LIVE Voyager of the Seas Oct. 2nd, 2022 - Oct. 9th, 2022

[Broons77]

Thanks @rudeney!!!!  Our turn next week will be well planned thanks to your scouting reports!  Safe travels back home for you and your wife, perhaps one day we will run into each other on board.

[HappyTexan44]

Thank you for everything, and particularly the Daily Planners!

[warb]

Great Report  !!!   Thanks for taking the Time to do it.

[jmklade]

I agree it was a great report.  My wife and I were supposed to be on Voyager last May for a Baltic cruise but cancelled due to St. Petersburg being cancelled for obvious reasons.  We will be on Voyager now in December out of San Juan.  Thanks again for the report.

[exercisemama]

On 10/8/2022 at 8:53 PM, RenieRaider said:

Any suggestions on locations to watch the Patriots Game on Sunday? What did they do last Sunday? Was it on the BIG SCREEN on top deck? 

 

Following but want to watch the Bills!!

 

 

 

[HappyTexan44]

@rudeney  Do you remember seeing Coke Freestyle machines on Voyager?   I saw a list of ships that had them, and Voyager wasn't included. But, then I also saw a list of ships that had Sorrento's Pizza and Voyager wasn't on there either.  So, maybe Royal is just super slow to update those.  
 

[rudeney]

1 minute ago, HappyTexan44 said:

@rudeney  Do you remember seeing Coke Freestyle machines on Voyager?   I saw a list of ships that had them, and Voyager wasn't included. But, then I also saw a list of ships that had Sorrento's Pizza and Voyager wasn't on there either.  So, maybe Royal is just super slow to update those.  
 

 

Voyager has no Freestyle machines.  If you have a beverage package, you can get whatever soft drinks you want from any bar or restaurant.  Sometimes it will come out of the nozzle, sometimes out of a can, but I also saw them using 2 or 3 liter bottles of Coke products.

 

Voyager doesn't have an actual Sorrento's, but they do have the same pizza in Cafe Promenade.  And Johnny Rocket's was deleted during the amping to add more staterooms.  Another thing Voyager lacks is craps tables in the casino.  Rumor is that since Voyager spent most of its recent life in Asia, and craps is not popular there, they replaced the craps tables with other games.  I did notice that many of the slots had an Asian theme (dragons, Asian-looking anime, etc.)

[HappyTexan44]

@rudeney  Thank you so much!   

The Royal website has a Sorrento's icon in Dining options.  I have trust in your superior first-hand knowledge.   So, it is like it halfway has Sorrento's.   I think it was you that said that Keys guests are told that they get Chops on the first day, but really it is the Chops menu prepared in the MDR, which isn't the same thing.  

Speaking of the Casino.   Did you happen to notice if they had Learn To Play sessions?   That was another thing that didn't list Voyager.   But they have a casino so I don't see why they wouldn't.  If I do go to the Casino, it would be for Poker or Blackjack.  But, thanks for the craps head-up.  

I had seen that they added staterooms, and I wondered what they took away.  I will not mourn the loss of Johnny Rockets.  I don't bother to go to one at home.  
 

[Broons77]

22 minutes ago, HappyTexan44 said:

@rudeney  Thank you so much!   

The Royal website has a Sorrento's icon in Dining options.  I have trust in your superior first-hand knowledge.   So, it is like it halfway has Sorrento's.   I think it was you that said that Keys guests are told that they get Chops on the first day, but really it is the Chops menu prepared in the MDR, which isn't the same thing.  

Speaking of the Casino.   Did you happen to notice if they had Learn To Play sessions?   That was another thing that didn't list Voyager.   But they have a casino so I don't see why they wouldn't.  If I do go to the Casino, it would be for Poker or Blackjack.  But, thanks for the craps head-up.  

I had seen that they added staterooms, and I wondered what they took away.  I will not mourn the loss of Johnny Rockets.  I don't bother to go to one at home.  
 

 

FYI, the app lists learn to play sessions for my Voyager cruise that leaves on Sunday.

[rudeney]

3 hours ago, HappyTexan44 said:

@rudeney  Thank you so much!   

The Royal website has a Sorrento's icon in Dining options.  I have trust in your superior first-hand knowledge.   So, it is like it halfway has Sorrento's.   I think it was you that said that Keys guests are told that they get Chops on the first day, but really it is the Chops menu prepared in the MDR, which isn't the same thing.  

Speaking of the Casino.   Did you happen to notice if they had Learn To Play sessions?   That was another thing that didn't list Voyager.   But they have a casino so I don't see why they wouldn't.  If I do go to the Casino, it would be for Poker or Blackjack.  But, thanks for the craps head-up.  

