For those that have already been on Vista

[lovecarnivalcruises]

I was wondering for those that have already cruised her, since it is so port intense, did you make it to the dinning room every night? Or where you to worn out to enjoy it? What about shows, to tired? I have never been on a cruise with so many stops and tours before.

[AngMo44]

I was wondering for those that have already cruised her, since it is so port intense, did you make it to the dinning room every night? Or where you to worn out to enjoy it? What about shows, to tired? I have never been on a cruise with so many stops and tours before.

 

We did make it to YTD every night even with 2 kids, but only went to 1 family comedy. No other shows. We are early to bed early to rise folks, though. Some ports are back on board earlier and those nights are better for shows.

[trvlgirlmq]

We are sitting on the beach in Rhodes today because we are tuckered out from the long days. We have gone to MDR every night and made it to a couple of shows. We are usually in bed between 11 and midnight and up again in a few hours (with kids 12 and 13). Loving the trip and we are talking about doing it again in 2 years!

 

 

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[lovecarnivalcruises]

Ok, good to know. Thanks for responding.

[BaseballMomof4]

I was wondering for those that have already cruised her, since it is so port intense, did you make it to the dinning room every night? Or where you to worn out to enjoy it? What about shows, to tired? I have never been on a cruise with so many stops and tours before.

 

We ate on the Lido 2 or 3 times. As much because we just weren't that interested in what was being served in the MDR that night as being worn out from the day, and it was great!

[Halftocruz]

Great question. I can see being tired.

 

I have another question. What time was the muster drill on embarkation day? After 5 when it sets sails or right before 5?

 

Thanks

[indiaksue]

Our muster was at around 4:30 and then there was a sail away party but we didn't actually sail until around 7:00.

 

We went to the MDR several times, also to JiJi's and to Cucina del Capitano on two other nights. So the last 3 nights we went to the buffet. Just too tired and not motivated to dress up.

 

One thing we decided to do next time in Europe is take a mandatory rest day with our least favorite port. We did go to the shows, Flick and America Rocks were really good. We never made it to the comedy clubs, in fact we didn't make it to very much at all, just too tired.

[Surrealistic]

I was wondering for those that have already cruised her, since it is so port intense, did you make it to the dinning room every night? Or where you to worn out to enjoy it? What about shows, to tired? I have never been on a cruise with so many stops and tours before.

 

I think we made one comedy show and one in the liquid lounge. Toward the mid to end of trip we were just too tired to change at night and opted out of the dining room and ate on the lido a few times.

[Karnyval]

Made it to late seating dinner every night, a tour in every port, bits and pieces of shows and comedians. A problem at least equal to fatigue was there was competing entertainment to choose from. Drank at most in moderation during the cruise.

 

Been on Med cruises before, though, and know to pace myself. Don't try to do everything (you can't, anyway), don't burn yourself out early in the cruise. We also got to the embarkation port 2 days early and rested up with minimal touring before the cruise.

 

There was often a nap between getting back to the ship after a tour and before dinner.

 

Not having a sea day to pack before disembarking was a bummer, though.

[josiemartinez]

I was wondering for those that have already cruised her, since it is so port intense, did you make it to the dinning room every night? Or where you to worn out to enjoy it? What about shows, to tired? I have never been on a cruise with so many stops and tours before.

Sailed on the Vista 06/03-06/11. Because the port excursions were lengthy, we did not always make it to the MDR by 6 PM. However, this was the norm because most of my table mates also arrived late. The waiter(s) told me this was common on this cruise and to please come no matter how late. No, the ordering of food was not held up and people just ordered when they arrived. It was wonderful as we all shared our experiences of the port we had just visited.

[lovecarnivalcruises]

Sounds like it was handled good by Carnival.

[NCTribeFan]

I was on the Inaugural (13 nights with only 3 sea days and 3 pre-cruise days (2 in Venice, 1 in Trieste)).

