Five-day cruise to Canada on Voyager of the Seas was a nice change of pace and a great escape from our home in sunny Florida. All previously reported problems with embarkation have been corrected. Our boarding (at 6 p.m.) was easy as pie, fast, uneventful, and much better than our experience in Miami when we went on Explorer of the Seas. In Bayonne, there's a short shuttle bus from the check-in terminal to the ship. The cruise line staff actually handed out ham or turkey sandwiches for the short bus ride!
We booked last minute (two adults, one child-age 12), and were unable to switch from our assigned second seating dining to first-seating. If you have kids who want to join the Adventure Ocean kid's program, try to book early and get first-seating dining. (maitre 'D said that the demand for dining room seating on longer cruises is just the opposite, with second sitting far more popular on the alternate 9-day cruises.) Our 12-year-old was disappointed in the second-seating dining because it cut into her social life! Our sailing on June 27 was completely sold out, and about 100 extra people had already been squeezed into the first-seating dining room. I met with the maitre 'D twice but had no luck getting the seating time changed. I did enjoy our table mates and table position by a window. Service and food were top-notch. There were two empty place settings at our table--probably people who had better luck moving to first seating! We expected most passengers to be from the New York metropolitan area, but were surprised to meet people from all over the U.S.
I highly recommend having a dinner in Portofino. The desserts there were extraordinary. Children are supposed to be 13 to dine there, but I saw several kids who looked younger. We were also a bit unsure about whether to tip the server in addition to the per person "service" fee. We asked the server, and found that most people do add a tip! We also tried Johnny Rockets for a quick lunch at the counter. The server did not get our order correct, and the food was greasy. It was so disappointing that my husband left for another (and better) lunch at the Windjammer.