Jerry & Lisa Walls

Age: 29 & 30
Occupation: Fitness Trainer & Technical Support
Number of Cruises: 1
Cruise Line: Royal Caribbean
Ship: Voyager of the Seas
sailing Date: August 10th, 2003
Itinerary: Western Caribbean

When reading this, please keep in mind that I only speak on our experience alone. This was our first cruise and our Honeymoon. Some things that I will mention are not meant to be negative, but rather simply to inform you of our experience. Also, you might notice that I am trying to be very specific but might have forgot a few things. I don’t recall the exact order of which show played when, but I will try my best. I’ll try to give as much detail as possible about everything. Overall, this has been the best vacation I have ever taken and the ship was absolutely beautiful! It was what we expected and more.

Embarkation
We arrived at the terminal about 12:15 pm. We were checked in by 12:45 and immediately let on the boat. When checking in, we received a letter that the rooms were not guaranteed to be ready until after 1pm, but ours was just fine. We had stateroom 6252. When you first walk in, the closet was to the right, with plenty of hangers and shelves. To the left was the bathroom. As others have mentioned, the bathroom is a bit small, but I don’t think uncomfortably small. It had plenty of storage space and served its purpose just fine. Right after that is a comfortable sitting area. On the left, a small couch and glass table. To the right was a pretty vanity with 2 lights. One light was blinking throughout the week and probably needed to be replaced. I also took the advice of Tom & Mary and brought plug-ins. Maybe it was me, but when plugging it in, it felt like I had to force it into the outlet. Then came the bed. It was 2 twin size beds put together. We didn’t notice right away, but one of the beds seemed to leave us with a backache, the other didn’t. Then was our balcony…it had a small table and 2 chairs. If you can afford it, get a balcony! I was on cloud nine each time we were approaching an island and I was able to see it just by stepping outside my room with my coffee in hand.

Per all the reviews I had read, we went to find our main dining room table. There was a crowd of people doing the same thing so we waited about 20 minutes. While we waited, they had a refreshment table setup. When we met with the Maiter’d, Ali, we were assigned to a table of 6 or 8 and with 2nd seating. We informed him that it was our honeymoon and that we wanted to be alone at a 2-person table. They gave us table # 482. Later that night, when we went to dinner, there was a couple sitting at our table, so we asked a waiter about it. We were told that even though it was our table, we had been assigned to first seating, something we never asked for. We were accommodated for the evening at another table where we met another couple also on their honeymoon and that lived the state right next to us! It was nice because we ran into them several times throughout the entire week on and off the boat. As for the Maiter’d, I guess he thought he was doing us a favor because the next day when we spoke to him, he asked if we were happy and although my husband told him that 1st seating wasn’t what we asked for, he seemed confused. We left it alone because we didn’t want to be the cause of someone else losing their table so we stuck to 1st seating.

I read in several other reviews to have a dinner outfit for the first night because luggage tends to arrive late. We were already dresses appropriately for dinner, but surprisingly had our luggage outside our door by 3 pm! I guess we were lucky because I overheard other people mentioning still not having their luggage until much later. So even though we were lucky, it’s better to be safe than sorry.

At 4:30, they have the safety test that everyone has to attend. Basically, everyone stands with a lifejacket on for about 20 minutes while the staff explains what to do in case of an emergency.

