So we are going on the Vision in a few weeks

[travelwide]

Sailing on the Vision in August. Do not like hearing negative comments. I will re[ort after our cruise. We are Diamond and have not had a bad cruise. There maybe things that are not perfect but it is a vacation and much better than being at work. Happy Sailing. Royal should listen to all complaints however and fix things that can be done better.

 

Are you on the 8/18 Bermuda cruise? If so, looking forward to meeting up with you in the DL.

 

Alma

[WishIwerethere]

I'm sure your cruise will be fine,

Royal's top cruiser Super Mario Salcedo is sailing on Vision the whole summer, he has sailed over 500 voyages so I doubt he would be sailing Vision if there was a problem

 

No offense please but Mario has nothing to do with the service some people have had on Vision. I hope Mario has no issues, and I'm sure he gets treated well by staff. Maybe he is on Vision since most of the mid size class shops are all off to Asia or somewhere else.

[bonsat]

Are you on the 8/18 Bermuda cruise? If so, looking forward to meeting up with you in the DL.

 

Alma

 

Alma, did we meet you on Azamara in December? If so, th weather is better in Charleston this time of year.

Bonnie

[Paulxyz2004]

Does it make sense to attempt to make a company aware of what appears to many to be some recurring and disappointing aspects of one particular ship so they can help both themselves and their customers by looking into it and addressing it?

 

Ideally the cruise line should appreciate being informed if they really want to learn and improve. If I hear a few people have gotten food poisoning at my favorite restaurant from a certain dish, I'd probably make sure the management knows what I had heard before I actually ordered the same dish.

 

IMO it only makes sense if you are the one that has used the product and experienced the Problem. Sending them a note of concern about complaints you have read on the Internet is not going to accomplish anything and I agree that it sort of wastes their time. What are they going to do with your notice. They should spend their time on adressing real complaints and not deal with someone notifying them about complaints of other People not even knowing if those complaints are for real and if those People have ever stepped onboard.

 

The only helpful Messages for the cruiseline / Company are from those who have actually had the Problem - that´s something they can work with.

 

There´s nothing wrong with a bad Review or a Problem reported, but to notify RCI about bad Reviews / Problems of others is OTT IMO.

[CruisinShips]

IMO it only makes sense if you are the one that has used the product and experienced the Problem. Sending them a note of concern about complaints you have read on the Internet is not going to accomplish anything and I agree that it sort of wastes their time. What are they going to do with your notice. They should spend their time on adressing real complaints and not deal with someone notifying them about complaints of other People not even knowing if those complaints are for real and if those People have ever stepped onboard.

 

The only helpful Messages for the cruiseline / Company are from those who have actually had the Problem - that´s something they can work with.

 

There´s nothing wrong with a bad Review or a Problem reported, but to notify RCI about bad Reviews / Problems of others is OTT IMO.

 

Noted. I would want to know if there seemed to be a trend of negative comments about a part of a business I owned, regardless of the source. I'd say thanks for letting me know, read what this person was telling me about, and determine the validity for myself. It's not uncommon these days for hotel and restaurant chains having people employed whose job it is to scour social media for reviews...I would think the cruise lines probably do the same thing as nowadays online perception can make or break a business.

[mollyeilis]

Does it make sense to attempt to make a company aware of what appears to many to be some recurring and disappointing aspects of one particular ship so they can help both themselves and their customers by looking into it and addressing it?

 

No, it doesn't make sense to tell a company "other people are talking about you".

 

It also doesn't make sense that you would think they would really really address it with you.

 

"And that shows me they just aren't really listening."

 

It shows that they aren't going to go into depth with you the results of their surveys, what they will be doing, etc etc.

 

 

 

Noted. I would want to know if there seemed to be a trend of negative comments about a part of a business I owned, regardless of the source. I'd say thanks for letting me know, read what this person was telling me about, and determine the validity for myself. It's not uncommon these days for hotel and restaurant chains having people employed whose job it is to scour social media for reviews...I would think the cruise lines probably do the same thing as nowadays online perception can make or break a business.

 

Why not assume RCCL has those same sort of employees, though? I certainly do.

 

They have their ways of finding things out. Let them do what they do.

 

Or if we must write preemptively, don't expect them to write back with details. Expect them to say "thanks!" and that's about it.

[orville99]

If you cruise long enough you'll experience every one of the laments in the negative reviews sooner or later. You'll also experience every one of the positives as well. Funny thing is over time, you can remember the positives a lot more clearly than the negatives.

 

For us, the next cruise is always the best cruise:)

[DChamp]

Wow... the reviews DO have me worried!

We're doing one on 8/9 and luckily we're in a JS... but I hope the dining room is better than reported.

[xmasteach]

Watch your step, broke arm first day on last Bermuda cruise. Not a pleasant experience.

[CruisinShips]

No, it doesn't make sense to tell a company "other people are talking about you".

