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My FIRST RC cruise but won't be my last

Rome (Civitavecchia)

Ship was outdated. Office/administrative staff was extremely rude and unhelpful. (Service staff was amazing). Everything was overpriced. Restaurant food was disgusting. We were both overcharged for drinks and purchases and the cruise line would not correct. Boat was over crowded. No room at pool or other facilities so we had to spend a lot of time in our tiny cabin. Walls extremely thin and neighbors extremely loud so we had to have our tv on blast the entire time to tune out the lady yelling next to us. Ports of call were so generic.  Screaming kids everywhere. We thought about leaving on the third day it was so awful. Other passengers were rude…which I know the cruise line can’t help other than to make the cruise more enjoyable so that the people would be happy!!!!

Overall a horrible experience and will never go on this line again. Strongly recommend against wasting your time and money!

Horrible Vacation 

This was my 2nd cruise but my first on Royal Caribbean. Overall, I had a GREAT time! From the moment we stepped foot inside of the terminal to our return home, the experience was phenomenal and I plan on using RC for my next cruise trip. However, while my vacation was awesome, there are some things that could use room for improvement. I'll start with the PROs and follow up with the CONs.

PROs:

*The check-in process at the terminal was ON POINT and EFFICIENT. There are PLENTY of helpful and friendly staff directing and guiding passengers to where they need to go to check in as well as others explaining the process. This was undoubtedly WITHOUT issue. My family and I each had our passports in hand as well as the barcode of the boarding pass; I opted to print out mine. Whoo-hoo! I even took a quick picture of all of us once this process was done much to the chagrin of the agent who assisted us as well as the others who were behind us but they all took it in stride. :-)

*Once we arrived on the ship, we were directed to the area for the muster drill (information regarding safety precautions) which is required of ALL passengers to complete - as the ship cannot sail until ALL passengers have completed this process. It was more of a one-on-one/group process - there were NO crowds of people or long lines as I've experienced on another cruise line. It took all of 10 minutes - if that. There were several announcements by the captain advising those who hadn't completed the drill to please do so. Shortly afterwards, the announcement was made by the captain that all had done so, we were on our way!

*You have a choice of eating in the Main Dining Room which is more elegant experience and you order from their menu - or The Windjammer which is a buffet. The food was fresh and hot at both locations but my preference was the food in the Main Dining Room. It has an elegant restaurant setting with 3 levels and no crowds or too much noise. The buffet was nice but the food was kind of redundant. However, I did like eating next to window while looking out at the beautiful ocean and while it could get crowded and a little noisy, there was always plenty of seating. It's also required that you wash your hands before entering The Windjammer; there are 8 wash stations (4 on each side) upon entry and Ms. Washy is THE BEST!!! I didn't get a picture of her but you will know who she is. She is beautiful and gives you a warm, hearty welcome as she invites you to wash your hands.

*The games and activities are so much fun and the staff are very engaging and friendly. They, along with the wait staff, wear many hats and host various games and activities on the ship and should be commended for their flexibility.

*Guest Services is open 24/7. You can always check your account by going there, calling them from the phone next to your bed, the app downloaded on your phone, or the TV in your room.

*Housekeeping was ON it! Our room was always clean and disinfected and we never had to ask for extra towels or wash cloths. Ms. Cathy is THE BEST!

*I was also happy that when I arrived to the terminal to retrieve my luggage, it was waiting for me. I'm glad I opted to sit it outside of my cabin the night prior to my departure.

CONs:

*I shared a room with my aunt; we each had a twin bed. Mine wasn't very comfortable. However, this is not the fault of the cruise line. I deal with neck, shoulder, and back issues and should've done my research prior to my cruise. Next time, I will bring my bedding aides that ergonomically suit my sleeping needs. I mentioned this in the event someone who reads this review shares my ailments and will be better prepared than I was.

