Voyager Of The Seas

The 1999-built Voyager of the Seas cruise ship is the first Voyager-class Royal Caribbean liner, followed by the sisterships Adventure OTS, Explorer OTS, Navigator OTS, Mariner OTS. At the time it entered service, Royal Caribbean's Voyager of the Seas was the largest cruise liner in the world, heralded as the most revolutionary ship ever built.

The vessel (IMO number 9161716) is currently Bahamas-flagged (MMSI 311317000) and registered in Nassau.

History - construction and ownership

Royal Caribbean International (RCI) is a US passenger shipping company, trademarked travel brand and subsidiary owned by Royal Caribbean Group (RCG/shipowner). RCI was established in 1968 and currently has over 1/5 of the worldwide cruise market. RCI also has RCG's largest fleet by both vessel number and GT tonnage (ship sizes and capacities).

All RCI liners have names ending with "of the Seas".

The 3400-passenger ship Voyager OTS has been bypassed in size by the Freedom-class and the world's largest Oasis-class liners. However, it's still between the largest ships in the world, with a range of the most un-cruise-like places at sea.

The most revolutionary ship ever built changed forever the cruising industry with such never-before-seen facilities as an ice skating rink/TV studio/concert arena, rock-climbing wall, in-line skating track, horizontal atrium (now known as the Royal Promenade), and inside staterooms with a view. The rock-climbing walls are now on every RCI vessel, and the Ice Skating Rink and other facilities might also be enjoyed fleetwide.

Decks and Cabins

Voyager Of The Seas staterooms (1708 total, in 34 grades) include 121 Suites, 669 Balcony, 228 OceanView, 157 Promenade View, 533 Inside (including Virtual Balcony). Most cabins are sized 150-160 ft2 (14-15 m2). Most cabin balconies are sized 50 ft2 (5 m2). The largest is Royal Suite (1090 ft2 / 101 m2 plus 215 ft2 / 20 m2 terrace with Jacuzzi). Wheelchair-accessible cabins are 27.

The boat has 15 decks, of which 14 are passenger-accessible and 9 with cabins.

Shipboard dining options - Food and Drinks

From the meals in the Sapphire Restaurant, ship's main dining rooms, to the buffet choices in Windjammer Cafe and options available at 24-hour Cafe Promenade, food aboard Voyager of the Seas is well prepared with plentiful choices, especially considering ship's capacity.

The Windjammer buffet restaurant offers an egg station at breakfast and a carving station at lunch. Vegetarians will do better in the MDR at lunch. The buffet features the items offered on the main dining room menu. The Italian-themed Giovanni’s Table charges a US$20 per-person cover charge (specialty beverages, wine, beer and soda are paid separately), and offers a multi-course meal.

Follows the complete list of Voyager of the Seas restaurants and food bars.

• Main Dining Room (839-seat complementary venue fka Sapphire Restaurant/aft-positioned)
• Windjammer Cafe Lido buffet restaurant (310-seat, offers Early Breakfast at 6:30 am, Breakfast between 7-11:30 am, Lunch 11.30-3:30 pm, and Dinner 6.30-9 pm)
• Giovanni’s Table (Italian specialty restaurant, reservations recommended)
• Chops Grille (80-seat steakhouse/seafood)
• The Tavern
• Izumi (Japanese cuisine)

Johnny Rockets (capacity 80 seats/1950s-style burger bar) was another specialty restaurant selling fast food favorites like hot dogs, burgers, chilli fries, onion rings. However, this signature for RCI eatery was removed during the drydock refurb in 2019.

Shipboard entertainment options - Fun and Sport

During the day, cruisers will find plenty of activities aboard Voyager of the Seas, such as bingo, art auctions, dance lessons, seminars, rock-climbing wall competitions and even sexy man contests. Poolside, a live band plays a blend of American and Caribbean songs.

Nighttime features the gorgeous La Scala Theater inspired by the legendary La Scala in Milan, Italy. Decor elements include a stage velvet curtain with jewel-like embellishments and Murano glass chandelier. The theater sets the scene for exciting Broadway-style production shows. The ice skating show is another must-see.

