lovely experience

Vision of the Seas Cruise Review to Europe - Mediterranean

Blueskyy007

Contributor Level: Purser

Cruises: 1 cruise (first)

Review: 1

Helpful Votes: 9

Overall rating:

4.4 out of 5

12 Night Mediterranean Greek Isles (Barcelona Roundtrip)

Sail date: August 18, 2018

Ship: Vision of the Seas

Cabin type: Oceanview

Cabin number: 8047

Traveled as: Family (young children)

Reviewed: 6 years ago

Review summary

Overall, it was a great experience. Apart from the 2 bottles of wine, you can buy beers and spirits at the duty-free at embarkation at Barcelona. That is the only place you can buy your alcohol once done with your check-in. Pools are small but you have so many activities to do on the ship. Food is overwhelming and great. They have a special Vegetarian and Vegan menu ... you need to ask for it as it is not provided normally. The staff is super helpful and friendly. They go out of their way to assist you. If you like your coffees then I would suggest that you bring your own coffee.

Embarkation

5 out of 5

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

4 out of 5

Onboard Activities

5 out of 5

Entertainment

5 out of 5

Children's Programs

4 out of 5

Service and Staff

5 out of 5

Ship Quality

4 out of 5

Cabin / Stateroom

5 out of 5

Ship tip

book rooms on the higher decks; spacious oceanview is as good as a balcony and cheaper

Thumbs up

Ports of call

Barcelona, Spain

5 out of 5

once you clear the immigration desk and get your sea pass, there is a duty-free area where you can buy as much alcohol as you want and no one will stop you. Try to arrive early as you will skip all the crowd. We arrived @10am and there was no queue, after that we were on the ship by 11am.

Thumbs Up 5

Valletta, Malta

4 out of 5

Do not take the Hop-on-hop-off bus (they sell the tickets on the ship), instead take a cab to visit Mdina. Valetta can be covered by foot. It's beautiful.

Thumbs Up 0

Mykonos, Greece

2 out of 5

The management of tenderers to the port was not that great. We had to wait until 11:30 to reach the port from the ship. Try to take the tender tickets before going to breakfast otherwise, there is a very long wait. There are plenty of car hire options just outside the port area. We hired a car and did Elia and Agraria beaches.

Thumbs Up 1

Santorini, Greece

3 out of 5

Small port. We took the speedboat to Oia and that worked well for us. The speedboat company offers a free shuttle to Fira. At Fira, DO NOT climb up instead take the cable car. The walkway is slippery (even on a dry hot day) and you share your journey up & down with loads of horses and donkeys. The stench is really bad.

Thumbs Up 2

Piraeus (Athens), Greece

5 out of 5

Disembark as early as possible. All Shore excursions are super expensive. Instead, take a cab from outside the port, We negotiated full day for EUR140 (5 pax). It was a great way to see a lot of places in a short time. Plus we had time for a nice Greek lunch and some shopping in the old town.

Thumbs Up 2

Civitavecchia (Rome), Italy

5 out of 5

Disembark as early as possible. We took a minivan from the port which worked out to EUR40 pp. Great Deal as the port is an hour drive from Rome. The Minivan is licensed to drive in the narrow roads of Rome so you actually get dropped next to the attraction saving a lot of time. Do not take Shore excursions ... super expensive

Thumbs Up 6

La Spezia, Italy

4 out of 5

Hiring car in advance or booking a cab is crucial as Florence is very far. Nothing opens in La Spezia before 9am so even if you disembark early and you don't have an advance booking then you will have to wait until shops open. Pisa is an hour drive from the port. Florence is 2 hours drive from the port.

Thumbs Up 6

Marseille (Provence), France Did not visit port

Cruise sells bus shuttle tickets but they dont tell you that you can either Uber or take the public buses from just outside the port.

Thumbs Up 0