Just back from Voyager New Years Cruise - mini review

[cruisinbb]

Well we had a ok time. Weather was bad in Roatan and Cozumel. We missed Progresso cause of weather.

Embarkation took a long time, it seemed like they were training agents at check-in.

Ship is in good shape. Food was not too good. I have sailed 39 times so I know.

CD was a ghost. I never saw her. her staff was ok. i think the ocean adventure staff did good. my nephew who is 5 1/2 liked their activities and staff.

Johnny Rockets was bad. Windjammer had some good variety of food. Very Clean and friendly wait staff.

Dining Room Carmen was great service but not too good of food.

All the bars were great - good staff - saw most the bowl games and NFL Playoffs in Sports Bar.

Formal nights were monday and friday with lobster night on friday.

Ice Show was awesome, best ever for a Voyager Class ship.

Ports -

Roatan - went scuba diving with ship - not good-

they use Anthony Key Resorts but they load you on the boats like cattle

they were not diver friendly with no 1st aid on dive boats.

Cozumel - all water sports were cancelled

it was 61 degrees - raining and windy - yuk.

we still went to Paradise Beach for lunch and drinks. Tom and his staff were all bundled up in sweats/long sleeve shirts but open and ready.

Since we missed Progresso, we stayed docked in Coz overnight and got to go out to C&C at night with crew which was fun.

Overall, the ship was crowded, lots of our neighbors from Mexico who all seemed to have a great time. I think the staff is just tired from Atlantic Crossing and holiday cruises. They will get better after a few more cruises out of Galveston, - - I hope.

Fell free to ask any questions.

 

Barry

[Corvette]

I agree with your review. We were on the ship as well and up to 50 cruises under our belt. I think it was the worst Johnny Rocket's. The meat and the bread were just awful (very dry). Next time we go it will not be during a busy holiday.

[mikefast]

Thanks for your review. It wasn't exactly what I wanted to hear, but hopefully it will improve with time. We have been on the Rhapsody three times, and we loved it. We are hoping the Voyager will be equal to the Rhapsody soon. We are planning to be on her on the 20th of this month.

[wolfganghowell]

Thanks Bubba - sorry it was not a perfect trip. Not surprising on the food - glad we made Diamond so our one venture to Johnny Rockets will be "free". I feel it's required to have a milkshake ( even though I know I have to pay for that). Did either of you do Portofinos? Do they have a Caribbean band at sailaway? Anything to report on the solarium or concierge lounge? Anything specific on the bars or casino? I know - questions, questions. Really sorry about your weather issues - bummer. If it helps, you didn't miss anything by not making it to Progreso.

[tray]

It's so great to finally read a review that sort of encompasses many different venues of a cruise. It's a bit disheartening to read some of the things that appear to be 'falling' short, but hopefully the passengers gave feedback and RCL will fix the problems. Sorry you didn't enjoy it as much as you could have...it's a lot of money to spend.

 

Thanks again!

[CTCcruiserr]

My family and I were also on this cruise - agree with everything that you stated. It was our least favorite cruise out of the 16 we have taken (6 with RCCL). Weather was terrible but no one can control the weather. Johnny Rocket's hamburgers were very greasy and not tasty at all - hamburgers in the Island grill were better. First date and time to get ice show tickets - tickets were not printed in time to hand out - they took cabin #'s and # of tickets you wanted for your selected show time. Tickets were supposed to be delivered to cabin - never got mine. Prepaid gratuities - never got vouchers had to get duplicates at purser's desk. Never delivered pre ordered excursion tickets - had to get reprints at Excursion desk - I am sure you see the pattern - a lot of time in lines to rectify things that should not have occurred. Most scheduled events never started on time. All small things that added up. Wait staff great - food edible but average. Drinks almost impossible to get in Dining room. All staff very friendly and helpful. My first time on a voyager class ship and the ship was in great shape. Too many rude people but that is happening more and more on every cruise ship. Dining room attire was great with almost everyone dressed for New year's eve and the Friday formal.

