A large percentage of travelers on Vision of the Seas are families, including people with young children and also multigenerational groups. During school breaks and summer, expect typical "spring breaker" crowds, including lots of college students and school-aged kids. Most cruisers are from North America.

During the day, swimsuits, cover-ups, shorts and tank tops are par for the course aboard Vision of the Seas. The ship's shorter four- and five-night itineraries feature only one formal night in the main and specialty dining rooms, and the rest are deemed "casual." Shorts, tank tops and baseball caps are specifically not allowed, but we did observe a few passengers skirting these rules. For the most part, people wear sundresses, long pants and casual or button-down shirts to dinner. Formal nights range from special occasion wear, like beaded dresses and suits, to sundresses -- and many passengers opt not dress up at all. There are typically a couple of theme nights, such as "1970s" and "Tropical," which are completely optional.

Passengers are automatically charged $14.50 per person, per day for gratuities, or $17.50 per person, per day for suite passengers. These tips are shared among dining staff and stateroom attendants. When you order a drink at the bar, enjoy a spa treatment, dine at a specialty restaurant or take a fee-based fitness class, you'll be automatically charged 18 percent for gratuity -- and there's a line to add an extra tip, if you wish.

Note: Australians and New Zealanders do not have the stateroom service charge added to their daily account; fares automatically include this gratuity as long as it was booked in AU/NZ dollars.