Donny

Age: 43
Occupation: IT Coordinator
Number of Cruises: 7
Cruise Line: Royal Caribbean
Name of Ship: Voyager of the Seas
Sailing Date: May 25th, 2003
Itinerary: Western Caribbean

Getting to the terminal was difficult due to the explosion aboard the NCL ship docked next to the Voyager. Our taxi had to be re-routed due to all the emergency vehicles. This ultimately would set the tone for the entire vacation.

The ship is huge, however I was not as overwhelmed as so many reviewers on this site. I guess glitz just doesn't do it for everyone. To me it seemed like a floating aged shrine to Las Vegas. The Royal Promenade was my personal favorite. The ship's design was easy to navigate and made getting from one place to the next very simple. Our cabin on deck 9 was equipped with plenty of storage and a very small balcony. I found it to compare favorably to those on other ships. Our room steward (Charles) was terrific - the best staff member we came in contact with. After unpacking we dressed for welcome aboard show. We found it to be pretty lame and really low on the entertainment scale. Afterward, it was on to second-seating dinner. Now I know why so many people who post reviews on this site can't remember what they had to eat - the food in the dining room was very disappointing. Everything was bland, overcooked and served lukewarm. After that first dining room experience, we hit the Island Grill for breakfast. This proved to be our best move and we did this on most days. While not great, the food here was above average. Skipped the first formal night in the dining room, returning for dinner the next evening. Again, adequate service and lackluster food! Had good seats for Dreamscapes and thought the show was OK - kind of cheesy - but OK!

In Labadee we missed our chance to parasail because of high winds and ended up on a wave runner tour. My twelve year old son and I enjoyed it. Later, when the parasail were flying, we couldn't be rescheduled. Again, things just didn't seem to be going in our favor. We did receive a full refund for our parasailing tickets.

On Wednesday, my son had to see the ship's doctor where he was diagnosed with a bacterial infection linked to food! At this point the only food he had ingested was from the ship - go figure. He was treated with an infusion of antibiotics ($766) and missed the two excursions we had planned for Jamaica. No refunds were offered, so this was a very expansion non-day! Attended the ice show. I was not blown away, but did think it was the best show on the ship. Skipped dinner - could not imagine subjecting ourselves to the dining room again.

By the next day, my son was feeling much better. We were able to go to Stingray City. Getting from the dock to the bus was chaotic. RCCL staff failed to brief us on finding the correct tour guide during our 45 minute wait in the ice rink / Studio B. Guess the crowd of passengers, dressed in swimwear, was too cold to ask any questions! This tour was definitely one of the highlights of the trip. We had an opportunity to hold and feed the rays. Awesome! We enjoyed lunch at Breezes before returning to the ship. Again, we skipped dinner aboard! I made my first brief stop at The Vault. This was the most exciting place on the whole ship - you could feel some energy here that was missing elsewhere.

When we arrived in Cozumel, there was a tremendous thunderstorm. The streets were flooded and the sewer stench was strong. We took a cab into town, did some shopping and headed back to the ship. Planned to spend the day at an Oceanside resort - but, alas, it was not to be. Had an early dinner at Johnny Rockets and went to see the Knudsen Brothers in LaScala. This is a talented group, but the pacing of the show and choice of songs put us in a stupor. I expected more than the "Nick at Night" style entertainment offered aboard Voyager. Back to The Vault after this for a drink. Then, strolled by to have a look at the Midnight Buffet, but not enticed to partake.

The last day at sea, we had an early breakfast, grabbed our reading material, and headed for the deck to get some sun and relax with a drink. I always found plenty of loungers available, if you were there early. About an hour later Ken Rush appeared and proceeded to take over the pool area with his microphone. I was forced to move away from the pools in order to avoid the noise. We returned to Johnny Rockets for one last burger during the middle of the afternoon. Debated about doing the farewell dinner in the dining room and decided we had nothing to lose. After much fanfare, the food again failed to live-up to our expectations. Grabbed some cookies and sandwiches at the Promenade Cafe and returned to the room. We were so deflated by this point, we didn't even consider going to the final show at LaScala since we already knew variety was definitely missing on this ship.

I went to guest relations on several with different issues during the cruise, however most of them seemed to fall on deaf ears. There was also a bad experience with Duncan (the shopping guide) that I don't want to go into. I emailed RCC and promptly received a reply stating that my concerns had been noted and they hoped to welcome me aboard again soon.

Suffice it to say that if you like hokey 1950's style entertainment, savor lukewarm / overcooked food in large quantities, and enjoy standing in long lines for everything, then you'll adore the Voyager of the Seas.

As for me, I'll be choosing a smaller ship that offers a higher quality of food and entertainment.

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