Quick Comments on Vision (Sail Date 15 Nov 2014)

[GMoney]

I know it's all Quantum all the time on the boards these days, but I just disembarked Vision today on the first 7 day cruise from Tampa. My entire reason for picking this cruise was itinerary - I wanted to visit Roatan for snorkeling. I don't have time to post a review, but wanted to share a few quick comments and will be happy to answer any specific questions.

 

> Overall, the ship is beautiful and modern. It really never felt crowded, with the exception of show seating and pool seating on sea days. If you want a chair in the Solarium, plan on "reserving" one by 8am.

 

> Tampa is a great, convenient place to sail from. The airport and cruise port are well run and not crowded.

 

> Embarkation seemed a little chaotic, but I think that will improve with the experience of future sailings.

 

> I stayed in Grand Suite 8008. There was minimal noise from the Windjammer above - mostly carts rolling in the very early morning hours (2-5am). These were minor disturbances and would not deter me from booking the suite in the future.

 

> I had the best Chops experience in years with great service and food. They still have mud pie on the menu, albeit a somewhat inferior version.

 

> The food in the MDR is average to bad. We ate in specialty restaurants 4 nights.

 

> The entertainment is average to bad. It's all the old "favorites" - "Boogie Wonderland," "Broadway Rhythm and Rhyme," lame comedians and jugglers. The aerial shows are well done.

 

> There was a lot of trivia.

 

> Three NFL games were shown on the big outdoor screen on Sunday.

 

> Bar service at the pool, shows, and in some of the lounges in the evenings is definitely lacking.

 

> Dressing for dinner is very laid back and casual even on formal nights and in the specialty restaurants. Lots of shorts and tshirts.

 

> Wifi speed seemed very fast to me (for a ship).

 

> Vision does not have interactive tv.

 

> The casino does not have any electronic blackjack - only the actual table game.

 

> The cruise director was hokey and tired. His assistant was genuine and funny.

 

> The concierge was Vojtech from Guest Services. Really nice guy who tried hard. He'll be very good with a little more experience and polish. He did email us the week before the cruise.

 

> The ship docked at Terminal 3 just after 7am. Disembarkation started around 815am.

 

> On a side note: I highly recommend Radical Adventures in Roatan. They do a great sail and snorkel.

 

Overall, I was really happy with my cruise and would absolutely sail Vision again. It's like old school, pre-Voyager cruising - smaller ship, minimal amenities, and you definitely know you're at sea.

Edited November 23, 2014 by GMoney

[kftw]

Thanks for your review.

[wieslaw]

I also want to thank you for sharing your observation and comments.

[sheilb4]

Thanks for posting. I go on her soon and love to read reviews prior, the good, bad and ugly! Lol

[mommabean]

We were on the same ship. Some things the same. Some different as we all know that experiences can be that way.

 

We experienced great bar service and the worst internet service of any ship ever. Our favorite Izumi which we eat at on every ship was a total flop - food, service was excellent as expected. Love the CD. Of course he trained Bobby ;), another favorite, a long, long time ago. Worst embarkation ever - took 2 hours to board in the priority line - arrived at 12:30. Other things I can't comment on. Some things I could, but won't. :)

 

Thanks for your to the point impressions of my current favorite ship.

Edited November 23, 2014 by mommabean

[DragonOfTheSeas]

We got off of Vision on the day you boarded. We were on the 9 day reposition cruise. I agree I am too busy to do a review right now--but, I will add my comments to yours. I hope you do not mind. :)

 

 

> Overall, the ship is beautiful and modern. It really never felt crowded, with the exception of show seating and pool seating on sea days. If you want a chair in the Solarium, plan on "reserving" one by 8 am.

 

I noticed that attendants in the Solarium removed towels if no one was sitting on a chair. We have sailed on 4 Vision class ships. the WJ is usually crowded. However, on this cruise we were able to get seating for breakfast and lunch with no problem. One thing that help at lunch time was--on every sea day there was a BBQ by the pool. The menu rotated, but included paella, tacos, noodle/pasta bar, chicken, each on different days. I ate there 2 days and found the food very good. They has make your own sundaes for dessert with 'real ice cream' rather than the soft serve from the machines. On the other days I found the WJ and Park Cafe very open. :D I think more ships should do this.

 

> Tampa is a great, convenient place to sail from. The airport and cruise port are well run and not crowded. I agree that Tampa is a good port. There is a VERY large parking garage directly across from the port. . . also, there are other attractions near the port, ie. the Florida Aquarium. We rented a car from Enterprise and they were 10 mins away on Kennedy Ave.

