Just off the Vision of the Seas....

[BillOh]

We are going in FEB on the 7 night Roatan, Belize, Costa Maya, Cozumel Trip. Its a dive trip for us.

 

Not looking forward to the smaller ship...as you said, but I believe it will meet our needs to down to some great diving locaitons.

 

Thanks for the call it as you see it review. I think many of the bad reviews were people being crabby and not realizing that Vision is one of RCCL smallest (and oldest) ships now and if they have been on the bigger / newer ones...it is no comparison.

 

Which port(s) are you thinking of diving in? I know about Cozumel, I've good about Belize when it comes to Diving. I've been to Costa Maya, but didn't dive, and I've never been to Rotan.

[vanvleckeren]

I've been on Vision twice, in 2010 and 2011 plus I cruised on Splendour, another Vision class ship, earlier this year. The Vision cruises were both Baltic cruises, and the Splendour cruise was a South America cruise.

 

I liked both ships. I favor the smaller ships over the newer, larger ones. Despite being the same class ship, there were some differences between Vision and Splendour. The biggest difference was that the gym on Vision was larger than the one on Splendour.

 

I have heard negative comments about the newer mega ships, mainly that they're too crowded, there are lines everywhere, and there isn't enough public space for the number of passengers.

[berylde]

DEPTACON:

 

Again,just because a poster writes a critical review of a ship, you call them "crabby"

 

Is this forum just for positive reviews ??

[Robkat]

SOMEONE WORE SHORTS IN THE MAIN DINING ROOM!!! QUOTE]

 

Aaaargh ... A pet peeve of ours! Just got home from a cruise on Princess where we had a couple of guys show up on formal night in flip-flops and shorts. We normally try not to pay any mind to what others are doing ... even though it does affect the overall "ambience" of the evening, but they were seated right near us and everyone seemed a little uncomfortable. In any case ...

 

Thanks so much for this well written, balanced and fair review. We have a Bermuda cruise coming up and we've been a little taken aback by the not-so-great reviews. We used to love this class of ship (even though we also love the "big" cruise ships) and now, after hearing what you had to say, we feel good about going back to the Vision.

 

We're also staying in a family suite, but on deck 7, so we're hoping that noise won't be an issue at all. Can you tell us how the newly renovated cabins look? Are there new finishes and decor? What you happen to have any photos that you could post? If so, thanks in advance.

 

Thanks again for your review. Enjoyed reading it, :)

[phish tales]

Some of you may have read my post from a few weeks ago (that turned into a lengthy thread) wherein I said I wrote RCI preemptively about our concerns over the many negative reviews on here about the Vision.

 

As many of you know, many of the negative comments were about the service, the attitudes of the staff, the feeling of understaffing, and the overcrowded feeling of the ship.

 

I am pleased to say we found NONE of those things applied to our experience on the Vision.

 

We did the 5 night cruise with stops at Key West and Grand Cayman. We stayed in a family suite on the 8th floor. Our party consisted of two adults, two 16 year old boys, and a 10 year old girl. All experienced cruisers with many RCI cruises in particular.

 

I will post random comments as they come to me, so bear with the way I am writing this please!

 

 

• The ship itself looks good. Older design, but very clean and pretty;
  
• Embarkation was pretty easy. Nothing out of the ordinary, went fast;
  
• We thought the staff was extremely friendly, welcoming, and generally couldn't be nicer. Our cabin steward was a doll. We got off to a little bit of a rocky start after finding a pair of tighty whities in a dresser drawer in the closet, but she couldn't have been sweeter, we saw her all the time and she was always good for telling us when she saw our kids around and was generally cheerful and upbeat;
  
• We stayed in 8520, a family suite, and it was OK...maybe a little smaller than what we had hoped for, but no complaints. But the only complaint is, as others have mentioned, noisy as hell at night in there. Not just a little noisy mind you, but chair dragging, banging, stomping, scraping, water splashing noisy. You deal with it and accept it, but I would be leaving out a big component of the overall experience if I failed to mention it;
  
• Main Dining Room...food was what you have come to expect. Not great, not horrible, but perfectly fine. Our 16 year old boys ate more at one sitting than small countries consume in a day, and they loved it all. The service was slow, our waiters were nice enough and meant well, but they weren't memorable in a positive way like we used to experience on cruises. They seemed stressed and spread thin, messed up way more than their share of orders, and dinner took 3 hours. LIke I said, they were nice enough and tried. Cocktail waitress was pretty hard to find after the first night;
  
• Chops was our best dining experience. We met the "WOW" stars of our cruise, Uri and Karoly there on night two and they were awesome guys. We had a truly enjoyable meal, and then the next morning we took advantage of a suite perk and had breakfast in the dedicated suite area on deck 5 and they were the servers. They were there all week and they provided that experience that makes people love cruising;
  
