How are the cruises from Dubai? Vision compared to Jewel?

[travellerin1984]

Hi!

 

I would need some advice. We just enjoyed 7 days cruise from Civitavecchia on Jewel. The cruise was nice, we enjoyed the food and diamond lounge. It was our first cruise on Royal. We still prefer Celebrity but had nice time anyway. I have been looking at a cruise from Dubai on Vision of the seas. I tried to look at the Rccl website and it seems like Vision is a bit older than Jewel but has same restaurants like Jewel.

 

I would like to hear some feedback regarding to Vision and of course regarding the ports. It is only one sea day so it is port intensive.

[Clarea]

We have spent over 30 days on Vision in the last year. From the Captain on down, this is an excellent ship, with an outstanding crew.

 

The ship is very similar to Jewel, though some venues are swapped, such as the Solarium being aft and Windammer being forward. The pool deck on Vision seems larger to me, possibly because Vision does not have the kiddle pool section, so more space is given to the other pool areas. One thing I did miss on Vision was the lack of outdoor Windjammer seating that Jewel has.

Edited August 8, 2016 by clarea

[travellerin1984]

We have spent over 30 days on Vision in the last year. From the Captain on down, this is an excellent ship, with an outstanding crew.

 

The ship is very similar to Jewel, though some venues are swapped, such as the Solarium being aft and Windammer being forward. The pool deck on Vision seems larger to me, possibly because Vision does not have the kiddle pool section, so more space is given to the other pool areas. One thing I did miss on Vision was the lack of outdoor Windjammer seating that Jewel has.

 

Thank you for your answer. That's nice to hear. The pool deck was really crowded (and loud) on Jewel so sounds like we would prefer Visions pool deck. Thats nice! Do you find a big difference when it comes to design and interior on Jewel and Vision? We liked the Vintages and the more modern design at the specialty restaurants.

[Clarea]

Thank you for your answer. That's nice to hear. The pool deck was really crowded (and loud) on Jewel so sounds like we would prefer Visions pool deck. Thats nice! Do you find a big difference when it comes to design and interior on Jewel and Vision? We liked the Vintages and the more modern design at the specialty restaurants.

I found more similarity than difference. For example, Schooner Bar is very similar, with the mid-size lounge at the aft end. Vision is missing the pool table area, but otherwise very similar. No movie theater or pub area on Vision either.

[voyager70]

We did a 7-night cruise out of Dubai a few years ago and thoroughly enjoyed it. Very friendly and welcoming people, stunning architecture, and amazing shopping. Obviously a very different culture from North America and Europe (not so much Dubai as it's very western - mainly Oman) but that's one of the great experiences of world travel. Would highly recommend!

[travellerin1984]

We did a 7-night cruise out of Dubai a few years ago and thoroughly enjoyed it. Very friendly and welcoming people, stunning architecture, and amazing shopping. Obviously a very different culture from North America and Europe (not so much Dubai as it's very western - mainly Oman) but that's one of the great experiences of world travel. Would highly recommend!

 

Nice to hear. We have the cruise on hold right now and have one week time to decide. Very good price for christmas cruise... It would be our first time to spend christmas onboard.

[Tin can]

We did a Dubai cruise on Splendour in March and I believe she was from the same class of ship as Vision before she was sold.

 

Its an amazing itinerary - a week full of different cultures, amazing sights and sounds and fantastic hospitable people. We were worried about a small ship as we have only travelled on the larger ones but it wasn't an issue.

 

The star of the show is what you experience, try and have some nights in Dubai before you go. We stopped a night in the 'older' part of the city for our first night and then two nights in an all singing all dancing 5 star skyscraper hotel, absolutely superb :)

 

As someone else mentioned, the difference then when you visit Oman..... wow! I could rattle on for ages how good the trip was.

 

If you have got a good price I would go.

[ATG]

We have not done a cruise, but spent time in Abu Dhabi while our son was there. It was so fascinating to be in a place with a completely different culture. I would strongly urge anyone to go. It was amazing!

[enyaw]

I was on the Splendour out of Dubai in January. One of the best cruises, yet. Since you'll be at many ports -- don't let the ship stop you from going. The culture, the people, the food ... EVERYTHING was so memorable.

 

I highly suggest the Omani Fjords excursion in Khasab. Out of my 50+ cruises, it has to be the most amazing shore excuursion. Swimming where few have ever swam before is an experience you'll always remember.

 

Enjoy!

[jem57]

We have been to Dubai many times,it's a fab place.We are doing the cruise after doing The Golden Triangle in India,can't wait.Looking forward to visiting The Grand Mosque,have been told it's out of this world!!

