enVISION a warm getaway

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It seemed like a great idea:

 

In Spring, 2017, my daughter noticed her son's Christmas Holidays shifted for the 2017-2018 school calendar, leaving the whole New Years week free, with kids not returning until January 9. Hmmm, great travel opportunity. What’s this? A 5-day Vision of the Seas cruise from Galveston, January 3-8, at a great OV cabin rate? Didn’t take much arm twisting to book a PV stateroom for 3 generations. We’d never been on Vision, and this would be the first cruise for this grandson. We enVISIONed waving goodbye to Texas as we basked in sun and fun to Cozumel and Progreso, with a couple balmy sea days.

Travel:

Mother Nature had the last laugh for us, as a cold front blew it’s frosty breath across the Texas coast the morning of departure, including snow flurries over night at our SE Texas town. We traveled via the Bolivar Peninsula Ferry to Galveston, and there was still a dusting of snow congregating along the sides of the Intracoastal Bridge south of Winnie, en route to the ferry landing. We drove up just as the ferry was arriving, and were soon onboard and underway. My grandson pointed a few dolphins jumping along our route. What a magical start to our frosty trip!

We parked at Galveston Port Parking, lot B, and an empty shuttle pulled up as we were unloading our suitcases. As soon as we were onboard, we had the 3 minute ride across the road and up to RC Terminal. We flagged down a porter to take our bags, and walked in . Wow, no lines! We were quickly through security. We walked right up to the check-in counter as well - still no lines. We had lanyards with us, and at our request, the sea pass cards were punched at the check-in counter. A short escalator ride later, we looked for waiting crowds - there were none! We were surprised to be waved on to the ship. Wow, first time I’d walked right on board a ship at 11:15 without a wait anywhere. There’s something to be said for small ships!

Ship:

What a surprise - the ship was still decorated for Christmas when we embarked! The centrum was beautiful. There were even 3 “recycled trees” on display past the Schooner Bar from a crew competition. The decorations were all taken down by day 3 (Cozumel). We got familiar with the ship, checked out our table in the Aquarius DR, then went to the Windjammer for lunch. Note: Day 1 - this was the first and last day that the pizza was good, in our opinion. Soon, the announcement that the rooms were open. On to explore our home away from home for the next 5 days.

Room:

We had a PV oceanview on deck 7, midship. Great layout for us - the long sofa and desk opposite, were near the window. And we loved the huge window! The room was more spacious than we enVISIONed. There was plenty of storage for 3, including 3 closet sections! For those of you who like cold rooms, the rooms were cold when we boarded (of course, the temperature outside was in the upper 30’s ). The travel clock with temperature reading that we brought showed it was 60 degrees in the room. Only warmed up to 63 by bedtime. It took a day at sea to get the room to our comfort level. But we had sweatshirts, not a problem! We loved the location of our room. We loved being able to hear when the Centrum entertainment started outside the door, and had a front row seat from the railing above it. . Because of the cold weather, the CD moved first sea day deck activities, like sexiest man contest, into the Centrum. We didn’t have to go far to see action.

 

Edited January 15, 2018 by Host Clarea
Removed note about separate threads

[FionaMG]

Great start. Very clever title. Looking forward to reading the rest. :)

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AO:

Next stop, check out the Adventure Ocean area for a quick look around. We found out there were 400 kids on board for this post-New Years sailing. My only other experience with Adventure Ocean was with my other grandkids on Liberty of the Seas - Spacious area, and adequate segregation for the different age groups. Yikes, the smaller Vision AO had only 2 rooms: 1 for the 3-11 year olds, and one for 12-17. After viewing the kids cruise compass, and seeing he would be in a room with 3 year olds, the grandson decided Vision’s AO was not for him. Other families with kids his age that we encountered and chatted with advised their kids decided to hang with them for family time, instead of AO.

 

Staff:

We are such fans of Captain Marek after this sailing ! What a gregarious fellow. Loved that he and the band rocked out in the Centrum one night. The last sea day our CD announced Captain Marek and officers challenged passengers to pool volleyball. Captain Marek & the CD also sang to us at the Platinum-Pinacle reception.

 

We had a few occasions to call GS - the morning of day 2 the toilet wouldn’t flush, and they had a plumber in the hall fixing the vacuum line in 5 minutes. Impressive. On day 3 (Cozumel) we came back to cold showers; the shower knob was stuck in the cold position. A call, and it was fixed in 5 minutes again! And surprisingly, we had a phone call from Manager on Duty later that afternoon checking up on repairs. We had glowing reports for him of the response times and professionalism of the crew. Wow, Vision crew customer service cannot be beat! Loved seeing the crew Parade of Nations in the centrum the last evening, too.

 

Dining Room:

Aquarius Dining Room - Deck 4, traditional early dining.

We had the waiter-assistant waiter duo of Lilia and Kevin. Kevin was the star of the service. His banter with each of the tables was the turning point for grandson to decide he wanted to eat in the MDR every night.

