We discovered a few days after the cruise started, that this ship, Vision of the Seas, was going into dry-dock immediately following the end of our journey. This explained a lot about the condition of the ship and the attitude of many of the staff and crew.

I have travelled with Royal Caribbean before on Voyager of the Seas a couple of years ago. It was splendid. The service was top notch and the food beyond compare. I had almost the complete opposite experience on Vision. The ship was very tired looking and the decor a bit shabby. I am notoriously oblivious to my surroundings, so if I noticed things were dilapidated, it must have been really bad.

The best that can be said about the wait staff in the dining room is they didn't drop anything on me. Our silverware was dirty when we sat down at the table, we received coffee cups with red lipstick on the rims. When we requested another cup, the assistant waiter stood behind us checking every cup on his tray, and then left to get another tray. Not one single cup he looked at was clean. The food was sub-par for a cruise ship, even in the Windjammer Cafe. Many times it came luke warm to our table. One night we waited 45 minutes between the time our appetizer plates were cleared and the main course arrived. Read more