Tropicalgal2

This is one of those dumb questions. The coffee maker in the OS suites. What kind of filter packs does it use. We want to pick up the appropriate Starbucks ones...ones that fit and work in it.

How many coffee packs are there? Do they replenish them?

In JS and above they have Coffee pots in the rooms. (Not sure about balcony as we haven't stayed in a balcony.) Our last times on Grandeur and Vision the coffee was Seattle's Best in the pee-packaged filters. They give you decaf and regular coffee. Some times we would only get regular or only decaf! :( They do supply the creamer and several types of sugar. The pots are the 2 cup type that hotel/motels have in the rooms.

We like Seattle's Best so it is ALL good for us. :D

Ship - Vision of the Sea

Deck - 8

Stateroom # - 8588

Ship - Vision of the Sea

Deck - 8

Stateroom # - 8588

Last door on the right

And I definitely agree with you about the American airline carriers...We flew Copa on this trip and had amazing service. Every meal was a hot meal + free wine!

Enjoy!

COPA is Compañía Panamá. They are GREAT. :) Like you said you get a hot meal on their flights in regular class! We love it because they have direct flights from here to many cities in America! :D

When flying to Central or South America, they are worth checking out! They are what airlines USED TO BE! :p :)

Saroyen80,

Sorry for you first impression. IF you are after your final payment date there usually isn't an adjustment BUT sometimes they will give you an OBC. ;)

We had over $600.00 price drop on our last cruise over several months. Every time I called they were more than helpful and lowered our price. Have already gotten a price reduction on our next cruise! :D

Yes, you can get better deals at the last minute BUT most people aren't close enough to ports to do that! :o

There was no need for the "Noro" comment. Do you realize that the cruise industry is MANDATED by law to report "Noro" outbreaks. Hospitals, nursing homes, and any other public facility are NOT MANDATED by law to report outbreaks!

Yes, there have been outbreaks on the cruise lines lately . . . there is every winter! Wonder how many there have been at the hospital close to you? :confused:

I just hope that you will truly give RC a chance and not let this ruin your cruise with them. Attitude is everything! :)

We booked an outside cabin 40xx on Serenade for the 19 April cruise a couple of months ago. Since 2 weeks I gladly could see a free upgrade to balcony 8130 in my RCCL personal webpage under "My Cruises" . We praised RCCL for the nice upgrade as this would be our first free upgrade at presently 400 seadays achieved. Yesterday cabin upgrade 8130 was deleted from webpage and the original inside cabin 40xx shows up again. A telephone call to RCCL could not bring any clarification and they said that 40xx is indeed the correct cabin for the upcoming cruise. No further explanations possible (I called three different tel-no.s)

Does this happen often that RCCL reverses the free upgrade to the original booked cabin? Two weeks pleasant anticipation taken in a split second......

By chance did you print your "new" document in your "My Cruise" information or do a "print screen" to a document of that information? :) That might be the only way you have any recourse! :( Without something as "proof" it would be their word against your word! :mad:

IF this doesn't get resolved, I would suggest that you write RCCL when you get back saying how much you enjoyed the cruise BUT how disappointed you were that they had such a "cruise ruining" glitch in their system! ! ! :D Hope that there is a GOOD outcome!

I'm also confused because they don't specify the nature of the discount. I'd try calling their customer service and ask. I know there's an April promo going on now, and that might account for the $200, but I don't know what the $53 would be.

Bob,

Thanks so much for your answer. I'm glad that I'm not the only one confused! :)

Love your review!

 

I have a question.......

A tour guide in Key West told us that people that drank the coconut juice got diarrhea from it. Sorry to ask such a personal question, but you guys were o.k. After drinking it? I would love to try it, but he scared me.:eek:

We have never heard of anyone getting diarrhea from drinking coconut water! :) We drink it all the time. You DO need to make sure that is is "fresh-cut" and not soured. You also need to drink it with a straw so as to not get anything from the outer husk. Here in Panama they sell bottled "auga de pipa" or coconut water.

