A most remarkable 11 nights on Vision OTS, Feb 4-15, 2013

[Darkwolfe]

Great review so far! I can't wait to read about the ports since we will be doing the 11 day on the Legend in January.

 

Lisa

 

Thanks Lisa!

Going to get a bit more in this evening, then I'm going to be back at work tomorrow so I'll be a bit sporadic this week until I get back into the normal rhythm there.

[Darkwolfe]

A few views inside....

 

Grady took this one too I think...

P1000988 by Wulfgar28, on Flickr

 

Same lounge from inside, with a little light from the stern windows.

P1000989 by Wulfgar28, on Flickr

 

This will be gone after drydock...

P1000993 by Wulfgar28, on Flickr

 

Vision's band..

P1000995 by Wulfgar28, on Flickr

 

Evening on the pool deck...

P1000998 by Wulfgar28, on Flickr

[Darkwolfe]

Our two days at sea were of moderate seas and beautiful weather. A sunrise shows it all....

 

P1010008 by Wulfgar28, on Flickr

 

Our early arrival at Antigua was equally promising....

 

DSCF0111 by Wulfgar28, on Flickr

 

On our way in to St Johns...

DSCF0115 by Wulfgar28, on Flickr

 

Seaborne Spirit already docked...

DSCF0127 by Wulfgar28, on Flickr

 

Brilliance joined us shortly thereafter as well. So too, did a Costa ship, but it was later.

DSCF0132 by Wulfgar28, on Flickr

[Darkwolfe]

Tomorrow, I will continue with our day in Antigua....

 

DSCF0139 by Wulfgar28, on Flickr

[sharonlacey]

Thanks for your review, will be on this cruise soon, so really loving pre-cruise.

 

:D

[jv_nyc]

Thank you for your review! We'll be on Vision in May!

[Darkwolfe]

We had pre-booked with Lawrence of Antigua. That's actually his last name rather than his first, which is Leston. We were a bit early, but that was not a problem.

 

We were assigned to Leslie for the day. This included a drive across the island to Nelson's Dockyard and other places in the national park. After that, we went over to Valley Church Bay and the beach there. While that's a short description, I should say that Leslie was very good with questions and had a very good sense of humor with our group. Pictures will show the tour better.

 

A very good tour indeed, however a word of warning about the beach. It is tops optional so if you take your husband or boyfriend along don't get too mad at him when he's trying not to oogle the scenery. We did get an eyeful without warning, but at least it was an aesthetically pleasing eyeful rather than the other variety. Sorry, I'm not posting any pictures of that! :p

 

Our guide for the day...

DSCF0155 by Wulfgar28, on Flickr

 

An old sugar mill...

DSCF0140 by Wulfgar28, on Flickr

 

A building in relatively good condition at Arawak Villiage.

DSCF0141 by Wulfgar28, on Flickr

 

From atop Arawak Village (if I have my memory straight). Eric Clapton's house is on the point in the middle of the picture.

DSCF0148 by Wulfgar28, on Flickr

 

Shirley Heights....

DSCF0157 by Wulfgar28, on Flickr

[Darkwolfe]

The view from the other side of the building on Shirley Heights...

DSCF0161 by Wulfgar28, on Flickr

 

Changed locations to here, but I do not remember the name of this area.

DSCF0170 by Wulfgar28, on Flickr

 

DSCF0175 by Wulfgar28, on Flickr

 

And now into the dockyard itself...

DSCF0184 by Wulfgar28, on Flickr

[Darkwolfe]

And a few more from the Dockyard.

 

Reproduction capstans for careening work...

DSCF0181 by Wulfgar28, on Flickr

 

The sundial that's been in place since the dockyard was built...

DSCF0182 by Wulfgar28, on Flickr

 

A random crowd of vacationers enjoying the weather and wandering around Antigua...

DSCF0183 by Wulfgar28, on Flickr

 

The dock is now how to modern sailboats and smaller yachts...

DSCF0186 by Wulfgar28, on Flickr

 

Nelson's Dockyard is interesting enough, but it is also pretty heavily commercialized now. Lots of vendors and souvenir shops all over the area. It also has a couple of resorts in the dock area itself. Still, quite nice despite all of this.

 

I must return to my job this afternoon, so no more pictures until later tonight. However, any questions that get posted, I should be able to answer somewhere along the way this afternoon and evening.

[Darkwolfe]

Saw that I goofed and removed the wrong copy of my picture of Brilliance from an earlier post. So here it is again... Docking at St John's, Antigua.

