In mid May, I had gone on a 5-day Cruise to Bermuda. I loved the ease of Royal Caribbean, it being so close to home. (Yet I heard through the grapevine that the Vision of the Seas ship will be moving to Fort Lauderdale in 2026, which is sad!
Vision of the Seas
Let’s first talk about Vision of the Seas. Vision of the seas first launched in 1997 and has a capacity of 2050-2514 passengers, making it a relatively smaller ship. On board, includes:
Casino
Pools (2)
Jacuzzi
Bars/Lounges (5)
Rock climbing
Shuffleboard
Table Tennis
Spa
Kids Club
Shops (6)
Gallery
And so much more! So even with it’s small size- it does have quite a few things to do depending on what you enjoy doing. I enjoyed Vision of the Seas. I liked the smaller size and it didn’t often feel cramped (with the exception of the centrum in the later hours). The ship contains 11 floors, which is typical for a smaller ship, but larger ships may have 12-20 floors!
Embarking
Embarking was easy! It was fast (well it wasn’t fast for me because I didn’t have the right documents and had to call a friend to take pictures of my birth certificate and with God’s Grace, it all worked out) but for the average person, embarking is quick and easy! There are a lot of signs on where to park and you really can’t get lost because there are multiple people in the lot directing you. Parking is $20/day, so $100 for a 5-day cruise.
Cost
Every cruise or accommodation is going to be different, but for a 5-day cruise, traveling solo- it was around $2050. I had gotten my cruise on a discount, but looking at the same ship and itinerary- for 2 adults, it’s $1984/person, which is $3,968 total or $3786/person for a balcony. Interior rooms can be about $2k less than that, so again- prices really do range depending on accommodations.
Entertainment
Now for the fun stuff! Entertainment on the ship was all free and happened at any given moment. There was not an hour where no entertainment was occurring. Entertainment included piano playing, singing, trivia games, flag festival (employees come out with the flag of their country), sudoku, cinematic films, plays, crossword, sushi making classes, candy making, and so, so much more.
I often found myself sitting in the centrum with a drink, watching whatever was going on at the time.
What’s Free/Not Free?
One questions that I had and a lot of other first-time guests have is- what’s free with your cruise versus not free? All entertainment is free, food in the buffet (Windjammer), some meals (complimentary) at the MDR or Main Dining Room and the champagne offered at the live auctions. Drinks, dry cleaning, specialty dining, casino (obviously), excursions and wifi are not free. I will be honest- I think the difference in cost between interior rooms and the balcony is a little absurd- I AM glad I got the balcony but considering everything that is free on the cruise (if you’re doing interior), you really are getting a bargain!
Drinks
Okay, well we already covered that drinks on the ship- bar, etc. are not free. There is a drink package you can get- but my recommendation is to really do the math, because this was definitely a regret that I had. I got the drink package and turned out, I lost a LOT of money on it! Here’s why:
Like I said, everything in the buffet is free, that includes drinks. I went to the buffet for breakfast, usually lunch and once for dinner. I did pay for the drinks for 3 nights and the fourth night was Chef’s Table, which you can find here that included 6 drinks. (LOL). As you’ll read, it isn’t free- but it was included with what I already spent. Besides that, I would average with drinking 2 drinks from the bar each day, which was about $12. So essentially, if I did not get the drink package, it would be about $24/day. The drink package I got was the refreshment package and costed $42/day.
Having said that, if you are someone who drinks a lot and maybe who prefers bar drinks over juice, water, lemonade, coffee, tea (or anything else in the buffet) then maybe it’s a good fit. For me though, I did lose money over it. Ya live and ya learn!
Itinerary
So let’s talk about it. What did I do each day? (I will include blog post links in my itinerary of restaurants/excursions, but if you would like to see them all in one place- please scroll to the bottom.)
Day 1:
Arrived at 3pm and got settled. I went to Giovanni’s Table for dinner and got acquainted with the overall setup of the ship. I window shopped and watched some of the live performances in the centrum.
Day 2:
I went to the buffet for breakfast and was able to snag a window seat which was amazing! I realized I do not get seasick which was a huge relief!
One thing I noticed about the buffets is the impulse to get more food than I can handle. I did finish it because I didn’t want to be wasteful (and it was GOOD!) it just was a little more than my body wanted to digest in the morning haha! After this, I visited the live auction, and got a few paintings. I should have done my research before-hand, as there are some mixed reviews about the ship being more “scammy” and selling these paintings for a lot more than you can get them elsewhere, and the fact that they’re not originals (which they do insinuate, but the way they’re presented- make them seem like they’re originals). However, the specific pieces I got- I did find them online and they were more expensive elsewhere, so I’m okay with that- just something to be aware of.
I spent the rest of my day mainly in the Centrum, listening to different performers and I also had gone into the theatre to watch Inside Out 2. For dinner, I had Chef’s Table which is. MUST try and HIGHLY recommend!!
Chef’s Table is a 6 course meal, each paired with a drink. It was exquisite, plated beautifully and tasted magnificent. 12/10 stars!
Because Chef’s Table lasted so long, I pretty much went to bed at this point and I was met with the cutest towel animal!
It’s a bear by the way… it took about 300 Facebook comments to realize after I had posted it… but it’s still cute and it’s the thought that counts, right? I actually initially thought it was a Walrus and I poked my head out since my Steward was cleaning a room next to mine and I said, “Thanks for the Walrus!!” And he looked at me like he was very confused… oops.
Day 3:
I woke up to such a stunning view on the third day!
We also finally docked in Bermuda on the third day. I had booked the zoo aquarium and crystal caves tour and was so grateful to have a tour guide who decided to also bring us to the beaches and lighthouse! Definitely got a bang for our buck.
You can visit my blog post about the beaches here.
You can visit my blog post about the zoo/aquarium/caves here.
I got back to the boat and watched a live reality show and once again, enjoyed some of the performers. I actually was standing on the second level and had dropped my phone two levels down and it landed in someone’s lap! I ran all the way down to retrieve it haha and I’m sure he now has something to tell his friends. *No one was hurt*
I had dinner at Chops Grille which was probably the best specialty restaurant on the Vision of the Seas, in my opinion at least! They have such a variety too- rack of lamp, rib-eye, Maine lobster, etc.
Day 4:
Today was my BIRTHDAY! In the bright hours of 9am… which aren’t thattt early but considering it was a vacation- it was early haha! I went on a glass-bottom boat over fish, coral reefs and a shipwreck. We went snorkeling soon after and pretty much went back to the boat to travel to Maryland soon after.
You can videos and more about this experience here.
I went to Izumi Sushi afterwards and even though I didn’t tell them it was my birthday, because it was on my SeaPass they knew and sang me the “happy birthday” song. I was find that incredibly awkward. Do I sing along or just sit there? I decided to just sit there haha. The thought was nice though!
Day 5:
Today was a sad day, mostly because it was the end of the cruise, aww! The cruise ended relatively early so there wasn’t that much to do today. I did have breakfast with some guests from Chef’s Table, which was nice. I had decided to just unboard with my luggage simply because it felt easier. And that concludes my trip!
Do I recommend Royal Caribbean: Vision of the Seas?
It was an amazing time and I loved everything about it! I said I wouldn’t book another cruise until next year… but alas, I caved and I have another one booked in November! So do I recommend it? Yes, yes, yes 100% YES!
For ease, here are the links all in one place of the various things I did on the cruise:
Zoo/Aquarium/Crystal Caves Excursion
Glass Bottom Boat/Snorkeling Excursion
Cheers friends and travelers!
~ Backroad Butterflies ~
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