Voyager Review - NYE cruise Fiji & NZ

[aussielozzie18]

On the Rhapsody, 12months ago, all the professional photos were printed out and displayed and you had to search through racks to find your photos. We weren't overly impressed with photo quality and only bought one photo on our last cruise.

 

On the Voyager, photos are computerized. Outside Studio B (ice rink) Deck 3, there is a bank of computers. You swipe your seapass card and all your professional photos are displayed. These computers are available for use 24/7.

However, the photos are slightly obscured by watermarks (not sure of the correct term) so you don't take any photos of the professional photos. However, next to these computers and towers of black folders. On your seapass card is a photo folio number. Look for the matching folder to your folio number and you will find all your professional photos printed out. You can only access these folders when the photo area is staffed from 4pm onwards. If you need additional photos, you order them via the computer.

 

Tip: photos are supposed to take a day to print. We found that it took 48 hours so don't leave your order to the last day of the cruise!!

 

There are photo packages. Prices for individual photos vary from $16.99 to $24.99. I personally thought the photos taken onboard were excellent quality.

 

Formal photos are very popular. I found there was no pressure at all on board from the photographers. Ok, they took your photo at the table on formal nights at the MDR but there was absolutely no pressure to buy.

 

Tip: The library on decks 7 & 8 is glass fronted and overlooks the promenade.

This is a great spot to people watch on formal nights. The photographers take the formal shots directly below you and its fun watching the different families posing and getting their various formal photos taken.

 

However, the photographers on the dock when you disembark at the ports are very pushy and hard to avoid. Good luck trying to avoid a cheesy photo with a sailor girl or toucan at the dock!!

[aussielozzie18]

So, if you have family members small or big who love the DreamWorks characters, Voyager is the ship for you! There is a dedicated DreamWorks tv channel in the cabin, there is a DreamWorks character breakfast (which we didn't partake in), there are 2 DreamWorks parades which I have reviewed the first one of earlier in this thread and there are DAILY photo ops with DreamWorks characters. These are advertised daily in the cruise compass and the photo op is usually in the Promenade opposite the Promenade café. One night, one of the DreamWorks characters was waiting inside the La Scala theatre and one family member was delighted to get a photo with one of the penguins. And as mentioned previously, there are dreamworks soft toys in the gift shop.

[aussielozzie18]

Tonight's entertainment is a new release movie in the La Scala theatre.

Penguins of Madagascar in 3D. This movie gets a big thumbs up from young and old. Sessions are 6.00pm and 8.00pm.

 

Then later that same evening at 10.30pm in the La Scala theatre we have the Love & Marriage game show. This is a hoot. For those of you who haven't seen this before (like us) this is how it works:

 

The Cruise Director asks for volunteers. He needs a newly wed couple, a couple who have been married for more than 25 years and then he does a survey of the oldest married couple in the audience. He starts with 50 years and works backwards. Our lucky couple are married 44 years!

 

For the newlyweds and the 25+ couple, there are several volunteers so they have to audition to get a spot on the stage and are chosen on audience applause. Lots of fun ensues.

 

Our oldest married couple are Barry from Tasmania and his delightful wife.

Barry is as dry as and very very funny. If you are reading this Barry, you were great!

 

3 chairs on stage. Cruise Director sends the wives backstage and asks questions of the hubbies. Then vice versa with the hubbies. Lots and lots of laughs.

 

A great night.

[whimsy7]

thanks for your continuing and interesting posts on VOTS.

we have taken a chance and are now booked on the NZ cruise in Feb.

was hesitant to book due to the many negative reviews posted recently here on CC but guess these reviews were for the busy Dec/holiday period.

your posts have given us encouragement that the cruise will not be as awful as we'd been led to believe from those posts.

have chosen anytime dining option so will look forward to your comments on that option.

yes, will get around to the meet and mingle list soon.

[aussielozzie18]

Just a little background. I booked this cruise for many reasons but one of them was the itinerary. We did the South Pacific last year which I loved but family members wanted to go somewhere different. So, I thought this cruise was great because I got my tropical fix in Fiji and the family members got to go somewhere different ie New Zealand.

 

I did my research and booked ship tours in Fiji and as you can tell from my review, we were really happy with our choices. When it came to New Zealand, I wasn't particularly fussed what we did because I have been there before.

 

First port in NZ is Auckland. Whilst I know it is best to go with private tours in Nz, there wasn't a lot of private tour options in Auckland and RCI actually offer some good tours there.

 

My suggestions for ship tours are met with lack of interest before the cruise by family members. Fine by me, I happy just to walk off the ship and shop etc in Auckland.

