This was my first cruise ever and I came in completely optimistic, but it was an absolute disaster. From the first moment I entered this ship, you are greeted with this musty smell of this aging ship. The smell would soon become the least of my problems as the journey went on. My interior room was okay but extremely dated. Everything was functional, but the antiquated look was very depressing. They combined both of my twin beds to make it queen sized, but the gap in the middle of the bed was very uncomfortable to sleep in if you like to sleep in the center. You could see how worn the bed sheets were and how desperate they needed to be thrown out. Air conditioning was either really hot or really cold, so it was hard to adjust it to my preferred setting. The lighting was more than adequate. The TV channels were extremely limited. It was almost all advertisements for other RC products trying to make you purchase your next vacation, buy chocolate diamonds, go on Symphony of the Seas, and go to Coco Cay. They did have about 2 sports channels, 2 children channels, 2 news channels. There was nothing truly entertaining to watch for an adult on vacation, which was disappointing to say the least. Try to bring a tablet so you can watch something entertaining. For the restroom the shower size was more than adequate with perfect pressure and hot water. I could hear everything going on the floor below me where the employees were hauling equipment at any hour of the day. Overall the room was a mediocre Motel 6 at best with some redeeming qualities. My stateroom attendant was really attentive and had my room looking fresh twice daily. He was the lucky charm that the room needed. During my stay my friend and I were harassed on multiple times by security. They accused us of being staff sneaking into guest areas. It was quite offensive that were were the only ones being asked this question every time this happened. Clearly they were profiling us based upon age, ethnicity, and looks to determine that we might possibly be an employee. The security manager was of no help during my complaint and using a lot of politically correct wording to evade the issue. Also, every time I reentered the ship from a port the security would ask me to take my shoes off and try to pat me down, which is what you do to employees and not guests. I always had to inform them that I was a guest and they would back off. What they really should be doing is asking if you are a guest or employee first before making your requests from me to do such. There really seemed to be a lack of training security and a poor excuse for people that I am supposed to trust. The shows were a variety show that I would consider beyond sub par to even the worst shows in Las Vegas. The two main production shows were so cheesy and rushed that you couldn't help but roll your eyes. The dancers were absolutely amazing, but whoever was responsible for making the show must have designed it 30 years ago. As each day went on the shows became worse and worse to where I saw many people walking out. They had comedians, ventriloquist, quartet, singers, and a few other things during our event. I just showed up to them because it was the only thing to do. The WiFi I paid for was extremely sluggish and a false advertisement to their product because I was only able to stream 2 of my 16 days without interruption. Even late at night when everyone was asleep it was still slow or would just disconnect altogether. I was a long line of people at the Wifi sales table during the first day already complaining, which only let me know how well that was going to go for the rest of the cruise. The food was only of the redeeming factors that I didn't have too many problems with. Dining in the main dining room the food was of good quality. If I could I would eat in there for all of my meals. The only thing was that the food became very repetitive. I did have a problem with the buffet upstairs because the food was of terrible quality. All of it was filler items with lots of carbs and nothing worth your time except like 5 items. You also can't find food after 1 am unless you want to pay for the room service, which I had to do and it added up quickly. My all you can drink package was definitely worth it since I used it. I loved almost all of the bartenders and they even made me their own specialty drinks for me that were not even on the menu. There was quite a few times that I was skipped over to serve others before me and even the bartenders knew they were doing it. Apparently prepaying nearly $200 in alcohol gratuities for my trip isn't enough for them and if you aren't continually throwing money in their face they will skip you or try and make you a mediocre drink. I remembered those who didn't treat me that way and they were rewarded in the end. During the first few days of the cruise the water was undrinkable to the point where they had to start giving out free water bottles to guests. Air conditioning in the ship was working intermittently. It would happen in any room at any given moment. You could be in the Schooner bar and then it gives out forcing you to migrate. The same happened in the show room, dinner room, casino, and the list goes on. The employees and the guests were the redeeming pieces that made the cruise worth memorable. Showing up to the coffee bar and already knowing my order and chatting with them was nice. All of the blackjack dealers knowing my name and asking me about what I did for the day was something to look forward to. Partying with random strangers at the casino bar was always fun. All of the people made it spectacular where RCL failed. We gave the ship many names before the end of the cruise. Some of them were Tragedy of the Seas, Vintage of the Seas, and Prison of the Seas. Overall, I would not do this cruise ship ever again and I need to figure out where I stand with my relationship on RCL after this rocky journey. For some, it seems to have worked out and I am happy for them. For me it was just passing time and making it to the end. A lot of cruisers said this cruise was really odd for them also and not to judge all cruises based upon this one. It felt like the Twilight Zone as the days went on. I gave in and tried my best to enjoy everything with the limited things to do. I don't regret anything I have ever done in life and only made this a learning lesson. This cruise ship is not for young people and is most definitely not made for long trips. Hopefully, I could give some insight to others on understanding my journey and you can make an informed decision. Read Less

