Could have been better!
Carnival Vista Cruise Review to Caribbean - Western
Contributor Level:
Purser
Cruises: 7+ cruises
Reviews: 2
Helpful Votes: 86
7 Night Western Caribbean (Galveston Roundtrip)
Sail date: October 19, 2019
Ship: Carnival Vista
Cabin type: Suite
Cabin number: 14205
Traveled as: Couple
Reviewed: 5 years ago
Review summary
After looking forward to this cruise for 10 months, I was very disappointed. None of the staff was friendly and the room was very dirty. Luckily, I brought my own bottle of Lysol and cleaned it better than the room attendant. The spa was not worth it and I will never book a spa suite again.Embarkation
My husband and I had a Spa Suite so we had priority embarkation which was definitely worth it!
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
The food on this ship was outstanding especially the desserts! Best desserts I have ever had at any buffet on any cruise line. Guy's Pig and Anchor and Guy's Burger's were also excellent!
Onboard Activities
I loved the Sky Ride. It was so much fun. I never used the fitness centers and the pools were always so crowded that I didn't get to try them either.
Entertainment
For the first time ever, I did not attend any of the stage shows. The musicians and DJs were very good though.
Service and Staff
The service in this ship was below average. It was rare to find an employee walking around that would talk to you, let alone look you in the eye. The service in the main dining room was the worst on any ship I have sailed on. They were very prejudice and had their favorite passengers to wait on. My husband and I were celebrating our anniversary and nobody did anything special for us. Nobody sang to us, gave us chocolate covered strawberries in the room or even said happy anniversary. Very disappointing! We also requested an extension cord and distilled water for my husband's CPAP machine when we booked the cruise 10 months prior and received the extension cord on day 3 and NEVER received the water!
Ship Quality
Horrible ship design! You had to walk through the casino holding your breath to get to the other side. Very poor ventilation in the casino. I love to gamble but don't like having an asthma attack when I enter right away. Our room on the 14th floor was very dirty and had hair on the counter area by the phone, in the drawers, and in the shower. There were fingerprints and food particles stuck on the TV and the headboard had 2 greasy spots on it where the previous guests would rest their head. Should I mention the urine stained sheets that the room attendant didn't see!!! We had a spa suite and paid a lot of money for the room on top of higher gratuities for having a suite but received subpar cleanliness. Nobody ever wiped down the door handles in the hall to the spa the entire cruise. There was what looked like a little kid's handprints and what appeared as pizza on the door handle. Not 1 employee enforced the hand washing or sanitizing in any of the restaurants. Very few people washed their hands before they ate. Normally, in past cruises, they had employees holding the sanitizer and making sure no germs were spread.
Cabin / Stateroom
The only thing nice about the cabin was the comfort of the bed, sheets, and pillows. There was what they called a "walk in" closet but the only walk in part about it was you walk close to the mirror and then the closet to the left was a tiny closet where only 1 side opened. The closet to the right opened on both sides but was still very small. The bathroom was a decent size. I was excited it had a whirlpool but not all the jets worked and it was so narrow that my husband could not even fit in it. He is very tall and had to hand over to take a shower because his head was rubbing on the ceiling. The balcony was very disappointing. You couldn't see the water unless you stood up and it was much smaller than any other balcony room I've had. Even though the room was right at the front, you couldn't see the front due to the obstructed wall. The room was also very dirty. There were stains all over the carpet and it needed a deep cleaning. The urine stained bed sheets topped it off! Males me never want to sail on Carnival! They raised the amount everyone has to pay for gratuities but lowered the level of service.
Ship tip
Save your money and book on a different ship.
Thumbs up
0
Ports of call
Terrible and disappointing port! This is my 2nd time going to Montego Bay. The first time, they had all these little shops that were air conditioned and the people were friendly and there was an indoor mall as soon as you exit the ship. This time, the shops and "Mall" were there but they were ALL empty. Ypu couldn't fo anything unless you booked a shore excursion. Normally, they have people playing music as you get off the ship and this time, they were there but not playing any music but they sure had their tip jars out waiting for you to give them money but refused to sing or play any of the instruments. Carnival....why did we even waste our day here??? Should have just stayed 2 days in Cozumel or Grand Cayman.
Very clean port and very welcoming locals. Great shore excursions and beautiful, clear water.
Very friendly people and lots of shops and things to do here. They have the best vanilla extract at this location.
Disembarkation
For having priority disembarkation, we definitely did not get off early. The room where we had to wait over an hour ran out of coffee and pastries and then the power went out. The employees had my husband and I move to a different location inside but then never had all the new people entering the room leave.