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Vision of the seas review

wallypbear

By wallypbear,
in Royal Caribbean International

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wallypbear

wallypbear

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My partner and I were on the November 23 10 day sailing on the Vision. I will review our cruise and thoughts in sections. Let's get started.

 

The Ship in General:

 

The Vision is a classic RCI vessel that has everything you love about traditional cruising with Royal. Comfortable spacious spotlessly clean mid size ship.Bright colorful decor. Beautiful art work, that made sense. Excellent Gold Anchor Service from a very congenial staff and crew. Very good cuisine with plenty of variety that is fresh and well prepared. Plenty of traditional ship board activities for those that like to participate. Lots of open deck space for sunning or relaxing. She is an extremely easy ship to get around. Passenger flow is smooth. Elevator wait times minimal even during meal hours and port arrivals. If you like to use the stairs. Which we often did because of our excellent deck mid ship location. You can be anywhere on the ship in a matter of minutes since the majority of public areas, are only three up or three down at the most. In our opinion the Vision is a good solid ship, in excellent condition and has the look, feel and ride( more on that later) of a classic modern day liner. Which is what attracted us to cruising from the start.

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wallypbear

wallypbear

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We had superior ocean view stateroom w balcony #7094. We loved it! Perfect location right near stairs and elevators.Only one neighbor to the left. The card/game room was on the right. No one ever was on the public balcony there. I think it was kept locked because we could see children's toys through the sliding glass doors. If we peeked around the divider. A huge surprise was that on the deck plan it shows this room to open right onto the stairway foyer. It did not. We had our own little alcove between the foyer and centrum elevators. Hardly any foot traffic. We only heard faint music one night coming from the centrum. You had to be near the closet or bathroom to even hear that. All furnishings and fixtures looked practically new. Except for one of the night stands on the wooden trim. We did have a slight A/C problem one day with condensation dripping from the vent and it got a little warmer in the room. Problem fully rectified while we were out of the room for a few hours with an apology from management for any inconvenience and a name and number to call if we had further issues, questions or comments. Which we had none. We reported the issue, It was taken care of swiftly. Done deal.

 

The best feature of this stateroom was our room attendant, Aurora. She was with out a doubt the cheeriest happiest crew member on the ship. Always smiling, laughing and joking around with her guests. She cleaned like nobody's business and requests for ice, extra hangers, bed changes etc all taken care of within minutes or exactly when she said it would be done. We loved Aurora and agreed hands down the best stateroom attendant EVER!!! Of course she got our WOW card. If you sail on the Vision you must meet Aurora. Just go to deck seven port side,(mid ship) and listen for her delightful infectious laughter.

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wallypbear

wallypbear

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Thank you for reviewing. We are on the upcoming sailing on the 14th of December.

 

Can't wait to read more :-)

 

Your welcome StGeorgeCruisers. I can't wait to tell you more. I'm getting excited all over again now that I am starting to relive this wonderful cruise vacation.

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wallypbear

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We had late seating 8:30pm in the Aquarius Dining Room. As always we requested a table for two which I confirmed with RCL Dining prior to embarkation. My partner and I both celebrated birthdays on board. His 70th my 51st and are Diamond status. I don't know if this had any bearing on our table location or dining room staff. However we had the best table for two in the house. Deck 5 table 141. Right above the musicians stand with a commanding view of the entire MDR. Our dining room staff were magnificent. Jose, Pamela and Krishna all exemplified outstanding Gold Anchor Service. Professional, polished, courteous, friendly, fun and so approachable. All guests fortunate to be in their section of the dining room you could tell felt the same way. Oh and that Pamela. Our head waiter a Jamaican beauty. So cool, so classy, so chic was the best of the best. She never missed a beat. No matter how hard I tried to catch her off guard by saying something completely out of subject or nothing to do with dining and cuisine. On one occasion as she was presenting a salad course to me. I looked up at her and instead of my usual "Thank you" or that looks delicious. I said to her totally poker faced. "I bet you can really belt out a tune." She started with a big grin. Then a chuckle which was just about to turn into full blown on the floor laughter. Pamela quickly regained composure and simply said. "Kevin, I'm always singing and humming." Needless to say you must meet Pamela when you sail on the Vision.

I will just add that the food was wonderfully prepared as always and we enjoyed our usual favorite dishes. Everything was served at the proper temperature. Never once did we have to send anything back to the galley or exchange one course for another.

Jose the Matre D was a bit of prankster and had us in hysterics when he and a entourage of staff came to various guests tables for grand celebrations of birthdays and anniversaries on evenings other than the actual date requested. You had to be there to see the dumb founded looks on everyone's faces. It was priceless.

In addition I would like to add that late seating was advertised in the daily compass as being held from 8:30pm to 9:30pm. If you wanted to dine in an hour as to not to miss a n activity or show it was possible. However as far as we were concerned. The best evening entertainment was right in the Aquarius Dining Room.

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wallypbear

wallypbear

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HI!

Great review so far! We were just on the Splendour of the Seas ( Vision class ship) in the Med. We love this class of ship. Glad that you had a great time. Can't wait to read more:)

 

Thanks hipster1. We love Vision class also.

