Carnival Vista review

[mgonagl]

Carnival Vista. Oct. 21-29, 2017

 

Saturday, embarkation day:

This was the most insane embarkation I have ever had in 16 cruises. As usual, we were scheduled to debarked at 5pm. At 8pm we were still in port but the CD came on and said we were leaving momentarily, then immediately corrected that to, "we'll keep you posted." We left Miami at 12:30am. Right below our balcony, they were working on the ship all day and night, but I cannot say why. We were never told, but didn't expect to be told either.

 

Walking onto the ship was an experience also. The atrium is stunning. I thought I would miss the signature glass elevators but I didn't. The tornado screen above the bar is awesome and I love how it changes from see life to jungle. It's just lovely, and the bar is bigger. Not that it matters right after the muster drill, it was packed. If you ask why platinum/diamond is better, sit and be ignored for 5-10 minutes and then lay your card on the bar. The staff becomes very prompt and delightful. They are busy, no doubt but the wait was a little out of hand with 4 bartenders.

 

The ship isn't difficult to maneuver, everything is straightforward and the map is true. The hub app is a must, it has everything you need, from the menu to a list of things to do with times to weather.

 

Our room, a Jr. suite was lovely. More then enough room for the 2 of us. We had a full suite on out last cruise and didn't feel as if we were being deprived of space in any way. For the first time since becoming platinum, our luggage, all of it, arrived before 2pm. I like to get unpacked and then relax and I was able to do that this time. However, the closet space in this suite has a lot to be desired. Not nearly enough, and even when we just got balcony cabins there was always plenty of room. You have to pick up your sail and sign cards in your mailbox, something that was started last year. I didn't like it then and I don't like it now but it looks like it's here to stay. I'd love to know how it saves time checking people in. The muster drill was different in that you were checked in by card. There were 8 people missing from our drill, as they do call out names of people that are not there. An announcement was made to be in the library at 5pm for the no shows.

 

For anytime dining, you have to check in on deck 5 to be assigned a table for either dining room they choose on deck 3 or 4. They had 4 hostesses working so it went quick but a lot of people don't eat in the dining room on the first night. The Captain's dinner is tomorrow and will be the real test. I would like it more, or at least not mind it if it was on the same floor of the dining room, but we have to check in on 5, then go down to 3 for dinner. When we start at the atrium bar for a drink before dinner, it gets to be a lot of unnecessary stair walking. For older people, this can be draining. Dinner was delicious, our waiter was Dino and he was more then awesome, but the tables for 2 may as well be tables for 8. They were so close there was no privacy and we are going to try and see what we can do about that. It was very uncomfortable. The bar waiter was Johnny on the spot when we arrived, but after my husband's first beer, he never came back. That was disappointing. With no shopping, casino, bingo or liquor tasting available due to still being in port, we opted for the Baby Boss at the dive in movie. Cute movie, but I cannot believe how rude people are, running around, yelling, whooping it up. If it were kids, I could write it off but these were adults. We went back to the cabin after it was over, I just couldn't deal with these people anymore. Last night was the reason the Cheers program isn't a good idea...

 

Returning to the cabin, our room steward, Rodney had a bucket of ice waiting as requested. He is off to a good start!

 

A few random notes, the 50" tv in our Jr suite had a nice welcome aboard with our names, or welcome to -insert port here- and our names. Nice touch. It also carried a detailed map of our path throughout

 

Sunday, Sea day, day 2

We are hauling ass to make up time so the ship was rocking a little more then usual. I slept like a baby, it was wonderful. The beds are still as comfortable as always.

 

We went to breakfast in lido at 8am, and it was still a bit quiet. We grabbed 2 chairs by the pool and read and relaxed. The pool is freezing, unusual since we always swim on the first day of an October cruise and it is warm outside. Also, the pool is painted a putrid green which it look like an algae filled mess. I hope the darkness pulls in the warmth because it is cold. There will be no swimming today! DH left for a nap at 11am and within 20 minutes a women with the worst smelling tanning lotion plopped all her stuff around me and proceeded to lather that stinky potion all over. I promptly left, time for lunch as I don't eat a big breakfast. The seafood shack is worth every penny. The lobster rolls were succulent and the French fries had a bit of Old Bay sprinkled on them, a very nice touch! Then I went back to the cabin for a shower.

