Viva La Vista Detailed Review April 15-21-2018 Photos, Funtimes,Menus, and More

Hello everyone,

I sailed Carnival for the first time and am soexcited to share my very first review. I’ve read lots of amazing reviews andgain lots of useful tips and hope that I have pay it forward with thisreview.

Background

My name is HP and as you can probablytell form my Cruise Critic username I am from California, Los Angeles to beexact. Sailing with me were my two children. My son Langston turned 15 on thecruise and my daughter Ellington is 5. I'm adding a few prices so that 1st time cruisers get an idea of what everything costs.

Booking and Flight Info

We sailed for the first time on the NorwegianSky in 2015 on a 4 day to the Bahamas. For a 1st time cruise itleft a lot to be desired. It was an older crowd, same activities each day andthe entire ship would be a ghost-town at 9:30 or so. It rained and there seemedto be no back up plan other than announcement about board games beingavailable. My daughter was too young for the kids and my son was too shy.Needless to say the WOW factor was lacking. So, in booking this cruise I wantedto try a newer ship with all the bells and whistles. I took one look at theCarnival Vista and was S.O.L.D! The Sky Ride absolutely BLEW MY MIND. I booked a 6 Day Vista for April 15-21 Deluxe Oceanview Total $ 1,922.75 for three passengers.

Sail Date Debacle

The idea was to sail during Spring Break andcelebrate my son’s birthday. My son’s birthday is April 18th.

Usually whenever Easter falls in Aprilspring break is always the week of my son’s birthday. Excitedly I paid thecruise deposit only to discover Spring Break was two weeks prior to the cruise.At this point it was 200 days out and I had already started excitedly countingdown with a very active FB group. There was no way that I was going to re-book.The kids would just have to miss a week of school after all you only live, onceright? I reached out to all their teachers and ask for assignments that wouldotherwise be missed. My daughter was given a packet of Kindergarten assignmentsand my son was told he could make up his work upon return. Little did he knowthat would bite him in the butt later.

Flight and Hotel

Since we were flying from Los Angeles to MiamiI wanted to fly non-stop. For me it’s less headache with having to changeplanes and the worry that my luggage will be lost somehow. For weeksI’d kept my eye on a non-stop flight on American Airlines. Life got thebetter of me and I waited until 2 weeks from our sail date to buy our tickets.I hopped on the American Airline site and the tickets were now about $600.00per person. I frantically searched other sites only to find the prices were allin the same ballpark. I ended up searching Spirit Air. Yep, that’s right thesame Spirit Air that everyone seems to hate. Last year tons of negative reviewvideos popped on YouTube, which I’d watched months prior and declared, “I wouldnever!”. Well as they say never say never. I ended up booking 3 flights fromLAX to Mia on Spirit for a total of $863.57 round trip that also included theprice of 3 checked bags. Unfortunately, the flight was not non-stop.But this close to the sail date “you get what youget, and you can’t pitch a fit”. Spirit Air offers very lowprices for flights. However as one would expect there are many, many, manyother fees that are considered “extras”. One thing is for certain Spirit doesnot hid these extra costs. The site tells you several times during the bookingprocess that certain things cost extra. You are also given the opportunity topay for these things in advance. Some of these things include:Paying for checked and carry-on Bags (yes you are charged for a carry-on),paying for more roomier seats, paying to self-assign seats, paying to printyour boarding passes, paying if your luggage was over the weight limit, andpaying for food in flight food and drinks including water… yes WATER. I prepaidand prepared for everything. I packed a backpack for the 3 of us to share.Included were snacks, entertainment, Sanitizing hand wipes, and water bottlethat we purchased once we passed airport security. Spirit chargesfor water and snacks. A cup on Ramen Noodles is $3.00. The flightwas very uneventful, the plane was on-time and clean. The flight attendantslooked a little unkempt like they slept in their uniforms, uniforms that didnot match each other by the way. I guess as long as they showed up to theairport in some form of black and yellow they were good to go!

