Vision ~ B2B ~ 5 Nights ~ July 21st & 26th: My Diary

[magicolor_girl]

I really do love you reviews Jane - I learn so much!

 

We are looking at the same beach break in Cozumel next year, so the fact that you return every time is a great compliment to the place.

 

Let me be another thumbs up vote for Nachi Cocom. My husband and I visited last week while on the Allure and it was a very nice day! It was HOT but the water was refreshing. Good food, drinks, beautiful location and not very busy beach made for a lovely day!

[maxs mom]

SenatorsFan.....Thanks and hope you had a good cruise on the Freedom.

 

magicolor_girl.....Glad you enjoyed Nachi. We always do....even in the rain!

[maxs mom]

Monday ~ July 28, 2014 ~ At Sea

 

Yay!! Another sea day! Love those! I mistakenly set our clocks back one hour. We didn't realize it until the Captain made her noon address.....at 11:00!! Oh well ....it didn't bother us too much.

 

Had breakfast with some Diamond Members from California. It was nice chatting with them.

 

We followed our usual sea day routine after breakfast of heading to the Concierge Lounge for coffee and the cookie du jour! Sorry we're so boring! We just spent some quiet time reading. While there I noticed CC members of the roll call....Joe and Joan on a morning walk. Good for them!

 

 

 

Yum!!!

 

 

We stayed there until lunch time, then walked down to the Park Café. I had a small salad and a Panini. John had....of course....the roast beef sandwich. I like iced tea with lunch and John likes chips and they had neither. Sometimes they do and sometimes they don't. I walked to the WJ and got some tea. Ugh!!

 

 

 

It was good!

 

[maxs mom]

The Solarium was quite busy today.

 

 

 

 

 

After lunch I went wandering around. I went to the jewelry store and lo and behold....they got the watch in on turn around day that I had been looking for. They didn't have it last cruise and I couldn't believe it when I saw it. I first saw it on the Independence in April and didn't buy it then......but I bought it today. It's been a while since I got a new watch. It's one of those Citizen eco drive watches.

 

 

I soon ran into Jennifer and had to show her my new purchase!

 

[maxs mom]

A little more wandering......I wandered through a game of trivia in the Schooner Bar. Everyone looked like they were having fun. I love to play when I can.

 

 

I also ran into DeDe near the casino and we visited a bit.

 

 

Tonight was formal night. We met the Maitre' D, Alper, in the CL this evening and had a nice chat with him. We expressed some of our concerns about My Time Dining and he was very receptive to any suggestions we made. It was good talking to him. He took down our cabin number before he left. Uh oh....

 

 

Cheers!

 

 

Julio was still amazing!

 

 

And Betsy....as always.....working hard!

 

[maxs mom]

So we go down to dinner and there were just a few people ahead of us. The hostess sees us and motioned for us to come with her.....she had our table ready! So we had a nice table by the window, with Roland and we were all set there for the rest of the cruise! yay!

 

Dinner was very good tonight. I started with the shaved melon:

 

 

John got the filet of beef:

 

 

And on this menu....I always get the salad entrée.....it is with salmon and is very, very good.

 

 

Chocolate soufflé was for dessert.

 

 

We had wonderful, fast service tonight!

 

John and the hostess have become good buddies!

 

 

There was more losing in the casino tonight!

 

We finally retired and enjoyed our balcony!

 

 

And.....we turned the clocks back for real this time!

[maxs mom]

Tuesday ~ July 29, 2014 ~ Grand Cayman

 

Grand Cayman today! We were anchoring around 8-ish or so.

 

 

Nice breakfast with Mario, Bill and Nancy, etc.

 

 

 

We left the ship between 9:30 and 10:00.....easily got on a tender at that time. It wasn't bad at all. John forgot his hat, so the first thing we had to do was buy a hat for him. That was our first order of business. We found one right at the port. We just grabbed the first one we saw. He would have to do without his Carolina hat for the day.

 

 

Today we were trying something new. The last couple of times that we were in Grand Cayman....we went over to Royal Palms on Seven Mile. That's a nice place, but both times it was soooo crowded and the last time we were there, it was just so uncomfortable that we decided that we would not go back there. So today we decided to go over to the Westin and get a room for the day. That is the only way that they will let you use their property. The room with taxes and everything was $120 and you can have up to 4 people there.

 

The first thing we did was go to the room. It was very nice and in a great location for a day room. It was right by an entrance that went out to the pool area and an ice machine was right there. We used that a lot!

 

 

 

While we were in the room, we set up our Wi-Fi for the day. It worked great all over the place....even out on the beach. We filled some cups with ice and headed out to the beach.

[maxs mom]

When we got out, the beach boys helped us with chairs and an umbrella. They were very nice and even put our towels on the chairs for us. The beach area was beautiful and just right for us!!

 

 

 

 

 

[maxs mom]

Here is our little spot for the morning:

 

 

We were very comfy here....even though it was very HOT!

 

 

 

 

[maxs mom]

While we were sitting on the beach, this catamaran sails in to the beach.

 

 

 

 

Turns out that this was a Royal Caribbean snorkeling excursion. I met someone in the CL that was going on this and she said that it was really good. Something to consider.

 

In the meantime, I was enjoying the heck out of this day!! We could have ordered lunch from a waitress out on the beach, but I went up to the bar and grill myself. I ordered a hot dog for John and I got some fish tacos and fresh fruit. Let me tell you.....those fish tacos were wonderful!!! Just remember that the prices on the menus wherever you go are in Cayman dollars, not US dollars. It is a little more.