 

I went to trivia, not too many people joining in. Then we went and watched Geostorm in 3D at the IMAX theater. Amazing is all I can say. The movie was good but the experience was something.

 

Carnival finally got smart and went to digital photos. Put your folio number in and boom, there's your pictures. Much less waste. Big bravo on that.

 

The floors on the lido deck are extremely slippery, try to pack some good traction shoes. It's pretty bad.

 

Formal night was nice, and dinner was better since we got an actual table for 2. We had Jose, William and Wardoyo as waiters and they were as good as Dino and his crew so we will keep this table.

 

The weather and speed this evening should have made for a rough ride, but the new stabilizers on this ship are pretty amazing. We hit a wave and hit it hard but in spite of the rough seas it's not difficult to walk. All in all, very nice. We capped the evening with the comedy club. I'd give you his name but the hub Internet just went down. Ugh....

 

Our gift arrived, we received 2 stainless steel carnival cups. I don't know if they are Tervis, but they are nice and I am grateful for not receiving the blue tooth speakers. We have a number of sets so that would have been a bust. I'm a happy guest!

 

Side note- Brass should never do Bohemian Rhapsody, period. Freddie is rollin in his grave. They were ok, but it was a bit obnoxious and loud. You couldn't carry on a conversation at the beautiful atrium bar.

 

Monday, Amber Cove, day 3

While we've never been here, and it's a replacement for Grand Turk due to the hurricane, we've heard nothing good about this place so we stayed on the ship. Again, we got up to the aft pool and again, it's entirely too cold to swim. And we always have one. The girl from Ipanema, tiny Bellini, rocking body, etc., and that's all fine. But do not stand in front of me and my DH with your thong behind in all its glory. Honestly, when she finally left there was collective laughter from all of us regular to heavy bodied guests. Some days the rudeness never stops...

 

Dh left me at 11:30am and I enjoyed a shrimp burrito from the blue cantina. The food there is so good!

 

Went to trivia while he napped and I'm finding them challenging. They finally got smart and are really giving the trivia an overhaul for the better. I didn't win, and that's ok, it was a challenge. Only one guest was using a phone to get the answers. Hey, if you need a ship on a stick that bad, go for it! (Insert rolling eyes here.)

 

We went and got ready for the Captains dinner, which was really good, all the food on this ship is really good, and we are foodies. After dinner we went to the Red Frog for general trivia, which again, was challenging and then the comedy show, and the comic was good, another hit. We capped off the evening in the thrill theater, to see a Halloween trilogy of scary movies. It was campy, but fun. Nice ending to the day, and sleep came quickly with the gentle rocking!

 

Tuesday, Day 4, La Romana

We have been to this port already and once was enough so we stayed on the ship. This has been the sunniest weather, and the hottest since we set sail, but it still didn't help to warm the aft pool. It was so hot, however, that you had to get in just to avoid spontaneous combustion. Spent all morning, into the afternoon there. Pizza for lunch. I had wanted a sandwich, but they don't have the deli on this ship. I'm going to have to see if I can get my Rueben from room service. The pizza is ok, nothing to write home about but it did the trick until it was time for more afternoon trivia.

 

I find, on every cruise that there is one song played over and over. This cruise it's "The only living boy in New York" by Simon and Garfunkel. Great song, but they do beat certain ones to death.

 

Trivia is late. It appears someone forgot it was their turn to host? I hope we can play, it's geography, one of my favorites. They finally showed up 15 minutes late and we had a few lightening rounds. Again, they have made them really hard. I'm liking it. Didn't win, but the brain exercise is great!

 

We had dinner at the Italian speciality restaurant. Wow! Amazing! For us, the steakhouse is getting old and this gem is worth the time, money and any added pounds. The staff was attentive and the food was delicious!

 

Superhero movie night was the order of the evening since DH is a big fan. He saw the new Spider-Man and Wonder Woman movies. I came back to the cabin after an hour. Not my thing, but he was happy and while I try not to watch any tv on a cruise, This is Us was on and since I got the social media plan I didn't want a spoiler to ruin my viewing so I watched it. Good thing, another revelation! I was fast asleep by 10:05!

