Vision of the Seas - pre holiday cruise review

[bearette]

Hello and Happy Holidays. We did the week before Christmas cruise sailing out of New Orleans, the first after its Panama Canal arrival.  We are husband, daughter and son (twins 6 years old), my mom and uncle. Then of course myself (wife). For the first days in New Orleans my cousin also tagged along, but working in retail he could not do the cruise. 

 

Departing: We had a 7:30 am flight on Southwest from Lax. I'll spare the boring details but we arrived tired, hungry, and  slightly early around 1:30pm We planned on calling two Ubers since there were seven of us, but as luck would have it, a shuttle company was waiting and offered us a discount ride that was the same as the Ubers so we jumped on it.  We had a home rental near the  Bywater and the 9th ward. I used Homeaway and the place was everything described. My only complaint was the bus took too long and was too shady to trust at night, so we ended up Ubering as we got cold weather and pouring rain, so the $15 to $10 rides were worth it.(per uber car).

 

New Orleans:  Many things to research on this , but we did  a ghost tour that included a view of City Park and ghost hunting.  My kids were terrified of our vampire guide( he had vampire teeth), but it is was their favorite thing we ended up doing.  I still have the ghost hunting app they recommended (free) on my phone. We also did a mule carriage ride ( they bargain some in the rain) and the Mardi Grais Museum. Lastly we visited the zoo which is very nice.  Our home rental had tickets as part of the stay to the zoo, but  otherwise they are doing night zoo with lights that I would have done. Post cruise, we used the same shuttle company for pick up and baggage storage to explore the city.  This time  we did a short city and cemetery tour (cemetery 1) using The Bone Lady and did last minute shopping.

 

Food in New Orleans

Willie Maes, best friend chicken ever! Only competition was Dooky Chase's, home.of Leah Chase who was the inspiration for Diana in Princess and the Frog. My daughter was very excited to eat at "Tianas Place".  We preferred Dooky Chase's  because of the ambiance and service. We arrived without a reservation and they were nothing, but nice. Reasonable prices (under $20 entrees) and desserts for $4.50.  I highly recommend this place. 

 

We also got drinks at the ice cream daiquiri place near French Market which I loved as someone who likes mixed sweet drinks. This place has live music which was a bonus as we were limited on options with kids. We hit up both beignet places (Cafe Beignets and cafe Du Monde and we all preferred different places).  The Cafe Beignets ( on Royal Street and Bourdon both have live music too, but the Bourbon street location , the alcohol drinks were not very good, tasted like booze only, no flavor.)

My husband loves the Central Grocery muffletta so we had to eat their as well.

 

Cafe Fleur de Lis- a breakfast and lunch only place, we ate an early dinner here and had some drinks. I highly recommend the hurricanes. We got coffee at their sister location-Envie ( more than one location) with alcohol if you want to start your morning off right. I liked the Ugg Boot-pumpkin flavor with baileys. My coffee cup advertised Cafe Fleur De Lis.

 

I couldn't name all the places we drank, but I will say the to go cups are easily attainable and where the kids couldn't go in, we were able to sit outside.  We had to mind the kids so we didn't get a lot, but we felt we had a fun time.  pouts are very strong here so we didn't need much to feel we were vacationing. We did take them down Bourbon street and the only things they cared about was the Santa (outside a strip club ironically) and the street performer dressed as Bublebee. On the wet nights it was tame, but by 5pm on a Saturday, it was getting to the point I wouldn't let my kids be on Bourbon street anymore. I had been before so I knew what to except but if you are prudish or easily offended avoid this street. I am neither so we enjoyed it for what it is, though we didn't spend much time on the street.

 

Embarkation

We took the shuttle, but my mom had misplaced her passport (she ended up packing it in her suitcase by mistake).  We were able to contact someone at home to take a picture of her certified birth certificate so she was able to board with only a few minutes delay. (And some considerable panic).  Mental note: keep the birth certificate separate of the passport and take a picture of it as the passport photo was worthless.

The longest line was security (diamond did have a shorter line, my mom was emerald and used the same line). They were checking water and soda to make sure it wasn't alcohol. ( giving it a shake). Once we made it passed the security line, we had a 5 minute wait to check in.  (Nonpast passenger was longer). We were on board by 1pm with an arrival of 12:15pm-so not bad.

Edited January 1, 2019 by bearette

[Swann5]

Thank you for sharing your experiences! We are sailing out of New Orleans for the first time in February and it will also be our first time on the Vison, so we really appreciate your valuable insights! Hope you have more to share and that  you had a wonderful vacation!

