Voyager is an older vessel used by Voyages of Discovery for their “Small Ship Cruises”. Our October 2016 cruise was from Larnaca, Cyprus to Alexandria for Cairo, followed by Port Said through the Suez Canal to Sharm El Sheikh, Aqaba, Jordan for Petra, Safaga for Luxor then Salalah and Muscat in Oman. The vessel was said to be full with about 400 passengers. Passengers that took the ship’s excursion in Alexandria was said that it was a disaster due to traffic delays, even with a police escort. The buses arrived at some attractions after dark and were over two hours late coming back to the ship. We took a taxi from the port with the driver only hitting one other vehicle while showing us the sights! Be careful to agree and write down the price, currency as well length of sightseeing before leaving the Port! The desire to enforce cleanliness with many antiseptic stations seems rather pointless when every passenger identification card has to be handled by the same person when entering or leaving the vessel. Having to swipe the card rather than use the typical laser scan the card also slows down the process. Signs to “Use a paper towel to open the toilet door when leaving” is made difficult by using a waste bin that requires acrobatic maneuvers in order to dispose of the towel, again somewhat negating the purpose. Our cabin care was efficiently handled by Resty who was very pleasant and helpful. As usual single knob water taps cross contaminate and waste large amounts of water when seeking a desirable temperature without scalding. Most of the Voyager bedrooms feature the "wet" type shower that can clean up the toilet bowl at the same time should the shower curtain not be correctly positioned. Having plastic “keys” with the cabin number printed on them could be a problem for passengers that mislay their keys. The Discovery Restaurant had open seating with a good food choice and service. Visiting the Veranda Restaurant could be a problem, however, as it was frequently busy and overcrowded. Many of the plates and glasses had chips and the occasional cutlery item was not completely clean. These problems were particularly noticeable at the Veranda Restaurant. A security drill and talk by the Captain was given prior to entering the "pirate" area at the southern end of the Red Sea. Razor wire and water hoses were also positioned in order to minimize the possibility of being boarded. Fortunately these precautions were unnecessary. With several "sea days" the lectures were appropriate and interesting. Transport at Muscat to the airport was very efficient. Airline ticketing for many passengers, however, was a mess as they departed from one London airport and returned to another! Additional planning could have easily eliminated this inconvenience. Flying with Emirates was an added pleasure. All things considered this cruise was an extremely good value, especially for UK passengers, as the air flights were included. Read Less

We were recommended by friends who were regular travellers on the Voyager. Though sceptical about cruises in general we booked last minute on a special offer, choosing this particular cruise for the excellent Greek/ Turkish itinerary. The deal was for an inside cabin allocated to us - though we requested, and were given, an upper deck centre ship cabin which we found was perfectly adequate considering the price paid. Very comfortable beds, fresh towels, small but adequate shower room and all toiletries provided. Beds were turned down and even a chocolate on your pillow at night! For those seeking glamorous 5 star cruising this ship is not for you but the amazing friendliness of the entire crew, happy and relaxed atmosphere, interesting lectures and ports of call simply made our holiday. Food in abundance and choice of restaurants cannot be faulted - eating outside on the Verandah a great treat! Voyager is a special little ship - suited to anyone who enjoys the company of like minded interested people who are happy with the "country house" feel of the lounges and entertainment areas. Suitable entertainment every night by a young and talented cast is optional or just a quiet read either in the library or listening to varied individual musicians we found to be especially relaxing. We hope to rebook a further cruise on Voyager in the very near future and recommend it without hesitation to anyone. Read Less

Prefer small ships. Wanted to go to the Adriatic. Had sailed on company's previous ship. Booking arrangements good but speakers and extension possibilities not available on line even on eve of departure. Travel to /from ship efficiently handled. We had a suite so cannot review smaller cabins, ours was excellent. Ship was very clean but is showing signs of age. Public spaces very good. Food good quality, well prepared & presented both at buffet and in restaurant. Mainly traditional British menu, classic but not adventurous. Entertainment was very good. Busy schedule restricted the number of lectures which were well presented by knowledgeable speakers. When bad weather prevented access to Monomvasia the alternative of Napflion was quickly arranged & proved to be a delightful spot. Catering/entertainment/cabin staff all very efficient, polite & cheerful. Shore excursions efficiently handled. We tend to make our own way as we find 'excursions' often overpriced and formulaic compared to the less informative but far more flexible (and cheap) ones available at the entrance to most terminals, but that's just us. All in all an excellent cruise and good value for the money. Read Less

The ports visited were ideal for our smaller size vessel enabling us to dock when larger ships couldn't. The island stops were so interesting and the lectures prior to each stop were excellent. Other topical lectures were entertaining and interesting. Shore excursions were disappointing, but these were provided by local people who seemed more like history statisticians and could be quite boring. They were quite expensive and better value was available from the taxi drivers waiting at the end of the docks! All the crew and staff were absolutely wonderful. Food better than expected. My wife and I didn't attend any of the shows. With all the exploring ashore each day, which is why we chose this cruise, we were not needing night entertainment. It was a great success and the voyage on Voyager will be very fondly remembered. Actually, we would do it again ! but organise our own shore excursions. Read Less

