LIVE FROM VISION... rocking our way to Belize~

[Dinkachu]

 

We left Tampa about 5 pm on Saturday, March 12, to Celebrate our 25th anniversary on pretty little Vision of the Seas. This is my 13th cruise, our 9th with RCI and our first time on Vision of the Seas. We are traveling with a total group of 16 people in 8 cabins - 1 Grande Suite, 6 Balcony Cabins, 1 Accessible Balcony Cabin.

 

Having just sailed on Allure for Christmas 2015, we found departure from Tampa a nightmare compared to departure at Ft Lauderdale. It took 4 times as long to get aboard and we found dock #2 small, understaffed and a bit disorganized. I travel in a wheelchair, and at Lauderdale, we had help from the minute we got out of our van. We struggled with no help until we actually got on the ship this time. Obviously, the are not RCI issues, but problems with the Port at Tampa.

We only live 15 minutes from the Tampa Port, but have booked Christmas 2016 on Serenade out of Lauderdale.

 

Once onboard, we were pleasantly surprised with both the beautifully decorated and charming Vision of the Seas. The staff has been outstanding so far.

 

Windjammer is located at the FRONT of the boat on Vision; plenty of windows provide for a beautiful view. We had no issues finding a table where we met our friends for lunch. The selection in Windjammer was quite varied. If you go hungry in Windjammer, it is your own fault!

 

Our rooms were ready by 1 pm. Gus, our room attendant was attentive and eager to make our trip a success. The cabin (an accessible balcony on floor 7) was HUGE. It is the largest cabin we have ever sailed in. Our friends had the room decorated for our anniversary through RCI and we were impressed!

 

Muster drill was painless, well organized and short. One thing I really appreciated on Vision, was that they had cruise staff keeping one elevator open for those of us with mobility issues. It made getting to muster easy instead of stressful.

 

Our departure was delayed and the bad weather had begun to move in as we sailed. It was gloomy when we went under the Sunshine Skyway bridge between 5:30 and 6 pm, so we didn't have the best view passing under the bridge. We could see it from the windows of the dining room, and even the shadow of the bridge so close to our mast was impressive.

 

Our evening meal was traditional first seating in the MDR. We had a nice table in the center of the room. Jorge, our waiter was wonderful. Our servers were pleasant, professional and went out of their way to make our meal pleasant. The menu is the exact menu we had on Allure, but our food arrived HOT and seemed more skillfully prepared than the same dishes on Allure. Granted, Allure is feeding 6,500 cruisers, and Vision only a fraction of that - but we noticed an improvement in our first evening meal.

 

We finished our first night at sea with trivia in Schooner bar. I tried out our internet. While we are pleased they have pervasive internet on Vision, so I can access from my room instead of a common area, it is much slower than Voom on Allure - so a bit of patience is required.

 

The boat is rocking in strong winds and choppy seas, and we have opted to spend time inside!

 

Overall, we are enchanted with our first trip on the charming Vision of the Seas. We have found the staff friendlier and happier than the group on Allure at Christmas.

 

We'll be glad to answer any questions if we are able to do so!

Edited March 13, 2016 by Dinkachu

[preschool teacher]

Happy Anniversary!!!! Enjoy your trip....we cruise the Vision 2 Christmas' ago and loved it.....great ship and we had good food too! I love the ports that you are going to.

[bunnyrab]

Thanks for the report. Glad you are enjoying yourself.

 

Happy 25th Anniversary.

 

Heather.

[heatherb1958]

Happy Anniversary!

 

we sailed on Vision 4 times last year, loved every cruise. We spent Christmas and New year on her and had a wonderful time though we will be with you on Serenade this Christmas:).

Who is the Hotel Director? We had Sanjay, knew him from Serenade but he is moving to Freedom.

[JustUs275]

Thanks for the live review! We will be boarding the Vision this Saturday. I'm glad to hear the positive comments about the ship, service and food! :)

[lulurobby]

We got of the Vision on Saturday, the last few days the seas where choppy we missed the third port of call. Nice cruise would do the itinerary again. Arrived at the port at 10.15 and Watson the ship at 10.45. The same getting off we had a 8.50 departure time was actually called at 8.20. Hope you have a good time.

[kandj05]

That is our favorite ship. Great staff. V in the DL is amazing

[caseythegr]

 

We'll be glad to answer any questions if we are able to do so!

 

Love the Vision, we sailed her in January. If you like Cosmopolitans, go to the R Bar, hands down the best I ever had. If it's not to much trouble, can you get a picture of the drink menu in the R Bar? Thank you.

 

Is Mama doing the trivia? She is a hoot!

 

Happy cruising.

Laurie