 

Adventures:

At noon on Day 2, we heard Oscar, Oscar, Oscar starboard side. Heavens, I knew what that meant. Captain Marek soon came on and announced that a crew member had spotted what looked like a capsized boat in the distance, and we were turning around for a closer look to see if we could be of assistance. My daughter realized that the scene would then be on the port side, so we had a great view out of our floor to ceiling window on deck 7.

We found the small boat, with weathered keel bouncing in and out of the waves. There was no sign of life and the boat looked like it may have been floating in the water for a while. There was tattered blue cloth hanging from it, and one family we met saw 2 hard hats float by. Captain Marek advised the Coast Guard of the location, and he announced it possibly was a crew boat that had fallen off a cargo ship. We were impressed that the crew member had spotted the small bit of keel visible above the waves! Kudos to the crew.

Edited January 15, 2018 by Host Clarea
Removed note about separate threads

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Ports:

Friday - Cozumel:

We shared a taxi van with a family of 7 in the taxi line, to Paradise Beach. They were from Arkansas, and also booked due to the school break times for the kids. What a lovely place Paradise Beach was. There were 7 ships in port, and the beach did not get crowded. When we arrived it was 63 degrees and they advised us it was currently too breezy for the inflatables, but when the wind calmed down they would be available. Sat on the beach side for an hour or so, then relocated to the pool. The pool was large, clean, and they advertise heated; I laughed at the shock on faces of my daughter & grandson when they jumped in the cold water. Apparently heated is a subjective term. Had lunch at Paradise Beach, then headed back to the ship. High of 74. We finally found our warm weather. And a truly enjoyable visit to Paradise Beach.

 

 

Saturday - Progreso:

When we first booked, I thought this would be a great port for an excursion to the ruins. There were great all-day excursions available, and we thought we would book one on the ship. The family decided they didn’t want a long bus ride, so we didn’t book an excursion. And to be honest, I think the unfortunate incident last month on the RC/Celebrity bus trip subconsciously played a part in our decision.

We walked along the Malecon, and saw a beautiful sand, chairs and umbrellas. Unfortunately the north wind had covered the water’s edge with a thick layer of seaweed. Except for the nice shop owners within the port area, it appeared as if we had taken the vendors in the city by surprise. There seemed to be a small market going up on the city streets as we made our way back to the bus terminal 30 minutes later. A few Vendors on the beach walk were just setting up as we headed back. Maybe we should have waited to get off the boat later.

 

The bus terminal was clogged with other families trying to head back to the ship. The employees said they were saving the big buses for their excursions, and they would eventually have a small bus to drive us back. When asked, they said there were No set times for shuttle back. Hmmm, we were starting to feel like we were captives, LOL.

 

Back at the pier, Daughter and grandson chatted with friendly shop owners and shopped for souvenirs within the port area. They were happy with the selection and prices, and the shop owners had fun with their bargaining attempts. Since we had no excursion in Progreso, it was the one port where we all felt we would rather have had a 4-day cruise with just Cozumel, instead of the 5-day including Progreso. Weather pleasant, low 70’s.

recap:

while it wasn’t the hot getaway that we’d enVISIONed, we ended up having the most relaxing vacation ever !! After hectic holidays, what better way to decompress before work and school resume. Throw in beautiful blue skies, aqua water and white beaches, Awesome Staff & Crew, and what’s not to love?

 

Even the small AO facility didn’t impact the fun. There were many family activities listed in the Compass (sorry, I left them all on the ship), such as family egg drop challenge, family trivia, great movies (pool side and inside majestic theater), family scavenger hunt. This allowed for great family bonding on the smaller Vision. So we feel the trip was a win-win!

 

We are booked on Liberty of the Seas for spring break next year, with all the Kids, Grandkids, and Grandparents, water slides, ice rink, larger AO and 7 days of fun. Looking forward to this next cruise, too!

Edited January 15, 2018 by Host Clarea
Removed note about separate threads

[peach section]

Great start. Very clever title. Looking forward to reading the rest. :)

 

Thanks, Fiona... Made a mistake and posted part 2 and part 3 (last part) as separate threads. As you can tell it's my first trip report.

[FionaMG]

Thanks, Fiona... Made a mistake and posted part 2 and part 3 (last part) as separate threads. As you can tell it's my first trip report.

 

It is probably possible for one of the mods to merge the threads. Not sure how that works though.

[ChicagoCubsFan]

Thank you for the review. Leaving in 2 weeks on the Vision, looking forward to relazing. Hopefully the cold stays up north. :cool:

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Thank you for the review. Leaving in 2 weeks on the Vision, looking forward to relazing. Hopefully the cold stays up north. :cool:

 

Oh, enjoy your cruise!! At least you don't have far to drive. Hope you come back and give a trip report, too.

 

Forgot to add, express disembarkation was easy. We were off the ship, no waiting for parking shuttle, and in our car shortly after 8:00.

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It is probably possible for one of the mods to merge the threads. Not sure how that works though.

