Vista Photo Review: 10-night Mediterranean Cruise from Athens to Barcelona

[sailawaybellaluna]

Hello fellow cruisers!

 

I did a review of our Europe cruise on the Breeze back in 2012 (see it here if you're interested), and I thought I'd attempt to do a review of our 10-night cruise on the Vista out of Athens. We were on the June 21st sailing. Our family: Me and my husband (mid-thirties...actually, late thirties now if I'm honest) :(, and our children, ages 6 and 10 months.

 

We flew in to Athens 5 days prior to our sailing to stay with a family friend. We arrived during an insane heat wave, but enjoyed ourselves nonetheless. I had been to Athens a couple of times prior, but it was a first for my husband, so we spent some time at the Acropolis, Acropolis Museum, Plaka, etc.

 

If you're looking for an amazing restaurant to eat at during your time in Athens, I can't recommend Strofi enough! It was magical! (And really, not expensive at all!)

 

 

 

[sailawaybellaluna]

We arrived to the port around 12 noon, amidst news that the port workers had reached an agreement the night prior, but may or may not be striking since it wasn't expected to be in effect quite yet.

 

Upon arrival, things went very smoothly. Our taxi was met by several porters who helped tag our luggage and deliver it. I think we tipped him 5 euros and went straight to the line under the large white tent to begin the boarding process. There were air conditioners running inside and I found it to be very quick and organized.

 

In less than an hour we were onboard the ship, and our cabin was ready immediately.

 

We were in a Category 8b Balcony cabin - #6274. I've come across a couple of threads here on the forums asking if these cabins hear noise from the IMAX theater. I can say this wasn't an issue for us at all. We are light sleepers, very sensitive to noise, and put our children to bed around 8:30pm each night without any issue!

 

 

 

 

 

Note in the photo below: From the balconies on deck 6, you don't see directly down into the water. Rather, there is also a view of the promenade along deck 5, including some public seating areas. When we first boarded I was really concerned this might be noisy/crowded, but it wasn't at all. We sat on our balcony each evening without any interruptions.

 

[HawkIVette]

This is going to be perfect for us. We sail same itinerary this September.

 

When you say not that expensive for Strofi, their menu doesn't show prices (whats up with that?). How much for an entree?

[sailawaybellaluna]

This is going to be perfect for us. We sail same itinerary this September.

 

When you say not that expensive for Strofi, their menu doesn't show prices (whats up with that?). How much for an entree?

__________________

 

Strofi's menu had something for everyone! We ordered a ton of food since we were with my friend and her family as well as my brother and his fiance. But the entrees ranged from around 9 euros (for something like Gyros) to 20 euros or so for a seafood dish. I'd say most were in the 15 - 20 euro range!

 

Glad this review will be helpful for you! We did the Breeze in Europe in September 2012, and it was the perfect time of year to go! Not nearly as crowded or hot as we experienced this time around.

[sailawaybellaluna]

Once we got on board and settled in to our cabin, we ordered some room service and just took it easy for a bit. This is really against my nature as I love to go and explore the entire ship as soon as I board! But the heat in Athens had really taken a toll on us and we were worn out. So I was happy to sit in my little cabin with the A/C going, waiting for our food delivery. :)

 

I will say, our experience with the room service on this ship was excellent. It was very quick (typically 20 minutes, regardless of the time of day), and the food was quite good. We ate our salads and sandwiches and took a little nap, still fighting a bit of jet lag.

 

Later we decided to explore a bit and make sure the rest of our extended family got on board. My brother and his fiance met us in Athens and booked an inside cabin on Deck 10. They were in 10-295, and found it to be extremely noisy! Granted, they booked two days prior to sailing and were given a "guarantee" room. So they were at the mercy of the cruiseline...

 

My parents were also sailing with us and were directly next door, in cabin 6272. Although, our cabins were not "connecting" with an interior door.

 

My uncle and aunt also met us in Athens and sailed in a Cove Balcony cabin on deck 1, and they were really pleased with it!