 

However, once onboard and having enjoyed our tours in Fiji, family members are now keen to know what I have booked for Auckland. I remind them of their lack of interest and tell them nothing is booked.

 

Long story short, we end up at Guest services and make port tour enquiries.

Stating the obvious here folks but if you have a ship tour you want to do - book online beforehand.

 

Secondly, if you have a family member who is under 18 and wants to do a separate tour from the adults in your group who are not interested in that particular tour, RCI will not allow them to do that tour solo.

 

Finally, the horseriding tour on the beach in Auckland only has 10 places so book that one online EARLY!

[aussie cruzer]

Enjoying your review....great work.

[aussielozzie18]

I am a Sydneysider and I love our Harbour but can I just say Auckland harbor on a beautiful sunny day gives Sydney Harbour a run for its money! For some reason I am up early and am able to watch our sail into Auckland. And I must add that paying extra for a balcony is so worth it for the sail in and sailaways from the ports in New Zealand! They are all gorgeous.

 

We arrive in Auckland at 9am and dock right in the city centre. Shortly afterwards, we are off the Voyager and heading towards the Skytower. We don't have a map but its easy to get to. We just head straight upwards and walk a few blocks and we are there. Entry is $28.00per adult.

 

Tip: if you plan to go to the Skytower, go early, you will beat the crowds. We found the viewing deck much smaller (capacitywise) than the Centrepoint tower in Sydney so it was good to walk around the viewing decks before its gets crowded.

 

Tip: the lifts in the Skytower have glass panels and a glass section in the floor. If you have a fear of heights, head to the back of the lift.

 

We do the two observation decks in the Skytower and take some great photos.

 

When we are back outside, I tell the family, I want to watch people do the skyjump. (None of our family our brave enough). However, whilst we are waiting for the skyjumpers, the younger family members are delighted to realize they can get free wifi at the base of the skytower. So, while we are watching the brave souls doing the skyjump, they are chatting with their friends back home.

 

Next stop is some shopping. Family member is keen to purchase a NZ sports jersey. We find Rebel Sport in the next block. I then need to find a Westpac bank, which we find easily in the main shopping drag. Here we find another sports shop and lots of the same fashion shops we have back home in Sydney.

 

Tip: If you are only doing 3 ports in NZ like us, Auckland is the place to do your souvenir shopping. There are lots of good quality souvenir shops. (In Wellington city, we only found one)

 

Having shopped til we dropped, we head back towards the ship and find Nandos which is opposite the dock and have lunch. There is a good quality souvenir shop next door which sells unique good quality t-shirts and we do some gift shopping here.

 

At this point, one family member is feeling tired/unwell and wants to go back n board.

 

Tip: New Zealand customs are strict. Bag searches and sniffer dogs. You also need photo ID for the adults and for older minors. We had photo id for ourselves but not for our minors. Our eldest was not permitted through customs because of lack of photo id. We had to go into a separate room and they had to get some extra info from us before we were allowed back on board.

Edited January 16, 2015 by aussielozzie18

[aussielozzie18]

So, having finally been allowed back onboard, we head back to our cabin. Its is clear everyone gets off in Auckland. The ship is eerily empty.

 

In the morning we head off the ship from Deck 1 as we did in Fiji. However, when we decide to head back off the ship again, we find Deck 1 is empty. There is not a soul around. Its is a ghost ship. The only personnel on board are Guest Services who direct us to Deck 4. We disembark this time with everyone's passports and we spend another couple of hours in the city of Auckland. Clean, easy to get around. Happy to come back to Auckland one day.

 

All aboard is 4.30pm. It is gorgeous, sunny afternoon and we head up to the Main Pool for DreamWorks sailaway party. 4 DreamWorks characters and the entertainment staff perform a dance routine and we leave the Auckland dock.

The guys/girls in the DreamWorks costume earn their money because its hot on top deck and the entertainment staff are dripping. Can you imagine dancing in the hot sun for 30mins in a full DreamWorks costume??

 

Then we head back to our cabin for the sailaway out of Auckland harbour which is glistening in the afternoon sun and just beautiful. Soon, we hear Captain Charles tooting his horn. Again and again. It becomes apparent that 2 men in a double ski/kayak are in our shipping lane. Captain Charles keeps tooting and they keep madly paddling to get out of our way. Finally, after a lot of furious paddling they clear out of our way and the men are given are round of applause from everyone on the port side balconys.

 

Captain Charles is not impressed and later calls them idiots (not smart to be in the middle of Auckland harbour without lifejackets and in the way of the mighty Voyager!)

