Just Off-Voyager Bermuda Sept. 18

[tuckerstravel]

We just got home today and what an AWESOME cruise. The weather was perfecto. The sea was like glass. This was my 5th cruise, my 3rd Royal Carib. cruise, and my second time on the Voyager.

 

My tips while they are fresh in my mind:

 

If you can carry your own luggage on the ship, do it! Get in the very most righthand land. You skip a very long line of folks waiting to drop theirs off. We arrived at the terminal around 12:15 and were on by 12:35. Print your Sea Pass online, again you skip lines. In the Windjammer having lunch at 1:00 and poolside by 1:30.

 

My cabin was an inside on deck 10. Being on deck 10 was WONDERFUL. One flight up to the pool. We were on the AFT end of the ship which again was wonderful. Windjammer right above us, our dining room (La Boheme) was a few decks below us. It was really convenient to be on that high of a deck, it was our first time that high up. I would have preferred a balcony or ocean view, but was happy with my room. (cabin 1643) Stateroom attendent was very good, only saw her once on the first day but she did a fine job with the room. Left us 2 towelanimals. Monkey & Stingray. Room was nice a bit shabby on the walls and the couch was a little dirty but overall I was happy with it. Dinner (2cnd seating) in the dining room was very good, I think the desserts were a little blah, but the food overall was good. Ate dining room for 3 dinners. Windjammer one dinner (was an Asian theme, food was great that night they had a Mongolian grill where you chose your meat and veggies and they stirfried it right in front of you) Also one night at Portofino's-SO GOOD. If you are thinking of doing Portofinos, do it. You won't be sorry.

One dining room breakfast, the rest in the Windjammer. I was happy with breakfast at both places, eggs, bacon, fruit, cereal, toast-we loved that.

We never ate lunch in the dining room. We ate lunch in Bermuda (Pickled Onion in Hamilton) and that was very good. 2 Fish chowders + 2 cokes +One chicken club sandwich (we split) =37.00 not so bad. Johnny Rockets for one lunch and it was well worth the 11.00 and we loved it.

I had a few cappucinos from the Promenade cafe but never ate their pizza or sandwiches. We did not try the Ben and Jerrys, nor did I even eat any ice cream all week. We did the rock climbing wall this cruise and that was really great fun. Try it.

Monday (at sea-Day 2) we hit the pool early and spent the entire day laying around! It was perfect weather and it rained for about 10 minutes in the afternoon but it was not bad. We went to the Captains cocktail party before dinner and had a few rum punches, very nice.

Bermuda, (Day 3) we were off the ship early and rode the bus to Horseshoe Bay and it was really pretty but so hot. We just stayed in the water as much as possible. After about 4 hours on the beach we took the 1.00 taxi up the hill back to the bus, we were back on the ship for a rest, pool, snack, then we walked over to the dockyards and looked at some shops-craft shops-glass works(nothing spectacular) and that was it, we were tired from the beach.

Bermuda (Day 5) we took the ferry to Hamilton, shopped, walked, and ate. We were just trying to relax and take it easy, both of us needed a vacation so badly. One mistake we made was buying the 2 day pass, for 20.00 each, we did not need the pass since we only used the bus one day and the ferry one day but we were ambitious on day one and thought me might use the bus more. So we only wasted 4.00 each by buying the pass instead of one way tokens.

At sea (Day 5) guess what we did? Hit the pool early and got two prime chairs and again, spent most of the day in the pool or in our chair. It was very hot day and really great weather. I read an entire book, drank a few Miami Vices, and got a front row seat for the mens sexy leg contest.

 

Midnight and Gala buffet: I viewed them both but did not eat at either one. The poolside one (First night in Bermuda) looked very good.

 

Shows: Shame on us lazy cruisers but we did not see any shows! Ha.

We did go to the Love & Marriage game which was hysterical and Allan Brooks made it so good, he is very funny and was a good cruise director. We also went to The Quest. My goodness people can get crazy but it was in good fun and I felt bad for all the ruined lipstick stained shirts.

 

We were very low key the cruise because both of us were exhausted from working so hard and have not had a vacation in over a year, so we really took it easy. The ship was not completely full and there were only about 150 children on board, which was nice since I was travelling w/o children, I was happy to see few children. Many couples with cute babies in strollers.

(my one pet peeve is seeing baby's in the pool, there is a sign saying no children in diapers or who are NOT toilet trained- allowed in the pool, that does include babies in swimming diapers, however I guess some parents can't read-if that little swimmer breaks and they whole pool has to be drained it's not a picnic and I have seen it happen) Most of the kids were really well behaved.

Most of the guests were super nice and friendly, very little pushing and shoving as you will have on some ships.

