Just off Vision of the Seas-- kind of long review

[Rudydog]

It's 10:30am and I am already home from my week on the Vision of the Seas. Helps to live in driving distance of the port. I want to write a review since my experience was so different from the reviews that I had read on CC prior to sailing.

I had a great time on this cruise, though it might have helped that I had low expectations. I sailed with my husband and two other couples, all baby boomers. We boarded around 1pm and it was very easy, on the ship and in our cabin before 1:30. Service was very good from the time we got on the ship until the time we disembarked, from our cabin steward to the dining room staff to the Windjammer staff to the bar service.

Our cruise may have been somewhat unique, as we had a medical emergency the first night at sea and instead of going to Roatan, the ship diverted to Cozumel to let the ill passenger off the ship. They decided to follow the rest of the scheduled itinerary and we wound up in Cozumel again, on our last port day. In between was Costa Maya and Belize City. I'm not going to write much about the ports as we didn't use any ship excursions and explored on our own. I will say that we rented a car in Cozumel and explored the "other" side of the island and absolutely loved it, a highlight of the trip.

The other unique thing about our cruise is that there was a group of Elvis fans on board and with them were seven (I think) Elvis impersonators and they popped up everywhere. That was a fun little extra. They had their private functions but a couple of times they performed in the Centrum. There was also a James Brown impersonator and someone who sang Ricky Nelson songs.

Our entertainment was pretty good. I should have saved my Compasses, as I do not remember anyone's names. There was a lot of comedy. The first comedian was very funny and then they had two Argentinian brothers do a really funny routine. The last night was a comedian who did a very short show combined with magic and he was just so so. There was also a very talented soloist, again, don't remember her name but she was excellent and I don't usually get impressed by this sort of thing. The production show was ok, missed the second one.

We went to the Love and Marriage show and watched (not participated) in the Quest and they did not disappoint. The cruise director, Rob, and his staff, especially Elvis, were excellent. My only complaint about the entertainment was that there were not enough varied things to do on sea days. Most were revenue producing activities (Bingo, Casino, sushi making classes, spa related things, etc.). There were no enrichment type of things like lectures. My previous few cruises were on Azamara and Crystal and they had a good variety of that so I guess I was spoiled though I knew not to expect it on Royal Caribbean.

We spent a bit of time in the Solarium, which is a relaxing adult only area for the most part. The Park Cafe is there, so there are kids around but all of the kids on board this cruise were incredibly well behaved.

The food in the main dining room was good, not excellent, but good. Some dishes were much better than others. But I think it was consistently good and the service was excellent. We also ate at Chops, Giovanni's and Izumi. I enjoyed both Chops and Giovanni's though ate way too much food. Izumi was just ok. I would not go back, it just wasn't anything special.

We received a notice that there had been a "small number" of guests on the cruise prior to ours who had symptoms of the Norovirus so were encourage to be diligent about hand washing. We saw crew disinfecting door handles and railings several times a day.

My biggest complaint is the smoking in the Casino. It's the only indoor area that allows it so I think every smoker on board congregates there just to smoke and as a nonsmoker, it was awful. There was one formal night in which the whole place was nonsmoking and what a difference!

I liked the size of this ship. If I had younger children with me, I probably would have chosen one of the larger ships with more bells and whistles, but for our purpose of rest and relaxation, this was perfect.

Sorry about the lack of organization here, but I wrote things as I remembered them.

[Clarea]

I appreciate the review. We are going on this ship and itinerary in the near future and it's good to hear the service level is still excellent.

Edited February 20, 2016 by clarea

[cincicruisers]

Thanks for taking the time to post your review.

[Keith1010]

Thank you for your review.

 

Keith

[padgman1]

Thank you very much for your review...it will be very helpful when we take this same cruise in April with friends...sorry you had to be diverted to Cozumel initially, must have been a true med emergency to do that....

[caseythegr]

It's 10:30am and I am already home from my week on the Vision of the Seas.

 

Thanks for the review. We sailed her in January and had an awesome time. My son wants to sail with us next time so we chose the Liberty, otherwise I would be back on the Vision.

Laurie

[maxs mom]

Thanks for the nice review. Vision is one of our very favorites. Will be on her for two weeks VERY soon!!!! Can't wait to get back on her.

