Sailor_to_Cruiser

I can only hope.

I see the first sailing for Symphony is 21 April 2018. It leaves from Barcelona. I guess Royal Caribbean has forgotten the UK customer base again as there is no opportunities for her to sail from Southampton as the schedule stands. I was really looking forward to an inaugural sailing without having to fly to it. Your thoughts?

Something you cannot counter is the actual lateral movement of the ship (across the ocean). Long exposures will still get streaky shots.

I just did that cruise in Early February. All ports took US Dollars, including taxi drivers. Sometimes frowned upon but still took them. Just be prepared with the exchange rate so you do not get ripped off. See the Cruise Compasses I have submitted to this site for information about the ports and general exchange rates. Also take a look at the live blog I have posted. (still to do the last day but it will come soon.) Enjoy your cruise.

In the middle east the ship keeps your passport at check-in. Each port stamps your passport but it is done on the ship to speed up the disembarkation process. It seemed a pretty seamless operation. This document explains the process.

Hi. I'm Bob. And I'm a Cruise-a-holic. Is there a 12 step program for that? I am originally from Illinois but after 20 years in the US Navy I retired in Scotland with my Scottish bride. I love to cruise and do as much as I can. The main barrier being the transportation costs to get to our favorite location for sailing, The Caribbean. I've been on this blog for a couple years and have posted and contributed many times. I have recently done a review of the Vision of the Seas cruise of the Arabian Sea. Hope you enjoy. Looking forward to a long relationship with Royal Caribbean blog.com

Day 6 – Abu Dhabi Coffee Stroll Periscope in the morning – Fail. We had no idea what/where to go or do in this port. We just winged it. We left the ship, got in a cab and headed to anywhere. I had picked up a map from the hop-on-hop-off bus so I had an idea of where things were, but had to ask where the ship was on the map. We were told that the taxis here operate on the meter so no need to do any haggling. The taxi driver we ended up with was trying to get us to pay for a full day’s touring at a cost of $150.00. We ended up going to the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque. We paid $30.00 but I think we might have gotten ripped off. It would be good if the ship told you what kind of taxi fares to expect to pay. My wife was concerned with not having the appropriate clothing for the mosque. At the entrance to the mosque, women that are not appropriately dressed are ushered into a side room where they are given a robe to wear. Entry is free to this mosque. It is a beautiful place and we easily spent an hour looking around and taking pictures. We then found another taxi to take us to one of the large malls in the city. I think it was the marina mall. This place was the smallest in the city but it was absolutely HUGE. I’d hate to get lost in the largest. We found a place to eat lunch, did a bit of looking around and shopping and headed back out. The Red Bull Air Show was taking place in the marina area next to the mall. By this time we were a bit tired of standing and walking and the weather was starting to get a bit hot so we just grabbed a taxi back to the ship where we could cool off with the obligatory pool drinks. Dinner was in the main dining room. I remember this meal. Getting fed up with the lack of beef on the menu, I ended up ordering a Fillet from Chops for an additional $20.00. That meat was superb! I would have to say it was the best meal I had on-board. At the end of the meal, when the bill was brought, the waiter had discounted the steak by 25% so that extra $5 ended up as an additional tip. Today was a long day and tomorrow will be a late night so we retired for the night. The drink counts for this day were: Coffee = 3; Tea = 1; Orange Juice = 2; Wine = 4; Beer = 0; Cocktails = 0; Mixed Drinks = 8; Coke (Glass) = 0; Bottled Water = 2 – Which put us about USD $30pp over what we spent. At this point we could have not had another drink and still made out on the drink package. Stay tuned to tomorrow’s review for the final talley. Cruise Compass - Day 6 – Abu Dhabi

I was just on Vision 2 weeks ago in the Arabian Sea. The ship, although showing some age is clean and welcoming. I personally prefer the larger ships but I did not have any problem relaxing onboard. Reviews given up to this point will have very little bearing on your cruise since none of them are for yor itinerary and crew has changed since then. I found the crew very very friendly. They often were the first to say good morning to you. Food in the MDR was excellent but the menu seemed to lack a lot of beef options. Once again, probably due to the ship's location. There was no lobster night either, but we were told that they do not do that outside of the US and Canada. Go in open-minded and you will have a great time. She is clean, safe and fun.

