A Brief Review - VOTS July 5th 2019 MED Cruise

[johnjen]

Boarding - In Barcelona they began letting folk board the ship around 11am. There was no pre-boarding for suite guests, just an "everyone may commence boarding now." After all, I think there must have only been around 200 boarding at the time. We noticed bus loads of people boarding just before final boarding call.

Our first time on Vision, we noticed the ship appeared a bit worn down from age. This was in the drapes, furniture, carpeting. A good high dusting was needed and maybe some new decor. There was supposed to have been a recent refurbishing/yard period, but we saw no evidence of this. Honestly, I am under the impression that Vision could possibly be up for retirement....? Hope not. Smaller ships are not only needed by RCL - a lot of folk prefer the smaller ships as we do. 

Our cabin was 8092, JS, aft. We were very impressed by the aft balcony size. We had two loungers, two chairs and a larger than expected table. There was still room for two more loungers! The cabin itself was much larger. No need for the magnetic wall hooks as two were installed (we haven't seen wall hooks on the newer, larger vessels).

Dining - Fantastic service and experience! We were seated with a large Aussie family that we ended up looking to them as our own family. One of the best things ever is booking a large table of 10 or more and meeting new friends! Both Slavisa and Lester, our waiters, did a superb job.
Windjammer - well laid out and great choices during breakfast.
Dining Room Breakfast - We only did this a couple of times. Eggs took a bit longer and they didn't turn out well.  
Head Waiter - She was very personable and made appearances every single night at our table.
NOTE: Our table would be in deep conversation only to be interrupted almost nightly by hearing the loud announcement "can we have your attention please" where the waiters and wait staff were giving us "the show parade" - I think just ONE evening of that is sufficient, so please ease up on that.

Meals - There were a couple of instances we found uninterested in the main menu selections. On one occasion my Ahi grilled tuna was raw. The wait staff went out of their way to try and correct this but to me it wasn't a big concern as everything else fell awesomely into place.

Chef's Table - with the 40% discount and the fantastic service provided by Almarin from Albania (he looked like Robin Williams) he made everything extra special. Every single course was outstanding as the choice of wines. Only one red during the pairing but the whites were fantastic. The chef, she came out to observe our reactions as we tasted her offerings. I have never seen this practice before but it was actually very appreciated. She cared very much with what she was creating.

Chops Grille - THIS time, NO BRAZINI "fish at a steak place" (I haven't lived that down)....got the lobster bisque as our appetizers and then came those perfectly prepared petite filet mignons for the two of us and they were FABULOUS. I haven't eaten a steak so amazing like this! We skipped the desserts (SHOCK). I know, we pay extra, for this meal - but the experience overall was appreciated! This was at a 6pm seating. Realizing we had time to make it to our regular late dining seating, we mainly wanted to be with our "family" that night anyway - so we just had an appetizer and I had a couple of beers. That family we sat with made our cruise extra special. We really miss them!

Cruise Itinerary - Relaxing sea days. Great excursions except one - in Cannes, the bus trip to Monaco and Monte Carlo. She was just overtly talkative and was holding up lunch until well into 1:30pm. At one point I asked if she was maybe a teacher at one time. She took that as an insult.....why? The rest of the excursions were fantastic, however. In Rome, we did the "Express train to Rome" excursion. The guide's assistance and advice paid off and we were so happy we paid the extra money for this one rather than getting train tickets on our own. LaSpezia, took the Florence and Pisa tour. In Pireaus/Athens, our tour director was the same lady DW had there when she took students there just this past March on a Celestyal cruise! Mykonos and Santorini were wine tasting tours. Malta, we did the "Grand Malta Highlights" well planned and laid out with an outstanding buffet lunch at a Radisson hotel.

The only big complaints from us, was the noise streaming from the canned trio band that played along with tracks in the Centrum where we couldn't hear the guest services, excursion desk, or planning our Next Cruise due to the din from the band, including the cruise director yelling out doing his thing for a dance instruction. That, to us at least, was particularly very annoying. When you're talking to Guest Services, both parties cannot hear each other.
Cabin Attendant and Cleanliness - Superb gentleman named Ikomang did an amazing job of taking great care of our cabin. I've never been complimented before by a cabin attendant by him saying "thank you for keeping your cabin so organized" we noticed several open cabins nearby that were littered with junk and clothing strewn everywhere. How could he possibly clean around the clutter like that? There was the typical CHT/sewage odor occasionally, but that happens now and then on ships.

Obnoxious Neighbors - So there we were a couple of lazy days out on our balcony, reading our books in peace and quiet. Then the neighbor's door would slam open and shut repeatedly.  Loud kids and adults, they were just a very obnoxious group. It figures that the "Blue tshirt gang" we noticed during boarding, would end up being our neighbors. It was like having walmart next door....apartment dwellers, probably. Family obnoxious Americanus! Keep the noise DOWN next time you cruise, PLEASE be considerate of your neighbors.
Cruise Entertainment - A couple doing an acrobatic dance act were fantastic! The photo album display of them and their children was very touching. BEATLE MANIACS. WOW! RCL, get more live bands like them that are not canned or equipped with iPads. WE WANT THE REAL THING. Other than these two acts we were not that impressed. RCL needs SERIOUS improvements in entertainment overall, but I think they're on their way of getting there.
Trivia - Good variety of sessions and questions! That gal from Newcastle hosting was really accommodating!
Schooner Bar - your wait and bar staff were awesome! Good humor and communication.

The piano guy - Very entertaining, loved his takes on popular tunes.
Overall - Although the ship is dated, it was a fantastic cruise, wonderful experience, good itinerary. I would strongly recommend this cruise. Later on tonight I'll post some photos of our amazing time.

[Clarea]

Thanks for the detailed review.

 

With regard to the MDR singing/parade/interruptions, this has seemed to have gotten worse in recent months.  At one time, corporate management said they would only interrupt once per cruise, but that seems to have gone by the wayside.  Royal seems to want to make the MDR experience less appealing.

[loveheart]

Great review thank you. i think we are doing the same cruise next year. I can't wait now. 🙂

[Cobbie48]

Ate in Chops 3x on Baltic cruise on Brilliance. Agree that the petite steak was to die for. Only ate in MDR 3x and never had the parade. Final night in Windjammer. Got bored with Wj dinners. It was too cold to sit outside so WJ seats very crowded. Loved the cruise tho.