barric

You can't eat in Blu unless you are booked Aqua.  That's why we book it.  If Persian Gardens had hot tubs, then that would be another good Aqua benefit.  As it is, no interest for us.    

The spa on eclipse gives you Persian Garden.  No tub of any kind.  Has sauna, heated loungers and thats it.  We were in Aqua and entitled to go any time.  Stopped in once and that was it.  Aqua is good for Blu.  Nothing else.

We have an RCL cruise booked for March 2025.  At this time the 3 night package seems reasonable.

Apparently it is to be paid when selected, but I didn't notice terms for cancel and refund prior to sailing.

Any input? 

The casino on Eclipse is about the worst we've seen.  Poor video poker pay tables.  Narrow rows between slots.  Particularly expensive penny slot minimums. 

Eclipse was quite full.  The pool area was very crowded on nice days.   The Solarium was packed on cool days.  The Buffet was never bad.  Nothing else was an issue.

First cruise on Eclipse.  Overall, we Seniors prefer the smaller ships like this one...Summit. Reflection etc.  It did not disappoint us. 

Here's a few of our opinions:

Aqua 1517.  Unsatisfactory storage.  One small stack of drawers at ground level.  The rest overhead, above the bed.  Impossible for my short wife to use.  Closet was big.   All else about the room was good.  Balcony had chairs and foot rests.  Room steward outstanding with twice daily service. 

Blu:  Prior to sailing boards mentioned reduced quality menus.  This was partially true, but most nights we found at least one Blu entree to be good.  The MDR menu was nearly as good as Blu, and we did order from it often. Primarily appies.  Between the two, I rate food quality an 8, with outanding service.  Blu had a lobster tail night which was great.  Also enjoyed good lamb chops, rib eye and short ribs.  Breads on X continue to be best at sea.

Buffet:  We are foodies and things were up to my expectation of Celebrity.  We ate here for lunches and breakfasts.   There were theme days, and on the last sea day, they had an extravaganza.  Huge shrimp bar, and a CAVIAR bar with 3 types.  Aand lots of other great offerings.   Caesar salads best I've had at sea.  Lots of varied food choises.  Always found something pleasing.  

Breakfast:  We are Elite so bfst at Tuscan was available to us.  There were 5 or 6 "continental" entrees:  smoked salmon, meats and cheeses, fruits etc.  No bacon and eggs.  We ate there once only.   At Blu, everything was as expected.  Good food and service.  Most of the time tho, we ate in the buffet.  Same foods, more variety, pretty good quality.  We would arrive at 6am for coffee, and then eat at 8.  Not too crowded then, but by 9 the buffet was very busy.  Still no big problem with seating.  

Entertainment:  Good lounge acts and plenty of seating.  Theater shows all OK.  The Sky Lounge was terrific for events and viewing. Entertainment in the foyer was good but you need to get there early to secure a chair.  Oh, the chairs!  Form over function.  Uncomfortable all around the ship.  Ridiculous.

Wifi standard was ok.  Good for surfing, but not streaming.  

Casino awful.   No low limint penny slots.   VP paytables pretty poor.  

Debarkation:  Breakfast at Blu.  With Elite, we were able to camp in Tuscan for a comfortable wait.  Coffee and snacks available.  Close to the exit so no trudging in long lines.  

Does Switch use AV cable or HDMI to connect to a tV?   It so, you will be able to select that input. Not sure about bluetooth.

Just off eclipse 5/26 sailing. 

1.  The tv has accessible inputs for AV and HDMI.   

2.  The Samsung tv remote does not offer Input (source) choices

3.  I brought a universal programmable remote.  It was easy to sync it to the tv

4.  This remote brought up the tv's input menu, so I could switch to AV.  The remote also worked all tv functions.  Very handy.  

5.  I plugged my portable dv player in.  Everything worked great.  My Sony DVP is excellent.  I played all sorts of prerecorded dvds (Science channel shows, Poirot, movies, etc).

6.  Having only the basic wifi package, my Fire TV stick did NOT work.

7.  In Bermuda, our TMobile plan gave us cellular service. Still, Fire TV was very limited.  YouTube not working for example.  

I was EXTREMELY pleased with these results.  The X tv lineup was as limited as ever.  

We seniors will visit again this month.   Numerous previous trips to Bermuda.  We think the best excursion is a bus/ferry day pass. Hop on hop off.   The bus goes all over Bermuda and is easy to understand.  Colored marker posts at stops indicate the bus heading, inbound or outbound from Hamilton.   

Our favorite stop is the Zoo/Aquarium.  We go every year.

Our 5/26 cruise on Eclipse features this concierge class day 1 lunch.  We are in Aqua.  Does this apply to us?

I just want a regular coffee in the early am.  We don't pay for specialty coffee anywhere.  For us, its a waste of money.  Our suite did have a coffee maker but no cold milk or cream.  We like to welcome the sun up with regular coffee, at a table, indoors.  Not in the suite.  Not outside at the pool deck.  We can have this on all the other ships we've been on.  

I wrote down menus from the app.  I am fairly sure the day 7 lobster did not include one free tail and another for 16.99. Only the one for a charge.  Hopefully some other passenger from this cruise will be able to clarify.  

