Voyager Review - NYE cruise Fiji & NZ

[boeckli]

Great review - thank you again.

Am just busy booking our MDR reservations - I believe it defeats the purpose of MTD but suppose it will be easier to modify existing reservations than be turned away :eek:

[aussielozzie18]

Again, thankyou so much for your wonderful detailed Review.

 

I am super excited for the Voyager in 5 weeks reading through it all :-)

 

My pleasure. Hope you enjoy the Voyager as much as we did.

[aussielozzie18]

Great review - thank you again.

Am just busy booking our MDR reservations - I believe it defeats the purpose of MTD but suppose it will be easier to modify existing reservations than be turned away :eek:

 

I agree but better to safe then sorry (or confused and frustrated)

 

I was hoping that another cruiser who was on our cruise would chime in with their experiences on board. Would like to know to if anyones experiences were better than ours (MTD).

[boeckli]

I agree but better to safe then sorry (or confused and frustrated)

 

I was hoping that another cruiser who was on our cruise would chime in with their experiences on board. Would like to know to if anyones experiences were better than ours (MTD).

 

Making the MTD reservations is proving a most frustrating experience!!!! :mad:

Having entered most of the info for a 2nd and 3rd time, when i got to the checkout phase, their system bombed out and now won't let me back into the booking once looged in ..... arggggghhhh !!

[cruisine21]

I am super excited for the Voyager in 5 weeks reading through it all :-)

 

Me too.

[Aussieflyer]

Thanks for the review and the comments about the ship. I think I will look at it, just need to be able to fit it in (and of course pay for it :D )

[MicCanberra]

Thanks for the wonderfully detailed review. :D

[MicCanberra]

BTW, did you know about the theme nights prior to sailing and if so where is this advertised, cannot find it in the cruise planner/personaliser.:D

[aussielozzie18]

BTW, did you know about the theme nights prior to sailing and if so where is this advertised, cannot find it in the cruise planner/personaliser.:D

 

No. The only theme night I knew about was that formal night would be on NYE from previous reviews on Cruise Critic :)

 

Be interesting to hear what think of the Voyager when you do your short cruise on her soon.

Edited January 17, 2015 by aussielozzie18

[goodycruising]

Great review! We sailed Voyager about 3 years ago. We have booked again for November this year. We have sailed Royal Caribbean's Rhapsody, Radiance and Voyager, and Celebrity Solstice. They are all different in their own pros and cons, but I would recommend any of them.

 

We had a bad experience on our first cruise, and we did do a review about it, but there was a lot of things we loved about that cruise too. In a short summary they changed the carpet in the hallway and I am allergic to new carpet and was quite sick on that cruise and for a while after. There were some other small issues, but that is a long story. Since then we have cruised quite a bit!

 

Next cruise I did a big review here and when I pressed the submit button, something went wrong and the whole thing disappeared into the ether. I haven't had the time or inclination to do more reviews on here.

 

So for 8 cruises, I have submitted one bad review, so people that worry about bad reviews, keep that in perspective.

 

For anyone worried about booking Voyager, I think the idea that there are some new registrations with bad reviews is a very interesting point. They say that about 5% of cruisers are on Cruise Critic, and I can't remember what percentage of those actually does reviews.

 

There will be things that are not perfect, but there are a lot of people that keep coming back, and sometimes it is what you make it. Sometimes you can be very tired before you get on board and it can make people grumpy.

 

Writing this review would have taken quite a while, and I enjoyed reading it, and hope it has helped people feel better about Voyager. Cruise lines and their staff are doing their best most of the time, which is like how it happens on land. :)

Edited January 17, 2015 by goodycruising

[aussielozzie18]

Thank you goodycruising. I always enjoy reading your comments here on Cruise Critic.

 

I can understand you not posting any more reviews after your big one disappeared. That would have done my head in!

[MicCanberra]

Thank you goodycruising. I always enjoy reading your comments here on Cruise Critic.

 

I can understand you not posting any more reviews after your big one disappeared. That would have done my head in!

 

Thanks, I am looking forward to it, just over a month away now.

 

Your method of posting segments of the review is a easier way of doing it.:D

[mr walker]

He says that 10% of cruisers are professional whingers. This gets lots of laughs!

 

I think Captain Charles is a bit low with his number. I think that 10% of the general population would be whingers. When it comes to cruising, I suggest that the percentage would be at least double.The crew should hand out "I CRUISE TO WHINGE T-SHIRTS" for deserving (??) passengers!:)

 

Thanks for your review aussielozzie - we did 14N on voyager in 2013 and had a wonderful time and are backing up for the 3N in Feb.

 

Happy cruising

[avalon007]

New Years Day. Not surprisingly we slept in and didn't bother with breakfast.

Clocks were turned forward one hour yesterday at midday. And again today, we moved our clocks forward one hour at noon.

