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Day one Saturday, 10/25/03: I rented a minivan from Dollar and drove to Miami from the Orlando area. The trip to Miami took about 4 hours or so. Wow what a drive. Had to make a stop in Ft. Lauderdale to pick up my friend Sandra, who was my cruise mate. What a great person. Found Sandra off of the cruise critic message board when I needed to find a cruise mate to go with me! We arrived at the Embassy Suites around 4:30pm. Check in was a breeze. The hotel is awesome. They have free happy hour from 5:30-7:30pm. What a great way to start off a vacation - free drinks! Returned the van to Dollar before any of us got "too happy". That night we went to Paesano's for dinner in South Beach. The restaurant sends a stretch limo to the hotel to pick you up and bring you back. This is a very nice Italian restaurant. The food was great, kind of pricey, but we were on vacation - so what the heck! Returned back to the hotel around 11pm and headed back to the room to relax and start getting ready to go to bed. 
Day two Sunday, 10/26/03: My birthday! We got up around 8:00am to meet for breakfast downstairs. The hotel also provides free breakfast for their guests. Nice start to the morning. It is a buffet full breakfast, not continental style. Went then went back to the room to gather our belongings and call a bellman to bring our bags downstairs. We were having a limo service pick us up at 10:30am to take us to the Voyager of the Seas. It was a bit challenging for our driver to fit all 8 of us and our luggage into the limo!! But we made it work! Riding in "style", we were off to the pier. As we drove closer to the pier, it was hard to miss the mega ship in the distance. WOW, she is huge. The excitement grew more and more as we rode closer. The driver pulled up to the pier where we were supposed to unload our luggage. We grabbed a porter and he took care of everything. We tipped graciously and off we went to start the boarding process. RCCL's terminal was not too busy. We were there around 11am. Went to our designated check in line and made it through in no time at all. Once we gave the gal our information and credit card, we were handed our sea pass and was directed to stand in line to board the ship. This is where we had to wait about 20 or so minutes to board. The line was long because you had to stop and take the infamous embarkation photo, which I actually bought - turned out great - and have your picture encoded into your sea pass card. This card is used for everything from leaving the ship, boarding the ship and all purchases on board. 
Finally we were on board around 12pm. Went to find our cabin - 7606, balcony, mid ship. My first balcony, WOW what can I say? I am spoiled now and would never want anything else again. RCCL's cabins are a bit smaller than my previous sailings, but it was very comfortable for 2 ppl. There was plenty of storage and closet space and the luggage fit comfortably under the beds. There are shelves in the bathroom for all your personal items. There are even 2 shelves in the shower for shampoo, etc.!! 
We didn't go for lunch in the Windjammer. We were too excited to start exploring the ship. Walked around for a while. Got a drink from the bar and met up with our cruise critic friends at 3pm in the sports bar. It was a great time for all. Nice to have finally met all of them in person after chatting on line for several months. Received several birthday drinks from several of them, very sweet of them. Talked for a while with everyone. Let those of our group who were signed up for excursions and dinner know where to meet. Then off to the notorious muster drill. It wasn't too bad, we got lucky and weren't in the direct sun light. We were all herded together like cattle to listen to the drill. It lasted about 15-20 minutes and then we were let loose. After the drill I grabbed my camera and off to the sail away party and to see more of the ship we went. We got some drinks and watched the Voyager pull away from Miami. 
Went back to the room to see if our luggage had arrived and to our surprise it had. Sandra unpacked all her stuff and I did my garment bag and did the rest of my unpacking later on. We relaxed on the balcony for a while and started to get ready for dinner. We had early seating. This was my first experience with early seating. I don't think I will do that again. I felt way to rushed to make it to dinner by 6:00pm. We had table 547 on deck 5. Our waiter was Rakesh and assistant waiter was Edward "Coffee". (You would hear the "call" of "Coffee" at every turn during the rest of the cruise!!!) Awesome, awesome, awesome staff. The best service you could ask for. Rakesh remembered our names after the first night - and that was amazing. We even saw Rakesh and Coffee in the mornings for breakfast and they remembered our names!....not just when we came to dinner!!! I think Coffee has an awesome voice, wasted talent if you ask me, he should be a singer. Sandra and I had the table all to ourselves this night. 
