Voyager of the Seas-10/7-10/12/2023 The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

[ckmommy]

Just got home from a 5 day trip on Voyager of the Seas leaving from Galveston.  Our port stops were Costa Maya and Cozumel.  When we booked we did not realize that this week was a school holiday for several school districts in the USA and did not plan for high seas.  We live in Houston--so I know it is still hurricane season.  That said, by October we are usually clear.  Well, this ended up being the highest seas we have experienced on our cruise vacations.  We were fine and had no issue with the rocking and rolling, but many did not have this same experience.  Let me get my thoughts together and I will post a review in a bit.  Hit me with any questions--I'll do my best to answer.

IMG_0668.HEIC

[FloridaPalms]

Looking forward to your review of “the good, the bad and the ugly”.  Hoping most is good as I’m sailing on Voyager next month. 

[HappyTexan44]

I don't understand this "Fall Break" thing.  Spring break, I get, Thanksgiving and from shortly before Christmas to early January, that too. Random days here and there, holidays or not. Even time periods when Jewish schools go on vacation.   

But, October?   They're just getting into a groove and just now starting to learn new math (first 6 weeks is review because kids forget math during summer)   

I think I need to tell some kids to get off my lawn.   Maybe I shouldn't, we have baby goats that are allowed.  

[BecciBoo]

1 hour ago, FloridaPalms said:

Looking forward to your review of “the good, the bad and the ugly”.  Hoping most is good as I’m sailing on Voyager next month. 

Same in March and have sailed on Voyager 8 times but before reno

[ckmommy]

Port Arrival:

 

Good--

Port of Galveston parking is close and convenient.  

New Terminal is efficient, clean, comfortable

On board by 11:00am

 

Bad--

Got Scissors confiscated--my fault

 

Ugly--

None

 

Ship Embarkation:

 

Good--

-Safety Briefing on Mobile App--better than good--Love this

-Muster Station Check in--easy--hope they do not change this

-Low lines at Guest Services

-Elevators with no lines--we try not to use elevators, but we had friends with us that do need the elevators.  They are Carnival cruisers--this was their 1st Royal--they could not believe that there were no line for the elevators.

-Found a table in the Windjammer for 4 on Embarkation Day!

-Food is fine in the WJ--nothing to write home about be just fine for us.

 

Bad--

-Long Lines at the Main Dining room to get a My time reservation

-the constant badgering for buying the Speciality Dining

-lack of staff anywhere (bars, My time reservations, Windjammer, Park Cafe)

-Windjammer service--no drinks being brought out, plates piled up on tables not being taken off, tables not being wiped off

-Bar service. We went to the Solarium to get a "Are on a Cruise" drink.  The line was about 6 people long.  So we went to the Pool bar--only 2 people in Line.  BUT--only 1 bartender. It took 20 mins to get the drink.  The "cash" registers were not working properly and it was taking a ton of time for the card to process.  That was annoying and was a problem the whole trip. 

 

Ugly--

 

-saw so many couples arguing/fighting --it was embarrassing to witness

-

 

[ckmommy]

Rooms:

Good:

-Room was ready at 1:30

-room keys on the door

-Met our room attendant--he would be cleaning our room in the mornings

-plenty of storage for our clothing and room under the bed for luggage storage

-nice reading light over bed

-there was an offer for pressing of clothing (up to 10 items that fit in a provided bag) for $17.49--But it stated to allow up to 48 to get the clothing back.  Our stateroom attendant assured us they would be back in 24 hours (and they were--we gave him 2 mens dress shirts and to pairs of pants)

-we got towel animals 2 of the 5 days--that was fine for us

 

The Bad:

 

-the shower head did not have a diffuser (?) on it--so it was just one strong stream of water--we did not ask for maintenance to come and fix it.  I wished we had after getting a sunburn the 2nd day.  But that was our fault for not asking for it to be fixed.

-No paper Cruise Compass--I did see some on people's doors, but I did not see our stateroom attendant after the first day to ask for one.  I really did miss the paper copy

-Some one stole some of my door decorations.  

-We only had 2 in our room- but have cruised with 3 in the room before.  With Cabin service only in the AM OR PM, the couch that makes into a bed would have to be left open all the time.  That would be an issue.

