Vista class ships overcrowded?

[Eli_6]

We have sailed on the Vista in a Havana room.  I loved it!  We did no upgraded dining other than the Chefs Table one night.  Never had to wait in lines for anything.  I do think the Havana area is well worth it, but I have not cruises a Vista in a non-Havana room so I have no comparison.  

 

My Havana Interior on the Panorama is only about $200 more pp than my kids interior room next door.  If I didn't have to be next door to my kids (Carnival policy due to their ages), I would  get a Vista or aft balcony.  We loved our Vista Havana balcony on the Vista!  

[RedLightVegas]

We went on the Vista last year and loved it. The best part was the "secret breakfast" as we started calling it in the Plaza area. It's a little breakfast buffet with all the basics (eggs..potatoes...bacon..toast...etc.) and there was never anyone up there but us and the Captain a few days. I also super loved the Havana Bar in the back. Wouldn't hesitate to go on that class of ship again. I just saw the Horizon on Sunday docked down in Miami and started daydreaming. :-)

[cruisingguy007]

14 minutes ago, ARcruisin2 said:

Is this even still a thing? 

Its been a couple of years since we sailed, but seems like even then we had to go to a bar for drinks.

I kind of missed that being waited on hand & foot while lounging feeling... but we did spend less on drinks this way.

Amy

Carnival inspiration last year had excellent drink service! I mean they were ON IT! Literally every five min someone would come by. When we arrived each day the fellas would sometimes bring a drink without even asking or give me the thumbs up for "do you want a drink" before we even sat down. It was fantastic on Lido, even the second deck and smoking section got great service. The only time I had trouble getting a drink was when we were in the aft area water slides. Service every 15-20 min back there. Yes, it's still a thing. 

Edited November 13, 2019 by cruisingguy007

[soonernstlouis]

25 minutes ago, cruisingguy007 said:

The price skyrocketed after the announcement of the whole ship within a ship being full time. It was only $100 more per person when I booked. Crazy. I was originally going to book this for our family at a significant savings over my current bookings but I ended up getting more cabins closer together to accommodate everyone. Could have saved $800 (but been separated from travel companions) then but figured me and the Mrs. would just head there after dinner for some quiet R&R. Unfortunately, I spent $800 more and will now have zero access. Not feeling too peachy about that decision at the moment.  

Sorry you missed booking a Havana room for your trip.  Don’t forget what I and another person  said about breakfast at the Ocean Plaza.  And the Havana Bar interior IS open to all drinking-age adults & has been known to be less crowded when no bands are playing.

[soonernstlouis]

31 minutes ago, cruisingguy007 said:

 

Edited November 13, 2019 by soonernstlouis

[Liljo22]

We sailed Vista in July '17 which was close to sold out and I never felt it was overcrowded.  We didn't wait for a drink at any bar.  The longest we waited for a table in the MDR was 15 minutes but most were around 5 and we had 13 people in our group.  I would go down to the check in desk before the rest of the group and the table would be ready by the time my group came up.  The longest line was for the Sky Ride and that may have been 20 minutes.  

 

You honestly do not need to do any of the extras to have a good time but they are there is you want.  We did an Adults only night at the steakhouse as our only paid dinner and were perfectly happy with the MDR.  We had no interest in the movie theater but we did do the 4D theater but didn't feel it was worth it.  

 

Had no problems finding loungers.  The first sea day we had a great conversation with one of the wait staff and gave him a nice tip on the first day and he was amazing the whole trip.  Any time he passed by he would ask if we needed something and even came to the slide area with a drink without even asking.  

 

I find that many people complaining predetermined that they were going to have a bad time and looked for reasons to be upset.  

[soonernstlouis]

....

Edited November 13, 2019 by soonernstlouis

[NebraskaSatellite]

24 minutes ago, jbethel11 said:

For anyone who has sailed a Vista class during both June and August, how do they fare? My cruise on the Valor during the last week of August was not crowded, despite it sailing at capacity. However, on my Horizon sailing in June it was so crowded! Take the pizza line for example. On Valor, I never waited more than 5 minutes for a pizza, whereas on the Horizon, I consistently waited 15 minutes for a pizza. 

We sailed the Vista at the end of July this year - I think they were close to capacity.  For the MDR, we normally went to eat around 6-6:30 and had only minimal waits.  I went to deck 5 to request a specific wait staff and more often than not by the time I got down to the deck 3 entrance we were paged to go in.  

 

A couple of times I thought about the Lido buffet for lunch but chose differently due to the lines.  When we had sea day brunch, normally we were hungry around 1:30pm and wanted something lighter, so Mongolian Wok or Cuchina del Capitano was a good alternative at that time of day, generally little or no wait for a table.  I don't think I ate any meals at the buffet, just cereal for breakfast a couple of times or snagging an occasional dessert.

