Apr 15, 2018 – May 7, 2018
This cruising thing is growing on us… This time we depart on Vision of the Seas on Apr 16 from Galveston, TX, and arrive in Barcelona, SP on May 2. We then have an Air BnB reserved for five nights in Barcelona before heading back home. The itinerary is as follows:
April 15th – Sunday
Travel day! We had a 7:00 am flight to Houston which left on time, was bumpy going up and down, but took us from cold rain and fog to warm sunny weather arriving an hour ahead of the originally scheduled time. Mom and Dad had an anxious couple of days as nasty weather was predicted around much of the country, including the Chicago area, which included heavy rain, wind, sleet, snow, and tornadoes. (United Airlines had contacted them on Friday offering to change their flight at no cost due to expected inclement weather). Luck was with them and their flight left on time. We met them in baggage claim at the Houston airport where our limo ride also came early to pick us up. The car (YouFirst Limo) was a very large, comfortable SUV with a very nice driver. A little over an hour later we arrived at Homewood Suites in Galveston which had a view of the gulf. It was a nice, clean suite. For dinner we took the hotel’s free shuttle to Bubba Gump’s for a wonderful shrimp-filled dinner. After returning on the shuttle to our room we were all exhausted and soon turned in.
Vision of the Seas
Captain: Marek Slaby
Cruise Director: Steve Davis
Activities Director: Talita Leoni
Waiter: Celio
Ass’t Waiter: Qiuyue/Crystal
Cabin Attendant: Don Santos
April 16th – Monday – Cruise Day 1 – Bon Voyage! (74 degrees, sunny)
Cruise departure day! After enjoying the hotel’s free hot breakfast and coffee, we took a Lyft to the port. Checking in went extremely smoothly with no wait time or lines. We headed right to Windjammer to kill some time (not to mention nosh). We took care of some business at Guest Services then sat and chatted together until our cabins were ready at 1:00. We left our carry-on stuff in the room then headed out to explore and be on deck for the 4:15 departure. Upon our return our luggage had arrived so it was time to unpack and officially move in for the next 16 days. We met our stateroom attendant, Don Santos from India. We rested for a little while then met up with Mom and Dad in the Schooner Bar for pre-dinner drinks before our 7:00 dinner at Chops. Not only was the Diamond Lounge not crowded, but Chops had empty tables as well – very different from the crowds and lines on the last 2 cruises on Freedom! Using M&D’s BOGO deals we had fantastic steak and lamb chop dinners, which included our very personable server Isabel from Portugul. During dinner it was announced that we would have to head back to Galveston because of a medical emergency. This was about 3 1/2 hours after departure. The captain said we would make up the time when we left Galveston again. After dinner we managed to waddle to the Masquerade Theatre for “Welcome Aboard Showtime” featuring the comedy of Tom McTigue. The show was entertaining and the comedian was very funny. After another long day we returned to our cabins about 10:45.
April 17th – Tuesday – Cruise Day 2 – At Sea (71 degrees, sunny)
We’re starting to learn our away around the ship. It’s the smallest RCCL ship we’ve been on and has just over 2,000 passengers. Our day started by going up to Windjammer about 8:45 for breakfast. There were plenty of open tables but it filled up as time went on. We hung out chatting before heading to the theatre for part one of a series on “Top Spying Agencies in the World” by Armando F. Sanchez. It was somewhat informative and we’ll probably give part two a try. M&D went back to their cabin and we went to get some coffee, sit in the sun on deck, and explore the ship further. After stopping back at the room, where a bottle of champagne waited for us! (not sure from who), we all headed to the 1:30 showing of “The Commuter” starring Liam Neeson. It was a good movie, action-packed and attention grabbing. Then back to our cabins for a rest before cocktail hour. We met in the Schooner Bar at 5:30 for cocktails. We enjoyed our time together until the 6:30 show in the theater which was “The Magic and Comedy of Scott Alexander”. It was a fun and enjoyable show. We had dinner in the dining room tonight, followed by listening to the live music in the Centrum before turning in for the night.
