a third Oasis Class ship in the coming years I'm keeping my fingers crossed that you will get a new ship in Oz! In the meantime, I've sailed all classes of RCL ships & find that even the oldest ships are very well maintained & once all the ships have undergone their refits things will only get better. Of course some wear & tear is inevitable, you just have to be realistic in your expectations. Do think it's a pity that pricing standards & policies aren't the same from one country to another. And as far as poor passenger behavior I've seen it from pretty much every nationality - fortunately they are usually few & far between :)

[cruisin-m]

With the addition of RCL's two Sunshine Class ships & possibly a third Oasis Class ship in the coming years I'm keeping my fingers crossed that you will get a new ship in Oz! In the meantime, I've sailed all classes of RCL ships & find that even the oldest ships are very well maintained & once all the ships have undergone their refits things will only get better. Of course some wear & tear is inevitable, you just have to be realistic in your expectations. Do think it's a pity that pricing standards & policies aren't the same from one country to another. And as far as poor passenger behavior I've seen it from pretty much every nationality - fortunately they are usually few & far between :)

 

 

Very well said :)

 

I believe that all the cruise ships operating out of Australia at the moment are very well maintained and great to cruise on.

[suncityga]

Voyager I believe is due for her refurbishment in 2014, Radiance was done in 2011 & Rhapsody this year.

 

FYI... Attached is a PDF of RCI's refurbishment schedule.

12028421_Revit_QuickReference_Guide.pdf

[bazzaw]

Can I go just a little bit off topic here? Thanks -- then I will:D

 

I want to say how pleasing it is that we seem to be getting quite a few American visitors to our Australia and NZ cruising Sub Forum these days. I don't believe that this has been the case so much in the past - is it so now because of the transfer of ships like the RCCL ships to Oz waters? Probably fairly obvious - but there may be other reasons.

 

Barry

[Kiwi Kruzer]

Can I go just a little bit off topic here? Thanks -- then I will:D

I want to say how pleasing it is that we seem to be getting quite a few American visitors to our Australia and NZ cruising Sub Forum these days. I don't believe that this has been the case so much in the past - is it so now because of the transfer of ships like the RCCL ships to Oz waters? Probably fairly obvious - but there may be other reasons.Barry

 

The ships have not come down here just for Australians.

They will be heavily marketed in North America and all around the World.

 

Stand by for the next round of complaints to start....

something along these lines perhaps ????

 

:rolleyes:The best staterooms are not available for us to book .

They are being kept for the Americans .:eek:

 

 

[rugbypopsie]

The ships have not come down here just for Australians.

They will be heavily marketed in North America and all around the World.

 

Stand by for the next round of complaints to start....

something along these lines perhaps ????

 

:rolleyes:The best staterooms are not available for us to book .

They are being kept for the Americans .:eek:

 

 

 

Oh David say it isn't so......

 

Sue

[voyager70]

As an American, Australia & NZ are high on my bucket list so I'm thrilled to see more ships heading down your way. Despite what some of my countrymen say we have plenty of ships sailing North American waters and Europe has become saturated as well. Mind you I've sailed extensively in N America & Europe so my views may be a little biased but I think most would agree. Hoping to visit Oz & NZ in 2014!