[sailawaybellaluna]

Upon boarding, we noticed our Sail & Sign Cards showed the Java Cafe on deck 5 as our dining location.

 

In fact, this is where we needed to go each evening, beginning at 5:30pm to make reservations and "check-in" for dinner.

 

You need to reserve a table 15 minutes prior to when you want to be seated.

 

I'm not sure if it was just because we were a party of 10, or if others experienced an issue with this, but it was quite difficult and time consuming. The first few evenings I arrived there promptly at 5:30pm (to avoid the line that forms), and was told my party needed to be in the dining room ready to be seated by 5:45pm (since they only book tables 15 minutes in advance). Finally, they agreed to make the reservation for 6pm, but everyone needed to be present by 6pm and not a moment later. Then, on the third night I grew weary of this system and asked that they just book us a table each evening without me stopping by. They were able to do this, but it had to be at 6pm every night. Not 6:15pm. Not 7pm. So really, we didn't exactly have "Your Time" Dining...:confused:

 

Now, I'm not one to complain about food on a cruise. I feel there is usually an option for everyone, and I'm really not a picky eater, so I always find something I like. Unfortunately, my major complaint on this ship wasn't so much the food, as much as the Horizons Dining Room. We were seated on Deck 4 each evening, towards the very back. And it was sweltering. Like, we were all dripping in sweat, boiling hot throughout our meals. We mentioned it, and a few nights in, our head waiter was asking me to complain on his behalf because they weren't addressing it. I can't imagine what a struggle it was for him and his waitstaff delivering heavy trays of food when you're already so uncomfortable from the heat! The man at the desk at the front told me they were aware they had a "refrigeration problem", and they were working on it...:eek:

 

The wait staff were very kind, and I thought the food was just OK. My main issue was the time it took to place our orders and to be served. We never eat in the buffet and always enjoy eating in the proper dining rooms (even with our kids - they do well at restaurants!). But dinner basically took up our entire evening. It'd be a solid 2 hours from the time we sat down until we ORDERED dessert (not ate dessert)! One evening, I kept track: We arrived and were seated at 6pm. At 6:05pm I ordered a glass of Layer Cake Cabernet. At 6:50pm, a glass of Layer Cake Chardonnay was finally brought to me, and unfortunately, I had to let them know this was the wrong wine. Around 6:58pm, we finally ORDERED our appetizers and mains. The apps arrived around 7:20pm, and so on.

 

Look, I understand Americans sometimes like to rush through our meals and not enjoy ourselves (especially compared to the European standard where there is a peace in just taking your time and slowing down at meal times). I get this, I do. And it's one reason I love eating in the proper dining room each night. But on average, it was 2 hours and 20 minutes from start to end, and just didn't flow very well. Maybe this is also because I was so hot and sweaty due to the "refrigeration" issues! :D

 

For reference, we were at tables 701 and 710. (We switched part way through, thinking the "refrigeration" issue may be better in the other location).

 

Our dinner the first night was extra special though (despite the heat and the time it took to get our food), as it was my parents 41st wedding anniversary! So they received a wonderful rendition of "Happy Anniversary" which was quite fun.

 

 

You can see a bit of the decor in the dining room here. No tablecloths except on formal night. I know this bothered some people, but I honestly didn't mind. It's better for the environment not to be laundering those huge tablecloths several times a day, and I'm sure it cuts down on some of the work they have to do. That being said, the faux wood veneer tables were already chipping up and seemed to evoke an IKEA 1985 sort of feel. I wasn't a fan. I guess they were going for kind of a modern/clean/dark classic feel, and I wasn't really digging it. But decor is subjective and you might love it!

[trogmd]

Hi thanks for doing a photo review, looking forward to learning more about the Vista. :)

[DutchCruiseFan]

Looking forward to more of the review!!

[sailawaybellaluna]

Thanks for reading along!

 

I'll probably do most of my writing/photo uploads in the evening after I put my kiddos to bed...

