SS Voyager, a second look

[PaulaJK]

Our 1 previous cruise on rssc/Voyager had been a Baltic route, summer

2004. Perhaps influenced by not yet knowing the product, the port intensity or the cold weather, we had rather 'middling' feelings about our experience. Nonetheless, we proceeded w. our booked New Year's

FLL-LAX cruise....and we are happy that we did. We had a much nicer

onboard experience, clearly enhanced by warm, sunny skies and several

sea days. I will mostly write of Voyager but will add some comparisons w. Crystal, the line which ---on the whole-- we tilt towards.

 

Embarkation:

land portion---Gracious and swift. I prefer R because it includes a photo on your ID card and takes the credit card receipt at check-in.

onboard portion---Able to board from 12 n. Handed a sheet of where & when you can do what. Stewardess w. glasses of champagne lingered in background but didn't approach & offer one.[ We weren't shy, we took one.] Lunch [burgers, hot dogs, salads] was being served at the poolside grill. The suites opened at 3pm. Since you still had your carry-ons with you, it was a bit awkward to move around, whether to explore or make appts. R was more than adequate but I prefer Crystal which has staff available to check the carry ons of early boarders adn then invites you inside [out of hot sun] to a restaurant lunch w. a glass of champagne.

 

Cabins/suites: I am in total agreement w. most previous posters who have praised these cabins. They win hands down, even comparing w. Serenity's A/B category [more colorful decorations], because of the walk in closet & separate shower & tub. However, we did need repairs of the door to the balcony, the speaker system on the TV & a leaky shower [which remained thus because the gaskets are back ordered for 6 months!]. We had a wonderful stewardess marryAnn who kept our room beautifully clean.

 

Officers/Senior Staff: While C's are visible on deck and at parties, and always polite in greetings, I felt a particular warmth & gracious from R's officers. I had read about the block party on this board and thought it sounded a bit hokey! Well, it worked! It created a good feeling on the corridor and made for easy greetings. R had an office & cast member in our corridor along w. the stweardesses and both Captain & Hotel Director appeared and chatted. Capt. Dag is a Norwegian James Bond appealing

man, highly visible & always greeting pax along his route. His friendliness reminded me of C's Capt Mallen. R's cruise staff also were highly visible, more so than I can recall on double digit C cruises.

 

PAX; nice mix of people who tended to greet & chat in elevators,etc ......all ages represented but probably, the majority were 40 and above. There were more families w. children [no problems] due to the

holiday period.

 

We did observe 3 rather unusual experiences for either R or C. They were troubling in that they upset fellow pax AND because R did not seem to

have a mechanism in place to immediately address this.

1.There was a couple who had an 18 month old who constantly shrieked.

I don't mean that he sometimes became tired and fused or sometimes cried....but he made long shrieking sounds. The parents brought him to the diningroom & seemed oblivious to his shrieking. This was distressing to the tables surrounding them. [by the end of the cruise, I had heard many pax speak of "that kid".]

2.Whether this was directly connected w. the punch out is not certifiable by me, although that was the rumor. One evening, above child was in diningroom at 8pm, doing his shrieks. We could hear him across the busy room. At the next table, apparently words were exchanged and then

a punch or more thrown. A staff member jumped up & restrained one man. People in the area were jumping up,cursing was heard. Code Blue was called. Eventually some injured parties were taken from the diningroom ...also, the child exited w. parents.

3.This was a really awful incident. We were sitting around the pool.

A burly man was trying to talk on his cell phone while standing near the

pool shower/lip area. As the ocean was a bit rough that day, several

teens were enjoying the motion in the pool, laughing & shouting as we all have done once upon a time. The man became very angry,screamed at them to be quiet so we could hear on his phone. Resumed speaking.

Then screamed at them again...pointing & screaming, if you don't be quiet I'll have the pool drained. Back to phone. Next screaming was Jonh, John [deck steward] empty,the pool, empty the pool on these kids. The mother of some of the teens, sat up and spoke quietly to him. HE continued screaming....and then came over to her, leaning over her chair in a menacing manner and called her stupid....as a crowd protectively gathered around her, he began his re-write saying he was only concerned about the safety of the kids! She asked him to move away. He screamed, I will not. Several male pax became active in encouraging him to move on.

