Vista review: new CCL cruiser perspective

[helene109]

Which thread? In my price comparisons, it seemed Vista was often more expensive than Oasis. Unless that has changed recently. When are you looking to sail?

 

 

 

We need a 6 day next June or July my thread is called Vista cove, balcony or deluxe ocean view? Which would you choose? I can go on the Dream for 7 days but we have already done it! Any advice would be great thanks!!

 

 

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[Cafedumonde]

Aruba. Unlike many other ports, Aruba looks like it is thriving. We arrived in Aruba early and people started getting off the ship right away. We were ready and headed out too. Quick exit to the street. Walked past drivers offering rides and looked for the Arubus bus depot. Someone was already complaining that they wanted to go to Camp Ocean. Maybe later. We took a right on the main street and started walking. Two blocks later we realized we missed the depot-- it is literally across the street from the port exit. We backtracked to the depot and asked the driver of the first bus we came to if his bus went to Palm beach. He said no and pointed out the bus that did. There were some cruisers/tourists getting on but by the time we walked over and hopped on ($2.60/person) we were behind people who looked like they were going to work in hotels. Ritz Carlton polo shirts etc. Right before the bus left more people got on who appeared to be from the Vista. I knew Eagle beach was first so wasn't worried about getting off right away. The bus took off and after a few turns drove along a road that trailed the beach. Absolutely gorgeous. I think Aruba may actually be paradise. The driver made a couple stops. Some people who were from the ship got off at Eagle beach. It looked like a great place to spend the day. Then the driver made a few more stops. We were looking for the Hilton and had not seen it so we asked someone sitting in front of us who looked local. She told us it was coming up. Another local sitting across the way said he would press the call button for us. We hopped off the bus and crossed the street. We had not intended on walking through the hotel but ended up going that way to get to the beach. We were going to catch an excursion which was on the beach in front of the hotel. Snorkeling for a couple of hours to see the Antilla shipwreck and Boca Catalina Bay. Highly recommend. Apparently you can only see the shipwreak well if the water is calm. It was very calm that day. There are lots of vendors up and down the beach with a variety of excursions. Most people on the excursion were from hotels on the beach, not the ship. After snorkeling we sat at the shoreline for about an hour while the kids swam. We saw people with Carnival towels or lanyards walking up and down the beach every so often. Eventually we decided to head back to the ship and headed back out to the street to catch the bus. This time we found a way in between two hotels instead of walking through one. We had to wait about 10/15 minutes for the bus and while we were waiting one guy in a "taxi" stopped and told us he could take us to the port for ($2.00/person). I guess we looked pretty obvious. I told him we were just going to wait for the Arubus. Of course after he left and the bus didn't come for another ten minutes I was thinking maybe we should have gone with him. By the time the bus came many other cruisers were waiting to get on. I could not help wondering where they had all come from because we had not seen so many on the beach! We bought a few things from stores and vendors before getting back on the ship. We found prices more reasonable than in Curacao.

[twoznuff2]

This is a good point. We have not yet been on the Gem class (I think that's what it's called) on NCL, just newer NCL ships, which have storage and shelves in every nook and cranny. Going on the Gem next year so my view on NCL's storage may change. But the Vista is Carnival's latest ship. It seems like they should have been more creative with storage in the room.

 

 

 

I have done the Jewel and Jade (same class as Gem) the jewel was a balcony cabin and Jade was a mini suite. I found for 2 of us there was plenty of room for our clothes. I really like NCL has drawers. On my previous Carnival cruises I don't recall having much storage for folded clothes.

Looking forward to the Vista May 2018

 

 

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[Cafedumonde]

