Aging Vessel

My husband and I recently returned from a European cruise on the Vision of the Seas. It has been over a decade since we took our last cruise and, after this experience, it will take another decade to forget how bad it was. The food was awful, with the food in the main dining room being only a step above the garbage served at the Windjammer. I remember food from the college cafeteria more fondly than what was served at the Windjammer. After we took a bite of what we thought were fresh eggs, only to realize that we were eating powdered eggs. It was the same with mashed potatoes. It was downright repulsive. That forced us to eat at the ship's specialty restaurants for 5 out of the 7 nights. That food was also nothing to write home about, but at least was edible.

The selection of the activities was also pretty poor and mainly targeted towards the elderly (65+). We attended a few trivia sessions and one evening show and spent the rest of our time at port of call or in our room when we were trapped at sea. Unfortunately, the chilly weather did not help matters. 

The room itself was just as bad. We both woke up with back aches every morning and some nights had to resort to sleep aid to fall asleep as the music from the 60s and 70s played loudly throughout the entire ship (making me think, at first, we were right above or right next to the band). The bathroom, as well as the shower stall, were tiny (and that's coming from someone who is 5'1). I tried not to move much when showering to avoid contact with the filthy curtain and our room was an upgrade!! The towels and sheets were the lowest quality possible, way past their prime. The cheapest Best Western has higher quality linens.

All in all, we thought the cruise was a waste of money and our time and has sufficiently soured our opinion of cruising that we will not be considering this option in this future.