Dianne

[timxrx]

Thanks bearette for the great information. We are sailing on the Vision out of New Orleans on our first b2b Feb 2nd & 9th 2019.

We are also planning a few days to enjoy the area before we cruise so this information was a great help.

Looking forward to reading more of your review.

[BALCONETTE]

Yay!!  We're cruising on Vision in March.  Can't wait to hear about the rest of your cruise!

[fisher joe]

headed out on her January 19....anyone have questions let me know and I will get them answered for you

 

[bearette]

Ship activities

 

Entertainment

The cruise we were on experienced the worst movement of any ship I have ever done (which is a lot as I have over 25).  There were storms which made all the Gulf of Mexico  rock n roll for the last two days.  As this was made public as we exited our last  port, announcements were made changing the evening entertainment so none of the shows would have to be cancelled.  Roatan night we had the acrobats, then the comedian and finally the stage show.   I thought they did a great job of moving activities so we could enjoy it as much as possible. The last two sea days all the promenade decks were closed as well as deck 9.  Deck four mid-ship was the happening place the last two days.

 

As far as the activities themselves we loved the egg drop challenge ( We just watched) and Thriler.  I decided to join in Thriller late in the game, but since I have some dance background I was able to join in and was selected to be in the second row. Since I only joined in the day before, I was proud of this fact, but I recommend starting from the beginning.   When the zombies walked through the audience my kids screamed in terror "They got mommy!"  They tried to get my husband to leave , but we had told them on the ship you become a dancing zombie, so it would be ok.  I won't ruin it if you don't want it spoiled form your cruise, but it was well attended so go early to get a good spot. I linked one of the videos below if you dare!  You can guess which one is me!

 

 

We watched Alpha on deck and since it was the day that began the bad weather (and sea conditions) the pool water blowing on us added to the experience.  It felt like 4D.

 

We went to most of the shows.  I have seen better, but I sat through all the ones are attended so they were worth attending.  We really enjoyed the acrobatic team.

 

Diamond lounge

We never had trouble a getting a table and the service was always quick and friendly. We would take our kids for a snack and after the first day, they always had grenadine for Shirley Temples for us. It wasn't as busy on our cruise as many of the others I have heard about. 

 

Kids club

My least favorite.  It took 30 minutes on strategizing in kids if you showed up at opening time.  We ended up coming 10 minutes early and we still had to wait ten minutes it wasn't electronic and it took forever!

 

My son doesn't always want to do the organized activities and I instead of letting him play cars or Legos they made him do wherever organized game. He was probably the only kid happy when the activities were suspended once the ship became rocky.  ( many kids were sick in there and the staff had a hard time tracking down parents of sea sick kids so they had free play). I have only had issues on the Vision ( this is my second time in a row on this ship) with the kids club. Once the ship began to.rock they discouraged you from.geopolitics your kids.  My kids have stomachs of steel and never got sea sick in the kids club.

 

It is there, but not a great experience, though my kids loved it. Dealing with the staff at the kids club was my only major complaint of the cruise. I normally tip them, but this is the first time I didn't tip the staff there.

 

Food 

 

This is very subjective but we were all happy. My only minor complaint was no kids menus at lunch.  The waiter offered chicken tenders and a cheese burger was on the menu so we found good for The kids, but since they are catered to everywhere else this was disappointing.

 

The last day when the Windjammer was feeling the most rocking (therefore the worst place to be), they made the dinning room a buffet to accommodate all the people.   I liked that they thought of the passengers comfort and made.these adjustments.  Also bar servers were passing out ginger (used in some of the drinks) to help ease nausea for passengers.

 

Besides the kids club staff, I thought the service was excellent.

 

 

[bearette]

Room service/Breakfast

 

We had breakfast on our balcony, room service. This was our routine. Once my mom forgot to put her card out and once they did not give me something I ordered, but otherwise it worked out fine. I also laughed hysterically when I order a blueberry muffin and it was literally one bite portions are small so we usually order fruit to make sure we had enough to eat.  This was all of the continental menu.   My uncle  was  an early riser so he would usually return from his coffee run with bacon and eggs for us. Otherwise we had croissants from the diamond lounge with fruit or parfaits and croissants from the coffee shop.  I highly recommend the parfaits.  Coffee was pay for, but the food (minus ice cream) was free.

