Wonderful experience for our first cruise!

Item: Carnival Vista
Rating: 4.5
Author: blohse

Carnival Vista Cruise Review to Caribbean - Western

blohse

Contributor Level: Purser

Cruises: 1 cruise (first)

Review: 1

Helpful Votes: 45

Overall rating:

4.5 out of 5

Verified Review

6 Night Western Caribbean (Miami Roundtrip)

Sail date: December 10, 2017

Ship: Carnival Vista

Cabin type: Balcony

Cabin number: 6392

Traveled as: Couple

Reviewed: 6 years ago

Review summary

We had such high expectations this being our first cruise. First day didn't work as well as we had hoped - it was disappointing that no one was answering the phones - room service, guest services, medical center and including 911 (we didn't need it, but just wanted to try if someone would answer in case there's a need). Someone finally came to our room, we requested management to try harder. The rest of the cruise got better! The friendly restaurant staff (Michael, Ketut, Edgar) and our room steward (Putu) made our stay memorable!

Embarkation

5 out of 5

I found everyone helpful and had a smooth embarkation process.

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

5 out of 5

Wait staff were truly wonderful! Special shout out to Michael & Ketut for our evening dinner(s) and Edgar for our breakfast on day of departure.

Horizons Restaurant

5 out of 5

Exceptional service and great daily menu selections!

Onboard Activities

4 out of 5

Fitness center, Yoga

Entertainment

4 out of 5

We enjoyed the Imax show and comedy shows.

Children's Programs

No kids joined us in our trip

Service and Staff

5 out of 5

Exceptional service from our waiters - Michael, Ketut and Edgar. Putu took good care of us during our stay!

Ship Quality

4 out of 5

The layout and design were easy to navigate, except for the casino. It would be nice to separate that due to smoking concerns. The carpet needs thorough cleaning especially in the elevator, stairs and main traffic areas.

Cabin / Stateroom

5 out of 5

Love that we selected a balcony room! Roomy enough for what we need and Putu kept it clean at all times.

Ship tip

Select a balcony room!

Thumbs up

Ports of call

Ocho Rios, Jamaica

4 out of 5

We ventured the city on our own.

Thumbs Up 0

George Town, Grand Cayman

4 out of 5

We took a bus to George Town and did our own exploring. We took a public bus to the 7-mile beach.

Thumbs Up 2

Cozumel, Mexico

5 out of 5

We took the bus and went to San Miguel and then to the beach. It was great!

Thumbs Up 3

Disembarkation

3 out of 5

Sadly, we felt rushed. Elevators were insufficient, Matt's announcements didn't seem to have helped in this regard.

Traveler Photos

7 Comments

krobinson1956 6 years ago

Have you ever heard the nursery rhyme that has " Never cry wolf " in it? First of all, it is illegal to make 911 calls, anywhere, that are pranks or "Test calls". You can be fined and/or arrested because they will be answered and you will be traced. WARNING: STUPID PEOPLE ANNOY ME !!!

Thumbs Up 0

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CruizeDiva 6 years ago

Or go have a drink and calm down!!! 😂

Thumbs Up 3

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sarahg0915 6 years ago

Is this for real? So you get to your room and start calling people during the busiest part of the trip, then when they respond, you complain? Wow. How about spending that time enjoying the ship?

Thumbs Up 4

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dstaplet87 6 years ago

I work for a company that provides 911 services across the US. Do. Not. Make. Test. Calls. Every call - even if you hang up - has to be responded to by that call center. There are tens of thousands of these centers (PSAPs - Public Safety Answering Points) across the country. Many are manned by only a person or two at a time. Your "test" call can easily tie up this individual for 5+ minutes because of the follow up documentation they have to do. Those minutes could easily cost someone their lives.

Thumbs Up 5

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CoolCruiserBill 6 years ago

I remember my first cruise and I thought everything was perfect because I had no point of reference. It was still pretty good, but not perfect. Embarkation is a hectic process and many things are happening all at one time. It is common for some time to be needed to correct problems and staff uses a "triage" style system to care for the most important thing first. It can take a little extra time to care for the less critical things. I have had to request our bedding be adjusted all except 1 time. It gets done within the first 2 or 3 hours which is good enough. I do not feel the "testing" of systems is appropriate but I also feel the comments about it are rude and unwarranted.

Thumbs Up 1

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2mecrew 6 years ago

Just curious, when you're at home, have you ever tried calling 911 when you don't have an emergency, just to see if the system works? If so, I'm wondering what response you got. Doesn't seem like a smart move. 'Testing' all other call services on embarkation day, one of the busiest days, seems like a rude waste of resources time.

Thumbs Up 3

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lidomiddeck 6 years ago

I cannot agree with you toying with ship services (911) Just to see how it works. Maybe they couldn't respond to you because there were real situations needing attention or maybe there are more like you testing the system.

Thumbs Up 7

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