-For some reason the cabin attendant only left 1 towel on the 2nd day of the cruise.  So we had to share that wet towel.  I guess I could have gotten a pool towel, but we did not realize this till too late.  And, there were not cabin stewards around to ask for more towels

 

The Ugly:

 

-there was a lady across the hallway from us that was loudly complaining about crazy things the first few days--why are my sheets not being changed everyday?, where is my ice? Can you push the beds together to make more room during the day and then take them apart at night?  I felt bad for the Attendant

[momof3cruisers]

Sailing n Voyager on Feb.  Thanks for doing this.

[happy cruzer]

So far the ugly is passengers behaving badly??  Looking for more good and bad details 🙂

 

Please keep reporting.  Thanks.

[trippen texan]

we are on they voyager this monday want to find out if the house band is good?

[GBeason884]

My wife and I were on the same cruise.    Good analysis.  

 

We both commented on how slow bar service was on the ship.   I attribute it to drink packages.   The old days, they would have killed their revenue, but now they are cutting costs.   At least she was glad they had Caymus in the specialty restaurants and I was content with Buffalo Trace.  
 

Compass - you had to tell the attendant to print you one.  We didn’t, but there was a note.   
 

Our main complaint was food temp.    By second seating, everything came out luke warm. 
 

Interesting enough, it was a full ship, but I think had just about 900 C&A passengers.  3/4 new to RCCL, that is concerning.   But neither my wife or I found anything different from longer RCCL cruises.    

[alphawave1]

On 10/12/2023 at 4:39 PM, FloridaPalms said:

Looking forward to your review of “the good, the bad and the ugly”.  Hoping most is good as I’m sailing on Voyager next month. 

Going in January on B2B. How is the “new” Crown lounge? 

[ckmommy]

Dining

 

Good: 

-Specialty Dining food was good--not great but good--we went to Chops and Giovanni's

-MDR--My Time--I was happy with the food,  it was much better than I expected.  We have been on lots of RCCL cruises, and the food seemed pretty similar to the what we had on our January cruise

-Windjammer--Washy Washy lady was by the hand washing stations for breakfast every day--she was a joy to see. 

-Pizza was RCCL pizza--they had 3 different choices in toppings--they were just fine for us

-You could get a whole pizza to take away if you wanted--you had to wait for it though

 

Bad:

-Service in Chops was bad.  It started out really good, then our server got overwhelmed and it ended up being a 3 hour dinner with more that 45 mins between the main course and dessert

-Not enough staff in the Windjammer

-No Pumpkin seed rolls on white rolls in MDR after the first day (which we were not at due to dinner at Giovanni's)

-Pushing additional specialty options after eating in Giovanni's

-Ice cream line only had one person making the cones--the line had to be 30-40 long

 

Ugly:
 

So many dishes being not bussed--in the MDR, Specialty restaurants, and Windjammer--its a really bad look and fairly gross

 

 

[ckmommy]

Service:

 

Good:  

-Maddie in the Diamond (Crown) Lounge--she was attentive, knew our names and asked what we liked about the ship and what we did not like--she seemed interested

-Washy washy lady

 

Bad:

-This is a broad opinion, but it seemed like the crew was just done.  Very few workers seemed very happy.  They seemed overworked and unable to to their jobs well--they were so busy.

-DISHES IN THE HALLWAYS!!  There were so many dishes and cups.  There were plates of uneaten breakfast food in the hallways when we returned from dinner.  I was shocked.  I have never seen so many dishes being left in the hallways for such long periods.  Again--I think it has to do with the staff cutbacks and this being a sold out cruise.

-Bar service was slow everywhere was awful.  Lines of 3-20 people long.  There was an obvious issue with the cash registers reading the room cards.  Your best bet is to get a drink from the bar server that walks around by the pools.  There are way fewer of them around and they do not seem to be on deck until after noon.

 

Ugly:

 

None

[ckmommy]

Casino

 

Good:

-lots of machines to choose from

-there were people winning pretty big (the lady across from us won $1800) and the people sitting nest to us at dinner won $5000--both on slots

-we spent $60 and on our last pull won $45--so only lost $15

-everyone seemed happy

 

Bad:

-the smoke!!  Not a smoker and hate the smell

-the smoke smell was not contained well in the casino--you could smell it as far as the Main dining room

 

[ckmommy]

Other Thoughts:

Good:

-ship was full so that is good for RCCL--most places the ship did not feel full

-the music was good in the bars--Pig and Whistle had an older guy playing the guitar and he was taking requests.  Fun but older crowd.