April 18th – Wednesday – Cruise Day 3 – At Sea (78 degrees, partly cloudy)
We started our day with breakfast at Windjammer. Mom and Dad decided at the last minute to go to the “Lunch with an Officer”, and got permission for us to go along as well. The officer at our table was Colin Davis, the Revenue Officer for the ship. He was interesting to listen to as were some of our table-mates. From lunch we went to see part 2 of the Enrichment Talk which was “Life of a Spy” in the theater. Afterwards we spent a little more time on deck but it was extremely windy. We relaxed in our cabin until meeting for cocktails. We had plenty of time before dinner so we stopped by Next Cruise to check out cruises. We booked the two cruises we had already been considering (Adventure in the fall and Oasis next spring), so we can’t really blame the cocktails. Tonight is the first formal night so we had a few pictures taken before heading into the dining room for dinner. We had another wonderful meal. The entire staff has been very friendly. Tonight we saw “Rhythm and Rhyme”, music from Broadway, in the theater at 10:15. It was a late night so we all dropped into bed after the show.
April 19th – Thursday – Cruise Day 4 – At Sea (80 degrees, partly cloudy)
Windjammer at 9:00 for breakfast seems to be the way we’ll start our days. Following breakfast we attended Part 3 of the Enrichment Talk which was “Birth of the CIA”. We lost our first hour of seven during the crossing 😥 . Not too much going on this afternoon. We met in the Schooner Bar for a cocktail before seeing the show in the theater “Britain’s Finest”. This Beatles tribute band was outstanding and they performed a fun show with some audience participation at times. We decided to have dinner at Giovanni’s tonight to start using our 5 dinner package. Everything on the menu sounded so delicious we ordered an abundance of items. We were able to taste everything but didn’t come close to eating it all. On our way back to our rooms we stopped at the Centrum to listen to some live music and watch people dance. It was another long, wonderful day.
April 20th – Friday – Cruise Day 5 – San Juan, Puerto Rico (83 degrees, partly clowdy, possible showers)
Our first port! We breakfasted in the Windjammer then sat chatting in the Centrum. We were able to get off the ship early afternoon and walked into town. It was very hot and humid. We walked in a circle through the narrow side streets of shops and cobble stone streets for just over a mile. There were lots of jewelry stores, some souvenir shops, and some empty shops. Most buildings looked like they had been renovated since the hurricane about 7 months ago but some were still in disrepair, and there were a couple of partially submerged and damaged walkways near the ship. Back on the ship we refreshed ourselves with cold drinks and snacks in the Windjammer. After resting up we met for drinks followed by an early dinner in Windjammer. Tonight the movie “The Greatest Showman” was being shown in the theater at 8:30. It was an entertaining musical with catchy songs and great dancing. It was a relaxing way to end the day and digest dinner.
April 21st – Saturday – Cruise Day 6 – At Sea (82 degrees, partly cloudy)
A relaxing day at sea starting with a Windjammer breakfast. We looked at photos taken so far by RC and walked through the shops. (Pat bought a magnet of Vision of the Seas.) Today was Part 4 of the Enrichment Talk which was titled “Cold War Spy Secrets”. We lost another hour at noon. We rested on deck in the sun for a little before resting some more in our cabin. (Cruising is sooo tiring!) Cocktail hour in the Schooner Bar as usual, where we participated in a trivia game. We had dinner in the dining room, then watched a short singing and dancing number in the Centrum before going to the theater show “The Skills and Comedy of Steve Rawlings” (the show was okay). The comedian was super hyper which was funny at times and annoying at others. Time to turn in.
April 22nd – Sunday – Cruise Day 7 – At Sea (73 degrees, partly cloudy)
We had a light breakfast in the Windjammer before attending Part 5 “Early Years of Spying and Flying”. Noon brought the loss of another hour (four more hours to lose!). After a short time in the casino we had lunch in the dining room. There is a menu that you can order off of as well as a large salad bar where they make delicious chopped salads (tutti salad bar). Nothing we’re really interested in until after 5:00 so returned to our cabin. We later met up for cocktails before attending the 6:30 show of Brooks Aehron, a pianist and entertainer that we had previously seen on the Freedom cruise last year. His show was just as fantastic as we remember it being on Freedom. He is very energetic with a bounce in his step and an exuberance for what he was doing. We look forward to another show with him tomorrow. We had a wonderful view of a beautiful sunset out the windows of Chops for dinner. We could observe the sun setting through a variety of clouds, and at the same time we saw curtains of rain off to the north. Chops provides consistently delicious filet mignon along with everything else they serve. We watched the beginning of a Rock ‘n Roll show in the Centrum before going to bed.
