Vision of the Seas / June 21 2015 12 Nights Mediterranean Cruise (Onboard Posts)

[Severus]

I was tempted to do a first impressions post about this cruise but I wanted to give The Vision of the Seas a fair chance, but after a week onboard all my first impression were the same day after day. Well here it goes...

 

The crew do a great job all the way around (housekeeping, waiters and so on), the destinations are great, the tour guides do the best with the limited time we have available. The only negative about this cruise is the food, it leave a lot to desire, I could even describe it as frustrating.

 

1 - The eating options are extremely limited and the schedule hours of operations are not even practical (most shows starts during dining hours). The only main restaurant are the Aquarius and the Windjammer Cafe (Buffet)

 

2-There is no 24 hr pizzeria that you see in almost every cruise ship nowadays. The pizza that is served at the bar on the back of the ship and in the buffet is really really bad, on my opinion a frozen pizza taste better than the one they serve me the first day, same goes with the hamburgers.

 

3- The ice-cream machine is not 24 hours available.

 

 

4-The fountain drinks on the Windjammer Cafe (buffet) are always watery, everyday the situation is the same. At one point I got so frustrated that I pointed out to the waiter at the fountain that the "juice" was just water and the waiter just open the machine and added more water into the concentrated juice container inside the machine and he did that in front of me!, I tried all the favors and all were the same I ended up just grabbing a water cup and walked away.

 

5-Also I feel that RCC are "nickel and dime" their customers to death, the food quality at the formal dining reception is bad, I feel like I am having dinner at Golden Corral I believe RCC do that on purpose so you have to pay extra for a "real meal" at their "pay/upgrade restaurants". The waiters were even pushing us to buy bottled water on the first night!!!!! Today at Venice while having dinner at Aquarius I told my wife "I bet they have the same food at the buffet restaurant" and we went there and I was right!!! probably 75-80% of the items on the formal dinner were available at the buffet restaurant. So in a nutshell the only difference between the Windjammer Cafe (buffet) and the Aquarius Restaurant is that you have to wait more at the Aquarius Restaurant for the same food that is available at the buffet area. Quality is the only reason why you wait for the formal dinner, the food is supposed to have a higher quality than the buffet, the food is supposed to be prepared for you but apparently on the Vision that is not the case. We decided to not go to the Aquarius Restaurant anymore since it is a waste of time and so disappointing in many ways.

 

Not food related but pertaining the "nickel and dime" it is my experience in other cruises that there is a shared laundry area where you can find equipment to wash, dry and iron out what you need (if you don't have detergent there is a vending machine that sells detergent/fabric softener) here that is not an option you have to pay a laundry service to just iron a shirt since you can't do it yourself, once again nickel and dime you for everything.

 

We haven't let this situation to ruin our vacation but it is for sure that we will not book the Vision of the Seas in the future. I am sorry to sound so negative but I know I am not alone on this one, during the Meet and Mingle everybody that I talked to have the same opinion with the food onboard. Well have a great trip everyone!!!

Edited June 27, 2015 by Severus

[Ourusualbeach]

Just so you won't be disappointed in any other potential Royal cruises not one of their ships have 24 hour pizza, ice cream or self serve laundry.

 

Glad that the rest of the trip is going well.

[Hailzmick]

We just did a 12 night sailing on Vision (finished May 28) & my experience was very different.

Our dining options were fantastic. There was always ample new foods to try in the WJ, dining room & the solarium. I've actually never seen so much food as I did in this solarium. The room service menu was AMAZING & it had the best honey stung chicken I've even eaten!

Cafe La Tudes always had amazing & had unique treats to try. My husband is a chef, (so we are picky with foods) & we thoroughly enjoyed our food.

The 12 night sailings are usually port intensive, plus there's a lot of older people on them, probably why there's no 24 hour pizza serving at the Solarium, (also as it's such a small ship), but there was 24 hour pizza available on the room service menu.

The drink machines for us were always too strong, so we watered them down a LOT.

 

We found the Main Dining Room great, it's not just the food, it's the whole experience & what you make of it.

 

I'm sorry your experience was so different to ours. I'd go back in a heartbeat. We've booked our next one for eight months time & it can't go quick enough.

