Surprise at VOS Reviews

[TwoHearts22]

We cruised on Vision of the Seas June 9 to 19 Bermuda cruise. It was not perfect but far ahead of the Celebrity cruise on Constellation we took in December.

 

The Vision cruise met our expectations. We don't understand how a cruise can get such negatives when the ship was beautiful, very clean, had abundant selection of foods, good service, and delivered us to the ports we expected.

 

Just wondering if others are surprised at the negatives reviews.

 

We ate, we drank, we had entertainment, the cabin was spotless, the bed was comfortable, the bathroom fixtures were like new.

 

We have good thoughts about the time aboard chatting with new friends at lunch, in the lounges, and around the pools. There was less smoke than we encountered on the Celebrity ship. DH won money in the casino one day when it wasn't busy and he noted little smoke.

 

I write because many are booked on future cruises on Vision and wish to say there are many positives to meet your expectations.

 

Happy cruising.

 

Trudy

Edited June 29, 2014 by TwoHearts22

[cinnamon]

Very pleased to read this Trudy. We'll be on Vision in November.

 

 

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[TwoHearts22]

Very pleased to read this Trudy. We'll be on Vision in November.

 

 

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You are welcome.

The Windjammer buffet area is huge. The tables were promptly cleared. The dining staff was watchful of anyone who needed a drink of coffee, water, juice, or missed flatware and readily delivered.

 

The Windjammer had a line of food inside the door, a grill type station in the back, another display of Asian, ribs, burgers, fried fish, French fries and more. Then a large circle station toward the front that had fruits, vegetables, lunch meats, cheeses, and desserts. In the evening the foods changed, as they also did in the morning. In the evening there was two choices of ice cream. A head waiter often circulated to visit the tables and keep watch over the service.

 

We did not visit the main dining room often because we liked to enjoy long evenings with cocktails and new friends. The main dining room had a large salad bar for lunch and some cruisers visited that salad bar and took the big bowl of salad to the Windjammer. Thus skipping the menu and service in the main dining room.

 

There was a coffee shop in the Centrum that provided pastry and cookies with out charge. Something was often happening in the Centrum and could be enjoyed from three levels with adequate comfortable seating.

 

The passengers were very friendly and made it a relaxing cruise environment.

 

I'm glad you've booked this ship. Only caution is to not let the negatives cause anxiety about your choice.

 

Trudy

Edited June 30, 2014 by TwoHearts22

[Tweety63]

Thank you! Daughter is cruising in September and really want her to have a great time:)

[TheInnocentAge]

Thanks for your comments Trudy, I'll be on the Vision in September as well.

[maxs mom]

Trudy.....Thank you so much for posting this! We love Vision and I am so sad to see all these negative reviews. Like you....we have had nothing but wonderful experiences on Vision. Will be on her again in three weeks. I am looking forward to another wonderful cruise vacation!

[britty1]

Trudy.....Thank you so much for posting this! We love Vision and I am so sad to see all these negative reviews. Like you....we have had nothing but wonderful experiences on Vision. Will be on her again in three weeks. I am looking forward to another wonderful cruise vacation!

 

Jane: Are you planning to do a review of your upcoming cruise on Vision. Can't wait to go along with you if you do. :D

[Hoopster95]

Trudy.....Thank you so much for posting this! We love Vision and I am so sad to see all these negative reviews. Like you....we have had nothing but wonderful experiences on Vision. Will be on her again in three weeks. I am looking forward to another wonderful cruise vacation!

 

Hello Jane, we both had such great experiences on our Vision cruises last year out of Colon that I fully agree with you... it's hard to imagine the amount of negativity. But there has to be some thruth to it as it's not just one or two cruisers reporting back. Very sad indeed... that Vision trip was prob in my top 3-4 cruises ever, and in very large part due to the staff (Capt Srecko, CD Rico and Carlos, awesome DL Effren, to name just a few). The MDR, Giovanni's & Chops, the entertainment staff, all excellent. Stateroom staff, and I had 3 different rooms on that 12 day b2b2b, all three were great and rooms perfect each time. I think the most impressive thing about my Colon cruise was the visibility of all the staff, offciers everywhere all the time saying hello to passengers, and even Capt Srecko the night I was in Chops making a random visit into the restaurant and saying hello at each and every table... just excellent.

 

It's both sad and interesting to see how a change over of staff can possibly change the dynamics of the ship perhaps from one month to another. I am really interested in your full review in 3 weeks, as I know full well from your prev review how good it was and extremely accurate in my view.

 

Have a great cruise!! :D

[maxs mom]

Jane: Are you planning to do a review of your upcoming cruise on Vision. Can't wait to go along with you if you do. :D

 

Oh yes.....I certainly will do a review. I hope I have some good things to report. Haven't been to Roatan before, so we are trying a beach with Island Marketing. Also will be hanging out at the Westin on Grand Cayman this time. Can't wait to give that a try. Check back some time around the first week of August. We'll be back home on the 31st.

