Loyal2RCCL

Thanks for posting! Will be on the May 2014 sailing & can't wait!!:)

I was on the Vision for 12 days last December and the ship was in fantastic shape. If this drydock comes out as nice as Rhapsody's did, you will love this ship.

Pool Deck:

Pool Deck:

Here's the latest round of pictures from thr drydock:

Centrum Work.. Champagne Bar is gone:

Ship out of water:

Thanks for sharing the pictures and can't wait to see more! The duck tail is an interesting addition. Usually adding a duck tail during dry dock either means that additional weight is being added to the aft of the ship or the ship is known to have a lot of motion onboard. Did any of the other vision class ships receive one during their dry docks?

Rhapsody, Splendour and Grandeur got the duck tail added, however I don't think Legend did. I know the larger ships all have them and one of the reasons they were added is to reduce the amount of wake the ship creates when entering harbors. I remember watching the making of the Voyager video and they said that without the ducktail, the wake created by the ship could damage small boats and piers.

I don't think any of these refurbed ships had significant weight added, so perhaps it's stricktly for aerodynamic reasons.

Will there be any new public areas in the ducktail?

No, the ducktail is being added to the aft end of the ship to help with stability and reduce drag in the water. If you look at pictures of Splendour after their refit, you'll see what it looks like.

Preparing aft to receive "Ducktail"

Pool Deck Construction

More..

Drydock in Cadiz

New "Ducktail" to be added to aft end

Drydock Yard

Pressure Washing

A few friends of mine are currently working onboard Vision while in drydock and have sent me a few pictures.. I'll keep adding more as they're received:

Heavy Demolition

New "Ducktail" to be added to aft end

Work on the Bridge

Freedom coupons were online when we sailed on her in May

I believe just FR and AL were the only ships testing the new electronic coupons.

As of October 1, 2013, Crown and Anchor Society members will receive their onboard value coupons electronically via their SeaPass® card on the following ships: Freedom, Jewel, Oasis, Allure, Navigator, Liberty and Explorer of the Seas®.

Ski, I just wonder if this is a policy on Grandeur only as you've never had a problem on other ships you've been on.

This must be ship specific. There was a post not too long ago about someone boarding (Freedom, I believe), and they were shocked that golf clubs were no longer accepted as checked luggage and they had to carry them onboard.

It also sounds like this is up to whatever Security personnel are working at the time, as the OP was able to leave and return to the ship and carry the clubs without issue. It wasn't until after another stop that sercurity "confiscated" them.

Fog started to settle in. At one point, we came pretty close to this ship. I'm not sure of the name, but it did look pretty cool seeing it sailing in the fog.

 

 

That's one of the Alaska Marine Highway Ferries.

Thanks. We too opted to go with Alla. Her box lunch is supposed to be actually quite nice (by Russian standards). We prefer the earlier arrival time as we have evening activities planned and her schedule allows us to do it.:D

 

Again, as long as you are happy with your choice, that is the main thing:D

The boxed lunch Alla provides on Day 1 was very nice and was uniquely Russian. It contained a warm crepe filled with Chicken, a bottle of water, fruit and a candy bar. It was very filling and delicious and by not stopping for a sit down meal we had more time to explore Peterholf Palace and fountain gardens. In no way was our tour with Alla rushed by having a boxed lunch. On Day 1 we left at 9am and didn't return to the ship until after midnight as Alla had arranged for us (at my request) to have dinner at a local restaurant.

The second day we had a sit down lunch which was also very nice, but on this day we didn't have to travel any long distances to see the sites.

I can't say enough good things about Alla and her operation. Our guide, Angie was FANTASTIC and one of the BEST guides we've every had on any excursion. Her knowledge of the city and its history was fantastic, but she didn't go into so much detail that you were bored, unlike the guide we had once at the Vatican where the guide felt the need to over explain everything. Angie was warm, friendly and funny. She was fantastic about getting us around the lines and crowds at the museums etc. and was very flexible with any special requests and modifications we asked for while on the tour.

Angie was also worth her weight in gold when we had an unfortunate incident at the Peterholf. One person in our group, despite being told to leave everything on the bus, kept his wallet in his pants pocket and of course was pickpocketed while at the fountain gardens. All of his credit cards and cash was in his wallet and he was quite upset. Angie used her personal cell phone to allow him to call the US and report his cards stolen. A few numbers could not be called from her phone, so she took us to a store that allowed us to use their phone and computers to notify the banks etc. She honestly could not do enough to help us/him out with this situation and refused to take payment for the use of her cell phone etc. It took well over an hour for us to get everything sorted out and Angie called ahead to the places we were yet to visit to amend our arrival times and the rest of the day went off without a hitch.

