Observations from 7/8/06 Voyager in Mediterranean

We just returned from the July 8th Voyager sailing in the Mediterranean. This was our 11th cruise, and our 5th on a Voyager-class ship. Here are a few observations that may be useful for anyone planning on this cruise in the future:

1) Embarkation: very smooth. We arrived about 10:30am, they started checking us in at 11am, and we were allowed to board at 11:30am. The ship terminal facility is nicer than any we have seen in Florida, and the staff is very friendly. Once aboard however, they were very strict about not allowing you into your cabin before 1pm.

2) Condition of the Ship: we were a little concerned that the 7-year-old Voyager would be showing it’s age. Not so – she looked just as good as the much newer Mariner we sailed last year.

3) Passengers: compared to the Caribbean itineraries, there were far fewer kids (a big disappointment for my teenagers). Also, the cruise is far more sedate (less rowdy parades, less attendance and enthusiasm for shows, overall less crowding aboard the ship) than Caribbean itineraries. I attribute this to the high proportion of Europeans (already familiar with the ports, looking instead just for some R&R).

4) Shows: the production shows were very good; probably the best we have seen on my 11 cruises. The guest entertainers were generally good as well.

5) Villefranche, Livorno, Naples and especially Rome are excellent ports. Skip the overpriced and overcrowded RCCL tours and book your own private guides (there are many excellent recommendations for tour guides on the “Europe” board.)

6) Marseilles was disappointing. Not only is there a shortage of interesting things to do nearby, but the ship docks on a Sunday and many shops are closed. Easily the worst destination of the cruise.

7) I didn’t think it was possible, but RCCL has yet again increased the aggressiveness of their sales efforts. Bingo, spa treatments, art auctions, photographs, sugary drinks, etc. are constantly pushed on you. They even charge for a shuttle ride from the grimy port of Marseilles into the tourist area.

8) The staff was average. The cruise director (Rico) was a little lame and not very visible outside of the shows. The waiters seem to want to rush you through dinner, constantly interrupt your conversation, and take other shortcuts in order to make their jobs easier.

9) Portofino was very good and easily worth the $20 cover charge. Make your reservations immediately upon boarding – they do fill up.

10) Leaving the ship was easy. We opted for the “carry your own bags” option – you don’t have to set your bags in the hallway the night before, and you can leave whenever you want (7am, in our case).

11) We initially booked the late seating for dinner, thinking that our long excursions would not allow us to be ready for the early seating. A discussion with the maitre’d (who, conveniently, has a desk setup in the terminal facility where you check in) motivated us to change our mind. The early seating is actually 6:45-7:00, and since our excursions all ended by 5:00, we had plenty of time to get ready for dinner. The destinations on this cruise are so action-packed (e.g. Rome) that I believe most travelers will have a hard time staying awake through the late seating.

Feel free to contact me (wtpiii@gmail.com) with any questions about the cruise.

Thanks so much for your post. We are boarding the Voyager at the end of August and I appreciate the information. Our itinerary is a bit different than yours (luckily, we're not going to Marseilles) and we are looking forward to it very much.

We are currently wait-listed for the later dinner time, we may have to re-think it.

Thanks again for taking the time to post upon your return.

Thanks for the great info. Did you fly out of Barcelona the day the cruise returned?

Really appreciate the format and style of your review. Thanks!

Great review. We are going on the vos on August 5. Who did you use in Naples for your tour guide? What time was the late seating. We chose it because we always have late seating on all our cruises.

LauraShelby - yes, we flew out on the day we returned to Barcelona. We were on the Continental flight at 11:10am. We disembarked at 7:00am, hopped in our van, and were at the airport by 7:30am with loads of time to spare. We reserved a van for the trip through Angie at angietaxi33@yahoo.com, but at 7:00am there were tons of taxis available too.

IntentionalTourist - in Naples, we used Adriano at Drive Amalfi (*****). He was awesome - the best tour guide we have EVER had. Highly recommended. 500 Euros for the day (for 5 of us), and worth twice that. The late seating was at 9:30, as I recall. I heard several people saying that their main course wasn't served until 11:00pm, and that they had trouble staying awake for the entire dinner!

wtp3;

Thank you for the review. I am especially thankful for the info on angietaxi33.com I have been looking for a service in Barcelona that someone had used. There will be 6 of us traveling together and I had hoped to pre-arrange transportation from the airport to the hotel and then to the port several days later.

Thanks again, and I'm glad to hear the Voyager is still looking good. We look forward to sailing on her in November for a TA. Sure hope our Late dining isn't that late on a TA! We generallky eat late, but 9:30 pm is a bit much.

