Jump to content

Just off the Vision of the Seas (Dec 5-12)


julierika

Recommended Posts

Looking forward to your report.......we are going on the Vision next October and it will be our first time on the Vision specifically........let us know how everything went.

 

Jim

Link to comment
Share on other sites

A bit of background: My husband and I have cruised six times before, five of them with RCI, therefore we are platinum members. We brought along four other couples (none of whom have cruised before) and two of our children, who are 6 (Rachel) and 17 (Andrew).

 

Sunday: Embarkation was a breeze. Got dropped off at the port (parking is $11/day) at 10:00am and walked inside to check in. We waited about a half hour and then were allowed into the waiting area. We were told embarkation would not take place until 11am, then noon, then 1pm but we were on the ship by 11:30am. Separate area to wait for Crown and Anchor members and we were in the first group to board.

 

Fire doors to the rooms were closed and a sign said they’d open at 1pm, which they did. Meanwhile, we ate lunch in the Windjammer. Then at 1pm we went to our room and unpacked. We were on the 8th deck, a superior inside stateroom which is the largest inside stateroom Vision offers (it’s even bigger than the regular oceanview). Met our cabin attendant, who brought us our robes (love those!) and coupon books. We then met up with our cruisemates and walked around to familiarize ourselves with the ship.

 

The first order of business was changing our dining room seating. We all got second seating, as requested, but we were not all at the same table, despite phone calls and a fax to RCI in advance. Our complication was that though the children were traveling with us, they would not be eating with us in the dining room. Adults only at dinner. The maitre‘d was quite attentive and helpful and we soon had a table for ten in a great location.

 

I love RCI for their great service and it was – all week long. We are not drinkers or gamblers so I cannot report about either of those areas. There was quite a bit of live music of all kinds and we enjoyed that a lot. I did have a few complaints, but I’ll get to those later.

 

We registered Rachel into Adventure Ocean and attended their orientation. We set sail at 5pm. For the first dinner we had to have Andrew watch Rachel as she was not going to eat in the dining room and the kids club doesn’t open until day two.

 

Monday: At sea – At Adventure Ocean bright and early – great counselors, Rachel loved every minute there and she was there a lot, including the Late Night Zone nightly. Not too many kids on the ship, probably because it was a regular school week. Andrew attended Teen activities a few times but no one was ever there so he never made a friend. A first for him. He still did things with us and on his own though and had fun.

 

Waves were a little rough on Monday, seasick bags were placed on all the staircase banisters. The waters became much calmer after the Captain shifted course and soon everyone was feeling better.

 

We went to the CC Meet and Mingle in the Viking Crown Lounge and I won a raffle for something I wanted - an Aqua Mouse! It was so nice to meet all the people we’ve been chatting with on the CC Boards. Hello to Bill and Dorothy (who also did Randi’s with us), Patty and Bud, and Jae and Bill. Disappointed more that signed up didn’t join us.

 

Our family participated in the Family Scavenger Hunt and.... we won, thanks to running into Parker (the CD) who provided a few of the answers! Monday night was formal night and a chance to meet the Captain. Boogie Wonderland was the show - a 70's night of music.

 

Tuesday: Cabo San Lucas – Tendering into this port, we stepped off the ship's tender to the din of the locals trying to sell us things. Welcome to Mexico. We toured a glass blowing factory, which was very interesting. Found that idea on this Board! Taxi cost us $2.00 per person. Factory was free.

 

Some of our friends took a glass bottom boat to tour Land's End and Los Arcos on their own. They paid $12 each. This ended up to be a great excursion for them – the water taxi driver took them up close and catered to their requests. We were there from 10:30am until 6pm.

 

Then it was Country Western night - lots of line dancing fun!

 

Wednesday: Mazatlan - We went horseback riding with Randi’s Happy Horses today. She is entertaining and kind, sticking with us afterwards to give us shopping tips and directions.

To get to the horses we left the ship, took a tram to the terminal, a truck to a boat, a boat to a tractor and the tractor to the stables. Six different forms of transportation in one day!

