Well, I think it is time to stop procrastinating and get a review written on our fabulous cruise. My DW Marie and I spent a week (May 2-9) on the Voyager of the Seas experiencing the trip of a lifetime. OK, where do I start? I guess at the beginning. Flying over - We decided to fly to Barcelona several days before the cruise to have the opportunity to explore this beautiful city. Flying from Seattle to Barcelona via JFK was mostly uneventful. We were delayed a few hours at JFK due to high winds and a runway shutdown. For the past year I have been chatting with three couples on Cruise Critic and we set up private tours for all the ports. Well in JFK Marie and I met up with one of the three couples, Brett and Bill, two great guys from Florida and someone I feel will be friends for life. Barcelona day one - Once we landed we grabbed our bags and head off to Hotel Continental where we will be staying the next two days. I was told that the hotel was a quirky little place and that it was. If you stay here you better like pink ?. It is on the La Ramblas just south of Placa de Catalunya so it's all about location. We also stayed here one night after the cruise which we did not enjoy as much as we were a floor closer to the street and there was considerable noise late into the night (fireworks/music/crowd noise). But our pre-cruise stay was great, we had a balcony room and could sit and watch the fun of the street entertainers on the La Ramblas. To get adjusted to the time zone we decided to just get out and see some of the city right away since it was still mid day. It was a beautiful day (about 70 degrees) so we used the hop on/hop off for the rest of the day to see some sights. We picked up the blue line bus at Placa de Catalunya (which we explore all of before getting on the bus). This route allows you to see some of Antoni Gaudí's most famous architecture: Sagrada Familia, Park Guell. Other sites along the way are Tibidabo (we didn't go up) and the Barcelona Football Club. Wish we could have done more but fatigue was setting in. We wanted paella for dinner so we asked at the hotel desk and the young lady directed us to a small restaurant about 8 blocks north. Sorry to say we do not remember the name of the place though we did eat there both before and after the cruise. The seafood paella was fantastic with langoustine shrimp, mussels, and squid. Delicious, with a pitcher of sangria to wash it down. Now that is Spain! Barcelona day two - It was Saturday May 1st which was Labor Day and a national holiday. So that limited what we could see today. Picasso museum was closed, so was the market La Boqueria and many stores. But once again the weather was pleasant so we headed out on foot. We headed to the Barcelona cathedral which was something Marie wanted to see. There was a huge labor demonstration going on in front of the cathedral that we watch for a short while before exploring all around and inside the cathedral. It is another building with renovations in progress on the outside. Such a beautiful old church. We moved on to explore some of the gothic quarter then much of La Ramblas. It was there that we had a minor incident. I failed to lock Marie's backpack so when I was taking pictures of a street entertainer she felt a slight tug on the pack and that was it. A pickpocket got a debit card and about 100 euros. I had the bank on the cell phone speed dial and shut the card off but there went some spending money. Sad thing was I was warned La Ramblas is one of the worst places for thieves, sigh. The definitely did not let that ruin our day as we continued to walk around and explore. That evening we were going to meet at a tapas bar with the rest of the couples who we would be touring the ports with. It was great to meet everyone before we embarked on 8 hours a day tours in close quarters. The six of them had done a cruise together in 2009 so Marie and I were the new kids. I was a little apprehensive as chatting online is one thing, but meeting in person may not work as well but I had nothing to be concerned about. What a great group of people, by the end of the evening I felt we had been friends forever. The food at the tapas bar was great, such a variety. It was Marie's birthday and I managed to smuggle a card and present (small blown glass rose) into her backpack for a nice surprise later in the evening. We sat outside and there was some light rain, but the table umbrellas worked well to keep the evening festive. Off to Voyager day three/four - The next morning we slept in after a late night and then I took Marie over to the cathedral one last time since it was Sunday. Then it was off to embark on the Voyager of the Seas. During the summer in Seattle I can see the cruise ships from my office window and the size is impressive. But not nearly as much as when standing next to one. I was in the Navy and the aircraft carrier I was on was not as big as this ship. Amazing. After dropping our bags and clearing security was got in the suite check in line. We were in the suite line thanks to the great advice of the people here on CC who told us to check every day for price drops. We had paid for a D1 balcony but about a month after final payment the price of the junior suites began to drop so we switched. Well the price on the JS dropped two more times. So for our payment of a D1 we ended up with a JS and $850 OBC. Nice way to start a trip, thanks everyone for that tip. Once we had sea passes in hand we got the embarking photo out of the way and headed onboard. It was already late enough that we could go check out our stateroom. Seeing the happy birthday sign on the door told me the decorations I ordered were there. Marie loved them! We then headed to the dining room to see where our table was. The dining room is three decks high and we were on the middle deck towards the middle of the room. Great location to see out the window and to be able to see the sights of the dining room. We headed up to Windjammer to get something to eat. My apologies to those advocates of the honey stung chicken, but it stunk. It was dry and flavorless. For the next week, except for the underway day, we ate breakfast in windjammer as we were off on tours as soon as the ship moored. For breakfast I would put it a little above Denny's for food quality but I would not have expecting anything more for a buffet anyway. The food was always well stocked and the table service from the waiting staff was great. Many would ask about our plans for the day and at least seemed genuinely interested.

We had the 6:30 seating in main dining so we were eating at sail away. We had a table for four couples but unfortunately two of the couple rather showed up. Other than one night in Portofinos we ate all our dinners at main dining with the one couple that did show up, Mavis and Sandy from Northern Ireland. Those two made up for the lack of diners at our table as they were very friendly and a delight to spend dinner with. We even exchanged addresses in hopes of communicating again in the future (at least Christmas cards).

The quality of the meals were on average very good. Cooking for that many people can be a challenge so I did not have high expectations. Quality of the food actually varied dish to dish. Some were exceptional some were not. What made the difference was the wait staff. Sorry I am always bad with names and I forgot to write down the names of the two young men who waited on us, but they made dining a joy. The way they attend to our needs, whether it was swapping out dishes we didn't like, my glass of ice tea each night after we sat, or just conversing about what we did that day, they did a fantastic job of making dining relaxing and enjoyable. Later that evening we went to the welcome show in the La Scala theater and after that watched the parade on the promenade. Fun things to do to get us into the atmosphere of shipboard life. Read more