Vista revisited (Havana Cabana this time)...... A fairly lengthy review with pics

[jimbo5544]

Food and food venues - We really liked the BBQ, the brisket and pork were slow cooked and the sides and sauces were good. We also liked the seafood shack (it does have a cost). As always Guys, and the Blue Iguana were good as well. The only meals we ate at lido were breakfast and some lunches and nothing has changed there. The Steakhouse was great as it always has been for us.

Without getting into the politics of American Table, we enjoyed the food in the MDR and as previously mentioned, the service we received in the MDR was second to none of our 34 Carnival cruises. We have begun to see some new items creeping into the menu and that is a good thing as well.

For the first time we had ice cream from Cherry on Top and it was good as well (additional cost on this also...for those that don't know). There are some nice recliners outside this venue where one can sit during a day at sea (we did ;)) and basically had it to ourselves.

[jimbo5544]

Main show room - So this is another one that a lot of people have commented on. The theater is smaller than most on other ships except the Sunshine which it is patterned after, of that there is no doubt. We saw three shows on this cruise and two on our Med cruise. At no time during those shows was the theater filled to capacity. We did see that on the upper level there are a good amount of restricted views (due to the poles).

The shows were good, among the best we have seen, yet my estimate is that the theater was at about 65% of capacity. There is a lot of interaction with the entertainers and the audience and the main floor is part of the entertainment space.

[jimbo5544]

The rest of the ship entertainment was good, from the singers in the Red Frog, to the band that played in Oceans Plza, to the Violin players. The nightly music in the Havana area attracted a good bunch of people. There was dancing (Cuban style) most of the time as we went through there. This band was about 6 people.

[jimbo5544]

Mike Pack - CD Mike was filling in for Matt Mitchum who was on vacation. Matt, who we have sailed with on 3 other locations, is in our estimation the best that Carnival has. Mike does a really good job, and the more we saw of him during the cruise, we more we liked him.

[jimbo5544]

The Ship - the Vista is Carnival's attempt to bridge into a larger more diversified cruise vacation vessel. Certainly she has more people on her than past classes. There are more venues, more things to do, than any other Carnival ship. Is she perfect, no way. That said, Carnival largely succeeds with the Vista. Many positive things on the latest FUN ship. I was impressed in July when we first sailed her and more so this past trip.

We have now sailed the Vista twice and still feel there are things on the ship that we did not et to see or experience. While I have seen at least one report here of that being a drawback, I wold say t is just the opposite.

We loved he Havana area, and I would go back on the Vista if that was the only positive thing on the ship. We felt the rest of the ship no more crowded than any Conquest or Dream class ship. With all of the added venues, places to eat, different things to do, the Vista is now our favorite ship. I can't wait to sail on the Horizon when she comes over next year.

[jimbo5544]

Thanks for following along as I reminisced about our 2nd cruise on the Vista. I am sure I put a lot to sleep along the way.

[pe4all]

Thank you for another great review! I must have missed it - but what Havana cabin number were you in? We are very light sleepers, and noise from below would not be good for us!

[figdu]

I'm this way also, and as suggested, the plastic dry cleaners bag work miracles for not getting things wrinkled. Some of my shirts and jackets have come out of the garment bag or suitcase without a wrinkle. For military standards, it may need an iron touch up, which is what I do even if they're not wrinkled (i just feel better knowing that I pressed them one more time). I also spray my jacket and pants with Downy Wrinkle Release as soon as I get my luggage, but this may be an issue with the emblems, insignia's, or medals on your jacket. Good Luck, and Thank you for your service!!

 

Thank you! I have been out of uniform for more than 20 years but some things don't change. I still check my gig line every day.

 

I will try these ideas in June when we sail Vista again.

[sk84fungirl]

After a brief hiatus of not doing a review (our NYE cruise aboard the Pride), I thought I would come back and give another review of the Vista, this time with a Caribbean flare (Last one was a Med cruise)..... Join me for another Vista....of the Vista.

 

Hey there. I was on that Med cruise with you and considering the Vists, Horizon, or Magic for my next cruise. Coincidently I have not sailed a ship twice yet.

[jimbo5544]

Thank you for another great review! I must have missed it - but what Havana cabin number were you in? We are very light sleepers, and noise from below would not be good for us!

 

 

Thanks for the kind words. We were in 5240 the last one on the port side.

 

 

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[jimbo5544]

Hey there. I was on that Med cruise with you and considering the Vists, Horizon, or Magic for my next cruise. Coincidently I have not sailed a ship twice yet.

 

 

Did we meet on the med cruise?

 

 

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[Jamman54]

Thanks for another GREAT review Jimbo!!! (y)

BTW, I see a 12 month gap between your upcoming Pride cruise and your Horizon cruise. What's up with that? :eek:

[jimbo5544]

Thanks for another GREAT review Jimbo!!! (y)

BTW, I see a 12 month gap between your upcoming Pride cruise and your Horizon cruise. What's up with that? :eek:

 

 

I have something in the works. We were supposed to be the Vista again in August. Had to back out of that. Thanks for the kudos.

 

 

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[crunchy05]

Thank you for your review, I am sailing on the Vista in July with my family and I was a tad bit worried.

[jimbo5544]

Thank you for your review, I am sailing on the Vista in July with my family and I was a tad bit worried.

 

Loved doing it for you, I don't think you will be disappointed in the Vista.

