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Any questions? icon_smile.gif

 

I read all the fuss about the terminal, and the complaints about the Voyager before going, and I can't say I had but one complaint and it doesn't fall into a category normally mentioned.

 

The terminal was fine. Seems a bit rustic, not up to the standards of Miami, yes. But there was a shuttle in the parking lot to take us to the terminal immediately. I think the time from when we parked - 5:45pm - to the time we got on the ship - 6:15pm - was quite acceptable. I have patience and in the overall scheme of things, 30 minutes is nothing at all.

 

The overall look of things onboard was FINE. I can't say I spend time staring at the carpet to notice a stain or something of that sort, so to me, everything looked as fabulous as ever.

 

As to the complaints about cold food, I never found it to be a problem. The food in the Windjammer and the dining room were fine at all times. I enjoyed all but one meal and I honestly can't even tell you what it was now... that's how much impact it had on my vacation. icon_smile.gif

 

My only complaint is about our dining room staff. We were at table 315, right next to the captain's table. Gurol, our waiter, and Leah, assistant waiter, always seemed rushed and busy - maybe even overwhelmingly so. The first night, neither even asked us our names. Not once. He was funny at times, his recommendations were usually right on... But the personal connection just wasn't there. Leah was polite and nice, but again, it just wasn't there.

 

I'm not holding it against them, I just became accustomed to having only raving reviews for my dining staff that it threw me off a bit every night at dinner that they barely even spoke to us beyond taking the order and asking if we were done.

 

So are there any other questions about this itinerary/ship these days, or did most get answered after the previous 5 day-er came back? icon_smile.gif

 

Voyager of the Seas 10.26.03

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Thanks for the info! Do you happen to know when the first passengers boarded (official boarding time at Bayonne is 6 p.m.)? When did you get off the ship (scheduled time of arrival is 8 a.m.)? Thanks.

 

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I'm unsure when first people boarded because we didn't get to Jersey till 5:45 (had to work - ugh!). We were docked by 7am this morning. Not cleared till going on 9am probably but I'm likely guessing. They kept having to page for 5-6 people to report to immigration before they could clear the ship so that held things up since they were supposed to report around 7am according to the Compass. I was off the ship around 10:45 with a grey luggage tag. I know of at least 3 colors that were still to come. I'm unsure if there were more than that.

 

Maybe others can answer this question better once they get home... icon_rolleyes.gif

 

Voyager of the Seas 10.26.03

Voyager of the Seas 01.11.04

Voyager of the Seas 06.13.04

Explorer of the Seas 10.31.04

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Thanks so much for the review. After the earlier reviews, we were starting to worry about our trip this fall. Sounds like RCL is getting the bugs worked out.

 

Did you do any excursions in the ports? Anything you would recommend we do or see?

 

Laura

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I was on this trip also, getting in parking lot and terminal were no problem at all,We arrived at about 2:00pm check in was fast we walked right up to counter. We were early so wait was about 2 hours,we were on ship about 4:00pm.We had an early color to get off ship we wre off by 10:00 and on I95 heading south back to Pa. by 10:30. They seem to have fixed many of the early problems.

Every thing on the ship could not have been better, Food was sometimes a little cold in Windjammer but was very good. Weather was not bad but the one day In Halifax so we had pleanty of time to injoy the ship.

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Ohhh, glad to hear it may be possible to board a little earlier than scheduled. We live in NJ, so plan to get there a little early too. If we have to wait, so be it, that's to be expected, but if we can board early, then thats a bonus!

 

So, weather was not so great? Was it warm enough to sit by the pool? Any sunbathing going on, or was it jacket and pants weather?

 

We go on the next 5 nighter! WooHoo! I'm sure I will think of more questions soon! icon_wink.gif

 

So glad to hear the positive reviews!

Any particular meals stand out as "not to miss"?

How formal were people dressed for the formal nights?

And did you notice many kids on board? We are travelling with a 12 and 5 year old.

 

Thanks! Will be happy to read about all you care to share with us!

