WOW'd on the Vision.

[Tim,n,Sue]

We recently took the eastbound trans-Atlantic on the Vision and if this wasn’t our best cruise ever I would be very hard pressed to come up with one better. We have been diamond plus for about 3 years now and I only put that in to show that we have been on more than a few cruises. What made this cruise so special?

 

Normally the Captain and Cruise Director are of little to no importance for us but on the Vision that changed. Captain Liz was everywhere and she was incredibly outgoing and friendly. She attended so many activities with her entire leadership team that we had never seen before. When the leadership team is so visible, outgoing and involved it percolates down to the entire staff and on the Vision it showed. The entire crew and staff were excellent and we cannot say enough positive nice things about them. The last we saw of Captain Liz was on disembarkation day as she was at the gangway saying farewell to the disembarking guests.

 

The CD Steve Davis is a man possessed. He must not sleep and he, too, is everywhere. He had so many activities planned (talent shows, birthday party for the Vison, crew shows etc etc) that the eight days at sea just flew by in no time. Even though this was his last cruise before his vacation he, too, was at the gangway wishing farewell to the guests. And a first for us in a long, long time Steve hosted the M&M. It was an excellent M&M, one of the best we have had in years.

 

The food was very good and we did not have a bad meal. The nightly entertainment was, for the most part, not what we enjoy but that is not to say that it wasn’t good, just not for us. Many people had very positive comments about the entertainment.

 

I ran a slot pull and the Casino Manager was present for the entire pull. As first prize he gave a dinner for 2 at Chops with an excellent bottle of wine. For organizing the slot pull he gave me dinner for 2 at Chops as well. I have run a number of slot pulls and that was a first. BTW. We put in $15.00 and got $15.00 back.

 

Sue and I generally like the bigger ships and I was a little worried about the size of the Vision being too small for us BUT the Vision, although 17 years old, looked great and we loved the theatre love seats for the few shows we did attend. We had such a good time we signed up for the same cruise on the Vision in April 2016.

 

Can’t wait until next April but we have some other cruises to start planning for as well.

Edited May 7, 2015 by Tim,n,Sue

[abhb]

Thanks for the great review. We will be on her June 9. Was Captain Liz staying on?

[scorpluvsdolphins]

Love the concierge MJ and Diamond Concierge V. I don't know which band you had but the one I had in March was superior.

Jerry was probably the casino host you are talking about. He is also wonderful.

The crew makes this one on my favorite ships.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[kccrzr]

We sailed twice on Vision in 2012. The combination of great itineraries and fantastic staff could not be beat. Prior to the first cruise we were a bit concerned about whether we would be bored on sea days but the enthusiasm of the CD staff was infectious - a great group of people who really made things fun.

[Smallfamily]

We sailed vision last year on a b2b and had amazing service and there was a movie poolside almost every evening. It was a highlite of our trip [emoji16]

[relaxatsea]

Thanks Tim and Sue for the great review. We were with you and agree absolutely with everything you said. Capt. Lis, Steve, and the whole team were outstanding, best cruise ever! I especially enjoyed singing in the Vision Guest Choir, and all of the many other fun events, Amazing Captain and Crew!!

[CrusingJoe]

We recently took the eastbound trans-Atlantic on the Vision and if this wasn’t our best cruise ever I would be very hard pressed to come up with one better. We have been diamond plus for about 3 years now and I only put that in to show that we have been on more than a few cruises. What made this cruise so special?

 

Normally the Captain and Cruise Director are of little to no importance for us but on the Vision that changed. Captain Liz was everywhere and she was incredibly outgoing and friendly. She attended so many activities with her entire leadership team that we had never seen before. When the leadership team is so visible, outgoing and involved it percolates down to the entire staff and on the Vision it showed. The entire crew and staff were excellent and we cannot say enough positive nice things about them. The last we saw of Captain Liz was on disembarkation day as she was at the gangway saying farewell to the disembarking guests.

 

The CD Steve Davis is a man possessed. He must not sleep and he, too, is everywhere. He had so many activities planned (talent shows, birthday party for the Vison, crew shows etc etc) that the eight days at sea just flew by in no time. Even though this was his last cruise before his vacation he, too, was at the gangway wishing farewell to the guests. And a first for us in a long, long time Steve hosted the M&M. It was an excellent M&M, one of the best we have had in years.

 

The food was very good and we did not have a bad meal. The nightly entertainment was, for the most part, not what we enjoy but that is not to say that it wasn’t good, just not for us. Many people had very positive comments about the entertainment.

 

I ran a slot pull and the Casino Manager was present for the entire pull. As first prize he gave a dinner for 2 at Chops with an excellent bottle of wine. For organizing the slot pull he gave me dinner for 2 at Chops as well. I have run a number of slot pulls and that was a first. BTW. We put in $15.00 and got $15.00 back.

