Review VOS 11/4/05 - really long!

[Amink]

Review of My Cruise ~ 11/4/05-11/13/05

On Board

Royal Caribbean’s Voyager of the Seas

 

11/2/05 - Days till cruise 2:

 

I found out through Cruise Critic that Voyager was delayed in Bermuda, and not expected to arrive on time for our Friday 5pm departure.

 

11/3/05 – days till cruise 1:

 

I finished my day at work at 2pm, came home, finished packing, making sure I had my shoe rack door hanger, used several different techniques of packing, including rolling and folding, and alternating which way the clothes lay.

We went to fit and pick up Dh’s tux (Men’s Warehouse, 2 vests, 2 ties, 2 shirts, a jacket and trousers for $150 for 11 days! Great deal)

Got a call from RCCL that boarding would not begin on Friday until 6pm, and to show up between 6 and 8pm.

 

11/4/05 – Day 1 of Cruise

 

Got up, got the dogs and bird ready for their vacation at my in-laws, got a gift certificate for them for watching the dogs. Loaded up the car and took off. DH had to stop on the way to his parent’s house to do a quick service call, but by 1pm we were at their home.

We watched the dogs play for a little while, and then went to Dinner at the Harth near Clifton NJ, best plan we ever had, we didn’t know what we were in for at the terminal.

We arrived at the Terminal at 7pm, off loaded our luggage and tipped our ported who moved our luggage to a dolly. We then moved to the line, which was about 400 people deep. At 7:30 we were informed that the boarding process had begun, ok, se we are running really late… at 7:45 we were given folding chairs, we took this to mean we were going to be there a while. At 8:15 or so, we were given bottles water, still not looking good. At 9pm, we were let into the building, through security, and checked in.

At least now we weren’t cold. We got to wait inside the building now , it was a mess, but I guess 3,000 people will do that. There was no food left, but they were continuing to order pizza, I got us each 2 slices of pizza after waiting in line for an eternity. At about 10:15 we moved from one set of chairs to onse closer to the bus queue. After sitting there for a few minutes, looking at our boarding/bus number 74, a woman took pity on us, and called us to her, she went and got our sea pass cards, and had our pictures taken. By 10:30 we were on the bus! A short 3-4 minute bus ride later and we were on board the beautiful Voyager of the Seas (referred to from now on as VOS).

And now we wait for an elevator, and we found out that of an elevator stops at the floor you are on, it locks that floor out to all other elevators, so we wait and wait, and eventually get and elevator and have an uncomfortable ride up to deck six.

 

We are now officially on VACATION!

 

We found our cabin, and after falling all over the luggage that the room steward moved inside we quickly dumped our carryon luggage and went down to the Royal Promenade, grabbed a quick sandwich, bought the coke card and I ordered a coffee drink! Yum!

We made our way to the bow of the ship for sail away, while I was annoyed at leaving so late, and not getting much time on the ship that day, I have to say that leaving at night with the Statue of Liberty and the New York City skyline all lit up was quite impressive!

About 12 midnight we were sailing under the Verranzano Bridge, after watching us go under, we headed back inside as we had turned into popcicles.

Back up to the Promenade for hot chocolate, then into Cleopatra’s Needle and listened to the last 30 minutes of the “Liza Hendricks Band”. At 1am, went up the step to our room, and watched as they turned out the lights in the promenade, and went about unpacking.

I cleaned everything with with Clorox wipes and Lysol, then sprayed the fabrics with febreeze anti-microbial, just for my own anal satisfaction.

[Amink]

11/5/05 – Day 2 of Cruise; Sea Day

 

We were so excited about being on the ship we woke early and finished unpacking, the best thing I brought with us was the show rack, it held everything from my hairspray and curling iron to sunscreen, medication, ties, belts, and even a few pair of shoes!

I then left a note for Preston our room steward, thanking him for moving the luggage in, and asking him to move the glass table, empty the fridge, and also asked about foam for the bed. And I left him $10 on the mirror.

