Best For People Who Want:
A bigger-than-life cruise experience with nearly unlimited activities;
the feeling of being in a city-at-sea; family members of many ages to
have a grand time; non-stop nightlife
Should Be Avoided By People Who Prefer:
A small ship with lots of quiet; large inside/outside standard cabins;
single, open seating or intimate dining; a close-to-the-sea cruise.
Article continues below
Onboard Experience:
When Voyager of the Seas, first of the Voyager class of ships (Voyager, Explorer, Adventure and Navigator), entered service in 1999 as the largest cruise
ship in the world, many observers predicted that such of her features
as an ice skating rink, rock-climbing wall, in-line skating track,
horizontal atrium, and inside cabins with promenade view would change
the face of cruising forever. One thing is for sure: the
3,114-passenger ship appeals to people of all ages -- from kids to
seniors -- and with nearly every taste. This is a real people-watching
ship; even those who can't do all of what the Voyager offers seem to
enjoy watching those who can. The 40-foot-high rock-climbing walls are
busy all day. There are ice-skating rinks for recreational skating, as
well as for Ice Capades-type shows, and rollerblading. There's a
three-story dining room, one of among the biggest casinos at sea, and a 9-hole
miniature golf course. Just try not to have fun!
There are a full three miles of public corridors, but the hallways are occasionally "jiggered" so you don't get a sense of the full distance, plus excellent signage
precludes anyone getting too grievously lost. However, after a simple "let's go see the ship!" comment leads you out the door, by the time you return to your cabin you will feel like Marco Polo. The 500-foot-long,
four-deck-high Royal Promenade, all too evocative of an onshore mall,
is like a real street, with a cherry-red British Morgan car parked
outside the faux English Pub. The promenades are lined with cafes, a
24-hour eatery for pizza, pastries and sandwiches. Shops, including a
millinery selling straw hats, display their wares outside. A
mini-casino with the world's biggest roulette wheel contributes to the
Atlantic City boardwalk feel.
There is a $4.25-per-scoop Ben & Jerry's. Pay-per-view in-cabin movies are
$11.95, and there's actually an admission charge to Johnny Rockets
(although the burgers are free, and worth every cent). There's a $20
surcharge for the small alternative restaurant Portofino which honestly has not earned as much praise as the alternative dining on Carnival's megaships.
Decor:
Clean, simple and tasteful, featuring a lot of Art Nouveau
influence, seems just right for a ship this size. The atrium boasts a beautiful fiber optic sculpture rising several stories. The ship's well-placed art is surprisingly sophisticated. Particularly notable are the Georgian-style dining rooms, a
stunning tucked-away lounge for smokers called the Connoisseur Cigar
Club (to which you'll have to ask directions); and the elegant
Champagne Bar, with curvaceous champagne-colored leather banquettes.
Public Rooms:
The breathtaking Royal Promenade -- four decks high, longer than a
football field, wider than three lanes of traffic -- has no windows,
but is always dazzlingly illuminated, as only befits a venue for Mardi
Gras-style parades complete with stilt walkers, a swaying inflatable
dancer, streamers and confetti.
The enormous Casino Royale, through which passengers must pass to get
to the main show lounge, is gilded to within an inch of its life, with
nearly 300 slots and tables for blackjack, craps, roulette and
Caribbean Stud Poker. The disco pulses into the wee hours.
Floor-to-ceiling seawater tanks teeming with Day-Glo tropical fish
flank the Aquarium Bar. The well-stocked two-deck library, which feels
like an urban bookshop, provides seating along its glass wall for an
overview of the Royal Promenade. The Viking Crown Lounge is perched 14
decks above the ocean. You can get married in port in the ship's
Wedding Chapel, bringing up to 60 of your closest friends and
families.
The gorgeous La Scala Theater, a state-of-the-art 1,350-seat show
lounge, features such decorative elements as a Murano glass
chandelier and a jewel-bedecked velvet stage curtain.
That ice rink you hear so much about is a two decks below the atrium and right in the middle of the
ship, which means some fancy footwork is sometimes required to get to
other public areas. In fact, the great and spacious interior of the ship is almost completely surrounded by private cabins, so to get any look at the ocean at all you'll have to head for the
cluster of lounges on the upper decks or outside on the decks
themselves.
Amply decked out with recliners, the pool areas bustle
with activity and also are the staging area for fashion shows and
planned games. The real action takes place on the sports deck, where
fitness fans work up a sweat playing ping-pong or basketball or
rock-climbing. Families flock to the open-air 9-hole miniature golf
course
The best spots for being alone with a book during days at sea are the
sea view Seven of Hearts card room and Cloud Nine Lounge on Deck 14.
Serious misanthropes can retreat all the way up the curving stairway
to Deck 15's Skylight Chapel, where no one ever ventures, and where no
music is piped in.
Cuisine:
Mouthwatering descriptions on the menus
notwithstanding, you just won't hear people raving about the food. Choices can feel somewhat limited and not very imaginative.
