our VOS cruise 5/20 - 5/29 out of Bayonne, NJ

My girlfriend and I (we're 23 and 24) went on the Voyager of the Seas cruise from 5/20 - 5/29 which departed from Bayonne, NJ. Overall we had a wonderful cruise and would have loved to stay on the cruise ship much longer. We went on a 7 night western caribbean Norwegian Sun cruise (out of Miami) two years ago so I'll compare the two...

 

Boarding

Tie - both times we arrived early and the process was quick and painless. Both times we tipped the baggage handlers and both times our luggage was delivered to our room earlier than most people, hmmm.

 

Food

Norwegian Sun wins. Every one of our meals was excellent on Norwegian. As my girlfriend put it - the dinners on Royal Caribbean were very good but none were excellent. In fact, Norwegian Sun would have dominated this category had it not been for the very nice maitre 'd (sp) who gave us a table for two. We really wanted a table for two and probably would never have eaten in the main dining room otherwise. Norwegian cruise lines have "freestyle cruising" where you eat nice meals whenever you want with no assigned seating.

 

Music

Tie. Although the VOS had more bands to listen to, the caribbean-style band wasn't that good. They played too many songs I've never heard of. The Liza Hendrix band was very good on the VOS but they didnt' play enough.

 

Fellow Cruisers

Norwegian Sun wins. Since everyone on the VOS was from NY, NJ and surrounding areas, they were very pushy and complained a lot. When we went on the Norwegian Sun we departed from Miami and the general atmosphere was more positive and laid back.

 

Entertainment

VOS wins. The ice skating show was very entertaining and I found both comedians to be quite funny. I don't remember much about the Sun entertainment.

 

Muster Drill

VOS wins. On Norwegian Sun we had to go to our specified boats and bunch together and stand for an extended period of time. On VOS we just went to the main dining room and sat around a table and learned how to put on a life vest. Much easier and quicker. Of course I had no idea where to go in the event of an emergency.

 

Ship

VOS obviously wins. It's enormous, has the promenade, rock climbing wall, mini-golf, etc. Hasn't there been a special on the travel channel about this ship?

 

Cabins

VOS wins. On Norwegian we had a window and for VOS we had an interior state room. The interior state room was more spacious and the shower had a sliding door instead of a curtain. We would have liked some sunlight to know when morning arrived, but we managed without it.

 

The Staff

Norwegian Sun barely wins (although my girlfriend might disagree with me). Despite our awesome stateroom attendant, waiter, assistant waiter and maitre 'd (sp) there were several members of the staff who obviously weren't people persons. I remember every Norwegian Sun staff member I saw greeted me with a big smile. Also, there is a hand sanitizer enforcer at the Windjammer for breakfast on the VOS who is quite possibly the most annoying person on the planet. He constantly sings loudly in a thick accent.

 

Leaving the Ship

Norwegian Sun definitely wins. We sat in our stateroom for like a half hour before leaving Norwegian Sun. We sat on the ground in a hallway for 3.5 hours before leaving the VOS. Apparently this wasn't normal though. One or two people didn't report to customs and they held up 3500 other people for a few hours.

 

I'm sure there's many things I'm leaving out. Feel free to ask any questions. Overall a great vacation.

 

Pooky

"Since everyone on the VOS was from NY, NJ and surrounding areas, they were very pushy and complained a lot."

 

Did you really mean to say that?

"Since everyone on the VOS was from NY, NJ and surrounding areas, they were very pushy and complained a lot."

 

Did you really mean to say that?

 

Have to agree with the poster. As much as the "city people" won't admit it, they are different people. New Yorkers have a reputation for rudeness, and it shows on the ship. Leaving from MIA, you get a selection of cruisers from all over. The Voyager out of Bayonne is mostly full of people within taxi and or driving distance.

Pooky,

 

What would you suggest is the best way to go about obtaining a table for two in the Dining Room? On our past cruises we went to the Maitre 'D upon boarding and tipped him accordingly in order to get a table for two. I have been told by past voyager passengers that this did not work for them. Any Suggestions?

Contact customer service by email and request it, or have your TA do so. It's not guaranteed, but you'll have a greater chance of getting it if they have the request in advance as opposed to after seating has been assigned. I requested window seats and got a reply that they couldn't guarantee, but would try.

...And if worst comes to worst and you don't get the table, go talk to the Maitre D' as soon as you get on the ship. On my VOS cruise last summer, we realized upon boarding that we were given late seating when we always prefer early seating. We went to the Matire D', he was extremely courteous, gave us no problem, and switched our dining time immediatly!

 

I would just comment that it pays to go talk to him and make the change IMMEDIATLY, before they get swamped with people who want to make changes and their hands start to become tied.

Generalizations about fellow passengers based strictly on location are dangerous. There are many equally ridiculous remarks that could be made about upstate NYers, midwesterners, etc...

