booklady4

dcamm, we ended up having one person drop out so a standard double was all we needed. The rooms were quite sufficient for two. I didn't get a look at a bunk so I can't comment on how it would be for 3.

Here is a link to my review of our cruise on Vision in late June:

Link

Would not hesitate to sail on Vision again. We had an outside room and it was just perfect!!!

Just off Vision of the Seas last week and wanted to come back and post my review, since I know many people are watching this space for more information....given the history of bad reviews. I know I was prowling here for months reading everything I could!

Summary: Service was ok. Ship was very clean and beautiful.

We stayed two nights prior to cruising at the Hilton Beach Front Resort in Ft. Lauderdale....highly recommend if you want some beach time prior to cruising! The beach is right across A1A with complimentary water for Hilton guests. We were able to easily rent chairs and umbrellas and charge to our room. The water was warm and shallow out to the sandbar. The café in the hotel had AWESOME food, we ate there for breakfast and lunch each day. Transfer to the port was also easy, the bell captain called a shuttle bus for us (10 ladies in our group) plus some other hotel guests also on our cruise and it was $9 pp. Approximately a 10 minute ride to port.

Embarkation: was quick and very well-organized. We were on the ship by noon and headed to Windjammer for lunch. Crowded but no problem finding a table. Food at the Windjammer was acceptable all week but I wouldn't say it was anything special. We had a sailaway party on the deck above the pool with champagne and silly accessories (headbands and leis) brought by my friends. The World Cup games were broadcast all week on the big screen by the pool. We did not spend much time at the outdoor pool on this trip.

Solarium: We made our home in the Solarium for our 5 day trip. Always found lounge chairs without a problem, even in the shade. They did not open the glass ceiling (we were told that if enough people asked Guest Services, then they would open it. Huh?) but you felt like you could get some sun in there. The pool water was cool and refreshing, and it was never too crowded. Small complaint, no wait staff coming around to bring drinks, but there was never a long line at the Solarium bar so it was easy enough to walk up and get drinks. We also ate often at the Park Café there in the Solarium....great breakfast sandwiches, fruit, pastries, make your own salads for lunch, and snacks in the afternoon (pizza, French fries).

Cabin: We had Deck 2 midship cabin 2542 (OV) and our steward Sonny was great. I left him a $5 tip on the first day along with a note to separate the beds which had not been done before we boarded, and he kept us stocked with ice the whole week. We had two towel animals during the cruise. Cabin was kept very clean and we had no complaints other than the tiny shower! Lots of nooks and crannies in which to store your stuff....don't forget to look behind the mirrors! I also brought Command hooks to stick to the wall so we could hang bathing suits to dry. No problems getting elevators quickly, especially forward.

Dining room: Our server was Swaroop and our wine steward was Cesar. Service was generally good although I remember one night it seemed to take forever just to get our water glasses filled and our bread. I tried the escargots for the first time and liked them! I think the food was good, not the fanciest or best-tasting but for bulk-prepared food it was definitely adequate and always warm when served. I was disappointed that RC does not do shows in the MDR like Carnival does! We had a table for 10 and bought the 10 bottle wine package which gave us 2 bottles per night for those drinking wine (about half of us). The blueberry peach crumble was the best dessert, and I enjoyed the prime rib and the rigatoni with prosciutto and champagne cream sauce.

Izumi: Ate dinner in Izumi one night and it was great! Service was much more attentive and friendly than MDR and the view from the top of the ship was incredible. I paid $25 and ate more than I would have at my local sushi restaurant. We got complimentary hot towels before the meal, free edamame and miso soup, and then I ordered shrimp dumplings and 2 sushi rolls...delicious. My non-sushi-loving friends had the hot rock seafood combo and loved it as well.

Entertainment: We didn't participate in too many things onboard, although we did go see the comedian (very funny) and the 70s Boogie Wonderland show (cheesy but fun). We also caught the aerial show in the Centrum on the last night, which was cool. On the last night we also participated in the Quest and our team came in second!!! Fun and raucous. Did not shop onboard, or go to the casino. The nightclub was so full of teens and twenty-somethings that we didn't even try. We did have fun dancing during the 70s dance party in the Centrum, even participating in the Conga line!

Excursions: only did one, in Grand Cayman, with Stingray Sailing. Great catamaran trip to Stingray City and to the reef for snorkeling. Highly recommend Captain Chip and his crew.

Other: I really enjoyed the relaxing atmosphere of this cruise but maybe that's because my girlfriends all wanted to hang by the pool and read for most of the trip! I don't really have any big complaints, it did seem that there was a lack of staff sometimes but overall it was a really enjoyable trip. Disembarkation was late but smooth....we purchased the RC transfers to the airport and got slotted for Group 2 off the ship....scheduled time was 8:00 am but we actually got off closer to 8:45. No problem finding luggage and then onto the bus and to the airport. We had an 11:30 flight and were through security and at our gate by 10:15.

I would sail on Vision again for sure.

We had dinner one night at Izumi on Vision last week and thoroughly enjoyed it. The service was ten times better than the main dining room. For $25 I ate better than I would at my local sushi restaurant. We received warm towels prior to the meal for our hands, freshly warmed sake, complimentary edamame and miso soup. I had two sushi rolls which were delicious along with shrimp dumplings. My two friends who are not sushi fans ate the hot rock seafood combo and loved it as well!

Such a nice quiet, relaxed dining experience, and a treat for a sushi lover like me!