We have done several medical clinics in remote areas of Panama and asked the people what they use drink for Kidney problems. They had all told us "auga de pipa" or coconut water. :D

After doing some research we have found that it is actually better for Kidney's than Cranberry! Who would have thought! ;)

At least several times a day.

Clarea,

Question do you know what is going on with the discounts for some booking? :confused: One we are looking at has a $200 discount with no explanation and another has a $53 discount with no explanation. I have checked the RC web to see if there are special offers but can't find anything! I don't mind the discount but it isn't state, Military or age related! I love the discount but . . . :D Have any ideas?

Looking to book a cruise on Vision of the Seas and I am looking at aft cabins as we spend a lot of time on the balcony. I can get either the starboard corner D1 on deck 7 or the corner JS on deck 8. The price difference is approximately $500. The balconies look almost the same size, of course I know the JS would be larger inside. My questions is, is noise a problem with the deck 7 cabins. I notice that deck 7 is directly above a lounge, but it appears the Diamond Club is under the starboard corner. Any feedback from recent Vision cruisers would be greatly appreciated.

Vision and Grandeur are sister ships so have a lot in common. We were on deck 7 on Grandeur and deck 8 on Vision.

We were on Grandeur of the Seas AFT JS 7654 last year. One night we did have noise from the South Pacific Lounge which was just below us. (It would be the Some Enchanted Evening Lounge on Vision but had the same type of music as Grandeur had last year.) Had friends this year on Vision that were in AFT JS 7150 they said there was no noise. It is above the Diamond Club.

We were on Vision in March in AFT JS 8588. We had no noise problem. We also had friends that were in JS 8568 and had cart noise from early morning into the night. They said that they would not get a room lower than 8574 due to the noise.

I would go with deck 8 before I would go with 7 again! From what we have read, we were lucky with not having too much noise from the South Pacific Lounge.

Hope you enjoy what ever cabin you decide to get for your cruise!

I seen a 9 or 10 out of Tampa to Aruba,Bonaire, Curaco, Key West and Grand Cayman. Just wondering your thoughts in this ship, and the pros and cons and would this be a good ship and intenerays for a first time RC cruiser?

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

In March we did a cruise out of Colon, Panama. We LOVED the ship. Everything was still new and a lot of things have been up-dated.

This itinerary would a great one. The time of the year you are thinking of sailing shouldn't have too much problems with weather.

It would depend on what you want on/in a ship. We have sailed on larger ships to us they are very impersonal. Vision class ships are smaller and to us more intimate. You get a chance to see people and talk with them more than once. We would meet people at breakfast in the main dining room and then be able to say hi when we ran into them later in the cruise. On larger ships we would meet people once and never see them again during the cruise! :cool:

To us the staff is more friendly on the Vision class ships . . . BUT there are very friendly staff people on the bigger ships too.

If you have children or teens, then a bigger ship would have more for them to do on the ship. If you are a couple or family that wants to have a good time . . . you will make which ever cruise and ship you decide to take a GREAT cruise! :D

Terri,

Thank you so much for taking the time to do this review. It is a GREAT help. Our sailing is also Eastern but the ports are a little different. :)

Makes us feel like we already ¨know¨ the ship! :D

We're doing the Eastern Caribbean on Freedom in November too!! And I agree - too much to do in 7 days. We did the Western Caribbean on Oasis last year and loved it! Which sail date will you be doing??

We'll be on the ship together. Looks like a GREAT sailing! :D

Lawrenceburg here. :D I grew up just North of Somerset. Went to school with lots of folks with the last name Mullins. We did Freedom Western Caribbean last May. Looking forward to Freedom Eastern this November! Too much to do on that ship in just 7 days!

We will try and leave some fun for you! :p

Thank you so much for these pictures! I can't wait for our turn to use it!:D I am really enjoying your review of the Vision!