[MakinGold]

OK . . . I appreciate seeing a review, too, but I'd like a little more detail about the food issues. I don't care that much about JR, sounds like the food and service in WJ were both good. You say great service in the DR, but food not too good. Any specific complaints about the food. It's so hard to tell, because I've heard complaints about the food not being that great as long as I've been cruising, and yet it's always been enjoyable to me.

[danp]

I would like to know what did they do for New Years eve?Were there drinks at midnight?

I have a neighbor who was on a NCL ship and was very disappointed.

[bulldogmommy]

Hi to anyone having sailed the Roatan Itinerary...

 

Does anyone have the menu for the week?...I am trying to decide when to make my Portofino reservations. thanks in advance!:)

[Paula_MacFan]

Thanks for taking the time to post a review. I'm leaving this Sunday, so have been waiting for any reviews since Voyager came to Galveston.

 

That's too bad about the weather, and the food and customer service. Hopefully they will get their act together soon.

[houstoncruisers2001]

My family and I w First date and time to get ice show tickets - tickets were not printed in time to hand out - they took cabin #'s and # of tickets you wanted for your selected show time. Tickets were supposed to be delivered to cabin - never got mine.

 

Question. How are the ice show tickets usually handled? Is there a specific place to go get them? When?

 

Not worried about the food. Any time you mass produce anything the quality is somewhat lost. That just goes with the territory, like Vegas. I also think that certain foods tend to get more screwed up than others.

 

I agree with you MakinGold....I've been on cruises where after returning others have blasted the food......and I ate like a pig on the ship. I don't doubt the bad food reviews, but every one has different personal tastes.

 

Thanks for all the reviews, keep them coming. I think.:rolleyes:

[andy3fan]

I'm also curious on the New Year's Eve question. We were on NOS for New Year's Eve last week, and really didn't like it at all. Couldn't find a free drink anywhere, the promenade was packed, and the people next to us threw there full glasses in the air at midnight (ugh). The rest of the cruise was nice, but we'll never be in the packed promenade area for New Year's Eve again. Let us know who it went on Voyager.

Thanks,

Andy

[In the Pink]

Thank goodness there's finally a review! Of course I'm hoping that by Sunday when I cruise most of these things will be worked out, but they don't sound like things that have anything to do with what port she sails out of.... maybe new crew though?

 

Just glad to get any info. Thanks for posting.

[cruisinbb]

wolfiee,

you guys will be fine. they will get there act together by march.

bars were great.

New Years they gave out party favors at dinner. all the bars served free champagne though we bought our own Moet. they did a cool countdown clock on all TV's throughout ship. we chose schooner bar and the staff had a blast with us!!!

The pursers desk was aweful. i forgot to mention that. but they are going to get a earfull this week from Miami office, i promise you that!!!

I would suggest going to Portofino's on Tuesday night. i think that is the night they had talapia and it was very bland. duck was good tow nights, shrimp was good, steaks were just average. several got the wrong orders on steaks. our bar waiter at Carmen dining was lost at sea, but his boss gave him a earful after i told how bad he was.

hope this helps.

bb

[Corey]

hi there...when are you 2 going in March? We are planning for March 2..We met on the last Rhapsody cruise out of Galveston. We were with the wedding party. The bride and groom will be with us again.

[brougham]

Thanks for the reviews ! Were leaving on the 13th sailing. I hope we have better weather but who knows. Not to worried about JR either but the normal dining sounds a little disturbing. What time were you able to board and how were the lines ? What time were you able to disembark, we have a 12 noon flight out of Houston's IA that we are concerned about ?

[stjohnrocks]

Hi just another poster agreeing with prior reviews. One good meal was surf and turf. I thought the steak was good that night other than that think caffateria food marketed to sound fancy! Lobsters were the size of tiger shrimp sort of like appetizers.

 

The captain on this ship is really interesting. We found him entertaining and fun. We had bad luck with cabin steward and dining room but this can change from cabin to cabin and table to table. I really should have reported our cabin steward though (I didn't). The cabin was really not cleaned well. Filthy drawers ( I cleaned them with wipes) and I cleaned our mirror after two days. At least he kept the bathroom cleaned well. Dining Room waiter and busboy had no chemistry. Busboy was going home when our cruise ended (read burn out) and the waiter was nice but definetely way over his head. Could not keep orders straight for a table of 5. On a positive note had great tablemates which made up for some of the other issues.

