Great cruise with a few hiccups

Carnival Vista Cruise Review to Caribbean - Eastern

JennF1972

Contributor Level: Purser

Cruises: 7+ cruises

Review: 1

Helpful Votes: 10

Overall rating:

3.7 out of 5

6 Night Eastern Caribbean (Port Canaveral Roundtrip)

Sail date: October 27, 2024

Ship: Carnival Vista

Cabin type: Balcony

Cabin number: 11225

Traveled as: Couple

Reviewed: 8 days ago

Review summary

Overall the cruise was awesome. A few hiccups here and there but we still had a great time. I've notated every issue so that others can learn from our experiences. We would certainly sail Vista again but we would make a few changes. For one, we will never purchase another Cloud 9 cabin ever again. Paid customers should not fight with them overselling the spa area. You live and learn. Carnival needs to do better on that!

Embarkation

5 out of 5

Wonderful. Easy to get onboard. Happy to see the K9 pups out doing their job.

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

2 out of 5

Only ate in the MDR twice. Once on the first formal night, food was great that evening. The other evening only so-so. The menus for the other days had us going elsewhere. Not much to choose from whenever you are not vegan or gluten-free. Very bland food at that. We ended up eating in the Italian restaurant which was decent. One night just ate pizza since we didn't care for the dining menu. Another night the Steakhouse. The Steakhouse always is impressive, this time just a tad off from what we're used to. Still happy. The menus in the MDR and the food itself is not what it used to be.

Vista Lobby and Bar

5 out of 5

Excellent service.

Serenity Bar

3 out of 5

Great for the one drink we got there. They do have odd hours there.

Room Service

5 out of 5

Excellent. Only issue was we got beach towels only one day. We were OK using the towels at the pool areas.

Reflections Restaurant

2 out of 5

Menu and food needs revamping.

Redfrog Rum Bar

5 out of 5

Our favorite bar! Always excellent service

Redfrog Pub and Brewery

5 out of 5

Excellent service.

Pizzeria Del Capitano

5 out of 5

Pizza was good and service was fast.

Piano Bar 88

4 out of 5

Great experience but a tad too cold to stay and watch the show. You could hang meat in there.

Lido Marketplace

4 out of 5

Great selection of just about everything. Just wished the hours were a tad bit more extended.

Horizons Restaurant

3 out of 5

Menu and food overall needs a revamp.

Guy's Pig & Anchor

5 out of 5

Excellent food! This is a must eat while on board.

Fahrenheit 555 Steakhouse

4 out of 5

Great experience. Service a tad off but overall a good experience.

Cucina Del Capitano

5 out of 5

Excellent experience. Food was great!

Casino Bar

4 out of 5

Decent bar. However the waiters were far few in between. We just went to the bar.

Bar

5 out of 5

Great bar staff

Alchemy Bar

5 out of 5

Excellent as always.

Onboard Activities

3 out of 5

Unable to use the skybike. The wind was not that bad. We wanted to enjoy the pool area but skipped it due to the color, it looked a tad gross. Having a Cloud 9 spa cabin we expected to be able to use it. Only was able to use it once since the spa had oversold the general population a spa day. The spa area stayed overcrowded with people sleeping in there and was too crowded. We were very saddened to have paid extra not to be able to use the facilities. Never again!!! Carnival you lost a Cloud 9 customer.

Whirlpool

1 out of 5

Overcrowded with the same people hoarding the areas whey day of the cruise.

Vista Casino

4 out of 5

Fun. Just don't expect to win in there. Waiters are far and few in between. Sad the points are out of range for the typical cruiser.

Vista Atrium

5 out of 5

Beautiful and very cool to see the Halloween decorations.

Tides Pool

1 out of 5

Tad nasty. We never got in it.

The Salon

5 out of 5

Weits was awesome. He did a fabulous job in cutting my hair. I had waist long hair and we chopped it off. He is the sweetest in the world. Please go see him while on board!!!!!!

Thermal Suites

1 out of 5

Unable to use since overcrowded. We had a Cloud 9 cabin and the spa overbooked the area to other passengers.

Sky Ride

1 out of 5

Wasn't opened. One huge reason why we booked this ship.

Shops

1 out of 5

Overinflated prices. Quick to pressure sales. We bought two Tshirts ship specific and two bags since we shopped in port and needed more room. Other than that, skip those places.

Sauna / Steam Room

1 out of 5

Couldn't use, overcrowded reach time we went. We were Cloud 9 cabin holders. Disappointed.

Photo Gallery

5 out of 5

Excellent experience. The only pictures we had taken the entire cruise were the ones with our Halloween costumes on. We bought the pictures.

Guest Services

4 out of 5

Handled our cabin issues very efficiently with the toilet. Couldn't help us about the Cloud 9 issues.

Fun Shops

3 out of 5

Prices overinflated. Looked at the Movado watches. I knew of the price before shopping. They hyperinflated the price just to lower it a few dollars. Bought same watch off of the ship after the cruise for $700 less vs almost full retail on board.Great buy on rolling totes since we needed two extra bags.

