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Carnival Vista Recap 8/6-8/12

JSADesigns

By JSADesigns,
in Carnival Cruise Lines

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JSADesigns

JSADesigns

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Just off the 6 day southern itinerary. I really want to thank everyone for all the helpful tips we knew about and used successfully because of your generous input. Here are some of our experiences and thoughts:

-arrive within your check in time. If you arrive either early or late, you are put in a different line to wait. Waited about 15 minutes in security and then another 20 minutes for our boarding number. We were on ship about 45 minutes after being dropped at terminal.

-For lunch, employees mostly told people about the Lido buffet. Some lower key promotion for the BBQ. Nobody mentioned Italian Pasta at Cocina Capitan, Mongolian Wok (JiJis), or Blue Iquana Mexican. Our family voted for Pasta. We were the only ones there for about 30 minutes. Then another 2 families came.

-Room was ready around 1pm but not all luggage arrived at same time.

-Cabin tips I read about were great. Over the door shoe organizer on the bathroom door held all my travel needs. Face it out toward the closets and then can be used while primping while other person showering. Full length mirror right there in closet door. Clothespin hanging mesh bag (from Amazon) held all shower stuff great. Duct tape used to tape down extension cords. Also, we had connecting rooms and the doors close automatically and can't be opened from other room. We duct taped the latch mechanism into the door so couldn't latch. We also brought the magnetic clips and used them for extra hooks and to keep blackout curtain closed on window. And used the little spiral bracelets for carrying the sail n sign card. Cards come hole punched already now.

-Last day noticed the Taste Bar at the Ocean Plaza also served a mini lunch buffet. Not sure if all week.

-Thanks also for the live music tips: lots of fun in the evening at the Havana Club, Atrium and Ocean Plaza.

 

 

We thought the ship had a lot of positives. Some of our favorites were:

- all the outdoor seating. You did not have to fight for a chair around a crazy pool if you wanted to sit outside. There were so many chairs on decks 5, 10, 11, 12. Shady side of boat or sunny; lounge chairs or comfy cushioned chairs and ottomans and end tables and umbrellas.

-We liked using deck 5 to get from forward to aft and back. Inside or outside, it's the bridge. Don't have to go near casino that way either. All the live music was on 5 also, along with Red Frog Pub, Ocean Plaza (just a hang out area to sit and also where either cruise games or live music takes place), Starbucks, Pixels, and some of the specialty restaurants.

-If you're having trouble getting a drink at a crowded bar, there were plenty of bars throughout the day that had nobody there. Try the Atrium, the Serenity, the Ocean Plaza, Red Frog. Tons of available service there.

-We loved seeing the IMAX movies on sea days. They were virtually empty. We were ok missing some sun for that. Our movies were Spiderman and Dunkirk. We didn't get to see Dunkirk b/c something about a file being corrupted. They were downloading a new one.

-The Deck 12 Sports Square and Clubhouse were really fun family spots. Miniature golf, billiards, four person ping pong, bowling, soccer style billiards. Fun at night time too.

-We did the Sky ride cycles immediately upon opening on a port day. They don't open until 2:30. The line was consistently 30-45 minute wait. It was worth it and a fun experience. Not life changing but a nice opportunity. The ropes course line was much less.

-JiJi's restaurant for dinner was amazing. Best meal of the week and great service.

-Had read lots of complaints about the ship being dirty. We didn't find that. We saw people working constantly mopping etc to keep it up. On the outdoor seating areas, there was always someone there to pick up used glasses and plates.

-First time having an aft cabin and on this ship we LOVED it! We were right by the aft elevators. Hardly any foot traffic. Only had to go up a floor to get coffee, or a bar drink or to sit outside, or grab a pizza, etc. The Tides pool was a great hangout area without all the craziness of the main Lido pool. We were on Deck 9 and did have some overhead noise from the Pizza place hallway, but not terrible. Deck 8 aft would be perfect. You can also just walk down some stairs or take elevator to Deck 5 and get anywhere you wanted. Lots of activities and food, and music right there on Deck 5 Aft.

-Did the Dr. Seuss breakfast last sea day. It was a really well-done event. Think Disney character breakfast...

-We found most of the crew very helpful and friendly. We also found most of the guests out of Miami were great too. We loved the diversity and everyone we came in contact with wanted to be friendly.