Onboard Voyager of the Seas clothing is casual during the day. Evenings dress is either casual, smart casual or formal. On casual nights, suggested clothing is sports shirts and slacks for men and sundresses or pants for women. On smart casual nights, men have to wear a jacket and a tie, while women wear dresses or pantsuits. On the formal evenings (one or two per cruise), men might choose between tuxedos or suits and ties, while women wear cocktail dresses.

Additional amenities include Complimentary 24-hour Room-Service, supervised Youth program, Internet/WiFi Access, Laundry.

Follows the complete list of Voyager of the Seas lounges, clubs and other entertainment venues for kids, teens and adults.

• La Scala Theatre (1347-seat, features two grand productions per night with dance, acrobatics, comedy and game shows)
• Screening Room (54-seat cinema)
• Studio B Lounge (700-seat indoor ice-skating rink; also serves as a spot for ice shows, cooking demos, game parties)
• Focus Photo Gallery and Shop; Art Gallery (art auctions are organized in the Cleopatra’s Needle Lounge)
• The Centrum (social hub); Star Lounge; The Golden Room (Casino Royale invitation-only VIP guests lounge); Next Cruise Lounge; Concierge Club (26-seat; suite and past guests only); Viking Crown Lounge and Bar; Crown Lounge (fka Diamond Club Lounge & Bar for past guests only/27-seat); High Notes Lounge and Bar (60-seat jazz club) with Crows Nest (70-seat observation room)
• Schooner Bar (150-seat piano bar); 130-seat lobby bar; Ben and Jerry’s ice cream bar; R Bar; Pig and Whistle English Pub (40-seat); Duck and Dog English pub (75-seat); Pool Bar; Sky Bar
• Casino Royale (500-seat)
• Cafe Promenade (108-seat, 24-hour; serves snacks and drinks, as well as Starbucks specialty coffee)
• Royal Promenade Boutiques (perfumes, jewelry, duty-free alcohol, general store, logo/souvenirs); Sea Trek Dive Shop
• Royal Caribbean Online Center (Internet computers room; 24-hour)
• Vitality at Sea Spa and Fitness Center; 7 jacuzzis; 4 pools
• Solarium lounge (includes Park Cafe, pool bar and adults-only pool area)
• Outdoor movie screen
• Video Games Arcade; Optix Teen Disco club; Living Room teen lounge area; Royal Babies and Tots Nursery
• Adventure Ocean kids lounge area
• Sports Court (golf simulator, table tennis, basketball court); Jogging Track; Rock-climbing Wall; Voyager Dunes Golf Course
• Skylight Wedding Chapel (40-seat, provides religious services).

During drydock 2019 refurbishment (September-October), on Voyager OTS was installed The Perfect Storm (dual-racing waterslide complex) aft on Deck 13 (opposite the Mini-Golf Course and between the FlowRider and the Sports Court).

The Perfect Storm is complimentary and includes 2 racer slides (“Cyclone” and “Typhoon”). Both spiraling slides are positioned portside and accessed via a 3-floor-high, glass-enclosed swirling staircase. There are no age restrictions, but there are passenger height and weight requirements - min 48 inches (122 cm) and max 300 lbs (136 kg).

Itineraries

Voyager of the Seas itinerary program is based on Australia and New Zealand cruises out of Sydney. In the summer, Voyager sails in Asia with departures out of Hong Kong and Tianjin. On relocation voyages between Australia and Asia (RepositionCruises.com), Voyager OTS visits ports in Thailand and Vietnam as well as Singapore.

Season 2018-2019 (April through June) had Royal Caribbean's longest-ever Southeast Asian program. The ship had scheduled total 90 departures (3- to 9-nights roundtrips from homeport Singapore) including:

• 3-day weekend cruises to Malaysia (Penang-Klang)
• 4-day to Malaysia and Thailand (Penang-Phuket)
• 5-day to Klang-Penang-Phuket
• 5-day to Laem Chabang (Bangkok overnight)
• 7-day to Klang-Penang-Langkawi-Phuket (overnight)
• plus B2Bs (back-to-back cruises)

Voyager OTS had scheduled an Asian 2021 program with homeporting in Tianjin-Beijing (China to Japan, starting August 1st) and in Singapore (starting November 4th), but in July 2021 the deployment was canceled (through April 2022).

