It is some time now since I did a RCI cruise. I think if it saying smart casual then perhaps something short but with a bit of glitz would be better than long. If there is a formal night then by all means really push the boat out.
At the end of the day if you want to wear a long dress then by all means do so. After all if you are comfortable wearing it then go ahead.

Sue

Smart casual means to me something you would wear out for a Pub meal or drinks on a summer evening somewhere. No suits for men,just a nice summer shirt and slacks,no cocktail dress or evening gown,but it can have some glamour if it's for the evening.
If it says smart casual in the daytime I think they emphasize the 'smart' as opposed to sporty casual (jeans,shorts,t shirts,skimpy summer tops).
The only time I've seen long evening dresses are on formal nights,when everything from ball gowns to silky slacks with glittery tops can be seen.

Just returned from an RCI eastern caribbean cruise on The mariner of the seas. On one formal night one bloke wore a loud calypso type short sleeve shirt & slacks and his lady was also very casual, so, it seems anything goes really as nothing was said !!

Nothing may have been said but I bet they got some looks.....LOL

A lot more people dress down after dinner or after the show these days, so you can avoid the full formal dress by eating casual and then mingling back in later, allthough it is not a problem not bothering if your table companions are ok with it.

Going the other way and dressing up most nights would be OK too but tux/DJ would be a bit OTT for the men as would the full ball gown but the glizy numbers looks good any night.

Well, after much thought we have finally booked for next year!

I asked advice as to Thomsons or Island Escape....

We have been on a few Thomson ships and wanted advice as now we have a wee boy.... and thanks for all your help.

We have tonight booked to go in September with Royal Caribbean on Voyager of the Seas, which looks a fab ship.

Thomson, in my opinion have overpriced themselves for next year, our cruise has cost slightly more with RC, for deck 8, than Thomsons on deck 2/3!!!

Cannot wait to go now, just don't think a week is going to be long enough to see round this huge ship!!!

Angie x

I have never cruised on the Voyager class ship as she is a little too big for me. RCI is an excellent product and I feel sure you will never regret your decision. I moved to Celebrity a few years ago and have cruised with Princess a couple of times in the past few years. Just back from the QM2 and will be off again in October on Century Celebrity again.

Good luck

Sue

Just back yesterday from Voyager of Seas. The weather in the Med was fantastic at mid 70's wall to wall sunshine all week. November a bit less certain weather wise but at some of the prices around with Celebrity go for it if you have any holidays left!!

Hi Hamrag

How did the holiday go? Could you tell me any info on this ship as I have booked for a week next year?

Looking forward to your review.
Liz.

Hi Liz, the ship is fantastic and visually stunning inside. It is best suited, I would say, to the under 40's although we are in very early 50's but have a younger outlook on life. Passenger capacity is 3500ish, so huge ship but easy to find way around etc. Its ethos and much of the food and drink (iced tea...yuk), is American and they, by a long way, make up the majority of passengers on board. Probably about 20% British.

The entertainment is fantastic, and on a few nights there was a party mood engendered late evening with parades through the "Royal Promenade" area of the ship. If you have children the facilities for them are excellent. Our 16 year old daughter thought the ship and everything about it was absolutely fab, although she stayed around with us rather than be involved in any of the "teens" activities which were organised!

Noticed in an earlier post you have independent flights to book. We used Easyjet from Newcastle to the Barcelona airport, although we live near Glasgow. Apart from the Barcelona airport which is eight miles from Barcelona centre, there are two other airports which some budget airlines use trading as "Barcelona" but 65-70 miles away, Gerona and Reus.

You should consider getting there at least a day before cruise embarkation, and stay in Barcelona. I can recommend the hotel we used, which is 150 metres from the airport bus drop off at Plaza Catalunya in centre of Barcelona. Simple to get taxi to cruise terminal on sailing day, and they let you board from 10.30am so almost like an "extra day" aboard! Let me know if you need any details. It is very straightforward to do the airport/city/cruise terminal transfers in Barcelona.

We have two boys in 20's and they are joining us next October on the new Ventura so, for first time in eight years, the five of us willl be together on holiday....should be real fireworks then!!

