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Serenade of the Seas

Vision of the Seas

Voyager of the Seas

Grandeur of the Seas

Palermo (Sicily)

We are Platinum with Carnival but decided to join friends who were taking a trip on the Vision.  We were a little skeptical about being newbies on Royal and selecting an older, smaller ship on top of that, but we were pleasantly surprised.  

Embarkation port was in New Orleans, very easy and quick process.  We had no problems bringing a 12 pack of our favorite soda on board.

Cabins were ready promptly at 1pm, and our bags were delivered even before the muster drill.  We stayed in a balcony room, 7542. Cabin attendant, Danny, was great and never missed a chance to greet us by name.  

At night they closed doors between the Centrum and staterooms, which was a thoughtful way to keep the hallways quieter during the late night shows and live music.  

Not a complaint but for those who are sensitive to sound, there were times when generally the noise was more than we have experienced on other ships.  Most noticeably you could hear toilets flushing as you walk down the halls, and in our stateroom we could hear it when neighbors cough/laugh.  Occasionally there was noise above us but it was not excessive.  It was foggy on the Mississippi as we were getting back to New Orleans and the fog horn was quite loud and woke us up, while our friends who were at the front of the ship never heard it.

From the balcony you could often hear the live music from a distance, which I thought was great.  

Service in the main dining room was always outstanding and we enjoyed most of the food. We were always able to find something to munch on.  They don't state this on the menu, but they can usually whip up an Indian or Asian food entree in the main dining room for dinner, such as curry chicken or Adobo pork, if you give 24 hours' notice.  

The majority of guests were ages 50+ and there were very few children, but it was a fun bunch and everyone was friendly.  We easily found space in the Solarium and due to the mature travelers nobody overcrowded or overstayed in the hot tubs so we were able to hop in even on sea days.  It was also surprisingly easy to catch elevators any time.  Plenty of seating for shows, etc if you get there a few mins early.  

We enjoyed the comedian and the band was great, but found the shows to be kind of average (show singers were pitchy, not many shows to see).  Did enjoy playing Blackjack with the friendly dealers and passengers.  Happened to luck out and pick a night to visit the casino when the smoking was not out of control.

Great service and lots of space 

We chose this cruise as our 'maiden' voyage.  We had never cruised before but heard so many good things.  All are true.  Although Vision of the Seas is an older ship and a smaller ship, we had a lovely introduction to cruising.

We took a Junior Suite with balcony - so spacious, so efficient with respect to storage!  Impressed!

We thoroughly enjoyed the entertainment onboard:  Special thanks to cruise director Steve - so much energy, so funny; Orlando (on the activities team) - again, so much energy, so much fun and Paolo (activities manager) - so endearing!

Food - excellent.

Service - excellent.

Activities - varied and excellent.

Entertainment - fun and good quality.

I know we shouldn't really compare to the all inclusive beach vacations....but we did.  Dollar for dollar, activity for activity, service for service- this cruise far outdid a high end all inclusive.

We'll be cruising again!

Steve, Orlando, Paolo and all made this an excellent experience for 1st timers

We chose this cruise for two reasons.  We wanted to visit New Orleans and the price was phenomenal!  Embarkation was fast and easy, being the only ship in town that day.  I agree that the ship is a bit dated and has a few maintenance issues.  This was obvious in a few areas such as the public restrooms where toilet paper holders were broken or sinks did not work.  There were also a few areas where cracks in flooring could be seen or furniture in the lounges that had cushions needing repaired or replaced.  These were certainly small issues and did not affect our enjoyment of the cruise.  The staff was wonderful and My Time Dining service was fabulous. I must give a shout out to Moti and Keem who were the best wait staff we have had in some time.  The Windjammer was another story.  The staff were fine and worked very hard, and to be fair, we only ate there for lunch on embarkation day, one supper, and breakfast on debarkation day.  The entrance was difficult as there is a buffet bar right as you walk in.  This caused such congestion!  Also, it seemed whatever I needed was empty and waiting replacement...half/half for the coffee, butter for toast, etc.  I found the Windjammer to be a complete zoo and the nickname given to it by the staff, "Mouthjammer" was appropriate. The food was mediocre at best. We much preferred the dining room. The activities were fantastic and the staff obviously put their all into them.  We enjoyed the shore excursions and were thrilled to be a part of RCI's first visit to the Banana Coast, Trujillo, Honduras. We did the Best of Trujillo tour which included a tour of the town in a very small, hot bus. 

Everyone had a good attitude, though, and it was fine.  It also included a tram tour of  Campo Del Mar Nature Reserve, lunch buffet and beach time.  There were two lovely pools and the beach was wonderful.  Our tour guide kept a close watch on us and made us feel safe.  The tenders were a challenge, as 2 of the 4 tenders had difficulty that put them out of service so the queue to return to the ship was long and hot.  The locals there were so welcoming and happy to see us.  They are working hard to boost their economy with tourism and get so few ships-only 2 in the month of February.  Entertainment on the VOS was fine. We loved the comedians and the Rockstar Juggler.  I was bored with the production shows and would like to see more variety in entertainment. Overall, it was just a great vacation. We would certainly recommend it. Every cruise is what you make it and we loved it!