After dinner we went to the welcome aboard show. Went to the casino for a bit to check it out. We were supposed to meet up with some friends at the Vault at 11pm. I was exhausted so I went to see a show and then I headed to bed early that night. Guess all the excitement got to me. I was asleep before 11:00pm I think. But that was not the case for the rest of the cruise! 
Day three Monday, 10/27/03: This was our first sea day. Slept in a bit and called room service for breakfast. You can get full breakfast delivered to your cabin. I had eggs benedict. Yummy. Today you were able to go get ice show tickets. We picked the Tuesday night show at 10:30. Grabbed the video camera and off to video the ship we went. Ran into Bobby and Ron by the Solarium pool. Had a drink with them and chatted for a while. Found out Bobby and Ron were going to switch to early seating and join us for dinner! This was great. Bobby and Ron are going to be friends for life. Won't cruise without them again.... J Went back to relax. We had 4:00pm hair appointments at the salon to get our hair done for formal night. Then headed back to the cabin to get ready for dinner. As usual dinner was great company and good food. Mike and Rick joined us at our table tonight for the rest of the cruise. We had a great table of 6. This was our first formal night. Everyone looked awesome. We took some of our own pictures outside the dining room. The lines for formal pictures were too long on the first formal night.... Ate too much for dinner this night. Had to go change out of my formal dress after dinner. Headed to the theater for the first production show, Dreamscape. It was awesome. Went to the Vault to check it out and do a little drinking and dancing. We originally went for the 2 for 1 jello shots, but they didn't have them. Hung out for a while, listened to some music, then headed to the casino - again. 
Day four Tuesday, 10/28/03: Today is Labadee. Got up early and met our friends in the Island Grill for breakfast. Was serenaded by Coffee this morning. What a voice. He always makes you smile. And lets not forget "Juicie"! After breakfast we went down to get a tender to go ashore. Tender service was quick and painless. Great photo op from the tender of the Voyager. Short ride to shore. We went to Hide Away Beach with Bobby, Ron, Rick and Mike, which is to the left, a few minutes walk passed the volleyball courts. The beach is not crowded. Were able to get 6 chairs by a hammock. Just tip the guys about a $1.00 per chair. We rented floats for the day for $10. Great to just relax in the water. Another great photo op of the ship. We could see the ship perfectly. The lunch they provided was good. They had hamburgers, hot dogs, chicken and salads. Iced tea and punch for beverages. The burgers were good. Early afternoon we packed up and headed back to the ship to relax and take a nap. The naps became a daily ritual, couldn't go without a nap. Got up from our nap and got ready for dinner. Today was Portofino. Nine of us went to Portofino at 7:30pm. Great dinner. I had the lobster, NOTE, the lobster they serve in the dining room on Friday was much better. But it was still good. Word of warning, they don't tell you the Evian is extra, found that out when we got the bill. Oh well, you live and learn. The $20 pp charge was worth the food and experience. 
After dinner we headed to the ice show. This is not to be missed. WOW... how they do those tricks on a small area of ice was amazing. Had this one couple that changed outfits like 30 times within seconds. Couldn't figure out how they did that. Very awesome show. Went to the casino and gambled a little and hung with our new friends. Martians (martinis) seemed to be the drink of choice for most in our group. I stuck with the foo foo drinks. Stayed up till 2:00am then headed to bed and crashed. 
