Excel vs Vista Class

[Indytraveler83]

I'm curious to see what everyone is thinking regarding the two newest classes of ship.  I don't see a ton of info yet on Mardi Gras, likely because she's yet to set sail with passengers, but I'm curious about what people think of these two ship classes head to head.

 

Personally, I've always seen the Vista Class as an overly bloated extension of the Dream class.  Stories of small public spaces, overcrowded venues and long lines seem to haunt the reviews.  

 

While I know the Mardi Gras is bigger and holds more people, at first glance it appears to proportionally be a little more spacious.  For instance, the interior spaces on the Mardi Gras (Decks 6-8) appear to be larger than the fairly interrupted spaces on the Vista (decks 3-5, with deck 3 having the galley using half of the space).  The Mardi Gras Atrium appears to be a massive space, especially compared to the tiny Vista atrium, and overall the ship appears like it might have more space.

 

Aside from the obvious bells and whistles (such as the roller coaster) has anyone done a more concrete look at these two when it comes to passenger space and especially venues?  I personally feel (hope) the Mardi Gras is looking like a better ship for passengers.  Anyone else have thoughts or concrete comparisons?

Edited January 13, 2021 by Indytraveler83

[TNcruising02]

My husband and I have cruised on the Panorama, Vista, and other Carnival class ships.  There are pros and cons.  

We liked that everything was new and there was a wide variety of food and activity options.  We really liked the Panorama elevators where you select the floor you want and are prompted to stand in front of a particular area. That saved a lot of time and made it so everyone didn't head for the next open elevator. 
We liked the buffet set up with serving areas in the middle.  That changed the buffet for the better by 1000%. 
We disliked the atrium and the theater.  Dream class is much better in those areas. The Vista class theaters are very bad.  The worst of all of the cruise ships we have sailed.  We disliked the extremely long lines for shows on the Vista class.  

We are booked on the Mardi Gras for April and August.  I've seen photos of some of the areas and the ship looks amazing.  I have to try it at least once and am excited to explore a brand new ship.  We won't know if  we like it until we try it, so we are ready when cruising begins again.

[Joebucks]

Space ratios don't tell the whole story. A big part is how the space is used. A huge, wide-opened, promenade does not make up for popular venues like pools, comedy clubs, theaters, etc that weren't give the proper square footage.

 

Unfortunately, I do not have that breakdown on how it will look. I don't think anyone knows exactly how it will all flow. A ship this size is new for Carnival. It has new places to go, new amenities. People may funnel into some areas a little more unexpectedly than others. Tweaks will eventually be made. Too many people go into their cruise with a negative attitude because they've let a space ratio determine too much for them.

 

Either way, this class of ship was an absolute-must for Carnival. It reinvigorates the brand with a brand new concept, especially at a time when cruising is under fire.

[Indytraveler83]

56 minutes ago, Joebucks said:

Space ratios don't tell the whole story. A big part is how the space is used. A huge, wide-opened, promenade does not make up for popular venues like pools, comedy clubs, theaters, etc that weren't give the proper square footage.

 

Unfortunately, I do not have that breakdown on how it will look. I don't think anyone knows exactly how it will all flow. A ship this size is new for Carnival. It has new places to go, new amenities. People may funnel into some areas a little more unexpectedly than others. Tweaks will eventually be made. Too many people go into their cruise with a negative attitude because they've let a space ratio determine too much for them.

 

Either way, this class of ship was an absolute-must for Carnival. It reinvigorates the brand with a brand new concept, especially at a time when cruising is under fire.

 

I never used to pay attention to space ratios, but I had two particularly crowded cruises on the Dream and Magic that really lowered my enthusiasm for cruising and Carnival.  When the Vista was launched, I was starting to really wonder if I'd ever want to go on a newer ship.  I cruised again on the Miracle and found myself loving that class of ship.  I know that clearly they won't be going back to the smaller ships as the Fantasy Class is quickly being sold off and run aground...

 

But the Mardi Gras doesn't look anything like the Dream or Vista class, so I'm kind of encouraged.  It appears to flow better and have more public space, as well as some larger public spaces (though I can't really tell with bar/lounge sizes).

[sid_9169]

There are lots of photos online now of the real, finished product Mardi Gras... It appears much more upscale than all previous Carnival ships. It reminds me of some of Norwegian cruise lines mega ships, but with the extended atrium off to one side. I personally can't wait to get on board the Mardi Gras and see for myself. Hopefully, we get back to sailing in time for my Thanksgiving cruise. I was supposed to go on Thanksgiving last year, but of course that didn't happen...

[ProgRockCruiser]

The one thing (well, one of the things) that concerns me about the Mardi Gras is the size of the Alchemy Bar (and similar facilities).  That bar is one of our favorites, but it is a favorite because it is smaller, and you get lots of interaction with the servers.  It is very likely the bar is going to be more crowded (more "customers") than we have experienced on, say, Liberty.  So will there be a proportional amount of additional servers (alchemists)?  The physical size doesn't seem, at first, to be much bigger than the Alchemy bars on the smaller ships - there might be 9 or 10 seats at the bar on Liberty, and it looks like maybe 14 on Mardi Gras, but the Liberty has that second row, and then both have some additional seating beyond.

 

Maybe the presence of other bars (like the Brass Magnolia, Fortune Teller Bar or Grand View Bar) will help spread out the crowds.  I'm trying to quantify the number of bars on each, and I guess Mardi Gras will have about 50% more overall.

 

Sounds like I need to do more research - in person on the ships, of course!

[Prometheus1]

Im also curious about the Havana area on New Excel class vs Vista class. On the layout of Excel class it appears much smaller than the Vista class and off to the side of the ship.

