New to rccl only sailed Dcl. Nervous.

[royalfirsttimerhelp]

Hi everyone

I just booked the feb 4 sailing of voyager and I am quite excited. But also quite nervous. To say I have brand loyalty is an understatement. I live to cruise but have only cruise with Dcl. 17 times to be exact. I saw a great deal on the voyager and decided to try it. Now that it is booked I am so excited but also nervous. Fear of the unknown. Sailing out of new orleans is new for me. We will be driving there. Any advice you all have would be greatly appreciated. Tips secrets or any I do that pertains to voyager of the seas or rccl. I just feel do knowledgable about Dcl and know nothing about rccl.

[BillOh]

Others will have to help you about cruising out of NO, but I've been on Voyager. Who is traveling with you? How many kids? What ports are you going to?

[setsail]

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1188947&highlight=royal+caribbean+versus+disney

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=678024&highlight=royal+caribbean+versus+disney

[39august]

Voyager is an "older" ship, but RCI tends to keep their ships in tiptop shape. She may be larger than your DCL ships, as when she was built she was the largest cruise ship afloat. There are children's programs on RCI too. If you are cruising with children, be sure to sign them up for Adventure Ocean on boarding day. You will find 3 D "maps" of the ship at every elevator and in the Promenade. The Promenade Cafe is open 23 hours a day and offers food and coffee,tea, and hot chocolate at no extra charge. There will be a parade in the Promenade on the first and last nights of the cruise. There will be free soft serve "ice cream" on the pool deck. The ice show will amaze you, so be sure not to miss that. It is usually shown 3-4 different days and times. The information will be in your daily Compass.

[royalfirsttimerhelp]

BillOh no kids. Just myself and 2 of my friends. I have already decided that I am going to have a fabulous time. Lol a week away from work and kids, I mean who wouldn't. Lol. I have been perusing the boards and just don't see too much info about VOS or photos. Maybe I'm not looking in the right place.

 

Setsail, thank you for the link. I'm not really trying to compare the two. I don't think. Because I have already put in my mind that it will be different. I guess I was looking more for information of what to expect. Maybe hear from folks who have sailed the Disney magic and the VoS out of Nola. I guess I'm just trying to be prepared as much as possible.

 

I don't know what I'm looking for I guess lol. I will read the above Thread tho. Thanks.

[royalfirsttimerhelp]

39august I looked at the info on the VOS and it looks like it went into service in 1999. Do it's actually one year younger than the Disney magic. But I know the magic has been in dry dock several times since then for upgrades. Ie new mattresses flat screen TVs etc etc. but actually the magic is my favorite ship in Dcl even over the dream. So I'm thinking that the VOS will b on par , as the magic. As fat as the condition it is in. Does anyone know what types I improvements have been done on VOS or the last time it was in dry dock? Oh yeah we booked an inside cat k cabin. I know it's going to. E pretty tight. Can anyone tell me are we able to pay for an discounted upgrade at port as I have done several times on Dcl?

[akcruz]

Take a look at this link to find out more about the voyager class.

 

http://www.voyager-class.com/

 

I've sailed on Explorer, Navigator and Mariner, all similar ships to Voyager and loved them all! You will enjoy the ship, nothing like any other you've been on.

[royalfirsttimerhelp]

Sorry for the misspellings. I am on my iPhone

[Thanna63]

We did our first cruise at Christmas on the Voyager and had a wonderful time.

 

If your driving in, try and get there early. We had read how traffic around the port area was bad with all the cabs dropping off and picking up. When we showed up at 10:30am, there was very little traffic and once they started letting us board at 11:00am, we were on the ship in about 15 minutes. The bad part is that you have to wait around until 1:00pm to get to your room but we felt the wait was worth it to avoid the traffic.

[will773]

I've been on Navigator of the Seas (a Voyager class ship) twice, and loved it both times. You'll have an awesome cruise, no doubt! :)

[orville99]

A bit of background. We've done 8 DCL cruises - 5 on Magic and 3 on Wonder. We "reluctantly" switched to RCI when DCL pulled Magic over to Europe in 2010. Since then we've done 9 RCI cruises - 3 on Monarch, 3 on Freedom, 2 on Radiance, and 1 on Jewel. We like RCI's offerings and variety of ships so much that we have 6 more cruises booked this year on RCI even though DCL has both Magic and Dream in PC (and we loved the Magic). RCI's ships have so much more open and inviting public space than DCL. Service and food are comparable (we actually like RCI offerings a bit more - They seem to understand how to cook for adult taste buds better than Disney, but we do miss Topsider's in the evening). Cildren's programs are a wash - DCL used to be better until they started combining age groups and eliminated the Disney at sea University, but now I don't see any difference.

