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Somewhat impressive by
A Traveler from New york, NY Sailing date: Mar 2009Pros: The dining staff- they bent over backwards to give us a good experience Cons: the excursions team- the manager should be fired The ship was great, large, lots to do. Ship QualityPerfect size, layout, etc but some activities cost extra Dining/FoodThe staff were amazing. I am a strict vegetarian and they went out of their way to make sure I was satisfied. The food was great and there was a lot of variety.
I would suggest more "ethnic" food. The cruise was more than half latino, but they held back on the spice in the buffet and offer mostly traditional american food. Stateroom QualityCozy. However if you are very fat it would not be suitable. Ship Staff QualityDining staff and other service staff: EXCELLENT
Excursions staff and management: POOR QUALITY Entertainment & ActivitiesThere was a lot to do and I enjoyed my time on the ship. However, some activities (yoga) had extra charges. DO NOT PURCHASE EXCURSIONS! We wasted $350 dollars on these (which are tours of the islands the ship visits). They are non refundable. We paid $64 to go to the beach in Antigua when a cab would cost $10. In Barbados, the ship was late. We had paid over $150 for two excursions that day. The staff insisted that although the ship was late, our tour would still go on. This was a outright lie. When we got off, we were informed that the tour left and the manager insisted we would have to pay for a place in a tour that was twice as expensive. We did, but the manager oversold and we were kicked off that tour after waiting 5 hours. They ruined our day in Barbados. We complained to this manager's manager, who did absoultley nothing, not even apologize. DO NOT BUY EXCURSIONS.  
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St. John's, AntiguaWe paid the cruise ship a non refundable $64 to go to the beach when local cabs could take us for $10. Do NOT buy the ship's excursions. Because we paid them and not a local driver, we were stuck on the beach for 5 hours even though one person was very sick.
Don't Miss: Beach Bridgetown, Barbadosthe sugarcane is delicious, and the beach is the best (warmest, most clean). Also the botantical gardens are incredible.
Don't Miss: Botanical gardens, best beach on this cruise Basseterre, St. Kittslocal cab driver overchanged us, but it still cost less than it would if we booked through the ship
Don't Miss: National Museum is cheap and interesting, beach is good Castries, St. LuciaThe most beautiful island. The others are badly deforested but St Lucia retains its lush natural beauty.
Don't Miss: pitons, waterfall, volcano, sulfur baths, botanical garden, beach 17 out of 17 people found this review helpful.
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  The Cruise Couldn't Have Been Better! by
Tim T from Kalispell, MT Sailing date: Dec 2008Pros: Friendliness of the Crew Cons: Nothing For a 10-year-old ship, it was in excellent shape. Everything was extremely clean and the crew was warm and welcoming at all times. This was our first cruise and we were celebrating our 15th wedding anniversary. We couldn't have chosen a better cruise line or ship. We felt as though we were special despite choosing one of the less expensive staterooms. Ship QualityThe ship, The Vision of the Seas, is 80,000 tons, and the largest ship that can fit through the Panama Canal. Newer ships eclipse the Vision in size and amenities, but we felt that this was a great size; not too small nor too big. The crew knew our names and we were able to get to know MANY of the passengers and have a good time. Any larger and it would have been more formal and impersonal. It was very clean and the layout was easy to learn and navigate. The decor didn't appear to be dated and there were plenty of amenities for us to enjoy. So much, in fact, that we didn't find much time to read our books because we stayed so busy. Dining/FoodThe dining experience was quite good. My wife and I have enjoyed fine dining all over the world and were pleasantly surprised with the good quality level of the entrees and variety offered. Each day the staff prepared new gourmet dishes for us to enjoy. There were many dining options for us to eat, though larger ships often have a few extra restaurants that the Vision of the Seas didn't have. The service was superb and the wait staff went above and beyond to leave us satisfied. Stateroom QualityThe size of our stateroom was larger than we expected. For a large interior room, we felt very comfortable at all times. It was in great condition and always clean for us. The Hotel Director, Benny Weidacher, went out of his way to make our stay as enjoyable as possible. Ship Staff QualityBeyond reproach! The wonderful people on board that made the day to day operations run smoothly were always pleasant and friendly. We had a genuine sense that they enjoyed their jobs and wanted us to feel at home. It was great getting to know them and hear their stories. The 795 crew members came from over 50 different countries. They spend 6 months on the ship before going home to see their families for 6 weeks. Then they do it all over again. Despite being away from their families for so long, they seem to enjoy working on the ship. Captain Ingar Neerland seems very proud of the crew under his command. Entertainment & ActivitiesMy wife and I worked for decades at major Las Vegas Strip hotels. The entertainment on board the Royal Caribbean Vision of the Seas did in fact rival Las Vegas. We saw comedians, singers, dancers, a ventriloquist, a major production show and plenty of smaller bands all over the ship. The activities around the pool and in the lounge are designed for passengers to mingle and get to know each other. Although this was our first cruise, we met dozens of other couples that have 25-50 cruises under their belts. Each and every couple we met said that John Blair, the Cruise Director, is the best in the industry. John was awesome.