1st Day – At Sea
We went to the Windjammer café for breakfast. The selection was good but I guess because of the time it was a bit crowded. The service was good. Later on, we decided to check out the Gym, or Fitness Spa. Being that my husband is a Fitness Trainer by profession, he wasn’t pleased with the equipment. I on the other hand thought it was fine. The only thing we agreed on was that it was too crowded, probably because of the time. Later we walked around this big beautiful ship and checked out the different surroundings and stood near an Art Auction for a little while. Later had lunch at Café Promenade and had pizza, crab salad sandwiches and cookies. Early evening, we went to the Solarium pool, the only Adult only pool on the boat, along with 2 Jacuzzis. Today was the first Formal Evening, so we dressed up in our formal gear. I wore a long dress with a shawl; my husband wore a 3-piece suit. I saw many people dressed up in tuxes and others in low-key suits. Some ladies were in long formal dresses and others in short cocktail dresses. We finally had a chance to meet out waiter. I guess we had high expectations because he seemed a bit “bland.” No personality and I think I remember him smile only once. He also had a very soft voice, which made it hard to hear him most of the time. On the other hand, our Assistant Waiter was awesome, very personable and informative. After dinner, we went to the welcome aboard show in La Scala Theatre, hosted by the cruise director Richard Spacey. He’s funny, but I think he over does it a little. He seems to laugh a bit too much but in his line of work, I guess you have to do that to keep the audience going. The show was entertaining…in fact all the shows were great all week long! You can expect to see nothing but Vegas and Broadway style shows and entertainment. Kelly McDonald, a comedian that has performed on Jay Leno also performed during tonight’s show. The show itself was AWESOME! Later at night, we attended the Honeymooners Party where again the chance to take another picture was offered and they also had a sweet table a cake and free champagne. It was nice.

2nd Day – Labadee, Haiti
I wanted to make sure I was up before approaching the island so I had a wakeup call and ordered room service the night before. We wanted to beat the rush so we aimed to be on the 1st tender out to the island. Mission accomplished! We were in the first group to arrive; it was so unbelievably beautiful and tranquil. We decided to settle in the first beach as you get on to the island and since we were so early, were able to get an umbrella type thing; I have no idea what they are called. It keeps you in the shade. Before you knew it, the beach was filled with people and became a bit crowded, so we picked up our stuff and went to a more secluded beach just walking distance away. We wanted to relax and enjoy the sun the first day so we didn’t book any excursions. But we did rent some floating mats for $10.00/each. After relaxing on the beach, we walked around the market and were approached by some locals trying to get me to buy their merchandise. It’s so funny sometimes to hear the way they approach you “Miss, miss, I need to show you something.” If you want to shop, keep in mind to NEVER buy at selling price. You can always talk them down to AT LEAST half of what they are asking. Being that it was my honeymoon and my first time in the Caribbean, I got the braids done! They were asking for $60-65, but we got it for $50.00. I kept them in for 3 days and they did a really great job. What I didn’t do and regret not doing is putting some sunscreen on my scalp the remainder of the time that I had the braids in. That Caribbean sun is HOT and I ended up peeling pretty bad once I came home and looked like I had dandruff, yuck. After the braids (took a little over an hour) we headed to the complimentary lunch provided by Royal Caribbean. They had a good selection of good food, there were also some locals putting on a show. We did a little more shopping then headed back to the ship about 2 pm. We relaxed during the afternoon then went to dinner. After dinner, we went to La Scala and saw the Dreamscape show.

All I can say is that this was the best show we saw all week. If it’s available while you are on board, you have to see it!