 

As returning RCI cruisers, we received an invite in our cabin to a welcome back party in Studio B at 5.15pm. Rocked up and was amused to see many cruisers had taken the party aspect literally and were dressed up to the nines.

We were shown into Studio B ie the ice rinks and seated. Then lots of free drinks ie champagne, red & white wine and juices. The waiters were generous.

 

My friend attend the C & A party on the Radiance recently and said it was a waste on time. On the Voyager it is different because its at the ice rink. We get introduced the the ice show skaters individually and they each do a couple of skating tricks for us. Then Captain Charles arrives on ice skates, does a loop of the rink or two and then does a speech. I thought it was an enjoyable half hour but it definitely wasn't a party!

 

I love the C&A parties on Radiance, so much classier than in the ice rink IMO. The C&A parties are more cocktail parties than dance parties, although on our VOS cruise & most others we have attended they do offer a band & dancing afterwards which is really not as nice in the ice rink venue as in Radiances stylish Colony Club.

 

I find every cruise is a little different though as on our repo cruise from Hawaii I think it was they had the higher level C&A party as a breakfast! Not amused, as the higher level parties usually mean nicer cocktails which I enjoy, but that just doesn't work at breakfast! :D

[avalon007]

Its a lovely balmy evening and having worked up an appetite from all the swimming and snorkeling, we head to Johnny Rockets for dinner. Clearly everyone else has the same idea. We grab the last booth outside this time. Lovely view of the sailaway from Lautoka. Johnny Rockets is extremely busy tonight so no dancing waiters but the service is excellent anyway and we have a nice time. We have the chocolate sundaes for dessert this time and they are delish.

 

Tonight's headline act in the La Scala theatre is Colleen Austen - 8.45am & 10.30pm. "A tribute to Legends, Divas and women of song". She is a true entertainer and gives it her all. An excellent performance.

 

There an outdoor movie "Million Dollar Arm" on the big screen by the pool deck. Perfect evening for watching an outdoor movie. Its a sports movie starring the lead actor from Mad Men.

 

Tomorrow is Suva, Fiji.

 

I made the mistake of looking up how many calories in the Johhny Rockets offerings before our VOS cruise - OMG! I must say we only ate their once because of what I knew, but the food was good & the shakes quite delicious. You know those onion rings they give you to scoff down before you eat your meal - if you don't want to know then don't look here. :eek:;)

 

One meal there blows your daily required calorie intake & half of tomorrows out of the water, but it's Ok if it's just a treat or if you don't care about whacking on the cruise kilos I guess!:)

[avalon007]

Tip - book online before you board.

 

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

 

 

Sorry to hear your MTD was a bit of a shemozzle. I would have noted Mr Grumpy's lack of service in your cruise feedback, no excuse for rude behaviour.

 

I would add though that we have never yet pre booked our MTD meals & always just turn up, usually between 6 & 7.30pm & to date after 6 cruises with Royal on 3 different ships, we have never been refused a table, or had to wait for more than about 5 minutes for one.

 

I would point out though that we are a couple not a family, we also always say we are happy with any table, sharing is no problem. So it may be easier to seat us than a larger group.:)

[avalon007]

Thanks. Do you have the name of the private tour company please?

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

 

 

I can also thoroughly recommend Archers Tours - Jim Archer is a Maori with a greats sense of humour & very professional. He was a delight with his deep knowledge of all aspect6s of NZ culture & also guarantees you return tot he ship on time. My family also used him a month ago & he was so helpful with my 82 year old mum, he got her a wheel chair at Rotorua & wheeled her around!

[aussielozzie18]

I think Captain Charles is a bit low with his number. I think that 10% of the general population would be whingers. When it comes to cruising, I suggest that the percentage would be at least double.The crew should hand out "I CRUISE TO WHINGE T-SHIRTS" for deserving (??) passengers!:)

 

Thanks for your review aussielozzie - we did 14N on voyager in 2013 and had a wonderful time and are backing up for the 3N in Feb.

 

Happy cruising

 

Lol! Love the idea of those t-shirts.

[aussielozzie18]

Sorry to hear your MTD was a bit of a shemozzle. I would have noted Mr Grumpy's lack of service in your cruise feedback, no excuse for rude behaviour.

 

I would add though that we have never yet pre booked our MTD meals & always just turn up, usually between 6 & 7.30pm & to date after 6 cruises with Royal on 3 different ships, we have never been refused a table, or had to wait for more than about 5 minutes for one.

 

I would point out though that we are a couple not a family, we also always say we are happy with any table, sharing is no problem. So it may be easier to seat us than a larger group.:)

 

I was hoping that someone who was on the same cruise as us, might have read my review and shared their experiences of MTD. Would love to know if anyone was able to get a walk-in table on the Voyager on our cruise. When we walked past the entrance of MTD after the shows, the lines for the pre-booked MTD tables were always lengthy.

