Just back - quick review of the Vista and Family Harbor

We are just back from the September 17 sailing of the Vista (6 day). It's been a while since I've sailed one of the newer ships (see signature), so it was interesting to sail on the newest! Overall, I have to say I absolutely loved it!!! I'm going to focus on Family Harbor, and also comment on some of the negative comments I had seen leading up our cruise - I found many of them not to be true!

Family Harbor - We are a family of 5, with daughters ages 14, 12, and 6. We stayed in room 2463, which is a deluxe oceanview. The room itself was very much like the similar rooms, designed for 5, on the Dream class ships. Major upgrade to the TV, which was a big screen. I'm sure this is true of all Vista rooms. The best part about Family Harbor was the lounge. It was great to have breakfast available so close by. And it wasn't just continental. They had waffles, eggs, even salmon (which made my husband's cruise - he used to love getting that from room service, before they stopped offering it.). It saved us having to go up to Lido for breakfast, which was great! The kids loved the ice cream machine just steps from our room, and we also enjoyed the snacks that they put out in the afternoon. It was also a great place for them to meet up with the other kids they were hanging out with. It had two separate couch/tv areas. There were also video games...not our thing, but seemed to be in use nearly constantly. Note: Carnival seems to have put a lot of effort and money into the branding of Family Harbor. My youngest got Family Harbor playing cards at Camp Ocean...and the branding is all over the walls. I wonder if they'll add this concept to the Dream class ships eventually? Quick edit: our room did not have any noise from the dining room above. But be careful of the rooms under the galley. We heard from other cruisers that the rooms right near the lounge have horrid noise from above. That's consistent with reviews I've read hear on CruiseCritic.

Lido lines: I've seen a lot of comments that the lines at Lido are horrible. I found the lines on the Vista to be far better than many of the other ships I've been on. There are so many options...I never hit Lido at a time when the lines were that bad. Surprisingly, the longest lines I saw were at dinner time. And when we went to Your Time dining (5 of 6 nights), it wasn't full...so I guess this crowd liked Lido better? I don't understand that!

Seating for shows/Dive in movies: I had seen comments that the Liquid Lounge is too small for shows, and it's tough to get seats. Likewise for the Dive In Movies. While both venues were smaller than I've seen on other ships, they didn't seem to fill up. We got there early for a show, and it never did fill up...many empty seats. The Dive In Movies tended to mostly fill up, but not usually until the movie had started. Even then there were still some seats available.

Serenity: I got to Serenity at 10 am on our first sea day, and easily found a seat, which surprised me. I sat right near the salad bar - which was awesome. I am NOT a salad girl, but I had to try it - and that was probably the best salad I've ever had. I also loved having a bar right there on Serenity!!!

Schwartz: Our cruise director was Schwarz...we remember him from the Magic. He was great...so much fun!!!

Overall...we really liked this ship. It takes a bit to get used to the layout if you're a Carnival regular, because it is different. But after a day or two, we got it down, and we loved it.

The only negative on our cruise was that there were more truly rude people than I'm used to (after many Carnival cruises). There were several very large groups on board...I'm not sure if that was the cause of this or not...but I have never seen ruder cruisers in my life. Not everyone, of course...but there were people on board who seemed to have no idea how to act appropriately in public. Talking loudly in the middle of movies, cutting line, etc. This reached it's peak on the last night of the cruise when one guy who had been mouthing off for quite a while in the casino propositioned a woman who turned him down. He hauled off and slapped her, and was promptly set upon by Security who led him away in handcuffs.

We loved the Vista and would sail her again in a heartbeat! Hope to in the near future...this time I'll try for an 8 day!!!! Let me know if you have any questions!

Julie

Glad you enjoyed your family cruise!

Thanks for your feedback.

