Royal Caribbean International
MV Voyager of the Seas

Reviewed by ebi V.
# previous cruises: 1
Date of Trip: November 21, 1999
Itinerary: Caribbean - Western

Overall – If it sounds like we mention a lot of negatives below, that’s just because we’re being complete and giving both the negatives and positives in our description, to give people a better idea of what to expect. Although we were really turned off by the overwhelming amount of deceptive advertising by RCCL, especially when we realize that the people who are telling us their ship is 142000 GRT (which it actually isn’t, according to official records) are the same ones who are still denying that they were involved in oil dumping by their engineers, and we would not choose this line again unless we see some changes, the ship itself is a wonderful product – huge, new, clean, beautiful, in good shape, and with lots and lots to do on board.

Public Areas:
The Ship – It was well laid out and easy to get around. The décor was modern and innovative, with an impressive art collection. It wasn’t too modern for most people’s taste, though, I don’t think. Only places like the disco had really "weird" décor with lots of plastic and geometric shapes, which was very appropriate. The "atmosphere" of the Promenade was varied from day to night and on different days, by the use of banners and lighting. The dining room, Portofino's, and the Connoisseur Club were very classic and elegant, with brass, velvet and heavy draperies. We thought the life-sized nude adult statues complete with genitalia around the atrium pool were inappropriate for a public place with children, and the "St. Tropez" sunbathing area was not clearly marked as I’ve heard it is on other ships, so some people were complaining about adults "exposing themselves" to children. But these were both in the top forward part of the ship, so one could avoid these areas. The wide promenade deck with scattered deck chairs leading all the way around the ship on deck 4, and up to the observation area on deck 5 was wonderful. At night, the observation deck at the tip of the bow is usually deserted and totally unlit, so it’s a very beautiful and romantic place. It was especially beautiful on our first night on board, when we were sailing toward a full moon. The top deck and pools are well laid out. Deck chairs were never lacking, partly because a "deck monitor" occasionally removed towels left behind on chairs! We just wished the whirlpools weren’t full of kids all the time! But they were sure enjoying them!

Food & Service:
We liked the nice variety in the Windjammer/Island grill. Always lots of fresh fruit. Smoked fish for breakfast was a real treat. The main dining room had good quality and selection. We didn’t see the lobster and specialty foods other people had mentioned, but what they offered was prepared very well and there was salmon offered on the a la carte menu if anyone didn’t want any of the regular entrees. The room service breakfast menu was limited and very confusing. They should have provided a menu for each person or provided a place to list how many of each item was requested. We were unable to get what we wanted, even when making it as clear as possible on the menu they provided. The midnight gala buffet they held one night was a zoo. The foods were very impressively prepared, but they scheduled 1/2 of the passengers to crowd through to look at 11:30 and 1/2 at 12:00, and then everyone crowded back in to try to eat after that. We gave up. I was a little bit disappointed because I was hoping to get a little bit of that tiny bowl of caviar they provided for all 2855 of us. (Alas, no caviar on this cruise; next time I’ll bring my own.)

Service - It was a little different from what I’d heard described by veteran cruisers. No towel animals, and no waiters encouraging us to have a second helping on the entrée (which we certainly didn’t need). The room attendant cleaned the room twice a day and did a good job. The waiters in the dining room were efficient and pleasant, if a little rushed. The service in Portofino was a fiasco. They were very understaffed, and it took us over 2 hours to get dinner. Some diners were walking out. We didn’t mind the very slow dinner, but the waiter kept making mistakes. We had ordered a bottle of wine, but after we finished the first glass he took our glasses and we’d been served 3 more courses of our 7 course meal before we could catch him to get them back, because he kept throwing the food on the table and running away and didn’t even hear us trying to catch him. And then after we got the glasses back, he forgot to pour (we almost walked across the room and got it ourselves). Between his frantic attitude and continual yelling at the assistant waiter, the environment was pretty tense. I really think they’ll correct this soon, though, because so many people were complaining and walking out, and probably asking for refunds on their $5 pp surcharge! The deck waiters were VERY active on the first night, probably making lots of tips selling those "souvenir glasses" to unsuspecting guests like us who thought they were just buying a drink, but they were a little hard to catch later in the week (which is probably a good thing, because I was too lazy to get up from my deck chair so that kept me from drinking in the afternoon).

Cabins:
Our DB balcony cabin had a nice, neutral décor in peach and lime green. It was an aft cabin so it had a very large balcony, but the view was a little bit obstructed by structures on the back of the ship and overlooked a deck, not the ocean directly. At times, there was a lot of engine noise, vibration and rattling, but I believe this was only in the aft cabins. It felt very private, but was a long walk to any of the ship activities. Amenities were definitely not as expected based on RCCL’s advertising. The "refrigerator" was a minibar completely full with no room for our things. We couldn’t remove anything to make room because there was an automatic sensor to add charges for anything removed. The "radio" was a switch on the wall for Muzak. The "clock" was a digital time display on the phone that couldn’t be read in the dark or set as an alarm (and the automated wake-up call didn’t work consistently). The room had a lot of well-organized storage space, generous shower volume, and the bed and pillows were wonderfully comfortable. The interactive TV allowed us to book our shore excursions within 5 minutes of boarding, and gave us video clips of each one!

Entertainment:
This was a big disappointment. RCCL had claimed that "world champion figure skaters" would be on the maiden voyage, and had hinted that it would be Katarina Witt, who was scheduled to perform at "Starskates on Ice" the day before the maiden voyage. Actually, all they provided was a pre-recorded video of Peggy Fleming introducing Voyager’s skaters, and a video of K. Witt on the in-room TV (I guess they didn’t specify the skaters would be live). They had also promised "Broadway legends", and actually did have one – Ben Vereen. We usually skipped the main show, but the ones they had were very high-tech, with very innovative set design, lighting and special effects. The skating show was also very high-tech, with cables flying skaters through the air.

Activities:
This was one of the highlights of our cruise. We loved to sit and listen to the Jazz quartet at High Notes or the guy with the acoustic guitar taking requests at Pig and Whistle, or to go have a cigar and brandy at the Connoisseur Club or go dancing in the Vault or at Cleopatra’s. There was such a variety of things to do.

Excursions – Labadee: The water was murky and the sand was a little muddy. The local workers "store" all of RCCL’s beach chairs, so you have to tip one of them to bring you one and can’t just choose one on the beach. Though by the end of the day there are plenty lying around. The buffet lunch was nice, complete with live music. The people parasailing and renting the jet skis seemed to be having the best time. Jamaica: Dunn’s River Falls was surprisingly scary and strenuous, though all in our group made it to the top, and we were glad we did it. Shopping in the malls afterwards was fun, especially if you listen to the shopping guide talk on board, so you’re familiar with the various products. The falls guides, bus driver and tour operator all expect tips. Cozumel: We saw Tulum and for us it was well worth the long, boring ferry and bus rides. We didn’t get a chance to swim in that crystal green water, though, and so we want to go back again someday!

Embarkation/Debarkation/Tenders – Embarkation through the new terminal was very efficient. Official boarding time was 2:00, but we boarded three hours early. Disembarking was just as efficient. The wait for the tenders at Labadee was long and boring at about 10:30 in the morning, and they didn’t plan well for "crowd control," so passageways were blocked by those waiting. But this may have just been one of those "maiden voyage glitches" that we were expecting, and it may be corrected in the future