 

Cozumel

 

We have been here many times so we got off a little after arrival-around 9am which was 10am Cozumel time. We walked through the gauntlet of people selling tours, but we were looking for a dune buggy.  Some in the port wouldn't allow my kids so we ventured outside the gates and negotiated a three hour tour.  It left from around the corner and they had us leave at 11am (about 15 minutes at this point).  We had time for a safety briefing and to use the restroom. It was just us in two cars, but dune buggy was not what I would call it. A modified Kia is actually what it was, but it suited it's purpose. They took us to an off road section, but since it was guided my husband couldn't go as fast as he wanted. Here, they took a picture and they framed it nicely so we paid the overpriced amount for the memory. Then a beach off by itself with alligators and some facilities such as a restaurant with a restroom.  We liked this area so much we decided if we return again we will rent a car and just go to the beach area. The break was far away and the water shallow so I didn't have to hover just watch my kids. Finally, the obligatory tequila tasting. The tour was nice, but the bottles were over priced. $40 and $60! We have family in Rosarito so I know it doesn't cost that much. I bought a bottle of Almond Tequila for $12 so $40 was ridicilous.  Buyer beware. We finished off at the same place and then shopped a little before getting drinks and nachos at the bar. 

Chile's I believe was the name and they brought me out the hottest sauces! I love spicy so it was amazing. After two rounds we headed back to the ship, but first a free tequila shot (adults only) for stopping by.  We saw a beach area, and tried to go in, but it was part of the hotel so even with it being late in the day they wouldn't negotiate the price so we decided to head back in.

 

But wait! What is this!  The same Senor Frogs we visited last time! It has been remodeled, but it was the same. My dad has passed away since that visit so it held special memories for us.  Even some of the same workers we still around, after my husband pulled up old pictures, so more nachos, another tequila shot ( on the house) and some two for $5 Frog Legs shots, plus a yard later, we giggled back to the ship.  Well my uncle and I did. The other two watched the kids and us.  We managed to pose for pictures on the dock, but once back to the ship it was nap time for me. We limited the drinks the rest of the trip. Every cruise has one story like this right?

[bearette]

Costa Maya

 

I have also been to this port, but it has been many years. I knew from research and previous experience that there were dive shops around so we piled into two cabs ( We made friends with a couple and my mom and uncle split a cab with them.) As reported it was $8 a taxi for up to four.  On the way back, however, we found a found a van who could fit us all and he only charged us $10 for the same ride.

 

I researched here and decided Crazy Lobster fit the bill. It had decent prices for food and drinks, calm water with the breakaway some distance away so the kids could play in mostly knee high water. We were early enough that we got a prime spot beachfront with a table for eating and drinking. We spent all day here, while my husband found a dive shop nearby and joined us for only the last 30 minutes or so.  We shopped the vendors who walked by. ( After a while it will be the same people so they will leave you alone after then first hour or two). The kids played for hours and borrowed my mom's mask to attempt snorkeling. While they broke the snorkel attachment, it was still usable and provided much entertainment.

 

Also available were free kayaks, just tip the man who monitors them, and other water activities for a small fee. My uncle enjoyed some time out with the kids on the kayak and said it was easy, as long as the kids didn't "help" with the rowing. My.mom and I stuck to the free rock collecting, castle building, and sand Angel making with the kids, but the beach lounges got the majority of our time.

 

We lunched on nachos, fish tacos, $1 beers ( on the small size but $5 for the bucket of five) and some coco loco (had to share that as it was more loco than coco), but it made for great photo opps served in a coconut. The blended drinks were much sweeter and tastier. As we were slow on the alcohol today, they also switched out some of the $1 beers for cold ones when we let them sit too long.  Overall we had a pleasant experience and I would return to this same stretch of sand on our next visit. They had nice service, we're friendly and offered an ok restroom (well it was a beach front restroom).

 

We got a taxi back, but wanted to look at the much improved port area since I had been there (about 8-10 years ago). We laughed over the wrestling, peered at some dolphins and parrots ( We did not pay to go in), and then relaxed while sharing a yard while the kids tried out the pool. My son seems to be accident prone on vacation, see my previous reviews for our trips to the hospital, and he continued his issues with a nice scratch while getting out of the pool. It was nothing a good rinse with water, his favors cookie, and an open toggle on his sandal couldn't fix. Or a toy as he mentioned as he passed the handmade cars and trucks (his favorite things).

 The options in the port area were much more expensive then outside so we bypassed the inside options ( here is the car I bought you out on the other beach), turned in our towels and headed to our rooms to freshen up and get a snack. 

