Vision of the Seas~B2B~Spanish Immersion~Feb. 8th & 15th~My Diary

[maxs mom]

Thanks so much for your great pictures/review, a very enjoyable read! :)

 

I'm going to come back to RCI next year for a med/then a TA on the Vision. I was curious about the ship but pleased when I found out it has had a recent refurb!

 

I really prefer a smaller ship, and the itinerary having Venice in the middle for an overnight is awesome. I've been to Italy (land trip) plus med cruise but not Venice. The itinerary is perfect, your descriptions, pictures sealed the deal! Thanks so much!

 

Oh....so wonderful that you are doing those cruises on Vision! You'll love it! Let me give you a tip about Venice.......take plenty of money!!!!!! I've never seen a more expensive place in my life!! Oh we have some stories to tell about being there! Great place.....but expensive!! Have fun!

[maxs mom]

There was very little traffic on the Autopista to Panama City and we got to our hotel by 10:00. Same Marriott Courtyard near the airport. We had an early flight the next morning. We had to wait only a short time until a room was ready. In the meantime, another American couple came in that had also been on the Vision. We hadn't even seen them on the ship.

 

We rested in our room for a while....used the Wi-Fi....it's excellent here. We walked over to the mall for some lunch. It was VERY hot today.

 

We just crashed.....the two weeks had taken it's toll. We had one more toast for the end of the vacation and then turned in early.

 

 

Our flight the next day was at 8:45.....so we left for the airport around 6:30 AM. The airport in Panama City is not the most modern of terminals. It took forever to get checked in for our flight. They must have scanned my passport 20 times. We went through the regular security and were surprised when we got to our gate....we had to go through a FULL security again. Very different.

 

Anyway.....after a long day of travel.....we finally made it home early in the evening.

 

What a wonderful vacation! Would do it again tomorrow! We actually discussed staying on board for a third week and seriously considered changing flights, hotel, calling the vet.....but we just couldn't pull the trigger on it this time. Maybe another time!

 

Thanks so much for reading along and helping us to relive this fabulous trip. It's always fun! Thanks to the Cruise Critic Community......so much of every cruise is aided by information that I find on these great forums.

 

So I will end with a toast to all our Cruise Buddies and Cruise Critic Family. hope to chat or sail with you again in the near future.

 

Salud!!

 

[chellecruise12]

Thank you very much for your very detailed review!! I loved your photos of everything.. I enjoyed following along on your trip!! :)

[britty1]

There was very little traffic on the Autopista to Panama City and we got to our hotel by 10:00. Same Marriott Courtyard near the airport. We had an early flight the next morning. We had to wait only a short time until a room was ready. In the meantime' date=' another American couple came in that had also been on the Vision. We hadn't even seen them on the ship.

 

We rested in our room for a while....used the Wi-Fi....it's excellent here. We walked over to the mall for some lunch. It was VERY hot today.

 

We just crashed.....the two weeks had taken it's toll. We had one more toast for the end of the vacation and then turned in early.

 

 

Our flight the next day was at 8:45.....so we left for the airport around 6:30 AM. The airport in Panama City is not the most modern of terminals. It took forever to get checked in for our flight. They must have scanned my passport 20 times. We went through the regular security and were surprised when we got to our gate....we had to go through a FULL security again. Very different.

 

Anyway.....after a long day of travel.....we finally made it home early in the evening.

 

What a wonderful vacation! Would do it again tomorrow! We actually discussed staying on board for a third week and seriously considered changing flights, hotel, calling the vet.....but we just couldn't pull the trigger on it this time. Maybe another time!

 

Thanks so much for reading along and helping us to relive this fabulous trip. It's always fun! Thanks to the Cruise Critic Community......so much of every cruise is aided by information that I find on these great forums.

 

So I will end with a toast to all our Cruise Buddies and Cruise Critic Family. hope to chat or sail with you again in the near future.

 

Salud!!

 

 

Thank you for taking the time to do your review, really nicely done. I have one question, how did you get all the clothes you both wore into only two suitcases. Did you use the laundry on board ?????

[SherriZ366]

Got our eye on the Freedom. Hoping they will discount some balconies.

Please let me know if you are sailing on FR. That would be great! We are sailing with another couple from NC -- Southport - near Wilmington. We are planning to go to the CL nightly (and breakfast for me). We had a great time there in January - got into Bellini's. Rahul was fabulous as usual. He was supposed to go home last Sunday but he got delayed because his relief had a family emergency. I am watching his Facebook postings to see if he gets off on Sunday. He was originally supposed to be back on April 20. FR is our favorite ship and Port C is so close - 4 1/2 hours. We sailed this week on FR two years ago and it was great. Edited March 14, 2014 by SherriZ366

[Hoopster95]

 

Salud!!

 

 

Thank you Jane. Really awesome review... except made me wish I was back on that ship!! :p I'm super happy you enjoyed as much as I did back in November... it's evident that those CC'ers who have only sailed on Voyager and larger for example should really give Vision a try, especially with the shorter and inexpensive offerings coming up in FLL and Tampa. Btw, you may remember my earlier posts from a few months ago... I sailed in cabin 8588 also. I can't believe any other balcony on any other ship to be better than that! It be nice to cross paths with you someday on a ship... reaching D+ on my upcoming Navigator cruise so never know!:) Take care and thx again.

[SherriZ366]

D Balconies on 5-4 FR are $1,109 - $1,229; there is also a Suite guarantee for $1,549.

[maxs mom]

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Thank you for taking the time to do your review, really nicely done. I have one question, how did you get all the clothes you both wore into only two suitcases. Did you use the laundry on board ?????

 

LOL......no....two suitcases won't do it. We each take two....a medium sized one and a small one. I feel like I am taking the kitchen sink sometimes. We did use the laundry for underwear and t- shirts. Thanks for following along!

[maxs mom]

Thank you Jane. Really awesome review... except made me wish I was back on that ship!! :p I'm super happy you enjoyed as much as I did back in November... it's evident that those CC'ers who have only sailed on Voyager and larger for example should really give Vision a try, especially with the shorter and inexpensive offerings coming up in FLL and Tampa. Btw, you may remember my earlier posts from a few months ago... I sailed in cabin 8588 also. I can't believe any other balcony on any other ship to be better than that! It be nice to cross paths with you someday on a ship... reaching D+ on my upcoming Navigator cruise so never know!:) Take care and thx again.

 

Congratulations on your upcoming D+ ness!! Yes....it would be nice to cross paths. Thanks for all your guidance. Can't wait to sail on the Vision again. We got to be very good friends with Betsy and would love to see her again.

[maxs mom]

D Balconies on 5-4 FR are $1,109 - $1,229; there is also a Suite guarantee for $1,549.

 

Will let you know if we book that one. We wait for prices to go WAY down! Sometimes they do and sometimes they don't. Just depends on how it's selling. We've gotten some nice deals recently. For instance. .......these Vision cruises were $750 pp and that included taxes and gratuities! That's why we went. Couldn't pass that up. Hope to see you on board soon!

[rwright261]

I love your reviews!

 

You give us just the right amount of information and photos.

 

Thank you... Please take another trip soon so that I can read another :)

 

Hope the weather has improved for you.

[maxs mom]

I love your reviews!

 

You give us just the right amount of information and photos.

 

Thank you... Please take another trip soon so that I can read another :)

 

Hope the weather has improved for you.

 

Thank you so much! I'll do the best I can to take another trip soon, so stay tuned!! Our weather is really nice now!

[smeck]

Great review as usual after the Oasis I think it time for a smaller ship.

[maxs mom]

Great review as usual after the Oasis I think it time for a smaller ship.

 

Oh......give me these smaller ships any day!!! The bigger ships are nice, but they just make you feel so special on the smaller ships. That doesn't always happen on the bigger ships.

[micmacmissy]

Great review, happy for you guys enjoying retirement! Thanks for taking the time to write it. :)

[Con5421]

Thank you for you review.

[suebcoop]

Thank you Jane for the Vision review. Never been on her so it was really nice seeing the ship and all the various ports and beaches you visited. Hope to sail with you and John again in the future.