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

I forgot to mention entertainment! My absolute favorite was Tom Hanson, the guitar player/singer in the Red Frog Pub. He also played at the Platinum party. Tom was great...took requests, and it was just a really fun environment. We sang along...a lot. I actually liked that better on this cruise than the piano bar. We went once, but it just wasn't as fun as usual...there were some who were HUGE fans of Elizabeth in the piano bar - so to each his own. We thought Tom's show was more fun. We didn't catch any comedy shows. We saw one of the shows in the Liquid Lounge, and it was very good.

Thanks for the review.

Thanks for the review! Too bad about the people with the poor social skills. It seems like a matter of luck on any given cruise.

Thanks for positive review. We are on Vista in November. Looking forward to a great cruise:D

I cruise in November and we are also a family of 5. We also book ocean view and are staying in Family Harbor but 2447. I noticed on the map it is just a couple of rooms up. I have read about the noise but it looks to me that our room is one of the last under the galley and hopefully we wont hear much. Anyway how was the cabin layed out. On the Magic the main bed was in front of the window and the 2 uppers where to the right when you entered and of course the sofa. Just wondered if they modeled the layout the same on the Vista for cabins that sleep 5. And my DD wants to know if they have chocolate milk in the lounge. It is her favorite thing and usually orders it off the room service menu at night for a snack when she can't find on Lido.

I forgot to mention entertainment! My absolute favorite was Tom Hanson, the guitar player/singer in the Red Frog Pub. He also played at the Platinum party. Tom was great...took requests, and it was just a really fun environment. We sang along...a lot.

Tom just dropped by our Vista 10/1 roll-call group on That Other Unnameable Social Media Site to say hi. That was really cool -- I've never seen an entertainer do that before -- and he seems to have a good sense of humor.

We saw the Vista when we were in Cozumel on the Freedom and we were thinking of taking our kids (would be 9/10) and some neighborhood friends. I was glad to see this review. I was also looking into the Family Harbor Cabins and thanks for the tip about the galley.

Oh and Go Irish!

Thanks for the review, we cruise on her for my birthday in December and are really looking forward to it.

Cheers and happy cruising.

Thanks for the review! We are looking at the Vista mainly because of the Family Harbor options. :)

We are just back from the September 17 sailing of the Vista (6 day). It's been a while since I've sailed one of the newer ships (see signature), so it was interesting to sail on the newest! Overall, I have to say I absolutely loved it!!! I'm going to focus on Family Harbor, and also comment on some of the negative comments I had seen leading up our cruise - I found many of them not to be true!

 

Family Harbor - We are a family of 5, with daughters ages 14, 12, and 6. We stayed in room 2463, which is a deluxe oceanview. The room itself was very much like the similar rooms, designed for 5, on the Dream class ships. Major upgrade to the TV, which was a big screen. I'm sure this is true of all Vista rooms. The best part about Family Harbor was the lounge. It was great to have breakfast available so close by. And it wasn't just continental. They had waffles, eggs, even salmon (which made my husband's cruise - he used to love getting that from room service, before they stopped offering it.). It saved us having to go up to Lido for breakfast, which was great! The kids loved the ice cream machine just steps from our room, and we also enjoyed the snacks that they put out in the afternoon. It was also a great place for them to meet up with the other kids they were hanging out with. It had two separate couch/tv areas. There were also video games...not our thing, but seemed to be in use nearly constantly. Note: Carnival seems to have put a lot of effort and money into the branding of Family Harbor. My youngest got Family Harbor playing cards at Camp Ocean...and the branding is all over the walls. I wonder if they'll add this concept to the Dream class ships eventually? Quick edit: our room did not have any noise from the dining room above. But be careful of the rooms under the galley. We heard from other cruisers that the rooms right near the lounge have horrid noise from above. That's consistent with reviews I've read hear on CruiseCritic.

 

Lido lines: I've seen a lot of comments that the lines at Lido are horrible. I found the lines on the Vista to be far better than many of the other ships I've been on. There are so many options...I never hit Lido at a time when the lines were that bad. Surprisingly, the longest lines I saw were at dinner time. And when we went to Your Time dining (5 of 6 nights), it wasn't full...so I guess this crowd liked Lido better? I don't understand that!

