Tired ship and tired crew

Carnival Vista Cruise Review to Caribbean - Western

SandInMyShoes

Contributor Level: Second Mate

Cruises: 7+ cruises

Reviews: 13

Helpful Votes: 235

Overall rating:

3.6 out of 5

Verified Review

7 Night Western Caribbean (Galveston Roundtrip)

Sail date: October 08, 2022

Ship: Carnival Vista

Cabin type: Balcony

Cabin number: 8457

Traveled as: Couple

Reviewed: 1 year ago

Review summary

The Vista is tired and needs a dry dock to replace carpets, chairs, and sofas. The buffet tables need a deep clean to get the antibacterial cleaning build up off that is guncking up the edges of them. The staff is spread too thin and worked way too hard. They were kind and friendly, but were obviously exhausted. The bed and pillows were amazingly comfortable and clean. If you like to read on your balcony, get one that isn't above the Havana Club area because they play music all day every day that is not peaceful and can be heard on the balconies.

Embarkation

5 out of 5

quick and easy

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

3 out of 5

Main dining room was so slow. The staff was friendly but obviously exhausted and had too many tables per service team to be as efficient as usual. The MDR dinner had much smaller portions but the flavor & quality were good. The food highlights were definitely Cucina for lunch and dinner, Guy's Burgers, Blue Iguana, and the Seafood Shack. Every thing else was subpar for what we are use to from Carnival.

Onboard Activities

3 out of 5

The fitness center is the only activity we participated in. This was intended to be a quiet, refreshing cruise where we sat on our balcony and read a lot with out participating in a bunch of activities. The activities we did see were loud and fun looking for the people in that frame of mind.

Entertainment

1 out of 5

The cruise director, Savannah, did late night announcements after 9pm in the stateroom hallways which was frustrating. She also seemed pretty fake in her congeniality. Her back up lady was more on par with what a great CD should be.

Children's Programs

We don't have kids

Service and Staff

4 out of 5

The staff was obviously tired and overworked. You could see it on their faces. Most were still especially friendly and kind but many appeared as if they were sleeping on their feet and just trying to make it through the day (especially cleaning staff in the main parts of the ship and stairwells). Our room steward, Ryan, was top notch and really did a fantastic job while being friendly and personable. A stand out employee we saw several times was Yessica from the dining staff. She was amazing. She got us a special table for two by the ocean for formal night and was super friendly and helpful every time we saw her in the buffet area. Bambang and Kadek where our MDR servers and they were very nice too. In Cucina we really enjoyed Tzudi the hostess and Sanjay the chef. We have dined in Cucina on several Carnival ships and never had the chef come out and talk to us. He was so nice and welcoming. Valyntina was our server and she did a good job too!

Ship Quality

2 out of 5

The ship layout is great and it was clean, but it was really tired looking. The old, beaten down stairwell carpets need replaced as do most of the soft furnishings throughout the ship (fabric chairs, stateroom sofa, etc). The edges of the tables throughout the buffet were disgusting. They are all edged in grimy build up from antibacterial cleaning products and need a deep cleaning.

Cabin / Stateroom

4 out of 5

The new duvet covers and shower curtains were nice and appreciated. The duvet itself was super fluffy and comfortable and the perfect weight. The mattress and pillows were great too! I wish I could buy them for my own home. The sofa was worn out.