Just Back - VOS 7/11/2004

For all those interested, here is my cruise review. Sorry in advance for the lengthy review.

EMBARKATION: We left our home in Central Jersey at 3:15 pm and arrived at the pier at 3:45 pm. We gave our luggage to the porters, walked through security, walked to the check-in and then went to the line for the buses, realizing we had not been given a bus number. To our delight, we were told to walk right onto the bus, the doors closed, and off we were to the ship. We arrived at the ship, walked on and, the best part was that they had staff running the elevators, so there was no pushing or shoving. We were in our cabin (9338 – D2) by 4:07 pm. Absolutely the best embarkation I have had in 10 cruises!

CABIN: If you are getting balcony, I would suggest the Port side of the ship as the views are prettier. We did have views of the actual ports in Canada but they weren’t that great. I remember from our last the cruise the views being much better from the other side. By the way, we were in a D2, cabin #9338. As I read on the Boards, our steward, Stefan, was wonderful (we never knew he existed).

Our cabin attendant was great – we requested robes and he brought them that evening. However, all of the items that I ordered for our anniversary (Wednesday night) came on the first day. I took the first tray of strawberries but refused the champagne and strawberries until the proper day (and it was redelivered on the correct day).

FOOD:

Dining Room: The food was “hit or miss”. The Chicken Philadelphia the first night (chicken with broccoli and cheese) was frozen chicken (Berber – sp?) that my husband buys and cooks for dinner. Even though it was good, I thought this was very tacky. As for the rest of the food, do not miss the New England Clam Chowder (outrageous), the Shrimp Scampi (decent), and the Vegetable Spring Roll (very good, but watch out for those allergic to peanuts for the peanut sauce). The filet mignon was just okay, the New York Strip steak just okay and the Salmon was probably the worst I have ever had.

The Assistant Maitre D could not get our anniversary right. He came out to sing Happy Anniversary on the wrong day. As I had been sick on the cruise (massive headache for three days), we asked that they sing it the next day instead. Of course, this was not done (oh well, we could live without it).

Johnny Rockets: Not as good as the Explorer was a couple of years ago, but still a decent meal (as far as burgers go) and fun.

Windjammer: We only ate here on the day of boarding and it was “typical” Windjammer food. Good but not great.

WEATHER:

The weather was chilly, which we expected but not as foggy as past cruises. I wore jeans the whole time with a T-shirt and was very comfortable. The weather started out chilly in Saint John’s but warmed up nicely by the afternoon. Halifax was chilly and overcast and windy the whole day. However, I have experienced colder and foggier weather on past cruises. This one, weather-wise, was the best I have experienced.

TOURS:

The only tour we took was the Moosehead Brewery Tour. Folks, don’t waste your money on this. They bring you to the brewery where they split you into two groups. Our group was the first to go into the store first and purchase items. They then took us into the building for the tour. You climb steps where they show you bottles of the different beers in a case in the hallway and go through them. They then show you a copper vat that they used to use for brewing the beers. They then bring you into a boardroom to view a film on how the beers are made (if I wanted to sit in a boardroom, I could do this at work!). They then took you to Fort How to see the view (no stop), to Reversing Falls for 5 minutes and then to the City Market for 15 minutes (all totally skippable, with the exception of the Reversing Falls). We then went to O’Leary’s pub where they gave us 2 coupons each – 1 coupon bought a draft beer and 2 bought a bottle of beer (if you are not a beer drinker, try the Moosehead Light – I loved it and am not a beer drinker).

DISEMBARKATION:

Believe it or not, probably one of the best we ever experienced. We were told to be out of our cabin at 8:00 am. We were ready at 8:00 am but figured we would wait until our Steward kicked us out. To our surprise, the assistant Steward did not come knocking until 9:45 am. He did not kick us out but we figured it was time to go. We went to wait in the Casino but could not hear the announcements. Since they had called about four tag colors at the time, we went to the Aquarium Bar, where we found plenty of seats. We waited until about 10:30 am, when our tag was called. The elevators only took you down to Deck 2 (you disembark on Deck 1), so we walked down one flight of stairs. We then stood in a very orderly line, disembarked, got on line for the bus (not long), took the bus to the terminal and found our luggage. Finding our luggage was the hardest part as they confused our tag (Beige 3) with Brown 1. After a few anxious moments, we found our luggage and went to find our limo. We were home before noon.

The one thing I must say on this cruise was that, compared to Carnival, our fellow passengers were more courteous than I have experienced on any Carnival cruise leaving New York. If you were waiting for an elevator and someone else happened by to wait, they were sure to make sure that you boarded first (and, of course, we showed the same courtesy). Thank you, fellow passengers, for making our trip so pleasant. Also, if the couple staying in Cabin #8262 is “lurking” on these boards, a VERY BIG THANK YOU for inviting us into your room so that we could see our next cabins (8260 and 8262) for our next cruise.