I had seen that they added staterooms, and I wondered what they took away.  I will not mourn the loss of Johnny Rockets.  I don't bother to go to one at home.  
 

 

There is definitely no dedicated Sorrento's restaurant.  I did stop in Cafe Promenade one afternoon to grab a slice of pizza - the had three there ready to serve and I heard the crew member say she was making more.  This was a counter perpendicular and to the left of the deli case.

 

I check my copies of the Cruise Compass and Learn to Play was listed only on the first day at 6:00pm -  the casino was scheduled to open at 6:30pm.

 

All of our local Johnny Rockets closed, even before COVID.  They just became rundown and poorly managed.  I did like it on the ships, though, because it was a nice diversion from other food onboard.

 

Voyager does have Cupcake Cupboard, on the port side, between the  Windjammer and pool deck.  But it's not serving cupcakes - they serve some desserts and sandwiches, similar to Cafe  Promenade.  It's only open from 6:00am - 7:00am in the mornings, then 3:00pm - 6:00pm in the afternoons.  I thin on sea days it may open for an hour or two late at night (10-midnight).  I'd have rather had cupcakes!

 

 

[NRichard10]

On 10/4/2022 at 8:56 AM, rudeney said:

Up at 7:30 this morning in Portland

 

 

 

It's 47°F - great for water aerobics in the heated Solarium pool and some time in the hot tub.  It was a bit chilly getting out,  but I can tolerate it fairly well. 

The Solarium pool was heated? Did you also say that there is no CRAPS table in the Casino?

[rudeney]

12 minutes ago, NRichard10 said:

The Solarium pool was heated? Did you also say that there is no CRAPS table in the Casino?

 

Correct!  On many days, the only pool open was the Solarium and I was in it almost every day - definitely heated.  I didn't try the other pools.  And no craps tables.  I am really surprised they didn't put one in when the restarted.  It doesn't seem like it would be a big deal to pull out one of the poker or blackjack tables.  Oh, and the "high rollers" section of the casino was closed the whole time.  I guess there was either no one with that kind of money, or maybe not enough crew to manage it.  

[ober134]

We were also on this sailing. Chosen for the itinerary, which we really enjoyed each port. A week afterward, important to note that many passengers are reporting as Covid positive. Including my DH.

[motheroftwocats814]

On 10/9/2022 at 11:31 AM, rudeney said:

This is the wrap-up, so it's going to be a bit long...

 

We were up around 6:30am and having breakfast in Chops around 7:45am.  It was delicious as usual with fantastic service from Vlad and Nadia (Nadia was our breakfast server a few days back).  Jan had seen Nadia and Vlad together on night being "very friendly" with each other, so we suspect they may be having a little onboard romance.  Which is interesting because Nadia is from Russia and Vlad is from Ukraine.  I suspect neither one cares about the war, except for the safety of their families back home.  

 

We did find out why Chops is not open on embarkation day for Voyager.  We thought it might have to do with Chops having to prepare lunch for The Key in the MDR.  Nadia told us it is because they added about 500 beds with the "amping" and the Windjammer couldn't handle the crowds, so they use Chops seating as overflow, and Giovanni's as the specialty restaurant on boarding day.  She also said that although The Key gets the Chops menu in the MDR that day, it is not prepared by Chops - it's just their menu items prepared in the MDR galley.  

 

After breakfast, we headed to the Schooner bar as instructed to meet Gabriel, the concierge for disembarkation.  We got there and sat around a while as they called various numbers.  We all sat there waiting on Gabriel to lead us out, but he never did.  He was just standing around, and every now and then we'd see him escort a couple of passengers out.  After asking him when we were disembarking, he explained we could leave whenever we wanted - just let him know.  Well, we let him know we were ready and he walked us through the "customs" check (which was an officer who glanced at our passports - no facial recognition) and then to the SeaPass scan, and we were down the gangway into the terminal.  

 

This suite/Pinnacle disembarkation process was just a bit disorganized and not what we are used to.  Normally, the concierge has escorted us off in groups.  I guess Gabriel does not do it that way, but everyone was sitting around expecting that.  I will say he's the least impressive concierge we've had on a cruise.  He's young, and very soft spoken, and always seems disorganized - even a bit flustered.  But he was very friendly and helpful when we needed him. 

