We chose this cruise for the itinerary because it was visiting places we had not visited before. The ship whilst being 20 years old was in very good condition overall. Because my wife is in a wheelchair we had booked cabin 3102 which was an oceanview accessible cabin on deck 3. The cabin was very large with plenty of room for the wheelchair and a roll-in shower. Plenty of storage space so we were very pleased with the cabin, We mostly ate in the Aquarius MDR on deck 5 with MyTime flexible dining. We tended to eat around the same time most evenings (depending on the times of the shows which kept moving around different times !) so the maitre D reserved us the same table near the entrance and made sure that the chair was removed to that my wife could get her chair to the table. The service from waiter Helbert & his assistant Francisco was superb - they were excellent even down to cutting my wife's meat into smaller pieces which she has great difficulty doing as she only has the use of one arm. The menu was good but quite repetitive - many items appeared nearly every night with just a few changes per night but the food was good quality and if you did not like what you ordered they were quick to change if for an alternative. We had the premium drinks package and at dinner we had the house zinfandel rose which was very good but because of the way the package works it came by the glass rather than the bottle which meant we had to keep re-ordering - very odd! We ate one night in the specialty restaurant Giovannis - the food was excellent and was worth the $ 35 surcharge. The entertainment in the theatre was a bit patchy - only a couple of west-end type productions which were very good but the rest were a strange array of 'speciality' acts - A mime artist who was so poor he nearly emptied the theatre - a Celine Dion tribute who insisted on using taped backing even though the Ship's 9 piece orchestra (who were superb!) were also there to back her - A silhouette 'shadow' act - etc. etc. All very strange. Overall, everywhere on the ship the staff and service were excellent. We did not use any of the Ship's excursions as they only had ONE ! which was wheelchair accessible (on a 12 day cruise!) and we understand from another wheelchair user who had booked it, that it had been cancelled at short notice! On the plus side, where the ship docked in a commercial port (Livorno - Salerno) they ports had supplied a wheelchair accessible shuttle as well as the inaccessible shuttle coaches. Now the major niggle! In the port of Venice, there was supposedly a 'short' walk from the gangway to the port shuttle service/waterbus - I measured this with a pedometer and it was over 3 quarters of a mile which for any people with reduced mobility was ridiculous! Why could the ship not arrange for a golf buggy or minibus to cover this anomaly! - Many, many people very very upset about this !!! Lucky my wife's wheelchair is electric so this did not cause us a major problem but it did for many of the ship's passengers. So in summary - an excellent cruise let down by the 'patchy' entertainment, the 'repetitive' food and the accessibilty problems in the port of Venice! We would probably book with Royal Caribbean again purely because of the quality of service from the staff, but we are not loyal to any particular cruise line choosing our cruise mostly by itinerary Read Less

OK - here goes. The ship is old and smaller than we've travelled on before, but having said that it is still very enjoyable. Would have liked more opportunity for late night tea/coffee after 11pm other than the messy station in the Park Cafe. Service in dining room was excellent every night and the food was good, would have liked the menu to reflect the port we were in, but you can't have everything. We didn't bother with the speciality restaurants. Good cocktails everywhere! Buffet for breakfast and lunch was varied and extremely plentiful as usual, the quality was always good. Service everywhere was excellent, apart from one bartender in the solarium who could not understand me asking for a virgin strawberry daiquiri, he kept saying, but you don't have to pay, you have all inclusive, I got quite annoyed with him in the end, I just didn't want alcohol at 2pm! He was the only one to annoy me on the whole ship! Entertainment slightly hit and miss, it takes a lot of careful planning to arrange an evening, around dinner, theatre etc, and good luck getting a seat if the fun is around the centrum - why they don't make more use of the bar behind the Schooner Bar is a mystery to us. Liked the pool area movies at night too. Theatre acts were not all to our taste, but there were a few that were. Always found it so cold in there, and I'm not usually a cold person. I tried to plan our trips and take advice I'd read on here. The actual logistics of getting people off the boat and on to tenders/coaches worked very well I thought. Slightly irritated that two trips I'd booked ahead of sailing were cancelled but you can't