Carnival Vista Observations and Videos

Here are my observations on the Carnival Vista after our 8/11/18 sailing. Also, I will have a bunch of Vista videos on our YouTube channel. I will list my planned videos at the end of this post.

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCGVNxsFc_uF0Nq1AR2Ko1iw

We of course enjoyed ourselves and had a great cruise.

Your Time Dining – It was a little strange that you had to go to deck 5 to get your seating assignment, but this wasn’t a big deal once you got used to it. We were seated right away every night we went to dining room and had gone at various times depending on what we were doing. I did notice the dining room seemed more crowded later in the evening. Some of the tables they have with the booth seating are way too close together. It is difficult to get into the booth side, no matter your size.

Art Auction – This was very annoying because they would takeover the library (which was very nice and stocked with games) almost every day at 3:00 pm. If they are going to have art they should have a dedicated space for it then.

Havana Area – I checked this out after 7 pm when it was open to the public. It was smaller than I expected. It seemed like a nice area with some nicer chairs than available in the regular area. Looking at the “porch” or balcony areas, I don’t think I would like them as I like looking out over the balcony.

Hand Washing / Sanitation- They have signs, Purell by the dining etc as well as fancy hand washing machines at the buffet, but there was never anybody enforcing the hand washing like we have experienced on other cruise lines. I don’t think I ever saw anybody else washing their hands when entering a venue.

Liquid Lounge – This seemed to be an OK size, but is not setup well. There seemed to be too many columns obstructing views as well as the way they have the second-floor railing with separated glass panels, to me made it more difficult to see.

Casino – The slots have high maximums. The casino stinks of smoke all the time. They have a poker tournament, but it was $150 buy in for a first prize of $500. I didn’t know the buy in and showed up to play but left after finding out the buy in and prize pool.

Internet – I pre-purchased the premium plan. For the most part the Internet was good, much faster than in the past, but not as fast as RCCL new internet I had on Anthem of the Seas. It slowed down at times, but I was able to watch YouTube for instance. It did go out one day for a few hours, but was pretty stable the rest of the time.

HUB App – I personally think Carnival nailed it on this one.This worked well for the fun times, open information, account information etc.I only wish they allowed you to add your own activities into your favorites. We purchased the chat app and this worked well throughout the cruise.

Chair Hogs – They were out in full force with not monitoring etc. First to go were the comfy chairs on deck 11. The loungers by the pool went too, but later. I would say you could still get a lounger by the pool after 9. There was plenty of seating around the ship though, just not right at the main pool.

Debarkation – For us in a suite was great, but the line for the luggage tags was crazy long and they put them out about 12 rather than 12:15 like advertised. I spoke to a woman who told me they ran out of tags and guest services asked her if she could do self-debar, she said no and they said they would get back to her. Not sure what the outcome was.

Buffet – The buffet was OK at best. For desserts they served cake slices from whole cakes, but I didn’t like them and didn’t’ think the cake in the buffet had much flavor. For some reason, at breakfast they had a carnival person serving you the bacon. Not sure why since they gave you a lot so it wasn’t to ration it.

Service – Overall service was OK, I didn’t experience any exceptional service. Our room steward was good and our room was always cleaned when we returned. They did only service it once per day, unless you requested twice. Dinner service was sometimes very slow and depended on the server team you got. Once I never got the coffee I ordered, and my wife didn’t get her lemonade until halfway through the meal.Minor issues.

Ports – Overall, I think the time in ports was way too short or at bad times. In Grand Turk we were there from 7 am to 1 pm, in Curacao we didn’t get there until after 1 pm and left at 10 pm, but most shops etc. closed at 5 or 6. I could of skipped La Romana, we stayed on the ship except to checkout the immediate port area which is very small.

Cabin (7236 – Ocean Suite) – The cabin was great. It was a good size and location. It had a lot of storage and the bathroom was a nice size that you weren’t cramped.

Here is a list of the planned videos I will be posting on YouTube.I will try to post on CC when they publish, or feel free to subscribe to our channel so you will know as soon as they are posted. We also have other travel videos, and will be on RCCL Harmony of the Seas next spring with videos.

• Sky Ride – This is available now
  
• Ropes Course – This is available now
  
• Embarkation – This is available Now
  
• Aruba (Arashi Beach on our own)
  
• Curacao (Carnival’s Beach Hop and Turtle Snorkel Excursion)
  
• Grand Turk (Margaritaville Cabana Rental)
  
• La Romana (Port Area)
  
• Cabin Tour (Ocean Suite 7236)
  
• Vista Dining / Drink Areas
  
• Vista Havana Area
  
• Vista Water Slides and Pools
  
• Vista General Areas
  
• Debarkation
  

thanks for taking the time to write this review.enjoyed the review.

Thank you for your review.

Thanks for posting your review! We will be sailing the Vista next year. Looking forward to watching your videos!

We were on the Vista in April and I LOVED the hand-wash station and used them every chance i got! But, i only ever saw a few others using them over 8-days. As someone who grew up in a restaurant, i wash frequently and it makes me sad that very few practice good hand-washing.

I really likes the Vista and hope to make my way to the Horizon. Thanks for the write-up buddy

Thanks for the report.

Videos are great! I will not be trying the ropes course :):)!