Wanting to book a cruise on Royal Caribbean’s Voyager of The Seas and are curious if it is the right fit for you? Read this honest review of the ship, activities, staff and more.
Voyager of The Seas was launched on November 27, 1998. At the time of it’s release it was the largest cruise ship in the world.
Voyager is the lead ship of it’s class which also includes Adventure, Explorer, Mariner and Navigator.
It has the capacity to hold 3,114 passengers and is 137,276 GT.
Voyager has had several additions over the years. In 2014 a movie screen was added by the pool and they also added a flowrider. It was amped even more in 2019 which added some cabins and the water slides. Then again in 2020 to add the ice skating rink.
Since Voyager is one of Royal’s older (and now smaller ships with the addition of the icon class) it is important to do some research on if it is the right ship to choose for your cruise vacation.
Read my honest review of different categories of the ship.
This post is all about Voyager Of The Seas.
Activities On The Ship
Even with the ship being older it still offers a variety of activities you can participate in.
Things to do on Voyager:
- Water Slides
- Flowrider
- Pools/Hot Tubs
- Lazer Tag
- Rock Climbing Wall (the first one at sea!)
- Ice Skating
- Mini Golf
- Shows/Theme Nights
- Movies On The Pool Deck
- Bingo
- Trivia
- Alcohol Tastings
- Seminars
- Spa/Gym
- Adventure Ocean For Kids
- Solarium For Adults
- Bars
Review:
If you’re going on a shorter cruise I believe this ship would still have plenty of activities to keep you entertained. It is lacking some in the excitement that the newer and larger ships offer.
If you were going on a week or longer cruise and don’t like to just relax, this ship might become boring at some point.
Staff
The staff on Voyager of The Seas were amazing! I did not come across a single staff member that was not friendly, helpful and extremely professional.
The shining stars for our cruise were our waiters in the main dining room. They accommodated needs before even needing to ask for them, they gave helpful tips for food choices and also what to do in ports/remembering the time change and were fantastic at their jobs.
Review:
I would recommend the staff on Voyager to anyone! Did not have a bad experience at all.
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Cleanliness
The ship while being old still was extremely clean. I did see staff several times cleaning the stairs, tables, etc.
I did not have any complaints when it came to our room. It wasn’t the prettiest since the ship was built in the 90s and we are well into the 2020s now but it did the job.
Ship Appearance
For it’s age, the ship still looked well maintained.
I do not personally care for some of the decor or look of the pool decks on older ships but that is just my opinion. I knew what the ship looked like when I booked it and didn’t mind that it was old because the price was so fantastic for a 5 night cruise.
There weren’t any stains I noticed, broken parts, etc around the ship. Royal Caribbean does a good job of making sure it’s product still presents well to the consumer.
Review:
While the ship does not overly impress since it is pretty old, it is maintained well. Some may not mind the age but others who have been on bigger and better ships will most likely be disappointed.
Food
I was pleasantly surprised with the food on Voyager of The Seas!
It is important to note that I did not attend any specialty dining restaurants while on this cruise.
The complimentary venues on Voyager are:
- Main Dining Room
- Windjammer Buffet
- Cafe Promenade
Some people believe you need to eat at the specialty venues or book a newer ship to have decent food while on a cruise.
While I do agree that the included food is not the best food you will have in your life, you can find several stand outs that are delicious!
Review:
Main Dining Room: The majority of dishes that I chose were actually pretty good. I never have the highest of hopes with the complimentary food but almost everything I had was better than I thought it would be.
It’s also important to take into consideration the chef’s selections and the opinion of your wait staff. Everything in those categories I had were some of the best options.
The only bad dish I had on this ship was the caramel flan. It literally tasted like a burnt cigarette on top. I had other people in my family try it and they all agreed. Not sure what went wrong, if it was just my dish or if all of them tasted that way but it was the worst thing I’ve ever had on a cruise ship.
Windjammer: I thought the buffet on Voyager lacked as many options as I have seen on other Royal ships of similar size.
The breakfast had tons to choose from but lunch had less than I expected. I did still find some great dishes and desserts. I never had a problem with them being out of anything I wanted to try.
The standouts for me in the windjammer were the pork schnitzel and the cookies. Normally I don’t grab the cookies on Royal ships but I tried several this time and they were all SO good!
Cafe Promenade: We ate here a little less than I normally do on Royal cruises but this was my least favorite experience with the cafe.
Don’t get me wrong, everything I had was still very good and I never had to wait too long.
In regards to the pizza, I am used to seeing lots of variety on Royal ships for their pizza but on this particular cruise it was mostly just cheese or pepperoni slices and nothing different except one time.
Cabins
I personally booked an interior room for this cruise so that’s what most of my experience will be centered around. I did also go into my in laws balcony room which was much nicer than mine but I did not experience an ocean view or a suite.
My interior room was very dated but I expected that of a ship built in the 90s. I don’t care about having the nicest room or the newest decor since I’m not in my room much, but it is a nice addition if you do.
The room was clean, just large enough and everything worked correctly. The only downside was just the fact that the decor was not very nice.
My in laws balcony however I was pleasantly surprised with! The wood on their desk space and their bathroom seemed to be upgraded from what I had in my room. Their room was probably one of the additions Voyager had in 2019. Otherwise I couldn’t see why their room would look much nicer and newer than mine.
For reference they were in room 1170. It was a beautiful room that I would recommend if you’re looking for a balcony.
Review:
Most of the rooms since they have very dated decor are nothing to write home about but they get the job done, were clean and had everything we needed.
If you’re going on an older ship like Voyager I wouldn’t really recommend spending more money to buy a suite in comparison to what you’ll get on a suite for a newer and larger ship but to each their own.
I think a balcony would be the best choice for most people looking to cruise on this ship. I personally am fine with interior rooms since I don’t spend much time there and it is the most cost efficient.
Overall Thoughts:
I enjoyed my cruise on Voyager of The Seas. I also go into a cruise knowing exactly the product I’m getting so I leave little room for disappointment.
Everyone is different and will expect different things but knowing I was going into an older and smaller ship comparitively in Royal’s fleet now and also not upgrading my dining or anything, I was not upset about anything because I had scaled my expectations.
I could see how some might be a little disappointed if they have been on newer and nicer ships and didn’t research Voyager but otherwise there is nothing wrong with the ship.
Some even prefer the older ships to the newer models cruise lines are building now. If you are someone who prefers that Voyager might be the right choice for you since they still had tons to do and the staff were excellent.
I do have to note I enjoyed Voyager a little less in comparision to other ships I’ve been on in the same class (Adventure & Marnier) but still had a great cruise and no complaints.
This post was all about Voyager of The Seas.
