Voyager 9/5 Canada Review

[Gypsea]

My first Royal Caribbean cruise (tenth cruise overall) was a five day trip on the Voyager to St John and Halifax. I was not thrilled to be heading north since I live in the northeast but with Frances and Ivan around it was fine.

 

The port in Bayonne is a challenge. There is plenty of work to be done on this but they tell us it will eventually be another Bayside (as in Miami) with shops, restuarants etc. Right now it is an old military base which RCI has purchased for their private use. If you see two lanes of traffic and don't mind rolling or lugging your bags go to the extreme right ( athinrd lane) and enter the parking lot. A couple bucks will buy you the added help of a parking lot attendant to flag you through. People will protest with horns blaring but that is because they do not read this board! The rest is relatively quick.

 

The ship is quite beautiful. I heard one woman say " it is not the cleanest ship I have ever seen" while I was rolling my bag up to the check in, I really can't see what she meant. She must be a clean freak. It looked great to me.

 

The food was fine (I don't know what people expect) and the staff eager to offer anything you needed. We dined in Carmen with our fabulous waitress Charlyn Susa and her amazing assistant Alexander Dinev. We loved them both and couldn't desribe how grateful we were to have their services for the duration. The maite'd Luis Valez Arrubula had brown rice and a special fish entree prepared for my macrobiotic sister one evening. Even with her stringent diet she found acceptable choices for all meals. This was a concern of ours but she was well taken care of. Soy milk and oatmeal can be found, if you desire a healthier breakfast. None for me thanks!

 

Our cabin steward, Fabian, on deck 9 (we were in balcony 9340) was incredible and deserves a mention. My sister had never cruised and really loved the towel animals. Especially the monkey hanging from the hanger.

 

I had a balcony for the first time, thanks to the boss. We had our travel agency "seminar at sea" and since it is a very large company we were very well received. I had prepared myself for an inside so I was quite happy. My sister was beside herself and a little upset when I dragged her to the ice show in lieu of the sunset on her own private oasis. Five days is just not enough to enjoy a ship of this magnitude.

 

St John was quite beautiful and I suggest you spend time in the tent in front of the ship with the local crafts people. We found some treasures at great prices. We then found a man with a red Ford van who took us for a tour which lasted over an hour. He charged us $35 and showed us all the highlights, Red Rose Bed and Breakfast, the reverse falls, Loyalist Cemetary + and gave us a nice trip around the city. Find Mike as his is much longer and less expensive than the trolley tour. My brother in law gave him $50 he enjoyed it so much. That Jack, he's really somethin'!

 

Halifax, the public gardens were amazing. I am sure the Titanic Museum or the Maritime Museum is well worth the price but we did not spend time at either, I'm afraid. There are lots of fun shops and art galleries to enjoy also. Since we didn't head to town very early we missed many opportunities to see more.

 

Drinks were good and generous in most cases. The slots seemed to be making some people winners I just wasn't one of them. Luckily I didn't have tons of time for this either. I tried Roulette but was no more successful at that.

 

The first comedian was good but the second one told testicle jokes which got old after a few minutes.

 

The Drifters were awesome and the highlight of the entertainment for us. Okay, I am getting old.

 

The ice show was good until the end when they had a "competition" between two males, two females, and two couples. Snore....This we could have happily skipped. Crown and Anchor members were judges and it was a sleeper. They held up cards proclaiming their choice yada yada yada.

 

I am not crazy about the extra charge for cappucino after dinner, only having 12 oz. water available in the cabin for sale and the log jam in the promenade.

Ten bucks for yoga is what I pay at home but since it is a class geared to all ages and abilities I think they are pushing it here plus it is only 45 minutes. Lazlo is fabulous but he'd have more company if RCI would just take a hit and offer this free like the other aerobics classes.

 

Overall, a great cruise but not enough time to really appreciate Canada or this vessel.

 

Service, *****

Food, ****

Ship, ****

Overall experience****

 

 

Never met a cruise I didn't love....well, maybe one.