Vision dec 6 to 13, 2014 - my report, with link to all compasses from that cruise

[wieslaw]

Hi,

Our cruise on Vision just ended last Saturday ...... and I miss it ...... if I lived in Florida probably I would book another one.

 

During the last few months, I have read a number of reports, reviews and comments about the Vision provided by many different posters. Some had great experience and some just the opposite. I guess it can happen..

I just got off the Vision and enjoyed all the she had to offer.

 

Here are my observations.

 

First cruise from Tampa. We spent the pre-cruise night in LQ airport - nothing fancy, budget motel with good location ( walking distance) to many restaurants and the International Mall ( which was very nice). LQ had clean room, very comfortable beds and pillows. It provided a quite place to spent the night.

I got a text from RCI that we could board from 11 am to 3pm

.

Got a taxi about 10:30 am on sat. and left for the Port of Tampa - got there about 10:45 or so. Taxi fare 25 plus some tip. Taxi pulled very close to the terminal building and luggage was quickly transferred to the waiting porters and their luggage carts - tipped them out of fear that my luggage might not go on our ship ..... their effort or help was minimal. Was directed to door marked "A" about 50 feet away. There was a lot of people around the building who just left or were in a process of leaving the Vision - it seemed that the ship got there late or disembarkation was running a little late.

 

Walked inside the "A" entrance, was given the standard health questionnaire form, filled it out and kept it in hand with my sail pass, few feet away was the escalator that took us upstairs for carry on x-ray and metal detector. Few feet farther someone working there directed us to the priority check in..... not a big deal not many people in the other line at that time. They looked (and took) the sail pass, copied the CC info, took our pictures, issued the seapass card and a red card with name of the C&A level. There were a bunch of chairs so we found some and waited with other people who were already there. The time was about 11:20 /25 am.

 

Maybe 30 /40 minutes later they started calling Suites, Pinnacles for boarding the ship, followed by the D+, the D and the other levels ....followed by numbers assigned to guests depending on the cabin/ deck location. The text that was sent by RCI to guests, specified arrival time at the terminal based on the cabin location.

 

We were in Windjammer around 12:30..... got some food and about the time we finished eating ..... a little after 1:00 the cabin was ready.

Muster Drill was at 3:30PM and where we were standing ( station 10) I could see people still boarding the ship .... so things were running a little late.

I found out later from conversation with others that there was a very long line of people and some were waiting close to two hours to get on the ship The ship came late and everything was pushed to later time. Fog made the difference

.

Luggage showed up about 4:30. Met the steward - he was a very good steward, happy we were so lucky ...... started putting clothes away .... soon after, the first seating diner started in the MDR (5:30).

 

The food.

I think I had fish for main course - with some other things ...... and it was good.

All of our dinners, most breakfasts and two lunches ( served on sea days) we ate in the mdr .

I had fish/sea food, beef, pork, lamb .... and I enjoyed every meal.

My wife enjoyed every meal that she ordered and two of our friends ( on their first cruise) also enjoyed every meal that they ordered / ate.

.

I did not eat in the other (Chops. Giovanni,Isumi or Chef's table) restaurants.

I also ate at the Park Cafe and Windjammer - always found something that I liked. Once or twice I had some small snack at the D lounge, mostly I went there for coffee . And few times I had some desert at Cafe Latte-tude / Ben &Jerry. ( no charge)

 

I did not find the food much different than a year ago on Freedom or two years ago on Vision. Our service was very good as well - Vincente our waiter was very professional and helpful. We were in mdr close to 5:30 pm and done eating about 7:15 pm. Could have been faster if we ate faster - but there was no need to rush.

 

Few times we stopped at the Windjammer during breakfast hours to get something and always found a table with no problem. There usually was a short line to the omlet station...... only one person doing the cooking.

On all the port days lunch was at the Windjammer - again no problem with finding a table ...... and always found something to eat that I enjoyed.

 

Twice when I was there, I have seen Captain Liz eating there lunch , as well as I have seen two ship's doctors eating there and some other officers..... must not be too bad if top honchos are eating there too.

 

On the sea days when the mdr was open for lunch, there was a make your own salad station - a lot of different things to choose from ..... you pick what you want and they prepare it for you ..... really fresh and good.

 

I think that they also had a BBQ by the pool on the last sea day - which I missed.

 

One more thing about the food - I spoke/ talked with a fellow cruiser who is vegetarian and I asked if there was enough choices of food items for him ...... and he said 'yes'.

 

Talking about doctors - I have no knowledge of any norovirus during our cruise ...... although it would not surprise me if some were sick... many forget to wash their hands ..... I see it on land , so ship would be no different. The sanitizer/ alcohol stations were placed all over the ship but they do not kill noro.

 

About the ship .

Vision is one of the older and smaller sisters ( born in 1998 in France) in the RCI's fleet - some think she is too old for them at the age of only 16 ..... for me she is still young, petite and beautiful .... few blemishes on her outside skin ( little paint will fix that) but nothing really wrong.

