Voyager of the Seas

Which are the best cruise ships for exploring the South Pacific Islands?

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The islands of the South Pacific make for beautiful travel destinations, and the ability to cruise to them makes it so much easier to see them, or parts of them at least. Islands like Vanuatu’s Mystery Island and New Caledonia’s Loyalty Islands can be very expensive and difficult to get to via any other mode … Read more

Royal Caribbean’s Main Dining Room Menu – Saffron Theme

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Pan-Fried Hoki Fillet

Royal Caribbean’s main dining room menu is continually changing so that you will never experience the same food more than once on the same cruise. An assortment of menus are shared across all the Royal Caribbean ships, and they aim to coordinate dishes from this selection with the ports the ship will be at and the tastes of the primary demographics on board the vessel. Today’s menu was sampled aboard Radiance of the Seas, and I have also encountered it on Voyager of the Seas and Jewel of the Seas.

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Getting the best value currency exchange on Royal Caribbean

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On our South Pacific cruise aboard Royal Caribbean’s Voyager of the Seas we were sitting with another passenger who was not impressed that when he made a payment on his SeaPass account he only got USD$0.63 for each AUD$1.00 when the exchange rate that day was USD$0.74. I’ve also read a number of complaints from others on blogs and forums, with people questioning why this is and if Royal is taking a cut beyond the 3% exchange fee they publicise.

I don’t know the answer to that, but I do know that there are factors that can influence it. For example, it is possible for Royal Caribbean to buy say AUD$100,000,000 at the start of the Australian season for a ship at an exchange rate of USD$0.63. They can then operate the entire season off the Australian dollars they purchased to start with, they then know exactly what their Australian budget is for the season and while there can be unexpected costs it allows them to know pretty close to exactly what their expenditure is going to be. This means they can plan for the season more cost effectively. It also means that for the duration of the cruise season the exchange rate when exchanging on board the ship is the rate that they purchased Australian currency at to start with. This means the exchange rate on board the ship remains the same and simplifies currency exchange for crew and passengers by allowing them to know exactly what it is for the entire season.

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Royal Caribbean Voyager of the Seas Virtual Balcony Room 9593 Final Review and Thoughts

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After spending 12 nights aboard Royal Caribbean’s Voyager of the Seas in room 9593, a virtual balcony room, it has proven to be a very comfortable place to live for that period of time.

The room is larger than regular interior rooms tend to be and has a king bed that can be split into two singles. It also has a small but comfortable armchair with footrest, dressing table, bar fridge, kettle with tea, coffee and mugs, in room safe, reasonable cupboard, safe, flat screen TV on a swivel arm, and bathroom. The bathroom is much the same as what is on other ships in interior, oceanview and balcony staterooms with a basin, large mirror, a hidden cupboard behind the mirror in the corner, toilet, and a curved shower.

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Royal Caribbean Voyager of the Seas Flowrider Review

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Matt on the Voyager of the Seas Flowrider

I’ll start this off by saying: I’ve never used a Flowrider before and I am not a surfer either, I have never surfed.

The only places I’ve been that have one have been theme parks and it’s always been where I haven’t brought swimmers (eg the one they used to have at Dreamworld) or it isn’t included in the standard ticket and you have to pay more (eg Wet’n’Wild), so it’s just never happened.

Since we were on Voyager of the Seas for 12 nights which included 6 sea days I decided it was time to give it a go, even if there was a long queue.

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Video: Royal Caribbean Voyager of the Seas Interior Virtual Balcony Room Walkthrough

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My initial review of Royal Caribbean’s new Interior Virtual Balcony room in video form. We cruised on Voyager of the Seas for 12 nights from Sydney Australia to Noumea (New Caledonia), Mystery Island (Vanuatu), Lautoka (Fiji), Suva (Fiji), Isle of Pines (New Caledonia) and back to Sydney. We stayed in room 9593 which is midship about 1/3 of the way forward from the rear elevators on Voyager and we were pleasantly surprised at just how large this room actually is and how effective the virtual balcony is. I hope you find the video review helpful.

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Mystery Island, Vanuatu – A Day Destination From Royal Caribbean Voyager of the Seas Cruise

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Our second port of call on our South Pacific cruise this year aboard Royal Caribbean’s Voyager of the Seas was Mystery Island.

We really weren’t sure what to expect as we had read and been told many different things about this little island at the Southern end of Vanuatu. In spite of all the things we had heard we were very pleasantly surprised!

Mystery Island is a tender port, so the ship comes to a stop quite close to the island and it is then about a 10-15 minute tender boat ride to the small jetty on the island. We arrived a little bit early at 8am so some early bird tenders were run before the shore excursions began. I’d definitely suggest if possible, do a shore excursion first thing in the morning so you are guaranteed off the ship early in the morning and have the most time possible on the island. 

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Noumea, New Caledonia – A Day Destination From Royal Caribbean Voyager of the Seas Cruise

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Noumea, the capital of French New Caledonia, has become a popular tourist destination from Australia and New Zealand especially as more and more cruise lines dock their ships there for a day as part of a cruise itinerary.

Can you see it all in one day though? I would say no. It is possible to see quite a bit if you plan it out well.

We recently visited Noumea for a day, arriving on Royal Caribbean’s Voyager of the Seas at 8:30am and departing at 4pm on a Thursday.

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