LOS vs. Voyager--help!

[kymbakitty]

Let me apologize in advance for the length of this post. It is a really big decision and a lot of $$, so I really want to have as much information as possible before we make a booking.

 

We stopped cruising Princess a couple years ago until they had some new ships in their fleet! No more OLD ships!

 

So since that decision, we've been on the Solstice (TA in April 2012) and then the Liberty of the Seas (TA in October 2012). Loved the new ships!

 

There is an itinerary that is very enticing to us on the Voyager. It starts in China and ends in Singapore. Most of those itineraries are so port intensive that they don't even interest us. This one, however, is A-W-E-S-O-M-E with a number of the stops staying over in port for one night. For so many reasons--this is just perfect for us.

 

The downside? Well...it is on the Voyager (older ship). According to the stats I was able to obtain--the ship was "born" in 1999, and refurbished in 2004 (one site said 2009, so not sure about the refurbished date). Regardless, that is just one year "newer" that the Grand Princess, which was the ship where we said "no more." I realize that is a different line...but you can't change the year's being so close.

 

We really liked the LOS. And I just compared the decks on both the LOS and Voyager and there were such small differences, that I really don't understand the description that some posters have given one over the other (i.e., LOS is like Voyager on steroids).

 

It would seem to me that with the ships being VERY close in size/layout, that 500 less people on the Voyager, that there would be a lot more space per passenger. Not a big deal...never felt crowded on the LOS.

 

I read the rooms/suites/balconies are a little bit smaller than those on the newer ships, but that is okay. No flowrider--no problem. No Cupcakes...no big deal. I see the Promenade is smaller. Not a deal breaker.

 

What about the exercise facility? Is the equipment 10 years old? Are passengers saying "man, that ship has seen better days" when they disembark (like so many were saying the last year or two of the Grand before she went into dry dock)? Or was she built/maintained in such a way that she can still hold her own?

 

The itinerary is so awesome, I think we could really over look some problems. But if there are so many differences in this ship as opposed to the newer ones, I would really like to know that ahead of time so we can make a decision based on recent information.

 

That is what this message board provides that the best RCI Rep could never provide...latest & greatest information based on actual cruising experiences on the various ships.

 

Thanks!

[Pack My Bags]

BOOK THE VOYAGER!!! The differences are minor. The promenade is about 6 feet narrower, the hump cabins a bit smaller. Yes no cupcakes or flow rider, but still VERY well maintained. Also..... The solarium on the voyager has a retractable roof so you can swim during the winter.

 

Remember you are booking based on ITINERARY foremostly. THEN the ship. The ship has extremely comfy beds & is well maintained. You will not be disappointed.

 

Smooth sailing & HAPPY NEW YEAR!

[woodscruise]

I would definately book the Voyager. When I was on Voyager in November, they did have a cupcake store just outside the Windjammer. It was on the otherside of Portofino's. Also one thing I did notice and made comment to my wife on was the Solarium, with not having a roof over the swimming pool. The hot tubs were a bit under cover.

Remember the Voyager is doing the Asian cruises during the northern hemisphere summer months and coming to Australia/New Zealand/South Pacific for our summer months (October/November to March/April).

I believe it will be going into drydock in 2014.

If the itinerary is what you are after go for it...afterall the ship is what is getting you from point A to point B and you are only using it for accomodation.

[DonnaK]

BOOK THE VOYAGER!!! The differences are minor. The promenade is about 6 feet narrower, the hump cabins a bit smaller. Yes no cupcakes or flow rider, but still VERY well maintained. Also..... The solarium on the voyager has a retractable roof so you can swim during the winter.

 

Remember you are booking based on ITINERARY foremostly. THEN the ship. The ship has extremely comfy beds & is well maintained. You will not be disappointed.

 

Smooth sailing & HAPPY NEW YEAR!

 

The solarium on Voyager does NOT have a retractable roof. It is open and uncovered.

[papaflamingo]

I agree, if you like the itinerary book Voyager. Sailed last Feb. and she was in great shape. I don't think you will notice that much difference except as pointed out. Keep in mind she is due renovation so there may be some "worn" spots etc. but the crew (at least last Feb.) did a great job keeping her up. One difference are the balconies. When Voyager was built the balconies were internal to the ships structure. The are a bit more closed in. If you look closely at a picture you'll see what I mean. It's not a huge issue if you are prepared. If you have done balconies on newer ships you'll certainly notice the difference.

