Nightmare turns pleasant: Voyager of the Seas Cruise Review by Labeelady
Voyager of the Seas
5
Embarkation day started out awful! For one thing, they were using the Julia St terminal, and an outdoor parking lot that had no signs indicating where to turn to park.
Traffic in the area of the terminal was horrendous, and it took an extraordinarily long time to go "around the block". This was due to a huge jewelry show at the convention center, which is adjacent to the ship terminal. Hubby and I arrived around 10:30 and it was bumper to bumper traffic on Convention Blvd all the way to the terminal. No one knew where to park because the parking garage was closed (it was later found to belong to Carnival and they didn't want any other ship line to use it). What they did provide was an outdoor parking lot that had no signs to indicate that was the RCI parking lot. Finally after getting proper instructions, we parked the car ($112 for the week) and made our way to the terminal with luggage.
Wait time at the terminal was awful, as these were new employees and didn't More quite know how to handle 3,000 passengers on their first cruise out of New Orleans. The ship had been late in getting all the passengers off and all 3,000 of us on board, so it was well after lunch before we stepped onto the ship. No time for lunch, as we had to attend muster (safety drill) as soon as we got our luggage settled in our cabin. I did manage to get a cup of coffee at the coffee station on Promenade Deck and was allowed to bring it on deck with me for the drill.
We went to dinner right after the safety drill, as we had early seating. We soon learned who our waiter and assistant waiter were, and also met the head waiter. It's important to remember these people because you need to give them something at the end of the cruise.
The next day, Sunday, was a Sea Day, and our group had its first session Sunday morning. On Monday we were in Cozumel, Tuesday was Grand Cayman, and Wednesday was Falmouth, Jamaica (see port reviews).
Activities on the ship are varied, and depending on what you liked to do on board, you had plenty of things to choose from. Rock wall climbing, karaoke, trivia contests, a belly flop contest in the pool area, dancing lessons, live entertainment, and of course the casino. They had more slot machines than anything else.
The ship's decor was wonderful! I enjoyed this over the decor of the Carnival ship. It seemed more elegant. Lots of chrome fixtures, colorful lights, very modern feel to it.
The Windjammer buffet, as well as the Island Grille had a variety of foods to choose from, so if you left there hungry, it was your own fault!
Disembarkation was a bit unclear at first, but this is because we were first time RCI cruisers. The next cruise (and I hope there will be another) will be easier for us since we'll know how the system works. Less
Published 11/21/11
Labeelady
Overall Member Rating
Nightmare turns pleasant
Sail Date:
November 2011
Destination: Western Caribbean
Embarkation: New Orleans
Destination: Western Caribbean
Embarkation: New Orleans
Traffic in the area of the terminal was horrendous, and it took an extraordinarily long time to go "around the block". This was due to a huge jewelry show at the convention center, which is adjacent to the ship terminal. Hubby and I arrived around 10:30 and it was bumper to bumper traffic on Convention Blvd all the way to the terminal. No one knew where to park because the parking garage was closed (it was later found to belong to Carnival and they didn't want any other ship line to use it). What they did provide was an outdoor parking lot that had no signs to indicate that was the RCI parking lot. Finally after getting proper instructions, we parked the car ($112 for the week) and made our way to the terminal with luggage.
Wait time at the terminal was awful, as these were new employees and didn't More quite know how to handle 3,000 passengers on their first cruise out of New Orleans. The ship had been late in getting all the passengers off and all 3,000 of us on board, so it was well after lunch before we stepped onto the ship. No time for lunch, as we had to attend muster (safety drill) as soon as we got our luggage settled in our cabin. I did manage to get a cup of coffee at the coffee station on Promenade Deck and was allowed to bring it on deck with me for the drill.
We went to dinner right after the safety drill, as we had early seating. We soon learned who our waiter and assistant waiter were, and also met the head waiter. It's important to remember these people because you need to give them something at the end of the cruise.
The next day, Sunday, was a Sea Day, and our group had its first session Sunday morning. On Monday we were in Cozumel, Tuesday was Grand Cayman, and Wednesday was Falmouth, Jamaica (see port reviews).
Activities on the ship are varied, and depending on what you liked to do on board, you had plenty of things to choose from. Rock wall climbing, karaoke, trivia contests, a belly flop contest in the pool area, dancing lessons, live entertainment, and of course the casino. They had more slot machines than anything else.
The ship's decor was wonderful! I enjoyed this over the decor of the Carnival ship. It seemed more elegant. Lots of chrome fixtures, colorful lights, very modern feel to it.
The Windjammer buffet, as well as the Island Grille had a variety of foods to choose from, so if you left there hungry, it was your own fault!
Disembarkation was a bit unclear at first, but this is because we were first time RCI cruisers. The next cruise (and I hope there will be another) will be easier for us since we'll know how the system works. Less
Published 11/21/11
Port and Shore Excursions
Nice market area near the port, and if you're not into excursions, but want souvenirs, you'll find everything you need in the market. They have several stores selling Mexican vanilla, which is what I wanted to find.
At this port, they were pushing lots of jewelry. I don't usually wear it, so I had to wave a lot of shop owners away.
Read 5492 Cozumel Reviews
This is a new port in Jamaica. We got off but had to wait until another ship (Jewel of the Seas) had docked at the other slip. Several stores in the market area near the port were completed and open for business, but there were other buildings still under construction. I got what I went for, which was some Jamaican coffee, also bought tea and ground cinnamon.
Popular item at this port was rum, however there is a limit on how much you can bring into the US without paying duty, also ship personnel confiscates any liquor brought on board and returns it to you before disembarkation.
Read 1034 Falmouth Reviews
This stop had no dock, and passengers have to be "tendered" to shore. Therefore, I did not leave the ship while anchored here.
Read 2717 Grand Cayman Reviews
Labeelady
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