Carnival Vista - Not great reviews?

I see a pattern here, across all new cruise line ship builds. The initial reviews are generally negative - too big, too many guests, not enough seats in smaller venues, higher fares and more for pay options, etc. 6 months to a year later, the reviews seem to equal out. About 2 yrs. later it becomes the best ship ever built -fantastic crew and officers, great food, esp. in the specialty restaurants, new theater shows, more entertainment variety, better spa, etc..

I loved the Vista and Horizon, hopefully I'm going to love the new MSC Seaside as well. While new isn't always better, the same old ship/cruise line does gets old after a while. Experience each to appreciate both.

I see a pattern here, across all new cruise line ship builds. The initial reviews are generally negative - too big, too many guests, not enough seats in smaller venues, higher fares and more for pay options, etc. 6 months to a year later, the reviews seem to equal out. About 2 yrs. later it becomes the best ship ever built -fantastic crew and officers, great food, esp. in the specialty restaurants, new theater shows, more entertainment variety, better spa, etc..

 

I loved the Vista and Horizon, hopefully I'm going to love the new MSC Seaside as well. While new isn't always better, the same old ship/cruise line does gets old after a while. Experience each to appreciate both.

MSC is a quality cruise line! But there are differences,,,,

Dinner takes longer, more smaller courses ala Euro style!

Kids under 12(maybe 13?) sail free, so there will be more kids!

MSC will hold up its sailing time out of Miami if Euro flights come in late!(we sailed out of Miami 2 hours late because of this)

More foreigners on MSC then other cruise lines sailing out of US, some like this, some don't!

The ship is not too big.

 

It's too small for the number of passengers.

 

 

 

I won't sell this ship to my friends.

What about your non friends.....

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I am the person who wrote the review linked above. You can think I was exaggerating, but that was my experience, and it was so bad that I am totally turned off to ever cruising Carnival again. If you read other recent reviews of Vista, you will see other people complaining about the speaker use on decks and balconies (amongst other things). In fact, this issue is not isolated to Carnival. There is a current thread on the Royal boards complaining about the same thing. I’m a frequent cruiser, and I’ve experienced the speaker use on balconies before . This past cruise on Vista was the worst for rampant use of Bluetooth speakers on deck blasting inappropriate music, while security did nothing. I feel this is due to the selfish and disrespectful attitude of the cruisers who are all about themselves and think the world revolves around them. I have no idea why Carnival won’t enforce their own rules about speaker use, but they clearly are lax on rule enforcement- just look at the public health hazard they do nothing about with allowing babies in diapers in pools and hot tubs.

 

And for jimbo5544, I NEVER complained about the weather in my review. I made a statement that there was more seaweed/grass at Grand Turk than last year. It was a simple observation.

Did I say you complained about the weather? I was simply making the point as to why there might be more seaweed now. “Rampart use of blue tooth speakers”. Funny, I am a frequent cruiser as well and have never experienced that (or read about it in other reviews). Happy cruising....

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Thanks guys,

You know what - I’m going to book it!

I’ve never been to Texas neither and looking at the size of the place it's huge! We’re flying to Houston IAH George Bush Intercontinental Airport and from there we will have a three night stay before we board the cruise. Any ideas of nice affordable family places to stay, near the beach or with a good pool? Is it best to stay in the Galveston area?

We travelled from the uk to cruise out of Galveston this summer. The first night two nights we stayed near the airport and ubered into Houston to do the tourist bits. The third night we travelled to Nassau bay to visit NASA. Although there isn’t much to walk to the Kemah boardwalk is a short Uber ride ($9 each way) and there is tonnes of stuff to see and do. If we were to return we would def stay in the Nassau Bay Area then move to Galveston itself as the place is amazing.

