Voyager Review
Rating by category
Additional details
If you cruise in November, you know you're taking a risk with the weather. In terms of destinations, we'd already been a bit unlucky thanks to the trouble in Egypt (no fault of the cruise line) and we had to forgo Tunisia because of 24-hours of bad weather, but for the rest of the time the weather was perfect. Sadly, the outdoor spaces were disappointing and if the ship had been full, they would have been impossibly crowded and unpleasant at least in terms of eating outside. The level of noise on the main part of the Veranda deck was very high anyway and when there was a grill or BBQ option during the days at sea, that was compounded by blaring live music for the whole 2 hours lunch-slot. I can't imagine that many of us (largely in the over-50 age groups) could have had a meaningful conversation - or indeed any conversation at all. The indoor Veranda restaurant got very hot and was extraordinarily badly planned, especially in terms of tea and coffee stations. People were in and out and jostling one another all the time, especially as there were no trays to reduce the coming and going. The food was plentiful and reasonably varied. Lots of salads and good cheese boards, but the fresh fruit was disappointing. The staff were fine often comprehension was an issue, so drink orders were a bit haphazard.
The main restaurant was much better. Excellent varied menus and service. Smallish portions (a good thing) and we were mercifully spared the birthday/anniversary serenading which plagues other lines - balloons on the doors were a good alternative! Free room service especially in the mornings was a bit hit and miss but very welcome nonetheless, though I think they could have run to a boiled egg as well as just cereal and pastries.
So much for the (mainly) good things. As a whole, the ship was disappointing. Public spaces first. Why was a large and comfortable space on Deck 8 used only for Bridge players and occasional classes or evening dos, when the main lounge and library were always crowded and sometimes very noisy with live music. Why was the 24hour coffee/tea station on the 7th floor and inside the Veranda restaurant - a trek for anyone partial to an early morning cuppa. Why was the sauna so far from pool or fitness suite?
Cabin Review
The only good thing about this cabin was the bathroom which was effectively a wet room with a very good shower, lots of hot water and fluffy towels. It would have taken a wheelchair just about and had a stool. Cheap and nasty toiletries though, but plentiful tissues. Because of the extra bathroom space, the cabin layout was awkward and the grab handles and lights badly thought through. Hairdrier and TV broke down twice each though they were 'repaired' promptly and the temperature fluctuations ranged from freezing to boiling irrespective of the control panel - which was in the ceiling, note, for a so-called accessible cabin!! The grab handles were badly placed and no effort had been made to make the cabin attractive. The carpet was stained and dirty and the decoration and pictures really tired. (We had been offered a complimentary upgrade which we couldn't take because the showers in the balcony cabins) were over the baths - be warned if you want something a bit more upmarket.In other words, there was a minimal effort to make the accessible cabin functional and attractive or to think through what someone with limited mobility actually needs - we didn't have much rough weather at sea which is just as well because the cabin would have been very difficult to negotiate in that event.