Semi LIVE from Voyager of the Seas 21 Feb 2017 Fiji and South Pacific

Initial impressions - Voyager of the Seas 21 Feb 2017 Fiji and South Pacific

We have been on VOTS twice before. Overall for this cruise, we are happy so far, despite a few changes.

There were a number of steps to boarding: dropping off luggage (no tip required), getting into the building (passports and cruise contract checked), check-in with photo to get the seapass card, filling in the departure card to hand over to Border control, scanning, then finally through the onboard seapass check. There was one very cross fellow who wanted to board at about 11.30 for deck three but they wouldn't let him on - this is the first time I personally have seen the boarding times adhered to!

After boarding, we went to get a coffee from the DL and then to the Windjammer for lunch. The WJ was fairly crowded but the food was good. There was a real buzz of excitement. Our rooms were ready by around 1.00.

Our GS was showing some signs of age but was clean and comfortable. Our Diamond welcome amenity (?) was two cans of diet coke and 4 bottles of water - no small packet of cookies. Instead, that afternoon two plates of cookies were delivered and then later an assortment of fruit.

Dinner in the MDR that night was one of the best MDR meals we've had on any RCI cruise.

Shock and horror - neither the DL or the CL had sparking wine on the drinks menu. Apparently it was removed the cruise before ours. It was very strange as sparking wine is still available in the other bars using the Diamond coupons.

As others have reported, the Casino is completely smoke free :) Although I sympathise with the smokers who actually gamble (not the ones that just use the casino to smoke without gambling), it made it much more comfortable for me!

The internet is not quite "Stream" - it is possible to stream a program but you have to wait a long time for it to buffer. We haven't really seen any difference between the internet surf and stream package and the free diamond surf days.

Breakfast in the WJ on day 2 (sea day) was a nightmare - no tables to be found anywhere and although most people were queuing, some people were rushing around and pushing in rudely (They are either rude or a bit overexcited given it was the first day). We ended up eating out near the pool.

The Meet and Mingle wasn't up to the standard of previous ones we have attended. No drinks, food or the M&M gift. However the activities manager was amusing, lots of prizes were raffled and I was pleased to win a bottle of sparkling wine and an RCI drink bottle - mainly pleased about the wine :).

We tried lunch in the MDR on Day 2 and the food was very good although service was slow and servings small (I didn't mind that). The salad bar was gone which disappointed a lot of people.

Dinner Day 2 in the MDR was great (formal night) - so far we've been very impressed with the food (perhaps it is the Aussie produce that makes the difference to us).

We tried breakfast in the MDR for Day 3 (sea day) - nice food but very poor service (slow slow slow) and missing items etc. One poor server seemed to be doing all the work in the Diamond/Suite section. We skipped lunch.

We attended our first ever art auction just to see what it was like. Not many items sold, but it was an interesting process. Don't think I would be tempted though.

By day 3 things have calmed down a bit in the WJ - went for an early lunch and it was much more civilised.

Giovannis for dinner was very nice - lovely food and good service.

Hooray - sparkling wine is back in the CL and DL - for now! Apparently there were lots of questions about the decision. I'm not sure how long the supply will last though!

Day 4 (sea day)

The weather has been great and the seas calm so far.

I'm happy to try to answer any questions. :)

Will be following along.

Thank you for taking time to post. Enjoyed reading your review and will bs following.

Thanks what a great review! Could you please post some recent drinks menus (beer and wine) if u get a chance! Thank you!

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Thanks for the review. We have booked same cruise February next year. Very interesting to us.

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Haven ot heard much about Voyager lately, thanks for doing the review.:)

Many thanks for the review so far.

Couple of questions:

What are the Diamond stream days and what do they entitle you to?

How formal are formal nights?

;p

Great review so far. Looking forward to more.

Steve.

What production shows are on?

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Sorry for the delay. We had the last two days in port and I’m sharing the internet with myDD.

First the questions:

Regarding the “diamond stream” - I was referring to Diamond and above membersgetting discounts or free days of internet (along with other discounts and benefits).Elsewhere on the boards and on the Royal Caribbean site, you can find out thedetails of what you get for the various crown and anchor levels. You can join C&A after one cruise withRCI and work (cruise) your way up the levels.

Formal nights in the MDR – we- have only had one formalnight so far and the outfits ranged from smart casual to business attire tovery formal but I didn’t see many ball gowns. We did see some Japanese people in formal Kimonos and lots of the ladieshad bling.

Production shows – someone in our rollcall posted the shows –

Originally posted by Ed342

From Customer Support:

Voyager of the Seas sailing February 21, 2017. Here is a list of headliner actssorted by the night of the cruise they take place for.