Booked this cruise because of the itinerary and from that point of view we were not disappointed. We are not cruise experts, having only previously been on one Thomson Canary Islands cruise and two European river cruises. However, Voyager and Voyages of Discovery were sadly lacking in comparison. The ship itself is ok and our inside superior cabin would have been absolutely fine if it wasn't for the awful noise from both the aircon in our cabin and the aircon services cupboard right next door. To be fair the reception staff did show us another cabin on the floor below, despite being fully booked, but we felt it was not as nice as ours so we accepted the ear plugs offered and put up with the noise. Was particularly disappointed because we had specifically asked for a quiet room when we booked last year! The showers are also unacceptably tiny and only the fact that there were curtains rather than glass made it possible to bend over to reach your toes without knocking yourself out. Most of the staff were reasonably friendly, but we felt the Fillipino waiting staff were often stressed and not their usual smiley selves. The young entertainment staff put on some good shows, but don't book this ship expecting the slick productions you'll get on the larger ships, one of the trade-offs for choosing a smaller vessel. The ship itself doesn't have enough cosy areas to sit quietly on sailing days. One of the lounges, The Darwin Lounge, is given over to talks and presentations and is set out as such, so it doesn't make it a particularly pleasant place to sit and read or even sit and watch the shows which are put on here. And why are all the public areas so very cold? Found the port talk guy particularly boring, he was just reading from a script, and the dance couple were completely lacking in charisma of any kind, don't think we saw more than half a dozen people joining them for pre and post show dancing the whole trip. 5 of our 7 stops we went ashore by tender and that was an experience in itself. Having known in advance we would be going ashore by tender I would have expected a somewhat slicker more organised procedure than we got, but at least we did manage to get ashore in all places. It is also not acceptable to expect people to sit and wait until all the people who had booked excursions had been taken off the ship. We too had paid for our cruise and, as such, should have been treated exactly the same. Just because people had booked extortionate trips with VoD should not give them preference over disembarkation, it is not the fault of the passengers doing their own thing if VoD don't organise things better, and we all have limited time ashore. And who thought it was a good idea to take us ashore in an open tender on a day when it was heaving down with rain? A great way to see places like the Shetlands and the Orkneys and no complaints about the quantity and quality of the food, but cruising is still not for us and certainly never again with Voyages of Discovery!! Read Less

This is a very small ship when compared with many other ships (15000 tonnes), with the advantage of quick embarkations, friendliness on board and different ports of call it can make. The disadvantage on size and age is its ability to handle heavier weather and the engine noise at the rear of the ship. The cabins are reasonable in terms of size, however the balconies are very small. There is plenty of good common areas to sit in on wet days. The ship is currently undergoing improvement to some cabins and it is currently hit and miss on which cabins are better for a refit. It should be said, that even allowing for this the standard overall is not too bad. Common areas , lounges,bars etc are really quite good. The show lounge has support poles and no slope to it, so it is not easy to view dance shows. Eating areas are very good. The main 2 dining rooms are very comfortable, although not many tables for just 2. The self service area is relatively small, including the outside area and it makes it quite difficult to get in at peak times. the food quality is very good and service excellent. bars too have excellent friendly staff. Nothing is far from anywhere on this ship and lifts are not overly busy. Shopping is not a past time here....very small choice of anything. Would be better without it ! Lasting thoughts...friendliness of ships crew and especially the Captain. Services levels are excellent in restaurants and bars. Our inside cabin, deck 4 rear, was noisy when travelling at full steam. Not hard to see why this ship has a good level of repeat business and is often sold out early. We would travel again on Voyager. Read Less

Stayed onboard for back to back cruises. 1st Cruise, Britain's Beautiful Isles Excellent itinerary, visited several Scottish Islands which would be a pain to get to by car ferry. For next year this cruise is already nearly booked up. 2nd Cruise, Viking Lands & Icelandic Explorer This went very well, and for a change it did not rain in Bergen Pre Cruise Some of the pre cruise paperwork we received appeared somewhat contradictory and unclear, but things muddled through alright, but there is room for a lot of improvement in this area. The Check In The car parking and luggage porterage went very smoothly, however the actual check in was not quite as good, because we had booked a suite we were entitled to priority check in, however when we arrived there was no priority check in. So we joined the general queue, after some time had passed a member of staff actually thought about putting up the priority queue signs. So we backed tracked and joined that queue. Health forms were not given out until people were queuing up, these could have been given out whilst people were waiting for check in to start, improvement in their procedures is needed. Rocking and Rolling Considering the calm sea conditions the ship rocks and rolls a lot and is certainly not the most stable ship we have sailed on, would not want to cross the Atlantic or the Pacific on this ship. Entertainment Because it is a small ship the entertainment team is quite small, however whatever they lacked in numbers they made by their talent and continuous hard work. They multitask, appearing in the shows, the bars and then organising onboard daytime games for the passengers, plus looking after the single travellers, Lauren always managed to keep smiling. Reception Friendly and helpful staff. The Explorer Restaurant My wife and I felt very sorry for the waiters, the tables are crammed together, they have to squeeze though very narrow gaps. The restaurants are far too crowded; the average river cruiser appears to have more dinning space per passenger than this ship. The oblong tables for six are very tight for elbow room; the tables for four are a little better, but not much, this overcrowding lets the ship down badly, the second cruise was not as bad as the first as I believe it was not full. There appears to be a shortage of crockery and glasses, waiters have to keep taking items from other tables as everything appears to be in short supply. Most nights our table was always short of something, the waiters have to find missing items of glassware, cutlery, crockery, this was better during the second cruise. The menu in the Explorer is exactly the same as the Discovery, sometimes the food is hot, sometimes it is a little on the cold side. Overall the food is not bad, the portions are a little smaller than other ships, and the selection somewhat limited, but it must be remembered that this is low price cruising so it should be expected that the food budget per head is lower, that said on average it was on par or better than that found on P & O in recent years. The drinks and wine prices are very very low, apart free drinks they are the cheapest drinks prices we have ever encountered on any ship or cruise line, a gin and bitter lemon is £2.95. The tablecloths were not changed between dinners; often they had stains on them, when resetting a table the waiters would brush the crumbs off and spray the tablecloths with something, presumably some sort of sanitizer, thought this was rather unhygienic, considering the number of passengers who had been ill. Any restaurant shortcomings were more than made up for by the excellent, hardworking, on the ball managers and waiters, really friendly and likeable, a brilliant team. Room Service The selection was more than somewhat limited. Sometimes items were missing from orders; toasted sandwiches tend to be cold, not the best. The Shop Considering the size of the ship, we thought the little shop, there is only one, was excellent, better stocked than some of those found on some ships four times the size. The shop is run by the excellent Harding Brothers. Friendly staff and excellent service. Wifi The wifi is very cheap, in fact the cheapest we have ever had apart from when it has been free, but don't expect to use be able to use it in your cabin, there are only few areas around the ship where it works, and then it is slow, but no slower than other ships. Laundry All returned in the stated service time, the pressing/ironing was far far better than the average ship, and was possibly the best we have ever had, very well done the brilliant Laundry team. Shore Excursions Mostly went very well, the guides did vary a little but were mostly alright. Apart from one all the coaches were excellent. One of our excursions which we had picked because it was an AM departure was changed to a PM departure, so we were unable to have a walk around town after the excursion, not very good. Tendering When we booked Britain's Beautiful Isles there were only going to be two tender ports, but by the time we boarded there were four and later that went to five ports, then ended up as four and a half. One of the ship's tenders had engine problems and had to be taken out of service, so at two ports one tender and local cabin cruisers/tour boats were used. We reassured by the ship's crew that the broken down tender could still be used as a lifeboat, this did not over inspire confidence, if a tender is unfit to be used as a tender, it hardly makes a good lifeboat. The engine problem was not fixed until the next cruise, when we docked in Iceland the tender was lifted on to the dock and repaired, see photograph. At one port the passengers had started going ashore by tender, halfway through the process there was a change of plan and it was decided to dock, this caused some excursions to start one and a half hours late. It appears that local tenders had to be used in the Scilly Isles, these were very old wooden open launches, very unsuitable when it's raining, and the local crews seamanship might be a little questionable. The ship's own tender crews were very good, and had far better than the average seamanship expertise of other tender crews on many ships. The Cabin 7202 The cabin was spacious, but well over due for refurbishment. Some noise is heard from the sundeck above the cabin, but not much. Bedding, so much for the 'Upgraded bed linen' in the suites, the duvet cover was far too small for the duvet, and did not reach the edge of the bed, we asked the cabin steward about this and were informed that they shrink in the laundry. Later in the cruise we had larger duvet covers, but these were still not the appropriate size. Some of the drawers and cupboard doors are so worn and loose that to stop them banging in the night as the ship rolled we had to jam them with folded pieces of paper. In the bathroom one of the mirrors had a dangerous broken edge, the toilet seat had some of the rubber pads missing and a broken hinge, the seat was replaced during our second cruise. On occasion the water in the bathroom can be more than a little brownish in colour, but this only happened twice. Conclusions When the ship is full it feels very overcrowded, it would be a much better experience if Voyager put their prices up by 10% and reduced the number of passengers by 10%. The public areas have been refurbished, but the cabins are well overdue for a revamp. Voyager has numerous shortcomings but these are mainly offset by the excellent friendly crew, low cost of the cruises and very low drinks prices, because of the crew giving the ship an average, if it was not for the crew it would have been a poor rating. Read Less

