VOS 7/16/04 Another Review Part 1

Review of Voyager of the Seas cruise

Friday, July 16 – Sunday, July 25, 2004

Itinerary: NJ – Labadee Haiti – Ocho Rios – Grand Cayman – Freeport Bahamas - NJ

About us –

We are in our early 50’s with a 22 year old son. We’ve each been on 11 previous cruises. Only my wife and I went on this cruise. My son was on the June 4 sailing and could not stop raving about the ship and the cruise.

Getting there and embarkation -

We sailed out of Bayonne NJ, which is about a 30 minute drive from our house on the south shore of Staten Island. We arrived at the terminal about 12:30 PM and were on board by 1:00 PM. No traffic, no delays – a real smooth beginning! We had lunch at the Windjammer buffet and then went off to explore the ship.

The ship -

WOW!!! The Voyager of the Seas is an incredible ship – it seemed like a floating city. This was our first time on a Voyager class ship and we were really impressed. There were over 3,500 passengers on board, yet it never felt crowded anywhere we went. This is now my new “favorite ship.” The décor was really nice, and there was a lot of interesting art work all over the ship. There are more lounges/bars than I can remember, a disco, a nice size casino, a 2 level library/internet cafe, a chapel, 2 main pools, an adults only pool in the solarium, several hot tubs, a gym/spa, a truly wonderful promenade, and the most incredible children’s center I have ever seen afloat! The main dining room was three levels, and for alternative choices there was the Windjammer buffet, Portofinos – an Italian restaurant ($20pp additional charge), and Johnny Rockets. If you’re in the mood for a snack, the Promenade Café is open 24 hours for coffee, tea, cookies, pastries, pizza, finger sandwiches and assorted wraps. For an additional charge you can get some Ben & Jerry’s ice cream. There was so much, I feel like I’m leaving something out! The layout and design were very good and getting around the ship was extremely easy, although the elevators could be a little slow at times. The only thing I did not care for was the seating in the La Scala Theater, where the nightly shows are presented. All seats are theater style individual seats with cup holders. Unfortunately, the cup holders are too small to hold any of the glasses the drinks are served in so we had no place to put down our drinks. We prefer the couch/bench style seating with small tables to place drinks on. Also, on the upper level there are several poles which obstruct the lines of sight On the outside, there were plenty of lounge chairs (and the deck patrol took care of the chair hogs) and plenty of area in the shade.

We had a balcony cabin on Deck 8 (# 8630) which was a pretty decent size for the two of us. We especially liked the privacy offered by the balcony. Instead of removable partitions, it was completely enclosed on each side. Even leaning over the edge it was difficult to see in to your neighbor’s balcony.

Service –

This is an area I have come to expect excellence from Royal Caribbean and they did not disappoint. Everyone we encountered – cabin steward, dining room waiter, assistant waiter, maitre d’, Windjammer & Johnny Rockets staff, purser’s staff, shore excursion staff, bar waiters, room service, social host, shop attendants – were just GREAT! Service was always quick, courteous, and exceptionally friendly with a big smile.

Food -

Food is a very subjective thing, but I thought the dining room food was pretty good. Our waiter and assistant at our assigned table for dinner were superb! The maitre d’ also came by every night to make sure we were pleased with everything. At the open seating for lunch, the menu was the same every day, but the food was pretty good.

The Windjammer buffet and Island Grille were good and there was enough variety that we always found something appealing. The burgers and hot dogs were good but the pizza was only fair (not the same as the pizza at the Promenade café).

We did not try Portofinos or the midnight buffets so I can’t offer any opinion on those.

We used room service for breakfast most mornings and I give them an A+ for promptness and quality. Breakfast always arrived at the exact time we requested and they called a few minutes ahead of time to tell us it was on the way. With only one exception, afternoon or pre-dinner snacks came very quickly.

The only thing I didn’t like was the coffee. If this was “Seattle’s Best” I’ll have to remember to skip the coffee when visiting Seattle.

Activities –

The activities on board were varied, with something for just about everyone. In addition to the usual pool games, art auctions, bingo (final jackpot was $18,000 – won by one person), etc. there is a rock climbing wall, an in-line skating track, an ice skating rink, full court basketball, a miniature golf course, and for an additional charge, a golf simulator. It seemed like there were so many things going on, we couldn’t do everything and had to make choices.

We walked through the Adventure Ocean section of the ship which is the area reserved for the children’s program. Even though we didn’t have a child using the facilities we wanted to see what everyone was talking about. They have an incredible setup including their own pool with a slide.

Special activity –

In celebration of our 25th anniversary, my wife and I booked the Royal Romance Vow Renewal package to renew our marriage vows. It was arranged and performed by the social host who treated us just wonderfully and made us feel special. We invited our dinner table mates and a couple of internet buddies who we met face to face for the first time at the Cruise Critic Meet & Mingle party a few days earlier. The ceremony was held in the chapel at the very top of the ship (Deck 15) and they reserved the Cloud 9 lounge for us (Deck 14) to have our “reception” which was basically a champagne toast and cake. It was a lovely setting and a very nice ceremony. After doing some traditional vows I read something that I had written specially for the occasion. We both got a little choked up. It was a little pricey, but we will have some wonderful memories which you can’t put a price on.

Thanks for the review, and yes what a special memory you have for your 25th. Congrats on your anniversary.

I just booked the voyager for the june 17th sailing and love to read everyones reviews.