Her Master, Captain Lis Lauritzen is also very petite and beautiful, .... a lady with lots of experience, unpretentious, easily approachable and friendly - we liked her.

 

Some asked about the change of time on the ship - it got changed 1 hr back ( compliments of RCI) on Sunday night and one hour forward on Thursday night (compliments of Carnival according to the CD).

 

The CD - a very nice guy - Mr. Steve Davis, very energetic, friendly, easy going, taken part in many activities - we liked him too.

His helper, the Activities Manager - Mr Magic Marvin - another nice guy ...... his clothes shrunk a little so the tight pants give him high notes when he talked ( I am joking)..... but a good guy ..... participated in many activities and did a good job

 

He welcomed us /Cruise Critics members at the Viking 10:30 am of the second day during the M&M ...... and the prizes were very good .... bottles of Champagne, wine, Chops voucher for two - that is 70 dol ... not bad .... they did not have to do that but they did.

 

We went to most of the shows - and we liked them.

I scanned all of the copies of the Cruise Compass - all 28 pages plus 4 extra pages with more info - so there are 32 pages with all the names and places what took place on our cruise. Another poster( Canadian Tyler) was kind and helpful and posted them for me and for you ..... so if you want all the details, .here is the link to the post /thread

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?p=44985620&highlight=vision#post44985620

 

We were lucky and had very good weather.

We did not do much in ports, since we were there before except Roatan. We got a taxi there and went on a tour of the island. Last stop the cameo factory - some beautiful and artistic cameos there .... wife could not resist, so we got some.

 

Debarkation was smooth for us, we left very late about 9:40am. Lots and lots of people (hundreds) were doing self disembarkation in the early am. We had a late flight so we were not in any hurry. A very long line in the terminal to the officials ..... there are only two of them and over 2 thousand of us ...... it takes time to process so many people.If one is in a hurry take advantage of the porters - they will take to the very front of the line and you get processed very quickly and you are out of the building ready to go.

Lots of taxis to go where you want to. We took one to the airport - 25 dol.

 

Many young people on this cruise - and it seemed that they had lots of fun, also lots of families, some with young kids ( there were about 100 children).

 

A lot of C&A members, I think about 1200 or so. 22 pinncle and bunch of the other levels.

 

Some asked about the beds - they were firm ..... a little too firm for my wife ...... LQ had much, much softer beds and pillows.

 

Ok that is about it.

 

We had a good and enjoyable cruise.

[cruisexlife]

Thanks for your input!

[kftw]

Thank you. We're looking forward to our time on the Vision.

[adverb]

This is sooooooo helpful. Considering going on the same cruise on the Vision in late January. THANK YOU for scanning the programs too. I was looking for current ones of these.

[Canadian Tyler]

Thanks for the review!

 

 

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[BarbJ52]

. Talking about doctors - I have no knowledge of any norovirus during our cruise ...... although it would not surprise me if some were sick... many forget to wash their hands ..... I see it on land , so ship would be no different. The sanitizer/ alcohol stations were placed all over the ship but they do not kill noro.

 

While I missed most of her announcements, I happened to be in the right place at the right time (Thurs. or Fri.??) to hear Captain Lis mention that Medical had seen a few cases of norovirus during our cruise. She, again, reminded us to be vigilant with hand washing, etc.

[wieslaw]

While I missed most of her announcements, I happened to be in the right place at the right time (Thurs. or Fri.??) to hear Captain Lis mention that Medical had seen a few cases of norovirus during our cruise. She, again, reminded us to be vigilant with hand washing, etc.

 

Hi BarbJ52,

 

I guess we were lucky that it did not get spread to a larger number.

The washing of hands was even shown in detail on the room tv ..... but some do and some do not.

[relaxatsea]

Thanks so much for your review and link to the Cruise Compasses.

 

We'll be on the Vision for the April TA, so this was very helpful!

[preschool teacher]

I appreciate your comments...I'll be on her Saturday and I can't wait....

[wieslaw]

Hey enjoy your cruise ..... we did ...... if you got some extra room in your luggage - take me with you.

 

BTW. We took / hired the taxi outside of the Roatan port complex ...... they are available and lots of them on both sides ....... but priced lower on the outside.

We also negotiated the price.

[mrskelster]

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Hi I'm a 1st time crusier thank you for posting the Compass they were great also I was under the impression that their was a charge for ben and jerrys or is that because of your c and a status

[LMaxwell]

the waiting porters and their luggage carts - tipped them out of fear that my luggage might not go on our ship

 

I wish people would stop thinking that way. It's a bunch of nonsense.

 

Enjoyed the rest of your write up and thanks for sharing it.

[wieslaw]

I was under the impression that their was a charge for ben and jerrys or is that because of your c and a status

 

Yes there is a charge at ben and jerry regardless of c and a status ....... but not for every thing that they have ........ the desserts ( I / we had cheese cake -we were not charged).