 

I also saved all of the Fun Times, so I'll try and upload those too!

 

Any specific questions: feel free to ask!

[Happyreb]

Subscribing! Thanks for posting this!

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums mobile app

[bluwes]

Following your review. We are sailing on this itinerary on the 13th September.

 

We did the Breeze inaugural in 2012 and are sailing with quite a few friends we made on that cruise. we also have a couple of friends with us who have never cruised before.

[JaniceB]

Enjoying your review.

 

I agree with your description of the tables, not sure I like the look either.

[sailawaybellaluna]

Subscribing! Thanks for posting this!

 

Thanks for reading along!

 

Following your review. We are sailing on this itinerary on the 13th September.

 

We did the Breeze inaugural in 2012 and are sailing with quite a few friends we made on that cruise. we also have a couple of friends with us who have never cruised before.

 

You'll have a wonderful time!

 

And the Breeze was amazing, wasn't it? Still my favorite cruise!

 

Enjoying your review.

 

I agree with your description of the tables, not sure I like the look either.

 

Thanks for reading along JaniceB!

[sailawaybellaluna]

I forgot to mention the Muster Drill:

 

This happened around 4:45pm - 5pm. Our muster was in the casino, which my 6-year old really enjoyed! They did require sign and sail cards/cabin numbers upon arrival to the casino so you could be marked as present.

 

That being said, if I'd never cruised before and attended this muster drill, I'd probably have NO IDEA what to do in an emergency. It was a little unorganized and chaotic, and people were very distracted by the slots (even though they were not working)!:confused:

 

I'm not sure if the Fun Times would be of interest to anyone, but here is Day 1! It's a little beaten up, since I usually used it as a bookmark!

 

 

 

 

[TTbiker]

Very helpful review. We're sailing on the Vista on the 29th for our first ever cruise......looking forward to it :) Thanks

[mrpayroll]

Thanks for taking time to do this. Looking forward to more....:)

[skywalkr2]

Wow... the nice new Vista... with a dining room that looks like a cafeteria...

[sailawaybellaluna]

A few weeks prior to sailing we received an email from Carnival explaining that Izmir would be replaced with Kusadasi, Turkey.

 

After reading a bit more about this, it seemed like a good decision. Firstly, it was much more convenient for us, since we were looking forward to visiting Ancient Ephesus...The drive from the ship to the ruins was much much shorter than if we would have docked in Izmir!

 

On this day I decided to book a private tour with a local guide named Jengis, which I found through Viator. It included Ancient Ephesus, a visit to a local winery WITH lunch and wine tasting, and a brief stop at a rug making factory. I felt it was an excellent value, and our local guide was so knowledgeable!

 

Our children were free, and I found a coupon code online. So the four of us, with guide and driver were in a 16-seater Mercedes Sprinter for the 7-hour tour at a cost of less than $180. I thought this was an amazing value. It also included entry in to the ruins at Ephesus as well as a proper wine tasting + lunch.

 

Here are some photos in case you're interested!

 

 

 

 

 

 

It was really nice to arrive at the ruins by 10am or so...It was already beginning to get crowded as you can see. But just before noon we saw tons of people with the Carnival excursion stickers on, and it was really getting hot and busy. So, if you're up for booking a non-Carnival excursion, I'd definitely encourage Viator. (They also have a "won't miss the ship" guarantee)!

 

More coming up on the Winery and Turkish rug factory!

Edited July 11, 2016 by sailawaybellaluna

[TTbiker]

Very helpful review. We're sailing on the Vista on the 29th for our first ever cruise......looking forward to it :) Thanks

[sailawaybellaluna]

We really enjoyed our time in Ancient Ephesus. Our local guide was very knowledgeable, but not too intense (given that it was a hot day and we had two young children with us). We all learned a lot, and he really went out of his way to teach our 6-year old about the different types of columns (Doric, Corinthian, etc). We even stopped under a pear tree and he shook it with his umbrella, so we sat there eating Turkish pears while learning about the ampitheater. It was lovely!

