REVIEW oF VISION 5 NIGHT CPH TO NORWAY

[sidari]

Having landed at Copenhagen Kastrup airport at around 1pm which was 20 minutes early we picked up our luggage and headed outside to find a Taxi to get to the port at Nyhavn, the journey took around 20 minutes and the fare was 291 Danish Krone .... much lower than some people had mentioned having paid on the Europe boards in one case 400 Dkr !

Below are our Observations of the Vision which also contains what we consider to be a few compalints as well.

Having filled in the usual questionaire about health issues we were onboard very smoothly within 30 minutes of arriving at the port, we had decided to book an inside cabin for this trip which was located on Deck 2 cabin 2605 .... like most other cabins on RCI ships it was clean and Tidy though the woodwork of the wardrobe and draws are looking a little tired though still very functional, a downside was that your sea pass account is not available on the TV on the Vision of the seas... these cabins do not have a fridge.... our cabin steward Alberto from Porto Rica was a great laugh and nothing was a bother for him.

The ship itself though 10 years old, in General is in very good condition though the outside of the Hull looks like it needs to be taken into Drydock and re painted.

We again had mytime dining as we did on the Brilliance back in June, sadly this didnt appear to be working very well on the Vision, on boarding the ship we made a Dining reservation for 8pm that night....we arrived at 8pm only to be told that we would have to wait!! at 8-25 we were finally shown to a table for the 2 of us.... a wait of 25 minutes! .... the food for a first night was quite good. We booked a table again on the 2nd night again for 8pm and once again we had to wait this time for 15 minutes,the food was good but not as good as the 1st night.
we gave the MDR a miss for 2 nights and chose to eat in the Windjammer but returned to the MDR on the last night .. again at 8pm and once again had to wait for 10 minutes... the food had improved and was very good.
Our waiters Szilvia from Hungary and Walter from Peru along with their assistant waiter Carla from Brazil were Excellent.

There were times when tables around the MDR were left for long periods uncleared despite that some waiters and their assistants appeared to be polishing cutlery despite people waiting for tables !!

The Windjammer on the Vision was a nightmare at Breakfast regardless of trying different times, mainly due to what can only be described as Table HOGS around the exterior windows, everyday we watched people who had clearly eaten and been there maybe 30 minutes still sat at these tables after we were leaving having eaten our breakfast despite the fact that they could see others wandering around trying to find somewhere to sit .... one woman we saw was on her own at a table for 4 with her eyes closed!! .... RCI are you reading this? you really do need to sort this problem out and have the main person in charge of the Windjammer moving these people so that others can sit down and eat before their food goes cold as ours did on 2 occasions due to these ridiculous and selfish people.
The Breakfast food and Lunch time fare was in the main quite good and in the 2 evenings was also good although one of those was cut short due to Rough seas of around 8 to 13 foot waves which also saw the Cancelation of that evenings show which was moved to the last sea day in the Afternoon and one which we both enjoyed.

The Some Enchanted Evening Lounge at the Aft end of Deck 6 is very bright with a great Colour scheme and good views out from the rear of the ship, the Schooner bar being smaller on the Vision did on a couple of nights appear over crowded making it awkward for people to pass on their way to the Some Enchanted Evening Lounge. The Viking Crown Lounge gives great views out from all around but it is designated as a Smoking area!

The Spa area and pool was also a great place to sit and relax as well as having the pool and hot tubs.
There were around 2,000 people on the Vision and being an older and smaller ship and heading for a colder area did on many occasions look crowded probably due to people not wanting to use sunbeds ... though a few did brave the winds.

Our arrival in Bergan started with cloudy skies and within 10 minutes of leaving the ship the rain started which lasted until around 3pm, despite the weather we decided to take the Funiccular up Mount Flo ein, at the top ther was nothing to see due to it being very misty, cold and raining.
After having taken a break for a Hot drink we again went outside where the mist slowly began to break and we were able to get some pictures of the Vision down in the port. After going back down the rain seemed heavier than earlier in the day and after about 2 hours we headed back to the ship to dry off and warm up.

Sunday morning started cool and a little cloudy until around 10-30am when the Sun started to shine down on the fjord at Geiranger and it became warm enough for some people to wander around in T shirts, we followed the road uphill for a while to get some pics of the ship and the Fjord. In the afternoon we had pre booked a boat trip on the Fjord which lasted for around one hour and 30 minutes and went to the end of Geiranger fjord and back.

Back at Nyhavn port we were off the ship by around 9-30 which went quite smoothly, collected our luggage and headed for the Rail station past the long long long line of traffic which stretched from the main road junction all the way to the ship! how long people took to get to the airport in a taxi is anyones guess.
For those of you planning this trip in the future and using the Train to get to the centre you can buy tickets at the shop at the station just incase your Visa card will not work in the ticket machine or you do not have coins to pay for them.

Overall we enjoyed our trip but with a few complaints which are summerised below .....

Windjammer .... table HOGS need to be moved on after they have eaten and at a future refit if the ship is not sold on needs to be moved Aft, one of the designated smoking areas is immediatley outside the Windjammer on the Starboard side and that could do with moving.

Mytime dining .... needs improving on the Vision.... also with the mtd the tips are prepaid and include the Head waiter ... who in our case did very little if anything to get tables cleared or help cut down waiting time for people ....RCi should consider some way that this part can be given to another individual if you feel that the HW has not done his job!.

Also we found the ships photographers to be a pain when eating in the MDR and one of the waiters made a complaint about it.