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<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by bior62:

I was on this trip also, getting in parking lot and terminal were no problem at all. We arrived at about 2:00pm; check in was fast - we walked right up to counter. We were early so wait was about 2 hours; we were on ship about 4:00pm.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Did you observe others who arrived in the terminal around 4? Did they take longer to check in, or were they able to check in as quickly as you had, and pretty much get straight onto the Voyager? (at the same time that you did)

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>We had an early color to get off ship we wre off by 10:00 and on I95 heading south back to Pa. by 10:30. They seem to have fixed many of the early problems.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Where in PA? How long did it take you to get home on a Friday?

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Everything on the ship could not have been better. Food was sometimes a little cold in Windjammer but was very good. Weather was bad except the one day in Halifax so we had plenty of time to enjoy the ship.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Were you able to swim in and enjoy the pools, or was it too cool? Did you do any organized shore excursions in either port?

 

Did people get dressed up for formal night, or was it more casual than a 7 day?

 

Carol

 

 

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Voyager of the Seas - 5-day to Canada - NO AIRFARE!!!! 8/2004

 

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Jewel of the Seas 12/2004

Explorer of the Seas 12/2003

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<marquee>till we sail on the Jewel! New Year's Cruise.....12/26/04</marquee>

 

<marquee>..........................Oh, no! We have become New Year's Cruise Addicts!</marquee>

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The weather was NOT great. Even arriving in Jersey Sunday evening in shorts and a sleeveless shirt was a bad idea. Had to dig my sweatshirt out of my suitcase before handing it over to get loaded. Both days at sea were extremely foggy. Thursday was a bit warmer than Monday tho. Tuesday in St John was icky - Foggy, rainy and COLD! Wednesday in Halifax was 100% gorgeous tho. Sunny and hot. I had a brain fart about the sunscreen and have a fabulous burn to prove it! icon_redface.gif

The pool was definitely not a favorite hangout, but as it gets warmer, hopefully even the sea days will warm up. Jeans every day were a good choice. The sweatshirt/jacket was off and on but I'm very glad I did decide to keep my rain jacket in the suitcase. It was very useful in St John.

 

Meals not to miss? Just the one that was really NOT good but I don't recall what it was or on what night - I'm no help, I know! I have enjoyed the eggplant on Italian night each time I've been on the Voyager... and the escargot. icon_cool.gif

 

Formal nights were still formal but I don't think there were as many tuxes and full out ballgowns as there were in the Caribbean. It's still definitely formal tho.

 

There seemed to be a lot of kids onboard. I didn't have a problem with them around the ship. The only time I became aware of just how MANY kids were on the ship was when the pirates from Adventure Ocean took over the ship. They filled the steps in the lower dining room when they sang.... in January, there were about a dozen kids, so there are definitely a LOT more than that now.

 

Voyager of the Seas 10.26.03

Voyager of the Seas 01.11.04

Voyager of the Seas 06.13.04

Explorer of the Seas 10.31.04

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Excursions -

 

In St John we did the Saint John Highlights Tour ($30). Since that was the bad weather day, a lot of what the guide would have shown us or taken us to was pointless. Things he would normally say "...and look to your left, over that ridge is the..." we'd just have to believe it was really there because you honestly couldn't see because of the thick fog. We skipped the Carleton Martello Tower because while we could climb to the top, we'd have absolutely no view. Our guide took us to the courthouse instead to see the freestanding spiral staircase - one of the only of its kind. Our tour guide and driver were very good but as with most excursion tours, it's luck of the draw.

 

In Halifax we took two tours. Tall Ship Sailing Experience ($37) and Famous Peggy's Cove Fishing Village Tour. On the Tall Ship, you board a gorgeous sailing vessel and travel around the harbor for 2 hours while a person discusses history of Halifax. It was a relaxing 2 hours. The only issue was that it got started 45-60 minutes late. They did return us early tho, so people wouldn't miss excursions. We were supposed to have a 2 hour gap to go back to the ship and eat lunch but we wound up having 1 hour. Instead of going to eat, we hoofed it across town to the Scottish Store (I think it was the Plaid Place...). We shopped quickly and hoofed it back across town to catch our next excursion. No lunch. Horribly hot day. Running across town. Not the best choice I ever made in my life... Ugh.

