I would suggest that anyone who gets turned off by the negative reviews on this site read between the lines of the review, Yes the Voyager externally needs a repaint and is going to dry dock around Sept '19, However once on board all is forgotten and the fun begins. If you board from 12 midday you will be asked to go to the Windjammer buffet initially as your cabin will not be ready till around 2.00pm, obviously it will get congested as 3000 new passengers are boarding so have a meal and drink and move on..We were with a group of six, our daughter and husband (25yo) and a first time cruise couple (age over 55) like ourselves. Everyone enjoyed the entertainment from the excellent Australian illusionist John Taylor, Philippine's four piece Kronos band playing in the royal promenade and various bars, Ice skating "Ice Odyssey show" and the "Queen Tribute" show with two Aussie singers. Throughout the day you had a multitude of activities to choose from- mini golf, rock climbing wall, flowrider, Ice skating rink, three adult swimming pools and hot tubs, deck games, basketball court, trivia games at different bars, fully equipped gym, children's activities and centre, jogging area decks, bingo, table tennis, shops and movie entertainment. The majority of this is provided at no cost however you will pay for Wifi (around $17 a day) Ben&Jerry's Ice cream, freshly squeezed orange juice and premium coffees. Free soft serve ice cream is available to the side of the windjammer and Iced water, tea and coffee dispensers are located in the cafe promenade. Alcohol drink packages are $65 per day, per person however if you're not a big drinker buy your beers @ $6.50-$7.00, Premium spirits inc mixers $8-$9, Cocktails $12 (All in US dollars) The food on board is a) Fantastic in the extra cost restaurants like Giovanni's, Izumi and Chops grille, (a two for one package can be bought on line before you sail for $60A, pp) b) Excellent in the main dining room (Free) for breakfast, lunch and dinner and c) Mediocre in the very busy Windjammer buffet, the cafe in the promenade serves breakfast egg & bacon muffins, pizza, plus sandwiches, rolls and cakes and is the only venue open 24hrs. For all those that cant be bothered wearing casual attire and covered footwear for the main dining you will suffer the fate and chaos of the Windjammer buffet. I must mention the specials in the duty free liquor on the ship at the time 2x1Ltr Johnny Walker red for $40US other great specials were to be had however after shopping in KL & Sing this was the cheapest avail. (Not to be drunk on board) We took the tour to Pattaya buy bus which was the only stop on this cruise however the air quality left a lot to be desired at this time as Bangkok had several health warning in regards to this the previous week. Currently Royal Caribbean are doing bargain prices for cruises for Singapore for as little as $130 p/p per night so you can afford to spend a little extra on specialty restaurants and enjoy the cruise even more. Don't be put of by the negative reviews, do your homework on what you want from the cruise and if in doubt talk to a cruise specialist that can advise you more on the destination and cabin type ect. Pro's.. Excellent Value, Friendly crew, Entertainment, Specialty Restaurants. Con's..Exterior of ship needs Drydock, Worn cabin mattresses, Asian manners. Prev cruises, Ovation OTS, Radiance OTS, Legend OTS, P&O Aurora, Oriana, Diamond & Regal Princess, F. Olsen Black Watch, Superstar Leo & Virgo. Read Less

What a total rip off. First impression as you boarded the ship in Singapore was "What a rust bucket." First looks are very important, and this was not a good look. The first person you meet when on board is a lady trying to sell you a drinks package. Hold that thought. Then you are sent to the dinning room for lunch. White material chairs with black corners from people moving them with greasy fingers. Mould and water marks on the walls and ceilings. Mirrors so dirty you could barely see through them. The food was basic, but was ok. Then your room is available, of which we had a balcony cabin. This was clean but dated. This was a 7 day cruise, so our expectations where high. We went to explore. After talking to a few other guests we quickly purchased a drinks package, as you didn't even get bottled water in the room. 2 saches of coffee and 2 pots of creamer, but no water. Everything drinkable has to be paid for. We found a piano bar so sat down with a drink, but we soon had to move as smoking was allowed in the casino next door. This area of the ship smelt like a dirty ashtray. Dinner the first night was average at best. The first port of call was Kuala lumpa, or to be more precise port Kalang, which is 65 kilometres away. The view from the ship was a few trees and some industrial buildings. Apparently