Live from Voyager in the Baltic

[KittyCruz]

We're on this cruise end of July so looking forward to hearing about your trip and learning as much as we can

[CatLadyFemme]

We are on the May 22nd itinerary, so following along.

 

are you saying they are *not* requiring a COVID test within the past two days to board?

 

Previous cruisers have talked about the staff being a bit rough, lots of stuff being out of stock, etc. Looking forward to hearing your thoughts!

[marielco]

At sea today. Lovely and sunny but chilly breeze on deck, need a jacket.  Captain warned weather may change tomorrow, we may get rain in Stockholm. 

 

it is a long walk to city center from where we dock. They are running a shuttle service every 30 minutes tomorrow into Stockholm. First shuttle 10am last shuttle 4pm.  As we are staying overnight I would have thought they could run the shuttle later.  It is $20 for the day.  The shuttle drops you off at the Royal Opera house in the city.  On Wednesday it will start earlier at 8.30 am but finish at 3pm. 
 

I bought the basic one device internet package for e mail etc… it is hopeless.  Complained and the gent at the WiFi table - end of Promenade by Guest Services - told me they are “having problems”   RC officer then told me good around ship but not good in cabin because “closed space”.  I said not told that when paying!  He would not admit they had a problem. Eventually he did upgrade me to the more expensive faster streaming package without any extra payment.  Happy with this until I got back to cabin.  Some improvement but still very poor, slow and disconnecting intermittently. I’m in the middle. It is far worse than I have ever experienced on RC before. 

[Norwaylady]

👋🏻 hello

not to rain on your string;) 

 

I left the skip on Sunday 8.may. 

ckin 1.may:

If you are a eu/EØS member and has a digital covid pass/app it works fine. 
but they need to see the actual dates for dose 1+2 and brand. Same if you have booster dose. 

They needed to see the negative results for covid made less then 2 days before departure. I had them digitally in my app+ pdf form from my test centre. 
so we tested on Friday night. 
 

they asked all the questions in the health form again in-person at ckin. 
 

they sailing had beautiful weather but temperatures were low. So only the “vikings” from Scandinavia stayed on deck😅🇩🇰🇳🇴🇮🇸🇫🇮
The crew was freezing on deck🥶🥶🥶🥶 felt a bit poor for them. They are not acclimated for this temperature❤️

 

In Helsinki and Tallinn its early spring, so 3-6c and sunny. But ice cold winds. So felt temperature is lower…. 
Stockholm was a bit warmer but ice cold wind the first day and less wind next day.

 

all-in-all a great sailing and hardworking crew.
there was some hiccups due to ship has not been operated for a long time. But maintains was out and about to fix and register things that needed replacement or repair.
 
So our coffee machine in the stateroom (js) was leek. But they fixed it asap. Same for a broken drawer. 
just tell them politely if something is wrong, they really want it to be in order. 

 

The internet was not perfect. Some zones of the ship work perfect and others is not working well. 
we stayed in a js 6692 and you could only use internet on the corner of the bed… 

they are working on this, it was better the last 2 days. I think they are changing some base stations or updating the WiFi onboard. 
 

I wish you a great sailing and enjoy😍

[marielco]

Another technical problem.  The main show in the theatre tonight has had to be postponed until day 4 due to “technical difficulties” it is to be replaced with a headliner show - magician I think - who was due to perform later in the week. 

[colsky]

11 minutes ago, marielco said:

At sea today. Lovely and sunny but chilly breeze on deck, need a jacket.  Captain warned weather may change tomorrow, we may get rain in Stockholm. 

 

it is a long walk to city center from where we dock. They are running a shuttle service every 30 minutes tomorrow into Stockholm. First shuttle 10am last shuttle 4pm.  As we are staying overnight I would have thought they could run the shuttle later.  It is $20 for the day.  The shuttle drops you off at the Royal Opera house in the city.  On Wednesday it will start earlier at 8.30 am but finish at 3pm. 
 

I bought the basic one device internet package for e mail etc… it is hopeless.  Complained and the gent at the WiFi table - end of Promenade by Guest Services - told me they are “having problems”   RC officer then told me good around ship but not good in cabin because “closed space”.  I said not told that when paying!  He would not admit they had a problem. Eventually he did upgrade me to the more expensive faster streaming package without any extra payment.  Happy with this until I got back to cabin.  Some improvement but still very poor, slow and disconnecting intermittently. I’m in the middle. It is far worse than I have ever experienced on RC before. 

It will be great to follow your posts on your cruise, as we are sailing on the Voyager from 31 July.