Due to the Coronavirus crisis, Voyager OTS was paused for 2 years (March 2020 thru April 2022), restarting on April 15th (9-day repositioning from Barcelona to Copenhagen). The European program was based on Baltic roundtrips from homeports Copenhagen Denmark and Stockholm Sweden. Followed Canada-New England itineraries (out of Boston MA) and in the Southern Caribbean (out of San Juan Puerto Rico).

In 2021, RCI also planned to homeport Voyager OTS in Los Angeles California (June through December) for 3-4-night roundtrips to Mexico, but the deployment was canceled.

Note: On Sept 18, 2022, Voyager OTS returned to the USA (docked at Boston's Flynn Cruiseport) for the first time in 10 years. For the last time, the boat visited the US in 2012 (April 12th, Port NOLA New Orleans) during a relocation voyage from the Caribbean to Asia via Europe and Suez Canal. In Asia, Voyager OTS was homeported in China (Hong Kong, Shanghai, Tianjin), Japan (Yokohama), Singapore.

Voyager is Royal Caribbean's first Voyager-class liner, with sisterships Adventure, Explorer, Mariner, Navigator. Voyager OTS was built in 1999 by Kvaerner Masa (Turku Finland) - shipbuilder of all vessels in this series. The company is now part of STX Europe (a division of STX Holding, South Korea). In 1999, Voyager OTS was the world's biggest passenger ship. They used to call it "floating sea'" because of its innovative design. All Voyager-class liners were world's biggest - until the arrival of the Cunard liner RMS Queen Mary 2 in 2004.

Kvaerner Masa-Yards delivered Voyager OTS to RCI on October 29th and christened on November 20th, 1999. The inaugural cruise (maiden voyage) started on Nov 21st out of PortMiami (7-day Western Caribbean itinerary visiting Ocho Rios Jamaica, Cozumel Mexico and Labadee Haiti). In 2004, the ship changed homeport to Cape Liberty Bayonne NJ/NYC. In 2006 started the summer homeporting in Galveston Texas and in 2011 - in Port NOLA/New Orleans. In 2011 RCI announced that starting June 2012 Voyager OTS will be deployed in Asia/China and homeported in Shanghai.

The vessel's godmother was Katarina Witt (notorious figure skater / Playboy model).

Fun fact is, that Voyager OTS is the first-ever cruise vessel to have an ice-skating rink, rock-climbing wall and Royal Promenade (marble-paved street / approx 3/4 of ship's LOA length).

Since 2018, the ship's Master is Captain Wu Huimin - RCI fleet's first Asian (Chinese) shipmaster.

Itineraries 2016-2017 Asia charters

In 2017-2018, the ship was also operated under charter for roundtrips out of Singapore. The charterer was the travel agency TIRUN Travel Marketing - RCCL's exclusive representative for India. The scheduled cruise ship charter itineraries ranged from 3- to 8-night in length and targeted specifically Indian passengers. Among the visited ports were Malaysia (Kuala Lumpur), Thailand (Phuket, Bangkok), Vietnam (Da Nang, Nha Trang, Penang).

Voyager OTS refurbishment 2019 review

The ship was "Royal Amplified" in 2019 as RCI fleet's 4th vessel redesigned and upgraded by RCI's newest drydock refurbishment program. Voyager OTS also received some fleet-first (and industry-first) features during the scheduled 2019 drydock (41-day project, September 10 through October 14) in Singapore (at Sembawang Shipyard).

Deckplan changes after drydock 2019 included:

• added "The Perfect Storm" - aquapark with two waterslides (Typhoon and Cyclone).
• added "Battle for Planet Z" (laser tag course) in "Studio B" (ice-skating rink)
• redesigned "Adventure Ocean" (kids facilities), upgraded kids programming (children 3-12 yo)
• added Royal Babies and Tots Nursery (for babies and toddlers). Until 2019, Voyager OTS was the fleet's only liner without a nursery.
• Teens-exclusive hangout was updated and was added an adjacent outdoor laid-back/sun deck.
• Ship's wellness complex (Vitality Spa and Fitness Center) on Deck 12 was enhanced and enlarged. The complex was relocated from forward to aft.
• A total of 72 new staterooms (interior and balcony) were added. New "family cabin" categories were introduced - CB (Connecting Balcony), CO (Connecting Oceanview), CP (Connecting Promenade Interior) and CI (Connecting Interior).
• An exclusive Suite Lounge (with an outdoor seating area) was added for passengers booked in Grand Suite and above.
• Diamond Lounge was created for "Crown and Anchor Society" members (by RCI's loyalty program).
• Johnny Rockets (80-seat burger bar) was removed.