Before we left the ship we wrote to the management . To date we have not had the courtesy of a response from Voyages of Discovery. We thought we had found our ideal cruise line but were disappointed by the make up of the passengers . The management had found it difficult to fill the ship as there were 10 days at sea. We were well aware of this and were quite happy to relax at sea . We found that 70% of our fellow passengers were single travellers in an organised group and were predominately female . Whilst we applaud the reduction of the fares with no single supplement for these passengers it led to an In balance. Most gentlemen found it uncomfortable to be seated with a table full of women and as the cruise progressed groups tried to reserve tables for one another. Even the waiters found it difficult to accommodate passengers.The evening entertainment was also disrupted by passengers saving seats for large groups .This is not company policy but no one was able to prevent it happening . We feel the ship should be advertised as singles only for this type of cruise in the future or the company should limit the singles to around 30% . If you are thinking of booking in the future check how many singles or no supplement places there are !!! Read Less

Having thoroughly enjoyed 3 cruises with Voyages of Discovery on the Discovery ship, we were reluctant to book Voyager as we were apprehensive about the layout of the ship. However, when we saw this cruise had a Galapagos Islands add-on, we decided to give it a go. Thank goodness we did this add-on. Excellent. But the rest of the cruise was a great disappointment. Voyager layout is not as good as that of Discovery. The show lounge is a terrible layout with no ramping, so terrible visibility and difficult access to seats in the middle. Thank goodness they've partitioned off a corridor to stop people waking through during performances/lectures. After we had done the Galapagos add-on, we were expecting to be taken from the airport straight to the ship. However instead we were taken to lunch, then on a sight-seeing tour of Guyaquil, with local guides and no explanantion. It was only when we arrived at the port that we were each given a letter to explain that there had been a Norovirus outbreak and the ship was undergoing a deep-clean. If we had been told this earlier we would have dressed more appropriately for the day and seen it as a bonus tour. The Verandah buffet lunches never looked very appetising and, unfortunately, because of an earlier outbreak of Norovirus, everything had to be served by staff not used to restaurant work. We had to queue to be handed a plate, then ask for cutlery, then ask for every item of food, including sachets of salt and pepper. It was a bit like a scene from Oliver. We weren't even allowed to pick up a ready-poured fruit juice at breakfast. Buffet eating was not an enjoyable experience. We had 2 days of 'help yourself' after which it was back to begging. I can understand taking precautions but this seemed a bit excessive. In the main restaurant the service was extremely slow and the food was not as good as it used to be on Discovery. Disembarkation was a shambles. We were last off the ship and by this time new arrivals were coming in, preventing us from getting down the gangway. The transport to the airport consisted of a number of local minibuses, totally unsupervised and another shambles. In fact, travel arrangements were all horrendous. We left the UK from Heathrow and arrived back at Gatwick. The good points: The lecturers were very good. The Philippini crew were fantastic. The ports of call were interesting, especially the Panama transit. Great for wildlife. Read Less