 

 

Now for a few disappointments:

-We did not like the Lido buffet area. The traffic flow was really tight. Lots of seating but the pathways felt so congested even when not crowded. And the dirty sponge smell and very humid all the time in there. We avoided except for the daily ice cream at the sweet spot, and for breakfast on port days.

-We unfortunately did not like the MDR either. We like trendy, but there was just something missing. Too much like a cafeteria in our opinion. The tableclothes really helped on elegant nights. First dinner was extremely slow. They said it was the first night crowds. Server tried, but took a very long time. Then the first sea day brunch it happened again, and there were tons of empty tables. Our server just disappeared for like 30 minutes. We asked for the maitreD. He told us he agreed that was not up to expectations and to see him before each meal and he will make sure it's better. So from that point on we went directly to Deck 3 hostess stand and they checked us in. The service got much better and the table choice too. But as previously stated, the servers are overworked and seem stressed. Still takes a long time if you order wine. And the menu just seemed really limited. The food that we chose was good. Not great, but good. Sometimes you just didn't want anything on the menu. The desserts did seem better than in the past. They didn't all seem to be made with tons of gelatin like they used to.

-We agree about the atrium missing the glass elevators and the extra height. I could do without the elevators but the height would have been nice. But it wasn't a big deal.

-Kids liked the arcade but I lasted 4 minutes in there. There was no space for people. Very congested with games.

-And lastly, we didn't like the announcements so early in the morning. We can understand it on port days, but there were also announcements on sea days before 9am. And some were piped directly into your cabin.

 

 

Overall, we had a great family vacation. Large cruise and appropriate expectations of crowds. I will say, the ship accomodates the crowd very well. There were times, we were practically alone. There are tons of places to choose.

 

 

I'm very thankful for all I read on here before our trip. My fam started quoting me, "I read about that..." So if you have any questions, I will try to answer them.

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JSADesigns

JSADesigns

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Great review! Thanks!....Did you see any live shows? If so, what did you think of them?

 

 

We didn't see any shows. The times were inconvenient for us and since the reviews were mixed... we saw the theater and thought it was a little better than the reviews but since we didn't actually see one we can't be much help.

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poohbear

poohbear

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The taste bar serves a limited breakfast and lunch everyday. We enjoyed it since it was ever crowded. We would get our coffee from the coffee shop and then grab a quick breakfast in the morning! Kids enjoyed the chicken tenders they normally had out at lunch!

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JSADesigns

JSADesigns

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enjoyed the review.how was grand cayman?

 

we loved Grand Cayman. Wished more time there. We honeymooned there 17 years ago and were excited to show our kids. We booked Dexter's Fantasea as an outside tour. He is on vacation now until the end of September I believe. Check out their reviews on Trip Advisor. Catamaran with less than 25 people. Went to stingray sandbar and a snorkel spot. 2 older gentlemen run it. Very family friendly. Tour went from 9-12 ship time. They pick you up and drop you off wherever you want. We went to Marriott afterward (where we honeymooned) for lunch at their outdoor restaurant and snorkeling at their beach. They have artificial reef balls right there and there were lots of fish.

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mysandyfeet

mysandyfeet

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Good Review, we just got off the Vista ourselves and agree with most of your review. We found the boat to be a bit crowded, but maybe it's because we were where most of the action was. Matt the cruise director was the best and I recommend if you have any issues, he is the go to guy; for sure. There were many positives about the cruise, but it seems that the cons definitely outweighed the good at times.

 

Lido buffet was hit or miss with the quality of food or sections were closed that you had to search for an open section. Seemed like a cafeteria rather than that open air feeling of a quality buffet. And, as you mentioned, walkways were tight even when no people were present was a good evaluation. I constantly felt cramped in the Lido.

 

We also went to go see Dunkirk and got the file corrupted story, but the crew was really sincere and apologetic so, we went to go see the Scary Thriller and that was a good trade-off.

 

Dining Room was formal but not too formal where you forgot that you were on a cruise. Food was really good and service was impeccable. As far as service, most of the crew was from Thailand and that is a big plus considering some of the other cruises we have been on in the past.