Cabin service staff is efficient but unobtrusive. The purser's desk is
notably responsive, especially in view of how much troubleshooting
they must have to do on a ship this size. Room service, though, can be
pretty slow.
Restaurants:
The ship's elegant main restaurant features a
crystal chandelier a grand, two deck staircase. The three decks it spans are separately named for
famous operas; Carmen, La Boheme and the Magic Flute. The ship's
second most popular dining venue (though it is more of a lunching venue) is Johnny Rockets, which now
carries a $3.95 service charge, and in which you might have to wait to
be seated. The vast Lido deck restaurant for casual buffet-style meals
is cleverly designed to look like two individual eateries, minimizing
the sense of size and crowds. Portofino, the alternative Italian
restaurant, is a lovely intimately-lit venue, though you might, if
you're not attentive, realize you've got your fork in an adjacent
diner's salad; the tables are that close together.
Service:
It's obvious that the multinational staff and crew enjoy watching
their passengers enjoy themselves. They're uniformly cheerful,
knowledgeable, and eager to help. The wait staff in every restaurant
is noticeably solicitous and conscientious.
Tipping:
Royal Caribbean suggests a per person per day gratuity of $3.50 for
the stateroom attendant ($5.75 if sailing in a suite); $3.50 for the
waiter; $2.50 for the Assistant Waiter; .75 Head Waiter. These
gratuities may be paid in cash or charged to your onboard account. For
children sailing as third or fourth passenger in the stateroom,
tipping is at the parents' discretion.
A 15 percent gratuity is automatically added to all beverage tabs.
Gratuities for room service, spa, casino and other staff are at your
discretion.
Entertainment:
The ship's "name" performers - take Charo (please!) for example - are likely to
have peaked in popularity well before Johnny Carson left the Tonight
show. The magicians and stand-up comedians in the lounges are
generally "up and coming," possible future stars and are accordingly pleasingly diverting. A roving quartet of "Krooze Komics,"
performs elaborate acrobatics shows and impromptu physical comedy in the Royal Promenade. The Vegas-style production shows, especially clever in their special effects, rival Carnival's for the best at sea.
Cabins:
Royal Caribbean is known for small cabins, inside cabins are just about big enough to turn around in. Hats off to Royal Caribbean, though, for not skimping on balcony
cabins. Actually, cabins are roomier than elsewhere in RCI's fleet.
Inside cabins do measure a stingy 160 sq. ft; but outside cabins range
from 180 to 265 sq. ft. and suites from 610 to 1188 sq. ft. Moreover,
there's lots of storage, especially nice for a ship that essentially goes
nowhere. Standard amenities include color TV with CNN and movies; a
safe; individual temperature controls; and RCI's first hair dryers.
There are tubs only in the highest category staterooms' bathrooms;
most have just showers (though unexpectedly large ones) with medicine
cabinets.
Fitness/Spa:
The ship's well-equipped gym still draws serious fitness buffs with
its full range of state-of-the-art machines. The two-level Steiner
Spa, with its winding staircase, looks more like the lobby of a
boutique hotel, albeit with a Greek motif. It houses a small
attractive thalassotherapy-like pool in an airy glass-enclosed but
private semi-circular room. The Solarium's serene outdoor pool area
nestles behind the spa; you're surrounded there by fountains, foliage,
and statues, with a retractable glass ceiling overhead.
Children's Facilities:
The "Adventure Ocean" youth program has age-specific facilities and
programs supervised by youth counselors for Aquanauts (age 3-5, must
be toilet trained), Explorers (age 6-8), Voyagers (age 9-11),
Navigators (age 12-14) and Teens (age 15-17). The program runs
year-round in the Caribbean, Bermuda, Bahamas, Mexico, Hawaii and
Alaska. Parents can leave their children at Adventure Ocean while they
take shore excursions. For this purpose, the facilities open 30
minutes ahead of morning shore excursion departures. Otherwise,
organized activities are offered from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m., with group
babysitting from 10 p.m. to 1 a.m. for a fee. Teen centers are now
open past 2 a.m. Teens will find their own private coffee house and
disco.
A new program for infants and toddlers 6 months to 3 years, in
partnership with toy maker Fisher-Price, offers 45-minute playgroups
for children accompanied by an adult, involving storytelling, creative
arts, music and a variety of Fisher-Price learning toys and games.
Private babysitting is offered from 8:00 a.m. to 2:00 a.m., provided
sitters are available, for children from one year old. The rate is
usually between $8.00 and $10 per per hour depending on the number of
children in the family. Cash payment is made directly to the sitter.
Arrange through Guest Services at least 24 hours in advance.
Attire:
There are two formal nights per cruise. Maybe it's this ship's
particularly festive reputation that induced most men onboard our
sailing to don actual tuxedos for formal nights. A dark suit is just
as appropriate. In general, though, this ship offers so much to do
onboard that passengers don't all dress alike.