Edited January 16, 2015 by aussielozzie18

[aussielozzie18]

Tonights show is Phil Cass at 6.45pm and 8.45pm.

 

Funny guy.

 

Spiderman 2 is shown on the big screen on the Pool Deck at 8pm & 10.30pm.

 

We cannot get into My Time Dining again so its off to Windjammer again.

[Lilfrog79]

Loving the review. It's very fair and well rounded. A bit different to the reviews I've been seeing. Just saw one about a caste system. Not too sure about that one. Haha I had a laugh tho!! :D

 

Eager to hear about the MTD problems! Would like to try and avoid that when I go!

[aussielozzie18]

Loving the review. It's very fair and well rounded. A bit different to the reviews I've been seeing. Just saw one about a caste system. Not too sure about that one. Haha I had a laugh tho!! :D

 

Eager to hear about the MTD problems! Would like to try and avoid that when I go!

 

Promise I will get to MTD. Its going to be lengthy (not trying to sound dramatic) but as you may have gathered I go into lots of detail and I want to be in the right frame of mind to write it.

 

re the reviews, they seem to be getting worse. I thought the reviews from Singapore were bad but now they seem to getting really negative. Hence, the reason for this detailed review.

[the_bings]

I often wonder if some of those reviews are written by competing lines... Given the amount of "wow" press Voyager has had lately, being on the Morning Show, in virtually all the papers after the refurbishment, featured on travel blogs etc. maybe someone might be trying to take the shine off? A lot are 1 review and only just joined to CC.

Just a thought...

 

I know there have been teething problems, and there'll always be different views.

I know on our last cruise we had a great time but multiple people complained about things we never even noticed!

 

I'm really not concerned, opinion based reviews generally don't sway me one way or another for cruises. They are so subjective. I just focus on the factual elements really... Ie: Showtimes are at x Time, the shops on the Promenade are... I'll decide for myself when the time comes!

Its been 4 years since our last cruise and I'm hanging to get back [emoji1]

Edited January 16, 2015 by the_bings

[cruisine21]

We have booked for the NZ cruise in Feb.

 

It's been a while since we have cruised RCI. If you order room service can you tip in Aus$ or does it have to be US?

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

[cruzdreamz]

Thank you once again. Your posts on the Voyager have the most detailed information and I am really enjoying reading. As to your reference to the rooms on deck 12 being the "bounciest",will this mean we will be able to feel every movement of the ship. We have booked one of these rooms and I am now a little concerned.

[cruzdreamz]

Hi, just thought of another question. Did you get the Crown and Anchor member discount vouchers and were they a paper coupon or on your sea pass card? We're there any worth using also. Thanks again

[aussielozzie18]

We have booked for the NZ cruise in Feb.

 

It's been a while since we have cruised RCI. If you order room service can you tip in Aus$ or does it have to be US?

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

 

I left a big tip for our room steward at the end of the cruise but I didn't tip the room service guys (we only used them twice) and to be honest being an Aussie it just didn't occur to me to tip them!

[aussielozzie18]

Hi, just thought of another question. Did you get the Crown and Anchor member discount vouchers and were they a paper coupon or on your sea pass card? We're there any worth using also. Thanks again

 

On boarding day, you get a printout in your cabin of your C & A discounts - not the actual coupons. The discounts are automatically loaded on your seapass card and automatically deducted.

 

I thought they were good value since joining C & A costs you nothing.

buy one photo get the second one half price

2 for 1 milkshake

discount off one alcoholic drink

those are the ones I can remember

[aussielozzie18]

Thank you once again. Your posts on the Voyager have the most detailed information and I am really enjoying reading. As to your reference to the rooms on deck 12 being the "bounciest",will this mean we will be able to feel every movement of the ship. We have booked one of these rooms and I am now a little concerned.

 

As I mentioned before, we found the Voyager really stable compared to the Rhapsody. When the Captain mentioned the rooms being bouncy he was meaning the location ie forward. I would assume that being forward is likely to feel more movement than a midship location but I don't think he was implying you would feel every movement. Sorry to worry you.

[aussielozzie18]

Apparently my fellow cruisers were under the misguided impression that there is no food to be had in Auckland. When our Cruise Director welcomed us back in the eve of our day in Auckland, he advised that 250 (!) of our fellow cruisers had been caught by customs taking food off the Voyager. Apparently, one lady was found to have sausages in her handbag (!) All these cruisers were issued with one the spot fines as NZ are very strict about food being brought into Auckland.

