Finally! I've uploaded the vlogs that we shot during our Royal Caribbean cruise earlier this year in February. You can find the videos on my YouTube channel here or scroll down to watch the embedded version. To be very honest, this is not a cruise that I will go for again and I would not recommend this cruise for kids below 3 years of age. Here is a quick review (in writing) of our time onboard Royal Caribbean Voyager of the seas.
I was dissatisfied in many ways, and having gone onboard Genting Dream for a 6D5N cruise last year... Royal Caribbean's Voyager of the Seas paled so much in comparison. For starters, this is a really old ship. The rooms are in need of renovation and all the power sockets in our cabin are the US type – so please remember to bring a universal adaptor or you're royally (pun intended) screwed.
The services provided can definitely be improved upon. Free bottled water is NOT available onboard throughout the trip, like from day 1 when you enter your cabin... NO DRINKING WATER, AT ALL! This was something that really shocked me. The only way that you can get water is to either drink from the tap or buy Evian bottled water that cost US$3-4 onboard the ship.
Thankfully Victor and I are the kiasu sort who pack for all sorts of emergencies and so we purchased bottled water from RedMart – to be used for our kiddo such as for his daily intake of water, meals and milk because I really don't want to feed him water from a tap on a cruise (stomach flu or stomachache how?!) – packed them into our luggage and we lugged this heavy-ass luggage onto the ship.
Because of this, we had a delay in receiving our luggage because technically... you aren't allowed to bring bottled water onboard (think about it: one less avenue for them to force us to spend money on the darn ship). The husband had to explain to the crew that it was for our kiddo, and only then were we allowed to pull our heavy AF luggage back into our stateroom.
If you think that it is too much of a hassle to lug bottled water onboard, you can go for the option of purchasing their Water Package. I have no idea how much it costs and couldn't seem to find the price anywhere online, however you can check out this very detailed article listing all the pros & cons of the various beverage packages onboard Royal Caribbean ships.
Next thing that annoyed me, the lifeguards refused to let Ethan into the swimming pool even though he had swim diapers on. (Note: NO SWIM DIAPERS ALLOWED) The only way for a baby to be in the damn pool is for them to be fully toilet-trained. Don't even try to lie because the lifeguard will badger you on and on and on.
You should also know that their lifeguards are incredibly bias. After refusing to let Ethan into the pool, I carried my disappointed kid and dragged my feet back towards the lift. On my way there, I noticed that a family of PRCs (there are A LOT of China tourists onboard) were dipping in the jacuzzi and they had their baby with them in the hot tub. Judging based on the size, chubbiness and movements of the baby, I would say that she was about 6-8 months old? There was no way that baby was fully toilet trained and so.. how come she can go into the pool and my 15 months old cannot?! #angst
With swimming being out of the question, there was literally NOTHING for Ethan to do onboard the ship. Oh wait, there are some toys available in their chapel. However the toys are super worn-out and I noticed that some were also broken. I have no idea if the toys are ever cleaned and if yes how often – it's a matter of either an accident waiting to happen or an outbreak of HFMD.
To be fair, some of the staff were incredibly sweet. Our housekeeper made a super cute pig out of towels to entertain Ethan. The restaurant manager on our deck offered to cook a fresh batch of porridge for Ethan whenever we dine at his restaurant and we could put in a request to add fish, chicken, and any vegetables – cauliflower, broccoli, pumpkin, tomato... you name it and if they have it, they'll cook it!
This pretty much sums up my memory of our cruise onboard Royal Caribbean Voyager of The Seas. Like I mentioned in the beginning, this wasn't a very pleasant cruise experience and if I had to choose between Voyager of the Seas and Genting Dream, I would DEFINITELY go for the latter.
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