Light Review- Vision of the Seas Jan 11, 2016

[Darkwolfe]

Having sailed Vision twice before, I'm not going to do a heavily detailed review like I normally do. Figure I'll share a few pictures here and there and answer questions folks may have. But she has a few things going this time people should be aware of and plan accordingly.

 

First off, she's got a brand new skipper! Captain Mike took command the day we boarded. He'd been on for the previous cruise but not in command at that point. Don't worry, he's got plenty of experience and it looks to me like he will be one of the more personable Captains in the fleet. He was out and about several times during the cruise.

 

New staff all over the place! I swear there are teenagers working the dining room! Kidding, I know better, but wow these kids looked young to my eyes. Something on the order of half the staff was on their first cruise. Now we did still have some veteran headwaiters around. Swaroop and Luis were still there getting the newbies going on the right path. I won't say they didn't make some mistake, but they fixed them right fast too. All good.

 

New cabin stewards! Same as the MDR staff. Some really new folks. On our hallway (I've had a deck 4 port outside cabin every time I've been on the ship) had new folks from Jamaica, St Lucia, etc. Mostly Caribbean natives rather than the folks from the Philippines like we've seen before. Nothing with it either way, just an observation. Maybe Royal is thinking that hiring closer to the areas they are sailing is a good idea.

 

Menu rearrangement! Not all good, but it worked out. My traditional first night meal on the ships has always been the prime rib. Jaw on floor.. Not offered on the first night. Me=Really disappointed. But they did have a very good salmon plate that almost made up for it, so I wasn't too terribly put out. (My GF will tell you I griped about it for a while. I did, but just for form's sake.)

 

However the prime rib did make an appearance. On the same menu with the lobster. Now that's cheating! Got a hunch that's an attempt to get folks to split choices between the prime rib and the lobster. That backfired. I was a bit of a dinner pig and had both. I don't do that very often, but I will bet that's what happens more often on those dishes.

 

Port stops- Well we missed Grand Cayman due to high winds and sea conditions. Navigator had made an attempt but she turned away as well. Celebrity Equinox was headed in, but I suspect they had to write that off as well.

 

Key West- Chilly for that island. Stayed in the low 60s all day. I felt a little odd running around the island in jeans, but that was better than being cold in shorts. We basically just goofed around the Mallory Square area. Did the Shipwreck Museum and the Aquarium. It's a reasonably priced combo ticket and fairly predictable.

 

We were docked at the Navy Pier which is not as good as the north pier location, but it does have a free lift up to the Conch Train station in town. Problem solved. Gets you a little side street tour as well.

 

Curacao- First time there. We got the inside pier since Celebrity Eclipse was docked on the outside and we stayed in town until 10pm. Our plans for the day were simple. We took the semi-sub cruise and a tour of the Curacao liquor factory.

 

Word of warning, if you have any kind of motion sickness vulnerability, take some Dramamine, Bonine, ginger, whatever you like before getting on that semi-sub. Ship motion doesn't both me much at all, but that thing left me green about the gills for a bit. I wasn't the only one that had trouble either.

 

Liquor factory is fairly small and doesn't take long to go through. It's mostly a sales stop if you are a fan of the Curacao drinks. Not super exceptional but amusing in its own way.

 

And somebody there has a new (to them) straw Stetson. Somehow I managed to get it blown off the top deck late in the day. Oh well. 10 cruises and that's a first. Such is life.

 

Bonaire- Snorkeling on Woodwind! Even a water klutz like myself can enjoy this tour. Amusingly, our CC roll call group took the morning sailing over completely. Everybody was a CC member (anybody seen Collette yet?).

 

Go see this! :) If I can do it, so can you.

 

After snorkeling, the Woodwind crew handed out a remarkably tasty chicken stir fry for lunch. They were also well supplied for drinks of all sorts. Enjoy!

 

Aruba- Let's go lazy morning and just take a catamaran over to Eagle beach. Easy day, not really planning on much swimming. Just a few hours out and an hour on the beach being bums. Works! This was a ship excursion provided by Pelican Adventures. Simple, fun, open bar, all happy.

 

A side note about the ABC islands. These are way far south and even in January have UV intensities of 8! No joke. Even the locals wear long sleeves and trousers to protect from the sun. You wear the SPF 30+ or you will be a peeled lobster in about 30 minutes. Even in "winter".

