Just Back from 7/2 9 nt Voyager from Bayonne..ask away!

Feel free to ask any questions...this was my 17th cruise with RCCL..so if you also have any Diamond (Crown and Anchor) questions...just ask.

Hi, Hope you had a great time. I am booked on the 5 nighter to Canada, and am interested in what time the ship docked, and what time you were able to get off. It has been coming in early, and I am hoping we can get on earlier that 4:00. Thanks

If the boat leaves at 5pm, what's the earliest we can board. And can I bring cases of bottled water?

Feel free to ask any questions...this was my 17th cruise with RCCL..so if you also have any Diamond (Crown and Anchor) questions...just ask.

What did you do in Ocho Rios & Grand Bahama Island?

Please tell us what time the ship leaves....isn't it 10 PM? How early can you board?

And how was the trip?

Thanks

Just another what time did you get there/what time did you board request. Thanks so much for taking the time!

Here's the skinny on arriving in Bayonne. The ship leaves Bayonne on the 9 night sailing to the Western Caribbean at 5:00 PM. Although the official word from RCCL is that boarding will begin at 2:30 and you should arrive between 1 and 4 pm, I knew from past experience that I would arrive earlier. We left Long Island at 10:00 AM. We arrived at Bayonne at approximately 11:00. The bottle neck occurs once you enter the entrance to the pier. There are people waiting with their luggage to be picked up by taxis and limos in the same area that we needed to be dropped off. They do have so pier personnel directing traffic, but if you're patient you can wade through this in about 15-20 minutes. After that, it was "smooth sailing." We were dropped off with our luggage and the bags were immediately collected by handlers. We entered the registration area. As a Diamond Member, we went straight to VIP registration. We had out photos taken and then sat in a small lounge area. It was now 11:35 AM. We prepared to sit, as we had no idea when they were really going to baord...but...at 11:45 AM the first bus arrived and we boarded. We were on the ship by 11:55 AM!!!!! More passengers followed..so it was not just Diamond members boarding...they were on about 10-15 minutes later.

If, however, you want to arrive at the time RCCL suggests, we heard that after 1 PM there is obviouslky no bottleneck entering the pier. SO it's up to you.

The cruise itself was predictably Royal Caribbean...meaning the food was hit or miss...but kudos this time out to the pastry chef. Yes, the reports of chair hogging are true and I am pressed to say this is the first time we entercountered this much trouble. This never happened in Miami, Ft. Lauderdale or San Juan (all full ships)...which leads me to believe, although I am embarrased to say, that because this ship was 85-90 percent made up of people from the Tri-State area, the rudeness was in full bloom. There were incidents of yelling and pushing and shoving I have never seen before anywhere else RCCL sails.

The friends we were sailing with chose the Sonora Trimarin and Dunn's River Falls excursion and totally loved it. They can actually skip Freeport and change it to Cozumel. Unless you booked an excursion or went to the beach, the shopping was dismal, but the economy is so bad there the merchants were extremely happy the ships are not docking there.

Debarkation was slightly different from the usual hurry up and leave we have encountered on previous sailings. Since the ship does not leave on the 5 night sailing until 10 PM, you can actually have a leisurely debarkation of the ship. We had breakfast at 9:30. The ship actually pulled into dock around 10:00. After breakfast we sat on the pool deck with our carry on bags and wainted to be called. We had tags for the earliest departure as we were Diamond members. That started at about 11:45 AM. Make sre you have som brightly colored ribbon or tags you can tie onto your luggage handles as your bags will be in a warehouse area bunched together by color of debarkation tags you receive. We had a limo pick us up and had previously guessed at about noon...so it worked out perfectly. Groups were then called about every 10 minutes.

Is the Freeport Pier opened? Were you able to visit, as we had heard the pier had collapsed and the previous cruise missed that port.

Yes the pier is open. Freeport economy is very depressed ( and so are the merchants..), so they are very happy the ships are now docking there. There are shopping areas...one right across the street from the ship. That area is very small with only a few shops...mostly T-shirts and straw items. We took a cab to the International Bazaar (4 pp) and found only more of the same T-shirts and straw item vendors with just a few exceptions...a lot of nothing for $16 each way by cab for 4 people. If you signed up for an excursion and/or the went to the beach, I heard it was a better time. However, the ship docks about 7:30 am in Freeport and leaves at 2:30.....not much time for the sun rays, unless you like to be at the beach by 9 AM. So my advice, if you are a shoopier, do it in Jamaica and Grand Cayman and don't wait to shop in Freeport, as you will be disappointed.(Unless you want those last minute 3 for $10 T=shirts)

Would you recommend anything else for Freeport, or just do a quick walk around for a few new sights?

