Carnival Vista Review 1st Oct 2016. -Oh No I`ve lost my anchor!!!

[trogmd]

 

We went for a final drink and chat with S+C at the Havana bar next to the pool.

Then it was off to bed for our final sleep on Vista. We would be self disembarking at 4.45am and we were being picked up for our private transfer to the airport at 5am.

 

Here are my final nights towel animal...

 

 

 

Then we were getting on the plane to return to the UK at 8.30am...

 

 

Then it was back home with my own view of the sea from my living room ...

 

 

Up Next my final thoughts on the cruise. :)

[joand452]

Thank you so much for your thorough review, Mark.

 

Makes us even more anxious for our Vista cruise...still so many days away!

[txhawk36]

First of all, sorry for your loss. I know your partner would be so proud of this review.

 

I felt like I was right there in some of your pictures. I get to go on the Vista in June and it can't come soon enough now!

 

Hopefully the trip provided you with some great memories even though it was a hard time.

[trogmd]

Thank you so much for your thorough review, Mark.

 

Makes us even more anxious for our Vista cruise...still so many days away!

 

Thank you Joan, your comments are really appreciated and I am sure your cruise will be here before you know it. :)

[trogmd]

First of all, sorry for your loss. I know your partner would be so proud of this review.

 

I felt like I was right there in some of your pictures. I get to go on the Vista in June and it can't come soon enough now!

 

Hopefully the trip provided you with some great memories even though it was a hard time.

 

Thank you so much txhawk36, You are very kind. June will get here eventually I promise. :D

[Jamman54]

BRAVO Mark!!! A truly wonderful review and pictures. Thanks for taking the time to share it with us. Looking forward to reading your final thoughts.

 

BTW, I watched the Vista depart New York yesterday evening. What a beautiful ship. Looking forward to sailing on her one day. :)

[futurern]

Thank you for taking your time to share your experience with us. I'm sure Kieron would have been proud and know that he is with you in spirit. Sorry for your loss.

[trogmd]

BRAVO Mark!!! A truly wonderful review and pictures. Thanks for taking the time to share it with us. Looking forward to reading your final thoughts.

 

BTW, I watched the Vista depart New York yesterday evening. What a beautiful ship. Looking forward to sailing on her one day. :)

 

 

Thank you Jeff that`s really good of you to say that. She is a really good looking ship, with lots of great spaces to enjoy. :)

[trogmd]

Thank you for taking your time to share your experience with us. I'm sure Kieron would have been proud and know that he is with you in spirit. Sorry for your loss.

 

 

Thanks for your lovely words of support, I really appreciate them. :)

[trogmd]

Firstly I would like to say a big THANK YOU for all your kind words and messages of support in what has been a very hard time for me. Writing this review has helped bring back some great memories, like the time in Barcelona we went to the Chinese restaurant, of which there is a video in the review.

I know Kieron would have enjoyed this cruise as I did.

 

So with the fact that Kieron was not there, obviously this was not my favorite cruise of all time, however I am glad I did it and that my brother was there for me as well.

 

I will now tell you about the things I liked and did not like as much about the Vista.

 

The Ship -

I really liked the look of the Vista from the outside, from the shore side. Also I thought the outside decks and amenities were great. I loved the Havana pool bar and outside area. One really good thing that the Vista has, more than any ship I have been on so far, is fantastic seating areas on the outside decks. Lots of comfortable chairs which meant we never had a problem finding somewhere to sit outside on deck.

 

There are a couple of things I did not like about the ship though. Firstly I thought the Atrium was too small and that the decor of the walls was just too plain and boring. I really like the grand atrium's of their other ships. This is obviously my personal preference and no doubt there are people out there who did not like the "over the top" decor of their other ships.

Secondly I did not think that the Theater/Liquid Lounge was big enough or that the obstructed views were something that you should have to put up with on a modern ship. I made sure I got there on time to get a good view but there were a lot of people who were unhappy about the obstructed views and the set up of the Theater.

 

The Cabin -

I really liked my cabin and thought that it was larger than cabins on other cruise lines. Although the balcony was smaller than on some previous cruises. Also I was surprised to find a shower curtain on a new ship. I easily filled up the small amount of drawer space in the room, so I think that this would be a problem for 2 people. My bed was comfy and the fridge did a good job of cooling drinks down. The room had a good aircon unit and it was easy to adjust the room temp if needed.

