Just back from Voyager Repo Cruise - 5/7. Any questions?

[Trvlr37]

Hi Gang! We're back home safe and sound. Here's our thoughts of this sailing:

 

PROS:

 

Meeting the cruise critic group on board was great and this was probably the biggest highlight of this entire cruise (and the board/excitement prior to the cruise).

 

Entertainment was fantastic - especially the Drifters and ice show.

 

We thought our Cruise Director, Becky (Hello Love), was really great and had a lot of energy and always a smile.

 

We felt the food was really good.

 

We were blessed with a fantastic waiter (!!!) and that makes the cruise all the more enjoyable. Not only did we receive great service, but he was also very entertaining (teaching us how to fold napkins, balancing silverware with toothpicks, etc.).

 

We liked Johnny Rockets and enjoyed the singing waiters.

 

The cruise staff seemed very friendly and really tried to please.

 

CONS:

 

Embarkation and disembarkation were AWFUL. Being a new Platinum member, I thought we'd have larger embarkation and disembarkation accommodations We were just too large a group to accommodate, it seemed.

 

I felt a lot of "nickeling and diming" with this cruise moreso than others (i.e., Johnny Rockets, Ben and Jerry's, etc.). It seemed to me that more and more activities are getting a price tag attached to them creating a much more expensive cruise.

 

I also noticed cutbacks such as no snacks served at the Captains Welcome Reception (at least I didn't see any) and only champaign and rum punch being served. I also noticed no RCCL plastic keychains or bottles of wine/champaign being awarded to winners at shows and events.

 

We didn't like the "crowd flow" on this ship and really felt cramped when shows let out on Deck 3 at La Scala every night.

 

We also didn't like the cut-downs to Carnival. We've sailed Carnival before and enjoyed our cruises.

 

Overall, it was still a very nice cruise.

[MonaCK]

Lestrela: I am -so- sorry I missed meeting you! We were looking for you at the mix and mingle, and then found out that you were one of those that was told the wrong day!

 

Someone else approached me and told me that they didnt' get notification in their cabin on the location of the mix and mingle at all. Sheesh... I guess our group really did overwhelm...

 

Travlr37: It was a pleasure for Adam and I to meet both of you and to get to have breakfast with you one of the days. :) Thanks for your insight -- it's helping us out with shaping what our next cruise plans are going to be. I hope we have the pleasure of cruising with you again :)

[Missa]

WE had a wonderful time! Glad i did meet some of you, but sad that it wasn't untill the end of the week :(

Family and daughter kept me very busy. I thourouly enjoyed cruising with my dd, she is at a wonderful age and it was great to see her "learn" new things while cruising (she really opened up to strangers and cam eoutta her shell). Everywhere i went i onboard i was referred to as "Madeline's Mom" by guests and staff. The staff/service was exceptional for us. As soon as DD made a sound, the Maitre 'D, asst. waiter and waiter were at her beckon call. One asst. (was not ours) paid much attentin to her, didn't know his name but he always catered to her in the "Island Grill/Windjammer" as well as the one that wore the oversized sunglasses each morning :)

 

We had a deck 8 prominade that overlooked the casino staircase, pretty neat. View was great from deck 8, no less then deck 7 that we had 2 years ago.

 

Our asst. waiter was Dominic for India, wonderful man, and the Maitre 'D was also from India, but i forget his name. He too was "sick" the first night, hmm...

 

Disembarkation was nightmare! Lestrealla, i saw you pass by, i was sitting at the prominade bar, we we're PINK!!!!! We got off at 11:30!

Embarkatin was fine, we arrived a 2:30 and breezed right up to our room.

 

I am suffering right now...since 4:30 yesterday my world has been rocking and i can't get to stop, i actully feel sea sick now! Or should i call it land sick! Must be from so many sea days. Being my 3rd cruise, and 2nd on a voyager class, this cruise had the most movement i've everfelt.

 

Oh, and the kids in the hot tubs, i agree. I have a child and would bring her again, even though i did overhear a few snotty comments from other passengers, but it was very few, but most were impressed and entertained by her. BUT, i would never allow in the hot tib untill she was a teenager and can sit still. DH did encounter rowdy kids in the hot tubs while their parents were in it as well!! That did annoy me becasue they kept going underwater and splashing. If they sat still, i wouldn't mind.

 

Lestrella, How are the puppies?

[zina1017]

HMMMMM... I was on this cruise, too and agree with most of what has been said. One of my luggage pieces was severely damaged as well. I was VERY dissapointed with the disembarkation process. We were not off the ship until 11:40 AM. Cape Liberty leaves much to be desired. What a dump!

 

On the Saturday, we wanted to purchase several bottles of liquor to take home from the General Store in the Royal Promenade, only to find that they had no cardboard boxes to put them in. We noticed boxes in the back and asked about them. The reply was that they "were for something else." We left very disgruntled.

 

Entertainment was hot and cold. Loved the Drifters and comedians. Vibeology was OK, but Dreamscape was just horrible and several people walked out of the production. Actually, one of my favorrite activities was the cooking demonstration put on be Exec Chef David and his staff.