[avalon007]

Hi,

 

If you want to see latest pics of Voyager there is a really good review currently underway with loads of pics. (See link below)

 

I was also considering a cruise out of China at some stage but the Singaporean man doing the review has warned that the ships cruising out of China are very much focussed on catering to a Chinese demographic, many staff don't speak english very well, the cruise will have Chinese annoucements, a more asian menu etc etc.

Even the Singaporeans don'tt like it & they all speak both English very well & Chinese.

 

Have a read of that post here. As long as you don't expect it to have the same feel as a cruise out of the US, then you will be prepared for the differences & probably enjoy it just fine.

You will be the minority on such a cruise being a westerner.

 

I have done a 3 week land based tour of China before & loved it even though it was many years ago just after it opened up to more western tourism. It is well worth a visit & I intend to return.

The food was quite awful though, but things may have changed since then.:)

[Clarea]

BOOK THE VOYAGER!!! The differences are minor. The promenade is about 6 feet narrower, the hump cabins a bit smaller. Yes no cupcakes or flow rider, but still VERY well maintained. Also..... The solarium on the voyager has a retractable roof so you can swim during the winter.

 

Remember you are booking based on ITINERARY foremostly. THEN the ship. The ship has extremely comfy beds & is well maintained. You will not be disappointed.

 

Smooth sailing & HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Freedom class ships do have a longer Promenade than Voyager class, but the width is the same.

[Ocean Boy]

BOOK THE VOYAGER!!! The differences are minor. The promenade is about 6 feet narrower, the hump cabins a bit smaller. Yes no cupcakes or flow rider, but still VERY well maintained. Also..... The solarium on the voyager has a retractable roof so you can swim during the winter.

Remember you are booking based on ITINERARY foremostly. THEN the ship. The ship has extremely comfy beds & is well maintained. You will not be disappointed.

 

Smooth sailing & HAPPY NEW YEAR!

 

Really? When was that added to the ship??

 

Op, with the differences that you mentioned that don't mean much to you, don't worry about booking Voyager. It is a great class of ships and if you liked Liberty you will like Voyager. The two ships are much more alike than they are different. This class of ship is not comparible to Grand Princess in anyway other than age. They are just nothing alike in design.And since Yoyager is not a ship that is about to leave the RCI fleet anytime soon, don't worry that it is not being maintained well. RCI really takes very good care of its ships.

[SamFritz]

In my experience Royal does an incredible job maintaining their ships. We don't usually sail on ships that have that new ship smell, as they tend to cost much more when they are new. But I have yet to sail on a ship that left me saying, "she needs a good dry docking." If the Voyager itinerary is what you want, go for it.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Pack My Bags]

OK before anyone else highlights me, I'll just say that there were moving glass panels /overhang with ample cover on most of the perimeter when I sailed on the VOTS. I never saw it completely enclosed...They were shifted during cruise. I clearly recall it. I sailed from NY in October & I was swimming. It WAS a while ago.

 

As far as the balconies, the Voyager, Adventure & Explorer were built first & they are called "cove balconies" meaning the outside structure of the ship is steel & the balconies are recessed within the steel structure. the balconies are cutouts. There is about a 2 feet of glass along the railing. It's nice. The Mariner & Navigator were built later & differently. The balconies are built OUTSIDE the main structure & are all glass to allow for more sunlight. They are more visually appealing. With the glass you can lay on your bed & see the ocean.

 

BOTH are very acceptable. :)

See photos below. The first one is the cove balcony & the 2nd the view from the cove balcony. The 3rd is the glass style. Either way.... You have a balcony!

Hope this helps. Book the Voyager & Enjoy your cruise!

[kymbakitty]

...As far as the balconies, the Voyager, Adventure & Explorer were built first & they are called "cove balconies" meaning the outside structure of the ship is steel & the balconies are recessed within the steel structure. the balconies are cutouts. There is about a 2 feet of glass along the railing. It's nice. The Mariner & Navigator were built later & differently. The balconies are built OUTSIDE the main structure & are all glass to allow for more sunlight. They are more visually appealing. With the glass you can lay on your bed & see the ocean.