Kathy,

You will LOVE the room. We enjoyed it in March. Would take it again in a heartbeat! Just wish we were on Vision again for another sailing! :o

Some Captains do adjust the ships time to the local times. It is published in the daily cruise compass.

Just read your cruise compass. It will tell you if you need to adjust your watch.

We were on Vision of the Seas out of Colon in March. It is the only cruise that we have been on that changed times during the cruise when leaving and returning to the same port!

The time change was announced in the Cruise Compass. (We were to turn the clocks ahead one hour and then back and hour before we returned to Colon.) :)

Just REMEMBER that the Cruise Compass is for the NEXT day. IF it says to turn you clocks ahead or back . . . it is for the AM AFTER that Cruise Compass day!!!!! :o

I turned ours ahead that night thinking that is was the next AM for the time change! ! ! We wondered why room service hadn't brought our food . . . :confused: We were an hour ahead! :eek:

GREAT review. Love the photos. Will be waiting for the rest of the story! :D

No engine vibrations...just wonderful!!!!

We were in 8588 22 March till 29 March. The seas were rough with a lot of wind and we had A LOT of engine vibration. With the wind there were times that we couldn't use the "side" part of the balcony. The vibration didn't bother us too much and we could get away from the wind by sitting by the next cabin's balcony wall. We would diffidently take this cabin again! ! :D

Ship - Vision of the Sea

Deck - 8

Stateroom # - 8588

Stateroom Category – JS

Starboard or Port Side - Starboard

Quiet Stateroom? (With comments on problems) – VERY Quiet! Didn't even know that there were rooms around us. Rooms were below . . . Heard nothing. Spa above . . . Didn't even know it was there! !

Was stateroom a connecting stateroom? - NO

Balcony View - Give comments on view, noting if location of any obstructions was an issue. – Clear view of the ocean in back and from the side. The balcony is a wraparound that has two parts. It did get a lot of sun but there was always a part that had shade.

Balcony Size? Normal or oversized for class? - OVERSIZED! VERY BIG! Had two lounge chairs, two chairs and a chair height table.

Was wind a problem? - YES, several days we were not able to use the "side" balcony. Had to move the chairs next tow the connecting wall because of the strong breezes.

If an aft cabin, was soot a problem? - NO

Any specific problems with this cabin? - There was no specific problem BUT we did feel the engine more then in other rooms we have had. The position of the bed also makes the wave action from side to side since the bed faces the side of the ship . . . Not a problem for us.

Any other comments? - YES, IF YOU SEE IT IS AVAILABLE . . . BOOK IT!! GREAT OVERALL ROOM! :D

Awesome, thanks Tropicalgal2! I'd love to hear more about your week on the Vision?!

 

We are now in 7658!!

We were in 8588 which is a corner on the 8th deck. We LOVE the AFT JS. They are nice and big. On Vision this year there were two chairs and a fold-out couch. (7654 was a little different layout and only had the one couch . . . Don't know about Vision though!) There was plenty of storage space and the deck is SO nice to sit on and relax! Everything was updated in September/October so it was nice and new. I LOVED the tub as we don´t have one here.

Last year we were on Grandeur in 7654 and LOVED it! The extended balcony was GREAT! ! ! The one thing that I wish I would have brought was Duck Tape. The connecting deck door would rattle at odd times. It was locked from both sides but I think that the Tape would have stopped the rattling. We had two lounge type chairs, two sitting chairs and a small table.

It was quiet except for one night. They turned down the music after on a few minutes. So it really wasn't an issue! !

Your room should be the opposite of our room 7654 last year. I am attaching photos of 8588 this year on Vision and photos from 7654 last year on Grandeur.

Vision 8588

Vision 8588

Vision 8588

Grandeur 7654

Grandeur 7654

So my wife has been asking if we can bring little snacks on our cruise in April on IOS. Crackers, chips, nuts, that sort of stuff. Has anyone had any experience with this or just know if we can or not? I wasn't having much luck on the RCCL webpage! Thanks for the help!