Attracted by the itinerary, a little wary of it being a small ship, but most of the passengers and especially the crew were very friendly. Being small we could get into more interesting places and it was quick to embark/disembark. On booking we were told the ship was to be refurbished in the next few months prior to our trip....it wasn't , so 50£ per person was credited to o url on board account. We did not use it as we had a drinks package so got it refunded in the UK.(5* for customer service) The ship is 25 years old and it shows. Pool deck surface is scuffed and care is needed to avoid splinters when not wearing sandals. Several tiles were missing from the pool sides. Cabins to the rear on decks 2/3/4 are very noisey and vibrated, especially when berthing. We were in 4239 and would not go that far back again, ever , on this ship. Norovirus made an unwelcome appearance, with several passengers and their partners confirmed to cabin for a minimum of 48 hours. Main challenge was having to be served by waiters at the buffet, which was really slow. Entertainment staff were worked really hard by the management, but were good and very enthusiastic. Embarkation and dis-emarkation was efficient , as was transfer to the departing airport. Check in at Gatwick was extremely poor...whether that was due to the airport or the fact that the airline being used was a specialist charter, not normally seen at Gatwick is n o t known, but the Voyages of Discovery company needs to try harder in this area. Read Less

The draw of this cruise was the destinations along the south/west coast of Central America and ultimately the Panama Canal into Colombia, finishing in Cartagena. My booking included flights from Heathrow with AeroMexico: Voyages of Discovery reps were on hand at Heathrow to assist with check-in and the flights were good and on time. I was impressed that although we arrived into Acapulco at 8:00 am we were taken straight to the ship and only had to wait about an hour for our cabins to be ready so full marks for that bit of organisation, which gave those of us who came in on that flight almost a whole extra day in Acapulco. The ship has everything you need for those who want enjoy days at sea and visit great places. The company prides itself on its lecture programme and this was very good, appealing to varied interests from history to geology to wildlife to anthropology. There were also port lectures of variable accuracy and usefulness, though it was good that it was made clear there were alternatives to the trips organised by the ship. There are several bars and lounges, a pool and a large sun deck. In its daily programme, there is always a warning that sun loungers should not be reserved and that items left for more than 20 minutes will be removed but in practice this didn't happen, so why bother to mention it? Most days it wasn't a huge problem but annoying on the occasions when about 25% of the loungers had been abandoned for hours. The "theatre" is a lounge, all on one level and so it is hard to see the shows and slides in the presentations if you are not near the front. I understand there is not enough headroom to install raked seating. The entertainment was nothing great: good dancing but a lot of off-key singing, though the troupe was very enthusiastic and pleasant in their other duties such as shore excursion escorts and quiz hosts. There is music in the bars at various times throughout the evening. There are two restaurants, one waiter service and one self-service, both serving the same menu. The self-service Vernada gets very busy at breakfast and lunch and it can be hard to find a seat, so I recommend the Discovery as less hectic and it has a good breakfast menu in addition to the usual buffet. Note that it is described as "open seating" but in fact you are led to the table and tables are filled in order of arrival. You can ask to be seated alone (maybe not at dinner when it is busy) or at a round/rectangular table and while the request is met, it is clearly not what they want to hear and disrupts their system; but sometimes you just want to eat in peace. The food is good but a bit samey. Shore excursions were good, with good guides on the ones I went on, if not great value for money. The advance booklet described them well, and included details of mobility levels required but these were regularly ignored by participants so there were hold-ups and waiting for some less mobile passengers. The average passenger age is well over 70 and there are a lot of zimmers and sticks in evidence, which also influences the excursions offered and restricts landing by tender. Full marks to the shore excursions team for their arrangements for the late change of port in Nicaragua. Drinks and wine are expensive - shore prices rather than the duty free you get on many cruise ships. Overall, the cruise was great value for what I paid, but would not have been for the published price or for the amounts paid by some who had booked early. The ship is reminiscent of a 3-star package tour hotel I thoroughly enjoyed my trip because of the destinations. The ship was a means to that end. Read Less

My reason for doing this trip was to see exotic out of the way places, other ships cannot get to. Because I was a late booker, I was given a bottom deck cabin, size for single person OK, but Oh! so tired and old looking, with cleanliness issues. Passengers nice & friendly. Food very nice with good service, I liked the open sittings. We missed two countries altogether, as the "ship that can go places others cannot", could not get into them. There were already 3 sea days, so this ended as 5 sea days. The two excursions in Costa Rica were a huge disappointment, saw so very little of bird life. I saw more on the dockside at Cartagena. The trips should never have been offered at the time of day we were taken out. Another trip was not as described. This trip ended up as 7 wasted days. This ship is not the one to be on, if you want a good variety of entertainment and swish accommodation, when the excursions are below par and so few of them. Could have done with more deck games and activities. Otherwise you had to have the inevitable quiz or guest speakers and Port lectures which were not always very interesting or engaging. Shall not be doing this cruise line again. I feel I wasted my money. Read Less

I would avoid this company at all costs, I chose it because I wanted to see the panama canal and I had travelled quite a lot with their sister companies travelsphere and just you and always had a wonderful holiday. However this company just provided one disappointment after another from start to finish. I spent a good 30 minutes discussing my requirements with the tour operator to begin with stressing that I did not want to leave from one airport and return to another. When I got my confirmation through that is exactly what I was doing (maybe this should have given me foresight into what was to come). I rang the company and told them I wanted to cancel and they managed to put it right. For me the whole point of picking and paying for my trips in advance of travelling is that I can sit back and enjoy my holiday - not so with this company. I paid for a 55 minute horse and carriage ride which was a miss-print and it was actually 35 minutes, we had to share with another couple and unfortunately we were traveling backwards so didn't actually get to see what the guide was talking about. On another trip one of the highlights was a skegway experience, again another miss-print there was no skegway experience. On another trip it was advertised at a catermeran that actually turned out to be a ferry, every day a piece of paper came through our door explaining one of these at a time and each day I was queuing at the shore excursion desk. One of the trips were cancelled due to an active volcano, not the companies fault I know but I would have thought they could have opened the shore excursion desk for longer as it affected so many people. My relaxing day at sea turned out to be me constantly looking at my watch waiting for 10:00 and then queuing at the desk to sort out another trip. By the time I got back to the room they had put yet another piece of paper under the door about changes to yet another trip so there I was again having to wait until 4 o'clock when the desk opened up again. My lasting memory was at the airport to come home. There were 2 queues, unbeknown to us one queue had 3 people looking after it and the other had 1. So after 45 minutes of queuing and getting nowhere people started to complain and they finally sorted it out so both queues were moving. I will say our cabin was lovely and kept clean and tidy. The food was outstanding and the crew could not do enough for you, it was just spoilt by this companies disorganisation and paperwork errors. The other disappointment was that I would say 98% of the people on this cruise were retired, with 95% being over 70. Me and my partner had both turned 50 and I think the travel company should have warned us of the age group as apparently all their cruises are the same age group. Read Less

