Carol Jones

Breeze!

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Carl Jones who wrote a great review a few weeks back showed these too but there were really good cakes in the buffet each afternoon for free. It was fun to watch people get mad if certain cakes ran out. People get serious about cakes. Lol. Here are some pics of cakes and the chocolate extravaganza the last day b

 

 

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Yes, I did love those cakes! I’m very much enjoying your review. It’s like reliving my cruise. Great job!

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Great review. My family of 10 was also on this cruise. My sister actually made it in one of your pictures. We had a great time. No major complaints. Highly recommend.

Thanks! Your sister in one of the pics..... too funny!

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Very good review of Vista. almost makes we want to sail her again. However, I still don’t like the small atrium, I don’t like the theaters/lounges, and I don’t like the Spa 9 area as much as the Dream class ships. For those reasons I have continued to book Dream class ships instead of Vista. However, I do have a cruise booked on Horizon. I am always willing to try any new ship at least once.

All in all I really enjoyed the Vista, very much. But if you ask me my favorite Carnival ship it is in the Dream class too. Breeze is my favorite.

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Awesome review!!

 

 

Thanks for taking the time to share with us. 8 of us are going the 1st week of September. Now I'm even more excited.

 

 

OceanDreams

Thank you! Enjoy your cruise!

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Not that your review doesn't contain a thousand other great details, but this one is especially notable to me. I hate poly-blend napkins!

I know, right!? They don’t absorb anything and they smell funny.

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Yes, we got the discount. I really appreciate the insight. Read good reviews on TripAdvisor too including one that said a motor on one of the boats wouldn't start upon return and the tour company scrambled and had a back-up plan in place and all was good. Thanks again! Puts me more at ease as I help manage risk as part of my job. My wife was like, let's just go for it. I was like, ah, have you looked into airfare from La Romana to Curacao then?

If you can, try to get the front seat of the boat. We had that on the way over but not on the way back and it’s a big difference. When you sit in the front it’s like being on a roller coaster- your stomach dips so much. Really fun!!

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and ice cream too. But really those cakes on the Vista are beautiful. Wish I could figure out how to attach a photo.

Here’s a photo of those cakes from my Vista July 14 cruise. They are so so good!!

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I guess I did have a few questions. I am assuming you had the 9:30 - 4:30 port time in La Romana? I've read great things about the Seavis tour you reference and booked it. I know they say they adjust their excursion time tables to the ship's time in port and pride themselves on never having you miss the boat, but how close were you to getting back on the ship on time? It just makes me a little nervous. One thing I would note is it looks like they have at least 2, maybe 3 boats going out and I thought I read on ship days, its usually only cruise passengers. So, why he certainly doesn't have to on a non-ship tour, the captain might be willing to wait just a bit longer if something happened they're missing 50-75 people. Thanks!

You are correct on the times we were in port. There were 3 maybe 4 boats that went out on our excursion and from what I could tell everyone on the excursion was from Carnival. The excursion is great and I would recommend it. I cannot tell you exactly what time we got back but I know we had plenty of time and didn’t have to rush back at all. Are you getting a discount? I don’t remember the exact details.... I think... if 10 or 12 people book with the same code you get 10% off. If there is a roll call for your cruise ask if anyone is going on the Seavis excursion and you should be able to get the code.

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Carol, I'm so glad you saw this post!

 

 

 

We are on the Vista Dec. 9th. Any chance you're on the same sailing?

We don’t cruise again until Dec. 22 ( Elation). I would love to be on the Vista again!!

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Thanks for the shout out. We cruise again in December. We haven’t purchased Cheers before, but I think I will look into it and see if it works for us. Thank you!

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Food- For us YTD worked well especially since we were able to get the same staff each night, without any extra wait. We didn’t have to wait long for any course of our meal and we were able to interact with the staff. I’m thinking this might be somewhat contingent upon getting there early. We normally checked in every night right around 5:30. We were very pleased with our meals in the main dining room. Our steaks were cooked better on this cruise than on any other we’ve been on. I must admit that I have long been opposed to the extra cost restaurants. I have totally changed my mind. Having so many extra options at different price points makes this very appealing. The steakhouse is pricey but worth every dollar. If you’re going on the first night or on formal night they typically have an offer for a free bottle of the house wine or half off any another bottle. I’m always happy to get anything free (and thankful) but I would suggest going with the 50% off of a bottle instead of getting the house wine free.

Cabin- room 10264- Nice big TV. Only 2 closets on the ship (seems like most have 3) but there was extra storage other places. It was nice to have USB plugs in the room so I didn’t have to waste an outlet for charging my phone. Sure did miss the over the bed reading lamp. We enjoyed having a balcony and being on the Lido deck. So convenient!! Our room was pretty close to the elevator and I always like that. We did not hear any Lido noise. I think we were down far enough so that was not an issue. The Havana area was very nice but the Havana cabanas didn’t seem very private. Of course, I didn’t stay in that area, so this may not be completely accurate. I did enjoy the Havana hot tubs!

