Jump to content

Vision Review 11.22.14 out of Tampa


Recommended Posts

Hey guys, just posted this on the reviews page but wanted to post it here too. Hope I don't get blasted but if anyone has any questions please feel free to ask.

 

What a disappointment. I’m a Diamond member and always tout about RC any chance I get. This ship is no where up to RC’s standards. We had table mates at dinner that talked about how great Carnival was (this was their first RC ship) and I had to explain to them that this was not the norm. This was pathetic.

Here is my recap of all the events that led to our disappointment.

• Embarkation was horrible. I’ve never had to wait two hours to get on a ship. We have a 5 year old, we know to get their early, have our stuff in order, and shuffle through the line.

• There were two lines for embarkation, first time cruisers and past cruisers, no special designation for the tiers of the crown and anchor society. All of the perks of other terminals were non- existent in Tampa, no drinks, no cookies, no chairs to sit while you wait. There were a few rows of chairs but they were for use after you check in. There were a number of older people on this trip, I’m sure standing two hours in line was rough on them.

• When we got on board the staff right at the door told us that our rooms were ready and we could head on down. We went down to floor 2, and we were told to turn around, the rooms wouldn’t be ready until after 2.

• We headed up to the Windjammer, the food was mediocre at best and they were out of a lot of things. We thought maybe they were getting their stock replenished while in port so I didn’t think much of it. As the cruise went on, there was zero variety in the Windjammer (with the exception of a taco bar that was never stocked and created a frenzy because it was “new food”).

• We had to separate cabins, one for my mother and son and one for my husband and I. All Diamond members but one room had a phenomenal room attendant and one had the room attendant from hell. One room had robes, ice, shampoo, conditioner, soap, all requests were met, etc. The other room had no robes, no ice, we had to ask twice for a blanket, there were stickers from the previous passengers (the stickers that say the size so about an inch big) clothes on the side of the cabinet, those remained there until the night before we got off the ship. I finally peeled them off myself. I’m not actually sure who the room steward was but when I needed an extra luggage tag I just went over to the other rooms steward and they got it for us. This was pathetic and RC should be ashamed.

• Also we had rooms 2088 and 2588, which are right across from the closet where the room attendants get their supplies. They get their supplies at ALL hours of the day and night and they don’t just shut a door, they throw it open, walk out, and then let it slam shut. Not only did it slam but the handle would then clang. I didn’t sleep later than 630am every day.

• The kids program had an antiquated sign in program that took forever. We never went to the kids club at peak hours but still had to wait in line for at least 10 minutes when we were dropping off or picking up.

• The tables near the pool were never bussed. The evening we spent at least 45 minutes watching people walk by a table that had dirty dishes on it. There was an RC wait staff person that kept walking by but she wasn’t cleaning up the tables. Finally an officer bussed the table. Sad.

• Our dining room experience was horrible, table 118…..we were always the first people in and the last people to leave. The food was mediocre, and the first night our server blamed the table next to us for his service taking so long. He said they got there late so it threw off his timing. We smiled politely, unfortunately the remainder of the nights that table didn’t show up and the service still suffered. I asked the Maître De the second night about the kids program where the kids club staff come and pick up the kids at dinner. He knew nothing about it, the third night, after I spoke with the kids club and got the procedure, I informed the Maître De how it works and he thanked me. He should have had this down pat. The staff comes to the 4th floor dining room doors and they take all the kids up.

• I tried to spend some time in the Solarium, the adults only area. Unfortunately they have decided to put the Park Café at the back of the Solarium so everyone from moms and dads with babies, to rowdy teenagers (and yes, most were disrespectable and seem to have been raised in barns) kept running through there to get roast beef sandwiches!

• We had rough seas and the weather was chilly but that didn’t affect my thoughts of the ship.

• The Diamond lounge was very small, with a limited buffet, we’ve been on bigger ships where they really go out of their way.

• The Diamond happy hour they do is a nice option but it only covers single liquor drinks. I don’t drink but when I have one I like a mudslide or something with more than one liquor. This is only from 5-8 and we had dinner at 530 and it lasted until 8 so there wasn’t much time to take advantage of this. Minor detail but one more thing.

• We had 6 pieces of luggage, one didn’t arrive until 8 pm, of course it was the one with my sons clothes so that was slightly inconvenient.

• These are minor things but as a whole, there weren’t many bright spots to this cruise. The food was lousy, the services were lacking and the ship was supposed to have gone through a rehaul but deck chairs had straps missing or broken, etc.

• I was in line at the guest services desk the last day to get a copy of my bill and make sure everything looked ok, there were kids in line behind us and one of them knocked down the ropes and then fell down (by kids I mean teenagers) and one of the ladies in line looked at the guest services agent and asked “aren’t you going to do anything about this” to which the GSA replied “Boys please calm down”. Everyone in line talked about how much the staff really didn’t seem to care.