3rd Day – Ocho Rios, Jamaica
No tenders, yippee! We were booked on the Dunn’s River Falls Climb Excursion. A MUST DO! We boarded a boat where we had free unlimited rum punch, but being that it was so early, opted for fruit punch. We had forgotten to buy water shoes so we purchased them on this little boat for $15.00. The funniest thing, the ladies on the boat were impressed by my braids and called them “neat.” I thought that was funny. They were also offering to do braids on the boat. So, we arrived to the other side of the island where the Falls are. Our guide and his assistant went over the rules and how we have to stick together and laugh together if someone falls. Ha ha, he was great. I was so anxious that my husband and I ended up being first in line. Basically, we all hold hands and try to climb together alongside a bunch of other groups. It seemed our guide was on the ball, because we actually “passed up” other groups and some guides seemed lost. If possible, try to ask to Rafael. I saw children as small as 8 yrs. old in our line. I don’t exercise regularly so I found the climb to be challenging. But I swear I think I was smiling the whole time because it was SO MUCH FUN! If it however is a bit to challenging you can always leave, there are exits every few feet. The guides offer to take pictures with your own cameras, and his assistant videotapes the whole climb. At the end he was selling the tape for $30.00, we offered him $20.00 but told us not to tell anyone, so don’t tell anyone, ok? (wink-wink) The video is more of a Jamaica tourist info tape, and has our climb at the end of the tape. I’ll treasure and relive this climb forever thanks to this tape. We took the little boat back where the ladies were showing some people on the ship how to dance. Basically it turned into a little party. Once back in the island, we decided to go to the nearest beach. There was a sign that read “Beach, 3 minutes away,” so we walked and during that 3-minute walk, were approached by 3 different people. Each was offering souvenirs, a taxi ride, or some “doobie.” Let’s just say that when the locals tell you “Bob Marley send his love” they aren’t talking about his music. So we went to the beach, after paying $1.00/each. Then when we asked for beach chairs, before they answered, they asked, “where are you from?” When we told them “the boat”, they said the chairs were $5.00/each. HA! Yeah right. We said no thank you, and used our towels; we were going into the water anyway. After the beach, we went back to the boat, changed and went back to the island to do some shopping in “Island Village.” Here you will find plenty of stores where the prices are already low and places to eat including the famous Margaritaville. It was really nice and had a pool with a swim up bar. Once we did our shopping we headed back to the ship. By this time, we were exhausted so we took a nap. For dinner we had heard about of a more relaxed dinner restaurant so we decided to try it, Island Grill. It quickly became our favorite! The selection was tremendous and the desserts, wow! Even the service seemed better. It is a much more casual and intimate atmosphere, which is what honeymooners want! After dinner, we went to La Scala and saw a performer by the name of Tony Tillman. It seemed many people hadn’t heard of him, but he turned out to be a regular performer in Las Vegas and does singing impersonations. He really had the audience involved and alive. For those who might be familiar, he is now the guy that plays Sammy Davis Jr. in all the Vegas shows and is part of the “new” Rat Pack. He was a great performer!

4th Day – Georgetown, Grand Cayman
No tenders. Walked unto the island and it was extremely crowded. We were booked on the Atlantis Submarine. It’s a boat with a “lower level” which was see-through. We were able to watch our guide swim and feed the fish and took great pictures of the underwater life. That was about 1 ½ hours. After the excursion, we wanted to go to the beach. The beaches were not nearby so we had to take a taxi. $3.00/each way per person. The famous 7-mile beach was a long stretch of beaches behind resorts. Then when we got to the beach, had to pay another $7.00/each to get in. The beach was beautiful. Words to the wise, when picking a taxi, try to get a small one. If not, you will have to sit and wait on the taxi until the driver has every seat on the vehicle filled. Some hold up to 14 people. We stayed at the beach for a few hours then headed back to the beach. Again, we sat on the taxi while the driver stood outside bringing people in. Dinner was at Island Grill then in the evening back to La Scala. For those of you that like Motown, Herb Reed (one of the original Platters) performed with the “new” Platters. This was a treat for me because I grew up on this music. Today was 2nd formal night, 1 night earlier than I anticipated. So we dressed up a little less dressy and took some formal pictures again. At night, we ordered room service, I had a salad, and my husband had some cookies. Just because we could, you know?

5th Day – Cozumel, Mexico
No tenders. No excursions. We wanted to relax today so first we considered renting a scooter. The guy was signing us up said it was $25.00 for the whole day. But when filling out the paperwork, he reminded us about the fee for gas and the helmets and quickly added on an extra $20.00. No thanks; I didn’t appreciate his scheme so we decided against it. We walked around a little while and found an area about 5-6 minutes walking distance that had some stores and a nice restaurant. We had lunch there and asked our friendly English-speaking waiter for a recommendation on a clean, quiet, FREE beach. He told us that there was one on the other side of the island. After lunch, went to the nearby taxi station and behold, there was an easel with a list of beaches along with the price of the taxi ride and price of the beach. We told our driver which one we wanted. I can’t remember the name of the beach accept that the name had 2 or 3 names in it. When we got there, the parking lot looked disappointing. But once we walked toward the beach, WOW! There was a very clean restaurant, to the right a salt-free pool with a swim up bar, and in the back, the most beautiful beach! We spent a few hours there then took a cab ride back to the taxi station to do some more shopping, then walked back to the boat. In the evening, we had tickets for the Ice Jamming Show being held in Studio B, the Ice Skating Rink. It was nice; they even had a short competition at the end where a few people in the audience were selected as judges. It was amazing how the costumes are made to be changed within seconds right before your eyes! For dinner we had...you guessed it, Island Grill! They have good steaks!

