Good First Experience

Item: Carnival Vista
Rating: 3.8
Author: rjmacg23

Carnival Vista Cruise Review to Caribbean - Western

rjmacg23

Contributor Level: Purser

Cruises: 1 cruise (first)

Review: 1

Helpful Votes: 32

Overall rating:

3.8 out of 5

Verified Review

7 Night Western Caribbean (Galveston Roundtrip)

Sail date: December 24, 2022

Ship: Carnival Vista

Cabin type: Balcony

Cabin number: 8232

Traveled as: Family (young children)

Reviewed: 1 year ago

Review summary

Overall good first experience. I think we may try cruising again to see if the next experience will be even better.

Embarkation

3 out of 5

Not good. It took hours to embark. Heard from veteran cruisers that it was abnormal for it to take that long.

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

4 out of 5

Main dining: Ok Specialty: Awesome Buffets: Really good

Onboard Activities

3 out of 5

Weather was chilly. Not as much outside activity as we would have preferred. Didn’t get out in the sun as much as we wanted.

Entertainment

4 out of 5

The comedians were ok. Casino was really nice. Events were fun such as: bingo, programs for kids, IMAX Theater.

Children's Programs

5 out of 5

The staff did awesome. Really made an impact on our kids.

Service and Staff

5 out of 5

Great staff. Friendly and helpful

Ship Quality

5 out of 5

I thought the ship was really well maintained and clean.

Cabin / Stateroom

4 out of 5

Bed was a little tough for my liking. But overall nice and clean.

Ship tip

Be prepared to have lots of extra money. Excursions, specialty dining, camps after 10:00pm, drink packages, onboard pictures, onboard games (bingo), souvenirs…all cost extra money and it’s not cheap.

Thumbs up

Ports of call

Galveston, Texas

3 out of 5

Falmouth, Jamaica

2 out of 5

Beach is too far away. Transportation to nearby beaches is ridiculously expensive. $200 round trip!

Thumbs Up 0

George Town, Grand Cayman

3 out of 5

Nice beach and close by.

Thumbs Up 0

Cozumel, Mexico

4 out of 5

Lots to do at this port.

Thumbs Up 0

Disembarkation

4 out of 5

Much much better than the embarkation.

7 Comments

Cruisers4Lyfe 6 months ago

Thanks for sharing

Thumbs Up 0

Flag

willtravel17 1 year ago

Great seeing this!

Thumbs Up 0

Flag

javawoody 1 year ago

Glad you enjoyed your first cruise experience

Thumbs Up 0

Flag

lrwellnitz 1 year ago

QUESTION- A few years ago they had a specialty dining package that included 2 of cheaper restaurants and like $10 for Bonsai. Did you see anything like that offered?

Thumbs Up 0

Flag

AuntPinkie 1 year ago

Welcome to the wonderful world of cruising. Sorry you had so many hiccups but happy you enjoyed most of your cruise. Hope your next cruise is better.

Thumbs Up 0

Flag

WhippetMum 1 year ago

Glad you enjoyed your first cruise

Thumbs Up 1

Flag

Gwbigdog 1 year ago

Thanks for sharing your cruise with us

Thumbs Up 1

Flag

Other reviews of this sailing

I can’t believe I missed reviewing.

Christmas on the Vista

We had a good time on the cruise. It was our 3rd time on the Vista and we really enjoy the ship. We really enjoyed the ports but didn’t do any excursions in Jamaica or Cozumel. We did go to Hell in Grand Cayman. That was really a fun stop for us.