1) Bruno Lucia, Comedian

2) Fab Four, Tribute Act

3) Adam Mada, Comedy Magic

4) Danny McMaster, Comedy Impressionist

5) Act Not Specified

6) Production Show

7) Kaitlyn Carr, Female Vocalist

8) Rikki Jay, Comedian

9) Act Not Specified

10) Tony Laffan, Comedy Hypnotist

11) Production Show

12) Sean Laughlin, Juggler

Our Production Shows are as follows:

Music in Pictures

Broadway Rhythm + Rhyme

Ice Odyssey

Sorry I actually haven’t gone to any yet!

Drink prices coming.......

As requested, here are beer and wine prices at one of the bars (casino). I have the whole menu but they are slow to upload so if anyone wants them I can do it when I get back.

These prices are in USD (the currency used on the ship). There are also a number of events that serve free 'champagne' - especially the art auctions and there seems to be an offer for 20% off bottles in the MDR most days. There are also buckets of beer available - I know the price is a bit cheaper by buying in bulk.

One tip for shore side - bring lots of $5 notes if you plan to buy anything from markets or on the small islands as they only take cash (notes) and give back change in their currency.

We brought along a number of Aussie $5 notes but have already run out, so now need to pay in USD. We also have $US 1 notes. NZ$ are also taken and we saw one sign with euros.

At the spice farm, lots of items were

$2 USD, $3 AU and $3 NZ so you can buy a number to make up to multiples of $5

For example, I purchased $12 worth of spices so gave them 2X5 AUD plus 2X 1 USD

Now the next instalment of review:

By attending a Destination lecture, we got 10% off the following tours

Day 5 in Lautoka was lovely. We went on a 3 hour ships tour to Nadi (10% off $69 USD). It was mainly a bus tour with interesting information given by our very engaging and funnytour guide. We saw a magnificent hindu temple (from the bus), stopped in the middle of the shopping centre and then spent about an hour at a lovely marina restaurant with soft drinks and tropical fruit provided, a coconut demonstration and coconuts to drink. Those who didn’t go on a tour paid $8 return for a shuttle ticket to the city centre. I think it was possible to walk as well – about a 15 minute walk into town.

Day 6 in Suva was a Sunday so most shops were closed. We went on the Spice Farm tour (10% off $89USD) which was very interesting and had a wonderful story behind it (which I won’t spoil by telling!). It didn’t mention in the tour description but it included a traditional Fijian lunch cooked an underground oven made of hot stones and covered with leaves,traditional entertainment and fire walking. The people were very friendly and the tour was charming and genuine. We thought this tour was very good value.

In Suva you could walk 5 minutes into the city centre but as most shops were closed for Sunday and it started to rain we didn’t bother doing this. Suva is often rainy so it may be worth bringing an umbrella or rain poncho if you are not doing a tour (where they were supplied)

In both ports, you could find local tours on/near the pier. In Suva, people were also doing hair braiding etc.

TV – Aussies may be interested to know that there is a TV channel on the stateroom TVs (channel 22 Australia Plus) that seems to show mostly ABC shows. Earlier in the cruise we saw MKR on one channel but I cannot recall whether it was on this channel or another one.

So far the weather has been great!

Day 7 is another sea day. We were invited to a suite brunch which had samples of the food from the different specialty restaurants - very nice. Also met a lot of the senior officers and the captain.

I attended a card making class - the staff member was blown away with the numbers attending and they had to break up the supplies to ensure everyone was able to participate. A bit of fun and everyone got a free scrapbooking kit plus the opportunity to purchase other kits (I got one for a friend back home as they are very reasonably priced).

Edit: Forgot to mention - Fiji seems to be a far happier place than last time we visited in 2011. The people in general seem to be happy with their government - the children get free education and health care is free and they are very proud of their gold medal win in the Rugby 7s at the Rio Olympics. People everywhere wave at the tourists busses and it just seems to be a happy place :)

Some pics

Leaving Sydney

At sea

Lautoka

More of Lautoka

Don't know if you mentioned it, but can I ask you is the cruise director and activities manager?

TV – Aussies may be interested to know that there is a TV channel on the stateroom TVs (channel 22 Australia Plus) that seems to show mostly ABC shows. Earlier in the cruise we saw MKR on one channel but I cannot recall whether it was on this channel or another one.

I love how they have added Australia Plus, it is really just a bunch of ABC programs and News 24 that are shown via cable all across Asia-Pacific, also had it in Singapore, Malaysia and Hong Kong. On Voyager in December, we had a Channel 7 connection for the first and last sea day so that might be where you saw MKR.

Initial impressions - Voyager of the Seas 21 Feb 2017 Fiji and South Pacific

We have been on VOTS twice before. Overall for this cruise, we are happy so far, despite a few changes.

 

There were a number of steps to boarding: dropping off luggage (no tip required), getting into the building (passports and cruise contract checked), check-in with photo to get the seapass card, filling in the departure card to hand over to Border control, scanning, then finally through the onboard seapass check. There was one very cross fellow who wanted to board at about 11.30 for deck three but they wouldn't let him on - this is the first time I personally have seen the boarding times adhered to!

