chatakat

Years ago we were on a cruise and thought we would check out a movie we had never heard of, San Andreas.  When the tsunami picked up the cruise ship and rolled it over our fellow cruisers screamed and rolled off their loungers.  I count that movie one of my favorites because of that memory.  

Thank you.  Cruising October 28 - November 10.  

Does anyone have the movie list for October?  Also when will the list for November be available?  Thanks.

On 12/21/2018 at 11:14 AM, TYinPalmSprings said:

We just returned from the December 9th sailing on the Vista. Like the above review, there were some + and - experiences. I will share both, honestly. 

Embarkation was late, due, they said, to a late arrival due to weather. We were contacted and told to delay check in an additional hour. We ended up standing in a line in 40 degree weather for an hour and a half, given a Zone number but when we got inside that area was not to be found. Seems they did not have a card available identifying that area and was told to sit anywhere.  Your scheduled boarding time was irrelevant in the scheme of things. Lots of confusion. Large amounts of Diamond/ Platinum , and FTTF folks were loaded on, then it all moved fast through.  This was not the first time a ship arrived late, but they conducted themselves that way. 

Our cabin was inside on deck 8, AFT, and was nicely arranged, clean, and had suitable storage. Everything in the cabin worked fine, and the room was serviced daily without any problems. The empty refrigerator was a nice option. The ride was smooth, except for one evening when the seas were a bit choppy, but it was no big deal.

We originally requested first dinner seating, but given Anytime Dining (ATD). Having bad experience with ATD (waiting an hour or more for a table) we tried to get it changed before, but told to do it on board. When we got on we tried again, but told rep was only available a short time, and it was while we were waiting to get on. We called from our cabin to see if they would  change it, and said they would let us know in 24 hours. We never heard from them again. As it turned out, though, the ATD worked out fine for the times we ate in the Horizon Dining Room (deck 4). We just went there, directly, early, at 5:30, which got us out of there in time for the 7:30 shows, something tough to accomplish when at the first seating that began at 6 AM. They seated us at the same table with the same servers throughout the trip. Most of the food served was better than expected, but not as good as on the Freedom earlier in the year.   Service was friendly and efficient. Tablecloths only present on the two formal nights, which other times made you feel like you were eating in a diner. 

The Lido was good for breakfast, and the quality and preparation of the food was great. Lunch was another story. Lots of odd foods/food prep, however their desserts were the best of the day. One day from the deli, I ended up with fireworks coming from both ends for about 7 hours. Probably the mayonaisse on my turkey wrap. Tried Guys Burgers three different times. Each time the burgers were overcooked, totally dried out, and/or burnt. French fries were cooked in too hot a grease as they were brown but raw inside. Guys Pork was.. meh, with no white chicken meat, and pretty dry options. Went to the Italian restaurant one day and had meat lasagna that was weird. It had brisket in it instead of the traditional ground beef, and everything in it but the kitchen sink. It was gross. At time were were refused caesar salad due to the romaine lettuce issue, other times they just served it to us. Even though there was 4000 passengers on this ship, we never had a problem finding seating in the dining areas.

The Liquid Lounge was not a venue for a large crowd. A lot of seating was obstructed on both levels. Not sure what they were thinking when they designed it. Get there early and sit as far to the front as you can.. Skip the upstairs option, as you will regret it. The shows were....meh...and not as spectacular as previous offerings. Talent was mixed and although there were different themes for each of the four shows, they were on the same exact format, featuring the same 4 singers. 

Were were advised by staff that there was 850 children on this cruise, which surprised us as it is not school break. Also advised it was a special designated gaming cruise. Often the inadequate amount of elevators were not working. Lots of child-related and gaming activities, good for those it applies to, but not applicable to us, so we cannot rate. We also do not drink alcohol so bar service and quality I'll skip. 

Not many quiet spots on this ship. Music was piped just about everywhere but the library, but we were told to leave as they wanted to use it for an art sale, or a bridge tournament. Lots of sad, soulful jazz, mostly , was everywhere. Certainly not "fun" music.

Shore excursions were good. We did them all through Carnival. On Cozumel, that we have been to many times, we elected to do Discovery Mexico. It was only $19 per person, was 10 minutes on shuttle from the ship. They had represented, in a village, many of the Mayan and Aztec pyramids and ruins, described by a guide who met us at the shuttle. We then viewed a demonstration of of the Flyers who descent off a pole with ropes around their ankles. If we did this on our own it would have cost $26 and without transportation. Happy with this one.