Well...if you're into T-shirt buying..walk around at the shops at the pier for like a half hour. Otherwise, you might want to look into a shore excursion like the one to Tranquility Shores or the Dolphin Experience or something else.......

DW and I have been considering this cruise for next August.

We're slightly concerned about the possibility of rough waters, especially around Cape Hatteras. Our first cruise way back in 1982 sailed from New York and I recall quite a few people getting seasick.

I'm curious to know if this was a problem on your cruise.

Thanks for sharing.

Garycruz:

We just came back from the Dawn out of NY and it was smooth sailing the whole way south and back. We also had a similar experience on the Galaxy last year. Since Voyager is bigger than the Dawn or Galaxy, it shouldn't be a problem unless there is really bad weather.

The sailing was as smooth as silk both ways...down the coast and back.

Hi, I too was on the 7/2/04 VOS out of Bayonne.

I found Freeport to be a horrible port of call. Shopping was horrible and the cost of the taxi's was even worse. If going to this port again - I would make sure that I booked an excursion or just stay on the ship.

I have to agree about the majority of the ship population being Tri-State. I found it to be about 90% New Yorkers. A lot of rude,nasty people. And MANY kids left unattended. The drinking age at sea is 18 - so there were many 18 - and probably younger - drunk kids..

Chair hogging at the pool was horrible. Did see 'Deck Patrol' - but did not see to much action being taken by them other than putting notes on the chairs.. I did hear other's conversations saying that they did do a lot of removing of towels. Guess I wasn't in the area long enough - couldn't find a spot to sit :)

I certainly did not let this ruin my cruise - but not sure if I would recommend leaving from New York/Bayonne again.

Hi, I too was on the 7/2/04 VOS out of Bayonne.

I found Freeport to be a horrible port of call. Shopping was horrible and the cost of the taxi's was even worse. If going to this port again - I would make sure that I booked an excursion or just stay on the ship.

Rarebit74: We were thinking of taking a taxi to Port Lucaya or Sheraton Our Lucaya. Do you know what kind of cab fare we would be looking at?

I thought Freeport was a great port stop, but then again, I hate to shop. We went right to the Sheraton at Our Lucaya ($5 cab fare per person) and had a lovely day on the beach. I do agree, however, that if you are a shopper, this is not the port to do it.

Freeport in my opinion is good if you have an excursion planned - otherwise, nothing to do. I don't see what all the talk is about when it comes to discounted shopping. I heard a lot of people talking about the same thing.

Everyone is entitled to their own opinion - that is what makes this a great country :) Glad you liked it Lizcourt.

Hey Gonecruising,

Just curious about the lunch menus. I've heard mixed things. I have heard that the menu is the same every day with the exception of a special of the day...and I've heard that it changes every day. I called RCI in horror that they would serve the same dining room menu every day for lunch and they told me it wasn't true. What was your experience for lunch in the dining room? Breakfast I can understand being the same every day...but lunch menu would get boring very quick on a nine night cruise. We are thinking of taking Grandeur's nine night cruise next May.

Thanks for helping out with all the questions. We leave on Aug 13th.

Is there anything that you wished you had done but didn't do? and also is there anything you didn't bring with you that you wished you did?

Thanks again

Regarding the rudeness of the New York/New Jersey cruisers. As a 40 resident of Northern, NJ which is the capital of rudeville, my advice to future Bayonne cruisers is to just be more aggressive and act like the people around you. People in this area tend to test how much they can push you. If you show them you stand up for yourself they respect you. When we cruise out of Bayonne in September and October if I see unattended towels on deck chairs both myself and my wife will simply move them and make ourselves comfortable. You can be a nice person and also not take any garbage from anyone.

Gonecruising- I'm going on the Voyager on september 5th. I will be flying in to Long Island. What Limo company did you use and how much did the charge to take you to the pier in Bayonne? My husband and I willl be staying at the Wyndtham WindWatch Hotel and will need a Car Service to get to Manhattan where we will stay a few days before boarding the Ship, We are trying to find the easiest way to get to Manhattan and thought on checking on a Car Service. How long would estimate it would take to get from Macarther Airport to Manhattan?

carla....I live near MacArthur Airport. I would estimate that it would take about 1 1/2 hours to get to Manhattan (always depending on traffic at the time of day you go, traffic here can be horrendous at times). We are using Executive Limo for our trip tomorrow morning to the Voyager. When I get back I will let you know how they were (it is my first time using them). The trip is approximately $125 to Manhatten (plus tip).