Voyager of the Seas Review (2/17-2/24/08)

[ml64]

VOYAGER OF THE SEAS

 

This was our 7th cruise, 6 previous cruises were with Princess (which we love) so this was our first RCI cruise. This is just a rambling list of my thoughts:

 

Friday, 2/15/08

We — myself, DH and DS(7) — flew into Hobby Airport and landed around 12 noon. After picking up our luggage, we signed up for Super Shuttle transportation to Galveston. Total cost for three of us $100 plus tip. I think it took approximately 40 minutes to get to the Hotel Galvez.

 

Check-in was simple and staff extremely friendly. Staff made a point of asking us if we were cruising and then signing us up immediately for the shuttle to the port…very nice. This historic hotel is beautiful. The rooms are very nice (but small). Since I packed way too much luggage it seemed even smaller (just couldn’t help bringing everything but the kitchen sink). The pool was closed for repairs (I think ‘til the end of March) which was a surprise. If the weather had been nicer this would have been a bummer.

We walked around Galveston and ate at Fish Tales, which was OK but I don’t think I’d go back. The next day we planned on doing some sightseeing but unfortunately the weather wasn’t cooperating. Tornado watches were posted so we stuck pretty close to the hotel. Next time we’re in Galveston I think we will definitely rent a car at the airport so we can see more.

 

Sunday, 2/17/08

Bus arrived at the hotel to transport us to the port. We left promptly at 11am and were off the bus at 11:15am. We showed our information, went through security, checked in and were seated in Windjammer by 11:45am. Unbelievable how fast we boarded. I know we must have hit it “just right” but huge kudos to Galveston pier staff…awesome job.

 

Our Stateroom

Stateroom was an aft balcony (7690). The room was amazingly similar to the aft balcony we had on the Caribbean Princess (D735). We loved the larger balcony, which was completely covered. While the rooms were very similar, I liked the closet/storage area on Princess better. The Voyager closet seemed harder to get stuff in and out of. Outlets are scarce so make sure you bring a power strip if you’ve got a lot of electronics to charge. Our room steward Miguel was very friendly and did a great job keeping us clean.

 

The Ship

The ship is gorgeous. Since we’ve been on a bunch of Princess ships, we had grown accustom to their layout. The Voyager was a nice change. We loved, loved, loved the Royal Promenande and enjoyed many hours of people watching and hanging out. We attended some shows which were OK but the Ice Show was fabulous. Definitely a must see (and I’m not even a huge ice skating fan). One thing I was disappointed in was the lateness of the parades. My 7 year old (and who am I kidding…me too), usually crashes by 10pm so we didn’t get to see the parades. Maybe next time I guess.

 

Kids Program

My seven year old loved the kids program on both Princess and RCI, but I think he liked the RCI program better (but who knows…this was the freshest program on his mind). I thought the facilities on the Princess ships were better but in fairness they were newer ships than the Voyager. I think the RCI kids program keeps the kids more active and involved (relies less on TV/movies and more on hands on games and activities). DS loved the kids program staff.

 

Dining

This is where I really missed Princess. We love anytime dining and missed the flexibility it offers us. We had main seating (5:30pm) which can get a little hairy getting DS from kids program, showered and all of us ready. The food was disappointing and not as good as Princess. Although the food quality wasn’t there, the dining room itself was gorgeous—really impressed us. Windjammer food was typical buffet. While the layout was better than the Horizon, I thought the food was better on Princess (missed the mounds of crab legs and shrimp that we had on our previous Princess cruises). I was also surprised that the buffet closes down from 5-6:30pm and then again at 9:30pm. It wasn’t a huge inconvenience, just something I wasn’t use to. Snacks/sandwiches were available and very good at the Promenade Café. By the way, DH said the coffee was much better on the Voyager than on any Princess ships for you coffee lovers.

 

Ports

Montego Bay, Jamaica: We took a taxi to Sunset Beach which was an all-inclusive resort. It was nice being in a gated area for safety reasons, but it was very crowded. We had a hard time finding places to sit and there was virtually no shade to be found. DS liked the waterslides and playing on the beach. Don’t think we would go back.