Sue

[maxs mom]

Great review, happy for you guys enjoying retirement! Thanks for taking the time to write it. :)

 

Thanks for taking the time to read! Retirement is great! I highly recommend it!

[maxs mom]

Thank you for you review.

 

 

We almost stayed on board for your sailing! That would have been fun!

[maxs mom]

Thank you Jane for the Vision review. Never been on her so it was really nice seeing the ship and all the various ports and beaches you visited. Hope to sail with you and John again in the future.

Sue

 

Sue!! Great to hear from you! Really hope to cruise with you again, too. Give Helen our love! Thanks for reading!

[Tropicalgal2]

Oh......give me these smaller ships any day!!! The bigger ships are nice' date=' but they just make you feel so special on the smaller ships. That doesn't always happen on the bigger ships. [/size']

 

Jane,

 

Thanks for your wonderful review of the ship, the ports and what you did at each stop. I'm sure they will help others. ;)

 

We LOVE the smaller ships too. Like you said you are made to feel so special AND you get to meet and visit with people more than just once!! :)

 

Would be nice to sail some time together.

 

Thanks again!

Edited March 15, 2014 by Tropicalgal2

[vnyislesv]

i just booked VOS at an amazing price for my birthda, cheaper than carnival which ive been on twice since this past oct.

 

my question is, being younger(30), i like more of an upbeat party life. can you use the jazuccis/pool later at night? is the casino 24 hours with a good crowd? any clubs?

 

on the carnival breeze you could enjoy pretty much all the pools the entire cruise but on the carnival glory, they shut down around 10 which in my time was super early. thanks for any help!!

[maxs mom]

i just booked VOS at an amazing price for my birthda, cheaper than carnival which ive been on twice since this past oct.

 

my question is, being younger(30), i like more of an upbeat party life. can you use the jazuccis/pool later at night? is the casino 24 hours with a good crowd? any clubs?

 

on the carnival breeze you could enjoy pretty much all the pools the entire cruise but on the carnival glory, they shut down around 10 which in my time was super early. thanks for any help!!

 

If you are doing this itinerary from Panama.....rest assured.....there will be no lack of party life until the wee hours of the morning!! I think there are hours for the pools and hot tubs, but I'm not sure what they are. Maybe 11:00. Casino should be open 24 hours. Crowds are pretty good in the evening, but we go to bed early, so I'm not sure how it is later in the evening. I was very underwhelmed by this casino. It needs some updating. Basically, for us....this was a very quiet, relaxing vacation. The demographics are different each week.......so hopefully, the week you're on....there might be more of a party crowd. There was a party crowd the weeks we were on......we just didn't seek them out and it didn't bother us a bit. Hope this helps.

[SherriZ366]

Will let you know if we book that one. We wait for prices to go WAY down! Sometimes they do and sometimes they don't. Just depends on how it's selling. We've gotten some nice deals recently. For instance. .......these Vision cruises were $750 pp and that included taxes and gratuities! That's why we went. Couldn't pass that up. Hope to see you on board soon!

Will keep our fingers crossed that prices go WAY down!!!

 

49 days from now, we will be in Port C getting ready to board on Sunday. Put on a big event today where I needed flexibility to deal with glitches. Love this but will be really ready to cruise in May.

[Con5421]

i just booked VOS at an amazing price for my birthda, cheaper than carnival which ive been on twice since this past oct.

 

my question is, being younger(30), i like more of an upbeat party life. can you use the jazuccis/pool later at night? is the casino 24 hours with a good crowd? any clubs?

 

on the carnival breeze you could enjoy pretty much all the pools the entire cruise but on the carnival glory, they shut down around 10 which in my time was super early. thanks for any help!!

 

The pool hours are the open sky pool is from 6.00 am till 10.00 pm, but on our cruise they where open later.

The Solaruim pool is open from 7.00 am till midnight. This is only for adults.

 

Eating late Park Cafe till 1.00 am.

 

Dance and Party music at Viking Crown Lounge 11.00 pm-late.