 

It was really HOT, so the water felt really good. After a dip in the ocean and lunch.....we gathered our stuff and headed for the pool area for the rest of the day.

 

 

 

 

The pool area was awesome!!!!!! I found some chairs in the shade for us. The pool felt really great this afternoon!

[Justmekaren918]

Jane now that you have been to all 3 places did you notice any sand flee/nat issues? I wonder if middle Sept could be less or more of an issue?

 

Cayman looks amazing! I am going to have to find a time to get there!

[vavasmom]

Your Hemmingway house pictures reminded me of our visit in 2006. My daughter was only 11 but remembers it clearly. One of the cats sat beside her when we were taking a break outside. She and at now-EX climbed the lighthouse across the street.

 

Loving your review and pictures

[maxs mom]

Jane now that you have been to all 3 places did you notice any sand flee/nat issues? I wonder if middle Sept could be less or more of an issue?

 

Cayman looks amazing! I am going to have to find a time to get there!

 

You know....in 29 years of cruising around the Caribbean in every season....I have never encountered sand fleas or gnats. I guess I am lucky huh?

 

Yes....Grand Cayman is amazing. The prettiest water you will ever see.

Edited August 8, 2014 by max'smom

[maxs mom]

Your Hemmingway house pictures reminded me of our visit in 2006. My daughter was only 11 but remembers it clearly. One of the cats sat beside her when we were taking a break outside. She and at now-EX climbed the lighthouse across the street.

 

Loving your review and pictures

 

Those cats are amazing!! They are all so calm and don't mind all the people all around them.

 

You know.....I made a mental note to walk over to the lighthouse and check it out before I walked back, but I had frozen Key Lime Pie on a stick on the brain and forgot about it. There's always next time!

[mpoole3]

Jane the review is wonderful! I absolutely love reading your reviews. I was booked on Vision B2B, but I jumped ship to Freedom. My last three cruises have been on smaller ships, so I was missing that mega effect!

 

I hope to cruise with you and DH one day!

 

Happy Friday! :D

[LBumb]

great job

[teltrainer]

Thank you so much for this wonderful review. We are on the Vision in 2015 but reading everything possible about her. We are in Charleston so plan to have "sailaway" from street level when she stops here in September. Excellent photos and your attitude about not sweating the small stuff :-)

[maxs mom]

Michael.....I don't blame you for jumping ship. We have to have balance in our cruise ships!! Would love to cruise with you, too!

 

LBumb......still hangin' in there, I see!!

 

teltrainer......I'm from South Carolina! Would love to port in Charleston! Not sure what I would do. Such a fabulous port city! Wish I could be waving to you from on board in September!!

[maxs mom]

OK.....so here are some more pictures from the pool area of the Westin. It was a little bit cooler up here than it was on the beach.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[maxs mom]

A few more! I love this place.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[maxs mom]

We went back to our room for about a half hour before we left so that we could cool off and finish up with the internet. Next time I might bring a change of clothes and take a shower!

 

This was a GREAT beach day. Maybe we can talk someone into coming with us next time to split the cost.

 

Another great place to go in GC is to rent a car and drive out to Rum Point. Really nice beach area. A few excursions come here, but it's not too bad. Great food, too. We've rented a car through AVIS and had to get it at the airport, which was not too bad. I understand that you can walk a couple blocks to the left when you get off the tender and there is a place called Cayman Rentals, and you can rent a car there. It's not a bad drive......pretty much a straight shot with no traffic except for right in the town area.

 

We easily got a taxi at the Westin to get back to the ship......a little more expensive going this way because we were by ourselves. The entire staff at the Westin were super nice to us and we will definitely come back here!

 

We were able to get right on a tender when we got back and as soon as it filled we were on our way back to the ship. Very easy!

 

 

 

 

 

 

[cruzinlady1947]

Really enjoying your review. Especially Key West. I was only there one time, but really want to go back again some day. We were lucky enough to spend the whole day and evening there, leaving at 10pm. Saw the fabulous Key West sunset, while docked. I am sure the locals and visitors were disappointed that we blocked the view for them. Felt sorry, but was happy to witness it.

 

Thanks for taking the time to post your beautiful pictures and sharing your adventure.

 

 

Gwen :)

[maxs mom]

Once back on the ship this afternoon.....I had a really good nap!!!

 

Ready for the evening.....

 

 

Had drinks and good conversation with Jim and Karen from Florida tonight. Bill and Nancy came in after a while.

 

 

 

When leaving for dinner, we had to visit with Betsy a little bit.

 

 

We ran into DeDe on the way to dinner. Always good to see her!!

 

 

Nice evening!

 

[maxs mom]

Really enjoying your review. Especially Key West. I was only there one time, but really want to go back again some day. We were lucky enough to spend the whole day and evening there, leaving at 10pm. Saw the fabulous Key West sunset, while docked. I am sure the locals and visitors were disappointed that we blocked the view for them. Felt sorry, but was happy to witness it.

 

Thanks for taking the time to post your beautiful pictures and sharing your adventure.

 

 

Gwen :)

 

Thank you, Gwen! It must have been a while since you were in Key West. I don't think they allow ships to port that late any more. I think they must leave by 5 o'clock so that sunset will not be blocked!! I can't wait to return to KW myself!! We hadn't been in a few years, so it was good to get back.

[Lady Hudson]

Loving your review. I will be going to Key West on Grandeur in March. Thought I would visit the Truman White House but now I think I might go to the Hemingway House. Decisions, decisions! Thanks again for the interesting reporting. Katherine