Review of Voyager Western Carribean 9/9 - 9/18

[lrovnan]

Our cruise review for Voyager of the Seas 9 night cruise (Sept 9th – 18th)

 

Day 1 (September 09th)

 

Embarkation

 

Arrived at Cape Liberty Pier at approx 11:30 am. We were dropped off so no need to leave our car anywhere. Passengers from the previous cruise (5 day Bermuda) were still debarking. Gave our luggage to the portman located near the entrance of the building. We tipped him but not sure if this is necessary. Proceeded to the entrance of the Cape Liberty terminal needed to show id immediately (passports or Drivers License). Then you walk thru the security area and you send your carryons thru x-ray machine. I had no problems , my husband was questioned about the cooler we brought (small one on wheels). We had some wine and blue ice in it and the security wasn’t sure what blue ice was in the xray. Showed him the contents and he was satisfied and away we went. He could care less about the wine. From what it looked like he was working for Cape Liberty not Royal Caribbean so bringing wine on board is not an issue. Walked right into large room and was handed a welcome sheet with some embarking information on it and a number. The number indicated what shuttle we would be taking to get on the boat. We were prepared with the SetSail printouts so we got in line and were taken care of with in a minute or two. Showed our identification, driver’s license and birth certificates. The names on my license did not match my birth cert. but did not ask for any other forms of id (marriage licenses and divorce decree). They took our credit card and gave us our Sea Pass card. What ever you do check to see that your information is correct on the Sea Pass. The clerk gave us the wrong ones so this might be a big head ache for you and for someone else later on. We then waited in the terminal (large room with chairs and small tables, tv’s, and juice and cookies (no juice left when we were there). Waited about 20 minutes to a half hour and they bargain to call the numbers for the shuttles. We were then taken to the ship and on board within a few minutes. I would say the whole process from arrival to the time we were heading for the windjammer is about 1 hour. The only disappointment was we weren’t greeted when we entered the ship and we didn’t see anyone with a camera to take our picture. We later realized that pictures were taken but we didn’t see them when we entered.

 

Day 1

 

First thing we did was get in the elevator and head up to our room, but because it was only 12:30 we were not allowed to enter the hallway to the rooms so went up to the WindJammer for some lunch. Before entering there were many workers there to greet you. And they had soda and wine packages available for purchase. Had a quick lunch, your typical fair, hot dogs , sandwiches, fruit, salad etc. After lunch we walked around and got ourselves familiar with the ship itself since we had a few minutes until our room opened up at 1:00. Our room was 10th floor 1568 Grand Suite. It was a great room. Very roomy and our room steward Simeon Baker was great,kept our cooler full of ice at all times. Didn’t meet him until later on in the evening. Went up to pool bar to get the Sail away party started. Then to the dreaded Muster drill. A lot of people were late by as much as 10 or 15 minutes and a lot of people made light of it. It’s a bit of an inconvenience especially since your so excited but my opinion is it’s ½ hour out of your cruise and if something did happen you’d be happy you paid attention. Then it was right up to the Sail away were we met up with some Mix and Mingle people for a little sail away pre party. It was so nice meeting with everyone over the Yellow Bar.

 

Since we had a Suite we had access to the Concierge Lounge on the 9th floor. We were greeted by Josephine who explained everything to us and made instant reservations at Portofino’s for us. The Lounge was great all types of wines , snacks, liquors, water, juice, soda’s and beer. It was open bar from 5-8:30. The lounge is open 24 hours but you can only get coffee, cappuccino, espresso, hot chocolate (which was really good) and tea’s.

 

Dinner time came and we meet our Waiter Roche and Asst. Rody. Roche was soft spoken but very nice and informative, Rody was excellent, she knew exactly what we drank every night and never made us wait for anything. They are both very hard workers and earned their tips. Unfortunately we did not have any tablemates the first night , our table was not in the best area (La Boehme 2nd floor 415) so I’m guessing other people checked it and immediately moved. But it was ok. We have no problems with being alone. Later on in the week met two of our tablemates and then invited a couple from the concierge lounge to dine with us since they were unsatisfied with their table.