 

Bob - Clarea - if you see this, do you think you could merge my 3 threads, and take out the *Note* about separate threads? Thanks!

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Sorry, everyone about the separate threads.

[c-leg5]

Bob - Clarea - if you see this, do you think you could merge my 3 threads, and take out the *Note* about separate threads? Thanks!

If they don’t see this post, easiest way is to click on “report” button and ask directly.

 

By the way we were on this sailing look forward to reading!

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If they don’t see this post, easiest way is to click on “report” button and ask directly.

 

By the way we were on this sailing look forward to reading!

 

That’s a great idea! I just reported my following 2 threads, and asked for merge.

 

Glad that you were on tne same cruise! Feel free to chime in with your thoughts, too. Did you do a Progreso excursiom?

[c-leg5]

That’s a great idea! I just reported my following 2 threads, and asked for merge.

 

Glad that you were on tne same cruise! Feel free to chime in with your thoughts, too. Did you do a Progreso excursiom?

 

You gave a good, concise review. I sailed with my daughter and I also enjoyed the smaller ship after the Liberty a few weeks earlier. It has been many years since I sailed Vision and it was good to reconnect! I will actually be on again in a few weeks for the Cozumel/ Costa Maya run. I will prefer this itinerary but the progreso date was the only time my daughter could sail.

 

We also enjoyed Paradise Beach but found the pool too cold! We were surprised to find that we were docked in San Miguel and had to change our plans.

 

In Progreso we took a ship excursion to all-inclusive resort. Unusual for us to do ship excursion but we had done ruins before and had OBC to use. The resort was fine but food was not good. Unfortunately the weather was not as good as Cozumel but it was relaxing and we had WiFi.

 

We talked to others on the ship who went to Silcer resort and they had a good day.

[2catfamily]

Steve Davis wonderful CD on the Vision!

[BecciBoo]

So are we, 26th. Getting excited, haven't been on this small a ship in many years. And yes, already changed my sig to reflect our new achievement. Vision makes us Plus. and just for grins we're in our first suite ever. Cannot wait.

 

Enjoyed your commentary.

[c-leg5]

So are we, 26th. Getting excited, haven't been on this small a ship in many years. And yes, already changed my sig to reflect our new achievement. Vision makes us Plus. and just for grins we're in our first suite ever. Cannot wait.

 

Enjoyed your commentary.

We are back on for 26th too Cozumel and Costa Maya!

[c-leg5]

Oh, enjoy your cruise!! At least you don't have far to drive. Hope you come back and give a trip report, too.

 

Forgot to add, express disembarkation was easy. We were off the ship, no waiting for parking shuttle, and in our car shortly after 8:00.

 

We weren’t so lucky as non-US citizens for disembarkation despite having 2 tags we were in line with 8/9. No customs felt weird.

[Clarea]

Another excellent installment, thanks!

[Clarea]

Sorry, everyone about the separate threads.

No problem, we will see all the parts.:)

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No problem, we will see all the parts.:)

 

Ok! thanks! I had reported my posts 2 & 3 to ask them to be merged, but you & other Mods can ignore that request.

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Steve Davis wonderful CD on the Vision!

 

 

Yes! He was so energetic! That was our first time with Steve as CD.

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You gave a good, concise review. I sailed with my daughter and I also enjoyed the smaller ship after the Liberty a few weeks earlier. It has been many years since I sailed Vision and it was good to reconnect! I will actually be on again in a few weeks for the Cozumel/ Costa Maya run. I will prefer this itinerary but the progreso date was the only time my daughter could sail.

 

We also enjoyed Paradise Beach but found the pool too cold! We were surprised to find that we were docked in San Miguel and had to change our plans.

 

In Progreso we took a ship excursion to all-inclusive resort. Unusual for us to do ship excursion but we had done ruins before and had OBC to use. The resort was fine but food was not good. Unfortunately the weather was not as good as Cozumel but it was relaxing and we had WiFi.

 

We talked to others on the ship who went to Silcer resort and they had a good day.

 

Thanks for the input. I think we would have enjoyed Progreso much more if we’d planned an organized excursion. Yours sounds like it was really nice!

[c-leg5]

Ok! thanks! I had reported my posts 2 & 3 to ask them to be merged, but you & other Mods can ignore that request.

I initially had a problem finding part 2 and now part 1 is already on page 2. It would have been a lot easier if they were merged.

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So are we, 26th. Getting excited, haven't been on this small a ship in many years. And yes, already changed my sig to reflect our new achievement. Vision makes us Plus. and just for grins we're in our first suite ever. Cannot wait.

 

Enjoyed your commentary.

 

Oh how fun! Suite-life and Diamond Plus! Enjoy your cruise !!

[c-leg5]

Thanks for the input. I think we would have enjoyed Progreso much more if we’d planned an organized excursion. Yours sounds like it was really nice!

Yes I think it was good for us - as two ladies we didn’t want to tour the malecon. If the weather had been better it would have been better. Drinks and service were good just food was not exciting and was cold, but we were on a cruise we knew we wouldn’t starve!