VISTA 8/26/2017 Review - Bigger is not always better!

[ladylyn915]

This was our 10th cruise and 3rd Carnival cruise. A little background: This was a family reunion for my granddaughter's Sweet Sixteen Birthday and we were 17 in total ages 4 - 70. We all had a wonderful time and there many things about the Vista that we loved, but there were also some misses for us. We all agreed we preferred the smaller carnival ships and most likely would not sail this class again.

 

We traveled to Florida from Colorado Springs, CO, Rochester, NY, Staten Island, NY and Somerset, NJ. Some of us stayed in the Comfort Suites at FLL and others stayed at the Hampton Inn at Blue Lagoon prior to the cruise. Both hotels were fine and the breakfasts were average although the Hampton Inn had the cleanest Breakfast area I have ever seen. I wish the food was on par with the cleanliness. The group in FLL took the super shuttle for $10 per person and the Miami group took the third party shuttle from the hotel for $10 as well. No problems.

 

Then we arrived at the Port - Total chaos. Although our arrival time was 11AM and we arrived at 10:25AM, we were directed to a line that wrapped around the building. When I inquired where the line for 11 AM arrival was, the Carnival employee said it did not matter because the general line would open at 10:30! So much for specific arrival times. While on this line we were handed a card that said Zone 3. Once inside our boarding passes were checked and we were told to sit. No one told us where. At 11:30 boarding began. Announcements were difficult to hear and we had to go and look at the overhead screens to see what was happening since boarding was taking place on either side of the very large space. Once our zone was called, we moved quickly and gained entry. It was about 12:30 PM. I spoke with someone on board who had FTTF. Her experience was the total opposite of ours. Moral to the story do not sail without FTTF !!

 

Upon entering the ship on deck 3, we went straight to the bar for our traditional welcome aboard drink. My first impression of this area was that it looked very boring. But I expected that from photos that I had seen. From this area, we made our way to Lido deck for some lunch. Lots of people, lots and lots of people! We did get some food and it was fine- but the lines were long and this was a prelude of what was to come during the cruise.

 

After lunch we headed to our our cabin on deck 8 and I was very happy to see my scooter was in the room. We had a balcony room and I have no complaints at all. Two of our grandchildren were staying with my husband and me. The cabin was a decent size and four of us managed perfectly fine over the 8 days. The balcony was roomy enough with two high back chairs that reclined and a table. The bed was comfortable although the sofa was hard as a rock. Our room steward was great - Edison took very good care of us all week. Even though we had already pre-paid our gratuities, I gave him a little extra on day one because I know it is not easy to have 4 in a cabin. It was money well spent.

 

An interesting note about the hallway. It is not exactly straight. The space directly in front of our door jutted out a bit and made it a little difficult to get the scooter in and out even though the doorway was more than wide enough. We managed well enough, but my husband had to manually pick up the scooter and turn it a bit to get around the corner. If I had been by myself it would have been a problem that I never even considered.

 

We were very pleased that we were able to get a table for 17 and the waiters worked really hard. But, most nights that we ate in the MDR, our entrees were barely warm. It is my opinion that the dining room is greatly understaffed. Many of them were near the end of their contract and were tired and looking forward to going home. Also, since our last cruise in 2015, there are no longer bar waiters and this meant we waited a very long time to get our drinks. I also never saw the Maitre'd or a sommelier all cruise. These comments are smply observations rather than complaints. Trying to take care of a table of 17 can be daunting and we were very understanding of the waitstaff that we did have. This was the first time we had the American Table Menu - most of it was fine, but I missed the Fried Chicken, bitter n blanc; creme brulee and the night they had Baked Alaska, there were no other desserts offered.

 

Some of us ate in the Steakhouse - Excellent! Also all of us ate at La Cuchina- also excellent and a few of us ate at Bonzai's - excellent too! Guy's burgers were a miss for us. They were dry and overcooked. The lines were so long for the Pig and Anchor, none of us ever got to try it. The pizza was delicious and the lines tolerable. We never got to try the Seafood Shack- it seemed to be closed more than it was open. Some folks that we talked to said it was very good.

 

More to come.......