Cloud 9 Spa

1 out of 5

We had a Cloud 9 cabin. Unable to use facilities due to overcrowding with the exception of one visit for maybe about 30 minutes. Very disappointed.

Beach Pool

3 out of 5

Tad nasty. We didn't go in it.

Entertainment

5 out of 5

Deon kept us busy. HE IS THE BEST CRUISE DIRECTOR! Not sure how he does it, but he's on point and very helpful. Halloween night was absolutely a blast. I was chosen to participate in the costume contest. Very fun. The Rock n Glow party was the best one we've ever seen with Deon!

Carnival's Seaside Theatre

4 out of 5

We loved watching movies at night. However, $4 popcorn was kind of distasteful of Carnival to charge for something very cheap.

Carnival Multiplex

3 out of 5

It was OK, nothing too exciting.

Bandstand

3 out of 5

Decent bands. Volume was a tad low.

Children's Programs

No children onboard with us.

Service and Staff

5 out of 5

Fabulous staff. Weits cut my hair, he was fantastic! Our room steward went over and beyond. Our Red Frog waiter from Romania was over the top! Wished we could bring Deon and the staff we encountered on every cruise with us. Hated to say goodbye to them.

Ship Quality

5 out of 5

Very clean ship!

Cabin / Stateroom

3 out of 5

Room was very nice and clean. Bed was a tad hard and we asked for a bed pad. Fridge was great. We did experience alot of wind noise from the sliding glass door. Huge issue we faced while on the ship was our toilet. Every single day more than once our toilet would not flush. Apparently our neighbors were using wipes vs TP and messed us up. I have a disability that makes it to where I need a working toilet at all times (Chrohns with a gi resection). Was not happy since I cannot hold myself like a normal person. I was extremely embarrassed to say the least having to use an already stopped up toilet. 🥺

Ship tip

Do not purchase a Cloud 9 cabin. They sell day packages to the rest of the ship which crowds out the spa areas to the point that the Cloud 9 residents cannot use what they paid for.

Thumbs up

Ports of call

Port Canaveral, Florida

4 out of 5

Pretty easy to navigate with the exception of needing better signage for baggage drop-off.

Thumbs Up 0

Half Moon Cay, Bahamas (Private Island)

1 out of 5

Never again. Waste of day on cruise. Overcrowded beach area, BBQ lunch was hotdogs and hamburger with pre-made salad and cookies. Not a BBQ lunch like you'd expect. Overinflated drink prices. Bathroom facilities either closed or women having to use the men's room simultaneously. We had a verbal agreement in line to please not look while we used it, all genders. Hard for a disabled person to find a seat on the beach or to walk around. No ADA chairs.

Thumbs Up 0

Grand Turk Island

5 out of 5

Absolutely an awesome port. We got a golf cart and enjoyed lunch, the lighthouse and shopping.

Thumbs Up 0

Amber Cove (Puerto Plata), Dominican Republic

5 out of 5

We did a city excursion through Carnival. It was the best port we have visited. Had so much fun even if it rained for about 30 minutes. Will certainly do the excursion again!

Thumbs Up 0

Disembarkation

1 out of 5

We had FTTF and were the very last to disembark waiting on a wheelchair. Our luggage was THE LAST luggage in the area. Disappointed since we did have FTTF and a diabetic needed to eat. It was not a good experience having to deal with that.

9 Comments

GailSM 48 minutes ago

Thanks for sharing and such detail. I’m so sorry about your cloud nine experience I would be irate too. But it’s good to hear of something that I can do that’s reasonable and desirable on grand Turk Island a golf cart it is thanks

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jimmykitty 1 day ago

Thanks for sharing the “hiccups” still glad you had a good time.

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cbyron3 5 days ago

I always get a cloud 9 room...never been too crowded. Have a cloud 9 on my next 5 booked. Half moon cay is paradise. Bring your float and pop up tent, head past the crowd of sheeple, private paradise.

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Gwbigdog 6 days ago

Thanks for sharing your cruise

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Gotapenny 6 days ago

I had a cloud 9 spa room on the sister ship, horizon in July 2023. I guess we were lucky, bc we used every inch of the spa with no problems, every single day of our 6 day cruise

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Fiesta83 7 days ago

Thanks for such an informative review. My mind is made up and I'm going to cancel my Cloud-9 Spa

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Bruce51 7 days ago

Thanks for the review.... Having been to Half Moon Cay alot i have to agree 100% with you..... Just got off a Carnival Venezia cruise a few weeks ago and we didn't even get off the ship this time in Half Moon Cay. I have a Cloud 9 spa room booked on this ship for next year and now I'm worried i made a mistake.

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javawoody 7 days ago

Sorry you didn’t enjoy half moon cay. It’s one of my favorite stops, I always look forward to it.

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cruising2004 8 days ago

Thank you for your great detailed review. Glad you enjoyed your cruise.

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Other reviews of this sailing

The cruise was good, but not great. The food was average, the staff were late several times for trivia and one trivia host scolded some participants.

Had a Great Time.