7. Anytime dining. The first night we tried to use anytime dining, we assumed it was like on NCL where you show up at the restaurant and they seat you (or give you a buzzer and seat you in 20 minutes). Not so on Carnival. First we went to Reflections restaurant around 6:30pm ready to eat to ask if we were supposed to go to Reflections or Horizons. The hostess told us to go to Horizons and she gave us directions by leading us through Reflections restaurant and out a back door. When we got out we did not know where we were but saw a sign for Horizons on the ceiling and a long line. We got in the line and quickly realized it was not moving at all. We asked the people in front of us if it was the line to be seated in the restaurant and they said yes. We decided we would come back later when the line was smaller. In the meantime the kids were hungry so we went to the buffet, thinking maybe we would drop them at the kids club and try to eat solo at Horizons later. We had just showered and put on clean clothing, so of course we felt out of place in the ever raw buffet atmosphere. Our kids ended up getting pizza (right outside buffet) but eating it at a table in the buffet. We got a few things to taste, including some shrimp (i think maybe coconut crusted?), all of which we thought were very good. We dropped off the kids and went to Horizons, this time arriving at a main entrance area that looked completely different than the area where we had previously been in line. The host at Horizons told us we had to go to Blue Java Cafe to get a reservation. We said no we don't need a reservation, we are on anytime dining. He said, it is for anytime dining. Looking beyond the host, we could see plenty of open tables, but we walked away bewildered to look at a map to find Blue Java Cafe to figure out what was going on. We finally found it and the line to "get reservations" was down the hall past pixels. Another frustrated passenger in line explained to us that you get a reservation at BJC and take your reservation slip to Horizons. Ok, we realized, this is not freestyle dining like on NCL. This is not "anytime dining" as advertised by Carnival. Again, we felt Carnival was not performing the way you would assume a seasoned cruise line would. Why on earth would you have an extra bureaucratic step at an entirely different location at a kiosk shoved in between a starbucks and pixels to tell me if you have a table or not at Horizons restaurant? I felt like I was in the Twilight Zone or in some cruise version of the DMV. Had the government taken over Carnival cruise lines? It was at this point, on the first night, that we decided we were going to rethink our previously scheduled Dream cruise out of New Orleans for summer 2018. This line wasn't moving either. So we walked away, exhausted, and got sucked into eating more "snacks" at the buffet and called it a night.

Later we realized that the original line we had been in was actually for a show. Not enough employees(actually there had been no employees in the vicinity), signage, or direction. Very, very frustrating. And for the remaining nights we went through the Blue Java Cafe charade and the line there moved a lot faster by night 3 and there was a lot less complaining by passengers. To me this does not mean the system is effective but instead shows how easy it is to get people to accept pointless bureaucratic steps as normal.

Unfortunately when we went to pick up the kids after their first time at Camp Ocean, they reported it was "the best cruise ever."

[blainesterrr]

7. Anytime dining. The first night we tried to use anytime dining, we assumed it was like on NCL where you show up at the restaurant and they seat you (or give you a buzzer and seat you in 20 minutes). Not so on Carnival. First we went to Reflections restaurant around 6:30pm ready to eat to ask if we were supposed to go to Reflections or Horizons. The hostess told us to go to Horizons and she gave us directions by leading us through Reflections restaurant and out a back door. When we got out we did not know where we were but saw a sign for Horizons on the ceiling and a long line. We got in the line and quickly realized it was not moving at all. We asked the people in front of us if it was the line to be seated in the restaurant and they said yes. We decided we would come back later when the line was smaller. In the meantime the kids were hungry so we went to the buffet, thinking maybe we would drop them at the kids club and try to eat solo at Horizons later. We had just showered and put on clean clothing, so of course we felt out of place in the ever raw buffet atmosphere. Our kids ended up getting pizza (right outside buffet) but eating it at a table in the buffet. We got a few things to taste, including some shrimp (i think maybe coconut crusted?), all of which we thought were very good. We dropped off the kids and went to Horizons, this time arriving at a main entrance area that looked completely different than the area where we had previously been in line. The host at Horizons told us we had to go to Blue Java Cafe to get a reservation. We said no we don't need a reservation, we are on anytime dining. He said, it is for anytime dining. Looking beyond the host, we could see plenty of open tables, but we walked away bewildered to look at a map to find Blue Java Cafe to figure out what was going on. We finally found it and the line to "get reservations" was down the hall past pixels. Another frustrated passenger in line explained to us that you get a reservation at BJC and take your reservation slip to Horizons. Ok, we realized, this is not freestyle dining like on NCL. This is not "anytime dining" as advertised by Carnival. Again, we felt Carnival was not performing the way you would assume a seasoned cruise line would. Why on earth would you have an extra bureaucratic step at an entirely different location at a kiosk shoved in between a starbucks and pixels to tell me if you have a table or not at Horizons restaurant? I felt like I was in the Twilight Zone or in some cruise version of the DMV. Had the government taken over Carnival cruise lines? It was at this point, on the first night, that we decided we were going to rethink our previously scheduled Dream cruise out of New Orleans for summer 2018. This line wasn't moving either. So we walked away, exhausted, and got sucked into eating more "snacks" at the buffet and called it a night.

Later we realized that the original line we had been in was actually for a show. Not enough employees(actually there had been no employees in the vicinity), signage, or direction. Very, very frustrating. And for the remaining nights we went through the Blue Java Cafe charade and the line there moved a lot faster by night 3 and there was a lot less complaining by passengers. To me this does not mean the system is effective but instead shows how easy it is to get people to accept pointless bureaucratic steps as normal.