 

The Peggy's Cove tour was nice. The lighthouse is gorgeous. Peggy's Cove is a very picturesque little place. Having already been on the tall ships, we had learned the history of Halifax already so we were getting much of the same info again.

 

I enjoyed all my excursion choices. I don't think I'll do a 2 excursion day again tho... I prefer a more relaxed approach now that I've tried the busy busy busy approach... icon_cool.gif

 

Voyager of the Seas 10.26.03

Voyager of the Seas 01.11.04

Voyager of the Seas 06.13.04

Explorer of the Seas 10.31.04

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When we were in the terminal I never saw much of a line to check in, when you check in they give you a number when they call your number you board bus ,the terminal was full when they started to board, but it seemed to go fast.I did go in the hot tubs some but to was cold when you got out. the only day you could sit by pool was in Halfax. We did the horse drawn carrage in the morning and had planed to walk along the harbor shops they are a short walk, but it was so nice we stayed on ship after lunch and spent the rest of the day by pool it was very windy and fogy on sea days we did not go in pools those days I did see a lot of kids enjoying the pools in the cold. Formal night I did not see many tuxs mostly suits. on the smart casual night a lot of people did dress the same as for casual night. I live the Lancaster area, I took about 3 hours to get home we got home about 1:30pm

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Hi, we were not given a number. We dropped off the suitcases, then drove around to the parking lot, took the shuttle to the terminal, no line, we checked in right away and then we were taken to the ship. There may have been a line earlier, cause I saw that they had coffee, tea and cookies for those that may have had to wait. All this took at the most 30 mins. Disembarkation was a breeze too. We had yellow tags, so we got off about 10:15 and our suitcases were right there, first ones, grabbed them, went thru customs, again no line! Got the shuttle to the parking lot, no wait for the shuttle and we were on our way!

 

Annieeee

 

 

 

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<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by bior62:

I live the Lancaster area, I took about 3 hours to get home we got home about 1:30pm<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

 

I live in Lancaster too. Where abouts are you?

 

Voyager of the Seas 10.26.03

Voyager of the Seas 01.11.04

Voyager of the Seas 06.13.04

Explorer of the Seas 10.31.04

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Can't speak from experience on the lobster, but our tablemates from dinner wanted to get lobster in St John. They found the price to be no different from what they could get "at home" and did not partake in it. They did have a lobster roll at (I think it's called) Steamers which is across the street from the pier.

 

I'm not much of a shopper. I only shopped in St John because we found an irish store in town and they had quite a few sheep things to add to my collection. icon_smile.gif Bought one sheep thing at The Plaid Place in Halifax but I feel it was way overpriced (yes, I paid it anyway...) As I've been on the Voyager twice before, I only bought a few pens in the logo shop. I bought a bottle of CKOne for $32 onboard also - $6 less than what I normally pay. Not that big a deal either way but hey...

 

Voyager of the Seas 10.26.03

Voyager of the Seas 01.11.04

Voyager of the Seas 06.13.04

Explorer of the Seas 10.31.04

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Do you remember who the cruise director was? Was he/she good?

 

We will be on the next 5 nighter on Voyager and were looking forward to seeing Richard Spacey as the cruise director, but later found out he left RCCL. Thanks so much!

 

Sovereign of the Seas 7/00

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countdown.cgi?trgb=000000&srgb=00ff00&prgb=00bfff&cdt=2004;6;27;22;00;00&timezone=GMT-0500 June 27- Voyager of the Seas!

 

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James Andrews was the cruise director but if I'm not mistaken, Hamish mentioned at bingo that James' wife just had twins and he would be leaving when we did. Drop an email to RCCL. They will tell you who your CD will be and what entertainers will be onboard during your sailing.