[Tropicalgal2]

Trudy,

 

Thank you for your positive review of Vision Of The Seas. We LOVE this ship and this class. We sailed on her in March out of Panama and loved it.

 

It is nice to read a positive review! :D At times I wonder what others are looking for in a cruise when I read such negative comments! :rolleyes:

 

She is smaller than the newest ships. She has less than the big ships BUT she has her own personality! We have found the staff to be as friendly if not more so than the staff on the bigger ships.

 

We would love to sail on her again . . . maybe some day. :)

[Justmekaren918]

Trudy thanks for the great review! Did you hit some seas on the 10 day trip and how did Vision do? I will be sailing her in September.

[jebl]

We sailied Legend last year and will be on Vision in March 2015.

 

My only complaint was choice of snacks late evening. I missed the Promenade Cafe for hot chocolate and a cookie before retiring. On the Legend, and from what I have read the same applies to Vision, you must either pay for a beverage at the Cafe or go all the way to the solarium to get something. Doesn't sound like much but I am getting older and stiffer. By the end of the day I am walked out!

 

Just wish they had something in between that was complimentary.

 

Soooo, if that is my only complaint it is way down there in the dust!!

 

Looking forward to Vision in March.

[Priusprof]

Thanks for the positive comments on Vision.There has been a lot of negativity in cruisers comments and most of it has been centered on the difficulty of getting a drink because they have a drink package. The other complaint is disgruntled cabin attendants. Seems like passenger expectations are being impacted by the lack of free toiletries and mishandled requests for things like ice. We are on Vision for two weeks in November and are expecting the service and everything else to be up to RCCL standards.

[maxs mom]

Hello Jane, we both had such great experiences on our Vision cruises last year out of Colon that I fully agree with you... it's hard to imagine the amount of negativity. But there has to be some thruth to it as it's not just one or two cruisers reporting back. Very sad indeed... that Vision trip was prob in my top 3-4 cruises ever, and in very large part due to the staff (Capt Srecko, CD Rico and Carlos, awesome DL Effren, to name just a few). The MDR, Giovanni's & Chops, the entertainment staff, all excellent. Stateroom staff, and I had 3 different rooms on that 12 day b2b2b, all three were great and rooms perfect each time. I think the most impressive thing about my Colon cruise was the visibility of all the staff, offciers everywhere all the time saying hello to passengers, and even Capt Srecko the night I was in Chops making a random visit into the restaurant and saying hello at each and every table... just excellent.

 

It's both sad and interesting to see how a change over of staff can possibly change the dynamics of the ship perhaps from one month to another. I am really interested in your full review in 3 weeks, as I know full well from your prev review how good it was and extremely accurate in my view.

 

Have a great cruise!! :D

 

Hey There! Good to hear from you again. Yes.....I share the same feelings as you. That Spanish Immersion cruise out of Colon was just THE best. Ever since we came back we kept saying that we need to book the Vision again soon. So this opportunity came up with great prices on JS's (and a corner aft at that!) But we will have to move between cruises. We know going in that the dynamics are going to be different. We kept joking with Betsy, The Concierge, back in February about how her job was going to change drastically when they came to Florida! Well.....we'll see how things are soon, and I will report back and tell it like I see it! I'll definitely dig into some things and find out what's going on.

[Clarea]

We sailied Legend last year and will be on Vision in March 2015.

 

My only complaint was choice of snacks late evening. I missed the Promenade Cafe for hot chocolate and a cookie before retiring. On the Legend, and from what I have read the same applies to Vision, you must either pay for a beverage at the Cafe or go all the way to the solarium to get something. Doesn't sound like much but I am getting older and stiffer. By the end of the day I am walked out!

 

Just wish they had something in between that was complimentary.

 

Soooo, if that is my only complaint it is way down there in the dust!!

 

Looking forward to Vision in March.

Maybe the policy has changed, but we were able to get cookies for free, without purchasing a beverage at Cafe Latte-Tudes on Legend. Same on Enchantment.

[jebl]

But the beverages are not complimentary!

 

Seems strange to have the snacks free but make you pay for a plain cup of coffee or hor chocolate.

Edited June 30, 2014 by jebl

[Clarea]

But the beverages are not complimentary!

 

Seems strange to have the snacks free but make you pay for a plain cup of coffee or hor chocolate.

Oh, I see what you're saying. You're right, you have to go all the way to the Solarium for coffee after Windjammer is closed. We were fortunate that on Legend we were able to use the DL or CL for hot chocolate, and those lounges are conveniently located on that ship. Not so convenient on Enchantment or Vision.