 

Grand Cayman: We did the RCI “Pirate Encounter”. It was a little confusing when we first got off the ship with so many people getting off the ships but we found our group shortly after. This was a lot of fun for my son and very kid friendly. After much needed coaching, DS finally jumped off the gangplank and then bragged about it to everyone when he got home. I even jumped off too (not a pretty sight from down below I’m sure). I would recommend this to anyone with kids. It lasted about 2 hours, after which we stopped at Margaritaville and DS enjoyed himself on the waterslide. With 4 ships (I think) in that day, the streets were very crowded so we headed back to the ship.

 

Cozumel: We took a taxi to Paradise Beach. We arrived around 10am and were warmly greeted at the door. We found chairs w/umbrellas a few steps from the ocean and had a very relaxing day. DS and I bought the “water toy” wrist bands. Again, after much coaching, I finally talked DS into going out to the water trampoline. Once there, DS had a fun time jumping around. We ordered lunch and a bucket of beers and enjoyed ourselves. We would definitely go back to Paradise Beach next time we’re in Cozumel.

 

Disembarking

Since we were staying overnight in Houston, we were given late luggage tags which wasn’t a problem. We left our stateroom by 8am and headed up to the buffet. Our tags were scheduled to be called at 10:15am and after a slight delay due to a problem with the escalators in the port, we exited the ship around 10:30 and were waiting for a taxi to take us to Houston by 10:45am. Porter service was excellent and well organized at the Galveston port.

 

Houston

We took a taxi from Galveston to the Hyatt Regency in downtown Houston. I think the cost for the taxi was $125. When we arrived our room wasn’t ready so we took a walk to the Houston Aquarium which is beautiful. DS was jumping out of his skin with excitement. We’ve been to quite a few aquariums and this one was great. We ate lunch at the restaurant in the aquarium and had a great meal. We left the next morning and arrived at Hobby airport in about 15-20 minutes. After having a 1 ½ hour delay due to fog, we headed home.

 

Final Thoughts

We had a great cruise and would sail RCI again without hesitation. If RCI moves to “personal dining” I’d love it more. There were some things we like better on Princess and other areas where RCI takes the prize. I think both are more similar than different. I know this is a small thing but I feel it’s worth saying: As a proud CC member I appreciate the fact that RCI throws us a “meet & mingle.” Having the Cruise Director (who was phenomenal by the way) there to thank us and award us “prizes” is a simple thing yet made us feel important.

 

I’m now looking into my next cruise and will either choose Princess or Royal Caribbean as my vacation spot. Hope this information was helpful.

[louanne93]

VOYAGER OF THE SEAS

 

This was our 7th cruise, 6 previous cruises were with Princess (which we love) so this was our first RCI cruise. This is just a rambling list of my thoughts:

 

Friday, 2/15/08

We — myself, DH and DS(7) — flew into Hobby Airport and landed around 12 noon. After picking up our luggage, we signed up for Super Shuttle transportation to Galveston. Total cost for three of us $100 plus tip. I think it took approximately 40 minutes to get to the Hotel Galvez.

 

Check-in was simple and staff extremely friendly. Staff made a point of asking us if we were cruising and then signing us up immediately for the shuttle to the port…very nice. This historic hotel is beautiful. The rooms are very nice (but small). Since I packed way too much luggage it seemed even smaller (just couldn’t help bringing everything but the kitchen sink). The pool was closed for repairs (I think ‘til the end of March) which was a surprise. If the weather had been nicer this would have been a bummer.

We walked around Galveston and ate at Fish Tales, which was OK but I don’t think I’d go back. The next day we planned on doing some sightseeing but unfortunately the weather wasn’t cooperating. Tornado watches were posted so we stuck pretty close to the hotel. Next time we’re in Galveston I think we will definitely rent a car at the airport so we can see more.

 

Sunday, 2/17/08

Bus arrived at the hotel to transport us to the port. We left promptly at 11am and were off the bus at 11:15am. We showed our information, went through security, checked in and were seated in Windjammer by 11:45am. Unbelievable how fast we boarded. I know we must have hit it “just right” but huge kudos to Galveston pier staff…awesome job.