• We ate at Giovanni's the last night and it was excellent as well;
  
• Windjammer is the Windjammer. Same as other ships in my opinion...no better, no worse;
  
• Park Cafe is the basic go-to food spot for between meals. Salads and pre-made sandwiches, carving station, some little pizza slices. Nothing to write home about, but it serves its purpose;
  
• Concierge Club was fine, never overcrowded and a nice getaway for a happy hour drink or two;
  
• Pool deck, while small, had chairs available (as long as you got there at a reasonably early time) and didn't feel particularly overcrowded as some have suggested;
  
• Never had a problem getting a drink anywhere (except in the MDR);
  
• Ports/Excursions: Key West we did the Conch Train tour which was fine and the kids enjoyed it, and then walked Duval. It was very hot but overall a nice day. Grand Cayman...we booked the Moby Dick tour and those people were great and we had a very memorable day. Boat ride, snorkeling, and stingray city. I recommend Moby Dick Tours unconditionally. All good;
  
• And now the general commentary...the large ships spoil us. This ship, while nice for what it is, just doesn't offer much to do (in comparison). Particularly for kids (and there weren't an excessive amount of them, and I guess people knew this better than we did and that's why there weren't many kids). There are very few dining options, very few activities, small pool area, only a few shops. Limited options. We all made the best of it, and we had a nice time nonetheless, but that is just something to be aware of particularly if you are cruising with teens. They could have used a Johnny Rocket's or a pizza place;
  
• Disembarkation...the fastest we have ever experienced.
  

Overall a positive experience. And I want to be clear we were so very impressed with the staff and crew and those people working on that ship couldn't have been nicer.

 

 

 

We live in Ft. Lauderdale area, so these cruises are an easy getaway for us. But parents cruising with kids, particularly those who have been on larger ships, should be warned this is a relatively lean ship in that regard.

 

 

I'm sure I will think of more, and I am happy to answer any questions.

 

I posted this question on the Vision cruise board, but no reply.

What time does the MTD on the vision start their reservations??

I was told 6:30pm. on other ships it is 5:30Pm. can you confirm or add any comments ?? thank you..

[Sea Viewer]

SOMEONE WORE SHORTS IN THE MAIN DINING ROOM!!! :p:p:):):):)

 

I was also on this cruise (had a great time) but actually saw people being turned away at lunch as they were not appropriately dressed for the MDR. I had a table near the door and could hear one side of the conversation very clearly. The staff were very professional during the discussion. Several people were asked to remove caps before entering, most did but 2 people were not happy and left.

[jticarruthers]

Just off Vision yesterday, also reporting a generally good cruise.

 

MTD was at 530pm.

 

Drinks were flowing smoothly throughout the cruise, Schooner bar generally had good service, pool bar was more crowded, R Bar was hit and miss but overall the service level was pretty good.

 

MDR staff was friendly and did a great job but definitely seemed stretched thin, didn't help that they had the tables packed in so tight it was almost impossible to move (in the center just inside the entrance on deck 4), we literally had to work the "conga line" weaving through tables to get in and out of our table, watching the wait staff trying to do it while carrying food was kind of like watching the train wreck in slow motion .. just waiting for someone to push their chair back at the wrong moment.

 

We did have a 7 day booked for Vision in 2016, going to look for an alternate though. The ship was generally good and we had a great cruise, but our son was struggling with the limited activities around the ship and a weak kids/teen club that didn't really keep him entertained.

[happycruzer]

Aft K 8579 and JS's 8588 and 8592 also were absolutely perfect.

Madflyer ... We have booked JS 8592 on the Vision for our wedding anniversary next year ... I can't find and info or photos of the suite ... Could you please tell

me all about it .. Pleeeeaaaase :)

Eg ... Is balcony larger than side cabins ?

What is room layout like ie is bed in right hand side of cabin and is bed or sofa nearer window ..?

I'm sorry if I'm a pest asking so many questions , it's our first time on the Vision and can't find much info about it other than 'not so good ' reviews !

Please tell me all is ok on it 😄

TIA

Happycruzer

[Justmekaren918]

Aft K 8579 and JS's 8588 and 8592 also were absolutely perfect.

Madflyer ... We have booked JS 8592 on the Vision for our wedding anniversary next year ... I can't find and info or photos of the suite ... Could you please tell

me all about it .. Pleeeeaaaase :)

Eg ... Is balcony larger than side cabins ?

What is room layout like ie is bed in right hand side of cabin and is bed or sofa nearer window ..?

I'm sorry if I'm a pest asking so many questions , it's our first time on the Vision and can't find much info about it other than 'not so good ' reviews !

Please tell me all is ok on it 😄

TIA

Happycruzer

Here is a link to some pix of how your cabin will look!

