A number of our CruiseTalkers have been on this amazing ship, I'm sure then will reply. Did you know that she has an identical twin called 'Explorer of the Seas'?

I'm a bit of a 'shipspotter' and 'Explorer' visited Southampton briefly last year. Although I did not have a boarding pass, I went to see her docked and she looks very very impressive! More like a building than a ship. (Voyager and Explorer are of course the biggest cruise ship in the world at present.)

The Grand Princess and the newbuild Golden Princess are also very big! Golden Princess is due to visit Southampton in May, if she's delivered on time. Maybe you can use your business contacts to get a tour? It would be an eye-opener.

As a Brit you can fly to Miami and cruise on these amazing ships, and many others, more cheaply than you can cruise from a UK port! High competition I suppose?

Explorer Profile: http://www.cruiseserver.net/travelpage/ships/rc_explorer.asp

Readers Reviews, inc. Explorer and Voyager: http://www.cruiseserver.net/travelpage/yourfav/yourfav_cruise.asp

We sailed on the Voyager last February, and it was BY FAR our best cruise so far. We absolutely loved it!

It did not have water slides (unless maybe it did in the kid's area), but it did have quite a few big pools.

The entertainment was top notch, also. (Much better than the other cruises we'd been on, we thought.)

If you do a search on this forum under Voyager, you'll find TONS of comments that were made over the year (especially this time last year when a bunch of us on this board had been on her, or were about to go on her.) That should be helpful too.

Any specific questions? I'd be glad to answer.

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Originally posted by Brenda:
Everyone, especially Malcolm, keeps telling me to take a cruise.Saw an advertisement for the 'Voyager of the Seas', with Royal Caribbean International in the Radio Times and could not believe the things this ship had on board. Advertised as being 'on a scale you'd never imagined'.Amongst the usual things there was an ice rink,rock climbing wall, sports courts, skating tract, jogging track and swimming pools galore with water slides. Has anyone been on this ship? If so, can you let me know what it was like. Who knows, I might just take that cruise.

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The Voyager is truly grand. I Live in Miami and have a friend who owns a travel agentcy
and got me a pass to visit and have lunch on her while in port, loading and unloading passengers. I have sailed on 28 cruises 5 of which are with RCCL. There service and food and entertainment are great. Carnival popular or because they are the biggest inthe world in fleet size doesn't tickle my fancy. The Voyager is everything is promised to be in the TV adds and brochure. Remember it is still one of the newest and biggest so it's popularity at the moment keeps it's prices higher than other ships in the fleet. Just also remember that with all those fancy extras like the rock climbing and ice skating, each come with a fancy onbaord charge per person per day. Yes the fun is there if the credit card max and your desire hasn"t run out. The most grand thing that made me go wow, was the dining room. The dining room is to die for, three levels filled with cyrstal and stained panels of wood. It has a grand stair case leading you down into the center, making you feel as if you are a King or Queen ariving, and almost all the tables have either a window view or are at a window. I would like to try sailing abaord her one day. The price is going to have to be a little lower for me. My only down side of the ship is the intamacy level with other passengers, almost 5,000 people if you enclude crew and passengers, although most cruises are never always booled solid.
To conclude RCCL has always been a winner on my book and I hope you enjoy your future cruise, take alot of pictures.

now you know why people choose Airtours etc where a cruise can cost under a £1000, per head! Welcome to the 'maze' of choosing a cruise. That's why CruiseTalk exists, to guide you through. Here are my opinion's on the subject:

1) The newest ships always charge the highest fare. A ship that is 3/4 years old, or more, is likely to offer a cheaper fare. However, you NEVER have to pay the Brochure price for any cruise! You should get at least 10% discount, if not more, on top of the 'early booking' discount or any other discounts offered in the brochure.

2) Even the lower grade cabins on the newer ships are very nice. For example, 'inside' cabins are often identical to the lower 'Ocean View' grade, but without the view! The Suites and Penthouse's are simply unaffordable, in my opinion too.

2) Try the 'Cumbria Cruise Club' for a competitive quote: 0800 003 002. I've used them before, and they are very professional. They advertise on UK Teletext. See CH3 pages 227 and 228 for lots of Cruise deals.(Cumbria is Open daily)

4) The different cruise lines offer slightly different experiences. As a generalisation, most of the big players such as P&O, Holland American Line, Princess, Celebrity, Norwegian Cruise Line, and Royal Caribbean ships have a pretty good reputation. (Unless you know otherwise?) HAL is a big favourite of the CruiseTalkers here.

Don't take my opinions as gospel. Do check out the readers review section of this web site. Remember, one mans meat is another mans poison!

You might find a better rate on the Carnival Destiny class ships (Destiny, Triumph or Victory), although I don't think they are marketed very much in the UK. Those ships are all over 100,000 tons, and contain most of the same features. Entertainment is supposedly better on Carnival, although service is supposedly better on RCCL. Food is about the same. Carnival has more entertainment options (and thus, more of a party ship reputation), although I've always seen lots of non-partiers having the time of their lives on Carnival. You might also look at the Grand Princess, although it is probably more expensive.

