Just off Voyager of the Seas - any questions?

[OA515]

OP, thank you so much for this post. We are doing this cruise in late July. I would really like to hear your impression of the ports and your recommendations for things to do. I am very interested in Koper, Bari, and Dbrovnick. Any details you share would be appreciated.

 

Did you utilize the bag storage in Piazza Roma or anywhere else on your last day in Venice before you left for the airport? If so, how much was it and did it work well for you?

 

I am looking forward to your review.

 

Take care.

 

I´ll be back with more port to port details in the review. If that´s how you usually do it here? I´m new to CC, so please forgive any beginners mistakes.

 

There is basically only two options for luggage storage in walking distance from the ship (if you don´t use the hotels). One is in the railway station. But the best, and most popular, is located right next to the entry for the people mover at he Piazzale Roma. It cost 5 Euros per bag/suitcase for 24 hours. But bear in mind that there will be lines, and it usually runs out of storage space before lunch during high season. If you get there early, it will be perfect - located between the People Mover and the airport buses at Piazzale Roma.

[OA515]

Hi we are considering booking this cruise for the end of July. It says it is a 7 night cruise but then it arrives in Venice on the Friday for 2 days? Does this mean it is docked in Venice on Friday to go on port excursions, sleep on board Friday night and then disembark on Saturday morning?

 

Would you recommend the ports visited?

 

Absolutely right.

 

Ports visited was great, maybe except for Koper. Nice place, but it is up to some of the most beautiful places in the region - like Venice, Bari and Dubrovnik. I´ll be back with more port details later on.

[OA515]

We are taking the Voyager TA from New Orleans on April 14, 2012. I have a few questions I would appreciate you answering, if you can:

 

What type of diet sodas do they serve? It is fountain or canned drinks?

 

Basic Coca-Cola products, and a combination of fountain and cans, depending on when and where you bought them. I even saw people with soda packages getting cans from time to time.

 

What type of juices do you see in the buffet in the morning?

 

Apple and orange (in addition to iced water). All three was good, even the tapped water. No need to go for the expensive bottles (at least not on the Adriatic itinerary, tap water was fresh and tasty). They had a great cranberry juice on the first two days, but they ran out of it for some reason.

 

Is there a grill on the ship with hot dogs, hamburgers, fries, etc. or do you have to pay and go to Johnny Rockets?

 

There are burgers, fries, hot dogs, etc in Windjammer, at least for lunch. But bear in mind that it is a buffet, and the fries, dogs and burgers are probably the poorest items in the entire buffet. If you crave for burgers, Johnny Rockets is worth every penny.

 

 

Can you get ice cream for no charge somewhere?

Yup, you can. On the sun deck (aft on deck 11), there are two cone machines. Vanilla and choclate, both are actually pretty good. They were so good that we were so tired of ice cream that we never went to Ben & Jerry´s...

 

Is there a good room service menu?

The room service menu is OK, nothing more. Really basic stuff, like burgers, salads, etc. Except for breakfast, which was really good. Balcony breakfast is a must-do!

[NCMtnBoys]

€47!!! it is €5.00 on the bus.:rolleyes:

 

http://www.atvo.it/images_doc/linee/Marco_Polo-Venezia_(16.06_al_31.08.2011).pdf

 

I wish we could possibly take the bus, but I don't think we can unless we walked to P.le Roma from the ship. We'd have to disembark the ship at 6:00am (or earlier?) to walk all the way to P.le Roma to hopefully catch the 6:50am bus (not sure how long it takes to walk from the ship to P.le Roma), as the people mover does not operate that early. Then what if we get there and there is no room for our luggage and the bus is full? Wait for the next one? The downside of an early flight, unfortunately. But I wanted to get an early start so we could get home same-day.

[NCMtnBoys]

Hi! Thanks for sharing :) I'd like to know if persons left the ship on Friday instead of Saturday. I'm sailing in October I intend to do debark on the Friday morning, and I'm really hoping it's allowed.

 

Yes, it is allowed. I had remembered seeing in the cruise compass that someone posted for this itinerary that you can disembark the 1st day in Venice. But it's ONLY available for very short windows, ONLY three times on Friday. 8:30-8:45; 1:30-1:45; 3:30-3:45. No other times may you disembark the ship on Friday if you're not returning.

 

Here is a link to the cruise compass for this itinerary. The info that talks about disembarking on Friday is on page 21:

 

http://www16.speedyshare.com/files/28933247/download/Voyager%20of%20the%20Seas%20-%20Cruise%20Compass%20-%20June%204%202011.pdf

[Norwegianlatvian]

Thank you very much for the cruise compass! The pdf version makes them very easy to handle with my Ipad.