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Mazatlan, MexicoWe enjoyed a van tour by one of the longest running tour guides - Mazatlan Frank. We saw much of Mazatlan and had time in the afternoon to explore on our own when the tour was over. We booked the tour directly from Frank's website and he was waiting for us when we came off the ship. Google Mazatlan Frank and view the tours he has available.
Don't Miss: Mazatlan Frank's Tour Puerto Vallarta, MexicoBy far, our favorite port. We booked a tour through "Bike Mex" prior to taking the cruise. The mountain bike tours they provide are as strenuous or relaxing as you want them to be. We wanted to see the real Puerto Vallarta. Oscar, the owner, took us through the agriculture area just outside the downtown area where we stopped and took lots of photos and handed out LOTS of candy to the poor kids in the outskirts. We swam in a river and had lots of great contacts with the locals. It was much better than eating and shopping at the tourist areas. Lots of fun and memories to last a lifetime!
Don't Miss: Bike Mex Tour Cabo San Lucas, MexicoIt is a nice port, but we were inundated by vendors and boat tour operators for blocks after getting off the water taxi. We found the best response to all of them was to simply say, "No thank you" and continue walking. The food and drinking games at the Giggling Marlin are a must see. It's an easy walk from the pier.
Don't Miss: The Giggling Marlin 15 out of 15 people found this review helpful.
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beautiful place by
Greg S. from Ramstein Germany Sailing date: Aug 2009Pros: the scenery Cons: music The ship was clean and nice despite being 10 years old. The passengers average age was higher than other ships we have been on. The music at night was mostly big band/easy listening. The food was decent. The fjords were beautiful. Ship Quality
Dining/FoodMy time dining was convenient. Stateroom Quality
Ship Staff Quality
Entertainment & Activities
11 out of 12 people found this review helpful.
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Wonderful Honeymoon! by
Janine S from USA Sailing date: Jul 2011Pros: I loved the ports of call. Very nice rooms on ship. Wonderful ship! Beautiful, comfortable, nice rooms. NIce service. Everyone spoke English and it had both American and European power outlets. Ship Quality
Dining/FoodThe only con was that it wasn't open seating or open dining for dinner. You needed a reservation every night. There was dining all day for classic American food such as hamburgers, hot dogs, fries. Also I loved that they had a coffee shop so I could get my daily Frappucino. Stateroom QualityBeautiful room. And I LOVED that they had American and European power outlets so I could charge my camera and use my hair straightner :) Ship Staff QualityGreat Staff, Everyone spoke English and they had translators for just about any language you can think of. Entertainment & ActivitiesVery nice. I had fun at the theme nights, dance classes and the napkin artistry classes. Children's ProgramsThey had tons of activities for the kids and special clubs based on the kids ages that the kids could go to all day and all night. This ship was VERY kid and family friendly. 9 out of 9 people found this review helpful.
