Voyager

[broadwaybaby123]

For what it's worth, this is what I woke up to on my last day on Adventure Of The Seas, a Voyager class ship. This was from my stateroom.

[Moltar]

Voyager class will always hold a very special place in my heart. They started the evolution revolution if you will. I can't answer your question in good faith since you started on Oasis class....

[greatestvalue]

On 9/3/2022 at 4:18 PM, renza said:

We are going to great ports with no sea days

If you have great ports than the destination will be the ports, not the ship.

 

We just got off the Voyager. Your concerns are valid. The ship needs help it's looking old & for us the entertainment just didn't cut it. So the ship was not the destination for us. 

 

The food was very good. The ports were great as well. So go and enjoy. Set your expectations and you will be good, as it will be a good value. 

 

On RCLs larger ships what do you like about the entertainment?  I want to book on a bigger ship to compare. 

 

[renza]

On 9/6/2022 at 6:33 PM, greatestvalue said:

If you have great ports than the destination will be the ports, not the ship.

 

We just got off the Voyager. Your concerns are valid. The ship needs help it's looking old & for us the entertainment just didn't cut it. So the ship was not the destination for us. 

 

The food was very good. The ports were great as well. So go and enjoy. Set your expectations and you will be good, as it will be a good value. 

 

On RCLs larger ships what do you like about the entertainment?  I want to book on a bigger ship to compare. 

 

There is nothing better than the shows on all oasis class. The aqua shows are amazing. The Broadway shows and the other performance shows are always good the ice-skating shows are phenomenal too. Can’t go wrong with any of the oasis class. Except maybe the oasis we dislike cats

[Another_Critic]

On 9/4/2022 at 4:29 AM, rudeney said:and no Sorrento's. 

There isn’t Sorrento’s by name, but there’s an expanded Cafe Promenade, which includes “Sorrento’s” pizza.  Very tasty Caribbean Dream today.  😋

[Another_Critic]

Currently on Voyager in Reykjavik, Iceland.  Having a good time.  The ship is loaded with C&A members, but only 15 kids.

[rudeney]

1 minute ago, Another_Critic said:

There isn’t Sorrento’s by name, but there’s an expanded Cafe Promenade, which includes “Sorrento’s” pizza.  Very tasty Caribbean Dream today.  😋

 

I have heard that the selection is very limited and often pizza is unavailable.  How is it this week?  And without the extra seating in a dedicated Sorrento's, is Cafe Promenade crowded?

[Another_Critic]

1 minute ago, rudeney said:

 

I have heard that the selection is very limited and often pizza is unavailable.  How is it this week?  And without the extra seating in a dedicated Sorrento's, is Cafe Promenade crowded?

Pizza has been available anytime I’ve looked and there’s a big selection of sandwiches.  It can be busy at certain times.

 

Our MDR waiter is working Cafe Promenade in the afternoon and will be overseeing it full time starting when Voyager arrives in Boston on September 18.

[Ourusualbeach]

7 minutes ago, rudeney said:

 

I have heard that the selection is very limited and often pizza is unavailable.  How is it this week?  And without the extra seating in a dedicated Sorrento's, is Cafe Promenade crowded?

We were on for 11 days in the middle of August and everytime I walked by they always had 3 varieties available (unless they were waiting on the oven...like on any ship).  I must say though I was not impressed with the pizza  Seemed liked precooked crusts that they then added toppings to and baked again

[rudeney]

1 minute ago, Ourusualbeach said:

We were on for 11 days in the middle of August and everytime I walked by they always had 3 varieties available (unless they were waiting on the oven...like on any ship).  I must say though I was not impressed with the pizza  Seemed liked precooked crusts that they then added toppings to and baked again

 

We are terribly spoiled by our favorite local place that's been around over 60 years and hand-makes everything.  Our youngest daughter just started working there last week.  The oldest's husband manages a Papa John's, and when I was in high school, my first job was at a pizza place.  I guess I may qualify as a pizza expert, so I will report back with my official review in a few weeks. 😏

 

 

[Ourusualbeach]

1 minute ago, rudeney said:

 

We are terribly spoiled by our favorite local place that's been around over 60 years and hand-makes everything.  Our youngest daughter just started working there last week.  The oldest's husband manages a Papa John's, and when I was in high school, my first job was at a pizza place.  I guess I may qualify as a pizza expert, so I will report back with my official review in a few weeks. 😏

 

 

I put myself through college driving and managing Pizza places a long time ago.  Ran 4 Dominos at one point.  The nice thing about that and being single was that for 3 years my grocery bill was pretty close to zero.

 

I take Sorrentos for what it is and occasionally get surprised, most of the time edible but this time I only went there three times....it just wasn't worth it, even after a night of drinking.