Unfortunately when we went to pick up the kids after their first time at Camp Ocean, they reported it was "the best cruise ever."

 

 

Anytime Dining on the Dream- as of now, you get your buzzer at the hostess stand in the MDR.

[Cafedumonde]

8. Dr. Suess breakfast. We attended the 8:30am seating and it was virtually empty. Only the center part of the restaurant was set up for the event and even then less than half of the decorated tables were occupied. Themeing was adorable and the food very creative. The entertainment staff was energetic but our server would not leave us alone. I think she is working on the wrong line and should switch to DCL. One of our least favorite parts of cruising on DCL is their dining room style, where servers try to befriend you and never give you a moment alone. You are always on edge getting ready to force the next smile. They also badger you about filling out the cruise survey and want an "excellent" rating. Our server at Dr. Suess did just this, never left us alone and forced us to pay attention to her throughout the entire meal. It was our last sea day and all of our other servers throughout the cruise seemed to have the perfect balance of attentiveness and respect for personal space, so she really stuck out for us. Even though the breakfast was well done, we probably would not do it again, simply because we much prefer the serving style in the main dining room.

[flahagan]

Thanks for the great review, very helpful. Do you recall what the charges are for IMAX and the Thrill theater?

[stargate fan]

La Romana. We debated back and forth about what to do at this port. We almost did the Seavis boat trip to Saona island but hesitated because it was all day and included food. We try to avoid excursions with food and look for more half day activities because of the kids. As I said, they are a hard sell. We also looked at the Monkeyland excursion through Carnival but it sold out as we were trying to decide whether or not thing 1 would complain for the entire hour plus bus ride each way. Also, not sure about committing to a non water based activity in August with the heat. In the end, we succumbed to inertia and ended up just getting off the ship and walking around. When we arrived in this port, there were many people on the dock, as though our arrival was a big event. Dock workers screaming, "Hola! Hola!" People in traditional dress dancing and playing music. This was the only port with a welcome party. Getting on and off the ship at the port was effortless. We got the feeling that a lot of people stayed on the ship.

At this point in our lives we live in beautiful but uneventful (not complaining) exurbia, so we love taking the opportunity to embrace our inner urban hipster. This is easily done in La Romana. We left one of the kids in Camp Ocean (he begged) while we got off the ship and tried to head in the direction of Jumbo, the grocery store I had read about online. Everyone who got off the ship appeared to be boarding some type of excursion bus. We started to walk toward an opening in the fencing and some local security tried to get us in a taxi. We said we wanted to walk and they looked at us but did not try to stop us. We walked down the street outside of the gates and came upon a large group of taxi drivers who desperately tried to get us to become passengers. We were the only people I saw walk outside of the gates. We got the impression that they were used to larger numbers of people needing transportation. We had taxi drivers nearly begging us, saying things like, "$10 for all of you for an all day tour of the city." We finally convinced them one by one that we wanted to walk and one straggler told us to walk through an alley, "much faster to town." He seemed sincere so we followed his direction and got off the main road. In the distance down the alley you could see what appeared to be a main road (which was the one we were originally on, so the cut through was a lot faster). There were a few people along the alley, casually asking if we needed a "tour guide" or wanted to buy Cuban cigars or woven hats. We said no thanks because we were in single minded pursuit of this grocery, but I later regretted not buying any of their stuff. It was sold when we came back through and they were hanging out just chit chatting among themselves. We passed a community baseball field where lots of young men were playing pretty seriously and looked pretty impressive. Later we crossed paths with some of the players leaving the field, walking, carrying their bats and gear in bags over their shoulders. They purposefully looked at us and smiled, "Hello," not hola. After the baseball field we reached the main street over the bridge which opened into what looked like it might have been a grander avenue at one time. There were security guards all along the route except for in the alley. The houses we passed there were pretty dilapidated and the road was dirt. We walked down the main road maybe about a half mile (along which we finally saw a couple of cruisers at a distance) until we arrived at the grocery. Most of the people we saw along the way seemed poor but happy and friendly. Most shoppers in the grocery were the same, but a middle class was also evident, just not dominant. On the walk back to the ship we caught up with two other cruisers who were taking photos of each other in front of the baseball field. They did not see us or did not acknowledge they did. We noticed they ended up ducking into the alley also to get back to the ship.

 

We booked the Sanoa Isalnd excursion. It is still amongst my top five favorite excursions.