My cabin steward Michael was really nice and did a great job looking after the room.

 

Dining -

Food is very important I think on a cruise and is very subjective to different people.

I personally thought that the food was ok to very good. I did not have a bad meal on the ship and I did not go hungry.

As I said in the review, I was not impressed with the system of "Your time Dining". Why you could not go to deck 3 to book in for the restaurant I will never know. Having to go to deck 5 then deck 3 made no sense at all.

When booking, you were told that you would have to wait for more than an hour sometimes. This is a big problem on the newer, larger ships, that have 5000 plus people onboard. I understand that you all cannot book the same time, so I don`t know the answer to this one. It is just something you have to prepare yourself for when going on the mega ships.

As I said, I am not a fan of "no Tablecloths" and the service style of the American Table restaurants. I am British and call me old fashioned, and do not like to be served my dessert when others are still eating their main courses. One other thing that happened when we were in the restaurant was my brother asked for mustard with his steak, they brought out a jar that still had a cellophane wrapping on and just placed it next to his meal. Why was this not served in a small bowl instead of a greasy workman`s cafe style way of serving sauces. I am sure even a greasy spoon cafe would take off the wrapper on the jar.

Overall the service in the restaurant was ok but not great.

We did not eat in the buffet so I cannot comment on the food served here. Because this was a port intensive cruise I would have eaten in the buffet when we got back in the afternoon from our trips ashore, however nearly every time we got back on the ship the buffet was closed at 4pm. Guys was open but that was the only choice for people arriving back on ship, burgers or nothing. As nearly every night we had to wait till gone 9pm to eat dinner it would have been nice to get a small meal or salad from the buffet at teatime.

My only other complaint about the dining was that there was only a very sweet lemonade or coffee available to drink that was free. No sugar free alternative.

The food in the for a fee restaurants was excellent however and would highly recommend Ji Ji Chinese restaurant. This was the best food I have had at sea ever.

I did like the burgers from Guys as well. :)

 

Entertainment -

The shows in the Theater were brilliant, I really enjoyed these. Sorry I did not go to the smaller shows, like the juggler or singer that was on our sailing, as I did not have time for them.

The piano bar was also really good and the music in the Atrium I liked as well.

The band in the Havana bar were great as well.

I found the music in the red frog pub was also really good.

In fact I thought the entertainment throughout the whole ship was above average when compared to other cruises I have been on.

The Cruise Director never stopped and she was great at getting the enthusiasm levels up on the ship.

In fact I found that there was always something going on at all times of the day and thought that it would be a sad person indeed who was bored on the Vista.

 

Outside decks -

I loved the outside decks and also always found something to do. The best thing I liked was the Skyride, the slides and the seating areas. I did like the ropes course but was terrified while doing it. :)

The pools were average and I think needed to be bigger on a ship with 5000 plus people onboard. The hot tubs were not very hot and also there was only 4 of them.

 

Staff and service -

Overall the staff were excellent as was the service.

Compared to most of the cruises I have been on, I think this was one of the better ones. Staff were very friendly and went out of there way to look after you.

The only place I found this not to be the case was in the Horizons restaurant. The service here was only average to poor. It was far from great. This was probably due to the time we were able to dine in there.

I like to go to a show before dinner which meant we not able to check in till around 8pm most nights. Because of the wait times we were rarely in the restaurant before 9pm. This meant that the waiting staff were far from their best by this time.

I have to say my cabin steward was fantastic and did a great job.

The bar staff were also really friendly and efficient and did a great job too.

 

So that`s it for this cruise. I will definitely go on the Vista again and look forward to traveling on a Carnival ship again in the future. I am not loyal to any brand and have never had a bad cruise. :)

My next cruise should be next year on P&O, on the ship Britannia. I know it will be hard going on a cruise on my own but have read lots of reviews on here by other people who do it all the time.

So till next time, and if anyone wants to ask questions about Vista feel free to ask me anything you want to know.

Thanks for reading,

Mark. :)

 

 

[mishka422]

Mark, I have to say, your review has been a pleasure to read and I really loved all your pictures and funny comments along the way.

 

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[nybumpkin]

Mark, thank you for your review and the chance to relive our July Med cruise on Vista. I'm so sorry about Kieron. DH is my anchor, and I've thought about what one of us would do if the other wasn't there to cruise - and my answer is, we'd still go. The other would want us to go.