 

I'm interested to know about the leaving the ship policy, particularly in Stockholm.  I'm sure I read somewhere that you now no longer have to be on a ship excursion, in order for an unvaccinated child to leave the ship.  But, our itinerary still says that families travelling with unvaccinated children must purchase a RCL tour in order to leave the ship at a port of call.  We're in the annoying situation that we have a 10 year old who we are trying to get vaccinated before our cruise, but, according to our research and phonecalls with NHS helplines, a 10 year old cannot get proof of vaccination for travel, you have to be at least 12 for that. So we may have a vaccinated child who we can't prove the status of to enable us to leave the ship!  

[marielco]

10 hours ago, CatLadyFemme said:

We are on the May 22nd itinerary, so following along.

 

are you saying they are *not* requiring a COVID test within the past two days to board?

 

Previous cruisers have talked about the staff being a bit rough, lots of stuff being out of stock, etc. Looking forward to hearing your thoughts!

You do need the Covid test within two days to board.  RC are not doing tests at the terminal

[marielco]

Lovely surprise at brunch today in dining room. All the ladies got these plates of goodies to celebrate Mothers Day. 

[Biker19]

1 hour ago, marielco said:

Some improvement but still very poor, slow and disconnecting intermittently.

Unlikely that will get fixed as that is a local issue with the wifi repeater near your cabin.

[muenchner]

Great pics, thank you, enjoy ...

[marielco]

2 hours ago, Biker19 said:

Unlikely that will get fixed as that is a local issue with the wifi repeater near your cabin.

They did come to the cabin to check it out be no better 

[marielco]

Very quiet on board. Some of the bars closed. Guest Services told us no need to book ice show or any of the other shows as not needed with so few passengers on board. Most people who are braving the breeze on deck are using the Solarium area as it is more sheltered than the main pool. 

[marielco]

14 hours ago, CatLadyFemme said:

We are on the May 22nd itinerary, so following along.

 

are you saying they are *not* requiring a COVID test within the past two days to board?

 

Previous cruisers have talked about the staff being a bit rough, lots of stuff being out of stock, etc. Looking forward to hearing your thoughts!

I read the reports from the earlier sailings which listed a lot of problems. Thankfully things seem  to have improved a lot. No shortages that I have seen so far. Cabin was well cleaned and everything in place when we arrived.  Cabins available spot on 1pm embarkation day and we received our luggage by 4pm. Bar staff had no problems making our cocktails. I think they must have got on top of the problem with under trained crew. 
Everyone very friendly.  Only problem has been with the WiFi service but apart from that all good so far. 
 

Edited May 9, 2022 by marielco

[flamingos]

44 minutes ago, marielco said:

They did come to the cabin to check it out be no better 

Find a nice spot like the british pub where you can hang and get your wifi better. I hope things improve after they are reported.

 

[kccrzr]

On 5/8/2022 at 10:39 AM, astangenes said:

Copenhagen Medical at different locations in Copenhagen city: https://www.cphmed.com/healthcare/covid-19-english/?lang=en

Or by Falck at the airport. 

Thank you - great information.  Looks very convenient with extended hours and only a 15 minute walk from our hotel.  

[DragonOfTheSeas]

On 5/8/2022 at 11:39 AM, astangenes said:

Copenhagen Medical at different locations in Copenhagen city: https://www.cphmed.com/healthcare/covid-19-english/?lang=en

Or by Falck at the airport. 

Thank you--We will Sail on Voyager July 31 from Stockholm to Copenhagen.  We will need to have a test to fly home to the US.  This great information.

[ckmommy]

Thanks for taking time to keep us posted about this cruise.  We leave June 15th for 11 days.  Planning to print the (hopefully) negative covid tests and have our vaccine cards ready to be looked at.   I am hoping the paper copies will be okay--I do not trust having internet for web copies and we are a family of 7 so paper is best for us.  

Please keep us posted!!  Love reading about your experience so far.

[lionheart]

1 hour ago, kccrzr said:

Thank you - great information.  Looks very convenient with extended hours and only a 15 minute walk from our hotel.  

Anyone on this thread used the Copenhagen airport Covid testing site? It’s annoying can’t make an appointment 

when the ship docks I fly out that day 1230

[HankaM]

Ckmommy,

 

Hi, I read on another post that you are from Cypress. We’re from Cypress/Tomball area and going on the Baltic cruise on 5 June. Small world. Would have been neat if we had been on the same cruise. 