*There are NO irons in the cabins and the only option I had was to hang my clothing in the bathroom while I showered in hopes that the steam would lessen the wrinkles. It didn't. I refused to pay $17.00 to have someone iron my clothes when they can at least allow us to bring travel irons or allow the use of one without additional charges. This should especially be considered for those who want to dress in their formal attire,

*I LOVE music! And the activities I participated in were fun. However, the hosts and musicians played the SAME songs. There is a cornucopia of travelers, and they may want to update their selection of music to reflect this.

*While I understand that children move around a lot, there needs to be stricter guidelines with regard to them running around. I saw too many running in the hallways as well as the pool area. There are elderly passengers as well as those with mobility issues who cruise and this needs to be addressed to prevent any unfavorable incidents. Parents also need to explain this to their children or not allow them to remain unattended too often or for long periods of time.

None of the CONs will prevent me from booking another cruise with RC. I'm looking forward to my next one!

I would like to start out by saying that we love Royal Caribbean. We take multiple cruises a year. I am big on reading reviews, I like to know other peoples thoughts and opinions. 

The ship was nice. It was old, but it has been well taken care of. The cabin was fresh, updated and immaculately clean.  Everything that we are used to with RCI was there, with the exception of the food and the awful smell of poop!

The food was very bland and cold, nothing was appetizing. They did American food on the 4th of July and it was the best meal that we had the entire cruise. The spare ribs were fantastic. I love all the variations of food from other places, so it's not that I'm American and think that they should only serve "American" food. It just so happened that the American food night was the only thing that I found any quality in. The pizza was good, but who wants to eat pizza everyday. The main dining room was very slow and I am not fond of the new menu's. We went without drink refills and dessert because they just never brought it to our table. It's not like they were busy, we could see them standing around talking to other servers. 

The halls smelled like poop everyday, constantly, BAD! It's was a shame, because the overall cleanliness of the ship was outstanding!

I will not stop cruising with RCI, but I hope they get their act together, because I have been seeing a lot of reviews taking about the quality of the line going down hill. I would have to agree due to this cruise.

The food was bad and the air smelled of Poop!