We went on Voyager recently and had an appalling experience. The facilities in the cabin were completely misrepresented in the brochure. We learnt that head office had dreamt up lots of new facilities for the cabins, printed them in the brochure, and then had to withdraw them when they were told by the ships staff that they were impossible to impliment! Our cabin could only be accessed by going out onto the deck. We had several days of heavy seas and winds when they had to restrict access to the decks. It took my wife and I combined to force open the doors to reach our cabin. When I complained that this was unsafe I was laughed at. The service was mixed to say the least. Although staff were generally friendly, there is no senior figures leading them and setting standards. At the bar, no standard measures are used, and cocktails therefore light on spirits. Again complaints were ignored. Management on the ship was incredibly incompetent. The Daily Report issued to inform passengers of what was happening the next day was commonly full of inaccuracies. For example on the 2nd day the report said we were sailing to Trinidad, which was not on the itinery, we were in fact sailing to Panama. On return i contacted the CEO, Mr Ian Smith regarding the misrepresentation of the cabin facilities, my Health and Safety concerns, and the Weights and Measures offences. Ian Smith did not have the courtesy to ever address my complain. Avoid this ship and company at all cost. Read Less

This was our first cruise with Voyages and i really had no bench mark to use as a comparison other than several cross Atlantic trips with Cunard. The ship was a perfect size having a capacity of just over 500. This way we were treated like special guests rather than part of a mob. Lunch and dinner menus offered a great deal of variety with care taken for those with special dietary considerations. I especially liked the pork and duck offerings. Although limited, the wine and beer selections were also varied with offerings from different countries at a reasonable price. They even had my favorite, Banks beer from Barbados. Our cabin was spacious and we especially enjoyed the balcony on the port side. A bonus were the many knowledgeable guest speakers...everthing from animal migration to Elvis Presley! We had a dance lesson every night, followed by a differently choreographed cabaret performance with professional singer/dancers after the lesson. I guess the most important aspect was the way we were treated by the staff. It was outstanding! Yes, i would certain book Voyages again. It was a great experience. Read Less

Our central and south America “small ship” cruise on Voyager was a highly enjoyable experience – so too apparently for many fellow passengers who were on repeat cruises. If you want Las Vegas on the waves, Voyager is not for you – but it has all the fundamentals for a wonderful on board experience. The décor is top class, nicely contrasting from facility to facility and the ship is very clean. Dining is also top class, whether formal or semi self-service (always someone on hand in the Veranda restaurant to get you something) and drinks prices are reasonable. A variety of entertainment is put on ranging from poolside at lunchtime (the talented Rene) to slightly more sophisticated in Scott’s Lounge (The Ship’s Band were excellent and so talented) and other venues. In the main theatre the entertainment group were talented and energetic in their presentations – mainly musicals). There were also some good lectures which could also be accessed from our cabin tv. Up on deck a small pool is sufficient for a relatively elderly clientele with saunas on the corners. It did have to be closed a few days because it swilled around too much at sea. There were plenty of beds available up on the sun deck. Our cabin attended by the delightful Randy was on deck six and was a balcony type though the balcony was rather limited in width and had no roof. The cabin itself was spacious and well-appointed and the lady was happy to see a proper bath. There was also a complimentary drinks cabinet (only pay for replacements) which kept us nicely supplied for the pre-dinner drink while the lady was finalising her preparations. But it is the crew who supply to final touch - friendly, helpful and humorous. Our Golden Wedding was a classic example. First we received a specific invite to the smaller Explorer restaurant (we tended to favour the larger one) with a complimentary bottle of fizz to go with our pre ordered champagne and cake. Then as we were dining along came an ensemble of the crew with guitar accompaniment to serenade us at the table. Really made the night, and was greatly enjoyed by fellow diners. The excursions were well organised though not cheap and in most ports there were private operators for those wanting the risk of being perhaps marooned in a far off land. They took us from steamy rain forests to beautiful colonial cities. Much of the early programme featured long rides to Mayan sites – unless you are a huge Mayan enthusiast think about your choices as by the 4th day you are tiring of hearing the same information and some sites are similar in nature. However, the journeys are interesting but be ready for a lower then European standard of infrastructure in some cases – old buses in Belize on one of which I sat under a dripping air conditioning. Ironically the only breakdown was a modern Honduran coach, just two miles from the ship but we were rescued quite quickly. Some guides too seem to have been parachuted in and were of only limited knowledge on these sites. Even so in general it was a rewarding kaleidoscope of experiences ending in the beautiful city of Cartagena. Embarkation and disembarkation were good as we were priority class cabins – be sure to let them know at the Gatwick end as we stood needlessly in a long queue not realising we could have gone straight through. The travel arrangements themselves were a little unsatisfactory. There was a late rescheduling of the plane both ways, particularly inconveniencing to some passengers. The outward flight was also diverted to Cancun and we needed a hectic rush across airport, seaport and onto a ferry to complete the journey. The Hi Fly experience was quite comfortable but an incorrect “time at destination” on the seat back screen again caused problems, one couple missing the next day’s excursion because of it. Also, if your sea legs are poor, be warned, Voyager does move about a bit, the higher the deck the more so, and we were high up). We had two nights where a big swell made her wallow and another when a choppy sea made for a noisy voyage. We commissioned the special day package at £55. However, it is cabin based – I had to contact reception mid-morning to see where it was. It arrived by the afternoon, but our cabin grade included canapé’s, also champagne on arrival, so perhaps a bit of over indulgence, though the truffles were nice. The cake was a picture – but again with so much rich dessert food on board ! – however the lady enjoyed the gesture so that’s OK! We redirected the champagne and cake to our evening table helped by Randy our very good steward. However, overall, full marks to Voyager and her crew for a great holiday. Read Less

