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

[maxs mom]

We got everything moved ahead of schedule, so that was good. We were to meet at Guest Services at 9:15, but we got there about 20 minutes early. Like I said, there weren't many of us that were doing a B2B this time. Our friend, Amanda, was in charge of debarkation, so she took very good care of us. Getting off and getting back on was a very smooth process and we were back on board in no time. We went back to our cabin to rest for a while and put all our stuff away.

 

A little after noon we decided to get some lunch. All the new folks were coming on board. I noticed that the Park Café was open, so we went there. The masses were all in the Windjammer and there was no one at PC. We had the nicest and quietest lunch. I got a salad and a turkey panini. Really good!

 

 

While we were eating we noticed that the cruisers this week were far different from the previous week. The scooters, walkers, and disabled folks were replaced with young people and lots of girls in bikinis! I guess Spring Break was underway. Always interesting to see the dynamics change from week to week.

 

At 2:30 our roll call had arranged an informal meet in the Schooner Bar. I went down and looked around but I never saw anybody. There were two couples who said something to me about Cruise Critic, but they thought I worked for the cruise line and they started asking these questions and didn't seem to know anything about the roll call. It was kind of strange and was like a Twilight Zone kind of moment. I stayed until around 2:55 but no one said anything, so I left.

 

The Muster Drill was promptly at 3:30. It was quick and pretty much painless. After that we rested up until time to go out for the evening.

 

The CL was basically empty tonight. One person there recognized me as Max's Mom from Cruise Critic and that is always nice. Otherwise we had the place practically to ourselves. I found this Private Function sign back in the corner and started to put it up where we were sitting.....people would think we were real important! Ha Ha!

 

 

John made a meal off the chicken fingers in the CL tonight. They WERE delicious. I probably should have done that, too. We went on to the WJ for dinner and I wasn't real happy with what I selected.

 

We decided to try the casino again......big mistake.....big losers!! We went to bed after that.

[CRUISEMAMI]

Haha, I remember that sign!![emoji51]

[Vexorg]

I've been reading this with interest, as I'll be sailing on the Vision in a couple of weeks for my first RCCL cruise (I'm 1 away from Elite on Princess, but I've been wanting to try RCCL for a while now.)

[maxs mom]

I've been reading this with interest, as I'll be sailing on the Vision in a couple of weeks for my first RCCL cruise (I'm 1 away from Elite on Princess, but I've been wanting to try RCCL for a while now.)

 

i hope you will enjoy your cruise on Vision. Thanks for reading!

[jrosecox1]

Quick question on the rooms. I am reading a lot about chargers not being allowed in case they are surge protectors. Are there USB charging areas on this ship in the staterooms?

 

 

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[Clarea]

Quick question on the rooms. I am reading a lot about chargers not being allowed in case they are surge protectors. Are there USB charging areas on this ship in the staterooms?

No USB chargers in the staterooms on Vision.

Edited March 26, 2016 by clarea

[maxs mom]

We used to take a power strip, but they started taking those away. Now we take a small device with two regular plugs and two USB ports. Works fine.

[jrosecox1]

We used to take a power strip' date=' but they started taking those away. Now we take a small device with two regular plugs and two USB ports. Works fine.[/size']

 

 

Thank you. That is what I will look for.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

[maxs mom]

Sunday ~ March 6, 2016 ~ At Sea

 

Same morning routine. Beautiful view from the CL. Very quiet coffee time!

 

 

Same morning routine. Breakfast was good. Roland was still there and he remembered our orders. We went to the CL again after breakfast and I caught up with my journal.

 

The Meet and Mingle was scheduled for 11:00 this week and was held in the Viking Crown Lounge. Not as big of a crowd as last week. Elvis, the Activities Manager, was late, but he finally got there and we introduced ourselves quickly. He raffled off the very nice prizes. Again.....several bottles of wine, a couple of backpacks, a dinner at Chops, a dinner at Giovanni's, and a lunch in Giovanni's. We didn't win anything this time. We chatted with some folks for a while then went back to our cabin.

 

 

 

We had lunch at Park Café today. More people found it today, so there was a little line, but lunch was excellent there. We got some ice cream afterwards. The main pool area was jam packed! It gave me claustrophobia just walking across the pool deck to get ice cream. Glad to get away from there. The different demographics from last week is very apparent here. So we made it back to our wonderful cabin and enjoyed some serious rest time. Love this new cabin. These two cabins we've had on this ship have been the nicest we've had in a while.

 

Tonight is formal night.

 

 

In the CL we meet up with Len and Linda from Florida. Len is a fellow CCer and we enjoyed spending time with them all week in the CL.

 

[maxs mom]

We had dinner in Chops tonight. We used one of our BOGO's and paid for the other one which we will use on Friday night. I ordered my usual tonight......goat cheese salad and the petit filet.....BUT....I remembered to ask them to please not add any extra salt to my steak while they were cooking. What a difference!!!! My meal was wonderful! Best of the cruise. Of course we shared a cheesecake to top off the meal.

