Our Vision of the Seas dec 3, 2012 cruise was great...

[wieslaw]

We just got back home from our VOS 11 night sailing and I am happy to report, that our sailing was great.

The embarkation was smooth and quick and we were on board the ship around 11am. Cabins are not ready untill 1pm , so Windjammer was the destination - that is where the food was waiting already.

 

After getting something to eat, we started to look around the ship to familiarize ourselves with the ship.

It is a beautiful ship and imo, it is in a very good condition. Very clean and extremely well maintained. I did not see any areas or furnishings that were worn or deterriorated. Despite its age everything looked new to me. It is easy to find things and manuver from one public area to another. All off the public area seemed to be close to each other and easy to find.

 

Wife and I appreciated the decor of the ship; mostly light cheerful colors done the way we like it.

We also enjoyed the beautiful art work, especially in the centrum on all levels. We liked the size of the ship.

The ship was partially decorated for the holidays and a day or two later all the christmas decor was done and that made the ship even more atractive.

 

We had a mid ship cabin cat L on deck 4 very close to centrum. It was a very good location for us: very close to centrum where a lot of activities were often taken place on deck 4 ( like music, dance classes, lectures, culinary demos, flag parade ) , close to champagne bar, close to the elevators, close to the MDR, close to GR ( just one floor up), close to photos display, close to embarkation and debarkation point at the start and end of cruise ( deck 4 centrum), close to gangway - centrum deck 1 , the way out to the ports.

 

It was also a good place to be during the first few days when there was some movement of the ship (strong wind and rough seas), and being low and in the mid of the ship, the movement was not as noticeable. We were very happy with our cabin location ........ and in addition we had a very good cabin attendant.

 

We dined at the Aquarius Dining Room main seating ( which is in the time frame for 'arrival/ entering' 5:45pm - 6:30 pm) , our entry time was mostly 6pm and the dinner took about 90 minutes, but I have seen some people coming in at 6:30pm or just a little later. We had a perfect location ( for us) right in the middle of the dining room , table for two Nr 144. Luck was on our side and we had two excellent dining room staff. Perfect service : always on time and at the proper temp. What was to be served hot - was hot , what was to be served cold was cold. Very cordial , well organized, professional service.

 

We enjoyed every single dish that we ordered: wife had mostly sea food , I had mostly meats. Not even one bad meal or dish in th whole cruise. When the waiter noticed that I or wife had some interest in another dish beside what we ordered ....... that dish appeared on the table in addition to what we ordered.

 

The My Time Dinning in the Aquarius was: 5:30 pm - 9:30pm. ( arrival time)

The second seating in the Aquarius was: 8:30pm - 9:30pm ( arrival time)

The Aquarius MDR was open 7:30am - 9:30 am for breakfast and on no port days: noon - 1:30pm for lunch.

 

One morning we decided to take advantage of the 'free specialty coffe' offered to members of the upper tier of the C&A and when we got to the Aquarius there were not many C&A members in the designated section. The specialty coffe of my choice was quickly delivered, order was taken and the selection in the MDR buffet was good as well - the whole experience was good.

On another day there were probably 100 or 200 members of the upper tier in the designated area and there were not enough wait staff to take care of the large number - so the service was very sloooow.

 

One night we went to the windjammer after our dinner just to see what they serve there. The hours for casual dining - dinner there are 6:30pm - 9:00pm.( arrival time) We were there around 8pm. There were quite a few people there and it seems to me there were good and many selections of food. So one can not go hungry on the ship unless one chooses that option.

 

The windjammer was also open with different food ( breakfast, lunch, snacks) from 6am to 5pm. Most of the breakfasts we ate at the windjammer and we always found something that was very good and enjoyable.

The omlet stations ( just two) usually had a little line and some waiting time was required.

 

The service in the windjammer was very, very good. The food selections and presentations were very good as well. There were times when all or most of us decided to show up at the same time - it was a little tricky to find a table. Some people just stayed there even when not eating and ocupied the tables that some could use for dining , There were also tables for 4 or 6 that only two people were using them and others were to shy to join them.

 

Several times I / we stopped at the solarium cafe that is open : noon - 6:30pm and offers during that time pizza/hot dogs/burgers/sandwiches. And again 9:00pm - 1:00 am , pizza, hot doge, burgers. They also had some fruit there , some salads, tomatos, picles, lettuce, fries. Burgers and pizza I tried and I did like it, but the pizza is nothing special. It is not like some pizza that I order when I am home - Square deep dish with 8 corners by Jets is what I like.

 

There was one more option for snacks that I did not try - it was in centrum on deck 6 at Ben & Jerry's from 7am to midnight.

There was another place on deck 9 ( just across from windjammer) that had the ice cream / frozen yugart machine ....... that place is definietly very addictive and the machine calls you when you walk by it ....... sometimes 4 or 5 times ...... it is very hard to refuse its offering.

 

With all the food available and hard to resist ..........No wonder my waist line expended ......... even that I used the stairs most of the time. I even tried the fitness center ( operates 6am to 10pm) couple of times but it was not much help : I walked on the thread mill ( going nowhere) untill I got tired ...... and that thing showed that I burned 450 cal ......... the pice of cheescake that I had afterwards probably had more than 500 cal ....... so I was loosing the battle.

 

The Vision had a record number of C&A members on our cruise - over 1400 - the total number of guests was close to 2000 ...... so the C&A were the great majority.

There were few pinacles, over 200 D+, around 800 D and the rest the other levels.

So the Viking was pretty full at the 5PM receptions.

 

Due to the large number of the upper tier C&A members, the Vision's staff had to divide the group in two for the reception in the Enchanted Evening Lounge ( two different time invitations were sent out - one for 5pm and one for 7:45pm.

We liked all the shows and enjoyed the music that all the different bands offered in different places. Our favorite was the Teddy's Band.

 

We did not do much in the ports ( we have been in all but one - previously). The only place that we took a tour was in St. Vincent - our first visit there. It was a 2.5 hour tour ( it was actually a ltlle longer) purchased from the ship. Tour KG16 - Kingstown Highlights. It showed us the downtown area, Fort Charlotte , botanic gardens and a museum.

 

The ship did not spent much time in St. Vincent : arrival time was 7:30am and scheduled departure 1:30pm ...... I heard that two people missed the ship, even that the good Master, Captain Lis waited for them extra 40 minutes.

 

We really enjoyed our cruise very much and are very glad that we did book it. when we did ( the price was nice).

 

Our debarkation was very smooth as well, we walked out with our bags around 9am ....... we decided not to put our bags in the halway ...... after talking to a fellow cruiser who never got his luggage thanks to port workers in Port Everglades. His bag went on Liberty even that it was properly taged for the Vision and it was placed on the proper luggage cart in pier 2 in front of the Vision. If anyone wants to know more - ask and I will write what happened.

 

We had a great cruise and I believe anyone else going on the Vision will have a good one too.

[wieslaw]

Sorry, but I put the wrong number for the pier , in my post above. And I can not edit that, because it is past the time allowed for editing.

 

His bag was placed on the proper cart in pier 4, that is where Vision was.

 

Pier 2 was where Liberty was.

[linda joy]

happy you had a great time

my husband and I are on VOS jan 14th for an 11 day.

I loved your review, it make us feel better about an older ship.

was the Viking at 5pm a diamond nightly event and what did

they serve?

we were just on Liberty of the sea's, which was a transatlantic

and they served mixed drinks and a great cocktail buffet

every night from 5 to 8:30.

very crowed as well..

thank for any information.

Linda

[TiggerTwo]

We were on this cruise also and agree with everything wieslaw has written. It was a great cruise with some interesting ports and a great crew.

[wieslaw]

.......was the Viking at 5pm a diamond nightly event and what did

they serve?

 

Linda

 

Hi Linda,

 

Yes , it was the D nightly event.

Sorry, I do not know about the drinks - I just went there once for a very short time. It appeared to me that it was a nice event with a bunch of good people enjoying the cocktail buffet, their drinks and mostly each other's company.

 

I am sure someone else will provide more information about what was served ...... there were so many people there and many of them are cruise critic members.

[TiggerTwo]

It was a D nightly event and even though they called it a Diamond Lounge from 5 to 8:30, mixed drinks were 25% discount and the usual drinks were provided free such as champagne and wine. They had a great variety of snacks. There was cheese varieties, hot things such as chicken wings and lots of crackers with different toppings. Believe me the wine flowed freely and steadily and all had a great time in the Viking Crown Lounge. The lounge was full all the time. After Sept when the ship undergoes the changes RCI is making, this will all be changed. However, this was so well done and the lounge crew did an incredible job of making all the Diamonds & above feel like very special people.

[wieslaw]

Hi Tigger Two,

thank you for your help.

 

I am glad that you enjoyed the cruise as well - it was a good one.

[pn1]

An excellent review; I am looking forward to the cruise from San Diego to Fort Lauderdale next April.

 

Paul in Australia

[Darkwolfe]

Good to hear that the ship is in great shape. We board in under a month and a half for the 11 night itinerary. Got a deck 4 outside near the Centrum as well.

 

I'm quite hoping I like the outside cabin as this will be the first time in that category. I've been in balcony cabins on all of my previous cruises. More cruising if the outside fits well. :)

[stretchcruz]

Thanks for the review, we'll be on Jan 4!!

[we like it hot]

We also were on this cruise. We felt it was one of our better cruises. Captain Lis was awesome. She was always visible in different areas of the ship and we feel the crew was outstanding.

[wieslaw]

.......... Captain Lis was awesome. She was always visible in different areas of the ship and we feel the crew was outstanding.

 

Hi,

I feel the same way about the crew and Captain Lis. What a nice and personable lady she is ...... I also have seen her few times talking to people who stopped her on her way wherever she was going. Always nice and polite, willing to share her time with the guests.

