Past Cruise Review:

Royal Caribbean Cruises "Voyager of the Seas" - 2000 Caribbean

During the planning of our cruise on the "Grand Princess" we started to hear more and more details about the ship that was to eventually take the place of the "Grand Princess" as the largest cruise ship ever built. This ship, Royal Caribbean's "Voyager of the Seas", was entering the final stages of construction and testing at the time we were on our cruise onboard the "Grand Princess". The final stats for "Voyager" are staggering. Over 1000 feet in length and over 130,000 tons, she can carry over 3500 passengers at a time. She entered service in October 1999 and there was an immediate buzz in the industry. The ship represents a complete departure from conventional cruise ship design. Industry firsts such as an onboard ice skating rink, rock climbing wall, rollerblading track and 50's style diner were incorporated. The most striking design feature is the Royal Promenade which runs down the center of the ship and is basically a suburban shop and bar lined boulevard in the middle of the ship. According to industry sources, the CEO of Princess Cruises was given a tour of "Voyager" and he admitted that Royal Caribbean had outdone Princess and was successful in achieving what Princess was not able to do with the "Grand Princess". Having now been on both ships, he was right.

After booking our cruise, time seemed to fly and it was soon time to get our flight to Miami for our cruise. The ship is so huge it was easily visible from the airplane as we were approaching the airport for landing. It can also be seen for over a mile while we were being shuttled to the ship. It was quite a site. Again we made use of the cruise line's airfare and transfer package so we didn't have to worry about our bags once they were checked at the airport in New Jersey. All the boarding and check in procedures were relatively painless and the lines moved quickly. Our cabin, a deluxe outside stateroom with a balcony, was very well appointed and roomy. The balcony, our first, was a very nice addition. Once done settling in we embarked on our tour of the ship which basically took the rest of the week to complete. We were still finding lounges and bars on the final day of the trip. The ship was amazing. There is not enough room here to describe it in detail. Both Lisa and I agreed, hands down, that this was by far the best cruise we had ever been on. The food and entertainment were exceptional, especially the onboard Italian Restaurant. The children's program is one of the best in the industry. This was our son's first cruise and he had a great time in the Adventure Ocean program. The real attraction though is the ship. It is as good as any land based resort with the only difference being that it also takes you to exotic places.

The itinerary was OK. It was our first trip to the Eastern Caribbean. The ship stopped at Labadee, a small portion of Haiti owned by Royal Caribbean. It contains private beaches and recreational areas. Only Royal Caribbean ships have access to Labadee. It was lots of fun and lunch was served at two cafes on the beach by the ship's personnel. The second stop was Ocho Rios, Jamaica. We did not leave the ship in Jamaica because we did not have an excursion planned and we just felt like exploring the ship some more. Our final stop was Cozumel, Mexico. We had a great shore excursion there which was the highlight of the trip. We took the Jeep Safari tour where you get assigned a Jeep to drive in a caravan that takes you across Cozumel Island. The best part was that most of the trip was off-road on dirt trails. It was great. The tour stopped at some Mayan ruins and finally a private beach where a complimentary Mexican lunch buffet was served before the return drive.

For those of you who are wary of the size of the ship, let me just say that it was the smoothest ship we have ever been on. Most of the time you could not tell that the ship was moving. Yes the ship does hold over 3500 passengers and many critics have said that these large ships are too crowded. Prior to this cruise I would have agreed, but this ship was not in any way overcrowded. An announcement by the captain shortly after we left Miami revealed that the ship was completely booked and that our cruise was going to be in the Guinness Book of Records for the largest number of passengers ever carried by a passenger vessel in peacetime. The total passenger number was in excess of 3600 and it did not feel overcrowded. Royal Caribbean has now become our favorite cruise line and you can check out their web site at royalcaribbean.com or rccl.com for more information.