have everything. So here's what we did: Cannes - took the tender across, looked around the town, saw some amazing sights at the top of the hill, then went back for swimsuits and hit the beach for a glorious afternoon of sunbathing and swimming in the warm sea. Took the organised tour to Florence but on reflection wished we'd done the Pisa tour, beautiful place tho. (I think there was a leather factory in here somewhere but cannot recall where.) Rome - amazing - took tour again as some distance, went on the vintage train, saw the Vatican, Spanish Steps and Trivedi Fountain. Very busy, very hot but worthwhile. Two days sailing - went by very quickly as we were tired! Didn't make breakfast but opted for early brunch and on day 2 as we were sitting having a coffee waiting for lunch to start, gazing at the sea - I saw my first ever dolphin! Athens, took the HOHO, went round the Plaka district and also up to the Acropolis, not for the fainthearted as it's a bit of climb and extremely busy once there but amazing, well worth the effort. Walked around the outside of the Colesseum but you really need a whole day to actually go in. So much to see! Love Athens. Rhodes - fabulous day. Walked around the old town had lunch then hit the beach. Brilliant day, loved Rhodes. This was one of my favourite days, we loved the old town, and again to be able to go on the beach and swim in the sea was perfect. Santorini - what can I say. We took the tour as I'd been scared off by reports of long queues for cable car etc. You take your chances, but I would swerve the donkeys! Time was just about enough, so much walking and climbing in the heat but the views are stunning. We also stopped at a winery, which I don't usually like but this one was exceptional, again with stunning views. Quite surprised that the RC tour actually drop you off to catch the cable car down - so if there is a problem you are still late! Thankfully on our day we weren't. Sailing day - much needed rest but sadly no more dolphins. Malta - again we took the historical city trip, Mdina and Valletta. If they still do this trip when you sail I would be cautious. It is far too rushed and again you need to be fit for all the fast walking required to cover both sites with entrances to palaces etc. missed o/a waiting for people to catch up. We are both quite fit and I for one was getting frustrated with people grumbling that the guide was going too fast! We missed an entry to one event because of this. We went back to the ship for lunch then rushed back up in the lift to the Baraka Gardens for a couple of hours. Humidity got to me tho! Loads of water needed. Back sailing then into Barcelona. We opted for an extra day and night in a hotel as our flight was so late in the day. We picked the weekend of the massive festival with music, dancing, parades and far too many people! Massive energy and amazing buildings to see. Brilliant place. All in all a very good itinery but the queues for places like the Colosseum and the Vatican are massive, far too long for the average port call so if you want to do any I would strongly advise you book a ticket online which offers the chance to skip the queue. I think that's it - if you need any more info please ask. Enjoy! Read Less

We booked this cruise a year ago (Back in May 2017 when we did Alaska). We had a sea view cabin 8045 on the eight floor that was ample and well setup. The room was keep very clean. The Vision of the Seas crew save me from giving this cruise a lower rating, they were fantastic and was hard to say bye, bye to them. The Ship is old, and unfortunately on seas days, you cannot get near the swimming pool. Lots of sun chairs hogs. too many kid running around with no supervision from parents or crew. Food very average. drinks vary so much from day to day, do not why? but it never happen to us on other RC ships? One highlight, was the Captain welcome Champagne, where to our surprise the Captain sung a full song!! Well done! I still like RC, but I will do more research on my next cruise. Read Less

We did a med raise that took in Greece.....then main purpose of our cruise. This was our first time on RCI, as most of our cruises have been on P&O. Inevitably, much of the below is a comparison with the P&O ships we’ve been on. The cabin seemed bigger than we’d get on other ships (inside). Bathroom definitely bigger and had a great shower. Quite powerful. Bed was comfy, but no fridge and an even bigger no-no for Brits....no tea making facilities. There was an option for room service, but that carried gratuities and tray charges. The main dining room was a big let down. On P&O they have their staples, but a new menu each night. Here, the food was pretty much the same with the odd change. The food itself was....ok. But nothing to shout about. There was also the thing about formal/informal. I think American ships need to make their mind up on this. At guest service, the TV clearly stated the dress code and said it was strict. It was anything but. But no shorts