We had a great time of the Vision of the Seas cruise. The food was wonderful and the service was top notch. The amount of movement from the boat was pretty high. I have gone on 2 other cruises and I did not feel the rocking of the boat near as much. We had wonderful weather so my only conclusion is that the ship is smaller and therefore you can feel more. It was not a problem for us other than walking a straight line. The hot water in the showers were my favorite part as they got hot and they got hot immediately. We had a window room and the space was nice for a cruise ship. They had lots of activities, but if you are not interested in trivia games, dancing, or gambling you might be bored. They had a rock wall and 2 swimming pools. If swimming on board is important to you, this is not your cruise ship. There were 2 pools: one for everyone and an adult pool. Both were fairly small so it wasn't so much swimming as standing in the pool. There were 4 hot tubs (2 per pool). During are port stay in Cozumel they drained the main pool and worked on it all day. Therefore the kids were allowed to go to the adult pool. There is a sign stating only 100% potty trained kids allowed but there was still an accident that morning which rendered the adult pool unusable for the remainder of the day. This was a bummer for those staying on the ship. But that was really the only negative. There was plenty of food and a great atmosphere. It is an older ship so there are plenty of places that look a bit worn down, but it was nice and clean and still pleasant. I would have no problem going on this same cruise again. I would add, Costa Maya was a really neat port so if you have the chance to visit, do it!
Embarkation
5 out of 5
Since we were the only ship in port in Galveston that day the process to get on the boat was super quick and easy. Getting the luggage on board was also painless. Wonderful experience!
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
4 out of 5
The food was enjoyable. We ate in 3 areas: the main dining room, the Windjammer, and a food place within the adult swimming area. There was plenty of food ALL THE TIME and all of it was pretty yummy. I have food sensitivities to grain and dairy so my food choices were pretty limited, but there was always fruit and broth for snacking and always some kind of meat available. They went out of their way to make sure anything served me was grain and dairy free, but my choices were still limited.
Windjammer Marketplace
5 out of 5
There were so many food choices at the Windjammer it would be impossible to not find something you enjoyed. There were creative dishes all the way to hot dogs, hamburgers, and pizza. There were tons of options all the time. This was definitely our favorite place to eat.
Onboard Activities
4 out of 5
We did not experience the pools or the fitness center, but we did the rock climbing wall. I have no complaints about it and found it well done and lots of fun for a beginner rock climber. If you need something overly challenging this wall might be boring to you, but you can always spice things up by sticking to one color and timing yourself :-) The shops were not very useful as they had mostly jewelry, watches, and bags. There were a few other items but nothing super exciting. Overall there really wasn't a ton to do, but for a shorter cruise it was still fun.
Entertainment
4 out of 5
The musicians were fantastic! The DJ's were fun. The stage shows were cute with talented people, but while I really enjoy stage shows, these weren't that exciting. Some of the shows were corny but still fun so it certainly beats sitting at home watching tv ;-)
Children's Programs
We did not bring our children.
Service and Staff
5 out of 5
Everyone was fantastic! They were friendly and went out of their way to be helpful and serve. I have nothing but great things to say about those working on the ship.
Ship Quality
5 out of 5
The ship was clean and since it is flu season they went above and beyond to keep everyone healthy. There were hand sanitizing stations everywhere and they had someone located at the entrance of every dining room to give you hand sanitizer before entering. The ship looks a bit worn with scratches on frames and nicks on walls, but still very nice and kept up.
Cabin / Stateroom
5 out of 5
Since we were travelling during flu season I brought hydrogen peroxide with me to clean the room a bit more once we got there. Just in case. Nothing bubbled. Not one thing. Not the sink, not the toilet, not the door handles...nothing. We had one issue with a stain on our pillow case that I just wanted to replace, just in case, and the man in charge of our room traded it with no problem. I was very pleased with the room. They also include a hair dryer which I did not find out until we got there :-)
Ship tip
Since we felt so much of the rocking, I would definitely bring sea sickness meds, just in case. I would also see this ship as a great opportunity to rest and read so bring a book! There was only one super dressy night at dinner, but there are opportunities to take pictures all but the last night. Pictures are $20 so be prepared for that if you want an 8x10. Eat at the Windjammer. It's pretty great. It is also very windy on this ship. Just keep that in mind when planning wardrobe. Bring socks for the rock wall as it is required to climb (they provide shoes). I think that's it!
LOVED Costa Maya. We did an excursion through Native Choice to see the Mayan ruins, which I highly recommend. But they have a really neat water park in Costa Maya as well as a neat dolphin area. The port is neat and tidy and very cool looking. A fun place to shopping and eating. I would recommend getting off the ship here! I would say, getting off the ship was complicated with everyone waiting in the tiny hall on deck 2. For someone like me who is claustrophobic, it was pretty uncomfortable. But everyone worked hard to get us off quickly.
There were plenty of clean, friendly shops with plenty of souvenir and eating opportunities. We did not do any of the excursions but heard plenty of wonderful things about them.
Quick and super easy. We did not check our luggage but carried it off ourselves. The line moved quickly and the cruise employees/customs/immigration people worked swiftly. It took no time at all to get off the ship.
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