 

Andrew's horse wanted to gallop and as he went over a dune towards the beach, Andrew tipped to the side. He clung to the side of the horse's neck and finally fell off. Then, for who knows what reason, Andrew chased the horse as the horse ran home. Soon Andrew was on a calmer horse and neither boy nor horse was hurt or scared. Pretty interesting to watch actually. Randi said it's only the third time in six years that someone has fallen. The other two were people reaching for a water bottle or camera. Women – wear a sports bra! Bug spray wouldn’t hurt either. I forgot mine and got mosquito bites. Rachel did well. She is a bit shy and has never ridden before but Lovely Maria stuck by her side the whole time. Tony and his dad were funny and helpful and the scenery of plantations and beaches were beautiful. We ended up at Victor’s and had lunch there. We were in this port 8am until 5:30pm.

 

Re the internet: there is a internet café, just inside the first terminal, at excellent prices, especially compared to the ship’s price of 50 cents/minute. This place charges $2 for 15 minutes, $3 for 30 minutes and $4 for one hour.

 

That evening was Caribbean night in the dining room. The kids - Rachel included - dressed up with beards and pirate wear and marched through the dining room. Cute stuff!

 

Thursday: Puerto Vallarta – Quite a long time was spent in this port - from 8am until 11pm. Some of us parasailed ($40 at the beach) and some shopped. We went downtown and watched a beautiful sunset over the water. Before that we spent the afternoon in the pool. Port days mean few people on the ship so it's good to be on the ship without the crowds.

 

Gotta mention Walmart – walked there but too hot and humid to walk back so we found a taxi outside the store who took us back to the pier for $6 for four people. Cheap internet at this port too, inside the round building. $2/hour. This was always crowded so we ended up at another one, among the shops across the street and this was $3 for 15 minutes. Much faster connection than the ship too.

 

We attended a party for Crown and Anchor members and won another prize - for knowing the name of the newest ship that Royal Caribbean is building! We went to watch karaoke and then out to the pool at midnight for a BBQ buffet and dancing.

 

Friday: At sea - Today we played a few trivia and name that tune games. Learned the Argentinian Tango, watched an ice carving demonstration and ended the evening with the Gala Buffet - amazing displays of artistically arranged foods and carved butter and chocolate. This was the day for the Platinum and Diamond members’ party too.

 

Saturday: At sea - We attended a discussion with the captain about nautical things. We were able to attend a tour of the galley. We watched as Rachel played piano in the kids’ talent show, then went to a juggling class taught by the jugglers who entertain onboard. Oh yeah, and a cooking demonstration - carving fruit and making pastries.

 

Sunday: disembarkation – Bags had to be out by 11pm the night before. We had to be out of our room by 8am. We had breakfast in the dining room and never even made it to the private departure lounge for Platinum and Diamond members because our color was called first. Went through customs and luggage pickup quickly and were on the road before 9am.

 

Now for the good, the bad and the ugly. The service was great – everyone was friendly and helpful. Our dining room waiter was the best, the head waiter was the only one I’ve ever had that actually did anything and he was wonderful. Assistant waiter wasn’t feeling well and it showed – not a good job. Cabin attendant did just fine – got the requisite chocolates and towel animals.

 

Disappointed that Adventure Ocean no longer uses the ticket system to earn prizes at the end. Most disappointing was that the Windjammer closed several times a day for several hours, leaving us with nowhere to snack (and feed Rachel her meals). Room service and the limited menu at the Solarium get old quickly. Our last cruise was on Voyager and they had the Café Promenade. I know the Vision class is different but it was inconvenient.

 

Disappointed to find no nightly karaoke, in fact no karaoke at all other than two nights of karaoke idol, where only the winners get to sing.

 

Best things I brought were my over the door shoe hanger – great place to store all kinds of things without losing anything. Hair things, seapass card, sunglasses, medications, etc. Also love my highlighter – I can mark the next day’s activities and find them easily among the many choices on the daily planner.

 

Overall, things were wonderful. I was impressed that during the Captain’s Nautical Notes, when a passenger complained about his wife being “seriously injured” during muster drill when she tripped over a step, the Captain stopped his question and answer session and addressed the passenger directly, taking notes about what had happened and what could be done to avoid this problem in the future.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

A quick mention of Mary Lou Pugh – cruising for the 150th time! She was honored during the week and she deserved it. A nice lady with a lot of cruises under her belt!

 

Something I learned from a friend who went on the ship’s tour the first day – all the signs (cabin numbers, elevator signs, deck signs, etc) were curved on one side and flat on the other. I hadn’t noticed this until it was pointed out but the purpose is to orient you to forward and aft respectively. Quite helpful!

