Vision of the Seas Review December 20-27 2014

[tigger-ttfn]

The truth behind Vision of the Sea Christmas cruise.

Where to start ...

Day 1: Broken luggage. Result, Alfredo gave us a new case and cash to replace the damaged set which was purchased the day before setting sail.

Day 1 : Tipping ... OMG ... the outrageous fee for any beverage package in addition to most servers asking for additional tips! The real fact is every beverage package is a scam and rip off. Don't take my word for it ... do the math AND realize unless you purchase the ULTIMATE PACKAGE there is something which is NOT covered. Mixed drinks are weak (coming from a non drinker) and average between $7.50 and $12.00 so you'll need to really slam them in order to get your moneys worth.

Dinner ... Ever eat at a Sizzler? I expected gourmet dining but was the food was marginal at best. Over cooked or under cooked. The buffet makes Ole Country Buffet look good by comparison.

Guest Services ... useless!!! In fact my party of 12 spent on average 3 hours every day with guest services who's common answer is ... "So sorry" but no real resolution.

Other problems : needed over the counter hemorrhoid cream but to purchase I would have to see a doctor at $125! I was told by the nurse without a visit to the doctor they could lose their license to practice medicine! Really?! So I waited for our first stop so I could save not money but two professional careers.

The only good show was the drafters and visiting Santa with my nieces and nephews.

Casino slot tournament was not only poorly explained but like bingo the ship (house) takes at least 50% leaving guests wondering where all the money went.

Room 7118 vibrates like nothing I've seen before. Room 7134 has a sewage problem as did the hallway . And should you have a problem requiring maintenance be sure it happens after 5am or before 10pm otherwise you'll get an excuse as to why you'll need to wait. Ironically if you complain enough the maintenance man will appear within minutes.

Steve (Cruise Director ) and Marvin (Activities Manager) spend more time sharing sexual innuendos on the morning show than about the actual events.

I could go on but why? Sad part is that I met so many people in the Guest Services line with similar or far worse stories!

My parent's are takin a Royal Caribbean cruise on Jan 3 , 2015 so you'd think spending $30k would mean something.

Nah ... this was my first and last cruise. Worst experience I've ever had.

 

I can't believe you highjacked lilobelle review to bitch about your trip. But I see you have only posted on cruise critic 5 times and are a newbie. Guess since this was you 1st and last cruise I won't have to worry about meeting you on a future cruise.

[lilobelle]

OMG! Thank you! I am not sure why I am justifying my experience. We had a great time despite some of the negatives we experienced. We did do the math, that is why only two out of the four of us got the premium package. My twins were very kind and friendly to the bartenders, maybe that is why they got premium liquor when they asked.

[TS2005SOX]

Tiger what's wrong with giving out truthful information? Whatever ... I was honest. I have 11 other witnesses so if you're offered by the fact that I was mistreated I guess I owe you an apology . Unlike you I shall refrain from making assumptions from your character. Happy New Year's!

[Soundview77]

I read in a different but recent thread that if you do self disembarkation from Vision and you don't have BOTH hands free of luggage/bags/canes...., you must use the elevator. Was this the case on this cruise?

 

If Vision and Brilliance are in port the same day, is it easy to chose the correct porter's for your ship?

[TS2005SOX]

They are required to tell you to grab the handrail on the escalator regardless of whether you are embarking or disembarking

[Soundview77]

I get that. When I do self disembarkation I make sure I have one hand for my bag and the other free for the escalator handrail.

 

The recent thread I read about self disembarking from Vision said that this was unacceptable and you could not have anything in either hand.

 

I'm just trying to see if anyone on this most recent cruise had an update on that.

[mark2fly1034]

That is correct if you did not have one hand free you had to take the elevator.

[ml*ling]

We just got back on the Vision Saturday. They do tell you HAVE to have a free hand to exit. Yet we followed some cruisers out that had both hands loaded and all the staff did was point to the elevator .

No problem and no extra time. They probably got ahead of the crowd! We were scheduled for 8:50 departure and actually were called at 8:30 .

The luggage was there for all the numbers.

Happy Sailing.

[wieslaw]

Hi,

it has been about 2 weeks since my cruise on Vision has ended - as I posted someplace else, we enjoyed it...... and similar to some, if not most of you, we had fun and good vacation.

 

The cruisers that had a disapointing cruise - I am sorry to hear that ...... I guess some have different expectation and different experience ..... and perhaps some bad things do happen every so often.

 

About bad things happenning, please read this:

 

Some, above in this thread and in similar threads wrote about the escalators ..... luggage - no luggage, .... using a cane, .... one free hand ....

no free hands .......

Few years ago I witnessed what happens when someone falls down for whatever reason ( it that case it was luggage) on the escalator ....... so many people and their stuff piles up on top of each other so quickly with no place to go ...... people walk on top of each other ..... it is not pretty ..... and people do get hurt .. It takes time for someone to push the 'stop'. Please, please think about that ....... being in a hurry is one thing ...... getting hurt or hurting others is worse.

 

There is a good reason the terminal workers recommend the elevator for some of us. They might have seen those piles of people....... and the EMS

Edited December 30, 2014 by wieslaw

[lilobelle]

When we did self assist there was a man standing there directing people to the escalator if you didn't have two hands free. The escalotrs are pretty narrow, and you go down two. I personally would want a hand free, but I am not a fan of escalators lol.