Our central and south America “small ship” cruise on Voyager was a highly enjoyable experience – so too apparently for many fellow passengers who were on repeat cruises. If you want Las Vegas on the waves, Voyager is not for you – but it has all the fundamentals for a wonderful on board experience. The décor is top class, nicely contrasting from facility to facility and the ship is very clean. Dining is also top class, whether formal or semi self-service (always someone on hand in the Veranda restaurant to get you something) and drinks prices are reasonable. A variety of entertainment is put on ranging from poolside at lunchtime (the talented Rene) to slightly more sophisticated in Scott’s Lounge (The Ship’s Band were excellent and so talented) and other venues. In the main theatre the entertainment group were talented and energetic in their presentations – mainly musicals). There were also some good lectures which could also be accessed from our cabin tv. Up on deck a small pool is sufficient for a relatively elderly clientele with saunas on the corners. It did have to be closed a few days because it swilled around too much at sea. There were plenty of beds available up on the sun deck. Our cabin attended by the delightful Randy was on deck six and was a balcony type though the balcony was rather limited in width and had no roof. The cabin itself was spacious and well-appointed and the lady was happy to see a proper bath. There was also a complimentary drinks cabinet (only pay for replacements) which kept us nicely supplied for the pre-dinner drink while the lady was finalising her preparations. But it is the crew who supply to final touch - friendly, helpful and humorous. Our Golden Wedding was a classic example. First we received a specific invite to the smaller Explorer restaurant (we tended to favour the larger one) with a complimentary bottle of fizz to go with our pre ordered champagne and cake. Then as we were dining along came an ensemble of the crew with guitar accompaniment to serenade us at the table. Really made the night, and was greatly enjoyed by fellow diners. The excursions were well organised though not cheap and in most ports there were private operators for those wanting the risk of being perhaps marooned in a far off land. They took us from steamy rain forests to beautiful colonial cities. Much of the early programme featured long rides to Mayan sites – unless you are a huge Mayan enthusiast think about your choices as by the 4th day you are tiring of hearing the same information and some sites are similar in nature. However, the journeys are interesting but be ready for a lower then European standard of infrastructure in some cases – old buses in Belize on one of which I sat under a dripping air conditioning. Ironically the only breakdown was a modern Honduran coach, just two miles from the ship but we were rescued quite quickly. Some guides too seem to have been parachuted in and were of only limited knowledge on these sites. Even so in general it was a rewarding kaleidoscope of experiences ending in the beautiful city of Cartagena. Embarkation and disembarkation were good as we were priority class cabins – be sure to let them know at the Gatwick end as we stood needlessly in a long queue not realising we could have gone straight through. The travel arrangements themselves were a little unsatisfactory. There was a late rescheduling of the plane both ways, particularly inconveniencing to some passengers. The outward flight was also diverted to Cancun and we needed a hectic rush across airport, seaport and onto a ferry to complete the journey. The Hi Fly experience was quite comfortable but an incorrect “time at destination” on the seat back screen again caused problems, one couple missing the next day’s excursion because of it. Also, if your sea legs are poor, be warned, Voyager does move about a bit, the higher the deck the more so, and we were high up). We had two nights where a big swell made her wallow and another when a choppy sea made for a noisy voyage. We commissioned the special day package at £55. However, it is cabin based – I had to contact reception mid-morning to see where it was. It arrived by the afternoon, but our cabin grade included canapé’s, also champagne on arrival, so perhaps a bit of over indulgence, though the truffles were nice. The cake was a picture – but again with so much rich dessert food on board ! – however the lady enjoyed the gesture so that’s OK! We redirected the champagne and cake to our evening table helped by Randy our very good steward. However, overall, full marks to Voyager and her crew for a great holiday. Read Less

Family who had sailed with this ship suggested this itinerary and we booked very late in a category gty- all that was available. Embarkation was smooth, and we were met at the top of the gangway by the Captain, a who welcomed us o board personally, a nice touch. The cabin was comfortable enough with usual ship amenities, although the beds were very firm. The key to the safe which was available from the front desk required a refundable deposit of 25 GBP. and the perforated key card to our cabin had the cabin number on it, which struck us as odd. However it was explained to us that if lost and then found, the cabin number made it easier to return the card to us. We were also given a swipe card for departing and returning security. Our cabin was located opposite the chief housekeepers office, so that meant on occasion the passage was really crowded with staff gathering for instruction, but it also meant that for any problem we simply stepped across the passage and asked for assistance, which was attended to instantly. First, the good stuff. The food on this ship was the best we have ever encountered at sea. Lots of variety, portions tasty but not too large. There were two soups every lunch, one creamy, one clear. Always wonderful. We always ate breakfast and lunch on the verandah outside the Verandah Buffet Restaurant, and spent much free time there as it was cool and relatively quiet. There were interesting and relevant lectures in the Darwin lounge, always well attended but you had to get there early to avoid sitting behind a pillar. Evening entertainments were also held in this Lounge, but the ceiling was too low to permit any out of the ordinary performances. The Darwin lounge seemed always too cold, and sweaters/ shawls needed. Initially we opted to fill up a table in the Discovery Dining Room in open seating at dinner, but eventually we opted for smaller family sized tables as the strain of continually meeting new people all of whom seemed to be type A personalities was too much. Dinner was available from 6:30 until 9;00 P.M., and dress was usually smart casual. There were two formal nights with several tuxedos and elegant gowns in evidence. Now the rest. The AC in the cabin was temperamental. The controls seemed to bear no relation to temperature, so there were several visits from the engineering staff before they got it right. The cabin must have been next to a generator or engine that ran continuously, so loud we could not spent any time in the cabin other than to wash, dress or sleep, which required ear plugs. The open decks were just as bad. The areas near the funnel in the stern, the promenade deck , the pool area and above the bridge areas on all decks were essentially uninhabitable because of the noise generated from desalination, air conditioning and other ship's mechanicals. The crew attempted BBQ's and entertainment in the pool area which was a flop because of the constant ambient noise. You really could not carry on a conversation with someone sitting next to you. The only place where we could find refuge from noise was outside the Verandah Restaurant under the awning, so we spent a lot of time there. The back deck had lots of space for sun loungers, but they were covered with ash from the funnel and one had to be careful to use a towel on the seat to avoid ash marks/smuts on clothes. As wonderful as the food was, the noise on decks turned us off this ship completely. We have cruised many times on other lines, but will not risk this one again, despite the excellent cuisine. Read Less