 

Maybe they all couldn't get into MTD the night before and were hungry. Lol!

[aussielozzie18]

The theory behind My Time Dining (MTD) is that instead of cruisers being locked into a set dining time each night, they can rock up to the Main Dining Room (MDR) anytime they want and with a minimal wait get a table. As you may have gathered from this review, we like to watch the headliner acts each eve. As you do not know before your cruise what time these shows are scheduled for, we like the idea of the flexibility of MTD.

 

On our first cruise last year with Rhapsody, we rocked up to the MDR at 6pm on boarding night and were told that the next table would not be available until 8.45pm (!). Not happy Jan. I am embarrassed to admit I did throw a tanty and storm off to the Windjammer. And let me tell you that my family have never let me forget that I threw a wobbly on the first night of our cruise! (probably because it is so out of character for me to do this) So, next day on the Rhapsody, I go to the MDR maître d and ask if I can get a table for that night at 6pm. We get our table and we have two wonderful waiters. We get the same table again the next night and the waiters comment to us that we are rushing through dinner to get to the first show so why don't we book the table for 5.45pm which is what we do and we get that same table and same wonderful waiters for the rest of cruise on board at 5.45pm and we are happy diners.

 

So, for the Voyager we decided to go with MTD again. Online bookings for MTD open up I think about 8 weeks before the cruise. Because of our experience on the Rhapsody, we book a table online for boarding night. Also, common sense tells me that NYE is going to be really busy so I book a table online for that night as well. The rest we leave open because we don't know what time the shows will be on the Voyager. Plus we plan to go to Johnny Rockets and do a specialty restaurant.

 

With our seapass paperwork is written confirmation of the two nights we have prebooked in MTD.

Edited January 17, 2015 by aussielozzie18

[aussielozzie18]

So, the MTD is in the Sapphire Dining Room on Deck 5.

 

There are two Maitre D desks at the front of the MTD dining room. One on the left is for diners who have made a booking and one on the right is for walk-ins.

 

From what I can gather it is staffed by 3 different RCI staff who rotate but there is only one Maitre D on at a time.

 

So, Day 1, we are prebooked. Walk up the desk on left. They key in our cabin number, confirm our booking and show us to our table. Food and service is ok but not great. Vegies are very dry and waiter appears to be distracted.

 

Day 2 - we try out Johnny Rockets (reviewed earlier in this review)

 

Day 3 - NYE. We are prebooked. Same as day 1. Shown quickly to our table.

Food not great but waiter service is much improved.

 

Day 4 - We chose to dine at the Windjammer.

 

Day 5 - I think this is a 14 day cruise, I better book us some more nights at the MDR because as much as we like the Windjammer, I do not want to dine there every night. Ring the booking number for MTD that is listed in the Cruise Compass and ask if I can make some bookings. The very polite lady tells me "Sorry Madam, we are fully booked. You should have booked online"

Huh?? Double check, yes they are booked out.

 

We end up having a lovely dinner in Johnny Rockets.

 

Day 6 - We have had a late afternoon room service meal after Suva, so we are happy to have a late meal in the Windjammer after the show.

 

Day 7 - We go the show and then decide to try to get a walk-in table with MTD.

A very snooty Maitre D who I will call Mr Rude, "greets us" when we walk up

to the walk in desk and I ask very politely if we can possibly get a table. He looks me up and down (I am dressed nicely) points to the long queue of MTD diners on the left who are waiting for their booked tables and says "Madam, as you can see we are busy tonight, there are no tables" and walks off! He just leaves me standing there. So, off to Windjammer we go again.

 

Day 8 - I have a brainwave in the morning and think why don't I go up the MTD desk at lunchtime and see if they have a table tonight, like we did on the Rhapsody. I get a lovely lady, who keys in our cabin numbers and confirms yes we can get a table tonight at 5.45pm. We rock up at 5.45pm are shown to our table and have a nice waiter and actually enjoy our food in the MDR tonight.

 

Days 9 & 10 - I have no record of where we ate tonight.

 

Day 11 - So, I go back the MDR Maitre D at lunchtime to see if we can get a booking for MTD tonight. I get Mr Rude. Mr Rude keys in my cabin number and says "Madam, you have had a standing booking for 6pm for everynight of the cruise". I say, no I don't because I only prebooked 2 nights and they were listed on my paperwork and I haven't been able to get a table so far at 6.00pm. Mr Rude completely ignores my comments and proceeds to lecture me for not turning up for repeated nights at the MDR and tells me that he would appreciate if I would let them know if we are not going to turn up. I again explain that I did not know. He just responds by saying that if we do not turn up within 15 minutes of our booking, the table is passed across to the walk-in section. After this pleasant conversation (not) I then therefore confirm that I have a table for tonight to which he rolls his eyes.

