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I would like to commend the following crew members that made this cruise so enjoyable, especially  Imade, our cabin steward who provided superior service;  Oswin, a head waiter at the Aquarius dining room who went out of his way to accommodate our every request and ensure that our dining experience was first class.  His personal attention carried over at the Windjammer during breakfast and lunch; Naik and Lucas, who were our waiters at the 5;30 dinner setting  could not have done a  better job. At the Windjammer, there were many occasions when we were served by and assisted by Ying Ying and Hsin-Hua whom we got to know quite well. All of these people seemed to love their job and provided outstanding service of which Royal Caribbean should be proud.

The entertainment  provided on this cruise was some the best that we have ever experienced. Of particular delight were the performances provided by classical artists.

The entertainment directer did a great job.

The ship itself was quite comfortable, but it was the personnel assigned to this ship that made this voyage so special.

Kudos to the service staff

Review of Vision of the Seas, Transatlantic Galveston to Barcelona, April 19th to May 6th 2019 – 17 nights.

Overview: 

Amazing trip, great ship, superb crew. The whole trip was amazing with one major issue, which was the medical staff/facilities and one minor issue, which was new sheets that were dirty (bloodstains) on the sofa bed, the new sheets they sent were also badly stained, so we requested them changed again. We are a family of 3 Diamond members, 50/44/3 (almost 4). This was our first Transatlantic.

Background/In depth

CABIN: We were in a Spacious Oceanview cabin, 7088. The cabin was midships, so little movement. The cabin was great, big enough for all 3 of us – and the toys, lots of storage space. It had full wall windows from knee height to ceiling, there was a “seat” running the full width of the cabin with amazing windows… (the deck 8 cabins above had floor to ceiling windows without the seat). These cabins are great for sitting watching the flying fish, whales and dolphins. This cabin is amazing, and will pick these it they are available again in the future. The only minor issue with these cabins is that they are close to the centrum, where all the major entertainment is held every night. There are doors from the corridor to the centrum that can be closed, and these reduce the noise by 90%... the cabin door also reduces the noise by about 90% on its own, so with both doors closed the cabin was silent, with only one closed the noise was very low…. Close them both for silence.

FOOD/WAITSTAFF: Overall good (MDR) to Very Good (WJ), 

MDR: Waiter was OK, a bit standoffish and not very interactive with the table, Assistant Waiter was excellent. With the 3 year old, they looked after him, bringing him a fruit plate as we sat down. We changed that after a few days, as he ate the fruit before dinner, so he wasn’t eating too well, they kept the plate for when we asked for it.  I have an allergy, so I made this clear to the staff on the first night. They brought the menu for the next night to the table for me to fill in with my request. We ate in the MDR about 8 of 17 days, with the remaining nights spent in the Windjammer. MDR Food was good overall, nothing really exceptional. My biggest bugbear was the vegetables… hardly cooked at all, all almost raw, at every meal. Had Breakfast in the MDR one day, food was OK, staff OK. After numerous cruises, decided to try breakfast, but truthfully, nothing too exciting, and I enjoyed the WJ better. LUNCH: Had lunch once in the MDR, Food was very good, service was great, however as it was a private lunch with the Captain, can’t compare with normal service.

Windjammer, Staff were great, clearing tables very quickly, bringing drinks etc all the time. Food: there were the usual selections every day/meal, salads, meats, pizza, burgers, hotdogs etc, the selection rotated round a few times. Also there was a meat carvery every day. Food was generally very good. There were themed nights with stations set up as well as the usual selections. Dessert was a bit limited in selections, the items rotated round very quickly, with some days nothing that I wanted (my taste), as it was a 17 day cruise, the selections rotated through a few times. Breakfast, as usual, very good selection, plenty of food. With all meals in the WJ, we walked through the whole selection then found a seat, then took turns to select food. This was to ensure we saw everything on offer for the child to eat. Milk and Chocolate milk was available at all meals under the desserts counter so ask for it if you want it. Chef Royston in the WJ was great with our son, he always came out to see him and made sure he had enough food, even making special requests when he thought he needed more food. When he was Ill, Chef Royston went into the kitchens and cooked him a meal of his favourite things to ensure he ate something… it worked.

Other eating places: PARK CAFÉ: we ate there a number of nights, for a snack. Quality very good, especially the 3 cheese panini, which was grilled…. Amazing, we had them every time we ate there. Cookies and fruit as well as pizza, nachos and other sandwiches available till late. ICE CREAM: 2 machines, available at some different times during the day. Nice Ice Cream, cones, but some limited times, all closed at 2130 to 1100… some additional times would be better.