[Severus]

Ken

The 24hr pizza/ ice-cream are not the big issue here (that would be a deal breaker for my kids off course, but not to myself). The main issue I have is the poor quality on the "complimentary" service and the lack of choices onboard. We went to The Chops Grill and the food is top notch but of course you have to pay extra ($35 per person) to eat there and even after you pay extra there is certain dishes that you have to pay even more after the 35 that you already payed to have them, thats why I feel that the poor quality is done on purpose to corner people to the pay extra to eat at the other venues. Almost every cruise line are adding those upgrade restaurant options but this is the first cruise line that I feel pushed around in order to have a good dinner. Apart from the food (main reason why most people goes on a cruise) we are having a good time, there is great food at almost every port in the Mediterranean so we are "winging it" when we shouldn't because RCI should be a step above other cruise lines and not a step below.

Edited June 27, 2015 by Severus

[Summerknight]

I do not think the "main reason" people cruise is for the food.

 

Love of the sea, relaxation and the excitement of various ports might top the list.

[Severus]

Today was the perfect example of my main complain about this cruise, lack of food/restaurant options; we have been on excursions every day so after so many ports we are exhausted. We slept thru the morning (I am an early morning person so that tells how tired I am) we went to have something to eat at 10:30 AM, first stop Windjammer- Closed so we said lets go to the Park Cafe... guess what closed also. After taking a look at the itinerary we realized The Windjamer will be open at 11:30 for lunch and the Park Cafe was open from 6:30 AM till 9AM after that closed the whole day, also Room Service was open from 6:30 until 10:00AM. So this was my only option: wait for the Windjammer to open at 11:30AM so the whole ship did not have a dinning option for an hour. This is my point on a cruise you shouldn't have to wait for food at least during daytime hours. They should always have an alternative open for their clients. So here I am writing this post when I should have been eating breakfast. Also the Windjammer menu do not change much so be prepared to eat almost the same every day (unless you eat at their Speciality Dinning Restaurants ($)). Ok well I am done writing its 11:10 AM, 20 more minutes until lunch. It shouldn't be this way but it is what it is.

[Hailzmick]

Room service would have been that time for breakfast. It's open 24 hours a day- the menu should be in your dresser drawer. It shocks me that WJ closed so early too! Crazy! What a shame!

[powelweb]

We were on the May 28 12 night sailing, and I agree that it seems odd for WJ not to still be offering breakfast at 10:30- I'm assuming you checked both sides? Sometimes, one side is closed as they start to prepare for the next meal service, but the other is still open and serving.

 

We also found that Park Café was open in the evenings as a late night alternative after WJ closed, opening from 9pm to 2am with a variety of items- we never did get there during the day, but managed a few evening trips.

[Severus]

Room service would have been that time for breakfast. It's open 24 hours a day- the menu should be in your dresser drawer. It shocks me that WJ closed so early too! Crazy! What a shame!

 

Yes of course Room Service is open 24 hrs but not for breakfast, but the other reason why it wasn't practical is that room service takes a lot of time for your order to arrive at your cabin (the only time I ordered Room Service it took 1:20 minutes) so it was "speedier" to just wait.

[Severus]

We were on the May 28 12 night sailing, and I agree that it seems odd for WJ not to still be offering breakfast at 10:30- I'm assuming you checked both sides? Sometimes, one side is closed as they start to prepare for the next meal service, but the other is still open and serving.

 

The WJ was closed at 10:30AM and (it funny I have to confirm this) yes I checked both sides they have the whole think closed. I was going to post a photo of the schedule but the internet is slow.

[Severus]

On the other hand I have to say this, I have not seen a more dedicated crew that the one on this ship, they are the best of the best. I truly admire them, always paying attention to details, polite, always helpful. The Manager at WJ Alex always greet everybody and give you tips on what to do at the port, he has become a friend to talk to every morning.

[BoyntonBeth]

I love to see threads like this one. They make the people who have Carnival-level expectations remain with Carnival.

 

Royal does not claim to have 24-hour food venues. Royal does not claim that the dining room is formal every night, only the nights that are designated as formal. If you are happy having your "formal" dinner in the Windjammer, then I suspect that the Specialty Restaurants are not for you and it's a good thing you have decided not to waste your money.

