Vision of the Seas?

[NOSaints1]

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

[Clarea]

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?

Vision completed a major revitalization dry dock this past October, so should be in very good shape. I also like the idea of cruises to the Southern Caribbean from Florida, i.e., not having to fly to San Juan.

[Darkwolfe]

See my pre-refit review from Feb 2013 on Vision. Linked in my sig. That should give you a good feel for the whole experience.

Edited April 11, 2014 by Darkwolfe

[kruzerci]

Those itineraries are fantastic. Southern Caribbean from a port 6 hours away? I'd love it, its just hard to leave the office for more than 5 business days at a time.

[Merion_Mom]

See my pre-refit review from Feb 2013 on Vision. Linked in my sig. That should give you a good feel for the whole experience.

 

And here is a post-revitalization thread:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1973232

[debshomespun]

We spent 21 nights on sister ship Legend this Jan/Feb. Did the 10/11 nights B2B, and had a wonderful time. Yes, you should try it, especially if it is your first RC cruise. Those little ships make for a very nice and intimate cruise. You will get to know your fellow cruisers, and also many of the crew. A win/win for everyone!

[Tropicalgal2]

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

Edited April 11, 2014 by Tropicalgal2

[NOSaints1]

How was the food and entertainment and is it a ship for 9 or 10 days?

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[mommabean]

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

 

Do it! I love the ship, the crew and the captains. You have lots of additional dining options, too.

 

There are no cons.

 

Gina

[LuvBNatC]

Thanks for starting this thread. I wasn't aware there was an RCCL ship sailing from Florida into the Southern Caribbean. I'd do this cruise in a heartbeat. I've never visited the southernmost destinations because flying to and from San Juan to catch a ship is the pits.

 

Qualifier: San Juan itself is lovely. But I've gotten stuck in the airport twice and it was like being in the Twilight Zone.

 

I was on the first sailing of Vision out of drydock in late October 2013 and she was pristine. The bathrooms had been redone with more storage space. (Unfortunately, they didn't replace the clingy shower curtains with doors. :( )

 

Public spaces are beautiful, particularly the Centrum. Crew very friendly, especially the bartenders at the R Bar and Schooner Bar. They seem to enjoy their jobs. I would recommend the ship for a first-time cruiser without reservation. Happy sailing! :D

[A Pisces]

We did an 11 night cruise to Hawaii on a similar size ship, the Rhapsody, and had a great time! It is a perfect size for a cruise like you are describing.

 

Thanks for bringing it to my attention. I have been wanting to do a Southern itinerary from Florida, since my husband hates the longer flights, so this sounds perfect for us! :D

[NOSaints1]

We're flying to San Juan in November. How is space area? What would you say is the best thing about this ship is?

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[LMaxwell]

Lovely ship, was onboard in November. In December 2015 Serenade goes to ABC islands and key west for a 9 day out of Florida if you want the slightly larger Radiance class.

 

Sent from my cm_tenderloin using Tapatalk

[Clarea]

We're flying to San Juan in November. How is space area? What would you say is the best thing about this ship is?

Solarium and Park Cafe.

[NOSaints1]

If you were to choose between the Seneade for 9 to the same islands except Grand Cayman it's 959for an O/V in December out of FLL or the Vision out of Tampa that is 10 days and is 879 for an O/V. I would pick the Vision but just wanted to know the difference in ships?

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[Darkwolfe]

I'm going to tell a small story on myself and friends from last time on Vision.

 

We decided to do a pub crawl through the ship after dinner one evening. Missed a couple of the bars since we had late seating and they'd already closed. Turned out to be no big deal as we found ourselves at the bar for the Some Enchanted Evening lounge.

 

There was practically no one there except the bartender, Diego. So Diego asks us what we'd like and we tell him he's the last stop on our pub crawl. Can't think of anything brilliant to order, so Diego suggests we give him a flavor and he'll come up with something.

 

Ok, so flavor ideas start kicking along and Diego whips out an iphone. He had a searchable drinks recipe database on his phone that had some 4000+ drinks in it!

 

So we went through a decent number of shots, but stopped before we got too pickled. The next day, we discovered that Diego had thoroughly enjoyed the game as much as we had. We got tagged with the team title of "Shot Stars" for the rest of the cruise. Other bartenders were looking out for us when we came around.

 

It was all in good fun and we aren't foolish enough to get totally sloshed. It's time to stop when getting buzzy. But the bar crew had a good laugh and so did we.

 

That's the kind of thing I like about smaller ships! Getting to know the crew a bit better than you do on a bigger ship and thus, have an even better time.

[Clarea]

If you were to choose between the Seneade for 9 to the same islands except Grand Cayman it's 959for an O/V in December out of FLL or the Vision out of Tampa that is 10 days and is 879 for an O/V. I would pick the Vision but just wanted to know the difference in ships?