 

Upon leaving the ruins, we browsed a bit in the shops. I will say, I didn't feel any pressure whatsoever! (That being said, I am part Egyptian and have spent several vacations haggling over the price of a piece of bread in Cairo, so maybe my threshold is quite high). :p

 

There was a camel there, which my son jumped on and I took some photos of him, for 2 euros.

 

 

At this point, it was a bit early for wine tasting and lunch still, so we visted a nearby carpet factory. I expected this to be a high-pressure sales pitch, and basically, a waste of time. But we really enjoyed it!

 

There were women weaving carpets outside.

 

 

And there was also an exhibit outside showing how they take the cocoons of the silk worms, and spin the silk for use in the highest quality rugs. My son enjoyed seeing this! (I did ask permission to take this photo, although the gal doesn't appear too thrilled. Ha).

 

 

We walked inside, and were met with many beautiful carpets! Now, some good family friends of ours are Persian, and he was a carpet dealer for many many years. So I had an idea of what to expect, and how expensive this little visit could be...

 

But it was nice to in some air conditioning, and with some yummy snacks and Turkish coffee!

 

 

The gentleman who hosted us was very nice. A salesman, yes, but not too high pressure.

 

We hadn't planned to buy a carpet, but I wasn't opposed to it. That being said, the one I was interested in was $22,000. Say what?! My second choice came in around $2,000. My third choice...well, as we were walking out he said he'd give it to us for $400 (which I actually thought was a great deal!). But, I really didn't need it...and I didn't have a place to put it in my home. So we passed. They were still very kind. And the Turkish coffee and cheese filled pastries were a nice snack!

 

Next up: Yedi Bilgeler winery!

[sailawaybellaluna]

Very helpful review. We're sailing on the Vista on the 29th for our first ever cruise......looking forward to it :) Thanks

 

Glad you're finding this helpful! You'll have a wonderful time!

[sailawaybellaluna]

Upon leaving the carpet factory, we headed to Yedi Bilgeler (Seven Sages) Winery. Again, this was included in the tour I had booked. Upon arriving, they had the table set on the patio for a lovely lunch!

 

This is a family owned winery, but it is also a B&B, and set amongst some beautiful vineyards!

 

They had grilled vegetables, Turkish sausages, kofte (Turkish/Middle Eastern meatballs), rice, local olives and bread with olive oil and finally, creme brulee. It was very tasty! My husband (who is a very picky eater!), even enjoyed it!

 

Following our lunch, we went down to the fermentation and bottling areas of the winery to learn a bit about their process. They also had a small cellar where we learned about the names of each of their wines. They are named after famous philosophers who lived in this region of Turkey many many years ago!

 

It was such a nice visit!

 

 

 

 

On the drive back to the port in Kusadasi, our driver stopped so I could get a photo of the Vista. It was a beautiful day!

 

 

Overall, our impressions of Kusadasi were wonderful! In fact, this was my husband's favorite port of all!

 

At no time did we feel unsafe, or that we needed to avoid a certain area or group of people. In fact, Kusadasi felt like a very modern and progressive city. We saw mosques and churches side by side on the same street! People seemed to live in harmony, and it was a beautiful place. The port terminal was also very nice and modern, with lots of a fun shops (and a Starbucks, if that's your thing)!

 

We wouldn't hesitate to go back, even with our kids!

[TTbiker]

Thank you for taking the time to share your experience, this being our first ever cruise (and also new to cruise critic), it is very kind of you to give this insight. looking forward to it a lot :)

[sailawaybellaluna]

Thank you for taking the time to share your experience, this being our first ever cruise (and also new to cruise critic), it is very kind of you to give this insight. looking forward to it a lot :)

 

Oh, no problem! I love reliving the trip while writing each of these posts!

 

Let me know if you have any specific questions or concerns I may be able to help answer...

 

I'll be posting the Kusadasi Fun Times soon...

[Sturmin]

Thank you for your review.