 

Sue and I generally like the bigger ships and I was a little worried about the size of the Vision being too small for us BUT the Vision, although 17 years old, looked great and we loved the theatre love seats for the few shows we did attend. We had such a good time we signed up for the same cruise on the Vision in April 2016.

 

Can’t wait until next April but we have some other cruises to start planning for as well.

 

We were on the Vision for Christmas and New Years, with Capt. Merck and experienced the same thing. We rebook again for 2015. I vote Vision and staff #1 for all the cruise we have been on.

Edited May 8, 2015 by CrusingJoe

[Tim,n,Sue]

Thanks for the great review. We will be on her June 9. Was Captain Liz staying on?

 

Yes she was staying on. her rotation started March 21 and if the rotation lasts 10 weeks she should be on vacation around the end of the first week in June. That is just a rough guess-timate. I hope we have both Captain Liz and Steve Davis for next years TA. If not it will still be a great cruise.

 

BTW I should mention that the Vision guest choir was the highlight of our cruise. Sorry I missed that in my initial post Barbara. Please give our best to Orlando.

Edited May 8, 2015 by Tim,n,Sue

[Tim,n,Sue]

Love the concierge MJ and Diamond Concierge V. I don't know which band you had but the one I had in March was superior.

Jerry was probably the casino host you are talking about. He is also wonderful.

The crew makes this one on my favorite ships.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

 

The name of the Casino Manager was Wayne Riley. The casino host was brand new and did not understand what a slot pull entailed so Wayne stepped in to help him out. Got my $15.00 back plus a dinner at Chops. Not too shabby.

[heatherb1958]

Thanks Tim n Sue for posting, agree with everything you said.

We also loved Steve's Thriller routine, the best at sea we have seen.

Can't wait for the Westbound , it is Halloween so it will be interesting to see what stops they pull out for that . We are going to dress up anyway as are our friends .

Captain Liz told me Captain Marek will be on the westbound crossing, they take it in turns to do a crossing each, her words. :).

We knew we loved Vision from our previous 3 sailings on her prior revitalisation, now she is a little beauty.

[truffles2]

Nice review Tim & Sue. Wish you would join us on the westbound!

 

PS Thanks again for all you did on the eastbound.

Edited May 8, 2015 by truffles2

[cinnamon]

Thanks for the mini review. We will be on the Westbound. Sailed last November from Tampa with Cpt Liz, will miss her this year.

 

Could you tell me who led the choir please?

We recently did a Panama Canal transit on Princess and I sang in that choir. Although I enjoyed it, the staff member in charge was a dance teacher, not musician or singer, and it made for difficult rehearsals.

[Tim,n,Sue]

Thanks for the mini review. We will be on the Westbound. Sailed last November from Tampa with Cpt Liz, will miss her this year.

 

Could you tell me who led the choir please?

We recently did a Panama Canal transit on Princess and I sang in that choir. Although I enjoyed it, the staff member in charge was a dance teacher, not musician or singer, and it made for difficult rehearsals.

 

Hopefully Barbara (relaxatsea) will come back and answer that. I believe that it was a singer who led the choir and it was very good. They sang one night before the 2 shows. The first song was The Lion Sleeps tonight and the second song escapes me. I know Barbara enjoyed herself.

[Tim,n,Sue]

Nice review Tim & Sue. Wish you would join us on the westbound!

 

PS Thanks again for all you did on the eastbound.

 

If I knew what I know now I would love to be on the westbound but we are doing the Serenade 14 day Snowbird cruise with a lot of family and friends. I hope to see you and Tom again in the near future perhaps April 2016 on the Vision. Food for thought.....

[Justmekaren918]

If I knew what I know now I would love to be on the westbound but we are doing the Serenade 14 day Snowbird cruise with a lot of family and friends. I hope to see you and Tom again in the near future perhaps April 2016 on the Vision. Food for thought.....

Fret not travelers Captain Marek is excellent! I really got, so I wanted to hear his briefings. The only Captain to specifically say everyone is back with us. Some day maybe Liz will be Captain if I get back. I really enjoyed Steve and Marvin. I thought the staff was incredible! I really enjoyed that crn aft wrapped balcony!

Happy cruising all!

[truffles2]

Thanks for the mini review. We will be on the Westbound. Sailed last November from Tampa with Cpt Liz, will miss her this year.

 

Could you tell me who led the choir please?

We recently did a Panama Canal transit on Princess and I sang in that choir. Although I enjoyed it, the staff member in charge was a dance teacher, not musician or singer, and it made for difficult rehearsals.

 

Led by vocalists Kenny & Elizabeth.

[truffles2]

If I knew what I know now I would love to be on the westbound but we are doing the Serenade 14 day Snowbird cruise with a lot of family and friends. I hope to see you and Tom again in the near future perhaps April 2016 on the Vision. Food for thought.....

 

 

You could change...:p

[cinnamon]

Led by vocalists Kenny & Elizabeth.

