Arrived in Istanbul late afternoon the day before boarding the Vision. We got a taxi to Hotel Maywood, which cost around 35 lira. Did a bit of the tourist thing Monday morning and then headed off to the ship by taxi...costing about 15 lira. Check in was a matter of about 10 minutes and then we wandered a bit until our room was ready. We had a junior suite, which gave us that wonderfully huge balcony. The room decor (orange colored chairs and couch) was a bit dated, but overall things were in a good condition.

The staff on this ship overall were great! We had an issue with the room steward not getting her job done, but that was rectified once we complained. The waiter and asst. waiter were probably the best ones we have ever had on a cruise.

The food was okay, but it is not what it used to be about 8 years ago. The desserts in the dining room were decent, but the Windjammer desserts are horrible! It seems like everything has this gelatin type base...ugh! Read more