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Cruise Critic Forums mobile app

¡YES! :p

We have taken cookies, nuts, Chocolate covered Almonds, hard candy, individual sugar-free Crystal lite type drink mixes and sealed drink for the first day with no problems! ! ! ALL were sealed and individual or smaller sizes. :D

We are leaving next week on the Vision of the Seas Cultural Immersion cruise out of Panama.

 

We booked during the WOW sale after Thanksgiving, and got an oceanview cabin for a steal. It's just my husband and I and our 4-year old son.

 

It's been a rough few months for our family - lots of health problems, a rental home we own got destroyed by tenants and had to be fixed, a car accident, etc. etc.

 

To say that we have been looking forward to this trip would be an understatement!

 

I went to check in online this morning and found that: we've been UPGRADED to a Superior Aft Balcony cabin!!!!

 

I started crying on the phone with the RCCL agent. I'm so excited, I can't stand it.

 

I'd love to see any photos people have of these cabins/balconies as well!

 

I've never gotten any kind of upgrade on a cruise, and I'm thrilled!

SO sorry for all you have been through in the last little bit! ! ! ! :(

CONGRATULATIONS! ! !

We just got off Vision on Saturday! We were in an AFT JS on deck 8. What is you stateroom number? We LOVED our cabin! ! ! :p

¡ENJOY! :D

Here's the situation-- we booked our first Royal Caribbean cruise, a transatlantic, and have 7654, an aft D1 with an oversize balcony. Since we have many sea days, I figure we'll get much enjoyment from it, watching the wake trail behind. But DW says she'd be happy with a standard balcony, and I'm wondering if we shouldn't accept an upgrade to a junior suite for the extra room, if offered. Since we're first-timers with RCI and since the D1's would appear to be in demand, I'm thinking we might be prime candidates for the Upgrade Fairy. Another consideration might be if we'd get a port side cabin-- north side eastbound, so not as much sun, might get a bit chilly in April, might not be worth the risk.

 

Any thoughts or comments would be appreciated!

What ship are you on in the Vision class? BOTH Grandeur and Vision 7654 are JS. We were in 7654 on Grandeur last year and LOVED the balcony.

IF the price isn't too much more a JS would get you double points but the balcony would be smaller than 7654. Only you can decide which you want more the points or the balcony! :)

Oh......give me these smaller ships any day!!! The bigger ships are nice' date=' but they just make you feel so special on the smaller ships. That doesn't always happen on the bigger ships. [/size']

Jane,

Thanks for your wonderful review of the ship, the ports and what you did at each stop. I'm sure they will help others. ;)

We LOVE the smaller ships too. Like you said you are made to feel so special AND you get to meet and visit with people more than just once!! :)

Would be nice to sail some time together.

Thanks again!

We then got to meet Carl the Spice Man. He is quite the character! His home is on the side of the road in Fern Gully. Can’t beat the scenery on any side of his place! We spent about an hour with Carl, and he showed us a huge assortment of fruits as well as plants that are used to make spices. He broke open a cocoa bean pod and we all got a sample bean. Until now I never knew how a cocoa bean eventually becomes chocolate.

 

We also got to learn about and try several Jamaican fruits like sugar cane, grapefruit (sweet – unlike “American” grapefruit), almonds. I know sugar cans isn't a "fruit", but according to Elf, it is one of the four food groups!

 

We then were shown spices still in plant form including cinnamon, lemongrass, ginger root, allspice, basil, and nutmeg that I can remember.

 

Here is a picture of Carl in action. He looks like a scary dude at first glance, but he is the nicest guy!:

 

In the lower right hand corner the two green fruits with "spines" looks like Guanabana. YUMMY We have three plants in our back yard! :p

We are in the Ben & Jerry's Sweet on our next cruise, it's a regular promenade room decorated with cow stuff. We get 2 free ice cream vouchers per day and access to concierge lounge for free drinks! :)

I've heard of Ben & Jerry's but what is the number? :rolleyes: