Amazing trip

Vision of the Seas Cruise Review to Transatlantic

lul113

Contributor Level: Purser

Cruises: 7+ cruises

Reviews: 2

Helpful Votes: 46

Overall rating:

4.6 out of 5

17 Night Transatlantic Eastbound (Galveston To Barcelona)

Sail date: April 19, 2019

Ship: Vision of the Seas

Cabin type: Oceanview

Cabin number: 7088

Traveled as: Family (young children)

Reviewed: 5 years ago

Review summary

Review of Vision of the Seas, Transatlantic Galveston to Barcelona, April 19th to May 6th 2019 – 17 nights. Overview: Amazing trip, great ship, superb crew. The whole trip was amazing with one major issue, which was the medical staff/facilities and one minor issue, which was new sheets that were dirty (bloodstains) on the sofa bed, the new sheets they sent were also badly stained, so we requested them changed again. We are a family of 3 Diamond members, 50/44/3 (almost 4). This was our first Transatlantic. Background/In depth CABIN: We were in a Spacious Oceanview cabin, 7088. The cabin was midships, so little movement. The cabin was great, big enough for all 3 of us – and the toys, lots of storage space. It had full wall windows from knee height to ceiling, there was a “seat” running the full width of the cabin with amazing windows… (the deck 8 cabins above had floor to ceiling windows without the seat). These cabins are great for sitting watching the flying fish, whales and dolphins. This cabin is amazing, and will pick these it they are available again in the future. The only minor issue with these cabins is that they are close to the centrum, where all the major entertainment is held every night. There are doors from the corridor to the centrum that can be closed, and these reduce the noise by 90%... the cabin door also reduces the noise by about 90% on its own, so with both doors closed the cabin was silent, with only one closed the noise was very low…. Close them both for silence. FOOD/WAITSTAFF: Overall good (MDR) to Very Good (WJ), MDR: Waiter was OK, a bit standoffish and not very interactive with the table, Assistant Waiter was excellent. With the 3 year old, they looked after him, bringing him a fruit plate as we sat down. We changed that after a few days, as he ate the fruit before dinner, so he wasn’t eating too well, they kept the plate for when we asked for it. I have an allergy, so I made this clear to the staff on the first night. They brought the menu for the next night to the table for me to fill in with my request. We ate in the MDR about 8 of 17 days, with the remaining nights spent in the Windjammer. MDR Food was good overall, nothing really exceptional. My biggest bugbear was the vegetables… hardly cooked at all, all almost raw, at every meal. Had Breakfast in the MDR one day, food was OK, staff OK. After numerous cruises, decided to try breakfast, but truthfully, nothing too exciting, and I enjoyed the WJ better. LUNCH: Had lunch once in the MDR, Food was very good, service was great, however as it was a private lunch with the Captain, can’t compare with normal service. Windjammer, Staff were great, clearing tables very quickly, bringing drinks etc all the time. Food: there were the usual selections every day/meal, salads, meats, pizza, burgers, hotdogs etc, the selection rotated round a few times. Also there was a meat carvery every day. Food was generally very good. There were themed nights with stations set up as well as the usual selections. Dessert was a bit limited in selections, the items rotated round very quickly, with some days nothing that I wanted (my taste), as it was a 17 day cruise, the selections rotated through a few times. Breakfast, as usual, very good selection, plenty of food. With all meals in the WJ, we walked through the whole selection then found a seat, then took turns to select food. This was to ensure we saw everything on offer for the child to eat. Milk and Chocolate milk was available at all meals under the desserts counter so ask for it if you want it. Chef Royston in the WJ was great with our son, he always came out to see him and made sure he had enough food, even making special requests when he thought he needed more food. When he was Ill, Chef Royston went into the kitchens and cooked him a meal of his favourite things to ensure he ate something… it worked. Other eating places: PARK CAFÉ: we ate there a number of nights, for a snack. Quality very good, especially the 3 cheese panini, which was grilled…. Amazing, we had them every time we ate there. Cookies and fruit as well as pizza, nachos and other sandwiches available till late. ICE CREAM: 2 machines, available at some different times during the day. Nice Ice Cream, cones, but some limited times, all closed at 2130 to 1100… some additional times would be better. PHOTO PACKAGE: We had the “All Photo Package”, bought online before the cruise. The cost on board was about 30% more than we paid, with the USB another $64 on top of that. There were on average 3 stations set up each night, where they took at least 2 photos at each. We wanted some with just us, with us all, with Son on his own… as well as at every port at least 2 photos, meals, Formal, events etc. We walked off with over 2KG/4.4lbs in weight of photos…. At least 500, still not counted. The staff was amazing and if we asked for other unusual stuff, they would if possible. We had one with an amazing sunset on deck, we asked him to come do that, which he did on his break. ADVENTURE OCEAN: 0900 to 1200, 1400 to 1700, 1900 to 2200 sessions. Our son only went to one of the 3 sessions offered daily. He only went to about 6 in total. He was one of only 9 children on the ship, so when he went there were 7 staff just for him. We only wanted him to do one session per day when he wanted to, to keep him in the routine for school. He loved the time there, and even though there was a schedule printed out, they took the time to talk to him and basically did things that he was interested in doing rather than doing the scheduled activities. ENTERTAINMENT: With a 3 year old, our visits to the different entertainment venues was limited. On a TA the entertainment is more geared to adults that something a 3 year old would sit through. We decided what to do each day on what we thought he would like/sit through without causing disruption to others at each venue. We did not go to the theatre at all, so can’t comment on the shows. Centrum had a number of shows/events every night, we attended a number of these. Overall we had plenty to do every day, some days more than others. There was a lot of trivia on the trip, with some ongoing for at least 3 hours a day, it did seem like this was the new staple entertainment, with about 3 or 4 different sessions per day (I like trivia, but only took part in the progressive, and offered some assistance to friends when I could) PORTS: We did not do any ship excursions, but had our own plans at each port. No issues experienced as far as I know, there was one port where 5 people were delayed, but only by about 20 minutes. DIAMOND LOUNGE: The lounge was too small for the numbers, so they closed the Some Enchanted Evening Lounge for us each evening. Experience was good in there. Coffee maker was well serviced, and even with the numbers on board, I only saw it run out twice, and each time attention was very quick coming. I only drink coffee (allergic to alcohol), so I used that machine a lot. BENEFITS ON SEAPASS, we used the lounge every night, as well as the 3 drinks loaded onto the Sea Pass card. Casino free roll, the machine is tight, and in the past 2 cruises won nothing at all, so this time we won a raffle ticket…. I actually stayed up until 2300 on the last night to be there for the drawing…. For a T SHIRT… you would have thought they would have a decent prize. Very disappointed in that. Internet, see below in notes. % off RCCL merchandise, Used this in the shop, the attendant said it could be used over and over again, which was news to me… only used once though. Washing: Did the $10 off a $34 wash, it was on the day they offered it at $24.99 in the compass, and got charged $17.36 in total… the clothes came back not very clean, and not smelling washed, so not sure if that is the way they wash them, or just not a good service. NOTES: I have never seen a Captain stand on the dock wishing people a good day as they left the ship, But Captain Mike was there at a number of ports, talking to people and wishing them a good day. It was a nice touch. It was Easter on our sailing, and the number of children was extremely low, so we ended up with over 100 eggs and rabbits… All the crew kept giving our son eggs, so we ended the cruise giving them to the crew as we had so many. Internet: We had 2 free days as Diamond. We spread them out till the middle of the voyage for day 1. I opted to go for the upgrade, which cost $7.00 as the Diamond free portion paid for the rest. Speed was actually very good, it surprised me. Unfortunately, after 11 hours, the signal was lost. I reported it straight away (luckily)…. But as I said I picked the middle day and as we were in the exact middle of the Atlantic the majority of the ship lost internet for a number of hours. They logged the loss, and I was credited with another 12 hours at a later date after a few visits.