Quebec to Bayonne

Item: Vision of the Seas
Rating: 4.1
Author: mgaiz99

Vision of the Seas Cruise Review to Canada, New England, New York

mgaiz99

Contributor Level: Purser

Cruises: 7+ cruises

Review: 1

Helpful Votes: 44

Overall rating:

4.1 out of 5

11 Night Fall Foliage (Quebec City To Cape Liberty)

Sail date: September 20, 2017

Ship: Vision of the Seas

Cabin type: Oceanview

Traveled as: Couple

Reviewed: 7 years ago

Review summary

I find it in bad taste that the cruise line charges extra for soda. Our last cruise included the soda plus two glasses of wine with dinner. Seeing employees walking around in t-shirts advertising drink packages led to a carnival atmosphere. Charging extra for upscale meals is also in bad taste. No issue with having the specialty restaurants, but the main dining room shouldn't charge extra for better meals.

Embarkation

3 out of 5

Not bad considering the amount of people to be processed, but since the cruise lines have the info in advance, couldn't the stateroom keys be ore made to save time ( or maybe they were??).

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

4 out of 5

Didn't want to eat at 5:39 or 8:00, so we almost always used the bus set. When we did eat in the restaurant, I found it offensive that we could pay an e tea $30 each if we wanted a better meal.

Onboard Activities

4 out of 5

Entertainment

4 out of 5

I liked that the shows were at reasonable hours great staff for the most oart

Service and Staff

5 out of 5

Ship Quality

5 out of 5

Cabin / Stateroom

4 out of 5

Cabin could have used more electrical outlets. I use a cpap machine which couldn't reach the bed from the plug outlet. No doubt I wasn't the only one.

Ship tip

Bring an extension cord with a power strip,

Thumbs up

Ports of call

Quebec City, Quebec

5 out of 5

Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island

4 out of 5

Sydney, Nova Scotia

4 out of 5

Halifax, Nova Scotia

4 out of 5

Bar Harbor, Maine

5 out of 5

Rockland, Maine

3 out of 5

The cab drivers here were rip off artists. I would make certain that everyone could visit Camden or skip this stop

Thumbs Up 1

Portland, Maine

3 out of 5

Boston, Massachusetts

5 out of 5

I would give the option of ending the cruise here in case you weren't interested in visiting NY. We were ready to go home by now.

Thumbs Up 0

Newport, Rhode Island

3 out of 5

Cape Liberty (Bayonne), New Jersey

3 out of 5

Disembarkation

3 out of 5

13 Comments

Kayla5803 7 years ago

Mixed drinks

Thumbs Up 0

Flag

Kayla5803 7 years ago

I will admit that soda packages on Royal Caribbean are higher than on princess and you don’t get is many options but there’s a whole page and beverages make Strank and beer packages on almost every ship so you can purchase them before you leave

Thumbs Up 0

Flag

majmom96 7 years ago

I just don’t like being “nickel and dimed” when I’m on a cruise. I’m surprised that this doesn’t specifically bother the RCL loyalists. Other cruise lines don’t have MDR upcharges. It really is tacky that in addition to the price of the cruise you have to pay extra in the MDR for basic meals that are included on other lines. And no, @twangster, the mdr upcharges were not the only thing I disliked about RCL but it definitely contributed to my decision to stop sailing them. But at least I gave them a try before I offered comment.

Thumbs Up 0

Flag

majmom96 7 years ago

I just don’t like being “nickel and dimed” when I’m on a cruise. Surprised that this doesn’t bother you @twangster. Aren’t you one that likes to pay gratuities and everything up front so you don’t get hit with extra charges. Or am I mistaken? There were other things I didn’t like about RCI, but this issue was irritating. It was pretty much chicken or pasta on the menu for free. Anything else was extra. 😜

Thumbs Up 1

Flag

twangster 7 years ago

So something appears on the menu that was never there before and you stop sailing with them? Interesting.

Thumbs Up 0

Flag

majmom96 7 years ago

I agree with @mgaiz99 concerning the “upcharges” in the mdr on RCI. This is why we stopped sailing with them. I believe the mdr should be included in the cruise pricing and the cruise lines should limit their upcharges to the specialty restaurants. Neither HAL or Princess have food upcharges in the mdr. I think that is more in line with the classier, traditional cruise experience. 🛳🛳

Thumbs Up 1

Flag

twangster 7 years ago

If that Canadian company offered a $75 per day cheaper fare that didn't include soda and 2 glasses of wine would you still pay the higher fare? Nothing in life is free. It's bundled into the cost somehow. I don't drink soda and I don't want to pay more to cruise so you can have free soda. Thinking about this I prefer this approach. Don't make me pay for something I won't consume.

Thumbs Up 1

Flag

twangster 7 years ago

Soda in the US is heavily over consumed. If it were free they would go bankrupt.

Thumbs Up 0

Flag

twangster 7 years ago

Sounds like that is more your style of cruising. Ocean cruising in the US market is vastly different. You tried it and now know what works best for you.

Thumbs Up 0

Flag

mgaiz99 7 years ago

To dean and Patti- no...we weren't aware before booking . I agree that the lines should keep the fares low and offer excursions and other items for a fee, but since we have already paid for the meal, why offer KaCazza Coffee for free but charge for coke. LaVazza costs the lines more than a soft drink. They favor the coffee drinker over the soda drinker so according to the logic above, the soda drinker is subsidizing the coffee drinker.

Thumbs Up 0

Flag

mgaiz99 7 years ago

We last cruised with free soda and wine " this year." It was a Canadian company ( the name started with a "C" and while they weren't a luxury line, they included things without Nicole and dining you for everything). The same is true with river cruises. We have done three with GCT ( Grand Circle a travel). GCT us the budget line vs. Viking being more upscale. GCT includes soda for free and two glasses of wine with dinner for free. They charge for most excursions like most lines while Viking includes them.

Thumbs Up 0

Flag

deanandpatti 7 years ago

Did you not now this before you booked? I'm curious as to what cruise line you sailed that supplied free soda and wine. You can be assured that you and or your fellow passengers somehow absorbed that cost in your ticket price. As for the upscaling of food I don't see this as a big deal. I've yet to witness a RCCL passenger die of thirst or starvation by settling for the included beverages and food.

Thumbs Up 1

Flag

twangster 7 years ago

Curious when you last cruised and had free soda and wine. I have to go back to a luxury cruise line in 1998 myself. Upscale meals are new and optional. I'd be very upset if they charged a higher base rate and included them because I am fine with the main dining room choices that are included. Some people want more, many don't. Years ago ship internet was slow and costly. Now it's fast and cheaper than those per minute plans from a decade ago. Many people don't want internet, they shouldn't have to pay a bigger base rate to make it free for everyone either. There are lots of new things offered that weren't there a few years ago. I don't always need them and I'm fine with the fact they charge money for them. If someone wants it, let them pay for it. Keep base fares reasonable and let people decide to spend more if they wish to. Every cruise there are new folks that have never cruised. They don't know about drink packages. Really who cares if the 1st day or 2 the crew is advertising something.

Thumbs Up 7

Flag

Other reviews of this sailing

LOBSTER COUNTRY!!

OUTSTANDING SERVICE ON FALL FOLIAGE CRUISE!