First post-covid cruise

Carnival Vista Cruise Review

Cruises: 4-6 cruises
Reviews: 3
Helpful Votes: 82

Overall rating:

3.9 out of 5
Carnival Vista

7 Night Western Caribbean (Galveston Roundtrip)

Sail date: July 03, 2021

Ship: Carnival Vista

Cabin type: Inside

Cabin number: 7448

Traveled as: Singles/Friends

Reviewed: 3 years ago

Review summary

I was in the Havana rooms. On Day 2, the pool was extremely cloudy and green. Day 3, it was cloudy. Day 4, it had a brown film. Finally they cleaned it on Day 5 and it was clean again. But ridiculous that a paid amenity was in worse shape than the other pools.

Embarkation

4 out of 5
Embarkation was generally good. Lots of fanfare due to being the first cruise out, which caused a lot of crowds. But once it got going, it went pretty quick. One place to check vaccine cards, one to do check-in and then into the lounge to board.

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

4 out of 5
I thought the food was pretty good! Better than other lines. However, a few downsides: - Guy's Pig & Anchor was terrible. I love BBQ and this was just bad. - The buffet was small compared to other lines.

Onboard Activities

2 out of 5
Not sure whether this is typical for Carnival or a symptom of post-covid life but I found there to be very few activities offered during the day. On other lines, I have found myself struggling to choose what to do. But on this cruise, I couldn't find a single thing to do before 6 pm when the comedy shows started.

Entertainment

3 out of 5
Some of the comedians were great. Some were terrible. I wish the shows were of higher quality.

Service and Staff

3 out of 5
My waitstaff was phenomenal. Room steward was good. But the rest of the staff I came in contact with did not want to help with issues. At all

Ship Quality

2 out of 5
It was super clean and staff were constantly cleaning. However, this ship isn't my favorite. I didn't like how all the spaces were closed off and there wasn't good flow from the back to the front of the ship without going up and down stairs.

Cabin / Stateroom

5 out of 5

Ports of call

Galveston, Texas

5 out of 5

Cozumel, Mexico

5 out of 5

Belize City, Belize

5 out of 5

Mahogany Bay, Roatan, Bay Islands, Honduras

5 out of 5

Disembarkation

1 out of 5
Hoo boy. This was a mess. We were 30 minutes late into port and it took 2 hours for non-priority to start getting off the ship!
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11 Comments

Gwbigdog    2 years ago

I agree the Vista is difficult to navigate. Hopefully your 🛳 gets better.

bethanycoughlin    3 years ago

Thanks for sharing!

Yankee47    3 years ago

Pleas explain the "checking vaccine cards" line....was this prior to that activity being banned?

Yankee47    3 years ago

Agree with the other regulars...hopefully things improve as time goes on. We're going to be on her twice in the near future.

Curt34    3 years ago

I also believe the problems you experienced were Covid related. Usually Carnival cruises have a lot of activities available throughout the day.

javawoody    3 years ago

Thanks for the review and sharing your experience

junkball    3 years ago

I have sailed on the Vista before. It is not the easiest of ships to navigate through. I prefer the Dream Class. I am sure the layoff from COVID-19 has caused some hiccups. Thanks for sharing your experience with us

CruiseQueenNH    3 years ago

Don't let this cruise deter you, what you experienced were some minor hiccups due to COVID.

izrgreen    3 years ago

Thank you for sharing your experiences. We experienced some issues on the Vista the last time we sailed on her as well.

AuntPinkie    3 years ago

Thanks for sharing your experience! It is nice to have current sailing reviews. Sorry to hear that the cruise did not quite meet your expectations. Glad you were able to be first, even with a few hiccups!😳

profile    3 years ago

Hopefully once they get the kinks worked out, it will be up to snuff for you.

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