 

"Other people"? How about 'on a very popular website, in the forum dedicated specifically to your company's products, one particular cruise ship in your line has received an inordinate number of negative comments relative to other ships, and I thought you might want to be aware of this trend and the perception it carries with it, as it might adversely impact the future success of that particular product'.

 

Sorry. I just can't see anything wrong with expressing that, and I can't see how any business would not appreciate that.

Edited July 2, 2014 by CruisinShips

[palofmine]

The cruise is going to be HOW YOU MAKE IT. If you read negative reviews and keep them in your head and "look for the wrong" then your expectations are going to be set WAY TOO HIGH and your vacation review will be negative, cause you didnt enjoy your own experience. Dont expect 5 star, i dont, its vacation, I dont really care. I dont have to cook, clean or cater to anyone.. good enough for me. Im there to enjoy not complain. Unless its something REALLY REALLY bad, a health hazard or falling issue, Im not worrying about it.

[palofmine]

I was on the vision 10 night bermuda cruise earlier this month and too was very concerned about all the negative reviews. While there were some minor issues (MTD and room issues) we still enjoyed this cruise and have some great memories. This was our first royal cruise (cruised Disney and ncl before)and like I said we enjoyed it, but definitely not like our other ones. Loved the itinerary though and if you have kids the kids clubs was awesome! My kids loved it there.

 

 

I am happy to hear about the kids clubs. my kids are going on their first cruise with us... 13 and 11, and i am reving them up about the activities. :) Thank you.

[palofmine]

I'm not going to address the OP specificially, but reviews in general.

 

In the reviews I've read, there seems to be a defining event that causes everything else bad to snowball. Someone got treated poorly, and from that moment on, every little thing that is bad gets reported.

 

Now, yes, I'm generalizing, and not ALL negative reviews fall into this category. But it seems that many of them do.

 

That bad event causes everything else to be under a microscope.

 

I guess reviews should be about the negatives, but also the positives. But the flaming reviews, so many of them at least, seem to be all negatives.

 

Does the Vision deserve it? I don't know. It could depend on the itinerary, the experiences (read nationality) of the reviewer, because that affects expectations, and the C&A level. These, I know, are generalizations too.

 

Readers of reviews and these threads need to ponder all of these things before determining if something reasonably meets their own expectations.

 

Someone who is Super Triple Platinum (hehehe) C&A who didn't get the seat they wanted in the MDR and was stuck at a table with a couple who didn't abide by the suggested dress code may just complain about things that someone who is on their first or second cruise would never even notice. Maybe, maybe not. But its something the reader should consider.

 

I've read some bad reviews/posts of the Oasis class ships. But, my experience was anything but.

 

I too am on Vision at the end of the year. I can assure everyone if the service isn't up to par, my DW will be at Guest Services. She'll complain. Oh yeah, she will.

 

 

Agree! we had a big problem with Food on the Oasis, and we have been on many many cruises. It did NOT deter our vacation, instead, we went to the speciality restaurants, and enjoyed the ship and ports to the nines! If you dont like something, change it. Dont like the food in MDR? go to windjammer, dont like the loud pool go to solarium or your room. You make your vacation.

[palofmine]

We were on the 10 day Bermuda cruise in June. We had Late Seating as I would never think of doing MTD on a smaller ship like this. The crowd on this sailing was in large part older cruisers, many from Fl., and they all seem to prefer earlier eating times, either early Seating or showing up early for MTD. I heard from several people that the wait times for MTD were long. We had six people at our table for ten and had great service from the Wait staff. So be forewarned.

 

Our cabin attendant showed up promptly on boarding day, asked us if we needed anything; we gave him what we needed and he showed up within two hours with our extra stuff, and kept up with replenishing our cabin during the week whenever the stuff was needed. He was quite unobtrusive but did his job efficiently and effectively.

 

The Jammie was the Jammie. When taking hot food for breakfast or lunch always stir the serving pot and take stuff off the bottom which will be hotter then food sitting on the top of the pot. Frequently the plastic serving utensils were hotter then the food which shows the staff at least was trying to keep the food hotter.

 

The Park Cafe, in the Solarium Pool complex, had better food then the Jammie but a much more limited menu.

 

For lunch we either ate at the Park Cafe or did the Tutti make your custom salad in the MDR (Sea Days). Twice we did the Jammie. Tutti is the best choice for lunch on the ship. At lunch one day a fellow pax requested a dessert off the menu and did the Tutti along with us. We finished the Tutti and left the MDR. We found out later that she got her dessert 35 minutes after finishing her salad.

 

This is a common theme we heard, that the MDR is very slow for breakfast and standard lunch. so be forewarned.

 

An older couple at our table ate breakfast several times in the MDR as well as lunch. They finally listened to us and switched to the Park Cafe/Tutti salad choices and were satisfied the rest of the trip.

 

The ship has been totally redone and looks beautiful. Tilework, carpeting etc. all looks almost brand new. The world cup was on the big pool screen so we would mosey out from the Solarium pool to the main pool whenever a game was on that we wanted to see. Otherwise we hung out in the Solarium.