Day five Wednesday, 10/29/03: Today is Ocho Rios. We got up bright and early today. Met our friends for breakfast in the Island Grill. Today we did the Falls with Ionie McBeam. Her tour was perfect. The cost was only $30pp (adult), less for kids. She picked us up at the pier at 8:15am, we checked in at 8:00am. Ten us us from cruise critic got together and did this tour together. We loaded into her van and she drove us straight to Dunns River Falls. What a beautiful site. I am glad we got there that early. We paid the entrance fee and got our ticket. Walked down the hill to the check in area and got a locker for our stuff. Make sure you bring water shoes. Sneakers are way too slippery. The water shoes grab the rocks really well. The climb was a bit hard, but it was well worth it. Would do it again. My thighs screamed for a day or so after. It was a blast. It took about an hour to climb the falls. The guides were great. They helped anyone who was having a challenge. Thanks to Bobby and Ron, Sandra and I made it up without breaking a bone. J 
I am glad we got there when we did. When we finished climbing and got back to the locker the place was packed. We had started before the huge crowd got there. Make sure when you do this tour that you get there bright and early. It looked like hundreds of people waiting by then to climb. We walked to the right to head through the market, not recommended, but we were curious. They weren't too aggressive, but we were one of the first people to walk through. There is also an area where they sell pictures of you climbing the falls. We bought them for $7 each. Great pictures. 
Walked back to the entrance to meet Ionie at 12:00pm. She took us through Fern Gully to see the sites. We stopped to take a picture of a guy dressed in a flower costume, can't remember his name, then went through an area where the richer people live. After that we had her drop us off at Island Village, this is a shopping area near the pier, which houses Margaritaville. We got there around 1:00pm. Had a drink and lunch at Margaritaville with our group and then went to go shopping. Bought some Blue Mountain Coffee, some pottery plates for my home. By this time we were so tired we headed back to the ship. Not a far walk. Passed through some more shops at that pier so I bought some souvenirs. 
Went back to the cabin for a nap. Those naps are becoming our saviors. We got up at 4:30pm to start getting ready for dinner. After dinner we went to see a the Love and Marriage show. Two of our friends, Beth and Dan, participated in the show. It was very cool to see them answer the questions. We had a great time. Then off to the casino for drinks and gambling. 
Day six Thursday, 11/30/03: Today was Grand Cayman. We met our group in the library at 7:15am. We had an early private tour for stingray city with Nativeway Water Sports. I highly recommend them. We had a group of 26 people. Nativeway was awesome. They picked us up at the dock at 8:00am. We boarded a bus and headed for the Yatch Club. We had the boat all to ourselves. The first stop was for snorkeling. This was my first time snorkeling, I was very apprehensive. It took a few minutes to get used to breathing through the snorkel and to get acclimated. Once the apprehension was gone, it was awesome. I saw some black and yellow striped fish. We watched the tour guide feed the moray eel. Swam around for a while and looked at the coral and fish. Got back on the boat and headed for stingray city. All I can say is AWESOME. This was one of the best excursions I have ever been on. You are in about 3-4 feet of water. White sand, crystal clear water, with tons of stingrays swimming around. The tour guides would get the stingrays and hold them so we could feed, pet and hold them. Great photo opportunities here. The stingrays feel like wet portobello mushrooms. They are so cool. I am glad we decided to do the private tour with just the 26 of us. The other groups around us looked like they had 50-100 people. Way too many. After we were through with the stingrays we headed to another spot to snorkel. I was so worn out by then that I didn't get off the boat this time. Everyone said this spot was better than the first snorkel stop. A lot more colorful fish and coral. We headed back to shore and were docked by 12:00 noon. Boarded the bus back to the pier. We headed to Hard Rock Cafe for lunch. We celebrated Bobby's birthday with ice cream and sang happy birthday to him. Off to shop. Went to all the shops we could find. Bought souvenirs, a shirt from Del Sol and rum cake from Tortuga Rum Factory. By this time it was around 3:00pm and decided to head back to the ship. Good thing we did, it started to rain. The tender ride was a bit rocky back to the ship. We got wet and it was cold. 
Once back on the ship we all headed back for the daily nap. Got up and got ready for dinner. This was our second formal night. Everyone looked great as usual. We got formal pictures done after dinner this time with Bobby and Ron. The lines weren't too bad afterwards. Rakesh and Coffee were amazing as usual. Got a birthday cake for Bobby at dinner and sang him happy birthday. 
After dinner we headed to the Rhythm & Rhyme Production show. Was ok. Liked the first production show better. Then off to the casino. Went to bed around 2:00am again. 
