A first time cruisers review.

[ozscot01]

I have received so much help on this forum while planning for our first cruise so I thought I would give a quick review of our trip. As I said, we are first time cruisers so I won't be making any comparisons. We travelled with two sixteen year olds and with no expectations other than to have a good time. We cruised on Voyager if the Seas from OPT on 5th December.

 

Embarkation. We arrived at 11.10am and were onboard by noon. Very happy with that.

 

Cabins. We had connecting insides, aft on deck 7. They were more than adequate for our needs, plenty of storage and hangers. We noticed no particular movement other than a little vibration if we had the pillows up against the headboard. Very quiet location and the distance from the lifts did not concern us. Our room steward was excellent and we'd book these cabins again. No complaints here.

 

Dining. One of our 16's is a little (a lot!) fussy and always managed to find something In the Windjammer. The other is much more adventurous and was happy to eat with us in the MDR. We used both frequently and were very happy with the quality of the food. Both duck and kangaroo in the MDR were standouts. I did hear some people complain that the Windjammer was a little repetitive, but if you're going to cram seven different selections on your plate every meal I guess that will happen. We found the variety to be perfectly fine and the quality good. The MDR was varied and we were always seated promptly. The quality, for us, was very good. Again, no complaints.

 

Entertainment. We enjoyed the variety and understand that not everyone will be entertained by the same things. Trivia is not for us but we did join in once. Both ice shows were fantastic and we thoroughly enjoyed one musical act in particular (Audio Vixen). We did find the hypnotist a little safe, but it's a family show. Martin Lass, violinist, was excellent and we enjoyed the 18+ comedy of Bruno Lucia.

Outdoor entertainment such as belly flop and sexiest man contests were not for us but they were clearly popular with many. At 16, the family bean bag toss and ring toss were not of interest to our girls but we did enjoy shuffleboard and mini golf competitions. The key here is to join in and experience what interests you and not have unrealistic expectations I think. The cruise caters for a vast demographic and I feel they did this very well.

 

Tendering. We had three tender ports from five shore days and this was a very slick operation. I had been concerned about how long it would take to get ashore if we did not book ships tours, but it was very quick. In both Mystery Island and Isle of Pines we were ashore by 9am, using the tender ticketing system. In Bay of Islands I was particularly nervous as we had an independent trip booked ashore. We were ready to go early and made the early bird tenders which required no tickets. 10 out of 10 on this one.

 

Crew. Fabulous! Happy, helpful and seemed to enjoy being there. Barmen were fabulous, deck crew were entertaining as they went about their duties and everyone was happy to have a chat. Really could not find fault.

 

Crowds and Lines. Nope, not that we experienced. There may have been 3000+ aboard but we did not notice them. It may have been difficult to get a window seat in Windjammer but that's because everyone wants a window seat! I always found a lounger around the pool, not front row but I neither needed nor wanted front row. Lifts did get a little slow around mealtimes but we used the stairs. The girls were able to go rock climbing with no waits, Flowrider had lines but not particularly long ones and ice skating was rarely booked out. I really don't understand the complaints I've come across on overcrowding on this ship, we most certainly did not experience it. Lines at local theme parks are way longer! A big tick here.

 

What I did not love. I have to say the constant up selling on specialty restaurants got a bit tedious. When you're eating dinner in the MDR and someone is waving an iPad in your face to persuade you to eat somewhere else, that's just inappropriate and intrusive. Shutting Flowrider early on the last day so the crew could demonstrate their skills. Honestly, we'd rather have it open longer for the passengers to use.

Serial whingers, but you get them everywhere!

 

If you lasted the pace, then I hope you found it of interest. We had a fabulous time and it will certainly not be our last cruise.

[RosieCanberra]

Great review! Glad to hear you had a good cruise.

 

Cheers

Rosie

[Guest012]

I have received so much help on this forum while planning for our first cruise so I thought I would give a quick review of our trip.

If you lasted the pace, then I hope you found it of interest. We had a fabulous time and it will certainly not be our last cruise.

 

Thoroughly enjoyed your review and thanks for posting... good to hear the Voyager was to your liking....great ship for a first cruise....we have her repo in April next year shortlisted....;);)

[GUT2407]

Thanks glad you enjoyed.

[vrogers]

Thanks for the great review, we are on Vogayer in February, so glad you enjoyed your time. It will be our first time on RCI, keen to hear did you attend the dream works show? We will have a 3 1/2 year old with us, that will be on the list as a must see.

[ozscot01]

We managed to miss the Dreamworks Parade [emoji23] not intentionally, we were just busy somewhere else. I heard it was very much enjoyed by the young ones. The characters are around a lot for meet and greet and photo ops, just keep an eye on the cruise compass for the times.

[aussielozzie18]

Enjoyed reading your review. Thanks for sharing.

[aussielozzie18]

Thanks for the great review, we are on Vogayer in February, so glad you enjoyed your time. It will be our first time on RCI, keen to hear did you attend the dream works show? We will have a 3 1/2 year old with us, that will be on the list as a must see.