 

This board was instrumental in my having a stress free and well planned cruise. I am happy to return the favor by answering any questions that I can!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks so much for your review...........we are going the end of October and first part of November next year...........how was the weather out of LA and into LA the first and last day? I noticed you said it was rough........was it coo as well?? When did you really start getting warm weather?

 

Again thanks for the review..........this will be our 8th RC cruise and we love the Vision Class ships as well.

 

Jim

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The Mexican Riviera is not the warmest cruise. The first day was cool and raining but people were in the pool anyway by the evening. There is always the spa if you're cold. Seas were a bit rough at first and again one day on the way back. But the Captain was very sensitive to this, changing course both times to make the passengers more comfortable and keeping us informed as to why and when. There is wind on the first and last day but the last day wasn't cold - it was about 70.

 

Other than that, the ports were warm. 86 in P.V., 82 in Mazatlan, 80 in Cabo.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Julie:

 

Just like I suspected............we have done land vacations to Mexico during the winter and it was always chilly the first day and warmer as you went South. I appreciate your review and the info.

 

Jim

Link to comment
Share on other sites

One more thing - there was never a semi-formal or smart casual night. Two formals and the rest casual. I found that strange.

 

Also, the printed rules say no T-shirts or caps/hats in the dining room. Nothing about jeans anymore. And we did see a few in jeans. Don't want to start a discussion about this. Just thought I'd mention it.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

First night - Welcome Aboard Show - was a little of each performer. (day 1)

 

Boogie Wonderland was heavy on costuming and light on entertainment. A disco/70's theme. (day 2)

 

Kenny James was the closest thing to a headliner. He's a Star Search winner. He sang well. (day 3)

 

My favorite night was Howie and Bert - jugglers and comedians who also did a daytime juggling class. (day 4)

 

Two brother comedians - Mario and Daniel - were silly, not super funny. (day 5)

 

Really enjoyed Broadway Rhythm and Rhyme - a tribute to Broadway musical composers. (day 6)

 

Comedian was Bruce Gold - he's done a milk commercial. Pretty funny. (day 7)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Julie - Awesome review! We're going the end of March (Spring break), so I assume there will be hoards of kids onboard when my husband and I go with our own kids (8 and 17) and my parents.

 

A couple of questions: First of all, how was the food quality in the dining room specifically. Secondly, do people dress accordingly on theme nights you talked about (western night, etc.).

 

It sounds like my daughter and I are probably going to be way overdressed at dinner (except for the two formal nights). I just assumed there would be semiformal nights as well. What was the predominate clothing of choice for both men and women/girls on the nonformal nights?

 

We're also booked with Randi's. It sounds like a great excursion. So did you think the shrimp was as great as everyone says? We're also going on the canopy tour in Puerto Vallarta, and I actually don't have anything booked yet in Cabo.

 

Thanks again for the great review, and sorry for all the questions. It's great to find someone who just got off the ship though. -- Cheryl

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Cheryl - Happy to answer questions. So many did the same for me before we cruised!

 

The food quality in the dining room was excellent. Different choices nightly for dinner, beautifully presented. The lunch menu was the same daily with many choices and a few different ones each day.

 

People did not really dress for dinner for the theme nights, other than country western night. They did change after dinner though to attend those activities.

 

In my opinion, being overdressed at dinner is better than being underdressed. About 2/3rd's of the women wore pants and nice blouses, the other third wore dresses.

 

I was surprised there was no semi-formal night since it was listed in the summary of activities for the week that we got at the beginning. But when each daily Compass arrived, it either said formal or casual.

 

I was happy to see as many tuxes as I did on formal nights. People really dressed up!

 

As far as Randi's: The riding was incredible, despite our mishap. As far as Victor's, I did like the shrimp. We ordered a combo plate with breaded shrimp and garlic shrimp, onion rings, fries and cheese quesadillas. The food took a very long time to arrive and it was not inexpensive. Not Randi's fault though. She was amazing and we loved her. If anyone is interested, I can post photos.

 

I heard good things from others about the canopy tour in Puerto Vallarta.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Just got back from the vision of the seas (Dec 5th -12).

 

Here are some tips and tricks you might want to consider when you take this cruise.

To start off, I'm rating this cruise a 7 out of 10.

You will enjoy your cruise. However there are few things you should be made aware of to better enhance your vacation.