 

Our Stateroom

Stateroom was an aft balcony (7690). The room was amazingly similar to the aft balcony we had on the Caribbean Princess (D735). We loved the larger balcony, which was completely covered. While the rooms were very similar, I liked the closet/storage area on Princess better. The Voyager closet seemed harder to get stuff in and out of. Outlets are scarce so make sure you bring a power strip if you’ve got a lot of electronics to charge. Our room steward Miguel was very friendly and did a great job keeping us clean.

 

The Ship

The ship is gorgeous. Since we’ve been on a bunch of Princess ships, we had grown accustom to their layout. The Voyager was a nice change. We loved, loved, loved the Royal Promenande and enjoyed many hours of people watching and hanging out. We attended some shows which were OK but the Ice Show was fabulous. Definitely a must see (and I’m not even a huge ice skating fan). One thing I was disappointed in was the lateness of the parades. My 7 year old (and who am I kidding…me too), usually crashes by 10pm so we didn’t get to see the parades. Maybe next time I guess.

 

Kids Program

My seven year old loved the kids program on both Princess and RCI, but I think he liked the RCI program better (but who knows…this was the freshest program on his mind). I thought the facilities on the Princess ships were better but in fairness they were newer ships than the Voyager. I think the RCI kids program keeps the kids more active and involved (relies less on TV/movies and more on hands on games and activities). DS loved the kids program staff.

 

Dining

This is where I really missed Princess. We love anytime dining and missed the flexibility it offers us. We had main seating (5:30pm) which can get a little hairy getting DS from kids program, showered and all of us ready. The food was disappointing and not as good as Princess. Although the food quality wasn’t there, the dining room itself was gorgeous—really impressed us. Windjammer food was typical buffet. While the layout was better than the Horizon, I thought the food was better on Princess (missed the mounds of crab legs and shrimp that we had on our previous Princess cruises). I was also surprised that the buffet closes down from 5-6:30pm and then again at 9:30pm. It wasn’t a huge inconvenience, just something I wasn’t use to. Snacks/sandwiches were available and very good at the Promenade Café. By the way, DH said the coffee was much better on the Voyager than on any Princess ships for you coffee lovers.

 

Ports

Montego Bay, Jamaica: We took a taxi to Sunset Beach which was an all-inclusive resort. It was nice being in a gated area for safety reasons, but it was very crowded. We had a hard time finding places to sit and there was virtually no shade to be found. DS liked the waterslides and playing on the beach. Don’t think we would go back.

 

Grand Cayman: We did the RCI “Pirate Encounter”. It was a little confusing when we first got off the ship with so many people getting off the ships but we found our group shortly after. This was a lot of fun for my son and very kid friendly. After much needed coaching, DS finally jumped off the gangplank and then bragged about it to everyone when he got home. I even jumped off too (not a pretty sight from down below I’m sure). I would recommend this to anyone with kids. It lasted about 2 hours, after which we stopped at Margaritaville and DS enjoyed himself on the waterslide. With 4 ships (I think) in that day, the streets were very crowded so we headed back to the ship.

 

Cozumel: We took a taxi to Paradise Beach. We arrived around 10am and were warmly greeted at the door. We found chairs w/umbrellas a few steps from the ocean and had a very relaxing day. DS and I bought the “water toy” wrist bands. Again, after much coaching, I finally talked DS into going out to the water trampoline. Once there, DS had a fun time jumping around. We ordered lunch and a bucket of beers and enjoyed ourselves. We would definitely go back to Paradise Beach next time we’re in Cozumel.

 

Disembarking

Since we were staying overnight in Houston, we were given late luggage tags which wasn’t a problem. We left our stateroom by 8am and headed up to the buffet. Our tags were scheduled to be called at 10:15am and after a slight delay due to a problem with the escalators in the port, we exited the ship around 10:30 and were waiting for a taxi to take us to Houston by 10:45am. Porter service was excellent and well organized at the Galveston port.

