Vision 5/31/14 Cruise Review

My husband and I just returned from a 5 night cruise onboard the Vision of the Seas. Prior to our cruise we found these forums to be very helpful. Therefore, I'd like to share a little bit of our experience for anyone who is interested.

We were accompanied by 6 other people (close friends and family) so we wanted to make sure this cruise would go off without a hitch - we were not disappointed!

We cruise with RCL exclusively. We chose the Choice Air option and didn't have any problems. We flew from Detroit to Ft. Lauderdale with very reasonable air fare. Although, we did book our flights 6 months prior to the cruise.

Prior to the cruise, we purchased a few excursions, spa treatments, drink packages and prepaid gratuity for some of our guests.

We flew into Ft. Lauderdale the day before our sailing. We were met by a limo service, Larry's Limo, which was a lot of fun.

http://www.larryslimo.com/

He drove us around Ft. Lauderdale which allowed us to enjoy the ride. This is a great option if you don't want to hang around the airport looking for a taxi or shuttle. The limo service will be waiting for you at baggage and the walk to the limo is extremely short (basically right outside luggage claim). Our limo driver had some Rolling Rock and waters ready for us to enjoy during the ride. Luggage was a non-issue since we had 6 adults, each with one bag.

We stayed 1 night at the Hilton Marina Hotel. This hotel is very close to the port (about 15 minutes walking distance). It was nice because you could see the cruise ships from your hotel room. There is a nice pool and pool bar to enjoy drinks. If you are looking for "more action" you may find a better hotel on the ocean. The best I could tell, most people staying at this hotel were cruisers. The hotel had a desk set up for last minute cruise shuttle purchases ($6 per person).

nice review so far, this is the sort i like to see on RC those who know style and class.

Boarding on Vision started at Noon, however we showed up a little early to avoid any lines. We showed up at 10:45 AM and breezed through check in and security with zero waiting. We were on the ship by 11:00 AM and super excited to start this trip!

Overall, we were extremely pleased with Vision. We would recommend cruising on her to anyone. She was refurbished recently and looked amazing. Trust me, you won't be disappointed in her appearance.

Generally speaking, the crew and staff were very good. We stayed in aft junior suite balcony #8092. Our room steward did an outstanding job. Some of our party stayed on the 2nd floor and they were just as pleased with the attentiveness of their stewards.

Your review is off to a nice start. I'm looking forward to reading it all and seeing more of your pictures.

We will be on the Vision next year.

Here are some pictures of the ship at night time:

Here are some day time photos:

Dinner options were great! We have a few vegetarians in our group and there were no concerns with a lack of options. We ate dinner each night at the main dining room with an 8:30 seating. There was no concern on missing any shows in the main theater with the later seating (this was something we were originally concerned about). The ship did a good job accommodating the shows around each dinner time.

Day 1 was a casual dining day.

Day 2 was a casual dining day with a tropical / Caribbean theme.

Day 3 was the formal dinner.

Day 4 was another casual dining day with the fisherman's theme (meaning lobster was offered!). Due to this also being the stop at Grand Cayman, many guests did not show up for dinner missing out on the lobster.

Day 5 was smart casual suggesting guests wore sundresses and trousers.

The Vision has two main pool areas. The main pool is accompanied by 4 hot tubs (2 on each side). The adult pool is located in the Solarium (see pics below). This pool has 2 hot tubs. The Solarium was much more beautiful than I anticipated it being. It was very clean and quiet. A great area to relax with a drink. The Park Café is located inside the Solarium which made it very easy to grab a quick bite to eat in lieu of the lunch buffet at the Windjammer. The Park Café offered Paninis, sandwiches, salads, etc. They also offered small desserts.

The Masquerade Theater offered a good variety of shows. Comedians, Broadway-themed shows, 70's night dancing are a few that I remember. I highly recommending catching a show or two if you can. The theater was very comfortable and a great place to relax (again with a drink)! The drink waiters do not come around once the show starts, so we typically grabbed a drink from the casino before entering the theater. Since we were the 8:30 dinner seating, we would catch the 7:00 PM shows at the theater.

Thank for your great review. I will be in a JS corner aft cabin in Sept. I am enjoying these reviews and pixs. :)

As always, there was a lot of entertainment during "cruise days". Sexiest man competition, belly flop competition, women's bicep challenge and line dancing to name a few.