Guess we will have to wait until the reviews on those first Mardi Gras cruises.

 

Edited January 14, 2021 by Prometheus1

[firefly333]

What I particularly didnt like about vista was they enclosed the promenade deck. It used to be fun to walk thru there and see out at the ocean. I cruise to see the ocean.

 

Didnt like they put bbq outside in the heat on deck 5, heat does nothing for potato salad and cole slaw. I didnt like the bbq as much as other ships, but at least it has it. No good place to sit.

 

Didnt like the half sized theater and comedy club. 

 

...lol want to guess what my next booking is? Vista. It was the only 7 day this next sept.

[NCTribeFan]

Space ratio is one of the reasons I love the Spirit class.  That and a smaller ship.  And it's a reason I'm trending to HAL sailings.

 

Sailed the Vista inaugural (not a great cruise) and Horizon TA.  I actually liked the ships more than I thought I would.

 

I did like having a variety of smaller areas and more options instead of so many people crammed into larger spaces.  We don't all want to do the same things as everyone else at the same times.

 

I have zero interest in the newest ships.  Just not my bag, baby!  My first MSC cruise was on Divina, and she's a beautiful ship, but on the last sea day (11-night cruise), I was coming across areas I hadn't even seen before.  What's the point in having a big ship with lots of venues if you have to spend all your time running from one place to another.  Or what's the advantage to having those options if you don't want to visit most of the venues?

 

My next cruises (which probably won't sail) are on MSC Armonia, a smaller, older ship.  I sailed her twice after Divina and really enjoyed being on a smaller ship (about the size of Fantasy-class, which I happen to love).  Certainly doesn't have a lot of bells & whistles, but that was just fine by me.

 

Having said all that, I'm booked on NCL Bliss, which is enormous but looks like a gorgeous vessel.  We'll see how that compares after I take my first X sailing on Infinity - again, an older, smaller ship.

 

It's all about what you want.  I don't cruise for the ship.  I still, after about 40 cruises in the past 20 years, sail primarily for the ports and don't want a frantic experience where I'm trying to do and see too much on the ship. 

 

And I'll happily pay lower fares to sail on smaller, older ships.  Just not interested in paying a new-ship premium.

[sailingships]

On 1/13/2021 at 4:44 PM, Indytraveler83 said:

I'm curious to see what everyone is thinking regarding the two newest classes of ship. 

I loved the Horizon, Disliked the Vista .Did the Med/TA on both.  I wasnt fond of the stupid elevator set on either. Hope to experience the Mardi Gras before shes a rust bucket.

[MeganGC1983]

7 hours ago, Prometheus1 said:

Im also curious about the Havana area on New Excel class vs Vista class. On the layout of Excel class it appears much smaller than the Vista class and off to the side of the ship.

Guess we will have to wait until the reviews on those first Mardi Gras cruises.

 

I was thinking if any sailors had any issues with Excel it would be the Havana people. To me, it seems, they had new ideas and just pushed Havana off to the side. Obviously, I don’t know, it may be better. That’s just what it looks like to me on the deck plan. 

[Indytraveler83]

26 minutes ago, MeganGC1983 said:

I was thinking if any sailors had any issues with Excel it would be the Havana people. To me, it seems, they had new ideas and just pushed Havana off to the side. Obviously, I don’t know, it may be better. That’s just what it looks like to me on the deck plan. 

 

This is part of what encourages me on the deck plan... lol.  As someone who will never be able to cough up the funds for the Havana Suites, I like that the area doesn't take up as much of the ship.  

[Prometheus1]

Actually the Havana interiors are not nearly as expensive as the suites and you still have access to all of the Havana areas. I would love a Havana suite but out of my price range.  At this point I would take steerage just to be on a cruise:)

[SF Cfan]

My wife and I have cruised on all 3 of the Dream class ships and the Vista including Mediterranean cruises on both Magic in 2011 and Vista in 2016.  We did not care for the Vista compared to any of the other classes of ships that we have sailed on with Carnival.  The lack of the soaring atrium lobby along with the unstructured main performance theater seating and more casual main dining room come to mind as negatives for us.  It wasn't a bad experience by any means just not as good.

 

I'm encouraged by the deck plans for Mardi Gras.  I see elements of Royal's Ovation of the Seas, which we have also sailed on.   This appears to be a major focus on impactful public spaces, something that was lacking on Vista.  The Mardi Gras Grand Central Atrium looks similar to the Club Two70 on Ovation.  This is obviously a major jump up in size for a Carnival ship.   

 

I can speak from experience on both Carnival and Royal, when you are enjoying a 10+ day cruise during the normal school year one can expect the Lido buffet to be free of crowds, lines, or major back-ups.  This is not the case for 7 day cruises when is school is out.  We can speculate at this point how that is all going to play out on Mardi Gras.  In any event I would like to sail on her when cruising finally comes back as a thing to do.

[SNJCruisers]

On 1/14/2021 at 12:08 PM, Prometheus1 said:

Im also curious about the Havana area on New Excel class vs Vista class. On the layout of Excel class it appears much smaller than the Vista class and off to the side of the ship.

Guess we will have to wait until the reviews on those first Mardi Gras cruises.

 

The Havana area was an afterthought by Carnival on the two new Excellence Class ships.  They were more concerned with the new Loft 19 area for their Excel Suite guests.  On the Excellence Class ships, the Havana area is on the starboard side of deck 8 with a small pool and no hot tubs.  Whereas on the Vista Class ships it takes over the entire aft section of deck 5 with a large pool and two good sized hot tubs and a great view of the wake of the ship.

Because of this difference, we decided not to choose that area on our Mardi Gras and Celebration sailings even though we enjoyed it twice on the Horizon.