Booking Decision - Need Help! Canada on the Voyager

[bride and groom]

H-E-L-P!!!!!! We have a hold on a reservation regarding a cruise to Canada leaving from Bayonne, NJ on July 25th - we either have to pay in full or let the reservation go and then rebook again tomorrow.

 

Ok here's the situation - we've only cruised on Royal Caribbean once before and HATED it. Sorry but it's the truth. We were on the Nordic Empress... We're willing to give it another try on the Voyager BUT, we want some really honest answers from everyone, especially anyone who has been to Canada on the the VOS this year.

 

Questions:

 

1) How was the food? Last time we took RCCL, the quality of the food was poor. Overcooked fish, poor grades of meat...yuck! And the buffet? Forget about it...I remember living on salad most of the week and at that - it wasn't good. Can we really expect anything different on VOS?

 

2) Shows conflicted with dinner times and often there was only 1 show for the entire evening. Is it different on the VOS?

 

3.) Are we going to be "forced" to dine with other people at our table. It's just me and my husband and his widower father. Can we get a table for 3?

 

4.) How is Portofino and Johnny Rockets? Worth the extra $$??

 

Please don't take offense to our taste and questions. Everything is subject to personal taste and ideas but, we have read several reviews that have us a bit worried that it's going to be a repeat of the Nordic Empress, so, your honesty would be appreciated.

 

Thank you.

[gerif]

Originally posted by bride and groom:

H-E-L-P!!!!!! We have a hold on a reservation regarding a cruise to Canada leaving from Bayonne, NJ on July 25th - we either have to pay in full or let the reservation go and then rebook again tomorrow.

 

Ok here's the situation - we've only cruised on Royal Caribbean once before and HATED it. Sorry but it's the truth. We were on the Nordic Empress... We're willing to give it another try on the Voyager BUT, we want some really honest answers from everyone, especially anyone who has been to Canada on the the VOS this year.

 

Questions:

 

1) How was the food? Last time we took RCCL, the quality of the food was poor. Overcooked fish, poor grades of meat...yuck! And the buffet? Forget about it...I remember living on salad most of the week and at that - it wasn't good. Can we really expect anything different on VOS?

 

We were on this cruise 5/30, our first time on RCCL with prior cruises on Celebrity, HAL and Carnival. My main "complaint" was that it was too cold to use the outside decks and, of course, the pools - but we knew this going in. Otherwise, we had a great cruise!

 

All of the food we had in the dining room was great for what it was (banquet food). Steaks were cooked exactly as ordered (DH likes medium, three others at our table wanted well, I like mine "bleeding"). One night, I wanted the seabass but didn't care for the "sides" that came with it, but really liked the "sides" listed for the pork chop (had previously heard to avoid this because it was dry). Well, they will bring you anything you want, but can't "substitute", so I was brought both plates - ended up eating all of the pork chop - it was great - DH ate the fish and enjoyed it.

 

Breakfast and lunch were had in the Windjammer - I'm just a cereal and fruit breakfast eater, so can't be real helpful there. For lunch, they had a nice, fresh salad bar which I had every day plus a sample of a couple of hot items (OK - especially liked the Indian offerings). Desserts were to die for, so I always held out some room at lunch for them. DH enjoyed the hamburgers and hot dogs at lunch.

 

2) Shows conflicted with dinner times and often there was only 1 show for the entire evening. Is it different on the VOS?

 

No problem with conflicts - I think the only nights they didn't offer two shows were the first night and the night they had the ice shows. I especially liked that the shows for 2nd seating were held at 7 p.m., leaving afterdinner time for the casino and lounges.

 

3.) Are we going to be "forced" to dine with other people at our table. It's just me and my husband and his widower father. Can we get a table for 3?

 

Make your request for a small table early - and check your table location and size once you get on board. We had requested a table for 6 which we feel is most conducive for conversation (more than that gets too confusing and you figure you will like at least one of the two other couples - we like to meet new people). Well, we neglected to check when we got onboard and found ourselves at a table for 10. However, there were only three other people - an older couple and their friend from Scotland. We had a very enjoyable time at each meal.

 

4.) How is Portofino and Johnny Rockets? Worth the extra $$??

 

Loved Portofino's - the food was great and definitely worth the extra $. Couldn't see the attraction in Johnny Rockets, however. Same hamburgers as in Windjammer - french fries tasted "frozen too long," chocolate malt - tasty but not chocolatey enough. Certainly not worth the wait in line. They also started blaring loud music which DH asked that they turn down - they were a little rude about this. OK, we are over 50, so that may have been a factor - understand kids love this place.

 

All-in-all, we would still do this cruise again - especially if the weather were warmer. Had terrific cabin attendant and waiter - loved walking the Promenade - DH loved the beer pub and the nightly singer there. It's a great ship - just didn't have enough time on it!

 

Geri

[jpurdy]

Was on 5/30 VOS to Canada. I will admit the buffet was not as good as I had hoped. Our Carnival cruise on the Legend from NYC far surpassed in this area. Dining room was very good however. Promenade had very good sandwiches, cookies until very late. Weather was COLD. Not enough activities to make up for not being able to enjoy outdoors. Hopefully RCI will fix this on the canadian itinerary. Johnny rockets was very good. Small indoor seating area...couldn't enjoy the outdoor area at all..again, too cold. If I am to give my own honest opinion, I thought Carnival did a better job overall with the cruise director and the food, etc. the parade was nice, the krooze komics are great, but didn't see enough of them! The Platters was a great surprise to see. Unfortunately the shows are the same as the Serenade we were on in September. That ship is beautiful and I liked it better than the VOS. Can't really explain why, just that bigger doesn't necessarily mean better. We still had a good time and we had lunch once in the dining room and it was really really good. So, in the future unless the buffet improves, I would eat in the dining room all the time.

[karen_cpa]

We were on the 5/16 VOS to Canada so I can answer some of your questions.

 

1) Honestly, the food was not that good. Having cruised on Princess (1x) and Carnival (4x), I would put VOS way at the end food-wise. We were the first real cruise out of Bayonne, so I wondered if part of the problem was the NJ food vendors or maybe the newness of the routine? Not sure. The breakfast buffet was always good, but the main entrees are dinner were iffy most nights. Appetizers and desserts were always very good to excellent. Do not expect lobster on a 5-day cruise, and most nights, other than the always available steak, there was not a lot of beef (hubby is STILL complaining about it). Did we starve? Certainly not - but the food was not up to the standards we thought (especially given how freely and frequently people bash Carnival in comparison to RCCL).

 

2) We never had a conflict with the timing of shows. VOS seemed to be good about two seating - just note if you have late seating, some shows will be before dinner and some will be afterwards.

 

3) Not sure about the table for three. I would "think" you could ask for a table, but I don't know if they would guarantee it.

 

4) We didn't go to Portofino's but we went to Johnny Rocket's twice and enjoyed it both times. On VOS, the Johnny Rocket charge is only for beverages, so depending on what you drink, your charges can be minimal or nothing.

 

You didn't mention in your question, but the one thing about VOS that we really didn't think through enough was the weather. This is not the type of cruise where you spend your sea days lounging on deck with a book. It's just not - most days the weather was foggy and cold. Obviously by late July it will warm up significantly over mid-May, but be ready for a lot of non-Caribbean weather. I don't think I realized how much I would miss it. I personally, would probably never do a cold-weather itinerary again, unless it was Alaska. There was just something missing, IMO!

 

Hope that helps!!

 

Voyager of the Seas - 05/04

Tahitian Princess - 10/03 (Our Honeymoon)

Carnival Paradise - 08/02

 

Plus . . . An Open Booking with Princess!!