My son Langston knocked out from the cold meds:

My daughter Ellington and her missing tooth:

Clear Skies:

Since our flight wasscheduled to arrive in Fort Lauderdale around 8pm that evening I booked a no-frills room at theMotel 6 Dania Beach the cost of the hotel for one night was $111.99 withtax. Upon arrival we took a taxi to the hotel for $13.00. He driverwas kind enough to even drive through Churches Chicken (ugghhhh the cheapestnasties chicken ever) which seemed to be the only thing open. I tipped thedriver for his patience so the total for the taxi was around $25.00. Thefront desk staff had zero customer service skills. They were not rude, but theywere indeed rough around the edges. No, one looked up or even spoke when Iwalked in. I stood at the counter for about 2 minutes before someone was said,“yes”. Not how can I help you but a simple “yes” with a whole lot of attitude behind it.So, having given them my best Claire Huxtable stare/side eye. The woman quicklygot her attitude together and was a whole lot nicer. I read her my confirmationnumber and paid in cash. I was left to find the room on my own.There were a few guys hanging out near the front office harmless yet perhapsintimidating to some. I was a little skeptical about the condition of the roomat this point, but it was what it was. My son gave me grief when we firstpulled up in the taxi. “Really mom Motel 6?” Yes, my friend Motel 6 for onenite. As you can see from the pictures below it was basic but very clean andwell maintained. However, my son was not having it. He was upset that there wasno carpet on the floor. I explained that it was Florida and with the humiditymost places and homes had bare floors. We ate dinner which consisted of nowcold chicken strips and fries and got ready for bed. Correction my daughter andI got ready for bed. Since the room was not up to my son’s standards hedeclared he was not taking his shoes or clothes off nor was he taking a shower “inTHATtub”. The tub did have a few ants in it. Ants are better that roaches,right? I forced him to shower and called it a night.I woke up find he slept on top of the covers with a hoodie on. That’s rightwith the actual hood on his head so that he would not have to touch the pillow.I promise you the room wasn’t that bad.

Motel 6 Dania Beach:

Transportation to the port

The following morning, we woke up excited that the day hadfinally arrived. We showered anddressed. I’d already packed a few pastries in our travel backpack. There werenot smashed and not very pleasing to the eye at all. I need some coffee so wewent to a small room that we saw the night before right next to the frontoffice that had a vending machine. The kids got drinks however I was indesperate need for coffee. We started towalk down the street from the hotel, yet quickly turned back as it was TOOHUMID for us Californians.

I booked SAS Transportation to take us to the port. I wasable to book in advance online and the cost was only $15.00 per person. Thecompany sent several text messages to say the driver was on his way. The driver arrived in a very fancy blacktravel van. He explained that he had a few others to pick up and then we would beon our way. There was a very nice group of retired individuals already in thevan who were going on a transatlantic.

We stopped a hotel and picked up a family of 5. The momtapped me on the shoulder and said, “Are you HP?” I said, “The one and only”. She and I were members of the other group together.Her husband even recognized me. We stopped at another hotel and an older gentlemantraveling solo sat in the front seat. He turned around and yelled “HP isme_____!” (I forgot his name). The partyhad begun, and we weren’t even on the highway yet. “Hey HP!” would be the theme of the week as Icounted down with over 230 people.

We arrive to the port around 10:30ish. We climbed out of thevan and a porter appeared from nowhere. I’d already had my $5.00 bill foldeddiscreetly in my hand. Once the porter took my bags I slipped him the $ and hewent on his way smiling back at me. I could tell this made a few of the otheruncomfortable as they did not know that a tip to the porters were somewhatcustomary. The kids and I walked towardthe Carnival entry and there was already a line wrapped around the building. Myson grumbled something about we should have arrived earlier. To which Ireplied. “Calm Down Charlie Brown”. Wehad Faster to the Fun. Since this was my first cruise I had no idea what thiswas or why it was needed. My countdown partners highly recommended it. They would stalk the site daily for it to open. The day that it opened for purchase (2weeks prior to our sail date) I received a text from one of my countdownbuddies saying it was open. It was sheer peer pressure that made me buy it. Letme tell you it was the BEST darn $89.95 that I’ve spent in my life. I felt likea Rockstar all week.

Total check in time with FTTF was less than 7 minutes andbefore we knew it we were seated in a special section. I kid you not everyone inthis section knew one another I cannot tell you have many people I hugged and greeted.

