Vista July 14 cruise review.

[GeorgiaJamie]

The Havana area is absolutely gorgeous and I’m sure it feels very private to have the pool and two large hot tubs available for just people staying in that area. After you pass the bar there is a cool lounge area and a band that plays just for that area. [ATTACH]425249[/ATTACH]

 

I’m thinking if we ever stayed in Havana area I would definitely just go with an interior cabin. We walked around and saw the balcony areas and although the balcony area is large you really don’t get to see open water at all.

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Notice the glass wall here.... it goes all the way up.

 

 

 

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Loving your review and especially the terrific photos!

Can you tell me exactly how / where you access the Havana Pool area after 7pm? Thx!

[gotscrapz]

Haven’t been to main show yet. Comedy show was 30 minutes. Get there early- space is limited and seems to go fast.

 

 

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Thank you for your review and for answering our questions. Hope your trip is great!

[Carol Jones]

Loving your review and especially the terrific photos!

 

Can you tell me exactly how / where you access the Havana Pool area after 7pm? Thx!

 

 

 

It is on deck 5 all the way aft. Just off the promenade. After 7pm you just walk in. The doors are open. Before that they are closed and you have to have something particular (not sure what) to enter. We went tonight after dinner 9:45 and again we were the only people out there. There are two very large hot tubs, one on each side of the pool. I was the only person in the hot tub and the other one was empty too. DH and DS just put their legs in.

 

 

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[Carol Jones]

Love to see a picture of your $10 shirt too! Great to hear about Adam! Hopefully the pasta bar will be open during lunch more next week as we don’t have late port days

 

 

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Sure! Will probably wear it on the next sea day.

 

 

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[Carol Jones]

Curacao- will post this to port page later.... we did a tour, Hato caves, Curacao Liqueur factory, beach, city tour. I enjoyed the liqueur factory much more than I thought I would and ended up doing my trip gift shopping here. We got back on board around 8. After they scanned our cards and scanned our bags she saw the Curacao liq. factory bags and directed us to the table where you check alcohol. I went up to the room and left that with DH. He came up to the room about 10 minutes later, bag in hand. He said he got tired of just standing there waiting. Apparently the person in front of him was having a misunderstanding with the check in person. Not to worry, Carnival, they’re gifts and I won’t be drinking them. Very quickly got ready and went to dinner. The past couple of nights we’ve been eating early (like 5:45) and we can get out of there fairly quickly as there aren’t many people there at that time. Not at all the case if you go 8:15 or later. We had already looked at the menu and we were ready to order hoping to speed things up but it still took a long time. We will be going early again tomorrow. It just works better for us. I posted tonight’s menu earlier. We had: (appetizers) salad, escargot, shrimp

 

(Entrees) short ribs and flat iron steak. Both were great.

 

(Dessert) melting cake and yummy good cheese cake

 

After dinner we went to the Havana area pool and hot tub. The pool

Is rather small but the 2 hot tubs are huge. We were the only people out there. Really cool to have the entire hot tub to yourself.

 

On our way to Aruba now!

 

 

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[Gigi1068]

Hi Carol,

 

Loving your detailed review. My family and I are sailing this itinerary on the Horizon out of Miami, August 2019. So far, there are 10 of us booked. We’ve booked 3 cabins next to each other on deck 8 and expecting up to 9-12 more family members to book. All 3 cabins purchased FTTF and we have a cabana booked (primarily for my parents) at Margaritaville in Grand Turk. I think we may follow your lead with the tour in Curacao. As of now, we’re looking at heading to Palm Beach in Aruba (may look at an AI day pass for comfort).

 

Your review has been very helpful and very much appreciated.

 

Thank you!

 

~Angie~

[Carol Jones]

Hi Carol,

 

 

 

Loving your detailed review. My family and I are sailing this itinerary on the Horizon out of Miami, August 2019. So far, there are 10 of us booked. We’ve booked 3 cabins next to each other on deck 8 and expecting up to 9-12 more family members to book. All 3 cabins purchased FTTF and we have a cabana booked (primarily for my parents) at Margaritaville in Grand Turk. I think we may follow your lead with the tour in Curacao. As of now, we’re looking at heading to Palm Beach in Aruba (may look at an AI day pass for comfort).

 

 

 

Your review has been very helpful and very much appreciated.

