OT: I finished every episode of Star Trek Voyager, let's discuss

[Ombligo]

I always wondered about how no matter where they stopped, someone had already told the place that the Voyager was coming and what to expect. You would think that Voyager would be making pretty much a straight beeline at high warp for home. Stops would be as needed and fast (kinda like a family road trip with my Dad driving)

So how did someone else always get there first? If someone else had faster travel, I'd have been jumping ship and booking passage.