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We were in a suite on our last Carnival cruise. For our tender port the letter in our stateroom told us to go to one of the restaurants when we were ready to get off the ship and when we arrived a rep escorted us directly onto a tender. Was super fast and hassle free.

Thanks for the responses. I will look to book something that will work in any of the 3 potential time scenarios.

We are sailing on the Panorama and I have a question about the time in port for Puerto Vallarta. The itinerary lists 8am to 8pm. Is that LA time or Puerto Vallarta time? If LA time it’s 10am-10pm local which feels late to leave port. I am looking to book a non-Carnival excursion for the day and don’t want to choose an incorrect departure time.

I started buying them through my Swagbucks account. When you buy them you essentially earn points. I then cash out my points to PayPal. The gift cards are electronic so the whole process is pretty easy.

We sailed on the Majesty in July. Originally we were booked in 1046 which was as far forward as was available based on reviews to avoid directly under the pool area. Once our Cuba stop was cancelled a bunch of cabins opened so we upgraded to Grand Suite 1538. Did not have any issues with noise from above. Great location being close to the stairs that go right to the buffet and pool area. The Majesty is definitely an aging ship but we found her to be clean and decently maintained. Especially loved the balcony. The overhang from above provides great shade.

Looking at options for 2021 on the Mardi Gras. Of all the ports listed we have only been to Cozumel. We are booking for the ship so both itineraries look fine to me. Which would you choose? West=Cozumel, Costa Maya and Mahogany Bay, East=San Juan, Amber Cove and Grand Turk

Just got off the Majesty yesterday. Took pics of the wine menu that was in our suite. Fairly new to cruise critic so let me see if I can upload.

8 minutes ago, MRSG29 said:

Sailing on the Horizon in Feb. Was looking at the Specialty Dining Restaurants. Those that have been on the Horizon, which ones did you do? Thoughts?

 

Cucina del Capitano (Italian) - I thought it was pretty good but wasn’t overwhelmed. My husband LOVES Italian and really liked the bolognese dish.

Steakhouse  - Loved everything about our meal from apps to desert. Our steaks were delish. The cheesecake was super yummy.

JiJi Asian Kitchen - Did not try

The Chef's Table (did this on the Conquest) - Did not try

Bonsai Teppanyaki -- I’ve been to Japan many times and love sushi. I thought the quality of everything we tried was excellent.

Was on the Vista last year which has pretty much the  same setup. Above were my thoughts on each. Overall I loved the variety of different dining options.

1 hour ago, ULCajunCruiser said:

I was looking around and found this:

Day passes can be redeemed and are available for purchase at the Atlantis Adventures Tour center, located outside The Coral, overlooking the Atlantis Marina.

 

Can you please tell me where you bought your pass??  How much was it??

 

We were there in 2010, I'm sure traffic conditions have changed but I don't remember having any delays getting back to ship, took maybe 30 minutes??

We booked directly through the Atlantis website. For the water park one on our date it was $168 for adults and $103 for our DD. Google also led me to some 3rd party vendors you could also book with but I didn’t want to mess with that. We also booked a cabana for the day. So the whole day will be pricey. We were on a Cuba cruise and shouldn’t have even been stopping in Nassau. We are getting 50% of our cruise fare back so figure we will make the most of the day when we should have been in Havana.

Thanks for the feedback. Looks like we can’t go wrong with any of the choices!

We pre-bought day passes through Atlantis. This is not a shore excursion through the cruise line. We planned to just take a cab there but where do we tell the driver to take us. The resort looks huge so I don’t want to pick a drop off in the complete wrong spot. The confirmation paperwork from Atlantis did not specify.

Also how long should I allow from Atlantis to get back to the pier. I have read people mentioning traffic/crowds. It will be Friday late afternoon/evening so I assume traffic will be an issue. Looks like though there is only one other ship in port and it’s arrival/departure is shifted from ours.

Thanks for the help!

