Good family cruise! We enjoyed it...definitely some highs and lows as described above.
Embarkation
5 out of 5
We booked in the Family Harbour Suites, so we had priority embarkation. That worked wonderfully...we arrived a little early and one of the supervisors ensured we got in a soon as possible to get out of the hear.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
3 out of 5
The main dining room food was good...not outstanding, but good. Two nights were excellent, lobster night and filet/short rib nights. We did not eat at any of the specialty restaurants. The BBQ, pizza, taco, and hamburger lines were excellent! What brings my rating down was the buffet line...in particular the breakfast buffet. I would give it one star. The food options were the same EVERY morning, and what they served was NOT good! The eggs (or whatever they were) were horrendous, the eggs Benedict had a horrible grill taste, and most of the time the egg on it was underdone with runny whites. I was only able to have bacon twice on this trip...only once at the buffet (the other was in the dining room). Sometimes it wasn't even served, and others it was already out. There needs to be more fresh fruit options than just cantaloupe and green melon. The only time I was able to get smoked salmon was in the Harbor Suites room and the dining room. I ended up eating hard boiled eggs most of the mornings and even that was like playing Russian Roulette...some were cooked correctly, but some were not cooked all the way and ran all over the place when you opened them, and some were brown and burnt on the inside. I did however, enjoy the opportunity to eat at the Harbour suites room for breakfast, especially on the port days.
Onboard Activities
5 out of 5
We enjoyed the pools, the water slides, putt-putt, and the fitness center. As a family we spent most of our time playing shuffleboard and foosball in the Red Frog Pub.
Entertainment
3 out of 5
For the first time, we never attended a major show on a Carnival ship. Nothing seemed appealing to us? We really enjoy the comedy shows...however, the comedy show venue is so small, it was always already full when we got there? And I don't want to waste my time on the ship having to arrive early to get a seat?
Children's Programs
4 out of 5
He went the first night on the ship, and for the first time, didn't return for the rest of the cruise. He enjoyed it, but at 10, he may be outgrowing it and he really enjoyed the family time playing shuffleboard and foosball.
Service and Staff
3 out of 5
I only saw my steward a couple of times. He was nice, but unlike other cruise lines, he only touches your room once per day. Pool drink service was basically not available...we had the drink package and because of the 18% gratuity charge, don't normally tip at the bars, but I always tip someone who gets the drinks and delivers them to your beach chair. Didn't really have to worry about that this trip, since I was only able to get a drink from my beach chair ONE time. I would constantly look for a waiter, but to no prevail. That was annoying. Service at the bars were good...I want to give a shout out to Diana at the Red Frog Pub! She was hard working and provided great service! Now for the dining room service...we had "your time" dining, which we ate at every night. We had the same wait staff for the first 2 nights...it was horrendous! Not only did the staff not know what wines they had on hand, the food took forever! On the third night, we were sat in Kaycee's station. SHE WAS OUTSTANDING!!! Every night after that, we requested to be sat in her station and were always pleased with her and her crew's service. She was quick with our food and always friendly...my kids also loved her! Last but not least, though I don't know if this falls under this category, the EFFY jewelry store employees were the best we've worked with on any of our over 15 cruises! Jelena, Jaques, and Lara were wonderful to work with...though they did cost us a LOT of money...very, very personable!
Ship Quality
5 out of 5
Overall, pretty good!
Cabin / Stateroom
5 out of 5
Very happy with the size of our cabin! With 5 of us, and 2 of our kids basically adults, we had enough space to be comfortable and all our "stuff" fit into the room. Having 2 bathrooms is ingenious!
Ship tip
The Red Frog Pub is a great place to spend quality family time with your kids! Love the shuffleboard and foosball tables!
We have been on a lot of cruises. The cabin stewards only clean the cabins once a day these days. They only go in the cabins once a day. Not twice like they used to do yess ago. We were on the vista this last April. We didn’t like the breakfast or lunch buffet. Breakfast in the dining room was really good. Lunches we loved guys burgers, the deli, blue iguana cantina for tacos and burritos and the pizza.
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