Where to begin??  It was a great cruise.  My husband and I got sick of all the wedding planning that went along with a traditional banquet style wedding (as well as with the price tag) so we opted to do a cruise wedding.  We weren't sure what we were in for, but overall the experience was great, with a couple of small set backs.Planning started months before disembarkation, we worked with a travel agent who booked our room, as well as all our guests rooms, as well as helped us with hotel and transportation details. I was a bit leary of the wedding company the cruiseliner works with to get the details of the wedding rightthey didn't really want to start planning anything until about a month beforeMy (husband and I are very much in planning, so this was a disconcerting.  But they did get pretty much everything right. Before we got on the ship we were given priority boarding, We had 25 guests for our wedding on the ship.  (Three were non sailing, and after the reception were escorted off before sailing away).  Arrangements were made for me to get ready at the ship's salon (where I also got my hair done).  The salon was greatawesome views of the ocean and beaches as I got ready.  The lady who did my hair wasn't supposed to be on duty until after 2pm, but was there early with all the necessary items I'd need.  My guests were shown to their rooms, and they had a couple of hours to get read and explore the ship (also before most other folks were allowed to board so it was like they had the ship to themselves), and my travel agent made sure that everyone got a bottle of wine (or chocolate covered strawberries) on arrival in their staterooms. The actual ceremony went off without a hitch.  We rehearsed our vows while we were waiting in line to board the ship with our justice of the peacewhich was kinda funny, because we were practising in front of our family.  At the actual ceremony we were in the viking crown lounge which was decroated by the wedding vendor the cruiseliner uses, and it was absoloutely gorgeous.  Guests were all escorted to the Vicking Crown Lounge.  Lots of light, 180 degree views of the ocean.  Ceremony was short and sweet.  After the ceremony everyone was escorted to a lunch buffet that was being served.  The buffet was greatall my guests loved it.  We had salmon, steaks, chicken, pastas, cheeses etc.  we also had a dessert part.  I think our meal package was about $75 per person.  Everyone really enjoyed it thoughmy father who was really concerned about the quality of everything was pretty impressed.  One thing that really annoyed me was the hall they had our wedding reception in was testing out their sound system with techno musicthis was really annoying, but honestly, guests were enjoying themselves for the most part.  My husband and I weren't at the reception very long thoughwe were taking pictures with our private photographer for awhilewe loved him though, he was so great and accommodating (as he should have been our wedding pictures cost about 1k USD, for about an hours worth of pictures).  We were welcomed by all of the ship as well as passangers who knew us as the couple that got married the first day on the shipwe were all over the ship having our pictures taken. After the wedding, the rest of the cruise was just great.  A few of my guests did get sea sick b/c we were in some rough seas b/c of the hurricane, but they got over it after a day.  This cruise was a gastronomical delight.  My parents and I are Pakistani/Indian in background, and 10 of my guests happened to be close family and friends from the same part of India/Pakistan.  They loved the food, and our waiters happened to be Indian.  My family made an off hand remark that they would love an Indian mealand the next night our waiters delivered!!!  They were so amazing to my guests (oh BTW we all were sat together in the same area of the dining hall by request).  The indian meal had poppers, dal, chicken tikka, korma, saalun, roti and basmati riceit was pretty impressive, especially since it was completely off the menu.  I recommend that you try the formal breakfast at least once.  It really is very nice.  The food overall was awesome!  Loved it, and seconds and thirds were always brought over with a huge smile.  My husband and I also went to Chops Grilleand we loved it.  The steaks were "like butta" and better than steaks I've had at Capital Grille, Hugos, Topaz.  The only place my husband said had better steaks was this restaurant in Vegas that has Kobe steaks, but he was also very much impressed.  I totally recommend Chops at least onceits worth the little extra.I wasn't too sure what kind of entertainment they would have on the ship, but the shows at night were great, and my guests really enjoyed them.  The casino was fun.  My parents are pretty conservative, but they even got in on the action.  Rock climbing wall was a lot of fun.  We had our friends (sans the uncles and aunties) do a rock climbing competition.  I went to a seminar on working out and nutrition which ws fun.  The work out facilities were awesome.  Imagine being on the treadmill overlooking a bright blue ocean with panaromic views.    Also really enjoyed the wine tasting class they had on board (for an extra fee).  There was also an art auction with original Picasso and Joan Miro.  Our room was a junior suitewe had a balcony off the back of the ship.  It was great being able to be on our balcony as we came into and out of port.  We rarely were in our room, (too much to see and do on the ship and in port) and the last night of the cruise I slept outside on the balconythat was awesome.  I totally recommend it.  You fall asleep outside under the stars, it was perfect.  I was so sad to leave the ship when our trip endedthis experience totally turned me on to cruisingwe're leaving for our next RCCL cruise in June 2009.  



