Just been reading the comments re RCI's Explorer and Voyager ships. My wife and I had a wonderful week on Voyager last November, our first cruise, the Cunard snobs would proably find it too brash and lively, however due to the vast size of the ship it never seems crowded and we loved it, especialy the formal nights. To enter the large wide attrium and be greeted by impeccably dressed staff holding trays loaded with glasses of champagne really set the night of to a great start, a couple of exotic looking cocktails and a pint of buds to take into the dining room and I was sorted. Regarding the prices of drinks as reviousely mentioned, $4.50 was the price for local beers like Budweiser, $5.50 for imported, ie- Boddingtons and Bass, cocktails were around the same price though the cocktail of the day was usually cheaper. Wines tended I thought to be a bit pricey around from $25 a bottle. We never tried the pay restaurant, Portofinos, as the choice and quality of food in the main dining areas was excellent, though our lobster tail was overcooked and rubbery, we could have just sent it back and ordered the ranch house steak and fries instead but being quite full just passed. Our table companions from Miami and a cuban couple would order two main courses each just in case they were not keen on one of them, the waiters did not blink an eye, they wanted their tips at the end of the cruise!. The most us staid english folk did was to order two starters a couple of times.
The Windjammer cafe provided a superb selection of buffett delights, my wife love the thick carved roast beef whilst I would go for the caribbean coconut curry, on a couple of days we sampled the Johnny Rockets diner, best crispy onion rings ever, lean tasy burgers. The trouble with all this was neither of us were able to partake of the twice weekly midnight buffett, though a lot of others did. Of the thirteen bars we managed a drink in each before settling on a favourite piano bar next to the casino.
Regarding the pros and cons of a balcony, as the cruise was quite a bargain price I paid the supplement for a balcony and must say we really enjoyed being able to chill out there at the end of the night, around 1 or two in the morning supping our vodkas watching the stars with a warm balmy breeze across our faces. We also had our tea and coissants out there in the morning. After saying this I would probably stick with an inside in the future as the extra cost could be better spent on our drinks bill.! As far as the entertainment went, Broadway style shows bore me, I fell asleep after ten minutes one night, however most people were very enthusiastic. All in all I can heartily reccomend the Voyager, any questions I will be happy to help out.
Travel operator:
royal caribbean
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