PHOTO PACKAGE: We had the “All Photo Package”, bought online before the cruise. The cost on board was about 30% more than we paid, with the USB another $64 on top of that. There were on average 3 stations set up each night, where they took at least 2 photos at each. We wanted some with just us, with us all, with Son on his own… as well as at every port at least 2 photos, meals, Formal, events etc. We walked off with over 2KG/4.4lbs in weight of photos…. At least 500, still not counted. The staff was amazing and if we asked for other unusual stuff, they would if possible. We had one with an amazing sunset on deck, we asked him to come do that, which he did on his break. 

ADVENTURE OCEAN: 0900 to 1200, 1400 to 1700, 1900 to 2200 sessions. Our son only went to one of the 3 sessions offered daily. He only went to about 6 in total. He was one of only 9 children on the ship, so when he went there were 7 staff just for him. We only wanted him to do one session per day when he wanted to, to keep him in the routine for school. He loved the time there, and even though there was a schedule printed out, they took the time to talk to him and basically did things that he was interested in doing rather than doing the scheduled activities.

ENTERTAINMENT: With a 3 year old, our visits to the different entertainment venues was limited. On a TA the entertainment is more geared to adults that something a 3 year old would sit through. We decided what to do each day on what we thought he would like/sit through without causing disruption to others at each venue. We did not go to the theatre at all, so can’t comment on the shows. Centrum had a number of shows/events every night, we attended a number of these. Overall we had plenty to do every day, some days more than others. There was a lot of trivia on the trip, with some ongoing for at least 3 hours a day, it did seem like this was the new staple entertainment, with about 3 or 4 different sessions per day (I like trivia, but only took part in the progressive, and offered some assistance to friends when I could)

PORTS: We did not do any ship excursions, but had our own plans at each port. No issues experienced as far as I know, there was one port where 5 people were delayed, but only by about 20 minutes.

DIAMOND LOUNGE: The lounge was too small for the numbers, so they closed the Some Enchanted Evening Lounge for us each evening. Experience was good in there. Coffee maker was well serviced, and even with the numbers on board, I only saw it run out twice, and each time attention was very quick coming. I only drink coffee (allergic to alcohol), so I used that machine a lot. BENEFITS ON SEAPASS, we used the lounge every night, as well as the 3 drinks loaded onto the Sea Pass card. Casino free roll, the machine is tight, and in the past 2 cruises won nothing at all, so this time we won a raffle ticket…. I actually stayed up until 2300 on the last night to be there for the drawing…. For a T SHIRT… you would have thought they would have a decent prize. Very disappointed in that. Internet, see below in notes. % off RCCL merchandise, Used this in the shop, the attendant said it could be used over and over again, which was news to me… only used once though. Washing: Did the $10 off a $34 wash, it was on the day they offered it at $24.99 in the compass, and got charged $17.36 in total… the clothes came back not very clean, and not smelling washed, so not sure if that is the way they wash them, or just not a good service. 

NOTES:

I have never seen a Captain stand on the dock wishing people a good day as they left the ship, But Captain Mike was there at a number of ports, talking to people and wishing them a good day. It was a nice touch.

It was Easter on our sailing, and the number of children was extremely low, so we ended up with over 100 eggs and rabbits… All the crew kept giving our son eggs, so we ended the cruise giving them to the crew as we had so many.

Internet: We had 2 free days as Diamond. We spread them out till the middle of the voyage for day 1. I opted to go for the upgrade, which cost $7.00 as the Diamond free portion paid for the rest. Speed was actually very good, it surprised me. Unfortunately, after 11 hours, the signal was lost. I reported it straight away (luckily)…. But as I said I picked the middle day and as we were in the exact middle of the Atlantic the majority of the ship lost internet for a number of hours. They logged the loss, and I was credited with another 12 hours at a later date after a few visits.

Amazing Transatlantic trip

Vision of the seas is an old vision of the past, not retro-cool, just old. Old enough for the engine not to start.

I will try to be short and assertive, honest and willing to give you future traveler a good advise. And it doesn't end good. Vision of the seas is an old boat built in 1998, so there is a very strong risk that something goes wrong; in our experience the problem was that the boat did not depart on schedule. It was supposed to leave at around 6:00 pm, and really departed to Cozumel Mexico at 2:00 am, and it was because the engine wouldn't start... Yes; sad old boat just wouldn't go; and of course we arrived 7 hours late to Cozumel, bye bye come and experience the pyramids because we were in the island for 4 sad hours. One hour to go, one to return, and 2 hours to see whatever you can because we had to go back or the boat will leave you there. Yes, another sad true, it's ok that they are late, but not us of course, they are very strict with our time, after all,  we are just the clients, they are not important, are we?

