My trip report: NYE on Voyager from NOLA (12/31-1/7)

[windjamming]

I've never board on New Year's Eve before and to be honest, I'm not sure I'd want to again ... flights are expensive for destination cities, hotels can be more expensive, and the first day is hectic. One major change for this cruise ... the first formal night was changed to the first night as opposed to the second. I can understand the WHY, but just barely. I typically have my tux pressed or dry-cleaned the first day so that it is ready for the second night (typical formal night). Obviously, I could not do it for this cruise, so I went formal-wrinkled and did not bother with the pressing as things would normally be a little wrinkled by the second formal night anyway. Many people did not have their bags by first seating anyway, so it was, in reality, shorts to formal night ... and this did upset some people who had purchased formal clothes that they were not able to wear.

 

Great review, Chris, and in particular I appreciated hearing about what it was like to board on New Year's Eve. After a great experience on the Liberty this past NYE, we've been considering this year's cruise (which starts 12/31/12) and was curious what the attire would be like. Based on your review, I'd be more inclined to either find another cruise or else wait until next year. I tend to be exhausted the first night anyway and don't think I'd want to deal with a formal night.

[silentbob007]

Thankyou for your review silentbob007...I enjoyed the format and "serial" quality of it...with pictures! we were on Deck 10 aft 11638 on Dec 10 cruise...We will be on VOS again for 6 weeks in April/May for her repositioning cruise. We had trouble connecting to Wi Fi with our own computers and wondered if you had any experience with this...Thanks again for your great review! Cruisy Susy

 

I could not access wifi in my cabin (though could from quite a distance from the ship in port ... funny). However, in common areas, I was able to access using both my iPhone and my Mac. Where were you running into issues?

[silentbob007]

Sorry for the delay in finishing up, but school interceded ....

 

C&A

 

My last few cruises have been on ships with a Diamond Lounge and, to be honest, it was slightly disappointing to go back to a ship without one. The Diamond Event on Voyager was held each night in the combination of the Cloud 9 and card room. On the positive side, there was plenty of space, the service was very attentive, and they did not care if you took a glass of wine down to dinner. On the negative, drinks still consist of either La Terre(ible) or Coke without a surcharge. One night I made the mistake of having more than one glass of white wine paid dearly for it with a headache the rest of the night. I could have gone down to the CL, but since my parents were not eligible (though they are now ;)), I did not.

 

Since there is not a DL, there was a Diamond Breakfast each morning in the small, side-room of the 3rd floor dining room. They actually kept track of who visited each morning (writing down party size and cabin numbers) and they also were pretty thorough in keeping people out who did not belong, though this led to a few raised voices as people tried to bring in ineligible family and friends (BUT WE JUST WANT TO EAT AS A FAMILY .. Yes, sir, and you can do that in the dining room next door). The service was very good each morning with the same waiters getting to know your orders. The only thing I did not like were the parents who brought their younger children in and let them run around. I don't have anything against kids, but I like the Diamond Breakfast for its calm and don't appreciate children running around the table and crawling into the window spaces to play right next to me.

 

Beyond the standard C&A parties (return guests, top tier), the Voyager also put on a lunch with staff for Diamond and above (and evidently suites). I enjoy these events as you get a chance to have a nice meal and talk with the crew. This meal was slightly awkward as we were placed with the only Pinnacle couple onboard who had specifically asked to sit with a crew member because they knew her mother. I don't think the couple was sending the vibe too strongly, but I felt like we were intruding on the time they wanted to spend with her. That's fine ... it was still enjoyable.

 

Shows

 

I'm not going to be very helpful here, and for that I apologize. Frankly, I've gotten sick of standard cruise fare, though I do appreciate the trends in shows started by the Oasis/Allure. With that being said, I only saw one show in the theater which was the headliner, Yakov Smirnoff. I thought his show was a little aged and hokey, but was a pretty good time and beats most of the "guest" entertainers I've seen. I heard rave reviews about the Motown group (which I think I've seen).

 

We had tickets for the last performance of the ice show on Tuesday night at 9 (ice show was the only entertainment for that night). Unfortunately we hit some waves and that show was cancelled and moved the last day. You had to get tickets for the ice show and they were available a couple of different times throughout the first few days. They handed them out in the casino at 3 PM on boarding day (walked right up and got them). They also handed them out in front of Studio B the first sea day and the line was quite long.

