Voyager of the Seas Review 4/7/07

[jakeil7]

Review: Voyager of the Seas

 

April 7 through April 14, 2007

Western Caribbean Itinerary

So I was sitting at work today and received one of those on-line surveys from Royal Caribbean. I filled it out (it was quite comprehensive) and added about a page of comments at the end as is required of any participant or reader of these forums. I mean, no one here who posts is brief, are they? :) It reminded me that I forgot to do something important: post a review on the boards that helped me so much with my planning (BTW, thanks everyone!). OK, so it’s a little late but here it is (all seven pages of it).

 

 

A couple notes before I start: Voyager left for the Mediterranean itinerary a week after I got off, but as she is a Voyager class vessel, you can probably apply most of this to any of the other big ships. Second, most reviews seem to be broken up by day. Who am I to change tradition? If you want my impression of the ship and its facilities, Day 1 should cover most of it. Ah, and I do make mention of formal night wear. Those who feel strongly about dressing up my have an issue, so get your torches and flame guns out. Everyone else, grab some popcorn. :D So…shall we begin?

 

 

Pre-Cruise

 

No vacation really starts on the day you leave, does it. Not mine! It starts with the planning and anticipation. I would say that its almost more fun than the trip itself, but I did have a lot of fun. I started by pricing all the Caribbean trips on RCI (and some other lines as well) and trying to find one I really liked. I was limited to a particular week, but that was it. I wanted to find a good value for a suite (JS or above) since I was traveling with a friend and not someone closer. I thought the extra space would be nice. I really could not find much on the website; comparing rates between cabin types is a real pain on the site. I figured, why not talk to a human? I got my answer when I dialed their number. After a 30 minute wait, I spoke to one of their folks and they told me less than I was able to find out just by browsing the website. Having booked through the phone before (though not cruising with RCI, had to cancel), I knew not to expect too much. Still, you’d think they’d be able to staff the phones better. Oh well.

 

 

I just happened to come across the Happy Hour special for the two cruises that I wanted in a subsequent web browsing episode. Woo hoo! Had to choose between the Voyager (leaving Miami on Saturday) and the Mariner (leaving Sunday from Port Canaveral for $100/person more). We chose the voyager because of the ease of getting to the port and the earlier sail date. I liked having the one day before I went back to work. We ended up in a D2 balcony cabin on deck 9.

 

 

After that, things went smoothly except for my documents. I made the reservation late enough that e-docs were required but I had to call RCI three times to get them. I was getting e-mails saying they were ready, but I could not download them. After the second try at re-issuing them, they simply e-mailed them to me. Not too hard, but for a first timer a little worrying.

[jakeil7]

Day 1 – Embarkation

 

We flew in the night before and stayed at the Conrad. Not too far from the people mover and a nice hotel, if a bit pricey. It was a short ride to the port. As we took a taxi in, I noticed that the guide signs were only showing Carnival ships (those saying that this ship is at this terminal), despite the fact that there were both Celebrity and RCI cruise ships in port at the same time. This would not be a big deal except it’s hard to tell the Navigator from the Voyager in dock. But our taxi driver had no problem figuring it out and it was no big deal. We pulled up at about 12:00pm and were met by a porter who took our bags and tagged them for us. He seemed a little confused about looking at the e-docs for the tag info but we were held up all of two minutes at the most.

So here is where I saw the first weird thing: there were signs all over the unloading area saying that boarding would begin at 2:00pm “as stated in your cruise documents”. So I thought we might be in for a wait. We entered the building and had to wait for about 15 minutes at the bottom of the escalator and another 10 at the top before the line started moving through security. However, you could tell that people had already gone through as you could see them in the glass gangway above. Once the line got moving, things went very quick. I noticed that you had to sign a paper saying that your tummy was feeling OK (allow me a little artistic license, OK? :) ). Since I had not eaten anything for a while, it was not a problem. I guess the ship’s doctor will make sure you don’t have anything communicable if you are not feeling well.

Another (short) line and we were on the ship. Cabins were open by this point and we went to drop our carry-ons in our room.

The Cabin

 

We stayed in a D2 cabin which is a fairly large balcony cabin for a cruise ship at least. The bathroom was as expected: a shower, toilet, and small sink. I did like the sliding doors on the shower – nice touch. Other than that, not impressive but I did not expect anything nice. Storage was plentiful for two people even if you have to figure out where some of it is (sometimes, like the mirror area, it isn’t obvious) and there was plenty of room for empty suitcases and dirty clothes under the beds. The couch was narrow and almost useless IMHO, but my friend used it so it must not have been that bad. I believe we had the new bedding in our room and while it was not a top-of-the-line mattress it was plenty comfortable. The balcony was more spacious than I imagined (we were in a standard room, not on the aft) with room for two people to sit comfortably, but no lounger. There was also no chance of privacy on our balcony; we basically shared it with the couple next door (despite the translucent partition being there). Just keep that in mind if you like peace and quiet.