Rz

Hi, I have been collecting info on the beverage policies, in particular the wine policy. Did you happen to notice it they were allowing wine, liquor, or any beverages to be brought on board in Barcelona or any of your ports? RCI has a fairly new policy of no beverages (this includes soda and water) to be brought on board. The enforcement is spotty. So did you happen notice how it was enforced on Voyager? Did anyone bring wine to the dining room and pay the corkage fee?

Did you notice any sushi in the Windjammer? Thanks for the Portofino info any details of what you had there would be great.

Thanks for the Voyager info.

Hey, Rz, I notice you do alot of TAs. We too will be on the Voyager TA in Nov this will be our 3rd TA. This review of Voyager sounds great for a TA which I do mainly for R&R. See you later this year.

3) Passengers: compared to the Caribbean itineraries, there were far fewer kids (a big disappointment for my teenagers). Also, the cruise is far more sedate (less rowdy parades, less attendance and enthusiasm for shows, overall less crowding aboard the ship) than Caribbean itineraries. I attribute this to the high proportion of Europeans (already familiar with the ports, looking instead just for some R&R).

thanks:)

who do you inform if you are going to carry your own luggage of the ship

LauraShelby - yes, we flew out on the day we returned to Barcelona. We were on the Continental flight at 11:10am. We disembarked at 7:00am, hopped in our van, and were at the airport by 7:30am with loads of time to spare. We reserved a van for the trip through Angie at angietaxi33@yahoo.com, but at 7:00am there were tons of taxis available too.

Good to know. I'm planning on taking my own luggage off as well. I have a 12:25 flight on Delta...so it's nice to know I should be fine. Thanks!

Did you happen to take a laptop with you? I was wondering about internet connections on the ship and/or in the cabins.

LauraShelby - you'll have absolutely no trouble with your 12:25 flight. I did take a laptop. For $70 or $90 (I forget which), you can have unlimited internet access in your cabin. It is slow (<= dialup speed), but it works OK. It's called "CyberCabin", and if you want it, go to the Guest Relations desk on Deck 5 as soon as you board - they give you a special phone to use, and I have been on other cruises when they have run out of these. There is also wi-fi available in certain public areas, but I think it costs more.

Debbymark - a couple of days before the end of the cruise, a form is left in your cabin asking about your return travel plans. You can indicate the time of your flight (which determines what color luggage tag you are given and when you will be allowed to be the ship), or you can indicate that you will handle your own bags. If you handle your own bags, you can disembark whenever you want.

Jamandamn14 - there are teen clubs, and some kids did go there. Just alot fewer than my kids were used to on Caribbean cruises.

Happy cruzer - I did notice that there was a RCCL rep at the X-ray machine at every port confiscating any alcohol (for return to you on the last night of the cruise). They seemed to be much more strict about this than on previous RCCL cruises I have been on. I did not see anyone bring their own wine to the dining room. I never saw sushi in the Windjammer at breakfast or lunch (never went there for dinner). Portofino was a notch above the dining room - I don't recall what we all ordered, but everyone agreed that it was easily the best meal of the trip. Service was much better than the dining room too.

LauraShelby - you'll have absolutely no trouble with your 12:25 flight. I did take a laptop. For $70 or $90 (I forget which), you can have unlimited internet access in your cabin. It is slow (<= dialup speed), but it works OK. It's called "CyberCabin", and if you want it, go to the Guest Relations desk on Deck 5 as soon as you board - they give you a special phone to use, and I have been on other cruises when they have run out of these. There is also wi-fi available in certain public areas, but I think it costs more.

Thanks for the info!!

Debbymark - a couple of days before the end of the cruise, a form is left in your cabin asking about your return travel plans. You can indicate the time of your flight (which determines what color luggage tag you are given and when you will be allowed to be the ship), or you can indicate that you will handle your own bags. If you handle your own bags, you can disembark whenever you want.

Thanks for the information

Thanks for the review and all the great information.

Thanks for your info. We are going on Voyager in October. I am very releived to hear about how quickly you got to the airport--we have an early flight.

Thanks for info.!

I dont suppose you remember which terminal at the port you embarked from? (booking an apartment in Barcelona for a few days before and would like to be as close to the terminal as possible)

Many Thanks!

Gary.:)

Thank you for the terrific review.

Your comments concerning the passengers and that the feel of the ship was more "sedate" was very interesting. Although we have been to Europe before, we have never been on a European cruise before and it will be interesting to compare the differences between this and a Caribbean cruise. Any additional information you would provide concerning these differences would be appreciated.