 

Overall, I found the whole experience to be good, not great, as we had a great experience last year on the Explorer. I wonder if this is because we were all "cruising on the cheap?"

[MonaCK]

Actually, one of my favorrite activities was the cooking demonstration put on be Exec Chef David and his staff.

 

I wanted to go to that... but it was at 9:45am! Way too early for me to be functional. ;)

[dad son team]

Were there alot of kids onboard? I would love to do one of these itineraries but I always travel with my 8yo DS and I am afraid that he would be lonely since school is still in. He is very social and loves making friends in the kids program.

[MonaCK]

There were a -ton- of kids on board. We were commenting that it must have been the low pricepoint that allowed parents to be able to bring kids along for this...

[pearlie]

Welcome home everyone,

My thoughts about the cruise, It was great, and the sea days are the best! Our waiter Bo was fabulous, as was our assistant waiter Arizona, I found the food better on this ship than on the Adventure of the seas, in October 04, Menus were updated and nice.

Becky was okay, better than a few of the other cd's, the hello Luv's were okay, but that little cutsey kick, that was another story.

Casey seemed tired, but since he is leaving Friday for home I couldn;t blame him. The Guest relations staff were great when we had difficulty w. mom's mothers day gift, took a day but things were fixed by Paul.

The conceirge was great.

We took a tour in Aruba, booked on line, and were supposed to go to baby beach for 1 1/2 hrs, however, this was news to the driver so we didn't get there.

The hot tubs were definitely filled w;/ 20 kids so i only got in when people were in Labadee. I love children, but listening to my next room neighbors grandchildren screeching on the balcony between 6 am and 7am almost daily, made me wish for an adult only cruise.

The entertainment was good, I missed the quest, but saw almost everything else, inculding the ice show twice.

Disembarkation was and always is the worst part of the cruise, We had white tickets and were off early, we breezed thru customs, and found our friend waiting sign in hand, and were home by 11:30 am, wonderful, It was great meeting the cruise critic folks. 23 weeks until our next one!

[familycruzer]

Mona, I am on the opposite repo and was wondering about your jeep in Aruba. Did you reserve ahead of time or when you arrived? What company did you use and how much was it.

 

I was at Bayonne yesterday and the port from my view did not look impressive and well managed. I guess its good I leave from there and arrive in Miami.

 

As for the repo prices, I paid $2800 for a family of four in an aft JS. Airfare home from Miami was another $440. Total price with air, tax and fees was $3240. Great deal!!

[dixiediva761]

Hi All,

 

We too got home safe and sound. Unfortunately we did not get to meet anyone but Will and Cheryl from Seattle and that is because they were our next balcony neighbors. We laid very low this trip and relaxed, relaxed,relaxed. We did not go to any shows, we did not eat in the dining room we did go to the casino a few times and hung out in the scoreboard sports bar a few times but mostly we hung on our aft balcony and in our cabin. We had room service for dinner all but 3 nights I think and it was FABULOUS! The selections for dinner were actually very good. There were 4 apps, 1-2 salads, 4 entrees and 2-3 desserts to choose from every night off of the regular dining room menu. The last night we had a NY strip that was tender and juicy and they even subbed baked potatoes for us:) . The service in the few bars we visited was excellent. Izzy and Smiley (Norman) in the sports bar were our personal favorites as well as Rodrigo the bar waiter in the casino though all the wait staff in the casino were fabulous to us. The only rather rude staff member was actually the bartender in the casino. He seemed rather bothered when I ordered a drink from him on both occasions. No smile, no thank you just a drop off of the drinks and on his way. If he was busy that is one thing but no one else was there. Anyway that was the only rude staff member ever. The room service folks were great to us also. We do tip well but they had no way of knowing that the first night we ordered and the service that night was 4 star prior to him receiving the tip that night. The young lady answeing the phone was always pleasant and professional. We had one afternoon encounter with Leisha at the sky bar, what a hoot! She was incredibly entertaining to us. Basil our room steward was okay. He was nice and did his job but no more or less. The first day when he came by and introduced himself we gave him a 20 and told him all we needed was to have ice all the time. My husband drinks cokes and I drink diet pepsi and we had brought a 12 pack and I also drink a lot of water. Unfortunately had to order ice from room service twice and then had to ask him for it a few times and request that he keep the larger bucket brought by room service. Many days we told him all we needed was ice and he was free. We did nto require him to make or turn down the bed everyday just towels and ice. Though the nights we did let him come and do his turndown service we never received any little towel animals :(. The ship overall is beautiful and I felt it was pretty easy to navigate your way around but just too big for us. My husband said it was like sitting in a mall having a drink :rolleyes: .