Then went to breakfast! While the colors in the Windjammer were not terribly appealing, I was pleasantly surprised to find that some of the seating was bench seating, and my hubby and I didn’t have to be uncomfortable while eating.

Upon returing to the room, the $10 was still attached to the mirror, but the table was gone and the fridge emptied. I went out in the hall to find Preston, he came in and showed us the foam on the bed, I was so pleased! And had to insist that he take the $10.

 

We didn’t see Preston much, but I left him some friendly notes over the days. We think he did a fantastic job, though we rarely saw him, he did a great job at keeping us happy, we finally go to speak to him on the last night and Found out he was from Trinidad, and that most of his family works for Royal Caribbean

 

We spent the day picking up our Ice Show tickets, playing chess, taking some pictures and getting my hair done for the first formal night. We also made reservations for Portofino.

It was kind of cold this day, so not many people were on the pool decks, amazingly this ship sucked people into it, nothing was ever very busy, but the people were actually hard to find.

After getting dresses we went to the Carmen Dining room, and found our table, #286, and introduced ourselves to our servers Judas and Neil.

 

Both Judas and Neil did a great job at keeping us happy, although the first few nights service was quite slow, we were still having dessert at 8:10. Judas was friendly, but not very personal, but we did find out that he is from India and his contract is coming up soon, and will then be transferred to the New Freedom of the Seas. Neil was wonderful, although he occasionally called me sir, and dh m’am, but we just overlooked it, he made me an origami shape each night, a frog, a bunny, a bird and talking lips. Neil will be on vacation stating next week, and is renewing his contract with RCCL on VOS.

 

We were sat a table for six, and ate with Mark, Mindy, Matt and Brian, this was the first time that conversation wasn’t forced, I really got along well with Mindy.

After dinner we changed (I hate pantyhose!) we went to the show “VIBOLOGY” it was ok, not the greatest I had seen, but not the worst either. Then listened to the Liza Hendrick’s Band. Then to bed.

 

11/6/05 – Day 3 of Cruise; Sea Day

 

Breakfast in the Windjammer, we found that the food was better in the front part of the Windjammer, as the turnover rate was faster, but seating was less crowded in the back.

We had a rematch of Chess and DH kicked my butt again. Then we went to the wine tasting in the afternoon, our gold member coupon books each had a coupon in it for a free wine tasting, we had a lot of fun! Met some new people, and discovered that not all wine is gross.

We then took a short nap in the cabin, and got dressed for dinner, and then went to the Welcome Back party, I had several Rum punches, and a few Whiskey Sours J.

Dinner was not memorable, but I did enjoy myself. We Played Broadway trivia at the Schooner Bar, some people really take some things way too seriously! Then we went to the show, the Comedy of Sal Richards, he was hilarious! The only complaint I have is the seating, both DH and I have larger butts, and the seats are just too uncomfortable to sit in, we ended up standing for all the shows.

 

Then to Cleopatra’s Needle for our usual night of relaxing with music.

[Amink]

11/7/05 - Day 4 of Cruise; Labadee

 

We got up somewhat early, and went down to Café Promenade for Breakfast, then tendered to the beach. I got a couple of great pics of the ship from the tender boat.

Once on the beach, we made out way to Dragon’s Breath Beach, set up some chairs and promptly fell asleep. When we woke we did some sight seeing and pictures taking, I really enjoyed this port.

Once back on board VOS, we headed to the Solarium, and soaked in the hot tub for a while, then got an ice cream cone at afternoon tea.

This was the night we had our reservation at Portofino, we dressed a little-more dressy than a casual night, we ordered a bottle of wine, and water (beware, Mark and Mindy were charged for bottled water when asked if they wanted stilled or sparkling) we asked for “plain old regular water”. Our waiter was Wendy, she was a doll, took very good care of us, everything at Portofino was wonderful, the bread, the soup, the entrée, but dessert stole the show! The flourless chocolate cake was to die for! But I was so full from dinner I couldn’t eat all of it, I really wish I could have. We enjoyed ourselves so much we did leave additional tip.