 

Day 2

 

First day at sea. Pretty much roamed around the ship taking pictures. Had our meet and mingle get together at 11:45 at the High Notes Jazz Club. Had fun meeting everyone. They served appetizers and we played a RCCL trivia game. The seas were a bit rough and a little chilly out so not much action at the pool today. Tonight was the first formal night. I had duck which was excellent and my husband had the beef tenderloin which he enjoyed.

 

Day 3

 

Another day at sea. Went to the pool. Not too crowded in the morning the waves were still a bit rough. The pool was an actual wave pool. The BBC’s were refreshing. Saw a few chair hogs but there are plenty of seats so didn’t see much of a problem. The only complaint we had was the band that plays at the pool didn’t play for very long only about a ½ hour in the late morning and again in the late afternoon. We enjoy them so much , just wished there were more playing time.

 

Day 4

 

1st port – Labadee – Very exciting to pull up to it , such a beautiful views with the lush green mountains. We were tendered to the peninsula, a very easy process. Thought it would be a nightmare. We ended up at hideaway beach, all the way to the left. It was less crowded than the areas around the water park. But it was hot and not a lot of shaded areas so you felt on top of people trying to share the shaded huts. Seemed like there were chair hogs with the hammocks. There was an area with maybe 6 of them and they had towels and shoes on them for ½ the day , no bodies. I mean chair hogs don’t bother me too much but when you spend more time in the water than in the hammock then you should let someone else enjoy it. They put lunch out around 11:30 there were I believe three areas where they served it. The area around hideaway beach was great nice picnic area over looking the water with such a nice breeze. The food was fine (hamburgers , hot dogs, ribs, salads etc). But realized later that the main eating area (by the pier) had lines all day , I mean you were waiting a ½ hour or more for food, the area that we were you just walked right up, no line. The shopping was horrendous , the natives were down right aggressive, standing right in your way just to get you to shop in their area. We walked in and out immediately. We had every intention of buying something but were so turned off by the experience that we didn’t. They day was very relaxing and enjoyed the beach very much.

 

Day 5

 

2nd Port – Jamaica - no tenders, just walked right off. Had an excursion planned so got off immediately. Found our bus quickly since we had the most colorful bus there. We went on the Marley Zion experience . They took us to 9 miles which is were Bob Marley was born and raised and where he is buried. It was a great trip got to see a lot of the Jamaican country side, they gave us rum punch, water or red stripe beer. Learned a lot about Bob Marley , history of his music and his life. Once there saw his home and where him and his family are laid to rest. Had a jerk chicken and pork lunch and had just enough time to do some quick shopping and have a drink at Margarritaville. It was such an enjoyable trip just wished we had more shopping time.

 

Day 6

 

3rd Port – Grand Cayman - had to use tenders – Very pretty island , we didn’t have anything planned so just wanted to do some shopping. Once off we realized that the shopping wasn’t that cheap. There were also 3 other cruise ships docked so lots of people everywhere. There were alot of natives standing around with signs advertising $20 tours. Because of the heat we decided to take a tour in a air conditioned van. It was very nice went to and saw a few sights and the turtle farm it was about 1 ½ hours long. We got back and hit the Tortuga Rum Cake store and picked up a cake and some rum. Went to Portofino’s for Dinner had an excellent dinner, I had asparagus soup, Caesar salad, halibut with lobster ravioli, and flourless chocolate cake and everything was outstanding. My husband had the beef tenderloin and the tirimasu he loved it also.

 

Day 7

 

Day at sea – Enjoyed the pool deck and got ready for our dinner at the Captains table. Such a wonderful experience, Captain Erik Tengleson was wonderful very easy to talk to. We had a special menu that the captain picked out himself , we received at the end of dinner a copy of the menu along, a picture of our table and an invitation to tour the bridge.