I do have a couple of minor complaints here. First the décor (they even asked this on the survey): it reminded me of a Motel 6. There is not that much cabinetry in the room; they should spend some money on making it look better than it does. Of course, as with anything else in this review, that is IMHO and I have been wrong before. Just not that often :) The other complaint is that the beds were not split when we got there. A big deal? No, but if you ask before hand you should try and meet your customer’s requests. Also – why is it so hard to clean the balcony glass and rail? Ours was always dirty although I did see the steward trying to clean it.

Speaking of our room steward, he was excellent. Mr. Brown had a very cheerful personality, took care of anything we needed, and kept the room in good shape. He came by later which is why I am just getting to this now.

The Windjammer (& Island Grill)

 

So now we get to everyone’s favorite part of the cruise: the food! As always, the Windjammer is open for those of us who were not hungry before we got on the ship. We get there and both lines are open (not the normal procedure for the buffets) and packed. I know some others said that the lines around here die out after the first day, but there was always a line at the front buffets. For those of you who have not traveled on a Voyager-class ship, the buffet is arranged into three lines like a triangle with the door to the area at one point. The first two buffets (with the line starting near the door) were the same; the buffet in the back (the Island Grill) had more pizza and hamburgers but there was usually something at the end like on the other buffets.

Food quality was a little better than a land-based buffet (more carved meats and fresh entrees when I was there), but nothing special. I certainly don’t think there was anything innovative there (another question asked repeatedly on the survey!).

This is probably the only facility that annoyed us a little. The staff was quiet and not terribly responsive; I was never asked if I wanted to buy a drink and the only time I saw a server at my table was when I was done with a plate. While I doubt I would call this terrible service, it was not up to the level on the rest of the ship. Also, except for the first day, one line was always closed and there was usually a wait for the other line close to the door. I am sure they had a plan, but I did not get it.

In the end, I went to the Windjammer when I had to (sometimes it was the only place open) or when I was alone, but preferred the dining room. For those of you asking the inevitable question: Yes, aside from room service there really are only two places to get a complete meal without paying an extra fee. There is another shop, the Café Promenade, but it was more for snacking (sandwiches, cookies, and pizza) than eating a full meal. I really did not have a problem with this; I don’t need to be stuffing my face 24 hours a day.

We returned to our cabin, met our steward, and unpacked. Before we knew it, the ship was moving! We went out to Deck 12 (sports deck?) to watch the trip from Miami. We were forward on the deck so we could see the ship in front of us (Navigator) sail out first right next to the windows above the bridge. I do like these windows; you get a great view of what they are doing (or not doing) on the bridge. We did see an idiotic jet ski pass in front of us by about 300 yards or so. No big deal except the guy fell off the jet ski right in front of the ship :O He got away in plenty of time, but I cannot imagine what it would have been like from his point of view.

One thing I noticed about sailaway is how close to it that they start doing things. I think activities started at 5:30pm, a half-hour after we left. We didn’t even leave the deck for an hour or so. Nothing else interesting happened before dinner.

The Dining Room (Dinner)

 

I did check our table before the ship left port (that’s for the advice) and found that we were near the kitchen on the top tier at a table for six. No big deal about the location, I decided it would do nicely. When we got there, there were two others at the table, a mother and her adult daughter. Our waiter and our assistant waiter treated us very nicely and dinner went great…expect for the veggie quesadilla. I didn’t have it, but another at the table did. It was this ugly green thing that, apparently, looked about as good as it tasted. Fortunately, that was by far the worst thing served at our table for the entire cruise. Our other tablemates showed up about an hour late (they fell asleep) to the late seating, but the staff made sure they got served. I was surprised by the effort they went through to make sure we were comfortable and served effectively all week long (we also had a very special dietary need at the table).

The food at dinner was good to excellent, but not very creative. It was something you might remember when you sat down to dinner the next night, but not after the cruise (the exception being a turkey dish that I can still taste….yummmm). There was nothing terribly unfamiliar on the menu which I thought was a little sad. I like to try new things. The dining room itself was pleasant, but those on the outskirts of the room like us had trouble seeing what was going on. No matter, we had fun talking with our tablemates throughout dinner and we were usually some of the last people to leave.

[jakeil7]

Day 2, At sea

 

So there we were, in the middle of the ocean with nothing to do (just the way I wanted it). Don’t get me wrong, there were plenty of scheduled activities, but nothing I really wanted to do at that moment. Of course, first things first: breakfast.

