I'm back from the Voyager!

[NiteStar]

Well, we got back into port on Sunday, but this is my first day back at work. We had a wonderful time and the Voyager is a beautiful ship. I'm not any good at writing reviews, so I'll just say that even though the ship is beautiful and the crew was absolutely outstanding, I don't know that I would sail this ship again unless it was the only ship to choose from out of Galveston/Houston. There are only a few reasons for this, and most of these reasons wouldn't bother most cruisers. First of all, we had a balcony cabin and it was the tiniest cabin we've ever had in 17 cruises. One of us literally had to move out of the way if the other wanted to walk by. Next, the buffet on the Lido deck doesn't open for dinner until 6:30 p.m. Since we take all meals at the buffet (we haven't done the dining room thing in years), this was a problem for us since we prefer to eat dinner early and were always having to wait. On Carnival and on Princess there was always food available, but not on this ship. Johnny Rockets was open, but I wasn't too impressed with that eatery. We ate there the first night and decided it would be the last time we ate there. The hamburgers are just OK, you couldn't hear the music and the french fries and onion rings were so greasy, that's all you could taste. Next would be the fact that the casino does not use a cashless system like Princess and Carnival. There were no "casino cards" to upload your winnings to (if any) and this resulted in very long lines at the cashier's window and there was never more than one window open at a time. Like I said, for a lot of cruisers, none of this stuff would matter. But for me.......I probably spend more time in my cabin than a lot of people (I love sitting out on the balcony), I spend a lot of time in the casino, and I prefer to eat dinner around 5:30. Oh yes....and the TV programming was really bad and I watch TV when I go to bed until I fall asleep. But as I said, we did have a wonderful time. The ports of call were marvelous (Montego Bay, Grand Cayman, Cozumel) and we had great weather. I wouldn't let any of the above deter you from sailing this ship as the ship is beautiful and the crew, as I said, was absolutely outstanding.

 

[Donna - dsw]

Wlecome Back - - as I say - - there is never a bad cruise, just some better than others.

I want to try all the ships and cruise lines - - there are way too many out there for me to sail the same ship again! lol

Thanks for sharing.

 

[Krazy Kruizers]

Welcome home.

Sorry that the ship wasn't up to your expectations.

SO GLAD that in spite of the ship you had a great cruise.

 

[nieciez]

Welcome home. Sounds like you made the best of it even if things weren't 100% they way you like. I agree that the Voyager class ships are very nice but they are way to big for me!

 

[NiteStar]

Don't get me wrong Krazy Kruizer.........the ship is absolutely beautiful, but there was just a few nit picky things that I prefer that weren't available on this ship. Most cruisers could care less about the casino, or what time the buffet opens, or the TV programming, or the size of the cabin. And I would sail this ship again if it was all that was available, but would prefer a ship that at least had a cashless sytem in the casino and food available all the time. :lol I will say that when the food was available on the Lido deck........it was good!

 

[connie seabee]

Welcome Home! We absolutely loved the Voyager Class ships we sailed on. But like Donna, I like cruising on different ships and cruiselines. Every ship has something special, or not so special, but it's always fun. Glad you had a good time.

 

[reggae]

Good to see you back, and glad you had a nice cruise on the Voyager.

How is little Gizmo doing?

 

[bostongal]

Welcome Home! :wave

I also had similar experiences with RCCL and they are not my first choice for a cruise. Sounds like you made the best of the situation and enjoyed your time at sea!

Meg

 

[jetblue]

Welcome back NiteStar!! :wave

I completely understand your concerns. I too was a bit upset to find the lack of food onboard Royal Caribbean last January. I'm so used to seeing food 24/7 on Carnival, and then when we are on the Navigator the buffet is closed 3/4 of the day and the only thing left to eat is Johnny Rockets $$$, or that little cafe promenade with the finger sandwiches. I'm not sure yet but I think after our Explorer of the Seas cruise next month we will go back to Carnival. You just can't beat their price or service.

