Vision moving to Norfolk?

[Oceansaway17]

Vision coming in tomorrow is better than today given really bad weather 

[shipgeeks]

RC has chartered 55 buses to carry pax back to Baltimore on Thursday.

[BND]

55 minutes ago, Oceansaway17 said:

Vision coming in tomorrow is better than today given really bad weather 

I'm in the NN/Yorktown area and will be boarding tomorrow.  Weather has calmed way down, but yeah, lots of rain all up and down I-95 today. Very messy drive.

[toad455]

Vision is officially docked in Norfolk!

[Jimbo]

59 minutes ago, toad455 said:

Vision is officially docked in Norfolk!

Let the busses start rolling !!

 

[OBX-Cruisers]

On 3/29/2024 at 11:13 PM, HBE4 said:

 

I get what you're saying and do not disagree with you.  It is possible that since Royal has not used Norfolk in a few years, they may not have the most up-to-date info available at their fingertips.  

 

Try the Departure Ports forums section of CC.  Lots of valuable information there & resources to ask. I found it most helpful when trying to find parking when sailing out of Galveston.  Hopefully the Norfolk folks are just as helpful.

I think what several people are saying is that if RCL is changing a port that the least they could do is to call the city manager and ASK where they should recommend their detoured passengers to park.  If you are in business you should at a minimum try to minimize the new situation for your inconvenienced customers.

   Nice to know how some cruisers are so experienced they need no help from anyone.  However, others seem to appreciate help after such a major and short term notice of a port change.

[OBX-Cruisers]

RCL certainly seems to be taking advantage of this port change to Norfolk.  I looked at cabin availability and found that there are many unsold/available Veranda class cabins still available for the April 12th cruise and probably the others sched. in April as well.  However, the total cost is ridiculous (with "free gratuities") and  OVER $300 pp/pd  (>$5K for two people on a 7 day cruise??)!!!!

   We will pass so others can "enjoy" this ship with unspectacular reviews.

Edited April 5 by OBX-Cruisers
Addition

[Biker19]

16 minutes ago, OBX-Cruisers said:

I looked at cabin availability and found that there are many unsold/available Veranda class cabins still available for the April 12th cruise and probably the others sched. in April as well.  However, the total cost is ridiculous (with "free gratuities") and  OVER $300 pp/pd  (>$5K for two people on a 7 day cruise??)!!!!

There are no more sailings past the 4/12 sailing. RCI probably couldn't be bothered to try to sell cabins this close in - most of the time "last minute sale" for RCI is like 30 days out.

[TourDeCruise]

40 minutes ago, OBX-Cruisers said:

RCL certainly seems to be taking advantage of this port change to Norfolk.  I looked at cabin availability and found that there are many unsold/available Veranda class cabins still available for the April 12th cruise and probably the others sched. in April as well.  However, the total cost is ridiculous (with "free gratuities") and  OVER $300 pp/pd  (>$5K for two people on a 7 day cruise??)!!!!

   We will pass so others can "enjoy" this ship with unspectacular reviews.

 

Our thought too. Baltimore is closer to us, but Norfolk is an easier 3.5-hour drive for us through eastern shore Delaware, Maryland, and Viriginia through the Chesapeake Bay tunnel into Viriginia with less traffic and a more pleasant and scenic drive. We know the area well. So we thought perhaps we could squeeze in a last-minute cruise from Norfolk. But not at those prices for a last-minute "filler" cruise.

[OBX-Cruisers]

14 hours ago, Biker19 said:

There are no more sailings past the 4/12 sailing. RCI probably couldn't be bothered to try to sell cabins this close in - most of the time "last minute sale" for RCI is like 30 days out.

Not sure where Vision will be in April from searches on Cruise.com, RCL site or other booking sites which list none in April after the 12th from Norfolk. 

Sailings in May still stay Baltimore departure.  I thought I read somewhere that there would be at least 3 departures from Norfolk but don't quote that since I cannot find any site that shows April sailings.

[Another_Critic]

35 minutes ago, OBX-Cruisers said:

Not sure where Vision will be in April from searches on Cruise.com, RCL site or other booking sites which list none in April after the 12th from Norfolk. 

Sailings in May still stay Baltimore departure.  I thought I read somewhere that there would be at least 3 departures from Norfolk but don't quote that since I cannot find any site that shows April sailings.

Vision is going to drydock after the April 12th sailing.

[shipgeeks]

5 hours ago, Another_Critic said:

Vision is going to drydock after the April 12th sailing.

Yes, and begins Baltimore cruises on May 25, so two Norfolk cruises before drydock.

[Tatka]

I liked our time in Norfolk. I know we had somewhat long line, but I enjoyed it.. beautiful area. 
 

 

[OBX-Cruisers]

For those who will be in Norfolk for this cruise, there are two great opportunities for you if you are not familiar with the area.  The Chrysler Museum (free) is an unexpected jewel very close to the port, and if you get there at noon you can see a free hot glass show in their annex building across the street.