 

> The food in the MDR is average to bad. We ate in specialty restaurants 4 nights. We ate in the MDR each night. I think there are less choices than there used to be. But, we always found something we liked--and DH is a picky eater. We do not order steak on a ship. It is always tough. I do not cook lamb at home, but the lamb shank and lamb chops were excellent. Some things were not as good. I would rate the food average to good. YMMV

 

> The entertainment is average to bad. It's all the old "favorites" - "Boogie Wonderland," "Broadway Rhythm and Rhyme," lame comedians and jugglers. The aerial shows are well done. We agreed with this description. We liked the aerial show and the ventriloquist/comedian [i know--it doesn't sound very good, but, he was.]. The other entertainment was average.

 

> Three NFL games were shown on the big outdoor screen on Sunday. DH was glad to catch a little NFL action. He watched parts of a couple of games. RCL is missing an opportunity to make good use of that big screen. They also, showed ESPN [with closed captioning in the afternoon.] We were at Labadee with Grandeur and we could see that on their screen they were showing nature scenes.

 

> Bar service at the pool, shows, and in some of the lounges in the evenings is definitely lacking. The riving bartenders around the pool are a thing of the past. There are less servers everywhere. We found the best bartenders in the casino. They were very friendly, fast and remembered what we drank.

 

> Dressing for dinner is very laid back and casual even on formal nights and in the specialty restaurants. Lots of shorts and tshirts. Yes, it was more casual than usual--but, I did not notice any shorts or t-shirts on formal night.

 

> Wifi speed seemed very fast to me (for a ship).Wifi was very good. I used the ship's computers so I can not tell you about speed in a cabin. the printers were very slow. [this was an issue the last day when everyone was printing boarding passes.]

 

> The casino does not have any electronic blackjack - only the actual table game. I found the casino to be very unfriendly. :rolleyes: The type of slot machines I use tend to let me hit a few spins before it uses up the money I put in the machine. :D Two of the nights I put money in a slot machines I and did not get a single win. I played a couple of other times--but, limited my play.

 

> The cruise director was hokey and tired. His assistant was genuine and funny. We agree with this, too. The CD does not usually make a big difference to us--but, we was the dullest we have had. The Assistant [Mo from Figi] left the ship when you did. He told us he was going to Enchantment.

 

Overall, I was really happy with my cruise and would absolutely sail Vision again. It's like old school, pre-Voyager cruising - smaller ship, minimal amenities, and you definitely know you're at sea.

 

We liked the ship and had a great cruise. Captain Lis is very visible.

Edited November 23, 2014 by DragonOfTheSeas

[sheilb4]

We were on the same ship. Some things the same. Some different as we all know that experiences can be that way.

 

We experienced great bar service and the worst internet service of any ship ever. Our favorite Izumi which we eat at on every ship was a total flop - food, service was excellent as expected. Love the CD. Of course he trained Bobby ;), another favorite, a long, long time ago. Worst embarkation ever - took 2 hours to board in the priority line - arrived at 12:30. Other things I can't comment on. Some things I could, but won't. :)

 

Thanks for your to the point impressions of my current favorite ship.

Mommabean,

I have a few questions if you dont mind....Would you recommend bars in particular that had the best/friendliest service? was the R bar the only place to get the "unlimited" Moet?

if the weather is good I will always be in the solarium area....bar there ok?

Disappointed to hear about Izumi being a "flop", what was disappointing to you? Love sushi, so was planning on eating there 2-3x on my cruise this NYE ...look forward to reading your perspective.. thanks

[mommabean]

Mommabean,

I have a few questions if you dont mind....Would you recommend bars in particular that had the best/friendliest service? was the R bar the only place to get the "unlimited" Moet?

if the weather is good I will always be in the solarium area....bar there ok?

Disappointed to hear about Izumi being a "flop", what was disappointing to you? Love sushi, so was planning on eating there 2-3x on my cruise this NYE ...look forward to reading your perspective.. thanks

 

We don't go to all the bars. I didn't try either the pool or solarium bar. Nitre from Indonesia is an old friend in the Schooner Bar so we visited him a little bit. We have concierge access so we used the Viking Crown Lounge bar often in the evening. But our favorite bar overall because of all 4 bartenders there is the R bar. Arlene, Hilda, Allan, and Alex were working there. Alex from the Ukraine, you will need to warm up to, as he is quiet but you will like him if you go there enough. I know nothing about unlimited Moet. Sorry.