The Vision of the Seas Officers, Cruise Staff and Crew were very friendly and highly visible. This TA offered new, fun, free activities that we had never experienced before - the egg drop, cake decorating, scavenger hunt, debates, Neptune ceremony, escape room puzzle, Crew talent show, many different game shows, to name a few. This was our first time on a Vision Class ship and while not as “kid friendly” as many RCI ships, it was perfect for us. The flow in the Windjammer, Shops, Lounge and Theater area was excellent; especially compared to the Radiance Class (Jewel of the Seas) that we just sailed. The stairways and aisles seemed wider and were easy to navigate. The ship does show some wear, but not as much as the Jewel and Vision is headed into a 14 day dry dock as we disembarked. This is only our third TA, but, though a smaller ship, the Vision offered the most and most varied activities. It was a great trip. Main Dining Room: Food and service were excellent. Very flexible in adjusting to our group’s staggered arrival times. We were booked for MyTime dining but when we arrived were advised we had been assigned early sitting at a table for 10. MyTime was overbooked and they could not / refused to accommodate another party of two. We were offered a table for two in the MDR on night 2 but we declined. RCI needs to get a handle on scheduling MyTime; we had a poor experience on the Jewel, also. Compliments to the Chef for the Beef Wellington - it was extraordinary! Specialty Dining: Giovanni’s was outstanding - service, food, atmosphere was excellent. The staff was very friendly and all of the food - from bread to dessert was great. While they didn’t have a window seat, they graciously sat the two of us at a table for four with a view. Izumi was also very good. The server explained the menu and offered suggestions. The hot rocks are a fun cooking / eating experience. Unfortunately, at Chops, usually our favorite, the server and maitre’d were not friendly / almost rude from the start. The steaks, appetizers and desserts were very good but the accompanying sides were all cold (potatoes, spinach and mushrooms). For some reason in our section of the dining room, the lights were never dimmed and our table was so close to the party next to us that we could hear all of their complaints to the server. The server never asked if we wanted more wine (we did) and did not clean up the table (crumb catcher) between courses. It was a really poor experience. Masquerade Theater: Entertainment had it’s highs and lows - James Stephens III, Mark Preston, Brooks Aehron (pianist), the Beatles and Gary Williams are not to be missed. Comedian David Naster was good but Neal Austin and Steve Rawlings were not. The Duo Artmotion (aerial performance) was good, but a little long and repetitive, especially for the first night. The Production Show cast members were very good, talented singers and dancers; the costumes and sets interesting; but the material was boring and old. I think the production shows are past their prime. On long voyages, it would be nice to see the production cast more. We enjoyed the matinee performances and the classical music was a different, welcome addition. Eunsely Park (violinist) was remarkable. FYI: the theater is way too warm - need more A/C. Customer Service: Very helpful and friendly. Needed to have my SeaPass replaced - no problem! The ship really needs to be upgraded so you can view your bill on the room TV; it would save many trips to Customer Service. Next Cruise: Only dropped in once. Very abrupt and did not seem especially interested in selling me a cruise. Photographers: Always a great, friendly group, the Vision was no exception. Especially enjoyed the young man from India and the married couple from Mauritius. Read Less

We chose this cruise because of the timing. We were in Europe for 6 weeks and wanted to cruise back home at this time. This was the second cruise we took on RCCL. We thought it was just ok the first time. We find other cruise lines better. We were not impressed with RCCL at all with this cruise. The ship needs a lot of work. Most of the furniture is old, chipped and needs to be replaced. And get rid of those hideous artificial plants! The food is mediocre at best. The dinner service was excellent though. The breakfast service in the dining room was so bad that most days we didn’t eat there. We had to wait a long time for a table even though there were empty tables and it took a long time to get our food. The whole breakfast service was very chaotic and disorganized. The only thing good about eating breakfast in the dining room was Hans. He is a delight! The cruise director, Steve was very good and worked hard, as was his staff. Orlando was very personable and funny. He would make an excellent cruise director. We also enjoyed Talita very much. She is funny but at times difficult to understand. We enjoyed laying out by the pool most sea days, but found the music annoying. They should take into consideration that the average age of their cruisers is 60+. We don’t enjoy techno, teenie bopper music. Same with the movies the showed on the outdoor screen. They were mostly kids’ movies and no one was watching them but you couldn’t get away from the sound. The evening shows were a mix, some very good and others not so much. We really enjoyed the Beatles show, the pianist, the ship’s orchestra, David Nestor, and James Stephens. We didn’t really care for the 2 production numbers, they seemed to drag. Also didn’t like Neal Austin. He should be doing children’s parties. We also enjoyed the enrichment forensics talks very much. They were very interesting. The shows in the Centrum were good and enjoyable, but too crowded and hard to see. Late comers squeeze in in front of those in seats so people that were there and seated coulddn’t see. The ship seemed clean, and the cabins were also clean. The room attendants worked very hard. Read Less