To those cruise critics we were supposed to meet in the Aquarium Bar on the first day, we were there at the art auction (my husband is the one with the red hair, probably the only one on the ship with red hair). I didn’t see anyone and I am very sorry to have missed you all.

If anyone has any questions regarding the cruise or the cabins or the ship, please let me know.

Hi. Was wondering, is the surcharge for Johnny Rockets applied on the Voyager? Or were you free to go there as often as you like w/o a fee?

You said that you boarded the ship by 4 p.m. Do you know if others were on the ship earlier than that? I'll be driving in from Upstate NY above Albany and I'm trying to decide what time to leave home. Thanks

I'm sailing on the Voyager 9/5/04 so I'm sure our weather will be cool also. I'm planning to bring jeans, etc. What about the diningroom temps? Did you wear long sleeves or sweaters/jackets in the diningroom? Should I bring summer type outfits for dinner? Sleeveless, etc.? Thanks

Your comments are appreciated.

Adventure Girl - There was no surcharge for Johnny Rockets; however, you had to pay for all drinks (soda, shakes, coffee, etc.). Please note that you cannot use your soda card in Johnny Rockets.

As for boarding the ship, we were the 15th bus (at around 4:00 pm). I would get there for 3:45 pm as I found it was better to walk straight on a little later than to be the first one on the ship.

The dining room can be chilly but I was fine in slacks and a short sleeve mock turtleneck sweater (light-weight for the summer) for dinner.

Hope this answers your questions.

Great review. Thanks.

Couple questions? Any must see things in St Johns or Halifax? What about the supper club? (I think it's Portafinos? $20 P/P?) Going on last cruise of the season 10/17/04.

Carnival Legend 04/2004 (Belize, Costa Rica, Panama)

Wow! Leave the house at 3:15, in the cabin less than an hour later - excellent!

Great Review...i'll Be On The Vos This Coming March The Week B4 Easter...sail On March 19th...eastern Carib...after 5-6 MonThs Of Winter In Minneapolis I'll Be Ready To Get Out Of My Snow Bank...we Were On The Nos Last February And Had A Fantastic Week...the Voyager ClAss Ship Was Super And I Hope That The Vos And Match The Nos...

I'm curious how lunch was on your cruise. Did they have the same menu in the dining room each day, or did it differ? I've heard both from recent cruisers and I'm trying to figure out what the deal is.

Thanks!

agree with much of your review, especially on the dining room offerings.

We didn't follow the suggested arrival times and arrived in Bayonne about 1:30. The ship docked later that day, somewhere closer to 10 I think.( You can see this on the Statue of Liberty web cam the morning of your cruise) This made for a long traffic line of vehicles picking up from the Caribbean cruise.

Once we made it to the front of the line the attendent directed us into the parking lot line. We carried/wheeled our luggage to the luggage drop off. This was just a short 5 minute walk as we were in the front of the parking lot.

Once we dropped off the luggage we were checked in and on board within 15 minutes....the disembarktation was just as painless

We were also on this voyage and had a wonderful time. The ship is still lovely inspite of her age. However, my husband didn't really like The Voyager that much because he said he didn't feel like he was on a ship but more like he was in a big hotel. He did love the ice cream in the vending machines located in the Promenade. I think he averaged at least 4 cones a day.

We arrived at the pier at 1:00 and checked in quickly. We had priority booking because we were platinum members and had a private lounge to wait in. The first shuttle arrived a little before 3:00 p.m. and took us to the ship. I was the 2nd person on the ship. No one told us where our cabin was but we found it on our own okay.

Our cabin was very nice, 9292 - also a D2. However, I enjoyed being on starboard side because we saw all the action going on when arriving in the ports. Saint John was especially nice when we arrived as they had a singer on stage dockside singing his heart out to us. He put on quite a show. If we had been on portside, we would have missed all of that.

We loved the ports. We highly recommend going to St. Martins while in Saint John and Peggy's Cove in Halifax. We also did the Harbour Hopper in Halifax. This is the open-air amphibian bus which takes you through the streets of Halifax and then into the water. What a hoot! Just bring warm clothing so you won't get too cold.

We did go to the Aquarium Lounge to meet all the CruiseCritics but since the art auction was going on, we didn't get to see anyone. We did walk around a bit and asked a few people if they were CruiseCritics but they looked at us like we were stupid. Sorry we missed everyone.

Jodi-

Thanks for your great review. Sorry to hear about the 3-day headache. The review was not too long. Thanks to others for their review, too.

:pJodi-

Thanks for your great review.Looking forward till we party on the 9 day cruise with you!!!:cool:

Jodi..thanks for the review..Im glad you had a good time...despite not feeling well...

Some questions. I had previously posted a question about travel irons. I read that RCCL was confiscating them. Did you see any envidence on that ?