The Dining Room (Breakfast)

 

As I said before, I was not a big fan of the Windjammer. I usually took breakfast in the dining room. At dinner, you are assigned a table. However, at breakfast, they just fill tables up as people come in. I thought this was unusual, but not a big deal. More people to meet, right? The menu, which does not change, was not all that inspiring: omelets, eggs to order, French toast, and some cold cereal.

My friend went out to the pool deck to sun and read; I preferred the balcony for this. I like a little quiet solitude once in a while. I finally decided to venture out to the pool deck to watch the activities. It was crowded and wet (I know, I know: duh). As I didn’t want to go swimming I decided to head up to the lounge on Deck 14.

The Viking Crown Lounge

 

There may have been three bars in the pool area frequented by the sun worshipers, but my favorite for inside during the day had to be the lounge on the 14th deck. It is actually a couple of small lounges (a sports bar, card room, spare room, and the main lounge) but the main lounge (Highnotes?) had the best view of the happenings on the deck. Sound carried through the windows just enough to listen if you wanted to but not too loud to bother conversation. Staff here were very pleasant and it was pretty empty during the day. I liked to come up here, order a foo foo drink and do a little people watching. On Day 2, I got to see line dancing training (yes, the three bars near the pools were doing a brisk business :) ) and the belly flop competition.

Eventually, I got bored and went down to wander the pool deck. Found myself a seat in the Solarium. This adults only section of the pool deck was nice and quiet. I also thought the seats were more comfortable (they were padded unlike the seats on the rest of the deck) and the shade was better. If you like sun you probably won’t like this area; only the pool and the chairs right next to it are in the sun.

Nothing much else happened that day (at least that anyone on the boards cares about :) ), but we did skip the formal dinner this night because my friend did not feel that well and I didn’t feel like getting dressed up. However, I did go to one other place that needs reviewed: the casino.

Casino Royale

 

As expected, the ships casino was small but there were more table games than I expected. In total the casino is about 2/3rds slot machines and 1/3 table games all tightly packed. The slot machine volume was set at a non-annoying level for the table players and the tables were are packed. I came down to register for the next day’s poker tournament and decided to play craps (my second favorite game, it was also the only night you could get double odds). I took $100 from my sea pass, paid $50 for the tourney and took $50 in cash to the table. Even at night, most table games were $5 minimum and slowly paced; as someone else here said the casino is more for entertainment than getting your money as fast as possible. Turns out that the craps table was hot….I walked away with enough to pay for my poker the next day. Yay me.

The one thing I don’t get though is why there isn’t a full-time poker table here. We filled seven 8 person tables for a no-limit tournament. They can’t get enough people to make a poker table worthwhile?

After the casino, I went to see the comedian’s adults show. It was so-so. I’m not saying I didn’t laugh (I did at several jokes) but there were a lot of bad ones mixed in. Of course, not everyone thinks the same thing is funny, right?

Day 3, Labadee, Hati

 

We were the only ship in Labadee on day three of our trip (I don’t know if Labadee can even handle more than one or two ships). This summer camp for adults consists of about five different beaches and you do tender here but the ride isn’t bad at all. Columbus Beach (to the right when you get off the ship) is where all the water sports and kids activities. As far as I could tell, you could sign up on site unlike the other ports. To the left you’ll find the first beach. I would advise not stopping here as this place gets crowed unless you plan to play in the water a lot (this is the best place to actually get into the water). Hideaway Beach is the next beach as you walk away from the tender dock. There seemed to be far fewer people here. Finally, you’ll get to Dragon’s Head beach (I think that is the right name). Its far away (which in this case means a 5-10 minute walk) which means it will not be very busy. If you want a breeze, try the other side of the peninsula (make a left from the dock, got to the information booth and make a right). The wind was very pleasant when we were there.

Unlike other ports, your seapass is accepted for most things. The only thing you need cash for is buying items from the Haitian market and tips. Most of the goods in the market seem to be mass produced to look like they were handmade (sort of like the old starving artist sales that would come to town once in a while). I could be wrong about this though. Yes, the vendors are pushy here but no more than other parts of the world. The people who get your chairs if you sit on the beach will also want a tip in cash. Bring along a couple of dollars.

As in most ports, you don’t have a long time to spend on land; we had to be back by 3:00pm. Since the tournament was today, I had to be back by 2:00. I thought I would leave a little early, but tender service here was fast and the boats were big. I got my behind handed to me in the tourney, but since it was free (due to my wins the night before) I didn’t complain ;) My only problem is that it seemed like the dealers were not well trained at Texas Hold ‘Em. It was not a big deal for my table, but you think they could invest in a day’s worth of training for these folks.

