Just off Vision out of Baltimore

[HBCcruiser]

11 minutes ago, Rogueperson said:

i call it a stargate, if you know, you know).

LOL! I do too! 

[jwitt2]

34 minutes ago, Rogueperson said:

I am unsure of the schedule of the top of my head, but when i went there last September, there was a free (yes free) tour that met at the Stargate (yeah, i call it a stargate, if you know, you know).  The cool thing was that they had a couple actors spread out over the Dockyard where we would "encounter" them and they would tell their story.  It lasted maybe 2 hours at most.  I thought it was fun.

When we were on our honeymoon to Bermuda in 1967 and back for anniversaries and other trips, they were called Moongates. But I guess I am old, don't understand.

[Rogueperson]

3 minutes ago, jwitt2 said:

When we were on our honeymoon to Bermuda in 1967 and back for anniversaries and other trips, they were called Moongates. But I guess I am old, don't understand.

They are technically called Moongates, but @HBCcruiser knows why i call them stargates.

[HBCcruiser]

5 minutes ago, Rogueperson said:

They are technically called Moongates, but @HBCcruiser knows why i call them stargates.

Exactly! Dial the Gate!

[Another_Critic]

13 minutes ago, jwitt2 said:

When we were on our honeymoon to Bermuda in 1967 and back for anniversaries and other trips, they were called Moongates. But I guess I am old, don't understand.

 

9 minutes ago, Rogueperson said:

They are technically called Moongates, but @HBCcruiser knows why i call them stargates.

 

3 minutes ago, HBCcruiser said:

Exactly! Dial the Gate!

 

[Rogueperson]

6 minutes ago, HBCcruiser said:

Exactly! Dial the Gate!

No DHD!!!!!!

[xtremegk]

Bermuda fan here.

 

With Royal, I definitely find Cape Liberty to be the port to sail out of, especially for the single-overnight trips. Takes the ships longer to make their way to the ocean from Baltimore, so the arrival time is several hours later than it is for ships sailing from NJ.

[juncos]

On 6/22/2023 at 1:31 PM, KPookey said:

Any questions??
 

We sailed the 5 day to Bermuda.   It was very easy to get on and off the ship. The app made things really easy!!
Bermuda won’t go down as my favorite itinerary.  It is very beautiful, but there was a lack of things to do right off the ship. 
The Carribean party vibe is lacking in Bermuda, but this cruise is a great pick for families and older people. 
That being said, we did have a nice trip. 

Do you have a copy of the compass?Any day will do.Glad to pay for any expenses.

Thanks

[KPookey]

No copy, sorry. We exclusively used the app. 

[Merion_Mom]

9 hours ago, juncos said:

Do you have a copy of the compass?Any day will do.Glad to pay for any expenses.

Thanks

 

Do you only want the five night Cruise Compasses?  I have the 9 night ones.

[juncos]

7 hours ago, Merion_Mom said:

 

Do you only want the five night Cruise Compasses?  I have the 9 night ones.

Only the latest trip 6/23 23 from Baltimore,Vision of the seas.

Thanks,

Regards

[katsn1011]

• Does anyone know if the casino does Texas Hold Em  Tournaments, going in July someone in our group is looking to play. Thanks

[Alamana]

On 6/29/2023 at 7:11 AM, juncos said:

Only the latest trip 6/23 23 from Baltimore,Vision of the seas.

Thanks,

Regards

 

I was on Vision on the 6/17-6/22 sailing, and we were only given 1/5 Cruise Compasses. Unfortunately I didn't keep it, otherwise I'd give it to you. But lack of service was a thing, so lots of folks might not have Cruise Compasses. 

 

[schlimazel_traveler]

On 6/27/2023 at 4:25 PM, Alamana said:

We thought the food and service was downright bad, so much so that after the second night we relied on specialty dining. The staff was nice, but the ship seemed very understaffed. The food in the MDR was awful and the buffet was cheap hot dogs and hamburgers like in a school cafeteria.

Oh dear. This comports with our prior experience on Vision. I had hoped for a change in Food & Beverage Manager by 4+ years later. 

 

@Merion_Mom, I am looking forward to your unvarnished impressions. On a scale of "Grandeur before the pandemic" to "middle school lunchroom."

[moposh]

On 6/27/2023 at 12:17 AM, Merion_Mom said:

 

Just a quick note.  Bermuda is not in the Caribbean, and thus is not a Caribbean island.  It's in the North Atlantic.  It's pretty much due east of South Carolina.  🙂 

About 400 miles from NC.