Regular Check-In Line:

Faster to the Fun Check-In Line:

Once on board it was time to active my plan which was based on months of reading reviews and cramming over the deck plans. The kids and I headed to find our room. I booked room 1257 one deck one with was a Deluxe Ocean View.

The room was clean and spacious. Everything was in good repair. The lights and television were already on yet there was no card as I previous read in the slot to keep on the electricity. I'd asked for the bed to be split into two however here's what I found when I walked in. This was not a big deal at all. My daughter and I shared the bed and my son slept on the sofa bed.

Some how I overlooked the fact that this room can with a split bath. There was a shower, sink toilet in on and a shower,bathtub, and sink in the other. This came in handy when trying to get everyone together at once.

Shampoo and Body Wash in both:

Room Tour Continued:

As previously mentioned our television was on and this was on the screen. I though this was a really nice touch. I felt so welcomed.

I hung up and birthday banner for my son using magnets above the TV

My daughter and I also decorated the door. One thing that I found was that the door itself was not magnetic, rather only the sides were. I wasn't able to hang the decor as planned so this had to do.

There were two closets to hang clothes and another with shelf, drawers, and a safe. More than enough room to store our things.

I also packed a pop up hamper for dirty clothes.

We dropped off our things in the room and headed to lunch. At this point only priority and FTTF fun guest were on. The kids and I went to Pig and Anchor on deck 5 which I read was a little known spot to grab lunch as most run to the buffet on the lido deck. There were only 2 people ahead of us in line. So a total of 5 including my family found this sweet spot so far. The food was tasty but on the cold side. Again nothing to get upset about. I like my food piping hot. The portions were huge. I asked for a "little" on my daughters plate yet he portion was bigger than mine. I hate to waste food so I tend to eat my food plus whatever my daughter does not finish.

There is no charge for Pig and Anchor

Various sauces to try

The only others in line

My plate of collard greens(not seasoned or cooked fully at all), brisket, baked beans, mac-n-cheese, and coleslaw.

I am enjoying your review. Glad you figured out how to post pictures.

My son's plate of baked beans, brisket, mac-n-cheese and one of the Sweet and Zesty sauces.

My daughter's plate of greens, baked beans, bbq chicken, and mac-n-cheese (this small portion I asked for)

One strange thing about Pig and Anchor is that they do not have drinks for purchase nor a water or juice dispenser like the buffet. Instead my son Langston had to go inside near ocean plaza to the Shake Spot to get drinks for our meal.

I really expected more from Pig and Anchor. I left full but disappointed the only thing that was seasoned well was the meat. You cannot violate the Southern Code of cooking collard greens.

After lunch we headed back to the room to change into swim suits. Our luggage was already waiting. Note how our luggage was the only luggage down the entire length of the hall. FASTER TO THE FUN ROCKS!!!

We were in our swim suits and in the pool by the time the flood gates of passengers began to pour onto the lido deck. Many were pulling or carrying luggage. Meanwhile we were having a good old time lounging around.

We sat out for a bit but had to get changed for the sail away party. Remember I mentioned I was sailing with 230 others that I'd met online. Well I organized a meet and greet during sail away on the lido deck. I asked that everyone wear a bright colored lei so that we would recognize one another. I will come back and add picture of the meet and greet later, I believe they are on my son's phone. By sail away time many of us had already said hello and were chomping it up like old friends. I never met a strange this entire week. So many people in leis it was really quite nice that many people participated. This is just the beginning of an awesome adventure.

After the sail away I wanted to tour the kids club since it was open house. I was empty when the kids and I arrived. There is a small library inside the kids club that you can go read or play games with your child at anytime.

The kids club had a really organized system of dropping off and picking up. The kids were given a name badge and when they entered the lobby area they would find their name tag while the parent signed them in. Here are a few pics that I snapped during open house. As you can see we were the only ones in there yet the ship was sold out.

Camp Ocean Check In desk

Play area form toddlers

Main Play Area/Gathering place

kid sized restroom

Great review so far! I can already tell that you had a much better time on this cruise than on your NCL cruise. ;)

The one downside to getting on early is that when you're first to the food, it's the stuff they prepped, cooked and put out in anticipation of the crowds....so it doesn't have the quick turnover that you're get when the crowds are chowing down (which actually leads to hotter, fresher food for them).