 

 

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[LizaMM]

Thank you for a great review and wonderful photos!

I will be sailing on the Splendor next week - a B2B - and then next up in January will be Vista with a Havana Cabin :)

There was ONE Havana Cabin available when I booked, an inside, and I scooped it up! Might see if a Cabana open up around final payment time!

 

Once again....Thank you!!

[jimbo5544]

Thank you for a great review and wonderful photos!

I will be sailing on the Splendor next week - a B2B - and then next up in January will be Vista with a Havana Cabin :)

There was ONE Havana Cabin available when I booked, an inside, and I scooped it up! Might see if a Cabana open up around final payment time!

 

Once again....Thank you!!

 

 

My pleasure.... Enjoy your cruises, a b2b is on our bucket list. I don't think you will be disappointed in the Vista and the Havana cabin.

 

 

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[mariefisher]

Thank you for sharing your experience. The one thing I love about cruising is the deck parties! Did they have one? I have not seen one mentioned or maybe I missed it. Thank you, again for all the time you spent doing this.

[cruizinisthebest]

Thanks for the review Jimbo. I didn't follow along page for page. My attention span is too short to stick with long reviews, but I did find alot of useful information. Looking forward to trying the Vista for myself in August. It's been over 10 years since we've sailed from Miami, so I'm really looking forward to that also. Good job!

[jimbo5544]

Thank you for sharing your experience. The one thing I love about cruising is the deck parties! Did they have one? I have not seen one mentioned or maybe I missed it. Thank you, again for all the time you spent doing this.

 

 

Thanks for the kind words. Yes they did have a deck party, I think it was Wednesday night. We stopped in for a while. It is pretty amazing how they get everybody going. Lot's of fun was had by all.

 

 

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[jimbo5544]

Thanks for the review Jimbo. I didn't follow along page for page. My attention span is too short to stick with long reviews, but I did find alot of useful information. Looking forward to trying the Vista for myself in August. It's been over 10 years since we've sailed from Miami, so I'm really looking forward to that also. Good job!

 

 

Thanks! I was very impressed with the whole embarkation process in Miami (as well as the Vista). You will get your sign and sail in your mailbox once you get on the ship. We found it the easiest embarkation stateside.

 

When are you sailing in August? We were on the 8/9 (I think that is the date) sailing but had to cancel recently due to a conflict.

 

 

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[JaniceB]

So I will jump to an area that gets a lot of attention. That is the main atrium. It is true that there is not this grand open space as commonly found on new ships. That said, the LED funnel is eye catching and we found this area a good one to have a drink at before dinner. We also very much enjoyed the trio of women who played violins to some canned back ground music (some might think that distasteful, but we did not. In fact I really enjoyed them. They played to all different types of music including Queen and Journey (also did more classical stuff) and did it very well. This was a different group than we had on the Med cruise on the Vista but still very enjoyable.

Another topic that I have seen get attention to was the lack of glass elevators. Not a biggie in my book (there is no big open atrium) but....... here is something that I did change my mind on. With the loss of those glass elevators there are less elevators forward than on say the Breeze. On the Breeze there are 6 "regular" elevators and 4 glass, and on the Vista there are 8 regular and no glass with an effective loss of two.... This came into play occasionally during times of heavy use....embarkation and debarkation and other really busy times, like after a show etc.

 

Thanks for this information. I don't think any review I have read states that the ship is missing a few elevators compared to other ships and it is bigger.

Main show room - So this is another one that a lot of people have commented on. The theater is smaller than most on other ships except the Sunshine which it is patterned after, of that there is no doubt. We saw three shows on this cruise and two on our Med cruise. At no time during those shows was the theater filled to capacity. We did see that on the upper level there are a good amount of restricted views (due to the poles).

The shows were good, among the best we have seen, yet my estimate is that the theater was at about 65% of capacity. There is a lot of interaction with the entertainers and the audience and the main floor is part of the entertainment space.

 

I wonder if people are not attending because they have heard how small the theater is and that some sight lines are not very good.

[jimbo5544]

Thanks for this information. I don't think any review I have read states that the ship is missing a few elevators compared to other ships and it is bigger.

 

 

 

 

 

I wonder if people are not attending because they have heard how small the theater is and that some sight lines are not very good.

 

 

You may be right and I wondered the same thing. On the other hand, I doubt that many people have done that much research.

 

Cruising is evolving and keeps changing. From dining (used to be everyone went to the MDR - now it is specialty restaurants, Lido and who knows what else) to entertainment (shows, bands, casinos, movies under the stars, relaxing etc.

 

On our Pride cruise, I went back to our room during dinner to get something from our room and cut thru Lido. I was shocked to see how many people were eating in Lido.

 

 

 

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[Ms. Fun Bunch]

I enjoyed your review thanks for taking the time to write it. I was on the Vista in December for an 11 day Journey cruise and enjoyed it. You are so right about there being so much to do & see on this ship. I didn't get to do half of the things Inwanted to do so I now have a reason to sail her again😉

[jimbo5544]

I enjoyed your review thanks for taking the time to write it. I was on the Vista in December for an 11 day Journey cruise and enjoyed it. You are so right about there being so much to do & see on this ship. I didn't get to do half of the things Inwanted to do so I now have a reason to sail her again😉

Thanks for the Kudo's. You may be right in the assessment that you want to go back to do the things you did not do was part of the planning when they designed the Vista.