Finally, a pax whom I knew, called the bridge to advise them of this incident and ask for Capt/officers to respond...which they did. I think what disturbed many of us was that the deck stewards apparently had not immediately callled for some help/intervention.

 

Library: Nice on both lines. I'll give point to R which keeps it open 24 hrs and does not require check out and to C for inviting knooks in which to read.

 

Movie Theatre: R doesn't have one but shows a movie @ afternoon in the Voyager lounge. C has a dedicated and very comfrotable theater w. twice daily showings.

 

Day Activities; I think R has improved in this dept. although they are still a little light in this category.

 

TEA: You can enjoy it on either ship but R tends to be self serve

small sandwiches & cakes. Crystal offers several theme teas w.

correlated sandwiches & cakes, all elegantly served to you.

 

Room Service: R excels w. a dedicated dept, timely deliveries of hot food,

and always sets up a table....kudos to them. One issue is that they have you wirte both breakfast orders on one chit....and sometimes the combos were incorrect...or maybe I didn't do it correctly. On C, you are okay in the PH categories but there is often less co-ordination & gracious set up otherwise. Also, in the evening there may be delays.

 

Now for the most controversial areas/next post

[PaulaJK]

THE DININGROOM;

Management issues-- Service is anonymous and feels impersonal. By this I mean the waiter does not announce his name.......nor, even when he has served you several times, does he ever initiate any conversation.

 

There are those who will only sail with open seating. I like both....but open seating makes me miss the relationship

w. the waiters who know my preferences & tastes.

 

I do not know how they 'run' their food....but we had a lot of tepid dishes [e.g. soups] and other dishes which

clearly had edges browned from sitting under lights.

 

The tables are closely spaced and it is impossible not to hear your neighbor's conversations. They are nicely

dressed in white cloths, gold rimmed dishes and fine stemware but there is none of the variety in tablecloth

colors and designed plates that you find on Crystal. There also are no themed dinners...eg. Neptune or French

or Italian night.

 

THE DR CUISINE itself seemed to be of good quality, often blandly prepared but pleasantly presented. I didn't find it too interesting or imaginative [who needs both bami & nasi goreng as entrees within 10 days?]. Some items were poor [grandmother's apple pie needed a hacksaw to cut through]; lunch was particularly weak. We ordered only one 'special' item...steak diane...which certainly was not a classical preparation & arrived so salty that it was inedible. I find Crystal's menus more interesting, imaginative and w. enhanced preparation & presentation.

 

La VERANDAH...wins any contest for ambiance w. clothed tables and level of service....however, the food seems tired and without great variety. Since when is pizza appropriate for a carving station??? Anyway, Crystal offers a far better buffet but would do well to embrace R's style & service.

 

ENTERTAINMENT;

R had an excellent [Peter Terhune] cast...which presented several shows. These shows are not over-produced, over-recorded or over-costumed and thus, I preferred them to C's. Surprise! Their other evening shows were good w. a weak comedian, avg female vocalist and 2 very good male vocalist. Where R is really, really weak is 'other' venues....The Voyager Lounge had a duo w. an ancient repetoire and a pie sized dance floor.The huge Horizon lounge is mostly empty & the pianist plays for no one. This room would profit by a combo for listening & dancing. This same combo could then play for the on deck buffets instead of importing the show band which couldn't play caribbean or deck style music. There is a quiet guitarist as background music in the Observation Lounge. Crystal w. its pre dinner cabaret performances, Repretory at Sea, games such as Liars Club, Avenue Saloon and dance combo wins hands down in this category.

 

Special Occasions:

R did a nice New Year's Eve on deck party [although that same show band]and a most gracious 1/1/2006 luncheon buffet on deck [shellfish, caviar, German station]..towards the end of the cruise they did steak & lobster tails for lunch. But they have no Gala Buffet or elaborate brunch or specials deck buffets. Here again, Crystal invites & excites.

 

Our last day/stop was San Diego. R was getting ready for its world cruise & took those pax off to LAX for a party. They left the rest of us, all paying per diem of course, without a show, a movie, or music in the Voyager lounge. Many people were complaining.........

 

So throw away your matches. I like them both....would be happy to be gifted w. a cruise on either.......and we're all entitled to our opinions.

 

If you have any questions,. please feel free to ask.