 

DSCF0132 by Wulfgar28, on Flickr

 

Work has turned out to be rather slow this evening, so I may try to work in some commentary about various things as the evening goes.

[Darkwolfe]

A couple of interesting things took place on this trip that are worth note.

 

Over 1300 C&A members were aboard, including 17 Pinnacle members. That was 65% of the entire passenger manifest! As you can guess, the welcome back parties were a tad crowded.

 

One of those members was everybody's friend, Super Mario. Mario had his 4000th night aboard an RCI ship this year. So, since he started cruising with RCI in 2001, he's spent just over 10 full years out of 12 at sea with RCI.

 

Julie Sherrington is also happily working aboard Vision as well. You may remember her from the Mighty Ships episode following Oasis' maiden Caribbean cruise. For those that haven't met her, she's a cheerful sort with a smile for everyone, whether you meet her onboard or catching some time ashore.

 

Captain Ban was out and about as always. Line dancing with folks on the pool deck and walking with the "Wishes at Sea" crowd were just two of the many places he would be participating with everyone else during the cruise.

 

And finally... Enrichment Lectures... Wait, what? Enrichment Lectures on RCI?? When did that happen??

 

There were two speakers on this trip, one fellow (whose name I have misplaced) who covered Caribbean topics specific to the islands we visited, plus specific historical sites and people. And then there was Walter Scott, aka Scotty.

 

Scotty takes the gold star for lectures on this run. He is very interactive with his audience and covers his subjects well. Even when compacting his material as he had to do on this trip. Scotty retired from NASA with the termination of the shuttle program. His knowledge of the space program was that of a man who made it a career he plainly loved. I'm more than a bit of a space fan so this was a highlight for me. I attended three of his four lectures and only missed the first one because I had no idea that it was taking place until it was over.

 

Having said that, I'd like to see RCI bring that type of thing up a bit more. Granted, most of RCI's focus is mass-market, but it certainly does not hurt to add that in to a ship's itinerary. Any number of subjects can be covered and I'm certain they could find good, entertaining speakers to round out the cruising experience a bit more.

 

So if you want to see that kind of thing, look for it on your Compass. Then if you don't see it, say something to the CD or on your comment card. It would not be the first time the CC crowd has convinced a cruise line to make a change or improve on something. This is an improvement that costs very little to the line to make happen.

 

More pictures when I get home...

[salboz]

Glad to read a current review. Sailing her in June. How many formal nights?

[Darkwolfe]

Glad to read a current review. Sailing her in June. How many formal nights?

 

There were two this trip. The first was the evening of the first sea day going out and the second was the first sea day coming home.

[Darkwolfe]

On to sunny St Lucia, where we had elected to run with Spencer Ambrose's team of tour guides. Small (yep that's his name), our driver Oliver, and the assistant guide Wynn put together a great day.

 

Castries oldest Catholic Church... I do believe a couple of CC folks have sneaked into my picture! ;)

P1010044 by Wulfgar28, on Flickr

 

Vision neatly tucked in at the pier.

P1010047 by Wulfgar28, on Flickr

 

These will be bananas one day...

P1010055 by Wulfgar28, on Flickr

 

Our guide, "Small". Cheerful fellow all the day long.

P1010056 by Wulfgar28, on Flickr

[Darkwolfe]

Continuing St Lucia....

 

Anse-La-Raye....

P1010058 by Wulfgar28, on Flickr

 

Canaries...

P1010068 by Wulfgar28, on Flickr

 

And Soufriere with the Pitons looming behind...

P1010071 by Wulfgar28, on Flickr

 

If you look at the valley in the picture below that second branch, you'll see where the trees stop. In the bottom of that valley lies the "Drive-in volcano". It's effectively one major sulpher hot-spring that's acting as a safety valve for the volcano itself. Let's hope it stays that way for a very long time to come. The island is quite beautiful and it would be a shame to see it become like Montserrat.

 

Inside the volcano itself...

P1010077 by Wulfgar28, on Flickr

 

More tomorrow! (Make that "Later today")

[Darkwolfe]

Spencer Ambrose's Land and Sea tour will take all of a port day if you want it too. We got back to Vision with about 30 minutes or so to spare before "all aboard".

 

I do recommend that if you have any motion sickness issues to take some meds for it before setting off on the tour. They do a great job of breaking up the driving time, but it consists of steep and twisty roads. So play it safe so you can enjoy!

 

More from St Lucia...

 

Leaving Soufriere for Jalousie Beach....

DSCF0241 by Wulfgar28, on Flickr

 

Up close to Petit Piton...