[Cap'n Ron]

Mark, great review! Very much enjoyed reading through it and I am very sorry for your loss. Thank you for taking time to share it!

 

 

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[BuzzBuzzen]

Thank you again, it's been a great ride along , cheers, Buzz.

[trogmd]

Mark, I have to say, your review has been a pleasure to read and I really loved all your pictures and funny comments along the way.

 

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Thanks mishka422, I`m really glad you liked the review. :)

[bluwes]

Well done Mark on an excellent review, it must have been tough reliving it without your Kieron.

 

I think I mentioned in an earlier post, we did the same itinerary but in reverse, and it was great to look at the wonderful photos.

 

I also like your summing up at the end which more or less is what we would have said.

 

Best wishes for the future

[hockeyguru32]

Hi Mark thank you so much for your review, Kieron would be so very proud of you for doing this in his honour.

 

Thank you for your insight on the Vista, your pictures of your journey was awesome. I have something to look forward to when I sail on the her next year.

 

Keep doing what you love all the best to you and again thank you.

[trogmd]

Mark, thank you for your review and the chance to relive our July Med cruise on Vista. I'm so sorry about Kieron. DH is my anchor, and I've thought about what one of us would do if the other wasn't there to cruise - and my answer is, we'd still go. The other would want us to go.

 

 

Thank you for your kind words, you are right Kieron would have wanted me to go. I am still wishing he was there with me in person on the Vista. I know he was there with me in spirit instead. :)

[trogmd]

Mark' date=' great review! Very much enjoyed reading through it and I am very sorry for your loss. Thank you for taking time to share it!

 

 

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Hi thanks and I am glad you liked the review. :)

[trogmd]

Thank you again, it's been a great ride along , cheers, Buzz.

 

Thanks Buzz. :)

[trogmd]

Well done Mark on an excellent review, it must have been tough reliving it without your Kieron.

 

I think I mentioned in an earlier post, we did the same itinerary but in reverse, and it was great to look at the wonderful photos.

 

I also like your summing up at the end which more or less is what we would have said.

 

Best wishes for the future

 

Hi bluwes, Glad you liked my review and my summing up. :)

I see you have done a lot of Carnival cruises, when is your next one?

[trogmd]

Hi Mark thank you so much for your review, Kieron would be so very proud of you for doing this in his honour.

 

Thank you for your insight on the Vista, your pictures of your journey was awesome. I have something to look forward to when I sail on the her next year.

 

Keep doing what you love all the best to you and again thank you.

 

Thanks for your kind words hockeyguru32. I am sure you will have a great time on her next year. :)

[Sunkissed Mommy]

Thank you for the very detailed review!

 

We are headed out on the Vista next year in earl December (Caribbean cruise). I liked getting a sneak peek of the ship. I also enjoyed seeing the ports you went to as I have yet to visit the Med on a cruise.

 

I have a question about the complimentary drinks. You said they only had lemonade and water? Did they not offer Iced tea? Every cruise I've ever been on has offered Iced Tea as a complimentary option.

[trogmd]

Thank you for the very detailed review!

 

We are headed out on the Vista next year in earl December (Caribbean cruise). I liked getting a sneak peek of the ship. I also enjoyed seeing the ports you went to as I have yet to visit the Med on a cruise.

 

I have a question about the complimentary drinks. You said they only had lemonade and water? Did they not offer Iced tea? Every cruise I've ever been on has offered Iced Tea as a complimentary option.

 

Hi Sunkissed Mommy, Glad you liked the review.

Sorry I forgot the free Iced Tea, probably because I don`t like it myself. :D

[marc_b2001]

Thank you Mark for your great review, i can honestly say it is the best, most complete and in depth review of a cruise ship i have ever seen! Great pictures and comments of all that Vista has to offer. I will be taking my family on a well deserved vacation on the Vista in Feb. 2017, following you throughout your journey was a pleasure and really got us all excited for our turn, we can't wait to be onboard. Your touching story has made us realize how important it is to spend quality time with loved ones, which is exactly what we plan to do. With only three cruises under my belt, i consider myself a rookie in the cruising world but plan to change that with every passing year. You can be proud of your review and your partner is looking down with a smile. Take care and cruise on...!