I take it that since you live in S.I. you drove yourself to Bayonne. We usually take car service but waiting for the limo this year in N.Y. was over an hour wait after we got off the ship. we are considering driving and parking our car, the only benefit of taking the limo is that the large group we are going with can all arrive together. If you drove would you let me know how it went when leaving the ship. thanks

If you drove would you let me know how it went when leaving the ship. thanks

See part 2 of my review regarding debarkation. My son dropped us off and picked us up. We should have driven ourselves.

Yes I did just read it. thanks

We were on the 7/16 cruise and debarkation was a mess until you were actually off of the ship. I live about an hour and a few minutes from the dock so I called my limo driver when we got into port and to let

her know that we arrived and then again when our color was called. She had to wait 1/2 hour for us.

Once you are off of the ship getting luggage and getting cars was not bad. Getting off of the ship was a nightmare. As cruiseluvr said, they call the colors too close together.

CRUISE WAS FANTASTIC!!!!!

Hey cruzeluvr. We were on the same voyage as you. Sorry we didn't get to the Meet/Mingle--I was doing inline skating and the rockwall was not crowded so I had to take advantage of it. I did meet Treacher1 in the pool though. I was talking with a few people and he made a comment that he'll be on the ship for the 5 day cruise right after. I said to him "are you Treacher"? and he said to me "are you spanky"? So we met. I think you met our tablemates--they mentioned someone from Staten Island who goes on cruise critic and their son was also on the 6/6 voyager trip. They are Robert and Anne from Staten Island...what a small world.

I will have to agree with your review. The staff was excellent as far as pleasant (all the cabinstewards would say good morning). One lady at the information desk had to deal with a rude passenger the first night but she handled it with class. Food was good (I gained 8 lbs) and the ship is beautifully huge! I didn't care for disembarkment though. As platinum members, we had the white tags which let us get off the ship early. Before we got off the ship, they were already calling the next color. The luggage area was somewhat of a mess as all the luggage was there, even though they said that the bags wouldn't be out for the people who's color hadn't been called...the only other negative was karaoke--you could only sing once, unless you were voted on by the judges. I was the 2nd one to sing--I was the one who sung Centerfold on the first night. My friends were Alvin & Kim, they sung Reunited.

Anyway, it was a great time, great ship...back to reality!!

spanky

Hey Cruiseluvr,

Thanks for the great review. I read part II first, then part I, and some where you stated you thought it would be easier just to drive oneself than to wait for pick up....

Really? We've arranged to be dropped off at Bayonne because my husband thought it would be easier than driving, but I'd rather save a few bucks if it will be easier to drive, otherwise, the kids are excited about the limo.

Thanks for the feedback,

Bonnie

Hey cruzelvr - we are also from the South Shore. We found alot of others from Staten Island also. One family lives only a few blocks from us. We were also on this great trip with our son and daughter. We were in a stateroom in 8647. We also celebrated our 25th anniversary. Although we did not renew our vows like you, my daughter had our room decorated before we boarded. And they sang happy anniversary at our dinner table with a surprise cake. Your review is also everything we would say. We loved it. We loved our waiter, Dante and the cruise director, James. All on the ship were very helpful and friendly. Sorry we did not win a piece of the $18,000. at bingo. Maybe next time!

Hey cruzelvr - we are also from the South Shore. We found alot of others from Staten Island also. One family lives only a few blocks from us. We were also on this great trip with our son and daughter. We were in a stateroom in 8647. We also celebrated our 25th anniversary. Although we did not renew our vows like you, my daughter had our room decorated before we boarded. And they sang happy anniversary at our dinner table with a surprise cake. Your review is also everything we would say. We loved it. We loved our waiter, Dante and the cruise director, James. All on the ship were very helpful and friendly. Sorry we did not win a piece of the $18,000. at bingo. Maybe next time!

First let me say Happy Anniversary!

We were right down the corridor from you in 8630.

Winning even a piece of that $18,000 would have been nice. Someone we met at the Cruise Critic meet & Mingle did win $600 at Bingo though.

Hey cruzeluvr. We were on the same voyage as you. Sorry we didn't get to the Meet/Mingle--I was doing inline skating and the rockwall was not crowded so I had to take advantage of it. I did meet Treacher1 in the pool though. I was talking with a few people and he made a comment that he'll be on the ship for the 5 day cruise right after. I said to him "are you Treacher"? and he said to me "are you spanky"? So we met. I think you met our tablemates--they mentioned someone from Staten Island who goes on cruise critic and their son was also on the 6/6 voyager trip. They are Robert and Anne from Staten Island...what a small world. . . .

What a small world - we did meet Bob & Anne at lunch one day and spent most of the day with them on the beach at Labadee. As it turns out - our son and their son were both on the 6/4 Voyager cruise, and we both used the same travel agent. We seemto have a lot in common with them and we managed to exchange phone #'s so we can keep in touch and get together.

Hey Cruiseluvr,

 

Thanks for the great review. I read part II first, then part I, and some where you stated you thought it would be easier just to drive oneself than to wait for pick up....

 

Really? We've arranged to be dropped off at Bayonne because my husband thought it would be easier than driving, but I'd rather save a few bucks if it will be easier to drive, otherwise, the kids are excited about the limo.

 

Thanks for the feedback,

Bonnie

Travelling by limo is always great and kids sure get a charge out of it. The main advantage I see in having your own car at the port is being able to just walk over to it when you get off the ship instead of having to wait for your ride to make it through the traffic.