Vision 6/23 - 6/28 - Missed Cozumel

[linaka625]

FYI - I just returned from a 5 night Vision cruise to Roatan and Cozumel. The captain decided not to dock in Cozumel because the currents were too strong and the propellers on Vision couldn't handle it. We were so close - saw Oasis and a Carnival ship docked there.

 

The cruise was very disappointing. The pools on this ship are very small, and they were wall to wall people. The gym is also very small - only 6 treadmills. The Windjammer closed at 3 everyday and reopened at 6:30 pm, so the only other place to eat during those times was Park Cafe (with long lines) or Ben & Jerry's.

 

I tried Giovanni's, Chops and Izumi, which were all very good. I found the main dining room to be loud and chaotic. I had a great stateroom (8588, corner aft).

 

I knew the ship was small when I booked it (I've been on Enchantment before), however, I booked this cruise for the itinerary. I ended up on a 5 day cruise with one port of call. I'll never book this class of ship again.

[Susie51]

Sorry for your bad experience. The price is usually very reasonable for a 5-night cruise on an older ship. I hope that was true for you.

[Eagle_and_hawk]

FYI - I just returned from a 5 night Vision cruise to Roatan and Cozumel. The captain decided not to dock in Cozumel because the currents were too strong and the propellers on Vision couldn't handle it. We were so close - saw Oasis and a Carnival ship docked there.

 

The cruise was very disappointing. The pools on this ship are very small, and they were wall to wall people. The gym is also very small - only 6 treadmills. The Windjammer closed at 3 everyday and reopened at 6:30 pm, so the only other place to eat during those times was Park Cafe (with long lines) or Ben & Jerry's.

 

I tried Giovanni's, Chops and Izumi, which were all very good. I found the main dining room to be loud and chaotic. I had a great stateroom (8588, corner aft).

 

I knew the ship was small when I booked it (I've been on Enchantment before), however, I booked this cruise for the itinerary. I ended up on a 5 day cruise with one port of call. I'll never book this class of ship again.

 

We were on the same cruise & agree with all your observations. It was our first time on Royal Caribbean and disappointed we could not make Cozumel either was was traveling with our family. I never thought about a ship not having enough propulsion to be able to pull along dockside, so learned something new.

 

While I will say the food was good in all the places we dined, along with Giovanni's dinner we had was excellent, some of the times they pick to close places like Windjammers was unusual.

 

We are not sure what we will try next time.

[linaka625]

Eagle-and-Hawk,

 

I agree. It's back to Princess for me, and I'd like to try Celebrity. I sailed on Freedom last year and it was a beautiful ship, but the service did not compare to what I have received on Princess.

[Merion_Mom]

And this is why Baskin-Robbins has 32 flavors......and there are many cruise lines.

 

:)

[linaka625]

I agree. My main reason for posting is to make people booked on this itinerary aware that there is a possibility of missing a port due to the size/age of the ship.

[Ourusualbeach]

Did you receive any sort of OBC for missing the port?

 

Not that that would make up for missing the port but the Oasis was delayed to a port a couple weeks ago or maybe even just last week by 4 hours and those folks received an OBC to compensate them for that.

[Robinola]

I would have to agree with you. You never think you can miss a non-tendering port. I would have been very disappointed as well.

 

Hope it works out well for you next time!

[grab007]

We were on the same cruise & agree with all your observations. It was our first time on Royal Caribbean and disappointed we could not make Cozumel either was was traveling with our family. I never thought about a ship not having enough propulsion to be able to pull along dockside, so learned something new.

 

While I will say the food was good in all the places we dined, along with Giovanni's dinner we had was excellent, some of the times they pick to close places like Windjammers was unusual.

 

We are not sure what we will try next time.

 

Imagine that - another CCr from little ol' Ellijay!!

 

Sorry your cruise didn't meet expectations. We've been on that ship twice with no issues but that was years ago... Maybe we'll meet up sometime. Its a small world!

 

Bill from Ellijay 2

[akcruz]

Thanks. We are doing this itinerary in August and would not have thought about propulsion. Hoping other Vision cruisers post their experiences as well with both Cozumel and Roatan.