[oldguysandgalls]

We cruised on the Vision in Jan. 2016. Thank you for your balanced and fair review.

[CRUISEBOY305]

Thank you for your review. Taking Vision to Barcelona in 54 days :D:D:D:D

[wi suds]

Love your review Thanks. Went on the Vision though the Panama Canel 3 years ago loved that cruise. My question is what did RoyalCaribbean do to inform you about the Zika virus what suggestions did they give the passengers as how to be safe and are the ports safe? Thank-You Wi Suds

[Ine]

Thanks for your review. We plan to sail Vision in October, we like the smaller type of ships. We never sailed RCCL before, (only HAL and Celebrity) so maybe you or anybody else can answer a few questions.

Can we get daily (free) ice in our cabins, as on the other lines.

My grandson drinks only water, can we bring some bottles on board for him?

Is the food at the buffet at night comparable to that in the diningroom? We might skip formal nights this time.

Are beachtowels provided?

Is reservations necessary for any time dining, we will be 5 adults and 2 kids? Since the boys donot speak english we prefer not to share a table with others.

Any more advice of course is welcome.

Thanks for your help.

[sojodave]

Thanks for your review. We plan to sail Vision in October, we like the smaller type of ships. We never sailed RCCL before, (only HAL and Celebrity) so maybe you or anybody else can answer a few questions.

Can we get daily (free) ice in our cabins, as on the other lines.

My grandson drinks only water, can we bring some bottles on board for him?

Is the food at the buffet at night comparable to that in the diningroom? We might skip formal nights this time.

Are beachtowels provided?

Is reservations necessary for any time dining, we will be 5 adults and 2 kids? Since the boys donot speak english we prefer not to share a table with others.

Any more advice of course is welcome.

Thanks for your help.

 

I don't think they provide ice since you only have a small refrigerator and not a freezer.

 

You can bring water on, but you are better off getting the Avian water package.

 

Yes, beach towels are provided

 

You are better off with reservations for any time dining. You will wait if you don't have reservations.

 

Talk to RCI before you board about requesting a lone table.

 

Good luck on your cruise.

[riclop]

Thanks for the review.

[Ine]

I don't think they provide ice since you only have a small refrigerator and not a freezer.

 

You can bring water on, but you are better off getting the Avian water package.

 

Yes, beach towels are provided

 

You are better off with reservations for any time dining. You will wait if you don't have reservations.

 

Talk to RCI before you board about requesting a lone table.

 

Good luck on your cruise.

Thank you!

[ama-sam]

I have always requested ice and my room steward has brought it twice a day. I have also gotten a second bucket of ice to chill wine in the cabin/on the balcony.

 

From what I have read, a reasonable number of water bottles can be brought aboard. I tend to drink tap water - it is of good quality and that is part of why I want ice twice a day - to chill it!

 

I have also enjoyed a dinner or two in the Windjammer and it is "calmer" at dinner and I found the quality to be good.

[Ine]

I have always requested ice and my room steward has brought it twice a day. I have also gotten a second bucket of ice to chill wine in the cabin/on the balcony.

 

From what I have read, a reasonable number of water bottles can be brought aboard. I tend to drink tap water - it is of good quality and that is part of why I want ice twice a day - to chill it!

 

I have also enjoyed a dinner or two in the Windjammer and it is "calmer" at dinner and I found the quality to be good.

 

 

Thank you those tips are always welcome!

[hugger]

I see where we can bring a reasonable amount of water on - we are 3 in a cabin I wonder what reasonable is - water is my drink of choice. And, the ships water tends to make me retain water after 2-3 days.

 

Also, wondering IF we can take soda on to consume in our cabin?

 

BTW are there any happy hour's available in the bar's on the ship? Or drink special's at all?

 

THANK YOU for your help

[KirkNC]

Thanks for the report.

[Clarea]

I see where we can bring a reasonable amount of water on - we are 3 in a cabin I wonder what reasonable is - water is my drink of choice. And, the ships water tends to make me retain water after 2-3 days.

 

Also, wondering IF we can take soda on to consume in our cabin?...

Royal's rules prohibit bringing onboard any beverages other than the two 750ml bottles of wine, however they frequently don't enforce the rule in the case of water and soda.