Review- Feb 5, Vision of the Seas- Mexican Riviera

[kalishea]

I hope that this is breaking an duplicate post rules, but I thought this review should be in both the RC thread and the Mexican Riv. thread.

 

I just returned from the Febuary 5, 2006 sailing of Vision of the Seas to the Mexican Riviera. I would like to take this time to post a review.

 

Flight/LAX- Sunday, Feb 5- we departed Salt Lake City at 11:40 am on Southwest airlines. We arrived at LAX at approx. 12:30 pm and quickly found the RC rep for our transportation to San Pedro. The ride to the pier was on a large tour bus and took approx. 20 mins. It went smooth and I was happy that I arranged that beforehand with RC.

 

Embarkation- We only had to wait in line to check in about 15 mins. There was not a line at the security check in and then it was off to the ship. It seemed very smooth to us first timers. Because of the Super Bowl, the Muster Drill was postponed until half time. It took approx. 30 mins.

 

The Food- For breakfast we usually ate at the Windjammer. It was average overall, some things better then others, but we didn't expect too much from a buffet. We also ate breakfast in the dining room twice. Both times the food was very good. Durning the day we would grab a piece of pizza or a burger at the Solarium Cafe and were satisfied until dinner. We also ate at the Afternoon Tea in the Windjammer once and really enjoyed the food there. We ate every night in the Aquerias dining room, second seating. We loved our waiter, Rodgie and we loved everything we ate. We did not have one complaint with the food in the dining room. We did not us the room service. Another favorite was the ice cream machine. That was a daily must.

 

The Ship- We thought that the ship was beautiful, especially the Centrium. It always seemed clean. We liked the ample seating, especially for whale watching. I can't imagine being on a larger ship, we got lost a couple times on this one. It seemed like a perfect ship for us.

 

Our Room- We had an interior stateroom, #4563, on the 4th level. At first we thought we would be down in no mans land, but it turns out we were on the perfect level for easy access to most things. The room was small, but was never an issue for us. The bathroom was clean and well lit but the shower was very small, hard to not touch the shower curtain while showering. (which bothers me :rolleyes: ) I guess I had higher expectations for the shower. Our room attendant was Lennox and he did a great job. We were also surprised by TV stations. We were able to watch some great new release movies and keep entertained while getting ready. I would stay in the same room again.

 

Activities- We kept fairly busy durning the days at sea. There was always something to do, just depended on if we wanted to do it. We enjoyed the pool and the upper deck for walking. We never went to the spa or workout classes, but heard a lot of good things about them. The shows were just ok. I don't have anything to compare them to.

 

Ports- We enjoyed all the ports. In Cabo, we didn't schedule an excursion and just walked around and shopped. We wish we would have seen more, but that was our own fault. In Mazatlan, we schedule our own excursion, Randi's Happy Horses. That was a blast, our favorite thing. For more information on that, go to one of the many threads about Randi's. In Puerta Vallarta, we schedule our own Canopy tour through Los Vernaos (spelling?). That was really fun. We felt that Puerta Vallarta was by far the more beautiful of all the ports. Unfortunately our time was cut short there because of some problems with the ship.

 

Customer Service- Because of the problems with the ship, we had to rearrange our flight schedule, as did most of the passengers. The pursers desk was helping and accomodating. (expect for one specific lady that was a little clueless, but we would just go to someone else with our questions). We were able to us the phones and internet for free to change our flights.

 

Disembarktion- Because of our late arrival back to San Pedro, we didn't have to be out of our rooms until 10:00 am. After that we waited in the Showboat Lounge until our tag was called. It took just over hour and before we knew it we were on our way to LAX. We were on the 2nd bus to leave and were to LAX at approx. 12:45. Disembarktion was a lot smoother than I thought it would be.

 

Like I said before, this was our first cruise and so this is my first review. If there is something else that I should comment on, I would be happy to do so. Or if something is not clear, I will clarify.

On that note, I would just like to say our first cruise was a great and we can't wait to go back. Luckly for us it was a very positive experience and we will probably us RC for our next cruise.

 

Kalishea

[merrysunshine320]

Thanks so much for your review! I'll be on this ship March 12!

 

I also wanted to say that I think it's SUPER that you had such a great attitude despite the problems with the ship and the rescheduling that had to be done, etc. I think what can make or break a vacation is your own approach/attitude toward inevitable problems that can crop up. And the problems Vision is having sound major, if they're having to change itineraries, etc.

 

On a cruise of Alaska last year, we were seated with a couple who absolutely embarrassed themselves by how poorly they treated the waiters in the dining room. They found something wrong with everything.

 

Like I said, it's all about the attitude. Thanks again for the review! Glad you had a good time!

[kalishea]

merrysunshine320,

Your welcome. Like I said before, we felt that RC handled the problems well. It could have been a disaster. We were compensated for the flight changes, taxi's and if we had to stay over night in LA. Luckily we were able to get on a late flight.

I was shocked by the amount of people that complain and what they complain about. I guess to each his own, but the complaints we heard amazed us. Wow.

Maybe we were with the same people at our table that were on your cruise! :D We had a couple that freaked out everynight! The man would tell the waiter to get him something else because his meal was 1) too salty 2) didn't like the taste and then while the waiter was getting him something else, he would finish his first dish and then eat the second. One night he demanded the manager. After talking to the head waiter for a bit, demanded the manager again. The head waiter said he was the one, to which the man said "Bring me the captain!" His request was not met, obvisously and the head waiter calmed him. Another pair that was on our table told him that if he was going to continue to yell and complain, then to take it out of the dining room so we could enjoy our meal. Needless to say he did calm down.

Anyway, have fun in March and report back!

Kalishea