2-15-14 vision of the seas

Just found out this is an "immersion" cruise. Totally surprised by this - not once mentioned to us and is too late to cancel. Going with another couple and they wil not be happy. Is the daily newsletter in Spanish? Are the slot machines paying in pesos? Will there be sent american food? I am more than a little concerned - please help me feel better about this cruise - there are wonderful ports.

Just found out this is an "immersion" cruise. Totally surprised by this - not once mentioned to us and is too late to cancel. Going with another couple and they wil not be happy. Is the daily newsletter in Spanish? Are the slot machines paying in pesos? Will there be sent american food? I am more than a little concerned - please help me feel better about this cruise - there are wonderful ports.

Yes, there will most probably be Panamanians on board since the cruise does begin in Colon Panama, but you will also find American's as well.

You will have a mix of food selections from American to local cuisine.

Slot machines are always set to take American money.

The Daily Compass will be printed in both English, for those American guests as well as Spanish. Might even find it printed in other languages depending on the ethic make-up on the ship.

Having done a b2b on Vision in Norway this past June and being immersed with Norwegians, we had a wonderful time.:D

The cruise is listed as a culturally enriching cruise on rci's site

So what do you expect, traveling outside of the USA??

Just found out this is an "immersion" cruise. Totally surprised by this - not once mentioned to us and is too late to cancel. Going with another couple and they wil not be happy. Is the daily newsletter in Spanish? Are the slot machines paying in pesos? Will there be sent american food? I am more than a little concerned - please help me feel better about this cruise - there are wonderful ports.

No joke, I just posted the following just 3 in ago...

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?p=40903542#post40903542

I saild Nov 18th so I have full details of this cruise so fire away any questions.

• Everything you want and need will also be in English
  
• Slots machines in US$
  
• Yes, MDR menu pretty the same as everywhere else on the fleet. Giovanni's is outstanding and should not be missed
  
• The ports are fabulous... Cartagena Old Town is beautiful, Bonaire snorkelling with "The Woodwind" is in my top 5 excursions ever, Aruba fabulous to self-drive the island with an open air rental jeep and extremely easy to get around, Curacao is just georgeous.
  

Other things to mention:

• The ship re-furb is great
  
• RCL entertainers singers/dancers/shows all English
  
• 1 Headliner (he had 2 shows on my cruise anyways) spoke mostly Spanish
  
• CD speaks in Spanish first and then repeats in English
  
• The entire crew and staff make it a point to walk around around the ship and say hello to everybody all the time. I have never seen such a visual and active crew interacting with passengers. Best staff ever on any ship.
  
• I met a ton of English speaking guests, have already been emailing 3 couples in particular that we hung out with.
  
• The other two couples I primarily spoke and hung out with also had a fabulous cruise.
  

I listened to a gentleman in the Diamond Club vocally complaining that RCL had done him wrong, that RCL sold him something that he wasn't used to. I say B.S. to that... the ship/food/90% of everything RCL has and delivers on any other ship is still here. Like any other cruise and itinerary, a vacation is what YOU make it and there may always be a hiccup somewhere along the way. Just as an fyi, I am Canadian... I can understand little bits of Spanish, my travel partner cannot understand a single word.... we had an absolute bgreat time!

If you keep an open mind, have a ton of fun, absolutely enjoy the Latino atmosphere (the dancing and music), you will meet many others you can talk to and share with... you will have a superb cruise that is different from seeing Cozumel and Nassau for the hundreth time! The ports are great too.

Some thiings to consider:

If you do not want to be a minority, then re-consider this trip

If you do not like Latin music, or one of your favorite things to do is dance to Waltz, etc, then this ship isn't for you either. Pianist in Schooner Bar plays classical and other more pooular music every evening.

Weather was mostly sunny and upwards to 90-95 degrees on a couple of days, is this too hot for you?

Have a great cruise :D

It was not labeled as such when we first booked it. Also, we have cruised over ten cruises out of Puerto Rico and they were never like this. I am trying to get a feel of it from other cruisers. I don't mind being with people from other countries either. It is just a little shocking to say the least. Could be very boring not being able to understand anything.

Hoopster95 thank you so much for your reply - that is what I was looking for. I love other cultures but was a little worried about my travel companions. We're you on the vision also? Sounds like they do have a specialty restaurant? Really excited about this now. Thank you, thank, thank you!

Hoopster95 thank you so much for your reply - that is what I was looking for. I love other cultures but was a little worried about my travel companions. We're you on the vision also? Sounds like they do have a specialty restaurant? Really excited about this now. Thank you, thank, thank you!

Book the 4 dining experiences option (discounted) you will not regret it.

Also the Park Cafe is a quiet place to each for breakfast an Lunch - Great food!

Hoopster95 thank you so much for your reply - that is what I was looking for. I love other cultures but was a little worried about my travel companions. We're you on the vision also? Sounds like they do have a specialty restaurant? Really excited about this now. Thank you, thank, thank you!

Here is everything you need to know about Vision of the Seas from the RCI website.

Chops Grille, Giovanni's Table and Izumi are the Specialty Restaurants that were added during the recent enhancement program on Vision.