 

[NiteStar]

JetBlue........I agree with you about Carnival. I know a lot of people don't like Carnival, but I've always loved their service! Right now out of Houston, the only two lines sailing are Carnival and RCI. Personally....I'll take Carnival! Hopefully in 2009, more cruiselines wiill come in. Up until this year, Princess had been here and Princess is another line I really liked. We actually never ate at the Cafe Promenade because there was always such a long line...............probably because everyone was hungry since the buffet was closed! :lol We did however go to the Pig & Whistle every afternoon for a Mudslide.

 

[conniecat]

My one cruise was on Explorer, so I don't have anythig to compare tit to. My only complaint was that it was way too big. And hard to get around. The bar where they had the trivia contests, you had to walk thru the casino to get to that area of the ship, little things like that.
We ate dinner in the dining room, great experience, altho I was surprised the food was not better. It was very good, but I expected exceptional. The shows were great, and once I found the secret way to the bow I spent my free time sitting up there, (I do NOT do swimming suits, lol). I shared acabin with my SIL Scrapbook Lady. She neede the TV on to fall asleep, so I watched a lot of Flipper because I am not an early to bed person. Still, I enjoyed the nostalgia, lol. Not saying I would pass on an opportunity to do it again, but there are a few other lines I would like to try first.

 

[r8derfan]

Welcome back Nita. Happy to have you back home. It's hard to get back to work after a vacation. How is Gizmo doing?

 

[NiteStar]

We did go see the ice show and that was unbelievable! I couldn't believe the things these people could do on ice skates! Channel 32 in the cabin was the Nelson Channel and it played nothing but the old Ozzie and Harriet shows and also specials about Ricky Nelson. Seeing as how I had the BIGGEST crush on Ricky Nelson when I was growing up, needless to say, I watched a LOT of this channel!

Gizmo is doing much better. He's not 100% yet, but he is getting there. Of course he's 15 years old and this was his 2nd stroke, and he was already blind and deaf, so he may not ever be back to the way he was before this 2nd attack. I couldn't believe how much he improved since when I left on March 30th. He and Taz (my other furbaby) were VERY happy to see (and smell) me when I got home!

 

[r8derfan]

Aww. I bet they were happy. Oue furbabies are so excited when we get home. We call from the airport to tell the girl watching them to say "Mommy and Daddy will be here soon". She always says they know and get real excited.

 

[Karry]

Welcome Home! We were on VOS twice and really loved her. It was a few years ago, tho, so seems like times have changed We spent a lot of time in the Royal Promenade. One cruise the Yanks and BoSox were playing the WS and so we spent a LOT of time in the Sports Bar with our NYY gear on. And a lot of time in the casino too. I liked the bar they had in the center. Met a bartender who "took a shine" to us and gave us free drinks the whole week. ALL of us...I also like that I could kind of look down the stairs from the Royal Promenade into the casino. I agree about those cabins, tho. That is one reason we stick with Carnival. We get an aft wraparound balcony cabin on CCL with seperate rooms cheaper (with military discount) than for one of those cramped regular balcony cabins on VOS. Just chalk it up to experience and at least you got to connect with Ricky again :grin

 

[NiteStar]

We also spent a lot of time on the Royal Promenade, either shopping or in the Pig and Whistle, and as always....spent a lot of time in the casino. I actually had fairly good luck this time and won about $500 (not all at one time) playing video poker (got to love those 4 Aces!!).

 

[jetblue]

So NiteStar let me ask you, did you keep the Voyager in one piece like you promised? Or are they now calling it the Junkyard of the Seas?

 

[NiteStar]

I cross my heart Jetblue...........it's all in one piece! :lol If and when I ever get time to resize my pics, I'll post them in the gallery.

 

[jetblue]

Excellent looking forward to it! :thumb

 

[Cricket]

You are a good cruiser girl! Although things weren't all great, you made a good time of it anyway! I have to agree with Nieciez that the Voyager is TOO big! We had an aft balcony witch was huge but God forbid if you forgot something from your cabin and you are at the other end of the ship! Been there and done that!