Review of 9-day Voyager from Cape Liberty

We just returned from our 9-day Voyager of the Seas cruise and had a wonderful cruise. We drove to the terminal and arrived at 11:30. When we arrived we were directed to an area to drop our luggage off and my husband then took the car to a parking area. I waited with the luggage and almost immediately someone working at the pier told me that I could just leave the luggage and proceed into the terminal. I did as he said and waited by the terminal entrance for my husband to return from parking the car. He said that parking was very easy and that as people were leaving from the previous cruise he was directed by parking attendants to a parking spot close by the entrance to the pier. We entered the terminal and saw signs for Diamond and Platinum members but since we were with a group we decided to stay with them. Even though we went through the regular line we were on line no longer than 15 minutes. The procedure went very smoothly. Because we did not go through the Diamond Member line the counter rep. had to retrieve our "Seapass" card from the Diamond Member area. This was not a big deal though. I forgot to mention that while we stood in line waiting waiting to get to the counter at the pier, we were handed a ticket with a number and were told when the number was called we would then proceed to the shuttle to be taken to the ship (we were number 13). After we finished at the counter, we were directed to a waiting area. We waited in this area for approximately 35-40 minutes. When our number was called our group proceeded outside and loaded onto the shuttles. The shuttles were fairly large and held a decent number of people. We then proceeded to the ship. Once off the shuttle we were on the ship in minutes. This was our second time on the Voyager. The first time was 4 years ago and we thought the ship looked great.

We immediately went to our room. (We had a promenade room on deck 8). Later that afternoon we met our cabin steward whose name was Psyche. After reading on these boards for months about people saying that they did not get turn-down service the first night, we were pleasantly surprised to see that we did get turn-down service. I mentioned to our cabin steward that I wasn't expecting it the first night and she very adamantly told me that they always do it the first night. We never had a problem with our room not being made up. I know a lot of people were complaining on these boards that their rooms were not made up until the afternoon. We were usually out of our room by 10 and when we would come back after breakfast and maybe a short stroll around the ship, our room was always made up.

We thought the food was very good. Lobster night was Wednesday. We went to Portofino's on Sunday night and had an excellent meal. We have done Portofino's in the past and after reading on these boards that some people were disappointed in it we thought the service may have changed. But everything was PERFECT! Don't miss out on the opportunity to have a fantastic meal for only $20. Well worth the money.

In Jamaica we had made arrangements with Ionie McBean and told her a few months back that we would be a group of 10 and that we wanted to visit the plantation and we picked a restaurant that we wanted to have lunch (Evita's) and then we wanted to do shopping and some wanted to go to the beach. She picked us up at the pier at 9:15 (Ship time) in a small air-conditioned bus that accommodated just the 10 of us. She drove us through Fern Gully, took us to some scenic areas for pictures and then when the plantation opened she dropped us off and picked us up after the approximate hour to hour and a half plantation tour. She then took us to Evita's which was a terrific Italian Restaurant that we had heard about. She picked us up afterward and took us to the shopping areas. This cost us $30 plus tip. She was terrific and definitely worth booking on our own as we got to see alot of different things.

In Grand Cayman we booked through Nativeway Water Sports. (Sharon Ebanks) www.nativewaywatersports.com and were taken to Stingray City and Snorkeling. There were only about 20 people on the boat and it was fantastic. Not crowded like some of the other boats we saw. Another couple on our boat told us that they took the same excursion last year with another tour and that they were packed in like sardines. She could not believe how much room we had on our boat.

We did not get off the ship in Freeport so I'm sorry I cannot tell you anything about that port.

Richard Spacey was our cruise director and after 13 cruises I can honestly say that he was the absolute best cruise director we have ever had. We heard that this was his last cruise so it really is a shame that others will not get to experience his sense of humor and what a great job he did.

The disembarkation was a bit disorderly. As diamond members my husband and I waited in the private lounge for diamond and platinum members. There was a problem getting the luggage off the ship so instead of the first color tag being called at 1 it was 2:30 before they called the "Early Disembarkation" color tag. We were off the ship at 2:40 and were in our car and headed home at 3:00. One of the problems we experienced getting off the ship was that the stairways were just wall to wall people waiting for their color tag to be called. It was very disorderly and people were getting very angry about the long wait.

Considering the fact that this was only the second cruise out of Bayonne, I think it went fairly well. I honestly was expecting a lot more problems so I was pleasantly surprised. We had a wonderful time and I'm sure if you can overlook some of the "glitches" because of the new pier, you will have a great time also.

Thanks so much for your review. Could you please let me know if there were only 2 formal nights and what night was caribbean night in the dinning room?

yes, thank you for the review. was the wine and dine available? if so, how much was it and how many bottles are included? thanks again.

cruiselvrs, yes, what a nice review, Thanks. I wanted to know what 2 nights were formal nights, was the seas smooth sailing from NJ and did you bring any water, soda or alcohol on board with or without problem thanks again

Nice review of this sailing of the Voyager. To help with the question there was 2 formal nights 1st Saturday & Thursday. Caribean night was Tuesday. It was a great cruise.

Judy

RCCL Voyager 5/21-5/30/04

CCL Inspiration 4/4-4/11/04

NCL Sea 4/14-4/27/03

DCL Wonder 5/16-5/19/02

DCL Wonder 5/3-5/8/01

CCL Fantasy 2/15-2/18/01

Judy F - is correct the formal nights were Saturday and Thursday.

Smile0808 - Saturday (first sea day) was very windy. We decided to forego the pool area that day as the winds made it near impossible to sit there comfortably. The seas were about 4 to 7 1/2 feet. Hubby and I didn't have any problems but there were a few in our group who were feeling some motion sickness. We did not bring on any soda, water or alcohol, but 4 others in our group did (they put it in their carry-ons and they had no problems at all).

Fam4vac - Sorry, I really can't help you with the wine and dine question. I can't drink wine because it gives me migraines so I did not really pay attention to the wine and dine program. I do believe that I saw a small leaflet in our room on the first day regarding wine, so it may be available.

THANKS FOR THE GREAT REVIEW. READING IT MAKES US VERY EXCITED FOR OUR CRUISE ON THE VOYAGER IN AUGUST TO CANADA. THREE QUESTIONS FOR YOU...

1. HOW MUCH PER DAY DID IT COST TO PARK AT THE TERMINAL IN BAYONNE?

2. DID IT SEEM LIKE A SECURE LOT TO LEAVE YOUR CAR?

3. WHAT TIME WERE YOU ABLE TO BOARD IN RELATION TO WHEN YOUR CRUISE DOCUMENTS INDICATED YOU COULD BOARD? WAS IT EARLIER THAN THE PUBLISHED TIME TO BOARD?

THANKS IN ADVANCE FOR YOUR REPONSES!

Thanks for your review....it was so nice to hear about your trip.

6/18 Voyager

This may sound like a dumb question but since I have not cruised with RC yet I have to ask. What exactly is Caribbean night? I have two cruises scheduled for September and October on RC.

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

THANKS FOR THE GREAT REVIEW. READING IT MAKES US VERY EXCITED FOR OUR CRUISE ON THE VOYAGER IN AUGUST TO CANADA. <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Augcruiser:

What date does your cruise depart? We're on the 8/8 Voyager to Canada.

Carol

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

Jewel of the Seas 12/2004

Explorer of the Seas 12/2003

Explorer of the Seas 8/2002

<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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