We took a last minute cruise on Carnival last year and fell in love with cruising. We are now booked to leave in 2 weeks on the Majesty of the Seas which we chose specifically for Cuba. I’m sure we will still enjoy it but next cruise we really want to be all about the ship. We are looking at either Harmony or Symphony. Both are nearly identical dates and itineraries. Departure port for either is a wash as both are a direct flight for us. We are considering either a Crown Loft Suite or Spacious 1 bedroom Aqua Suite. The aqua suite is more but still within budget. Will be me, my husband and our 11 year old DD. Any preference between Harmony or Symphony? What about the Crown Loft vs Aqua Suite?

Ship  - Carnival Vista

Deck - 7

Stateroom # - 7359

Stateroom Category - Ocean Suite

Starboard or Port Side - Starboard

Quiet Stateroom? (With comments on problems) – Yes

Was stateroom a connecting stateroom? - No

Balcony View - Give comments on view, noting if location of any obstructions was an issue. – Good view. I know I read some negative comments about deck 5 sticking out below but I didn’t think it took away from the view at all.

Balcony Size? Normal or oversized for class? - Normal, we had one lounger and 2 chairs. Balcony was a little narrow but long and overall size was very good.

Was wind a problem? - No

If an aft cabin, was soot a problem? - N/A

Any specific problems with this cabin? - None.

Any other comments? - Deck 7 is a great location. Easy walk up and down to the main decks. We were able to avoid needing to use the elevators which could take awhile. Also liked being midship. Overall the ocean suite was very roomy.

I’m booked on a July Cuba cruise with RCL and received this. I at least appreciate that the email came quickly after the restriction announcement and that they gave a clear timeline for the next update.

Dear Guest, 

Today, the United States government shared that educational and recreational (or people-to-people) travel to Cuba is no longer permitted and you may be wondering how this affects your upcoming cruise. Please know, we are assessing what these changes mean for all of our future Cuba cruises and we kindly ask for your patience. We promise to share an update with you and your Travel Partner by tomorrow, June 6th, at 6:00 PM EST. 

Thank you for your patience, we will be in touch soon!

We also are big drinkers. We drink throughout the day on a cruise and are no where near hammered, Our experience on the Vista was yes the bartenders would let us pay for a drink before the 15. I never got close but my husband did a couple of nights. Also often one of us would take both cards to the bar and get us both drinks. Just easier then both going to the bar every time. I know this is against the rules but we could have used my card to let my DH have more drinks. Also I know this is flame full but I often used my card to get non alcoholic mixed drinks or smoothies for my daughter at the bar. We always tip when we get drinks and found all the bartenders to be great and always got quick service.

Just booked the Panorama for Memorial Day 2020... so a lot!

Just off the Visa and our safe had an electronic key pad where you set the code. Same as most every hotel safe we have used recently.

Just off the Vista and yes tablecloths on formal night only. Not sure I get the lack of tabelecoth thing/concern. We had anytime dining so sat in the back dining room. The nights without tabecloths in no way felt “cheap”. I thought the dining room was beautiful including the wood tables.

Just on the Vista a few weeks ago in an Ocean suite and yes our room had robes in it.

Was on the Vista a few weeks ago and thought the premium WiFi was good. One day the service seemed spotty but overall it was much better than expected. I was surprised at which websites seemed to be blocked vs not blocked. Like you I needed to keep an eye on my work email and had zero issues accessing that.

We were just on the Vista and had our 10 year old with us in did not use the Serenity area. We did use the Havana area a few evenings late and were often the only people hanging out in the hot tub. They have a great outside bar right there and cushy seating and it was a nice quiet place to relax and watch the wake of the ship at night.

We were just in Grand Cayman and agree that the public bus was a cheap, easy and fun experience. We took it to the Turtle Farm and then from their to Calico Jacks which has a wonderful beach and great place to hang out.

Great video! I was just on the Vista and did the ropes course with my 10 year old daughter. Soooooooo glad I chose the easy!!