 

 

Warm goat cheese salad.

 

 

My saltless filet!!

 

 

Next we went to the theater and got seats for the show. I know!!!! Can you believe it!? It was a headliner show with an accapella group called Revoiced. They put on a good show and we enjoyed it.

 

 

Oh....I forgot to show you what we got in our cabin for formal night. Kind of pitiful.

 

 

This little guy reminded us of the time change this evening. We were wise to that this week!

 

 

There was lots of music going on in the Centrum, but with the fire doors closed.....we didn't hear a thing. We had a great night's sleep.

[maxs mom]

Monday ~ March 7, 2016 ~ Roatan

 

Same morning routine!

 

Cruising in to Roatan.

 

 

This morning we went to the CL before we docked and then MJ was able to take us down early and we missed the crowds and the lines!! We were first off! Here is MJ surveying the situation.

 

 

Here is Franca.....doing what she always does.....playing with her phone.

 

 

As soon as we got off the ship, we were cornered by the photography staff for a picture. I was standing right next to John, but as you can see.......he was elbowing me out of the picture!!!

 

 

As soon as we were outside the gates, we spotted our driver right away.

 

 

We waited for just a couple of minutes for one more couple and we were off to the beach.....same place as last week.....Fantasy Island. The other couple were doing a tour, but it didn't really start until they dropped us off, so we got out to the beach in good time today.

 

We had another fabulous day here.....Quiet.....no one around. We DID see a RCI excursion come through.....but they got in a boat at the marina and went on a snorkeling trip. They came back later and used the beach for about 10 minutes and left. The people I talked to said that the snorkeling was amazing.

 

We enjoyed the beach and the water all day. The only problem was ......it was very overcast all day......but that wasn't too bad.

 

[maxs mom]

More pictures of our wonderful day.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We had a couple of hamburgers for lunch. Our driver and the other couple came back for us at 3 o'clock and we made i

t back to the ship in plenty of time for ice cream and some good rest time.

[maxs mom]

Once back to Coxen Hole, you can always shop a little in the neat little shops that are there, or stop off here for a refreshing drink before getting back on the ship. Someone asked about this bar earlier. As you can see......it is right there in front of the ship.

 

 

 

Oh....here are some more pictures that I found of the day. On the way to the beach, we had to wait for these cows to cross the road!!

 

 

Overcast.....but still a very nice day.

 

 

 

[CntPAcruiser]

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 were on Vision in January '16 and were repeatedly told that the coffee machine was broken for the diamond breakfast area in the main dining room. It's amazing how long it's been "broken"!!! Obviously they do not want to expend the effort to serve specialty coffee at the diamond breakfast.

 

Like you, we also had an interesting time getting off the ship in certain ports. Everyone would line up in the stairwell, but then people would just show up on each deck and try to join the line, cutting in front of hundreds of others waiting above. There were almost a few fights. When we got down to the gangway deck, we saw those coming off the elevators being put in a line to wait to get off, and they alternated between the stair line and the elevator line.

Edited March 26, 2016 by CntPAcruiser

[silvermcs]

Really enjoying your review!

[caseythegr]

Monday ~ March 7' date=' 2016 ~ Roatan[/u']

 

 

This morning we went to the CL before we docked and then MJ was able to take us down early and we missed the crowds and the lines!! We were first off! Here is MJ surveying the situation.

 

 

 

Thank you Jane. We sailed the Vision in January and loved MJ. It was nice that he could take us out ahead of everyone else. Keep the pictures coming!

Laurie

[maxs mom]

As we were leaving Roatan today, I noticed bundles of something that were left on the dock. It kind of looked like bedding that they were leaving behind. We've seen them do this before.....leaving a bunch of mattresses on the dock in Labadee. Interesting,

 

 

The pilot.

 

 

In the CL this evening we met a nice couple from Scotland/New Jersey. The husband had an accident in the Windjammer that morning......bumped into another passenger accidentally and he fell. Later, his knee started swelling pretty badly. Turns out he broke his kneecap. He had a good attitude about it. They put a soft cast on it and he decided not to get off in Cozumel to get it checked out. He would wait to get back to New Jersey and would probably have to have surgery.

 

Tonight was dinner in the WJ. I was able to find something I liked. A nice salad, some pork loin from the carving station and some vegetables. Just right. Dessert was delicious.......a very fresh Boston Crème Pie type cake.

 

 

We also met a very nice and energetic crew member at the entrance to the WJ tonight. She is from Russia and we enjoyed talking with her throughout the week.

 

 

We were tired so we just went back to our cabin this evening.

[maxs mom]

Tuesday ~ March 8, 2016 ` Belize

 

Once again....we will stay on board today.

 

Had a nice leisurely breakfast and good conversation with the folks that joined us at the table. I changed things up a bit this morning and had a delicious egg white omelet.