[bonsai3s]

Voyager...Just had 2 slices of pepperoni pizza at Cafe Promenade...after a long day doing the Golden Circle (Reykjavik, Iceland) tour today...incredible. (The tour and pizza onboard) 

[Another_Critic]

50 minutes ago, bonsai3s said:

Voyager...Just had 2 slices of pepperoni pizza at Cafe Promenade...after a long day doing the Golden Circle (Reykjavik, Iceland) tour today...incredible. (The tour and pizza onboard) 

Yeah, I had fresh slices of Caribbean Dream and it was tasty.  We did Golden Circle on our own 5 years ago, so we just took the shuttle downtown and walked around.  Thought about getting a hot dog at a street vendor, but there was a huge line.

[George C]

I love voyager class , sailed voyager a long time ago and sailed sister ship navigator 3 times, I enjoyed every thing about the ship , pub, schooner bar great ice show. 

[Funkytown83]

On 9/4/2022 at 2:46 PM, island lady said:

I am on Voyager from end of January to mid Feb.  (B2B2B) out of PR.  

 

Last year was EX.  

 

Only thing I did not like about the ship are the balconies.  They are inset on the older ships, making them feel like large iron caves, and ours had a lot of rust and peeling paint....but I think that part was due to EX not being refurbished yet.  I am hoping the iron cave on Voyager will be in better shape.  

 

Love...love Chops with the floor to ceiling windows to the sea.  🙂   Also adore the circle VCL bar.  Good times.  

Voyager definitely has its up and downs if compared to the new ones. But especially the metall shell balconies were one of the upsides! Our JS on deck10 (last week) was in great condition and I never had that kind of balcony before. We loved it so much! It keeps the wind out and you are much more private since the sides to your neighbors are also completely  metal shut! Also it didn’t block the light since the JS on Voyager have full glass between the cabin and the balcony. But I get that it is not pleasant if rust is showing… One downside of Voyager was the Entertainment in the theater… Also the lack of dining options for breakfast. But we would pic her again. 

[Moltar]

5 hours ago, rudeney said:

 

We are terribly spoiled by our favorite local place that's been around over 60 years and hand-makes everything.  Our youngest daughter just started working there last week.  The oldest's husband manages a Papa John's, and when I was in high school, my first job was at a pizza place.  I guess I may qualify as a pizza expert, so I will report back with my official review in a few weeks. 😏

 

 

2 things working against you as a pizza expert. 1. Alabama 2. Even mentioning Papa Johns.

[fenton04]

We too were on the August Balkin Sea cruise.  Our 2nd time on the Voyager.  Love the ship.  As diamonds we were a little put out that on the first day the bars were out of my bourbon and rye.  We had to drink beer and wine.  No biggie the next day all the bars were stocked.  Makes us think  the previous cruisers must have been partying hard!  Looks like we should have been on the Voyager that 11 days,

[fenton04]

On 9/3/2022 at 11:29 PM, rudeney said:

My biggest problem with Voyager is the lack of dinning options.  It only has 3 specialty venues - Chops, Giovanni's and Izumi.  There's no Johnny Rocket's (deleted for the "Amping") and no Sorrento's.  It doesn't stop me from sailing on her, though.  

Don’f forget chefs table.  We enjoyed it very much.

[rudeney]

23 minutes ago, fenton04 said:

Don’f forget chefs table.  We enjoyed it very much.

 

My wife won't do it - she looked at the menu and said no.  She does not like gourmet food.  

 

[Ourusualbeach]

3 hours ago, Funkytown83 said:

Voyager definitely has its up and downs if compared to the new ones. But especially the metall shell balconies were one of the upsides! Our JS on deck10 (last week) was in great condition and I never had that kind of balcony before. We loved it so much! It keeps the wind out and you are much more private since the sides to your neighbors are also completely  metal shut! Also it didn’t block the light since the JS on Voyager have full glass between the cabin and the balcony. But I get that it is not pleasant if rust is showing… One downside of Voyager was the Entertainment in the theater… Also the lack of dining options for breakfast. But we would pic her again. 

We had a GS and not a bit of rust on our balcony.  I thought the ship was really well maintained. We definitely missed not having the specialty restaurant choices and the entertainment variety that Oasis class offers. 

[LinRon3]

On 9/3/2022 at 7:05 PM, kccrzr said:

We were also on Voyager out of Copenhagen. The itinerary was great. The lack of all the bells and whistles is less important on a port intensive cruise. 
 

The ship is well maintained (although we met some folks with a negative experience in a GS won through Royal Up). Some areas have been updated with lighter wood and furnishings. 
 

We had excellent service in the main dining room and Giovanni’s.  We found most of the food was good - with the notable exception of soups which were both thin and puréed to the extent nothing bore any resemblance to any ingredient. This has been true on more than the Voyager. 
 

The entertainment will be quite different on a Caribbean cruise so I will only say we were very happy that there was a singing group which actually performed songs which came out after the 1960’s. I was beginning to think only groups which sang rat pack song after rat pack song were booked. 
 

If you have any specific questions, I will try to answer. 