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My wife just got off the Vista this morning, she isn't home yet for full details, but she was not very fond of it, public areas (showroom, lounges, etc.) are much smaller and it was standing room only numerous times. Looks like they made the ship bigger but cut back the public areas to make room for more staterooms. The Punchliner comedy shows are always standing room only & when they cut back on the size of that lounge, they really screwed that up. I'll know more when she gets back home. We are both Platinum and this was her 27th. Carnival cruise so we have been on quite a few different ships.

Doug

I loved the Vista as did my friends! Amazing ship with tons of spaces to play or relax.

Really clean and beautIful.

will write more later. Church!

she will not disappoint!

I understand the folks that are say Vista just has too many people. The ship is definingly over crowded. The design of the ship you could say was a sardine packers delight :D. Not even going to touch the idea behind the main showroom design ???.

Now if a person was to ask me if I like the ship my answer would be ,yes. If asked would I sail on Vista again it would be Hell no .

The food was subjective and the pay items were much better in taste. The MDR was a mad house with the longest wait time on any Carnival ship I have sailed. The main buffet was just plaid branded food..

Thrill theatre , everyone should do this at least's once :D. The ship holds the sea well no unusual movements. Cove baloneys are a must on the ship if you enjoy privacy. Havana balconies are just to exposed to people walking up and down the deck . . just my three cents worth. Enjoy cruising what ever you decide .

I understand the folks that are say Vista just has too many people. The ship is definingly over crowded. The design of the ship you could say was a sardine packers delight :D. Not even going to touch the idea behind the main showroom design ???.

 

 

Now if a person was to ask me if I like the ship my answer would be ,yes. If asked would I sail on Vista again it would be Hell no .

 

 

The food was subjective and the pay items were much better in taste. The MDR was a mad house with the longest wait time on any Carnival ship I have sailed. The main buffet was just plaid branded food..

 

Thrill theatre , everyone should do this at least's once :D. The ship holds the sea well no unusual movements. Cove baloneys are a must on the ship if you enjoy privacy. Havana balconies are just to exposed to people walking up and down the deck . . just my three cents worth. Enjoy cruising what ever you decide .

In three sailings I can honestly say (and according to staff our July sailing on the Horizon was the highest occupancy to date) that we felt no more crowded then any Conquest or Dream class ship. That said our opinions have differed before (which is fine). What is plain branded food?

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In three sailings I can honestly say (and according to staff our July sailing on the Horizon was the highest occupancy to date) that we felt no more crowded then any Conquest or Dream class ship. That said our opinions have differed before (which is fine). What is plain branded food?

 

 

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Well I'm happy for you jimbo . You're certainly welcomed to your opinion as you have several times in this thread and others . You have succeeded in becoming Carnivals greatest defender now, besides Heald Boy ! :*

Well I'm happy for you jimbo . You're certainly welcomed to your opinion as you have several times in this thread and others . You have succeeded in becoming Carnivals greatest defender now, besides Heald Boy ! :*

Why do I sense you are not really happy for me. You did not answer my question. Does being happy with a class of ship and offering my view on different points only count if they are negative?

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I've not sailed on the Magic, but the only area that seemed crowded to me on the Vista was the main pool area. Chaos! Otherwise I loved how many small areas to gather there were. Of course during the muster drill it was crowded and also disembarkation. Honestly I really thought the layout broke up the crowds.

Why do I sense you are not really happy for me. You did not answer my question. Does being happy with a class of ship and offering my view on different points only count if they are negative?

 

 

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Seriously Jimbo I am happy for you :D or anyone else who has a positive or negative opinion on any ship. It just seams to me you badger anyone with a negative opinion by stating your opinion on any negative views of a Carnival ship . Not everyone is going to like everything on a carnival ship that you do . Relax and enjoy your next cruise. :cool: Questions ?? are answered only when I feel like answering them ;p. Sometimes there not worth my time .

Being on any ship is good in my book, but I definitely prefer Dream and Conquest class ships.