 

Gossip from my sailing: we heard that an elderly woman died in her cabin of natural causes during the cruise (so sad)-there was an announcement ALTO cabin 8XXX, made 4xs, I guess this is when that happened. Also, 2 folks missed the ship in Bermuda and were brought back on a small boat (the Pilot) right alongside the Voyager and transfered on while we were moving. I don't know how or why they missed the departure but I was told that the cost of doing that little transfer is 1800.00!! I would have stayed behind, unless my passport and credit cards were on board-I guess) And last bit of gossip, a man shattered his leg on a moped and was in the Bermuda hospital awaiting surgery. Those mopeds are dangerous, we saw 2 couples wreck into each other and another guy walking around on board with a bandaged head.

 

Debarking, we drove ourselves to the pier and lucky us we got a YELLOW tag so we were 3rd in order to be called off, however they called the first 3 colors at the same time and we were the first group off the ship @ 9:30 AM. We would have been off around 9, but one certain passenger YU CHEN did not seem to speak English, so after about 4 pages for YU CHEN (and many restless cruisers yelling out "You Suck!") to report to immigration in Cleopatras Needle, they finally paged this person in their native language and they must have understood it this time, because the next over head announcement was tags White, Yellow, and Orange to disembark. We were in our car (NO PAINT splash) by 9:45 and home by noon. We really had a wonderful relaxing SMOOTH cruise and I thought everyone from Royal Caribbean that I encountered greeted me with a smile and was working hard. I have no complaints, okay maybe one:

They need more than one barrista making capaccino's, it was too long of a wait at the Cafe. I probably could keep on going but I need to get back to the real world and I need to do laundry and unpack, as I have work tomorrow.

[PelicanBill]

Great review! Glad to hear you enjoyed the new CD. We sail in 2 weeks!

[teddie]

tell me please how the traffic was on sail day, the best areas to park, etc. Any other hints?

 

thanks

[jpurdy]

Loved it. I agree with the original poster. Our 11th cruise, 2nd on this ship. DH and myself, celebrating my 50th b'day. Great weather, great staff, great food. Lotsa relaxing. Amazing thunderstorm. We were out on Deck 4 watching it and the lightening was so CLOSE we backed way up next to the wall it was so vivid and loud. Didn't use the dining room once (yes we tipped anyway!) and loved the Asian stir fry station at Windjammer. Best I've ever had. Just be sure to specify you don't want it spicy or else it will be! Some thoughts: good coffee, especially at Promenade cafe. We were on 6th floor, promenade room. Alittle worn around the edges, but clean and cozy. One yucky thing in room. Mold when you close the shower doors. Not obvious with doors open, but once closed it's all around the bottom. Not pleasant. Please don't bash me! Just an observation!! Pool area really needs some work. The woodwork, tube lighting broken and hanging under the stairs. Again, small observations. Once in drydock, it will probably all be taken care of. All public areas very clean. Hardly saw any frayed carpeting or stains. Shows were good. Comedian and juggler on last nite excellent! I thought the pool deck band could use an injection of enthusiasm. Just my opinion. However, the Stingrays rocked!! It was their last nite on the ship and it was obvious the staff and CD are very fond of this group too. It was an all out party the last nite and we were privileged to be there at Cleopatra's Needle to participate. Any questions, will be happy to answer if I can!

[jpurdy]

Got there at 12:15. Drove around to the drop off area. Took care of that with a porter and a nice tip, and drove around the building again (they tell you to do this and it wasn't a big deal) to park the car. Oh, someone's vehicle was broken into and boy was the woman P.O.'d! The attendant said they caught the person who did it. Hey, it happens. I felt bad for them for sure, but it can happen anywhere. We were on the ship and eating by 1:15. Easy, easy, easy. Just follow the directions they give you about dropping off and swinging around again to park and it is fine. We've done both, drove right into parking and bringing our own stuff from the parking lot and doing the drop off thing. Frankly, if I'm gonna pay someone to take my stuff (which I always do anyway), I might as well have them do it all rather than me drag it all the way from the parking lot and then paying them anyway to take it! You can't bring it on yourself at this port. Hope this helps.

[teddie]

Thanks, jpurdy for the info---a few more questions....once you dropped off your luggage and parked, could you walk to the check-in building, or must you shuttle there?

[phantom728]

We just got home today and what an AWESOME cruise. The weather was perfecto. The sea was like glass. This was my 5th cruise, my 3rd Royal Carib. cruise, and my second time on the Voyager.

 

Rachael - is that you???? Sounds like you had a good time. We're counting the days till ours in January!

Talk to you next week.

Jen C.

[tuckerstravel]

Rachael - is that you???? Sounds like you had a good time. We're counting the days till ours in January!

Talk to you next week.

Jen C.

 

HA~! Hi Jen, yes it is me.