 

Having lived in both suburban NJ and upstate NY, people are just different. Categorizing groups of people as "rude and pushy" serves no purpose.

 

I was on this same cruise, had a WONDERFUL time and can assure you, yielded to my fellow passengers, let full elevators pass while I waited for the next and praised the great service and overall experience we had.

Pooky Pants, nice comparison, what was the weather like in Bermuda? We'll be cruising the 5night May 2006 but wass seriously thinking about due to the possibility of cold/chilly unswimmable weather. How were the waters sailing out of Bayonne? How was your weather on both days?

Generalizations about fellow passengers based strictly on location are dangerous. There are many equally ridiculous remarks that could be made about upstate NYers, midwesterners, etc...

 

Having lived in both suburban NJ and upstate NY, people are just different. Categorizing groups of people as "rude and pushy" serves no purpose.

 

I was on this same cruise, had a WONDERFUL time and can assure you, yielded to my fellow passengers, let full elevators pass while I waited for the next and praised the great service and overall experience we had.

 

Me too!

Pooky,

 

What would you suggest is the best way to go about obtaining a table for two in the Dining Room? On our past cruises we went to the Maitre 'D upon boarding and tipped him accordingly in order to get a table for two. I have been told by past voyager passengers that this did not work for them. Any Suggestions?

 

 

Why don't you ask one of those rude pushy people from the tri state area. They are used to pushing people around and getting their own way.....wait....I am one of them!!!

 

Watch your NY/NJ comments. We may come after you!!!!! Please, stereotypes are passe. I met plenty of rude people in Wyoming, California, and Minnesota. That isn't anywhere near the tri-state area.

Now now guys, lets not be so sensitive! :p

 

I'm a tri-stater as well and I took no offense to it. Yes, there are rude people everywhere, and yes, there are polite people everywhere. It probably is true though that with the way life just moves faster up here, and the way we expect life to move faster up here, people are going to be more pushy and hurried!!

 

I think the OP was just making an observation that people on this perticular cruise were complaining a lot... haha it happens.

MOSTEEL - The first thing we did when we got on the ship is go to tbe maitre d' to request a table for two people. We were waiting to speak to him when we witnessed person after person run up to the maitre d' (cutting everyone else) and start fighting with him. Looking around the waiting area I made the comment to my girlfriend that everyone looked like they were waiting to see the dentist - everyone looked miserable. And it was the first day of a 9 day cruise to the caribbean! So eventually we spoke to the maitre d' and he guessed we had come to ask about a 2 person table and laughed outloud. He showed a list of 20 names of people already on the list (I believe there are 36 2 person tables in the main dining room for 3500 guests). We asked to be put on the list anyway. The next day we went to see him again and check on our progess. He recognized us and we had a few laughs then he said something to the affect of "everyone else comes to me with machine guns, you come with smiles" and he gave us a two person table.

 

pinkaboo - I was on the 9 day cruise which went to the western caribbean - we didn't stop in Bermuda. The first sea day the weather wasn't that great. It was too cold to do anything outside.

 

carlennaro - Whoops that sentence was phrased pretty poorly. I didn't mean to offend anyone. Cruisinfanatic expressed my point much more eloquently.

Fellow Cruisers

Norwegian Sun wins. Since everyone on the VOS was from NY, NJ and surrounding areas, they were very pushy and complained a lot. When we went on the Norwegian Sun we departed from Miami and the general atmosphere was more positive and laid back.Pooky

 

I was on this cruise as well, and you hit the nail on the head! My husband and I were beside ourselves at the number of rude and pushy people (see my post "our view of Voyager cruise 5/20-29"). I am hesitant to say it is due to where they live, but completely agree with your observation of HOW a lot of passengers acted. We had a great time, wish others could have been more layed back to enjoy theirs!

we are going on that cruise in November, my husband works in NYC and does know how som NYers and NJers can act, and we are actually very worried that the staff may not be as pleasant to accomodating after several month of dealing with people who might be rude or pushy( I don't mean to offend, but with the tri-state area being more fast paced, people who live there expect more)

 

I am hoping to read some positive reviews :)

Although I would not clump everyone in the area into a "rude and pushy" category... I can definately see how that behavior would translate on a ship.

 

Like previous posters have said, people who live and work in the tri state area tend to be a group of "give it to me yesterday" types... If you're used to it... then I don't think that you'd notice it...

 

That doesn't excuse the behaviour, by any means... but that's just how people are.

Wow. As someone who grew up in NJ, and now lives in NY, I have to say that making a generalization like that is -definitely- dangerous... I was on the Voyager repo cruise, and las tyear was on one of the first cruises leaving out of NJ on the Voyager. You can encounter rude people -wherever- you go.