 

The service in the Main Dining Room is wonderful. Sometimes they can be busy when people don't show up when they should and then expect instantaneous service.

 

Do your homework in advance. Find out what's available on various ships. Read the Cruise Compass to know what to expect daily.

 

I know what I'm talking about. Right now I'm sitting on Deck 9, near the pool, but I think it's time to go to the WJ for lunch.

[JD26]

Its to bad that you are so frustrated with the food. I have not had a bad food experience on any of my Royal Caribbean cruises. But we are not fussy eaters and we go with the flow. I enjoy going to the WJ and dining room because I don't have to cook and for once I have somebody waiting on me. Ha I would suggest to not ruin your cruise and just enjoy the scenery and the ports of call. We have a balcony whenever we cruise, and we enjoy getting up early and watching the ship cruise into the ports. So we order room service and sit on the balcony enjoying life. What a wonderful way to start our day. Try to enjoy the positive things so your vacation isn't ruined. Life is so short. I hope the rest of your cruise is totally enjoyable. :):):):)

[Severus]

I don't believe slapping labels to other members is beneficial to anybody on this forum. If you like Royal good for you, if you like other lines good for you also. I won't pass judgment or jump into conclussions just because somebody like a cruise line that is different than the one I like, also I believe you misunderstood my previous post.

 

Royal does not claim that the dining room is formal every night, only the nights that are designated as formal.

 

I never said that I was expecting formal nights every day, what I meant was that if you wait to have dinner at the Aquarius (that is what I meant as formal, to have dinner at your assigned table and time) the meal should be different to what is offered at the WJ. My point was if they serve similar food on both restaurants why wait for the Aquarius and just do the WJ.

 

If you are happy having your "formal" dinner in the Windjammer, then I suspect that the Specialty Restaurants are not for you and it's a good thing you have decided not to waste your money.

 

I never said that I was happy having dinner at the WJ, not to even mention "formal" dinning there, on the contrary I was pointing out that the quality of the food should be better at the Aquarius than the WJ since the meal is supposed to be cooked for you vs a buffet. Once again my point was if the food is almost the same why wait for the Aquarium. Actually I end up eating at the Specialty Restaurants multiple times because I didn't feel that the Aquarius was worth the wait vs what they offer.

 

Actually on both restaurants The Aquarius and the WJ the menu got better at the end of the cruise, the drinks are not weak/watery like the first week. The only thing they really need to work on is the pizza, the "pizza dough" is a frozen disk and they just put the ingredients on it and heat it up. The pizza is not fresh at all. My wife was making fun of me, she was like "they are not that bad" so she ordered one for room service and ended up eating just the pepperoni and could not eat the rest.

 

Enjoy your lunch

[Severus]

Its to bad that you are so frustrated with the food. I have not had a bad food experience on any of my Royal Caribbean cruises. But we are not fussy eaters and we go with the flow. I enjoy going to the WJ and dining room because I don't have to cook and for once I have somebody waiting on me. Ha I would suggest to not ruin your cruise and just enjoy the scenery and the ports of call. We have a balcony whenever we cruise, and we enjoy getting up early and watching the ship cruise into the ports. So we order room service and sit on the balcony enjoying life. What a wonderful way to start our day. Try to enjoy the positive things so your vacation isn't ruined. Life is so short. I hope the rest of your cruise is totally enjoyable. :):):):)

 

Agreed, believe me my vacation is not ruined, we had a lot of fun. I just feel the need to share what in my opinion is something that could be improved. I think thats the whole purpose of participating on this forum: to share what you like and what you don't like. Thanks!

[hun]

We're going on the Vision in October and appreciate having information from current/past passengers, so thank you Severus for your posts!