April 23rd – Monday – Cruise Day 8 – At Sea (71 degrees, partly cloudy)
A quick breakfast before attending Part 6 of the Enrichment Talk titled “History of the SR-71 Blackbird”. This program has been interesting but also makes us a bit sleepy. We did our own thing before going to the matinee show “Cruising with the Classics” with Brooks Aehron. He performed another wonderful show with interesting background information on the musical pieces and composers. Later in the afternoon/early evening we had a cocktail hour in the Schooner Bar chatting and listening to music. Dinner was in the dining room followed by a late show by singer Paul Hughes. He performed a variety of music with his voice sounding a bit like Frank Sinatra and Bobby Darin. Bedtime after a long, fun day.
April 24th – Tuesday – Cruise Day 9 – At Sea (68 degrees, partly cloudy)
Not much going on this morning. We had a relaxing breakfast in Windjammer then did our own thing. M&D went to the afternoon show of “Cruising with the Classics” with Brooks Aehron and flutist Jaymee Coonjobeeharry which they enjoyed. We walked around and sat in the sun for a little bit, then caught the end of the show. We all went to the Schooner Bar for a trivia game on airport codes. We only missed 1 of 20 but there were others who didn’t miss any. This led into the cocktail hour and music trivia with Disney tunes. We didn’t do quite so well with that one answering 13 of 20. Next up was the early show: “The Visual Comedy & Mime of Daniel Zafrani“. We saw him twice before on Freedom but even seeing it a third time we were entertained and loved his unique show. We dined in the main dining room, watched the beginning of the 70’s Disco Inferno Dance Party in the Centrum, then turned in for the evening.
April 25th – Wednesday – Cruise Day 10 – At Sea (64 degrees, mostly cloudy)
Happy Birthday Dad/Grandpa! His birthday started with a behind-the-scenes tour 
of the galley where all the magic of the food preparation takes place. Although we often couldn’t hear the chef giving the tour due to the large group, it was still interesting to see all the different areas of the kitchen, especially the humongous cooking pots they make the soups in! We followed the tour with a late breakfast in Windjammer, and that was followed by more relaxing, which we are getting really good at! Today we set the clocks back another hour at noon. Afternoon entertainment was “Vision’s Got Talent Adult Guest Talent Show”. There were singers, comedians, a ventriloquist, and a dancer. Everyone was at least “okay”. We did some more resting before meeting for cocktails at 5:30 at the Schooner Bar, as usual. Tonight’s entertainment was Brad Cummings – “Comedy Under the Influence of Ventriloquism”. He was hilarious! We enjoyed dinner in the dining room before going to the 10:00 show “The Liars Club Game Show”. More laughter as each of four crew members, including Captain Marek, gave the definition for an obscure word (such as “fulfhart”, “titup”, “hawseholes”). The audience then had to guess who was telling the truth. Mom said she couldn’t remember when she had laughed so hard, and Laurie was wiping his eyes! It was another wonderful day.
April 26th – Thursday – Cruise Day 11 – Ponta Delgada, Azores (66 degrees, mostly sunny)
After breakfast in the dining room we walked into town late morning. It was a gorgeous day to wander around town to take in the architecture of the city. We visited Praca Goncalo Velho Cabral, a square where a statue of the island’s discoverer stands along with the town gates, Portas da Cidade. The gates were built in the 18th Century and are composed of 3 arches featuring the royal and city coat of arms. 
Just off square is the picturesque Church of Sao Sebastiao with it’s high 4-bell tower, which we heard strike on the hour and half hour. The streets and sidewalks around the town are a variety of designs in black and white tiles and cobblestones adding to the charm of the streets. We stopped in a grocery store where M&D bought some pastries and a bottle of Portuguese wine. Returning to the ship we headed up to Windjammer for iced tea and a snack before going our own ways for the afternoon. Cocktail hour and trivia in the Schooner Bar followed by live music by the Vision of the Seas Orchestra in the theater. Outstanding music with each of the 9 members and their respective instruments highlighted. We dined in the dining room before an Indonesian Cultural Performance in the Centrum. Immediately following we went back to the theater for “The Love and Marriage Game Show”. Three couples (newlywed, mid-time wed, and long-time wed) competed to see who knew their spouses best. It was a fun show which was won by the newly weds!