Getting Married, and honeymooning with our guests

We booked this cruise through our local travel agent. We were the leaders of a group of twenty. Our daughter celebrated her 18th birthday while on the cruise. It was our third time being on the Voyager of the Seas and our 24th RCI cruise. 
The Voyager is still a beautiful ship even though there is some evidence of aging. The carpet in the hallways needs to be replaced. It is worn, stained, and even mold and mildew are present in some areas. We were in a cabin on the sixth floor and the smell of mildew was present in several different places, particularly on the bump on the starboard side of the ship. 
As with most Royal Caribbean cruises, you get a mixed bag. Some things are great, some are good, and some are bad. 
EMBARKATION: The embarkation process for the Voyager of the Seas is below average. Having sailed the vessel three times, long lines and long waits have welcomed us every time. Not once, not twice, but three times. You first stand outside in a long line normally thirty minutes to an hour. Once inside the terminal, there is another long line where you go through security. Once through security you have another line where you get your cruise card and go through the normal RCI check-in procedures. Once you get your cruise card, if the ship is ready to be boarded, you proceed to another line where your picture is taken for your cruise card. Why not take your picture at the check-in desk? HAL figured that one out. You finally get on the ship an hour or more from your arrival time. This time was the shortest wait - one and a half hours. RCI gets a C- in this area. 
CABIN: We booked an E2 cabin and a Promenade cabin across the hall for our two children. Both cabins were nice and clean. They smelled fresh and had no apparent lingering odors. I have to commend RCI in their cabin design and layout. There is plenty of storage area and closet space for the size of the cabin. The cabins are logically laid out so that things are easily accessible. The air conditioning units in both cabin worked well. Another thing that was great, was the new bedding. They have recently placed new bedding in the cabins and it is was the most comfortable of any RCI cruise that we had been on. We slept well and solid every night without being awaken in the middle of the night with circulation being cut off in different extremities of our body. RCI gets an A in this area. 
FOOD: Again, you have the great, the good, and the (should I say it) bad. The dining room food was really good, probably some of the best dining room food that I've had. There is a good selection on each of the menus and the food is served hot with a good presentation. The only complaint I would have is the scrambled eggs at breakfast. My recommendation to anyone would be eat in the main dining room as much as you can. The Windjammer Cafe (buffet) is average at best. The selection is so-so and the quality of the food is below what cruise food should be. This is rather par for the course for RCI. The one place that the Voyager really shines is Portofinos. Well worth the extra $20 to go. The food is absolutely AWESOME in Portofinos. I would give Portofinos an A+, the Dining Room an A-, and The Windjammer Cafe a C-. One other thing that RCI should work on is having a place where you can get iced tea 24/7. This is not a difficult thing for them, they just don't do it. The only way you can get iced tea the majority of the time is order room service. You can get it in the Windjammer from 12-5 (that's only five hours a day). You can get it in the dining room also at lunch and dinner, but that is not a self serve situation. If there is a late night buffet in the Windjammer, then you can get iced tea during that time also. My wife and I do not drink alcoholic beverages and prefer to drink iced tea, but RCI makes it difficult to get. (I wonder why? I could give you a speculative reason but it would make Royal Caribbean look cheap). Why not put iced tea in the Cafe Promenade with the coffee? Food overall score would be a B+. It would probably be higher if we wouldn't have eaten in the Windjammer a couple of days when the Dining Room was not open for lunch. 
SERVICE: Our cabin stewardess was great. Our room was cleaned twice every day and she never missed one time. When we would see her in the hallway, we were always greeted with a smile and verbal greeting. Our waiter at dinner was the best we had ever had. Absolutely awesome. There was not one weak area in the service that we were provided. Even when we were at breakfast and lunch with a different waiter, the service was great. A+ all the way. 
ENTERTAINMENT: Well, once again, you get a mixed bag. I'll start with the strong points. The cruise director, Graham, was awesome. He was the funniest and most entertaining cruise director that we had ever had in close to 30 cruises. Every morning he hosted a show on the television called the Be Very Afraid Morning Show. It was so funny. You could wake up and tune in to it and start your day with a good laugh. I give Graham an A all the way. The guest entertainers were also good. The comedian and impressionist were very entertaining. I give them an A. The ice show was very well performed. I personally don't like the tarot card theme in the show, but the performance was awesome. I give the ice show a B+ (it would be higher if the show itself was better-the performers get an A). 
The RC singers and dancers were in need of some help. The dancers were not together in their dance moves. They needed a lot of work in the area of precision. The singers were good and sang on pitch (thank God). Had the singers sang off pitch, it would have been nights of misery. They blended very well and their harmonies were well performed. The shows themselves were weak though. Not a good congruent flow in the material itself. Good production shows will tell a story and have a congruent theme. Good singers need good material to perform. RCI has much better shows and the two that were performed on the ship were probably their weakest. I give the productions shows a C- even though I would give the singers an A. The dancers get a D. They were sloppy and unenthusiastic. Overall entertainment score would be a B. 
PORTS: The ports were good. The water was cloudy in Labadee so snorkeling was non-eventful. We climbed the falls in Ocho Rios. Had a good time. There were seven ships in Grand Cayman. We stayed on board. The folks with us that went ashore said it was awful navigating on the sidewalks in town. Cozumel was wonderful. We were able to dock and not have to tender. Ports get a B+. DISEMBARKATION: We got to get off the ship early---only to wait in an hour long line. It took us one and a half hours from the time we walked off the ship until we got to our automobile. The longest ever. Disembarkation gets a C. 
Overall, I would say that we had a good cruise. Not quite great in every area, but the areas of weakness could be overlooked if not focused upon. There were enough A level items that diminished the C and D items. I would give the overall experience an A-. I would definitely recommend the Voyager of the Seas. But dont expect to be blown away in any area except Portofinos, the dining room food ( if you have a good waiter), the cruise director, and service overall. Things are enjoyable for the most part and you should be able to have a really good time. As a matter of fact, we will be cruising on the Voyager again in March. 