Otherwise book last minute through teletext -some excellent deals.
Paddy.

I strongly recommend Royal Caribbean. And with a good travel agent, you can definitely find a good deal - even on the Voyager! Cruises are always offering special deals when they want to fill a ship. Have your travel agent watch for you, and she/he will definitely find something in your price range.

We're booked on the Enchantment of the Seas in February, which is quite a bit cheaper than what we paid on the Voyager. We always do inside cabins (because that's all we can afford) and find them to be just fine. (We don't spend any time in our room...just sleeping and showering.) The inside cabins on the Voyager are HUGE! We were really surprised.

And we never felt crowded on the Voyager either. Not once. You never realize how many people there are, because the ship is very well laid out. (And there are so many things to do, people are off doing all kinds of different things. They're not ever all in one place.)

Maybe you should set an appt. with a travel agent and sit down and tell them what you're interests are and what your price range is, and they can help you find the perfect cruise. There are so many options!

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Originally posted by nathan:
You might find a better rate on the Carnival Destiny class ships (Destiny, Triumph or Victory), although I don't think they are marketed very much in the UK.

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Yes, you are right Nathan. It is strange that the most successful cruise line in the world is not marketed very much in the UK?

Carnival's ships are labelled 'Fun Ships'. I think that some Brits may fear that they are going to get a 'Bultins' Holiday-Camp type experience?

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Originally posted by Paddy:
Brenda, I have never heard a bad word said against the Sunbird...

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Everyone seems to rate the Sunbird as great value. (see passenger reviews) She was recently purchased from the Royal Caribbean Cruise Line. Although she was built in 1982, she gets very good reviews. However, I suspect that Brenda could not cruise on an Airtours ship on principle!

http://www.cruiseserver.net/travelpage/ships/at_sunbi.asp

Brenda, the 'Berlitz' Cruise guide book is a really good read (as well as this web site). They give every ship a star rating. There is a lot of difference in food, accommodation and service etc between say a 2-3 star ship and that of a 4-5 star one!

Many of the 'problematic' ships that you have mentioned are rated as 2 plus or 3 star by Berlitz. I would go for at least a 4 star ship, which is most of the major cruise lines ships, anyway. The 5 star ships tend to be rather expensive.

We could now have the 'mega-ship' 'V' the 'smaller ship' debate too. However, your head might just explode Brenda!

Of course "which ship/cruise line is the best" is a very subjective question.

The Grand Princess

The mega-ships are usually pretty spacious so they don't necessarily feel crowded, even though they carry a lot of passengers and staff.

There is a school of thought that says smaller ships are more friendly. However, some small ships (not all) can feel more crowded, as some lines 'pack em in', to maintain the low fares. We also have lots of CruiseTalkers that like the older 'classic' type ships dating back to the 'Ocean Liner' period.

You need to look at all the major lines and shop around a little. Do check the Teletext for deals.

Celebrity Cruises have a good reputation.

As hs been said, brochure prices are 'not caste in stone'.

With the exchange rate between £'s and US$'s
you should be laughing all the way to the bank.

In your line of business I'd be contacting the cruise line direct - at least by e-mail - seeking preferred rates!

Believe I watched some of your reports when I was last in UK - a worthy and oftentimes a necessary service.

Like you, we arrange our own travels with the assistance of a good travel agent. Would never consider booking a cruise with a tour operator.

Having said that, I still believe that contacting a cruise line directly is a good idea - you don't have to ask for preferential treatment (I applaud you for that sentiment) - in the normal course of events, at least in Canada, your reservation will be passed along to a reputable agent in your immediate area ensuring good service.

Happy cruisin'

I have just watched a documentary about the making of this ship and to be honest its put me right off as I feel it would be just a floating city and far too big for me.

If anyone can tell me WHY I should have a try on it please let me know. I've had 2 cruises before and going on the Sunbird in September this year so we are forever on the lookout for something else.

Happy cruisin'

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Originally posted by Norma:
Hi, I have just watched a documentary about the making of this ship and to be honest its put me right off as I feel it would be just a floating city and far too big for me.

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Hi Norma, no I can't tell you why you should try a ship like Voyager! Many of the 'hard core' of CruiseTalkers here are not 'into' the mega-floating malls like Voyager, but smaller/older 'classic' style ships. For example I cruised on Fred.Olsen's charming 'Black Watch' in the summer. Another nice and intimate ship is P&O's Victoria. (Both sail from UK ports in the summer)

The glitzy 'Las Vegas' decor of Carnival and RCL ships would put me off too. Voyager even has a 'car' parked in her promenade - why I ask? Sunbird is an ex-Royal Caribbean ship of course - but they redecorated her to suit British tastes!

I recently posted some info about the 'Black watch': http://www.travelserver.net/travelpage/ubb/Forum3/HTML/000682.html