[NC Mtn Boys]

Thanks for the review. We're on this ship for a 7-night itinerary in the Baltics next September and it will be quite a different experience, as I've only sailed in the Caribbean or the Mexican Riviera. I'm hoping that the ship condition won't have deteriorated too much by then, as I believe our sailing is two months before a drydock. So by then, the wear will likely be more noticeable.

I agree about the crowded Windjammer. It gets old circling and circling, looking for a table. Didn't seem to matter what time we went, every day but one was a challenge to find a table.

Glad you had a good cruise, though.

[sidari]

One item we forgot to mention which is of importance to many cruisers was the fact that there were only 2 Hand Sanitisers available during the cruise and were at the Windjammer, at no time were there any outside the MDR nor were they outside the ship for when people returned from their day out in Bergen or Geiranger ......

We also noticed a Large amount of people just walked past them in the Windjammer ! on the Brilliance back in June we had them at the Windjammer, MDR and on return to the ship .....

[uktraveller]

sidari,
We are considering doing one of these short cruises on Vision next year...can I ask what the split of nationalities was? We prefer a nice mix from all over rather than one large dominant group.
Thanks.

[Garyorient]

I was on Vision in August for same itinerary.
About 75% Scandinavian/25% Britsh and American.

Whilst I sympathise with the OP regarding Table Hogs, I suppose I am fairly philosophical. Firstly, I do not grab any food until I have a table, that prevents my food getting cold, also, I actually think that once someone has a table, it is theirs until they decide to relinquish it. I had a couple of times when I had to wait to get a table, but tbh if it would have got too much I would have gone and eaten in the MDR. Personally I am a "sit down, eat and leave" sort of person, but under any circumstances I would be very very resentful if I was asked to leave before I WAS READY TO.

I think the bigger problems with the Vision Windjameer are
1) It is too small for the numbers. Maybe only another 10/15 tables would allieviate much of the peak time bottlenecks.
2) Their dessert area is very badly positioned and sometimes leads to queueing right into the middle of the Windjammer.

[sidari]

Gary .... Have to agree with you regarding the size of the Windjammer .... it could fairly easily be extended by moving the entrance sliding doors further back to the side of the pool bar ... that part is currently in the open but shielded by the glass sides where the ice cream machines are.

Yes the Dessert area is as you say in a bad place and could be moved to put tables in that space if they did the above.

My own opinion and a system that could work in there is not to let anyone sit at a table unless they actually have their food!! and to move on people who have no food or drink and are in fact just sat reading a book while others struggle to find a seat.

On at least 3 occasions we saw 2 people sat at tables for 4 and sat with them !

[Garyorient]

Originally Posted by sidari

On at least 3 occasions we saw 2 people sat at tables for 4 and sat with them !

This is very strange actually.
When we had breakfast in MDR we sat on table with other peole and we would always welcome anyone who came to sit at our table at the Windjammer, but it never seemed to happen.

I actually don't agree with you about not being allowed to sit down unless they have food. We always sit down at a table, leave our jacket/cradigan/some sort of marker and get out food. Nowt wrong with that as far as I can see, and, as I say, our food is always eaten hot as opposed to cold.

[yogimax]

We were on this cruise about a month ago. I am sorry to hear that the MTD problem has not improved. On two nights, there was a wait, with the last night being about 45 minutes.

[sidari]

" I actually don't agree with you about not being allowed to sit down unless they have food. We always sit down at a table, leave our jacket/cradigan/some sort of marker and get out food. Nowt wrong with that as far as I can see, and, as I say, our food is always eaten hot as opposed to cold"

Gary ... this is one of the reasons people end up walking around looking for a table with their food going cold!!

yogimax .... my thoughts on the waiting is that it is down to the Head Waiter in that area who we believe was not doing his job correctly! and at one point were considering not handing over the voucher to him for our Gratuities!!... had he been doing so then tables would have been cleared quicker and people seated faster, my other half gets infuriated when this happens having worked as a Chef and also been on the Serving side as well and so knows how it should be done.

[Garyorient]

Originally Posted by sidari

"

Gary ... this is one of the reasons people end up walking around looking for a table with their food going cold!!

Guess we will have to politely agree to disagree.
Putting jackets down takes precisely one nano-second, and the reason people are walking around is not because of the additional seconds taken to park your jackets.

That is caused by inadequate lay-out of WJ (RCI's problem that needs to be addressed) and by peole who sit at their table having finished their food (something that is unavoidable I guess)

[yogimax]

Originally Posted by sidari

"
yogimax .... my thoughts on the waiting is that it is down to the Head Waiter in that area who we believe was not doing his job correctly! and at one point were considering not handing over the voucher to him for our Gratuities!!... had he been doing so then tables would have been cleared quicker and people seated faster, my other half gets infuriated when this happens having worked as a Chef and also been on the Serving side as well and so knows how it should be done.

Sidari, on our cruise the Head Waiter in charge of MTD was trying his best to keep things moving. His assistant, however, was virtually useless.

[sidari]

Yogimax .... the waiters we had were great and even they did their best but when you have a manager (head waiter) who allows others to polish spoons before sorting out the tables then it is little wonder people waited 45 minutes!!

Gary ..... as you say we will have to agree to disagree ..... and hope that RCI will do something about it at the Vision`s next dry dock.

[rosie#1]

Does the Vision have a concierge lounge? I read somewhere that they were supposed to be adding one.

[lmyren]

Originally Posted by rosie#1

Does the Vision have a concierge lounge? I read somewhere that they were supposed to be adding one.

There is no CL on the Vision. They might add one during the ships next dry dock in october/november 2010.

[The Viking]

Do you tip porters in Copenhagen?

[lmyren]

Originally Posted by The Viking

Do you tip porters in Copenhagen?

I gave them DK 100 for 2 bags.