Voyager Med review - 6/10-6/17/06

Sorry this is so late, but as soon as we returned from our trip, our internet was down.

We left Chicago on 6/6 and arrived in Barcelona on 6/7. We stayed at the Grand Marina Hotel pre-cruise. Hotel was very nice and right on the port. Only about 2-3 blocks from the hustle of town which was nice. They had a breakfast buffet in the morning which we did each morning.

6/10 - We left for the cruise terminal at 11:00 AM and arrived 5 minutes later. Went through security in a snap. Handed over documents and were on the boat at 11:45. Quickest check-in I have ever experienced. We were not allowed in our rooms until 1:00, so we hung out in the Windjammer until 1:00. We had 2 rooms #'s 8296 & 8298, both balconies. Our luggage arrived by 4:00. Around 6:00 we went up to the bar to watch the ship leave port. We left at 7:00 and then had to run down and get dressed because our seating time was 7:30. For this cruise they had several dinner seatings. 1st seating was 7:00 and 7:30. 2nd seating was 9:00 and 9:30. I liked the later seating times due to the much longer excursions associated with this cruise.

6/11 & 6/12 - We were in France. Not overly impressed by the ports or the tours. We only did a 4 hour tour both days and then hung out on the ship to relax.

6/13-6/15 - Italy ports. The tours were outstanding! We did all our tours through RCI and they were wonderful. We ran late on 2 of them and they had to hold the ship until we got back. With these tours they also included lunch which was really good. We were exhausted when we got back to the ship. Each excursion was 10 hours long.

6/16 - Only sea day. Hung out by the pool and wished our vacation wouldn't end.

I know that there have been some questions about the condition of Voyager. The ship is in great shape. We have been on Explorer twice and can't tell the difference between the two ships as far as wear. We did go to Portofino's one night and the food and service were great. The overall food in the dining room was very good. The service was a little slow. The food in the Windjammer was ok, not great, and the service was very slow. There were several times there were no tables available.

We went to Johnie Rockets twice and the food in my opinion has gotten worse. They now charge $3.95 just to eat there and then still charge for milkshakes.

Our room was well kept and our cabin steward was average.

We cruised on Caribbean Princess last year just to take a break from RCI. We did not enjoy it as much and after this cruise we will probably stick with RCI. The layout of the ship allows traffic to flow better. The food and service is also much better. The tours through RCI are definately worth the money.

We had one day post-cruise at the Hotel Jazz. Hotel was nice, but the subway runs right underneath the hotel and you can feel it every few minutes. It is also right in the middle of the city so it was much noiser. I will also say that if you are flying out of Barcelona on Iberia...you need to get to the airport about 3 hours before your flight. There check in system leaves alot to be desired. About 10 lines that don't move.

Thanks for the review! We have booked this cruise for next June and I have been wondering if we had made the right decision. Your review helped a lot! What tours did you take in Italy?

We are booked on this cruise in Oct and have been wondering which nights are formal?

Thanks for your review. We are sailing in September and are also doing all ship tours. I'm so glad you had such a great experience on your tours. It confirms that we have made the right decision. Hope we are doing some of the same tours you did.

What tours did you do in Rome?

Formal nights were Sunday and Thursday. The tours we did were as follows:

Marseille: Marseille City Tour

Villefranche: Monaco & Monte Carlo

Livorno: Historical Florence and Accademia Museum

Civitavecchia: Rome, The Eternal City

Naples: Amalfi Drive & Pompeii

The Tours in France were not as well run as the ones in Italy. I will say that the guides really look out for their group in Italy. There were Gypsies around the Vatican and they not only warned us about them, but when they started coming around us in line the tour guides ran them off.

I will say that we were thinking about doing a S. Caribbean next year for our 25th anniversary, but now we think we want to go back to Europe. There is so much to see and what you do see is just a sampling.

We are looking into a RCI cruise that departs Barcelona and had looked at the Grand Marina for our pre-cruise stay because of its location. From what I read its at the high end price-wise. Did you book it on your own or thru RCI?

Thank you so much for your review. We will be on the Voyager in Sept, can't wait!

We have also booked all our tours through RCCL, glad to hear you enjoyed most of them!

Do they have the new bedding on the Voyager yet?

Glad you enjoyed your trip. I enjoyed your review. We are travelling on Voyager in October. How was the entertainment on board?

Interested to hear your comments about Iberia - I think our flight, booked through BA, back to Heathrow is actually with Iberia. Will make sure we get to check-in early.

OK...The hotel was about $300/night. I booked this through American Express because we had rewards points. It was very nice to be far enough away from the buzz, but close enough to enjoy it. Entertainment: I personally did not attend any shows, we were much too tired from the excursions, but my 19 year old son went and so did some of our table mates. The captain plays a mean guitar. Other than him, there wasn't much to talk about. We did spend some time in the Champagne Bar and the service and music was great. I will also say about dressing in Europe....Most people we were around wore pants, capris, skirts. You are required to wrap up in certain cathedrals. If you were shorts you are going to stand out as an American tourist. You may not mind this, but in my opinion if you blend in you are going to be less of a target for pickpockets, etc.