the trip in to town was one and a half hours due to traffic. We didn't bother. Dinner that night was poor. Day two was in Penang. The excursions from the ship where extortionate, so we just got a cab and did our own thing. We had a good day. Dinner that night was rubbish. Day three was in Langkawi. Again we got a cab and did our own thing. Rubbish dinner again. Formal dress code, which we adhered too. But too many people just turned up with shorts and flip flops, and this was just overlooked by the staff. Next came 2 days in Phuket. We did our own thing again as the prices of trips was just stupid. Some of the guests on the ship where rude and aggressive to other guests and the staff did nothing about it. Even a guy shouting and swearing homophobic insults to two guys, and the staff just looked on. The guy was so drunk he could barely stand, but the bar staff just kept serving him. Everything on the cruise came at an inflated price, that just left a bad taste. This was part of our honeymoon, and thanks to Royal Caribean was a terrible experience. From the ship to the the staff the whole experiance was very very poor. First and last cruise. If your planning a cruise make sure you do your homework because this was rubbish, and cost us a small fortune. Read Less

I chose this cruise because I wanted to visit some new places. It was my first on Royal Caribbean, 18th overall. The itinerary was wonderful: Kuala Lumpur, Penang, Langkawi, and Phuket for 2 days. The shore excursions were A+. Our room steward was one of the best we have ever had. The ice skating show was spectacular. A big wow! Unfortunately, the negatives on this ship outweighed those positives. First of all, the food in the buffet was always cold. We gave up on eating breakfast there after the first morning. We had the ultimate dining plan. DO NOT GET. It is not worth it on this particular ship with only a couple restaurants included. Why wouldn't they include Johnny Rockets? The food there was superior to the food at the steakhouse. I have never had such rubbery filet mignons in my life! And the menu selection at the steakhouse is very limited. Not even French Onion Soup. Giovanni's food was slightly better and we went there most evenings. I do want to note that the service at both the steakhouse and the Italian restaurant was outstanding, attentive and friendly. The stores in the Promenade are mostly high end. There was no shop that sold T-shirts with countries names. And no sale ever with Royal Caribbean items. Maybe this is how Royal Caribbean is in general? Pastries looked very unappetizing in the cafe. The blueberry donuts I will recommend. They tasted better than they looked. Since breakfast was so cold, we got our breakfast in the morning at the cafe and took to our balcony to eat. Which brings me to this: The Voyager is an older ship so balconies are covered and not see-through. Not sure the extra for balcony on this particular ship/voyage was worth the extra cost. I would travel on Royal again if the itinerary was exciting. It seemed on this cruise it was just a means to get to destinations. Read Less

Cruising on a budget - Top Tips Admin When you embark your passport will be taken by the crew, we didn’t really figure out why until afterwards we saw our passports was processed by customs in Singapore and Thailand to allow us to embark and disembark when we felt like it in Thailand, using only our “sea pass cards” (on-board identity and payment card) and therefore not having to go through at customs every time you leave the boat. We required a copy of our passports when going into Thailand and had to go and make copies in the departure lounge – tip: make copies of your passport before and keep it with you anyway. Sea Pass Cards and Lanyards You get issued with a sea pass card at boarding and this is your identity for getting on and off the ship, buying anything on the ship and participating in activities. You basically carry it with you everywhere you go and this card in a trouser pocket is bound to get lost, thus a lanyard is very convenient. Everybody had one except us for the first 2 days, and the $8 each I spent on lanyards was worth every cent.Tip: Bring a lanyard! Boarding After boarding it was a bit weird we didnt really know what to do and where to go. We basically had time to find our room (which was a bit of a mission if you haven't been on a ship before) and wait for the life boat drill. You will get in trouble if you miss the drill. Not a pleasant activity but essential, we stood in the sun for nearly 45 mins - wish we brought a water bottle as it was steaming hot. Shows & Activities Mains shows are free and worthwhile. The shows on our cruise were world class. There was a main event, every night in the main theater and although it was pretty full there was always