By Loretta Jimenez

As a first-time cruiser, I wasn't sure what to expect. All I knew was that we were confirmed on a seven-night western Caribbean cruise on Royal Caribbean International's Voyager of the Seas. Our voyage from Miami would include several exotic pots of call including Haiti, Jamaica, and Mexico. Still, I had no idea on what a truly grand experience this would be.

Miami was an exciting start to our trip. Never having been there previously, we decided to arrive a few days early and stay in South Miami Beach. It is a good idea to arrive in your departure city a few days before your cruise's sailing date. With a flight and cruise departure scheduled very tightly, a delayed flight could cause a would-be cruiser to "miss the boat". Nobody wants that! Practicality aside, Miami Florida and its surrounding areas are well worth a few days' visit.

Upon boarding I began to feel nervous. Of course it didn't help that we had gone to see The Perfect Storm the night before. The ship was huge! The very friendly and helpful staff welcomed us aboard and took the first of many delightful pictures of us. Things went well from the start, no worries or stress. I checked my reality at the desk and stepped onto service, relaxation, beauty and fun!

We found our stateroom in excellent condition. It was tidy and orderly, with a welcome newsletter on our bed. Next we went to explore the ship and what would become our favorite spot - The Windjammer - a buffet-style restaurant. The Windjammer had something for everyone, great fresh fruits, a good variety of entrees and even some ethnic dishes. In my opinion, the Windjammer did breakfast best . . . I couldn't wait to get there each morning!

The Islands

Labadee, Haiti was our first stop . . . a private area owned by Royal Caribbean. The water was warm and the cove was so small that the ship could not dock. We had to take a small boat over to the island. It was great to wake up and see land after being at sea for two days. Activities on the island included parasailing and banana boat rides. We opted to skip the group activities and enjoy the beach. "Floaties" as we referred to them, were provided. We laid out on the water with our floaties and relaxed. Royal Caribbean provided a barbecue lunch on the island. We had burgers, great fruit, hot dogs and chicken as well.

The water was great, but of course we couldn't leave the island without a few gifts. So we set out to hit the marketplace. We were bombarded with locals approaching us, asking us to look at their merchandise. I found I couldn't "just look" as we're so used to doing when we shop in the states. Any inkling of interest was quickly noticed and pounced upon by merchants. My boyfriend had to sit the shopping out after only a couple of minutes in the marketplace. I, being the persevering shopper that I am, negotiated myself through a few purchases. Warning- shopping on the island of Labadee is not for the faint of heart.

Ochos Rios, Jamaica was our second stop and my favorite. Friendly locals immediately greeted us. Most were trying to sell us cab rides or personal tours of the island. Still they were genuine in their welcome. We shopped first. Shopping in Ochos Rios is much more like what we're accustomed to. There was still the notion that no price is final. I found that there were some special items that were specific to being in Jamaica. However the prices seemed right in line with those in the states.

After several hours of shopping, we took a friendly cab ride over to the Dunnes River Falls. Once again, we decided against the paid and guided tour. We were going to enjoy the falls at our own rate. Upon arrival, I was beckoned over by a few women who were braiding hair. So I, like most of the females under 30, got my hair braided, which was nice. The look was appropriate, and cool too! I mean cool like my hair was out of my face which kept me from getting too hot. But also they were cool like I was looking very hip! After my hair braiding was done, we were off to conquer the falls! We walked down to the bottom of the falls. The park itself was gorgeous. The lush greenery was amazing and the trees were full of life with birds chirping all the while. Initially, the falls looked very intimidating to me. My first impression was that this was a bad idea! The water is trying to push me the opposite direction than I intend to go and the rocks are slick! The park was packed with Royal Caribbean cruisers and the falls were lined with them. From the bottom all the way up to the top was one line of tourists, all holding hands and being guided up the mountain, through the falls. It was slow going at first for me, but in a few minutes time, all my childhood agility and courage resurfaced and I was climbing comfortably. Almost at the top of the falls, we found a couple of spots where the rocks had settled in formations that remarkably resembled reclining chairs. We sat in our waterfall/rock recliners for few minutes and enjoyed the cool water running through, the green trees and bushes all around, and we watched some local kids having a blast in a swimming hole type of area nearby. I could have stayed in my waterfall recliner a long, long time. But we were on a schedule and had to return to the ship.

Our last port of call was Cozumel, Mexico. Here we decided to go ahead with the guided tour because by this point, we'd become so lazy that we didn't trust ourselves to organize all the acquiring of snorkeling equipment, and place for snorkeling, etc. We wanted to not have to think - just snorkel - and the tour worked wonderfully for that. We were escorted over to the snorkeling site in groups by taxi. We were given a short snorkeling lesson and then were let loose in the water. The water was beautiful. This was probably the most beautiful beach we visited, with by far the most fish. We ended our snorkeling trip with a cold Mexican beer before heading back to the ship.

Dinners

The dinner service was impeccable. We had a beverage server, a wine server, a food server and a bar server. We never had to want for a thing at the table. The dining room itself was gorgeous. The carpet was a rich red and a double-staircases and lavish chandeliers only added to the grandeur. Our waiter Jon was as friendly as they come. He informed us that the ship is staffed with people from 52 countries. Sandra, our wine server from Chile, helped us pick just the right bottle of wine each night. Our beverage server was Orvil from India, our food server John was from St. Martin and our bar server, who we didn't see too much, was also from the Caribbean. This was easily the best dinner service I've ever experienced. These people made the trip for us. We were sad to leave them when our cruise was over.

Stateroom

Our room was an ocean view room and I would highly recommend it. It was wonderful to go back to our own balcony and just sit and watch the sunset over the beautiful Caribbean Sea. Sunrises were equally serene. Another thing is that the boat sailed so smoothly, that if I didn't have that ocean view each morning and evening, I might have forgotten I was on a ship at all! Our stateroom attendant was great. We left quite a mess on a couple of occasions and our attendant always managed to tidy things. To top it off, each evening, we would come back to our stateroom to find animals made out of towels on our bed. They were like balloon animals except they were towel animals! It made us feel special and we were really excited to see what he would leave each night, as the animals got more and more impressive as each night passed!

As I think back on my first cruise I'd have to say that Royal Caribbean International's Voyager of the Seas is a remarkable ship. Who could have expected cruise features like a skating rink, a street fair and a rock-climbing wall? The 142,000-ton, 3,114-guest Voyager of the Seas may be one of the world's largest cruise ships, but the crew made it feel friendly and cozy. With one of the highest space-per-guest ratio in the cruise market, enhanced staterooms, expanded dining options and exceptional recreational facilities, Royal Caribbean's Voyager of the Seas should definitely be at the top of your cruise list.

Voyager of the Seas sails the Western Caribbean itinerary roundtrip from Miami.