Ports- Excellent! Enjoyed the way things were scheduled for this cruise, seadays- ports- seadays. I’m not so wild about Grand Turk as the area right by the pier is so touristy. I’m glad we explored beyond. I really enjoyed Aruba and Curacao. Should’ve taken advantage of Curacao evening time. The excursion we went on pretty much started right when we came into port. We went to Hato caves, Curacao Liqueur factory and then the beach. We didn’t get to the beach until 5:00 and it was a beach that was next to a big shopping area and it was so crowded. I’m not really crazy about going to the beach in the evening. I wish we would’ve just taken a taxi back to the ship showered and went back out. I would’ve enjoyed more time to explore the downtown area of Curacao- it’s beautiful and has a great pm vibe-! AND we were there until 10pm.

Room steward- Never asked if we wanted once or twice a day cleaning. He did two times, unless we were in the room when he came. He did seem very busy.....time enough to clean rooms but not enough times to check in with passengers.

Entertainment- Comedy clubs were great and I enjoyed the shows in the liquid lounge as well. I think carnival might be improving in this area (shows) but it may still be an area for some growth. Having a live band really does make a difference.

CD- In general it’s not a make or break for me. I was excited about having Matt Mitchum considering all the hype, but Adam Cornes was great! Actually he will probably be a stand out for me. He was charming and genuine. Visible but not inyour face.

Well, that about sums it up. We had an awesome time and can’t wait until our next cruise, Christmas Cruise 2018- Elation. We never do Christmas at home anymore.

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In summary.....

Embarkation- smooth and quick if you are diamond, platinum, FTTF or you get there at your scheduled time.

Debarkation- we did self assist and it was perfect. We got into port earlier than expected so I would guess it went faster for everyone.

Ship. Lovely ship!! Some miss glass elevators, but I didn’t. There are so many other beautiful areas with so much to do it made up for it. Sky ride, ropes course and water slides are great. It seemed like people really enjoyed the theater. We certainly enjoyed the thrill theater. The Liquid Lounge is a miss! Please Carnival do not duplicate it on your new ships.

Food. YTD worked well especially if you can get same staff each night. We were able to get the same waiters each night without any extra wait. We didn’t have to wait long for any course of our meal and we were able to interact with the staff. I’m thinking this might be somewhat contingent upon getting there early. We normally checked in every night right around 5:30. We were very pleased with our meals in the main dining room. Our steaks were cooked better on this cruise than on any other we’ve been on. I must admit that I have long been opposed to the extra cost restaurants. I have totally changed my mind. Having so many extra options at different price points makes this very appealing. The steakhouse is pricey but worth every dollar. If you’re going on the first night on formal night they typically have an offer for a free bottle of the house wine or half off another bottle. I’m always happy to get anything free (and thankful) but I would suggest going with the 50% off of a bottle instead of getting the house wine free.

Cabin- room 10264. Nice big TV. Only 2 closets on the ship (seems like most have 3) but there was extra storage other places. Sure did miss the over the bed reading lamp. We enjoyed having a balcony and being on the Lido deck. So convenient!! Our room was pretty close to the elevator and I always like that. We did not hear any Lido noise. I think we were down far enough so that was not an issue. The Havana area was very nice but the Havana cabanas didn’t seem very private. Of course I didn’t stay in that area, so this may not be completely accurate. I did enjoy the Havana hot tubs!

I will finish a few other aspects in the next couple of days.

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Carol, thank you for a wonderful review of the Vista. It seems you covered every aspect of the cruise and I appreciate that you did so with such care of the staff and fellow cruisers. Some reviews seem to 'bash' the staff, the food, fellow cruisers, but we saw none of that from you. Thanks again for the valuable information.

Goodness! Thank you for your kind words. I’ve been meaning to post some final thoughts on the cruise but I’ve been so busy trying to unpack and get my house back in order. Thank you again for your response.

This was a great review and has me excited for the Vista in October thank you for taking the time to write it!

Thanks!! Enjoy your cruise! The Vista is wonderful and October will be a great time to cruise.

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I KNEW you were cool. Once, the fella that is my avatar, upon arrival at my parents who were going to dog sit him, proceeded to urinate a puddle of blood. On a Saturday night. Before I left for a cruise the next morning. So, trip to the emergency vet just to be told they (dachshunds) can do that if they are stressed. Some antibiotics, a shot of bendaryl and the sudden disappearance $175, and he was better.

Aren’t they the best ever!? we used to have one just like your picture. He died last year at 13 years old. Now we have a shorthair brown and tan. They both have extreme separation anxiety. So glad my brother could come stay with him while we cruised And I know you’re glad to have your parents help out with yours.

Thank you for the review. I thoroughly enjoyed it. By the way, how much are the cake slices that looked so amazing?

They are free!! They are so good I probably would pay for them.