Thanks so much for the review....we board Vision this Saturday and are looking forward to a wonderful vacation!!

Great review so far! Thanks for reporting back. We board this Saturday and I can't wait!

Thanks for the review! We are on Vision in 2 weeks on the same itinerary and I am much reassured hearing your experience was a good one.

Do you recall what time you arrived in Grand Cayman? Was it easy to get on the tender to the shore? We have an excursion planned and I want to make sure the timing will work out.

What were your favorite dinner menu items?

Hi everyone,

We are flying into FLL the last week of June prior to our cruise embarking on June 28th at Port Everglades. We are staying at the Hilton Beach Resort since we'll be there 2 days before our cruise to enjoy some extra beach time.

Questions:

- how much is a taxi from FLL airport to the hotel (approximate)?

- any recommended restaurants within walking distance of the hotel? Or, if not, best available transportation to get us to a good place to eat? Looking for both cheaper, easy lunch spots as well as maybe a nice dinner, any kind of food.

- how much for a shuttle or taxi from the hotel to the port on cruise day? How long will it take to get to the port?

UCF-Knight, what stateroom were you in that was so noisy? We are on the June 28 sailing with the same itinerary (Key West/Grand Cayman) and are in a Deck 2 outside cabin (near the aft elevators).

msbr- hoping that we both have wonderful experiences on Vision! I am just looking to reunite with old friends and relax, and I usually have lots of patience, so I am hoping that the service (or any lack thereof) will just roll off my back because I am on vacation and not at work, and that is the most important thing. :)

Sounds like the specialty restaurants are more than worth the extra cost. Not sure I'll be able to convince any of my friends to pay up though.

Also looking forward to Darkwolf's review.

RobinBirdie, I am on the Vision later this month, and from what I understand, this ship does not require reservations for the shows.

Thank you so much for your review! I am on Vision in a few weeks and loving all of your pictures! Your family is beautiful and it looks like you had such a great time. I can't wait for my trip!

DarkWolfe,

Thanks for starting this thread....I look forward to your review. I will be on the Vision the last week of June 2014. I am also hoping that the reviews here are not reflective of the whole experience.

A couple questions for you to consider if you don't mind:

1) How difficult is it to get a chair at the main pool or Solarium pool?

2) What is the bar situation like? Heard stories of 30-45 minute waits for drinks.

3) If you are self-disembarking, how quickly/smoothly did that process go? We have a before-noon flight out of FLL when we return.

Have a wonderful time on your cruise!!!

We are on Vision of the Seas at the end of June to Key West and Grand Cayman. I am arranging an excursion through a third-party vendor (Stingray Sailing) and am uncertain of the time zone changes (if any).

The RC itinerary says we tender into Grand Cayman starting at 8:00 am. The excursion company says they want us to meet at the dock at 8:15 am. But they also say that, quote, "The Cayman Islands are an hour behind Florida time and the same as Texas/New Orleans time from March 09 until November 02, 2014." They say to check with the cruise line about time changes.

Is the RC itinerary always on Florida time? So does this then mean that we arrive in Grand Cayman at 7:00 am local time? This should give us over an hour to tender to shore (phew) rather than only 15 min (probably not happening.)

Thanks!

Does anyone know if the Vision now has the freestyle machine after the refurb?

Great reviews and your posts are so entertaining to read! Can't wait to hear your review of your upcoming Vision trip....we are going in June!

We're heading out on Vision the last week of June! Can't wait!

Not on RCCL, but on my first cruise on Carnival, I went with a friend and co-worker, and on embarkation day, we headed first up to the Lido deck....and immediately ran into another woman we work with. ;)

We just reserved a Panoramic cabin on Vision by watching the RC website. Our TA told us the rooms were not available on Thursday....and then Friday we tried booking via the website and one came up. So we were able to book it by just checking back often.

Awesome! Thanks for the link. So excited about potentially staying in this cabin. We should have everything finalized today.

Has anyone stayed in one of these cabins? Just looking for some feedback on space and layout since the RC website does not provide an image or floorplan of the room. Does it indeed have a sofa bed? (We will have 3 people in the room).

I will be traveling with 2 other ladies and we're looking for a larger room at a reasonable price with a sofa bed, not a Pullman bunk. Looks like Vision has a Panoramic Ocean View that's a bit larger than a standard Ocean View, or we could upgrade to a Balcony for slightly more $$. Not sure we can pony up the large amount of extra cash for a suite. We don't plan on spending too much time in the stateroom anyway.

Anyone have experience with 3 people in these rooms and what's the comfort level?

Thanks!!!!

Bumping in case someone out there has stayed in a triple and can recommend which room would be best for 3 adults. Thanks!

I will be sharing a cabin with two other ladies on our upcoming sail this June. We would like to try to find a cabin that would be more comfortable for 3 adults than a regular sized stateroom (my only previous experience is in an interior cabin on Carnival). Looks like Vision has a few larger outside rooms capable of holding 3-4 people on Decks 7-8 (a Panoramic Ocean View and a Superior Balcony Ocean View). We will have one lady who is a bit worried about seasickness although we will make sure she gets all the good meds ahead of time...LOL. But it looks like we will need to be on a higher deck to get a bigger room.

Anyway, any thoughts on comfort or appeal of one of these rooms over the other?

Are the sofa beds comfortable? Or should we choose a room with the Pullman bed (although none of really want to be on the top bunk)

Any help with choosing cabins is greatly appreciated! Thanks!