Email of the Seasby Norman MarkThis story began when I emailed a joke to my editor, something I often do as part of my effort to bring good cheer and bad puns to the computing world.�� What was strange and connectingly different about my email was that I sent it from the Voyager of the Seas while we were sailing in the Atlantic ocean a full day out of Miami. There I was on the world's largest cruise ship, sitting in the twin-decked library at one of eight terminals permanently connected to the web and happily sharing the story about the culturally challenged hill person and the lost sheep. During our two-day pre-inaugural cruise, we were given various staggering statistics about this huge ship, which measures 142,000 tons.�� It is about the length of five Goodyear blimps, twice as wide as Broadway in New York, and cruises at about 25 miles an hour, faster than a speeding dolphin, slower than a whale.�� We were also told that it is 2 1/2 times the size of the Titanic before the inconvenience of the ice bergs.
In the middle of the ship, they've put a four-story mall that's two football fields long where the dedicated (and the fanatic) shopper can buy Hugo Boss clothing, Calvin Klein accessories, Donna Karan sunglasses, Paloma Picasso handbags, Polo menswear, plus items from the Sun, the Logo and Perfume Shops.� The Royal Promenade, as the mall is called, features a bar devoted to sports coverage, plus an English pub with a folk singer and a ice cream parlor for late-night snacks.�� There is also the promise of "street entertainers" such as magicians, jugglers and mimes.
The Voyager of the Seas features a spectacular, three-level main dining room, which can serve over 1900 people. The area is beautiful, even awesome. Unfortunately, to be charitable, the food aboard the Voyager has yet to equal the decor.The best that could be said about it is that the salads were superb.
The Voyager work-out facility had a huge variety of equipment, but no holders for magazines or books. It also featured twins of most machines, meaning that there was never a wait for those who wanted to cruise and build muscle. Although I did not attempt the rock climbing, I was glad it was there. The presence of a basketball court and the large, nine-hole miniature golf facility indicated that the builders were confident that this ship would be very steady. Throughout the trip we neither rolled with the waves nor felt the vibration on the engines in our room on the eighth deck. Most of the time we had to go to a railing and look at the ocean to be reminded that we were on the ocean. Our stateroom ,with a wonderful balcony and good storage facilities, was adequate, not very much larger or more grand than others we had experienced. Staterooms are available to accommodate guests requiring wheelchairs or with hearing and visual impairments. These staterooms have a �five-foot turning radius in sleeping areas, bathrooms and sitting areas and flat floors to permit easy bathroom access. The ship has two atria 11 decks high with glass enclosed elevators to give passengers the thrill of rising or dropping through space and past a mall.� The Voyager of the Seas has devoted a lot of space for activities for younger passengers. Three to five-year-olds can enjoy finger painting or Halloween Parade pillow Case coloring while the teens have a coffee house, Foosball and a nightclub with karoake nights. We salsa-ed in the Vault Disco, where the doors open when you press your hand on a hand print; enjoyed the singalongs at the Schooner Bar; avoided the cigar club; relaxed in front of hundreds of fish in beautiful tanks in the Aquarium bar and walked on gold bars to enter the casino. The Voyager of the Seas is comfortable, accommodating, grand and fun, especially when you can email your friends that you are actually sending messages from a huge, glorious ship sailing the ocean.�� To book passage on the Royal Caribbean's Voyager of the Seas, just call your travel agent or call the Royal Caribbean reservation department at 1 800 327 6700. To contact Norman Mark, phone 415 381 9269 or email normanmark@aol.com |
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It is roomy, yet comfortable ship.�� Our explorations quickly confirmed that the Voyager of the Seas is an amazingly easy ship to get around.� It doesn't feel like something longer than a 17-car freight train or four 747's (the statistical comparisons �seemed to come at me more frequently than opposing linebackers in the face of a San Francisco '49ers quarterback).�� 
There are cabins above the Promenade with windows looking down on the mall, an innovation that may be slightly ahead of its time. Then again perhaps Royal Caribbean has found a new audience of thousands of truly dedicated shoppers who have always wanted to wake up and look down on a mall.
There is a huge auditorium for nightly shows plus a complete television studio which has an ice-skating rink for both additional programs and passenger enjoyment.���