They might tell you the first time when you are there and ask for the dessert that there is no charge for the dessert if you also get (charge) coffee ....... my answer was no, I do not want coffee just the dessert ...... and there is no charge.

[wieslaw]

I wish people would stop thinking that way. It's a bunch of nonsense.

 

Perhaps you are correct that the fear is a bunch of nonsense - most of the time in my mind I believe so.

 

But ..... I have been cruising for a very long time ( close to 30 years) and I have seen some strange things ( and behavior) done by the stevedores at some US ports.

 

In those many years of cruising I also spent a lot of time just talking with others sharing their experience with some stevedores.

 

The strangets experience that a gentleman shared with me and others happened when he was boarding Vision 2 years ago in PE. I also was on that sailing.

He came from a hotel to port in a taxi ( terminal 4 - I think), his luggage was put on a cart where the porter /stevedore was working. The gentleman boarded the Vision. His luggage never made it on the ship (Vision).

His luggage went to a different terminal (terminal 2) and was loaded on Liberty.

 

I know, one shared experience like that should not put any fear in my mind .... but it did. And that was not the first or only story / experience shared by others - connected with missing luggage.

 

I am very much for rewarding the porters when they help me - especially doing the disembarkation ( if I needed help) ....... but I am very skeptical when they do very little or nothing ..... and they got their hand out ...... or even demand a tip ..... in some ports.

My comments are only mine and others are others.

[phillychick]

Thanks for the review. I'm sailing Vision for NYE & really looking forward to it. I'm a big fan of Schooners & the piano bar... Do you know who the piano player is and if he/she is fun???

[wieslaw]

Kim Kinrade was there - and even that I did not spent much time there (Schooner bar) , I saw a lot of people there whenever I walked by the piano ....so they must have liked him, ..... and they seemed to have fun with him.

 

There also was Raul - I do not know much about this person.

 

Kim was plying (singing) starting about 9 and to late hours

Raul was early

Take a look at the compass under "Music and Dancing"

And I wish you a happy and enjoyable sailing ...... go with open mind ...... do not expect too much ...... have fun - we did

Edited December 21, 2014 by wieslaw

[matandbri]

Thanks for the review. I'm sailing Vision for NYE & really looking forward to it. I'm a big fan of Schooners & the piano bar... Do you know who the piano player is and if he/she is fun???

 

Previous cruisers said he was great, we did not care for him. We spent the first evening in the schooner bar and he tells stories about the songs, musicians, etc. The first couple were interesting, then it got old. We never went back. Check it out, you may like it! There are plenty of music venues and we loved the Vision!

[matandbri]

We had a great experience on this cruise too. I started to write a review and didn't realize how much it takes. THANK YOU for taking the time to let others know that Vision is pretty good!

[wieslaw]

We had a great experience on this cruise too. I started to write a review and didn't realize how much it takes. THANK YOU for taking the time to let others know that Vision is pretty good!

 

Thank you for a supportive post - we are all different, and enjoy different things, some of us perhaps expect too much from a mass market cruise ship and some will not get what they used to get on some previous cruises.

 

Vision for us ( 2nd sailing on her) and for our friends ( first cruise ever) - was the right choice.

And yes, I agree the review / report takes a lot of extra time, especially all the scanning of all the compasses. But I hope some will benefit from that.

I did from reading others reviews.

Edited December 21, 2014 by wieslaw

[shellunderwater]

We were on the 13th to the 20th. I believe your experience was very similar to ours. Thanks for the information.

 

I'm working on my trip report today.

[phillychick]

Can you tell me if there are 1 or 2 formal nights??

[shellunderwater]

Can you tell me if there are 1 or 2 formal nights??

 

2 formal nights.

 

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[wieslaw]

On our sailing 1st formal was on day/night 2 ( sunday - sea day)

and the second formal was on day/night 5 ( wednesday - Cozumel)

 

and the ladies really looked good - beautifing their dresses ...... and some of the men cleaned up pretty good ...... there were even pictures to prove that.

[wieslaw]

We were on the 13th to the 20th. I believe your experience was very similar to ours. Thanks for the information.

 

I'm working on my trip report today.

 

Hi,

I am glad that you as stated, had a similar experience ..... but it probably was even better because your boarding had to be better than ours.

 

On our boarding day things were delayed thanks to fog ...... but when we got back on the 13th, Vision was by the terminal really early and people started leaving the ship close to 7am ....... so that gave you, the new guests more time to do the boarding.

The window for boarding is small on most of the ships and if anything goes wrong ....... too many people at the same time and more lines and waiting.

 

I am looking forward to read your report.

 

Wishing you happy holidays.

Edited December 22, 2014 by wieslaw

[Susie51]

Thank you for your review. I appreciate the details.

 

I was sorry to hear about the bed.

 

We were on Explorer of the Seas in 2012 in GS and the bed was wonderful! In March we'll be on Nav. in GS. I'm hoping the bed will be excellent.