Any reviews on the Voyager out of Galveston???

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NiteStar

Guest
Right now, my main concern is the Sunday departure. I've cruised out of Galveston for the last 6 or 7 years (I don't fly and live in Houston, so Galveston is a VERY convenient port! :lol). Anyway, in the past, except for once, I've always departed on a Saturday. The one time we left on Sunday, was when we cruised on the Carnival Conquest, and at that time, the Voyager was not in Galveston. Anyway......the two ships that depart on Sunday from Galveston are the Conquest and the Voyager; each holding approx. 3000 passengers. So....with 6,000 passengers coming back into port (3000 from each ship) and 6000 passengers waiting to board, that's 12,000 people hovering around the port! :lol .........is it a giant mess around the port on Sundays??? For those of you who have cruised out of Galveston, you know it's not a huge port like in Miami or Ft. Lauderdale.

Next, would be the cruise itself. We will be on the itinerary that will go to Grand Cayman, Jamaica and Cozumel. But I'm really looking for a review of the ship itself. Mainly.....do the common areas seem crowded all the time and/or are the buffet lines long, etc. How is the shopping in the Promenade. Is it hard to get into Johnny Rockets. Does it cost to ice skate or climb the wall. Just general stuff........

THANKS!!!
 
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Jamman

Guest
Hey Nitestar!! Haven't been on the Voyager, but I was on the Explorer last August so I may be able to answer a few of your questions. First, there is no charge for ice skating, in line skating, or the rock wall. No problem getting into Johhny Rockets. They charge 3.95 pp (or 4.95 can't remember), for all you care to eat, but you will pay additional for soda and shakes.

Our cruise was sold out, and though there were some lines, they were'n't that bad.

The Royal Promenade is awesome, but as far as shoping goes, it's just like any other cruise ship.

Do not miss the Quest!!!
 
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Mbandy

Guest
Qwest is awesome :lol

I have been on Voyager of the Seas, Navigator of the Seas and Explorer of the Seas (twice on Explorer). Definately my favorite ships (but I haven't been on a Freedom Class yet) Aside from the theme and decor of some of the lounges you wouldn't know which one you were on if the name wasn't painted on the side. All were awesome.

You'll love Voyager of the Seas. Although it holds so many people I have never felt crowded on board and I would echo Jamman's comments. The ice skating show is the best entertainment I have seen on a ship so don't miss that. We enjoy the solarium pool because it is kid-free. It is also fun to make your way to the observation deck (heliport) at the front of the ship for sail away. Just walk all the way forward on the outside of deck 4 (which is where you're muster station will be). Up front you see the stairs that will take you up to the observation deck. We also enjoy one meal at Portifino. Worth the extra $$ to us. The singer at the Pig & Whistle Pub takes requests and the Schooner Bar is a fun "sing along" kind of place.

I have sailed from Galveston twice. Last time the Grand Princess and a Royal Caribbean ship were in port at the same time. They did a grerat job moving people in and out.

=funsign on Voyager of the Seas
 
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innellan

Guest
Hi NiteStar, I am PH8's friend. I sailed on the Voyager in January and at that time the port was still struggling to cope with so many people arriving and departing. To add to the misery there were two weekends when fog closed the port and the ships were held off for a few hours, which caused extra delays. However, and its a big however, I understand that they have now improved up the time it takes to board according to the reports I have read from other members, so I do not think you will have a problem.

You will love the Voyager, and everyone else has told you the relevant things you asked about. I never thought that the ship felt crowded. The Promenade Cafe is really good and has wonderful sandwiches, cookies, and cakes. I had lunch there most days rather than eat a cooked meal at the WJ ( just my preference). Do not miss the Ice Show, it is awesome,. I did not do the itinerary to Cayman so I suggest you take a look at the CC boards where there are a number of reviews. One family had a hard time in G. Cayman when they tried to use an old $100 bill and were detained by the fraud police there for over three hours so I would think it not a good idea to use $100 bills. They are apparently used to money laundering there, so are very suspicious. Here are a few links that you can take a look at also the web cam to watch your ship on Sundays. There are a bunch of us who watch her every week and post. She usually docks about 7:00 Am and departs at 5:00PM. Enjoy.

Kate

http://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/getreviews.cfm?action=ship&ShipID=105

http://www.galveston.com/webcams/
scroll down to the harbor cam
 
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NiteStar

Guest
Thanks so so much for all the information Jamman, mbandy and innellan!!!

Of course living in Houston, our local news was all over the story when the ships were "fogged out" so to speak and they were showing a sky eye view from their news chopper of the long, long, long line of cars trying to get into the port to either pick up passengers debarking from the ship or drop off embarking passengers.
 
