Just off the Vista!

Hi Guys! So I just completed an 8 day cruise on the Vista (still sitting in FL airport waiting to fly home). It was supposed to be the southern Caribbean, however we only made it to Grand Turk and La Romana. Aruba and Curacao were cancelled and replaced with San Juan and St. Maarten (this was the biggest disappointment for me)

Quick background...I traveled with my husband and 2 boys...ages 13 and 12. In addition, there was roughly another 60 or so friends and family on board. This was my 5th Carnival Cruise and I've sailed once on Royal Caribbean.

Embarkation was extremely disorganized as we lined up in front of the terminal. Literally a mob of people all being herded into the building with very poor signs, directions or staff. I had purchased FTTF, and once inside the terminal things improved.

Stayed in spa cabin 11218 (Spa Balcony) and my kids in 11220 (Spa Inside). The cabins were in a great location for us and my husband and I visited the spa on 2 days.

The food was AMAZING! By far the BEST I've ever had on any cruise. We ate in the main dining room for dinner 5 of the 8 nights. We also had dinner at JiJi's, Cucina de Capitano and Fahrenheit 555. The steakhouse was well worth every penny as was JiJi's. Both meals were really special. The Italian place was ok...the apps were very good, but the main dishes were hit and miss. Some friends and family LOVED it, some thought it was ok, and a few thought it wasn't too great.

Also had delicious breakfast burritos at Blue Iguana grill 2 times for breakfast, went to the Sea Day brunch once, and had breakfast in the main dining room once. All of these meals were better than expected.

For lunch I had the best veggie burger EVER at Guys Burgers one day. I also had thin, crispy, delicious pizza one day. 2 of the sea days I eagerly waited for the salad bar to open at serenity because that was really, really good! Also tried Pig n Anchor when we boarded...I didn't love it but that is just because I don't eat any red meat so my option were limited...hubby thought it was fantastic! I really wanted to try Bonsai Sushi but I never got around to it, but everyone that I was traveling with that had it said it was very good as well.

Went to 2 comedy shows...1 was terrible and 1 was hysterical! I can't remember the names of the comedians though. Other than that, I didn't go to any shows. Hubby and kids did use the Thrill theater and I-Max and thought both were very cool and worth the money.

Spent a lot of time at Alchemy bar...those bartenders were the best on the ship! Every night they made me something new and delicious...truly fantastic.

Also spent a lot of the nights in the casino and the Ref Frog Pub. I was not impressed with the casino...I thought it was to small for the size of the ship...although they did have $5 tables. Red Frog was a different story...most nights they had Ed Carr playing music...Ed was awesome! He got us all singing and dancing...by the end of the week our kids (about 25 in total) were rocking with Ed as well as the adults. It really was something special.

On sea days, spent most of the day time at the tides pool at the back of the ship.

My husband and I both bought the Cheers package...it was way worth it for us...embarrassingly so [emoji13]

Getting ready to board my flight home. This was kind of a quick rundown of throngs that stuck out for us. Any questions, please ask.

Oh and like I said earlier, it really stunk missing Aruba and Curacao...those were the 2 "different" ports that everyone were excited about. Being rerouted to San Juan and St. Maarten was better than just having some sea days, but it was so disappointing.

I am on this same itinerary next Saturday! I hope the tropicaI storms stay away so I can get to Curacao, that is where I have the most plans! I am Glad you enjoyed the things I am looking forward to - JiJI's especially.

You will love it! Fingers crossed 🤞

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So sorry you missed Curacao and Aruba, I would be really bummed if that happened to me also. We are doing the same cruise in March and those ports are my main reasons for booking. On the flip side San Juan and St. Maarten are great alternatives.

Do you know what time the ship actually arrived back in Miami and what time people were allowed to disembark?....I ask because we just booked flights today and I am worried we might not make an 11:45 flight out of MIA. We are flying to Canada and WestJet requires us to be at the airport 2 hours before our flight.

Was it weather related? Or did they change the itinerary permanently? I am going in Dec.

Was it weather related? Or did they change the itinerary permanently? I am going in Dec.

She said it was weather.

Thanks for the review.

Weather related...tropical storm...in order to get to Aruba we would have had to almost drive through it, even though Aruba itself was actually beautiful.

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Disembarkation was pretty easy...we were docked by 7:00 and people started exiting around 7:20 I would say..i was off the ship by 8:15...u should be fine

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Disembarkation was pretty easy...we were docked by 7:00 and people started exiting around 7:20 I would say..i was off the ship by 8:15...u should be fine.

That's great! Thanks

Thanks for the feedback!

Nice write up. We can't wait until she comes to Texas[emoji106]

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Thanks for the feedback. We sail that same route in less than 3 week so we're excited and hoping the weather holds for us. Sorry you have to divert to other ports.

Doug

At least Carnival replaced he ports. I have been on a cruise where 2 ports were cancelled and all they gave you was $75 OBC.

Thanks for reviewing your cruise.

Thanks for the review. Sorry to hear the casino is small we are on an Ultra in December and those are heavy with gamblers so that could be an issue trying to get on your favorite games.

Cheers and happy cruising.

Do you remember who your Alchemy bartenders were?

Not their names but the 2 main girls were both blonde...one wore these cute little pigtail buns on the top of her head and the other always had on this teal colored eyeliner. There was also a brunette who was there sometimes...all 3 were from the Russia/Ukraine area...they were soooooo amazing!

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Anna Marie, Lucy, and Vanya were the lovely ladies at Alchemy. Seek them out if you'd like the best cocktails on the ship. Enjoy!

Thank u! I'm terrible at remembering names [emoji33]

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Thanks for Alchemy update....November can't get here soon enough!

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Thanks for the info! You didn't happen to buy an internet package and try to use Facetime did you? I'm trying to figure out if I'll be able to keep in touch with my mom while I'm gone.

Thank you!

I only bought the basic package for my kids to use Snapchat and other social media. Friend of ours did buy the higher up package and were happy with it...not sure about Face Time though.

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Thank you!

Can I ask? Did u like the spa? There is so much difference between people with it. I have a spa balcony in November and have been in a spa balcony before with the breeze. Just wondering. Tia

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