On my Mar 7 sailing, day 7 was Cod, Chicken Marsala, Strip Steak, Pasta, Stuffed Peppers and the lobster was $17. 

There was no lobster in MDR without charge for the 8 nights on our Vision sailing. Only a lobster mac and cheese.  Some nights it was available for $17

I researched fully.  I knew what was included.   I like small ships and Vision was quite good.  I was not expecting more perks.  I am simply comparing RCL to my many cruises with other cruise lines.  And the price was NOT least expensive.  Came to  400 pp per day with OBC .  And I loved the short drive to Baltimore and the Baltimore port.  As a senior, I do not care for water slides and top deck activities.  Many seniors would be interested in the things we like and our point of view for this RCL sailing.   It just doesn't match well to our suite experiences in MSC, X and NCL.

I researched fully.  I knew what was included.   I like small ships and Vision was quite good.  I was not expecting more perks.  I am simply comparing RCL to my many cruises with other cruise lines.  And the price was NOT least expensive.  Came to  400 pp per day with OBC .  And I loved the short drive to Baltimore and the Baltimore port.  As a senior, I do not care for water slides and top deck activities.  Many seniors would be interested in the things we like and our point of view for this RCL sailing.   It just doesn't match well to our suite experiences in MSC, X and NCL.

My 1 specialty dining was a suite perk.  Not diamond.

Vision on March 7 had only milk in pitchers at the coffee stations.

I knew well in advance that  there was no special Suite dining options.  I was simply stating that for such a suite, on this exact ship, for the price, it was disappointing compared to other cruise lines.  

My overall experience on Vision was fairly good.  We like the smaller ships.  I was only comparing our first RCL suite experience to what we have had on X, NCL and MSC.  

We cruised on Vision from Baltimore on March 7, 8 nights.  It was our first on Royal and got Diamond due to our Celebrity Elite status.  We also cruise NCL and MSC.   This is what we seniors experienced.

Vision was sold out, approx 2000 guests.  Very nice overall condition with few areas showing age (carpets in hallways, eg).  Lounge and theater furnishings all comfy (Unlike NCL who prefers form over function). 

We had a Grand Suite which was stupendous.   Big.  Lots of storage.  Fancy.  Great bedding.  Great attendant and 2X per day service.  Small TV, but it accepted inputs from my DV Player and my Fire TV.  Had more tv channels than expected. 

Suite class featured concierge service (Jaime was fab) and access to the Concierge Lounge.  This was outstanding.  Nice cocktail hour with appies. Enough seating for all the suite guests and good views.

Suite class also came with breakfast daily at Chops.  Good but still we had some breakfasts in Windjammer (but no smoked salmon).  A VIP area in the theater was good.

Still, we were VERY disappointed with dining as a suite guest.  No dedicated restaurant.  Dinners only in the MDR, and no special menu, seating area or timing.  Quite a bit down from our experiences with Celebrity, NCL, MSC. 

MDR.  We are foodies and found the main dining to be average some nights, disappointing on others.  Not as good as other lines.  Lobster was an upcharge.  The strip steak was cooked properly but seemed like a lower grade of beef.  Not tender.  Theme nights were unattractive to us.  Breads not a strong point on RCL. 

Windjammer:  Fairly good for breakfast, but there was only one inconvenient egg station.  Bacon always crispy!  No milk dispensers.   Had to pour a glass out of the coffee area pitchers.  Sheesh.

Lunches were like average diner food.  Nothing special.  WJ not open early enough for us early birds.  Hard to find coffee in the am unless you don’t mind getting it outside on the pool deck.  Could not even sit in WJ until 7am.  

Park Café at the solarium.   Had nice food but lousy hours.  No lunch until 1 pm, when a big line formed immediately.

Specialty dining.  We bought the 3 night plan to add to the 1 night which came with Diamond.  Izumi was 10 stars.  Great sushi and sashimi.  Chops was very good with excellent rib steak and filet.  Giovanni was also VG…osso bucco fabulous. 

Pleasant surprise:  we left Charleston shortly after docking, due to poor weather.  RCL refunded our port fees.  WooHoo.

Solarium and poolside.  Seating and tables commonly available. Tiny hot tubs…only 4 can squeeze in, and they were always crowded.

Just off Vision Mar 7 cruise.  The ship is in generally nice shape.  Carpets in the hallways can use replacement, but we didn't notice much more that is needed.  Its an older ship, so you cant change decor.  Furniture in lounges and theater were very good.  We had a suite which was beautiful.  

11 hours ago, BND said:

That's because it doesn't really rain there, it drizzles.

It does rain.  Cinders, ash, bombs, pumice.   An umbrella would help against at least pumice.

LOL

We expect some rainy weather for our early March sailing on Vision.  Does anyone recall if suites provide umbrellas?

Charleston is worth walking around even in a modest rain. 

Thanks all.

That's the info I was looking for.

Hmm.  This is our first RCL sailing and we are a bit surprised at Vision of the Seas.  Only 2 theatre shows for and 8 nighter listed on the app as of 2/26. 

Is this the new RCL?   

Do larger ships have more theatre shows?