 

TS2005SOX- I think the problem is that you insinuated that MY experience was NOT the truth. I clearly stated that everyone has their own and different experiences. That would be true for any vacation spot. Sorry yours was so awful

[lilobelle]

Sound view- terminal 2 and terminal 3 are a good distance apart. Walk right to the HUGE terminal sign of the one you are departing from and find a porter there. I am guessing people whose luggage goes on the wrong ship picks a porter in the middle, which would be easy to do since the cabs, etc pull up in between both terminals. I also asked the porter to make sure it was going on the vision lol. You could see the piles of luggage right there at terminal 2. We disembarked at terminal 3 because a carnival ship was at 2

[Philly Steve]

Thanks for the review. :)

[TS2005SOX]

No lilobelle! The opposite! I said I was happy for you and your family and then was attacked!

This will be the last time there will be 12 of us together for any future Christmas due to the health of my father. So he sprung for 12 people (family ) to celebrate one laat time. All cost were covered so I could care less about cost, but when all we really wanted was an enjoyable family stress free holiday together instead of sewage coming up through the shower drain, being told to wait till morning because there wasn't anyone available till 7 ... we were given fresh linens (yeah our beds were made with dirty linens) and told to make the beds ourselves, broken and lost luggage, overcharged for services never purchased, and the head of family was stuck in a vibrating storeroom for most of the trip due to health issues, I felt as his oldest son ... a responsibility to be sure all 12 of us were given the same treatment every other passenger was given.

So to all those who feel I'm just throwing a bitch-a-thon all I can say is I sincerely hope none of you spend your final holiday with a loved one with all the hardships we faced.

To all who were treated well and enjoyed your trip I am happy for you.

Call me silly but on vacation which is prepaid and top shelf at that ... yeah I expected certain promises to be kept! Royal Caribbean messed up and my parents are taking another Royal Caribbean cruise on the 3rd. outta Fort Lauderdale with friends so I hope their experience is better!

Happy New Year's to all ... anyone with another "opinion " of me, like Tigger-ttfm ... I'm going to ask you to refrain from making an assumption on my character! Just because you had a wonderful time does not mean everyone on the boat did! Sometimes bad things happen to good people just be glad none o f these issues happened to you!

[kaybeeeeeee]

Thanks for the awesome review. We'll be on Vision in 10 days and have a question for you. We're going to book Chops for one of the formal nights but don't want to miss lobster night. Can you tell me which 2 nights were formal and on which of those lobster was served?

 

Thanks...Ken

[Justmekaren918]

I was on this cruise. Awesome!

 

 

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How was the cabin/balacony?

Hope you throughly enjoyed it?

[lilobelle]

Ken- I wish I could remember, but I dont. I know for sure it wasn't the sixth night because we ate at Giovannis. I want to say the fourth night or the last night but I am probably wrong. Sorry

[Podie]

Just one more comment...I was on Brilliance for Thanksgiving week and there were 600 kids on board. It was a nightmare! Still, the food was better than I expected, and when we boarded Vision just 9 days later, I did not have high hopes for this smaller, older ship. Maybe that's why I was pleasantly pleased with almost everything - I didn't expect much. If I had spent a lot of money for a big family vacation, some things would have disappointed me for sure.

 

I much prefer Celebrity to Royal, and I agree with what one poster said - if this cruise didn't meet your expectations, you need to consider taking a step up. Celebrity is not much more expensive than Royal (sometimes less), and their 1-2-3 promotion gives you a free beverage package.

[scorpluvsdolphins]

Cabin 8088 is to die for. I took 2 hour naps out there. One morning I woke up very very early so I took a late morning nap. My room steward, Cecillia came in to clean and saw me on my balcony and I didn't even wake up when she opened up the sliding glass door. :-). I am going back on the vision the third week of March, but unfortunately 8088 was gone but I was able to snag 8094, still aft. Final payment is due on Tuesday, so I'm gonna watch like a hawk to see if either corner aft opens up.

I met some wonderful people on this cruise. This was my first time going on Christmas cruise solo, but it ended up being wonderful. The concierge in the CL is fairly new, but a sweetheart.

Terri

 

 

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[canuckgirl7777]

Thank you for your review. I'm heading out on Vision in March and looking forward to it.

 

 

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[mcase131]

I think some people should not cruise. I find either people love cruising or they hate it. I believe when you are on vacation, you should go with the flow. There will never be the perfect vacation. We do not sweat the small stuff and we try to enjoy every minute of our vacation.

[DavyJoneses]

We went because we were charged twice for bottles of wine that we did not order. This problem was rectified by the dining room staff immediately after the nasty guy at guest services would not help us. The only other time was to replace my daughters sea pass because it wouldn't open her door anymore. We again experienced "not so nice" behavior regarding her ultimate drink package being put on her new card.

 

 

Sorry to hear about that problem. Normally,guest services personnel are very helpful.:(

[Hailzmick]

I love a positive review!!! Yours was FAB!!! Thanks.

 

When we were on Radiance in April, we had a drinks package, (around $65 AUD each per day). When we go out in Melbourne, we usually pay at least $18 per cocktail- so this package was awesome for us. (Also it was a South Pacific cruise- veeeeery relaxed!)

Our next cruise is on Vision for 12 nights- very port intense so we won't get a drink package. Each to their own. :-)

[cruiseclues]

Thank you for your review...more info than I expected...thanks again. :):):):)