[tjone]

We are going in October and were wondering if anyone knew of any private tours to book in the ports of call. I haven't looked up the ones from the ship yet but we usually book them ourselves privately and find them much better then the ship ones.

Any information on the ports of call would be appreciated.

Thanks

[CroNich]

Hi, Im trying to convince the Family to go on when it comes to Australia, just have a few questions:

 

-Does the ship feel warn down or old at all

-Is there enough to do to keep you busy

- Whats the boat like for Teens and Tweens

 

Thanks

[LegalEagle2012]

Have booked a private tour of Koper - please email if you want details.

 

Karenrayleigh@talktalk.net

 

Karen

[Yuma Cruiser]

Thanks for all the information.

[solo_w_kids]

Thanks for posting all the information especially the cruise compasses!

 

Ok, here's a strange question. Is everything in English? I mean the shows, the mystery dinner theater, etc. or is it in Italian?

 

Does anyone have menus they could scan and post?

 

Are there any good beaches? I have two teenage girls who want to sunbathe!

 

Is it true that you can't bring wine on the ship from the ports?

 

Any ideas for things to do in any of the Ports with teenage girls?

 

Thanks for all your help!

[cruisintwinsmom]

Thanks for posting all the information especially the cruise compasses!

 

Ok, here's a strange question. Is everything in English? I mean the shows, the mystery dinner theater, etc. or is it in Italian?

 

Does anyone have menus they could scan and post?

 

Are there any good beaches? I have two teenage girls who want to sunbathe!

 

Is it true that you can't bring wine on the ship from the ports?

 

Any ideas for things to do in any of the Ports with teenage girls?

 

Thanks for all your help!

 

Everything was in English on the ship.

 

Beaches:

In Dubrovnik, Banja beach is just 10 minutes from Old Town. Although the girl at the information both said it was "sandy", the sand was only for about 1 foot then it was pebbles into the sea. They rented chairs for 10 Euro. They also had umbrellas, but I don't remember how much they were because it was too windy the day we were there to rent them.

 

In Ravenna, there was a beach right near the dock, but we didn't go there so don't know what it was like.

 

Teenage girls:

If they like to shop, be sure to do it before siesta time, as a lot of the shops were closed in the early afternoon till about 4:30.

 

Happy Sailing!

[cruisintwinsmom]

We are going in October and were wondering if anyone knew of any private tours to book in the ports of call. I haven't looked up the ones from the ship yet but we usually book them ourselves privately and find them much better then the ship ones.

Any information on the ports of call would be appreciated.

Thanks

 

We used public transportation in all the ports, except for Bari, where we used the ship's excursion to Matera. In the past we had only done private tours and I was pleasantly surprised with the quality of this tour.

 

In Koper we went to Piran, but our table mates went to Trieste. I would go to Trieste if I were to do it over again.

[solo_w_kids]

Everything was in English on the ship.

 

Beaches:

In Dubrovnik, Banja beach is just 10 minutes from Old Town. Although the girl at the information both said it was "sandy", the sand was only for about 1 foot then it was pebbles into the sea. They rented chairs for 10 Euro. They also had umbrellas, but I don't remember how much they were because it was too windy the day we were there to rent them.

 

In Ravenna, there was a beach right near the dock, but we didn't go there so don't know what it was like.

 

Teenage girls:

If they like to shop, be sure to do it before siesta time, as a lot of the shops were closed in the early afternoon till about 4:30.

 

Happy Sailing!

 

Thanks! This helps a lot! Although I might save some money if I forget to mention the siesta shop closings!! :)

[Stanley]

OP you said that you used public transportation except for Bari. Is the transportation convenient to the port? We prefer to make our own way to places unless they are a fair distance from the ship. Did you have a transportation plan before you got on the ship?

 

Thanks,

[Barnsleylass]

Absolutely right.

 

Ports visited was great, maybe except for Koper. Nice place, but it is up to some of the most beautiful places in the region - like Venice, Bari and Dubrovnik. I´ll be back with more port details later on.

 

We are sailing on this cruise in August and also like to do our own thing at ports, stop for a nice lunch somewhere etc. I would be really interested to know your views on the ports and how you got to the all the places, did you use shuttles or public transport.

 

You mentioned the later dining in one of your posts and I'd like to know what time the late sitting is. I've seen posts for 9.30pm and as we have our teenage daughter with us I'm not sure if I've made a mistake and should have gone on the early sitting.

 

I think its great that you're taking time to share all this information with us. Thankyou so much.

[dln929]

We used public transportation in all the ports, except for Bari, where we used the ship's excursion to Matera. In the past we had only done private tours and I was pleasantly surprised with the quality of this tour.

 

In Koper we went to Piran, but our table mates went to Trieste. I would go to Trieste if I were to do it over again.