April 27th – Friday – Cruise Day 12 – At Sea (62 degrees, partly cloudy)
We had a quick breakfast before watching the final Enrichment Talk which was titled “The Super Secret NSA”. Today we lost one more hour at noon. There was a fun egg drop this afternoon. Individuals and teams built contraptions to protect a raw egg as it was dropped from the eighth deck of the Centrum to the fourth deck. Surprisingly a large number survived. The winner was decided by audience cheers. Then we went right to “The Backstage Event: Behind the Curtains of the Masquerade” where we first had a Q&A session with the Cruise Director and several crew members including a singer, dancer, orchestra director, lighting manager, and general production manager. Then they gave us tours of the various areas of the theater. Tonight was the second formal night. We had cocktails then went around to different photographer stations having our picture taken. Since it was lobster night in the dining room we, of course, had our dinner there. Our day ended with “Boogie Wonderland” in the theater, a high energy show featuring disco era music.
April 28th – Saturday – Cruise Day 13 – At Sea (57 degrees, partly cloudy)
After breakfast we had an amazing tour of the bridge by Captain Marek. He explained different areas of the bridge and gave lots of interesting information about sailing a ship. At noon we lost our final hour and are now on Spain time – 9 hours ahead of Seattle! Today’s afternoon entertainment was the “Vision’s Got Talent Crew Talent Show” which was incredible. They were mostly singers, some dancers, and a pianist. All of them were extremely talented but the last performer, a deckhand named Joseph, sounded just the the lead singer of Journey. Our fun day continued with cocktails then a show in the theater by singer Leanne Mitchell, a winner of The Voice UK. She sang a variety of songs with her powerful, multi-range voice. Next up was “Rockin’ With the Crew” featuring Captain Marek, who sang some Bon Jovi. Several crew members, including some from the afternoon show, performed their own songs. Another outstanding show (running out of adjectives!) We dined at Giovanni’s where everything was delicious. We all welcomed a bit of an early evening, especially since Mom had a cold and Pat the start of one.
April 29th – Sunday – Cruise Day 14 – Malaga, Spain (67 degrees, mostly sunny)
We had a relaxed breakfast in Windjammer before taking a shuttle into town late morning (5€ each round trip). 
We walked to Plaza de la Merced, a popular meeting place and area where open-air events take place. Today there was a children’s puppet show going on (in Spanish) which looks like it may have been “The Emperor’s New Clothes” (with an anatomically correct king 😯 ) They are a lot less prudent about such things in Europe than in the US. We also saw the house where Picasso was born and took pictures with his statue in the square. It was a beautiful day to be walking around in such a charming area. After refueling in Windjammer we rested until cocktail hour. Tonight’s headliner show was “The Rat Pack of Opera”. Following the show we enjoyed dinner in the dining room.
April 30th – Monday – Cruise Day 15 – Alicante, Spain (67 degrees, mostly sunny)
Explanada de Espana
We were in no hurry to head into town so we had breakfast and relaxed in our cabins until late morning. We took the free shuttle into town and strolled along the Explanada de Espana, a tiled promenade
View of our ship from the Castle
Amazing views from the Castle
that runs parallel to the port. It’s lined with palm trees, booths with vendors, and restaurants with outdoor seating. The weather was absolutely perfect. M&D went back to the ship and we walked to the Castle of Santa Barbara. This is one of the largest medieval fortresses in Europe and covers the complete summit of Benacantil Mountain overlooking Alicante.
Stroll along the beach
The castle was originally built by the Moors in the 10th Century. There was a lift (E2.7) which took us up to the top, thank goodness!
The summit provided jaw-dropping 360 degree views of the city, mountains, Mediterranean beaches, and port/marina including our ship. Upon returning to the ship we had a snack at Windjammer, then rested until cocktail hour. We had an 8:00 dinner in Chops, which was yummy as usual. (The Captain and his wife had dinner a few tables away.)