 

I thought that the ice show (Ice Odyssey) was very good, though it was not my favorite compared to some of the others on other ships. I'd definitely recommend it however. One odd thing ... on Voyager, they have both "corner" sections roped off for suites instead of just one ... something I found surprising.

[qsuzi]

Always enjoy your reviews and thanks for taking the time to post pix and information. For suite guests, is it necessary to get ice show tix or can you just show up and be seated in the suite guest area? Also, do you know if there are servers and food in Portofino's at lunch time for suite etc guests? Lastly, we are thinking of arriving about noon. Do you think we will have to walk more than a block if taxi's are backed up and also how long of a wait for security do you think?

[silentbob007]

The concierge will give you tickets to the ice show that should be good for any time. I did see Portofino open for suite guests to take their food in for breakfast/lunch, but don't know if servers were in there. I'm not sure about embarkation ... you shouldn't have to walk far ... as for how long, if things are moving as they should, I don't think there'd be huge lines. If they are backed up again, there will be.

[KeywestK]

Thanks Chris for another wonderful review. Please give my best to your folks. So when is your next cruise....;)

[Coralc]

We'll get to meet your dad in April. :D:):D

[silentbob007]

We'll get to meet your dad in April. :D:):D

 

I'm sure he'll be lost without me .... ;)

[silentbob007]

Thanks Chris for another wonderful review. Please give my best to your folks. So when is your next cruise....;)

 

I wish I knew ... :(

[Dave85]

Thanks for the great review! I've really enjoyed reading it.

[apk1389]

nice review again. almost was on this cruise. but my friend who was going to come bailed. so its nice to see what I missed

[duncanmaria]

Great report as usual!

[silentbob007]

Other Random Things (good and bad)

• I thought that this ship had many more trivias than the other ships I've recently been on. For me ... a big plus. This was also the first week (evidently) they had a progressive trivia. On the second formal night, there was actually a Crown and Anchor trivia about RCI and RCCL in general.
  
• Lines were generally long at guest services. I had to go down near the end of the cruise because of a mistake on my bill ... this made me mad. I went to the pub on the promenade to use my B1G1 coupon on a larger selection of beers. I asked the bartender what I could get with coupon, he asked to see my card (I'm guessing to verify I was actually D+) and then he said anything on the menu. I ordered two beers and, when he returned with my charge slip, he had charged me for both. I showed him he had made a mistake and he re-rang the beers correctly, but did not give me back my card. I asked for it, he said he gave it back, went over and looked, found it, then handed it back. When I checked my account later, the incorrect charge had been removed, the correct charged added, and then the incorrect charge added again. Guest services corrected this without too much hassle, but it was still irritating.
  
• While waiting at guest services, two other guests came up and were help. In my evaluation, the guest services rep told both completely wrong information (one was about paying down the onboard account with cash and one was about luggage for a post-cruise tour).
  
• For the snack time in the WJ, they prepared sour kraut. I'm sure this is a personal opinion, but that stunk up the place so bad it was hard for me to go in.
  
• The men's restroom outside of the WJ on 11 is pretty amazing with its view and design.
  
• The captain seemed overzealous when it came to using the PA that went into cabins ... especially on New Year's Eve. I heard a few speculations from passengers that they thought he was drunk ... I don't buy that, but I can't imagine that a captain should act in such a way where passengers would speculate that. I guess he was just excited.
  
• Can I mention again that being in the elevator during a ship shudder on sail-away scared the heck out of me?
  
• I really hate it when they set up formal pictures in the entrances to the dining rooms ... especially when they use those drops when people are trying to get in to eat. There were lines at open every night made worse by the crew making sure everyone used the hand sanitizer.
  
• Early seating was 5:30, late was 8:00. I'm not sure why, but this seemed early.
  
• Did I mention that they were vigilant, after the noro outbreak, to make sure everyone sanitized upon entrance to every eating establishment? However, napkin twirling in the MDR was still encouraged. I still don't get that one.
  

[silentbob007]

Debarkation

 

We were in no rush to leave the ship with a 12:30 flight, but we didn't really want to linger either.

 

I believe self-assist was set to leave a little after 7 AM. In actually, they actually called self-assist before 7. The first tags (1-4) were scheduled for 8 AM and that is when they were called.