Seriously Jimbo I am happy for you :D or anyone else who has a positive or negative opinion on any ship. It just seams to me you badger anyone with a negative opinion by stating your opinion on any negative views of a Carnival ship . Not everyone is going to like everything on a carnival ship that you do . Relax and enjoy your next cruise. :cool: Questions ?? are answered only when I feel like answering them ;p. Sometimes there not worth my time .

I do not view it as badger, but I do enjoy the discussion. It really is part of what makes CC so good. LOL, you can answer or not, all is good here. Going on our first Journey cruise aboard the Breeze next month. You can count on me to do a review when we get back.

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Being on any ship is good in my book, but I definitely prefer Dream and Conquest class ships.

Cannot argue with any of that....

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I do not view it as badger, but I do enjoy the discussion. It really is part of what makes CC so good. LOL, you can answer or not, all is good here. Going on our first Journey cruise aboard the Breeze next month. You can count on me to do a review when we get back.

 

 

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We have a saying here in the South and it's truly meant as a comical jester to those people we are envious of :D

Bi t ich :evilsmile: We have the Breeze this month , enjoy :) !

We have a saying here in the South and it's truly meant as a comical jester to those people we are envious of :D

Bi t ich :evilsmile: We have the Breeze this month , enjoy :) !

Reading your posts are... interesting, to say the least. You remind me of my grandmother when she first learned to text.

Reading your posts are... interesting, to say the least. You remind me of my grandmother when she first learned to text.

Sometimes I purposely missmell words, I'm a grammar gods glory treat. ;p Other times My smell checker plays tricks on me. Entertaining though :halo:.

Take G'ma on a cruise ,text her now !

Sometimes I purposely missmell words, I'm a grammar gods glory treat. ;p Other times My smell checker plays tricks on me. Entertaining though :halo:.

Take G'ma on a cruise ,text her now !

Actually, somehow you have the uncanny ability to remind me of my grandma learning to text and a toddler who found a box of crayons. Bravo

Actually, somehow you have the uncanny ability to remind me of my grandma learning to text and a toddler who found a box of crayons. Bravo

Sweet !

Just to add my opinion to this discussion I will second that the Vista is way over crowded for the venues they have on board. The MDR is really not very good. I can remember sitting at the bar in the MDR and being completely ignored by the bar tender. The "American Table" menu, is not very good (subjective view) and the tables, sans table cloth, are slippery wet messes (subjective view). The pool decks are a joke and stuffed to the max which does not make for anything near enjoyable. We tried to get into the theater on one occasion but it was beyond full (should have gotten there earlier ?). The only saving grace was our suite in the Havana Section that made the cruise tolerable. When the Vista dock we boarded another ship (Royal Princess) of the same size and found it much more pleasurable. Perhaps we have "Outgrown Carnival" and that's why we haven't been back or the Vista is just a "Sardine Tin" (not my line but I agree).

I booked a night in Kemah which is a bit out of Galveston, but has a boardwalk that looks fun!

If the itinerary is what you are after, the Vista is a good ship to take. So book it!!!

 

We didn't like it as much as other ships, but our views were tainted by the fact we booked a spa cabin not realizing the spa had been shrunk and even the locker rooms were poor in design. Also our originally booked 2 top was changed to a different dining room and part of a 10 top next to the entrance. When we finally got our 2 top, it might as well have been a 6 top we were so close to other 2 tops. Great dining partners though!

 

That said, we had a great cruise. Loved the Steakhouse, JiJis, Bonsai Sushi, Cucina, Serenity Deck, Alchemy Bar, The Pub (great craft beers on tap, including a good stout/porter so you don't have to drink the US brewed Guiness and stay away from the Boddingtons-not fresh).

We "toured" a couple of regular balconies booked by our "table mates" and a swing through the Havana deck. The regular balconies looked better than the spa balconies and the Havana cabanas were awesome.

 

We're on the Horizon in January in a Havana balcony and looking forward to it.:D

What does "top" mean?

What does "top" mean?

Table for 2