Royal Caribbean Corner Post #3

A review of Voyager of The Seas 8 night South Pacific Cruise.

Our cruise departed Brisbane Cruise Port in late February of 2026

Boarding Tip

If you prefer boarding at the earliest be aware that passengers may still be disembarking, and check in lines for embarkation will be prioritised ( not dissimilar to airline processes ) First to board will be Suite guests and Royal's Crown and Anchor Society top loyalty tier Pinnacle. Pinnacle require 700 cruise points. General rule of thumb is 1 cruise point per night if in a non suite. Suites guests earn 2 points per cruise night, solo travellers 2 points per cruise night in a standard room, 3 if in a suite.

Next to be prioritised will be passengers who have purchased "The Key".

So understanding there's lots of early hustle and bustle, we decided to board after midday, and as a consequence experienced a very smooth and speedy boarding.

The Ship

Whilst Voyager OTS is an older ship she underwent a $97 million amplification back in 2019 adding extra rooms, waterslides, and improvements to the Solarium, the adults only pool area. We sailed Voyager in 1999 on our first ever cruise and immediately prior to her going into dry dock, so were interested to see what had changed.

Demographic

We were a group of 5 over 3 staterooms - parents with 2 x adult children, one with a partner.

Rooms

Rooms (3) included categories SG - Sunset Large Balcony attracting suite points, 4V - Interior Room directly opposite our Sunset Balcony and a 2B - Spacious Ocean View Balcony.

The 2B room on Deck 8 was a new room. When Voyager underwent its re-fit, the ship was cut in half and extra cabins were added. Our son and his partner benefited with this newer room, with decor more modern.

Our SG - Sunset Large Balcony we feel is a real sweet spot within Voyager's balcony offerings. You can see from the photos that our balcony is expansive holding 2 sun loungers, 2 chairs and a round dining table.

SG - Sunset Large Balcony complete with Sun Loungers, Dining Table a 2 chairs

Unobstructed aft views, a ceiling above allowing you to choose shade or sun, space for sitting, reading, have a cuppa, or just decompress from the rest of the ship should we wish to. We also strung up a pegged washing line for washing, drying & airing.

Tip

My go to luxury item is a 1 cup coffee plunger and freshly ground coffee which I bring on every sailing along with library book. Despite access to premium coffee, nothing beats making one when you want. Your luxury item maybe different. Some do tapestry as their way to pass time and relax.

Not classed as a suite, but attracting suite points ( 2 per night ) and priced lower than a suite made this choice of room easy. You do need to select 3 passengers for this cabin choice to appear. There is a Pullman bed above the king bed that comes down from the ceiling and a ladder attaches.

Cabin Type SG - Sunset Large Balcony - Rectangular shape above King Bed is Pullman Single Bed

Because of the curvature of the aft of the ship, GT - 2 Bedroom Grand Suites on our same floor are set deeper and therefor are all obstructed views as there is external railings and superstructure in your way.

Diamond + Experience

This is the Loyalty tier experience as opposed to the Suite experience.

In airline parlance it would be like a Platinum One or Platinum sitting in the Economy cabin.

Diamond + benefits of note on this sailing were 1 bag of Wash & Fold laundry per person in the cabin, 2 free days of Starlink Wifi p/p, BOGO - buy one, get one specialty dining on the first 2 nights, and 5 complimentary cocktails p/p per day, access to the Crown Lounge; Diamond tier and above, as well as a Backstage tour.

We used all these benefits to add value to our cruise at no extra cost, other than paying for 3 specialty dining, but we got 3 free too. Value USD $144

Utilising 5 Diamond + drinks at High Notes Bar & Lounge Embarkation Day still in Brisbane

There was also a reserved seating area in the Royal Theatre for shows which we chose not to utilise as we found other seats more to our liking.

Both adult children are Diamond, so got 4 drinks, 1 day of Wifi, and also 1 bag of Wash & Fold laundry.

Activities

Diverse ages and interests is where Royal Caribbean succeeds in offering something for everyone.

Dunes mini golf, Flowrider surf simulator, water slides, gymnasium ( for our daughter😁 ) were activities we enjoyed. There is also the Solarium; an adult only pool area & bar for those wanting time free of the younger brigade.

The highlight however was the ice skating, supervised by Royal's professional Ice Skating cast. None of us ice skaters, this was a new experience done on board a cruise ship no less.

The unintended by product of participating in this activity was ability to chat with cast and crew. The cast & crew used to receiving applause, in this situation were happy to engage with us, the passenger; almost like doing a Backstage tour.

Speciality Dining

We utilised Giovanni's Italian on night 1. The absolute PLUS was avoidance of exceptionally long queues for main dining room. Many queued for main dining were inexperienced to processes, booking, timing, table selection and queuing.

The buy one get one free made Speciality Dining very affordable.

Also used was Izumi Japanese. Located on deck 14, along with High Notes Bar / Viking Crown Lounge, this restaurant has THE best views on the ship. A lunch with sake, Japanese beer, a cocktail a great service was money well spent.

Port Stop

Whilst we port stopped at Port Vila and Luganville Vanuatu, but highlight for us was Mystery Island.

Our go to activity on Mystery Island is to drift snorkel. We take our own masks and snorkel, forgoing flippers due to weight and space in our luggage.

Walking to the tip of Mystery Island, past the airfield, launch into the pristine coral waters full of various fish species and simply allow the current to push you. Exit water however far back towards the pier where tenders ferry you from ship to shore and walk back to point of entry and repeat the process.

Edge of Mystery Island Airfield and stepping off point for drift snorkelling

Drift snorkelling point to the right of shot

Mystery Island is a reasonably untouched island and only inhabited when cruise ships port stop. Locals will motorboat over from neighbouring island to offer freshly caught crayfish, coconuts and hand made souvenirs. We love the uncomplicated lifestyle of this stop.

Stage Shows and Entertainment

Royal Caribbean is known as a leader in this cruise ship offering. Seeing Broadway productions is a regular occurrence on some of Royal's larger ships. We will see Charlie and the Chocolate Factory shortly on Legend Of the Sea's which launches later this year.

Generally on an 8 night cruise Voyagers offerings include 2 stage shows, an ice skating performance, and guest acts ( which can change each sailing ) such as comedians both adult act and family friendly, guest band.

The Royal Theatre doesn't have a bad seat with all having good line of sight..

Would I recommend this ship and itinerary

Absolutely

Every cruise is a great cruise when you are on the water. Whether you are a Family, extended family, group of friends, solo, lgbtqia+, Royal Caribbean is an extremely inclusive cruise line. There are regular promoted on ship catch ups for any style of passenger.

Additionally, being a larger ship there is great choice around bars, restaurants, pools, and activities to suit a broad demographic.

Happy Cruising 6 Star 4 Less Family and all cruisers in general

Ghost Writer 1 signing off till our next cruise.

ps:

This will be on Celebrity Edge in the Retreat - 18 Night Transpacific Sydney to Honolulu. Then on to Vancouver BC where we will sail on Edge again for a 7 night Alaskan Dawes Glacier itinerary to Seattle where I hope to bring you pictures and reports of both ship and suites.