 

As for entertainment, the Vision is not the Allure/Oasis duo so what you see is what you get. The best show was the Jersey Boys tribute, with the four performers meeting each other while doing Les Mis on Broadway so there is a basic high talent level there. Don't know if they will appear on this ship again. Otherwise it is the standard RCI singers and dancers doing RCI singer and dancer routines, as well as the usual guest stars. The combos appearing around the ship were good and we could always find somebody we liked and go to their performances.

 

Best show was the new aerialist performers appearing in the Centrum on the final evening aboard the ship. Great show and the rebuilt Centrum with dazzling computer controlled lighting was an effective backdrop. Very crowded so get there at least a half hour early for good vantage points on whichever deck you want to watch.

 

We haven't been on one of these older ships in almost a decade; we booked strictly for the ports, Charleston and Bermuda. The rest we quickly figured how to handle issues and were satisfied. I would rather make the best of a situation and improve our trip then grumble during a long trip; no satisfaction from writing a long complaint letter when the problems are easily fixed while on board.

 

Boone Plantation is a must see in Charlestown.

 

I have to offload our 3 memory cards so I can set up a new photosharing site on the net, Webshots is gone.

 

TIP: i found that if you eat with a group at Breakfast, you will have a longer wait. They wait till everyone is done with a certain course then bring everyones food all at once. This is why I sit ALONE or just me and hubby in MDR for breakfast.. its much faster... and I ask for all my food to come at once at Breakfast. :)

[travelwide]

Yes, Jim and I were on the Dec. 8th cruise. You will have to refresh my memory about who you were. Were you part of the smoking group that my sister sat with??

[travelwide]

Alma, did we meet you on Azamara in December? If so, th weather is better in Charleston this time of year.

Bonnie

 

 

I just had a flash.....ignore my previous message. You were the couple that played the newlywed game with my sister and husband on stage. Hope I am correct.

 

What else do you have planned for future cruises???

 

Alma

[Cruisin' Cats]

Vision needs the Freestyle Machine!!! How does this ship go through a refurb, without having the Freestyle machine installed?!? Maybe if those of us just wanting just a "pop" were able to help ourselves (which we PREFER to do!), it would "free-up" (pun intended) bartenders to help the bar crowds!

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[Clarea]

Vision needs the Freestyle Machine!!! How does this ship go through a refurb' date=' without having the Freestyle machine installed?!? Maybe if those of us just wanting just a "pop" were able to help ourselves (which we PREFER to do!), it would "free-up" (pun intended) bartenders to help the bar crowds! [/quote']

For whatever reason, Royal is not putting Freestyle machines on ships that are not based in the US full time.

[bonsat]

Yes, Jim and I were on the Dec. 8th cruise. You will have to refresh my memory about who you were. Were you part of the smoking group that my sister sat with??

 

no. we were the ones that won the love and marriage game. we spent quite a bit of time together. we are from boynton beach but originally bronx and brooklyn.

[palofmine]

Vision needs the Freestyle Machine!!! How does this ship go through a refurb' date=' without having the Freestyle machine installed?!? Maybe if those of us just wanting just a "pop" were able to help ourselves (which we PREFER to do!), it would "free-up" (pun intended) bartenders to help the bar crowds!

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums[/quote']

 

 

Note to self, get cup refilled in dining room and viking lounge during the day instead of busy bars.

[bonsat]

I just had a flash.....ignore my previous message. You were the couple that played the newlywed game with my sister and husband on stage. Hope I am correct.

 

What else do you have planned for future cruises???

 

Alma

 

anything but the vision. we were disappointed in the june 9 bermuda cruise. waiting for another fab deal like we got with azamara. we were on the constellation in february and enjoyed it very much. say hi to your sister and the brothers-in-law.

[Darkwolfe]

anything but the vision. we were disappointed in the june 9 bermuda cruise. waiting for another fab deal like we got with azamara. we were on the constellation in february and enjoyed it very much. say hi to your sister and the brothers-in-law.

 

Really?? We had a pretty good time even though I was battling some seriously bad migraines (Needed a chiropractor visit BEFORE the trip and didn't know it).

 

I thought your arm was fairly well taken care of. You seemed fairly chipper a few days later.

[bonsat]

Really?? We had a pretty good time even though I was battling some seriously bad migraines (Needed a chiropractor visit BEFORE the trip and didn't know it).

 

I thought your arm was fairly well taken care of. You seemed fairly chipper a few days later.

 

you have me confused with someone else.

[Justmekaren918]

For whatever reason, Royal is not putting Freestyle machines on ships that are not based in the US full time.

I was told on BOS that it had to do with the gift shop and the travel mugs vs the ones given. I thought the answer was full of holes but, whatever!

 

I guess I will just have to wait until Liberty, she has a freestyle machine?

[Darkwolfe]

you have me confused with someone else.

 

We spoke at least three times in passing. Sorry, you had a bad time. Just didn't seem to me that you down that much while we were on board.

 

Hopefully things will be better for you.