Review- Vision of the Seas 6/28-7/3

Just off Vision of the Seas last week and wanted to come back and post my review, since I know many people are watching this space for more information....given the history of bad reviews. I know I was prowling here for months reading everything I could!

Summary: Service was ok. Ship was very clean and beautiful.

We stayed two nights prior to cruising at the Hilton Beach Front Resort in Ft. Lauderdale....highly recommend if you want some beach time prior to cruising! The beach is right across A1A with complimentary water for Hilton guests. We were able to easily rent chairs and umbrellas and charge to our room. The water was warm and shallow out to the sandbar. The café in the hotel had AWESOME food, we ate there for breakfast and lunch each day. Transfer to the port was also easy, the bell captain called a shuttle bus for us (10 ladies in our group) plus some other hotel guests also on our cruise and it was $9 pp. Approximately a 10 minute ride to port.

Embarkation: was quick and very well-organized. We were on the ship by noon and headed to Windjammer for lunch. Crowded but no problem finding a table. Food at the Windjammer was acceptable all week but I wouldn't say it was anything special. We had a sailaway party on the deck above the pool with champagne and silly accessories (headbands and leis) brought by my friends. The World Cup games were broadcast all week on the big screen by the pool. We did not spend much time at the outdoor pool on this trip.

Solarium: We made our home in the Solarium for our 5 day trip. Always found lounge chairs without a problem, even in the shade. They did not open the glass ceiling (we were told that if enough people asked Guest Services, then they would open it. Huh?) but you felt like you could get some sun in there. The pool water was cool and refreshing, and it was never too crowded. Small complaint, no wait staff coming around to bring drinks, but there was never a long line at the Solarium bar so it was easy enough to walk up and get drinks. We also ate often at the Park Café there in the Solarium....great breakfast sandwiches, fruit, pastries, make your own salads for lunch, and snacks in the afternoon (pizza, French fries).

Cabin: We had Deck 2 midship cabin 2542 (OV) and our steward Sonny was great. I left him a $5 tip on the first day along with a note to separate the beds which had not been done before we boarded, and he kept us stocked with ice the whole week. We had two towel animals during the cruise. Cabin was kept very clean and we had no complaints other than the tiny shower! Lots of nooks and crannies in which to store your stuff....don't forget to look behind the mirrors! I also brought Command hooks to stick to the wall so we could hang bathing suits to dry. No problems getting elevators quickly, especially forward.

Dining room: Our server was Swaroop and our wine steward was Cesar. Service was generally good although I remember one night it seemed to take forever just to get our water glasses filled and our bread. I tried the escargots for the first time and liked them! I think the food was good, not the fanciest or best-tasting but for bulk-prepared food it was definitely adequate and always warm when served. I was disappointed that RC does not do shows in the MDR like Carnival does! We had a table for 10 and bought the 10 bottle wine package which gave us 2 bottles per night for those drinking wine (about half of us). The blueberry peach crumble was the best dessert, and I enjoyed the prime rib and the rigatoni with prosciutto and champagne cream sauce.

Izumi: Ate dinner in Izumi one night and it was great! Service was much more attentive and friendly than MDR and the view from the top of the ship was incredible. I paid $25 and ate more than I would have at my local sushi restaurant. We got complimentary hot towels before the meal, free edamame and miso soup, and then I ordered shrimp dumplings and 2 sushi rolls...delicious. My non-sushi-loving friends had the hot rock seafood combo and loved it as well.

Entertainment: We didn't participate in too many things onboard, although we did go see the comedian (very funny) and the 70s Boogie Wonderland show (cheesy but fun). We also caught the aerial show in the Centrum on the last night, which was cool. On the last night we also participated in the Quest and our team came in second!!! Fun and raucous. Did not shop onboard, or go to the casino. The nightclub was so full of teens and twenty-somethings that we didn't even try. We did have fun dancing during the 70s dance party in the Centrum, even participating in the Conga line!

Excursions: only did one, in Grand Cayman, with Stingray Sailing. Great catamaran trip to Stingray City and to the reef for snorkeling. Highly recommend Captain Chip and his crew.

Other: I really enjoyed the relaxing atmosphere of this cruise but maybe that's because my girlfriends all wanted to hang by the pool and read for most of the trip! I don't really have any big complaints, it did seem that there was a lack of staff sometimes but overall it was a really enjoyable trip. Disembarkation was late but smooth....we purchased the RC transfers to the airport and got slotted for Group 2 off the ship....scheduled time was 8:00 am but we actually got off closer to 8:45. No problem finding luggage and then onto the bus and to the airport. We had an 11:30 flight and were through security and at our gate by 10:15.

I would sail on Vision again for sure.

Thank you for the great review! It is appreciated to keep seeing these reviews!

Thank you for posting your review!

Glad to see the reviews taking a turn for the better. :)

good job

another that just wants to say thanks for the positive review. Making me feel much better :)

Thank you for the great review!

I'm getting close to final payment on my B2B Vision sailing and I was starting to think about changing ships.

Just off Vision of the Seas last week and wanted to come back and post my review, since I know many people are watching this space for more information....given the history of bad reviews. I know I was prowling here for months reading everything I could!........

 

I would sail on Vision again for sure.

Hi,

thank you for taken the time and effort to share your cruise experience with 'us'.

It seems that your review and some others with similar on board results

- relaxed some worried futured cruisers ...... and some decided to stay with Vision and not to change their reservations.

I am happy to see reviews about fun filled positive experiences ......

Thanks for the excellent Vision review.

Thanks for a great review and for taking the time to post it. I am sailing on the Vision OTS in 2 weeks, and I am beyond excited!

Will definitely try the rigatoni at dinner, and the blueberry peach crumble too!

Great review.

Really enjoyed reading it.

We were on Radiance of the Seas in April this year...

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2117820

is my ongoing review...

We tipped our room attendant at the start too- she got angry with me because she thought that's all she was getting all up & stopped making up our room!

On the first day she was so over the top- she sat on our bed talking to us & laughed so loud- our neighbours thought it weird as they could hear it! Lol