Voyager of the Seas review

[Mikey22]

Quick review of the VOS

Just got back from the Voyager of the Seas on the weekend.

14 days around NZ and Melbourne.

 

Beautiful Ship with good staff although many had real issues speaking and understanding English.

 

FOOD

I had heard the food was not great on RCL ships but the Restaurant served what I thought was pretty good food and at least as good as I have had on other cruise lines, one complaint was the menu for Lunch was not altered and was repeated the second week to the point one menu was served up 3 times.

We only used the Buffet a couple of times when the MDR was not available, I did not care for "Wind Jammers" it was mainly crowded and was hard to get a seat, it had a Pigs at the trough feel to it to me.

 

ENTERTAINMENT

I thought the entertainment was fair to average, the Dancers only performed twice on a 14 night cruise, they had a Comic a Hypnotist, a String duo etc.

Because the shows did not start till 9pm for the main diner sitting (6pm) we found it too late for our young boy to stay awake.

The Cruise Director, seemed popular but he was aimed at an older generation than us and seemed from a different era, the average age of the passengers appeared to be above 60-70 years of age.

 

STATEROOM

Our Cabin, a double, with a pullman bed was compact but functional and we were very happy with the layout.

 

SHIP FACILITIES

The Bars were well set up but in the evenings very hard to get a seat.

The kids Club was well run and a good set up.

The Ice Rink was only open to Passenger Skating for about 6 hours the whole cruise.

The Rock climbing, Putt Putt and In line Skating did not appear to be used by anyone much, mainly due to the demographic of the passengers.

 

In Summary.

Nice Ship, may be too large for our taste but that's a personal preference, drink prices were very reasonable, if you don't mind throwing a few tips around you get looked after.

Wine was average quality at high prices, a wine we can buy locally for $6 was $35 on board. The $10 1/2 carafe of reasonable wine (better Wine than the $35 one) was the only half decent option in some of the Bars.

There was a fair bit of queuing at Meal times and for Shows which can be expected for the amount of passengers.

The Food was served by the staff in the Buffet and at the MDR salad Bar for the first 12 days due to Noro virus, I was pretty happy about this as many passengers seemed to have serious chest issues and were coughing like they were on the way out.

 

Cheers,

 

M

[Sydney32203]

Hi Mikey,

 

Thanks for your review. The 3 of us (myself, hubby and 6 year old son) have booked a 14 night to NZ cruising in Nov 2013. I have a question about the night entertainment.... We are on My Time Dining which I think starts at 5.45pm. Would we be able to make it for an earlier show than 9pm? I'm assuming there is an earlier show? A 7.30pm? 9 pm is definitely too late for little kiddies and I'll be disappointed if we can't make it for the night shows. I understand there is entertainment/show every night?

 

How old is your son? Apart from the kids club, were there enough things to do to keep the kids entertained on a 14 night cruise? We will be travelling with cousins and relatives and there will be 3 kids in our group. By November 2013 they would be age 6, 5 and 3 and they will all have to be in separate kids club based on the ship's regulation. I doubt my 6 year old will want to go by himself becuase he is extremely shy.

 

What is your opinion on the food in the 24 hour promenade cafe? Was is crowded all the time?

 

Did you son sleep on the Pullman bed? Was it safe? Some people advise to pull the mattress off and lay it on the floor but I'm wondering if the room attendant will put it back on top every morning when he makes up the room. Otherwise there will be very little floor space in the cabin.

 

I have read many reviews complaining about the cabin needing a make over as the carpets and sofas etc is quite worn out. Is your opinion similar?

 

I apologies in advance for asking so many questions. This will be my first ever cruise and hubby wanted to go on the biggest ship that comes to Australia because he was concern about motion sickness and also thought the smaller ships like Radiance and Rapsody might run out of things to do on a 14 ight cruise. As for me I was happy to go with Radiance as I heard that it was a beautifully renovated ship with lots of facilities and restaurants. Anyhow, weave booked VOS and I can't wait to get on.....1 year to go!

[Mikey22]

Hi Mikey,

Hi

Thanks for your review. The 3 of us (myself, hubby and 6 year old son) have booked a 14 night to NZ cruising in Nov 2013. I have a question about the night entertainment.... We are on My Time Dining which I think starts at 5.45pm. Would we be able to make it for an earlier show than 9pm? I'm assuming there is an earlier show? A 7.30pm? 9 pm is definitely too late for little kiddies and I'll be disappointed if we can't make it for the night shows. I understand there is entertainment/show every night?

 

Some nights there are earlier shows that are for the late sitting diners, but not all nights, a few were 9pm only.