 

Unfortunately, in the afternoon one of our family members is not well and our table is reduced. When we rock up the MDR that night unfortunately Mr Rude is still at his post. He gives me a sour look and gives us a new table in a crappy spot. Nice waitress. Food portions are tiny.

 

Day 12 - We chose to dine in the Windjammer after the show.

 

Day 13 - Rock up the MDR, nice Maitre D' confirms our 6pm booking (the one I didn't know about) and shows us to a lovely table. We have the delightful Grace as our waitress. No doubt due to Grace, we have a lovely night in the MDR and the best food in the MDR of the cruise.

 

Tip - folks, if you get the delightful Grace on your first night in the MDR and you are as happy with her as we were, I would strongly suggest you request her for every night of the cruise. She is a true professional who makes dining at the MDR a pleasure.

 

Day 14 - We chose to dine in the Windjammer:)

Edited January 17, 2015 by aussielozzie18

[aussielozzie18]

Tip - book online before you board.

 

Rang midway during the cruise and they were completely booked out.

[cruisine21]

Tip - book online before you board.

 

 

 

t.

 

 

Thanks for the tip aussielozzie18. Where in the cruise planner can we change the dining arrangement? I can't seem to find it anywhere.

We are currently on the late seating (there was no choice when we booked) but I would prefer the early seating or MTD. I booked through a travel agent. Maybe I need to contact her.

 

 

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Edited January 17, 2015 by cruisine21

[cruisine21]

Double post

Edited January 17, 2015 by cruisine21

[aussielozzie18]

Up early and out on the balcony watching the sun rise and the Voyager dock in beautiful Tauranga. When we were docked in Auckland, there were two other cruise ships docked next to us. After we dock in Tauranga, I watch these two vessels cruise around the headland and dock next to us. Makes for interesting viewing. Clearly everyone on the other line gets white robes because everyone on their balconies were wearing them!

 

For Tauranga I decided to go with a private tour. Basically, I read through the NZ ports section of Cruise Critic and wrote down the name of the 3 tour companies that were mentioned most often, looked at their reviews on Trip Advisor and then chose the company whose itinerary best suited our needs.

 

I might add that we have only ever done ship tours - Amedee Island and the 2 tours in Fiji so when I informed the family we were doing the private tours they were horrified. In their mind a private tour was dodgy (don't know where they got that idea from) and we were going to get kidnapped (!)

 

So, we docked very early in Tauranga ie 5.00/5.30am so we had plenty of time to get off the ship and meet our driver. The arrangement was that we would meet him outside the port gates and he would be holding a sign with our names on. Easy Peasy. He was there at 8.45pm as promised and he showed us to our clean, modern van.

 

He gave a nice commentary about Tauranga and then we headed off to our first stop which was Kiwi 360. At Kiwi 360, he showed us the kiwis growing on the vine, took us into the main shop to take kiwi wine (delish) kiwi fruit and kiwi green juice (delish) and kiwi golden juice (delish). Then we had 20mins to wander around the gift shop which had excellent stock but we chose to head back outside and take photos of the big kiwi slice outside and the family climbed up to the top to the viewing platform for more photos. Kiwi 360 was a brief but enjoyable visit.

 

Back on the road and this time, we stop at Okere Falls. A popular white water rafting spot and we go to two lookouts and our guide shows us the Silver Fern. Back in the van for some scenic driving and a brief stop by a beautiful lake (whose name I do not get) for some really nice photos.

 

Now, we head towards Rotorua. Our guide is keeping his eye on his watch (we never feel rushed - he is just making sure we are on time). He says that normally now he would take us to lunch but he thinks it would be best if we continue on to Te Puia. Are we ok with that? Fine by us. Arrive at Te Puia. Guide takes us to the Geysers and hot rocks, weaving room and wood carving room and then we have to wait for the main cultural show. Main cultural show is at 12.15pm and fortunately only goes for 30mins (I have seen before). Sports mad family member loves the performance of the Haka at the end!

 

We then head back to the Geysers and mud pools for more photos and then head back to the van and off to Lake Rotorua for lunch.

 

I forgot to mention that at Te Puia they have the Kiwi House (a nocturnal viewing room for seeing a live Kiwi). Before we arrive, our guide warns us that I is not often that you see a kiwi but we are in luck!

Edited January 17, 2015 by aussielozzie18