[brickellcruiser]

Thank you for the feedback Trudy. We have been concerned because we are booked on a 5 night cruise in October on Vision. I really hope waiter and bar service improves by then. I have seen the ship go from 79% approval rating on cruise critic to 76% over the past 2 months!

 

 

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[ZoeyVictoria]

We cruised on Vision of the Seas June 9 to 19 Bermuda cruise. It was not perfect but far ahead of the Celebrity cruise on Constellation we took in December.

 

Trudy

 

 

We were also on the Constellation in December, on the sailing that spent two nights in Key West and skipped Cozumel due to engine issues, and will be on the Vision next month. May I ask what you found to be preferable on the Vision?

[TwoHearts22]

We were also on the Constellation in December, on the sailing that spent two nights in Key West and skipped Cozumel due to engine issues, and will be on the Vision next month. May I ask what you found to be preferable on the Vision?

 

The Vision was very friendly, all areas were open for us. We met many interesting passengers where ever we stopped. There was no problem getting a drink and meeting people.

 

On Constellation it was an unfriendly atmosphere from boarding on. We felt like we'd intruded on a private party. Spaces were closed, places were full, the indoor pool was reserved the first day. The smoke was disgusting: on the two promenades, all over the open pool area, and out on the deck behind the buffet. Even the specialty restaurants were booked. Holiday decorations were lovely in the main foyer but there was no entertainment and few places to sit.

We had trouble finding a place to order a drink. DH sat on the promenade inspite of the smoke. I stayed in my cabin and looked at the sea. The buffet was the place we sat together most of the time but it had a bad smell.

 

I hope to never again go on a Celebrity ship, not even for free.

 

Trudy

[ZoeyVictoria]

Thank you for providing details. We definitely were on the Constellation on a different date, as the only obvious groups on our sailing were there on a casino "deal". There were a few players at the Elite event both evenings who were quite dismayed at the Captain's announcements that we would be staying overnight in Key West, with the casino closed. It is a shame that you happened to be on a cruise with large groups that resulted in the unfriendly atmosphere you felt. Thank you for the reassurance that you found a more friendly feel to the Vision, as that is important to us also.

[WishIwerethere]

We cruised on Vision of the Seas June 9 to 19 Bermuda cruise. It was not perfect but far ahead of the Celebrity cruise on Constellation we took in December.

 

The Vision cruise met our expectations. We don't understand how a cruise can get such negatives when the ship was beautiful, very clean, had abundant selection of foods, good service, and delivered us to the ports we expected.

 

Just wondering if others are surprised at the negatives reviews.

 

We ate, we drank, we had entertainment, the cabin was spotless, the bed was comfortable, the bathroom fixtures were like new.

 

We have good thoughts about the time aboard chatting with new friends at lunch, in the lounges, and around the pools. There was less smoke than we encountered on the Celebrity ship. DH won money in the casino one day when it wasn't busy and he noted little smoke.

 

I write because many are booked on future cruises on Vision and wish to say there are many positives to meet your expectations.

 

 

Did not meet our expectation of what Royal Caribbean normally provides. Yes we got food that was good (not great). Shows were good - no issues there.

Windjammer service was very good - maybe overstaffed. Hard to find snacks at times. Impossible to get good wait service at bars. R bar was the exception.

The ship looked good but not great ! I didn't expect new but it was a small older ship with some apparent staffing problems.

I don't like the mega ships and now I don't like the small ships.

[maxs mom]

Oh Trudy......please don't turn off of Celebrity all together. Try one of the Solstice Class ships or newer. I was just looking over our pictures today of a cruise we took on the Eclipse a couple of years ago. What a beautiful ship. I had forgotten how elegant it was and what a good time we had.

[TwoHearts22]

Oh Trudy......please don't turn off of Celebrity all together. Try one of the Solstice Class ships or newer. I was just looking over our pictures today of a cruise we took on the Eclipse a couple of years ago. What a beautiful ship. I had forgotten how elegant it was and what a good time we had.

 

At this point, we're turned off on booking Celebrity. We learned not to pay as much attention to the spaces on a ship but rather to research how the space is allocated.

 

On RCL we felt we had the run of the ship. On Celebrity we felt like there weren't many spaces open to us. We took the December 9 cruise on Constellation. I wrote on the Celebrity board after the cruise but don't know if the post is still there. It was a bad cruise for us. I don't believe Celebrity cared.

 

Thanks for the encouragement, we may take another RCL over the winter.

The Oasis is calling to us.

Trudy

[SECdawg]

We sailed VOS on Jun 19th to Cozumel and the trip and ship were great. The DL is tiny but Elvis worked hard to help everyone. If you plan to sail VOS I don't think you will be disappointed. Happy Cruising.