Voyager of the Seas - Western Caribbean

This review is for the 12/10-12/17 sailing.
Airport Transfer/Embarkation: The airport RCI reps could not have been more professional and gracious. Everything was as organized as could be. This made for an excellent first impression and served to increase my anticipation for another wonderful week with RCI. Once we got pierside that impression quickly changed, as MASS disorganization prevailed. RCI personnel blamed Customs, but they've been in business long enough to be better prepared. Inside the terminal I felt like I was at Penn Station for the LIRR rush hour. After about one hour we finally boarded the ship. Amazingly, only one crew member (wearing a polo shirt- Not very classy ) stood at the gangway to welcome passengers and he seemed to resenting that post...No smiles, No eye contact, just mumbling something. And then we were inside the ship itself... Just like entering a shopping mall, nothing to indicate this was going to be an event or grand occasion of a wonderful vacation. 
Being my first time on a Voyager class ship, I noticed how DARK and drab the interiors are... I missed the Centrum w/ all the floor to ceiling windows. Crew members we passed on our way to the cabin didn't project feelings of a warm welcome. Service, Food & Beverage: Simply put, I've had MUCH better tasting food at Bellevue Hospital. The embarkation buffet was mostly cold food & offered little variety. Sometimes we couldn't find a bar server to take our drink orders in lounges but the poolside servers were aggressive to the point of being obnoxious. My travel partner asked for an iced tea and was told to get it himself from the Windjammer Cafe. THAT'S POOR SERVICE! The much touted new "improved" menus left little to be desired, and the new Le Brasserie Lunch is only a way for RCL to make a downgraded lunch appear like better idea. The lack of late night buffet options is also indicative of obvious downgrading. 
Aside from our dinner waiter and assistant waiter in the dining room, the VAST majority of crew weren't very interactive or friendly. This was the first cruise I've been on that seemed to have TOO MANY crew. I know by now you may be thinking "Why is this guy so negative"? I wish I could report that the Voyager of The Seas was a wonderful cruise, but it was one of the worst. I came on with an open mind and positive attitude, but being a hospitality industry worker, I know what is excellent, fair or mediocre product presentation... If you looked up MEDIOCRE in the dictionary, you'd see a picture of the Voyager of The Seas! Conclusion: It is sad that Royal Caribbean puts too much emphasis on activities and on-board marketing, while not concentrating on what really makes customers loyal... Friendly customer service, good food and quality. I have a TransAtlantic cruise booked on the Brilliance of The Seas and am willing to wipe the slate clean & give RCI on more chance. On this cruise I felt like I was trapped on Amtrak for a week! Happy Sailing Everyone!

Voyager of the Seas - Eastern Caribbean

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