A Close Look at Vision of the Seas

Yesterday I wasn't able to tell you about all the various areas of Vision of the Seas we were able to visit during the scavenger hunt Royal Caribbean sent us on during the afternoon we boarded last Sunday.  So I'll tell you about the rest of the scavenger hunt today.  As I mentioned yesterday, the ship is beautiful and totally revitalized.

We've already talked about the Royal Suite.  Some of the other types of cabins that we went into were the Royal Family Suite, and a Panoramic Oceanview Cabin.  The Royal Family Suite is no where near as fancy as the Royal Suite. There are no grand pianos or fancy chandeliers.  But it would be very nice for a family of 6 to 8.  It has two bathrooms one with a shower and the other with a bathtub.  So it's perfect for bathing the kiddies. There are also two bedrooms.  The second bedroom has bunks that will sleep 4 comfortably. Additionally, the sofa in the family room converts to sleep two more.  At just 486 sq. ft. you wouldn't think they could cram so much into a cabin.  But it is arranged very nicely.  The master has a queen size bed and is separated from the 2nd bedroom by the living room.

While there is no dining room in this cabin, there is plenty of space to spread out in the family room and there is a small table on the balcony.  So dining in the room is still an option, especially if you send the kids out to the nursery for babysitting or to Royal Tots At Sea for structured play time.  In fact that's the next place we'll go on our little tour.

2nd Bedroom

Master Bedroom

Family Room

Desk area with TV that swivels to face the family room

Kids programs on Royal Caribbean are second to none. But this was my first time to tour the kids areas.  I must say, I was impressed.  If I had a kid I wouldn't hesitate to put them in these areas and feel completely comfortable going about my day of leisure knowing that the kids were completely entertained and safe.  I have a friend with kids who sails on RCCL's larger ships regularly and says that her girls have always had a great time.  Her girls are getting older now and might not be as entertained on one of these smaller ships with no FloRider or zipline.  But the ship still has a rock climbing wall, a great teen area that even has a dance floor and for the smaller kids the play area looks like a blast.  The nice thing is that the areas are all split out so that there are no teens around the smaller kids and vice versa.

The thing I thought was neat about these areas was the wide open spaces for playing.  The kid to adult ratio in these areas seemed very good to me. Some areas are also set aside for adults to bring their children and play with them.  There are lots of toys and games for the kids to play with while they are there.  So there is no need to pack so many toys to bring along on the trip.  It's really kind of great.  And the cleanliness was terrific!

The lower pictures are of the Royal Babies and Tots area. There the adult to child ratio goes up even higher and the toddlers are kept separate from the babies.

There is one adult for every two children in the babies and tots rooms.  So, you can be assured that your little one is getting all the attention he or she needs.  There are 4 cribs for nap time. The colors are bright and the toys mounted to the walls are at the perfect level for crawlers. And what baby wouldn't want to be put down for a nap by a nice lady with a soothing British accent? Your kids might not want to leave!

But if this is the kids play area then, below is the adults play area.  All Royal Caribbean ships obviously have a full casino on board that is open anytime the ship leaves shore.  The casino on Vision was no different from the others.  This is generally one of the few places on board a RCCL ship where smoking is allowed.  So you will often times see the bar in the casino full of smokers.  As a non-gambler and a non-smoker, I like this.  It keeps the smokers away from me.  But if I was a gambler who didn't want to be around smoke, I would probably think this was a bad thing.  Regardless of where you fall on the smoking issue, you have to admit that this is a pretty nice looking casino!

Some of my favorite areas that we visited were the specialty restaurants.  These are brand new additions to Vision. In addition to a Chops Grille, Vision got an Izumi during the revitalization.  Izumi is located behind the Viking Crown Lounge and up one level at the very top of the ship.  I should point out that this ship only has 11 decks and Izumi is the only thing on deck 11.  So as far as actual public areas to walk around, things really only go up to deck 9.  On Deck 10 you have the Concierge Lounge which is limited to Diamond Plus Crown and Anchor members.  If you read my blog a few weeks ago about the RCCL loyalty program, you'll remember that to get to the Diamond Plus level you have to spend at least 175 nights on Royal Caribbean ships..... that's the equivalent of 25 seven night cruises.  Here are a few pictures of what you have to look forward to if you ever make it to Diamond Plus....

The young lady sitting at the computer as you walk in is viewing a photo of you that was taken as you boarded the ship.  If the person who used the Seapass card to get into the Concierge Lounge doesn't match the picture, you will be politely asked to leave the lounge.  Diamond Plus members can use this area for drinks, breakfast or just to relax.  My guess would be that if you make it to this level, you probably won't hand your Seapass card to just anybody to try to allow them access to the Concierge Lounge but I guess you can never be too careful.

As I mentioned earlier, Izumi is the only thing on Deck 11.  It is a specialty Japanese and sushi restaurant. There is an Izumi in Austin and several others around the country.  So you may have been to one on land before.  But I think a floating Izumi might be much nicer!  There is a cover charge for dining there.  A reservation is also required.  You should make your reservations prior to your cruise to have a better chance of getting in.  The specialty restaurants do fill up quickly on these cruises. We were lucky enough to get a tasting at Izumi during our scavenger hunt. I must say that it was the best sushi I have ever had.  Here are a few photos of the restaurant.

 
Just below Izumi is the Viking Crown Lounge which is open to all unless there is a private event taking place. It's a nice bar and it's where you can go for Karaoke on board as well as just a good place to sit during inclimate weather, to read, or see outside.

I've always liked going up to the Viking Crown Lounge on ships sailing out of Galveston during the winter for the sail away. It's a great place to have a relaxing drink as you pull out of port without being cold or getting wet.

One of the most exciting places we got to visit on Sunday as we ran around the ship was the Chef's Table which is located just off of the Dining Room. This is a closed room with a single table inside, which seats 16.  It costs $95 per person to dine in this room and since only 16 people a night can be in there, it fills up fast. So if you are interested in doing this, you must get a reservation on line prior to your cruise.  Dining here, you get a 5 course meal along with wines to compliment each course and the chef comes in to describe your meal.  If you are a foodie, this is a must!

We never made it to several of the places that were available to visit.  I've seen Chops on other ships before so I felt it was something I could bypass if there wasn't time.  For today, I'll leave you with a few pictures of the pool including the big new outdoor movie screen.  On Sunday, football games aired on the movie screen. Each night they aired a "movie under the stars".  Those movies are generally classics that are family appropriate.  On Monday night The Wizard of Oz was the movie.

As each of the Royal Caribbean ships goes through it's own revitalization, they get many of these updates that I've shown you.  Some get more and others get different ones.  But this is a sampling of the updates you can look forward to seeing on the older ships in the RCCL fleet going forward.  Navigator, the ship sailing out of Galveston, gets it's revitalization in January coming out of dry dock in February.  If you want to be among the first to experience some of these amazing upgrades, you know who to call! Have a great weekend and I'll tell you about the rest of the cruise next week.