i booked this cruise with some trepidation; i had never been on a ship this small (i think capacity is less than 500 - what would it be like crossing the Atlantic?) and it was expected that most of the passengers were to be British (would they all be stiff upper-class snobs?). Turns out this was my best cruise ever. Thoroughly enjoyed the Brits, not a stiff upper lip amongst them, very friendly, very good meal conversions and accepting of an American. Because it is a small ship you get to know passengers, lecturers, officers and crew on a first name basis. At some time in the cruise you mostly will find yourself at the same table as one of the lecturers. I regularly saw the captain eating his breakfast from the same buffet as I. Never seen that on any other ship. Also had regular conversions with the food and beverage manage out on the top deck. oh, almost forgot, there was no cost to tour of the bridge was and got to question and meet the capt (entertaining) and other officers the service was beyond any other cruise. talking with the other guests it seem to be a common agreement that the food at EVERY meal was 50-100% than that of other ships we had been on; excellent, better then moms! Finally the nice thing about a ship this size is that you get to visit ports that larger ships can't, so it opens up a whole new travel experience for you. the price covers, taxes, port charges, daily room service and for the Brits the cost of to/from air fare. normally all of these are addition charges with other cruise lines. i will book another cruise on the voyager because of its small town atmosphere and ports of call. Read Less

Disliked: Two of the six life boats were old with damaged GRP hulls (the outer resin layer broken and the under-lying fibreglass matting was visible) - not very reassuring ! Old fashioned cabins, difficult to adjust air conditioning due to variance in control instructions, very small shower cubicle though water pressure was good. Most of the people on board were of the 70-90 age group. Very limited sun deck area that was devoid of inlet and a/c outlet motor noise. Lots of people went down with a nasty chesty virus on this cruise. Liked: Food, small ship size and able to make friends, ship can get nearer to the shore than massive ships, good stability in rough seas, all the ships staff were really friendly offering excellent service. Cruise designed for adults would have liked to see more of a mixed age group though! Good excursions and excellent guides especially Butrint and we had an archaeologist guide in Pompeii and Herculaneum. Read Less

We last cruised with V of D in August 2006 which was aboard Discovery. Since then we have cruised for 325 nights on a variety of ships and cruise lines and to most parts of the globe. We reckon we have a good grasp of what is on offer and what is to be expected in the cruise industry today. We were very disappointed with this cruise for the following reasons. 1. We booked a balcony cabin and found they did not even provide a table for the balcony. 2. The dining times in the Discovery restaurant were so limited, particularly at breakfast and lunchtime that if you were going on a ships tour you were forced to eat in the Veranda (self service) restaurant which was an awful experience as it was far too small for the numbers being served which meant it was not always possible to sit down and the food was constantly running out. When we asked the Hotel Director to review and improve the opening times for the Discovery restaurant he just laughed in our faces. 3. The on board activities were very poor and on days when the weather was bad and prevented us from going ashore there was virtually nothing to do except watch tv in our cabin on a 14 inch tv with limited channels. 4. The evening entertainment in the main theatre comprised solely of the 7 resident dancers/singers and 2 resident musicians. Because the theatre was not tiered you had to get there early to sit in the front so as to be able to see the performers. 5. The food was bland and uninteresting and we eat ashore whenever possible. 6. The airport routings took no account of where passengers lived and the chauffeur service because we had a suite was poorly organised. Overall the cruise did not represent value for money and we shall not be cruising with V of D again, a sentiment voiced by virtually everybody we spoke to onboard Read Less

