Vos 1-8-05

We are just back from our 3rd cruise. A VOS Eastern Caribbean cruise. Our 2 previous cruises were on Carnival. So this will be somewhat of a comparison between Carnival & RCCL.

Do I think that RCCL is better than Carnival? No, I enjoyed both cruise lines for different resons. Will I sail on RCCL again? Probably. Will I sail on Carnival again? Probably.

We had aft balcony 1390. It was a great room with extra space in the room and out on the balcony. This was great since we took along out 16 month old daughter. She did great and I would not hesitate to take a toddler again. In fact, we are already looking for another cruise for next fall or winter. We are expecting our second child in May, so we will then have 2.

Room:

Our room steward did an adequate job, though nothing special. He did bring us a pack & play crib, but she slept with us. We only got towel animals 4 nights - not a big deal, just something we noticed. One night we did not get a Compass or chocolates and another night he did not give us a bath mat. We were very good about picking up our room before leaving - never left toys or food on the floor. Other than the extra towel in the bathroom, he really didn't have any extra work. I was disappointed that our balcony was never wiped down. By the end of the week we could barely see thru the windows and the chairs and rail were covered in salt. We still enjoyed the cabin and balcony. We did not have a problem with the soot that some people have complained about. The steward never did bring a life jacket for DD, but we did bring our own and it looked like they had the same style on board.

We loved the sliding door to the balcony as opposed to the swing door on Carnival. Whoever designed the shower stall on the VOS needs a pat on the back. It was better than the curtain on Carnival. The mattresses seemed worn as they sagged in the middle. I likes the safes having a key pad over the magnetic card reader on the Carnival safes.

Food and drink:

DH did buy the soda card and did get his money's worth. He is a big soda drinker and we took along 32 ounce thermal mugs - which he had filled several times a day. I was disappointed in the availability of non-alcoholic free drinks. The Windjammer was open limited times and the only time iced tea and lemonade were available was while it was open. I much preferred the drink stations on Carnival that were available 24 hrs. Iced tea and lemonade were not available on the Cafe Promenade either.

I have read this before, but the food in the Windjammer and Dining Room was fair at best. We were disappointed in the quality and variety. If we were choosing a cruise based on our food experience alone - we would pick Carnival. There was nothing spectacular about the food quality or presentation on the VOS. It was OK and we ate plenty, just nothing to get excited about. Nothing stands out as "the best we ever had".

We had the late dining and went to the dining room every night. DD slept in her stroller during 2 dinners, but was great the rest of the week. I will not say that she is perfect, but the little fussing that she did on the one occasion could not be heard over the crowd noise. It was very loud in the dining room - we were in La Boheme deck 4 and I think we got the noise from below and above.

The service in the dining room for breakfast and lunch was poor. They were very slow and often times we had to ask for things. We are not buffet people, so we didn't go to the windjammer every day. We were surprised that the menus for breakfast and lunch were the same every day. It was not this way on Carnival. The omlet station for breakfast was good, but they did not do made to order eggs - they do on Carnival - a plus for DH. The breakfast potatoes in the Windjammer were much better than the hashbrowns in the dining room.

Ice cream on the Promenade was a daily occurance. I missed the sandwich station and Pizza from Carnival. The pizza and pre-made sandwiches in the Cafe Promenade were not very good.

We did not try Portofino's. Nor did we order room service.

Dress code:

Whoever says that the RCCL guests dress better than the Carnival guests wasn't on this cruise. On our 2 Carnival cruises, I never saw shorts or jeans in the dining room at dinner. On the VOS, there were shorts and jeans in the dining room every night - including formal night. Did this bother me? No - I could care less what others wear. I just noticed it since I have read it so many times that RCCL guests are "higher class" than Carnival.

Shopping:

I am not a big shopper, but the stores seemed like they were open more than the stores on Carnival.

Photography:

The photographers were great. They all loved DD - she smiled in every picture. I was surprised that they used the same backdrops over and over. On Carnival, they had different backdrops every night. Not a real complaint as it probably saved us money. How can you pass up those pictures of the smiling little girl?

Shows:

We only made it to 2 shows. At 23 weeks pregnant, I simply didn't have the energy. We went to the ice show - it was awesome. We went to the show on the final night and it was very good as well.

Activities:

The sports deck is a great addition to cruising. Had a lot more to offer than Carnival. We are not the "game" type of cruisers and don't participate or watch them. But they all seemed much the same as the Carnival games. We did not go ice skating or to the night club and I never found the "screening room". It was not shown on any map.

Notes:

* RCCL did a great job enforcing the "no smoking" areas. I was only bothered by smoke once and it was really in a "gray" area. Only saw one person smoking in the no smoking area and a VOS employee took care of it almost before I noticed.

* Every employee that saw DD stopped to talk and play with her. It was such a joy to see their faces light up. I suppose most probably have children at home that they miss.

* Embarkation was a breeze. We got to the pier at around 12:30 and were in our rooms by 1:10. It was never that easy on Carnival.

* Debarkation - confusing. They gave us bag tags that said when to get off the ship. They went by color, but when announcing they were going by number and not color. We were off the ship and to Thrifty rent-a-car by 9:30. It was relatively painless.

* The day of the week in the elevators was a nice touch. A great concept.

* The pools were cold, but I learned that on our first Carnival cruise. I expected them to be the same on VOS. SIL was disappointed in the pools.

* Saw this on all 3 ships so far, but still annoying: Why do people in electric scooters think that they have have the "right" to cut in front of evryone in line for the elevators? At what point do they forget the - wait your turn idea? Several times a day we would be waiting for the elevator with DD in her stroller and just as the elevator opened a scooter would come out of nowhere and about run DD over to get on the elevator. They would always pull in the middle and leave no room for us to get on with the stoller. We don't have a large stroller, but they all take up a little room. We would inevitably wait for the next elevator. I know that not all people in scooters are "rude" and I am sorry if I offended anyone. I am sure that some feel the same way about people with strollers. It wouldn't have bothered me so much if it didn't happen so many times and the stroller nearly getting hit a few times.

VOS is a very nice ship. There is a lot of walking on her - especially with the aft cabin. We wished there was a stairwell toward the back of the ship. I did notice some wear and tear on her, but nothing atypical of a ship with 3K+ passengers on her each week. Noting stood out as really bad and the workers were constantly doing something to keep her nice. One day they were replacing the carpet outside the elevators on the 12th floor.

Even though we had a few minor disappointments, we had a great vacation. I would definitely recommend this ship.

Glad to hear you had an easy time getting ON the ship. We were on the VOS the week before you. We had a horrible embarkation. We waited in the terminal for hours. I'm so glad to hear that is not the norm.

I'm also glad to hear you had a good time cruising with your daughter. We left our 17 mo. old son at home. I sure missed him by the time we got home (Ours was a 5 day cruise). I'm hoping to bring him along next time! It will be different with him along...but just more of a family trip.

I did see a mom with a child his age on our trip and she looked tired and told us we'd made the right decision (leaving him home), but she did not have her husband along.

I would like to try the Eastern itinerary too!