Vision of the Seas Review
Rating by category
Additional details
My wife and I have been on several Royal Caribbean Cruises. This was our 18th overall cruise. We were cruising with my cousin and his wife and we wanted to try Tampa port as we had not taken any cruises from this port in the past. Embarkation was fine. Barely any lines at all. We boarded the ship with ease and made our way to the Windjammer. Starting to get a bit crowded, but we managed to find a table. However, we were not able to find much food that appealed to us. We have been on Explorer and were used to the layout of the Windjammer, but, it seemed the Vision puts more of the "ethnic" foods on the main lines and the comfort foods in the back. We didn't go hungry, but only went back to the Windjammer for lunch one other day as a result. Selections were basically the same every day.
Dining room service was S-L-O-W. Never had a meal under 2 hours the entire week despite our pleas to the Head Waiter. The food was what we expected and again, we certainly never went hungry. Went to Izumi one night and despite the "a la carte" pricing (which adds up quick!) we enjoyed that very much. Will definitely try that again the future.
Arial shows and theater shows were good (again, average). Nothing spectacular but not bad either. The Elton John tribute in Schooner Bar was one of our favorites (wives are big Elton John fans). Love and Marriage show was funny. The comedian on the late night show was also funny.
Cabin Review
Large Ocean View Stateroom
Cabin was nice for what it was, basically a place to sleep, shower, and change clothes. Bed was comfortable. Location was very convenient. My only complaint (and its minor) is when the ship is docking, this room is right above the bow thrusters and they are quite loud. If you are a late sleeper, this may be an issue.
Port Reviews
Tampa
Very easy to get to. Embarkation and debarkation were very easy as well. If you rent cars, Avis is at Embassy Suites and will come pick you up. Also, there are 2 terminals that Royal uses...2 and 3. We departed from 3 and arrived back at 2. So, be mindful of that.
Cozumel
Cozumel is, well...Cozumel. We were supposed to be at International Pier, but ended up docking at Downtown Pier which was cool because we had never been to this pier before. We took at cab back to Carnival's pier because my cousin wanted to visit the Hard Rock. They have a small shopping town there for Carnival Ships. Very nice. Hard Rock is now open and you can get your memorabilia...or quick lunch. We ate lunch at Mr. Chile's. Was very authentic and good in my opinion. Not Americanized at all. We enjoyed that.
Costa Maya
Not much to do outside of the port. We were going to YaYa Beach, but the wind and the surf were so high, that we were unable to go. We stayed at the pier and shopped. We then went back on board and got in the solarium "wave" pool (because of the way the ship was rocking with the winds around the pier). Would like to go back and head over to YaYa next time