Just affirming what kccrzr said here.  We also went on the voyager out of Copenhagen and agree, if port intensive, ship amenities not as important.  But Voyager had been 'amped' up [I think what they called it]...updated I think in 2019 or so?  We just came off the sister ship Mariner just before labor day, and we thought the Voyager was actually the better ship [both excellent].  One thing, the Voyager had better interactive tv to follow one's account.  The Mariner did not and was a bit limited [no movies or anything].  Compared to a mega ship [which we also like a lot],  we missed things like the Aqua shows and broadway level musicals.  But production shows on both Voyager and Mariner were good too.  Oh...and wifi on the Voyager was horrible for us [nothing from our stateroom].  Mariner wifi was better [but we were in the Caribbean again however].  We do the mega ships and the cruise is more about the ship, I have to admit.  On smaller ships [Voyager class not a small, but more a medium size]...we look for more or better ports [like the Baltic cruise was excellent].  One more thing, Mariner was full capacity and it was very crowded to us.  The mega ships seem to handle crowds better even if more people onboard.  Just our sense of it.  

[joeyancho]

The Voyager is obviously not the Oasis.  But the Voyager is still a great ship.  I sailed the Voyager during her first year of cruising.   I was blown away.  An ice rink and ice show on a cruise ship?   Who ever heard of that?  A promenade?  A rock climbing wall?  Amazing.  The Voyager was revolutionary!   Before her all cruise ship were basically the same.   A buffet, main dining room and an atrium.  Voyager changed all that.  If you started on the Oasis you are lucky,  you have been spoiled.  Nothing will match it until the next generation of cruise ship comes out.  But you will still you will still be on a great ship with great amenities.  

[bonsai3s]

3 hours ago, joeyancho said:

The Voyager is obviously not the Oasis.  But the Voyager is still a great ship.  I sailed the Voyager during her first year of cruising.   I was blown away.  An ice rink and ice show on a cruise ship?   Who ever heard of that?  A promenade?  A rock climbing wall?  Amazing.  The Voyager was revolutionary!   Before her all cruise ship were basically the same.   A buffet, main dining room and an atrium.  Voyager changed all that.  If you started on the Oasis you are lucky,  you have been spoiled.  Nothing will match it until the next generation of cruise ship comes out.  But you will still you will still be on a great ship with great amenities.  

Joeyancho...totally agree. Same as you, we were blown away when it first came out.

 

The Voyager of the Seas is, and will always be sentimental to us...we were humbled by being one of the lucky guest at the Captain's Table...New Year's Eve...2015...Australia.

 

We are currently onboard the Voyager, on our way to Greenland. Most probably booked this cruise for the itinerary.

 

For comparison, I'd like to use another sister ship...the Navigator.

 

* The Voyager looks like Royal Caribbean stopped short of finishing it's amplification.

 

* Voyager - has no El Loco Fresh, Johnny Rockets, Playmakers, Bamboo Room, Lime & Coconut Bar, Hooked...the Navigator does.

 

* Voyager has 1 slide...Navigator 2.

 

* Better placement of the "golf links" on Deck 14 (front) on Navigator. On the Voyager, it's next to the flowrider.

 

 

[rudeney]

2 hours ago, bonsai3s said:

For comparison, I'd like to use another sister ship...the Navigator.

 

* The Voyager looks like Royal Caribbean stopped short of finishing it's amplification.

 

* Voyager - has no El Loco Fresh, Johnny Rockets, Playmakers, Bamboo Room, Lime & Coconut Bar, Hooked...the Navigator does.

 

* Voyager has 1 slide...Navigator 2.

 

* Better placement of the "golf links" on Deck 14 (front) on Navigator. On the Voyager, it's next to the flowrider.

 

 

 

I am not certain about this, but I have a hypothesis about why there are these differences on two ships that are basically the same.  My hypothesis is that they are not the same.  Voyager's balconies are contained within the steel structure that extends up from the hull.  The balcony openings are cut into the structure itself.  On Navigator, the balconies extend outside the steel structure (see photos below).  I don't believe the steel structures of the ships themselves are any difference in size, and I don't believe the balcony rooms are any deeper on Navigator.  This would mean that on decks with balcony rooms (6 through 10), Navigator's interior is wider.  It's not by much, maybe 10 feet, but that can make a huge difference on what can be put inside the ship, which in turn can affect everything the did with the "amping".

 

[island lady]

On 9/10/2022 at 5:18 PM, Funkytown83 said:

Voyager definitely has its up and downs if compared to the new ones. But especially the metall shell balconies were one of the upsides! Our JS on deck10 (last week) was in great condition and I never had that kind of balcony before. We loved it so much! It keeps the wind out and you are much more private since the sides to your neighbors are also completely  metal shut! Also it didn’t block the light since the JS on Voyager have full glass between the cabin and the balcony. But I get that it is not pleasant if rust is showing… One downside of Voyager was the Entertainment in the theater… Also the lack of dining options for breakfast. But we would pic her again. 

 

Nice to know Voyager is in better shape than EX.  Will be on board that ship for the first time for three weeks starting end of January.   I think EX is slated for some refurbishment.  Hopefully they take care of the rust and peeling paint on those balconies.