 

For the most part, the Red Frog, Alchemy Bar, 80's music, Comedy Club, Piano Bar and the activities with Matt were exceptional, but there are some compromises compared to other ships for late nighters like us.

 

All in all, a good cruise experience.

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KarimaJ

KarimaJ

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You keep mentioning "crazy pool deck". Do you mean obnoxious drunks everywhere? Or just loud like other typical cruise lines pool area? I'm trying to discern if we should try this cruise or not. You also mention another pool area too, what is that like? Thanks.

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JSADesigns

JSADesigns

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You keep mentioning "crazy pool deck". Do you mean obnoxious drunks everywhere? Or just loud like other typical cruise lines pool area? I'm trying to discern if we should try this cruise or not. You also mention another pool area too, what is that like? Thanks.

 

 

sorry...No, there was no inappropriate behavior that I saw at either of the pools. What I mean by crazy I guess is the congestion. How every chair is right next to another and there are people everywhere, and towels saving lounge chairs. And the main pool on the center of deck 10 is also a thoroughfare to get to and from buffet and bars and some restaurants. Long lines of people at those at times. I like the energy of the music and the games sometimes, but sometimes it's nice to just chill out.

The rear of the deck 10 is the Tides Pool. It's a slightly smaller pool and 2 hot tubs. It was very full most of the time. But there were plenty of chairs either on the pool deck or the decks right above the pool deck overlooking it. There were no organized cruise "games" at this pool, just some music playing from speakers. No DJ. That is the area where the pizza place and seafood shack are and one bar. I think that area attracted less crowds.

If you want a really quiet pool area, you can pay extra for the Havanna area which has a pool and 2 hot tubs that are only for Havanna area guests.

I hope this helps. Our cruise experience was very family friendly. It is summer break still though.

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JSADesigns

JSADesigns

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Thanks for the review !

How quick could you catch the tender at Grand Cayman? Did you have Faster to the Fun?

 

In the morning, we were on the first tender but b/c of the time difference we could have waited a little bit. But we avoided a long line. We went down to the first floor and waited. On the way back, we were supposed to be back at 3:15. The line for tenders was really long. We got in line at 2:45 or 3pm. I don't think we got back until 4pm. And there were lots of people behind us. I'm guessing the ship assumes this and plans for it.

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Roxxy

Roxxy

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In the morning, we were on the first tender but b/c of the time difference we could have waited a little bit. But we avoided a long line. We went down to the first floor and waited. On the way back, we were supposed to be back at 3:15. The line for tenders was really long. We got in line at 2:45 or 3pm. I don't think we got back until 4pm. And there were lots of people behind us. I'm guessing the ship assumes this and plans for it.

 

 

Thanks JSADesigns ... did you have priority tender then , if you were on the first tender? Do you recall what time your tender left from the Vista?

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JSADesigns

JSADesigns

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No priority or faster to fun. I believe it was 8am. Tour scheduled for 8am Cayman time which is 9am ship time. We were 20-30 minutes early until our tour guide showed up exactly on time. There were many tenders running. One waiting to fill more passengers as soon as we pulled away from ship.

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KarimaJ

KarimaJ

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sorry...No, there was no inappropriate behavior that I saw at either of the pools. What I mean by crazy I guess is the congestion. How every chair is right next to another and there are people everywhere, and towels saving lounge chairs. And the main pool on the center of deck 10 is also a thoroughfare to get to and from buffet and bars and some restaurants. Long lines of people at those at times. I like the energy of the music and the games sometimes, but sometimes it's nice to just chill out.

 

The rear of the deck 10 is the Tides Pool. It's a slightly smaller pool and 2 hot tubs. It was very full most of the time. But there were plenty of chairs either on the pool deck or the decks right above the pool deck overlooking it. There were no organized cruise "games" at this pool, just some music playing from speakers. No DJ. That is the area where the pizza place and seafood shack are and one bar. I think that area attracted less crowds.

 

If you want a really quiet pool area, you can pay extra for the Havanna area which has a pool and 2 hot tubs that are only for Havanna area guests.

 

I hope this helps. Our cruise experience was very family friendly. It is summer break still though.

 

 

 

That's great thanks! From my understanding Havana is only private until 5:00, I believe after that anyone can go there. So we wouldn't pay for that, but we are thinking of the family harbor rooms.

 

 

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