 

 

We would meet up with most of these folks for breakfast this whole week. Delightful folks and we enjoyed meeting them.

 

 

After breakfast, John headed for the CL for some quiet time and I went to the Solarium. Nice and quiet there today. I stayed there until lunchtime.

 

 

 

 

 

Lunch was in the WJ. Then back to the cabin. I started a new book, so I spent all afternoon with that. Nothing better!

 

[maxs mom]

Nice sunset this evening.

 

 

The CL was very nice and quiet this evening. We chatted with a young couple from Michigan.

 

Dinner was in the Windjammer once again. I found some coq au vin that was pretty good. I added a salad to that. They had a make your own crepe station tonight AND a make your own fruit flambe station. I opted for the fruit flambe and it was delicious. I also had a small piece of key lime pie to go with that. It would have been rude not to!!

 

 

 

Yum!! Key Lime Pie! One of the best desserts of the whole week!

 

 

We had to set our clocks ahead tonight......we were tired from all the resting we did all day long, so we decided to call it a night. The Love and Marriage Show was this evening, but it was over an hour away, so we opted for the cabin instead!

 

[maxs mom]

Wednesday ~ March 9, 2016 ~ Costa Maya (Maybe)

 

Got up early this morning. Looking forward to getting back to Costa Maya. But when I was in the bathroom getting ready....I could feel a good bit of motion on the sea! Not a good sign. When I went up to the CL for coffee, I could see that we were trying to approach the dock, but waves were rolling over it.....another bad sign. It was so rough that the pilot could not get on board. I was not surprised when the Captain came on the PA and announced that we would not be porting in Costa Maya today. We would have a day at sea. Oh well......there are worse things! So glad that we had a nice day there last week. Costa Maya is a little bit like Coco Cay.....it's hit or miss every week.

 

Here we come:

 

 

There we go:

 

 

Really choppy seas today!

 

 

 

So we just relaxed a while in the CL and our cabin. We had a nice lunch in the Park Café. Lots of reading and resting today.

 

This was a formal night. I had nursed a sinus headache all day so I wasn't feeling my best. We had a nice visit with others in the CL this evening followed by a very peasant meal in the WJ. It was Mexican night so I got a taco and some salad. Then I had one of those cranberry white chocolate cookies for dessert.

 

 

We decided to stop in to the casino after dinner. We each had $20 worth of fun and then we called it a night. We were still rocking and rolling on the high seas!!

[maxs mom]

Thursday ~ March 10, 2016 ~ Cozumel

 

It was a bumpy ride last night but things calmed down a bit and we were able to dock in Cozumel early this morning. Yay! Only one problem. I couldn't find my paperwork for Nachi Cocom! I couldn't find it in my e-mail either. We decided to go on out there anyway.....and they were very nice.....even though they were full....they let us in. I e-mailed Island Marketing that morning to see if they could help and lo and behold.....they sent the confirmation to Nachi and they brought my deposit back to me on the beach. Great company to work with!!

 

It was, again, crowded today but we got there early and got a great spot in front of the pool area. It turned out to be a beautiful day and we enjoyed it, although the surf was a little rough....making swimming a little treacherous, but that didn't stop me!! I still went out a couple of times with my noodle! The water was great!

 

 

 

 

Bloody Mary to start!

 

 

Beer to follow!

 

 

I ordered fajitas for lunch.. Great choice!! John, of course, had hot dogs! SMH

 

[maxs mom]

Such a nice day today. So glad to have a day like this for our last port day!!

 

 

 

 

 

Now I had been looking forward to this cruise for many reasons.....one of them being that the famous clarea (Bob), from Cruise Critic would be on board!! I looked all over for him on the ship, but was not successful in finding him. I knew that he was going to be at Nachi today, so while I was on a walk down the beach, I thought I saw him.....actually sitting fairly close to where we were. I went up to him and asked if he was Bob and sure enough.....he was!! So nice to meet him and his wife. Bob is such a valuable source of information here on Cruise Critic. He wouldn't let me take his picture, but when he and his wife came over to our palapa to visit later......he took a picture of us. So here is the picture taken by the famous Bob (clarea)!! Always fun to meet a CC legend!

 

 

After lunch, I took a dip in the pool and up to the swim up bar to get a mudslide for dessert. Very nice!

 

We stayed here until 3 o'clock and quickly got aa taxi back to the ship. We shared with 4 other people going to the Carnival ship. The taxi driver still charged us the full fare even though we shared. That had not been our experience in the past. A little annoying.

 

 

[Clarea]

Love those fajitas Jane, and I see you did get a photo of us, but lucky for all, very hard to make out.:)

[maxs mom]

Love those fajitas Jane, and I see you did get a photo of us, but lucky for all, very hard to make out.:)

 

Ha Ha!! I noticed that, too. We'll keep you a mystery! I only saw your legs!

[CRUISEMAMI]

That's funny that legs can take nice pic of you and John!

[emoji1][emoji1][emoji1]