May 1st – Tuesday – Cruise Day 16 – Palma de Mallorca, Spain (67 degrees, mostly cloudy, showers)
After having a leisurely breakfast in Windjammer we returned to our cabins. A combination of reasons led us to decide not to head into town – Mom and Pat’s colds, showery weather, nothing in particular we wanted to see (we covered a lot of territory last year), and a 40€ shuttle cost for the four of us. Instead we started packing and relaxed. We also enjoyed our last cocktail hour (on the cruise at least!) followed by the farewell show “Duo Artmotion” in the theater. The show was performed by the orchestra, singers, dancers, as well as the Vision officers, staff, and crew who all went on stage to say farewell. Then off to our last dinner in the dining room. Finished packing and put our luggage in the hall before going to bed.
May 2nd – Wednesday – Cruise Day 17 – Barcelona, Spain
Up early and went to the dining room by 7:00 for breakfast. The last time we’ll be fed – now we’re on our own! Captain Marek and Cruise Director Steve Davis were seeing everyone off at the gangway. We killed time sitting outside of the port since we couldn’t drop off our luggage at the AirBnB until 11:30. Then we taxied to the AirBnB apartment and spent some time in a little coffee shop downstairs called Attimo, having coffee and pastries. When we dropped the luggage off the owner around 11:30, Jepis, gave us a quick tour of the apartment before we headed out to wander around until 1:45. We explored the neighborhood and the nearby grocery store before relaxing on a bench in a park, half of which was a children’s playground and the other half was an enclosed dog park. It was fun to watch the dogs playing and interacting with each other. Jepis gave a rundown on how the appliances worked, provided a map, and gave helpful information. We relaxed in the apartment, watched CNN (via Laurie’s magic), and had some wine. For dinner we talked to Ciudad Condal for tapas on Jepis’s recommendation. The place was packed and it took 30+ minutes to get in. However, it was worth the wait as everything was wonderful – especially the cod (bacalao) with honey sauce and Huevos Cabreados. It was a beautiful, mild evening for the 3 1/2 block stroll down Rambla de Catalunya back to the apartment.
May 3rd – Thursday – Barcelona, Spain
Laurie was up early and went for a long walk and picked up pastries for breakfast. The rest of us slept in. This was to be our routine each morning. We relaxed with coffee and had pastries before heading out about noon towards the Santa Catarina Market in the El Born neighborhood about a mile away. It was a colorful market with lots of meats, seafood, vegetables, and fruits where locals tend to shop. The market has an interesting wavy Gaudi-inspired tile roof. Then we went to Elizabets – our favorite place to eat tapas. We had a lot of tapas and a pitcher of Sangria and the bill was only about 35€! Lots of locals there. We came out to rain and after walking a short distance caught a taxi back to the apartment. We did some more relaxing. Shortly before dark we walked over to the grocery store for essentials (aka: ice cream) which we enjoyed as soon as we got back.
May 4th – Friday – Barcelona, Spain
Brunch consisted of OJ, coffee, and pastries. We lazed around most of the day. Dinner tonight was at nearby La Flauta. We had 7 different delicious tapas and a bottle of red wine and the bill was just under 50€. It was a beautiful evening as we slowly strolled back to the apartment.
May 5th – Saturday – Barcelona, Spain
After brunch it was a showery day so we just hung out until dinner time. We went to the grocery store where we put together a picnic feast to go with the red wine we already had: baguettes, 3 cheeses, ham, salami, tomatoes, Kalamata olives, and salad. Wonderful! In the evening we watched the movie “Arrival“.
May 6th – Sunday – Barcelona, Spain
We had brunch, did some packing, and spent time chatting. In the afternoon we went for a long walk and bought more bread to finish up our picnic items for dinner. Of course we had to finish up the ice cream.
May 7th – Monday – Barcelona, Spain – Seattle/Chicago
An early (7:00) start to begin our journey home. Took a taxi to the airport and spent time in the lounge until departure. An uneventful flight to Newark. However, Newark Airport was a zoo! Passport Control wasn’t too bad except for having to wait in line twice, but the security line was another story. We lucked out with TSA pre-check but M&D had to wait in a horrendous line. A lot of the workers in this area were rude and yelled at people constantly. We made it to our gate shortly before it started boarding but we missed seeing M&D as they were still stuck in the security line. They made their flight which departed 45 minutes after ours. Both flights were uneventful and we all returned home safely. Now to adjust to the 9 hour time difference!