Linda Sparrow

Age: 47
Occupation: Musician
Number of Cruises: 3
Cruise Line: Royal Caribbean International
Ship: Voyager of the Seas
Sailing Date: June 16th, 2002
Itinerary: Western Caribbean

This was my 3rd RCI cruise. My husband and I went by ourselves, mainly to enjoy a mega ship. We were not disappointed!

Embarkation went well. We arrived at 11 am and were allowed on at 11:30. The Island Grill buffet opened at noon. We spent the first hour touring and learning the layout. Unfortunately, the workout area wasn't open, so we lounged by the pool for an hour. Our room was ready when we checked on it at 1:30. Martin, our cabin attendant, was warm, polite and gave us excellent service all week. We had a very nice interior room. We like to spend our money on other things other than balcony rooms- that's just because we never spend time there.

Later we enjoyed the calypso band by the pool- excellent group from Grenada! We got a late start out of Miami, but were sailing by 6 pm dinner. Our wait staff was excellent- as was all the service personnel. I cannot say one bad thing about anyone on this cruise. Friendly, upbeat, professional, always available. best I've ever seen. Food in the dining room was good to excellent. Wine choices were average, markup not bad.

We are different than some in that we are athletes who work out daily and are very healthy eaters. It was easy to eat well- plenty of fresh fruit, vegetables, lo-fat selections. Loved our daily veggie egg beater omelets in the Island Grill. Go all the way to the front- it's much quieter there!

It was June, there were many kids. The little ones never bother me, but there were many aged 15 and up who were pretty obnoxious at times. Not the fault of the cruise line.

The exercise room was excellent in some ways, poor in others. Reebok machines- not great, especially the leg press. Two machines were out-of-order the entire cruise. Only 4 upright bikes-only 1 had toe straps. 22 treadmills- however some were rocking and making horrible noises. A little maintenance is needed here! Never had anyone offer to help adjust seats or answer questions-very bad. We took an "ab workshop" by a trainer which IMO was an attempt to sell their spa services. The trainer made some blatant mistakes in his analysis of foods and metabolism. We took a yoga class, which was fun but not worth $10. Most disturbing was the temperature of the gym- way too hot for aerobic workouts such as running. No fans. TVs were on, no sound.

We didn't enjoy the Dreamscape show- fell asleep. Dancing was good in the Broadway review, but all the songs were set to disco and rock beats. The comedians were very good, the ice show was excellent. Dance band in Cleo's Needle was just okay, but had one of the best guitarists I've ever heard. Enjoyed Steven at the piano bar- a personable guy.

We were glad we did Capt Marvin's for Stingray city in Cayman- only 12 on our boat! Other excursions had them packed like sardines. This was so much fun- everyone should do this once!

In Jamaica, we took Peat Taylor trip to Dunn River Falls. We were the first there. Being athletes, we wanted a good workout, so we climbed without a guide, had it all to ourselves and were the first people to finish! We watched for another hour, as it got very crowded and didn't look like fun. There were many who shouldn't have tried it- I worried about heart attacks and injuries in some quite obese people.

We snorkeled already in Cozumel (Chankanaab), so this year we went to Carlos 'n Charlie's for the drunkfest. We had a ball! Not for the fainthearted and I wouldn't suggest bringing your children.

We don't enjoy casinos, so I can't comment. Rick loved the full court basketball. We didn't try the skating or rock-climbing wall, but some seemed to really enjoy it. We didn't enjoy the Solarium pool much, as it didn't get a breeze and seemed stuffy. Pretty, however.

Debarkation was very slow. We were the last group called and then the lines were long for customs and luggage. Bring a snack and some water and prepare to wait. Lots of people to move .

I would do this cruise again in a heartbeat. Everyone went out of their way to make it a great vacation, and we rewarded our staff generously. Kudos to RCI for their management. We welcome any questions/comments by email.

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