 

Day 8

 

4th Port – Freeport , Grand Bahama Island – Not impressed with this port at all. Not a very pretty port, a lot of refineries and tankers . Had a small shopping area next to the ship but opted to go to the larger shopping area. The cab ride was $5 per person each way , we were crammed into a dirty hot car and taken to the shopping and found there nothing exciting there. So it was pretty much a waste of $20 for us. Would never go back again. Tonight was lobster night had two tails were very good.

 

Day 9

 

Last sea day. Looking forward to relaxing and we had our tour of the bridge. Spent the morning packing. Went on our tour was quite interesting, we really enjoyed it. Had a nice dinner said goodbye to everyone we had meet.

 

Day 10

 

Arrived at Cape Liberty – Talk about a nightmare. We were told to leave our rooms by 8:00am and go to the La Scala Theater. We did, there were repeated delays from Port Security because non-residents did not reporting to customs. We were finally off the ship by 11:30. It just was mass chaos, everyone aggravated trying to get off the ship and then to add to it people coming into the port going to Bermuda. There’s got to be a more organized way.

 

In short we had an incredible time. We used so many tips from Cruise Critics and thanks to everyone for your great tips. We felt that the staff was very friendly and helpful, especially Josephine from the Concierge Lounge , our room steward Simeon, and our waiters Roche and Rody. We had no problems with the food, everything we ate was always hot and tasty. We seemed to spend a lot of time at the Café Promenade, Concierge Lounge, WindJammer, and the pool. If you have any questions please ask.

 

[Homebody]

Thanks for the great comprehensive review. We leave on Friday! Can't wait!

[dad son team]

Thanks for the review. I was on this cruise about 1 month ago and reading it brings back the great memories and makes me want to go again.

 

How did you get invited to the captains table? Did the invitation just show up or did you request it?

[nyisles]

Great review. I can't believe that they still haven't gotten the debarkation in Bayonne organized yet. It was the worst part of our trip last year. I think it took us about 4 hours to get off the ship after leaving our cabin.

[dh01498]

Thanks for the review. I was on this cruise about 1 month ago and reading it brings back the great memories and makes me want to go again.

 

How did you get invited to the captains table? Did the invitation just show up or did you request it?

 

Hi Dad Son Team.. it's funny I was thinking the same thing. We were on the same cruise as you and it seems like so long ago already:( and reading this review brought back so many fun memories:rolleyes:

Do you have any other cruises planned or booked? We booked ours to Bermuda while onboard last month.

[familycruzer]

Great review. I am going to try and bring a couple bottles of wine and see if I have the same luck as you.

[peterx]

great review. i'm going tomorrow :) i'll avoid the freeport taxi ;)

[DPurcell58]

Great review, brings back memories of Aug. 26. How did you get invited to the captain's table? We opted to waited right outside the Promenade while getting off, at the Champagne Bar. You could hear the announcement there or someone would come by and tell you what color they had called. We booked the Explorer for next Aug. 25, 9 nights.

[TonyaJune]

Thanks for a great review! I can't wait until tomorrow to see VOS again!:D

[Jazzfman]

Yes brings back memories:D We went to Port Lucaya in Freeport ($5 taxi was clean and friendly)....walked around a Very nice hotel across from the marketplace...the pool area and beach were beautiful....went to the market and they had some nice stores and a few bars by the marina where we cooled off with local COLD beer called Kalick 2 cans for $5!!! not like VOS prices!!...wife had some potent rum punch....stopped and got 2 six packs of Kalick before taxi back to ship they... had a small market right at the port also.....no problem getting the beer onboard, just had to send thru x ray...so we Did enjoy Freeport but wished we had more time there to do snorkelling or a island tour....had some rain pulling out of Freeport which was a little sad as well as we knew we were heading home to 'Port of Call Bayonne New Jersey' (from old Saturday night live Navy spoof)

[PelicanBill]

Super review, thanks so much... in just 2 weeks we will be starting our drive to NJ to board the next day!

[dad son team]

Hi Dad Son Team.. it's funny I was thinking the same thing. We were on the same cruise as you and it seems like so long ago already:( and reading this review brought back so many fun memories:rolleyes:

Do you have any other cruises planned or booked? We booked ours to Bermuda while onboard last month.