 

We headed up to the WJ for breakfast which was, as usual, crowded on debarkation day. We then retrieved our small bags from our cabins (I hate taking them to the WJ which is already crowded enough) and headed to the Magic Flute dining room (deck 5) for the Top Tier lounge (Platinum and above).

 

Though the debarkation flyer announced that those in the lounge would have priority debarkation with a special call for guests in the lounge, this was of course not the case. We heard our call over the PA like everyone else. The elevators were completely jammed, again as usual, but we were able to manage one floor down to deck 4. The line backed up a little out on the open deck, but then they finally opened up a second check-out stand and we were dinged off.

 

While the facilities in NOLA are not as bad as some of the old terminals at Port Everglades with a long outside walk, once you collect your bag, you do have to walk it quite a ways. The porters were advertising a "priority" line they could take, but by the time we found bags (lined up on the floor) and got to where the border patrol officers were located, there was virtually nobody in line (4 officers helping people and no one behind them in either line). Then it was quite a wheel around to the outside of the port where we had a taxi called for us (same rate back to the airport as from downtown ... $33 for 2, $14/pp for 3+). We ended up at the airport by a little after 9 AM.

[vistapat]

I sure was glad to read that you were at the airport by 9:00AM, even without self debarking. I had a major lapse in sanity and booked a flight out at 11:00 from an airport and a city I've never visited before. Sure hope I don't end up blogging about I Made an 11:00 Flight From NOLA, But I'll Never Do It Again. Also really enjoyed your info about the city. And, I'm glad you felt the casting-off shudder BEFORE the Costa tragedy happened:eek:.

 

Patricia

[silentbob007]

I sure was glad to read that you were at the airport by 9:00AM, even without self debarking. I had a major lapse in sanity and booked a flight out at 11:00 from an airport and a city I've never visited before. Sure hope I don't end up blogging about I Made an 11:00 Flight From NOLA, But I'll Never Do It Again. Also really enjoyed your info about the city. And, I'm glad you felt the casting-off shudder BEFORE the Costa tragedy happened:eek:.

 

Patricia

 

I believe the Voyager was the only ship in on the day we came back. You might check and see if that will be the case on your voyage. I didn't think that security was that bad, but there was a small line to check bags. The airport is not that big, however ... and no one wants one of those blog entries. ;)

 

About the shudder ... it was already surreal enough. I was in my tux, my dad was in his suit, and there was a lady and small girl (by herself) also in the elevator. When the car started jumping, we looked at each other and all grabbed the railing (one of the close elevators ... not glass). It shuddered so hard that the car stopped on the next deck. We were pretty quick off, though the older lady was the fastest, flying by me and knocking me a bit to the side. Not realizing it was the whole ship, my dad and I sprinted to find someone to tell about the elevator before anyone else got on it. Scary (and slightly infuriating when I heard the captain laughed it off when questioned about it at the captain's talk).

[jostvandyke]

@silentbob007...thanks so much for the review! I will be sailing the Voyager in a few weeks and appreciate the info. On a side note...I reside in New Orleans and thought your pics were awesome...especially of the city and the fog on embarkation day! Great job and thanks again!

[silentbob007]

@silentbob007...thanks so much for the review! I will be sailing the Voyager in a few weeks and appreciate the info. On a side note...I reside in New Orleans and thought your pics were awesome...especially of the city and the fog on embarkation day! Great job and thanks again!

 

Thanks for your comments. :)

 

I really enjoy the fog pictures too ... and my only regret is that I did not properly prepare for our morning walkaround (ie, we went straight after breakfast) and all of them are actually taken with my iPhone and not my DSLR.

[kruzerci]

I enjoyed your review!

 

I dont know if you had the two days at sea at the beginning or end, but I'm guessing either your first or last day at sea was cool? When did it get warm enough to use the pool decks/when did it get too cool?

 

Thanks so much

[LuckiStac13*Majesty*]

Chris, thanks for your review and pics--I always read yours but don't think I've ever posted to say thanks. We have similar opinions, I think, so I look forward to them. We cruised a few years back (I sail with my parents, usually, as well) on the Grandeur out of NOLA and felt similarly to you--basically it was a gigantic cluster at the pier (taxi driver spoke no english and couldnt find the porters, basically dropped us off far from the entrance and we had to drag our luggage in a monsoon) and we didn't care for the city much, either. I prefer to leave out of FL. I feel the cruise has a nicer start than leaving from NOLA--the first day or so was too cool for my tastes!

 

Anyway,thanks again!