Read Less

This cruise visited five ports in Turkey and five in Greece, a number of which were ports that are not visited by the larger cruise ships and all of which were interesting ports. Our flights, from Manchester, were arranged by the cruise company and were both on scheduled airlines - Turkish airlines to Istanbul and Aegean Airlines back to Manchester. Both were excellent with far more leg room than is provided on charter flights and a full meal service was provided with complimentary drinks. We were able to check in online prior to the flight out and were able to use the self service check in machines at Piraeus airport which had the facility to confirm our allocated seats, or to change them for any available seat on the plane using the seat plan (which we did). Unfortunately there was quite a bit of delay at Istanbul airport as we were kept waiting a long time for the transfer coach to arrive, but disembarkation and that transfer were fine. As we were not flying out until 7.30pm, we were allowed to stay on the ship until our transfer was due, so we had lunch and extra time sitting in the sun prior to departure and those who wished to leave the ship to sightsee during that time could do so and others chose to go on an excursion which delivered them to the airport on completion. The ship's public rooms were in very good condition and we especially liked Scott's lounge which had very comfortable and rather classy chairs. Individual chairs were used in most of the Darwin lounge and there was space between each chair so it did not feel cramped. There were raised areas at the side which allowed better view. The one lounge we did not like was the lookout lounge as the chairs there were particularly uncomfortable, having very straight backs with no scatter cushions. Our cabin and all others that we saw in passing, were all in good condition, but the showers were particularly small and this was compounded by the fact that the shower was controlled by a lever style tap which lifted up for the water to flow and moved from side to side to adjust the temperature. As previously mentioned this was a problem as it was difficult not to knock it when in the shower which affected the flow or temperature o the water. A simple older style tap control which turned could vastly improve that situation. Our cabin was extremely small and I will return to this under the 'cabin' heading. There was also quite a lot of noise and vibration when the ship was moving at the rear of the ship and also in our cabin (at the front) when the thrusters were used prior to docking. However we booked this cruise on a late offer price so we did not expect a well placed cabin and we feel it was quite acceptable on that basis. The speakers were very interesting and the port lecturer covered details of the port for people who were going ashore independently, rather than just concentrating on the trips. We only saw the show on one occasion, but were surprised just how good the show company were - one of the best we have seen. There were not the usual Butlin's type entertainments that pervade most cruise ships and it was really nice to be able to use the lounges for relaxation and conversation, either between ourselves or with other passengers who were very sociable, but did not intrude on privacy if someone was sitting quietly. The vast majority of passengers preferred this as the cruise line is known for this style of cruise and that is the niche it fulfils. People do need to look into the style of any cruise line and book one that fulfils what they want. This ship does not have photographers, so there was not the usual queues to get into the cocktail parties, embark the ship or leave the gangway in ports and people are not pestered during meals and around the ship to have their photos taken. Bliss from our point of view. Food was never short of excellent in variety or quality of food and was always cooked to perfection. The mealtimes are limited to specific slots rather than the 24 hour eating on the larger ships and the late night snacks are that, rather than a full on buffet, but we did not see the need for anything more, given that very substantial meals were served. There were more vegatables than are normally served in waiter service restaurants on other cruise lines and quite substantial crunchy salads which we really liked. The open dining was a great plus for us as we hate being told when we should eat and having the same people as dining companions for an entire cruise. Most of the tables were larger so it was normal to share a table with others which made the meal into a social occasion. Service could be slow at times, but we never felt that a problem because we always had good company at the table. The self service restauant could be used if a quick meal was preferred and is what we mainly used for breakfast and at lunch times. The outdoor dining area was also a plus. Room service is also available and can be used if food is wanted outside meal times. We used the room service breakfast a number of times, (on one occasion to put it to one side after delivery and have a later breakfast than could have been obtained in the restaurants). It was also a good way to obtain early morning drinks and fruit in the cabin. There were some sunbeds at the rear of deck six and there were smuts deposited on that area some times, but there was also an extensive sun deck on deck eight where there were plenty of sun beds and where there was plenty of space to set them out. As this area was forward of the funnel it was not affected by smuts. The sun beds were very clean and in good condition. Service was also excellent throughout the ship, from our cabin steward, to the restaurant and bar staff. The reception staff were particularly helpful at all times. The only staff who could have been better were the shore tours people who were not at all helpful and quite disorganised at times. For instance, they were responsible for arranging shuttle buses and at one port, Canakkale, shuttles were the only way to get to the town, but they only ran once an hour and not even to a pre determined timetable. We did not know about this until 10.00pm the night before, when we got the daily sheet for the next day. Advance notice of that would have been helpful as it would have been possible to arrange a trip as an alternative. The only trip I went on was the one to Ephesus and our guide could have been better as she did a lot of talking about history rather than letting us see the site, although this often happens on ship's trips. My husband also went to Troy on a trip and he said the guide was very good for that one. Overall, the ports were very good, weather was good most of the time and the ship was ideal from our point of view, despite the downfalls I have mentioned. We prefer the smaller ships which visit the more unusual ports which is why we cruise. Someone who wants a ship which is a destination in its own right, would not like this ship, so be better looking elsewhere. Unfortunately it is an older ship, so there is noise and vibration in some cabins, but our alternative would be to choose one of the smaller modern ships which are marketed as luxury brands and they would cost considerably more than this. We are already booked on a back to back cruise for early 2017, but by booking ahead we have been able to choose good cabin locations. Read Less

We have just returned from a cruise to Turkey and Greece aboard Voyager, owned by Voyages of Discovery. This is the second time we have cruised on this ship. We chose it again because of the interesting itinerary and we had hoped to see some improvement on the ship since our last cruise, but unfortunately this was not to be. The ship is small, which we like, but it does not have particularly good facilities. Those that it does have are not fully utilised for the benefit of the passengers. It's failings are too many to list. The company prides itself on its intellectual and educational cruises. There are lectures on topics relevant to the ports visited and classical music concerts which we enjoyed but felt that perhaps too much time was devoted to these. The other entertainment comprised of the usual singing and dancing shows which were of a reasonable standard, but there was NOTHING else. Occasional fifteen minute quizzes and a cocktail pianist are not sufficient. The company changed our chosen flights without notice, necessitating a change in our plans. The return flight on Aegean Airways was chaotic. The food also disappointed. The menus appeared fancy, but in fact the food turned out to be very ordinary and was cooked to a 'canteen' rather than a 'restaurant' standard. I also heard many comments that the portions were so small they were barely tasters. The cabins and public rooms are somewhat tired, but clean. However this could not be said of the deck areas which we often dusted with soot. This included the sun beds so many passengers ended up with soiled clothing. All in all I doubt we will be cruising on Voyager again. Read Less

We are used to cruising on much bigger ships and therefor it was with some trepidation, after reading some adverse comments on various web sites, that we made the booking. This decision was made because of the ports the ship was due to visit. The cruise started badly as there was a problem with baggage handling at Heathrow which meant that our luggage failed to arrive for 24 hours. Great efforts were made by the cruise company to re-unite all the passengers with their bags. The cabins on deck 3 were adequate although I can't understand why there are no tea and coffee making facilities in the cabins. This meant that I had to go to deck 7 every morning to get tea for my wife. The restaurants of which there are 2 were first class, and the food exceptional. The lounges were very comfortable. The service from the cabin stewards, the bar staff, the restaurant staff and especially the reception staff was excellent. They were all very friendly and very good at their jobs and because of them the cruise was a great success. I thought the excursions to be very expensive so we did our own thing all the time, and once again the reception staff were very helpful and knowledgeable and provided all the maps etc that one needed. The embarkation and disembarkation process was efficient and stress free. The entertainment was just about ok, for me I would like to have had a bit more of it but I suppose it is not fair to compare it with the much bigger ships. I am 68 and my wife 71 but I did feel quite a bit younger than those around me, I think the average age could have been late 70's. However we had a great time, visited some lovely places, ate too much, and were looked after by a lovely crew. Special mention should be made of the Captain who was very approachable, very friendly and did all he could to make the cruise a success. Read Less