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| Scott's Lounge, Voyager |
I'm sitting in the Scott's Lounge, in a deep burgundy, square armchair, amongst many other deep burgundy armchairs which are set out in rows and squares across the lounge. Voices rise and fall around me, as people talk of previous cruises, holidays, train journeys and today's programme. Others read, or doze, or sit with furrowed brows, heads down, concentrating on a crosswords.
So what's the ship like? We arrived on board yesterday and our first impression is that Voyager is a lot shorter than the ships we're used to, and a bit more square and boxy. At only 560 maximum passengers, it's bound to be. We took a quick saunter around the decks, and to us, it feels small.
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| Darwin Lounge, Voyager |
The lounges are all relatively contemporary , clean and well maintained. So far we've sat in the Darwin Lounge to watch last night's show, eaten in the very pleasant Veranda Restaurant, and admired the gentle ambience of the Library as we've walked through. The Lookout Lounge at the front of the ship is where Peter is holding his art classes, and it's a really nice space.
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| Veranda Restaurant The Voyager |
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| The Library, Voyager |
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| Lookout Lounge, Voyager |
We've had a quick walk around the external decks too. Taking a promenade all the way around the ship isn't possible, as there is only one deck to walk on, and it only extends about two thirds of the way from the rear of the ship to the front. There is the Sun Deck at the top of the ship, which I'm sure is very popular in warmer climes. For me, the lack of external deck space is a little disappointing, and adds to the boxy feel of the ship, making it feel more enclosed than we are used to.
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| Sun Deck, Voyager |
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| Hot tubs and swimming pool, Voyager |
Our cabin is up to the usual standards, the bed is massive because they've pushed two single 3ft beds together to give us a huge double, and we've massess of storage space in the cupboards. The bathroom is edging towards tired, but it's clean and we are happy. No kettles in the cabins again, but tea and coffee making facilities are available 24/7.
Voyager prides itself on the standard of its lecturers, so at some point we'll have to check them out. The staff are mostly Phillipino, meaning delightfully happy, smiling and helpful. The show team, or theatre company, as they are described on Voyager, seem very skilled and professional, and the entertainment team as a whole seem well organised. Scarily, we seem to be on a well oiled machine, which bodes well for the rest of the cruise.
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| The Veranda, a small but very nice covered deck area off the back of the Veranda Restaurant, Voyager |
Today is a sea day, and Peter has had his first class. 20 keen , eager and forgiving passengers turned up and waited patiently as we worked our way through understanding a new ship, new processes and new ways of providing materials. They seemed happy at the end of the class and promised to come back for a second time, so Peter must have done something right.
The weather today has been quite amazing. First of all the sea has been amazingly mill pond smooth, meaning the ship has hardly rocked or rolled at all. Secondly, we have been surrounded by fog all day - with only the briefest view of the sun as it tried vainly to burn its way through the mist and damp. Visibility has been so poor that we've decided we could easily be travelling around in circles on the same flat stretch of water and never know. I'd really like visibility to improve, or how am I going to get to see the whales around here?
Tonight is formal night, so time to get the posh togs out, and tomorrow is another sea day and Peter's second class. Let's see how it all goes then.......
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