 

On a positive note the bed was very comfortable and the sheets soft so no gripes there! Ship is in good shape and pretty.

 

Don't know if I'll prepay tips again, took two trips to the pursers desk to get vouchers and she informed us they always appreciate extra! Believe me I Love to give extra, unfortunately this trip did not warrant it. I will always tip the recommended either way so I wish the prepayment had worked better. RCCL get with the program on this!

 

OUr next trip is in May on The Legend-Italy I hope it is better than this one was.

[cruise_lover]

I tend to agree with Houstoncruisers2001. When you are cooking for over 3,000 passengers and crew members it is hard to please everyone's palette. I have been in restaurants where I was "warned" not to try it because the food was bland, over-spiced etc and I actually loved eating there. And I've been to restaurants and on cruise ships (NCL SUN) where everyone I spoke to loved the food and I didn't care of it. I guess it all depends on each individual.

 

And am a little disappointed though about the tickets to the ice show. Can the OP let us know how they handled it once you got to the ice theatre without tickets even though you had reservations. I'm sure checking everyone's name against a list must have caused a bottle-neck.

 

I guess I'll have to remind myself that no matter what goes wrong that at least I am still on a cruise vacation and everything will work itself out.

[newaggieparents]

I guess everyone has a different experience on a cruise...but we truly had a great time!

 

Not sure why you thought the CD was a ghost..we saw her at every show and the major games shows (Love and Marriage and Quest). She even ran the trivia contest one afternoon in the Schooner bar. She was at the dance events (disco night etc.). We thought she was great...but we do like to go to a lot of events on our cruise...

 

The Ice Show was fantastic, and we thought the entertainers were much better than usual...

 

I will agree that they messed up a few things...we ordered champagne for our sailaway and it didn't arrive till the next afternoon but after our complaint they did give us a higher quality champagne...so they did try to redeem themselves.

 

The weather was not perfect but we spent the day in Cozumel at Senor Frogs and had a blast! From what I've heard I think it was fine to skip Progreso and spend the extra 1/2 day in Cozumel. Progreso is not everyone's favorite port anyway...

 

The ship had great parties on New Years Eve and we went to all 4 of them and drank free champagne all night. It was really great! The music was very good and they did have a band playing by the pool (calypso) and at various times in the Promenade.

 

The food was fine and very much like what we enjoyed on other RC ships and our wait staff were really great..Maria from Mexico and Em from Turkey. They really went the extra mile with our kids also...

 

We didn't go to Johnny Rockets because there was so much going on that we didn't have time!

 

In Roatan we did the Tabayana (spelling?) beach day and the snorkeling was great. Yeah, it rained a bit,in the afternoon, but overall a good day!

 

The Cruise Director's staff wasn't perfect but they really tried hard! They came up with several new games when we had the extra 1/2 sea day and there was a lot to do for everyone. Our kids also had a very good time.

 

All in all we think RC did a very good job, especially with the weather not cooperating. We had fun, but we always participate in a lot of activities and enjoy the music and dancing. In addition, the last night the performers from the shows sang with the jazz band in the High Notes lounge and it was really great! (Don't miss it if you like jazz!)

 

Sorry to disagree with CruisinBB, but we had a wonderful trip and yes, we're going again next year! (Can't wait!!)

[stjohnrocks]

Missing Progresso was a huge disappointment for us. Really wanted to see Chichen Itza but certainly don't blame the captain or Royal for the weather issues. :eek: Also, I forgot to say I thought the entertainment was good on this trip. Actually the one bright spot for us.