Matt has posted the In room mini-bar menu with prices here: http://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/2017/02/16/spotted-stateroom-mini-bar-order-form 4 1 litre bottles = $18.00 (+ 18%)

Day 5 – At sea – Formal Night It was beginning to get tiring, getting up at 7 in the morning to go for coffee, and attempt a periscope, only to have it fail yet again. But, I needed my morning coffee. Megan, at Café Latte-Tudes has gotten to know me and knows what I am drinking each morning. It does make you feel good to be recognised. Breakfast this morning was room service on the balcony. Can’t beat the sea breeze while having a meal. What a great way to wake up. Today was a sea day so we decided to just stay on-board. Drinks were flowing at the pool bar and lounge chairs were waiting to support my lazy, fat a.. for the day. I did my part to keep the chairs occupied. The show tonight was Duck Cameron Illusionist. He was pretty good, and a bit funny. I love a good magician and he did a good job mesmerizing me with his prestidigitation. (now. . . that was a big word) Tonight was formal night. We were dressed up and out for pre-dinner drinks. It was prime rib night in the main dining room. I cannot remember why, but after a couple drinks we decided to just go back to the room and order room service. Steak sandwich and spinach dip. I had actually been looking forward to this for a couple days. We found a movie on TV to watch and went to bed about 1:00 am. The drink counts for this day were: By the way – These drink counts are for 2 people. (I’m not that thirsty) Coffee = 1; Tea = 1; Orange Juice = 0; Wine = 0; Beer = 0; Cocktails = 6; Mixed Drinks = 4; Coke (Glass) = 5; Bottled Water = 0 – Which put us about USD $14pp over what we spent. Looks like we are slipping here but with the room service night and breakfast room service we were not drinking the OJ or wine. Cruise Compass - Day 5 – At sea

Live-ish Review located at: http://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/boards/index.php/topic/3282-vision-of-the-seas-7-night-arabian-sea-feb-6-13-2017/?p=30172 Stop by and see what my holiday was like.

Day 4 – Muscat, Oman, Day 2 Well, another early morning Coffee Stroll Periscope unsuccessful due to poor internet connectivity. We kind of got our fill of Muscat (or the port town we were in) on day 3, so we just decided to stay on-board and suck up the rays, and a bit of icy, fruity alcohol. After all, the Men’s International Belly Flop Competition was at 2:00. I do not think I have missed one of these on any of my Royal Caribbean cruises. Michelle decided to get a manicure in the afternoon so I did a walk around the ship, attempted another Periscope (unsuccessfully), and took some photos. For some reason we never made it to the Viking Crown Lounge, or located Izumi, so I went in search. Having seen this large area looming over the pool deck, I figured it was there so that is where I headed. I was not wrong. Dinner was in the Main Dining Room again. Once again I do not remember what I had so cannot comment on it. After dinner it was off to the Centrum for some drinks and entertainment. Off to bed about midnight (for the 4th consecutive night). The drink counts for this day were: Coffee = 3; Tea = 1; Orange Juice = 2; Wine = 3; Beer = 0; Cocktails = 4; Mixed Drinks = 3; Coke (Glass) = 3; Bottled Water = 1 – Which put us about USD $21pp over what we spent. Cruise Compass - Day 4 - Muscat, Oman

Cocktails are the "pool drinks" i.e. frozen drinks. Mixed drinks are spirits with coke or juice. I might add that although the counts are often high, it is not a case of drinking to fulfill the package but drinking because of the situation and I just wanted one.

Thanks for the info. That was my fall-back plan.

Be sure to drop RCCL an e-mail with your experiences. I wrote to them after a gratifying Oasis cruise in September with nothing but praises for the staff that took care of me (by name). They responded with a voucher for $50 OBC for each of us on a future cruise (which we used earlier this month). They do read and respond to the e-mails from the passengers.

Trying to do a live(ish) blog on this site for my recent Vision of the Seas Arabian Sea cruise. I am unable to upload any more photos or documents. I really want to provide this for future cruisers as there isn't a lot of info on Vision on this site. Can anyone help me to set this up? Thanks in advance for your help.

Day 3 – Muscat, Oman This morning I started with a stroll around the ship on Periscope on my way to get coffee and a cup of tea for my wife. My experiences with VOOM this morning were not any different from the day before. I could connect but the quality of the production was a let-down. Today we decided to head out into the town to explore a bit and maybe get a few souvenirs and gifts for the kids back home. We left the ship and caught a shuttle to the gate of the port as it is illegal to walk from the ship to the port entrance. The bus was complimentary and ran fairly regularly so it was not too much a hassle. When you leave the ship they hand you a card that serves as a temporary visa which you return when you come back on-board. When outside the gate, be prepared to be accosted by taxi drivers. They want to take you anywhere and charge you anything just to get a fare. They knew the ship was in port overnight so they even attempted to arrange for a tour on the next day as well. They are so ruthless that they even stop on the road beside you as you walk down the sidewalk to see if you need a taxi. Once you get past the port entrance parking lot they thin out significantly and you can get on with your day with minimal hassle. One thing that would have made our visit a lot better was if Royal Caribbean were to provide us a crude map of what is out there, where it is and which way to turn. All we did was follow a crowd of other passengers and I guess we got lucky because we ended up in the town after about 10 minutes walk. We weren’t really headed for it but we ended up at the Mutrah Souq. (Sauq is a market place, kind of like a flea market but that is the place to get your souvenirs). We walked through the labyrinth of alleys in the Sauq dodging the pushy sales people who try to put scarfs around your neck, hats on your head and handbags over your shoulder. Haggling is necessary as everything seems overpriced. We bought a couple stuffed camels and some incense and headed back out of the market. The information given by the ship says that “The exchange rate from US Dollar to Omani Rial is approximately 0.40.†In translation, that is 1 Rial is equal to USD $2.60. We stopped at a café type of place for a drink. We both ordered an Ice Cream Shake. It came in a glass that was about 12 inches tall. Hard to drink the whole thing but the milk, and juice in this drink was very fresh and refreshing. We headed back to the ship in time for lunch so we headed up to the Windjammer. As we entered the Windjammer we ran into our assistant waiter from the main dining room, Lilia, who was doubling as a hand sanitizer sniper. She asked if we went into the town. We told her of our morning and she said that that wasn’t Muscat. Muscat is about 20km away and is a much nicer town to visit. Why didn’t they tell us this? A map would have helped for that. As we finished our lunch, an announcement was made that a lot of passengers are returning to the ship for lunch so if you are finished eating, please make your way out of the windjammer. (or words to that effect). This is the first time that I had ever heard that one, and we heard it a second time later in the cruise. The Windjammer was very busy and seats were at a premium so I can understand the need, it was just different. The rest of the day was just spent relaxing (and drinking) The drink counts for this day were: Coffee = 3; Tea = 1; Orange Juice = 2; Wine = 4; Beer = 2; Cocktails = 0; Mixed Drinks = 4; Coke (Glass) = 2; Bottled Water = 3 – Which put us about USD $16pp over what we spent. Cruise Compass - Day 3 - Muscat, Oman

Before I get started on Day 2, I thought of a couple other points to bring up about Day 1. GUEST ASSEMBLY DRILL – This was held at about 4:15. Every station is on the 5th deck outside (under the lifeboats). Odd numbers (as printed on your Sea Pass card) are on the right (when looking at the pointy end of the ship) and even numbers are on the left. The drill lasted about 20 minutes and wasn’t too bad since the weather was quite moderate. As soon as we arrived on the pool deck, we got our first lavaflow and headed to the pool to put our feet in the water. We were stopped by a pool attendant because a child had gotten sick in the pool and they had to clean it before we could enjoy it. This wasn’t a big issue as it actually provided some entertainment as we watched others trying to do the same, some getting all the way to getting their feet in and having to get back out. By the next day the pool was back to full functionality. The ship left Dubai at about 6. DAY 2 – Khasab, Oman Having talked to many people on-board and even hearing the captain speak in the morning, this was a port that not many were looking forward to. There isn’t a whole lot to do or see there. We spent the day on-board and made use of our drinks package. This morning I attempted to do my signature Coffee Stroll on Periscope. I had purchased the VOOM 2 device surf/stream package before the cruise at GBP £18.03 per day (USD $22.54). The quality of the connection was very poor. If you were to have seen the periscopes, they were pixelated and the voice was choppy. Someone told me on one scope that it looked like I was under water. Even with the poor quality, I still did the scopes each day in hopes that someone could get something good out of them none-the-less. Tonight was formal night and we had our dinner in the main dining room. Something of note; there seemed to be a shortage of beef items on the menu. I do not remember what I had for dinner so I cannot comment on it specifically, but the dinner was good, plentiful and the service was great. The drink counts for this day were: Coffee = 3; Tea = 1; Orange Juice = 2; Wine = 3; Beer = 4; Cocktails = 5; Mixed Drinks = 7; Bottled Water = 2 – Which put us about USD $60pp over what we spent. Well on our way to over-spending on the drink package. Cruise Compass - Day 1 - Dubai Cruise Compass - Day 2 - Khasab, Oman

Matt; I've been doing a review of my Vision cruise but I seem to have run out of data allowance to upload things like photos and documents. How can I get past this?

Vision of the Seas – 7 Night Arabian Sea cruise from Dubai Day 1 – Embarkation Day We left Glasgow at 8:50 pm on Sunday, 5 February on our way to Dubai on Emirates Airways. The flight was an overnighter so was uneventful. We were due to land at 8:05 am. The plane landed at about 7:40, which the pilot sounded so proud of, until we heard that in order to land so early we had to land on a runway on the other side of the airport from where we needed to be, which took about 30 minutes of taxiing. The result, we got there right on time. The walk from the plane to baggage claim was ridiculously long. Seemed like we walked for 30 minutes to get there. Passport control was slow also. There were two agents to service the 400 or so passengers that got off that plane. I must say at this point that nothing up to now was any reflection on Royal Caribbean. Once we got our baggage we went to the lobby where we found someone with a RCCL sign. She pointed us to the far end of the lobby to join a long line of people. We made it through that line to check in with someone who gave us a piece of paper and a number and then put us into another line. Still not out of the airport. Apparently, the busses weren’t there yet. The piece of paper gave a rundown of the process of check-in that we would be going through. In a nutshell: The busses will take us to a hotel, where we will do our check-in and then we will have a buffet breakfast. Busses will then take us to the cruise port to meet the ship. RCCL Dubai Welcome Letter.pdf We were on-board a bus at 9:45 to go to the hotel where we found a row of tables where we could check in. Something about the immigration policies in the UAE require them to hold all passports so be prepared to exchange yours for your Sea Pass card. Breakfast was standard buffet food, but not quite as good as the windjammer. Tolerable though. Busses were loaded and we headed to the port at 10:45. The ride to the port was about 30 minutes. Once at the port, it was a matter of going through security and walking right on-board. If you wonder when you get your passports back, we were given the schedule for that as well. RCCL Immigration Information.pdf If you have followed my previous posts about this cruise, you will know that I paid for the Deluxe drink package on the Cruise Planner page of RCCL website. The price that I paid was about USD $55.00. That price was the same price from the date that I booked the cruise until I bought it. No sale was ever offered. Everyone has said, and I had believed that it is cheaper to buy it before the cruise so I didn’t take any chances and I bought it before we sailed. Once on-board, I noticed that they were selling the drink packages for the same price. No difference in prices. Drink Packages Onboard.pdf Drink prices on-board, at various venues can be seen in the following documents. No drink card was ever offered on this cruise, although the Cruise Planner had a coffee card available that was not available on-board. Lattetudes Menu.pdf Pool Bar Beer Special.pdf Pool Bar Menu.pdf R Bar Menu.pdf Windjammer Drink Menu Once we got to our stateroom at 1:00 I found our soda cups waiting on our bed with a statement of what was included with the drink package. Beverage Package Receipt.pdf Also a listing of Platinum benefits Platinum Benefits.pdf We just spent the rest of the day exploring the ship, drinking drinks, and relaxing. Dinner was in the Main Dining Room. We had a table of 6. One couple (Stuart & Barbera) were quite old (I think he was 86). A Yorkshire man who was a veteran of the Korean war as well as the Viet Nam war. He was a test pilot in the RAF. Every story seemed to relate to one of these wars or just his service in general. The other couple was a bit younger (Richard & Sheila). He was a retired police Officer from the London area. All in all, the group was well mixed and we had a good time with them, but I certainly felt young at 53. Our servers were Jose, from the Philippines and Lilia, from Croatia. They took very good care of us throughout the cruise. I think the day would not be complete without the drink counts: Coffee = 3; Wine = 3; Beer = 1; Cocktails = 4; Mixed Drinks = 4; Bottled Water = 2 – Which put us about USD $20pp over what we spent. Getting our money’s worth. Can we keep it up? Keep reading to find out. Cruise Compass - Boarding Day Edition

As I am currently on day 4 of that exact same cruise, I figured I should jump in on this one. I booked in Oct for this cruise. I watched daily for a price change. As I'm from the UK my prices are in British pounds. Since June and the brexit vote, the exchange rate has been really fluid so I saw a few changes based on that, but I never saw a sale on the drinks package. I ended up buying on the day before the cut-off for GBP £45.10 which is about USD $55. Once on board I saw the prices were also USd $55. No savings whatsoever on the cruise planner. Hope this helps. I'll be doing a full review of the trip within the week when I return so be sure to watch for it. A lot of good first hand information that RCCL isn't too forward with. If you have other questions before Sunday you can email me at [email protected] and I'll find out what I can for you. Watch my morning coffee stroll periscope too. About 7:00 each morning (dubai time) 10pm us eastern time. Periscope name is sailor_to_cruiser.

That's it done! Ran out of time as the cut off for purchasing cruise items online is midnight tonight. Bought the drink package yesterday at GBP£45.10 pppn for a total of GBP£745.06. Never saw any discounts offered and the price only fluctuated due to the exchange rate. Once Brexit happened I saw the exchange rate go down (fewer USD for each GBP) which made prices go up in GBP. When this happened, RCI was very quick to change the prices. When the rate goes up, the change isnt quite as quick. Over the course of my booking I saw a difference of about GBP£ 20 between the lowest and highest rates for the drink package. Unfortunately purchased at the highest. VOOM also never changed. Always showed the same price (GBP£18.03 pd) Sometimes it showed a 30% discount (same price) and sometimes it didnt but the price never changed. (except the exchange rate change as explained above). Regardless: We leave Sunday night from Glasgow on Emirates Airways. Cruise leaves Dubai on Monday. We will be having a good time and I will try to keep this thread going as a Live Review. Watch for periscopes as well under the same username (Sailor_to_Cruiser) See you on the Vision of the Seas in the Arabian Sea.

That £45.10 I quoted is before the 18% gratuity. With grauity it amounts to £53.22 per day. £12 more than your discount. per day.

I am booked on Vision of the Seas from Dubai on 6 Feb. I have been watching the drink prices many times each day hoping for a price drop. When the currency exchange rate went up, so did the price. Coming up to the deadline now and had to bite the bullet and bought for £45.10. Since I booked the cruise I never saw a sale for the drinks or VOOM. I saw price fluctuations as the exchange rate changed with a total range of about £20.00 for the week. Feel a bit let down hearing about all these RCCL sales that do not apply to the UK customers. If only airfare wasnt so high, I'd just stick to sailing the Caribbean.

If you are in the UK, Be cautious. Check with your TA before booking a cruise you plan on re-booking at a later date. They have different rules over here. You might end up loosing your deposit with the re-book.