So you see me dear traveler, they did not try to make it up for the time, they needed to fix their agenda, and they just did not care if they did that with our time, our precious golden time. Of course it was not our mistake, it was not our problem, but we sure provided our vacation time to fix it.

Just a few other details, the tripulation is honestly willing to serve you, they are nice. The boat is old but clean, well maybe not the carpet with chocolate and old gum sticked into it, but is overall just ok.

If I were you, I will pick a newer boat. You don't want to get stuck in the middle of the ocean do you?

PS,  Internet is as slow as the boat.

The sad old boat that just wouldn't go.

We arrived at the port a little before noon and boarded the ship within 10 minutes. Embarkation was quick and easy. 

We enjoyed a drink in the Viking Crown Lounge and rooms were ready by 1:30.  Luggage delivered by 5:00. 

It’s a small ship and very easy to get around. Staff was friendly and accommodating. Everything was clean and well maintained 

  Food in Main Dining Room was very good with different choices every night. Windjammer buffet had lots of different choices and was better then other Royal Caribbean ships we’ve been on. 

  Main pool area was a little busy at times but never had a problem finding deck chairs. The adult only Solarium was always crowded but provided a quiet place to relax. 

  Entertainment was good with evening shows and daytime trivia and family games. The also had late night adult shows with comedians and games like the Quest. 

  The Vision is an older ship without all the bells and whistles of the newer “mega” ships but still had plenty for all to do. We would definitely do it again.

Great Cruise

The ship was old and the rooms were small, especially the restrooms. The decoration was old and tacky. I was afraid yo walk bare footed on the floor.  There was no turkey bacon. The arcade was tiny with about 4 games, boring. Lane 12 during checkin back yo the U.S was slow. So much for a peaceful vacay. We went to Progresso where the locals asked you to purchase things while trying to relax at the beach. I don’t even know why the ship would take someone there on their vacation. It’s the same as taking a trip to the hood. The dolphin encounter excursions place wanted an arm and leg for keepsake photos. $40 per sheet!  That’s a total rip off. Overall the trip was Terrible. If the staff wasn’t so perfect, I’d give Royal Carrot 0 stars. Royal Carribean wasn’t  so royal. I won’t be choosing that place again.

Old outdated ship

This cruise left out of Galveston.  The nearest airport is 40 minutes away, and the major airport is 70 minutes out of Houston.   It wasn't a problem taking an Uber to our hotel or from the hotel to the port.   (I think we paid around $60 from George Bush Airport to Galveston.)   We stayed at the Comfort Inn, which was across the street from the beach and one block away from Walmart.   It worked out great to walk there and purchase soda to take onto the ship.   There were several restaurants within walking distance.  We enjoyed walking on the beach and playing frisbee.

We chose this cruise because we were looking for a 4 day cruise while our teens were on spring break.  The dates lined up with our schedule.  This ship doesn't have all the bells and whistles, but we found enough to do to enjoy our time on the ship and have fun.  

Our only complaint was being the only outdoor activities they did offer (shuffleboard, ping pong and rock climbing), the upkeep was poor.  The shuffleboard sticks were missing the round ends, and there were not enough sticks at each location, so we had to share sticks.  The ping pong table was warped, and one of the paddles was broken.   It doesn't seem like it would take that much to update their equipment since this was basically all they offered.  

What they lacked in outdoor activities, they made up for it with their service.   Service everywhere on the ship by far exceeded my expectation.   Food was excellent.  Staff was friendly and they were constantly cleaning.   The ship was not crowded and we didn't have to wait in lines for anything.  Most of our time was spent reading, playing trivia games, ping pong and shuffleboard.  

In the dining room, our waiters noticed my daughter used the lemons from her shrimp cocktail each night to add to her water. By the third night, there was a plate of lemons waiting for her at her seat.   Also picking up on how much she liked shrimp, it seemed as though there was extra shrimp in her seafood linguine.   They were very attentive to food allergies and pointed out items to avoid.  They were constantly making sure we were satisfied in every way without being overbearing.  

The Windjammer food offered a wide selection everyday for breakfast and lunch.  There were so many choices, it was hard to choose.  The cruise entertainment staff were very friendly and quick witted.   We could always find a chair by the pool or in the lounges.   Staff members were always interacting with guests in a positive way.  

We participated in their trivia games, scavenger hunts, ping pong tournaments and egg drop challenge.    Their planned activities were fun.  The SuperDad game was hilarious.  Our embarkation was FAST!   So was the disembarkation.   