The night life (dancing at the main pool) would typically end around 11 PM. At that point, the DJ would grab his stuff and head up to the Viking Lounge where the festivities would continue until well after 1:30 AM.

There was also plenty of other things going on before 11 PM such as air shows in the Centrum or Karaoke at the Some Enchanted Evening Lounge.

In regards to the spa, we ordered a Swedish massage and acupuncture. Although they were a bit pricey, we enjoyed them. Here are some pics of the "relaxation room" at the spa:

I also attended an art auction on the last day of the cruise. I only hung out for an hour (why waste a half day hidden indoors?) where I bid on some paintings, received free champagne and enjoyed the winnings of some raffles.

We had the pleasure of cruising with "Super Mario" on this cruise. He was very friendly and easy to talk to. My husband had several conversations with him regarding cruising and he was more than willing to take the time and offer his opinion on ships. He highly recommended Vision due to the refurbishment, but more so the attentiveness of the crew.

Negatives of the cruise:

The bartenders were extremely slow and lacked a sense of urgency. Unfortunately, this was not at just one bar, but pretty much throughout the entire ship. The pool bar and the Viking Lounge were the worst offenders. There were quite a few complaints regarding this, so I have high hopes that RCL will get this rectified quickly.

We purchased the unlimited drink package, which I would do again. You really need to weigh out the options to see if this would benefit you or not. It totally depends on how much you plan to drink on a daily basis. I did not order the Evian water package (seemed pricey for water) and we were happy with this decision. There is water and ice available at all of the coffee stations keeping you quenched :)

There were plenty of photographers with stations set up around dinner times. However, some did a much better job than others. If you are interested in buying photos, I recommend getting your picture taken whenever possible. This will give you a nice variety to choose from at the end.

Some of the vocals were overpowered by the musicians during the shows. This wasn't a big deal, but worth mentioning. The dancers were great!

With all that being said, you can see that the positives outweigh the negatives. I recommend cruising on Vision to anyone interested!

I will leave you with this beautiful picture from the Cayman Islands :)

great job

Thank you SMVAO75 for a really nice review and great pictures, we will sail her in 11 days. For an older, smaller ship she looks beautiful.

There was also plenty of other things going on before 11 PM such as air shows in the Centrum

Can you describe the air shows? I've never heard of them.

Thanks

Can you describe the air shows? I've never heard of them.

 

Thanks

The air shows consist of 2 people performing from various props (such as chandeliers) in the Centrum. The shows typically last 15 minutes. You can catch some of them before the 8:30 dinner time. This isn't the best pic, but it will give you an idea of what I'm talking about. This was a daytime show.

Thank you SMVAO75 for a really nice review and great pictures, we will sail her in 11 days. For an older, smaller ship she looks beautiful.

A group of 8 of us (6 recent college grads, hubby, and myself) I believe will be on the same sailing (6/19). :)

Thanks for the balanced review & pictures!

Glad to hear you had a great cruise. Can you tell me if Giovanni's is open for lunch on embarkation day? Thanks!!

I noticed you traveled with your sons. How did they enjoy this ship? I am a little worried about my 19 year old daughter.

Thanks for the report!

The air shows consist of 2 people performing from various props (such as chandeliers) in the Centrum. The shows typically last 15 minutes. You can catch some of them before the 8:30 dinner time.

Thanks for answering my question. Looks dangerous but might be fun to watch!

Great review. Any reports about the casino. I have heard that the Vision has no craps table.

Thanks for posting your review. Glad you had a good time. We love the Vision and many of her crew. We spent two weeks on her in February and just booked B2B 5 days in July. Can't wait to get back on board. Sailed with Mario on the Independence in April. Wonder how long he will be on Vision. Did he say?

Thanks again for your review. Nice job!

We are doing a 5 night in September. On formal night the fisherman's platter is available? I thought lobster wasn't served on shorter cruises. My DH will be THRILLED!

Can't wait to get onboard. It will be our first time on Vision.

Glad to hear you had a great cruise. Can you tell me if Giovanni's is open for lunch on embarkation day? Thanks!!

Giovanni's Table hours the day of embarkation were 5:30 PM - 9:30 PM.