Vision of the Seas Review
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Additional details
This was our 5th cruise on RCI and our first out of Santo Domingo. We have done two previous cruises out of San Juan and suffice to say that English is NOT a second language in Santo Domingo. We flew in the night before and stayed at the Courtyard by Marriott which was a very nice hotel about 10 minutes from the new San Souci port. The hotel staff are versed in English but once off the grounds you need a basic understanding of Spanish. It was a bit of a challenge for us even though one in our party spoke pretty good French (which you can get by with in a pinch). Even though it was a challenge, we respected this is THEIR culture and coped as best we could...at times it was even comical which we made light of. We find far too many of our CruiseCritic.com friends are judgemental...to fully enjoy yourself in some of these foreign cultures you need to have an open mind.
Embarkation was relatively quick and painless although they do check your luggage fairly closely. This is the first time a few of us have lost the pull tabs on our luggage zippers and we weren't sure if it was from the baggage handlers at the port or from the airport baggage handlers. They must either collect these things like hood ornaments or get kickbacks from the companies who sell luggage. I can see why some people use old luggage to travel with...the newer it looks the more abuse they give it! Prior to boarding they were taking Passports of Dominican Republic citizens at checkin and they had a mitt full which will give you an idea of how many are on the ship (apparently they want to make sure they get back on the ship from the foreign ports). Being Canadian we weren't given near the same scrutiny.
We stayed away from the Windjammer as much as possible or went to it when it wasn't too busy. The menu varied a little from cruises out of San Juan and Miami but was okay. We much preferred the quietness of the Aquarius Dining Room for breakfast and lunch even though the wait was a little longer (although their buffet was adequate for breakfast).
Cabin Review
Large Ocean View Stateroom
Too much noise from above - dining room. Sure wish the Vision had the sliding glass shower doors like Adventure & Freedom - don't care for the shower curtains! Lots of drawer and cupboard space - very efficient cabins, and loved the ocean view. Room Steward was awesome as were our Waiters!