Vision of the Seas Review

3.5 / 5.0
1,211 reviews

First time on Royal will be the last for awhile.

Review for the Western Caribbean Cruise on Vision of the Seas
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RissaRN04
6-10 Cruises • Age 40s

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Additional details

Sail Date: Nov 2014
Cabin: Large Ocean View Stateroom

In February 2014, my husband and I booked our first cruise with Royal Caribbean. We have cruised previously with Carnival, Disney, and Holland America Lines. We were so excited to enjoy this new cruise line that before we knew it, we had 21 other family members coming to celebrate Thanksgiving with us! For most, it was their first time on RCI, for others, they raved about the excellent time they had on other RCI ships. This cruise was full of memories, unfortunately not all were good.

Sadly, the Vision of the Seas quality and service did not performed well or meet our expectations because of multiple issues that began even prior to sailing. We did not actually board the ship until 2:50pm, a full 2.5 hours AFTER arriving at the Port of Tampa, at our "scheduled" time, since we were on Deck 4. We have sailed out of Tampa before & have not had this problem. We were told multiple reasons for the delay, but were not offered any apology and greeted at every point by rude, condescending staff & security. There is nowhere to sit while waiting during this time, as the seating area is not until after you receive your Sea Pass. No restrooms, one vending machine, 2.5 hours. Families were separated, as they were closing lines off and only allowing people to enter once one section of the terminal was cleared. Also, we were told multiple times by RCI representatives when making our reservation and calling in to clarify, that NO outside food or beverages were allowed to be brought onboard, save 2 bottles of wine/champagne per cabin, with adults over the age of 21. There were families bringing cases of water, soda, and food and nothing was said to them. There is no enforcement of this policy, however my husband & father-in-law had their pocket knives confiscated because they could be used as a weapon. When asked to see this policy, the security guard rudely said that she "KNOWS Royal's policies and pocket knives are NOT allowed,". Strangely, my brother-in-law and uncle did not have their knives confiscated, as they were in a different line. Some customer service retraining would be helpful for this team, as they did not appear to know what they were doing. We had to ask the agent if he needed to take our picture for our Sea Pass!

So, after all that, we get on the ship with enough time to drop our bags and go get something to drink, as we purchased the soda card...JUST KIDDING! Everything was closed for muster drill! We had to go to muster drill without part of our family, as they were still getting on the boat. Yes, people were still boarding the boat while muster drill was happening. After muster drill, the only place that was open for food was the Park Cafe, that had a line a mile long, as there was a large majority of people who didn't have the opportunity to eat since breakfast due to the exceptionally long embarkation time. We ended up eating at the Windjammer Cafe that night, as our luggage did not arrive until nearly 7:30pm. Only one side of the Windjammer Cafe was open and our family found that it is a terrible setup on the buffet, as the 2 sides are different, so you end up having to go through the line twice, or face being "that rude person" that cuts in to get some bread, butter, etc. It was not until the next night that we began having issues with the Main Dining room.

Cabin Review

Large Ocean View Stateroom

Cabin G2

Room was a nice size with a couch. Bathroom was exceptionally small & the shower curtain would stick to you while you showered. No fridge in these rooms & they will not removed to soda or snacks from the room for you, forcing you to use what little storage space there is to put these away. Bed was not so comfortable. Room temperature was good, able to change the temp to keep us comfortable. Not many people walking past our room, as we were in the front of the ship.

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