Thanks for your review!

 

We will have this same itinerary on the Horizon in December and with similar adult ages, carnival newbies, sister ships and a kid age in common, I took in every word of your review.

 

A couple questions:

 

Did your DD try the kids club? If so, how did she like it?

No DD never tried the kids club. Hanging out with us she always seemed to have plenty to do.

 

You only ate in MDR a couple times, but reviewed 2 speciality restaurants. Did you try others? Or did you do quic dinners? What would you do different next time? (We have 2 reservations the steakhouse and Jiji, but I keep questioning Jiji and the menus people post look great!)

No just the 2 specialty ones. One night for dinner we ate at Guys Burgers and then another night we hit the buffet. I like variety and loved that there were so many choices. I had to slow down the eating towards the end, so much good food, lol. I would keep both specialty reservations. My DH wasn’t interested in Jiji but I tought the menu looked great.

 

Other thing I forgot to add about food is we did the breakfast card thing every morning. I love coffee 1st thing. I know some people complain about the coffee and while it wasn’t the best I definitely thought it was drinkable. The fruit plate delivered was also very good.

Did you do the elegant nights?

It worked out that both elegant nights were the nights we were in the specialty restaurants. We followed the dress code but weren’t decked out. The Italian place people were wearing whatever that night. It was funny that one guy was wearing pretty much everything listed as a no-no on the app, cut off shorts, flip flop, sleelevess tank, baseball cap. Personally I could care less how people dressed so didn’t bother me. We really didn’t plan on being dressy but in the end I loved how many photographers were on the boat and you could snap some pics in most places with little wait. Got some great family photos. Especially liked taking some in front of the funnel. The pics showed daily on the app which were fun to look at, favorite and them download which ones you wanted (for a price of course!)

 

Do you feel you got a good value with the Cheers! package? Everytime I feel I have made a decision, something sways me back the other way...

I definitely debated the Cheers package but yes in the end we definitely got our money’s worth. A couple of port days my Cheers probably broke even but DH always more than made up for me! I liked being able to not think about the cost and the more expensive glasses of wine I tried at dinner were really good. And gasp I know this is shameful but we used our Cheers to get DD mocktails throughout the cruise. Bartenders always new what we were doing and never seemed to care. I brought a ton of one dollar bills and tipped religiously. We seriously had the best bar service and it was so easy to get drinks. Add in the bottle of waters, occasional coffee from the java spot and definitely worth it.

 

Thanks for sharing!

New to posting and trying to quote. Will see if this works.

We just got off the Vista Saturday from the 6 day Western Caribbean itinerary. Overall we loved it and husband and daughter are now hooked on cruising. Me and DH are early/mid 40’s and we have one daughter who is 10. DH and I did a Mediterranean cruise over 10 years ago on the Norwegian Jewel. It was our only other cruising experience and was very port intensive so I barely remember the ship. We booked this cruise fairly last minute and after reading a lot of negative reviews about the Vista I was pretty apprehensive. Here are my thoughts on the trip. Sorry no pictures.

Embarkation - we got to the port a little after 1pm. Had priority boarding and there was almost no line and we pretty much walked on and were able to go right to the room. Soooooo easy.

Cabin - We were in an Ocean Suite, 7359. The room was awesome. Very roomy for 3 people. The balcony had 2 chairs and a lounger. Was great that all 3 of us could sit out there together. Location was perfect. Close to stairs and I liked that all the action was an easy walk up or down. I thought for the price the room was great vs. how much a suite costs on other cruise lines. We had a letter explaining our suite perks in the room. We got priority tender/debarkation at Cayman and Cozumel which I didn’t think we would get. I thought we only got it at the beginning and end since we didn’t have FTTF or any status. We also got an included bag of laundry,

Atrium - with no real cruising experience I thought maybe I wouldn’t feel underwhelmed by the atrium as others have talked about. But I get it. At 1st I was pretty meh about it. The atrium definitely grew on me though. The funnel is fun to watch. We are big live music fans and found it a cozy place to sit and listen to the violin players and the acoustic guitar guy was great.