-wide range of ages on the cruise

-easy to get off and on the ship in ports

-I slept like a baby due to rocking of the ship--pretty high seas this trip

-The quest was fun but lightly attended

-ice show was good as always

-the Diamond Lounge was small but good--nice appetizers at night.  The breakfast was very basic, but if you just wanted a danish-they had you covered.  I loved to go there at night.

 

Bad:

-Only 2 outlet in the room.  USB on phone did not charge my Apple Watch.  So, we had to plug and unplug our stuff all the time--I know--first world problems

-my husband likes bourbon-so he was drinking bourbon old fashions-the consistency between bars and even bartenders at the same bar was terrible.  Even the Pina Colada and Mai Tai's were inconsistent.

-Internet was not working--we were going to use our free days, but Maddie in the Diamond lounge said that there were some problems

-the free texting through the app was nice, but it did not work immediately--it could take 20-60 mins before the person you sent the text to got it.  Not very helpful

-Time of the Quest show was at 10:15 the last night of the cruise.  There were only a handful of people that came to the show.  It was a really rocky night onboard, but the last night when people are packing to go home, I would have picked a different night

-This is not for this cruise only--but I sure wish that RCCL went to more than just Mexico, Belize and Roatan out of Galveston.  What happened to Grand Cayman and Jamaica.  We had a really bad experience in Costa Maya this time and will never go back there.  We are probably not going to br cruising out of Galveston anymore--Mexico does not do it for us anymore

 

Ugly:

The very first night of the cruise, after dinner I went to the Perfume shop.  I was looking at the bottles and I heard someone come running into the shop.  I turned to see what was wrong--a young lady had her hand over her mouthed vomit spewing out--she took her hand away and projectile vomited over everything!!  The store clerk looked at her mortified.  That was it for me for the night!!

 

Overall a great cruise.  The ship is in good condition.  There needs to be more crew onboard.  We will be on the Symphony of the Seas for Christmas with our 5 kids--3 in college, 1 just graduated from college and our youngest, who is in the Army.  Can't wait to be all together on a ship again!! 

 

Edited October 16, 2023 by ckmommy
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[ckmommy]

[2chiefs]

On 10/14/2023 at 12:46 PM, ckmommy said:

Rooms:

Good:

-Room was ready at 1:30

-room keys on the door

-Met our room attendant--he would be cleaning our room in the mornings

-plenty of storage for our clothing and room under the bed for luggage storage

-nice reading light over bed

-there was an offer for pressing of clothing (up to 10 items that fit in a provided bag) for $17.49--But it stated to allow up to 48 to get the clothing back.  Our stateroom attendant assured us they would be back in 24 hours (and they were--we gave him 2 mens dress shirts and to pairs of pants)

-we got towel animals 2 of the 5 days--that was fine for us

 

The Bad:

 

-the shower head did not have a diffuser (?) on it--so it was just one strong stream of water--we did not ask for maintenance to come and fix it.  I wished we had after getting a sunburn the 2nd day.  But that was our fault for not asking for it to be fixed.

-No paper Cruise Compass--I did see some on people's doors, but I did not see our stateroom attendant after the first day to ask for one.  I really did miss the paper copy

-Some one stole some of my door decorations.  

-We only had 2 in our room- but have cruised with 3 in the room before.  With Cabin service only in the AM OR PM, the couch that makes into a bed would have to be left open all the time.  That would be an issue.

-For some reason the cabin attendant only left 1 towel on the 2nd day of the cruise.  So we had to share that wet towel.  I guess I could have gotten a pool towel, but we did not realize this till too late.  And, there were not cabin stewards around to ask for more towels

 

The Ugly:

 

-there was a lady across the hallway from us that was loudly complaining about crazy things the first few days--why are my sheets not being changed everyday?, where is my ice? Can you push the beds together to make more room during the day and then take them apart at night?  I felt bad for the Attendant

We always ask for paper too so we can scribble on it. Another nice feature though that you may not have noticed is that you can download the compass in PDF form by scanning the code on the TV. It's nice to have the PDF copy as it's easy to read on the phone and then saved to your digital cruise pictures for future reference.

