Vision Thanksgiving Cruise- mini review

[ksuds]

I typically do not do reviews of cruises, but I've read so many conflicting things about the Visioin I wanted to give my perspective.

 

There were four of us traveling in our party. We managed to book one cabin for my mom and her roommate. Then my partner and I booked cabins side by side. The reason being was that it landed up being slightly cheaper and we received double onboard credits. We all had inside cabins. I can tell you that will be the last one week cruise that we will book an inside cabin. Having such a dark cabin really messed with our body clocks.

 

Check In and Boarding

 

Can I just say DISASTER! We received several texts and phone messages from Royal the day before our cruise telling us that our show up time was from 11:00-3:00 because of our status. Otherwise, the message indicated if you were on a certain deck, to show up at different times.

 

We arrived to Tampa at exactly 11:00 to find out that they were still trying to get the prior cruise emptied. The police would not let us enter the area in order to drop the bags. So our friend dropped us off at the Royal Terminal. Because there were 2 ships, we went out of the Carnival Terminal. So we dragged our bags over and a porter gladly took them.

 

Entering the terminal was quick and painless. But once inside, there was no organization at all. It was very apparent that all the trained staff was tending to the Brilliance and they hired all new staff for the Vision. Each check in station had the new person, a person training and another person just standing there. This process usually goes pretty quick if you have everything ready. My check in was 20 minutes, and my mom's was 30 minutes.

 

We didn't find any priority waiting area so we just stood and talked by another cruiser we already knew. Come sometime after 11:30 without any announcements they opened the doors and there was a mad rush to board. No crowd control.

 

Once on the ship, we needed to swipe our cards in. First security didn't know who we all where. He asked if we were the B2B cruisers. Then they started taking everyone's picture again. I told him that they were taken in the terminal and he sounded suprised.

 

Onboard

 

Once on the ship, we were starving. The Windjammer didn't open up until a little after noon. The design of the WJ couldn't remind me more of going to a Golden Corral. The hot buffet stations are immediately when you enter the WJ. There is not a lot of room to move around as they take up most of the walk area. There are two sides to the buffet. The food varies on each side. So if you pick the wrong side of the line, then you have to figure out how to get what you want from the otherside without having to start all over. The deserts are in the middle of the WJ. The burgers and fries and some other hot items are also toward the middle back wall.

 

The appearance of the ship was pretty good inside. There was a lot of rust on the outside. We never saw any crew painting or tuching up

 

As stated our room was an inside cabin. Overall I was very happy with the room. They have redone the bathrooms pretty nice. We didn't notice any odors that we sometimes experience.

 

FOOD

 

Our first night we ate at Giovanni's. I must say it was excellent! I had the filet for my entry and I like it cooked Blue (raw and cold). It was perfect!

 

Second night we ate at Captain Lis's table. I had the surf and turf with Escargot to start with. Our Escargot was cold. My filet was cooked as good as could be expected in the dining room. The problem was it was very dry and tasted like it had been prepared a long time before serving it. The mashed potatoes were also very dry. I could pick up the whole lump with my fork and it wouldn't go anywhere.

 

The other nights we ate in the dining room. We had table 116 at 8:00 because they messed up our my time dining. We were glad they did mess it up because we had an amazing server (Nicole) and her assistant (Sherry). The food quality was hit and miss. Prime rib was tough and not tasty. Curry food one night was extremely salty, the next night it was great.

 

Windjammer food for lunch was typical. Our only daily complaint along with most other cruisers was the bacon was raw. We begged and pleaded but they just couldn't figure out how to cook the bacon.

 

One disappointment was that we usually eat in the dining room for breakfast. Our meeting time is always 9:00 because we are use to it ending at 10:00. Port days appeared to end at 8:30 and sea days 9:00. We missed it everyday because we just can't eat that early.

 

SHOWS

 

I finally got to see two arial shows in the Centrum. It was amazing. They cancelled the big show due to rough seas. The unfortunate part is we sat there for a couple hours to make sure my mom and her friend would have a seat. The captain announced early in the day that the sea conditions weren't changing. However, they waited until after the show was supposed to start to tell anyone.

 

I also saw one of the production shows that they sing the old Abba type songs. It was pretty good. About like any other show I've seen.

 

Centrum entertainers were great. The Piano guy in the Schooner also did good each night.

 

 

Concierge service not the best. Went up on the first night to introduce ourselved and find out if Chefs table runs a special any nights on the ship. Instead of checking on it, he dragged his phone over to me and had me call myself. Heck, I could have done that from my cabin. We never went back up there because it was not a good location to socialize with a group. We mainly stayed in the Diamond Lounge. It was group friendly.

 

Our ports were Cozumel, Grand Caymen, Costa Maya and Belize.

 

Due to weather we had to skip Grand Caymen which was our last port.

 

There were a lot of irrate people on this sailing. We me one lady who was so negative that she said if she knew that this ship had a female captain she would have never booked it. WOW was all I could say. Another comment I remembered from a different passenger was that they didn't understand why we just can't get back a day early so they could enjoy Tampa.

 

Our Cruise Director was Paul. I guess Steven had recently went on vacation. I was bummed as I wanted to do the Thriller dance. Paul didn't have a lot of excitement and came off "fake". We had a hard time with some of the others on his staff due to language barriers. One of the guys were from China and they had him do trivia. We got some laught out of his pronounciation. But it did make trivia difficult.