 

My favorite regular items in Izumi just weren't done properly. The Chicken Kara Agi was much too small in size, overcooked and dry, and stuck together - nothing like it should be. I said nothing about it. But my main course being the Crispy Philly had all the cream cheese melted out and the avocado was barely there and dark. The tuna tasted like dark tuna from a can. It was overcooked. I questioned whether it was even what I ordered. The chefs told them to tell me it was as it should be and that the frying process melts the cheese into the rice. NOT the way it has ever been in the dozen or probably more times I've eaten it. I let it go and in the end they removed the charge for it without my asking. I'd have rather paid and gotten it they way it should be. The soup my husband ordered, a miso ramen pork item, was just mediocre at best. After so many great meals there on this and other ships, it was obvious the chefs need some guidance from Chef Travis, the originator of the Izumi concept.

Edited November 23, 2014 by mommabean

[sheilb4]

Thanks Mommabean. Appreciate the feedback. I would likely only go to solarium bar during day, then RBar and concierge. Will try Schooner since you enjoyed the staff there.. :) thats so sad to hear re Izumi. I will give it one try then decide if worth returning...

Hopefully concierge not too crowded?

Can D+ use Chops for seating at breakfast like other ships?

Thanks again

[mommabean]

Thanks Mommabean. Appreciate the feedback. I would likely only go to solarium bar during day, then RBar and concierge. Will try Schooner since you enjoyed the staff there.. :) thats so sad to hear re Izumi. I will give it one try then decide if worth returning...

Hopefully concierge not too crowded?

Can D+ use Chops for seating at breakfast like other ships?

Thanks again

 

It's the R Bar where I liked the entire staff. I have one guy at Schooner who I like (the others are probably likable but I didn't get to know them) but only went there 3 times.

 

The Concierge lounge was very full at times on our cruise but the concierge said there would be half the crowd this week. Our cruise went down to $199pp and when that happens, the bargain hunting C&A members come out in droves.

 

There is no breakfast in Chops. I don't know if they have a special D/D+ area on deck 4 for breakfast. There is a gold card only area on deck 5 for breakfast and surprisingly it was available for lunch, too, on sea days.

Edited November 23, 2014 by mommabean

[sheilb4]

Thanks very much for the info.... I will check re D+ areas for b/fast etc as deffo dont like the craziness of WJ at that time...lol we shall see... :)

But R Bar it will be in the evenings.....;)

[matandbri]

Thanks for the info! I am leaving on her in 13 days😊. Did you have a time change while on board?

[GMoney]

Thanks for the info! I am leaving on her in 13 days😊. Did you have a time change while on board?

 

Yes - Clocks fell back on Sunday night (at sea), and then sprung forward Wednesday night (Cozumel). YMMV based on itinerary.

[mets07]

Thanks for your review, Patrick. We were on the same cruise. I will add some feedback from our perspective. We stayed in an inside cabin. Getting to and from the airport were a breeze.

 

The weather of course was somewhat disappointing, with a very rainy day in Costa Maya and the cancellation of Cozumel, but nothing one can do about that. We still enjoyed it overall, as just being on the ocean and relaxing are primary for us!

 

We only ate in MDR / Windjammer for dinner and found the food average to good, but of course a subjective topic. Our servers in MDR were excellent. Food from Park Café was good.

 

We enjoy the bar at the Viking Crown Lounge for pre-dinner drinks ..... and like to get sail-away drinks at the Solarium bar.

 

We found the internet horribly slow, and we were only checking email once/day.

 

Staff in general I agree seem to be less prevalent at pool / Solarium areas. (Used cups/dishes sitting around for hours.)

 

Embarking and disembarking were quite prolonged. Worst we ever experienced.

 

The ventriloquist/comedian was very entertaining in our opinion. Also enjoyed the late night comedy show on the final night.

 

The big screen in the pool area is not our favorite. Having the NFL games on was fun, but having it blasting at 7am daily (I realize many people are sleeping) with the "selling" of the day's activities destroyed the ambience of being on a beautiful cruise ship in the early morning hours.

 

We did one RCI excursion. Tabyana Beach at Roatan... excellent snorkeling.

 

Whatever, the pros and cons, we had a good time and enjoyed our second cruise on the Vision.

[shipfriend_max]

Hi,

 

thank you for your review so far.

Nice that you all in all liked Vision otS - we sail on her in April on the 7 night cruise from Tampa.

Surely some services will be improved with future sailings and more experience besides RCI...

We look forward to it. :)

[sunnydaysmile]

Thanks very much for the info.... I will check re D+ areas for b/fast etc as deffo dont like the craziness of WJ at that time...lol we shall see... :)

But R Bar it will be in the evenings.....;)

We were also on this sailing. They did have D/D+/P breakfast on Deck 4 which we thoroughly enjoyed. Heidi was an absolutely awesome server!