Did your table mates say how they got to Trieste from Koper? We're there on a Sunday and that's the one and only day there's no bus service between the two places! :(

[Jimnbigd]

Can you get ice cream for no charge somewhere?

There are soft serve machines at the back starboard (right) side of the pool area and also in the buffet, both on deck 11. Unlike Carnival, these are not open 24 hours -- usually something like 11am to 6pm as I recall. You can also get hard scooped ice cream in the MDR for lunch (when open) and dinner.

 

You can get cookies, brownies, fruit tarts, and other desserts in Cafe Promenade (deck 5), and this is open most if not all of the time. Also they have good pre-made sandwiches and better pizza than the buffet. Good danish for breakfast. And Seattle's Best Coffee. No extra charge. Try mixing a packet of the dark hot chocolate with your coffee for a free mocha.

[Norwegianlatvian]

ok, ODD question coming up:

 

do you know if they use the awful corn syrup version of soda on the european cruises as well?

[cruisintwinsmom]

Thanks! This helps a lot! Although I might save some money if I forget to mention the siesta shop closings!! :)

 

I know...this trip we spent the least amount ever on souvenirs!

[cruisintwinsmom]

Did your table mates say how they got to Trieste from Koper? We're there on a Sunday and that's the one and only day there's no bus service between the two places! :(

 

They took a taxi. I did not ask them how much it cost.

[cadburysmom]

Thanks for starting this thread.

 

Did you know of anyone who took the ship excursion to Florence while in Ravenna?

 

Thanks!

[Yorkshire Voyagers]

Barnsleylass - left Voyager yesterday, the last dining time is definitely 9.30, we were 9.00 pm on deck 3

[Gingerbint]

Can you tell me at which ports RCI provided transport into town (I only saw Ravenna written on a past cruise compass), and which towns can be reached on foot? Thanks in advance.

 

Royal provides transport at all stops except Koper as you can walk off at Koper and explore the town. There is a horse and cart that goes around the town at 10 Euros per person. There is also a mini train but it was broken on the day we were there. If you want to climb the bell tower in the centre it is 3 Euros each.

 

Ship shuttle tickets for all the others are priced as follows

 

Bari - $14 per person

Ravenna - $14 per person

Dubrovnik - $10 per person

Venice - $25 per person - this is a boat shuttle transfer

 

The shuttle ticket was valid all day and you could use it to go back and forth as many times as you wanted. We only went there and back once though as I suspect so did many others!

 

We chose not to walk off any others as seems a fair trek IMO.

My tip would be to get your tickets the day before as if you want to buy on the day this is usually the longest queue on the dock!

 

We also didn't buy tickets for Venice as we did a morning trip with Royal and you had the option to remain behind at the end to explore Venice and then get the shuttle boat home by just showing your tour sticker. This is what we did and spent the afternoon in Venice shopping and sightseeing.

 

In Bari when we got off the shuttle in town there are people selling the mini train rides with a walking guided tour. It is 10 Euro's each and takes about 60-80 mins including the train trip there and back. It was just right for us as we got to see some of the town with info about it and also some places of interest.

 

Hope this is of help :)

[Gingerbint]

A couple more questions:-

 

Did you have Mystery Dinner Theatre and The Quest?

 

The Mystery Dinner was on day 3 (Ravenna) at 7.45pm and cost $49 pp - we didn't go but some table mates did and really enjoyed it and they actually won!

 

Quest was on day 5 (Dubrovnik) at 11.15pm in Cleopatra's Needle

 

What sort of cabin did you stay in - and was the ship in good condition?

 

We had a D2 cabin on Deck 7, room was clean and tidy, sofa arms slight wear but nothing to complain about. Ship was IMO in looking good, didn't notice any signs of wear and tear and there was always someone cleaning something, somewhere!

 

Sorry for the questions - I am curious.

 

Karen

 

Hi

What sort of lager do they sell? We have booked the same cruise for October and hubby is not keen on Carlsberg!

 

They sell a few, best selection is in the pub on the Promenade. Draught was Heineken, they had bottles of Bud Lite, Corona, Cans of Fosters, bottles and cans of Strongbow. There were some others but can't remeber them, sorry.

 

Thanks very much. How much are the drinks?

 

Depends on what you want to have,

From my receipts ..... price shown as total cost (price of drink and the tax)

Bottle of Beringer in the MDR - $35.65

Pina Colada - $8.91 but also charged $8.05!?

Can of Strongbow - $7.48

Bottle Bud Lite - $5.69

Frozen Mojito - $9.20

Milkshake in Johnny Rockets - $5.18

Strawberry Daiquri - $10.92

Kir Royale - $10.23

Flirtini - $10.23

Sparkling Mojito - $10.23