[carnivaladdix120]

Great review so far! Can't wait to hear more. We are sailing in June and so far have a group of 10 with more booking soon.

[imridingdolphins]

Was on this exact same sailing and had a great time. Only gripe was Embarkation, which seemed like a zoo. Line was very long but once your scheduled time came around, you just get in the line to the left and it moved very fast. Felt bad for all those people in the early/late line because they were going to be there a long time. The first day is very hectic. Elevators are packed and lines on the Lido are long for food. Can't get into cabin until 1:30 so you are kind of stuck. But, once you get in and settle down, everything is alright.

 

Had a fun time. Ship doesn't seem like it is that big to me. Lines can be long for things but they move. Guys Burgers were great, Blue Iguana tacos great, steakhouse was great, Bonsai sushi was great, Pig and Anchor average BBQ but totally fine, seafood shack average and had a long wait as they seemed to have fallen behind on their orders, pizza was great and lines not too bad.

[mnp75]

FTTF is awesome! Last month we took Carnival Liberty and never sat down once before getting on the boat. Checked in and board before 11:30am.

 

Sailing Vista in May next year, can't wait!

[cruizinisthebest]

Port of Miami is usually chaotic. Lots of ships. The day we boarded the Vista, it was pouring. I thought the port employees handled the crowd well even if it was chaos- given the number of people and weather conditions.

 

No bigger isn't always better, but I personally loved the Vista. Now one of my favorites. I found the decor relaxing and absolutely loved all the things to do and food to eat. I tried to do as much as I could onboard and still managed to relax. The longest line was for the skyride. Never waited long for anything to eat or bar service. The Vista was our 10th cruise also. My only gripe was the hub chat feature and the internet in general. I was expecting both to be much better than it was being it's the newest ship. Food was just fine. I enjoyed the seafood shack. The dishes are enough to share. I do agree that a few items came to the dinner table from the MDR warm and not hot. Other than those few things, I would book the Vista again in a heartbeat and probably will! ;)

[buckeyeinmd]

Can't wait to read the rest. We did the same itinerary two weeks before you but I just haven't gotten around to reviewing it yet. We had some of the same issues when we got to the port.

 

Doug

[matymil]

We were on the first US cruise of the Vista back in Nov....wasn't bad but out of the 5 cruises ive been on so far it was my least favorite. I am giving her another shot in April....im thinking maybe it was the people on the ship that did it for me and not the ship itself

[riclop]

Thanks for the review.

[ladylyn915]

Great review so far! Can't wait to hear more. We are sailing in June and so far have a group of 10 with more booking soon.

Thanks! Vacation is what you make it! Keep an open mind and I'm sure you will have a good time!

[ladylyn915]

FTTF is awesome! Last month we took Carnival Liberty and never sat down once before getting on the boat. Checked in and board before 11:30am.

 

Sailing Vista in May next year, can't wait!

On our first two Carnival Cruises we had FTTF. Never again without it!

[ladylyn915]

Port of Miami is usually chaotic. Lots of ships. The day we boarded the Vista, it was pouring. I thought the port employees handled the crowd well even if it was chaos- given the number of people and weather conditions.

 

No bigger isn't always better, but I personally loved the Vista. Now one of my favorites. I found the decor relaxing and absolutely loved all the things to do and food to eat. I tried to do as much as I could onboard and still managed to relax. The longest line was for the skyride. Never waited long for anything to eat or bar service. The Vista was our 10th cruise also. My only gripe was the hub chat feature and the internet in general. I was expecting both to be much better than it was being it's the newest ship. Food was just fine. I enjoyed the seafood shack. The dishes are enough to share. I do agree that a few items came to the dinner table from the MDR warm and not hot. Other than those few things, I would book the Vista again in a heartbeat and probably will! ;)

 

I don't know. I have left out of Ft. Lauderdale which is also very busy, and it seemed to me it was more organized.

 

There were a lot of things to do - but either the venues were closed or the lines were extremely long. One grandson waited 90 minutes for the sky ride. Even the big slides in Water Works had 20 minute lines at times.