 

 

 

Thank you!

 

 

 

~Angie~

 

 

 

We did a tour but the beach part was at Arashi beach. We drove by Eagle beach and I’m sure you won’t be disappointed. Gorgeous!!

 

 

 

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[Carol Jones]

Aruba, Thursday

Had a quick breakfast and got off the ship to do our tour. Today we did the carnival offered 4x4 jeep safari tour. Really an incredible excursion and I will be sure to go to Carnival’s

site and post about. This is our first time in Aruba and I had no idea how beautiful it is.

 

 

 

Our tour ended at a Arashi beach and we spent some additional time there. We also had lunch at the beach and that I would not recommend. The beach was gorgeous though. As we drove through Aruba our driver pointed out the different beaches and apparently they’re all gorgeous. I don’t think you can go wrong here. Our driver was uncle John Kelly from ABC tours. What a great guy.!! I feel like we now have a friend in Aruba. When we got on the boat I knew it was that time of day and I just couldn’t resist. Back up to the market lido to swing by the sweet shop for the cakes of the day.

These cakes can’t be missed if you like desserts. Shout out to AmBear for putting these on my radar. I know this looks like a lot but keep in mind there are three of us. OK I ate most of it but I’m on a cruise!! I’ll be sure to skip the elevator for the rest of the day. The photo really doesn’t do them justice. Nor does the plating but here goes...

 

 

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Edited July 19, 2018 by Carol Jones

[Carol Jones]

Today’s fun times

 

 

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[Alaskan Joe]

Ok all caught up *Book Mark*

[GeorgiaJamie]

It is on deck 5 all the way aft. Just off the promenade. After 7pm you just walk in. The doors are open. Before that they are closed and you have to have something particular (not sure what) to enter. We went tonight after dinner 9:45 and again we were the only people out there. There are two very large hot tubs, one on each side of the pool. I was the only person in the hot tub and the other one was empty too. DH and DS just put their legs in.

 

 

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Thanks!

[Carol Jones]

We made it to the dining room early again this evening. I’m not sure if I said before or not but this is our first time doing anytime dining and it has worked out very well for us. The main reason I have been resistant is because I like having the same waiters every night. We have really met some great ones and they almost become like family for the cruise. As it turns out we have been able to get the same group every time and I have enjoyed having the flexibility.

 

Tonight’s menu...

We had (appetizers) the flat bread and the wild boar. Dinner- flat iron steak and prime rib. I think I’ve already posted pictures of those from previous nights and the melting cake for dessert.

 

 

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[Carol Jones]

Oh and DH also had the mussels from the appetizer menu.

 

 

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[SeeJennyCruise]

Your review is great! I intend to post a review when I return from a cruise, but I haven't made the time to write it and organize the pictures for years. I truly appreciate the time you are putting into this effort for those of us still anchored on land. We have a small group sailing together on the Vista in October, Your review is helping me prepare the new cruisers in our group and I am getting excited to explore the ship.

[ilovethesparkles]

It is on deck 5 all the way aft. Just off the promenade. After 7pm you just walk in. The doors are open. Before that they are closed and you have to have something particular (not sure what) to enter. We went tonight after dinner 9:45 and again we were the only people out there. There are two very large hot tubs, one on each side of the pool. I was the only person in the hot tub and the other one was empty too. DH and DS just put their legs in.

 

 

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Is the entire Havana area only open to everyone at 7 or just the pool area? Can you go to the Havana bar before 7?

 

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[Carol Jones]

Your review is great! I intend to post a review when I return from a cruise, but I haven't made the time to write it and organize the pictures for years. I truly appreciate the time you are putting into this effort for those of us still anchored on land. We have a small group sailing together on the Vista in October, Your review is helping me prepare the new cruisers in our group and I am getting excited to explore the ship.

 

 

 

Glad to be of help!

 

 

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[Carol Jones]

Is the entire Havana area only open to everyone at 7 or just the pool area? Can you go to the Havana bar before 7?

 

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Well, there is a bar (actually outside of the Havana doors- on the promenade) that has a sign above it saying “Havana Bar” that is open pretty much all the time. I had a drink there the first day and thought this was it to the Havana bar.... but it is not really. What I would consider more of the Havana area bar is beyond the doors (open after 7). When you walk through the doors you are in a lounge area, then a larger lounge area with an area for the band and the bar will be in front of you. Walk some more and you get to the pool. The bar is also open on this side.