[scotty_das]

We are thinking about doing the Christmas cruise as well from Dubai. Our main worry was the smaller ship as we have mostly cruised on RCCL's bigger ships, including Harmony just in June.

 

We are actually living in Abu Dhabi at the moment, so it would be a great experience for us to go to Oman :)

[Tin can]

We are thinking about doing the Christmas cruise as well from Dubai. Our main worry was the smaller ship as we have mostly cruised on RCCL's bigger ships, including Harmony just in June.

 

We are actually living in Abu Dhabi at the moment, so it would be a great experience for us to go to Oman :)

 

Thats exactly us, we had only done the larger ships before our Dubai cruise. It was on Splendour which I think was the smallest when she was sold and we loved the smaller ship.

 

The cruise just seemed to lend itself to a more intimate experience with the ports and experiences the star of the show rather than the ship. That was our assessment anyway, others may disagree :)

 

.

[voyager70]

Thats exactly us, we had only done the larger ships before our Dubai cruise. It was on Splendour which I think was the smallest when she was sold and we loved the smaller ship.

 

The cruise just seemed to lend itself to a more intimate experience with the ports and experiences the star of the show rather than the ship. That was our assessment anyway, others may disagree :)

 

.

 

Fully agree with this, it's all about the ports rather than the ship on an itinerary like this. And being so port intensive you don't spend all that much time on the ship. It will definitely be a different experience from the mega ships but still very enjoyable. Oman is magnificent, would love to go back if it weren't so far!

[CruiserByHeart]

Hi and thanks for all the recent reports from the Vision.

 

We're looking at the Dubai/Gulf cruise this winter, but feel a bit hesitant about the Vision of the Seas. This vessel is one of the older and smaller in the RCCL fleet and it's been a while since her latest dry dock.

 

Can anyone tell a bit about the upkeep of the cabins (outside, no balcony) as well as the public areas?

 

We've cruised with RCCL on Liberty OTS when she was almost new and Navigator OTS just before she received the Flowrider. We liked both vessels and found them spotless. We've cruised with Celebrity S-class twice and M-class once and loved them too.

 

Apart from the smaller size and no Northstar and no Abyss, would you recommend this vessel for the vessel's sake?

 

Thanks a million for your input :)

[SPacificbound]

We spent 38 nights on Vision for the Mediterranean and TA about 11 months ago.

 

For a port intensive itinerary the smaller ships are so much better in my opinion. The ship has a fantastic crew and is well taken care of.

[viajante74]

I am considering a 7 night cruise on the Vision in March. I am just wondering what the demographics are like on this itinerary - are there a lot of families with children generally? Not that it's a dealbreaker necessarily if there are, just curious. ;)

[voyager70]

I am considering a 7 night cruise on the Vision in March. I am just wondering what the demographics are like on this itinerary - are there a lot of families with children generally? Not that it's a dealbreaker necessarily if there are, just curious. ;)

 

We went in March & there were very few children on board. Majority of passengers were from Europe (UK, France & Germany mostly) with only 150 North Americans. Overall a very well traveled, well mannered group.

Do it, you won't regret it!

[viajante74]

We went in March & there were very few children on board. Majority of passengers were from Europe (UK, France & Germany mostly) with only 150 North Americans. Overall a very well traveled, well mannered group.

Do it, you won't regret it!

 

Thanks for your reply! Yeah, the only thing I'm really hung up about would be the single supplement (I'd be travelling solo). I could probably do a very similar itinerary travelling independently for cheaper. But when you factor in a separate return flight from Muscat-Khasab, and likely having to stay overnight in Khasab if I were doing it on my own, it makes the single supplement less of an issue. Plus, a cruise would just be something different from what I normally do. So I'll definitely be considering it. :)

[Cruise_YouShmoose]

We spent 13 nights on Vision around 18 months ago. We also did the Xmas cruise last year on Splendour and we've booked to do it again this Xmas on Vision. So I guess that tells you that we had a fantastic time.

I do wish we were having a slightly different itinerary this time but at least we know what to expect and can always try and do alternative tours etc.

 

Vision is a great ship, nice compact size and well laid out. The cabins are dated, there's no getting away from that. But as others have said, it's well maintained and the crew are excellent. Looking forward to being on board again.

 

Christmas on Splendor last year was so much fun we just had to do it again. :D

[miraflores]

If anyone is interested, I rode the Dubai Metro with a video camera and made this timelapse. Dubai is an amazing city!

 

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