 

Houston

We took a taxi from Galveston to the Hyatt Regency in downtown Houston. I think the cost for the taxi was $125. When we arrived our room wasn’t ready so we took a walk to the Houston Aquarium which is beautiful. DS was jumping out of his skin with excitement. We’ve been to quite a few aquariums and this one was great. We ate lunch at the restaurant in the aquarium and had a great meal. We left the next morning and arrived at Hobby airport in about 15-20 minutes. After having a 1 ½ hour delay due to fog, we headed home.

 

Final Thoughts

We had a great cruise and would sail RCI again without hesitation. If RCI moves to “personal dining” I’d love it more. There were some things we like better on Princess and other areas where RCI takes the prize. I think both are more similar than different. I know this is a small thing but I feel it’s worth saying: As a proud CC member I appreciate the fact that RCI throws us a “meet & mingle.” Having the Cruise Director (who was phenomenal by the way) there to thank us and award us “prizes” is a simple thing yet made us feel important.

 

I’m now looking into my next cruise and will either choose Princess or Royal Caribbean as my vacation spot. Hope this information was helpful.

 

Thank you for taking the time to put together a great review! We are going on the Voyager Jan. 09. It is our first time ever taking a vacation without the kids so I am really excited to be going on the Voyager!!

Glad you had a great time.

[cruise-bunny]

Thanks for the review. We board on March 9. I can't wait.:p

Sandy

[abowsi]

Thanks for the review! We sail VOS on 3/23/08 with our 7 year old son. We've done 8 RCI cruises and 1 Princess and liked the RCI kids program better - as you said, it seems to be more "hands on" than Princess. However, we loved the anytime dining on Princess and wish RCI would move fleet wide to this type of dining choice.

[Cindy]

Thanks for the review. We board on March 9. I can't wait.:p

Sandy

 

Hurry back, Sandy!:D

[Rancher Dave]

Very nice review. I know when we were aboard for the day on the 17th, everything looked nice and with a new captain coming aboard etc...I'd think the crew was pretty nice as well. We only personally met Gordon (Hotel Manager); Staff Captain, and the Group Coordinater.

 

A friend was aboard all week and also claimed to have a great time. He is now doing the week of work catch up routine. :D I get to do that right after Easter...although we are not on VOS this run...

[cruise-bunny]

Hurry back, Sandy!:D

 

Hi Cindy,

To bad we are not on the same cruise like we were last year. But I KNOW that we will both have fun!!! We booked a private snorkel trip in Cozumel for our group of 10 through a person that Rebel and Jeanette from our C.C. group used last year. It really sounds like it will be great.

I know that you too will have a wonderful cruise!:p

Sandy

[tkportersat]

When did ya'll go? Did you go as soon as the ship got in or did ya'll wait until later?? It wasn't crowded at all the first time I went (5/2006) but we went there first thing...now I am nervous that when we go in two weeks it will be a drag :( And I am bringing my parents this time, I don't want them to be disappointed.......

 

Ports

Montego Bay, Jamaica: We took a taxi to Sunset Beach which was an all-inclusive resort. It was nice being in a gated area for safety reasons, but it was very crowded. We had a hard time finding places to sit and there was virtually no shade to be found. DS liked the waterslides and playing on the beach. Don’t think we would go back.

[ml64]

We left the ship and went directly there...probably around 10am. It might have been crowded because it was break week for the kids that live in the northeast. I know most of the people we saw were from the US and had kids w/them so that was problably why it was crowded.

[tkportersat]

Ok thanks :) It will be our Spring Break when we go so I am sure we can pretty much expect the same. I will keep with my plan and hope for the best!!

 

We left the ship and went directly there...probably around 10am. It might have been crowded because it was break week for the kids that live in the northeast. I know most of the people we saw were from the US and had kids w/them so that was problably why it was crowded.

[CrissyBarrows]

Fish Tales in Galveston is way too overpriced, I wont go back there either. Next time you are there go to the Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory and get either a chocolate covered frozen banana or cheescake! I get on every time im down there which is usually once a month!!! Thanks for the great review! I love the Voyager!!!