Relaxing time, plenty of bonding with family

Vision of the Seas Cruise Review to Caribbean - Bahamas

ColleenCruiser

Contributor Level: Purser

Cruises: 7+ cruises

Review: 1

Helpful Votes: 18

Overall rating:

3.2 out of 5

Verified Review

8 Night Southeast Coast & Bahamas (Baltimore Roundtrip)

Sail date: November 24, 2023

Ship: Vision of the Seas

Cabin number: 7642

Traveled as: Large Group

Reviewed: 1 year ago

Review summary

This ship, Vision of the Seas, reflects old-time cruising. Comfortable rooms, good food, pretty locations, superb service, and plenty of entertainment. It's age shows a bit in the lack of USB outlets in the room, and the scarcity of balcony rooms. Nonetheless, in talking to repeat travelers, they are very happy without the roller coasters and happy with the services on this ship. Leaving from the Port of Baltimore was huge for me - just give me a ship that is the same size but newer design, OK?

Embarkation

5 out of 5

Easy-peasey! Easiest and fastest embarcation of any cruise I've ever been on. Was it Baltimore? or the crew at Royal Caribbean that just let us flow on through. Fab!

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

3 out of 5

The STAFF in the main dining room was fabulous - Luigi and Pratiki. The food was not memorable. Ate at Chops, can't say any better. Adequate, but not noteworthy.

Onboard Activities

3 out of 5

Loved the Solarium - quiet place for readers, without music. Found the Viking Crown Lounge late in the trip - comfortable club chairs where the knitting ladies could gather daily, and I could read in quiet later on.

Entertainment

I didn't go to any shows. I walked through the Centrum, found that too loud for comfort, and decided to skip the shows in general. If you had Broadway shows on this ship I would have gone, but not general singing/dancing revues.

Children's Programs

no kids. The youngest kid in my group was 37. That would have been creepy!

Service and Staff

5 out of 5

Malvino, my cabin steward, was great! He got us the extension cords that we needed on the first day. My MDR folks - Luigi and Pratiwi - were very attentive. There was some guy who visited our table every night, trying to sell us on specialty dining and ship tours. That got old real fast.

Ship Quality

3 out of 5

The ship was clean. It is showing its age, however. You need aft elevators, for one thing, but the ship is too small for that. It's strange that the Solarium has an Egyptian look to it, as if from a different age. The MDR looks nice, though. Not enough seating in the WIndjammer, although the staff hustled to clear tables. Also, they ran out of lemonade mid-trip. Odd.

Cabin / Stateroom

3 out of 5

Small - the beds protruded into the room so the path to the bathroom was tiny. The full-sized couch was nice, though. Balcony was fine. Bathroom was tiny. You stand by the door and can reach the far wall. And the shower - sorry to say, I am bigger than the shower. I'd find a suite on 8 next time, and hope for more room. There were only two outlets for US devices, and nothing for USB power, but Malvino brought us an extension cord which helped with out CPAPs.