 

Side note -The scrambled eggs on the lido on this ship resemble the Chef's attention to detail for every meal. They weren't fantastic, but they were good and I had them every day so far. In 17 cruises, I have never eaten a scrambled egg unless it was made fresh at the omelet station or I was at the main dining room. This is a big step forward for breakfast on the Lido!

 

The violin trio in the atrium were amazing! Well worth your time to sit and listen. They were that good!

 

Wednesday, curaçao, day 5

There is something to be said for opening your eyes and seeing a rainbow outside your window. Only on a cruise can you start you day with a sight like that, and a big smile.

 

We went to the pool in the morning to allow Rodney, the best room steward of room 7235 time to clean up. It was quiet at the pool. We went back to the cabin and got a Rueben for lunch through room service. At least they still have sandwiches from room service.

 

Our favorite port of all time, curaçao awaits at 1:30pm. We did some shopping, found the piazza inside the fort for a beer and a bit of free wifi before one of the most amazing shore excursions we've ever taken. Not that it was action packed, but just stunning. We sailed to Kim Tiki beach, and spent 4 glorious hours on the beach. The water was perfect, the beach was perfect and the sunset was perfect. It's the first port we ever considered doing as a land vacation, something we never take.

 

We got back late (7:30pm) so anytime dining was a zoo, yet Jose and his team did their absolute best to take care of two tired and crabby diners in need of adult beverages. We finished our dinner and went right to bed. We swam the entire day away in the most beautiful sunshine on the most beautiful island in the Caribbean, imho!

 

Thursday, day 6, Aruba

I though yesterday couldn't be beat on shore excursions, but I was wrong. We went on the sail, snorkel and beach excursion with Pelican tours. The Catamaran is older, but the crew was very nice. We had two stops, one near a beach which was relaxing and lovely and the second, which was over a shipwreck. Very cool, but very rough seas made that one difficult. Just a side note for inexperienced snorkelers and photographers. It is very easy to see underwater with your mask. Please watch where you are going. Especially the photographers. I don't want you to miss your shot, but I also don't want to get kicked in the head, the side or the leg. It's really rude, and do not tell me that you couldn't feel you body being propelled by mine in the middle of the ocean. There's nothing else there. I love to snorkel, but not with people who have no regard for others. Done ranting.

 

After the two snorkels, we were taken to a dock where an unexpected but delicious BBQ lunch was served. This wasn't in the description, and we were grateful for the nourishment after a morning of swimming and snorkeling. After lunch, we were giving an hour of swimming at the beach. The white sand was stunning, the water a beautiful aqua blue and warm as rain on a summer day. You could get down on your knees and thank God that we have a slight glimpse of heaven on earth!

 

It was another long shore excursion, we were gone a full 5 hours so when we got back we both showered and crashed for a well earned nap. It was so long, there was no shopping to be had, but that's ok. It was really fun.

 

Then, we went off to dinner and enjoyed a feast that concluded with a perfectly rare prime rib. An hour of sleep wasn't nearly enough and both the sports bar and the red frog were pretty full so we got a few beverages and watches the football game in the cabin. It's easy to do with a 50" screen in the room. I drifted off, DH watches the points rack up on his fantasy football league.

 

Day 7, Friday, Fun day at sea

Breakfast in the lido and then off to the pool. What a smack in the face. Magically, the pool that we thought was painted an ugly green is a lovely blue and quite warm. We have a feeling that it was in fact a serious Algee bloom, based on personal knowledge and the fact you could see that the bottom and bottom sides of the pool were stained. Very disappointed with the fact that the water was a problem for most of the cruise.

 

Since we were still closer to the equator then not, the morning was already hot by 8:30. For the first time on the cruise, we had chair savers that sat empty for over an hour. Everyone had played so nicely up until today. It didn't matter much, as the sun was positioned so that we needed chairs that faced the back, the clean pool filled up quickly with guests and the temperature was boiling so we left at 11:30am.

 

Lunch in the cabin, then trivia. I played trivial pursuit with a team, guess the song and Beatles trivia so far today. Tommy, on the entertainment team is engaging and very funny. In fact, i've enjoyed all the entertainment team all week during trivia. I have not even seen Schwartz, our CD once. Partly my fault as I found the Liquid Lounge seating uncomfortable during the muster drill and therefore didn't bother to see a show, but he didn't show up for any of the trivia either. I missed the port days trivia so I don't know if he attended these, but I was here for 2 port days and he never showed up today hi. It would have been nice if he had come to one, but he has one more day to show up so I'll hold judgment. All his announcements end with, "love you," which was a funny touch, but some I spoke to found it annoying or childish. I try to see the fun in everything.