 

I wanted to mention in every port they had a towel station attendant by the exit  or on  the dock so you could check one out conveniently, but bring it back or face the $25 fee. Waters were available as well for purchase.

[bearette]

😄And what you have been waiting for! Photos!!! Christmas decorations in New Orleans 

 

Bumblebee on Bourbon

 

ghosts on our cemetery tour

 

Mardi Gras World- we have a Germany Shepard 

 

 

 

 

Santa listens to jazz- and travels in a wheel chair

 

 

Edited January 8, 2019 by bearette

[bearette]

Mule ride- perfect time for rainy evening

Famous corn fence

 

 

Near our rental house, some buildings you can still see the water line

Catching the streetcar to Garden District

 

 

Now on the ship/ enjoying the view

[bearette]

The beach in Cozumel

 

Spicy salsa

 

off roading

Edited January 8, 2019 by bearette

[bearette]

Roatan 

 

I haven’t been here in almost 20 years! It was just starting to become a cruise port back then and I was a teenager. We planned on hitting West End beach and touring  while my husband dived near there, so after going outside the port gates and finding a taxi and guide we told him my husband wanted to dive and our tour was shortened substantially because we ended up joining my husband on the dive boat as snorkelers, but a lot closer.

 

The dive shop and resort was called Wikkid Divers. My husband loved the dives and we loved the catamaran. It was a really nice catamaran with snacks and drinks, even local, beer after the diving/ snorkeling.  We left at about 10 and got back to the dock about 2pm. There were two sites we went to. They both weren’t great for snorkeling as the tide was strong and not many fish in either snorkeling location. The second site had a lot of trash at the surface, too. My husband’s dives were amazing according to him. A cave at the first location and many fish at the second.

 

  My kids undertook a real snorkel experience and while they loved it, they got tired and cold after a while and ended up back on the boat eating Doritos and fruit before long. The boat hands were excellent with helping me mind the children and allowed me to enjoy myself once the kids had enough.  Also, they provided some life rings so my kids held on to them (along with life vests) to get the hang of snorkeling which made things easier.

 

Because we had all aboard at 4:30pm we ended up doing a quick stop at the view point near the port. We did some quick shopping and back to the car for another stop, which was a shop selling the same tourist stuff, but for more money, including some very beautiful mahogany doors.  The view point had the same items so we were glad we did our shopping there.

 

We asked for what else we could see and got the run around so ended up back at the port. They wanted to make their money for the day so they tried to make the area more interesting, but we didn’t have times to go to the major tourist attractions at this point. We had a good time, but spend too much time on the water to see much of the island. We were back at the port with an hour left.

 

We had some time to shop at the port so we looked around, but prices were a lot more here so we didn’t buy much. The drink prices were pretty high too so after looking around we and headed back to the ship.

 

 

[bearette]

Roatan port area

 

Wikked Divers’ resident humming birds

 

View from the catamaran 

 

Shopping for their favorite door- leopard and parrots were their favorites

 

One last look at the cruise port area

[FamCruz2012]

On 1/3/2019 at 5:02 PM, fisher joe said:

headed out on her January 19....anyone have questions let me know and I will get them answered for you

 

Hi Fisher Joe!  I posted this 2 weeks ago on our Roll Call with no answers.  Maybe you can help?  Here is link, with my post copied below.  Thanks!  

 

 

 

Hello!  I'm excited to join you! Just booked this as a "getaway" cruise for myself and 3 longtime friends during recent sales.  Happily surprised to end up with a suite - it was actually cheaper than the 2 rooms we were originally planning to get.  This is my 2nd cruise (1st was in 2012, Western Caribbean, Mariner of the Seas, a family trip with my 82yo mom!).  My friends are 1st time cruisers, so I'm trying to gather some info for them, as they have several questions but not much time to read these forums.  :)

1.  Would appreciate any info on the area near Cabins 8000-8012 besides what is readily available online in the usual deck plans & reviews.  There's not too much info out there, and some is definitely not accurate (we have "ocean view suite" but no balcony, and the booking agent confirmed that the most recent video/photos are outdated - the ship has been updated since then). 

2.  Specifically wondering if anyone has had trouble with noise or seasickness in this area - hoping not!  :) (I know we're under the Windjammer...)

3.  I'm also trying to remember the best time for dinner (we have My Time Dining) when considering the evening entertainment etc.  Suggestions appreciated.