Review: Tons of PICTURES, Vision of the Seas: Panama,Cartagena,Curacao,Bonaire, Aruba

[sailawaybellaluna]

We just returned yesterday from a FABULOUS week on board the Vision of the Seas!

 

This was the "Immersion Cruise" departing from Colon, Panama. Immersion meaning that approximately 80% of passengers on board originated from Panama, Colombia, Venezuela, Argentina and Brazil (primarily).

 

We loved every minute of this cruise, and consider it to be one of our best family vacations!

 

I took a ton of photos, both on the ship and in the ports of call. Looking forward to re-living it all in this review! Hopefully it will be helpful for someone else planning their trip!

 

About us: We're a family of 3. My husband and I are in are mid-30's, and our little boy is 4.5. My husband is fluent in Spanish, my skills are so-so.

 

[sailawaybellaluna]

We arrived in Panama City, Panama the afternoon before our cruise was scheduled to depart.

 

We booked to stay at the Waldorf Astoria, and had found a great price online. We arranged for transportation from the airport to the Waldorf for $40, however, they never showed up. So, we got a taxi for $30. There was quite a bit of traffic getting there, but we arrived in 30 minutes or so.

 

 

[A&L_Ont]

Looking forward to your review.

[sailawaybellaluna]

We booked this cruise during the after-Thanksgiving sale, approximately 5 months prior to sailing.

 

The price was fantastic, and we also got onboard credit.

 

We booked the large family oceanview stateroom. We typically book oceanview staterooms...

 

One week prior to sailing, I signed into my Royal Caribbean account and couldn't believe my eyes! We had been upgraded to an AFT BALCONY stateroom on deck 7! I was so excited I cried!

 

It has been a rough few months for our family, with a lot of random issues (health problems, car accident, etc etc). So, not only were we desperately looking forward to this vacation, this amazing balcony stateroom only made it better!

 

I don't know how we'll go back to regular oceanviews after this treat! :)

 

 

 

This was cabin #7658. It was a connecting cabin, although we had absolutely no noise issues with the connecting door. It didn't rattle and we couldn't easily hear any noise next door. It was perfect!

[jeanneful]

Great start! Can wait for more!!

[loeytalldog]

Cute family! Looking forward to your review!

[maxs mom]

So glad you had a great time! I knew you would. Looking forward to the rest of your review!

[chellecruise12]

Beautiful family!! Looking forward to follow your review.. We are in 7656 nxt March with our girls..

[berylde]

Sailing Vision on May 3rd. Really looking forward to your review.

[Fisherlady48]

Taking this same cruise on Saturday!! So excited!!

 

This review is right on time.

 

Thank you!!

 

K

[kccrzr]

Lovely aft balcony - they do spoil you, don't they? I'm very much looking forward to your review.

[Darkwolfe]

Ah, good! A new review for Vision! We're on in June and really looking forward to it!

[JimAOk1945]

Your off to a good start on your pictorial review. I'm eagerly awaiting more!

[sailawaybellaluna]

Thanks for reading so far! Sorry for the delay. My computer crashed and my photos didn't upload...

 

But my little boy is fast asleep, so I finally have the time to work on it some more! More to come...!

[sailawaybellaluna]

Ooops, I got so excited about the AFT BALCONY upgrade that I completely forgot to mention our journey to Colon. Sorry about the rough start to this review!

 

We had previously arranged private transportation from the Waldorf to the port in Colon. We left at 9:40am and were checked in and ON the ship at 11:05am!

 

It wasn't easy and relaxing as it sounds though...

 

First off, there was a little debacle regarding the cost of the transportation. The Waldorf told me it was $90 one way for 3 people. The driver told us the rates had increased and it was $130. I said I had a copy of the reservation I made with the concierge which showed the price. So we paid the $90 and tipped him. However, if you don't yet have a reservation, or will be traveling from the Waldorf to Colon in the near future, the new rate with their transportation company is indeed $130.

 

That was the least of my worries..

 

The day before I made the horrible realization that I forgot our son Oliver's birth certificate at home. No big deal right? Since we all have passports? Unfortunately, no. Despite being married 8 years, I've never legally added our family name to my documents, passport included. I used to work in international relief and development, which meant I typically had trips planned. There was never a good moment to do a name change since I couldn't take the chance it wouldn't match my tickets and passport! My husband, being from Central America has a million names, including a hyphenated last name. He never uses the final name after the hyphen - no one knows him as that! However, it is on his passport! :confused:

 

And that's when I started crying. I know Royal Caribbean is REALLY strict about children boarding with parents or adults that have a different last name. They require an ORIGINAL birth certificate, certified.