some empty seats available. I saw 4 shows and 3 out the 4 was high quality with world class performers. They also make announcements at the show regarding the next day and events. There are lots of free activities like bingo, quizzes, karaoke, dance classes, disco, music performances, pool activities. All free and well organised – a great way to meet people. Kids Our teens spent a lot of time at the ‘Teen-Zone’ called ‘Optix’. They mostly ‘hung out’, swam and did some activities together, in fact after dinner they disappeared until midnight and could have gone on after that if they were allowed. They made some good friends. Food Don’t worry about food. There is a 24 hour station that serves pastries, pizza slices, coffee, tea and water. Free/Included. Then there is main dining room. Each room has its own allocated dining room table and this table may be shared by other passengers, we never had anyone show up thus had our own table. The Dining room has a dress code but basically means no thongs and no singlets or bathers. Dining is 3 course dining every night with some variation, and some specialties like steak, veal, lobster, lamb and fish. The best part of the experience is to have 2 waiters serving you, food and drinks, they are the same waiters every night thus you get to know them quite well. There was 2 seating times 5:30pm and 8:00pm. We were on the early seating which meant we were often not hungry yet (after being out for the morning, having a late lunch and obviously snacking in between.) The food was fantastic, and our waiter really spoilt us by bringing extra portions if we asked. Yes I had 2 lobster tails on the 6th day for dinner. And this is all included/free. The main dining room is also open for breakfast. Then there is the buffet style dining room on level 11 that is called the Windjammer. A totally different experience. The windjammer is open for most of the day just closing between meals to reset. Depending on when you go it may be busy or less busy but expect a few elbows, some queues, some people in a rush and some people not in a rush, thus not as laid back relaxing as the experience of the main dining room. There is a Great selection of food, good quality and in large quantities, always well supplied and fresh. Drinks Don’t ask us about the drinks packages as it wasn’t in our budget. We consumed a bottle of the cheap wine from the menu each evening and the 2 kids each had 1 soft drink every day. Including laundry our bill for the 7 days was just over US$400, and I believe the fully inclusive drinks package is $570pp for the 7 days, but that includes all you can drink including all the weird and wonderful cocktails they serve. The Soda package would have worked out +/- $140pp but we don’t drink enough soft drinks to justify that. We bought 12 bottles of water delivered to our room and we really used it, you are not allowed to fill waterbottles at the water station but many people bring their own bottles, and use a glass to fill up their bottles at the drinks station - a little embarrassing but hey who really cares. I wish I brought a proper water bottle. We brought the allowance of 2 bottles of wine and I really enjoyed having a sip before dinner. Room We had a level 2 family room with a window. The 3,4th beds drop out of the ceiling but was safe and comfortable for our 11 and 13 year old to use. We slept well, the beds, duvets and pillows was fine. Level 2 was fine we had a port hole and was far from the lifts thus really quiet. Doubt if a balcony is really worthwhile if on a budget like us. The window was bonus. Shore excursions For the 7 days we booked 2 excursions with the cruise company. They are expensive but I doubt if we could have gotten everything done in the time they did, had we made our own arrangements. The one day was a 5 hour excursion for +/- $42 and the other was an 8 hour excursion for +/- $130 including speed boat transport, drinks and lunch. They were well arranged with a guide that shared information and made sure everything ran on time and everyone was on the bus and/or boat on time. Other days we did our own thing and was relatively successful. Staying on the boat is cool too, lots to do or just to relax sip coffees and munch snacks. Wifi We only had one device on wifi and the wifi quality was good. In hind sight I should perhaps have gotten both adults wifi to help with planning the next days, but once in port we could connect to the local cellpone network at a fee. Dress Code We dressed properly (shoes) for most dinners and even dressed up for formal night, many people do and it was fun. Yes read the dress code - I did see them sending someone back for incorrect dressing but they are not very strict. Conclusion Really recommend this cruise - was a fantastic first experience for us. Us and the kids really enjoyed it. Read Less