I would not hesitate to book with Alla!

How do you know what percentage is the view blocked?

The obstruction percentage is listed on the TA site CruisingPower

I LOVE the French door cabins on Carnival. Our obstructed balcony was the same price as an interior and it was hundreds more to go to a balcony. I'm happy with it.

 

 

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Very nice.. I would only book these if the prices was the same as an interior or ocean view. If they were priced more closely to the unobstructed balcony categories, I wouldn't book the Cat. DO.

The deck plans show the lifeboats to be on deck 5. How would that directly block the views on deck 6? My thoughts were that you make not be able to see the water by looking straight down but you could see it by looking out.

You will not be able to see out from any of the Cat DO's if you're seated. The lifeboat will block your view when seated as it will be directly in front of the glass below the railing. When standing you will have to look across the top of the lifeboat, so your view will be somewhat more limited even when looking out. If you have a cabin listed as 75% obstruction, then your view out will be mostly blocked.

These cabins are similar to those on CCL that have the French doors (no balcony) but the lifeboat is in the way.

Quite frankly, I would only book these cabins if they were prices the same or close to a regular oceanview cabin. If I'm paying for a balcony, I don't want to have a lifeboat taking 50-75% of my view.

Thanks..... Not the answer I wanted but it is what it is.

Will have to explore a different balcony category.

Any suggestions?⚓⚓

Any of the non-obstructed balcony categories should be fine. The DO cabins are not appealing to me, I don't want to look a lifeboat for the entire cruise.

The DO cabins have either a 50% or 75% obstruction from the lifeboats. Views of the water will be very limited in these cabins as the lifeboat will basically block your view. The SB cabin are the Single Occupancy Balcony cabins.

Sorry.. Webshots is no longer.. Here's another link to the pics..

http://s1246.beta.photobucket.com/user/Bob917/media/IMG_5323.jpg.html?sort=3&o=0#/user/Bob917/media/IMG_5322.jpg.html?sort=3&o=1&_suid=136114273443701154108405459981

:Thanks i just found the press release dated Dec 12th on Cruising Power...

funny the F&B manager didn't say a word when i asked him while i was on board Dec 1-15th.. maybe he hadn't gotten the word yet..

It's still very strange that the F&B Manager didn't know anything about it when you sailed. OA was the first ship to roll out the new packages in the US and they started selling them in Nov, with all ships following suit on their next turn around day. :confused:

Of course, in typical RCCl fashion, they did not formally announce the program for several weeks.

Where did you get this information you posted.. I am a travel agent and have never heard of such a alcohol plan on RCCL.. Celebrity has had for awhile on their ships. Could i get the link from this "QUOTE" you posted.. can email it to me directly at copperrocktravel@gmail.com thanks

Bill..

I just spent two weeks on Oasis in the Aqua Theater Suite and had access to the F&B manager a few time during the cruise at private functions.. I asked him specifically about this alcohol plan that I have been hearing rumors about for a while and He said there is NO plan at this time.. Only on certain European sailings on a trial basis..

thanks

Very strange. I was the poster who first reported on the alcohol package and the info came from a friend of mine who works onboard Oasis. He called the day they were starting the program and that was a few weeks ago. If you are a TA, then head to Cruising Power and you can pull up the flyer with all the details, or you can search these boards for the same info.

Loved the review, thanks for posting. We will be sailing on the Vision next year and we are excited as well. The only question I had was on port days was the main dining room open for lunch?

The MDR is only open for lunch on Sea Days.

Would you please ask your bar manager friend why it would take a drink package to warrant additional training for the bar staff? In my opinion, the staff should have sufficient training to monitor for trouble regardless of the presence of a package.

The training is to understand how the package works, what the rules are and to identify when someone needs to be cut off for over consumption and how to handle that situation. The Bar staff have had training on some of these things before.

Not true that both have to buy. We recently did an Eastern Med cruise on the Constellation and I had one but my wife did not. As for the cost and amount one has to drink... well, I usually had a specialty coffee with breakfast, water for a shore excursion, a cocktail at lunch, something poolside in the afternoon, couple of glasses of wine at dinner and a night cap. I found it more that worthwhile.

With RCCL's package everyone over 21 in the same cabin must purchase the drink package. The only way around it is if you're pregnant, or have a medical condition with doctor's note saying you can't consume alcohol.