[jackretired]

Parking Directions:

Once entering Port of New Orleans Place, proceed past the Erato Street Terminal to Julia Street. There you will be directed to the Julia St Terminal drop-off area where you will be assisted with your luggage by Seacaps. You will then be directed down Julia St. where you will take a right turn onto the Service Roadway into the “Whale Lot.” Parking costs $16 per day. Before leaving your car make sure that you have both parking tickets accounted for because they will be needed on the way out of the facility. A shuttle is provided back to the terminal if needed. Parking lot is secured, lighted and patrolled.

 

New Orleans pre or post cruise:

Snub Harbor for jazz

Muriel's Jackson Square for lunch

[dln929]

The Voyager was our first ship and she's the one who hooked us on to cruising and we've never looked back. What a lovely ship. Go and enjoy yourself! Have fun!

[39august]

firsttimer- Voyager has been thru several dry docks over the years. The bedding is quite comfortable, much nicer than the original. We've been on her 4 or 5 times and on all her sister ships several times. I think you are in for a treat!

[royalfirsttimerhelp]

Can anyone tell me what the latest embarkation time is? I thought I would to head over Friday the 3rd but I may not be able to. It's about a 7 hour drive.

[39august]

All passengers are to be aboard 90 minutes before departure time.

[vickiw0318]

It is usually about two hours before the stated sail time (this cruise is due to set sail at 4:30). Muster drill is usually 30 minutes before sail time. I would be at the ship no later than 1:30, but then, I like a huge comfort zone. Here is a link to several recent reviews about this cruise from New Orleans. This is a relatively new itinerary for Royal Caribbean. One of these does compare the ship to the Disney Magic. Hope they help.

 

http://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/getreviews.cfm?action=ship&ShipID=105

[BecciBoo]

Now where is Gina when you need her????

She is another Mickey ship fan but she does love Voyager, right Gina?:D

[BecciBoo]

Can anyone tell me what the latest embarkation time is? I thought I would to head over Friday the 3rd but I may not be able to. It's about a 7 hour drive.

 

That's a long time, you'd have to leave no later than at least 7:00 AM and does that give you car trouble time etc. You will not be allowed to board after the 90 minute cut off as August mentioned!

[LittleMissMagic]

I've never been on the Voyager, but I've been on two other Voyager-class ships (Mariner and Adventure).

 

I'm actually a diehard Disney fan. Mickey is everywhere in my house, and I visit the World at least once a year - usually several. However, with cruises, we first decided to venture away from Disney back in 2001 when we wanted to cruise Alaska. We decided on Royal Caribbean, and have since been huge fans of the cruiseline.

 

I'm trying to think of some things I've learned when cruising RCI to share, to ease your mind a little.

 

Royal Caribbean charges around $5/day for a Coke card (I think it's $4/day for children and $6/day for adults, but for some reason, I always get charged the child price). You can pre-purchase or purchase once aboard the ship. It comes with a souvenir mug, and a sticker on your Sea Pass so that you can get Coca-Cola products from any bar or in the dining room. Also, you can get virgin mixed drinks that use Coca-Cola products, such as Shirley Temples or any other mixture you can think of.

 

Room service is no charge. Many people tip room service, but the last time I tried to, I was rejected! :D

 

Royal Caribbean pool towels can be checked out on the pool deck, and you can take them to port/on excursions. However, it's a $25/towel charge if you don't return them.

 

Key Lime Pie is the BEST!!!! ORDER IT!!!!!!!!! :)

 

You can ask for cookies to go from the dining room. Their cookies are typically hard, but you can ask to have yours microwaved if you like soft, warm cookies!

 

The merchandise on the ship isn't that great. They will have a watch sale several times throughout the cruise, so no need to fight the crowd and go crazy! :D After you've been to all ports, they'll start discounting port-related merchandise, so if you forgot to pick up a souvenir in port, you might find one on the ship.

 

I'll come back if I think of more "secrets."