Unfortunately this ship does not live up to the standards of other Royal Caribbean ships! They even ran out of pool towels on a port day! So many disappointing elements including standard of service received from stateroom attendant and main dining restaurant staff. The offerings received from the Crown and Anchor Society were not to the same standard as on other ships. Normally when we arrive in our cabin there are bottles of water, a bottle of orange juice and a food item ( sweets/cupcakes etc). There was none of this! I know it’s only a little thing but it’s those little treats that make it special. I could not even tell you who the Crown and Anchor Manager was on this ship as unlike other ships it was the cruise director that did all the talking about the program and there was never any mingling with the guests each evening as we have received before. Mostly the entertainment was good however the scheduling of some activities and quizzes need serious review. You would go for hours with nothing of interest and then have two different quizzes or shows overlapping in different locations. This 7 day cruise has not put us of being ‘Loyal to Royal’ yet, but we will not sail on Voyager again. Read Less

We wanted to try a new cruise line after sailing with NCL for several years. This cruise was a great Back Friday deal and we could make flights work so we went for it. Yikes. We should have guessed this wouldn’t be a great experience from dealing with RC’s terrible website right away. The communication prior to and at the time of boarding is abismal. Once we got on board, it got worse. This ship is ready for a major overhaul... everything was so tired and dated. Just about every aspect of this cruise was so underwhelming - except for the service. Everyone we talked to was so nice and friendly - our waiter in the main dining room, Alwin, was so sweet, and our room attendant was fantastic. The food in the main dining room, Izumi, and Chops was great as well. The buffet is a buffet so we didn’t expect anything above average there, but their pork breakfast sausages had to be yesterday’s hot dogs. We ended up staying off the ship when we overnighted in Phuket and, as amazing as it was, it made going back to the miserably uncomfortable bed on the ship very very difficult. I wouldn’t recommend this ship to anyone until it has had a SERIOUS overhaul top to bottom. Read Less

While the ship was beautiful I don't feel the crew were as friendly as some we have met on other lines. And one of the dumbest things that occurred on this ship was the Zumba and other activities that take place out in the middle of the main deck where all the shops and a few restaurants are. We couldn't even walk through that area, which is a main walkway on the ship. Those types of activities need to be done in other areas of the ship, like other cruise lines do, not in that main area where passengers walk around. Food choices in the main dining room were not as many or varied on other cruise lines we have been on. This was a big disappointment. We did love the ice skating show, and would have liked to do more activities on the ship such as the rock climbing wall but they weren't open very many hours of the day when we got back on the ship after doing our excursions. The excursions we booked were wonderful but one man from the cruise line who was there to observe the guide was very rude to the passengers and our tour guide. We would cruise with RC again but hope the next experience is better. Read Less

I seldom want to write such disappointing review but this time is really the worst trip i have in my life. We went onboard on 23rd to 26th Nov 2018 to Port Klang. The 1st things we saw on board at the front desk is a blonde guy holding to a sign and it Indicate. Extremely dissatisfied customer. I laugh when i saw him but now I'm also 1 of them.......That day i should have join him. First when i check out their so call beverage-packages and i got a shock as i have to buy for the entire trip which cost about USD $59 per day. Worst of all any guest want to purchase an alcoholic beverage package must do so for all adults who are in the same room. That mean when my wife who don't drink must also pay for the package cos she is in the same room as me. If 1 person is USD59, 4 days will be USD236 and i have to add in my wife for another USD236 which total about USD 470. I can go Thailand and enjoy much better with that amount of money. Don't ever buy upfront online before your trip for the arcade games. Most of their machines is outdated and not in good conditions. Every game is at least USD1.50 per game. You can't refund the balance so DON'T EVER BUY THE TOKEN ONLINE. My 6 yrs old boy want to play the claw machine and the stupid claw is jam. He thought he press wrong button so he