Edited January 17, 2015 by aussielozzie18

[aussielozzie18]

I can also thoroughly recommend Archers Tours - Jim Archer is a Maori with a greats sense of humour & very professional. He was a delight with his deep knowledge of all aspect6s of NZ culture & also guarantees you return tot he ship on time. My family also used him a month ago & he was so helpful with my 82 year old mum, he got her a wheel chair at Rotorua & wheeled her around!

 

Yes, his company was one of the 3 companies often mentioned in the port section.

Edited January 17, 2015 by aussielozzie18

[aussielozzie18]

I made the mistake of looking up how many calories in the Johhny Rockets offerings before our VOS cruise - OMG! I must say we only ate their once because of what I knew, but the food was good & the shakes quite delicious. You know those onion rings they give you to scoff down before you eat your meal - if you don't want to know then don't look here. :eek:;)

 

One meal there blows your daily required calorie intake & half of tomorrows out of the water, but it's Ok if it's just a treat or if you don't care about whacking on the cruise kilos I guess!:)

 

Yes, visits to Johnny Rockets need to be kept to a minimum if you are hoping not to gain weight on a cruise!

[goodycruising]

Sorry to hear your MTD was a bit of a shemozzle. I would have noted Mr Grumpy's lack of service in your cruise feedback, no excuse for rude behaviour.

 

I would add though that we have never yet pre booked our MTD meals & always just turn up, usually between 6 & 7.30pm & to date after 6 cruises with Royal on 3 different ships, we have never been refused a table, or had to wait for more than about 5 minutes for one.

 

I would point out though that we are a couple not a family, we also always say we are happy with any table, sharing is no problem. So it may be easier to seat us than a larger group.:)

 

Agree with all of this! Certainly worth putting in a word about Mr Grumpy. Sounds like your booking was mishandled and you were not listened to. It would be much easier if they are polite. I have seen the greeting person get a set against friends of ours. We didn't have trouble with the person, but when we went with these friends you could see the negative body language come out. There is no need for that. I deal with people every day in my job too, and as my Dad used to say, "you get more with honey than with vinegar."

 

We have had good experiences also with MTD, and the same for us, most often just a couple, and we have gone a variety of times, when we feel like it, and had no issues. We found actually if we try to book it seems to be harder. They must only have so many spots for booking. We certainly don't go early most of the time though, just our personal preference.

 

We have done 3 trips with MTD on Radiance, and once on Solstice. We also find if we go to dinner after the show it seems to work well, as MTD is available until after 9. We have afternoon tea in the Windjammer and that keeps us going for a few hours.

 

We didn't try it on our Rhapsody 4 years ago, or Voyager 3 years ago, so we will be interested to see how it goes in Feb for Rhapsody, and Voyager in Nov. We are usually happy to eat at the Windjammer a few times anyhow. We find a lot of the time we like getting in and out of the Windjammer quickly, and then you can get to the shows or whatever when you want.

Edited January 17, 2015 by goodycruising

[aussielozzie18]

I love the C&A parties on Radiance, so much classier than in the ice rink IMO. The C&A parties are more cocktail parties than dance parties, although on our VOS cruise & most others we have attended they do offer a band & dancing afterwards which is really not as nice in the ice rink venue as in Radiances stylish Colony Club.

 

I find every cruise is a little different though as on our repo cruise from Hawaii I think it was they had the higher level C&A party as a breakfast! Not amused, as the higher level parties usually mean nicer cocktails which I enjoy, but that just doesn't work at breakfast! :D

 

We are only lowly Gold. Clearly, once you get higher up the loyalty scheme the C & A parties become classier. Be a while before we get to Diamond:)

[avalon007]

We are only lowly Gold. Clearly, once you get higher up the loyalty scheme the C & A parties become classier. Be a while before we get to Diamond:)

 

 

You only have to get 1 level up to Platinum level to qualify for the next level C&A party, so not so far off for you. :)

[MicCanberra]

Hi Aussielozzie18, a couple of questions.

In regards to the MDR, how big is your family, I know it doesn't excuse Mr grumpies behaviour but I have always found Anytime/select dining to be much easier with 2 people than with four let alone a group of 6 or more.

Last cruise we had 18 (wife's birthday bash) for 2 of the nights and we could only ever get a 6pm seating on either two or three tables. If we rocked up with 6 or 8 of us we always had to wait at least 1/2 hour (which for me was very reasonable).

The other query was, in relation to the C&A happy hours. We will be Diamond for our cruise due to reciprocal rights (Elite with X) and it will be our first RCI cruise. Did you happen to hear anything from any other guests? If so did they mention what times they had them?

 

cheers Mic :D