Overall good experience but could have been made better with a few changes

Item: Voyager of the Seas
Rating: 3.8
Author: leightonflowers

Voyager of the Seas Cruise Review to Canada, New England, New York

leightonflowers

Contributor Level: Purser

Cruises: 2-3 cruises

Review: 1

Helpful Votes: 28

Overall rating:

3.8 out of 5

Verified Review

7 Night Canada & New England (Boston Roundtrip)

Sail date: October 02, 2022

Ship: Voyager of the Seas

Cabin number: 1690

Traveled as: Couple

Reviewed: 2 years ago

Review summary

Overall, very good cruise with great food and service. They nickle and dime you, like every cruise line, but if you go in expecting it then it may help.

Embarkation

4 out of 5

The line looked SO long when we arrived but on the positive side it moved relatively fast. Don't bring any bottled water. They want to make you pay for it at their exaggerated prices. They say it's "for safety" but we all know that's bologna, it's always about money.

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

5 out of 5

We we especially impressed with the food on this cruise. The buffet was just ok, about what you'd expect from a large buffet, but the dining experience on the 3rd floor main dining room was always very good. I'm not sure why anyone would choose the Windjammer buffet when the dining room offers such good food and a great waiting staff to pamper you. They did this very well. I was impressed. The food was full of great flavor and I'm a guy who travels and eat at a lot of restaurants. They always had plenty of food and more if you wanted it. Kudios!

Onboard Activities

2 out of 5

It was a bit cool for outdoor stuff so I shouldn't be too hard on Royal Caribbean for this, but there is so much more they could do. For instance, they only offered poker during the prime eating hours through the week and so no one showed up and on the one day (the last day) they offer a poker tournament in the afternoon when guys can actually break away to play, they only offered one small table that filled up before I got there even though I came early. I was upset because it was the only on board game I was interested in and I never really had the chance to play it. When I made the suggestion, I was blown off by the lady running the event as if nothing could be done. How hard would it have been to open up one of the dozen other empty tables and use one of the other dealers who were doing nothing during that time? It was an easy fix but she wasn't interested in helping make it happen for all the guys who couldn't play. That was disappointing.

Entertainment

4 out of 5

The Hit Guy at the piano bar was always fun! He is an entertainer who knows how to get a crowd involved. And the comedian was funny too!

Service and Staff

4 out of 5

Except for the one instance in the casino I mentioned above, the service was impeccable. I honestly don't know how they do it all! Shout out to Praveen, Artur and Burton! They were amazing waiters who made our time so much better.

Ship Quality

5 out of 5

There was always someone cleaning almost everywhere. Impressive!

Cabin / Stateroom

4 out of 5

The aft facing rooms are great because of the larger balconies and great views. The only reason I didn't give this 5 stars is because there was a foul smell off the back of the boat on a few rare occasions that made being outside unpleasant. Not sure the cause but it did seem limited to the aft of the ship. This bothered my wife more than me, but then again, bad smells always do. :)

Ship tip

The one thing cruise lines do that really upset me is NICKLE AND DIME you the entire trip. If you go in expecting it maybe it won't be so disappointing, but for budget conscious travelers this is really an unnecessary stressor that the cruise line could eliminate by making truly all inclusive options (wifi, waters, drinks) and NO COFFEE MAKERS IN THE STATEROOMS? WHY??? The first cruise line who starts offering all this at one competitive cost upfront will earn my business forever and I think many others would agree.

Thumbs up