 

I ate in the MDR every evening (although my 3 cabin-mates did not, so I ate solo some nights, which is fine by me since all that "togetherness" was getting to me anyway). ;)

 

I did eat at the Sushi restaurant one night simply because I was not overly impressed with either the American Table menu or the service for ATD. I much prefer late seating, but was out-voted by the other 3.

 

Yes, it's exhausting, especially when you haven't seen any of the ports and want to see and do as much as possible because, well, you never know if you'll get to these places again.

 

I don't go to a lot of shows anyway, so the only one I went to was to see Marcus Anthony (who had been on my two most recent prior cruises). He's very good.

 

I wanted to spend time after dinner in the casino, but it was totally smoking. This is an issue even when there are non-smoking sections. Plus, being a brand-new ship, the fumes from the new materials had my sinuses in a mess from the time we boarded. And then I got sick before the end of the first week.

 

I cruise for the ports. All the other stuff is just extra, so the ports were definitely my main focus. I can eat and drink and go to shows on any of the other cruises I'll take. No way was I going to skip any ports regardless of how tired or sick I was!

[lovingretirement]

We were on the second cruise and had long shore excursions booked for every port. We only made it to the dining room twice, and only went to one show in the theater, and that was on our one sea day. It was just so handy to run to the buffet or Guy's when we got back on ship. We checked the menu in the dining room each day, but found that most of the selections are offered on the buffet. We felt more comfortable going to Lido after a busy day off the ship.

[solongshakespeare]

We are just waiting to walk off Vista after a 10 day from Barcelona. We only ate in the MDR 3 times due in part to the port schedules, but also in large part to the menu and service. Both were not up to the same standard that we experienced on our previous cruises. There were lots of options for alternative dining, and we ended up trying them all except the Seafood Shack.

[Wendylet]

I was on the May 24 sailing and my husband and I did eat in the MDR only three times and Ji Ji (which I highly recommend) once. We were just too exhausted to think about showering and changing to go to the MDR the other evenings. We have been to the Med three times now but there are always things to see and do in every port it seems. On our sailing our really long days (Rome, Florence) fell at the end of the cruise and by then we were totally bagged and into just grabbing whatever at the buffet or Seafood Shack.

 

We never saw a show at all but we did manage to see an Imax movie, which was terrific and we did see the adult show of the comedians almost every night. By the end of that show 10:30-11:00 we were ready to pack it in to prepare for the following day.

 

It really is a fantastic yet exhausting journey....but I would do it all again tomorrow...if someone else paid for it!!

Edited June 21, 2016 by Wendylet

[southerngirl8]

I was on the 3rd sailing (May 24th) and I totally LOVE the Med. port intensive cruises (this is my 2nd one). I traveled with my 2 nephews - we did the MDR on the anytime dining, we did the Steakhouse one night, the Buffet one night, Ji Ji's Asian one night. We did sushi too, Guys burgers for lunch (or afternoon snack for the boys). We did late night Pizza quite often.

 

The Havana Lounge ended up being our "go to hang out" at night. The Mambo band was AMAZING!!! There ended up being a large group of regulars there nightly and it was great to go there and relax and hang out. They played every night except Sunday. Sunday the place was very empty! We were up every night til at least midnight, (my nephews in the early 20s and I am in my 50s) and often I stayed up later than one nephew, the other nephew was up very late, he usually ended up at the Casino! We loved going to the Serenity Deck to soak in the hot tub and have a cocktail between our day in port and dinner.

 

The DJ was great- usually we would end up at the Liquid Lounge late night (or where ever the DJ was playing). Serenity Nights was great, the parties on the Lido Deck were also great fun. One nephew would end up at the Pizza place late night most nights.

 

I did not do any of the comedy shows, one nephew did, one did not. Both had a great time. I did some of the trivia games, one nephew did the beer pong and games in the Brewery.

