VOS 5/20...Just Back!

[carlennaro]

Hi all,

 

I just walked in the door from the ship...we had a great time. Seems there was a LOT of illness on board, but we were among the lucky ones. Would be glad to answer any questions I can about the ship or the 9 nt. itinerary.

 

Peg:)

[lrovnan]

can you tell me what nights are the Formal nights? Would like to book Portafino's when we board but we don't want to pick the wrong night.

 

Which night would suggest going?

[wineandbeach]

I look forward to hearing about your trip! What did you do in Freeport. We are still unsure about that one. What time did you get to the port to get on the ship? Did you bring any wine on? Would love to hear about anything you liked about the ship. Thanks!

[cruisingsaw]

glad you had a good time. Sorry that so many people were sick. We are sailing on June 3 and I hope all is pretty clear by then.

 

I just have a few questions. How was Grand Cayman? Did you do a tour?

 

In Freeport what time were you allowed to get off the ship?

 

How was embarkation and debarkation?

 

Thanks so much. I really appreciate the help. :)

[24theCC]

Glad you had a good cruise. Did you stop in Labadee? There is political unrest and the State Dept. is advising Americans to leave Haiti.

[carlennaro]

We had the most fabulous time. To answer a few of your questions...

 

1. In Grand Cayman, we took a tender to the dock (very efficient and well orchestrated) and then a taxi to Seven Mile Beach, The taxi drivers knew what beaches would fit what you were looking for and could guide you appropriately. We were visiting a friends condo complex, so the taxi just let us off on the way to the beach. Beautiful beaches...beautiful day!

 

2. We were in Freeport by 6:30, and people with early tours had to be out on the pier shortly after that to meet their groups. We did the Dolphin Encounter with our 5 year old, and had to be out on the pier by 9, making it back to the ship by 1:00 for departure. Unless you are an early riser, there is little time to do much in Freeport. Contrary to my usual advice, I say do a ship sponsored tour b/c the time is soooo tight.

 

3. It would be a shame if Labadee was off limits to future passangers. The island is lovely, very relaxing, and able to accomodate all of Voyager's passengers without seeming crowded. Loved it.

 

4. Formal nights were Saturday (at sea) and Thursday (at sea). IMHO the best Portofino night is Tuesday, as that is Caribbean night, and although the waiters do a little dance (mac-a-rena, etc...) the menu is so-so. Jerk chicken, etc... They will give you advice at Portofino based on what kind of cuisine, activity you might want to forgo to dine at Portofino.

 

5. Embarkation was fine, though you do take a little tram to get to the ship after clearing documents, etc. Debarkation was tough; you had to wait in either Studio B or La Scala for them to call your luggage tag color, and the wait was LONG!! I suggest taking your time; leave y our cabin at the required 8:00, go to the dining room for a leisurely breakfast...it will be a while, even if you are first luggage color (white).

 

6. We didn't bring wine onboard, but did soda and juice with no problems. I think you would be fine to bring your own, but I did read about the corking fee of $12 for your own at dinner. I might not be able to give the best advice here.

 

Let me know if I can clarify anything further! Happy cruising!

[cruisingsaw]

Thanks so much for your quick response. I am getting excited as I get things together to go Friday.

[carlennaro]

I am just back today...I can't believe I am jealous that you are leaving Friday..some may think 9 nights too long, I felt I was just getting started. We arrived at the terminal at about 1:00, self-parked and went through check-in quickly and smoothly. All cabins are ready by 1:00, so we went straight to ours and then headed up to the Windjammer for lunch., Our bags arrived by 5 pm, and we were good to go.

 

One caveat...We didn't get off the ship until 11:40 today, and we were toward the beginning of the middle groups. I can't imagine that they could have boarded passengers before 1:00 this time around. Perhaps with more experience, they will work out the kinks and be better able to move things along quickly!

I bet you will have a great time. I think it would be hard not to!

[EricVik]

You mentioned Caribbean night..any other theme nights that you may remember? Have also heard that chair space for sun/pool is very tight, was this your experience? We are so looking forward to 6/17!!! Thanks for anything you can offer.

 

***As a side note, we took Empress last year from Bayonne. We were second color to dismebark and didn't get off the ship until 11:25 PM with a 9:00 am schedule. Our limo driver showed at 11:45 noting that the pier was becoming known to have very slow disembarking. We did have very pleasant boarding process, which I find to be more important, anyway!

[PVDCruiser]

I'm so glad you enjoyed your trip. But unfortunately, you will now have to readjust to the real world and suffer from cruise withdrawl. :-P

[carlennaro]

I am suffering withdrawl already as I ask the question, "what will I make my family for dinner?"

 

 

As far as I remember, there was Italian Night on Monday, Caribbean on Tuesday, Lobster/Prime Rib was on Thursday. We missed Wednesday to be at Portofino. The waiters performed singing, etc. on Monday (O Solo Mio), Tuesday (Mac-a-rena) and Saturday (Farewell dinner). NY Strip Steak and MahiMahi was on Saturday. Lamb on Friday. These were just some of the highlighted menu items I remember.