Bar service was ok- but waiter service was almost non-existent- even on Serenity Deck. We were in Reflections MDR and some of us got up and went to the lobby bar rather than wait for the waiter take our orders as well as get our food.

I am anxious to try the Breeze or the Magic - one of them may be next for us

Edited September 6, 2017 by ladylyn915
wrong color

[cruizinisthebest]

I don't know. I have left out of Ft. Lauderdale which is also very busy, and it seemed to me it was more organized.

 

There were a lot of things to do - but either the venues were closed or the lines were extremely long. One grandson waited 90 minutes for the sky ride. Even the big slides in Water Works had 20 minute lines at times.

Bar service was ok- but waiter service was almost non-existent- even on Serenity Deck. We were in Reflections MDR and some of us got up and went to the lobby bar rather than wait for the waiter take our orders as well as get our food.

I am anxious to try the Breeze or the Magic - one of them may be next for us

Geesh, 90 minutes is way too long.

 

We attempted the skyride twice. First time it was on a port day and we had gotten back a couple of hours early. My daughter and I went up and there was almost no line. 3 people in front of us. Get in line and the lady told us we needed on shorts. I knew about the closed toe shoes but not the shorts. So we hurried back to the cabin to change, get back and there's like 10 people. Grrrr! So we wait. Then 5 minutes later, they shut it down due to the weather.

 

We went back on the last sea day and just so happen one of our waiters saw us and told us the skyride had just opened up. He knew we had been trying. We were ready this time. Got up there and waited about 30 minutes. I so wanted to buy my pic but the way they take them, you have to sort through every skyride pic taken. I tried to find it but gave up. It was alot of fun though but scary!

 

That was the only line we dealt with other than the shake spot. My kids would visit there daily and there was always a few people in line. Especially by mid cruise once people realized it was back there.

 

Yes Ft. Lauderdale is busy too. Last time I was there, a riot almost broke out with the fttf folks. Lol. Story for another day.[emoji14]

 

Sent from my SM-G930T using Tapatalk

[ladylyn915]

CRUISIN'

 

There were many areas we enjoyed. Each day - including port days, but not Grand Turk (off ship at 7:30) - we ate breakfast in the MDR. Here the food was great and service also very good. My only disappointment was the waffles. Everything else was outstanding. On sea days we went to Water Works with the kids. Lots of fun and no problem securing seats with an umbrella - but we went early - by 9AM.

 

For the first time ever, I never went near the pool - it was just way too small and the semi-circle lounger set -up looked way too congested. The Serenity Deck was very hot! I'm not sure why there are so many plexi-glass partitions, but they blocked any breeze there may have been. We were able to use the clamshells but depending the direction, it could be very hot under it and we did not stay very long. My daughter had one facing the opposite direction - with a breeze and it was lovely - she stayed there for the afternoon. The Serenity Salad Bar was delicious. Lots of choices including cold shrimp and a nice selection of dressings.

 

We played Bingo at Ocean Plaza twice and even had a winner in our midst. My only complaint about this was it was almost impossible to dab the cards since the the tables were really tiny. Jackpot Jake was energetic and fun and we enjoyed this activity. The Ocean Plaza is also near the Shake Spot and Java Blue Cafe. Great shakes, specialty coffees. They also had to die for desserts like Black Forest and White Forest confections as well as fruit and custard tarts- YUM! And, the shakes and coffees are included in Cheers!

 

ENTERTAINMENT

We enjoyed anything CD Matt was involved in. Whether MC-ing the Love and Marriage game, or hosting the Dr. Breakfast and all the Deck Dance Parties, he is a real asset and the Vista may be a little bit quiet while he off for holiday for a month! DJ Jeff was excellent and we all enjoyed listening to his music. It may just be me, but I felt the shows in general were lacking. There were only two production shows( that I remember) and a Dance Party every night. The Rock show was very good; we could not go and see the Studio VIP because of a conflict. I wonder why they don't repeat the shows at least one other night. Never got to the Comedy Club - times just did not work for us. Was there any show after 9:30PM? We did go to the Piano Bar which on previous cruises was a favorite spot - not so much this time around. We did not like Elizabeth or her style - we definitely did not like her calling out folks as they left - rude! But, she did have a nice following all week. Tim Hanson played guitar in the Red Frog Pub and we thought he was great. Thanked us for coming and invited us back the next night for his birthday celebration!