How was check-in? We were thinking of checking in as soon as possible in the morning and then getting off the ship and spend a few hours bumming around the port area, then re-boarding about 4:00 to 5:00 PM (even though we are arriving in Barcelona 3 days prior to departure). Is this, in your opinion, a viable option?

Again, thanks for the review.

Crewmates - I actually asked the captain about differences in a Mediterranean vs. a Caribbean cruise. His response, and my observations, include:

- Overall, the passengers demonstrated less camaraderie and enthusiasm than those on Caribbean itineraries. I think that Caribbean cruisers are looking to "get out there" and do things; many Europeans (about 50% of the passengers, I think) are looking to "get away from there" and chill out.

- Different entertainment: in the Mediterranean, there are no standup comedians or other entertainers with U.S.-specific content

- Different menus: personally, the menu seemed pretty similar to the RCCL Caribbean cruises I have been on, but the captain claimed there were significant differences

- Multilingual staff: the captain said that 50% of the crew was replaced with Spanish, French and Italian-speaking personnel for the Mediterranean

- More water usage: most cruisers in the Caribbean just throw on a swimsuit and go; many in the Mediterranean shower before going on excursions (and again at night).

Not sure about your check-in question...I'm thinking that RCCL won't allow you to leave the ship once you board in Barcelona, but I really don't know.

Jazzmanfive: not sure the name of the port. It is an industrial area, and I really don't think you would want an apartment closeby. Taxis are plentiful and cheap; if I were you, I'd stay in a nicer part of town (e.g. Old Town) and just taxi over to the port when it's time for embarkation.

I've been interested in cruising the Mediterranean, it seems like it would be a great way to see Europe. Do you agree? Is 7 nights long enough? I've seen that Brilliance has a 12 day (as does the Celebrity Millennium).

Also, how was the heat in July? I'm not too familiar with the weather in Europe.

Hello everybody,

Just a few comments regarding some of the posts on this thread.We were on Brilliance on June 16th,travelled from the U.K. on the day of sailing.We purchased 3 bottles of wine at our departure airport in the U.K. and placed them in our carry on luggage.After check in at the cruise terminal the carry on bags went through an X-ray machine before boarding on the ground floor of the terminal building.No representitive of R.C. was present,only shoreside security.Nothing was said about the wine.We then proceeded up an escalator to the ship gangway and walked onto the ship.No further baggage checks were made.I can only think that at embarkation the R.C. staff leave the baggage checks to local security.No problem there with carry on alcohol.

To answer another point,after going to the cabin etc. we then went off ship and back down the escalator to some duty free shops where we purchased some Vodka.Same set up,scanned by local security before reentering the secure area.

Two bottles of wine were consumed on the balcony and the other in the restaurant subject to a 12$ corkage fee.

Hope this helps,

Iain

Hello everybody,

Just a few comments regarding some of the posts on this thread.We were on Brilliance on June 16th,travelled from the U.K. on the day of sailing.We purchased 3 bottles of wine at our departure airport in the U.K. and placed them in our carry on luggage.After check in at the cruise terminal the carry on bags went through an X-ray machine before boarding on the ground floor of the terminal building.No representitive of R.C. was present,only shoreside security.Nothing was said about the wine.We then proceeded up an escalator to the ship gangway and walked onto the ship.No further baggage checks were made.I can only think that at embarkation the R.C. staff leave the baggage checks to local security.No problem there with carry on alcohol.

To answer another point,after going to the cabin etc. we then went off ship and back down the escalator to some duty free shops where we purchased some Vodka.Same set up,scanned by local security before reentering the secure area.

Two bottles of wine were consumed on the balcony and the other in the restaurant subject to a 12$ corkage fee.

Hope this helps,

Iain

Thanks, Iain, there was another post that said Brilliance has a very good beverage policy. That poster said they brought wine on in their carry on in every port. However, I have not heard the same thing about Voyager. I would assume the port employess don't care about RCI's beverage policy but the RCI employees might. Hope to hear some news that Voyager starts to be like Brilliance in this regard. I also thought that Brilliance is contracted to RCI versus being owned by RCI, this probably would make some differences. Hope you enjoyed your wine consumption!

WTP3,

I read on another thread that there were muliple dining times. Two early and two late, (like 5:30 & 6:15 and 8:45 & 9:30), did you observe anything like this? We have late seating in Sept. and I worry about the 9:30 seating, it is awful late.

I also read about a duty free store in the terminal (Barcelona) after you check in, did you see anything of the kind? Thanks in advance! :)

WTP3 - Thanks for the info. We will be on the Voyager in Europe in October. Can you tell me which nights were formal? Thanks.

shirleygirl54 - formal nights on our cruise were Sunday (Marseilles) and Thursday (Naples).