Royal Caribbean Cruise Line
Vision of the Seas Cruise Review
Mexican Riviera

Kristin McDonald
Age: 25
Occupation: Contract Advertising
Number of Cruises: 1
Sailing Date: November 26th, 2006

Ok…Now I would have never have guessed that I would enjoy this cruise as much as I did!!!

I’m 25, adventurous and outdoorsy and frankly felt cruises were primarily for entertainment if your in your golden years. When my boyfriend prompted me to go on a cruise with him, I wasn’t so sure. I am, however, very open minded and always willing to try anything….and am SO glad I did.

TIPS:

First Day;  we were told to show up no earlier than one. We were there at 3:30 and were on board, in our cabins within 20 minutes. Do that to avoid lines. We didn’t do the online check in, but I would do that next time to make it even faster.

We stayed in an inside cabin on the 4th floor. Extremely affordable for those budget conscious cruises, however, I would upgrade to an outside stateroom next time. Our room had no sunlight or natural light in it that we found we slept until noon a few times without knowing. Those who like to sleep, perfect.

By the way, everyone says that the beds are awful. We didn’t think so at all, and I’m a picky sleeper. To each his own I guess.

Second Day, Breakfast. One of three options. Windjammer, dining room, room service.

Windjammer, to be expected, Lots of variety, not great, but good.

Dining room, sit down breakfast with other cruisers, seated together as you arrive. Good breakfast, but doesn’t compare to dinner.

Room Service, free, you can order what you want. Have coffee sent to your room in the morning with croissants and pastries, or anything really. You never have to go off the limited menu only, I always ordered the breakfasts that I knew were served in the dining room. (I pretty much found, on this cruise, If your nice about it, you can pretty much get whatever you want).

As far as activities go, I felt that the staff did a good job. We played bingo once. It was a little pricey and we wouldn’t do it again, but it was fun. Always something to do.

Another thing, we brought our own alcohol on board in our suit cases and purchased one of those unlimited soft drink/juice cups for mixers. (ok, this is for the party cruisers only) Good idea to bring the alcohol, but not to pay 42/wk for that cup. I found that when I asked for juice or soda (independently of the cup) I was hardly ever charged and when you ask room service to bring it at any time of day they will (as well as lime slices and salt too…),no charge.

All the ports were fun (when we finally got out of bed). Mazatlan was my favorite. We had a great day going to the beach, the resorts (who will let you hang out by the pools and serve you as well), and parasailing. A lot of the excursions are MUCH cheaper if you book them outside of the cruise line. Half as much. Basically if you want a bargain you can find a bargain. Also look online before you go, you can book them through independent companies at a much better price.

Cabo and PV, though much more “Americanized” were fun too.

Dinner every night was INCREDIBLE. We ate in the dining room with our new friends (and fellow future cruise partners). Anything you want you get, as much as you want. (careful, though I refuse to get on the scale, I would assume 10 extra pounds have found residence on my body). But we embraced it and enjoyed ourselves. Probably made ourselves sick a few times by eating too much.

The shows were fun, nothing spectacular, but entertaining and something to do. They showed a movie almost every night and we LOVED the movie channels on TV in the cabins (up to 5 different languages).

All in all, we really enjoyed our selves, the ship was clean and beautiful, we had no problems with anything. The staff was fun, happy, and helpful and made us laugh. I just gotta' hit the gym now, hard.


 

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