Fabulous mother/daughter cruise out of New Orleans

Had wanted to cruise out of New Orleans forever so once this particular cruise became available I reserved my cabin at best price immediately.  The trip on the Mississippi River is quite rough, in fact the first 24 hours was rough so I suggest putting on those pressure point wrist bands on within the first 2 hours and leaving them on though out the night.

Since the ship is much smaller than popular newer ones the activity director proved successful in getting all passengers to participate at some point during our trip utilizing the 4th & 5th level as you leave the Main Dining Room.  It's all out full fun and the last day a group of our fellow cruisers performed Michael Jacksons "Thriller" in full make up & dress.  You could see most passengers took a break from packing to watch the production from all levels of the ship.  Flawless & well done!  

All the tours booked by Royal Caribbean went off without a hitch and I'd book the ruins  again at Costa Maya saving time at the beach side resort developed entirely to entertain cruise visitors as it offers a super pool surrounded by all types of restaurants, bars and shops.  Our tour group didn't have but 30 minutes here - not near long enough. There were problems at Trujillo Honduras with the ships Tenders repeatedly getting stuck in a sandbar near the dock but the shopping was traditional and they had multiple handmade items for sale.  The wait to re-board the ship was up to 2 1/2 hours with a very long line.  I learned later this was a new R.C. port site so I'm certain they'll make necessary improvements.

Be sure to save time for the city of New Orleans either before or after your cruise!

Smaller ship than usual but still loads of fun!

Got to New Orleans port at 9:30, they didn’t start letting guests start checking in with cruise staff til 10. I believe we were on the ship by 11:30 (we are not diamond club, just first time on royal). 

If you want to carry your baggage off yourself at end of cruise in self-assist, we were getting off the ship at around 7:17 a.m., through customs and out of terminal just after 7:30. Back to car by around 7:46. 

Steve, cruise director, awesome! Participated in his Thriller dance classes.

R bar in Centrum, level four, charged us for drinks even though we had the ultimate drink package. Had to go to guest services to get this charge taken off. 

Female young blonde Bartender in Schooner bar with overdrawn eyebrows told us that we can only have one shot in piña colada when I asked for a dark rum floater on the top, and she said no. Same bartender a few days before, I asked for a razzle dazzle, which is listed somewhere on the royal Caribbean drink menu, she asked me if it was a martini, and then she made me a Mojito? I’m not sure…other bartenders made our drinks as requested no problem.

Tenders in Trujillo Honduras, two out of four broken down and damaged due to garbage in the engine, guests in wheelchairs had to wait an hour in the sun for a workable tender. Shameful. 

Many servers on board do not know names of cocktails or what is in them. There are different drinks offered in lounges and dining room doesnt serve these drinks, and is very confusing for customers.

Asked waiter in main dining room for his recommendation of a dish for dinner and he said he hadn’t tried the one I asked about.  All waiters should be made to sample all the dishes for dinner  in dining room so they know what to tell guests. Watch Hotel Impossible, he makes his waiters sample all dishes they offer.

Ladies bathroom on level four, centrum level, was out of order for two days, the whole restroom.  Very inconvenient and many events are located on that level in that area.

Restrooms in main guest areas with basin sinks had signs above them to make sure you wash your hands for at least 20 seconds  with warm water and soap. Water in sinks was never warm. It was cold.

Food cold in Windjammer located on buffet (where pancakes are served).

Anytime dining is not really anytime dining. There are two lines, one for people with reservations, and one for people without. If you do not have reservations, they make you come back in a certain period of time when he will have a table for you. I told the head waiter that this defeats the purpose of anytime dining. So we just decided to make a reservation every night during the cruise so that we would always be able to get a table. On lobster and prime rib night, guests who had reservations line was very long, and it took about 20 minutes to get a table. Even though we had made a reservation.....

An okay vacation, had balcony which made the experience pretty good. Centrum area with all the glass and open area is nice with a lot of entertainment going on.

Not bad

The ship was very dated but overall clean and well-kept. Most of the staff was very friendly and personable. Our room stewart, Clover, was amazing and really made us feel at home. The Guest Services staff needed some work. They gave the impression that we were inconveniencing them by asking questions or addressing any problems. The ship was on the smaller size so there wasn't much in line of children's activities. The 2 production shows were quite enjoyable...especially the boogie nights show. There were a number of quiet areas on the ship and I spent a good bit of time in the Viking Crown Lounge at the top deck. The Windjammer is poorly laid out. It was very hard to get around the buffet when it sits right at the entrance. But the food was good and, even though the Windjammer was small, it had a good selection of food.

Very Relaxed Cruise

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