 

Embarkation - (Long Term Parking tip) This was my first time parking in San Pedro and I made the classic mistake of following the crowd of cars going directly to the luggage drop off area which was very hectic. Now there is nothing wrong with dropping off the luggage with the wife then going to the long term parking lot but I would not do it that way again. It would seem much easier to go directly to long term parking, take wife and luggage on the free shuttle, check in. Oh well, several other people made this mistake.

 

Everything else went quickly and smoothly. Was on the ship in less than 30 mins.

 

(Our Cabin)

 

Don't enter your cabin before 1pm.

 

After the drive up from San Diego, the parking fiasco, and just wanting to start unpacking our carry on bag, we entered our cabin at 12:45 pm. What's so special about that? Well they state your cabin will not be ready till 1pm. Unfortunately were rudely reminding of that fact by the cabin steward. He told us that we were not allowed in the room for another 15 minutes. He say the room was not ready, looked around and shook his head and mumbled "I'll be back later". Unfortunately, this surly attitude was a recurring theme with this particular steward.

 

(Eating - Windjammer)

 

Not much to report here, but I agree with Julie that it sucks not having the windjammer open all day. Two good tips on this place. First, the windjammer usually stay open 15 minutes after the reported close times. The second tip is that almost everything in the formal dining room is offered in the night buffet. For those that have late seating why not stop by the buffet, try a sampling of the main courses and take note of the one you like the most. Trust me, you'll thank yourself later when it comes time to order your dinner in the formal dining room.

 

(Eating - Formal dining room - second seating)

 

As I mentioned before, almost everything on the dinner dining menu is offered in the windjammer. I was hoping for something a little more culinary than buffet food. I only have two real complaints about this cruise, and the quality of food was one of them. Before taking this cruise I believe I read every single review on the Vision of the Seas (trust me, there are a lot of them out there is you look hard enough). It seemed that every criticism that I read mentioned the food being inferior to other ships in the RCCL or other cruise lines. In my opinion, many of my meals in the dining room were of very poor quality, and some were downright awful. This is why I suggest the sampling technique. The dining staff was friendly and pampered us however.

 

(Ports of Call)

 

Cabo - short stay -nice

Mazatlan - I would take one of the cruise tours for this city or that happy horse ride everyone seems to enjoy. If you're looking for a wild time, tell your taxi driver to drop you off at Senior Frogs on the way back. The place will be full of other cruisers dancing around, drinking too much, and having a blast. I must warn you, you might just see a granny dancing on a table lifting up her top. ( Sadly that's not a joke ). It's fun, and worth the visit.

 

tip - When you arrive at Senior Frogs there might be a large crowd of people standing inside at the entrance to the bar (gawking tourists). Just walk around these people and head to the bar in the back and find a seat and enjoy.

 

tip2 - Taxi fare from Senior frogs to the ship ran us 6 bucks for 4 people.

 

Puerto Vallarta - Best port of call! We took a taxi to the shopping area next to hooters. The best shopping is at the flea market a few blocks away. Be sure to walk behind the flea market and walk along the stream and tropical walkway and rope bridges. (lots of cats and kittens too) Some great picture opportunities there.

We took the Rhythms of the Night tour from the cruise and it was a GREAT way to end the evening. You get a sunset cruise ( you'll see tons of dolphins) and a great beachfront dinner and show. Both were great!

 

(Last Sea Day) Things got very cold / very fast. Bring a jacket in your luggage!

 

(odds and "ends")

I would recomend is to keep on top of your charges. We found several phantom charges on our bill. Also, just because the purser marks off the questionable charge doesn't mean it actually gets removed on the final bill. You might have to have them removed again.

 

Sorry if this review sounds negative. Like I said we had a good time overall. Right now everyone in our group is very sick. We got sick on the last sea day and we're still feeling the side effects. My doctor gave me some tests and I'm anxiously awaiting the result. Hopefully it's just food poisioning and nothing more serious. So my final tip would be..........stay away from anything with ICE in it from Mexico.

 

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Cheryl - Happy to answer questions. So many did the same for me before we cruised!

 

The food quality in the dining room was excellent. Different choices nightly for dinner, beautifully presented. The lunch menu was the same daily with many choices and a few different ones each day.

 

People did not really dress for dinner for the theme nights, other than country western night. They did change after dinner though to attend those activities.