 

I took the Independence of the Seas from Southampton, England in October (it was a special trip for my mom's 60th). My husband wasn't able to go, but thankfully, I had Oliver's original birth certificate, a letter from my husband, and a copy of my husband's passport. The lady in the boarding area scrutinized and copied every document, then reviewed them with a supervisor for nearly 40 minutes. I was terrified. She told me if I had forgotten the birth certificate or the letter, we would have been denied boarding. Of course, they were being extra careful due to the child trafficking situations moving across Europe (and I was the only parent traveling with him), but I was still so scared we'd be denied boarding. In fact, at the same time, there was a family checking in next to us with a woman who was 21-weeks pregnant. Her doctor had filled out the forms and faxed them to RCCL, but because she didn't bring the originals, they were denied boarding. I was devastated for them, and thinking the same would happen to us...

[sailawaybellaluna]

Well, clearly, this would be the worst review ever if we WERE denied boarding, so thankfully, no surprises there!

 

The check-in agent was part Guatemalan (same as my husband), and they chatted and chatted. We showed our passports. It helps that our child looks EXACTLY like us, and we were off!

 

As we approached security, an immigration officer approached us asking about our son, and pointing us into a small room. He and my husband had a rapido conversation in Spanish, and along we went.

 

I desperately wanted to take the photo as you board the ship, but was so nervous I just wanted to GET ON and hear the DING of my sail and sign card!

 

And a few minutes later, we were there. In fact, I started tearing up I was so so relieved.

 

Phew!

 

And now, it was time to explore our new home for the week!

[sailawaybellaluna]

My impressions as we boarded were very positive.

 

The Vision of the Seas is definitely much smaller than the Independence, but still, a good sized ship. I don't really need mega ships and tons of stuff to do.

 

The decor was lovely, and everyone was so so friendly!

 

The cabins were not ready until exactly at 1pm, as stated! Of course, I understand they need their time to clean, but I was so excited to get to our room!

 

Pics of 7658:

 

 

 

 

 

 

[sailawaybellaluna]

Soon after getting into our cabin, we decided to order room service - one of our favorite things to do on a cruise!

 

The menu was extensive, and the food was fantastic. I will say, we had a *couple* of issues with room service taking well over an hour, or in one instance, they forgot our cabin number and it just never came until I called 1.5 hours later...Other than that, the food was great and served hot!

 

We thought we'd go and take a wander, and much like Max'sMom's review, I found our luggage sitting there! So, we pulled it out of the stack and had it in our cabin by around 2pm!

 

 

One thing we received the first day, that I really loved was "Th e Planner". I'd never received this on a cruise before, but thought it was so helpful!

 

 

It was a sunny, humid 90-degree day, so we thought we'd walk outside, grab some drinks, and explore!

 

 

[sailawaybellaluna]

After exploring the ship a bit, we got ready for the muster drill. Easy, fast, and painless.

 

Following the drill, we stopped at the R Bar in the Centrum and used our Crown and Anchor coupon for a BOGO glass of Chardonnay. One thing I noticed was that the C&A "coupons" are now paperless in an effort to be green. So you just need to mention it when they swipe your card for whatever offer you're wanting to take advantage of.

 

We headed to our cabin with our wine, and watched the beautiful sail away. I couldn't believe we'd made it and everything was going so perfectly. I still couldn't get over the surprise upgrade! The balcony was fabulous.

 

The sunset that night was beautiful:

 

 

We started getting ready for dinner. We had the My Time Dining, and I had previously made reservations online for 7pm each night (that was the earliest reservation possible). However, when we boarded the ship, the my time dining actually began at 6:30pm.

 

We sat in the balcony, overlooking both sides of the dining room, in the center. This was the same spot I had requested on the Independence, and my favorite tables. We liked 99 and 101 the best, and we were lucky to sit there every evening after I requested it.