 

We have been sailing on the larger RCI ships but decided to try Vision for a change of pace and the opportunity to see Roatan. We know it will not have all the bells and whistles but hope we do make it to both ports.

 

Would you happen to have kept the compasses? Like to peruse to see what activities are onboard. If not can you tell me if changed time on the ship or stayed on ship time? Thanks.

[CVU]

I agree. My main reason for posting is to make people booked on this itinerary aware that there is a possibility of missing a port due to the size/age of the ship.

You can miss ports on any size ship......we were tendered for Belize but the rolling waves made it too dangerous for us to go ashore.

 

We prefer the much larger class ship. I have a huge choice of treadmills then.:D

[cb at sea]

That's true...and they don't even need a reason! Your cruise contract spells that out nicely (for the cruiseline!)....

 

IMO, skipping Mexico is a GOOD thing. They suck. We should not support them monetarily at all.

[linaka625]

We were credited $16.52 per person in port charges. No other compensation.

 

I had booked the Tulum excursion before we sailed, but when we boarded there was a note in the room saying that excursions to Tulum were canceled due to time restrictions (we were scheduled to be docked from 10:00 am to 6:30 pm). One of the reasons that I booked the cruise was to see the Mayan ruins. I re-booked another excursion (Swimming with Stingrays) and was refunded the money for that. Anyone going to Cozumel on Vision may want to keep in mind that you may not get to Tulum. Our day in Honduras was great. We did the Zip & Dip tour with Victor Bodden.

 

I didn't keep the compasses, but I can tell you that the ship changed times on nights 2, 3, 4 and 5. We went back an hour on nights 2 and 3 and forward an hour on nights 4 and 5.

[RADICALBURN]

I think its time for Royal to replace this ship!!! A voyager class would be nice. Please do it before next year............................................RADICAL

[Cindy]

I would have to agree with you. You never think you can miss a non-tendering port. I would have been very disappointed as well.

 

Hope it works out well for you next time!

 

I've missed Costa Maya twice because of wind/currents. Both times it was on big ships (Grand Princess and Carnival Dream). It's not unusual to read a report that a ship couldn't get into Mahogany Bay due to tricky currents.

 

It can happen to a ship of any age and size, and although it's more common to miss a tender port, it's certainly not unheard of for a ship to have to skip a port with a dock.

[Mystaken]

Never heard of a ship not docking in Cozumel! A FB person is reporting numerous unruly teens on the ship. Wonder if the decision to not go into port was based on the security of the teens, and potential media impact?

[SPacificbound]

On our first cruise we missed 3 ports due to high seas. If the Captain says it is too risky to attempt dock/tender, I'll take his word for it. It would never occur to me to expect compensation other then refund port fee and any ship tour we had booked.

 

No one can predict mother nature including the seas.

 

The Vision ships are "small" in comparison, but the sizes of all of the ship classes can be easily found on the RCCL website,

[Coralc]

We were trying to dock at St. Kitts on Grandeur. People had assembled on deck 2, and the Captain sent everyone back to their cabins while he attempted to dock.

 

Apparently there were high winds and they were having a difficult time with it.

 

He did eventually make it, and people were allowed to disembark. Everyone had an extra hour onshore because of the late arrival. :)

[The Big Booper]

We were on the Vision in June for the 10 day cruise to Bermuda, Charleston and Nassau. It seems that our crowd was different then on the 4 and 5 day runs, lots of older Floridians who were not as active as the crowd on these shorter cruises. The ship never seemed crowded in the pools or anywhere. Of course we had late seating and I assume that the older crowd bunched up for early seating and early MTD.

 

There seems to be more of a dissatisfaction with this ship for shorter runs then the longer runs.

