Just Returned from RCCL - Vision of the Seas

[CruiseForever]

Having not cruised RCCL since 1995, we felt like tratiors going on a non-Celebrity cruise. Let me first say that this was a "free" Las Vegas casino trip for 50 couples--so what could be bad with "free".

 

Actually in some respects this was an awesome cruise because of the special attention that our group received.

 

We left Los Angles bound for the Mexican ports of Cabo, Mazatlan and Puerto Vallarta. Boarding is very easy in LA, and we had a VIP window to go through. Our bags arrived at a junior suite(241 square feet) within an hour. As we sailed from LA, the Hotel manager and the Casino Manager hosted a private cocktail party with drinks and all the little hor d'vors(SP) we could seek. The casino was decorated with welcome VIP signs, but more importantly badges which identify our group of 50. Free Drinks throught the cruise. We even had our own blackjack table that kept away most of the other pax, who normally screw-up gambling at sea.

 

The Vision of the Seas is a nice ship, 915 feet long, but no comparision to the M class or Galaxy class at Celebrity. There is no specialty dinning room, no Johnny Rockets, etc. This 6-year old vessal will soon be going into dry dock to be cut in half and have 90 feet added for a specialty restaurant and more space.

 

The Captain from Norway, always went by his first name....he would annouce "this is Captain Gerry(Gary). He was the "most" personable of all the Captains that we have sailed with from previous cruises. Every morning and every luncheon he roamed the dinning venues talking with the pax. He seemed geninually interested in speaking to everyone.

 

Most of the staff seemed to have inherited this disposition. However, the competence of the dining room and buffet staff left a lot to be desired. Service was spotty and uneven. There was no knowageable wine sommiliar, we never even met the maitre 'd. Waite staff occasionally forgot things and on the final night totally lost interest when they found out that they were not being double-tipped. All tips were paid by our hosts and added to the master account.

 

The food was the biggest disappointment, on a scale of 1 to 10, if Celebrity is a 10 then RCCL is a 1.5. The lobster dinner was the only thing that was actually quite good. Food lacked seasoning, originality and presentation. The soup, except for the final evenings French Onion, was never hot. The first course was horrible at best, steaks were overcooked and tasteless. There was no flavor. Dessert was better. It's hard to ruin good ice cream. Lunch in the dinning room saw much more of the same. The food was even colder than the evening and after ordering a toasted bagel with lox, I moved to the buffet for breakfast. My bagel was ice cold, nor were there any tomatoes or onions on the plate, as well. Orange juice was not very fresh. Luncheon and breakfast buffets....breakfast omlets or egges were well prepared, despite the lack of jalepeno peppers. Pancakes or waffles were mush,only the ham was edible, the bacon was cooked until it crumpled. Coffee would never fill up an entire cup from the machine. Lunch was not alot better. Selection was normal buffet, but tasteless. Hamburger and pizza bar was located inside the solarium pool area, not out on deck near main pool.

 

Entertainment was very good in terms of the bands, combos, and piano players etc. main show room singers and dancers no better or worse than Celebrity. Cruise Director/Staff were hard working, but many of the jokes were recycled. Some new material would help. How many times does one need to see the list of dumbest asked questions appear on the showroom screen. It's a canned program. Bingo Boy was really funny, the name entertainment was good. RCCL cruise staff had many more theme games etc than Celebrity, but then again RCCL was a slightly younger group. PJ party , nightgowns was fun, as was a vision quest game show that many(50 plus women) removing their bras, for some male team member to wear.

 

Formal night saw only 20% in tux. There were no informal nights, rather 5 casual, dress attire went way down on these days. Some wore shorts, and very short, with ugly tattos exposed at dinner. Gala buffet much smaller than Celebrity, just looked because of little interest in the food being served. Rccl still does Italian and Mexican night.

 

The Times Digest must be retrieved from the purser rather than having it delivered.

 

As far a sailing to Mexico, the 3 at sea days were cold 55-60 degrees around the pool. Pacific is cold this time of year and with 15 knot wind and 20 knot ship speed, this kept most people off deck or pool, thank god for the solarium and the casino(yes, we came home winners, but that was because of the special table and experienced playing partners.

 

Cabo San Lucas just doesn't much for me. It's a tender stop for 6 hours. LOts of bars that cater to the college crowd. THERE ARE NO BARGINS to buy. In fact, at Diamonds Internationl the same watch had 3 differnt discounts depending on the port.....35%Cabo, 15%Maz. 10% PV, whyen called on this they really had to scramble to say something. Maz. is a large city with some sites to see, but I'd never go back. PV is the nicest and 10 of us beacuse ofthe food shipboard ate at a wonderful retaurant LaPaLapa right on the beach. The tortial soup was wonderful and the lobster and shrimp as good as any we've collectively enjoyed. It was the high light of the trip according to the entire group at dinner. Some very nice jungle tours in the area, at =half the price f the tours onboard using a local van driver at the pier.