 

The pizza line was usually lengthy when I wanted to go get some around 10pm or so.  A couple times I chose to wait and it was 10-15 minutes.  Guy's Burgers in mid-afternoon looked long, but went fast (<= 5 min).  Rarely had any line at Pig and Anchor.

 

In general, the Vista felt more crowded than the Breeze, which we sailed in June 2018 and it was also near full.  I'm not sure it actually *was* more crowded, but the Breeze's layout just works.  Having a full loop to walk on deck 5 on the Breeze made it feel a lot better vs all the interrupted spaces and the Havana area on the Vista.  Even so, you could find a quite space somewhere regardless of time of day on both ships if that's what you want.  I noticed a definite difference in comfort sitting outside on the Breeze in late June vs. Vista in late July - the latter is just enough farther into summer to make it uncomfortable outside.  

[Liljo22]

1 hour ago, Saint Greg said:

 

The desk worked for me because I'm usually at the alchemy before dinner anyways. With the desk you can check in up to 30 minutes before YTD starts and request a specific table.

 

Best bar on the ship.  The bartenders are amazing.  Its an old fashion cocktail bar where every drink is made fresh, ie mules made with ginger root grated in front of you.  We closed down this bar every night.  

[cruisingguy007]

27 minutes ago, soonernstlouis said:

Sorry you missed booking a Havana room for your trip.  Don’t forget what I and another person  said about breakfast at the Ocean Plaza.  And the Havana Bar interior IS open to all drinking-age adults & has been known to be less crowded when no bands are playing.

Thanks for the information! Will definitely be checking out both areas. Hopefully, I'll get a chance to eat more breakfasts on this cruise. I tend to just miss breakfast on many a mornings from late nights. 

[amyotravel]

21 minutes ago, cruisingguy007 said:

Thanks for the information! Will definitely be checking out both areas. Hopefully, I'll get a chance to eat more breakfasts on this cruise. I tend to just miss breakfast on many a mornings from late nights. 

Since buffets aren't really my thing, anyway, I usually put the room service door hanger out the night before to have croissants and coffee delivered to the room in the morning to wake me up and tide me over. Then I go to one of the non-buffet venues for a late breakfast/lunch, whether it be "brunch" in the dining room or Blue Iguana Cantina. For more lunch-y type stuff Guy's Burgers, or the deli, or Jiji's, or Cucina, or you get the picture...

[cruisingguy007]

13 minutes ago, amyotravel said:

Since buffets aren't really my thing, anyway, I usually put the room service door hanger out the night before to have croissants and coffee delivered to the room in the morning to wake me up and tide me over. Then I go to one of the non-buffet venues for a late breakfast/lunch, whether it be "brunch" in the dining room or Blue Iguana Cantina. For more lunch-y type stuff Guy's Burgers, or the deli, or Jiji's, or Cucina, or you get the picture...

Hoping to make it to at least one sea day brunch this time. My wife really enjoyed it. I was never up early enough to try it. Usually lunch is my first meal when I'm on "vacation time"....😀.

[Saint Greg]

1 minute ago, cruisingguy007 said:

Hoping to make it to at least one sea day brunch this time. My wife really enjoyed it. I was never up early enough to try it. Usually lunch is my first meal when I'm on "vacation time"....😀.

 

Really? Not up early enough for Sea Day brunch? I get not early enough for breakfast but brunch goes until what? 1pm or something?

[TNcruising02]

My husband and I sailed on the Vista in January 2018.  The lines for the comedy club shows were the longest we have ever seen on any of our Carnival cruises.  We also did not like the theater set-up.  They have movable chairs on the ground floor and the balcony seats are set up in a way that your view is slightly blocked by the person in front of you.  Therefore, we had to get in line VERY early for theater shows and comedy shows.

 

There were a few other things that we liked better on other Carnival ships, but we did have a wonderful cruise.  There are many nice things about the Vista class ships too.   While I said I wouldn't sail on this class again, we are booked for the Panorama this December.  Since I am going into it knowing to line up extremely early for shows, it will not bother me as much.  I am eager to sail on a brand new ship and enjoy all of the amazing things about it.

I don't think people who have negative comments about a certain class of ship are generally negative people.  Sometimes there are legitimate concerns when a large number of people have the same opinion.  But some people don't care about comedy shows and don't mind the new theater set-up.  They feel that the benefits of the other things outweigh any negatives.  I know my kids, who are all young adults, would love the Vista class.

Edited November 13, 2019 by TNcruising02

[cruisingguy007]

32 minutes ago, Saint Greg said:

 

Really? Not up early enough for Sea Day brunch? I get not early enough for breakfast but brunch goes until what? 1pm or something?