 

Voyager of the Seas 10.26.03

Voyager of the Seas 01.11.04

Voyager of the Seas 06.13.04

Explorer of the Seas 10.31.04

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<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Annieeee:

Hi, we were not given a number. We dropped off the suitcases, then drove around to the parking lot, took the shuttle to the terminal, no line, we checked in right away and then we were taken to the ship. There may have been a line earlier, cause I saw that they had coffee, tea and cookies for those that may have had to wait. All this took at the most 30 mins. <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Anieeee:

 

Do you remember what time you arrived at Bayonne? That's what I'm trying to figure out: best time to get there, to avoid lines and get on the ship as promptly as possible.

 

Carol

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One thing I forgot if you get the chance In St.John watch the ship leave port they had a bagpipe player on the dock he was very good the day we were their it was so fogy you almost could not see him even when we were still tied up that was one of the highlites of St,John for me. their was also a bagpipe band in Halfax as we docked watch from that side of the ship the band left before anyone got off ship

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My husband and I were on this cruise and had a pretty good trip. In St. John we rented a car from Avis which is the first car rental if you walk left on Water Street after you leave the dock. Just got our bill--about $38 total for the day. Hertz is up the escalator in Market Square. Get out of St. John if possible it is kind of depressed. We were going to bike the Fundy Trail but could not due to the rain and fog. We did drive the Fundy Parkway (just north of St. Martins) It is absolutely beautiful and on the way back the fog lifted somewhat and we did get some good views. We were back in St. Martin for low tide and saw the sea caves and boats sitting on the mud below the docks.

There are weather related issues with this cruise. If people can't sit around the pool they are all inside and things seem quite crowded. There was considerable waits for elevators.

Embarkation and debarkation were very easy for us, but I think this often has to due with timing. We walked on at about 7:00 on Sunday. (Our flight had been cancelled, so we arrived on a later flight.) We also just walked off. We did not leave when our color was called, so when we did leave, only three bags with a grey tags were left and two were ours. (Very easy.)

In Halifax we walked off and walked along the boardwalk. It was a beautiful day. We stopped at the Maritime Museum. This was an interesting place--info on the Titanic and the great explosion in Halifax in 1917. We walked up the Citadel Hill. We then walked back to meet John from Aberdeen Tours at 2:00 at the Historic Properties for our tour to Peggy's Cove. Historic Properties is now a shopping center in older buildings. There is a food court there and although we didn't order lobster others did. Looked pretty good--they were taking pictures of their food. We highly recommend the tour (Aberdeen Tours) to Peggy's Cove. John was highly knowledgable on the history of the area. There were only 5 of us. We were pleased with the quality of this 3 hour tour--our bill came back--52$ total for the two of us.

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Annieeee and Beachgirl55- We missed having you at the Meet and Mingle Monday lunch. Many of us showed up and we had a great time getting to know each other.

 

As the other posters have stated embarkation was very smooth. We arrived at the port at about 3:00. When arriving to drop off luggage and passengers stay in the left two lanes ( preferably the center lane): if only parking stay in the far right lane. Parking area is about the length of the ship from the terminal. We walked right up to the check-in then we walked into the waiting area where they had a small orchestra playing for us and they served cookies and ice water. We received bus number 10 when we arrived. They started calling bus numbers at just after 4:00 and we were on the ship by 4:15. Full dinner service was available in the dining room. Muster drill at 9:30. Clear but cold night the first evening. Monday at sea was very windy and cold and somewhat patchy fog off and on. Nice in the evening. Tuesday was so foggy for Saint John ( fairly boring port of call regardless of the weather ) that a seagull could have landed on your nose and you wouldn't have seen it. They did state that it was one of the foggiest days they've ever had. It was 47 degrees and misted constantly and mixed with the light winds it felt like about 40 degrees. Wednesday, Halifax, warm (about 75 degrees) and sunny , don't forget the sunny screen as I now look like I spent a month in the caribbean. This is a nice port of call. I didn't love it, but I didn't hate it either. There is a lot to offer there. A really nice boardwalk area with shops, restaurants and museums nearby. Graded inclines when going to the Citadel Hill. We took the walk to Citadel by way of the Old Burying Ground and St. Mary's so that we could stop both places along the way. This was a more gradual incline as well. Took us 30 minutes from ship to Citadel including the two stops and we walked at a stroll. After leaving Citadel we came down the hill to the boardwalk area to go to the Maritime Museum ( very nice ) and lunched at Murphy's on the Waterfront ( four of us with seafood casserole dinners for $80 canadian tax and tip included )(excellent).