and ripped t shirts on formal night, if not actually formal. Windjammer cafe was actually better than P&Os equivalent. Lots of choice, tasty. I enjoyed it. But boy, was it salty. Not sure if that’s an American thing or just this ship, but almost everything tasted like it had a ton of salt in it. The self-serve ice cream machine on deck 9 was a winner with me. Nothing like this on P&O. Let’s just say I made good use of it. The entertainment was poor in my opinion. Many were wowed by it, but it was distinctly average and not enough of it. They have a lounge they hardly use, with much of the entertainment taking place in the Centrum, where most people have to stand and hang over the balcony to watch. Very strange. The resident bands were ok when they played at night, but every time they played by the pool, they did 30 minutes and played the same songs...every....single...time. The resident singers and dancers didn’t do anywhere near the amount of shows that we expect on P&O and when we went o one ‘Boogie Wonderland’, it wasn’t great. Of all the classics they could have done, they did some obscure stuff. They also did an ABBA medley, where they felt the need to change the arrangement and the key of the songs.....why? Also, one of the female singers was 'shouty'. Not jus5 in my opinion but of many. Schooner bar......hard to get a seat at night so never went in. The pool area was good. Cooling salt water in the pool and lovely hat jacuzzis. Top marks. But nowhere to actually sit out in the afternoon. All the tables were in the shade. The worst thing was that apart from a party night, the pool bar shut at 9pm, when it was 26 degrees outside. Not a single open air bar in the evening. Ships tours were VERY expensive. I could say more but you get the picture. None of this spoiled our holiday and in some areas, they were better than P&O. I may travel with two hem again, but mainly because an older couple who always travel with RCI said they wouldn’t sail on that ship again, but the rest of the fleet was good. Apparently they are selling it in two years, so is this a case of running it down gently? Overall, the ship looked tired. Great holiday, but expected better from anAmerican cruise line. Read Less

We chose the 12 night Mediterranean / Greek Islands cruise partly because it started at Barcelona (We added 4 days at the start to explore this incredible city) and also because the itinerary visited places we'd either not been to before, or not visited for a number of years. Embarkation was very smooth, we waited until mid afternoon to beat the rush, it also meant that the traditional day one lunch at Windjammer was less crowded as we timed to get there just after the cabins opened. Our previous RC cruises have mostly been on the Independence Of The Seas and the Navigator, both much larger ships than this one. We were concerned that the Vision might feel too small, but we needn't have worried. The space was very well used and beautifully presented. Our cabin was a junior suite, spacious and in an excellent location on deck 8. Dining: We found the choices in the main dining room a little limited - always about 7 or 8 different dishes per night, but between each day not all of these would change, resulting in a lot of the choices appearing numerous times throughout the cruise. My wife is vegetarian and there was usually one starter and one main course she could choose per night. However, it has to be said that the food was uniformly excellent and the standard of service was superb. Thankfully, windjammer provided a very viable alternative when we needed to use it on an evening. We didn't use the specialty restaurants on this occasion. Overall, we ate very well wherever we went to. Our favourite place was the solarium - the main pool was crowded and noisy (although people there who wanted that seemed to be having a great time). The solarium is an adults only area which was calm, and a lovely pool too small to swim in properly but lovely to wallow in after a day out in the sun. We also particularly liked the Schooner Bar and the Viking Lounge - both great for relaxing in the evening. The service without fail in all areas was superb. Despite there being well over 2000 people on the ship, we were made to feel like we were the only ones who mattered. The staff are a real credit to the ship and the captain, who incidentally gets very involved with the activities too! Entertainment: We only went to the theatre twice to see the headline entertainers, but both shows were great. From past cruises I'm afraid I have very little patience with the RC home grown shows so we didn't go this time. We loved the events in the centrum such as the 70s party, the dancing with the officers event, Rock out with the captain etc, and the entertainment and activity team worked tirelessly to keep everyone busy and having fun. We loved the fact that you could join in these activities if you wanted but also they were easy to avoid. We did three ship shore excursions:: Athens on