 

We were off the ship and with our luggage waiting for our Uber by 9:00am.  The terminal staff will tell you to go across the street to Duncan Donuts to order an Uber because of the traffic  congestion (it is a cluster), but I had already done it when we grabbed our luggage.  Our Uber driver Joseph was excellent and said he'd even though it means some extra traffic, he'd rather pickup right at the terminal because it's easier for passengers like us with lots of luggage.  We made it to the airport and through security by 10:00am.  Now we just wait for our 12:35pm flight.  Assuming it's on time and we have an uneventful drive to Birmingham from Nashville, we should be home around 6:00pm.

 

This was a FANTASTIC cruise!  The crew was excellent - we were always met with big smiles and an eagerness to help.  We knew they are shorthanded, so we were just patient, and were rewarded with first class service.   The ship was very nice.  Yes, there is some rust here and there and a few places that need attention or updating (especially in the cabins) but Voyager is still a wonderful ship.  I like how easy it is to get around, and other than absolute peak times, it never felt crowded. 

 

We never ate in the MDR.  I heard mixed reviews on the food there.  The Windjammer was never horribly packed, and the food there was very good, and again - I can't say enough about the crew - there were plenty of them in the Windjammer ready to get us whatever we needed.  Specialty dining was excellent.  We loved Chops - both the food and staff.  Only one night did the steaks not come our perfectly cooked.  Giovanni's was good, too, both the staff and food.  I liked the food in Izumi, even if it wasn't Jan's favorite.  The staff there was just OK.  In fact, if I had to pick the worst crew interactions, it would be in Izumi.  Don't get me wrong - they were good, just nowhere near the level of personality and friendliness of the staff in Chops or Giovanni's.  Finally, our stateroom attendant Prakash was top-notch.  We didn't interreact with him much, mostly just greetings in the hall, but he kept the room clean, kept us stocked with ice, and made sure we had plenty of towels and anything else we needed.  I'd say that's the perfect attendant.  

 

I absolutely do not regret buying the UDP or DBP.  Our specialty meals were very good and a relaxing change form the MDR.  I took $100 in ones with me, and handed one out for each drink ordered at a bar.  I have $42 left.  So 58 drinks at an average of $12 each is $696.  That does not count the dozens of bottles of water, fresh OJ, or drinks ordered in restaurants, so I am sure we easily exceeded the the $1,078 we paid for UDP.  I had no problems finding the Scotch I like - Johnnie Walker Double Black.  Every now and then a bar would not have it so I'd have to choke down some plebeian Black Label.   Jan had lots of daquiris and white zinfandel, and I had several dozen glasses of Oberon cabernet with dinner.  I never had to wait behind more than one person for a drink in a bar.

 

The entertainment was good.  We don't expect Tony-award winning performances, but it was entertaining.  My least favorite was the Rhythm & Rhyme.  My most favorite was the ice show.  The onboard bar entertainment was good.  One guy playing in the Schooner bar was a great pianist, not such a great singer, but not horrible.  The duo playing in the Promenade was good.  The cruise director was good, though we only saw him announcing the shows.  

 

OK, that's about it.  We' begin boarding our flight shortly.  Thanks for coming along!

Thanks for the review. We are sailing on VOS tomorrow. I just wish the RC app would be correct and not allow me to book Chops lunch. I booked it last week, because I had a 50OBC I wanted to use. I haven't canceled it yet. Wondering if I go to guest services if they will allow us to have Geo's instead. Honestly, I am not keen on Geo's. Maybe they will allow us to do Chops dinner instead.

[rudeney]

1 hour ago, motheroftwocats814 said:

Thanks for the review. We are sailing on VOS tomorrow. I just wish the RC app would be correct and not allow me to book Chops lunch. I booked it last week, because I had a 50OBC I wanted to use. I haven't canceled it yet. Wondering if I go to guest services if they will allow us to have Geo's instead. Honestly, I am not keen on Geo's. Maybe they will allow us to do Chops dinner instead.

 

My guess is that if you have Chops booked but it's closed, they would transfer your reservation to Giovanni's.  One thing I will say is never once did we see people waiting on  tables at the specialty restaurants.  There were always plenty of open tables.  

[motheroftwocats814]

1 hour ago, rudeney said:

 

My guess is that if you have Chops booked but it's closed, they would transfer your reservation to Giovanni's.  One thing I will say is never once did we see people waiting on  tables at the specialty restaurants.  There were always plenty of open tables.  

Thanks. I will go to guest services I suppose.

[rudeney]

56 minutes ago, motheroftwocats814 said:

Thanks. I will go to guest services I suppose.

 

Or just stop into Giovanni's when you board (that's the closest place) and they can help you there.  

[perfect match]

Thanks @rudeney for doing this review. I’ve enjoyed following along with you and Jan.