Mic101680

A week to go before we board Vista for the first time. She'll be one of the larger ships I've been on, so it will be interesting to see how I feel about it vs all the smaller ships I love so much. I booked this trip probably a year or more ago, so it's been a loooooong wait! LOL

This is making me so excited for our group trip on PoA in March! Question - with the ports being more industrial, could you tell whether or not it was easy to catch a cab or Uber or public transport or something into a nearby town? Or if it was far of a walk to some sights? Thinking we're going to be doing mainly NCL excursions as well, but we have a few in the group who will likely go off on their own too.

Bimini is definitely a chill stop - we got the day pass at the resort and spent the morning at the rooftop pool (nobody was there until close to noon, and even then it was just a handful of people), then spent the rest of the afternoon at the beach. Next time we want to rent a golf cart and explore more. Snorkeling isn't bad as the water is super clear, but do some research beforehand to see where you want to go. The water gets very deep pretty quick and currents around the island can be very strong. I've read where even very strong swimmers sometimes struggle around certain areas.

Yes, total revamp is needed. If they keep some of the same items, they need to update some of the recipes too. There is literally nothing on the MDR menus that make me excited to eat there, and during most cruises, they're lucky if I eat in there more than once. I usually end up making a salad at the Lido buffet and getting whatever the main protein is and sometimes the soup on the regular buffet line.

It's probably just too early. I have a cruise booked at the end of November and the excursions only just all showed up sometime early last month. There were a couple in there before that, but the majority weren't available before then. Just make a reminder for yourself to check once or twice a week until they show up.

I've never tried to take anything other than water off the ship, and have never been asked to dump my reusable water bottle or stopped to have it inspected when getting on or off the ship while in port. Could you be stopped or asked to dump it? Absolutely.

They're supposed to be bringing back all the printed FunTimes, menus, etc fleetwide. I remember seeing that as an announcement within the last couple months, but you should have always been able to request a printed one.

When you first open the app itshould look like this. Either use your Carnival.com login or enter your booking# (you don't use the onboard option or try to connect to the Carnival wifi until you're on the ship) Once you're logged in, you'll have your countdown page similar to this. On embarkation day, this screen changes with an "I'm on board" link, which is when you would put your phone in airplane mode and connect to the ship's WiFi to use the app onboard.

You're correct. I didn't clarify that the $5 was for the messaging feature only. Apologies for any confusion I caused anyone!

It depends on the port, how much earlier than your appointment window that you arrive, and how busy they are when you arrive. Generally speaking, they will have you wait until your appropriate arrival window either in a separate line or have you sit outside the terminal or ask you come back during your arrival time.

You are not required to download or use the app, however, it does allow you to send messages to other users and it houses all the useful information, events, allows you to book excursions and spa appointments, make reservations for dinner, check in for dinner at the MDR, menus, etc. It's $5/person to use it, which is not a bad deal, and you do not have to purchase an internet plan for it to work, but can be buggy at times. Sometimes I have no issues with it at all and sometimes the dining check in won't work, messages don't send or are never received by the recipient or come in hours later than when they were sent. It also kept skipping ahead a day on my during one cruise and I had to constantly check that I was looking at the correct day. Lots of others have had similar complaints with it. When it does work though, it's great.

I think this entirely depends on what you order too. Most of the pasta dishes are waaaay too much for a single portion, but some of the meat and fish portions are pretty small. It never hurts to ask for a small portion, but like others have said, you can always just eat half of what you're served. I will sometimes split a plate with a friend if I know it's going to be too much for me.

I always pack them because they don't take much room and you never know. I've been to beaches before where people swear they're not needed and I wish I had them, and I've been to beaches where I've had them and not needed them. I'd rather the second occur because trying to find and buy them in my size can be difficult, especially in the Caribbean. Plus, they're generally fairly comfortable and stay on my feet better than flip flops.

You can still get lobster some nights, it's just an upcharge and is listed with the (supposedly) better quality steaks on the menu. Housekeeping is only once per day, however, with one fairly recent exception for me, the housekeeping staff are just as friendly as ever and will go above and beyond if you do end up needing something extra some days. Menus have changed all over to various degrees. Open times for various things have also changed (ex: no more 24 hour pizza, ice cream, more limited hours on some of the included non-MDR dining venues, etc). Prices on most things have gone up in the last year or have added charges (personally I don't find most of these to be drastic, but some people have made a huge fuss about most of these): some excursions, gifts/food/drinks ordered to your stateroom, gratuities, some specialty dining, small charge per plate if you order more than 2 entrees in the MDR, etc. Muster drill is still currently just a check in at your station and watch their 40 second demo on how to use a life jacket. (Super quick and easy - just find your station as soon as your board and get this out of the way). They have pushed usage of the app a LOT recently, which means you pretty much need to carry your phone around with you the majority of the time - menus, activities, reservations, dining check in, etc. That said, the paper copies of the Fun Times to your stateroom are supposed to be coming back, and you can always get a paper copy from the coffee shop or at guest services. You can always ask for a paper menu in the dining rooms. That's all I can think of right off the top of my head

Yes, they sell them onboard, but do keep an eye on the stateroom gifts section of your booking and the online shop someone posted because I have seen them there before as well.