Carnival Vista Cabin Choice ... What Say You? ... or Horizon?

Hello! I am looking at booking an 8 day cruise in August on Vista for my family of 4 (wife and 11 and 14 year old). This will be our first time sailing with Carnival and looking forward to giving it a try as we are quickly becoming addicted to cruising.

We were evaluating the 8 day on Vista out of Miami with stops in Curacuo, Aruba, La Romana and Grand Turk versus the 8 day on Horizon out of New York with stops in Amber Cove, San Juan, and Grand Turk. The Vista itenerary seems better and is about $500 cheaper. But the Horizon leaves NY and would be cool to do a few days beforehand and sail past the statue of liberty. We've ultimately decided on the Vista. Even though I know Miami is hotter than the surface of the sun in August. lol.

Who knows. We may change our mind but hope to book by weekend. Can anyone offer their general thoughts on these two sailings and what balcony stateroom you might choose if you were going? I was looking at rooms on floor 8 as it is in between two floors of staterooms and might be more quiet. Thanks!

We just came off Vista last Sunday and did the 8-day southern run. The ports were awesome! We absolutely loved Grand Turk and Aruba. I would do the Vista based on the itinerary alone. Can't speak to the balcony, as we were in a Deluxe Oceanview cabin, which worked well for our family of 4. Vista is a great ship, and we are looking forward to sailing on Horizon in Summer 2019 doing the same route.

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Awesome. Thanks. Will look at the Oceanviews too. We are pumped for Vista and think we will try Harmony or Symphony next December (2019) after the Seaside in March 2019.

Sailing out of NYC is fantastic, the skyline is unmatched in America. Take a few days before or after to explore and experience the city.

As for the cruises, I would also pick the Vista, and the cabin location on deck 8 is great (try to make it a midship or somewhat aft).

We sailed the Vista from NYC 2 Thanksgivings ago and loved that Southern itinerary (perhaps we had Bon Aire instead of Curacao?) and the ship. We are sailing Horizon this Memorial Day mainly for the ship, as Amber Cove (ugh, ugly) and San Juan (been there maybe 15 times) will be ship days.

Enjoy Grand Turk, the Vista spent almost an hour trying to dock there on our cruise due to tides, wind, and the recent memory of that Sicilian marina wipeout..

Thanks. One other question. May be a stupid one. But is there a better side of the ship to choose for port sailaway views, etc.

Deck 7, near suites so there’s fewer people on this deck. We prefer this deck, mid ship to aft and we always get a good nights rest.

Port side on the S Carib itin will give you nice views of Aruba and Curaçao. Starboard gives you stunning ocean views. We sailed starboard in Nov and will be port on the S Carib route this summer.

Personally, NYC is oppressive in summer. Hotter and stickier than h3ll. At least in Miami you’ll be at the beach and quickly out to sea on your cruise.

We prefer more sea days in the Carib vs having to sail down to FL to enjoy nice weather.

Either way you’ll have a great time. Vista is great for families and kids. I doubt your kids will ever get bored and you might have a tough time getting them to spend time with you. Summer cruises are mostly families and Carnival.

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Do the Vista...We did the exact itinerary on the Vista this past Thanksgiving.... Awesome ports. Great ship. Our cabin was in the Havana area....but the above suggestions for decks 7 and 8 mid-ship are good recommendations

Thanks. I picked a balcony on 8 mid-ship on port side. About a half dozen rooms of the elevators and stairs. I will look at 7 and consider switching too. Appreciate it. I am thinking about going TWO nights early so we can get in and settled the first night and have the second day to walk around parts of Miami and explore the beach. Last time we had a pre-stay in Miami, we stayed at the Royal Palm South Beach on Starwood points. May do so again this time. It's a nice enough property and right on the beach so its easy enough to just walk out there from the pool area. Rates aren't TOO bad in August there. And you're paying for location. The room itself Easter Week two years ago would have been $500+. I was like, ah, not sure I would pay more than $200+ even if this is on the beach!

Do the Vista...We did the exact itinerary on the Vista this past Thanksgiving.... Awesome ports. Great ship. Our cabin was in the Havana area....but the above suggestions for decks 7 and 8 mid-ship are good recommendations

Thanks. Would have totally looked at the Havana cabins (watched that great Jim Zim video) but none available and daughter not quite 12 at time of sailing. So unless they looked the other way we couldn't do that anyway.