kwaltersmi

59 minutes ago, Atlantamom3 said:

DO they do theme nights?

We're on the March 30 sailing too.  This will be our 4th Carnival cruise and they've all had theme nights, but have been different between cruises and I don't know what will be on Breeze.  When we were on Vista last year we loved the "White Party" in the atrium.  

I know the Taste Bar is a thing of the past, but is there still a small breakfast buffet in the Ocean Plaza on Breeze?  We loved the uncongested access to breakfast at Ocean Plaza on Vista and eating outside on the promenade tables last year and are wondering we can do the same on Breeze this March.

I've done 11 carnival cruises and LOVED everyone of them ...I go with the flow...make my own fun...and we keep going back.

You've been on 11 Carnival cruises and keep coming back. While Vista is new, larger ship, the overall Carnival experience is similar and your cruise history shows enjoy that, so you'll enjoy Vista too.

We cruised on her in February and didn't experience any of the issues you described. The crowding wasn't noticeably different than any of our other cruises and we never waited for a show (comedy or main theater), only waited once for YTD (and enjoyed a pre-dinner drink and music in the RFP while waiting!), and thoroughly enjoyed the ship. We've done 4 cruises and Vista is our favorite ship so far. We'll be back!

Here's a link to my review where I give my overall take on the ship and specifically address reviewer complaints at about post 5 or 6.

Per above, pizza is available 24 hours. The lido deli is open late, but I don't think 24 hours.

Love the review! Thanks for taking the time! What type of cabin did you have?

We were in a balcony cabin deck 7 at the near the aft end. We loved the location because we were right around the corner from stairs and were just 2 decks up from the Havana Bar and 3 decks down from the Lido Deck and the Tides Pool/Bar. Also very easy access to Ocean Plaza. We didn't use an elevator all week long.

Does the Vista have windows in the main dining rooms?

The Horizons dining room does. This is at the aft of the ship and is for you YTD. We were never in the midships Reflections dining room, so I don't know about that one.

Thanks all, great feedback. We'll likely be booking Breeze this week. Now to determine which cabins...

Just wondering, were you on the East or West sailing? What nights were elegant nights?

We were on the 6 night Western cruise (Jamaica/Grand Cayman/Cozumel). The elegant nights were the first sea day (night 2) and the after Grand Cayman. Contrary to many reviews I've read, I felt like most of the passengers observed the elegant attire requirements and were decked out. In fact, even on cruise casual nights, most folks in the MDR were dress more formal than I would have expected.

Thanks for your review. We are sailing in April and are pretty excited about the ship.

 

Did you happen to visit the Havana pool area after 7PM? Was it crowded?

Yes, we visited the Havana pool once after 7pm and were literally the only ones there. We also visited the Havana Bar on multiple occasions and found that it too was very underutilized. There were always a a handful of people dancing and enjoying the live band, but definitely an uncrowded little haven.

Great input so far, thanks!

We loved Vista and she's our favorite ship so far. We've also been on Victory, a sistership to Destiny (pre-makeover Sunshine) and enjoyed that ship too. I didn't find the flow, traffic, or crowding to be an issue on either.

Just looking at the Sunshine's deck plans, photos and reviews, I was thinking she would be similar to smaller Vista since it has a more subdued decor, RFB, Bonsai, JiJi's, Cucina, Havana Bar and 3 big waterslides. But this thread has me shifting towards Breeze...

To address a few of the usual Vista complaints...

The sight lines can be bad in the Liquid Lounge (as many have stated before) for stage shows, but there are plenty of good seats too. And even if you wander in 5 minutes before the show (like we usually did), you can get a decent seat in the balcony. And if you don't have a decent seat, order a drink, enjoy the show and relax...you're on a cruise!

We did notice the Lido Marketplace was busy with long-ish lines at lunch, but there are so many other options that it's your choice if you want to wait in line or not.

Deck chairs around the Beach Pool and Tides Pool can become scarce, but there's plenty of other areas just steps away that are fine and available. Staff were diligently using the sticker system for chair hogs on both sea days. Also, there's some great outdoor seating on deck five in the Lanai area and at the RFP outdoors. We never found time to sit there, but we walked by several times throughout the cruise and both areas were essentially empty. We were able to get a day bed in Serenity on the last sea day and a couple of loungers there on the afternoon of a shore day.

A few other tips/observations...

The "secret decks" forward (I think on deck 7, 10, 11) were great for taking a cup of coffee and watching the port come into view on the horizon. These were super windy and fun spots to watch the bow split some waves during evenings on passage too.

Don't forget your "White Party" attire if you're into the deck/atrium parties. I'm not sure if this is a Matt Mitchum original or not, but we didn't know about it and were one of just a few without white clothing that night.

