My Diary: Vision B2B ~ Feb. 27th & Mar. 5th

[maxs mom]

Hello Everyone!! It's been a while! Sorry I was remiss on reviewing our last three cruises. There were a couple of illnesses and the holidays that got in the way. It's been a long time since our last cruise.......a whole two months! Time to come out of hibernation and get some Vitamin Sea!!

 

We love this itinerary that the Vision has been doing out of Tampa. So we booked the Feb. 27th leg of the trip a long time ago. We added on the March 5th leg a lot later. We procrastinated in getting our air.....so it got too expensive. That meant that we had to drive down to Tampa from North Carolina, but that was not a problem.....just a few extra days and some hotel rooms!

 

Our journey started with a two day drive down to Tampa. In Tampa, we met up with some cruise buddies who live there, George and Mary. They showed us a good time the night before the cruise. We went to two local breweries.....had a great meal.....and sampled some wonderful brews. I haven't had that much beer in a long time. I slept well that night.

 

We stayed at the Marriott Courtyard Westport (at the airport). Nice hotel. I would stay there again. We usually like to get to the port fairly early, but one thing led to another and that put us at the cruise port a little later than we like to get there. That meant that the masses had started to arrive. We made reservations at an off site car park which was right across the street. The name is Park4Cruise and the cost was $125 for the two weeks. It was easy to find with our GPS, and we were parked, in the shuttle, and transferred to the ship in no time.

 

Things were a little crazy at the terminal. The lines were long to get in and go through security, but they moved fairly quickly. There were some rather mean ladies that directed us over to this table to fill out the health questionnaire before we could get in a line to the check in counters. When we finally got to the check in counter, we found ourselves jammed up against a lot of other people. There was hardly any room there at all. It was a difficult process.....but we were finally on our way to the ship. On the way in.....we were able to make our Chops reservations for the night.....so that was done.

 

So here we are getting on board. We are Jane and John from North Carolina. We are 30+ year RCI veterans. We are both retired and this is our first cruise(s) of 2016.

 

 

It was well past noon by this time. Cabins opened up at 1:00, so we just found a comfy spot to sit on Deck 5 until then. We heard our first Alpha call while we were waiting.......first of many. Turns out this was a Disabled Cruiser Convention!! No wonder there were so many walkers and scooters around. We were the young whipper snappers on this sailing!!

 

Cabins opened up at 1:00 so we went on up to Deck 7 and found our wonderful D1 cabin for this leg of the trip.......Cabin 7112......just off the Centrum. I really liked this cabin. It had great storage space, and the bed was placed near the bathroom, so it felt more spacious. The bathroom was a little more spacious as well. The only problem was the shower had the dreaded shower curtain, making it very difficult when taking a shower. But I got used to it.

 

 

It had a very nice, although small, balcony.

 

 

 

We unpacked our carry ons then went to lunch in the WJ. I had my usual salad and protein from the carving station, then we stopped at the ice cream machine for dessert. (We must have this every day!!!)

 

 

We are professionals at using this machine! We often teach people how to use it properly!

 

 

This is John's cone. Do you think he got enough!?

[dsvd79]

Woo Hoo another review!

[maxs mom]

On the Vision, they bring the luggage up to the Centrum area of each deck just behind the elevators. As we were walking back to our cabin, we spotted our luggage and took it back with us. We were then able to unpack everything and get settled in before Muster.

 

Muster was at 3:30. We had to stand outside, but we waited until the last minute to go out so we wouldn't have to stand that long. It was a pretty short Muster Drill as those things go. Not bad at all. While we were standing there, we heard this loud "plop" sound from the station next to us. Then there was the second alpha call of the cruise. Oh my!!

 

 

Our small roll call group were to meet at the Pool Bar after muster, so I went up there to see if anyone would come. Sure enough, there was Paul and his wife. Paul pretty much kept the roll call going and kept up with the list for everybody. Great job, Paul!

 

 

Soon more folks came and we had a nice gathering.

 

 

Nice weather for sail away.

 

 

The professional dancers got things started and soon everyone joined in.