Serenade is newer and a bit bigger than Vision, but the ships share much of the same basic setup. One main centrum, covered solarium, two-deck dining room. Serenade has the pool tables, the kids pool area, more specialty restaurants, and glass elevators with views to the outside.

 

I'd still take the extra day on Vision.

[rubrrick]

Solarium and Park Cafe.

 

Bob.......I agree.....almost. It's the Park Cafe, then the Solarium!:D

 

The Kemmelwick roast beef sandwich, which I first tasted and enjoyed on the Allure of the Seas, just puts my taste buds on "High Alert" for good food. I actually now do it without the bun, and extra a jus, as I'm trying to work on my waistline!

 

Actually, Izumi's is not bad either, IMHO! I know that food is very subjective!

 

Rick

[ShawninFL]

I'm going to tell a small story on myself and friends from last time on Vision.

 

We decided to do a pub crawl through the ship after dinner one evening. Missed a couple of the bars since we had late seating and they'd already closed. Turned out to be no big deal as we found ourselves at the bar for the Some Enchanted Evening lounge.

 

There was practically no one there except the bartender, Diego. So Diego asks us what we'd like and we tell him he's the last stop on our pub crawl. Can't think of anything brilliant to order, so Diego suggests we give him a flavor and he'll come up with something.

 

Ok, so flavor ideas start kicking along and Diego whips out an iphone. He had a searchable drinks recipe database on his phone that had some 4000+ drinks in it!

 

So we went through a decent number of shots, but stopped before we got too pickled. The next day, we discovered that Diego had thoroughly enjoyed the game as much as we had. We got tagged with the team title of "Shot Stars" for the rest of the cruise. Other bartenders were looking out for us when we came around.

 

It was all in good fun and we aren't foolish enough to get totally sloshed. It's time to stop when getting buzzy. But the bar crew had a good laugh and so did we.

 

That's the kind of thing I like about smaller ships! Getting to know the crew a bit better than you do on a bigger ship and thus, have an even better time.

 

Amen! Couldn't agree more. This is exactly why we like the "smaller" ships. This just doesn't happen when you go to a larger ship.

[Crystalkrt]

Thank you for this thread! I was wondering the same things!

[maxs mom]

We sailed two weeks on he Vision in February and absolutely loved it. Love the smaller ship feel. Somehow, we just feel better taken care of! Here is the review that I did for that trip if you're interested. We love the Serenade, too!

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2000899

[mommabean]

If you were to choose between the Seneade for 9 to the same islands except Grand Cayman it's 959for an O/V in December out of FLL or the Vision out of Tampa that is 10 days and is 879 for an O/V. I would pick the Vision but just wanted to know the difference in ships?

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

 

In my opinion they ruined the centrum on Serenade during the refurbishment. I finally saw it on a cruise out of New Orleans. They blocked it off so much from all of the previous access openings. They actually put huge, white, high backed chairs in front of the opening that had been between the 2 elevators facing the centrum. Not only are they ugly, no one can stand behind them and see anything since they are so tall. There really was no need to place permanent seating in that area. The previous movable furniture was better and more attractive.

 

As much as I love Radiance class ships, I'm so thankful they didn't redo the centrum on Radiance of the Seas. It's still beautiful with the curved stairway coming down from the deck above.

 

Vision of the Seas had a major upgrade to the centrum. They removed all the multi level platforms filling the centrum making it into one huge, open dance floor but they still have a central stairway coming down the middle between the elevators and then splitting off to each side. It is much more open now and very usable.

 

In fact, it's easier to see the centrum aerial show on a Vision class ship than it is on a Radiance class ship. Basically, Vision of the Seas is now superior to Serenade in this respect.

 

I still love the water view from the other elevators. But how much time will you be spending in those elevators?

 

The gym is far, far superior on Serenade if that interests you. I consider the Vision class ship gyms a major waste.

 

Currently, both ships have great teams working on board. I've been on both of them in the past 6 weeks.

 

Gina

Edited April 12, 2014 by mommabean

[Clarea]

...

The gym is far, far superior on Serenade if that interests you. I consider the Vision class ship gyms a major waste....

I agree with you on this Gina, the gyms have been disappointing on Vision class. No real steam room or sauna on Enchantment. Don't know about Vision.

[MADflyer]

I agree with you on this Gina, the gyms have been disappointing on Vision class. No real steam room or sauna on Enchantment. Don't know about Vision.

 

Vision has small locker room, Finnish sauna and steam room. Exit out other end to relaxation room, similar to Radiance class.

 

The gym one level up is basic.

[Clarea]

Vision has small locker room, Finnish sauna and steam room. Exit out other end to relaxation room, similar to Radiance class.

 

The gym one level up is basic.

Are the sauna and steam rooms on Vision large enough for several people at a time? The reason I ask is that the only steam "room" on Enchantment is a one person steam shower, which unfortunately was out of order last cruise.