Sky Ride - Very cool. We did it on the 2nd sea day. Went about 15 minutes after it opened and only waited in line maybe 10-15 minutes. Glad we did it then since the wait definitely could be long and I found that platform area where you wait to be hot. They did a great job loading/unloading and matching up single riders to keep the line moving. But ultimately you are constrained by how fast or slow people go. Our 1st sea day was windy and I think the ride was closed most of the day. So definitely go when you see the opportunity.

Sky Course - I liked this even better then the sky ride. Since only 1 person is on a section at a time you could take your time getting around and really enjoy the view while waiting your turn. I did the easy with my 10 year old and glad I didn’t choose the hard side, lol. My daughter loved it and did the hard side by herself a couple of times.

Comedy - Husband and daughter caught all of the PG shows and LOVED them (was my casino time). Thought the lounge setup for it was good.

Theatre - Setup wasn’t as bad as I was expecting but I don’t have a lot to compare it to. We didn’t see a ton of shows so the small theatre wasn’t a huge problem for us. I guess it has a more intimate feel being smaller. We would show up early and could generally find decent seats. The cup holder things though are super weird. Not sure what they were thinking with that design.

Pools - Beach pool on sea days was crazy. We mainly used the back Tides pool. Both pools definitely got crowded. Loungers in the shade were hard to find but we usually managed. Annoying how so many chairs sit empty.

Havana Pool - We loved this area! I don’t think people realized it was open to everyone after 7pm. We pretty much had the place completely to ourselves a couple of evenings. Such a great setup. My daughter wishes she was old enough so we could book this area.

Bars - We had the Cheers package and like to drink. Think we tried all of the bars. Don’t know if we just had good luck but we found the waits for a drink to be almost non existent. Great service. And during the day people were constantly circulating asking if we wanted a drink. The spicy margarita with patron at the Tequilla bar was especially tasty!

Arcade - I rue the day we ever walked in there. Called it the kid casino. My daughter became obsessed with the games where you line something up to win the Apple bundle.

WiFi - We had the premium package and most days it was great. Occasionally it was spotty. Was weird which sites were blocked and which ones were not. I could easily check my work email which was the main thing. Luckily that was limited!

Nightlife - I am a go to the cabin and read a book on the balcony late evening type of person so can’t comment on most of it. DH is the social one and quickly made a group of friends that he hung out late with most evenings. He very much enjoyed the night life.

CD - I was bummed that Matt who seemed to get such awesome reviews was not on during our trip but thought Chris did an awesome job. Are other cruise lines so much fun. I worry that Carnival has set the bar very high in that regard. I don’t remember any of that fun energy on our Norwegian Cruise.

Food - Overall I thought the food and service was excellent

MDR - We had anytime dining. Only ate dinner there a couple of times. One time with no wait and the other we waited for maybe 10 minutes. Food was very good. My 10 year old was always offered the adult menu. The chocolate melting cake is the bomb. Thank you to whoever had a pic in their review of it with a side of peanut butter. I ordered it that way and it was awesome!

Italian - Had this for dinner one night. My daughter was offered both the kids and adult menus and the upcharge for her would reflect what she chose. She is pretty adventurous and chose adult. I though my shrimp dish was just ok, Husband and daughter both got and enjoyed the bolognese.

Steakhouse - Was very good. We all got steak. I like my meat on the rare side and it was definitely more cooked then what I ordered but still good. The cheesecake was very good!

Buffet - Ate here the least. Lines definitely got long. Food was decent but thought the MDR for both breakfast and dinner was better.

Guys Burgers - LOVE IT!!

Seafood - Wish we tried this place earlier. My husband thought the crab legs were the best meal on the boat. I had the lobster roll (I am from Ohio so realize I am not the best judge) and thought it was really good.