Other than breakfast, we felt the food at all of the dining options was poor to mediocre at best - definitely not up to the standards on any of the other ships. I found it odd that the dinner menus in the MDR were different from the other ships we sailed this year.

[sheilb4]

We were also on this sailing. They did have D/D+/P breakfast on Deck 4 which we thoroughly enjoyed. Heidi was an absolutely awesome server!

Other than breakfast, we felt the food at all of the dining options was poor to mediocre at best - definitely not up to the standards on any of the other ships. I found it odd that the dinner menus in the MDR were different from the other ships we sailed this year.

 

Thanks for the info.... glad there is a seperate area for breakfast dining.... will look out for Heidi! I was just on FOS and thought the food was "ok" but table waiter was dreadful and very miserable. His asst was excellent, so I made sure to give him a WOW and let the Maitre'D know too.

Good weather is what makes a cruise for me, so I am hoping to get that and at least some palatable food which I am sure I will find somewhere...lol

[sheilb4]

We were also on this sailing. They did have D/D+/P breakfast on Deck 4 which we thoroughly enjoyed. Heidi was an absolutely awesome server!

Other than breakfast, we felt the food at all of the dining options was poor to mediocre at best - definitely not up to the standards on any of the other ships. I found it odd that the dinner menus in the MDR were different from the other ships we sailed this year.

 

Thanks for the info.... glad there is a seperate area for breakfast dining.... will look out for Heidi! I was just on FOS and thought the food was "ok" but table waiter was dreadful and very miserable. His asst was excellent, so I made sure to give him a WOW and let the Maitre'D know too.

Good weather is what makes a cruise for me, so I am hoping to get that and at least some palatable food which I am sure I will find somewhere...lol

[Agutaya]

Thanks for your comments, GMoney, and others. We were on the two cruises before you. I agree that most of the entertainment wasn't that good. The two exceptions for us were the aerial show and piano bar singer. Since none of you mentioned the piano singer, Kim Kinrade, in the Schooner Bar, I wanted to add that we enjoyed him very much. Somehow we missed him our whole first cruise, like some of you must have. Once we "discovered" him we found our hangout for the second cruise. We liked the songs we could sing along with and hearing some new songs too. Kim also shared lots of music history and trivia. I wanted to share this in case others may be interested for future cruises.

[mommabean]

Thanks for the info.... glad there is a seperate area for breakfast dining.... will look out for Heidi! I was just on FOS and thought the food was "ok" but table waiter was dreadful and very miserable. His asst was excellent, so I made sure to give him a WOW and let the Maitre'D know too.

Good weather is what makes a cruise for me, so I am hoping to get that and at least some palatable food which I am sure I will find somewhere...lol

 

When you look for Heidi...it's really Hydee! :) On my first cruise on Vision 15 months ago I was looking for Heidi and missed her the first week because I didn't know the spelling. She's a true gem. (Unless of course this is a different Heidi but I don't think so.)

Edited November 23, 2014 by mommabean

[GMoney]

Thanks for your comments, GMoney, and others. We were on the two cruises before you. I agree that most of the entertainment wasn't that good. The two exceptions for us were the aerial show and piano bar singer. Since none of you mentioned the piano singer, Kim Kinrade, in the Schooner Bar, I wanted to add that we enjoyed him very much. Somehow we missed him our whole first cruise, like some of you must have. Once we "discovered" him we found our hangout for the second cruise. We liked the songs we could sing along with and hearing some new songs too. Kim also shared lots of music history and trivia. I wanted to share this in case others may be interested for future cruises.

 

On the 15 Nov cruise, it was mostly Anna playing in the Schooner Bar, but I think I saw Kim briefly one night.

[sheilb4]

When you look for Heidi...it's really Hydee! :) On my first cruise on Vision 15 months ago I was looking for Heidi and missed her the first week because I didn't know the spelling. She's a true gem. (Unless of course this is a different Heidi but I don't think so.)

 

Thanks ! :)

[Agutaya]

On the 15 Nov cruise, it was mostly Anna playing in the Schooner Bar, but I think I saw Kim briefly one night.

 

Anna usually played before Kim. He started after 9:00. They have very different playing styles.

[cinnamon]

We were on this cruise too and I have posted som views on a separate thread already.

 

However I would like to mention Disembarkation times. We were Scheduled to dock at 7.00 and the first passengers with Self Carry luggage due to leave at 8.15.

BUT. Although the pilot was picked up on time at 3.45 am, we were not alongside the dock until 7.30. Added to that, the Homeland Security people were late arriving onboard to admit the Non-US citizens. I sincerely doubt that anyone was able to disembark before 9.00 am.

 

 

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