 

Day 8, Saturday, Last fun day at sea

We work up to an eerie red sky so we know something was up. Since it's the last day, and Ohio State plays at 3:30pm, we decided to have a lazy day. Like every day hasn't been lazy, lol. We went to the main dining room for breakfast, actually brunch, and had the best breakfast all week. Nothing is better then fresh cooked. Now, if you are platinum, you get a free drink for breakfast or lunch in the mail dining room. So we took our coupons and asked for Bloody Mary's. About half way through out breakfast, the waited came and said they are out of Bloody Mary mix, and tomato juice as well, although they are hunting it down so as to make our drinks. Shortly after, they were only able to find tomato juice. So we were nearly finished with our meal, we declined the offer of the bartender doing his "best" to make a proper Bloody Mary without the mix. This requires some knowledge to pull off, and since the bartenders are well schooled in what they make and maybe other things, maybe not, we declined. We don't drink just to drink, but perhaps Carnival could extend its offer to dinner for its platinum and diamond guests. Lord knows we spend enough.

 

We went to the shops for some last minute gifts and deals, (with the exception of the 2/$20 tee shirts, there were no deals) and then went back to the cabin to pack. I had lunch at the Italian restaurant, and even though they only serve pasta with your choice of sauce and bread, it was every bit as old as inner on Tuesday night. I had linguini with clam sauce and a salad. This place just replaced the steak house, it was amazing!

 

When I returned, we got ready for the evening and went down to the skybox sports bar for the game. Glad we came down 2 hours early, they had very few seats together left. Glad we stayed, Ohio State pulled out a win against Penn State. The place went mad and we all lost our voices. It ended at 7pm, well past the time for dinner so we grabbed pizza on the Lido. It was just as well, this was the third night of menus that did nothing for us. It's a shame, the old menus only had one bad night for us. The food is so good on this ship, it was a shame to miss it but we can't eat a big meal like that this late anymore and nothing looked worth the time and effort of a big meal so it was what it was. DH went back to the cabin and I went to the atrium bar for one last trivia game with Schwartz! Finally! As I sat and listened to the violin trio I enjoyed so much earlier, the line for guest services wrapped all the way around to the elevators. Can someone tell me why they go there on the last night? I'm truly interested. It's so long, it seems like a waste of time on the last night of your cruise. Unless you're fixing an error on your bill, why? Where there wasn't a line, there were 3 decks of people rocking out to the trio. Good for them! They are really talented! They are called the Dolce Trio. Check them out if you get a chance!

 

Finally, I met Schwartz. He hosted 80's music trivia and it was high energy. Held in the atrium, he danced and sang in all his lit up glory. It was a lot of fun, and his jump into the arms of a guest to "time of my life" from Dirty Dancing was awesome. He did well! He asked for anyone who took video to post it to his page. If you have a moment, it's worth a look to see if anyone did.

 

Per usual for us lately, Phillipe turned into a tropical storm. We had an announcement that the captain was going to try and out run the storm, getting us into Miami around 2am. I woke up right around then and thought to myself, this ship is getting really beat up on the dock. I looked out the door and we were still at sea with 2 other ships, and we were getting tossed around pretty good. It turned out that they closed the port of Miami, so we sat in the middle of the storm. If you are a good sailor, as we are, it was kind of nice. We did make it back into port by 7am and debarkation was as smooth as butter.

 

Another great cruise in the books along with 120 days at sea completed. Next year, our second time to Alaska!

 

 

 

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[lcpagejr]

Great review... Pretty much mirrors our impressions from our recent Thanksgiving cruise on the Vista. Great food...The dolce trio was fantastic!! Also I guess we were lucky we were sailing over Black Friday...selling 3 Teeshirts for $20...lol. FYI ...there is a deli in the Lido buffet area...Its called the Carvery....it doubles as a omellette station in the morning. Also we were delayed until 8pm on our sailing...but they must have learned as they handed us a letter as we prepared to board stating sailing would be delayed until 8pm...still working on the thrusters!!

[bury me at sea]

What a fun review. Thanks for posting and happy sailing.