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Mbandy

Guest
Interesting about the fog. When I was on the Voyager on her maiden voyage out of Cape Liberty NJ our cruise started in zero visability fog. We could barely see the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge as we passed under. I guess it is a lot harder to close the Port of New York than Galveston. Kind of fun to cruise in the fog. We were hearing the fog horn until about dinner time.
 
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Jim

Guest
Just back from Voyager.
No problem what so ever getting to the pier. We park at EZcruise (two blocks away). Sue stays with bags, I drive over park, walk to ship.
Never got to sit down in the terminal..Walked in, checked in, walked on...at 10:50am

Ship is magnificent. It may have thousands of people onbaord, but the only crowds are when they have a parade in the Prominade...and those are fun.
Johnny Rockets...walk up, sit down, it was a snap. Just never seemed like there was a horde of people onboard even thought VOS was sold out.

Disembarkation, we had white tags, were supposed to leave at 8:45am, got off at 8:10am. The self disembark line was so long, it stretched back to the escalator. Too many people taking advantage of what was once a good thing. Now it seems hald the ship try to get off by carrying everything themselves. We were through customs and on the road at 8:45am.

Food was dramatically improved. Entertainment. Never, repeat, never, have we seen a ship's production and singers with as much talent and enthusiasm.

Ice Show..if you do nothing else....see this show!!!!
 
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NiteStar

Guest
Thanks Jim! And I'm glad you enjoyed your cruise! I'm really looking forward to mine in about 22 days! Do you live in Houston or one of the surrounding areas?
 
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Jim

Guest
Houston is one of those fine suburbs of FT WORTH!!!!!

We drive down on Saturday, stay in Seabrook, have a really great seafood dinner at a restaurant near the hotel, and head for the ship about 9am Sunday morning. Stop at Starbucks (by the pier) have a morning snack then head over to the ship.

We have been on several of the larger ships but the layout of the Voyager Class ships is absolutely great. You never feel jammed in, it is easy to get around, the Dining Room is not all jammed up. We could find NOTHING wrong with VOS

Bon Voyage!!!!
 
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NiteStar

Guest
My brother and his wife live in Ft. Worth, but they have never been on a cruise. I'm not even sure if it's something they would ever be interested in doing. I think I'm the only one in my family that was born with the "cruise bug". I would love to stay somewhere in Galveston the night before, but there are VERY few hotels in Galveston that allow only a 1 night stay on the weekends. If you want to stay for 1 night, then you would have to pay for 2 nights. The ones that allow a 1 night weekend stay are the ones that I wouldn't feel safe in. Of course I can go to Galveston anytime I want to since it's less than an hour's drive, but I just thought it would be nice one time to say there the night before my cruise and stay in one of the hotels that allows you to leave your car there and will shuttle you to the pier. But instead...........this year we opted for limo service to and from the Port of Galveston. We have a limo service here at work we use for all our visiting professors that come in to give talks and I'm on the phone with them constantly booking this or that. So last week I asked the owner what it would cost me for the service........and he said for me, it would be half price since I give him so much business. So instead of $300.00, it's costing $150.00 for round trip service. I figured what the heck.....I'll do it this one time and see how I like it. :lol The parking would have cost me $80 anyway, so in essence, I'm only paying $70 more than that. And this way I don't have to worry about my car being broken into, freak hail storms, etc. :lol
 
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Jim

Guest
NiteStar. For a future cruise, take a look at EZcruise. They charge $50.00 (booked online). Parking is elevated, so no worry about flooding. The facility is locked with a barbed wire topping. Very short stroll back to the RCI terminal.
 
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bgnesa12

Guest
Hello Nitestar! I honestly don't know anything about the VOS, but I'll be sailing with my fiance on the same cruise as you. He's been on the VOC before and said it is pretty incredible. I'm a first time cruiser so I hope to make the most of this much needed vacation!! I hope you enjoy your cruise and if you happen to run across any "secrets" on how to make the most of this trip please let me know. Like I said I want to make the most of it =docdance Maybe I'll see you out on the rock climb!!
 
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Jim

Guest
NiteStar. If you are standing on deck, looking over Galveston, across the street is the Railroad Museum, right across the street from the Museum is EZCuise Parking.

I have a bum leg due to a horse accident, so Looong walks make it hurt....But I always walk back to the ship. Much faster, easier and short enough that my leg does not even come to mind.

We loved VOS so much, we just book a back-to-back on her for her next season in Galveston.
 
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NiteStar

Guest
Cool Jim. If I love the ship, I'm planning on making a booking for next year while on board. When did you book your cruise for next year?

bgnesa12........I hope you and your fiance have a wonderful cruise! Who knows.........we could be standing right next to each other at some point while on the ship, and we wouldn't even know it! :lol I'm not much into rock climbing, but will be doing a lot of people watching while other people do it!
 
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Jim

Guest
We booked Jewel of the Seas while onboard, to get the extra credit, then switched it to a B2B on Voyager when we got home...
 
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