• I thought the Cruise Director was a little old and unrelatable. We’re in our 40’s but my mom in her 60’s also thought he was a little past his prime. Marvelous Marvin was just as unrelatable, it was even mentioned in their “morning show” that he was an accounting, body builder, samba dancer, dance instructor, etc….Everyone got a laugh at dinner about that one night by saying “who cares”.

• As a family we blew off most of the shows, we went to the Beattles night, the other guests seemed to enjoy this, it was a little out of my time but they weren’t horrible. We went to the impersonator one night and he was good but also not for my age demographic. We watched the aerial show once, it was ok at best…..everything seemed more carnival than RCCL.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

All of the perks of other terminals were non- existent in Tampa, no drinks, no cookies, no chairs to sit while you wait.

 

 

• The kids program had an antiquated sign in program that took forever. We never went to the kids club at peak hours but still had to wait in line for at least 10 minutes when we were dropping off or picking up.

 

Cookies? Drinks? CHAIRS? We had none of those things at Fort Lauderdale for Vision in October. I want cookies and drinks...

 

 

We loved the signin process for the kid's club on Vision. SO much quicker and easier than on Disney Dream. And just as secure. We've waited upwards of 20 minutes on Dream before (after finding out where they are doing dropoff THAT night) so the 5 or so minutes we waited one night was close to nothing to us.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Cookies? Drinks? CHAIRS? We had none of those things at Fort Lauderdale for Vision in October. I want cookies and drinks...

 

 

We loved the signin process for the kid's club on Vision. SO much quicker and easier than on Disney Dream. And just as secure. We've waited upwards of 20 minutes on Dream before (after finding out where they are doing dropoff THAT night) so the 5 or so minutes we waited one night was close to nothing to us.

Port Canaveral had cookies for years, but I have not seen them there in quite some time.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

• The Diamond happy hour they do is a nice option but it only covers single liquor drinks. I don’t drink but when I have one I like a mudslide or something with more than one liquor. This is only from 5-8 and we had dinner at 530 and it lasted until 8 so there wasn’t much time to take advantage of this. Minor detail but one more thing.

 

 

One word of advice: eat faster. ;)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 6 months later...

Sailed on her last Feb. and we had a great time. Yes it is an older ship but we found the crew quite friendly and food not the best but not bad either. Sometimes in life you get what you pay for and the Vision does not garner top dollar fares as the newer ships for similar rooms.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I sailed on her in October before she moved from PE and we experienced some of the same issues related to the staff and cleanliness around the pool and Park Cafe. Most of the staff just seemed disinterested and in some instances downright rude.

 

Our dining room experience was actually one of the few bright spots from that cruise though. We found the food to be pretty good and our waiters were amazing.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I haven't sailed Vision but we've sailed Brilliance and I'm not a fan of locating the Park Cafe in the Solarium. I don't know where they should put it but the layout and the area it takes up kinda' sucks.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thank you for your detailed review...a huge number of problems...all described with excellent detail.

 

You necro'd a thread from 8 months ago to add that?

 

I've sat at dinner with people like the OP before. Charming, absolutely charming.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I haven't sailed Vision but we've sailed Brilliance and I'm not a fan of locating the Park Cafe in the Solarium. I don't know where they should put it but the layout and the area it takes up kinda' sucks.

 

Where else can you drag a lounge chair over to the counter at an eating venue and have food delivered to you from the cook and don't even have to raise your head off the reclined chair? Perfect.......and don't have to worry about wind or rain......Almost as much fun as the party at your neighbor's house Taylor Swift on the 4th of July....:D

 

 

Happy summer Big G......kid's gettin' big...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I haven't sailed Vision but we've sailed Brilliance and I'm not a fan of locating the Park Cafe in the Solarium. I don't know where they should put it but the layout and the area it takes up kinda' sucks.

 

Where else can you drag a lounge chair over to the counter at an eating venue and have food delivered to you from the cook and don't even have to raise your head off the reclined chair? Perfect.......and don't have to worry about wind or rain......Almost as much fun as the party at your neighbor's house Taylor Swift on the 4th of July....:D

 

 

Happy summer Big G......kid's gettin' big...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Where else can you drag a lounge chair over to the counter at an eating venue and have food delivered to you from the cook and don't even have to raise your head off the reclined chair? Perfect.......and don't have to worry about wind or rain......Almost as much fun as the party at your neighbor's house Taylor Swift on the 4th of July....:D

 

 

Happy summer Big G......kid's gettin' big...

LOL! Thanks Joe. Third grandson arrived last week. I think Disney Cruises is in my future. [emoji15] You have great summer too.

 

Sent from my XT1254 using Tapatalk

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Please sign in to comment

You will be able to leave a comment after signing in



Sign In Now
 Share

  • 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...