Carnival Vista Nov. 5 - Nov. 16, 2016

This was one of the best cruises that I ever took.  The staff was probably the best on any ship I have been on.  They were so attentive and willing to assist in any way possible.  The disembarkation process needed some work.  I guess because it was a new ship that things had to be worked out but it took way too long to exit the ship.  Also, leaving NY was delayed two and a half hours with no explanation.  One of the things that I would probably get rid of is the night of the midnight buffet.  People acted like they never saw food in their lives.  It was way too crowded in the dining room where it was set up.  Maybe if it were set up in a different location, things would have been different.  Another thing that I was not crazy about was the theater.  It was set up with removeable chairs so that different functions could happen in the theater.  I personally like the stationery seats.  My other complaint was having to get on a line every night at 5:15 to get a ticket to go to the restaurant for dinner, which was on a different deck than the dining room. I had the anytime dining plan. After standing on that line, I had to stand on another line in the dining room to wait for someone to walk me to a table.  It should be just one process so that it does not take a half an hour to get to sit down for dinner.  Lastly, I was very upset that I did not get to go on the behind the scenes tour of the ship.  I went the day after we set sail to make my reservation to find out that it was all booked up within the first hour of people being on the ship.  This was crazy.  I have done it before and never had a problem getting a reservation.  Since it is so popular, I feel that they should have these tours more often on the ship throughout the cruise when at sea.  I am sure that I am not the only one who was disappointed as to not getting to see the ship behind the scenes.   One of my favorite things was the bikes that went over the ocean.  That was so cool to do. The ship itself was great.  Loved all the restaurants, entertainment areas, lounges and pools as well as the gym and workout areas on the ship.  And yes, finally, there were enough lounge chairs all around the ship for lying out in the sun.  We never had to fight to find chairs.  Even by the pool.  Great job.  The entertainment staff was the best.  Matt, Cookie, NoNo,  and Mark Q were the best.  They made this trip what it was.  They were always around and participated with the passengers in everything possible.  Loved these guys.  They are so hard working.  I hope that they are well rewarded for all of their efforts.  Lastly, our cabin Steward, Sebastian, was the sweetest cabin steward ever.  He was always there for anything that we needed.  He tried so hard to please us.  He truly deserves to be recognized for all his efforts.  Great work by Carnival.  Happy to see that you still sponsor ST. Jude.