6th Day – At Sea
We got up around 9 am. Went to the Windjammer café for breakfast. Again, excellent food, but it was crowded. We decided to go to the Solarium Adult Only pool again for some relaxation. You might have guessed we didn’t want to be around children, see even though it was our honeymoon; we both already have kids from previous relationships. So, not only was it our honeymoon, but it was time for use to be alone without interruptions. For lunch we went to Johnny Rockets. The line was a little long but moved quickly. We waited less than 10 minutes. The service there is really great, our waiter even gave us some free pop. During lunch, all of the wait staff sang and danced to the famous YMCA song by the “Village People”. In the evening, again we ate at Island Grill and after dinner went to the Farewell Show. It was a fun show.

Disembarkation
We were up about 7 am. We had breakfast at the Windjammer Café, and then went to the area where people were already lined up to leave the ship. They were letting people off beginning at 8 am, about 5-10 people at a time. Then it was to another line for document purposes and then unto get our luggage. We were not part of early departure so we had to wait a while for our luggage.

Tipping
We opted to follow the recommended guidelines for tipping, HOWEVER, based on our personal experience, we modified it accordingly.

Guidelines are as follows: Waiter $3.50/per day, per person ($49 Total), Assistant Waiter, $2.00/per day, per person ($28 Total), Stateroom Attendant $3.50/per day, per person ($49 Total), Maiter’d is at your discretion.

What we tipped: Waiter, smiled once, couldn’t here or understand him, no personality. We tipped only for the days we ate at the main dining room (3 nights) $21 Total, Assistant Waiter, awesome personality, always smiling, very informative, we tipped what the Waiter’s guideline suggested, $49 Total, Stateroom Attendant, I didn’t mention her but she was nice and always turned our towels into cute animals, gave the guideline, $49 Total. Maiter’d, being that he changed our seating and forgot to tell us, we gave $25 Total. Again, this is just how we chose to do this. What you do is perfectly up to you.

Final Notes
The photo studio was an experience by itself. When photographers from the boat take pictures, they don’t take down any information. They just “click” and off you go. The next day, you go to the photo studio and see “walls” of pictures. You simply remember the place, date and time, and look through hundreds of pictures until you find your own. Then take it to the cashier, pay for what you want and they throw away what you don’t. I found that amusing.

As for room service, you can expect prompt and excellent service but small portions and a small selection. You only have the options to order your basic snacks such as burgers, salads, coffee, etc. But I think it serves its purpose just fine.

As for drinks, coffee, juice, iced tea, and tap water are free. You will have to pay for all soft drinks and of course alcoholic drinks. But be careful, having a sea pass card makes it easy to forget you really ARE paying for each drink at the end of the cruise. There also is a soft drink card available for kids, and kids can get only 1 drink at a time. Don’t know the price though.

Read your Compass! Each day, this daily newsletter is left in your room the night before, with all the activities available for the following day. It lets you know what is going on where and when. There is something to do for ALL age groups. And if I was cloned, I’m sure I would have been able to do all of them.

Bye Bye!
I hope my review was informative for you and helped convince you to take a cruise. I believe that everyone has to cruise at least once in his or her lifetime. So, if you are considering it, GO FOR IT! You will not regret it! As for this ship, we might not have anything to compare it to YET, but it will definitely be a consideration for our next cruise!

Happy Cruising!

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