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RCCI VISION OF THE SEAS - MEXICAN RIVIERA CRUISE |
| Reviewed By: White, Norwich on 27th Mar 2008 |
| Cruise Line: Royal Caribbean Cruises |
Times cruised before: 6-10 |
| Cruise Ship: Vision of the Seas |
Sailed:
March,
2008 |
| Destination: Mexico |
Age: 56-65 |
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Embarkation very easy and quick - but no staff to show you to your cabins. Our balcony cabin was clean, comfortable and well appointed. Staff were great. Food in main restaurant and buffet very good - although finding out where different things were in the buffet took some getting used to! Entertainment was generally poor, with one or two exceptions. Excursions we took were most enjoyable, but the whale watching on a yacht in Puerto Vallarta was the highlight for us. There were a lot of youngsters and teenagers on this cruise. We felt "standards" were dropping, but then perhaps we are dinosaurs - formal nights and meet the captain etc declared dress policy, but then let passengers in jeans/tee shirts into the main restaurant and to shake hands with the captain. Last day/night at sea was very rough and the ship was rocking and rolling! Disembarkation at Los Angeles was a shambles. RCCI ignore onward travel details they request you to log on their website; we had a 11-30 flight to Las Vegas. Long queues at the Purser's desk to get priority of disembarkation tags changed. They offered a limited (their words) "Express" departure tag for those passengers who could carry their own luggage and had valid reasons for leaving the ship early - nearly every American passenger claimed this priority; and got away with it! "Express" disembarkation took 1 hour 30 minutes (two queues around two decks of the ship!). We were next priority, but only caught our flight because we jumped to the front of the queue and our travel company had arranged a private sedan transfer. The disembarkation procedures were disorganised, chaotic and a shambles - beware if you go on this cruise and have an onward flight. Having travelled with Celebrity (same company as RCCI) on two cruises into Los Angeles we know that their disembarkation arrangements are so much better. Having said all of that the cruise was very enjoyable - as was our overall holiday in Los Angeles/Cruise/Las Vegas.
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| Quality of Food |  |
| Breakfast/Lunch in Windjammer Buffet; Dinner in main restaurant | | Entertainment |  |
| Main shows were mainly only one person (except for one night). American comedians are not our cup of tea, not surprisingly! Celebrity are so much better, and more lavish. | | Shore Excursions |  |
| Highlight was whale watching on a yacht in purto vallarta. Other trips took in the Mexican countryside and villages etc. They were interesting and confirm much how you expect Mexico probably is still today. | | Staff | |
| Cabin steward was very friendly and did a good job; as were the main restaurant staff. Overall all the staff we encountered were very good. | | Children's Facilities | n/a |
| | Onboard Activities | |
| Yes; although a lot of it was not surprisingly geared towards American passengers (quiz questions etc). Their much publicised rock climbing wall could only be used sparingly due to high winds - although it wouldn't have been for us! | | Cabins | |
| Everything we could have asked for. High winds and damp fog meant the balcony was not used as much as normal. Lots of space for clothes and eveything else. Good sized shower/toilet. | | Overall Rating | |
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