Following a wonderful family trip across Europe we enjoyed a 13 day transatlantic cruise. I was very concerned that there might not be enough activities for my wife. Luckily the activities director was a non stop activity machine. The lovely Talita Leone taught Zumba and stretching and Brazilian dancing classes daily in the centrum and pool side. Fantastic. The evening events included parties and the quest. The crew was excellent. Food was very good in MDR and service excellent. Breakfast and lunch were good. The ship is nice and very easy to get around. Music by Vicky and band were good. Fellow passengers were amazing fun. One of our best trips ever. The entire staff was friendly and service was excellent. The ship is headed for a refurbishment that’s needed. But we’ve found some great things in small ships like this Visions and the Grandeur. Maybe they try harder. Diamond lounge was available from 4:30 to 8 pm every day including day we got on. Read Less

West chose this cruise mainly for the itinerary and loved the ports of call. This must have been quite the ship in 1998 when it left Drydock but today it's an older ship that is good but not amazing. We found the stateroom on the starboard bow to be quite roomy for a ship. Even had a 20 inch or so flat screen TV. While everything looked fairly dated the room was in decent shape and beds were okay after we got used to them as they were quite firm. There is very little in the way of in room entertainment as there was no movie channel just news and a kids channel. Occasionally there would be a British show on Sky TV but other than that you have to get out. There were nightly shows in the Masquerade Theater or a movie. Some of the entertainment was excellent but generally it was okay as there wasn't much else to do. Now the food: we dined at the formal dining with My Dining. So we had to book a table every night but didn't have to sit and listen to Americans talk about politics every night so that was a bonus. The food was pretty good in the dining room and they striped to give excellent service. My wife is gluten free so they worked hard to get her meals right. However her gluten free choices were a bit limited because she doesn't eat seafood. I special order the filet mignon, which cost an extra $20US but it was easily the best steak I've ever had! It needed nothing and melted in your mouth. Order it if you like steak! I would have liked more seafood and lobster on the included menu even if just one night but all of the best seafood is a premium price. If you like to drink you may want to consider the drink package as drinks are priced outrageously considering the cost at ports. I had a $14US 5oz glass of table wine, which was the only drink I purchased on the cruise. The way people were ordering up the drinks I could see they must have easily racked up a $1000 dollar bar bill by the end of the cruise if they didn't have the package. Also the premium restaurants prices were fairly outrageous plus they added an extra 18% tip onto their meals as they don't get tipped out of the main gratuity you pay. So, for an extra $100 a night you and your partner could be dining in style! I would like to say for the most part cruising was pleasant during the day. We had excellent weather for the fall but the Mediterranean gets rougher in the fall. Some of the cruising days and nights were fairly rough. We don't get seasick but also don't enjoy the waves pounding the hull all night. So after the cruising days we were happy to get off. I recommend you try to get the best deal on a cruise with this ship and consider abstaining from alcohol except at ports. Finally, the time at ports of call were extremely limited. We found each shore excursion was a nail-biting race to get back before the all on board time sometimes as early as 345. Many places you really only had 5 or 6 hours to explore by the time your excursion got it together to get going. We had several delays where the excursion was an hour or more late cutting into the already limited time. I will say to our tour guides, that they did a good job of getting us back on time, but we booked them all through Expedia and not the outrageously priced shore excursions on board the ship. I'm not sure why the captain left us so little time to see the ports considering that was the main point of the cruise. I suspect the cost of being at Port and the money to be made getting you back on board to buy extremely expensive drinks might have been part of the motive. While it was nice to have a "taste" of each port of call, I wouldn't recommend this as a way to really see any of the ports. At least we now know where we want to come back to. Read Less

Well where to start! This ship cruise was my very first ship cruise ever! Enjoyed the statement room my grandmother and I had, was a nice size just for the two of us. Dexter our stateroom attendant was very very nice, did an awesome job keeping us happy. The entertainment on ship from live shows to yoga, movies in a nice huge theater to live musical bands were non stop. The cruise consisted of a 14 day and many stops from France, Italy, Greece and Malta! Which we took advantage of the many excursions there were to offer and see! The dining especially formal dining our waiter Davor was so awesome we kept coming back just to see his lovely smile! He was very attentive to us since we only sat at a two setting table. I got to try escargot for the first time and had any of the recommendations of the menu Davor had to offer. The manager sorry I can’t remember his name but is from India he was so awesome too, he always took the time to come by to just chat with us as well! Kuddos to both! So overall regardless of knowing this was a smaller ship have already recommended this same cruise with your company! I’m definitely am highly satisfied with the cruise I as well met many different people around the world! I am definitely coming back! Read Less

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

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

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 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