Day seven Friday, 11/31/03: Happy Halloween. Today is Cozumel. We met our cruise critic friends for breakfast around 9:30am. Got off the ship around 10:00am. We split up today. Sandra was booked to do parasailing today. So we ventured around the shops at the pier. I got 2 mexican blankets for $5.00 each. We saw some other cruise critic friends (Dawn and her family) and chatted with them for a bit. Dawn's husband took us to a stand for a map and off we went to find the hotel where we were supposed to meet the tour guide for Sandra's parasailing. They were supposed to meet us there by 11am local time, but they never showed up. I am glad they had to have the confirmation number to get paid, so Sandra would be able to get her money back. We grabbed a taxi and headed downtown to do some shopping before meeting for lunch. Went to Diamonds International to browse around. At this store they had a lot of nice things. I was able to pick up a leather purse for my mother for $60.00. A steal since in the states it would have been $80-100. Went to Cincos Sole to browse, which is near Pancho's Backyard. We were meeting our friends there for lunch at 1:00pm. They had the best margaritas. They are huge (fish bowl size) and hit you like a ton of bricks. Boy was I feeling it by the end of lunch. I had soup and quesadillas. Very good food and the water here is safe. They purify their own water and are recommended by the ship. A must stop place for lunch. 
After lunch we all headed down the main drag in Cozumel to shop. Stopped in a lot of stores. Bought some pottery, a duffle bag, lace tablecloth and earrings along the way. Boy my feet hurt by the time we got back to the ship in the afternoon. Time for a nap. 
Got ready for dinner and put our costumes on. I was a medieval lady, Sandra was a 20's flapper gal, Bobby and Ron were hippies, Rick was the grim reaper and Mike was a gargoyle (outstanding). Mike won the costume contest and well deserved. Saw some really cool costumes throughout the ship. 
Went to see The Quest show at 10:30, highly recommended. Do not miss this show, it was hilarious. Then off to the casino for gambling and drinks. Went to bed around 2:00am again. 
Day eight Saturday, 11/1/03: Last day at sea. Today it was evident that our cruise was almost over. We slept in for a little. Got room service for breakfast. Went to the solarium pool for a while. Then went to Johnny Rockets for a milkshake (yummy). Watched Rick, Mike, and Ron do the rock climbing wall. Watched Ron and Bobby do the inline skating. Tried to fit in all the stuff we had missed. Played video games for a while. Air hockey was fun. Packed all our stuff up and put it outside the door after dinner. Sad night at dinner. Realizing this was our last dinner was a little sad. Said our good byes to Rakesh and Coffee. I did the automatic tipping. You have to fill out a form at guest relations to have the tips added to your sea pass account. I also gave them some extra cash because I thought they went above and beyond. Saw the Farewell Show tonight. It was ok. Nothing to speak of. Went to the casino to gamble one last time and hung out with our friends one last night drinking. Went to bed around 1:30am. 
Day nine Sunday, 11/2/03: Back in Miami. The ship arrived around 6:30am. Was going to meet up with some people at 7:00am for breakfast but that fell through. Met up with Mike, Rick, Bobby and Ron later on to sit together and wait to leave the ship. We had lavender and were the 2nd to last color called. We finally got off the ship to wait in line for Immigration. Then another area to wait for our luggage. Then wait again for a porter. Then wait again for Customs. The porter was great, knew where to go and get through quicker. Brought our bags to the dollar shuttle and off we went to get the van. Rented another van to take me back to Orlando. Dropped Bobby and Ron off at their hotel in South Beach. Then took Sandra to the airport in Ft Lauderdale. Started my journey home by 1:00pm and was home by 4:15pm. Time to get back to reality. UGH 
All in all the trip was awesome. This was the best vacation I had ever taken. A good part of it was due to Rick, Mike, Bobby, Ron and Sandra. We are now planning a trip for next year on the AOS for 11/14/04. Booked our cabins already. And CAN'T WAIT. 
I made some life long friends from cruise critic... 


Voyager of the Seas - Western Caribbean

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