Your Own: I wouldn't bother with this - the open top bus pulls up by the ship and takes passengers from there. The problem was that the pick up time to come back to the ship was 2:00pm and the departure time was 6:00pm. So much time lost that could have been used exploring the wonderful city. Only consider this if you must have the safety net of the ships transport. Train Transfer to Rome: Highly recommended- a specially chartered train (The Roma Express) which is old but really quirky which whisks you into Rome, beautifully following the coast. You get off 10 minutes walk from St Peters Square before having 6 hours to explore, then returning. You can even leave things on the train if you dont want to carry them. Everything that was wrong with the Athens trip was right with this one. We had time to linger in St Peters Basillica, visit the Trevi Fountain, the pantheon and the Spanish Steps, whilst exploring other places along the way. Pisa and Florence with Smart Device: We wanted longer in Florence but there was no trip that offered more that 4 hours so we chose this one. An excellent way to see both places if you want to have a taste of each place. We didnt bother with the smart device, if you have a smart phone you can get all the information anyway. For Mykanos and Santorini, get in the queue for tender tickets early unless you want a long wait. On Santorini we went up to the town of Fira and took a service bus to Oia , less than 2 euros each way and a very regular service. Well worth doing. For Marseille we paid the 18 dollars each for the shuttle bus, there is a free bus about 15 minutes away but I couldnt say how often it runs, and if there is more than one cruise ship in, it could get extremely busy. Finally - travelling with children. We didn't and I would hesitate to recommend this ship for children. A number of the other, larger RC ships have become like floating entertainment centres. This isnt one of them, so I think it depends on what you need as a family. Ive read other reviews of this ship where people have been complaining that there is nothing for their 4 year old to do after 10:00pm - if that is what is important to you, then don't choose this ship. Whereas there is still a lot to do, it doesnt compare to the larger ships. We actually really liked the fact that this cruise was much less child orientated than others we have been on - the independence in particular has sometimes felt like parents let the children and teenagers go feral on day one and then don't see them again until the end. The vision felt more "adult" and the crew were on top of any behaviour that might spoil enjoyment for others. The main pool area was great for families as that was the focus of the entertainment. As already mentioned, the solarium provided a wonderful escape from that. Overall we loved our time on the ship, a beautiful itinerary, first rate crew and a lovely, relaxing experience. We would definitely book the Vision again if the itinerary was right. Read Less

First cruise for a family of 4 with a couple of tweens 10 and 13. Picked this cruise for the itinerary in the first instance as we wanted to visit Italy and whilst many cruises do the west coast, this one did the Adriatic up the east coast and into Venice. Which swung it over the alternative despite the alternative being on the incredible Symphony of the seas. Glad we chose this ship as it now gives us more incentive to do another cruise on the bigger ships. Starting with the biggest of all for our first time would have left us with no where but down in terms of ship size. Can’t fault the itinerary, the first 4 days are quite intensive if you taking in an excursion every day. But with a sensible head to throw in half day excursions instead of full makes this doable without tiring yourself out. The 3.5 days at sea also give you plenty of relaxation time. Dining experience was extremely pleasant and instantly felt at home and relaxed. Booking a time slot for evening meals was a breeze. Our waiters were extremely attentive without being over powering, and the kids were very sad to say goodbye at the end of the cruise. Embarking was a pleasant calm experience, we left it until a couple of hours before sailing time, which meant we had no queuing time as we boarded and our cases arrived at our room within a couple of minutes of us opening the door of our cabin. Perfect. Disembarking was to be a little earlier than we had expected. But a visit to customer services and a quick change meant we were the last to leave the ship which suited us due to a a flight at lunchtime. Food is available pretty much all day in some form or other. The windjammer provides self service with a good selection of food from around the world. But focused primarily on English and American markets with burgers, English bacon, American bacon etc. Joints of freshly cooked meats, pizza, pasta with the odd Indian and Chinese dish thrown in for good measure. The main dining room offers the usual steaks, fish and vegetarian