Sorry, forgot about bedding question. They have not upgraded yet, but that did not stop us from sleeping soundly especially after a full day of touring.

Please tell me more about your Rome tour? This was through RCI correct? Did you actually get out of the bus at Colessium or was it a drive by? I really want to see the SIstine Chapel, but have alot of interest in the Colessium, Pantheon, etc. We are cruising Aug 12th. What did lunch consist of?

In Rome we did much more than drive byes. We walked around and in the Colleseum. We went into Sistine Chapel and into St. Peter's square and the Basilica. This was a full 10 hour day. They even give you an opportunity to shop for religious articles while you are there at the Vatican. The lunch was very complete. They start with about a half of glass of champagne. Then they serve you a pasta appetizer. More wine comes to the table (bottles), and then the main course which was a traditional meat and potato dish. Dessert and coffee top off the lunch. The food was good and depending upon your tour guide will depend upon where you go. I did not hear anything bad from anyone on any of the tours.

Thanks so much for your response. I am having a hard time deciding between the Eternal City tour and the other All day tour that visits the Trevi fountain, etc, it does visit the Vatican but not the SIstine Chapel.

I am so glad you posted a review!!

I have booked Eurostar Grand Marina for our return night. I have been trying to find out if the VOS docked at the pier the hotel is located on - and it appears that it is - yeah!!

I was interested in a report on Eze and St Paul but perhaps you didn'tget a chance to visit these locations.

Did you get a chance to speak to anyone who went to Capri? If so, impressions?

.....We are cruising Aug 12th. ...

Just noticed from your post that you are cruising 12th August. We are too and there is a roll call going in case you were interested in joining in... http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=303203

Karen

Just got off Voyager yesterday. Were on deck 7 and they were changing bedding as we left. New matresses with some sort of duvet top on them for more comfort I'd say. Having done 2 caribbean cruises before, I found there was an awful lot of "going" to do - i.e. wrecked after each port day. Food in windjammer not great - breakfast cold. Staff not as friendly or cheery as Caribbean either. Ship in great shape - entertainment a little iffy now.... no "Quest", few pool activities, cruise director not as interactive as others I've seen. But all the same we enjoyed it - a break from reality for a week!!

Just got off Voyager yesterday. Were on deck 7 and they were changing bedding as we left. New matresses with some sort of duvet top on them for more comfort I'd say. Having done 2 caribbean cruises before, I found there was an awful lot of "going" to do - i.e. wrecked after each port day. Food in windjammer not great - breakfast cold. Staff not as friendly or cheery as Caribbean either. Ship in great shape - entertainment a little iffy now.... no "Quest", few pool activities, cruise director not as interactive as others I've seen. But all the same we enjoyed it - a break from reality for a week!!

Irish Colleen, Thanks for the bedding info, we will also be on deck 7, so that is good news to hear! It being a med cruise and not the caribbean, I'm not that upset to hear that there is not alot of pool games or "iffy" entertainment as this cruise is so port intensive.

Our tablemates went to Capri and enjoyed it. Compared to the other excursions, it was much more layed back. I'm glad you booked the Grand Marina. It is right on the port and you will love it.

Thanks, ecruiser! That's just the kind of news I wanted to hear. I have asked the hotel for an early checkin after we disembark but if that isn't possible - we will leave our bags with the bell captain and head out to see a bit of Barcelona.

I read that the ferry to Capri is right nest to the Naples port.

I'm also interested in the information on Villefrache. A member of our group has invited us to join in the guided tour. I thought it might be less expensive and simple to do Eze and St Paul on our own - but now I'm wondering if that's the right choice.

Thanks for the review, I was interested to see the dining times, we have just booked this cruise for 8/19 but could only get early sitting which is usually about 6.30, We do prefer late seating, Was the 7.00 & 7.30pm throughout the cruise or just the first night?

Can you tell me about what time you arrived in Barcelone from the US? I think alot of the flight arrive aroun 8am.

Also did anyone happen to notice if people were bringing wine onboard in either their carry on or checked baggage?

I'm looking forward to Nov 14 tranatlantic.

Thanks.

We are going on this trip in Oct. and can hardly wait! I am glad the RCL excursions were so good, we tend to book with RCL because of the sense of security we get, even though they are pricey!

Do you know how the hotel treats early check in? We arrive around 8am and would like a place to put our bags.

Also, how was debarkation? We have an early flight home (don't like thinking about the end of the vacation, but have to) and was wondering how it was getting off the Voyager and getting away from the port?

Thanks!

Glad to hear some reviews. We just jumped ship from Disney's Med. cruise, to VOS for next June. (we were able to book an Owner's suite vs. an oceanview on Disney)

This being my first non-Disney cruise I am a little nervous but very excited!

Can you tell me if any of the excursions to Rome let you visit St. Peter's and being able to go down to the "basement" (don't know the right term) to see the tombs of past Popes? i.e. Pope John Paul II?

Also, when do they allow you to book the excursions? Is it 90 days out like Disney?

Thanks!!!!

The captain plays a mean guitar.

Which captain did you have? Capt Charles or Capt Gerry.