Voyager of the Seas Review
Rating by category
Additional details
Voyager was sailing out of Circular Quay, which is really beautiful spot between the Harbour Bridge and Opera House. We drove up the morning of the cruise, parked at my BIL’s house and caught the train about 15 minutes to circular quay station. It’s a 5 minute walk to the ship from here. We arrived about 2pm and it was not too crowded at the terminal. We’re platinum so were able to go in expedited lines for check in and immigration clearance. Within about 10 minutes of arrival we were on the ship.
Voyager has been refurbished since we last sailed her and everything looked great.
The Cruise Director was Chris Brown, who is Australian. Activities Manager is Craig ‘Cuddy’ Cudsworth from the UK. They were both pretty good. We joined the progressive trivia with Cuddy which was hilarious. On the final day the winning team won by only ½ point. We also attended some of the Sudoku and crossword challenges.
Cabin Review
Superior Oceanview Stateroom with Balcony
We were allocated a D2 cabin on deck 10, right under the Windjammer. I had read here on CC that these cabins might be noisy so we picked up some of those small foam ear plugs at the hardware store just in case. We never needed them! I wouldn’t hesitate to have this cabin again. We had the bed by the window and a full sized couch. The ship has been revitalised since we last sailed on her so had new carpets, linens and drapes in a blue colour scheme– all looking great! Our steward was Willy and he was fantastic, he bought us an ice bucket right away for our sail away champagne and also bought us an eggcrate for the bed the second day after we discovered that the bed was REALLY hard. That is my only complaint about the cabin, I could not have slept on that bed without an eggcrate so if you have a bad back request one in advance or straight away after you board.
Port Reviews
Noumea
The shuttle bus company was offering discounted 'hop on hop off' tickets for $20 Australian which went to the morning market, Lemon Beach, Anse Vata Beach, Aquarium and Melanesian Museum. We found this was a good way to see a few places. Other tours were also available.
Isle of Pines (New Caledonia)
This is largely a beach day although there were local vendors offering bus or small group tours at the end of the wharf to see some of the further beaches and historical sights. Prices were around $25 Australian dollars.
I suggest taking your own snorkel equipment. We snorkelled just off the beach - head right at the fork in the road at the end of the wharf area and walk about 200m. If you head left at that fork there is an amazing swimming beach.