VISION Nov. 30-Dec. 10

[Podie]

This was my second time on Vision. The first time I arrived at noon and it took more than 2 hours to board the ship. This time I arrived at 1:15 and was on the ship in 10 minutes. The security guard said the morning crowd had been horrendous. So late is the way to arrive!

 

I would say that 80% or more of the cruisers were older than 65. There were lots of scooters, wheelchairs, and walkers and some were truly a safety hazard. Most were quite courteous. Ballroom dancing was big and the Centrum music was usually 50's or earlier. The Schooner Bar was a little more lively and the Viking Crown Lounge hosted a disco late at night but it was rarely busy there.

 

Captain Marek, who has performed in a hard rock band, sang at several venues and was charming and approachable all the time. He extended the "small town" feel of Vision that I like. He also took part in many activities and set the tone of "we're all family." The CD, Rob McNally, was also a performer and all around great guy.

 

Anyone who had not made advance MTD reservations could simply not get into the MDR between 6 and 7:30, so I recommend reservations as soon as they can be made. I ate most of my meals at the Windjammer and the food was decent. I heard many complaints about the MDR, both food and service.

 

Captain Marek: "When you see me around the ship, and you will, please feel free to come talk with me, but don't tell me I look too young to be a Captain. My parents turn 70 next year and they were 21 when they had me, so do the math." Another great quote was: "I've never been to Bonaire but luckily we have GPS!"

 

With the older crowd, I thought Bingo would be a hit, but it was frequently cancelled for lack of players. The bingo director, Orlando, was a super nice guy and played a great Indian in the Village People during the 70's party.

 

I scuba dived in the ABC islands so didn't get to see as much as I would have liked, but we had 12 hours in Curacao and that has become my favorite port.

 

The most relaxing place for me was the solarium and there was usually a lounge chair available. We had 2011 passengers (11 were kids) and many stayed in the Centrum area, so I never felt crowded.

 

I'm not a show person so I can't comment on the entertainment, but for me it was a very relaxing 10 day cruise. I had been on Navigator the week before so Vision felt small at first, but then became very homey.

[cruiseapril]

Thanks for the review.

 

Curacao is also our favorite port.

 

Where did ship stop other than ABCs?

[Clarea]

We had Captain Marek last month on the TA from Barcelona. Very personable, enjoyable to talk to, and not a bad rock singer. We will miss him when we cruise Vision again next month.

[decemberpsyche]

I was on that cruise too. It was our first with Royal Caribbean. We were told numerous times not to judge RCI based on this trip/ship.

 

I too really like Schooner's. MTD was a complete joke, only one of the hosts had her sh** together. Curacao was my favorite stop, hubby's was Bonaire.

 

I like the Captain, and really thought it was a neat touch, him there to say goodbye to all as they left the ship.

[Podie]

Thanks for the review.

 

Curacao is also our favorite port.

 

Where did ship stop other than ABCs?

 

Key West and Grand Cayman

[vplsh]

We sailed on Vision from Barcelona this summer. It's a lovely ship and Captain Marek is terrific! Entertainment was lacking, but with a very heavy port intensive itinerary, it wasn't a problem.

[JOHN 57]

who was your piano player in the schooner bar. thank you, John

[BND]

We were also on this trip and the one thing that pretty much everyone agreed on was the food was just meh. Boarding was very quick. We parked at the port because we had our car and we were checked in around 10:30 and boarded just before 11 (we were group 1). DH and I are 55 and 58 and we met several couples our age and younger, but there were a lot of retirees onboard. There are several posts on our roll call also about the food.

[Susie51]

Thank you for your review of Vision. I've cruised on her twice and my daughter worked in the children's department for 2 months.

 

We had a wonderful time. DD thought it a little strange to have been a passenger when she was 16 and a staff member when she was 23 on Vision.

[CntPAcruiser]

We were also on this trip and the one thing that pretty much everyone agreed on was the food was just meh. Boarding was very quick. We parked at the port because we had our car and we were checked in around 10:30 and boarded just before 11 (we were group 1). DH and I are 55 and 58 and we met several couples our age and younger, but there were a lot of retirees onboard. There are several posts on our roll call also about the food.

 

The comment about the food bothers me to hear. We haven't sailed before on a smaller ship, and were expecting that the food would be better than what we've experienced on other cruises. We'll have to see, I guess--we're on the January 2nd sailing.

Edited December 19, 2015 by CntPAcruiser

[JOHN 57]

I have heard this before, but turned out ok, on other cruises. I always hear that the food was bad, but on the cruise itself, the food turned out ok

[BND]

I have heard this before, but turned out ok, on other cruises. I always hear that the food was bad, but on the cruise itself, the food turned out ok

 

Yeah, well out of 12 RCI cruises we've been on, this is the worst food we've ever had. Our best food was on Grandeur. This is not one or two people's opinions. Everyone we talked to on the cruise had the same complaints. It just wasn't good.

[kandj05]

We had Captain Marek last month on the TA from Barcelona. Very personable, enjoyable to talk to, and not a bad rock singer. We will miss him when we cruise Vision again next month.

 

I am sad that he won't be on our sailing. He sounds like a great guy

[JamesEM]

Thanks for the review, the ABC islands are my favorite.

[caseythegr]

This was my second time on Vision.

 

Thank you for the review. We are on the January 21st sailing and I was beginning to wonder what the age group would be. We are 54 and 56 so I think we'll be on the younger side. :)

 

What cabin were you in? and do you have any pictures of the ship?

 

I absolutely love Grand Cayman, it would be the place I would retire too if I could afford it.

 

Thanks

Laurie

[Podie]

I rarely take pictures but I do have a neat shot of Vision at dusk which is so cool, it looks fake! I'll try to post it.

[Podie]

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=371485&stc=1&d=1450638401

 

I have no idea if the above will be the photo!