 

We were on the Voyager in January for 2 weeks. There were only 2 dreamworks shows on the Promenade. The first one was at the rather late time of 10.30pm (!). The second one was towards the end of the cruise and it was on at a more reasonable time for the littlies of 5pm.

 

There was also a Dreamworks dance party on the pool deck, one day immediately after a port day. This was very popular with the littlies too.

 

Details should be listed in the Cruise Compass that you receive in your cabin each night.

[summerholidays]

Hi ozscot01

We are on Voyager in January. Thanks for your review. You mentioned you went to Mystery Island and Isle of Pines. Did you book tours or did your own thing? Also did you go to Noumea? On the islands did you use USD or AUD.

Any advice appreciated. Did you manage to get any photos of cruise compass or ship. Cheers

[windsor26]

Thanks for a clear review We are on the Voyager late February so were very interested in your comments

[PrimaCruiser]

thanks for a great review. I'm on voyager in January, so I'm eagerly reading all the latest reviews. :-)

[ozscot01]

Hi Summerholidays,

We did indeed visit Noumea, also Bay of Islands and Auckland. On Mystery Island we had decided to just have a day ashore and by the time we'd had the girls hair braided at the markets, had a look around the stalls, walked around the whole island and done some swimming and snorkelling we didn't feel the need to do a tour. There were loads on offer at the dock and the glass bottom boat was very popular. However, if you want to do a tour, give a thought to the ships ones here. The condition of some of the boats leaving the dock was a little scary. Just my opinion.

On Isle of Pines there are also plenty of bus tours available ashore. But take note that the shorter tour, 45 minutes with around 5 of the main sights, is done in a small 7 seater. We were queue jumped by an elderly couple and ended up missing out! Maybe think about doing the tours first if they interest you. $Au is fine in both places.

In Noumea we organised the Tchhou Tchou train at the port terminal. They took $Au here but not throughout the rest of the city. It was $42 pp and the train was green rather than yellow. Watch out for people trying to jump ahead here too. I was not getting caught out twice [emoji35]

I do have photos of the ship but have no idea how to load them up here. I'll have a play around if you let me know what you're interested in seeing.

Enjoy your trip, you'll have a blast.

[cheznandy]

Thanks for your review, we were on the Voyager a couple of cruises after you.

 

We were also onboard about 11.30am!!

 

We also had an inside aft on deck 7 and loved that location. We too found no problem with food, and found both Windjammer and the MDR good quality.

 

We did have crowded areas compared to other ships we have been on......but every cruise is different we may have a different experience next time. We have come to realise this style of ship is probably not to our liking, with the internal Promenade etc as it felt closed in and maybe that was our problem.

 

Glad you enjoyed your first and your girls had a good time too:)

 

Chez

Edited December 19, 2015 by cheznandy

[Ned49]

Good to read a positive review, so often people only put pen to paper to complain. We are on the Solstice in a week, can't wait.

[ozscot01]

Hi Ned49,

I feel the same way. People are so quick to complain but rarely to praise. I know that others who have cruised before may have different views, but that was an honest review of our experiences. The crew on these ships work so hard and I really think they deserve to be told when they're getting it right.

[lilly4350]

So nice to hear a positive review of your cruise. I think some people are getting so jaded from cruising that they can no longer enjoy the experience. Every cruise is different and not everything is perfect every time. And like you said, you chose the things that you wanted to do and that's what you did.

 

Enjoy cruising!

[RedTorza]

Great review. Good to see someone take a realistic view.

[eaglebowler]

Thanks for the review, we've only been once and I reckon the first will always be the most special.

[MicCanberra]

Cheers for the review.:D

[Hawka]

great review thank you ,

 

i did a review for golden but in the review area i guess i should have posted it here [probably too late now though, i also worry on grammar police as i am not the best with it [sorry] ]

[Aussieflyer]

Thanks for taking the time to add a review of your cruise Ozscot, much appreciated.

[yatchet]

great review thank you ,

 

i did a review for golden but in the review area i guess i should have posted it here [probably too late now though, i also worry on grammar police as i am not the best with it [sorry] ]

I read your review, great you had a good time.

Don't worry about grammar police, it was fine.:)

[Hawka]

I read your review, great you had a good time.

Don't worry about grammar police, it was fine.:)

 

thank you :) i will try to ignore any if they appear

[cheznandy]

great review thank you ,

 

i did a review for golden but in the review area i guess i should have posted it here [probably too late now though, i also worry on grammar police as i am not the best with it [sorry] ]

 

Don't worry about the police, they will get you for everything, not just grammar......is that grammer or grammar:rolleyes:

 

I have been on here long enough to see it all, just tell it like you see it, most of us appreciate honesty whether we agree or not, after all, every cruise is different for all of us. We are all different with different expectations.

 

I havent read your review but will go have a look now:)

 

Chez

[goodycruising]

When I see people posting corrections to other's posts, on here (not on the Aussie board much) and other social media, I can only imagine what they might be like in real life. Actually I know one, an acquaintance that works in a business a few doors up that is a FB friend. Yep, when I see some of the righteous posts about correct grammar and how annoying some people (that would be us) are, I have a chuckle. I try to get my stuff right, but hey, who really cares. :) By the way, your post looked pretty good to me!