options and deserts are very nice indeed. My advice would be to look for deals on drinks packages when you book the cruise as this made a difference for us being relaxed in ordering drinks from anywhere on the ships many bars. Without a package I fear this could be expensive and make you less inclined to enjoy the beverages on offer. Which included branded beers/wines and cocktails. With only very high end drinks needing a surcharge. Tho you do find yourselves getting alcoholic drinks early in the day because you can and it’s already paid for. The entertainment team are very good on the vision, and whilst there is always something happening somewhere on the ship it never feels over the top or in your face. Look out for the thriller dance directed by the cruise director himself. Spend a around 5 hours being taught the classic thriller dance before a performance on the final night in front of a packed audience in the centrum area of the ship. As first time cruises we weren’t sure what to expect of the captain himself, but It was a very pleasant experience to find him mingling and engaging with visitors at any time of the day, including breakfast in the self service restaurant, pool volleyball on two occasions and even performing live on stage with the rest of his team on a number of occasions during the cruise. I am also led to believe he personally shakes the hands of guests as they leave. But as we were late getting off we missed that. Overall a great holiday and one that has given us the appetite for more cruising. Read Less

We decided to cruise with Royal Carribean because of its reputation of being fantastic for families. We travelled as a party of 12 including 4 children ages ranging between 4 and 8. Embarkation from Barcelona was quick, smooth, simple and welcoming. We had an inside stateroom which was on the small side but had everything we needed. The destinations we visited were fantastic. We did not enroll on any excursions as they were extremely over priced. We explored Many destinations by ourselves which was very simple, seeing the main attractions that the excursions offered for a fraction of the price. The food in the windjammer was of a high standard offering a variety of cuisines and the service was very good. We were scheduled for the 08:30 dining time in the main dining restaurant, however the standard of food wasn’t great, only two or three options changed per night and the temperature of the food was lukewarm. Service was great and our waiter was very accommodating. Our children attended the kids club every day which they very much enjoyed. However the evening club finished at 10pm and if you wanted to leave them a little longer, there was an hourly rate. The downside to this cruise was the entertainment. There wasn’t enough for families. After collecting the children from kids club at 10pm, there was no where suitable to take them. There was no family disco, the live band repeated the same songs every night, our only alternative was to go to bed. Poolside entertainment was poor and very basic. The films were repeated on numerous occasions. Drinks were very expensive, they ran out of a number of drinks on more than one occasion. Overall we would not choose to cruise on this ship again. Read Less

Just a quick breakdown on our 12 night Mediterranean Greek Isles cruise: 1) The Ship was very enjoyable, high marks to the condition on the ship. Smaller ship in the fleet, for this voyage, just the right size. 2) Stayed in cabin 8029 (Interior State Room). Just perfect, quiet, great location, just the right size. The cabin was excellent 3) Had a great meal each and every day. Most enjoyable meals were at Izumi's, but overall food was great. The meals were just short of excellent. 4) Entertainment and Activities were just as expected. Sign up for the Triller show, great time. 5) We received 10 star service. I would take this cruise just to be able to be with the crew. 6) Over did it on the shore excursions, slow it down and take it a day at a time. 7) Did not travel with children. Would not recommend them on this ship. 8) I would do the cruise again, just so I could be the ship with the crew. 9) Embarkation was easy, very organized. 10) Enrichment activities were just so so. 11) Entertainment was very good. 12) Fitness was excellent. Read Less