We went to the Show “VIBEOLOGY” I didn’t like this show at all, and we found out that they were retiring this production after this cruise.

 

11/8/05 – Day 5 of Cruise; Jamaica

 

Again we got up early and went the promenade for breakfast, it was a hot, cloudy, stormy day, but we enjoyed ourselves, we went to our favorite place to shop and found a lovely Tanzanite and Opal ring, and a chessboard at the store next door. It was raining so hard, that the jeweler’s drive took us back to the pier.

Once on board we went back to the cabin and took a nap until dinnertime. After dinner we wondered around until show time. Tonight was the Ice Show “ICE ODYSSEY” this production was fantastic, deffinatly worth seeing, maybe even twice! It was incredible!

After the show we went outside on the upper decks and took some neat pictures of the crown and anchor. We also watched the ice carving demonstration and took some pictures at the midnight buffet pool party, but by 12:15 we were pooped and went to bed.

 

11/9/05 – Day 6 of Cruise; Grand Cayman

We had and early excursion, so to the promenade for breakfast. We tendered to the Island and then walked to the bus station, had a short bus ride, then got on a boat to take us to snorkel at a coral reef and with sting rays, it was so windy the surf was very rough, we had a hard time even getting to the reef, I had a panic attack under water, after about 15 mind we called it quits. Then we moved about 50 yards to a part of Sting Ray City, the water was about 16 ft deep, the sting ray were everywhere, they were so cool, they would come right up to you, swim between your legs, it was really neat. Some people were disappointed, and thought the ad for this excursion was misleading, they thought we were going to the sand bar, but it was exactly what I was expecting, it was phenomenal.

After our excursion, we headed back to the ship, and went to lunch at Johnny Rockets with our coupons, then played some chess and napped until dinner. After dinner the show was Laraf, a magic show, it was good, and if you enjoy being entertained you will like it, but DH managed to pick the show apart, and blamed “behind the Magic” for spoiling it for him.

We went to the Quest game, and while we weren’t sworn to secrecy, I won’t say more than I had a ball, and I am looking forward to the next one!

In the cabin that night we watched Shrek 2, it was a really cute movie. Then crashed, it had been a tiring couple of days.

[Amink]

11/10/05 – Day 7 of Cruise; Sea Day

 

We had a nice lazy day, set the alarm for breakfast, meandered around a bit, went to lunch, played some chess, went to tea, took a nap, and got ready for our second formal night, I ended up doing my own hair, which turned out pretty good.

Mark and Mindy went to Portofino, so we had the table to ourselves, dinner was ok, but nothing to write home about.

The show tonight was “Rhythm and Rhyme” this was the best of the 3 Broadway style shows, the did a tribute to Chicago, and Phantom and Cats and a few others, it was very nice. Then off to bed.

 

11/11/05 – Day 8 of Cruise; Freeport

 

We had a somewhat late excursion, considering we docked at 6:30 and our excursion was at 9:15, we did snorkeling on the coral reef, this was excellent, the water was pristine, the coral was gorgeous, tons of fish, plenty of snorkel time, it was fantastic, like swimming in an aquarium.

We had to be back onboard by 1pm to leave for home at 1:30, we spent the afternoon playing chess and trying to get lunch and having fun with the camera.

It was lobster night in the dining room, but we both went for the prime rib, which was ok. After dinner we went to see Wild and Hayes a comedy/juggling act. These guys were great, goofy funny, but still very funny. After the show, we went to listen to the “Liza Hendricks Band” until they finished.

 

11/12/05 – Day 9 of Cruise; Sea Day

 

It was kind of a depressing day, but we tried to make the best of it, we bought our photos, and made out our thank you cards, and split up the tip money, spent the afternoon on the balcony. We wandered around the ship and kind of said goodbye to her, took some more pictures and started to pack.