 

Seating for shows/Dive in movies: I had seen comments that the Liquid Lounge is too small for shows, and it's tough to get seats. Likewise for the Dive In Movies. While both venues were smaller than I've seen on other ships, they didn't seem to fill up. We got there early for a show, and it never did fill up...many empty seats. The Dive In Movies tended to mostly fill up, but not usually until the movie had started. Even then there were still some seats available.

 

Serenity: I got to Serenity at 10 am on our first sea day, and easily found a seat, which surprised me. I sat right near the salad bar - which was awesome. I am NOT a salad girl, but I had to try it - and that was probably the best salad I've ever had. I also loved having a bar right there on Serenity!!!

 

Schwartz: Our cruise director was Schwarz...we remember him from the Magic. He was great...so much fun!!!

 

Overall...we really liked this ship. It takes a bit to get used to the layout if you're a Carnival regular, because it is different. But after a day or two, we got it down, and we loved it.

 

The only negative on our cruise was that there were more truly rude people than I'm used to (after many Carnival cruises). There were several very large groups on board...I'm not sure if that was the cause of this or not...but I have never seen ruder cruisers in my life. Not everyone, of course...but there were people on board who seemed to have no idea how to act appropriately in public. Talking loudly in the middle of movies, cutting line, etc. This reached it's peak on the last night of the cruise when one guy who had been mouthing off for quite a while in the casino propositioned a woman who turned him down. He hauled off and slapped her, and was promptly set upon by Security who led him away in handcuffs.

 

We loved the Vista and would sail her again in a heartbeat! Hope to in the near future...this time I'll try for an 8 day!!!! Let me know if you have any questions!

 

 

Julie

Thanks for your review.

Did you eat in the MDR, if so, what was your favorite food in the MDR?

Sailing on Vista very soon!!!!

We are booked in the family harbor area - cove balcony. We do not actually have a Family Harbor room, but we will have several toddlers with us. Are we still allowed to use the Family Harbor?

Thanks and I am so glad you enjoyed your cruise and didn't let the little stuff get to you..it's refreshing!

Lido lines: I've seen a lot of comments that the lines at Lido are horrible. I found the lines on the Vista to be far better than many of the other ships I've been on. There are so many options...I never hit Lido at a time when the lines were that bad. Surprisingly, the longest lines I saw were at dinner time. And when we went to Your Time dining (5 of 6 nights), it wasn't full...so I guess this crowd liked Lido better? I don't understand that!

Hi Julie thanks for your review. I have a question if you can answer please and thank you. When you had Your Time Dining did you just go to the Dining room and if so what one did you dine in? I have heard prior that you had to go to Deck 5 to get a slip of paper for a seat prior to heading to your time dining. If you could confirm what your family did it would be helpful as we sail on Sunday.

go blue

I cruise in November and we are also a family of 5. We also book ocean view and are staying in Family Harbor but 2447. I noticed on the map it is just a couple of rooms up. I have read about the noise but it looks to me that our room is one of the last under the galley and hopefully we wont hear much. Anyway how was the cabin layed out. On the Magic the main bed was in front of the window and the 2 uppers where to the right when you entered and of course the sofa. Just wondered if they modeled the layout the same on the Vista for cabins that sleep 5. And my DD wants to know if they have chocolate milk in the lounge. It is her favorite thing and usually orders it off the room service menu at night for a snack when she can't find on Lido.

Yes, I found the layout of the room to be very similar to the Dream class ships (Dream, Magic, Breeze). The biggest difference between this ship and those was how much BETTER the TV was!!! I know...the TV shouldn't matter...but when a little one needs to sleep and you need to stay with her, it's cool to be able to watch a free movie on demand on a nice big screen TV!!! I have surveyed my kids and husband...and they *THINK* there was chocolate milk in the Family Harbor lounge. Not positive, but they think so. (sorry for the delayed response...it's hard to catch up at work after a cruise!!!)

