Vista, thin walls, some poor service.

Carnival Vista Cruise Review to Caribbean - Western

Cruises: 7+ cruises
Reviews: 16
Helpful Votes: 470

Overall rating:

3.1 out of 5
Carnival Vista

6 Night Western Caribbean With Carnival Live (Miami Roundtrip)

Sail date: April 30, 2017

Ship: Carnival Vista

Cabin type: Inside

Cabin number: 8245

Traveled as: Singles/Friends

Reviewed: 7 years ago

Review summary

The reviews go from "poor to good"  nothing for just OK.  My cruise had its good and its bad.

 

The good,  customer service at the desk and security were good.   I had to call security 3 night of the 6 night cruise for the people in the next cabin waking me up yelling and swearing or having loud parties in the cabin after midnight (thin cabin walls that I could hear what they were saying).  Security was there quickly each time and the next day called or dropped me a letter to make sure things were quiet after they visited.  Excursions desk was great getting us all on the same excursions and billing it ti 3 different cabins.  The service at 555 Steak House was the best as was the food.  The Lobster roll's were also very good.  Carnival handled the ports stops very good with easy off the ship and meeting of the excursions set up clear posting of where each tour would gather in each port.

 

The bad.  I have never been on a ship with walls so thin between cabins and the hallway.   I could hear every insult of the fighting of the neighbors that I named "The Loud's".  You can also hear everything said in the hallways.   MDR service was the worst I have had on any cruise.  We asked what was in the dishes and we were told he did not know "Food is made for 5,000 people you can not change anything"  the service team led by Andrew at Table # 257 could not even tell us if the mashed potato had garlic in them or not.  One table mate was told they had to have the Broccoli on the plate even though they dislike the smell of it.  Service was slow and food was served cold.  The service was so bad we went to Steak House 2 times and the Sea Food Shack another night.  On the last day we did sea day Brunch and told the host how good the service at Brunch was and how bad our MDR servers were,   she had us moved for the final night so we did get good service 1 night in the MDR.  Cabin steward did not know how to make a bed,  top sheet bunched up at bottom of the bed,  not tucked in,  no ball point pen in cabin, no beach towels in the cabin,  towels in the bathroom,  some were white and new others were dirty gray and stiff (cabin steward should do quality control on such things).  The Deli had all the sandwiches pre-made and was very put out to make a sandwich on a different kind of roll then the pre-made ones (Never had a problem getting what I wanted on other smaller Carnival ships,  You had to get a Ruben,  but not just a Corned beef on a roll,  had to have the Sauerkraut and on grilled Rye

 

The ship was always crowded everywhere you went on it.  The buffet set up with the kitchen in the middle made it a long walk from food to tables so your food is no longer hot by the time you get to a table. 

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

3 out of 5
Service and food in the MDR has slipped over the years. 555 Steakhouse was very good as were the Lobster Rolls. Pizza was kind of soggy, Deli gives attitude of you asked for anything other then the pre-made sandwiches. Worst MDR service out of 30 cruises.

Service and Staff

3 out of 5
Front desk and security were great. 555 service second to none. Cabin steward not up to par for Carnival.

Cabin / Stateroom

1 out of 5
Super thin walls, heard people from next cabin, not just mumbled, you heard the words they were saying. Cabin steward did not know how to tuck in a top sheet, put out gray dirty looking towels, no beach towels, no ball point pen, he did not drop off concert ticket and had to be asked for the Photo that was part of the VIP concert tickets.

Ship tip

Pack ear plugs if you are a light sleeper.

Ports of call

Miami, Florida

3 out of 5

Ocho Rios, Jamaica

3 out of 5

George Town, Grand Cayman

5 out of 5

Carnival Live Concert

5 out of 5
Jay Leno puts on a great show.
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10 Comments

cruisellama    6 years ago

I enjoy your reviews. (Seems you need a vacation from Carnival)

susan7880    6 years ago

Good Review. I

cruiser086    7 years ago

I had 8288 and my steward was great

daisiesrpink    7 years ago

JusMe    7 years ago

Cabin 8245

daisiesrpink    7 years ago

where was your cabin?

Mreepat    7 years ago

We were on deck 12/ only 20 cabins there because it was the Spa and gym access deck. Super quiet. We didn't hear the lido super deck party from our balcony. Our Steward wasn't super dude. Have seen and interacted with others, more. He did ok. He collected our wet golden beach towels and didn't restock them. I didn't go without a towel though, just got one on lido at the towel shack. I could have called the Steward phone line- but it wasn't a big deal. ** If you have issues in the Main Dining Room speak to the Matre'D. Management can't know all. They want you to enjoy your vacation and leave happy memories on Social media cruise critic and ship mate. A strategy to move past the throngs of people when you are going from one end of the ship to the other- get to deck 5 and use the outside promenade. You have several re entry points and can move "thru" the ship efficiently. If you want a quiet breakfast go to the taste bar on deck 5 before 10 am. Same suggestion for early lunch. You can sit outside or inside at the Ocean Plaza. I was put off by the l o n g..... line for the comedy shows. I didn't want to invest my time in line and then Not get in. So we lost a couple of shows to my impression of the line length and seating capacity. When we did get to a comedy show I saw how that long line kept moving into the limelight lounge- I will be more patient in the future- everyone got in. Ours was an 11 day cruise- I saw IMAX 3 times, did the bike ride, never had time to do much else on Sportsquare- we were on the go all the time- busy and fun ship.

JusMe    7 years ago

The cabin steward is the one that puts them out.   So if the towels look bad,  the steward should take them out of circulation.   It is called pride in your job.   

 

A local coffee shop has a sign at the order pick up window "If you're not proud of it,  do not serve it".  

 

Other Carnival ships always have beach towels in the room and a Pen, as did the other 2 cabins booked by the group I traveled with that had different steward..... so bad cabin steward.

cbelc2    7 years ago

I always bring my own pen. Beach towels are on deck. The cabin steward is not the person who washes the towels.

wynwyn    7 years ago

What did you expect on a ship that has so many passengers? Has to be crowded. There was no excuse for old and dingy towels though.

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