insist to have another game and still the same. Then we tried the other game and my 9 yrs old gal want to play the dance machine. The screen is faulty. We bought USD50 tokens and have to use up so we went to tried the table like ice hockey, the disc always stop in the center as its not smooth at all. Then my nephew 13 years old tried to play the shooting game and the gun is faulty. There is no one to attend to you and you have to walk outside to make a call. I got feed up and ask them to go and my boy started to cry. Ahhhhhhhh...... It's only our 1st day!!!!!!!! After our dinner we decide to bring my parents and kids to watch the Ice Odyssey for the 2nd session and we went to Q for more than 30 mins and in the end they told us it's full and no more. Ahhhhhhhhh......... During this trip, we also try to Q for the Ice skating on 2nd and 3rd day and all the Q is at least 30 mins and in the end it's still the same as its full. They are not organise, they should give out numbers so we don't have to stand and Q for nothing and try to come out a system to let everyone have a chance to experience. The foods at Windjammer cafe is just average, i find Singapore hawker food is even better. Their on board coffee is diluted and doesn't have the coffee aroma. The only foods i like is the main seating dinning at level 3. The food is good and the service staffs are friendly. 1 of our asst waiter Grahita, Ilham from indonesia is good as he serve us for the entire trip. They should reward such good staffs like him. He chat and joke with us which i can see part of the good points from RC. Their on board activities like Rock Climbing Wall, Ice Skating and Flow Rider is not full day, they have session and for about 2 to 3 hours each so REMEMBER YOU MIGHT NOT BE ABLE TO PLAY IF THERE IS LONG Q. Wonder why don't they operate like example from morning 9am till 10pm so we have more time to try it out and enjoy. I went to the front office to feedback to their staff and she note it down and said will feedback to the manager and get back to me but it's only a way to entertain us and brush us off. No one even contact me and try to solve our problems. I personally don't recommend my friends and relatives to go on board with RC(Royal Caribbean). Think they should change their name to Rubbish Cruise. Read Less

The whole four days cruise was a good experience and we were pleasantly surprised after reading some adverse about “Voyager of the sea”. Firstly the check in process at Marina bay – Singapore was smooth and faultless. We were allowed to enter our cabin no 9278 at 1.30pm. The balcony cabin was clean and spacious. The shower was larger than those on my previous cruises. The steward who looked after our room was friendly. Getting around the ship was fairly easy, despite there being 3500 people on board. There were 8 passenger lifts, which were in constant use. Our cruise passengers were mainly Indian, Chinese, Japanese and Indonesian. It was great ‘people watching’ on this cruise. The food was excellent. We ate breakfast and lunch in the Windjammer restaurant, which is a buffet style restaurant where many different kind of cuisine were served. There were about 10 types of food in this restaurant each day; all cooked to a high standard. For dinner we ate at the Shapphire restaurants which were on decks 3, 4 and 5. At these restaurants, there was waiter service and one was expected to dress more smartly. Tips about getting off the ships and visiting Kuala Lumpur. There is no need to take the ship’s excursions, which are expensive. We only wanted to see the Petronas Twin Towers. As we left the ship there was an organizes taxi stand. They offered to take us on a tour of sites around the city, but we stuck to our plan and only got a return taxi to Kuala Lumpur. This costs 250 ringett. It took 1 ½ hours to get to Petronas Twin Towers. We were unable to go up to the top of the towers because the time slot was too narrow and didn’t allow us enough time to go up the towers. Non the less we saw the towers and some of the expensive shops on the lower floors. At Phuket we anchored for part of a day. We were tendered ashore. Again there no need to take the ship’s expensive excursions, as there are lots of touts offering various tours. We elected to stay on the beach which was 10 mins from where the tender dropped us off. The only negative thing about this cruise is that you have to pay for things which not so long ago, were inclusive. Otherwise, as a first time cruiser with Royal Caribbean, I would surely travel with them again. Read Less