 

In St. Vincent, I was standing with my wife on deck 10 right above the bridge. At 1:30pm we saw Captain Lis , the staff Captain and couple other officers standing on the bridge and nervously looking at their watches. Captain Lis kept looking at the exit from the terminal ...... and kept looking at her watch as well. Something must have been wrong ...... the speakers kept asking for two passengers . It was about 2:10pm when the ship started to move away from the pier. Someone told me later that two people missed the departure.

That was a very nice and kind thing that the Captain did, if she was waiting for the two missing people. I am sure that the ship had to burn more fuel to make up for the delayed departure.

 

Have you heard anything about the missing people ? were they really missing ? and if they were did they catch up later ?

[PathfinderEss]

Thanks for your review, glad you had a good time.

[fred111]

Thanks for your review. We are looking forward to cruising on her in February. We like the small ships much better than the large ones.

[Galveston Cruiser]

DH and I were also on her and thoroughly enjoyed our FOV cabin. We have always had a balcony so were a little apprehensive, but loved the location and space.

Having sailed the Voyager class so many times, we really enjoyed the "smaller" ship and ease of getting around.

It is easy to tell she is an "older" ship as parts are coming off in the cabin. The door to cover the frig was hanging from one hinge. When reported, the cabin steward just took off the entire door! The drapes were missing some hooks and hung at odd angles

Our wait staff in MDR was fabulous. Bruno (head waiter) Milen (waiter) and Jennifer (asst. waiter) were the best.

 

The only complaint is lack of staff in the Diamond lounge. After several complaints over 3 days of waiting 30 minutes plus for a glass of wine, they did bring in extra staff.

However, one of the waiters said they had not expected so many diamonds????

 

The ship knows how many - that is a poor excuse and a mark against RCI. It is also too much of a burden to put on 2 -3 waiters when the DL is full.

[RedHeadTexan]

Great review! I absolutely loved the Vision, and booked the Legend 11 day while onboard because I really like this class of ship. I posted a review when I returned on December 3rd, and am glad to see you posted one as well. There were so many negative reviews this year, that it's nice to see that I am not the only one that enjoyed the Vision. :D

 

Lisa

[wieslaw]

[quote name=Galveston Cruiser;36389033........Our wait staff in MDR was fabulous. Bruno (head waiter) ......... and Jennifer (asst. waiter) were the best.

 

The only complaint is lack of staff in the Diamond lounge. After several complaints over 3 days of waiting 30 minutes plus for a glass of wine' date=' they did bring in extra staff.

However, one of the waiters said they had not expected so many diamonds????

 

The ship knows how many - that is a poor excuse and a mark against RCI. It is also too much of a burden to put on 2 -3 waiters when the DL is full.[/quote]

 

Hi,

 

we also had Bruno - and we liked him very much .

Jennifer - we talked with her so many times, mostly when entering to the windjammer ..... what a happy person.

I guess we were in the same area in the MDR.

 

Our cabin did not have any issues ....... but it was also smaller than yours and no frig.

 

You are absolutely correct about not having the proper number of wait staff for D and above ........ I am sure that they knew ahead of time how many of 'us' will be on board the ship ........ but there was not much that they could do about that ....... they do not have any extra people ...... and the record number of D on this sailing was just too much for them to handle. The D and above designated section in the MDR had the same problem.

[north29]

Glad you made it home with your luggage, still in disbelief that they sent the other guys luggage to the Liberty, they must have gone out of their way to do it I will agree the ship is VERY nice and it was a interesting cruise.

 

I wrote a review of sorts, but not as glowing as yours, not negative either, have not decided to post it or not.

[KirkNC]

Welcome home, thanks for the review.

[39august]

Does Vision have a concierge lounge, please?

[Clarea]

Does Vision have a concierge lounge, please?

No, not scheduled until Oct 2013.

[Galveston Cruiser]

Hi, You are absolutely correct about not having the proper number of wait staff for D and above ........ I am sure that they knew ahead of time how many of 'us' will be on board the ship ........ but there was not much that they could do about that ....... they do not have any extra people ...... and the record number of D on this sailing was just too much for them to handle. The D and above designated section in the MDR had the same problem.

 

They actually brought in more staff after the third complaint.

 

Nice dinner with the staff captain:)

[wieslaw]

Glad you made it home with your luggage, still in disbelief that they sent the other guys luggage to the Liberty, they must have gone out of their way to do it I will agree the ship is VERY nice and it was a interesting cruise.

 

I wrote a review of sorts, but not as glowing as yours, not negative either, have not decided to post it or not.

 

Hi,

thank you .

We enjoyed your company and hope to see you again.

 

Yes , we did make it home with our luggage, but..... there was a small problem. My luggage went on the same flight as we did but wife's luggage was sent early ( without our knowledge) and was not there on the belt in DTW ....... so wife got very concerned that all of her stuff is gone ...... but Delta found the luggage, and every thing was Ok.

 

The guy that his luggage never made it to the ship was a true gentleman, I really liked him.

 

Please post your review , you might have different observations than we did.

[wieslaw]

............

Nice dinner with the staff captain:)

 

It was a pleasure and fun dining with you at this nice table.

Too bad that our hospitable host's name is misspelled on the photos.

[stretchcruz]

That's great you got to dine with the staff captain! How did that come about?