Im glad to see that the embarkation situation was worked out.Im just curious though what level of cabin you had. It seems from what I read on otehr boards that embarkation/disembarkation and any problems related to it depended upon the level of cabin you had (e.g I have read several reviews of passengers that had junior suites and such and all stated that embarkation/disembarkation was a breeze). So I am just curious if your experience was based upon the type of cabin...

I plan to be at the ship at 11:00 AM...do you think this will be a problem...?

Looking forward to meeting you....

Gerry

All - Let me try to answer your questions.

GBREB - I heard a rumor that they debarked you based on how far you are from the ship; however, we were the third to last tag called and there were people after us traveling to New York. So, not sure how try that rumor is. We had a D2 (cabin #9338). It was a great location in the aft, everything we needed to go to was off those aft elevators (Windjammer, Johnny Rockets, Purser's Desk, Pool, Dining Room, etc.)

I forgot my travel iron (which is actually a steamer) and there really was no one going through security when we arrived so I can't really answer the question. I would suggest that you put it into your suitcase that you check and see if it makes it onboard.

Since we did not debark until around 11:00 am, you will have a wait until they clear the ship. My husband and I are currently having the big debate of what time to arrive ourselves. 11:00 am is too early. I would suggest maybe 12:30 pm (the ship should be debarked and mostly cleaned up). We will leave around 12:30 pm or 1:00 pm to arrive at 1:00 pm or 1:30 pm.

dsawyer - Sorry to disagree with you about this, but I was not thrilled about the gentleman singing and waking me up at 9:00 am (and he was singing "We are going to wake them all up"! :)). Also, in Halifax, I was not thrilled with having the bagpipers playing so early, either, and waking me up! I think the view from the port side is prettier - I guess it depends what you are looking for.

tlbesser - We did not eat lunch in the dining room. Since we are late risers, we usually at a late breakfast. The two lunches we did eat were in Johnny Rockets.

In Saint John's, I would probably agree with dsawyer (although I have not done this one yet) and would agree again with her on the Peggy's Cove in Halifax; however, I believe that this was a one hour bus trip each way so be prepared. dsawyer - is this correct?

In regards to Portofino's, we saw the menu and it did not "thrill" me. However, we noticed later on that the menu seemed to change nightly. We did not try it (will probably try it on our next cruise) but we did hear that the food was great and well worth the money (I think it was $25 per person).

If there are any more questions, please let me know.

Enjoy your cruises! :)

Hey everyone,

I was bad and took a real iron onboard and it was not confiscated. I never used it however. I didn't find people to be too fussy with their dress and I liked that.

Platinum memberbership has its perks in both embarkation and debarkation. First on and First off. We also had a lounge to wait in with continental breakfast upon disembarkation.

Jhaasz, I will probably be like you next time we go to those ports. But this was our first visit there and we were up early not to miss arrival at both ports. We always take a personal fan with us which provides white noise and blocks out most unwanted sounds.

St. Martin and Peggy's Cove were, indeed an hour away. The St. Martin Tour also took us to the city market and then to the Reversing Falls before traveling out to St. Martin. It was very quaint and beautiful with convered bridges in the village and giant caves on the beach. If the tides are low, as they were when we visited, you can walk out to the massive caves. They gave us lunch at the restaurant on the beach. We had a deliscious chowder with homemade biscuits and cookies. Our guide was delightful.

On the Peggy's Cove tour, we didn't stop anywhere else but we were entertained by the guide who told us of the history of Halifax (including the historical explosion) and she also pointed out many places of interest both in the city and in the countryside. Both tours were worth the cost.

We also did not do Portofinos but wished we had. We are Princess Personal Choice dining lovers and we got a little tired of having to be in the dining room the same time everynight. However, my sister, who was traveling with us loves the traditional dining that Royal Caribbean continues to have.

This was the first cruise out of seventeen that I was not served lobster tails. I kind of missed them but it didn't spoil my cruise.

Ijust book my first royal caribben cruise. Is there extra fees for the mini golf, ice skating, inline skating.

How was the food? Do they have a lobster night?

:) Thanks,

mm346, there was no charge for any of those activities. The mini golf was available 24 hrs. and the ice skating and inline skating were only open at certain times. Some of the food was good, some only fair. I have been spoiled by Celebrity whose food is vastly superior. Of the 7 cruises I have been on, this was the only one that never served lobster. It was even served on a 4-day Carnival cruise I went on.

We rented a car both in Saint John and Halifax. It only cost about $40 and we could go where we wanted when we wanted. If you wanted information, there were always tour guides at the sites and you could listen to what they were saying. As other people also said, a visit to St. Martins and the sea caves was definitely worthwhile. We arrived at low tide around 2 pm so that you could see the huge caves carved out of the rock. The Reversing Falls was a waste of time -- just a river flowing backwards with a paper mill belching smoke. In Halifax, a drive to Peggy's Cove is a must, but if you go on the ship's tour be prepared for crowds of tourists everywhere. By renting a car, we were able to walk around the area after most people had left.