Western Caribbean Cruise for 5

Item: Carnival Vista
Rating: 3.6
Author: familycruiseof5

Carnival Vista Cruise Review to Caribbean - Western

familycruiseof5

Contributor Level: Purser

Cruises: 2-3 cruises

Review: 1

Helpful Votes: 15

Overall rating:

3.6 out of 5

Verified Review

6 Night Western Caribbean (Miami Roundtrip)

Sail date: July 22, 2018

Ship: Carnival Vista

Cabin type: Suite

Cabin number: 2400

Traveled as: Large Group

Reviewed: 6 years ago

Review summary

Room size was great. Bigger than our Disney cruise. Family lounge area great for kids to grab ice cream and the adults coffee (specialty coffee machine) whenever we wanted. Couch that made into a bed made my son's back hurt because it was basically a mattress with the backside being slanted down close to the wall. Cabin helper tried to fix but my son said it was still uncomfortable. Our bathroom smelled like a sewer from the minute we opened our cabin door. I'm guessing a plumbing problem somewhere? Cabin helper tried to fix by putting in an air freshener but it didn't really help. We had water run down the wall in the center of our cabin from upstairs to the floor two different days. I guess I would just not stay in this same cabin (2400) should we decide to go on another Carnival Vista trip. Was easier than I thought to get off ship quick to catch excursions. Crew friendly, nice, and tried to be helpful. Horizon's Dining Room food was a lot better than the buffet. Desserts were very good at Horizon's. My kids loved the human pool table (sort of like soccer) and poly pong table on the 12th deck. They also liked Guy's Burger Joint. We saw Guy Fieri on the cruise and my one son really wanted a picture with him but he was busy eating with family so he respected his privacy. Would have been nice to have a picture night with him for the cruisers. Would have been nice to know what movies were going to play on the ship before we got on. We saw Mission Impossible Fallout about $13 a person. Overall we had a nice time except for the room problems.

Embarkation

5 out of 5

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

3 out of 5

Onboard Activities

3 out of 5

Entertainment

3 out of 5

Children's Programs

3 out of 5

Service and Staff

4 out of 5

Ship Quality

4 out of 5

Cabin / Stateroom

2 out of 5

Ship tip

Nice room size for families if you use the suite. Family lounge was nice also.

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Ports of call

Miami, Florida

4 out of 5

Ocho Rios, Jamaica

3 out of 5

George Town, Grand Cayman

5 out of 5

Cozumel, Mexico

5 out of 5

Disembarkation

4 out of 5

7 Comments

JohnsonL 6 years ago

Great info on the cruise and glad you enjoyed it in spite of the room issues. Also, thanks for the great comments on the Disney Carnival comparison.

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DFromATX 6 years ago

But I don’t doubt for one minute they are excellent cruises!

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DFromATX 6 years ago

@ThirstyTravels, thanks for all the info! I appreciate it. Well, just as I expected, I don’t think Disney would be worth the cost for us. We have 4 kids with the youngest being 15. We LOVE Disney World, but I think a Disney Cruise might be a little babyish. Besides, a cruise is the only time we gamble! 😉

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ThirstyTravels 6 years ago

Hi DFromATX, I have been on 3 Disney cruises (Balcony) and there are a few main differences, some which might surprise you. Firstly, The service level between the two were identical - consistently good, looking after your every request. Second, I sailed on the Disney Fantasy, and it was a 10/10, with the Vista about 8.5/10. Food - Carnival Vista was about the same quality for a la carte, but Carnival far surpassed Disney for the kids menu with better options, made to order versus “chicken finger and French fries” with Disney. Carnival had better food options with the addition of Pig n Anchor, and the atmosphere was substantially more upbeat and carefree on Carnival versus Disney. Disney by far beat out Carnival for kids with specialized requests such as birthdays and special character access (think Star Wars characters, Captain America, Iron Man and all the historical Disney characters), so depending on what you are looking for, it impacts what line might be better for you. Cost - Carnival was almost a third of the cost for the same itinerary as Disney for a balcony, and definitely not worth the extra cost in my opinion. So, if you have young kids that love characters, Disney will by far blow Carnival out of the water; if you have kids that are older, or no kids, I would guess Carnival is substantially better - and Disney didn’t have a booze package when I travelled so I paid an arm and a leg for the cruise and the booze. Hope that helps provide some context. Cheers!

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DFromATX 6 years ago

Dare I ask, how did it compare to Disney?? (I’ve never cruised Disney but we go to WDW often and love it).

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Gil 6 years ago

I'm excited to know that the rooms are bigger than the Disney cruise line. Well be sailing on Vista starting this Sunday!

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cooper71 6 years ago

Nice review, sorry about the room problems, but you didn't let it ruin your Vacation.

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Other reviews of this sailing

solid 6 niter with my 12 year old daughter

Mother & Daughter Vacay

Okay cruise