bibliophile527 Cruise Review on Carnival Vista on Oct 14, 2018

Carnival Vista Cruise Review

bibliophile527

Contributor Level: Purser

Review: 1

Helpful Votes: 15

Overall rating:

4 out of 5

Sail date: October 14, 2018

Ship: Carnival Vista

Reviewed: 6 years ago

Review summary

This was my first cruise, not counting the one I went on when I was 7. Overall, it was a fantastic experience! Honestly, I was just thrilled to not do dishes or laundry or take care of my children (4, all 5 and under)... my requirements for a good, relaxing time were pretty low... my husband and I are low-maintenance. We mainly spent our time onboard reading on our balcony or reading somewhere else outside, usually outside the Library Bar. Food and Dining We went with the anytime dining, which worked out just fine. There was only one night that had a long line to get a table, the only night we ate before 8pm. The Horizon Dining Hall was beautiful and the staff was fantastic. I usually stuck with the chicken and steak, which was offered almost every night. The pork loin on the last night was extremely delicious and very spicy! The Lido Marketplace was okay. The layout was very awkward and confusing. I only stopped in a couple times because I found the food in the main dining hall much better. Guy’s Burgers was tasty, wish I went more than the one time! In the first 36 hours, my husband and I ate at the Pizzeria 4 times! The guy behind the counter was always the same guy... not sure if he ever sleeps! We went to the pasta bar the last day for lunch. They definitely give you a lot to eat and it was all delicious. The RedFrog Pub and Brewery was also a wonderful spot with comfortable outside table swings. Cabin/Stateroom We upgraded to a balcony, room 9456. It was two twins pushed together to make a king and also had a drop down bed if needed (we didn’t). It was very spacious. The balcony, where we spent a lot of time, had two chairs and a little side table. It also had an overhead light so you can read outside at night. My only issue was the smoking by the people on the balcony next to us, which traveled with the wind to our balcony... but that’s not Carnival Vista’s fault... they weren’t supposed to smoke on their balconies. The inside reminded me of a hotel room. It had the basics. The 3 closets were huge and had a lot of hangers, way more than we needed. The safe was big enough to hold a regular sized iPad and more. We packed more than enough stuff for a 7-day cruise and had plenty of storage space so everything was put away and not cluttering up the room. I do wish the bathroom showers had one more corner shelf though... for those of us who like to bring our own little shampoos and whatnot. Service and staff The cleaning staff was fantastic. He gave us a choice of when we wanted him to come around, morning or evening. Every evening, while we were out to dinner, he’d fix up our room and leave a towel animal. Whenever we saw him or any other staff member in the stateroom corridor, they greeted us and made sure we had everything we needed. It rained a few times and the staff was working their butts off trying to keep the outside area floors as dry as possible as soon as the rains stopped. Our captain was wonderful as well. Because of wind and choppy seas, he was unable to dock in Roatan, but he was apologetic and was given permission to bring us back to Cozumel instead. Entertainment Chris, The Flying Scotsman, was our cruise director. He is definitely outgoing and knows how to work a crowd. Everyone seemed to be having a good time during his events. Honestly, though, I stayed away from most of the entertainment because I’m not a loud or crowd person. I preferred the quieter entertainment. We didn’t go to any of the scheduled entertainment like the comedy shows. We did pass by some musicians in the ocean plaza who were amazing every passing! The Vista lobby seemed to have a ton of entertainment which could get incredibly loud... so tried to stay clear of that section when it wasn’t just musicians playing. Children’s Programs Our kids didn’t go with us this time so can’t really say much about the kids programs. The splash pad area seemed real fun though! Onboard Activities I was super excited to see that this cruise ship had a Library Bar! However, the bar was never open, as far as I could tell, and the art gallery took over the inside area every day at 3 PM! And seeing as how I wanted to spend most of the cruise in a quiet-ish place drinking and reading there, that was a HUGE disappointment. Thankfully the lounge chairs right outside the Library Bar were not blocked off. However, it would have been nice to have more quiet inside areas for inclement weather. The Serenity deck was also a great place for quiet and reading. Their bar was open until 6 and had some tasty frozen drinks, the mango swirl was especially good. If I’m ever able to take another Vista cruise, I’d also like to go to the Piano Bar, which seemed pretty relaxing and cozy inside. Ship Quality I don’t have anything to compare it to as its my first cruise. However, I thought the pools were too few and too small for the amount of guests. Also the layout was a bit awkward, especially the lido deck. However, the rooms were pretty modern with usb outlets. Everything was also kept clean and organized. Debarkation When there are so many guests on a ship that all need to get off in a few hours, I expected things to move slowly, which they did. We chose to carry our own bags off. The only issue we had was getting the baseball bat souvenirs they confiscated when we boarded in Cozumel. We were told we’d get them our last evening. Nope. We called around 11pm and were told we’d get them 7:30am. Nope. After talking to a couple people, our stateroom steward got in touch with someone and we finally got them delivered to our room at 8:30am, the moment we had to be out of our room. From there, we hung out by the elevators until our deck was called. Then came the long line to go though customs, but everything was very organized so it went as quickly as it could go with that many people. Overall, it was a great time and I’d love to sail Carnival Vista again!

9 Comments

jimmyd56 6 years ago

Ben on the Pride, a smaller ship and the Vista. Personally I prefer the Pride over the Vista any day. Better layout, smaller guest to staff ratio, and more intimate imo.

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jenex 6 years ago

Dang! Now that’s a review. Others are saying you had a good time, so I’ll guess that’s what you said. Glad you had a good time. Lol

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ladyace 6 years ago

Glad you had a very relaxing cruise.

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atm310 6 years ago

Great review

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jenn2831 6 years ago

Great review. Glad u had a good time. We love cruising every year so welcome to carnival!!!!

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renekingcrump 6 years ago

Glad you enjoyed your vacation time, awesome review...I'm the same as long as someone else is doing the cooking and cleaning I'm good

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JoyMK 6 years ago

Thanks for sharing, great review

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Emo507 6 years ago

Great review!

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Shh813 6 years ago

Glad you had a great time. We love cruising. Best vacation ever. You should have turned in the people smoking on the balcony. That's not right.

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