 

 

Lots of good music out by the pool!

 

So long, Tampa!!

 

[Canadian Tyler]

I've been worried since I haven't seen you diaries lately! Glad to see one again. Looking forward to seeing which beaches you visited.

[CRUISEBOY305]

two whole months Jane?????? :eek::eek::eek::eek:

 

You poor thing. I've been in dry dock for 2 months also. Next cruise is the Vision TA in 3.5 weeks.

 

Look forward to your review :D

[maxs mom]

I went back to the cabin to rest up before going out for the evening.

 

On the way to the Concierge Lounge. It can be a little tricky using the elevators to get up to Deck 11 but it is easy to figure out. We heard a lot of people complaining about the elevators, but you get used to it......some people just had a hard time figuring it out. Only one set of elevators goes all the way up.

 

 

We found the Concierge Lounge surprisingly NOT busy. Only a few couples there. But then, we like to go late. The door to the Viking Crown was open and there were a few people sitting in there. Nice idea. Nice view from up here. It would be this nice and quiet for the whole two weeks!

 

 

We immediately met Mangesh, or MJ, the Concierge. What a delightful person. We knew him slightly from the Freedom. MJ was really great to us for the whole two weeks. We had a great time with him!

 

 

We also met Christian, the bartender, from Romania. He would be with us here for both weeks. Another really great crew member! He will soon be going to the Anthem. He kept us supplied with wine and Amstel Lights.

 

 

It was just so lovely and peaceful in here. Great view and nice atmosphere. Quite a difference from the Serenade in December......where you had a hard time getting a seat and it was loud and crazy. We eventually met up with the couple sitting behind us and had a nice conversation with them. We would meet up with them every night. The configuration of the CL is such that it is hard to have conversations with others but we usually found a way.

 

[maxs mom]

Tyler......some great beach days ahead. Stay tuned!

 

Cruiseboy.....I know several folks on that TA. You'll have a great time!

Edited March 22, 2016 by max'smom

[CRUISEBOY305]

Tyler......some great beach days ahead. Stay tuned!

 

Cruiseboy.....I know several folks on that TA. You'll have a great time!

 

it seems everyone I know is on that TA :eek::eek::eek:

[KirkNC]

Thanks for your report!

[kleo30]

What a treat. I always enjoy your diaries Jane. Looking forward to seeing your beach days, too.

[maxs mom]

We left the CL around 8:00. We had reservations at Chops tonight to use one of our BOGO's. Chops was very nice. Excellent service. Great food. We ordered our usuals, but John added the bacon appetizer. Mmmmm......was that good!! It could be a meal! We ended our meal by splitting the cheesecake and having coffee. Before we left, we made a reservation for Chops again on Tuesday night and paid for it so we could use our second BOGO. Very nice to be able to do that.

 

My usual petit filet:

 

 

John's yummy French Onion Soup:

 

 

Dessert!

 

 

A very nice evening!

 

 

While we were there, the Captain.....Michael Lindberg.....came in a spoke with us for a little bit That was nice.

 

After dinner, we went to the casino. I was kind of disappointed in the machines there. They have updated to mostly all the new machines......mostly penny slots that make no sense to me. The older machines weren't the fun ones.....NO Wheel of Fortune machines at all! We quickly lost our limit so we went back to the cabin and retired for the evening. It was a long and busy day!

[tonkie]

Enjoying your review and pictures, we are on The Vision in September

[Keith1010]

Grat report.

 

Keith

[CRUISEBOY305]

the cheesecake looks sinful :eek:

[maxs mom]

February 28, 2016 ~ At Sea

 

Up around 7:00 this morning. I go to the CL every morning for coffee and some quiet time before breakfast. Only one other person there. Very nice. I get some journal writing done at this time. Looks like a nice day out. Very windy. Many people are already out walking and running the track.

 

 

Here is Paul's wife from the roll call. Good for her!!

 

 

When John was ready, we found the special area for breakfast for us on Deck 4. Very nice area that we used every day. We love to eat a very good breakfast and we're kind of boring because we order almost the same thing every day. There was one waiter that was with us there for both weeks. His name is Rolland and he was very, very good to us.