 

Nothing planned as of yet. I told myself that I was going to stay on land for a while and do a big cruise in 2007 for my 40th b'day, but I am already getting itchy to do a respite from winter cruise. I might do a short something over the winter but nothing as of yet.

[lrovnan]

I'm glad my review was helpful to everyone, As far as the captain's table I had sent a faxed letter to the Dining room Coordinator on the Voyager a few weeks prior to our cruise, then once we got on board I spoke to guest relations about it , they said they would work on it . What clinched in was the Manage or the Concierge Lounge got me in touch with the Matri'd (not sure of the spelling) of the dinning room and he set it up for us. We got an invitation the morning of the 2nd formal night (the night of the dinner).

[ElvisandTracey]

Irovnan-Nice review, just a tip-the word "natives" probably isn't the best word to use here-for many reasons-

 

1. Locals or Hatians is better, "native" is not a cool word anymore, and those on Labadee are not really "native" to that location anyway, as it is a privately owned RCCI island-they are from Haiti proper.

 

The only reason I mention this is because my husband is from Belize, and culturally, many from other countries see the word "native" as outdated, like in an old tarzan movie or something. It is also rather negative, and is usually used in a negative way, as you did by saying "the natives" were too aggresive in their selling tactics.

 

I am not in any way trying to pick on you or flame you, just letting you know from another point of veiw.

 

I was at Labadee in 2003 and remember very long lines for everyting too, so I can relate-and if you wanted to see a really pushy Hatian guy, go talk to the head of the hair brading stall-he was awful- but I do understand that in that area it is very hard to make money, so tourism is all they have, therefore some might appear pushy in an attempt to feed their families.

[lrovnan]

Sorry about the wording . I actually didn't even realize I used the word "natives" until you brought it to my attention. I do believe that most people reading my review would know that I didn't mean any harm and would not think twice about it. But some people I guess just look for these things. I'll be more careful from now on.

[Catseyes]

Great review, we are just back from our vacation, cruise on Navigator and a week in Orlando. Have wonderful memories, will have to get around to writing our review. Loved Labadee, such a beautiful island.

 

Tessa:)

[Jazzfman]

Considering Labadee is part of Haiti I think 'Native' is an apt way to describe these people...not just because they creeped me out (hairbraiding,wheelchair pusher AND sellers:eek: )....wherever you live you are a Native of that area to any visitor...

 

Irovnan I don't think you should be sorry about your wording.....

[moyaarona]

thank you for your great review, you have helped us to make a few decisions regarding ports to visit. the first one Labadee sounds like our idera of hell so we will give it a miss. I have no problem with the word native, I am a native of England

 

thanks again:)

[dad son team]

thank you for your great review, you have helped us to make a few decisions regarding ports to visit. the first one Labadee sounds like our idera of hell so we will give it a miss. I have no problem with the word native, I am a native of England

 

thanks again:)

 

Don't skip Labadee. We had no problem with the locals being pushy at all. For that matter they were helpful. Yes, they will offer to assist you in finding a chair for a few $$, but that was the only time we really cam in contact with them. Another positve was when my son wanted to go to the aqua park area. Normally, they charge $5 for this, but the guy was nice and did not charge because "his boss was not around". I gave him $2 for his pocket. Now my guess is that by doing this, he gets the cash that the cruiseline would get on your seapass. Either way, ny son got to spend a little time in the park and I saved $3 and since I was ripped off at the waterslide, I'm ok with this.

[lrovnan]

The problems we had with the people were not on the beach itself , they were very helpful , they took your lounge chair and placed it onto the beach for you , but if your looking for a nice shady spot go early. Now the aggressiveness that we experienced was in the shopping area(in door market). We tried to just look around for souveniers but were grabbed at by local (i mean one man grabbed my arm and tried to pull me into his cubicle) another man stood right in front of my husband and wouldn't let him pass (and my husband is 6" 5' ). It got to the point that we just said no thank you and made a dash out the door. The island itself was nice and the beach was pretty. You do need to bring water shoes because it was very rocky in the water. But 2 or 3 hours was enough for us.