[JD26]

I am glad you are having a great time on the cruise. And sometimes with me I just need to get used to my surroundings, it can take a few days for me to relax. And I agree, being honest is fine. I cant wait to see the Mediterranean. This will be my first trip. Have a wonderful day. Let us know what ports are your favorites. :):)

[Thetrail]

Today was the perfect example of my main complain about this cruise, lack of food/restaurant options; we have been on excursions every day so after so many ports we are exhausted. We slept thru the morning (I am an early morning person so that tells how tired I am) we went to have something to eat at 10:30 AM, first stop Windjammer- Closed so we said lets go to the Park Cafe... guess what closed also. After taking a look at the itinerary we realized The Windjamer will be open at 11:30 for lunch and the Park Cafe was open from 6:30 AM till 9AM after that closed the whole day, also Room Service was open from 6:30 until 10:00AM. So this was my only option: wait for the Windjammer to open at 11:30AM so the whole ship did not have a dinning option for an hour. This is my point on a cruise you shouldn't have to wait for food at least during daytime hours. They should always have an alternative open for their clients. So here I am writing this post when I should have been eating breakfast. Also the Windjammer menu do not change much so be prepared to eat almost the same every day (unless you eat at their Speciality Dinning Restaurants ($)). Ok well I am done writing its 11:10 AM, 20 more minutes until lunch. It shouldn't be this way but it is what it is.

OK so now you have figured out the times on this ship, the only excuse you have for "not" eating breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks etc. is your desire to sleep in or disregard the hours of operation.....:D

[Severus]

OK so now you have figured out the times on this ship, the only excuse you have for "not" eating breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks etc. is your desire to sleep in or disregard the hours of operation.....:D

Not really, the schedule changed every day. You are completely missing my point, when you are isolated in a cruise ship where there is no "option b" (you can't leave the ship) there should absolutely no reason for the cruise company to have available at least one option for their customers. The only option that is open 24 / 7 was Room Service (with a limited menu) but by default their service is slow and after midnight untill 530am there is a $3.98 fee for the order. This thread is reminding me of the Apple vs Android forums were the members go the extra mile to justify their preferered brand flaws (or areas for inprovement). I did excursion at every port of call thus sleeping the day was not an option, the only day that I was able to sleep I went hungry and thats a sin in my Cruising Book. Thanks for reading the thread.

 

Sent from my SM-N900P using Tapatalk

[AlabamaBeachCat]

We just did a 12 night sailing on Vision (finished May 28) & my experience was very different.

Our dining options were fantastic. There was always ample new foods to try in the WJ, dining room & the solarium. I've actually never seen so much food as I did in this solarium. The room service menu was AMAZING & it had the best honey stung chicken I've even eaten!

Cafe La Tudes always had amazing & had unique treats to try. My husband is a chef, (so we are picky with foods) & we thoroughly enjoyed our food.

The 12 night sailings are usually port intensive, plus there's a lot of older people on them, probably why there's no 24 hour pizza serving at the Solarium, (also as it's such a small ship), but there was 24 hour pizza available on the room service menu.

The drink machines for us were always too strong, so we watered them down a LOT.

 

We found the Main Dining Room great, it's not just the food, it's the whole experience & what you make of it.

 

I'm sorry your experience was so different to ours. I'd go back in a heartbeat. We've booked our next one for eight months time & it can't go quick enough.

 

I have to agree with you on this one. We found no issues with the food or with the service. This was a very port intensive trip, but we loved it because we were able to see a lot of cities/countries in a short period of time.

 

The only issue I found was one day (towards the end of the cruise), the OJ in the Windjammer was a little watered down, but after asking if it was possibly running out, they refilled it and brought me a glass to my table. :-)

[hun]

Hope this is an ok thread to ask this question but I haven't been able to figure it out - we're on the Vision in October and I wondered what's open for lunch on first day?

I understand there may be other (free) options beside the buffet? Thanks!

[Clarea]

Hope this is an ok thread to ask this question but I haven't been able to figure it out - we're on the Vision in October and I wondered what's open for lunch on first day?

I understand there may be other (free) options beside the buffet? Thanks!

Park Cafe is open for lunch.

[cruiseclues]

Thank you for your review...food is definitely high on my list for why I cruise...though there are a number of reasons...poor food would not get me back on that ship, though...The last 2 Royal Caribbean Cruises for us had very good food in general...the Park Cafe being a preference over the buffet for us. :):):):)

[hun]

Good to know! Thank you!

[Severus]

This is a time-lapse video I made sailing from Barcelona and arriving in France, Hope you enjoy.

Edited July 19, 2015 by Severus