 

We did have an issue that we used Guest Services. The four of us prepaid our gratuities. When we checked our bill the 6th day we say that they were charging us again. We brought it to their attention but they would not help us without proof. OK.........off to use their slow internet just to get our booking invoices. When we brought all four back they said they would take care if it, but if will take a little while. Next morning our bills our stuck in the door. Two of the four were fixed. By that time the lines where all over the place. Now we are stuck dealing with Corporate.

 

Disembarkation

 

As to be expected, it was also a disaster. We checked our luggage the night before the planned on meeting around 8:00 in our disignated lounge. The ship wasn't cleared yet. There were people with luggage everywhere. Again no one from the ship directing people or keeping the isleways cleared. We couldn't even walk through the maze of people to get to our area. We had to walk to the opposite end of the ship take the stair and cut back over again. Our departure time said 8:10 and we landed up getting off the ship at 9:30.

 

This will probably be the last time that we sail on this ship again. Too bad because the Tampa port is so convenient for us. At least the Brilliance is here also.

[Kinny]

We saw you (errrr I mean Vision of the Seas) in Cozumel, and Belize on Norwegian Jewel. :D

[vkohout]

Thank you for your review. We were supposed to be on the ship but both my husband and I got the stomach flu and weren't able to board. I've being waiting to see how the trip went for those of you that were able to go.

[DavyJoneses]

Thanks for taking the time to write the review.

[wieslaw]

Hi,

thank you very much for sharing your cruise experience with us.

I read your review / obsevations with a lot of interest because we will probably experience very similar cruise on the 6th of dec.

Seems that there is some room for improvement ..... we will try to enjoy our cruise as much as possible.

[grand isle joe]

Thanks for the review. Happy cruising in your future.:)

[flcraigs5]

We head out on the Vision in 11 days. Hope they get their act together before we board :) Though since I will not be at work it will all be just fine!!!!!

[RC Cruiser 2006]

We Too were on the THANKSGIVING Vision cruise. I posted my review too and it's not good at all. Paul was so self centered and fake, we agree. So was Magic Marvin, aka the stripper. Food was bland and not great. Checking in was chaotic and leaving was the same. The smoking in the casino was smelling up the ship from the theater to deck 8. It was horrible. Vision needs help! WJ ran out of silverware and napkins. Main dining rooms ran out of food. So disappointed.

[wieslaw]

...... Vision needs help! WJ ran out of silverware and napkins. Main dining rooms ran out of food. So disappointed.

 

Thanks for your report ......sorry to hear / see comments like that .

I wonder what is wrong ?

We sailed on Vision 2 years ago and it was a very nice and enjoyable cruise.

 

You mentioned that you posted a review -Where did you post your review ? I would like to read it.

Edited December 2, 2014 by wieslaw

[RC Cruiser 2006]

Also on Vision Thanksgiving cruise 2014. The onboard entertainment was horrible. Bad lip synching too. It was like going to a high school show, it was bad. The costumes and wigs were bad taste too. Song selections on broadway night were poor choice and musical arrangements of the songs were horrible. The music on the ship was redundant and not good. Simon Cowell would ask for a private helicopter to pick him up if he were on the ship because of the singing.

.

[RC Cruiser 2006]

Boarding was crazy, leaving was just as crazy! Tampa port is a mess! We were not allowed in our cabin until 1:30-2 pm while having our carry ons with us. Be careful about the port with your luggage. Several families never got their luggage because it was put on the WRONG SHIP! Ridiculous!

 

We were given a wrong room and wrong dining. Got this straightened out immediately. But had to wait for a room change after we left Tampa. So, it was a waiting game. Frustrating.

 

Paul was self centered and fake. Magic Marvin should be a stripper and acted as such. Also, self centered. The entire ship had that vibe. They are not into you, just your tips since they must be prepaid. False. ....before sailing tell them NOT to charge your seapass for tips. Tips mean TO INSURE PROPER SERVICE! Tip at the end of the cruise like we did. Tips were given to service we received. Since tips are prepaid SERVICE HAS GOTTEN MUCH MUCH WORSE! DO NOT PAY YOUR TIPS IN ADVANCE!

 

Nothing to do on the ship. We were bored! Redundant songs, bad lounge singers. Bad performances on the ship. It was like watching a bad high school musical.

 

Windjammer is just blah and bland! Ran out of silverware and napkins at lunch. Ridiculous! Dining room ran out of food at lunch and second seating dinner did not have the same food selections because of shortage of meals. Also, ridiculous. Coffee was NOT good on the ship. Chocolate milk can only be requested in dining room. WJ will bring you hot chocolate because they will tell you that there is no chocolate milk. Ridiculous!

[RC Cruiser 2006]

I cannot find my review which I spent alot of time posting! Frustrated.

[RC Cruiser 2006]

Also, the captain announced numerous times of noro virus on the ship. Sigh. Just to add to this adventure. So, people....WASH YOUR HANDS AFTER YOU GO TO THE BATHROOM. SO MANY SLOBS ON THIS CRUISE. IT WAS DISGUSTING TO SEE THE PEOPLE IN THE BATHROOM, DO THEIR BUSINESS AND NOT WASH THEIR HANDS. SO GROSS.