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=559905&page=2

 

The balcony will be deep and the width of cabin! Only bigger balconies on the ship are those corner aft. I have 8088 in Sept.

 

Here is another link to find out more about Vision!

http://www.cruisecritic.com/search/results.cfm?q=vision%20of%20the%20seas

 

Max's Mom is just off Vision and she is another trusted reviewer, and she will post a review shortly! Her quick response was she and her group had a great time.

 

Hope this helps! Have a great cruise.

[happycruzer]

Thank you very much , I appreciate your help !

I also look forward to Max's mum review !

Thank you again

[kftw]

Thanks for your review.

[cruisinjune]

Can anyone tell me if they offer a comedian or karaoke at night? Wondering if there's anything besides the main show, piano bar and dance clubs

[Clarea]

Can anyone tell me if they offer a comedian or karaoke at night? Wondering if there's anything besides the main show, piano bar and dance clubs

There is no dedicated comedy venue. A comedian will be one (or more) of the headliners in the main theater. There is usually karaoke every night.

[ATC cruiser]

Windjammer, whirlpools or both? :eek:

 

 

I stayed in cabin 8522, which was right next to theirs. It was the pool deck. I figured out the DJ's booth was right above our cabins. I've been in cabins below the windjammer before, never heard a sound. The music during the day, people running, and deck chairs dragging, where very loud. It was a lesson learned for me, I'll never book a room right below the main pool again. Thank goodness we took earplugs, the night of the white party would of been a challenge without them. I don't think the solarium pool would be nearly as bad if your cabin were under there.

 

The OP also stated the bar service in the MDR was spotty, I'll agree. If I wanted a drink I would have to ask our waiter or assistant waiter for one, then the bar waiter would bring it. While very friendly, I don't believe the bar waiters ever came to our table on their own. I think it's because there are less bar servers in the MDR, and they're just overworked. Something that is not unique to Vision of the Seas. Every other bar on the ship that I ordered a drink at there was little or no waiting and all servers were very friendly.

 

All in all, a fabulous cruise. I would not hesitate to sail on Vision again.

 

 

Aft Cabins Rule

[gumbypee]

I have never done RCCL. I am booked with my then 18 year old niece on vision for Christmas 2015.

 

I tend to like smaller ships. It will be her first ever cruise

 

Any suggestions on how to make it more memorable for her?

 

Special Christmas activities?

 

Anything s for 18 year old crowds?

 

Thanks :)

 

 

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[Clarea]

I have never done RCCL. I am booked with my then 18 year old niece on vision for Christmas 2015.

 

I tend to like smaller ships. It will be her first ever cruise

 

Any suggestions on how to make it more memorable for her?

 

Special Christmas activities?

 

Anything s for 18 year old crowds?

 

Thanks :)

At 18, she will be able to enjoy the nightclub and casino.

[gumbypee]

Thank you! Neither of us are big on gambling but so nightclubs have theme nights? Like 80s night etc?

 

Thank you

 

 

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[akcruz]

We are just recently off Vision with my 19 year old son. The nightclub doesn't get going until 11:30 so just keep that in mind. He did actually win in the casino. We told him to go ahead and try to learn you loose there, but he won :eek:

 

It did take a day or so for that age group to meet each other, and then they hung out mostly in the solarium. They did go to Karaoke and a few other shows but there really is not a lot for this age group on this ship. He did come back saying he enjoyed it more than he expected, but wants to go back on the bigger ships after he is 21 :cool:.

[Prdancer]

Thanks for the great review. We're cruising on it next February with a large senior group.

[gumbypee]

Thanks akcruz!

 

Was there any meet and mingle lunch or anything for them? She is kinda shy and might actually want to hang out with her aunty but I don't want to force it! Lol. I can stay up past 1130 but she may rather have alone/teen time! Lol

 

 

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[akcruz]

Thanks akcruz!

 

Was there any meet and mingle lunch or anything for them? She is kinda shy and might actually want to hang out with her aunty but I don't want to force it! Lol. I can stay up past 1130 but she may rather have alone/teen time! Lol

 

 

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No meet and mingle lunch. The only official thing scheduled was a singles cruiser meet and greet at 5:30 in one of the bars. My son wanted nothing to do with it, he said they will all be too old.

 

I have said it before, this is a tough age to cruise with and the cruise lines really do not do a whole lot to help them out.

[gumbypee]

She's pretty easy to please. If there are no activities I know she will be super content to sit on deck and read ALL day! She is a reader! I might have to encourage some trivia and such. Ports will be fun with excursions. I haven't seen her in a couple years so I think it will be good.

 

Thanks

 

 

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[poodog]

Thank you for the review, our Sep 1 trip to Bermuda will be our first time on VOS