I am not a frequent cruiser and this is my first time on board VOTS as I wanted to try a new cruise liner. First day on board - I arrived about 1pm as stated in my pre-check in and Q about 45 mins for boarding. Not sure if the pre-check before 2 days helped as we all Q the same line anyway. Due to a mistake by their ground staff at the counter the pass given to my elder member was mixed up and the security kept shouting one of the name loudly which would have easily resolved if paused for a while and hear me out. As the rooms were not ready we were told to have lunch at Deck 11, the windjammer cafe which serves buffet. A bit disappointed with the food quality as I read online that it is better than the other cruise liner that I took couple of times before. Turns out this cruise food is not better although being more pricey. By the third day we are already eating just for the sake of eating. To be fair the " my time dinning " at the restaurant which serves complimentary International food is better than the buffet , but only sightly , hits and misses for the set menu and a rating of 2.5/5 stars. Most waiters were nice but the one serving our table on the first night keeps selling us "paid foods" like lobsters and even kitchen tour for a fee. After politely declining him several times ,what was before a talkative smiling face became a ...." poker face " ?? One nice food which I would recommend though.. the complimentary cafe promenade at Deck 5 which serves sandwiches etc.. the free Pizza is superb. As for the drinks the coffee and the fruit juice served during the buffet lunch and dinner was horrific. No drinking water was provided but there is a small water boiler in the stateroom. You may buy their drinks package thou, at a price. When refilling drinking water with my own bottle at the water station, most of the staff (except 1) told us to refill using the drinking cup ,,cup by cup instead of letting us or them filling up with their water pitcher. Reluctance to serve is one but making things difficult for customers ?? During buffet lunch / dinner the eating place is packed with people and many were left waiting outside( not allowed to enter) as a crowd control procedure. While the PA was announcing throughout the meal time asking people to leave the table once they finished eating and to allow others to come in, I saw one group of "nationals" hogging two tables after they were finished eating and the floor supervisor/manager talking enthusiastically in their native tongue and laughing with them throughout. Such Ironic. Cabin rooms was not up to standard and this is the balcony room I am talking about. The furnishing in the room looks old and tired and needs a thorough cleaning. bedsheet with stains and a small sofa that itches your leg after seating for a while. same goes to the bed. Our rubbish in the bathroom was not even cleared for two days and have to ask for toothbrush/ paste and some basic toiletries. And oh,, the tea bags provided FREE were stained and wasn't even covered. To sum it up our rooms was not messy but it is Not clean either. Newly packet Soaps were provided in our rooms but on the second day we did find "extra" soaps given to us which was already opened up and used before :o As usual all ships excursions are expensive. We did not joined any of them as we did visited Penang before. We did went out to the pier to take some photos. As for the swimming pool I would have loved it ten years ago when I was still a smoker, the only swimming pool and jacuzzi was surrounded by cigarette smell left right centre. I couldn't understand the logic that some parents would bring their children"jacuzzi_ing" just 1-2 metres away from the smoking area. Although there are many area that needs improving the entertainment aspect is one which I rate 4/5 stars. The various dance classes conducted by the staff is enjoyable, the singing by Kronos band is entertaining and the Ice odyssey skating performance is out of this world and should not be missed. I missed the performance on the first night but managed to watch it on the third night instead. A show that should not be missed if you are onboard. On the day of our embarkation we were supposed to leave the ship at 9.30am as such we finished our breakfast slightly earlier and was preparing to leave the room after taking a few more photos. The cleaning staff barged into the room and scolded us for not leaving at 9am and throw the "do not disturb" sign into the dustbin right in front of me and stomp out. To summarise no doubt the ice show was great, the entertainers was world class , it is the other elements that is lacking, the personal touch, the attitude of the service crew, the service level that you received and many times I thought that I am on a free cruise instead of paying thousands for it. Frankly now I remember that I even smiled more and thank them more when I received a service from them rather than from them to me as many were "poker face" and robotic. I would have gone for Ovation of the Sea next year but after this cruise I am not so sure. Read Less