Cruise Line: Royal Caribbean International
Destination: Repositioning - Los Angeles to Vancouver BC
Date: May 23 - May 28, 2004
Guest Contributor: Michael Ball
hmb01@comcast.net
Prologue:
This review will cover many aspects of The Vision and serve as a reference for the Alaskan cruising crowd of spring/summer '04.
There were three of us on this voyage: my wife Pat, yours truly - along with a friend of many years named John, (a first time cruiser.) We booked an inside cabin for John, right across from our stateroom. In this way he could compare an inside to a cabin with veranda.
Getting There:
Sea/Air with RCI was a breeze. Direct United flight from PDX to LAX. Greyhound Land was used by RCI for airport to pier transfer.
Embarkation:
This was the smoothest boarding we have ever had. Passengers were arriving throughout the afternoon so there was simply no wait at the pier. We were processed and onboard in fifteen minutes! Please remember: Canada accepts birth certificates in lieu of a passport but it must be a certified copy. John said he had a certificate, which turned out to be a hospital record. We caught this in plenty of time and he was able to obtain a CERTIFIED copy from Ohio. You cannot get on the ship without it or a passport.
Staterooms:
Ours - Cat D1, deck seven, starboard and aft. 195 sq. ft. with a 41 sq. ft. veranda. Just fine for five days at sea. John's - M class inside appx. 160 sq. ft. Perfect if your friends are across the hall and sharing the balcony!
Around the Ship:
Schooner Bar - The favorite spot for my wife and I. Deck Six - mid ship, starboard. We sat for hours sipping the drink of the day or specially made coffees and watching the ocean go by through floor to ceiling windows.
Ship Shape Fitness Center:
Good assortment of exercise equipment. I work out with cable weights which they had plenty of and managed to tear myself up pretty good. Lacking squat and leg press stations - mainly upper body weights. Plenty of treadmills and steppers.
Solarium Pool:
Similar to the AquaSpa on M Class Celebrity ships with a few differences - it is, perhaps, half the size of AquaSpa and instead of serving healthy, light foods from a cafe, there is a bar forward and a hamburger/hot dog stand aft.
Windjammer Restaurant:
Standard, run of the mill buffet with limited changes of menu from day to day. The offerings were satisfactory.
Ports of Call:
San Francisco: Shopping in Sausalito and touring Alcatraz.
I was determined to awaken early and photograph our passing under The Golden Gate. I did not, however, want to wake my wife. I set that strange and unexplainable inner alarm to rouse me at 5:30am. It worked poorly and I sprang to the balcony every hour on the hour from three o'clock on. The pilot boat finally came alongside. In lieu of a flashlight I used the screen on my cell phone to quietly maneuver and prepare. Finally dressed and with camera in hand, I made my way top deck and forward. I thought I would be there alone but found myself with over one hundred others who were there for the same experience. Here came The Golden Gate.... closer and closer... so many cameras clicking and videos running. As we passed directly under the center span our ship let out with three long horn blasts. Knees buckled as we stood less than fifty feet from that enormous sound.
Acapulco is the gem of Mexico and San Francisco is surely the most beautiful port of the US West. Approaching the city in that early morning light was an aesthetic moment in time. We docked at Fisherman’s Wharf.
Our shore excursions took us across The Golden Gate to Sausalito. It was before 10:00am and the shops were not yet open. Our tour guide said we had to leave at 10:10am.... ten minutes... to do what??? I later filed a complaint with the shore excursion desk regarding this limit of time. We were all refunded half the excursion price. The next activity was touring Alcatraz. The boats to the island dock two blocks away from our pier. 'The Rock' was a great tour and though crowded with children on school outings, it was all we hoped for. I compare it to a cattle yard, housing humans who were treated in a most sub standard way. Good to show this sort of thing to children - what can happen if they are 'naughty'.
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