Voyager of the Seas

When Voyager of the Seas entered service in November 1999, the two features that attracted the most press were also the two most unlikely to work: an interior street that ran 130 meters below deck with storefronts, bars, and a pub, and an ice-skating rink on a ship expected to spend weeks in the tropics. Both worked. Both still do.

The Royal Promenade is the ship's spine. Sorrento's Pizzeria, Ben & Jerry's, the Schooner Bar, Café Promenade (coffee and pastries around the clock), a pub, and themed nights that turn the promenade into a parade route give the interior street a life that no other public space on any other cruise ship exactly replicates. Studio B — the ice rink — seats 900 for ice shows, runs public skating sessions with rentals, and is among the most unusual features you can encounter on a ship doing 22 knots in the Tasman Sea.

The 2019 refurbishment was focused rather than comprehensive. Perfect Storm waterslides (three racing slides added at the pool deck) updated the outdoor amenities for guests who compare Voyager against the amplified Freedom-class ships. Playmakers Sports Bar arrived as Royal Caribbean's standard sports venue addition. The promenade and Studio B remained unchanged — a deliberate decision to preserve the ship's historical identity.

Voyager of the Seas is homeported in Australia and serves the Sydney and Southeast Asia markets with Caribbean-style programming adapted for Asia-Pacific itineraries. For Australian guests in particular, Voyager has been the flagship Royal Caribbean experience for years: the promenade, the ice rink, the rock climbing wall — features that continue to deliver the same response from first-time passengers that they delivered in 2000, because nothing else in the region matches them.