 

BTW we are young thinking 70 y/o's and would not dream of doing HAL.:D

Edited June 30, 2014 by The Big Booper

[Detroitcruiser23]

I too was on this cruise. This was my first RC cruise as well. I was a little disappointed that we didn't stop at Cozumel..but, I have been there before. I also was surprised that Windjammer cafe closed at 3:30p but reopened at 6:30p. I learned during the last night that they served chicken tenders with room service..my kid loves chicken. I was surprised that they didn't serve this in the cafe. I may try RC again, with a bigger ship class. My family wants to go back to Carnival. My kid said that the teen club didn't have enough exciting activities...My husband said that most of the people on board was not that friendly. I thought it was a ok cruise...I enjoy any place where I don't have to cook every night and clean! :)

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

[scorpluvsdolphins]

When you changed the time to match Cozumel's time, would you have docked at 10:00 Cozumel time?

Would you have been there 10-6

Or 9-5 Cozumel time????

Trying to book a private dive excursion.

Thanks

 

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[Eagle_and_hawk]

When you changed the time to match Cozumel's time, would you have docked at 10:00 Cozumel time?

Would you have been there 10-6

Or 9-5 Cozumel time????

Trying to book a private dive excursion.

Thanks

 

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

 

 

It would have been Cozumel time as the ships clocks were already changed early in the morning before we were due to arrive.

 

David & Ellen

[Eagle_and_hawk]

Thanks. We are doing this itinerary in August and would not have thought about propulsion. Hoping other Vision cruisers post their experiences as well with both Cozumel and Roatan.

 

We have been sailing on the larger RCI ships but decided to try Vision for a change of pace and the opportunity to see Roatan. We know it will not have all the bells and whistles but hope we do make it to both ports.

 

Would you happen to have kept the compasses? Like to peruse to see what activities are onboard. If not can you tell me if changed time on the ship or stayed on ship time? Thanks.

 

I brought back the compasses to scan & post when I can get the time this week. They did print a different one for the day we missed Cozumel with updated activities since it turned into a sea day and we did not get a copy of that one.

 

David & Ellen

[Eagle_and_hawk]

Never heard of a ship not docking in Cozumel! A FB person is reporting numerous unruly teens on the ship. Wonder if the decision to not go into port was based on the security of the teens, and potential media impact?

 

I don't think that was the reason as the Captain did seem concerned about the currents around the dock when she gave the explanation.

 

There did seem to be a lot of unruly kids on board, however we just thought this was typical Caribbean cruise on RCL as first time we have sailed this line before. Our son had been on two Carnival cruises prior to this one and said he could not tell much difference in the two, except the lay out of the ship.

 

David & Ellen

[going2cruz]

FYI - I just returned from a 5 night Vision cruise to Roatan and Cozumel. The captain decided not to dock in Cozumel because the currents were too strong and the propellers on Vision couldn't handle it. We were so close - saw Oasis and a Carnival ship docked there.

 

The cruise was very disappointing. The pools on this ship are very small, and they were wall to wall people. The gym is also very small - only 6 treadmills. The Windjammer closed at 3 everyday and reopened at 6:30 pm, so the only other place to eat during those times was Park Cafe (with long lines) or Ben & Jerry's.

 

I tried Giovanni's, Chops and Izumi, which were all very good. I found the main dining room to be loud and chaotic. I had a great stateroom (8588, corner aft).

 

I knew the ship was small when I booked it (I've been on Enchantment before), however, I booked this cruise for the itinerary. I ended up on a 5 day cruise with one port of call. I'll never book this class of ship again.

 

We were on the same cruise & agree with all your observations. It was our first time on Royal Caribbean and disappointed we could not make Cozumel either was was traveling with our family. I never thought about a ship not having enough propulsion to be able to pull along dockside, so learned something new.

 

While I will say the food was good in all the places we dined, along with Giovanni's dinner we had was excellent, some of the times they pick to close places like Windjammers was unusual.

 

We are not sure what we will try next time.

 

We booked Visions for July and am a little concerned with slow bar service.

The reviews I'm reading say most bars have only one bar tender to serve walk-ups and the waiters and it takes 30-45 minutes for a drink. I even read one where the people on the pool deck would have to go in to casino bar for a drink.

Just wondering what you noticed and if its been corrected yet.