Here is everything you need to know about Vision of the Seas from the RCI website.

 

Chops, Giovanni's Table and Izumi are the Specialty Restaurants that were added during the recent enhancement program on Vision.

These three plus Chef's Table are all included in the 4 dining options discounted as a package - Book it early as demand will be high

An interesting quote, FWIW

If you reject the food, ignore the customs, fear the religion, and avoid the people, you might better stay at home.

James A. Michener

I have found that going into a new opportunity with an open mind can result in a wonderful experience.

Hoopster95 thank you so much for your reply - that is what I was looking for. I love other cultures but was a little worried about my travel companions. We're you on the vision also? Sounds like they do have a specialty restaurant? Really excited about this now. Thank you, thank, thank you!

No problem! Yes, I was on the Vision. I wish to ask you and your travelling companion's age, and whether you are mobile/active?

The reason is that the average age on this ship was mid 40'ish and quite active. The latino culture is extremely active... ie. one of my favorite memories was salsa dancing in the pool... yes, in the pool! the flat part with about 3 inches of water... with the pool band playing. They also had 2 mid-day paella buffets pool deck during the sea days. Centrum band (R bar) superb with lively latin music at night with plenty of dancing (again same age group from 40-60 easy)... just very lively ship.

The ports would be best suited if you are active and adventurous as well (other than Curcacao). The immediate city area of Curacao is right there at port. If you're not overly adventurous or mobile, like any other cruise that's not a problem as you can book excursions right from the ship that will take you wherever you wish to go.

If you are active and enjoy snorkelling/diving (which is what Bonaire is most well known for), I cannot express my happiness enough with "Windwood Tours". Google them... they also have a booth right outside the ship pier. Note not only do you get a great sail on a large catamaran out to the reefs, but you get as minimum of an at least 1.5 hours (felt like 2!) in the water, personal attention, a great under-water photographer (charges only $25 for his CD), They serve you bear/punch/water the whole way there and back, and on the way back they stopped by the mainland shore close to the beaches and ship, and served us an awesome lunch.... this was $50 per person. One of the best values ever.

The excursions from the ship are extremely poor... they only offer one or two english options (of course with only 100-200 English speaking people on board). I only booked one of them in Cartagena and it was very bad. We ended up taking a taxi back (for $10) to old town and the Fort and had an amazing time. Bonaire/Aruba/Curcao did our own. You will find in every Port a ton of tour companies, taxi drivers, etc just waiting for you to get your business so you will have no problem whatsoever doing exactly what you plan.

I would advise you to do your homework for these ports so that you know a little bit about them and what you wish to do.

Specialty restaurants are Giovanni's, Chops, Izumi's and Captains Table. Surprisingly Giovanni's won top honors for me (and MDR table mates of ours re-booked a second time for lunch as their fave restaurant on board as well).

I forgot to mention I booked 3 tours with MyFriendMario and all 3 were reliable and delivered what was promised.

We are in our50's and very active. Have been to Curaçao and Aruba before but not the others. We are looking to catch a cab at the pier in Cartagena and do a tour that way. Maybe go to spice beach in Bonaire. I feel a lot better about this now and looking for a culturally rewarding experience and a lot of fun.

We did this itinerary April 2012 on the Grandeur ... and had so much fun we want to do it again some day. There were probably only about 30 Americans on board. Altho neither I nor my DD speak Spanish, we never found language to be an issue.

Here's the full report if you want to get a good picture of what to expect from one cruiser's perspective.

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1621018

I had some concerns going into it, but it was awesome. BTW ... watch for the pricing to come down on the suites ... This crowd hasn't developed much interest in the suites yet ... I think RCI is still building the market. Although the Jr. suites were gone by November (for early April (the gr. suites were still sitting there. I paid $800 to upgrade from a balcony to a GR about ten days before final payment.)

It was not labeled as such when we first booked it. Also, we have cruised over ten cruises out of Puerto Rico and they were never like this. I am trying to get a feel of it from other cruisers. I don't mind being with people from other countries either. It is just a little shocking to say the least. Could be very boring not being able to understand anything.

Puerto Rico is part of the US...:rolleyes:

When did you book this cruise? I looked at it over a year ago exactly because it was listed as immersion (culturally enriching, as they now call it).

I guess I don't get why it is shocking. Why should a ship sailing out of a foreign port, geared towards a foreign market...cater to you? This is what is called the "ugly American" attitude. Open your minds, try something different. Enjoy

These three plus Chef's Table are all included in the 4 dining options discounted as a package - Book it early as demand will be high

Taking our first RCCI cruise on Vision in Jan 2015. We love the specialties on Celebrity and definitely want to try these. How soon can we book the dining package?

Taking our first RCCI cruise on Vision in Jan 2015. We love the specialties on Celebrity and definitely want to try these. How soon can we book the dining package?

There's no set time that the dining options open. I'd start checking Royal's website at about the 6 month mark.

There's no set time that the dining options open. I'd start checking Royal's website at about the 6 month mark.

thanks - lot to learn with a new cruise line!!

DJSRJW.....Please check back on the 2-15 roll call so we can chat!!