Our shore excursion in Cozumel was the Three Reef Snorkel booked through RCI.   I would recommend it.   The guide was pointing out a lot of different types of fish.  We saw an eel, stingray, starfish and barracuda in addition to many other types of fish.   There was one man who was keeping an eye on the tail end of our group and making sure people were safe and together.  The main guide was pointing out all the fish and the third gentleman was feeding fish and taking great photos of us surrounded by fish. 

I would book another cruise on the same ship, but wouldn't mind if they put a little $ into the shuffleboard/ping pong.  :-)  Overall-it was a great experience.

Spring Break Getaway

We chose this cruise based on the airfare availability and price. We would have preferred a departure from Florida but it was way too expensive. We wanted a short cruise to introduce our children to cruising. My wife and I are Emerald C&A members with RC and were anxious to get back to cruising after a break to raise the kids. To say the experience was poor would be an understatement. 

We got on the ship and went for lunch - I thought it would be nice to have a Red Stripe which was a custom for my wife and I - apparently you can't have that now until you are 12 miles out to sea?! Okay -  how about a Mojito? No sir - sorry we ran out of mint on the last cruise and still don't have any. Mind you we paid for the upgraded beverage plan!

From there things continued to go downhill. The crew was not as friendly an energetic as we have experienced in the past. Mind you there were some bright spots - Jay who was providing beverage service in the dining room was fantastic! Our waiter and assistant were also very good. The food however was not as good as we remember.

We took our girls to Adventure Ocean to get them registered and went back once for a family activity. The girl who was running it was apparently not having a good day so we didn't really feel good about leaving the kids there.

The cabin attendant did a fine job and our cabin was clean - although on the third day there was a faint sewer odor in the bathroom. 

We went to one of the shows but for some reason they did not close the doors to the theater - we could smell the smoke rolling in from the casino and one of our girls was coughing so we ended up leaving rather than disturb anyone.

Overall the girls loved the cruise and did really well so we will continue cruising. We may just have to go try Disney or another line though. I'm very disappointed because our prior cruises with RC have been great - I just hope this as an anomaly. Maybe we'll be back  - but not to this ship.

Wonder if this is a training ship?

We chose this cruise as a get away for rest and relaxation after a crazy January and February.  

The good:  Embarkation was a breeze!  We chose a later arrival time (1:30 pm) and were in our cabins before 2:30 pm.  Our luggage was all carry on, so unpacking was easy and fast.  Of note:  I travel with a CPAP machine - security confiscated our extension cord and power strip. (Guest services did supply another extension cord, and distilled water for CPAP)

We ate most breakfasts and lunches in the Windjammer...the food was always hot and plentiful - finding a table was no problem.  There is an egg station where you could order eggs cooked to order and omelets.   

Dinner in the dining room was great, we enjoyed our Waiter (Arkie), Assistant Waiter (Filannie) and our Head Waiter (Randy).  They remembered our preferences each night and were happy to oblige.  The food was as expected.  We were always able to find a table in the shade to people watch and read.  

As expected:  We had sailed the itinerary before, so chose not to get off the ship.  It was very peaceful.  Cabin service was 'as expected' our room steward did nothing to engage with us and still did not know our names by the end of the cruise.

Not what we expected:  There are always items on the dining room menu that did not come out 'as we expected.'  The beet salad appetizer - a salad with very tiny pieces of beets.  In my mind, if the title was beet salad, the main component would have been beets. That said, it was still a delicious salad. 

Our cabin (3083) while centrally located was located right below the centrum dance floor.  Sometimes, late at night when there was a dance party in the centrum, we could hear the noise through the ceiling.  

The shows...we had second seating dining and got to see the shows first.  During our designated show time, the theater was mostly only 1/4 filled.  

Breakfast in the dining room - maybe we just got somebody who was having a bad day.  On the first morning of the cruise, we ate in the dining room.  The waiter told the table at least 3 times that most menu items were on the buffet (a small buffet set up in the dining room) and seemed annoyed that everyone ordered from the menu.  The meal was 'assembly line,' and never mind asking for something extra...it was either forgotten, or needed to be requested more than once.  

Cost saving measures:  No longer are chocolates on the pillow the norm (maybe if we were a higher level in the Crown and Anchor Society), there were lots of carts in the dining room - I'm sure this also saved on worker injuries.  The show floor seemed empty (fewer dancers and singers) and some of the costumes seemed ill fitting.  

Debarkation:  We did 'self assist' the line was long but very organized and moved quickly.  We were able to pick up our extension cord and power strip as we got off the ship.  I did notice that they also confiscated people's heating pads as well.