DSCF0254 by Wulfgar28, on Flickr

 

Gros Piton as we near Jalousie Beach...

DSCF0255 by Wulfgar28, on Flickr

 

Looking across Jalosie Beach from the snorkeling area...

DSCF0278 by Wulfgar28, on Flickr

 

Jalousie Beach is a private beach so it is possible to encounter ladies going topless there. Wasn't happening the day we were there, but be prepared for the possibility.

 

One more from Jalousie Beach itself... This is the resort side. Very nice!

DSCF0280 by Wulfgar28, on Flickr

[Darkwolfe]

Everybody let me know if I'm covering what you want to see on this trip. I'm hitting the highlights as I see them, but please let me know if there's anything specific you want to know about.

 

It's a small thing, but I just checked off a bucket list item with that little swim between the Pitons.. A few from under the water...

 

DSCF0273 by Wulfgar28, on Flickr

 

DSCF0270 by Wulfgar28, on Flickr

 

DSCF0264 by Wulfgar28, on Flickr

 

DSCF0271 by Wulfgar28, on Flickr

[Darkwolfe]

Returning to Castries, we passed by each of the towns we had already driven through, plus one or two new sites along the way.

 

Leaving the Pitons behind...

DSCF0303 by Wulfgar28, on Flickr

 

Marigot Bay....

DSCF0329 by Wulfgar28, on Flickr

 

Our crew on the return...

DSCF0304 by Wulfgar28, on Flickr

 

Spencer Ambrose himself at the helm of the Me Sea Dye II...

DSCF0335 by Wulfgar28, on Flickr

 

And out favorite ship as we return to port...

DSCF0344 by Wulfgar28, on Flickr

[EMED2010]

Enjoying your report. I like seeing some of the ports that aren't usually covered such as Antigua and St. Lucia.

[Darkwolfe]

Enjoying your report. I like seeing some of the ports that aren't usually covered such as Antigua and St. Lucia.

 

Thank you!

[Darkwolfe]

Digressing again for a few people on Vision. A couple of whom I've already mentioned.

 

Anybody recognize this cheerful face? Monarch fans certainly will.

DSCF0499 by Wulfgar28, on Flickr

 

I've mentioned Walter Scott's lectures earlier in the review. Finally found the picture I'd taken of him and his wife Jackie.

DSCF0482 by Wulfgar28, on Flickr

 

Honestly, these two are very fun folks. They're quite happy to take the time to talk with anyone about the subject matter of the lecture even after it's well finished. They travel on Princess as well, but let's hope that they and others than can appear on RCI more just to add in a little more knowledge for the rest of us.

 

And now, I come to the star of our week on board. This is Lenuta...

DSCF0493 by Wulfgar28, on Flickr

 

Lenuta was our server in the MDR throughout the cruise. Along with Frank, our assistant waiter, she provided outstanding service and a fast wit that kept up with the sometimes rather outrageous practical jokes we played on her (I should note that we only do that with people who have a sense of humor. We know how to tell too!). If you were onboard and saw her in the middle of the server crowd trying to sing on the last night, you might have noticed that she lost it halfway through and was trying her hardest not to laugh. Well that's on account of yours truly and cohorts back at our table making silly faces at her.

 

For their unparalleled service and readiness to roll with our jokes (and toss in some of their own) Lenuta and Frank were our Wow Card winners hands down. (When I find Frank's picture in my mess, I will post it as well.)

[Coralc]

We will have an Enrichment Speaker on our Feb. 25th Vision sailing as well. His name is Phyl, and he posted on our roll call about lectures. We are really looking forward to the topics and speaker! :D:):D

[Darkwolfe]

We will have an Enrichment Speaker on our Feb. 25th Vision sailing as well. His name is Phyl, and he posted on our roll call about lectures. We are really looking forward to the topics and speaker! :D:):D

 

I really think we need to make sure RCI gets good feedback on this type of thing. Very very good for sea days when you don't want to mess with belly-flops, madhouse sales, or live port shopping commercials. (Those things have their place, but can get rather repetitive.)

[booboojoy]

Dave your review is awesome!! I love all the pictures you took. We ended up booking the Legend next february. I'll keep watcching for more of your review....thanks

brenda

[Darkwolfe]

Dave your review is awesome!! I love all the pictures you took. We ended up booking the Legend next february. I'll keep watcching for more of your review....thanks

brenda

 

Thanks Brenda! Missed catching you guys most of the back half of the trip. Have fun on Legend, we'll be on Serenade as everybody wants a break from airplanes next year.