Royal Caribbean Cruise Line
Vision of the Seas Cruise Review
Alaska

Nancy
Age: 18
Occupation: Student
Number of Cruises: 4
Sailing Date: July 14th, 2006

We took a cruise on the Vision Of The Seas! We had a blast! Our trip to Alaska was very enjoyable and everyone in the family was very pleased. We had ages from 14-75 and there were 14 of us in total. There were some negatives about the ship though. The first night there were 10 foot swells but they told us that happened every week and it would soon stop the next day. It did! But many of us got seasick.

Loading: The bagging of the trip was very well planned out. As we arrived there were workers waiting to carry our bags! As we headed into the check in area there were beverages waiting at the door. There was a long line to check in but it was very fast for our family who was not in a suite. My immediate family however was in the Royal Suite and there was no wait whatsoever to get checked in! That definitely was up to our standards! Then we went through security in basically no time at all! Before we knew it we were on the ship in less than and hour in total! If you are in a suite make sure you go to the suite check in because we got confused at first that there even was one.

The main entry: This wasn’t anything over the top. It was pretty but nothing exceptional. We had been on the Disney Cruise a couple years ago and the Carnival and found those much more extravagant. It was up to our expectations. Everything was clean, and appeared to be well taken care of. Nothing looked outdated. One thing this ship did not really have though was a theme. Most ships I go on have an overall theme and this ship did not.

Cabins:

Inside Stateroom- This stateroom was just fine. It worked because most the time you are out of the room anyway. There were two twin beds and there was a vanity and small closet that just made our expectation level. The bathroom was very small and there was only a shower, which was ok. Not what we would have liked but it worked out. I would not have more than 2 people in these small staterooms. This works out fine without a window because you can get a lot of sleep due to the length of the days in Alaska!

Balcony Stateroom- We bought this so my grandparents could enjoy their 50th anniversary. It was nice right in-between the Royal Suite and Inside stateroom in niceness. I would definitely try to go for this room if I was on a cruise again. It had a private balcony just big enough and a nice couch. This is a nice room to reserve.

Royal Suite- Since we had the Royal Suite of course we were in awe at the room at first glance! You walk in the double doors and find a grand piano in the entryway. There was a pull out couch and a flat screen T.V. in the main room. Also in the main room there was a bar with bar stools and a table that would seat 4. There were very beautiful pictures and paintings on the walls! That’s always a plus. The bathroom was nice and roomy with two separate sections. 1. The toilet and sink. This room was very nice and had marble sinks and marble floors. 2. The shower, tub and double sinks. This was over our expectations for a cruise. There was a large Jacuzzi Tub that was very nice. Also there was an amazing shower! There were three showerheads and it was also a steam shower! The double sinks were nice and it was definitely what we needed! The master bedroom was very nice. It had a large TV and it had three full-length mirrors that doubled as closets! Just what we needed! There was also a large window looking out to the water that was nice and a door opening to the deck as well! The deck was very nice and was the perfect size! There was enough room for entertaining large parties and for relaxation time! We also had a great room attendant that was always very funny and made us laugh! The only bad thing about this room was that it is located in the front of the ship and when the big waves come it is the rockiest. If you tend to get seasick request a room near the back of the boat.

I have also heard from my sister, if you have an inside stateroom when it is rocky it is a lot easier to get seasick.

The Solarium:

This is the adult only pool. Kids can only go in this pool 4 hours a day. It is the inside pool that has hot tubs as well. I found this room very outdated and old. It had cracks in many places. It did not really bother us. It still worked and that was ok for us. Since we were on a cruise to Alaska I didn’t really mind, but if I was going to Mexico I would be very disappointed. It did have a café at the back, which had very good food, especially the pizza.

The Spa:

The spa was nice and had a nice feel to it. Nothing over the top nice but it was ok. One thing I did not enjoy at all about this was that they did not even have a changing room. They just took you back to the room and said get undressed and left. I am used to having a nice sitting area to wait in maybe having a glass of water and tea and then going, but no this was not how it was on this cruise ship. I had a hot stone massage and definitely would recommend it again. I have had many hot stone treatments before and this one was right in the middle nothing great and nothing bad. I was very upset at the end though when they tell you what was wrong and insist that you buy their product. They didn’t even ask my friend if it was ok to add it to the bill. They just gave it to her and made her pay and extra $75 dollars. The relaxation room was a nice touch because you could look out to the ocean. I even saw some Orca whales while I was there! Most likely the most exciting part about the spa. So overall I think it was a thumbs down experience. If it is your first time going to a spa then this could be enjoyable to you but may lower your expectations.

The Windjammer Café:

Breakfast- The breakfast was exceptional! Many reviews have said it was ok but there was the same thing everyday. It is true about the same thing everyday but they had such a wide variety of things I could have something different everyday and still be completely full! They did have different varieties of pancakes such as blueberry and plain. Thumbs up experience.

Lunch- The lunch was good they’re nothing exceptional like breakfast but not horrible either. Just up to our standards. I enjoyed most things I got except the occasional cold piece of meat or veggies. Most the time I would go to the ice cream bar after!

Dinner- We never ate there for dinner!

Main Dining Room:

Most the time our food was good, but I had a couple meals I was not impressed with. Definitely better than some other cruise lines. One night was very good. I would say this place is good overall. It also had very good lunch if you wanted a change from the Windjammer!

Arcade: It was fun but nothing over the top.

Teen Disco: I would have to say the place was a little outdated. My fourteen-year-old sister said she hardly ever went in there because no kids were ever there and it was just plain stupid. But she did say she met a lot of other kids elsewhere and had a blast with them!

Shows: The shows were good overall and we had fun at them. The Royal Caribbean Singers were ok. But the comedy shows were awesome!

Ports:

Juneau- We had a blast in Juneau! We went to the red-dog restaurant for lunch and it was very good. We also took the free tour to the glacier and it was very interesting and beautiful. I would definitely go on that again. We also stopped at a local gelato shop and it was so good! I would definitely stop there!

Icy Strait Point- This was a very enjoyable port. We went on an ATV tour and we had a blast on that. The views were amazing and the facts you learn about the Indians took our breath away. The Indian heritage was very apparent in this town and very neat.

Skagway- this port was fun with all of the old stores. We went on a horseback-riding excursion and did not enjoy this. If you are an experienced rider like us, do not go. The horses were not well behaved and did not have any respect for the people riding them. If you were new at riding this would be an ok tour. We never got to trot, lope, or gallop. Only walk on a strait road, which wasn’t very appealing. To me it felt like more of a guided tour on horseback then a ride.

Victoria- this port was very fun. We took a Pedi cart and it was very fun and we learned a bunch of interesting facts I would definitely go on one of those!!!

In conclusion, we had an amazing time on the Vision of the Seas! The entertainment was great, the food and everything was up to our standards. We would definitely go again! We would give this cruise thumbs up experience!




 

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