Voyager to Canada - 6/27 Review

Just got back from the 6/27 Voyager 5-day to Canada. All in all, a great trip on RCI!

Embarkation

Very smooth. We arrived at Cape Liberty at 3 and were on the ship before 4. Once at the Cape we were directed to drop off our luggage at the curb of the terminal, where porters picked them up, and then swung back to the parking lot. Parking is $12 a day (can't remember if they take credit cards), and there are a few shuttles circling the lot to take passengers from the lot back to the terminal. No lines at check-in nor to take the bus from the terminal to the ship.

Departure from NJ

Try to get on deck for it. NY under the stars is breathtaking. You can see the Statue of Liberty from the port side. Going under the Verrazano Bridge is a can't miss and on the night of our sailing we even enjoyed fireworks over Central Park.

Dining

We ate at the Dining Room every night, second seating. We thought the food was pretty good. Typical RCI fare, with one formal (Monday) and one smart casual evening (Wednesday). Wednesday night was Italian night (yummy shrimp scampi imperiale) with singing. Dinner on the first night was not open seating, as I'd expected, but was pushed back to 8:45 (possibly due to mustering drill at 8:15?)

We felt the quality of the food at the Windjammer, where we had breakfast and lunch, was a bit below what we've usually seen on other RCI ships. Food was often lukewarm and there were not many selections available, even at peak periods. (Made us wonder if the ship was full.) At times, only one half of the Windjammer would be open with the Island Grill entirely closed.

For snacks, we enjoyed the Promenade Cafe, and thought the sandwiches and pizza were a bit fresher/warmer than they were up in the Windjammer. Also thought the soft serve ice cream at Sprinkles was a lot creamier than it was upstairs. (Sprinkles also had vanilla, chocolate, AND strawberry flavors - yum!!)

Weather

We were lucky enough to have sun on all 6 days we were on the ship, but bring a sweater or fleece! While it wasn't frigid cold (temperatures in the 60s), it does get windy, and it could feel like a lot less than 60 degrees on parts of the ship that are near the heavily used doors.

Ports of Call

We went on a city tour of St. John that took us to the Reversing Falls, the Carlton Martello (sp?) Tower, and the City Market. It was enjoyable and we learned a lot about the history of St. John. It is a very old city, with all the charm of an old maritime town. In Halifax, we went to the Citadel and around the city. It is a much newer, cosmopolitan city than St. John, with skyscrapers along the waterfront, and is also worthwhile to visit. In both cities there are some vendors near the ship to buy souvenirs. They take both USD and CAD, and if you're looking to buy something, I'd advise browsing all the vendors first, as they often have different prices for the same product!

Ship's Activities

RCI really does a great job with activities on the ship, and we really enjoyed our days at sea. I tried rock climbing for the first time in my life and highly recommend it! The staff is very helpful in guiding you on where to put your feet and hands, and even a novice like me made it about 4/5th of the way up. The ice skating rink is also a thrill. It is about 20 feet by 30 feet and while the ice had a few nicks, it's still great fun to skate while at sea. I also tried inline skating for the first time. They had a little course with padded sides which was wide enough for a slow and a fast lane but narrow enough to minimize to possibility of really hurting oneself. There is nothing like rollerblading with the open sea all around you! Rentals for both ice and inline skates is complementary, so give it go!

The entertainment was very enjoyable - Bobby Arvin (sp?), the voice of Happy Days, on the first night, and the Platters on Wednesday night, with 2 glitzy RCI productions on Monday and Thursday, and an ice show on Tuesday.

Arrival at NJ

Around 5:45 this morning we passed under the Verrazano again and I believe a bridge-crossing truck honked a few times to acknowledge us! Again, a breathtaking view. At around 6 am, try to get up to the peek-a-boo bridge to see the captain directing the entrance into NY harbor, with Lady Liberty straight ahead. The Voyager is huge compared to cargo ships! The ship backs into port, so port side again has a good view of the Statue and NY skyline.

Disembarkation

Not the smoothest. We didn't get called until around 10:30, it took a while for everyone to get onto elevators and towards the gangway on 1. We made it off the ship at about 11:15. It felt a little disorganized, but I am confident they will get this sorted out, as they did for the embarkation.

I think those are the highlights - hadn't realized this got that long. I'd be happy to answer any questions!

Hi, sounds like you had a good time. Is it true that they had hot dogs and sandwiches at the terminal while waiting to take the shuttle to the ship? If not, what were you able to eat from the time you arrived untill your dinner time at 8:45? I guess I'm already thinking of the food! Thanks for any help.

AS - They definitely had food at the terminal - looked like sandwiches and cookies (not sure about hot dogs but I heard about danishes), but since there was no line for the buses we went to the ship straightaway.

Once on the ship, we went to the Windjammer, where they had a buffet. I had a burger, and they also had other typical buffet selections. I think they had hot dogs there.

windjamming:

Thanks for posting. Tell us what cabin you had and how you liked it and your cabin steward. What about your waiters in the dining room? Did the late seating still permit you to see all the entertainment in the theatres? Was that tour in St. John the ship's excursion, and if not, how did you plan it? Did you do the "Titanic" stuff in Halifax at all?

Carol

Carol - we were in an E1 in the middle of the ship, on port side. Our stateroom attendant was professional and efficient and left us with the usual towel animals in the evenings (stingray, bat, monkey, and swan). We didn't get chocolates the first night, but once we asked, we had them without fail each night afterwards.

As for dining, our waiter and asst waiter were both professional and friendly and remembered to bring us iced teas every night and that we especially enjoyed ice cream after dinner. Dinner usually ended around 10, 10:15, so there is plenty of time to get to the shows (on a few nights the show is pre-dinner at 7, and the ones post-dinner start at 10:45 pm). I don't remember too many non-show evening activities that started before we finished dinner; most of them seem to go from 10:30 onwards.

As for the excursions, both of the city tours we went on were booked via RCI. Like another 6/27'er posted, the popular tours do tend to get sold out early. We had waited to check out the weather and ended up not getting the Hop On Hop Off bus tour in Halifax.

Hope this helps - enjoy your cruise!!

Hi

We were also on the ship last week. Our cabin was Midship towards Aft on Port side Deck Seven and we thought it was a perfect spot. Our cabin attendant was Wilma and she was very pleasant and efficient- we really didn't ask her for much. We had late seating for dinner and saw plenty of shows. Ice show before dinner, Broadway Revue before dinner Other shows after dinner. Food was very good and service excellent. In dining room breafast and lunch were open seating. Food was available as soon as we boarded( about 4:30) in Windjammer and dinner was at 8:30.

In both ports we did excursions on our own. Cabs were plenty and resonable. In St John we went on jet boat thrill ride in rapids. Personally it was not my thing but DH and other couple loved it. Then walked to city market. Lunch at Steamers.

In Halifax did Seymour Splash- a tour of city then vehicle splashes into harbor for a tour of that. Nice new vehicle- about 20 dollars a person and lots of fun- Next we got a cab to Peggy's Cove- was nice but far- Personally there is enough right in city- next time I wouldn't bother going that far to see a light house

Disembarking was not as smooth as boarding- It took my husband a long time to get car and pick us up with luggage. Other than that everything was just great including all the sunny days we had at sea and in ports