Yeah, not really a morning person. Plus I have to get ready before I head out to start my day so many times I'll be ready just when it's shutting down and I don't want to be that guy who comes in near closing when the staff is trying to wrap things up. Don't like walking around disheveled just to grab food either so that's not an option. I'm also a night owl by nature and enjoy the late nights when the ship is quiet and just listening to the ocean, stargazing, and relaxing once the kiddos are tucked in for the evening. Feels like my own private ship. It's one of my favorite things about cruising. Other times I've hung out until sun up after meeting new ship friends to hang with. Sometimes you're just having a great time and time flies. 

Edited November 13, 2019 by cruisingguy007

[RWolver672]

15 hours ago, ARcruisin2 said:

Is this even still a thing? 

Its been a couple of years since we sailed, but seems like even then we had to go to a bar for drinks.

I kind of missed that being waited on hand & foot while lounging feeling... but we did spend less on drinks this way.

Amy

 

It was just the opposite for us on the Horizon.  I don't remember the server's name but he could find us no matter where we were on the ship and wanted to know if we wanted another round.  Many times we hadn't finished one drink and he was there asking if we wanted another.  We never tipped him extra daily.  We waited until the last day to give him a generous tip.

[Cafedumonde]

The buffet is way too crowded on vista.  I mean really crowded, like hard to walk through.  We avoided the buffet at peak times on that ship.  Comedy clubs are crowded.   You have to line up ahead if you want a seat.  Otherwise, ships are nice.  We have panorama booked and can’t wait.  We are hoping they will address some of the issues as well.

[Lugger11]

I don't mean to be a downer, and I'm happy for everyone who has had great vacations on a Vista class ship.

I, however, did feel that the ships were ill-equipped for the number of people on-board. Sailed the VISTA in February 2019.

• only 2 small pools for general population (not including exclusive Havana area)
  • no adult-only pools or hot tubs
• pool bars were always under-staffed with very long waits for drinks, regardless of time of day
• deck-chair reserving was rampant and there were no staff to enforce the rules, so getting a chair was always a problem
• buffet was the most underwhelming buffet I've ever seem. Lots of seating, not a lot of choice.
• Dining room was functional but did not feel as spectacular as other ships
• dining room was understaffed, so your food server was also taking drink orders. slowed things down a lot with many forgotten orders and generally poor service

[jimbo5544]

1 hour ago, Lugger11 said:

I don't mean to be a downer, and I'm happy for everyone who has had great vacations on a Vista class ship.

I, however, did feel that the ships were ill-equipped for the number of people on-board. Sailed the VISTA in February 2019.

• only 2 small pools for general population (not including exclusive Havana area)
  • no adult-only pools or hot tubs
• pool bars were always under-staffed with very long waits for drinks, regardless of time of day
• deck-chair reserving was rampant and there were no staff to enforce the rules, so getting a chair was always a problem
• buffet was the most underwhelming buffet I've ever seem. Lots of seating, not a lot of choice.
• Dining room was functional but did not feel as spectacular as other ships
• dining room was understaffed, so your food server was also taking drink orders. slowed things down a lot with many forgotten orders and generally poor service

So, I am getting the impression it was not your favorite cruise.  

[1st]

Can someone send me a link to check out the different class levels and ships that are under each one? I am sailing on Imagination in January and want to know which class that ship is in. Thank you ahead of time! 

SAIL ON!!!

[Jamman54]

1 minute ago, 1st said:

Can someone send me a link to check out the different class levels and ships that are under each one? I am sailing on Imagination in January and want to know which class that ship is in. Thank you ahead of time! 

SAIL ON!!!

 

The imagination is a Fantasy class ship.

[Kenster]

On 11/13/2019 at 1:38 PM, RedLightVegas said:

We went on the Vista last year and loved it. The best part was the "secret breakfast" as we started calling it in the Plaza area. It's a little breakfast buffet with all the basics (eggs..potatoes...bacon..toast...etc.) and there was never anyone up there but us and the Captain a few days. I also super loved the Havana Bar in the back. Wouldn't hesitate to go on that class of ship again. I just saw the Horizon on Sunday docked down in Miami and started daydreaming. 🙂

We leave on the Vista tomorrow with kids and two grands.  Can you tell me more about this "secret breakfast" place?

[soonernstlouis]

5 minutes ago, Kenster said:

We leave on the Vista tomorrow with kids and two grands.  Can you tell me more about this "secret breakfast" place?

Deck 5 Ocean Plaza.

[jimbo5544]

5 minutes ago, Kenster said:

We leave on the Vista tomorrow with kids and two grands.  Can you tell me more about this "secret breakfast" place?

Oceans Plaza are on 5 have a lite breakfast buffet.

[CanTex]

5 minutes ago, Kenster said:

We leave on the Vista tomorrow with kids and two grands.  Can you tell me more about this "secret breakfast" place?

It's in Ocean Plaza on deck 5.  Not the variety of the full buffet, but super convenient and uncrowded.