There have been many comments about the Liquid Lounge. It is true that the silver columns are huge and can block someone's view. However, both shows that I saw were not overly crowded and seats were available right up to showtime.

 

Be back with more soon....

[skiingj]

Thanks for the review! I was on the Vista exactly a year ago with six family members in three aft balcony cabins. It was a disappointment overall for everyone. Too many cutbacks...ships design was not nearly as nice as the Breeze. Only place we liked was Havana area.

[Fabulous cruiser]

Does the Vista offer luggage transfers to the airport? I know other Carnival ships have done so in the past. If so, do you know the name of the program? And is it still $25?

[Clarea]

Enjoying the review.

[ladylyn915]

Does the Vista offer luggage transfers to the airport? I know other Carnival ships have done so in the past. If so, do you know the name of the program? And is it still $25?

Carnival does do ground transfers, but I do not know the cost since we did not do this. They also offer tour/transfer packages post cruise to both Ft. Lauderdale and Miami. If you are already booked on Vista go to Carnival's website - the info will be there.

[cruizinisthebest]

Does the Vista offer luggage transfers to the airport? I know other Carnival ships have done so in the past. If so, do you know the name of the program? And is it still $25?

I think you are referring to luggage express. They don't offer it on any Carnival ship anymore. They stopped it over a year ago.

 

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[ladylyn915]

THE PORTS

 

Grand Turk - This was our second visit here. We were very fortunate to score a poolside cabana! These little one room structures are just fabulous. Not only can you keep all your "stuff' secure, when you need a little break from the sun, it is lovey to take a few minutes in the air-conditioned coolness. We had our own waitress who was terrific. Some of the kids in our group did the flowrider - always fun. All in all, a great day. We did not get to the beach - it was too long of a walk from the pool area - last visit we were able to scoot through a gate - but it was locked this time. My only negative about this port is that it is too early! Why did we have to dock at 7AM? A 9 AM - 4 PM would certainly be more civilized!

 

La Romana - Some of us went to Dreams Resort. This was our best day!! We paid $65 per adult and $37.50 per child. This gave us access to the pool, the beautiful beach, unlimited alcoholic drinks, a fabulous luncheon buffet, coffee shop etc. We took a taxi with another family - I don't remember how much we paid - and the driver came back for us at 3PM. It was a perfect day! We did have a little rain - but it didn't hamper us at all.

 

Aruba - This was a beach day for us. We took a taxi to Eagle Beach near Amsterdam Manor. The beach was beautiful - no wind that day. We had an issue with the chair vendor - but we straightened it out quick enough. We were able to find a Palapa so we had some shade. We spent a few hours and headed back to the ship.

 

Curacao - The day began very stormy so we scrapped out plans to go to Blue Bay Beach. We had a leisurely breakfast and ventured off ship mid morning. We walked over to the Pontoon bridge and continued to the shopping area and did a little shopping. While there the skies opened up and we took cover for about 20 minutes under a canopy in front of a restaurant. We did see the bridge swing open although we were not on it at the time. Heads up for anyone looking for any bargains in Curacao - not very many. We found some beautiful dutch ceramics - but they were hand painted and quite pricey. We did buy a couple of wood carvings - lovely and reasonable!

 

In closing - Our vacation was fabulous - It is not often I can get all my children together at the same time. I enjoyed the cruise, but the Vista just wasn't my favorite Carival ship. There were many spots I just didn't get to - there is only so much time and energy! I am looking forward to my next cruise - but I'm not sure which one it will be! I hope my review will help anyone planning their cruise and I wish you all Happy Sailings!!!

[bury me at sea]

I appreciate your thorough review. The Vista is replacing the Breeze in Galveston fall of next year so I have been reading reviews on her and find them interesting and helpful.

[Schoifmom]

Does the Vista offer luggage transfers to the airport? I know other Carnival ships have done so in the past. If so, do you know the name of the program? And is it still $25?

 

This program has long gone by the wayside.