 

All in all a good cruise. We had two cruise newbies along and they had a great time. Seas were pretty good for the most part. Missing GC was irritating, but part of the way cruises go sometimes.

 

I'll post some highlight pictures and happily answer any specific questions that come up. Anyone that was on this sailing with us is also welcome to contribute. It never hurts to see different points of view.

Edited January 26, 2016 by Darkwolfe

[Clarea]

We were on the Woodwind excursion with you, and it was one of the best ever. They have improved it since the last time we went.

[Darkwolfe]

We were on the Woodwind excursion with you, and it was one of the best ever. They have improved it since the last time we went.

 

Missed getting to really talk with you guys though. Seemed like something was always going on.

[Clarea]

Missed getting to really talk with you guys though. Seemed like something was always going on.

It was a fun filled cruise, that's for sure.:)

[kandj05]

Glad to have met you guys. Thanks for recapping the cruise. Only thing I would add is to go to palm Beach in Aruba. Very relaxing

[kandj05]

It was a fun filled cruise, that's for sure.:)

 

That is because you won prizes at trivia...lol. 😃

[Clarea]

That is because you won prizes at trivia...lol. 😃

Yeah, those zipper pulls have changed my life!

[Darkwolfe]

Yeah, those zipper pulls have changed my life!

 

*snicker*

[Darkwolfe]

A few scenes around Tampa, Florida.

 

P1010369 by Wulfgar28, on Flickr

 

P1010372 by Wulfgar28, on Flickr

 

P1010374 by Wulfgar28, on Flickr

 

P1010390 by Wulfgar28, on Flickr

 

The weather didn't always want to cooperate. Rather chilly for Tampa as well. Still as a home port, Tampa is pretty good.

[capsoncc]

Thanks for the review.

 

I agree i am totally surprised there was no prime rib on first night, i have always ordered and looked forward to the prime rib on the first night. Hopefully they change that before i go in March. Sounds like it might be part of the trend i have noticed on cruise lines trying to cut down food costs and quality.

[Darkwolfe]

Thanks for the review.

 

I agree i am totally surprised there was no prime rib on first night, i have always ordered and looked forward to the prime rib on the first night. Hopefully they change that before i go in March. Sounds like it might be part of the trend i have noticed on cruise lines trying to cut down food costs and quality.

 

Curiously enough I didn't really notice a drop in quality. Everything we had in the MDR was very good. The Windjammer remains a lower end buffet, but that's not new.

[Darkwolfe]

Florida Aquarium and Tampa Bay....

 

P1010434 by Wulfgar28, on Flickr

 

P1010461 by Wulfgar28, on Flickr

 

P1010450 by Wulfgar28, on Flickr

 

P1010457 by Wulfgar28, on Flickr

[Darkwolfe]

Embarkation day! Huzzah! :)

 

P1010486 by Wulfgar28, on Flickr

Channelside Mall was quite active on Sunday oddly enough. It seems to attract more business during the latter half of the day.

 

P1010488 by Wulfgar28, on Flickr

American Victory at her pier behind the Aquarium with Brilliance at hers.

 

P1010491 by Wulfgar28, on Flickr

Brilliance on her way out, we followed within minutes.

 

P1010496 by Wulfgar28, on Flickr

Under the bridge and out to sea.

 

We had excellent weather for sail away as you can see. A great way to start a cruise!

[cincicruisers]

Thanks for taking the time to post your review.

[shorti503]

What time do you go under the Tampa bridge? I want to make sure we can be on deck and not in the dinning room.

[Clarea]

What time do you go under the Tampa bridge? I want to make sure we can be on deck and not in the dinning room.

Around two hours after you leave the pier.

[oldguysandgalls]

Does anyone know why.... the elevator button for deck 4 is not shown on any of the elevator panels on the Vision of the Seas??

Instead of an elevator button with the number 4, there's a star. (took us a few days to figure out how to get to deck 4......hahaha)

Edited January 30, 2016 by oldguysandgalls

[Darkwolfe]

Does anyone know why.... the elevator button for deck 4 is not shown on any of the elevator panels on the Vision of the Seas??

Instead of an elevator button with the number 4, there's a star. (took us a few days to figure out how to get to deck 4......hahaha)

 

It's marked that way to show embarkation deck. It's not always that deck any longer

 

Be getting some more pics up this weekend.