 

After boarding, we went to get a coffee from the DL and then to the Windjammer for lunch. The WJ was fairly crowded but the food was good. There was a real buzz of excitement. Our rooms were ready by around 1.00.

 

Our GS was showing some signs of age but was clean and comfortable. Our Diamond welcome amenity (?) was two cans of diet coke and 4 bottles of water - no small packet of cookies. Instead, that afternoon two plates of cookies were delivered and then later an assortment of fruit.

 

Dinner in the MDR that night was one of the best MDR meals we've had on any RCI cruise.

Shock and horror - neither the DL or the CL had sparking wine on the drinks menu. Apparently it was removed the cruise before ours. It was very strange as sparking wine is still available in the other bars using the Diamond coupons.

 

As others have reported, the Casino is completely smoke free :) Although I sympathise with the smokers who actually gamble (not the ones that just use the casino to smoke without gambling), it made it much more comfortable for me!

 

The internet is not quite "Stream" - it is possible to stream a program but you have to wait a long time for it to buffer. We haven't really seen any difference between the internet surf and stream package and the free diamond surf days.

 

Breakfast in the WJ on day 2 (sea day) was a nightmare - no tables to be found anywhere and although most people were queuing, some people were rushing around and pushing in rudely (They are either rude or a bit overexcited given it was the first day). We ended up eating out near the pool.

 

The Meet and Mingle wasn't up to the standard of previous ones we have attended. No drinks, food or the M&M gift. However the activities manager was amusing, lots of prizes were raffled and I was pleased to win a bottle of sparkling wine and an RCI drink bottle - mainly pleased about the wine :).

We tried lunch in the MDR on Day 2 and the food was very good although service was slow and servings small (I didn't mind that). The salad bar was gone which disappointed a lot of people.

Dinner Day 2 in the MDR was great (formal night) - so far we've been very impressed with the food (perhaps it is the Aussie produce that makes the difference to us).

 

We tried breakfast in the MDR for Day 3 (sea day) - nice food but very poor service (slow slow slow) and missing items etc. One poor server seemed to be doing all the work in the Diamond/Suite section. We skipped lunch.

We attended our first ever art auction just to see what it was like. Not many items sold, but it was an interesting process. Don't think I would be tempted though.

By day 3 things have calmed down a bit in the WJ - went for an early lunch and it was much more civilised.

Giovannis for dinner was very nice - lovely food and good service.

Hooray - sparkling wine is back in the CL and DL - for now! Apparently there were lots of questions about the decision. I'm not sure how long the supply will last though!

 

Day 4 (sea day)

 

The weather has been great and the seas calm so far.

 

I'm happy to try to answer any questions. :)

Re Breakfast, can't you eat made to order b'fast in Chops as a Diamond or Concierge guest, we could on the Explorer, we sort of over dosed on smoked salmon eggs benedict.

Thank you!! that is so helpful!

Re Breakfast, can't you eat made to order b'fast in Chops as a Diamond or Concierge guest, we could on the Explorer, we sort of over dosed on smoked salmon eggs benedict.

if you have a gold card you can have made to order breakfast in chops and suite and diamond plus and pinnacle can have a la carte breakfast on deck 4 in the main dining room. Unlike some other ships there is no connection for guests between the suite breakfast and windjammer so you cannot grab something from windjammer and eat it in a connecting specialty restaurant.

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Enjoying your review.

Is there a kettle in the cabin? Thanks xx

Thank you so much for posting! We will be on Voyager on the 15th. Exciting to see all the photos and hear about what is happening on the ship.

Thank you for posting the drink menu.

We're cruising on Voyager for the first time this year, and I was assuming I would buy the drink package for me as I'm a wine/sparkling wine drinker. But the fine print on the package says drinks up to $12, and most of the items on the wine list are over that. If you buy the drink package and buy one of the higher priced drinks do they just charge the difference to your account, or do you have to pay the full price? The drinks package is probably not much use if you're limited to just a couple of options for your drinks.

Thank you for posting the drink menu.

 

We're cruising on Voyager for the first time this year, and I was assuming I would buy the drink package for me as I'm a wine/sparkling wine drinker. But the fine print on the package says drinks up to $12, and most of the items on the wine list are over that. If you buy the drink package and buy one of the higher priced drinks do they just charge the difference to your account, or do you have to pay the full price? The drinks package is probably not much use if you're limited to just a couple of options for your drinks.

Hi skyesong. I think they just charge you the difference but as I don't have a drink package I cannot be sure. I think there has been discussion about this issue on the rci boards though so a Serco might confirm this.

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Is the lovely Laura still in the D lounge? We are boarding on Sunday and hope she is still there [emoji1]

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