[buckeyeinmd]

We booked the Sanoa Isalnd excursion. It is still amongst my top five favorite excursions.

 

If it is the excursion from Seavis, we weren't that impressed with it.

 

Doug

[stargate fan]

Good call on not doing Seavis. We did it and the island had lots of sea grass so it was hard to go in the water and snorkel. And the lunch wasn't that good. Parts of the excursion was good though. Not sure if I would try it again.

 

Doug

 

If it is the excursion from Seavis, we weren't that impressed with it.

 

Doug

We booked through Pro Excursions. Everything about the excursion was wonderful. Calm, clean ocean, delicious island buffet, excellent narration and education about La Romana on the way to our stops. We stopped at a couple of snorkeling spots and saw really cool ocean life.

I'd book this again in a heartbeat.

[buckeyeinmd]

7. Anytime dining. The first night we tried to use anytime dining, we assumed it was like on NCL where you show up at the restaurant and they seat you (or give you a buzzer and seat you in 20 minutes). "

 

We actually like it. It was just wife and I. Yes, you have to check in and can do it anytime between 530-930. The first night we got in right away. The next night they said it would be 15 minutes for the 2 of us or we could eat with others. We ate with others and from then on, when we showed up, we said we'd eat with others if we could be seated right away. We enjoyed all our dinners.

 

Doug

[buckeyeinmd]

We booked through Pro Excursions. Everything about the excursion was wonderful. Calm, clean ocean, delicious island buffet, excellent narration and education about La Romana on the way to our stops. We stopped at a couple of snorkeling spots and saw really cool ocean life.

I'd book this again in a heartbeat.

 

Glad you had a good one.

 

Doug

[SweetPea0517]

Most Carnival cabins have three closets when you enter a room. On the Vista there are two, where the third one was, there now is an individual AC unit.

 

 

 

The other ships have the life jackets & safe in the first closet. So where are they if the AC unit is in the third one?

[Cafedumonde]

I cannot think of anymore major topics about our cruise on the Vista and so will just sum up my thoughts on the experience.

I would argue that the Vista fell short in ship design but that the space worked on a functional level. From our experience on the Vista, I would describe Carnival cruise lines as a strange combination of bureaucratic yet sloppy administratively and operationally... but very effective on an experience level, probably because the employees on the ship are so responsive. In short, we had an amazing vacation, but Carnival is not run the way we would run a cruise line. As their flagship we thought it would reflect their long experience as a cruise line, but all day long we saw and experienced things that made us say why did they do that? Why would they have your sign and sail cards on your door? Another bureaucratic step. Just give it to me when I check in. Ours were there, but when we first arrived at our room around 2pm our neighbor was camped out in front of her door with bags and kids and said her keys had not been in the mailbox. Why have 6 different people check my paperwork at embarkation when I have only ever had 3 people check it before? Why put lamps that bump out of the wall in the walkway in the buffet when there isn't enough space there as it is? Why have one or two sandwich makers customizing sandwiches when the line is 30 people long and not moving. Just stick them out for people to grab if you are not going to devote enough manpower to solve the line problem. Why have only ten tubes for the tube waterslide with no one at the bottom making sure they get redistributed? Why not enforce the dress code in the buffet? Why not put silverware on the tables in the buffet? Why would you design a new ship where some seats in the main theater have no stage visibility? I could go on.

In contrast, NCL is run as I would run a cruise line. I cannot recall a moment on NCL when I have said to myself, why are they doing this or that? Usually, I was thinking, "wow that's a great idea." Or, "what a great use of space." NCL just makes sense. DCL for the most part as well. The drawback on NCL is that our kids did not have as much "fun." The drawback on Disney is PRICE(!) and that the somewhat canned sentimentalism gets tiresome. I don't find this as much at the parks, but there is a very insincere vibe at DCL. This is our perspective. Most DCL cruisers seem over the moon about DCL, so I know we are in the minority.

One last point. Carnival helped remind us that fun isn't about things always being perfect or making sense but has a more undefinable quality. Sometimes it takes kids to point out what should be obvious to adults. Where the cruise directors on DCL are standoffish, those on NCL are upbeat, warm and professional. But the cruise director on Carnival, Matt, let his individual personality come through, much like the cruise line itself. I hate the word authentic, but the vibe on Carnival really is fun in an authentic way. Similar to the cruise line itself, none of the employees seem like they are trying to fit into an mold, but are just at their own best, and it may be this, I think, that leads to moments of cruise euphoria when you realize you are having such a good time, maybe the best time ever.