Voyager OTS' "Royal Amplified" 2019 drydock project cost USD 97 million.

Voyager OTS refurbishment 2018 review

The ship’s drydock refurbishment 2018 resulted in the following deckplan changes:

On Sports Deck 13, the RCI’s signature waterslides “Cyclone” and “Typhoon” were installed (next to the FlowRider simulator).

On Spa Deck 12 (aft), the new “Slashaway Bay” kids aqua park was added. This is an interactive water play area (with cannons and geysers) replacing the old Outdoor Youth Area (aka “back deck”).

The new water park and the duo of waterslides were first introduced on the ships Liberty of the Seas and Harmony of the Seas (Oasis-class).

Voyager OTS refurbishment 2014 review

The list of deckplan changes after ship's May 2014 drydock included:

• (On deck 2) 4 new oceanview cabins were added in the place of the Board Room (starboard). Also, the Theatre was renamed from “Coral” to “La Scala”.
• (On deck 3) 19 new interior cabins (category Q) were added in the area of “The Vault” (Disco Nightclub, 297 seats). Also here, the “Photo & Art Gallery” (starboard) was renamed to “Focus”. It was also reduced in size, making space for 15 new Oceanview cabins (category I). Another 5 cabins were added portside. Main Dining Room was renamed from “Carmen” to “Sapphire” (level 1).
• (On deck 4) “The Vault” was replaced by “Giovanni’s Table” (Italian restaurant). The “Aquarium Bar” (portside section) was replaced with “The Tavern”, and its starboard section – with “Art Gallery”. Also here, the Main Dining Room was renamed from “La Boheme” to “Sapphire” (level 2).
• (On deck 5) the show lounge was renamed from “Cleopatra’s Needle” to “Star Lounge”. The “Connoisseur Club” was renamed to “The Golden Room”. The “Ben and Jerry’s” was renamed to “Ice Cream Parlor “. The “Champagne Bar” was replaced with the “R-Bar”. The Main Dining Room was renamed from “Magic Flute” to “Sapphire” (level 3).
• (On deck 6) an interior room (number 6137, forward) was added and the “Business Services” desk was renamed to “Next Cruise”.
• (On deck 7) an interior room (number 7139, forward) was added.
• (On deck 8) an interior room (number 8237, forward) was added and the “Royal Caribbean Online” was renamed to “RC Online”.
• (On deck 9) an interior room (number 9237, forward) was added and some Inside cabins were converted to Virtual Balcony (category VB) staterooms.
• (On deck 10) an interior room (number 1233) was added. Stateroom categories were changed – from category L to K, and some were converted to VB-Virtual Balcony.
• (On Lido Deck 11) in the main pool area, a huge movie screen (outdoor theatre) was installed. Also here, the “Bridge Overlook” was renamed to “Peek-A-Boo Bridge”. The “Day Spa & Fitness Center” was renamed to “Vitality at Sea”. The Portofino restaurant was replaced with “Chops Grille” (steakhouse). During the refurbishment, the “Island Grill” bar and the “Florist” shop were both removed.
• (On Spa Deck 12) spa cabins were added around the ship’s bow area. The “Optix Teen Disco” was renamed to “Teen Disco” and the “Video Arcade” was added. The “Adventure Beach” kids play area was renamed to “Outdoor Youth Area”.
• (On deck 13) the In-line Skating Track was replaced with the FlowRider simulator.
• (On deck 14) the portside-location rooms “Cloud Nine” and “Seven Hearts were replaced with the “Izumi” (Asian restaurant). The starboard-location “19th Hole” lounge was replaced with the “Diamond Club” – a signature venue for “Crown & Anchor” (RCI loyalty program) members only.
• Cabin amenities were upgraded with new flat TVs in all cruise staterooms.
• Digital signage (way finders) on several decks were installed. These touch-screen boards allow you to know your way around the ship.
• Wi-Fi coverage was upgraded to shipwide.

Onboard entertainment options were upgraded with the “DreamWorks Experience” (themed characters entertainment).