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Ten Awesome Days on Vision OTS! ~A Pictorial Review~

DarthGrady

By DarthGrady,
in Royal Caribbean International

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DarthGrady

DarthGrady

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You are a blessing!!!! Lol. Seriously i really enjoy your review and it's done so well.. I think R.C.C.L should hire you to help and improve their website..

We will board the vision on the 25th of january and we can not wait..

Getting another 10inches of snow over here today on top of the 3feet we got within the last 10 days!!!!!!!

 

The joy of living in central Quebec i guess..

 

I stay near my computer and can't wait for more from you...

Keep it coming and thanks a lot again.

 

Thanks! I'd love to be RCI's in-house photo review guy. All they'd need to do is send me on the occasional free cruise. :D ;)

 

I'm just checking in while on break at work. I'll be posting up more pics once I get home this evening. Should be around 8-ish.

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DarthGrady

DarthGrady

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Awesome photos and review! The decorations are glorious, especially the marvelous little gingerbread houses. We were on Liberty the same time as you were on Vision. Both ships had beautiful holiday decor, but I think Vision has the edge for fabulous. I love your wife's adorable mini-tree too.

 

I am a die hard mega-ship gal and probably couldn't take ten days on a Vision Class ship. We did do a week on Grandeur once, but I missed the bells and whistles of the mega ships.

 

Your photos show Vision to be very well maintained, at least inside.

 

Thanks for taking so much time to present your photo review for our enjoyment. Happy New Year, too.

 

Thanks very much, she was very proud of her USB-powered Christmas tree! :D

 

She has been impeccably maintained. The exterior issues were only cosmetic, and will surely be addressed during her next dry dock stay.

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DarthGrady

DarthGrady

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Day 4: St. Croix

 

Waking up at 8 a.m. is positively torturous after sleeping in until nearly noon two days in a row, but the show must go on. We had our first breakfast onboard, they have an area set aside for Diamond (and above) Crown and Anchor guests. It's a nice thought, but I don't notice any difference between that and the regular breakfast. We did have some nice table mates though.

We headed ashore soon thereafter and made our way to Geckos Island Adventure Tours. We booked the ATV tour which is $135, the cost covers the transportation to and from the starting area and up to two people on one ATV. You also have the option to hang out at Rainbow Beach after the tour.

The tour starts out by the waterfront and goes via roads, paths and dirt trails up into the mountains. Stopping along the way for some great photos and one historical look at the ruins of an old sugar mill. I thought the scenery and photo-ops were great, but the riding portion was a bit of a disappointment. I've ridden ATVs many times throughout my life, and I was expecting something a bit more fast paced and challenging. Unfortunately you are limited to the pace of the most inexperienced rider, which in our case was very slow. Anyone seeking thrills need not apply, it is tailored more to the novice tourist. Of course there is a need for safer low-speed tours like that, I just wish there was something offered for more experienced riders.

After our ATV tour we walked around Frederiksted for awhile, then went back to the ship. After dinner and our nightly Diamond Lounge visit, we stopped into the late night comedy show. I wasn't overly impressed. The comic seemed to mean well, but his bit was mostly audience interaction and a few jokes interspersed.

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pabi

pabi

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Thats all for tonight, I'll be back on tomorrow with more.

 

Thank you so much for posting such great pictures. We will be on the vos in may and also in October....will be looking forward to sailing on it!

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DarthGrady

DarthGrady

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We returned from our day in St. Croix to find that the Loyalty Ambassdor had our crystal block delivered to our cabin. My wife will have over 140 points after this cruise.

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These guys were cleaning the windows of the WJ as we were getting a late lunch. A job I could never do!

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Captain Lis overseeing our departure from St. Croix

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DarthGrady

DarthGrady

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Day 5: St. Maarten

Six ships in any port is far too many. When those six ships carry a combined 17,000+ people it's a recipe for misery. Apparently St. Maarten is trying to compete with Nassau for the title of most overcrowded Caribbean port-of-call. We had originally planned to catch a taxi to Maho Beach. We scrapped those plans when we saw the throngs of tourists vying for the same facilities and places in the sun. We had already heard horror stories of traffic jams and nearly-missed cruise ships from other travelers who had ventured to Maho or Orient beaches. We decided to try Maho in May 2013 when we return to St. Maarten on the Jewel OTS.

Instead we skipped the water taxi (the line for which was about 5280’ long at the time) and walked into town. It wasn't a bad walk, and we wondered why we hadn't done so on our previous visits. We did a bit of shopping and I imbibed some $1 Red Stripes. We eventually walked back to the pier area and bought a bucket of beer from Sharkey's. $12 for a bucket of six Amstels wasn't too bad a deal. It was mid-afternoon at the point, so there were literally thousands of people making their way back to their respective ships. We got a bit sideways there and then ambled back down the pier.

The rest of the afternoon was spent in the Solarium and later the gym. Dinner was good, as usual. We had another nice conversation with some folks we met in the Diamond Lounge. I then retired to the Cigar Lounge to work on this review and dose myself with sweet nicotine.

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DarthGrady

DarthGrady

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Day 6: Dominica

Our day in Dominica started early. Far too early for a morning hater such as myself. My wife drug me out of bed at what seemed to be two in the morning. Although the clock kept asserting that it was, in actuality, 7 o'clock. The main dining room wasn't open yet, so we had a quick breakfast in the Windjammer.

Thankfully there is room for only one cruise ship in Dominica. We watched the as the ship pulled up to the pier and were among the first ashore. We booked a private tour through H.O.T. Pepper’s, and meet our tour guide Pepper just off the pier. There were ten of us, counting our guide. He was kind enough to already have a cooler in the van well stocked with water, beer, rum-punch and soda. Our first stop was at the Emerald Pool, a short hike from the parking lot revealed a beautiful waterfall with a small swimming area below. We were able to jump right in and enjoy the water, it was fun. Along the trail Pepper showed us some of the native plant life and took us to a few scenic overlooks.

We then drove on to the Mr. Nice Fruit Stand. There guests sample some of the local fruits, coconut, pineapple, sugar cane, cocoa and grapefruit. There is no cost, but tips are kindly accepted. After leaving the fruit stand we briefly visited the Mero black volcanic sand beach, and then went on to Champagne Beach. We didn't snorkel there, but those in our group that did said that it was beatiful.

Next was a trip up into the mountains to see Trafalgar Falls. There is a short hike up to the viewing platform. From there you get a great view of the double waterfalls. It provides a great backdrop for photos. I wish we would have had more time to swim there. We also stopped at a hot sulphur spring. It was interesting to see, but you wouldn’t want to live nearby.

Finally we passed through the botanical gardens. As 4:30 was rapidly approaching we didn't have time to get out and walk around. We made it back to the ship right on time and were the very last ones back up the gangway. Pepper provided us with an excellent "sampler" tour of the island. I felt it was well worth the $62 per person. There were things I would have liked to have seen more of, like Trafalgar Falls, so it will be on the top of my list for the next visit. Unfortunately, we found out later that one of our ship mates passed away during their day in Dominica.

After another good dinner we attended the Crown and Anchor Top Tier Event in the Some Enchanted Evening Lounge. They put out a nice spread of food and gave everyone complimentary beverages. The only problem, if you could call it that, was that it was highly overcrowded. Some that showed up a few minutes late had to stand or leave, as there were no seats left. In retrospect it would have probably been a better idea to just stay in the Diamond Lounge. The food and drinks were the same, and no new information on the Sunshine Class was given out. Bummer. In the future they may need to have two parties, or further divide it up by Crown and Anchor levels.

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