In Aruba we found a tour at the pier for 10 bucks a piece. The van was air conditioned and comfortable and he had about 18 people on board. The tour lasted aomost 3 hours and we went all over. He was funny and informative and really knew his homeland. A similar tour onboard was 49 dollars I think. We did not get off the ship at Labadee, we are not much for water sports and really enjoyed the ship to ourselves that day. All in all we had a great cruise. Though there seemed to be a lot of children we never found them to be bothersome in any way. Thankfully there were not a lot of unruly teenagers though. We both really needed the rest and peacefulness as we had been working 70-80 hours a week each for about 5-6 months with maybe one day off a week, so we were rather exhausted. We pre-cruised at the Intecontinental from Wed to Sat and it too was fabulous. The view was breathtaking and the service was excellent. (well except for the 18 dollar room service pot of coffee:eek: ).

All in all we had a great vacation and a fabulous cruise experience but I think we will stick to a smaller ship. Our hats off to RCCL the food was good and the service excellent. The only negatives would be that I like the set up on Carnival for the area like Windjammer. The dining area is both inside and outside so you can enjoy your breakfast outside and the burger/hot dog area is outside so it is easier to get to.

I agree with everyone about debarkation. What a nightmare that place was. Fortunately for us we were green and were off at 10:45 or so and our luggage was pretty easy to find and we shared a limo to Newark airport with a man and his wife and mother that were in the taxi line behind us. It cost us 15 a piece but we made our 12:15 flight just in time. The view coming in was nice but a bit foggy to see. Embarkation was a little disorganized a first but heck we got on just in time to go to our cabin. Anyway we enjoyed and rejuvinated and I have been online already today searching for our next one!:D (but will only do aft balconies from now on..I am spoiled.

 

Michele

[familycruzer]

Michele, what aft did you have? I am booked in 1394.

[alexkrn46]

We are going on 6/3/05 cruise. I have a couple of questions.

Who is the Captain of the ship?

Was the Atlantic waters rough?

And have they installed wifi yet for internet access.

Thanks. Alex

[dixiediva761]

We had 9692 and it was the first aft but certainly not the last. I don't think I would go any lower deck wise as they extend out the lower the deck so we could see the balconies below us and the 10th deck could see all of us. The location was actually quite convenient. The Windjammer was directly above us 2 decks up. The promenade was only 4 decks down and the walk to the staircase was minimal. I took the stairs most times but hubby wanted elevators (he is a bit older than me teehee he is 51). The privacy and quiet was well worth the very few extra steps and I would actually try for a 10th deck aft next time. (well have a hold on one on Radiance for January :D ). Enjoy the cabin they are fabulous!

 

 

Michele

[MonaCK]

FamilyCruzer: We waited until we were at the pier in Aruba to rent a jeep. We got one for $65 but opted for the extra insurance bringing it to a total of $80 for the day. We had an air conditioned 4x4 actually, and it was just fine. It was with Budget.

 

The captain is the same captain we had last cruise... but I honestly don't remember his name.

[sford75]

Were there alot of kids onboard? I would love to do one of these itineraries but I always travel with my 8yo DS and I am afraid that he would be lonely since school is still in. He is very social and loves making friends in the kids program.

 

Actually, there was only 1/4 the amount of kids as there normally is. Usually there are over 1,000 and there were about 250 on this cruise. But the ones that I saw seemed to be having a great time.

[Trvlr37]

Just a quick "hi" to Mona and thanks for the kind words. We enjoyed meeting you, too (and hearing you singing in the Schooner). Hopefully, we will meet again on another ship. If you want to see our pictures, send me an e-mail at Trvlr37@aol.com and I'll be happy to share our album with you.

[cruzr4vr]

Just read through all the notes and I agree with Trvlr 37. I thougt Becky was pretty good as a CD (maybe a little too cutesy) but the CD on our last cruise was awful..I can't even remember her name. The food was much better then the Jewel of the Sea. Our dining room waiter, assistant waiter and yes even our head waiter were fantastic...Len and I went to Portofinos on the night they served lobster and our head waiter saved us 2 lobster tails for the following night. We really enjoyed Johnny Rockets and loved Portofinos. The entertainment on this ship was some of the best I've seen on any cruise except for Dreamscapes..didn't like it very much. I thought they were trying to be a Cirque du Soleil without the Cirque. We chose not to see Vibe. We enjoyed all the lounges even the Cigar lounge. I thought the staff was very friendly. I didn't mind the Carnival stuff, since I've had several horrible experiences with them and really don't know if I want to cruise with them again, although we are considering a repositioning cruise on the Spirit with Barb and Steve (Trvlr37 and Fixit38). I might give them another chance.

 

On the downside...the ship has a definite problem with flow of people especially at LaScala theater. I thought the embarkation process was slow and the staff in Miami should have kept us informed as to why there was such a delay in boarding. The stuff about homeland security etc. was just a bunch of hogwash. The debarkation process was a total nightmare. I've never seen anything like it..having to board a bus to get to the luggage and the area where the luggage was, was so cramped and tiny that finding our luggage was difficult and then getting a porter was awful, even worse was waiting for a cab. I feel very lucky that we were able to get off the ship as early as we did.

 

All in all, Len and I did have a wonderful time and we were glad to meet the members of the cruise critic message board.