At diner we took lots of pics of the table and the waiters, and said our good-byes, I still miss Neil. After dinner we went back to the cabin and said goodbye to Preston, and finished packing, went to the comedy show, but I really thought he was awful, he mostly did insult jokes, but nothing to tie them together.

We then took some pictures of the “Liza Hendricks band”, and had our last foo-foo drink and tried to make the time last forever. Then to bed for the last time on VOS.

 

11/13/05 – Disembarkation day

 

We were up and out of the room by 7:30 for breakfast, hunted for a place to sit in the windjammer and hung out there until Mark and Mindy showed up, we used their phone and said our goodbyes to them, then we waited in the cold Solarium until our color was called.

We were color purple, called second, but since they called 3 colors at a time, there was a real traffic jam, especially with all the people on scooters holding up the elevators. After about 20 minutes of waiting in the stairwell, we were off the ship and on the bus, back to the dreaded terminal. Luggage pick up was a mess, with the porters pushing people over, but customs was a breeze, we found our ride and were on our way home by 10.40.

[Amink]

Overview:

 

The Ship was gorgeous, well up kept, if you look for wear and tear you will find it, but over all she was in very good condition, and clean. The staff was friendly and willing to help in anyway.

 

There were over 800 kids on this cruise, and 98% of them were well behaved, and well mannered, we stayed away from the aft of the ship, where the kids activities are and avoided the main pools, and tried to not let the little stuff get to us.

 

The food was eh… just ok, but it was included and plentiful, so I ate well.

 

A few real negatives:

 

-the elevators are just too darn slow, and would often go right past us, I think this issue really needs to be addressed

-the embarkation process and the way we were treated, it was horrendous, all we really wanted was a few bucks ship board credit to make up for our lost first day on the ship. We didn’t get anything except an apology from the Captain, but I don’t blame the Captain or crew, I blame the corporate headquarters, for not planning ahead.

-seating, in some places it is just not comfortable for large people, in the dining room, they made sure DH had an armless chair, and when we could find comfortable seating in the windjammer, it was great. But the theater was just horrible to sit in and a lot of the chairs in the windjammer were really tight.

 

 

Thank you for reading this!

 

if you made it this far, my next post will be a few pics

 

Ami

[Amink]

 

 

 

[Amink]

 

[Amink]

correction...

 

post #3 the second show we saw was "Dreamscape" not Vibeology

[Coralc]

Very nice review, Ami! Thanks so much for sharing your cruise experience with us.:)

[4merlurker]

Thanks for the great review!

 

We are thinking of cruising out of NJ/NY next time. How was the motion? Worried that until we get into the warm waters by florida that the ship will be rocking and rolling :eek:

[Amink]

I was worried about the motion also, but it really wasn't bad, the ocean was at moderate waves for the entire trip. We've had rougher weather when we left out of Miami.

[settingsail]

Thank you so much for the review :)

 

We are also thinking about a NY/NJ cruise , Hey Connie maybe will will see you there !!!! I have seen many of you posts and i think we would have a good time partying !

[kellygirl719]

Thanks so much for your review!! I'm leaving for the VOS 1/7/06 and CANNOT wait!!

[JamashP]

Thank you for your review. We were also on the 11/4 VOS.

 

Though we were one of the fortunate ones with embarking the ship, I can sympathize with your very long wait to board the ship.

 

We had a wonderful time on the cruise. We had three our of those 800 children and agree that 98% (maybe more) were well behaved and mannered.

 

The seas were very calm. It was the smoothest we've ever felt in the three cruises we've been on. Probably due to the size of the ship and calm seas, while inside, there were many times we didn't even know we were moving.

 

Wish we were still cruising now!

[LLM]

Thank you for sharing your review. It was great!

 

Lisa