 

I'm sure there are other things, but at the moment I've about run out of time. We'll be glad to answer any questions.

 

Looking forward to the Summit, next April 11th.

 

Ron and Marie

[Cruise Cat]

CF - I share your disappointment on the food on the Vision, though it was much better on her sister ship the Rhapsody the year before, except for breakfast (both buffet and dining room). We also had problems with our head waiter on Vision.

 

This is the main reason I have been looking into going on Celebrity next time or going back to Carnival.

 

Cruise Cat

Unofficial Ambassador for the Community

 

Vision of the Seas - 8/24/03

Rhapsody of the Seas - 9/1/02

Inspiration - 9/16/01

Jubilee - 9/12/99

 

<MARQUEE>..........................SAIL ON LMAO!!!....ALWAYS TRUE NORTH!!!...LMAO FOREVER (LF)!!!!...................<MARQUEE>

[Cauvet]

I sailed on the Splendour of the Seas last january and thought the food was almost inetible (sp?). This was the first time I didn't gain weight on a cruise and may have even lost. I was very very disappointed. We sailed on the little Monarch of the Seas from LA to Ensenada and thought that food was pretty good. I thought maybe it was a regional thing, but the Visions too.

[megsterl]

you do realize that celebrity and royal are owned by the same company right

[isujim]

Cruiseforever:

 

Do you know when the Vision is going into dry dock to be "stretched"?? We are booked to take the same cruise you did in October of 05........do you know if it will be done by then?

 

Thanks

 

Jim

[Nancyquilts]

Sorry you had so much to complain about - with free drinks I'd be happy with everything! We're taking Vision of the Seas in a month, and I plan to have a great time - we always ask our waiter for recommendations on the food, and it really helps some times. I probably prefer Celebrity over most other cruise lines because they don't have the constant loudspeakers announcing "Bingo in 30 minutes", "Bingo in 15 minutes", etc., but I'm happy just to be at sea. Nancy

[worfsmom]

:eek: :eek: :eek: :eek:

OMG............ We reluctantly booked the Vision for Sept 05 Alaska. The first time was with Celebrity, who we do prefer, but friends wanted to use up RCCL coupons so............. we're off. After reading your review I now have my doubts, but will make the best of it. (Besides I'm real good at writing letters when I return!)

I read that the Vision is in dry dock Jan 06......... that's another reason I was nervous with this ship. Is it run down? Did you get a look at any Junior Suites?

Did they have a wine package

[Cruisin Rick]

We've done a Panama Canal cruise and the Mexican Riviera cruise on Vision. We enjoyed it very much.

[hobo1937]

We were on the same cruise as cruiseforever and have an entirely different view of our experience.

 

Our dining room wait staff was attentive and very competent. Our maitre' d greeted us every evening by name and came by the table to make sure everything was to our satisfaction. Maybe our tastes are different but we enjoyed the food in the dining room. Soups were at the correct temperature and the main courses were well prepared.

 

 

We had main dinner seating on the second level of the dining room and everyone we saw was dressed appropriately, never saw anyone in shorts.

 

The captain was one of the most visible we have encountered, but his name was George and he was born in Australia of Greek parents.

[megsterl]

It seems like the more cruises you go on the more you have to complain about!! sit back and relax and have a good time!!

 

 

NANCYQUILTS when exactly are you going on the vision?? im going out of LA in feb. If you go before me let me know what you think, and please lets try not to be over critical, (like some fellow cruisers)

[hadleys9538]

Our family has travelled quite a bit, and I have to say that it amazes me how other people have been on the same trip/cruise we have been on and come back with a completely different/negative perception, while we have had an incredible time. Some people are just chronic complainers or are just looking for the negative, and I'm sure when you have that attitude, it's not hard to find. Generally speaking, if you have a positive attitude, you'll generally have a great time. There are many people who have been on this ship and have had incredibly positive reports (yes, even about the food). One was from Julierika, who just got back last week and gave a fabulous report.

[Tatka]

If you didn't notice it yet... This is Celebrity board and OP gave HIS/HER own review of the trip from the perspective of Celebrity cruiser.

 

This forum is called Cruise Critics so I think it's the right place to criticize cruises, isn't it? ;) There is no reason to snap at OP for doing so.