Thursday at Sea- extrememly foggy again. A few kids trying to use the whirlpools as pools even though I may have seen snow flurries early that morning it was so cold. You couldn't see three feet from the ship so I doubt there were any whale or dolphin spottings on this cruise. I didn't think there were very many children. About a hundred in the smaller adventure ocean program and about a hundred mid and teen aged. No noticable problems with any of them. Probably less than 300 kids total.

 

All meals were excellent in the dining room and windjammer. Room service at first dinner seating took about 45 minutes. We needed a snack to hold us over until second seating at 8:30. The only thing I received cold was my oatmeal one morning in the dining room. Our waiter and assistant were excellent. Antonio from India was the waiter , very funny and a crack up at times-very well liked and extremely good at his job. Dennis the assistant , from Trinidad, was new to the job and still learning. Very soft spoken but willing to serve and please you. Very likable as well. Eduardo was our room steward and was excellent.

Cruise Director was James Andrews from Sydney, Australia and just became engaged to Mandy, from Australia, one of the dancers. Hamish, assisant to the CD, funny. All of the shows were very good. Ice Jammin' was excellent.

 

No Quest, no art tour, no lobster. ( Didn't lessen our cruise- just letting you know). Formal night was still formal but not to the same extravagance as I've seen in the caribbean.

 

Disembarkation- as a previous person mentioned there were a few international guests that had to check in that delayed departure from the ship until 9 am. We were yellow tags #8( deck 9 we drove to the port)and we were called at about 10:30. Walked off the ship ( no real wait in line) into the bus, dropped at the terminal and walked right in to the baggage area very clearly marked, right up to our luggage set in clusters of your own bags, right to customs, right out the door and had the car loaded in less than 15 minutes. This was the easiest debarking we have ever experienced.

 

We stayed at the Crowne Plaza Secaucus pre-cruise ( priceline $40 ) excellent choice only about ten minutes from the pier. Spent Sunday afternoon pre-cruise taking a ferry tour over to Statue of Liberty and Immigration museum. Nice afternoon.

 

Any other questions?

 

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'Til my next cruise

 

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Ok, I retract whatever comment I made about James Andrews' wife having twins and he was going home... Was anyone at the final bingo session and know who Hamish was speaking of? Maybe someone else on the CD's staff?

 

Voyager of the Seas 10.26.03

Voyager of the Seas 01.11.04

Voyager of the Seas 06.13.04

Explorer of the Seas 10.31.04

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I had my beads on all day Monday, and we went to the dining room, but I saw no one else wearing any. As we walked into the dining room, I asked them if they had seen any ladies with mardi gras beads and they said no. Boo hoo sorry I missed you all.

 

As I said we had no problem getting on or off and we arrived about 4 30 and on the ship by 5. I was really amazed. That is about the fastest I have ever gotten on a ship.

 

The ship was enormous! lol Everytime I thought I was on the right elevator, it turned out I was on the wrong end of the ship. They have art all over the ship and on deck 9 forward they had a statue of David. So everytime we saw ""it"", we knew we were on the correct end of the ship !!!!!!!!!!!! It got to be joke. Everytime we got off the elevator and turned the corner to go down the hall to our cabin, if we did not see "it" we knew we were at the wrong end. We had a balcony cabin, unfortunately the weather was not that great.

 

There were a lot of mean and cantankerous old f*rts onboard. These old people were downright nasty rude!! Sure wanted to kick their canes right out from under them! I am in my 60's and I hope to never be that mean to people. They elbowed their way into full elevators insisting that there was plenty of room, then they would not budge when youwanted to get off and they were in front of you. Think we should have tossed em overboard in the fog, no one would have seen them go over. lol Still they did not ruin my cruise.

 

All in all it was a nice cruise and I would do it again, but later in the season.

 

Annieeee

 

 

 

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