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A wonderful experience by
Christian S. from Doha, Qatar Sailing date: Apr 2012Pros: Food and waiters (Aquarius Dinning Room) Cons: N/a The ship was great with a wide variety but moreover the staff made the big difference. Clean, well maintained, safety first, great staff. Ship Quality
Dining/FoodThe dinning experience was dream both in terms of food quality, variety and service (seated dinner, not buffet dinner) Stateroom QualityCould have been a bid cleaner (curtains), two single beds put together for a double bed (not very comfortable and not ideal for a honeymoon), TV program was poor and quality of TV as well (old small size TV, no radio) Ship Staff Quality
Entertainment & Activities
6 out of 6 people found this review helpful.
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Honeymoon Adventure. by
Douglas from Oly, WA Sailing date: May 2007Pros: The captian as he was very much involved; taking evasive action in the mist of the icebergs for our safe return to port on time. The most incredible thing was all the art works. Like the whole ship was a colage from works of art, schulptures, paintings, music, food carvings and talent. There was just not enough time for a sight seeing tour and experience all the other activities. Entertainment & ActivitiesActivities: I couldn't figure how to keep track of every thing that I wanted to do. So I missed out on making a few new friends and doing things that I wanted to.
Entertainment: There was a good variety of shows to choose from.
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Juneau, AlaskaJuneau what's good for you?
The tramway is a must, for the view of Gods creation: Birds and bears in the mountians. Would like to have been offered a tour of the capital as an option.
Don't Miss: Take a walk to the glacier from the info center and see the water fall up close. Skagway, AlaskaDon't Miss: Local art works. Paintings, jewelry and schulptures. Cruise Tracy Arm Fjord, AlaskaDon't Miss: Horse tail falls. Amazing how the water just shoots off of the cliff like fire hose. Prince Rupert, British ColumbiaPrince Rupert is History.
It was kinda sad to see how much the native culture has had to change because of US.
6 out of 6 people found this review helpful.
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a very old ship by
A Traveler from washington dc area Sailing date: May 2012Pros: seeing the fjords Cons: the ship itself the fact that this ship is one of the older ones in the fleet wasn't the problem....it was the painfully outdated decor! my jr. suite cabin was solid walls of pink laminate, decorated to look like oak wood grain. if you closed your eyes and remembered kitchens of the sixties, you would have that painful image exactly! the rest of it reminded me of old las vegas before those old hotels were torn down. the staff was great, i met many delightful passengers and all in all i was glad i went. Ship Quality
Dining/Foodwas overall adequate. somethings they did extremely well, a great effort was made for presentation, but nothing memorable or to rave home about Stateroom Qualitysize fine, decor hideous, comfort fine Ship Staff Qualitydelightful Entertainment & Activitiesonboard entertainment appeared amateurish.....this was a trip for the scenery 5 out of 5 people found this review helpful.
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Good Cruis overall but VERY Crowded by
Claire H. from Washington, DC Sailing date: Aug 2009Pros: great ports of call, good food Cons: really crowded, the ship employees try to nickel and dime you the whole time The ship was huge with every amenity one could expect or ask for. But many of the passengers were rather rude in the buffet food/dining areas. They would push and shove and cut in line to get food, even though it was a buffet. In addition, the cruise staff never hesitated to try to get passengers to pay for something or buy something extra. This got to be annoying at times when it was unclear if a certain amenity was required for purchase or not. Ship Quality
Dining/FoodThe food quality was fine... lots of fresh fruit and fresh food, but the ambiance was poor in the areas where the food was buffet style-- long lines and other passengers were extremely rude. Stateroom Quality
Ship Staff QualityThe employees were always helpful, attentive and professional. Entertainment & Activities
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Oslo, Norway
Visby, SwedenIf the medieval festival had not being going on the day we went, the town would have been boring and small.
5 out of 5 people found this review helpful.
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Many things to do. by
Cynthia from Tulare, California Sailing date: Oct 2006Pros: Everything, I loved it all. There were a large amount of things to do on the ship. All the performances were great. Loved the food. Everyone was very helpful & informative. Entertainment & Activities
Entertainment: They were great! 6 out of 8 people found this review helpful.
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I found the crew to be very professional by
Beverly from St. George, UT Sailing date: Dec 2006Pros: Friendly staff. I love cruising. As a widow, I find it is the easist way for me to get around. Entertainment & Activities
3 out of 4 people found this review helpful.
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