 

My personal expereince with Celebrity (Century) and RCI (Splendour) was that

 

1) on both line we received great and prompt service , although on Celebrity dining room service was more professional and wait team had less people to serve , making it easier for them to be more attentive.

 

2) Food was around 5-6 out of 10 on RCI vs 9-10 on Celebrity.

 

I didn't really like buffets on RCI ... Dining room had better and worse nights. 1st and last one weren't good at all..while during the other nights there were very good and not so good selections. Same dishes tasted differently on X and RCI... We were never hungry as if we didn't like one dish we would send it back and order another.

 

On the other note..I absolutely loved DR views (huge 2 story windows). I loved open 24 hours solarium pool and ship was pretty overall.

[FreesiaE]

I get somewhat concerned when other posters decide that someone's review is not to be taken seriously because it is too negative. Nothing that the original poster said was imflamatory, derogatory, a flat out lie, or even questionable at best. It was simply an opinion of a cruise that had highs (casino winnings) and lows (the food).

[hadleys9538]

Actually my parents have been on both Celebrity and RCCL (and I mean recently - in the past year). They both agree that Celebrity's food is the best of the mainstream lines. RCCL's food was good (admittedly not as good as Celebrity's), but they had more to do in the way of activities. The food couldn't have been too bad, however, since my parents are booked on the Vision with us in March. They would never have booked again with RCCL had the food been a "1.5" compared with a Celebrity "10."

 

Also, I don't think anyone "flamed" the reviewer. They were just giving their own opinions and perceptions (which is what the threads are all about), and reminding people to take the review (especially regarding the food) with a grain of salt. I mean, when someone is complaining they didn't have jalapeno at the omelet station, I would say the person is a tad hypercritical.

[FreesiaE]

Perhaps a "grain of salt" would have given the food a few extra points ;)

[hadleys9538]

Perhaps a "grain of salt" would have given the food a few extra points ;)

Too funny, FreesiaE. I had actually written back with some sarcasm of my own, but then I felt bad and edited. In the holiday spirit, I'll bite my tongue and say happy holidays!

[FreesiaE]

My post wasn't meant to be especially sarcastic; just fun to lighten the mood a bit! Have a nice holiday season!

[C 2 C]

CruiseForever:

Thanks for the review on YOUR experience. Too many people forget that all reviews are relative to our former cruises. We have had 3 trips on RCL and 20 weeks on Celebrity. Although we have not sailed RCL in the last few years I remember lots of splash but little of substance... Celebrity has left us with too many positive aspects to go back...

 

RCL type cruising however, attracted enough cruisers who like THAT style, to permit them to buy a line that offers the level of service and quality of food that we have come to expect as normal... or the standard by which we judge our other experiences.

[FreesiaE]

Did you say 20 weeks--that is around 5 months :o I am amazed by that! How lucky for you! Are there many others on your cruises who have cruised just as much or more than you? Do you get any perks for so many cruises on Celebrity?

[C 2 C]

On our recent Infinity trip to Hawaii there were 20 cruisers who had sailed that often or more... up to 50 weeks for #1. We consider ourselves very lucky and have 5 more booked for 2005... Have also done 10 cruises on Princess and 140 days on HAL

[FreesiaE]

Do you ever go home, or just swim from ship to ship once they dock ! Wow, that is an amazing amount of time at sea. Do you always see/find something new and memorable each trip you take?

[tbelian]

The Vision of the Seas is a nice ship, 915 feet long, but no comparision to the M class or Galaxy class at Celebrity.

 

Just a technicality, please dont flame...

 

There is no 'Galaxy' class in the Celebrity fleet. Galaxy is a Century class (C Class) ship.

[C 2 C]

Do you ever go home, or just swim from ship to ship once they dock ! Wow, that is an amazing amount of time at sea. Do you always see/find something new and memorable each trip you take?

 

On Celebrity we have to go home to do the laundry...

 

Water is not for swimming.... it was meant to float on or to mix with something...

 

In Jan we get off the Veendam (after 14 days) in Tampa and drive to JAX to sail on the Zenith for another 14 days...

It does not have to be a new experience... just one that was as good as the last.... Winter cruising to get away from the cold... Spring... cultural absorption in the Mediterranean... and always enjoying shipboard trivia and similar activities.... while being pampered by superbly trained staff who always have a smile for you...

[C 2 C]

Just a technicality, please dont flame...

 

There is no 'Galaxy' class in the Celebrity fleet. Galaxy is a Century class (C Class) ship.

 

Celebrity is the Class of the Galaxy

:D

[FreesiaE]

Can I hide in your luggage? I don't eat much, and I'm clean....you'll hardly notice I'm there!