[royalfirsttimerhelp]

I want to thank everyone for the posts so far. I really appreciate it and I am enjoying reading them and all links that are provided! I am going to share them with my friends too. Please continue to share any info or tips u may think of.

Littlemissmagic please let me know if u think of more as well.

 

As far as driving over the Morning of, I hate to do it too. I normally like to arrive the day before as well, just in case. But I may not be able to get Friday off work :(

I saw that there is a soda package and I will prob do that. Will I. E able to get the sodas anywhere that serves them on the ship or only on select locations?

Also I see there is a wine package, anything similar for liquor?

I guess I am worried about being "nickel and dimed"

As I hear tht a lot about other cruise lines?

What other charges will there be on board? Obviously our tips but what am I forgetting?

[BecciBoo]

You can get your coke, sodas of any kind including club soda at any bar or dining ficility. They do not do any liquor package I know of yet, but look for it to happen at some point. The upcharge restaurant is Portofino's, worth every penny go there! $35 PP, I think. The best cuts of meat in the MDR are the prime rib and the $14.99 filet which is the same as the one you get in Portofino's. Also, keep in mind the tip for all bar service has already been added to your tab so don't double tip. Unless you want to!:) Capaccinos in the MDR are excellent but cost $3.75 along with other specialty coffees with liquor. They serve shots after dinner aparateifs for xtra also. And you can collect the glasses, they are free and pretty. You can also get pretty crystal with drink of the day for a nominal charge. Oh and my number one tip is don't miss all the artwork on the ship, they spent literally millions for the artwork, and I mean the permanently attached things that are different on every deck (not the art auction junk). It is worth a stroll down the passageways to see them on each deck, yes, even the passageways are decorated. They are phenominal IMHO.

[LittleMissMagic]

I want to thank everyone for the posts so far. I really appreciate it and I am enjoying reading them and all links that are provided! I am going to share them with my friends too. Please continue to share any info or tips u may think of.

Littlemissmagic please let me know if u think of more as well.

 

As far as driving over the Morning of, I hate to do it too. I normally like to arrive the day before as well, just in case. But I may not be able to get Friday off work :(

I saw that there is a soda package and I will prob do that. Will I. E able to get the sodas anywhere that serves them on the ship or only on select locations?

Also I see there is a wine package, anything similar for liquor?

I guess I am worried about being "nickel and dimed"

As I hear tht a lot about other cruise lines?

What other charges will there be on board? Obviously our tips but what am I forgetting?

 

You can get the sodas anywhere on the ship. I'm not sure of your ship's itinerary, but if you are going to one of the private islands, you can get them there, as well.

 

Unfortunately, there is no liquor package. I did hear something about the testing of a bucket of beer package, but I didn't see any evidence of it on my recent cruise.

 

As for drinks, they have a drink of the day, but it's usually not very good. If you want a good drink, I personally recommend the "Adios" or "AMF." It's $7, but could easily be the only drink you need for the night.

 

They give away free beverages at the Captain's Welcome Aboard Party. If you walk down the Promenade a few times, you can really stock up. :D Also, when you cruise Royal Caribbean again, you'll be invited to a Welcome Back Party with free cocktails and mixed beverages. The higher status you achieve in membership, the more free drinks you get! :D

 

I actually don't feel to be nickel and dimed at all on Royal's ships. However, be careful about the "freshly squeezed orange juice" in the breakfast buffets in the mornings. There is free orange juice which they will bring you. However, there is also are also bartenders who circulate the dining room with trays full of freshly squeezed OJ, which cost $1.99.

 

All of the activities - rock climbing, ice skating, inline skating, and miniature golf have no charge.

 

Really all you have to pay for once onboard is Bingo, arcade games, gambling, alcoholic beverages, spa treatments, specialty restaurants, and any merchandise you choose to purchase.

[BecciBoo]

Thought you might be amused by Liberty next to Magic. Liberty is a little bigger than Voyager but looks a lot the same.

 

And the bucket of beer is and always has been available. Get it from bar service on pool deck. There is also a special cooler of beer you can get and keep the cooler but you can order it ahead of time online in the Gifts section on RCCL web site. As far as drinks are concerned, the drink of the day is usually a fruity drink, but visit the Viking Crown for martinis and Aquarium Bar for Mojitos, my personal faves. Champagne bar also serves martini's and champagne drinks.

[royalfirsttimerhelp]

Wow I didn't realize it was so much larger! Getting so excited!!!