 

The other nights were all delicious with great menu choices, but no theme that I can remember.

Hope this helps!

 

As far as pool chairs, we never had trouble finding a chair, but then again, were usually looking no later than 10:00. Spots in the sun are abundant, shade a little harder to find. You can usually find something, though. We liked the lounge chairs along the outside walls in the shade, and didn't have trouble finding some with a little patience.

[cruisegroupie]

Do you remember what was going on the 4th night on the ship? This is after being in Labadee for the day. My group has a cocktail party scheduled for 8:15PM and I was just wondering if this was good timing or if there was anything special we might miss? Thanks.:)

[CathyV]

Was there rampant vomiting on board? It seems since 5/15 that the Voyager has been plaqued with sickness. We are scheduled to sail on 7/1 and we are seriously thinking of canceling. I cannot think of spending thousands and then being sick, especially with a 10 year old! I think RCL should cancel 1 cruise and just disenfect the entire ship from top to bottom.

[wendyvp]

CathyV - I was on this cruise and I didn't see anyone that was sick. I heard about some (at one point about 40 or so) from a crew member but considering there are 5000+ people on this ship, that is such a small minority. There were probably more but it was not evident at all. They were very vigilant about hand sanitizing and cleaning the common areas (handrails, elevator buttons, etc). I know that the ship was stating to its crew that it was in high alert for the illness but the crew was told that it had stabalized from the earlier 5/15 cruise - which is a good sign it is not spreading more and getting worse. I was not concerned at all and just kept sanitizing my hands at the specified stations and all was great. Hope you don't need to cancel.

 

wendy

[berd0625]

HI - Welcome backWe are leaving on the 17th and I have a few questions. How was the weather on your sea days down? It's been a long cold spring in New Engalnd and the Atlantic hasn't had a chance to warm much. Any suggestions on cool weather gear? How about in the islands?

 

How did you get your soda/juice on? I want to bring bottled water but feel awkward.

 

Thanks in advance.

 

PS Wendy, they would never cancel an entire cruise to disinfect. The most I've ever heard about is a delayed sailing by a few hours. This is why I try to be patient to get to my cabin on boarding day, I would rather they take a few extra minutes to clean thoroughly. It amazes me when people want to be in their cabin before 1 when the prior guests have barely just left.Norwalk virus is very common and you read about ships being hit every year.

[carlennaro]

According to several of the crew that I spoke with, the percentage of sick passengers was putting the VOS on a CDC control list. Shore leave was cancelled for the non-essential crew on Sunday, as they were all deployed to an area of the ship to sanitize. I beleive there were several instances of quarantine and they shut the kids club for 26 hours (tuesday- wednesday) to disinfect, etc..

 

That being said, they do an incredible job of cleaning and sanitizing. You see people all over the ship doing everything they can to keep passengers safe and healthy. Without their efforts, I am sure many more would be sick. In fact, I noticed today that one of my shirts was ruined with bleach spots from where I leaned against the elevator buttons. I'd never complain, though. I appreciate the effort to keep my family well.

[carlennaro]

PS...

 

We carried on soda/juice/water in a rolling duffel bag, then asked our room steward to empty our mini-fridge so we could keep it cool. No problems whatsoever.

 

 

 

Our weather was cool going down, but it was a stormy weekend in the northeast. We had incredibly smooth seas, and the ship has fantastic engineering where you don't even feel vibrations. The weather in the islands was between 84-90 and sunny! The last evening as we headed back to NJ it was cold on deck, but that last day at sea was very pleasant, as the sun is string and the water is about 75 along Carolinas and Virginina. I suggest a light sweater and long pants for your first and last evening onboard. HTH!

[smkaufman]

I was on this trip, as well. I personally spoke to two people who were quarantined, and they said their were several others. One of the ladies told me someone saw a person vomitting from a balcony, and thought it came from her room. They reported her to the front desk, and they quarantined her when she wasn't even sick. It came from a different room, she wasn't even in her room when it happened. Extra precaution is good, but she was pretty hot about it!

 

I sneezed into my elbow in the Windjammer, and had a guy yell at me to go wash my hands. Get a grip! I'm an adult and know if I need to wash my hands or not.

[bingo3]

I think RCL should cancel 1 cruise and just disenfect the entire ship from top to bottom.

 

As long as it's not My cruise they cancel!! Virus' are going to spread anytime there are numbers of people around, ANYWHERE! Sounds like a very small percentage have been sick. If they are still getting sick in July, maybe they can cancel the cruise you're on, just don't mess with mine!! :)

[wrp96]

As long as it's not My cruise they cancel!! Virus' are going to spread anytime there are numbers of people around, ANYWHERE! Sounds like a very small percentage have been sick. If they are still getting sick in July, maybe they can cancel the cruise you're on, just don't mess with mine!! :)

 

Amen. If they cancelled a cruise because people on the previous cruise were sick, then they would be cancelling a lot of cruises.