Voyager or NCL? Mediterranean

[emilymad]

I am considering a Mediterranean cruise next September. I can only do a 7 day so I am finding this is limiting my choices. I am trying to decide between the Voyager and NCL Gem. The itineraries are about the same. I have been on most other Voyager class ships. I have really enjoyed my trips but I am debating trying something new. Why I am considering NCL is the freestyle dining. This seems like a benefit when the cruise is so port intensive. What are the dinning times on the Voyager? My experience with RCL is the ships are always elegant and understated in the decor. It looks like NCL is more colorful and modern. Has anyone sailed both lines? Which did you prefer? I am somewhat afraid of going on NCL and then wishing I was back on RCL!

[hazz24]

I am considering a Mediterranean cruise next September. I can only do a 7 day so I am finding this is limiting my choices. I am trying to decide between the Voyager and NCL Gem. The itineraries are about the same. I have been on most other Voyager class ships. I have really enjoyed my trips but I am debating trying something new. Why I am considering NCL is the freestyle dining. This seems like a benefit when the cruise is so port intensive. What are the dinning times on the Voyager? My experience with RCL is the ships are always elegant and understated in the decor. It looks like NCL is more colorful and modern. Has anyone sailed both lines? Which did you prefer? I am somewhat afraid of going on NCL and then wishing I was back on RCL!

 

My DH and I did a NCL cruise last year and were excited about the freestyle concept. They have some work to do in order to make it work for everyone. We did not enjoy our cruise at all and actually wanted to get back on the Voyager when we docked in PR as our trip was so bad. NCL is nothing compared to RCI

[mringenoldus]

We did the Med itinerary as a girlfriend trip last fall on the Voyager - and loved it! We had a Deck 10 aft jr suite and even though you are in port a great deal during this cruise - we loved it! Our waiter and room steward on this trip was the best I've ever had - they made a great trip even better.

 

I am taking my family on this trip again in Oct 2008. This time we have aft facing E1 balconies. I love the Voyager class ship for multi generational travel.

 

Please let me know if you need any further info.

[TEXASMUNK]

No More!

 

Buyer beware!

[samben]

Voyager.............

[emilymad]

Did you feel that the balcony was worth it for such a port intensive cruise? We did a promenade cabin last cruise and while we liked it I was wishing for the balcony.

 

Also, does anyone remember the seating times for dinner?

 

Thanks for all of the comments!

[8 Bells]

Did you feel that the balcony was worth it for such a port intensive cruise? We did a promenade cabin last cruise and while we liked it I was wishing for the balcony.

 

Also, does anyone remember the seating times for dinner?

 

Thanks for all of the comments!

 

We were on Voyager last month, and the balcony was definitely worth it! I can still picture the beautiful view as we approached the south of France on our first morning! Go for it!

 

Dining times were 7:00 and 9:00 on our cruise.

[Liz]

I traveled the Western Med in NCL Jewel in July. I've sailed them before, but never again as a solo, primarily due to freestyle dining. If you're with a group it is probably fine, but I prefer dining with people, especially after a day in port. It's nice to share your experiences with someone, even if it is a relative stranger. Solos on NCL are just that in the dining room: solo. Unfortunately, I ended up eating more meals than I wanted in the buffet.

The ship itself was okay, but the entertainment and food were not on par with Royal Caribbean. We were in port with Voyager one day, and it was all I could do not to pack my bags and see if they would forgive me for defecting to NCL and let me switch ships!

Request late seating and you should be okay.

Next time: RCCL for me!

 

Liz

[petel]

I am considering a Mediterranean cruise next September. I can only do a 7 day so I am finding this is limiting my choices. I am trying to decide between the Voyager and NCL Gem. The itineraries are about the same. I have been on most other Voyager class ships. I have really enjoyed my trips but I am debating trying something new. Why I am considering NCL is the freestyle dining. This seems like a benefit when the cruise is so port intensive. What are the dinning times on the Voyager? My experience with RCL is the ships are always elegant and understated in the decor. It looks like NCL is more colorful and modern. Has anyone sailed both lines? Which did you prefer? I am somewhat afraid of going on NCL and then wishing I was back on RCL!

 

IMHO - YMMV .... You (I) can eat on an RCI ship anytime I want to! If you miss first seating because you were busy in a port just go to the dinning room anytime they are open and find your waiter or head waiter and ask if there is any place you can sit. Now, of course this doesn't work for everyone in the dinning room to show up late but I've seen 12 people come into the dinning room after the main course was served and they had no trouble at all eating. When my DW was feeling a little bad one night and I went alone it seemed that everyone in the dinning room staff wanted her to come to second seating if she felt better or they would send anything on the menu to our cabin! Now, that's what I think about open seating being a plus....it just isn't. WE love RCI and haven't heard any good reason to consider changing.

 

And of course we like RCI so much we bought it ..... 100 shares that is :rolleyes:

[jaxon41]

I've done the med on NCL, a little over a year ago. I haven't been on the Voyager, but have sailed RCCL. The seven day worked best for us, also. I prefer RCCL, but the price/itinerary made the decision for me. I don't care for freestyle, and I think with late seating, you should be fine with a port intensive cruise on RCCL. What we found was we would try to make a reservation (free restaurants but a reservation required) before 10 pm, and they would say they weren't taking reservations until the next day, but then we would be off on an excursion and there would be no availability when we returned. I didn't think much of the food in the two open seating dining rooms, and preferred the food in the reservation places. Then, one night they had the reservation that I did manage to make all messed up. I didn't try their pay extra restaurants, as when I have plunked down a chunk of money on a cruise, I don't think I should have to pay extra to get a good meal.

 

Actually, I thought their big production shows were the best I have ever seen on any cruise line, but there is next to zero dancing area because the space is all taken with eating venues. If you like to dance to live music, forget about it on NCL. The other thing I didn't like is that you have to choose between eating when you want and catching the show you want to see because the entertainment does not wrap around just two dining times as it does in traditional dining.

 

When I get back from a long day of excursions, the last thing I want to do is plan, plan, plan -- what are we doing tomorrow, can I get a reservation, will I be on hold for a half hour trying to get it, does it conflict with what I want to see, etc. I also don't like waiting in a line to be seated.

 

I would sail NCL again, depending on the price and itinerary, but I prefer RCCL.