 

Oh I forgot to tell you that also sailing with us this cruise and next are our cruise buddies, Franca and Bill. Bill is going to be 91 next month and he is still going strong......cruising more often that we do!! Here is Rolland with Franca and Bill. They were already in the dining room when we got down there this morning.

 

 

 

Franca's favorite expression is "Let me tell you"......and she is always telling John something!!

 

 

One of our staples for breakfast every morning:

 

[CRUISEBOY305]

91? WOW....Bless him

[vickiw0318]

So good to see a picture of Franca!

[maxs mom]

We had a leisurely breakfast and then we all went up to the CL for more coffee and reading time. Franca loves cappuccino and we could not get that in the dining area like we were supposed to. They said the machine was broken.....but those who had the drink package were served their cappuccino. Hmmmm......Anyway.....on sea days......we spend a lot of time here reading and relaxing.

 

 

 

We stayed here until it was time to go to the Meet and Mingle which was in the Some Enchanted Evening Lounge at 11:30. So when we get there.....Bingo is going on and they were taking their time finishing up. Meanwhile.....all us CCer's had to wait. We had a nice turn out, though. Some people who posted and some people that didn't.

 

 

Elvis, the Activities Manager, ran things at the M&M. We all went around and introduced ourselves.

 

 

They had some really nice prizes to raffle off, including some very nice backpacks, bottles of wine, dinner at Chops, Dinner at Giovani's, and lunch at Giovani's. We lucked up and won the dinner at Chops!! Oh boy! Three nights at Chops this week!!

 

One of our members, Paul.....did a very nice job of keeping things going on the thread. He also gave everyone a map at the M&M that had the US on it and it had where everyone was from on it. Very nice touch.

 

We headed over to Park Café after this for some lunch. I had a salad with some of the roast beef on top. Love to eat lunch here. John loves the roast beef sandwiches.

 

[maxs mom]

91? WOW....Bless him

 

Erik C.!!!!! IS that you??! The avatar is so small, I can't tell!

[CRUISEBOY305]

Erik C.!!!!! IS that you??! The avatar is so small' date=' I can't tell![/size']

 

Haha!!! Yes it's me. i thought you knew my CC name :D

[maxs mom]

The afternoon was spent reading and relaxing in our beautiful cabin. We took our time getting ready for the evening. It was formal night. About the only time we can get a picture of us together is when we are in the elevator.

 

 

We enjoyed our time in the CL this evening. We visited with our new friends, Norm and Karen from Florida.

 

.

 

Franca and Bill came in after their dinner:

 

 

And we met up with another couple that we have cruised with a few times before.....Ed and Mieko. They were on their way to eat with the Captain. It was good to see them again. We are always running into people we have cruised with before......so cool!

 

 

When the CL closed, we just went up to the Windjammer to get dinner tonight. Actually we ate in the Windjammer for dinner the whole two weeks except for the nights we went to Chops. It was just OK, but we thought we would do something different for a change.

 

 

Not many people in here tonight, but most other nights, there were quite a few folks in there. One thing about eating here.....it's fast!!!

 

We were able to get to the casino in record time this evening to throw away more money!!

 

Back to the cabin where we found a note that said to turn our clocks back a hour. Glad we saw that because that's the first we heard about that. I guess that's what you get for not going to any shows or to the dining room!!

 

This little guy was waiting on us. A very nice day.

 

 

[maxs mom]

Haha!!! Yes it's me. i thought you knew my CC name :D

 

No.....I've never seen you on CC, only FB!! Well, well! No wonder you know a lot of people on the TA!! LOL!

[Kcjarvis]

Well it's about time... All hail the Queen Of CC Reviews!!!!!!!!

[maxs mom]

Well it's about time... All hail the Queen Of CC Reviews!!!!!!!!

 

LOL!, Ken! You're a trip!! When's your next cruise?

[micmacmissy]

Yay, Jane's back! Love reading your reviews Jane!