At Belize, we opted for their shorex of the Mayan site Xunatunich. It was a full day with a VERY comfortable two hour bus ride, accompanied by a guide who spoke all along with way. She did a great job. Last time we sat this ruin was over 20 years ago, and much had been done to further excavate it. The trip included a decent lunch of local food (chicken and coconut rice and beans) 

On Roatan, we opted for the the monkey/parrot/sloth trip. It was fun and included first like a batch of Capuccine monkeys who would leap on people's heads, shoulders, arms. Also a few cave museums displaying insects, or explaing the hsitory fo the island. Nice take, reasonably priced.

Disembarkation was a nightmare, even worse than embarkation. We arrived at port early (around 5:30 AM) and cleared early by customs. We were told all had to be off the ship by 10:35 AM. We had to be out of our cabins by 8:30 AM. Although they started early with those self-carting their own luggage at about 8 AM, they started with Deck 1 versus the top of the ship. By the time they got to deck 6 it was 10:15...then they announced there would be a 10 minute break for those workers doing the processing. Half an hour later, they announced those with check luggage from zone 7-10 could exit..but never let the rest of the self-assist folks from decks 7-10 leave, telling us we had to wait. The halls, the casino, the lobbies were packed with people. Of course the Diamond. Platinum, FTTF folks got an undisclosed different departure arrangement. Finally a bunch of us "that's it". We just got in line and left, only to discover that there was no control on who was leaving when. Many of the elevators were still not working and thousands of people were dragging their bags up or down stairs.  The line snaked around, and when we got close to the exit, as  set of elevators opened with people dumping into the lines in front of those who were gradually making their way. These were elevators originally marked as non-working, so we all assumed it was "select" level passengers. It was a mess with angry people, pushing and shoving. When we finally got off the ship, and walking to our car, it was 11:30, and we hear the announcement for people on our deck to get into line to depart.     

In conclusion, we felt it was just okay, but the ship too big for Carnival to effectively handle, and not a good experience if you are a  first time cruiser, first to Carnival, or not in a higher level ranking on their line. 

 

Debarkation is horrible.  Cruisers that are not dragging their bags off...just ask for low number debarkation tags.  Seems this is how it is done, you go to a central area and sai “ I need this number of tags and want the earliest you have.”  Their luggage is the first in the holding.  So the walk off the ship with those of us self debarking, grab their luggage and get in line.  The terminal is no equipped for the number of people and no one monitors what is going on.  

Elevators are are a huge problem.  We witnessed many folks taking the stairs that physically had no business  there.  One day they used 2 main elevators to move art work.  An older man and his wife said they had been waiting over 30 minutes.  They needed to go down 4 flights to their cabin where they planned to rest.  Passengers assisted them as they slowly and a bit fearfully started down.  We took stairs almost all of the time mainly because we had no option.

we have one more booked on Vista but will not book another.  BTW....the next 2 carnival ships being built will have the exact same footprint as Vista. 

We decided to rent a car, it's about $30 USD for the DAY!

Where did you find a car for that? We find nothing less than $100 plus taxes and fees.

I have no dishes to wash and the wait staff are amazing.....and I am on a cruise. I eat to live, not live to eat. We seldom eat out so it is a treat for us. Are some things just ok? Yep. Are some things really good? Yep. Am I on a cruise? Oh yes. I prefer the affordable price to fancy food. But to each his own.

They canceled our room - we suspect for insurance folks. We found another one and probably won't ever book with the "canceled" one again even though I see - we had one night - the adjusters will be there for months.

On our last cruise out of Galveston we saw authorities telling a two couples they could not carry on their huge suitcases. They were demanding that their porter be allowed to go with them all the way to their cabin. We detoured around them and went on about our business. We had family that came later (30 minutes) and they said the "suitcase folks" were still arguing and demanding but security was headed that way. I heard later that they were told to put tags on them or take them home but they would not be allowed to carry them on. The porter's cart had 3 of the largest suitcases I've ever seen and 2 medium ones. I love handing my bags off at the curb and finding them at my door later.

On Freedom last November they sent two of our guys to change on the 2nd formal night. They had on collared shirts and nice shorts - no jeans or cargos. Later we saw a young couple and he had on jeans and a t-shirt (no collar) with a questionable "remark" on it. We did not appreciate the situation but we shrugged it off and cruised on. On elegant night our guys are the ones in Hawaiian shirts and dress slacks. Last month my husband panicked - he looked down and had on flip flops with his outfit - nice leather ones - but flip flops. Nothing was said and the ship didn't sink so evidently it wasn't THAT bad. I am not a big dresser upper - and I sometimes resent the space these clothes take in my luggage. I would not be upset if they changed it to "photo" night and dropped the dress code. But as long as they have it we will adhere to it - well other than the flip flops - LOL.