We will not be sailing Carnival again, I believe..
Embarkation
5 out of 5
This was the best thing about our cruise. The embarkation was so quick we could barely get on the ship fast enough! Awesome!
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
3 out of 5
The food just did not seem up to the standard we have gotten in the past on our other cruises. Main dining food was sub-standard quality, cold steaks a couple of times, and just not that good. Just overall disappointing. The drinks were good, but I will talk about service hopefully later in this survey. We did enjoy the omelette bar, and the buffet was good. I was totally disappointed that there was only one day where I could get pineapple from the buffet. What tropical cruise doesn't have pineapple. The burger bar at the pool was really good. The taco bar at the pool was okay, but I wanted a taco salad, and the shell was not crispy so I tried later in the week, and it again was just not good. Every dining room, restaurant service seems overwhelmed and a little more stressed than normal. We come for the service...it wasn't there. Our main dining service was good, just food made it not so good if that makes sense. Pizza in the back of the ship was good, and we did like that you could get ice cream almost anytime.
Onboard Activities
2 out of 5
Pools were dirty. There were always things floating in the water, and they were there the next day. I have never been on a ship where the casino was so smokey you couldn't stand to be in there. I usually spend a large amount of money in the casino and I only spent 2 days in there. We passed many people as we passed thru the casino making the same comments, and some actually holding their shirts over their noses. Additionally, the "automated" machines screwed me out of $139. I moved from one machine to another, and it did not give me my credit from the previous machine. I went to the cash cage and they did find it did in fact miscalculate. How does that make a betting person feel. They did refund my money. I did not go back to the casino which made me very sad, as I love to gamble.
Entertainment
3 out of 5
We did not think the main shows were of good quality. We tried them 3 nights and did not return. The trio of strings was the best you had. Additionally, the young lady from Canada playing the guitar was also excellent. The piano bar was good the first time, but seemed she talked way more than play and sing, so a little disappointing, because when she did play and sing, she was great. The comedians were pretty good I do have to say. Bingo was fun, but they need to get a few new lines. Same jokes each round, just didn't make is new and fun. We were sooooo excited to be spending New Years on a ship, and so disappointed. Just was no different from being home. Lots of music etc, but the countdown was lame, and I wished I hadn't stayed up for it.
Children's Programs
We were with a large group of 40 adults. No children this time.
Service and Staff
2 out of 5
I am trying to be nice. That is why I did not mark this poor and also I room steward was the best. He did an excellent job, and we tipped him additionally. The bar staff as a whole were unfriendly. It was all bars too, not just a few, but some worse than others. We had drink cards and I should have gone to the front desk and ask for gratuities to be removed. I thought if I tipped extra, they might come back around and keep our drinks coming, but we very seldom saw them again. I don't feel like there were as many bar waiters as in the past, and so they just never seemed to be around, and we spent most of our time going to the bar to get our drinks. Not the service we are used to. My husband ordered a drink, and one of the barmaids actually told him it was better not frozen. He told her he still wanted it frozen and can you believe she said, "You have to drink it, not me!" There was one guy and one gal we did appreciate, but he was so busy, he just couldn't service us. I believe his name was Michael, and he was on the back of the ship by the pool. We found out later the one other person we liked was his fiance'. We suggested they go to a different boat. They didn't belong there. I did have to go to the service desk a couple of times, and just felt I was putting them out.
Ship Quality
3 out of 5
I felt the design was very closed in. It wasn't open and airy. The ship was clean and appeared to be well maintained. The bathrooms were not always easy to find, and the bathroom by the main pool had 2 or 3 stalls. We were always waiting in line. The main stage up front was terrible design. It was not like a theatre. It was all flat and you couldn't see well if you were sitting in that area. If you went upstairs, they seats were not at much of a slant, so you had issues seeing over the people in front of you. There were no tables or anything if you were sitting in other areas to put your drink.
Cabin / Stateroom
5 out of 5
Our cabin was great! The bed was comfortable. The room size was good. We paid extra to be in one of the rooms on the back of the ship, by the suites. It had a larger balcony which was also nice. Our room steward was awesome. He went above and beyond.
Ship tip
Don't buy the drink package only because of the tips. If the service is the same as we got, no tipping is appropriate. You pay a lot for a drink package and deserve better.
We stayed in Ft. Lauderdale and then proceeded directly to the port. The port was fine, organized and we really were happy about not standing in lines forever.
It is a long walk to get out of the port For us to do our 4 wheeler adventure, we had to meet outside the port. The port is very clean and very nice. Probably one of the nicer we have visited. I think they should let all excursion folk into the port though.
With the hurricane they seem to have recovered pretty well in the port area. Outside the port area, bless their hearts, they need help. We have been to San Juan 3 times now, and it was good. We only did shopping this time around and ate.
We very much enjoyed our beach excursion and the shopping. This is our second time to go to St. Kitts, and we are returning in Dec. We will be trying the beaches at Nevis next time. The boat ride to the beach was nice as was the operators. The people in the shops did not seem as friendly as in the past, especially if you did not buy, but we all have bad days.
Loved Grand Turk. We were to take an excursion but the sea was rough so we did not get to go. We just sat at the beach, and we enjoyed mastering the waves... Beautiful water. Shopping was good for the size of the island. Food at the port was good as well. Drinks were plentiful and service was good.
Didn't have a bit of problems, and loved the way they put your luggage now in the port. Off the ship quickly and the shuttle to the airport thru Carnival was convenient and cost was fair.
We liked the Vista as well, never had any issues getting pineapple, had it every day! Interesting! Too bad your food was cold we never had any issues with that either! when people talk about trying other cruise lines that’s great, a good way to find out what you like and what you don’t! We have high expectations and the carnival ships never disappoint us! The Vista has excellent specialty restaurants a ton of new activities and the staff are attentive! For all of you that haven’t sailed yet but are booked please just enjoy your cruise! And don’t sweat the small stuff! No cruise line is perfect!
@Platnium007, every cruise is a crap shoot so you just have to take your chances. We all have our likes and dislikes...maybe you will absolutely love it! We loved the Sunshine but there are plenty of Sunshine haters. Enjoy your cruise either way!
Going May 13th ... there's a lot of bad views on the vista . Little Leary now . I also no ya make the cruise yourself . So it's up to me know matter the ship if I get my $$$ worth !
We weren't impressed with the Vista either. However, the CRUISE was enjoyable. We will just sail on smaller Carnival ships in the future. Not everyone likes the big ships, and that's OK.
Walking dead I say Loyal To Royal but I did Vista last year with 16 other family members and had a great time. I have now done Carnival twice and really enjoy them. Doing RC Harmony in Feb.
I think the gal you liked serving was Shana as her fiance was Michael. She was the best in the Red Frog Pub. Our experience in November for our anniversary was similar to yours so we will be moving on as well.
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