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wallypbear

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The Windjammer on the Vision also impressed us. From the over zealous greeters at entrance to the smiling gentle faces of the drink servers the Windjammer morning , noon or night always made us feel like we were home in one of our favorite local family owned and operated eateries. It's comfortable. friendly and smells delicious as soon as you walk through the door. We like a big breakfast and enjoyed all the offerings. The smoked salmon is wonderful and remained fresh and flavorful the entire ten days. On a lot of ships as the days go on the fish gets a little grayish around the edges. Not on this ship. Everything displayed in the Windjammer remained fresh and pleasing to the eye. Items were switched out well before the tray was empty or dried up. I think there might even be hidden cameras to expedite this. One afternoon I was really in the mood for pasta for lunch. When I walked up to the tray of penne I paused thinking well maybe not. It looked like it was starting to...."Excuse me sir. I would like to refresh the tray of pasta for you. Would you mind steeping aside for a moment to allow me to do this for you." Talk about split second timing.

Also no problem what so ever finding a table any time day or night. Anyone who looks like they are lost or walking around endlessly will be directed to table. Maybe not inside. But, you will be hand delivered to a seat. Again, Gold Anchor Service at it's best.

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wallypbear

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We are not big fans of solarium's in general but the one on Vision is large with walls of glass and mesmerizing sea views with plenty of chairs and tables and chaise loungers for those that do enjoy retreat. I do favor the decor of Radiance class ships though. There was never a line for the limited fare that was offered. We both liked the sandwiches. Which could be grilled at request panini style. My partner also like the burgers and fries. The pizza was good.Fresh and hot but nothing special. However, better than on Allure or Majesty. Service at the counter was quick and friendly. Which is just what we wanted when we felt like a quick bite. Jennifer at the bar was always pleasant and enjoyed having the company if you like to hang out and chat. The pool was not filled on three of the seas days which upset a number of guests from what I overheard as they walked in and saw the net covering. I think it was mostly due to rougher seas than normal as a safety issue. The guests that were lounging, reading or eating all seemed happy and content. It was very quiet and peaceful during the few times we where there.

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As always bar service on RCI is excellent. Drinks are large and the pours are generous. We enjoyed all the various themed music and singers at the Centrum. Bar severs were quick to supply drinks and always asked us about how are our day in port/at sea was. Actually no matter where we were on the ship every crew member and staff member we encountered inquired the same. Their was no falsehood about it. They actually seemed interested and enjoyed when we inquired how their day was going or did they go into port. We honestly feel that the more open and engaging you our with staff and crew aboard ship. The more enjoyable the cruise will be and the more unexpected perks you will receive.

A quiet late morning cocktail in the Schooner Bar is always a pleasure for us on a sea day to cool off from the sun and fun crowd for awhile. We time this as best we can to avoid trivia, trivia, trivia. If you like this form of recreation then you will be in trivia heaven on Vision as it is played up to three times a day.

We drink a lot when cruising. So in order to avoid any kind of hangover until after the cruise. I like to start my day with a beer at the pool bar. The Vision has a large bar and plenty of tables and chairs just off to the port and starboard sides of the ship. Arlene was head bartender for this cruise and by day three she knew what I wanted and needed as soon as I arrived. She was sweet, bright and very knowledgeable about behind the scene goings on aboard the Vision.Also like to dance to the music. A little sway here and a little sway there. Made for fun easy early morning conversation. If you sit right at the bar you'll get a great view(the chairs swivel) of who's in the pool, who likes front row seats, who is up on the jogging track one deck up and you can be the first to sign up for pool deck games. Baggo and Putt Putt. Don't get overly comfortable though. The band sets up late morning and blocks the view. They were very very good. Just not sitting right behind the speakers. There is no sky/mast bar on the Vision. We missed not having this as the afternoon view and breeze is better up there. In its usual place on other classes of RCI ship's is an enclosed video arcade room. Fun for a little diversion.

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This is by far our favorite place on board any RCI ship and favorite loyalty perk. On Vision it was better than all previous cruises.The large multi tiered room with breathtaking views, starry night sky ceiling and wonderfully engaging and delightful staff was perfection. Not only did we enjoy the complimentary wine and champagne. There was also a very nice spread of hot and cold appetizers nightly which seemed to grow as the days went on.

To add to our pleasure on the first evening as we had just begun to sip our champagne. I heard what I thought was a familiar voice. My partner agreed. A few seconds later a hand lowered a bottle to my glass. A voice with a very distinct accent said, "would you like some more champagne Sir?" A light went off in my head and I said just as I turned my head up to see who was standing there. "I know that voice! Virgina, it's you!" I jumped to my feet. She was a little stunned at first. Then became very excited. She said, "I knew you two looked familiar when I saw you walk into the lounge!" Then she gave me a big hug and we started talking about when we first met on the Jewel. She was just starting out as Diamond Event Hostess/server/bartender back then. We talked for a least 5 minutes more. About other crew members that were on that sailing and where and what they were doing now. Virgina, a gorgeous young energetic Argentinian firecracker. Will get your blood pumping and put a smile on your face that will last forever. Oh and to not leave anyone out. Quiet and demur Anna and sweet as sugar Peprina will also capture your heart.

During the cruise there were also many visits by various officers in the lounge. Chatting with guests, answering questions and taking note of our comments. They also proudly announced Vision's revitalization plans and were very eager for the transformation to take place. My partner listened with great interest. However we did give our opinion. That we loved the Vision Of The Seas just the way she was as we are traditional cruise enthusiasts.

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