We had seen and read a lot of negative comments about the Carnival Vista. I enjoyed the ship and our experience. I wouldn't hesitate to sail her again.
The staff on the Carnival Vista from the Cruise Director, the Captain, our Head Waiter, the Room Steward, etc were amazing and went well out of their way to make sure we did not want for anything and were taken care of and had a fun experience. We would definitely choose carnival again.
Our only complaint was our booking "agent" from Carnival. She was not accessible and was not responsive to emails and questions in a timely manner. I was very disappointed.
Embarkation
5 out of 5
Embarkation was fast and efficient.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
5 out of 5
There were so many food choices if you went hungry it was your own fault. The dining room service that we had was amazing. I loved our headwaiter and his team. They were professional, courteous, addressed us all by name and we only had to ask once for something and it was waiting for us the rest of the week. He truly cared if we did not like something and went above and beyond to make it right.
Onboard Activities
3 out of 5
There were a lot of activities but most of the activities available seemed to be geared towards "thriller" adventure. There isn't a lot offered at a level someone not afraid of heights could participate in which was disappointing. It left the sea days disappointing as I was waiting on our group to get done with their activities a lot versus being able to participate in them myself.
Entertainment
4 out of 5
There were a lot of options to choose from on the ship.
Children's Programs
We did not have children.
Service and Staff
5 out of 5
I loved our headwaiter and his team. They were professional, courteous, addressed us all by name and we only had to ask once for something and it was waiting for us the rest of the week. He truly cared if we did not like something and went above and beyond to make it right.
Our Room steward was excellent. He kept tabs on our activities and always went into our room to take out the trash and make sure we had fresh towels and our room was spotless. He did all this with almost not even being noticeable as he strived very hard to stay out of our way of fun but to make sure we were taken care of, he was excellent.
Ship Quality
5 out of 5
I had no issues with the cleanliness of the ship, for being 4 years old it was still absolutely spotless. The only fault of the ship is having to walk through smoking areas on the ship to get to other parts of the ship on the main decks and lanai and again having most of the "adventure" type activities designed so that someone afraid of heights could not participate.
Cabin / Stateroom
5 out of 5
Our balcony room was worth every penny. I would do it again in a heartbeat. It had a ton of storage, the bathroom size was sufficient, and there was ample space for two people to move around and be comfortable. There were plenty of hangers in our room for our clothes.
Ship tip
Be prepared to take the stairs a lot. Even though there are elevators they are slow and tend to be full. It was much faster for us to just take the stairs to get up and down on the decks of the ship.
The shopping availability and our excursion was terrific at this port. It was a beautiful country to visit and I would visit it again. We went to Chakanaab National Park and really liked it. The tequila tasting was also fun and it was free with your park ticket purchase!
Grand Cayman was a very beautiful islands. We did the Dolphin Encounter and Stingray City Excursion. Our guides at both were excellent. They genuinely cared about our having a good time and made sure to make our experience positive. They also truly cared about the environment and animals comfort as we interacted with them. I would absolutely do this excursion again.
Jamaica was a very pretty island, but I would definitely not stray to far from the secured shopping areas without being in a group. It was fun to barter and shop with the locals, but there was definitely more drugs present from the locals asking you to purchase. They backed off when you said no, but it was still uncomfortable.
Our floor was the very last one called. We had to be out of our rooms by 8:30am and we weren't called to debark until 9:45am. That meant we stood in the lobby by the elevator holding our stuff that entire time. It would be nice if they at least let you stay in your stateroom until they called your floor so you had a little more comfortable waiting experience. Otherwise Disembarkation went smoothly.
It’s a very nice ship, but given its size you miss out on service smaller ships seem to provide. Bigger doesn’t necessarily mean better! Longer lines, attention to detail not as good....But, I’ve never been on a cruise I didn’t like truth be told...
We loved the Vista as well. I have not ever experienced a bad Carnival cruise. I can't figure out what some people expect, when I read the bad reviews. Surely you can find a better agent from Carnival to book thru next time!
You can also go to Lido deck and have breakfast while you wait to disembark, that's what 18bof us dud this past xmas. and you can leave your luggage there and walk around a bit on lido deck or use a lounge and relax while you wait.😊
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