 

My nephews had a great time as did I. We were up late nightly, and often we would not get off the ship in the morning til after 10- we only had to be off early 4 days, the other days, we took our time and had lazy days in the ports. We had a great mix of activities on board and were never in a rush to get up and off the ship on the "non tour' days. We are all ready to go again!!!! One nephew said, he can sleep when he gets home, but he wants to experience as much of the ship and ports while he is there.

[cruisinlawn]

we were on 8-day, we did not do mdr at all. The other venues on Lido were more convenient for us after days filled with touring. Enjoy:)

 

Also, no shows or any other entertainment for us either. Only spent a total of 4-5hrs in casino the entire week as well.

 

Yes, we felt like we didn't really explore the ship. Of course, we knew this going in so that's a good reason to sail her again next year when she is stateside.

Edited June 26, 2016 by cruisinlawn

[Velvetwater]

We have done a Med cruise with X and a Baltic with Carnival. Both cruises were crazy port intensive 12/13 days and both times we made it to the dining room every night apart from 1 night on both cruises.

 

We had Anytime dining on both cruises and mixed up earlyish (6) and lateish (8-8.30) dining and dressed up to go to the MDR most nights.

 

As for shows we made it to all the ones we wanted to go to whether it was comedy, passenger participation things or shows.

 

The key way to do it is to plan it out the night before when you get your funtimes/schedule. We like to do the evening stuff, watch sailaway and eat in the MDR. So we plan our MDR time, highlight the stuff we want and plan in time to relax in between.

 

What helps is on European cruises we often plan to be on board 2 hours or so early so we can get ready and relax with a drink which sets us up for the evening. I guess the ports are less of a novelty for us as we holiday a lot in Europe before we started cruising.

[les37b]

Having Breakfast when you have tours planned?

 

How do things work out when you have a tour planned and need to have breakfast AND get off the ship in good time

 

For example, we have a tour planned for Naples to be picked up at 8.15 - THe ship docks at 7.... and we'd obviously want to eat breakfast before disembarking... and is getting off an issue in itself?

 

What generally has been the dress code? Have people been making the effort on formal nights?

 

I've also been asked about tailored shorts and training shoes. (Shoes - apart from flip flops dont seem to be mentioned.)

 

I would probably look to wear trousers and collared shirt on most evenings regardless - but unsure whats acceptable for kids in the MDR on informal and formal nights. Id rather not dress up if everyone else has dressed down! (I simply don'tknow what to expect..... And consequently to pack!)

Edited July 20, 2016 by les37b

[trvlgirlmq]

Having Breakfast when you have tours planned?

 

How do things work out when you have a tour planned and need to have breakfast AND get off the ship in good time

 

For example, we have a tour planned for Naples to be picked up at 8.15 - THe ship docks at 7.... and we'd obviously want to eat breakfast before disembarking... and is getting off an issue in itself? the Lido buffet was up and running around 6 am with full service by 6:30. The Blue Iguana didn't start serving until 7. We always had plenty of time to eat and be off the ship early.

 

What generally has been the dress code? Have people been making the effort on formal nights? Yes, people made the effort and I think more so than on a Caribbean cruise.

 

I've also been asked about tailored shorts and training shoes. (Shoes - apart from flip flops dont seem to be mentioned.) No one was checking shoes. My kids wore their sneakers most nights. My mom did too as she has some foot problems and those are her most comfortable.

 

I would probably look to wear trousers and collared shirt on most evenings regardless - but unsure whats acceptable for kids in the MDR on informal and formal nights. Id rather not dress up if everyone else has dressed down! (I simply don'tknow what to expect..... And consequently to pack!) Personally, we aren't ones to bring separate clothing for dinner. We wore pretty much what we had on during the day which for the adult ladies was a sundress or capris and top/tshirt. The kids also wore either sundress/leggings with top or shorts with top and for the boy shorts and a tshirt every night except Elegant Nights.

 

We were on the 11 June sailing and this is what I experienced.