 

BOTH are very acceptable. :)

See photos below. The first one is the cove balcony & the 2nd the view from the cove balcony. The 3rd is the glass style. Either way.... You have a balcony!

Hope this helps. Book the Voyager & Enjoy your cruise!

 

Very good information folks! I didn't think I was going to get any hits on this post--thanks a lot!

 

We could care less about the solarium...never even go there.

 

The ONE big concern (always) for DH IS the balcony! I once booked a 14 day cruise on another ship (newer too) and selected a balcony that gave him NO sun. I felt awful. He didn't even go out there but maybe twice. Ugh....he didn't say anything either (he is the best traveling DH in the world...21+ years and counting). But I know it was less than ideal for him. For him to not go on the balcony is like me not getting a beer. Just not going to happen.

 

So these balconies do concern me just a bit. It appears that we may not get ANY sun. We are getting a GS, but I highly doubt that will make a bit of difference.

 

There should be plenty of sun starting from China and ending in Singapore, but I wonder if any of these balconies allow for sun? The more sun, the better.

 

Information about the balconies is so important! Thank you!

 

The itinerary is amazing. I don't mind being "foreigners" and either does DH. And by next October, there has to be a few more western dishes and the English will have gotten better by default (I have been reading the great review!). We have always wanted to go to Vietnam and China and especially Singapore. DH has always wanted to go to the Great Wall of China as well. But the actual deal breaker could actually be the balcony if there is no way for the sun to come in....

 

Dawn

[Pack My Bags]

A GS will give you a grander opening. Yes you will get sun-- if Mother Nature cooperates. If you are looking to sun yourselves while on the balcony, the open decks would be better.

 

Been thinking about an Asia cruise & I'm so jealous. ENJOY!

[kymbakitty]

A GS will give you a grander opening. Yes you will get sun-- if Mother Nature cooperates. If you are looking to sun yourselves while on the balcony, the open decks would be better.

 

Been thinking about an Asia cruise & I'm so jealous. ENJOY!

 

DH "lives" on the balcony. It's always been that way and it is a very small price to pay. He doesn't ask for much, but you will find him on HIS personal balcony and never on deck. What can I say.

 

I definitely need to do some research on these balconies. From the pictures/youtube etc. that I have been seeing (now that someone pointed out the balcony differences on the Voyager), don't even have a LOUNGER! Yikes! While the itinerary is still the #1 draw, I would say a close #2 is the balcony. No lounger and no sun on balcony would mean to continue to search alternate Asian itineraries.

 

Thanks!

[Pack My Bags]

This is from a dear friend that cruises mostly with RCI about 2 times a month..... They are always in a GS or up.

 

Hey there – we’ve done the Mariner and the Navigator and have always had a lounger on our deck, sometimes 2.

If you don’t have one ask your room steward to get one for you and don’t take no for an answer. Learned from experience.

Good luck.

[kymbakitty]

This is from a dear friend that cruises mostly with RCI about 2 times a month..... They are always in a GS or up.

 

Hey there – we’ve done the Mariner and the Navigator and have always had a lounger on our deck, sometimes 2.

If you don’t have one ask your room steward to get one for you and don’t take no for an answer. Learned from experience.

Good luck.

 

I showed DH the balcony. The itinerary is so enticing, DH said he would be fine with the balcony, and if need be, he would go up to the deck with the other human beings! Wow...could have blown me over with a feather!

 

Here's hoping that the Voyager has assigned suite deck space! He's not an early bird, that is for sure! They have a designated CL, so they probably have assigned suite deck chairs like some of the other ships do.

 

Funny though....you can tell how old the ship is when you look at the gym. They still have tv's on the wall (not the actual exercise machines).

 

Hum.....I hope they have wifi in the suites....they probably do by now.

[Pushka]

The Voyager is currently in Australian waters so maybe checkout the Australian boards here for more info. What time of the year is your cruise? That's probably more relevant than anything.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[kymbakitty]

The Voyager is currently in Australian waters so maybe checkout the Australian boards here for more info. What time of the year is your cruise? That's probably more relevant than anything.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

Left that out!

 

October 8 - 24, 2013.

 

Dawn

[Pushka]

Ok. That is probably between seasons in that area so might be a nice time to travel. Just on the cusp between the hot season (June - September) to cooler rainier season.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk