Arriving on Board

Embarkation went fairly smoothly...as repeat cruisers we checked in through a special "premier" line that actually moved slower than the main line (figures). We asked for an upgrade and lucked out because  another couple was waiting to upgrade to our balcony stateroom....we were bumped up two levels to a category A owner's suite for a very reasonable sum. Only later did we learn that noise from the Winjammer Cafe would make a good night's sleep hard to come by...industrial strength earplugs helped a bit. In the end, Royal Caribbean made up for all the noise by sending us several bottles of champagne for a little cocktail party in our room on the last night of the ship.  This was typical of the top notch service on board Vision of the seas

Nothing like a cold bottle of champagne to toast our departure.  We strolled the ship before we left port and already the decks were full of sunbathers. The Vision is one of RCI's newer ships (launched in 1998).  Although not as large as the new Voyager of the Seas which is over twice the gross tonnage, The Vision is extremely clean and well maintained.