[jakeil7]

Day 4, Ocho Rios, Jamaica

 

Again, we were the only ship in port this day. Did my first excursion through RCI at this port: a party cruise and (of course) a visit to Dunn’s River Falls. I don’t know how people don’t get hurt on this trip, but it is a lot of fun as long as you have the dexterity to do it (those warnings are serious, folks). I don’t but some people pulled me up the falls anyways :) Of course, they didn’t provide booze before the falls (I would have died then) but afterwards it was rum punch with 151 proof alcohol. It was pleasantly strong stuff. Still, for $70 the trip was a little weak IMHO.

 

We went to dinner that night and afterwards stayed with our tablemates. We finally made our way to The Quest. Go; just don’t sit in the front row :)

 

Day 5, Grand Cayman

 

Well, I’d love to tell you how Georgetown and Grand Cayman are but I didn’t get off the ship. They warn you in advance that you could wait two hours to get back on board the ship depending on how many other ships are there. There were six ships total the day we pulled in (Voyager, Freedom, Radiance?, 2 Carnival ships, and a Costa ship). As others have reported, the seas get higher in the afternoon and tendering is a big problem. We watched from our balcony as the little ships got tossed. The ship left an hour later than normal because of the delay and you could feel the movement in the ship that night.

 

Thant night, as we were eating dinner our table was deciding if we should show up to the next night’s formal dinner. I had brought my suit, but most of the table did not have any formalwear. Upon overhearing us, our waiter encouraged us to come anyways. He even offered to let us in through the door off the outside promenade :) We decided not to take him up on that offer, but we did go to dinner the next night and had a great time. Even if some people didn’t like that. Hey, you people with the flames: hold off ‘till I’m done and preferably out of the line of fire, OK?

 

Day 6, Cozumel

 

OK, so its my first trip and I am not being very original. We went to the ruins at Tulum (like the Falls in Jamaica, there are several tours that go there) and then downtown for shopping. The ruins do involve a ferry trip (45 minutes each way) that could get bumpy and the ruins themselves are very hot. However, they are right on a beach, bring your swimsuit a cool off! Like the Falls, Tulum is a place you should see. I thought it was amazing.

 

The shopping in Cozumel is very pleasant; the vendors are easy to deal with and most of the shops are real buildings instead of stalls. Just be careful, there are some very overpriced things there. If it makes any difference, this is where the ship’s crew told us to shop.

 

As I said before, this was formal night. Our tablemates noted that there were fewer people dressed up that night than the previous formal night.

 

Day 7, At sea

 

Our final day. I don’t know if I really like having the day at sea at the end of the cruise or not. There just seems to be too much time spent on thinking about the vacation coming to an end. Nothing special happened today; I tried to take it real easy and was successful to a certain degree. Only thing I had to do this day was pack. The packing and disembarkation rules seemed a little confusing but we decided to just carry our stuff off. After all, why risk losing bags because you didn’t want to move them from your room to the dock? The one thing I did notice is you have to decide early; the porters come around pretty early in the night.

 

Disembarkation

 

I don’t care who you are, the need to be out of your cabin by 8:00am is not a relaxing end to your trip. While I understand they have very limited time to turn the ship around for the next trip, I think they could keep the cabins closed another couple of hours. Of course, that’s just me :) So, we’re on express disembarkation and we follow the announcement when they tell us that the people carrying off their own bags can get off. Just one problem: when we got downstairs, we had to wait for about 20 minutes or so. Why make that announcement if the doors are not open?

 

Once off the ship, customs and immigration was easy if a bit slow and surly (has anyone ever seen a happy customs agent? ). Once we got through that, taxis were ready to take us to the airport not 20 feet from the terminal. We ended up at the airport at 8:30am for a 2:00pm flight :O Just one word of advice: never take AirTran out of MIA. I think there were two people working about 8 flights the day I was there. We almost missed our flight :(

 

I hope someone finds this review useful. Would I travel with RCI again? Sure. Am I totally in love with the cruise line? Nah, but that’s OK.

[wolfcathorse]

Uh oh, we're doing AirTran out of Miami in October. What made the line so slow? Just tons of people checking baggage or only the 2 agents working the counter and most of the idiots ahead of you didn't check in on-line. Oh and who was your captain, do you remember hearing or reading his name somewhere?

[jakeil7]

For AirTran, it does not matter if you check-in on line in MIA. There is no check bags only line :mad: . It was slow because the computer check-in was not working and there were only 2 people to manually check in 8 flights worth of people.