A Beautiful Work in Progress

Carnival Vista Cruise Review to Caribbean - Western

Cruises: 4-6 cruises
Review: 1
Helpful Votes: 73

Overall rating:

4.1 out of 5
Verified Review
Carnival Vista

7 Night Western Caribbean (Galveston Roundtrip)

Sail date: May 25, 2019

Ship: Carnival Vista

Cabin type: Balcony

Cabin number: 2419

Traveled as: Singles/Friends

Reviewed: 5 years ago

Review summary

Way too many unsupervised young children on this vessel. Myself & other passengers expressed constant concerns about their safety. Some kids were rude & played pranks, especially with the elevators. Carnival should have a curfew in place & kids under a certain age must be with a guardian at all times unless they are enrolled in Camp Carnival. If a young child is alone on the ship, a staff member should be able to ask where their guardian is, call the stateroom, etc. There are security cameras & personnel so I wonder how things got so out of control. So sad.

Embarkation

5 out of 5
Quick & organized.

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

5 out of 5
The food was good! There were so many options; I wasn’t able to try them all. The Brunch menu had the healthiest selections w/ options like fresh pressed juices for $5, Chia Seed Pudding & Salmon Superfood Salad (both free). I didn’t get to try the spa salad bar on the serenity deck but it looked amazing. Bonsai sushi was impressive & prices were cheap. JiJi Asian Cuisine was delicious & more food than I could handle for $15. There is an ice cream shop in the Cherry on Top Candy store & I think every menu item was well under $5. The omelette station was my favorite buffet selection. Fresh-Mex Blue Cantina & Guy’s Burgers are always good. I didn’t get a chance to try Guy’s BBQ Shack, The Steakhouse or The Italian Restaurant.

Onboard Activities

4 out of 5
The Sky Ride was out of order & we were looking forward to that. The IMAX theatre was great; we saw 3 movies (no previews but you are allowed to bring your own snacks). The Cloud9 Spa was great but will put a dent in your spending money. Rizza was my massage therapist & did an AMAZING job. I took personal training sessions with Dewald “Big D” & he did not disappoint. The sessions were TOUGH but good & you will get your money’s worth.

Entertainment

4 out of 5
We enjoyed the American Rock Show, 80’s Party & the awesome Trio playing music in the lobby. We were disappointed with the Piano Bar singer (voice wasn’t as strong as others on previous Carnival vessels).

Children's Programs

No kids for me.

Service and Staff

5 out of 5
Hard working & kind. Overworked due to large vessel (so much to do) & totally abused by the rudest passengers I’ve ever encountered. I gave extra gratuities for this reason. Our stateroom stewards David & Ronaldo did a great job & were so sweet. Our dining room waitstaff Yan, Danu & Made were so much fun. They gave excellent service. The dining room hostess, Aphinya, was the best we ever had. She aimed to please, was caring, thoughtful & attentive. The staff gets 2 thumbs way up! We expressed our gratitude with handwritten thank you cards, tips & hugs. We were courteous & respectful passengers that saw them as people and not hired help. We made an effort to get to know as many of them as possible & aimed to make their jobs easier in whatever ways we could.

Ship Quality

5 out of 5
Absolutely gorgeous! Best aesthetics of any Carnival Vessel I have been on this far.

Cabin / Stateroom

2 out of 5
We did not use the balcony. The cove style greatly limited the breeze & view. This made it too hot & humid to go out there. The Family Harbor Lounge is a great concept but poorly executed. Parents used this as a camp carnival. Kids were unsupervised & running amok. We saw them touching the food & making a mess. The ice cream machine was empty all but one time that I went in there. I don’t eat it but that was a big draw for some of my cabin mates. It closed at 9pm. We were only able to get ice water a few times. Other than that, it was closed or a total disaster zone. The Family Harbor staff seemed the most miserable of any crew members & rightfully so. They are not babysitters nor slaves. Either do it right Carnival or shut it down. Kids should not be allowed without a guardian, put a curfew into effect & we needed longer hours so we could read, relax, etc when kids are in bed. All I can say is NEVER AGAIN! Family Harbor was a total waste of our time & money. We should have gotten a traditional stateroom. It was also Aft, so we had a LONG walk to almost all activities & dining options. I couldn’t wear my heels.

Ship tip

Get a traditional stateroom midship & don’t go when school is out. There were 1500 kids on our cruise. It was very overwhelming.

Ports of call

Galveston, Texas

3 out of 5
We drove to the port. Parking, shuttles, porters, etc was a bit chaotic. The port of Galveston staff were trying to make the embarkation process smooth & quick but a few were quite rude in the way they spoke to passengers. I got snappy right back. I did not like the way it made me feel rushed & frantic. We could see that they were trying new methods to improve this process from our last visits. We applaud the effort. It just needs fine tuning.

Mahogany Bay, Roatan, Bay Islands, Honduras

4 out of 5
It was quite the walk to get to our taxi (very steep). They have greatly improved & increased security at & around this port. Huge thumbs up! We took pictures with a baby monkey named Pee Wee. It was $5 but sooooo worth it. We went to Little French Key resort. It was over crowded & understaffed. Big disappointment from our previous visit. Food was ok. Drinks were good. Beach was gorgeous & there are plenty of activities. Very hard to find a spot to sit. DJ was annoying (a handful of songs repeating constantly even back to back. I would have preferred the sound of the ocean to that racket.) I may try another island resort next time. Our taxi driver recommended a few others to us.

Belize City, Belize

4 out of 5
Tender port so you have to take a boat ride to shore. Lack of variety in excursions so we didn’t do one. We did some souvenir shopping & ate at the fruit stand. The mango was delicious.

Cozumel, Mexico

5 out of 5
Cozumel is always beautiful. We went to Passion Island for our excursion. Had to wait for your group to be called to take the catamaran. It was a 45 min boat ride to the island. 3 block trek in soft sand to the beach. Bathrooms were good but not well maintained & toilets did not flush. Food was good. Drinks were very weak. Beach was breathtaking. Very hot. We tanned in minutes even with sunscreen. My phone said 99 degrees. You spend an hour each getting to & from the excursion but only 3 hours on the island. Miguel was an awesome tour guide. Glad I experienced it, but I probably wouldn’t go back.

Disembarkation

5 out of 5
Took longer than expected on Carnival’s part. Organized chaos in Port of Galveston. Steep tax on liquor in Texas. My friend bought some & didn’t find out she had to pay tax until the last day of our trip. She didn’t know the amount until we were in the Port of Galveston customs area. It was around $25.
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