Can't wait to hear the rest of your adventures.

oh and lol at your son and his sleeping with his hood on. Growing up my dad made some very questionable decisions when selecting motels. Yours didn't look too bad (like you said, it looks clean) but we stayed in some real dives (like afraid to turn back the sheets in case you find the outline of a dead body kind of thing). Anyways, when he pays, he gets to pick the hotel (which is why we now stay in better places when my parents travel with me...I pay ;p)

Following along. Look forward to the rest of the review!

One of the only pictures I can find from the sail away meet and greet. Not the best picture as my son likes to catch me off guard.

I am following your great review! Enjoying your pictures! We are sailing on the Vista next year from Galveston.

After the tour of the kids club we headedback to our room to shower and get dressed for dinner. Each night thekids and I dressed up for dinner. I dress up daily for work and the kids dressup often when we go out to dinner and for school mass. I think I havemore dress clothing than casual wear.

Since we had yourtime dining my goal was to eat early enough to attend a show later thatevening. Once we were dressed we headed to Horizon's one of the maindining rooms, located on deck 3 aft. We were told by a woman standingbehind the desk that we needed to go up deck 5 to check in for dinner, oncechecked in we would then need to return to the Horizon’s on deck 3 to be seatedfor dinner. All three of us made the hike back up to deck 5. The YTDcheck in area was located adjacent to the counter of the ShakeSpot. We checked in and headed back down stairs. If you are wearinghigh heels as I was beware. I never understood why we had to go up to deck 5 each night to check in for YTD.

Here are the menus from the Horizons MDR fromour first evening on board.

The tables were really close to each other. We go some really cold stares from a woman that clearly did not want us sitting next to her. My children we quiet and well behaved. Yet she kept clearing her throat and rolling her eyes the entire time. My son was uncomfortable and wanted to leave. I said to him loud enough for her to hear that we had just as much of a right to be there as she did. Our waiter was very professional and warm. I put in our entire order at once so that dinner service would move along quickly. This is something that I also do at home when dining out with my 5 year old.

Ellington was actually so tired that she fell asleep after a few bites of food. I let her sleep at the table while my son and I finished up dinner and dessert.

I have pictures of the food that I cannot seem to upload.

I had the skirt steak, my daughter had a pizza that was very large for a kids portion, and my son had chicken. Everything was tasty. I also had the warm chocolate cake for the 1st time. It was just as good as everyone claims it is.

We headed back to our room. It was only 8:30 or so and my daughter and I were in for the night. So much for the show that I wanted to see. I called myself resting for a few moments, only to wake up and find that it was now day two.

Thank you for the review! We just hit double digits today before we get to board the Vista when she comes to Galveston. :)

So I'm definitely looking forward to more!

Day 2 Sea Day:

We woke up dressed by8:30am. I wanted to try the sea day brunch vs. having to maneuver the buffetwith a 5 year old who is clumsy as all get out.

My daughter's front tooth that was hanging crookedly in the take of picture had finally fallen out hallelujah! I was so sick of that one hanging tooth. For weeks she looked like she'd chewed on a bag of rocks.

Our FB group also has shirts made for this sailing. Here is mine in the picture. The shirts were $15.00 and even had your name on it. I selected the coral color.

Sea Day Brunch Continued:

I ordered the steak and eggs. The steak was so small you had to have a magnifying glass to see it.

Langston had the pancakes

I ordered Al Carte for Ellington since I knew she wouldn't eat a huge portion. She has eggs and sausage.

I also ordered a side of bacon and eggs . The bacon was crispy just the way it ought to be.

The restaurant was not crowded at all. Again for the ship to have been sold out it never felt that way.

After brunch my son and I dropped Ellington off at the kids club.I wanted to take pictures of the ship. I tried to encourage my son to findsomething to do but he insisted on hanging out with me.

I walked around taking pictures of the ship.

Cherry on Top

Cherry on Top continued:

The Fun Shop:

Great review! It looks like you had a blast! I can't wait to see the rest.