[luckybecky]

Thanks for posting this! We just booked this same ship/itinerary for Nov 4. Sorry to hear about the slow bar service. Did any bars seem better - less busy - than others?

 

Were there any options for lunch on embarkation day besides the buffet? The buffet always seems to be so mobbed. 

[HappyTexan44]

Can you tell us what happened in Costa Maya?   
We have an upcoming cruise same ship and ports.  

[Engineroom Snipe]

@ckmommyThank you for taking the time for this review.

 

My last trip on the Oasis in September had more dishes than I have remembered in the past but it seems you had much more in the hallway.

 

On the Enchantment in April of this year, if I left my table unattended in the WJ for more than two minutes, everything was gone.

 

My wife and I had to take turns guarding the table.

 

Completely different from your experience and the occupancy was full.

[ckmommy]

18 hours ago, luckybecky said:

Thanks for posting this! We just booked this same ship/itinerary for Nov 4. Sorry to hear about the slow bar service. Did any bars seem better - less busy - than others?

 

Were there any options for lunch on embarkation day besides the buffet? The buffet always seems to be so mobbed. 

You can get Pizza and Sandwiches in the Park Cafe in the Promenade.  I do not think the MD was open for Lunch on Embarkation day.  I could be wrong.  

[ckmommy]

9 hours ago, HappyTexan44 said:

Can you tell us what happened in Costa Maya?   
We have an upcoming cruise same ship and ports.  

We went to the beach -- using a $4 per person Taxi.  As soon as we got out a guy was asking us to come to his beach area for $15 per person.  He showed us a menu and we agreed to stay.  Beer was $4.  Until we got the bill--they ended up charging us $6 a beer.  They kept bringing the buckets of beer even though it was not being drank.  Somehow we got charged for 5 buckets of 6 beers (30 beers drank by 2 people--in 2 hours--I don't think so). Plus, 4 shots were billed to us--the shots were drank by the people---(while we watched) that served us as a thank you!  Those shot were $40. I was not drinking--but I did get a massage.  While I was getting a massage, the bill was given to the others in my party.  When I got out of the massage, I took a photo of the bill, a second before the server took the cask and bill away.  I did not look at the bill till we were on the ship--$300 was the total.  For sure, we were very overcharged--but those paying the bill were not paying attention to the total at all.

Also, my husband bought Cuban Cigars for our boys and him to enjoy when we are all together at Christmas.  6 Cubans for $50.  When we got home my husband looked up the Cigars and they are NOT cuban--just some junk cigar.

If you are planning to drink in Costa Maya--find a beach club that offers an all inclusive drinking deal.  And, don't buy anything from the vendors that are constantly asking you to buy from them--unless yo are okay with the price and you know that the stuff you are buying may not be what it is supposed to be.

 

[gambler]

Wow, sorry for that bad experience. Do you know what beach that was? We always tell the driver to take us to a specific beach.

[GBeason884]

@luckybecky my wife and I found the Viking crown was nice and calm.    They had a bartender and waiter working most nights.    I would go up and have a drink while she got ready before the show.   The second night, the waiter knew to bring my “extra diet” coke.  They were good, but set expectations for basic mixed drink at craft cocktail speeds.   The view was honestly better than anywhere else.  
 

@ckmommy judging from some of your photos, we must have crossed paths at some points.  Glad you wrote the analysis.   Your rhetoric was far better than mine.  

[GBeason884]

@gambler we had a very similar experience, but it was just us two is Costa Maya.  Treat the location like any foreign tourist trap.   They will charge “foreign rates” if you don’t call them out on it.  Sometimes not worth fighting.    
 

I will say, I enjoyed where we ate.  Margaritas were 14 and goblet size.    Two were enough (not Superior Grill strong…).     Ceviche was 30.  But it was very good for my pallet.   I don’t remember the name, but it was father south from the lobster restaurant.   When I got back to the ship, I saw a bunch of reviews as a tourist trap.   Our bill was right, but they may have already given us the tourist menu.  I was fine at 140 lighter with tip.   

Compared to sitting at the “port” options, boss lady and I were very happy with our Costa Maya experience.   Sucks we all have tourist written on our forehead, but make most of it.  Go get the $20 Rolex or the $50 LV Mickey Mouse backpack.   Enjoy the vacation!