LIVE / Vision OS / July 6 - 15, 2023

HBCcruiser · July 3, 2023

Summer vacation is here so it’s time for our summer cruise! This year we decided to jump on the 9 night Vision of the Seas cruise out of Baltimore with stops in Bermuda, Nassau and Coco Cay. We love Bermuda and Coco Cay!

I’m cruising with my two adult DDs and my SIL. Girls cruise! Watch out cause we are ready yo have some fun!

HBCcruiser · July 3, 2023

I flew out to Boston on Saturday to spend the 4th of July with my oldest DD. My flight out of LAX was on time and smooth. I think I got out of town before the airport got crazy. American bumped me up to first class which I have never flown on a transcon before. Sweet!

My Pod:

HBCcruiser · July 3, 2023

Boston has been rainy and humid. I’m hoping this crappy weather now means better weather for our cruise. We have been having a great time though. On Sunday we went to Contessa for brunch. The restaurant is on the top floor of a hotel. The food was 10/10 forks.

Belini:

Eggs Florentine:

Menu:

HBCcruiser · July 3, 2023

Cheers!

HBCcruiser · July 3, 2023

Last night we hit up a tapas wine bar called Barcelona. I highly recommend this place! The food was excellent and the wine was good!

HBCcruiser · July 3, 2023

Our plans are for the two of us to fly to Baltimore on Wednesday morning. My SIL is flying in from Indiana at the same time. My youngest DD will be flying from Phoenix but she has a layover in Chicago. She is not expected to land until around 10 PM Wednesday night. I pray all flights are on time but we all know how reality and flying is playing out these days. 🙏🙏

We are all staying in a two bedroom suite at the SpringHill Suites near the harbor. I’m hoping to grab some yummy Crab Cakes! Any suggestions on where to go?

HBCcruiser · July 3, 2023

Excursions:

This is the first time my SIL has been to Bermuda so we are trying to squeeze in as much fun in 24 hours that we can. On the first day we plan on doing a snorkel trip with a company we used before and loved. My DDs really wanted to do this again.

That same evening we are going to jump on the Gosling Rum tasting sail (weather permitting). That starts at 7:30 so my plan is to quickly shower then head to the Frog and Onion for dinner before we start drinking rum. I love their fish n chips!

On the second day we are just going to take a cab to Warwick Long Bay in the morning and walk the trail to Horseshoe Bay. We will head back to the ship at 11:00 and perhaps do a little shopping at the Dockyard before having to get back onboard.

In Nassau we are going to Baha Bay. I was able to snag a cabana near the lazy river which should be a blast!

On Coco Cay we are getting a Beach Cabana in the Beach Club. My SIL and I plan on being there all day. The DDs may head to the Oasis pool for a bit for some lively fun. 😂🍹🍹 Oh yeah, we are trying (again) for the balloon ride. What’s the over/under on that actually happening?
Here’s hoping!

HBCcruiser · July 3, 2023

Our checkin time at the port is 11:00 AM. We are I a 2 Bedroom suite so we plan on getting to the port between 10 and 10:30 in case they let us onboard earlier.

HBCcruiser · July 3, 2023

The concierge is Jaime Ramirez Lara. He has been very communicative and responsive to our requests and questions. 🤗 We received our initial email two weeks ago which is rather early. Usually we do not get the email until a week prior to sailing.

Initial welcome email:

HBCcruiser · July 3, 2023

One thing I noticed is that about two months ago the prices for Coco Cay Beach Club and all island Cabanas skyrocketed in price! Seriously, they more than doubled! I am so glad I booked our tickets a long time ago during a sale. There is no way I’d buy it for the current price.
😳

HBCcruiser · July 3, 2023

Royal emails are coming in hard RN. We must be getting close to cruise time! 😎🤩

HBCcruiser · July 3, 2023

Based on mixed reviews regarding the main dining room new menus and food selections, we decided to get the dining package. The price was right during the Black Friday sale so we booked it. Our concierge just confirmed our dining reservation requests. 😃 We also booked the Chef’s Table and Sip. Tour. Brunch. I’ve never done the brunch but do love the Chef’s table! I’m hoping they can switch out the raw tuna for beef carpaccio like they did on the NOS! IMO there are too many seafood plates during the Chefs Table. Changing out the one course really helped make it better for me. I’m just not a raw fish kind of gal. My DDs love it though!

alleghator · July 3, 2023

I'm curious about what time you actually sail out of Baltimore and the times you arrive and leave each of the islands.

HBCcruiser · July 3, 2023

6 minutes ago, alleghator said:

I'm curious about what time you actually sail out of Baltimore and the times you arrive and leave each of the islands.

Sure. I’ll make sure to note it as we go.

HBCcruiser · July 3, 2023

I keep getting RoyalUp emails. We are in the cabin we want so we will not be bidding, but these are the two options with the minimum bid shown:

HBCcruiser · July 3, 2023

Well this should be fun! 😳

shipgeeks · July 3, 2023

3 hours ago, alleghator said:

I'm curious about what time you actually sail out of Baltimore and the times you arrive and leave each of the islands.

When we did this sailing in June, we departed Baltimore at 3pm. After a sea day, we arrived in Bermuda at 1pm, and then departed 24 hours later.

I can't remember the times for Nassau and Coco Cay, but they were morning arrivals and afternoon departures.

Tangibelle · July 3, 2023

I'm looking forward to following along since I'll be right behind you doing the same itinerary the first week of August! Safe travels to Baltimore!

HBCcruiser · July 4, 2023

The sun broke free from the rain clouds in the afternoon. My DD had to work so I did some house cleaning for her. For dinner we walked to a fun pizza restaurant called Josephine’s. The Caesar salad and pepperoni pizza were great!