 

In my opinion, being overdressed at dinner is better than being underdressed. About 2/3rd's of the women wore pants and nice blouses, the other third wore dresses.

 

I was surprised there was no semi-formal night since it was listed in the summary of activities for the week that we got at the beginning. But when each daily Compass arrived, it either said formal or casual.

 

I was happy to see as many tuxes as I did on formal nights. People really dressed up!

 

As far as Randi's: The riding was incredible, despite our mishap. As far as Victor's, I did like the shrimp. We ordered a combo plate with breaded shrimp and garlic shrimp, onion rings, fries and cheese quesadillas. The food took a very long time to arrive and it was not inexpensive. Not Randi's fault though. She was amazing and we loved her. If anyone is interested, I can post photos.

 

I heard good things from others about the canopy tour in Puerto Vallarta.

Julie - Thanks so much for answering all of my questions. Everything sounds great. Regarding the theme nights - Those are held out on deck and are adults-only and really late at night, correct? My daughter loves to dance, and on our last Costa cruise, everyone was invited to the line dances and parties out on deck. Our whole family (including my teenage son and his posse of new friends) loved them. I don't think that's the case with the theme parties on RCCL, and it would be great to know that in advance, so we can plan on avoiding the area if it's adults-only. Thanks again for all the help. Cheryl

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hee Haw - about your flashing, dancing granny: on the last night about 1am, there was a man going in the glass elevators of the Centrum with just a pair of bikini underwear on - that's it. He was not young and it was not pretty. The band played a striptease song and everyone was gawking but he did not seem to notice. Yuk.

 

I agree with you about keeping on top of your charges. You can request a current printout from the purser's desk at anytime. We did so and found a photo charge that wasn't ours. They handled it quickly though and we got a corrected printout in our room by later that day.

 

Cheryl: The theme nights are held either on deck (the Caribbean one) or in the lounge (rock and roll, country western). They start about 11pm but are not only for adults. We had our six year old dancing at most of them and she was not the only child. The only adults-only events are in the Viking Crown Lounge (disco night).

 

Sounds like you have an 8 yr old daughter to my 6 yr old daughter and we both have 17 yr old sons!

 

Working on getting the photos put together to post, give me another day or two. Things are hectic after being gone a week.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hee Haw - about your flashing, dancing granny: on the last night about 1am, there was a man going in the glass elevators of the Centrum with just a pair of bikini underwear on - that's it. He was not young and it was not pretty. The band played a striptease song and everyone was gawking but he did not seem to notice. Yuk.

 

I agree with you about keeping on top of your charges. You can request a current printout from the purser's desk at anytime. We did so and found a photo charge that wasn't ours. They handled it quickly though and we got a corrected printout in our room by later that day.

 

Cheryl: The theme nights are held either on deck (the Caribbean one) or in the lounge (rock and roll, country western). They start about 11pm but are not only for adults. We had our six year old dancing at most of them and she was not the only child. The only adults-only events are in the Viking Crown Lounge (disco night).

 

Sounds like you have an 8 yr old daughter to my 6 yr old daughter and we both have 17 yr old sons!

 

Working on getting the photos put together to post, give me another day or two. Things are hectic after being gone a week.

My daughter will be thrilled that we can go dancing. There is nothing she loves more than that.

 

Thanks for the heads up on the charges -- We'll definitely keep an eye on that.

 

I have to say, I haven't met too many people who have an age-gap in their two children that actually exceeds ours. That's great! We definitely find it a challenge to find something that EVERYONE in our family enjoys, although it does help that our daughter THINKS she's 17, or at least she wants everyone else to think so. :D

 

Anyway, I can't wait to see your pictures. I'm really getting anxious after reading your review. By the way, when did you all get to L.A., and where did you stay (or did you come day of)? Just curious.

 

Have a great day, and thanks again for all the info. Now it's time to start planning your next one . . .;)

 

Cheryl

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

  • Forum Jump
    • Categories
      • Welcome to Cruise Critic
      • New Cruisers
      • Cruise Lines “A – O”
      • Cruise Lines “P – Z”
      • River Cruising
      • ROLL CALLS
      • Digital Photography & Cruise Technology
      • Special Interest Cruising
      • Cruise Discussion Topics
      • UK Cruising
      • Australia & New Zealand Cruisers
      • Canadian Cruisers
      • North American Homeports
      • Ports of Call
      • Cruise Conversations
×
×
  • Create New...