Tom just dropped by our Vista 10/1 roll-call group on That Other Unnameable Social Media Site to say hi. That was really cool -- I've never seen an entertainer do that before -- and he seems to have a good sense of humor.

Tom is awesome. He is only like 23 years old, but he really is such a good singer. We had so much fun hanging out in the Red Frog Pub singing along with him. I see that I'm so late I've already missed your departure, but for others seeing this...Tom keeps a list of the songs he knows well right up by his tip jar. There are several copies. Grab one for your table. And bring some cash to tip the lad.

Thanks for your review.

Did you eat in the MDR, if so, what was your favorite food in the MDR?

Sailing on Vista very soon!!!!

That's an easy one for me. We've done a lot of 5 day cruises lately, which don't have lobster...and this was a 6 day...so I really, really enjoyed the LOBSTER!!! With that said, I also always love ordering the cheese plate (from the dessert menu) as an appetizer.

We are booked in the family harbor area - cove balcony. We do not actually have a Family Harbor room, but we will have several toddlers with us. Are we still allowed to use the Family Harbor?

 

Thanks and I am so glad you enjoyed your cruise and didn't let the little stuff get to you..it's refreshing!

Hmmm...If the room isn't actually a "family harbor" room, I don't think your card will open the doors. It has key card access with your sign and sail card. I thought maybe there were some suites/balcony rooms that were Family Harbor...but I'm not sure if yours would be one of those or not? They distinguish the FH rooms pretty clearly...the color and design of the carpet for the FH rooms is literally different for the FH rooms than the others on the floor. With that said, there is lots of traffic in and out, so I'm sure you'd be able to get in there sometimes...but you wouldn't technically have access.

We really did enjoy this cruise! I'm just catching up on cruise critic and answering questions...because now it's time to book our next one!!!!

Hi Julie thanks for your review. I have a question if you can answer please and thank you. When you had Your Time Dining did you just go to the Dining room and if so what one did you dine in? I have heard prior that you had to go to Deck 5 to get a slip of paper for a seat prior to heading to your time dining. If you could confirm what your family did it would be helpful as we sail on Sunday.

go blue

I'm sorry....I'm too late for your sailing, but I thought I'd answer for others. We were in the Horizons dining room at the back of the ship, right above our Family Harbor room. Since we are Platinum, we were allowed to go directly to the dining room without getting a slip. Others picked up a slip right by the Java Blue cafe on 5. Honestly though, we always ate early (by around 6), and it was NEVER crowded at all. Almost to the point of being strange. We went to brunch on our last sea day, and it was so much busier than dinner! Surprising!!

And I swear...I didn't delay in responding to you just because you said "go blue". Ugh. lol

Was your room with the two bathrooms? Did you go to the lounge for more than breakfast? Debating between the room types thanks we are a family of 4 thanks

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

Was your room with the two bathrooms? Did you go to the lounge for more than breakfast? Debating between the room types thanks we are a family of 4 thanks

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

Yes, our room was the type with the extra half bath. Just keep in mind, it's not an extra toilet...just an extra sink and a tub/shower. We went to the family harbor lounge for breakfast, but that's the only meal they serve there. Other than that, they put out some late afternoon snacks (chips, light sandwiches, cookies). There is also an ice cream machine, coffee, and a large refrigerator with milk and yogurt.

I was on the Vista a few weeks ago and had the opportunity to interview some of the amazing entertainment staff. They all told me their favorite parts of their jobs.

Sounds like you had a great cruise, thank you for your review.

Love your name, domergirl. Our son graduated ND law school this past May. That campus is gorgeous!

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

Wonderful review!! Thanks for sharing![emoji4]

Sent from my iPad using Forums