 

 

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[ilovethesparkles]

Well, there is a bar (actually outside of the Havana doors- on the promenade) that has a sign above it saying “Havana Bar” that is open pretty much all the time. I had a drink there the first day and thought this was it to the Havana bar.... but it is not really. What I would consider more of the Havana area bar is beyond the doors (open after 7). When you walk through the doors you are in a lounge area, then a larger lounge area with an area for the band and the bar will be in front of you. Walk some more and you get to the pool. The bar is also open on this side.

 

 

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Thanks for all the info! I really appreciate it! I have been enjoying your review! My husband and I will be on the Vista in October!

 

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[Carol Jones]

Aruba day cont’d...

After making a small deposit at the casino we made our way to the liquid lounge to see the “Flick” show. We got there about 15 minutes early. This show had more of a crowd than the other show we watched, but you could still find seats. I ordered a glass of wine and just seeing that little circle clip that’s on the arm of the chair (I imagine is for a drink but in an awkward position) I found myself really missing the little tables that are on other Carnival ships. I liked the other show we saw better than this one, but I did enjoy all the songs from various movies.

We had been walking by the imax/thrill theater and decided to check into it. The movies are $12.95 and the thrill theater shows are $5.50.

We did the dare to be scared show. It only lasts about 15 minutes but well worth it for the price.There are actually three short parts that are shown. I like the first two parts of this better. The third one was pretty gory.... But that’s coming from someone who does not like horror movies. This definitely is a 17+ show. I think I would’ve liked the “thrills and chills” show better but this was the one that worked out for us timewise. Again, I think this is definitely worth $5.50 and if you’ve ever been to Universal Studios it’s very much like the Shrek 4D experience they have there.

We went to the alchemy bar and had a drink. I had the “40 is the new 20” drink. There were a good number of people at this bar and hearing their interaction with the bartender it was obvious they’ve spent a good bit of time here. It’s always good to see passengers and crew having a good time.

 

Walked around the ship some. What a windy night! The captain had informed us this would be the case. On the Lido deck they were having the 80s party. Wow does this bring back memories. Everyone seemed to be having a blast and Adam was doing an awesome job. He is a really good cruise director. My son wanted a pizza and we were happy to see that there was not much of a line.

 

 

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[Carol Jones]

Here is the pizza menu....

My son always gets the pepperoni and really loves them. They are thin crust pizzas and that’s what we typically get at home. We decided to call it a night and head back to the room.

 

I got the value package for the Wi-Fi and I have been impressed with how well it works. The connectivity is really not far off from what you get on land. But it does seem that in the late evenings it is slower and the later you are on it the slower it gets. I wondered if that could be because more crew-members are in their rooms at this time using the Internet. Still over all I am very pleased with it

 

 

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[Carol Jones]

Friday- sea day

 

We slept pretty late today and made it to the Blue Iguana just in time to catch breakfast before it ended for the day. I really like how carnival scheduled the Vista eight day cruise. It’s great to have a couple of Sea days on the front end and back end of the port days. Also, it has really worked well to have one port day, Curacao, be a late port day. I have felt much more rested on this vacation than on other cruises. Many times it seems like I need a vacation from my vacation!!

 

Breakfast menu and pics -We got all three menu items.

[Carol Jones]

Forgot to post this earlier. I took the photo so you could get an idea of the size of the theater. Since we were seeing the “dare to be scared show” I asked them to look frightened. Needless to say they won’t be winning any awards.

 

 

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[helene109]

Thanks again so helpful we board Sunday!! Don’t forget to post a picture of your $10 shirt thanks

 

 

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[Carol Jones]

We got drinks from the Red Frog Rum bar ( a Miami Vice and a Blue Margarita). It was very hot so a frozen drink really hit the spot. The Red Frog Rum bar... not to be confused with the Red Frog Pub that is on 5th floor...is next to the lido deck pool. The Blue Iguana Bar has a similar menu and is on the other side of the pool.

 

The lido area was crowded. It always is on a sea day, but you could still find a seat. We really wanted solitude and shade so we enjoyed our drinks on the Lanai (5th floor). It seems you can always find a nice padded lounge chair out here.

 

 

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[Carol Jones]

Fun times for Friday ...

 

 

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