Our next cruise (just the two of us) is booked with vacations to go, in the Med again with Norwegian Jade ship departing 30 May next year....long way away, will need to be patient. By the time we have done both cruises next year we will have reached double figures, 10 cruises in 5 years by then. It is certainly addictive. We used to do the Spanish mainland / Majorca / Ibiza / Menorca / Greek islands holidays with the family before discovering cruising for our silver wedding celebration. Our boys have never experienced cruising as yet.

We have never been in Med during September, as tied to summer and October school hols for more years than I care to remember, but think that would be a super time to go and sure you will enjoy that time of year on Voyager. Anything else, just ask.

I have deleted some off topic posts and merged the remainder with this existing topic on Voyager of the Seas.

luci

Hi Hamrag

Thanks for that info and we are going to stay in Barcelona the day before so the Hotel you recommend I would love to hear about. Also any info on things to do in Barcelona in relation to where the Hotel is.

How far is the Port from the Hotel etc and did you book the Hotel with Easyjet??

Glad you had a great time, we have also done all the resorts you mentioned and am truly hooked on Cruising.

Where the day trips expensive? What ports did you stop at?
Think we will DIY some of them but will do excursion for Florence and Pisa, Rome and maybe something in Palermo Sicily as when we went on last Cruise this was our least fav place, unfortunatly it has popped up on our itinery next time, so any advise would be a great help if you have been before.

Cheers Liz.

Hi Liz, the hotel we used was the Hotel Gran Ducat which is three star but very bright, modern and comfortable with excellent breakfast (you need to make sure you book B&B if that is what you want). It is located very close to Plaza Catalunya, only 150 metres from the Aerobus drop-off point! We had booked it through the T/A we used, but you will get it on venere.com and other sites. Assuming it is the city airport you are flying into you simply hop onto the aerobus which takes you straight to Plaza Catalunya, via a couple of other stops, which is at the top right hand site of Las Ramblas, central for shopping etc. etc. The taxi ride to cruise terminal from hotel is only 10 minutes, costing about 20 euros.

If you have not been to Barcelona before you may want to use the open-top tourist bus which will take you round the city. It is hop on/off, approximately 20 euros for one day and 25 euros if you wanted to extend it into the Saturday rather than join the ship early, as we did. If you are into Guidi architecture there are two fantastic buildings worth visiting, and you get up on the roof too giving panoramic views. Also Guella park at the top end of the city was designed by him, and well worth a visit. All of these are accesible using the hop on/off service.

We always DIY Rome, and it is simple to do. Agree with you re Florence, although we did Pisa DIY on our trip. At Naples we went to Capri, simply getting the boat (approximately 45-50 minutes sail) DIY next to ship in port. Well worth the visit, and easy to do. Villefranche is excellently located for Monte Carlo/Nice/Cannes and are all simple to DIY. Our itinery was changed to include Marseilles instead of Palermo and, having visited Marseilles before, we treated this as a "day ay sea" on deck....wonderfully relaxing on our last day.

If you go to the Royal Caribbean discussion thread you will see a post made by me on Sep 18th which gives some detail of the ports on the Voyager itinery and what others have done DIY etc. It is lengthy, and better to print off.

You will find hamrag's post HERE

luci

Hi Graham

Today I am in Nice. Glad to hear that you enjoyed the Voyager! Also that you had good weather. Yesterday and today we have little sunshine and it is pretty cool. Spending a little time before going back to the ship. I do hope that the weather picks up for us. This is the latest I hAVE been in the Med on holiday so it is taking a chance. Tomorrow we will be in Florence and hope for more sunshine.

Speak to you when I get back. All of you out there who will be cruising soon Bon Voyage.

Sue

Thanks for that info Hamrag
I will book that hotel as soon as I can book the flights etc.
Regards Liz.

Can you use ghd straighteners on Royal Caribbean Voyager of the Seas

Hi jillporteous and welcome to HT!

I have merged your post with an existing topic on Voyager which may contain some useful information.

As regards straghteners, the latest GHD's are dual voltage and would work onboard a ship with 110V. However if they are older and only 220V they could still work, but will take a lot longer to heat up and won't get as hot as they do at home. You will still need an adaptor to make them fit the American style sockets, but this won't alter the voltage. You can usually buy this on the ship, but would get it cheaper here.

HTH

luci

Hi 8 months tomorrow and I will be sailing the seas on this ship, any hints and tips please advise???

Are bar prices expensive, and is it better to settle the bill in Dollars or by switch card??

Thanks Liz.