[Clarea]

Excellent review, thanks!

[Keith1010]

Great review.

 

Nice you are doing Alaska for a second time. We love Alaska and each time it is as special as the first time.

 

Keith

[jimbo5544]

Nice review, thanks for posting it.

 

 

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[Hogladyrider]

Thanks for the nice review!

 

Quick question - the two excursions you did in Aruba and Curacao were they Carnival excursions?

 

They sound like something we would really enjoy and we are doing this cruise in March.

 

Thanks again.

Susan

[thesmiths]

Thank you, picked up some advice for our upcoming Vista Cruise in May....

 

Also going on our first Alaska the following May.

[Michelle236]

Great review. We sailed the Vista in early October and loved the ship. It's too bad you didn't get to experience more of Schwartz because he was amazing. I have sailed Carnival 7 times and never paid any attention to the CD until I saw him perform. He was so energetic and funny that we made it a point to attend more activities that he was hosting. We even saw him meandering around the ship and he always offered a "hello ladies". Looking to book the Breeze next year just so we can see him again :-)

 

Nice to hear how much you like the Italian restaurant. We didn't get to try it because my friend has celiac's and couldn't eat anything there (that we know of). Maybe next year.

 

Thanks again for a great review.

[CA_Cruzing]

Departing Port Miami was due to a thruster issue. We have the same delayed departure on the Nov 4-12 cruise.

 

On our BTTF tour, there were a few crates below deck specifically labeled "DO NOT OFF LOAD" with thruster parts listed as contents.

 

I am unsure if the thruster issue is now resolved but it was a known issue across a few cruises that delayed departure from Miami.

 

We too very much enjoyed our Vista cruise. Food was great; service too. The only hiccups are Liquid Lounge with its poor seating arrangement and the usual chair hogs around the pools AND Serenity deck.

 

MDR for ATD was perfect and the longest we ever waited was 5 mins for a table on first formal night. Mind you we were specific seeking a table AFT/middle. We wound up with a great team lead by Putu (we sat with Dino too on our first night but were seeking more a more attentive wait crew).

 

We are booked for another Vista cruise Jul 2018, along with our kids. With all that Vista offers activities wise and food choices, we would recommend Vista to those seeking to sail her. By far the most stable ship we've ever sailed and even with 4500 pax on our cruise, we didn't feel the boat was too crowded, except for the comedy club late show. In our opinion, the comedy lounge needs more seats, or more shows or a very late show to reduce the crowds.

 

And yes, Schwartz made the cruise that much more fun.

 

Side note for readers, you can order shrimp tacos at the taco bar, even though they're not listed on the menu. Just ask you you shall be rewarded. And the toppings were top notch (and we eat a lot of tacos here in CA).

[riclop]

Thanks for the review and there is a deli in the buffet but it's not called the deli.

[mgonagl]

Thanks for the nice review!

 

 

 

Quick question - the two excursions you did in Aruba and Curacao were they Carnival excursions?

 

 

 

They sound like something we would really enjoy and we are doing this cruise in March.

 

 

 

Thanks again.

 

Susan

 

 

 

Hi Susan, yes, they were both Carnival excursions. Curacao was the sunset cruise and Aruba was a sail and snorkel with 2 stops and lunch.

 

 

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[mrpayroll]

Enjoyed reading. :)

[easyboy]

Glad you had a great time! Thanks for sharing your experience and looking forward to your next Alaska review.

[buckeyeinmd]

Great review by a fellow Buckeye. Some of your comments match our experience from August. And we really loved Curacao and Aruba also.

 

Doug

[jimbo5544]

Hi Susan, yes, they were both Carnival excursions. Curacao was the sunset cruise and Aruba was a sail and snorkel with 2 stops and lunch.

 

 

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We have done a Carnival sponsored sunset cat sail in Aruba and it was a without a doubt a top 10 for us.....spectacular views.

 

 

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[surfone]

Happy to hear you enjoyed your cruise, my DH and I are on this ship for a b2b in May. Had to go with interior this time, and chose the lido deck. We usually spend our sea days at serenity so hope we can find chairs without too much trouble. Been to Aruba several times and so far it is our favorite island. Thanks for the review. :)

[Port of Tampa]

Thanks for the review...we board her in nine days!

 

Cheers and happy cruising.