A Royal newbie reports on Vision Cruise (photo review)

We'll be boarding Vision in 12 days. Your review is perfectly timed! :)

Looking forward to reading the rest!!!

Fantastic cabins. I'll be posting lots of pics as soon as DH uploads them from his camera.

I see you were drinking Angry Orchard! Iv never seen them on any ship before. Where they available at every bar? They are my favorite!

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Not sure about the availability of the cider. I just know it was at the pool bar - that's where the guys got their beer bags refilled each time by the very nice Jamaican bartender.

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Continuing on our tour of the ship, on Deck 6 we walked through the Centrum shops area which wasn't open yet as we were still in port. Did browse the shops later in the week but didn't buy much - usual souvenirs, jewelry, watches, etc. (now if they had a Kate Spade store, that would have been a different story :)).

I did like the way they were laid out though - you didn't have to walk through them all the time to get around the ship. (I'm recalling the bracelets frenzies on some X cruises).

Other amenities on Deck 6 included the Photo Gallery (the "old-fashioned kind" where the photos are all displayed on the slat walls):

Ben & Jerry's & Caffe Lattetudes were nearby:

There are also 2 banks of computers available for guests.

I was very pleased with the ease of access to the WIFI onboard. I used my iPhone to locate the Royal WIFI, created an account, redeemed my one hour of free internet (for Diamonds) and that was it! Easy to log in and out whenever needed - even checking emails daily (once or twice) I didn't exceed the 60 minutes of free time. It was much simpler than our past experiences on Celebrity when a visit to the computer lounge was required (that may have changed now.....)

Great review! We sail in March (our first time on Vision) and you've really gotten me even more excited about the trip!

Great review so far! Looking forward to more!

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SANDI,

like you, I was a staunch Celebrity fan, and still cruise with them. However for several reasons I decided to branch out. After a rocky start w/ RCI about 12 years ago, I gave RCI another try 2 or 3 years ago, and I'm so glad I did. I find in many ways (maybe not food) it compares very favorably with Celebrity and in some categories (especially entertainment) exceeds what I've been experiencing on Celebrity lately. I was also pleasantly surprised by the ships themselves and the level of service.

It appears you are also glad you took the ROYAL PLUNGE. I've followed your reviews on the =X= board and likewise will be following this one.

The Schooner Bar was on Deck 6, just off the central elevator banks. We didn't spend much time here; we went for trivia a couple of times, which was fun. Unfortunately, the piano player Kelly was completely tone deaf and really butchered Billy Joel, Elton John, Jimmy Buffet and others!

We practically ran through there when he was singing.

One of the reasons (of many) that we loved having a cabin on Deck 7, was the convenient access to the Diamond Club where we spent a lot of time - more on that later too.

SANDI,

like you, I was a staunch Celebrity fan, and still cruise with them. However for several reasons I decided to branch out. After a rocky start w/ RCI about 12 years ago, I gave RCI another try 2 or 3 years ago, and I'm so glad I did. I find in many ways (maybe not food) it compares very favorably with Celebrity and in some categories (especially entertainment) exceeds what I've been experiencing on Celebrity lately. I was also pleasantly surprised by the ships themselves and the level of service.

 

It appears you are also glad you took the ROYAL PLUNGE. I've followed your reviews on the =X= board and likewise will be following this one.

Hi there!!

I agree that the entertainment was much better and I'll be sharing some of my experience in this review too!!

There was also a small bar outside the Diamond Club (referred to as the "overflow bar") and Some Enchanted Evening Lounge.

Quite a few activities took place here throughout the cruise; we were only there for Quest one night and the Captains Welcome Event.

Rounding out the tour of Deck 6, were the specialty restaurants Giovanni's Table & Chops Grille. We had booked both, plus the Chefs Table in advance to take advantage of the 20% OBC discount, and confirmed with the staff at Chops that we had a table for 4. (I will share photos of the restaurants when I review our dining experiences there.)

As you can see, we are all very happy so far......

It was now 1:00 p.m. and our cabins were ready! I couldn't wait to see our first RCCL cabin, especially the balcony. It did not disappoint.

Cabin 7652 is a corner aft on the starboard side of the ship, coveted cabins well known to RCCL veterans I understand! It is well worth booking this (or sister cabin 7152 on the port side) I can assure you.

The cabin itself is standard size. My first impressions were that the cabin was very clean and well kept. New soft furnishings had been added in 2013 (not sure if the sofa is new?).

The cabin had a lot of storage (and I do not travel light!). There are nightstands on either side of the bed with 2 drawers large enough to hold small purses, books, etc.

The vanity area had additional storage and ample lighting and space for hair drying/makeup application, etc.

View from balcony:

The bathroom was small, but it did have quite a lot of storage.

(It seemed pretty spacious after our last cabin on Azamara!!)

The shower was a far cry from the lovely Aqua class shower on X that I enjoyed so much, but it was serviceable, once I figured out how to avoid the shower curtain.

I'm glad Deirdre had warned me about the lack of toiletries (only soap was provided) and I was prepared with my own supply of sample sized toiletries. I wouldn't bring full sized items as the shower caddy is very small.

Here are some photos of the storage, which I could not fill even with 3 suitcases and a garment bag of clothes and shoes:

On left side of vanity:

Each side of vanity had more shelving and 6 drawers underneath too:

I don't have photos of the closet open, but it had ample space for clothes with hangers supplied.

And, the piece de resistance, the marvelous balcony:

And best of all......

This was our first ever aft cabin and we really loved the view of the wake. It was a bit noisy when we were putting down anchor (heavy vibrations too) but a small price to pay....

Great pictures! Keep them coming!

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We had packed our swimsuits in our carry-on bags, so after documenting the room for this review, we changed and went to the Solarium before it became too crowded (this turned out to be the only time I went there all week, it was always seemed to be packed, a problem I've encountered on other ships too, but didn't really bother me as I have an indoor pool at my gym at home I use often so didn't really care if I went to the pools onboard.)

In addition to the saltwater pool (no jets), there are 2 hot tubs.

And the Solarium Cafe (which is a bar):

As well as the Park Cafe that is open at breakfast and lunch. It's similar in fare to the Aquaspa cafe on Celebrity, but has a wider range of prepared options, such as sandwiches & wraps. Wish we had eaten there instead of the buffet, as we never got back there all week.

Nice review! 8088 is better[emoji41] and her twin! All 4 are the best. Congrats on snagging one.

While we were in the area, we also looked around the Fitness Center (which I never used, but DH did):

and the Spa, which featured some interesting artwork:

The sauna/steam room are free for guests to use:

Fantastic review!

We sail her in March. My question for you, or anyone, do they open the roof on Vision in the Solarium Pool?

Thanks!

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Nice review! 8088 is better[emoji41] and her twin! All 4 are the best. Congrats on snagging one.

Thanks! We did look at the corner aft Junior suites (on departure day) and they are nice for sure, but the price was right on ours :D

Fantastic review!

 

We sail her in March. My question for you, or anyone, do they open the roof on Vision in the Solarium Pool?

 

Thanks!

 

 

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I hope you love it as much as we did. I didn't see the roof open and I'm not sure it has that capability. Hopefully someone with more experience on board can let you know.

Could you please tell me what nights were formal nights? Thanks

Absolutely loving your review, and your photos are excellent! We're sailing Vision in September and I've learned such a lot from your posts and photos- looking forward to more please!

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Great review! I haven't sailed on this class of ship, but I see from your signature that you're sailing Adventure of the Seas about a month before I am. Hope you do a review for that...pretty please?

Mary