Within a 30-40 minute drive you can go to Yorktown or Williamsburg, VA for a great history visit.

Edited April 6 by OBX-Cruisers

[Oceansaway17]

On 4/3/2024 at 5:27 PM, BND said:

I'm in the NN/Yorktown area and will be boarding tomorrow.  Weather has calmed way down, but yeah, lots of rain all up and down I-95 today. Very messy drive.

hope you have of had a good time. I think you are on the ship right now.

Vision might get to return to Baltimore by June 1st.

[BND]

8 minutes ago, Oceansaway17 said:

hope you have of had a good time. I think you are on the ship right now.

Vision might get to return to Baltimore by June 1st.

Yes we are onboard. Currently in Freeport. Great weather and seas so far. We're on next cruise also. We saw that about end of May 

[BND]

On 4/5/2024 at 9:55 AM, OBX-Cruisers said:

RCL certainly seems to be taking advantage of this port change to Norfolk.  I looked at cabin availability and found that there are many unsold/available Veranda class cabins still available for the April 12th cruise and probably the others sched. in April as well.  However, the total cost is ridiculous (with "free gratuities") and  OVER $300 pp/pd  (>$5K for two people on a 7 day cruise??)!!!!

   We will pass so others can "enjoy" this ship with unspectacular reviews.

Veranda? You mean balcony? So far cruise has been great. Food has been better also. We are having a great time.

[Oceansaway17]

5 minutes ago, BND said:

Yes we are onboard. Currently in Freeport. Great weather and seas so far. We're on next cruise also. We saw that about end of May 

and you have a great cruise director named BAL.  I had him last year. He is great with kids.

Enjoy trip, Can't say I remember ever being in Freeport. 

[zebra36]

19 minutes ago, BND said:

Yes we are onboard. Currently in Freeport. Great weather and seas so far. We're on next cruise also. We saw that about end of May 

Hope to board next Friday. ?  How was the boarding process for you, I will be cabbing it from the airport and just trying to time the trip there so as not to get to the terminal to early or run into a cluster of folks trying to board at the same time, does the terminal baggage drop-off area get very congested?

Thanks for any response.

[KmomChicago]

16 hours ago, Oceansaway17 said:

and you have a great cruise director named BAL.  I had him last year. He is great with kids.

Enjoy trip, Can't say I remember ever being in Freeport. 

Not much of a port really.

[moposh]

I had a great time on the March 23 to April 4 cruise on Vision.  My bus experience wasn't bad.  I know some people had a worse experience.  Hopefully Vision will be able to return to Baltimore soon.

 

The drydock will mainly address technical issues we were told, nothing really cosmetic or adding new stuff.

[Oceansaway17]

9 hours ago, KmomChicago said:

Not much of a port really.

oh good to know.

[BND]

On 4/7/2024 at 4:27 PM, zebra36 said:

Hope to board next Friday. ?  How was the boarding process for you, I will be cabbing it from the airport and just trying to time the trip there so as not to get to the terminal to early or run into a cluster of folks trying to board at the same time, does the terminal baggage drop-off area get very congested?

Thanks for any response.

From dropoff by family to boarding about 30 minutes.  But we arrived at 1. Too many arrived before noon and had to wait. Debarking was late for previous cruise due to tide issues and 55 buses had to be loaded.  When they said not to arrive early they meant it. This week will be different. Only one bus for b2bers but there will be a few shuttles from the parking garage.  And if they start debarkation on time it will help. We're b2b but they gave us 930 departure time since I didn't pick one cause we don't need one. We actually had to sit for a bit because the gangway got backed up. They scan your pass for boarding on the ship so that caused a backlog. I'm currently sitting by the oasis pool on cc.

Edited April 9 by BND

[zebra36]

5 minutes ago, BND said:

From dropoff by family to boarding about 30 minutes.  But we arrived at 1. Too many arrived before noon and had to wait. Debarking was late for previous cruise due to tide issues and 55 buses had to be loaded.  When they said not to arrive early they meant it. This week will be different. Only one bus for b2bers but there will be a few shuttles from the parking garage.  And if they start debarkation on time it will help. We're b2b but they gave us 930 departure time since I didn't pick one cause we don't need one. We actually had to sit for a bit because the gangway got backed up. They scan your pass for boarding on the ship so that caused a backlog. I'm currently sitting by the oasis pool on cc.

Thanks for reply. Arrive in Norfolk pretty early and will wait it out there until about 1

[BND]

Absolutely beautiful weather today at CC. Last port on this leg.

 

And yes the drydock is a technical one. They have been doing other cosmetic work that is typical maintenance. FYI the port side glass elevator does not work and apparently hasn't for a while. I'm sure it's on the list for repair in drydock. It makes it a pain to go to the VCL.  We usually spend time there but not much this cruise.  Food has been good.