 

But what do I know. I'm just a rude, inconsiderate New Yorker.

perhaps demanding is a better way to phrase what I was trying to say :)

Dh grew up 10 miles from NYC, in NJ, and now frequently travels into the city, we lived in Budd Lake NJ for a brief time to be closer to his job.

 

I hated every single minute of it, I am from Cattle Country PA, and we have since moved back here, I do know that New Yorkers are demanding people, and can be inconsiderate.

 

Not all NYers, not all NJers, but I have encountered enough people like that during my brief stay in NJ to be wary. (people who will run you over to get into the next available stall in the bathroom-a particular bad memory for me ;) )

 

Again, I am sorry if I offended you, but being from a slower paced area where cows outnumber the people I am a little worried about being a ship where nearly everyone want things 10 minutes ago.

 

I am deffinatly hoping that this is not the case, as I feel all people on vacation are there to have fun and be carefree, but that worry is still there.

 

Again, I hope I have not offended you.

Not offended in any way... as I know that people in my little corner of the world are demanding and downright inconsiderate ... 80% of the time.

 

 

 

Living on Staten Island now (having grown up in Northern Jersey) ... I witness some things that just make my skin crawl.... The way people drive... the way people treat others... the way people literally tear up a store to get what they want....

 

 

 

You grow to tolerate it... just never fall into the trap of doing it yourself.

A little help please. We are leaving on July 10th on the VOS out of Bayonne,

myself and hubby, early 50's and 2 kids 16 yr old girl and 23 yr old young man. Can you tell me about the boarding process. Is this a place to sit and wait if you get there too early? Is it true you have to take a bus from the terminal to the ship? Are the pools open before you sail? Thanks

We just got back from the Celebrity cruise to Bermuda. We left from Bayonne and I have never had a better embarkation and disembarkation. We drove to the pier and dropped our luggage off. We then drove around to the parking lot and parked our car. Almost before I could press the lock a shuttle was there to drive us back to the entrance. We walked right in (at 11:20AM) and registered. We then walked through the door and they loaded us on a bus from the terminal to the ship. We walked up the stairs and we were on board drinking a glass of champagne. The pools are not filled until you get out to sea during the night. They fill the pools with sea water. I'm not sure if this is true for the Voyager as well. Have a great trip. We are going on the Voyager when you get off with my 16 and 18 year old grandkids.

A little help please. We are leaving on July 10th on the VOS out of Bayonne,

myself and hubby, early 50's and 2 kids 16 yr old girl and 23 yr old young man. Can you tell me about the boarding process. Is this a place to sit and wait if you get there too early?

Yes, with hot dogs and drinks and entertainment.

Is it true you have to take a bus from the terminal to the ship?

Yes, it's a quick hop down the pier from the terminal end where you check in to the far end where the ship is anchored.

Are the pools open before you sail? Thanks

Yes, the ship is waiting and YOURS as soon as you board. VERY occasionally, if you get on quite early, you cannot go to your cabin yet, but just go to the Windjammer with your carry-on, have a bite to eat, maybe change into your bathing suit which you so brilliantly packed in your carry-on, and go lounge by the pool.

 

Have a fabulous cruise.

 

Carol

Just returned from VOS and can ditto what others said, embarkation went very smoothly, unfortumately, we didn't get to the ship until about 2:00 p.m. because of construction on the bridge over to Bayonne, merging 5 lanes of traffic into 1, was a nightmare and we would crawl and sit, crawl and sit. If we had been late, we would have missed the ship.

 

There was no traffic when we got to the pier, even at that late time. Others said boarding started at 12:15 p.m. It was a fairly quick process for us. The shuttles take you straight to the ship, which isn't far and on you go. I think the pools were open, but not positive, maybe someone else noticed that.

 

When we arrived at the pier, even though there was little traffic, we elected to park and take our luggage with us (our trip to NJ had been a nightmare, but that's another story!). The parking lot ( a lot of it is loose gravel) is right next to the terminal, and even though our car was on about row 20-25, it was not a bad walk. Once we got there, the porters were very friendly and handled our luggage much more carefully than I've seen some do in the past.

 

Debarkation went smoothly as well. Ours was the 3rd color called (yellow). They started at about 8:45a.m. and called a number about every 15 minutes. We went right off the ship onto the shuttle, straight to the terminal, quickly located our luggage and on through the customs line. They just took our form and didn't ask to see anything (identification, citizenship, etc.). Out the door and to our car. Very quick and smooth. The slowest part was getting down the stairs on the ship to the gangway and that didn't take more than 5 minutes. We waited in Studio B, which is the closest to the aft gangway, but it is cold in there, bring a sweater or blanket (ice rink)!

 

There was no gluey substance on our car when we returned. There are no trees anywhere around, so I don't think that could have been pine tar/sap those folks had a couple weeks ago.