Hmmmm... we (before we were platinum) purchased Faster to the Fun some of the time, but not all of the time. Definitely if it was a cruise with a tender port we did or if my elderly mom was cruising with us. The travel to the ship was exhausting for her so we’d take her directly to our room to rest (drop of luggage) until her room was ready. The prices have gone up so that definitely is a factor to consider. I talked to a few people ( not diamond/ platinum or FTF) and they got their luggage when we did. The regular guest service line wasn’t bad except on the last day/night and then it was really bad!! The platinum/FTF line was walk right up except for one night. One night we walked up but no one was at that part of the counter. Meanwhile the regular line serviced many people. We were just about to go to the regular line when someone walked up from the room behind the counter. Also, I was more likely to purchase FTTF on a shorter cruise because for those we always got there as early as we could to have the first day be a full day. For a longer cruise I don’t think that would be so crucial for me. I might just come later (12:30-1)to be able to walk right on and get to my room. Also, on a longer cruise and bigger ship with more options I always end up spending more money on other things so it might be nice to have the cash for that. There is a lot to consider to decide what is right for you but I hope this helps.

sorry, I meant FTTF

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We ended up doing self assist for debarkation. The night before we were struggling with what to do -(7:15am) Self assist and carry all of our luggage off on our own OR (8:30 # 1 slot) check our luggage that night and wait in the morning for our # to be called. We really didn’t want to get up at 6:30 am but in the end wiener dog withdrawals won out. Now that the cruise was coming to an end we wanted to see our miniature dachshund ASAP. Fellow dog lovers can empathize.

Debarkation was incredibly smooth. At around 7 AM Adam announced that we would be able to the debark earlier than expected. We were probably walking off of the ship at 10 minutes after seven. Got our car from the garage. We parked right there ($176 for our 8 day cruise). I know it is a little more expensive, but when we’re ready to get home, we like to do so as quickly as possible. ... remember wiener dog withdrawals. We are just a couple of hours from home now. The turnpike was so crowded. So happy to have the Sunpass and bypass the long line at the toll areas. Sun pass also works for Peach Pass when we are in Atlanta. We have had the Sunpass for years. Even if we’re making one trip to Florida it pays for itself in time and frustration saved. You can buy them at any of the gas stations on the turnpike and it’s easy to set up. I think they’re only five dollars to purchase and then you have to set it up with a credit card.

Later this evening or tomorrow I’ll try to post some final thoughts on this cruise. I hope it has been helpful and to any of you cruising soon- “safe travels”!

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Carol - I bought FTTF and wondering if it looked worth it you based on the lines you saw?

I had it 2 years ago at $60 but fought myself in paying $100 this time... and it was sold out but it opened up and I saw those lines you posted.... tryin to decided to just arrive later and save $100 ... seems they have removed some of the previous advantages....

 

I realize your platinum and that our opinions on the value of this service will vary. But it would help to know if you noticed if the regular lines were moving along... how crowded guest services was at both lines...

Luggage delivery?

There aren’t any tenders so....

 

Any input is appreciated since I board Saturday!

 

Thank you!

 

 

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Hmmmm... we (before we were platinum) purchased Faster to the Fun some of the time, but not all of the time. Definitely if it was a cruise with a tender port we did or if my elderly mom was cruising with us. The travel to the ship was exhausting for her so we’d take her directly to our room to rest (drop of luggage) until her room was ready. The prices have gone up so that definitely is a factor to consider. I talked to a few people ( not diamond/ platinum or FTF) and they got their luggage when we did. The regular guest service line wasn’t bad except on the last day/night and then it was really bad!! The platinum/FTF line was walk right up except for one night. One night we walked up but no one was at that part of the counter. Meanwhile the regular line serviced many people. We were just about to go to the regular line when someone walked up from the room behind the counter. Also, I was more likely to purchase FTF on a shorter cruise because for those we always got there as early as we could to have the first day be a full day. For a longer cruise I don’t think that would be so crucial for me. I might just come later (12:30-1)to be able to walk right on and get to my room. Also, on a longer cruise and bigger ship with more options I always end up spending more money on other things so it might be nice to have the cash for that. There is a lot to consider to decide what is right for you but I hope this helps.

We will be on the Vista in October and have learned so much from reading your review! Thank you.

Thank you! Enjoy your cruise!

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Shirt looks cute! We board tomorrow!

 

 

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Enjoy your cruise!!

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And dessert.... it’s back- Baked Alaska. Back with a parade. I love that stuff and I think this is better than the one they had before.

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The Ziti

The surf and turf from the steakhouse.DS was well pleased with it.

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Dinner tonight. We got to the main dinning room early again(before 6) and there seems To be more people eating early tonight then any other night. I suppose it’s because we all need to pack tonight! I decided to let my DS order of the steakhouse menu. He got the surf and turf. Tonight’s menu:

We had Meatballs And the spring rolls for our appetizers. I also ordered the baked ziti as an appetizer. It was on the entrée menu.

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