The snack menu at the RFP is awesome with some great grub like conch fritters and grouper bites for just a few bucks. You can purchase a nice 16oz monogramed RFP/Carnival pint glass from the bartenders there too. We even saw someone purchase one of the Thirsty Frog tap handles.

Odwalla smoothies were not included in Cheers at the Java Blue Cafe. I like a smoothie for a mid-morning snack, so I ponied up the $4.99 after I learned it wasn't included with Cheers. We did stock up on Vitamin water and Carnival bottled water from Cheers in our cabin fridge so we had beverages for shore and for after a late night at shows/bars.

We picked up a couple of free S&S card lanyards from casino staff on day two. We tried on day one, but they simply referred us to the for-sale lanyards in the atrium then.

One of the chairs on the standard balconies should have an adjustable back, so lean back and kick your feet up while enjoying the sea air and views!

Just here to give a little love to Vista. We just got off her last week and have no complaints.

Our background: We've done 3 cruises total - 1 on Crown Princess, 1 on Victory, and this one on Vista.

The decor is neutral and pleasant (if a bit boring). The staff is excellent, including lively Matt Mitchum. We never waited in a line for anything (including Liquid Lounge or Limelight) except SkyRide, which was typically about a 30 -60 minute wait. We typically showed up only about 5 minutes before entertainment and never had an issue finding seats.

Food was excellent, although we never ate at the Lido Marketplace except the omelet station the first morning, which didn't have a line. Otherwise we had breakfast in Ocean Plaza, lunches at Guys/Blue Iguana and dinner at Bonsai (once) and the MDR (YTD). We also tried the deli late (early, actually!) one night, which was excellent. Probably the least impressive food we had all week was a pepperoni pizza from Pizza Pyrate...it was fine, but nothing special.

Bar staff was excellent too. Our favorites were probably the Tides Bar and Red Frog Pub. A shout out to the great bar tenders in RFP! They're a bit reserved and quiet at first, but very pleasant once you strike up a conversation. They even went out of their way to pour a couple of smoked porters off the secondary fermenter in the brewery when we asked to try something not yet on tap. We also spent time at Alchemy (just so-so service), Ocean Plaza Bar, RFRB, BITB, Atrium Bar and a few others. Cheers was enjoyable. Eden at the Piano Bar was an outstanding entertainer.

My overall impression of Vista is that she's a beautiful ship with an excellent staff. She has lots of good food options and almost too many activities and entertainment to fit them all in within a week.

I'm curious to get others opinions and preferences for what we're considering.

We're looking at 1 of 3 possible cruises for early April 2019. We're a family of 5 (husband, wife, 3 daughters ages 7/14/16) and have cruised 3 times previously; 1 on Crown Princess, 1 on Victory, 1 on Vista. All were great cruises. We've always had balcony cabins and enjoyed them, but didn't necessarily use the balcony that often.

We have a 5-day upcoming cruise on Sensation in an interior - Yes, we know this will be a sardine can of a cabin for the five of us!

We enjoy the lido decks for sunning, dancing, swimming and at least 2 of our daughters really enjoy the water slides. We've been to (or will have after Sensation) all of the ports below except Curacao. Excursions aren't really a priority since we're usually happy to hang at the beach and spend an hour or so wandering the tourist shops/town. Of the three choices below, I think we're leaning towards Sunshine because it's the most total days and the best price if we stick with interior. However, I'm wondering if with 4 sea days we'll really want a balcony. One more caveat - My my retired mom and dad will be joining us (long-time Princess cruisers, never tried Carnival) and are most interested in Horizon because it's new. They're leery of Sunshine because of her age, though they know about the makeover.

Here's the options:

1) Horizon 6 day (Ocho Rios/Grand Cayman/Cozumel) w/ 2 OV cabins at $3672 up to Family Harbor Suite for $4,106.

2) Breeze 7 day (Amber Cove/St. Thomas/San Juan/Grand Turk) w/ 1 OV for $3,749 or 1 balcony & 1 interior for $4,289.

3) Sunshine 8 day (Aruba/Curacao/Amber Cove) w/ 1 interior for $3,422 or 1 balcony & 1 interior for $4,612.

What say you?

Now that our cruise date is approaching, I'm bumping to see if anyone has any input on Vista's deck 7 or the aft corner locations in general.

We're booked in a regular balcony cabin on Vista for early next year. We chose cabin 7449 because we like being just a couple decks away from both the Havana Bar and the Tides Bar/Pool area. However, this cabin is the furthest aft balcony stateroom on the starboard side without getting 7453 (premium/extended) and then come the aft-wrap and aft facing staterooms.

We've never stayed so far aft and certainly haven't been in the very back corner. Any thoughts on this location? Anyone stayed in this cabin or one nearby?