Very poor ship design. Main issues were shortage in restrooms and horrible buffet. Sadly, this was my 7th and, most likely, final cruise sailing on Carnival. I’ve sailed on over 20 cruises on different cruise lines. This has to be the worst cruise I’ve ever taken.
Embarkation
2 out of 5
Embarkation was running late. Although we arrived at our allotted time, we were shuffled from one line to another only to have to wait another 30 minutes to board ship. Total embarkation took about an hour. Quite the contrast from another cruise line we sailed on November 2022. They’re embarkation took less than 20 minutes total.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
2 out of 5
Main dining room - service and food were very good. Very limited menu.
Specialty restaurants - good too bad.
Fahrenheit Steak House was every good. Steaks were cooked perfectly. Starters and sides were good. Dessert, not so good. The chocolate sphere was ok. Nice presentation but not that great. The cheesecake at the next table looked very good.
Ji Ji Asian Kitchen was very good as well. The starters, entree and sides were very good. Rose Crème Brûlée was to die for. The only issue were the small tables. The dishes served did not fit properly on a table for two. My dinner plate was hanging over the edge. They should use smaller, deeper plates/bowls. Service was very good but felt a bit rushed in the beginning.
Cucina Del Capitano was not so good. I was so disappointed since I’ve been to this restaurant previously. The food was not hot. The Porkchop entree was not cooked properly and tough. The dessert would have been very good if served warm or hot. The best food item served were the warm rolls. Very disappointing.
Lastly, the buffet was just horrible. Serving cold food, warm at best. If one just wanted a couple of items, one had to wait in long lines. The setup is not very efficient. The selection was limited. The bagels were hard as a rock. On one instance while cutting into one, the piece flew out of the plate and landed at the next table. Same desserts served every day. Worst of all, they didn’t have any bacon on a couple of days.
Blue Iguana, Guys Burgers, Deli and pizza were always good and served hot. Not to crazy about Guys BBQ.
Onboard Activities
3 out of 5
Entertainment
3 out of 5
The Limelight Lounge offered good variety of comedy shows. The lounge had adequate seating.
The Liquid Lounge (main theater) shows were mediocre. The space was poorly designed. Consequently, resulted in limited seating. Didn’t enjoy this venue very much.
Service and Staff
2 out of 5
Main dining room (Edwin and Melroy) Fahrenheit Steak House, JiJi Asian Kitchen, Bar server Catalina and cabin steward Ryan provided excellent service.
Unfortunately, there were some sad looking staff working. I normally tip cruise staff throughout my cruises for good service and or just a happy friendly face. First time I returned with most of my cruise tip money. This was also a big contrast to the cruise staff on another cruise line I sailed in November 2022. Never seen so many blank or sad faces.
Ship Quality
1 out of 5
Horrible ship design.
RESTROOMS - I can only comment on men’s restrooms. The majority, if not all, were small and hidden. The best example of bad design was the men’s restroom located by the aft pool/bar. The men’s restroom consisted was one sink, one toilet and one urinal. This one restroom not only serviced the aft pool/bar, but also part of the buffet and the two specialty restaurants on the 11th deck. Really Carnival, who designed this ship and the restrooms. They must have had their head up there… not to mention, the men’s toilet was not working half the time. A woman passenger I shared my experience said theirs were no better.
The Liquid Lounge is another area that was poorly designed. Due to the lounge seating area on the bottom floor resulted in limited seating. There were tables located at the back of the theater on the top floor that served no purpose. No one using these tables could view the stage from them. I personally did not enjoy this venue at all.
I always enjoy Cozumel. Good shopping port and excellent food at Panchos Backyard. I would have given it 5 stars but we had to retuvo the ship around 2 pm, very short visit.
It was confusing and frustrating. Due to a detour dropping off a sick passenger in Cancun, we did not disembark until 2 pm. Instructions for disembarkation were confusing and changed numerous times.
I'm sorry you had a terrible experience on the Carnival Vista. I had the same type of experience on The carnival miracle for 4-day to Mexico. It was my 15th cruise so I am an experienced cruiser. It was a booze cruise from hell and the buffet food was worse than a sizzler or Golden Coral buffet here in America. It was my first, and definitely last, Cruise on Carnival and I will stick with the much nicer more luxurious cruise lines like Princess, Celebrity, or even Royal Caribbean.
Appreciate your detailed feedback. The design of the Liquid Lounge has always been my biggest frustration with this class of ship. Sorry this cruise didn’t meet your expectations.
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