We were interested in the itinerary. Lots of great stops and starting in Barcelona ( we spent 6 days there before the cruise.) Many stops are a hassle to get to so we used more shiop tours than we normally would. The ship- this old girl was never a really pretty boat and now its old and dirty. Not horrible but not great. Dining on this ship was great. We loved our servers and the main dining room menu was outstanding. Don't miss the lunch buffet in the dining room- awesome. The casual dining spot was good, nice variety but sometimes cold food. Thats it for food- this boat lacks any of the extra spots for dining you would find on other ships. The one extra spot featured roadside rest stop repackaged food. Room service is an up charge. The charge for specialty restaurants is outrageous. Entertainment- the headliners were really good, but the entertainers from the ship were not. We enjoyed movies by the pool even though the pool was closed and we could not swim while watching. The pools were good- roomy enough to get in, unlike some other ships. We enjoyed some trivia around the ship and felt there was plenty to do. Ports: Barcelona: spent 6 days in Barcelona before sailing and loved every minute. Great town, great food, great sites. Cannes: there isnt that much to do here so we walked around eating and drinking. One of our best days! Florence: We took the ship excursion Florence behind the Scenes. Not great- the itinerary says you will go in the Doumo (church) but we didn't- the guide took us to the Baptistry instead. It says you go to the Opera musuem but the guide made us stay in one small room while she taked endlessly( an hour ) and refused to let us go on our own into the main part of the museum, so we basically saw nothing. We did go to Pisa and those who wanted went to the top. Pisa has nothing to offer unless you want to climb the tower and it takes along time to get there. This was the worst guide and the worst value for the money that I have ever encountered anywhere. Rome: We had all been there so we rented a car and drove to Ostia Antica and then to Cervateri ( Etruscan necropolis) This was quite an adventure. The car rental was hard to find. We had a series of probems at the end and barely got back on time, but it was awesome. Athens: We took a tour that we arranged from viatour, a company called Athens Walking Tours. We saw alot including the Parthenon They met us at the ship and transported us into Athens. Everything went perfectly and it was a great tour. Rhodes: On our own- this port is really easy . We walked around, ate some food and bought some silver. Buy in port- this ship marks this stuff up to 3 times the price on land. We walked up to the Palace of the Knights and went to the Archeology Museum. These wre nice, but it wont matter if you miss them. There was a small swimming area near where the ship docked so we jumped in the water for a few minutes. Santorini: So beautiful, we loved it. Getting on and off is tough so we booked a ship tour, which was great. We went on the Village of Oia ith a wine tasting. This was a beautiful trip buy tender and then a bus. We saw alot of the island and then had tome in Oia. After that a wine tasting at an amazing winery (my only regret here is that there wasnt time enough to eat lunch and savor a full glass.) Then on to Fira where the guide showed us around and then left us. We shopped, ate lunch in a beautiful spot and then took the cable car down. Loved this trip. The cable car though is a pain- it took a bit more than an hour from the time we got in line But those who walked down were also unhappy. Malta- We took the ship tour to the Blue Grotto. This is a bus ride through the mostly under construction island of Malta. We went to a small fishing village which might have been nice if our tour didnt go there before anything was open. We had 45 minutes to look at few few boats and get a coffee in literally the only thing open here. Then to the Blue Grotto which was beautiful, but ony a 20 minute boat ride. After that more free time in the tiny tourist area at the Blue Grotto. Long walk for a short drink overall. Monserrat and transfer: Our bus was late and then the guide was even later. We took a drive around Barcelona with a guide who would not speak loud enough for anyone to hear. Then an absolutely beautiful ride up the mountain to Monserrat. Even though we were already late, our guide spent alot of time describing what was in teh store windows and pointing out apartments and such is the distance. As a result, we were too late for the open tourst visiting at the Monastery we came to see and could not go in. To sum this up, RC tours were really hit or miss, often not delivering the experience they sold us. Read Less

We chose this cruise for locations visiting and departure port all of which were better than expected . I cant understand people criticizing this ship , it was as good as any other Royal Caribbean ships, yes smaller but more friendly, everyone help full and polite nothing a problem . Food was what you'd expect always a good choice and always available we also upgraded to 3 specialty nights dinning which were fabulous and well worth the money only $70 each plus tax. main dinning staff at night were all great our waitress and her assistant catered for our every need I think they excelled in getting 2000 people fed ,watered ,entertained and kept safe for 12 days we didn't use shore excursions we traveled independently at our leisure, easy with some forward planning tendered ports were managed extremely well, i feel, you were warned of ques if you went at peak times which we didn't would we have turned round and got back on ABSOLUTELY Read Less