Edited May 9, 2022 by HankaM

[ckmommy]

1 hour ago, HankaM said:

Ckmommy,

 

Hi, I read on another post that you are from Cypress. We’re from Cypress/Tomball area and going on the Baltic cruise on 5 June. Small world. Would have been neat if we had been on the same cruise. 

Hi!!  Yes I am from Cypress, TX--we live near Cypress Ranch HS!  You will be getting off the ship as we are getting on!  Too bad it is not the sail sailing for both of us.  Looking so forward to this trip.  We are going with our family of 7, meeting my parents and my sister, her husband and 2 of her kids.  

If the testing requirements were gone for at least coming home, I feel I could get more excited for this cruise!  Crossing my fingers!!

[DragonOfTheSeas]

51 minutes ago, ckmommy said:

If the testing requirements were gone for at least coming home, I feel I could get more excited for this cruise!  Crossing my fingers!!

Yes, let's hope this comes to pass.

[Sunshine3601]

12 hours ago, marielco said:

At sea today. Lovely and sunny but chilly breeze on deck, need a jacket.  Captain warned weather may change tomorrow, we may get rain in Stockholm. 

 

it is a long walk to city center from where we dock. They are running a shuttle service every 30 minutes tomorrow into Stockholm. First shuttle 10am last shuttle 4pm.  As we are staying overnight I would have thought they could run the shuttle later.  It is $20 for the day.  The shuttle drops you off at the Royal Opera house in the city.  On Wednesday it will start earlier at 8.30 am but finish at 3pm. 
 

I bought the basic one device internet package for e mail etc… it is hopeless.  Complained and the gent at the WiFi table - end of Promenade by Guest Services - told me they are “having problems”   RC officer then told me good around ship but not good in cabin because “closed space”.  I said not told that when paying!  He would not admit they had a problem. Eventually he did upgrade me to the more expensive faster streaming package without any extra payment.  Happy with this until I got back to cabin.  Some improvement but still very poor, slow and disconnecting intermittently. I’m in the middle. It is far worse than I have ever experienced on RC before. 

Just a little FYI,   Internet can be worse in the cabin all depends on how far your cabin is from their wifi repeater (or whatever that device is called they mount on the walls throughout the ship).  If there are any storms or rain nearby that will impact their satellite signal as well and internet may not work at all.     This will happen on any ship (new or old).    

I had a sailing on Anthem in January and wifi was very slow in my cabin but worked great many other places on the ship.   The cabin I had on Anthem in March had great wifi, so location definitely makes a huge difference.

Hopefully the surf n stream package will work better for you.    I am enjoying your cruise.    thank you for taking the time out of your vacation to do this review.

Edited May 9, 2022 by Sunshine3601

[marielco]

We had dinner in the main dining room last night.  Some photos from the meal. Iceberg Wedge starter, Duck a l’Orange, Lemon-Butter Baked Cod, Apple Blosom a la Mode and Artisan Cheese Plate. The latter is on the menu as a starter but my husband had it after his main. 

[marielco]

The Cruise Director is from the UK Rob McNally and his Activities Manager is Katie.  Silent disco on the Promenade last evening.  The Headline act in the theatre was not a magician as I had thought but a singer Tony Tillman. 
He is a consumate entertainer able to involve the audience throughout. Jazz, Rock and Roll, MoTown etc.. not my favourite music but really enjoyed his energy and humour.  Very entertaining 45 minutes. 

[pretzlaff]

17 hours ago, lionheart said:

Anyone on this thread used the Copenhagen airport Covid testing site? It’s annoying can’t make an appointment 

when the ship docks I fly out that day 1230

We got off on Sunday.  The airport was worse than I had imagined for a Sunday morning.  There was a long line to check bags.  The line for security was worse. 

 

We passed by the covid test place three times.  The first time was when we first got there and there was no line.  Second time was before check in and there was a fairly long line.  The third time was after check in and the line had not moved much in the 20+ minutes.  People from the boat were still in line and had not even started testing yet.

 

I don't believe that it ended well for many as they still had to then check in and go thru security.

 

We brought our own Binax tests.  Trouble was that the wifi was so poor the sea day before debarkation, that we tested at 5:30 am when we docked.  I used my ipad on the cell towers to get a solid signal.

 

I asked at the desk is they did testing on board for flying and they said no.  I asked if I could buy back up Binax tests from them, and they said no.  They said to 'get tested at the airport'.

 

If you have not left for the cruise yet.  Order some tests from emed.com.  If you are currently on board, self assist your luggage off at 7am and grab the first cab to the airport to beat the lines.