Pizza - Thought it was just ok

Sushi - I have made many trips to Japan and was impressed with the quality of everything. My tuna sashimi was especially good. I thought the rolls were good size for the price. We ordered way too much.

Bbq - My my husband got food here and he thought it was just ok

Dr Seuss Breakfast - Forgot about this till towards the end of the cruise. By the time I called to make a reservation the later time was booked so we went to the early seating. Which probably worked out. It wasn’t full and they did a great job moving you through the character pictures. Much more efficient than a Disney character meal! My green eggs and ham were delish. If you have kids I thought it was definitely worth the $5 upcharge.

Blue Iguanas - Sadly never got around to trying. Just too many other choices!

Ports - I detest organized excursions so we had planned to go it alone on each stop

Ochos Rios - We wanted to take a cab to Dunn’s River Falls and it took awhile for them to not either put us in an excursion bus or have the cab driver ask for $200 to escort us around for the day. In the end we got what we wanted but they were pretty pushy and I could tell the cab driver was not happy. We did not get off the ship immediately but were still some of the 1st to get to the falls and were one of the 1st groups to climb. Was awesome being so empty and it was packed by the time we were done. Hung out at he beach area when we were done with the falls. Loved this experience. I had a lot more trouble climbing than my daughter. The way out you have to walk through the vendor area and man people aren’t kidding about the pushy vendors. We just walked quickly through. Cab driver then dropped us off at Margaritaville. Here we ate and swam in the pool and beach area. I thought it was nice. Nachos were HUGE and very tasty. Loved swimming in a fresh water pool after the salt ones on the boat. We then trinket shopped and headed back to the ship.

Grand Cayman - Went to the priority tender area at Red Frogs and someone took us down a designated elevator and we were on a tender almost immediately. So quick! Took the public bus to the Turtle Farm. Made a wrong turn so it took a few minutes to find the bus terminal but it is a very short walk from the pier. Bus was cheap and easy. Turtle farm was good. Again we did not get off the boat immediately but still beat the excursion bus crowds. My daughter and a couple of ladies staying on the island were the only people there at the time in the wading pool so she had tons of time holding the turtles. Was interesting but definitely a one and done experience for us. After we hopped back on a public bus and went to Calico Jacks. Paid for chairs and had a great afternoon at the beautiful beach!! Definitely wins the beach award of all of our stops. Food and drinks here were good but pretty pricey when you added in the chair rental. We hopped in a taxi van to head back to the pier. They had a ton waiting and were constantly loading people in. Line for the tender back was long but seemed to move along well.

Cozumel - This was my favorite port. Love the trinket shopping area that is right there at the pier. We hopped in a taxi and went to Mr Sanchos. It is an all inclusive beach club. Again we were ahead of the crowds and got a great table spot. Definitely recommend this place. Food, service and drinks were all excellent. Loved the beach and the pools. Should have skipped the inflatables upcharge. Way more work then fun! We got it as part of a package for the horseback riding. That was really nice. We were the only riders in the group and took a nice relaxing trot through the jungle area and then several trips along the beach. My daughter also talked me into trying the fish spa. Not sure my feet really felt that much different afterwards but the experience and pictures from this are priceless. Overall we loved Mr Sanchos and definitely recommend it.

Debarkation - We had zone 2 luggage tags but since our flight was not until 2pm we were in no hurry to get off. Ate breakfast in the MDR and then just sat in a cozy spot outside and enjoyed the view of Miami. Headed off the ship about 10:45am, found our luggage, walked through customs and were ubering to the airport in no time. I don’t know if I just had low expectations for long lines but it was so quick.

Overall we loved the Vista! Service was excellent. I see what people mean now about saying how fun Carnival is and I worry if we try a different line it won’t be the same. Thanks so much to all the posters on this message board. As a newbie it really helped me plan and make the most of the experience. Already mentally planning our next cruise!