[Alamana]

1 hour ago, schlimazel_traveler said:

Oh dear. This comports with our prior experience on Vision. I had hoped for a change in Food & Beverage Manager by 4+ years later. 

 

Yeah, it was pretty darned bad, lol. I did write a review of the ship with lots of detail on the good, the bad and the ugly. More bad and ugly than good, unfortunately. Doubt I'll cruise again, but if I do it will be with Cunard or Regent or something to avoid what we experienced on Vision. 

[alex_drew]

Alamana, I have two questions.  Were you My Time dining or were you main early or late?  I've found that my experience food-wise was vastly different when I had My Time as opposed to a regular seating in the main dining room.  Our last Enchantment with My Time was really stressful and not great food, but our recent Vision (May 25-June 3) with a main seating in the dining room was a lovely surprise food-wise.  We found it so good that we didn't bother with Chops this time. There were 30 people in our group and the worst criticism I heard was one woman who said that there were a couple of dishes that "she would not have asked the chef for the recipe".  Our group consisted of pretty well-traveled passengers on land and sea.  As for sea, a few Cunard, lots of main stream lines like Holland, Princess, Carnival, Celebrity and a couple of Windstar.  Our group is from Alexandria, so right next door to you in Falls Church...so you know that many people in this group are pretty food savy.  

 

My other question is whether or not you actually requested a "hard copy" of the Compass on your cruise?  Everyone in our group that requested it, received the Compass.  I asked them because I had heard that Royal was cutting back on the hard copies hoping that passengers would use the app. 

 

Anyway, I'm just sorry that your Vision cruise was such a disappointment.  My only complaint was the over-the-top volume of the entertainment in the Centrum and Schooner, but everything else was good for us.

[BridgeMates]

8 hours ago, alex_drew said:

Alamana, I have two questions.  Were you My Time dining or were you main early or late?  I've found that my experience food-wise was vastly different when I had My Time as opposed to a regular seating in the main dining room.  Our last Enchantment with My Time was really stressful and not great food, but our recent Vision (May 25-June 3) with a main seating in the dining room was a lovely surprise food-wise.  We found it so good that we didn't bother with Chops this time. There were 30 people in our group and the worst criticism I heard was one woman who said that there were a couple of dishes that "she would not have asked the chef for the recipe".  Our group consisted of pretty well-traveled passengers on land and sea.  As for sea, a few Cunard, lots of main stream lines like Holland, Princess, Carnival, Celebrity and a couple of Windstar.  Our group is from Alexandria, so right next door to you in Falls Church...so you know that many people in this group are pretty food savy.  

 

My other question is whether or not you actually requested a "hard copy" of the Compass on your cruise?  Everyone in our group that requested it, received the Compass.  I asked them because I had heard that Royal was cutting back on the hard copies hoping that passengers would use the app. 

 

Anyway, I'm just sorry that your Vision cruise was such a disappointment.  My only complaint was the over-the-top volume of the entertainment in the Centrum and Schooner, but everything else was good for us.

Hi, we're in a family group of 14 for next summer on the Harmony.  

Haven't been on RC for quite awhile.  First time for all the others, 20's, 30's, 60's, and us....80's!

We're trying to decide if we should go with "My time" or set dining.

In general, what are the show times?  We've heard so much about the fantastic entertainment, we hope to see some great. shows.

Thanks so much!

 

 

 

[shipgeeks]

1 hour ago, BridgeMates said:

Hi, we're in a family group of 14 for next summer on the Harmony.  

Haven't been on RC for quite awhile.  First time for all the others, 20's, 30's, 60's, and us....80's!

We're trying to decide if we should go with "My time" or set dining.

In general, what are the show times?  We've heard so much about the fantastic entertainment, we hope to see some great. shows.

Thanks so much!

 

 

 

On Vision, show times are geared to mesh with the traditional dining times.  As I recall, shows were at 7pm and 9-something.

Especially with your large group, I would definitely recommend set dining.

[BridgeMates]

42 minutes ago, shipgeeks said:

On Vision, show times are geared to mesh with the traditional dining times.  As I recall, shows were at 7pm and 9-something.

Especially with your large group, I would definitely recommend set dining.

Thanks for the quick reply.  Just as I was thinking, realizing we'll probably have to have two tables.

[Baron Barracuda]

9 hours ago, BridgeMates said:

Hi, we're in a family group of 14 for next summer on the Harmony.  