We had a very good time. I'm jealous of you going in Jan. I'm just off and ready to go again! We will talk soon. ;)

 

JPurdy, I also saw the thunder/lightening storm. I was sitting in a deck chair on the sides of the pool (covered area on Deck 11) watching the entire thing. It was amazing. Our cabin was a little shabby, but thank goodness, no mold.

 

It was such a great cruise, I was impressed.

[CruisinInAugust]

Great review, thanks for posting!

 

That's funny! On the Grandeur 8/28 cruise to Bermuda a man also missed the ship leaving the pier. The tugboat 'Powerful' brought him alongside the ship and transferred him as well. We were all wondering if he was charged for that. Wow, if $1800 is true, that's crazy!

 

There was speculation that he never moved his watch forward when arriving in Bermuda and maybe that was why he "missed the boat"...

[bobbie0253]

Great reviews! Thanks for posting. We will be on 10-30-05. We have been on the Voyager before but never to Bermuda.

 

jpurdy...when is the Platinum and Diamond repeaters party held?

 

Thanks again!

Bobbie <----who plans on not going to the dining room also. Just want to REALLY relax this cruise.

[CoronaCpl]

Great review! Always fun to read opinions on VOS...especially when they are positive. We've enjoyed this ship twice, but never to Bermuda. We sailed Grandeur to there and now wish we had driven up to NJ to catch VOS. Port of Baltimore is only 15 minutes from our door, so we opted for the quick fix. Still had a wonderful time.

[jpurdy]

Yes, you can definitely walk from the parking lot back to the entry area after dropping off your bags. But you will still have to check in and the shuttle bus from there. But you don't need to take the mini-shuttle from the parking lot if you don't want to. But we were there at noon and didn't have to park too far either. The lot is quite large. So, if you are an able walker, it shouldn't be a problem. The shuttle service is quite good though. They are all over and we took one anyway!

I do not know when the repeat cruiser party is. I'm guessing at the first evening, but I could easily be wrong. Tuckerstravel, we also heard the alpha alpha alpha distress call and I knew something was very wrong too. But didn't know what happened until your post. Also, if anyone thinks it's easy to navigate mopeds in Bermuda, think again. Roads are very windy, narrow and the taxi drivers drive FAST and pass OFTEN. Tuckerstravel confirmed that combining driving on unfamiliar roads and opposite the road you are used to = an accident waiting to happen. Now that we've seen the conditions we agree, just take the very inexpensive bus! The ship makes this very easy to get an all day pass that is good for BOTH the bus and the ferry. One thing I forgot to mention, we walked to the snorkel park just down the road and had a very enjoyable time there. Very clean, small, but good snorkeling and very relaxing. No lifeguard, but the water was very calm. Equipment rental on site and very pleasant staff. Food/drinks served too.

[CruisingYiayia]

We were on this cruise also. This was my 4th cruise to Bermuda and I have never seen the seas as calm as they were for this sailing. We had a hump cabin on deck 7 and never felt any motion.

 

We watched the thunderstorm from the Viking Crown lounge...quite a sight!!!

 

For those wondering, the Repeater's party was Wednesday evening from 7:45pm to 8:30pm. It was for Platinum and Diamond Crown and Anchor members. It was very nice...lots of hors d'oerves and free drinks. The Captain also spoke briefly.

 

As for sailing out of Bayonne, I thought it was the worst set-up I have ever seen. Thank goodness it wasn't raining the day we sailed, or the day we returned. Boarding the ship on deck 1 (crew's quarters) was not too impressive to a first timer. Just my opinion.

 

I agree about the scooters in Bermuda. We rented one and had an accident. We were lucky...just scraped and bruised. Use the ferries and buses...they are very convenient.

 

We had a wonderful time, and are looking forward to planning our next cruise.

[ssoceo]

Zoe and others on the 5 day VOS - we leave this weekend on the 10/2 sailing - I heard they do not serve lobster in the dining room one night like usual since its only a 5 nighter - is that true?

 

Sharon

[CruisingYiayia]

Zoe and others on the 5 day VOS - we leave this weekend on the 10/2 sailing - I heard they do not serve lobster in the dining room one night like usual since its only a 5 nighter - is that true?

 

Sharon

 

They did serve lobster and shrimp Tuesday night, the night we were in Bermuda. There were lots of empty tables in the dining room that night, so maybe others didn't realize it was being served. You could get as much as you wanted. It was good, but being from New England, nothing compares to Maine lobster.

[tuckerstravel]

They did serve lobster and shrimp Tuesday night, the night we were in Bermuda. There were lots of empty tables in the dining room that night, so maybe others didn't realize it was being served.

 

We were two who skipped the dining room that night! We were so tired from being at Horseshoe Bay, that night we ate in the Windjammer (Mongolian Grill was so good!)

But I had shrimp cocktail at dinner the last night and tiger shrimp as my main course another night. I think shrimp cocktail was on the menu Monday night as well. They also had lobster in Portofino's.