 

For my son, the highlight of cruise dining is escargot! If you've read my previous reviews below, you'll know he LOVES it, and starts with a plate every night! Now don't get the idea that I'm cooking it at home every week - he only gets it when we cruise, or on May 24 - National Escargot Day!!! :D We're weird in that we celebrated it last year since he loves them so much. We went to Whole Foods, and let him pick out the shells he wanted. I only made 3, and he could have eaten another dozen! But at $22/pound, it makes more sense so save for our next cruise!

 

 

[sailawaybellaluna]

So glad you had a great time! I knew you would. Looking forward to the rest of your review!

 

Thanks Jane! Your review was SO helpful! In fact, I read it again the day before we left, and ended up changing a couple of our plans - we were so glad we did! More on that to come...

[sailawaybellaluna]

 

Thanks chellecruise12! You will absolutely LOVE the cabin!!! Enjoy!

[sailawaybellaluna]

After dinner, we walked around the ship a bit.

 

One thing I will say about this "Immersion Cruise" is the crowd is really really fun and passionate about having a good time!

 

And I don't mean that in an obnoxious, everyone is loud and drunk sort of way. They are really involved in the activities, whether that be in the Centrum or out by the pool. You could feel the energy, and it made it even more enjoyable!

 

I had received a call from RCCL (two actually) prior to sailing to "warn" me about this being an "Immersion Cruise". Apparently, some people are uncomfortable by the majority of people speaking Spanish, and the shows, etc. being in Spanish. I was excited about that fact, and not concerned at all! Everyone had the same goal - to have a good time, enjoy a beautiful ship, and explore new places. In fact, I think someone without any Spanish language skills would still have a great time - they did an excellent job of translating nearly everything I attended.

 

I had read a short review mentioning chaos in the buffets, not waiting in lines, etc. etc. We didn't experience any of that. That being said, we didn't eat in the Windjammer and we had a private table for our family each night. But I thought the diverse group of people on board made it even more interesting and lovely. My parents had considered traveling with us, but they both have some food allergies and we thought the food would primarily be from Central and South America. That was not the case. It was the typical cruise fare.

 

I went to the casino the first night to play a few dollars on the slot machines, and was so surprised how empty it was! And that was the case every single night! There weren't more than 5 - 10 people in there! Perhaps they came later. This crowd stays up LATE! The activities seemed to start a little later than they would on a typical cruise departing from a US port. This didn't bother us at all.

 

One thing about our fabulous aft balcony cabin is that it was directly above the Some Enchanted Evening Lounge, which meant karaoke every night! It wasn't too terrible, and usually ended around 11:30pm (which was when I went to sleep each night). At one point, the rendition of "Tell Me Why" by the Backstreet Boys could be sung along with, word by word! :D

 

To bed early in preparation for a HOT HOT HOT day in Cartagena, Colombia!

[Hoopster95]

Thanks Jane! Your review was SO helpful! In fact, I read it again the day before we left, and ended up changing a couple of our plans - we were so glad we did! More on that to come...

 

Great pics! Soooo glad you had a great time. :D:D Looking forward to reading the rest of your review

[sailawaybellaluna]

This morning we docked in Cartagena, Colombia!

 

It was a rough night! The winds were strong and the waves were crazy. I've never been sea sick on a cruise before, but we all woke up feeling a bit woozy.

 

Fortunately, it subsided, and we were ready to explore Cartagena!

 

I went to graduate school with two Colombian girls who became my good friends. I learned how to make Colombian food, listen to every song recorded by Carlos Vives, and more! I was so excited!

 

Unfortunately, the heat was nearly unbearable! As soon as we got off the ship, we were dripping in sweat. DRIPPING. The humidity was crazy, and the barometer around 95 degrees. But that wasn't going to stop us!

 

I forced my family to pose for pics in front of the ship - I'm pretty sure the smiles were fake.

 

 

The port area in Cartagena is absolutely beautiful. Wild birds are everywhere! Parrots, peacocks, flamingos, owls, etc! Oliver absolutely loved exploring the birds!

 

 

 

 

 

 

The port does offer wi-fi for $10, although much cheaper than wireless onboard the ship, I found most of the old town of Cartagena had free wi-fi that was very good.

 

The shop also has a lot of souvenirs, including coffee, but everything was about double the cost of the shops in town. We found a couple of grocery stores to buy our coffee, spices, etc. at!

 

Next up: the amazing architecture of this colorful city!

[preschool teacher]

Great so far....thanks a bunch...I looked at the planner you posted and was sad to see no Zumba. Fitness.....bummer....have a happy time...