Haven't been on RC for quite awhile.  First time for all the others, 20's, 30's, 60's, and us....80's!

We're trying to decide if we should go with "My time" or set dining.

In general, what are the show times?  We've heard so much about the fantastic entertainment, we hope to see some great. shows.

Thanks so much!

 

 

 

Definitely recommend traditional dining.  That way you'll have the same two assigned tables that will be guaranteed ready at your appointed time.  I've been in large groups with mtd where we often had to wait for two suitable tables to be cleared and set for us.  Even if they assign you the same two mtd tables each night chances are you'll have different groups eating ahead of you not finishing their dinners at the same time.

[Alamana]

On 6/30/2023 at 9:13 PM, alex_drew said:

Alamana, I have two questions.  Were you My Time dining or were you main early or late?  I've found that my experience food-wise was vastly different when I had My Time as opposed to a regular seating in the main dining room.  Our last Enchantment with My Time was really stressful and not great food, but our recent Vision (May 25-June 3) with a main seating in the dining room was a lovely surprise food-wise.  We found it so good that we didn't bother with Chops this time. There were 30 people in our group and the worst criticism I heard was one woman who said that there were a couple of dishes that "she would not have asked the chef for the recipe".  Our group consisted of pretty well-traveled passengers on land and sea.  As for sea, a few Cunard, lots of main stream lines like Holland, Princess, Carnival, Celebrity and a couple of Windstar.  Our group is from Alexandria, so right next door to you in Falls Church...so you know that many people in this group are pretty food savy.  

 

My other question is whether or not you actually requested a "hard copy" of the Compass on your cruise?  Everyone in our group that requested it, received the Compass.  I asked them because I had heard that Royal was cutting back on the hard copies hoping that passengers would use the app. 

 

Anyway, I'm just sorry that your Vision cruise was such a disappointment.  My only complaint was the over-the-top volume of the entertainment in the Centrum and Schooner, but everything else was good for us.

 

We had the late seating in the MDR. All I can say is that the food I ordered and ate (or not) was downright dreadful, and the service matched. I really didn't have high expectations given that I realize how hard it is to feed that many people on a ship, but most of what I had was almost inedible. Like I mentioned, the chicken sandwich served in the MDR at lunch wasn't eaten by the other two people at my table who ordered it, either -- so at least with regard to that dish, I wasn't alone in finding it basically inedible. 

 

We didn't know to ask for a hard copy of the Cruise Compass at first since it wasn't given to us until halfway through the cruise -- so I assumed it didn't exist anymore because they expected us to use the app. Then we were given one, and then we weren't, and then the cruise was over. So no, we didn't ask for it. But the one we got had much more info on it than was in the app. 

[Merion_Mom]

On 6/30/2023 at 4:12 PM, Alamana said:

Yeah, it was pretty darned bad, lol. I did write a review of the ship with lots of detail on the good, the bad and the ugly. More bad and ugly than good, unfortunately. Doubt I'll cruise again, but if I do it will be with Cunard or Regent or something to avoid what we experienced on Vision. 

 

I am not doubting your experience at all, but when you compare to Regent or Cunard, well, that's just flat out ridiculous.  If that's what you are accustomed to, Vision never had a chance to make you happy.

[Love PalmTrees]

We were on the Enchantment in late Feb/early Mar 2023 with late seating traditional dining.  The first night my fish was tasty, but barely room temp. At the end of the meal, our waiter asked how the food was.  I told him in nice way that it was good, but barely warm.  He was so apologetic and offered to get me another main dish.  I thanked him, but had had more than enough other food to fill me up.  He said going forward that he would check the temp of the plate to make sure the food was hot.  The rest of the cruise my food was hot.  I also ordered mostly the Chef's Recommendation and was never disappointed.  This was the first time I tried that strategy.  Our waiter and assistant waiter were vey pleasant and always going out of their way to please us.  In all honesty, service tended to be on the slow side, but we are on vacation and it is nice to linger not be hurried.

[Alamana]

8 hours ago, Merion_Mom said:

 

I am not doubting your experience at all, but when you compare to Regent or Cunard, well, that's just flat out ridiculous.  If that's what you are accustomed to, Vision never had a chance to make you happy.

I'm not comparing to Regent or Cunard. I'm saying that my experience was so bad that if I ever cruise again (which I probably won't), I will try to avoid the service/quality problems I had on Vision by sailing on one of the more luxury lines.