Rest and Relaxation Achieved

Cruised RC before and loved every minute of it...this time not so much.  Great food and beverage service! Desmond and Ohla took wonderful care of us at My Time Dining. They were attentive and fun!  Bar service was quick and friendly.  Only negative was no self service beverage stations like other RC ships and had to wait at bar just for a soda.  Entertainment was really good for a small ship. Stateroom attendant was poor at best.  I drank a bit too much day 1 and went to bed with full makeup and it rubbed off all over pillows...sheets and pillow cases were never changed entire trip.  I had to hunt down an attendant day 4 to ask for toilet paper and tissues since we were out of tissues for  2 days. Floor was never vacuumed, we came back to made bed but dirty glasses and empty water bottles left.  Never provided with new bar soap and two days our day planner was left in room after dinner which is kind of pointless.  We were not enamored with the 2 ports either...  Progreso and Cozumel.  We did excursions at both and they were fair at best.  Descriptions sounded wonderful but they sounded better than they turned out to be.  All inclusive resort in Progresso had a sea shell covered beach you could barely walk on with a freezing cold pool that no one went in due to cold temp of water and sunscreen film floating on top.  Small 2 stall bathroom with long waits to void. Watery drinks and greasy food. Cozumel excursion was ATV and beach. ATV in "jungle" was very misleading. It was a rocky path in contained area that we felt like we were going in circles.  Very slow! Didn't break 20 mph. Not our idea of fun ATVing.  Beach after ATV sucked!  Small, overcrowded beach with pushy sales.  Sand looked and felt like panko bread crumbs.  Your feet would sink 6 inches with every step so you couldn't even walk it.  However, the tour guides were fun and helpful and were the best part of the excursion.

Underwhelmed

My family and I sailed out of Galveston, Texas. This was the first cruise for everyone in our party. Parking at the port was relatively cheap and embarkation was very smooth. My in-laws are from China and they were pleasantly surprised to be greeted in Mandarin when coming on-board and to find that we had a Chinese server in the Windjammer at lunch.

The interior cabins we booked were snug but very clean and had ample storage. Our cabin attendants were very friendly, attentive, and thorough. Every part of the ship was cleaner than most nice hotels I've stayed at.

The Royal Caribbean app was great for seeing all the events and booking dining reservations. However, it couldn't fully replace the Cruise Compass, which provided much more detail and was delivered to our cabin every day during turndown service.

We didn't use any of the specialty dining options onboard, but the food and service in the main dining room was excellent. The food at the Windjammer buffet was, obviously, not as good but still great. Service in the Windjammer was far more attentive than I would expect from a buffet and, as previously mentioned, the staff members there went out of their way to make my Chinese in-laws feel comfortable and welcome. The two other food outlets we used, Café Latte-tudes in the Centrum and the Park Café in the Centrum were fine for snacks and, most importantly, open late.

My five-year old daughter loved going to Adventure Ocean in particular, but staff throughout the ship lavished her with attention. The arcade was, unfortunately, the only blemish on the ship, with only a handful of expensive, not-particularly fun machines, of which only half worked.

We didn't get off the ship in Progreso at all, due to the daunting 4-mile-long pier, and elected to explore Cozumel on our own. Perhaps it was a mistake not to sign up for a shore excursion, because we found the port area of Cozumel to be an utterly charmless tourist trap of shops and chain restaurants.

The cruise director's staff onboard was great, and all the events in the Centrum such as the Parade of Nations, Thriller performance, and crew disco extravaganza were a lot of fun to watch. We skipped the Broadway-style productions, but the comedian and variety act they had in the theater were both fun shows. There was a married-couple game show in the theater one night that I found cringe-worthy but my wife thought was hilarious.

Disembarkation was, unfortunately, a bit of a mess. We were encouraged to not check our bags so we could be "among the first" to disembark, but the reality was that it seemed everyone else received the same advice. The line for just our "first group" to disembark stretched all the way from the theater (or assigned assembly point), through the casino, and three times around the Centrum. Line cutting was rampant and tempers flared. Luckily, once the line started moving, it went relatively quickly. Customs was a breeze, but there were very aggressive state of Texas revenue officers beyond interrogating people about tobacco and alcohol. I've reentered the United States at a variety of ports-of-entry and never seen anything like that! So the is your duty free cigarettes and alcohol may not actually a good deal: my father-in-law had to pay $1.50/pack on cigarettes he'd bought in Cozumel.

In summary: great experience overall, but it's the ship's crew that was really exceptional. I look forward to taking another cruise with my family, and will definitely choose Royal Caribbean.

Fantastic Family Cruise

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