 

 

Thanks. :)

[jaimevoyager]

We recently took the eastbound trans-Atlantic on the Vision and if this wasn’t our best cruise ever I would be very hard pressed to come up with one better. We have been diamond plus for about 3 years now and I only put that in to show that we have been on more than a few cruises. What made this cruise so special?

 

 

 

Normally the Captain and Cruise Director are of little to no importance for us but on the Vision that changed. Captain Liz was everywhere and she was incredibly outgoing and friendly. She attended so many activities with her entire leadership team that we had never seen before. When the leadership team is so visible, outgoing and involved it percolates down to the entire staff and on the Vision it showed. The entire crew and staff were excellent and we cannot say enough positive nice things about them. The last we saw of Captain Liz was on disembarkation day as she was at the gangway saying farewell to the disembarking guests.

 

 

 

The CD Steve Davis is a man possessed. He must not sleep and he, too, is everywhere. He had so many activities planned (talent shows, birthday party for the Vison, crew shows etc etc) that the eight days at sea just flew by in no time. Even though this was his last cruise before his vacation he, too, was at the gangway wishing farewell to the guests. And a first for us in a long, long time Steve hosted the M&M. It was an excellent M&M, one of the best we have had in years.

 

 

 

The food was very good and we did not have a bad meal. The nightly entertainment was, for the most part, not what we enjoy but that is not to say that it wasn’t good, just not for us. Many people had very positive comments about the entertainment.

 

 

 

I ran a slot pull and the Casino Manager was present for the entire pull. As first prize he gave a dinner for 2 at Chops with an excellent bottle of wine. For organizing the slot pull he gave me dinner for 2 at Chops as well. I have run a number of slot pulls and that was a first. BTW. We put in $15.00 and got $15.00 back.

 

 

 

Sue and I generally like the bigger ships and I was a little worried about the size of the Vision being too small for us BUT the Vision, although 17 years old, looked great and we loved the theatre love seats for the few shows we did attend. We had such a good time we signed up for the same cruise on the Vision in April 2016.

 

 

 

Can’t wait until next April but we have some other cruises to start planning for as well.

 

 

We sailed with Captain Lis last summer and omg! I could not believe how wonderful she was. She was everywhere and so friendly!

[relaxatsea]

Thanks for the mini review. We will be on the Westbound. Sailed last November from Tampa with Cpt Liz, will miss her this year.

 

Could you tell me who led the choir please?

We recently did a Panama Canal transit on Princess and I sang in that choir. Although I enjoyed it, the staff member in charge was a dance teacher, not musician or singer, and it made for difficult rehearsals.

 

The Choir Director was Kenny Washington, one of the singers in the Vision theatre productions. He did an outstanding job. He was a Music major in college, so he really knew what he was doing, and best of all, he was very kind and patient!

 

We had four rehearsals, ten hours in all, and enjoyed every minute, plus the two shows we did in the theatre.

 

We sang "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" and "Stand by Me".

 

Barbara

[sha88]

We had such a great time on the ship last month and I agree, Captain Liz was everywhere. One of our favorite cruises. Would go back on this ship. Glad you had such a wonderful time, too.

 

Tried to post a picture of Capt. Liz and me, but did not work........

 

https://captainandme.shutterfly.com/pictures/9

 

maybe this will work.

Edited May 8, 2015 by sha88
picture did not appear

[pspercy]

Was there a "Mr Denis" winning big on a poker machine almost every night?

[cinnamon]

The Choir Director was Kenny Washington, one of the singers in the Vision theatre productions. He did an outstanding job. He was a Music major in college, so he really knew what he was doing, and best of all, he was very kind and patient!

 

 

 

We had four rehearsals, ten hours in all, and enjoyed every minute, plus the two shows we did in the theatre.

 

 

 

We sang "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" and "Stand by Me".

 

 

 

Barbara

 

 

That's great information, thanks Barbara.

[TBone2K]

Great post. Nice to read some happy stories.

 

On our British Isles cruise on Vision, we saw Capt Liz numerous times. The only cruise we've been on where the staff came out for walk for wishes. Not just the usual public facing staff, either. During the walk we met the payroll manager, the only Canadian in the crew. Also found one of the best CD/AM teams we have seen in Toopi Ylonen and Chris (?). The majority of pax on that cruise were Danish and those I met were happy with the fact that Cap't Liz and the CD both spoke the language as well.

 

(Hmm... always get that CD's name confused with a cartoon character... It's either Topi or Toopi)

Edited May 8, 2015 by TBone2K

[Realtor at Sea]

Quite a few years ago we had Captain Liz as our Captain on a transatlantic run. She attended our visit to the bridge and I pointedly asked her if it was harder to be a female Captain and she replied, "Yes!" Wherever we ventured we saw her and the crew obviously loved her! We thought she was fabulous!