Took my mother on her first cruise. While she had no other cruises to compare against, I was not especially pleased with the design of the Vista or the low quality of the Playlist production shows. I think I would prefer to go on a Dream class ship instead or branch out and try a Royal Caribbean next time.
Embarkation
5 out of 5
Arrived within boarding window and on within 30 minutes
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
5 out of 5
Food was good on Lido, Steakhouse and JiJi Asian Kitchen
JiJi Asian Kitchen
4 out of 5
The appetizers were good but I didn't care for the main entree. My mother really liked her food though. Service was exceptional
Fahrenheit 555 Steakhouse
5 out of 5
Service and food is always excellent. Book on the first night and get a free bottle of wine
Pizzeria Del Capitano
5 out of 5
I could probably eat pizza and guy's burgers every single day
Onboard Activities
5 out of 5
Spent most time in Casino, saw a movie on the IMAX screen and attempted to watch a couple of the Playlist production shows.
Entertainment
3 out of 5
Lobby violinist trio were very good and enjoyable. The playlist group was another story. On the first show night, the ship was rocking quite a bit so they chose to do an abbreviated show for Flick which actually involved 7 people sitting on stools and taking turns singing songs. only 3 of the 7 should sing in tune and one of the ladies seemed overly obnoxious in trying to show off. We left before it was over. The second show was Amor Cubano and it was very good. The third show has "technical issues" which once again meant singers sitting on stools and again, only a couple of them to actually sing in tune or hit the notes. In my 4 cruises, this was the worst bunch of entertainers I had experienced. I can accept a rocking ship but not a poor quality experience due to lack of singing skills
IMAX Theater
5 out of 5
Comfortable theater. Nice design and prices were comparable to a regular theater
Service and Staff
5 out of 5
All of the staff across all areas were friendly and attentive.
Ship Quality
3 out of 5
The ship was very clean but the design was terrible. For those that hate smoke, it is impossible to navigate from front to back on deck 5 without walking through the always smoky casino. The alternative is to walk outside on deck and go around. Each time I came back from the casino, my clothes always smelled like I had been smoking. The main stage design is terrible as well. Whoever thought putting movable chairs with no tables on the main floor was not thinking things through. Also, if you aren't right there on the main floor, the rest of the seating is pretty terrible. There are no inclined rows of seats so you end up having someone's head right in front of you. They really need to change this design back to the older ships as it isn't working.
Cabin / Stateroom
5 out of 5
Cabin was nice...AC was very cold and our steward, Aesp, took great care of us all week.
Ship tip
Use the outer deck on deck 5 to walk around the casino if you don't like cigarette smoke.
Second trip to Jamaica across an 8 year span and the place is not great. The port is really just an empty shell to walk through with some vendors set up outside. Our excursion to Appleton Rum was nice but it was NOT worth the 2 hour one way drive through switchback narrow roads to get there. They advertise it as a "scenic" drive but it really meant cramped, uncomfortable, long and seeing nothing but poverty and third world conditions along the way. If I knew how difficult that trip would be, I would have skipped that excursion
There is always something to do in Cozumel. This was my third time there and we always find plenty to do. This time we did the Mariachi, Tacos, Tequila and Shopping. It was a fun excursion with lunch and the ability to sample the local culture of mariachi music and dancing
We didn't dock until almost 8 am and I got the first release zone for those not doing self assist and it still took almost 3 hours to get off the ship. It was a mad house of people getting off with people trying to arrive to get on.
Just FYi. All the carnival ships shows are the Playlist Production shows. Royal's shows are more "Broadway" style. So if that is a deal breaker for you, you may be dissatisfied with moving to a different class of Carnival ship.
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