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Royal Caribbean International

MV Voyager of the Seas

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Reviewed by: Richard Dusterhoft
# previous cruises: 6
Date of Trip: March 3, 2007
Itinerary: Caribbean - Eastern

Very good cruise. I traveled with my wife and sons (age 7 and 5). Everyone had a great time. The boys spent each evening at the kids club program while we ate dinner (we brought them to dinner once but they fell asleep).

Very nice generally. I like the basic concept of the enclosed "main street" around which are located bars, shops, etc. and its very impressive from the glass elevators, but practically speaking, we have malls at home, so I didn't enjoy going there. Likewise the ice skating rink, while unique, isn't all that practical. I went on vacation to get away from any frozen water except in my drinks. The roller-blade area on deck is a joke; way too small. The put-put golf course is also a waste; the wind up there makes any shot complete luck. The midships pool area is huge and very nice, but crowded.

In the main dining room the food was good. Not great, but good. Service was great. The dining room was very beautiful. Two things that cheapened the experience and really bugged me: Individually wrapped butter pats and no-refrigeration necessary single serving containers of cream for the coffee. How much could a dish of butter or a real creamer of real cream actually cost? The buffet area was a complete mob scene. There is only one way in or out, so it was chaos. There was no orderly flow to anything. The buffet was a miserable experience and smelled bad much of the time. The food was barely acceptable.

We shared a standard veranda cabin. We were a long way from the elevators but on the top cabin deck so just one flight from all the action. The boys shared the pull-out sofa. The veranda itself was puny.

As I said above, the boys spent evenings at the kids club. They liked it but wouldn't have wanted to spend any more time there. Because of the kids, we didn't attend much for evening entertainment. The band by the pool was very good and the cruise staff did a nice job with pool and deck games without getting carried away.

We sailed from Miami to Nassau, St. Thomas, San Juan, and Royal Caribbeans private resort, Labadee. The stop in Nassau was morning until 2:00pm - too short. We enjoyed the beach there. On St. Thomas we went to Magens Bay, always beautiful. In San Juan we toured the forts, which the boys enjoyed. This was our second time at Labadee and it is the best private island of any we've been to, by far. Plenty of beaches with a variety of surf conditions, plenty to do, and plenty of time to do it.

Regarding the itinerary, one thing really bugged me: We sailed from St. Thomas promptly at 4:30, sailed out, then stopped for hours. See, its not really very far from St. Thomas to San Juan, so we weren't in any hurry, but the cruise line doesn't want you on St. Thomas at night or you might spend some of your money that they want at an island bar or restaurant. So they heard you back aboard, sail out, then sit and wait for you to open your wallet. Infuriating.

The crowd was quite a mix, with plenty of kids and their parents, some older adults, and grand parents. On the final morning, I got up at 4:00 to see our arrival back in Miami. The hot tubs were still full, the music playing, and the pool bar still open. They partied until the ship was tied up, then the party was over. But it wasn't a drunk fest.