[Cafedumonde]

Enjoying the review' date=' thank you for sharing your experience! Having sailed NCL, would you recommend Vista and this itinerary over the Getaway? We are planning to take our two kids on Vista next February, but found Getaway for a few hundred more, so we are considering switching to NCL (balcony on Getaway vs. Oceanview on Vista). Their first cruise will be on the Disney Fantasy in December, so not sure how that transition will go. Appreciate any input, and look forward to the rest of your review. Thank you!

 

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I personally don't think you can go wrong with either. The balcony is a big deal for us, so that may push us to NCL. Our kids, however, preferred the Carnival Kids Club to NCL's. I say that with a grain of salt, however, because I have read many reviews where people report their kids absolutely loved NCL's kids club.

[Cafedumonde]

I was interested in your comments about your boys. My 2 are 18 and 14 now but went on their first cruise at 10 and 6. They have only been on Carnival and have loved the kids club on almost every one of their 5 (6?) cruises. The older more outgoing one especially. He actually keeps in contact on social media with friends from past cruises! The older they get the more fun they seem to have although less of the organized activities and more using the club as a meeting place or just to hang out with their new buddies.

 

I'm really enjoying your review.

I think cruising and meeting new people is great for kids. They are very lucky to have so many ways to keep in touch and communicate today!

[Cafedumonde]

Good to hear about the ac as we had a balcony and an inside 2 weeks ago on the Glory and the inside was so hot! But we would really miss that closet if we had 4 in a room were you able to use storage under the beds?

 

 

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Yes, plenty of storage under the beds! You will love the a/c.

[Cafedumonde]

Thanks for the info. You probably would not like the MSC Divina then (if you though embarkation was bad, try Divina, although this seems to be mostly a POM issue). Low ceilings, etc.

 

Good to know that the AC works very well in the rooms though.

We are trying the msc Seaside next year, so we'll see!

[Cafedumonde]

We had four in a room and each of us had our own suitcase. We found there was enough space. The night stands have drawers as well so that was helpful. We were able to store our suitcases under the bed.

 

I agree that there was plenty of room. I just thought that since it was a new ship they would have taken the opportunity to get more creative and add a bit more shelving etc. But not a deal breaker.

[Cafedumonde]

Wasted open space??:confused: Open space is never "wasted" in much used venues on ships with 4000+ pax.....especially on the Vista, if you have ever been on her.....where there is lots of parties, evening events and gatherings with the CD....it is just CRAMMED and immovable on all three levels including the stairs.....Matt, the CD, dances on the bar table tops....this ship needed more of what you call 'wasted open space' in the much reduced closed in atrium !!

I definitely agree that a lot of the ship layout is strange.

[Cafedumonde]

Thanks for your review. I think the reason given for less closet/storage space on the Vista concerned an individual cabin A/C control unit in each cabin rather than a unit outside somewhere that controlled the airflow for a bloc of cabins.

 

We cruise with just 1 piece of carry on luggage each, so we had ample space for our clothes. However, the typical cruiser with multi bags would have difficuly storing everything they brought.

 

We also thought the cabins on NCL's Breakaway were nicer than the Vista's.

We do prefer NCL cabins too.

[Cafedumonde]

Thanks for your review, have only sailed on one Carnival ship, the Breeze back in 2014. We had a great time and have also sailed Disney and RCCL. Looking at Vista May 2018. My kids will be 19, 15 and 10 at that point.

If you choose the Vista, your kids will love it. It is impossible to be "bored" on that ship!

[Cafedumonde]

Thank you so much for your review. My friend and I sail the Vista in 39 days and cannot wait. I am looking forward to seeing how I feel about some of the areas of the ship that I hear a lot of negative comments on. My last two sailings have been on the Carnival Breeze...and I LOVE LOVE LOVE her!! I will have fun no matter what, but it will be interesting to see all the changes.

You will have a great time on the Vista. The Breeze seems to be a favorite with a lot of people. I would love to try it.

[Cafedumonde]

Thanks for the review. The Vista was a disappointment for us in Europe. With all the Carnival cutbacks, slow MDR service, atrium and theater design was not nice at all. The show times were earlier to accommodate the disco and coupled with slow MDR service we missed shows. Food portion size and quality have gone down hill as well. Steakhouse, guys and pizza are always excellent. We will not sail on the Horizon anytime soon.

We did notice that the dining room service was sometimes uneven, but it didn't drive us crazy. They definitely seem like they need more people in some areas.

[Cafedumonde]

The prices are going to keep me away too but I keep looking for a good price.

If there is any way you can go when school is in session, their prices can be dramatically different then!