[Willbcruisin]

We were on NOS for Christmas, this was our first holiday sailing, second cruise on NOS. I'm thinking it's just the holiday weeks. We did have a nice cruise BUT did compare to our other cruise onboard NOS. Food was good in both DR & WJ. Service was OK. Cabin steward OK. Not great, not bad, just OK. I think it's a "tough time" of year for the crew being away from home and it shows. Something just seemed to be missing? Also I have never felt crowded on a voyager class ship but did so this holiday sailing. Chair hogs were large family chair hogs and it was difficult to get a chair at anytime when they were all being saved for multiple family members and nothing was being done about it!. Also I have nothing against little ones, I cruised with my teenager, but I have never seen so many double strollers in my life, let alone onboard a ship! Chairs were also being used like dressing tables! The CC roll call was a quiet one and we only met 1 other family from our roll call. We really did not meet many people at all and we do look forward to meeting new people and making new cruising friends. The ship was beautiful as she always has been and RCC did some nice touches for the holiday but we will not cruise during this time of year again!! Just a note that we have cruised during school vacation week and it did not seem nearly as crowded. JMHO!!

[jsantos68]

Well we had a ok time. Weather was bad in Roatan and Cozumel. We missed Progresso cause of weather.

Embarkation took a long time, it seemed like they were training agents at check-in.

Ship is in good shape. Food was not too good. I have sailed 39 times so I know.

CD was a ghost. I never saw her. her staff was ok. i think the ocean adventure staff did good. my nephew who is 5 1/2 liked their activities and staff.

Johnny Rockets was bad. Windjammer had some good variety of food. Very Clean and friendly wait staff.

Dining Room Carmen was great service but not too good of food.

All the bars were great - good staff - saw most the bowl games and NFL Playoffs in Sports Bar.

Formal nights were monday and friday with lobster night on friday.

Ice Show was awesome, best ever for a Voyager Class ship.

Ports -

Roatan - went scuba diving with ship - not good-

they use Anthony Key Resorts but they load you on the boats like cattle

they were not diver friendly with no 1st aid on dive boats.

Cozumel - all water sports were cancelled

it was 61 degrees - raining and windy - yuk.

we still went to Paradise Beach for lunch and drinks. Tom and his staff were all bundled up in sweats/long sleeve shirts but open and ready.

Since we missed Progresso, we stayed docked in Coz overnight and got to go out to C&C at night with crew which was fun.

Overall, the ship was crowded, lots of our neighbors from Mexico who all seemed to have a great time. I think the staff is just tired from Atlantic Crossing and holiday cruises. They will get better after a few more cruises out of Galveston, - - I hope.

Fell free to ask any questions.

 

Barry

One question with the weather being bad like it was on your cruise Was the boat very rocky? Did you see alot of people sea sick?

[Choozin Croozin]

Thank you for posting!!!!!

 

WOW,:eek: I've never read such BAD reviews about a cruise. Sorry you had such awful experiences. To that end, I'm glad that you did enjoy yourselves, newaggieparents. Who expects that kind of weather in the Caribbean? I hope that Rccl gets their act together soon!

 

 

QUESTION:

Did anyone notice whether they offer the option of, upon debarkation you claim your bags and then put them in a holding area, then they transport them to the airport. Then you just take the ship's transportation? (for a fee of course) When we left out of Miami last year, they offered that option. We paid a certain fee, claimed our bags, took them over to a separate area (we never saw them again until landing at our destination), and then boarded a shuttle to the airport. They then took our bags to the airport and checked them for us. We flew American so maybe that was just for American passengers. We can't remember. I just don't know whether to book round trip transportation to Hobby, because that was a really nice way to go.

[wolfganghowell]

Thanks bubba - was thinking Tuesday or Wednesday for Porto's but I remember that menu with the tilapia - not some of the best choices. Gotcha covered. Les is already planning on requesting Carmen dining room, I think that's the ground floor. Maybe we'll see you at a DFW M&M before we leave! :eek: It's been too long!

 

Corey - yes of course I remember you guys. We are going March 30th - sorry we will miss you this time. I have a great picture of Mark and Mandy that I need to email them - I'll try to find your roll call so I can get theirs. Or if she still has mine have her email me and I will send it to them. They are from Carlos and Charlies and are quite good - one is funny and the other they look picture perfect! Have a great cruise - and warn them about us!

[mikefast]

Thanks newaggieparents. That is more the kind of review I wanted to read. I'm sure we will have a great time too. Fortunately for me, the ultimate destination is the ship itself. I wouldn't really care that much if we weren't able to make any of the stops. (I've been to those places numerous times anyway) Thanks again for the review.