 

How old is your son? Apart from the kids club, were there enough things to do to keep the kids entertained on a 14 night cruise? We will be travelling with cousins and relatives and there will be 3 kids in our group. By November 2013 they would be age 6, 5 and 3 and they will all have to be in separate kids club based on the ship's regulation. I doubt my 6 year old will want to go by himself becuase he is extremely shy.

 

Our Boy is Seven, the kids clubs are well run, there is Putt Putt, In line and ice Skating and a pool area called Adventure beach at the back of the Ship as well as a very large pay as you use Arcade area.

 

 

What is your opinion on the food in the 24 hour promenade cafe? Was is crowded all the time?

 

The Cafe was busy most of the time, its cakes and pastries early in the day and sandwiches and Pizza later, similar to whats in the buffet, we did not use it much as you can only consume so much and we had three meals a day in the MDR,

 

 

Did you son sleep on the Pullman bed? Was it safe? Some people advise to pull the mattress off and lay it on the floor but I'm wondering if the room attendant will put it back on top every morning when he makes up the room. Otherwise there will be very little floor space in the cabin.

 

He slept on the Pullman bed, it was fine other than it gets in the way and is hard to make for the Steward as we had a double bed set up below it.

 

I have read many reviews complaining about the cabin needing a make over as the carpets and sofas etc is quite worn out. Is your opinion similar?

 

Our Cabin was fine and probably better than we have had on the other cruise lines we have traveled with, in really good condition.

 

 

I apologies in advance for asking so many questions. This will be my first ever cruise and hubby wanted to go on the biggest ship that comes to Australia because he was concern about motion sickness and also thought the smaller ships like Radiance and Rapsody might run out of things to do on a 14 ight cruise. As for me I was happy to go with Radiance as I heard that it was a beautifully renovated ship with lots of facilities and restaurants. Anyhow, weave booked VOS and I can't wait to get on.....1 year to go!

 

You will love it.

M

[Sydney32203]

Thanks Mikey or the quick reply. I can't wait to get on! :-)

[joejoe 59]

Thanks for your review it was great to read :D We sail on VOS in Jan. & am starting to look forward to it again now that some positive reviews are coming out.

 

Whats with only one gangway being open in Auckland, what was their reasoning for that:confused:

[Mikey22]

Thanks for your review it was great to read :D We sail on VOS in Jan. & am starting to look forward to it again now that some positive reviews are coming out.

 

Whats with only one gangway being open in Auckland, what was their reasoning for that:confused:

 

Thanks,

It is a fantastic Ship with great staff and superb food, it will only get better as they get into their stride.

I think the decision is made by the Port Authority in Auckland regarding the gangway, they will have learnt from that, it was a a whole new experience at most Ports for a ship of this size.

Napier was more of an issue with having to queue for a Bus to be ferried into town because it was a working Port and you could not walk from where the ship docks to the exit, we hired a Car here and that was a mistake with the amount of time we had in Napier, you live and learn I guess.

 

M

[Mikey22]

Thanks Mikey or the quick reply. I can't wait to get on! :-)

 

I wish I was going back on soon :)

[Keith1010]

Mikey, thanks for taking the time to write and post this review.

 

Keith

[Lilfrog79]

Hi, I too was on this cruise and just want to add my two cents worth, just in relation to Aukland, it was pretty crappy trying to get off, but even with such a long line it only took us about 30 minutes. This was the only port with the long lines to get off. But as Mikey said this was the first time this shop docked here, and I suppose things will only get better. Other Ports allowed the use of two gangways, and apparently things such as the tides etc, affect this. If you are in no hurry just chill out in the prominade with a coffee for a little while.

 

p.s the food in the cafe is pretty nice. Nice little sandwiches and cakes pizza and cookies..... We ate late, which meant an occasional afternoon snack.... Just enough to fill that little hole! :rolleyes:

[Mikey22]

Thanks Keith,

 

Here is a link to some photos we took.

 

 

M

[KirkNC]

Thanks for the review!

[Mikey22]

Cheers Kirk.

 

Another link.

 

[Mikey22]

The New Zealand Fiords.

 

[suncityga]

Great review and photos... Thank you.

[Mikey22]

Thanks Suncityga,

Another quick Video from our trip, I should have sorted them and posted in one go :)

 

[Mikey22]

Another compilation of VOS

[callmewhatever]

Mikey u mentioned that u got 1/2 carafe of wine, was this available in the dining room? Thank's.

[Mikey22]

Mikey u mentioned that u got 1/2 carafe of wine, was this available in the dining room? Thank's.

 

I did not see it there, I don't think so, it was on a tap bulk delivery system, Wolf Blass.

They had little table talkers advertising it in the Wind Jammer buffet and the Pig & Whistle.

[callmewhatever]

Thanks :D