Saint Greg's Vista - Live - December 4-11 2021

[Saint Greg]

This is going to be my 16th cruise--all on Carnival. This will be my 4th time out of Galveston, my 2nd time on Vista, 12th time to Cozumel, and my 4th time to Belize and Roatan. This will be my 3rd time on a December Christmas themed cruise. I believe the CD is Kyndall Fire. This will be my first time with her as CD.  
 

 

Edited November 27, 2021 by Saint Greg

[Saint Greg]

 

[Saint Greg]

When I was a kid my mom had a Christmas CD with that song on it and would blast that song in the living room starting about now and all the way through Christmas. I guess she had a whole album but that song is the only one I remember. And I hated it. Hated. I'm using the word hate here...about a song...Hate. But who knew that a couple decades later I'd be going on Christmas themed Caribbean cruises every December? I still don't like the song.

[Saint Greg]

Here are my prior trip threads.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

https://saintgregtravel.com/breezy-like-sunday-morning/

 

 

https://saintgregtravel.com/seven-days-of-freedom/

 

 

https://saintgregtravel.com/i-will-triumph/

 

 

https://saintgregtravel.com/leaving-the-elation/

 

 

https://saintgregtravel.com/r1-my-intro-to-cruising/

[Saint Greg]

Booking

I actually booked Vista four times during the cruise shutdown. All were canceled. I booked it then because I knew Vista would be one of the first ships to return and because it’s an easy drive for me to Galveston. That would allow me to avoid having to move flights around due to cancellations.

For December this year I had a specific week to book. I wanted a 7-day cruise that got me home before December 12th. This Vista cruise fit perfectly. I was able to get a 4J room which is an interior with a picture window. This is one of the rooms at the front of the ship with the window that overlooks the “secret” deck where I take many pictures and videos during my cruises. This will be my first time in a 4J cabin though I feel like I have already stayed in one because I booked three of them on Vista, one on Breeze, and two on Freedom. All were canceled.

Onboard Credit

I used a Future Cruise Credit (FCC) from one of my canceled cruises to book this cruise. That came with $600 onboard credit (OBC). I also received $100 OBC from my travel agent and another $100 OBC for being a Carnival stockholder. I’ll allow the $800 OBC to pay for my Cheers!, Internet, and auto gratuities. That should leave a couple hundred in OBC for excursions and specialty dining.

Covid-19 Testing

I still have the home tests I ordered for this cruise and my Panorama cruise. I never did use one for the Panorama cruise because I got impatient and went to Walgreens for a test. Walgreens worked out so well I may try it again and just have the home test as a backup plan.

 

Hotel

I usually stay outside of Galveston. This time will be no different. Galveston hotel prices are usually pretty high on weekends. This time there are some decent hotel prices out there but I’m driving down Friday night and it’ll just be that much later when I get there if I drive all the way to Galveston. I would get in so late there actually would be no benefit to staying on the island other than being closer to the port in the morning. I typically stay in Webster which is about 45 minutes from the port. I’m doing that again this time.

I booked a room at the Fairfield Inn & Suites. The Fairfield is almost brand new. It was actually being built the last time I stayed in Webster which was at the Comfort Suites in 2019.

 

I like staying in Webster because it has a lot of shopping and restaurants, it’s an easy drive to the port, and prices are typically a lot better than they are in Galveston. If you are coming in a day early and looking for something to do, it’s also close to Space Center Houston.

Parking

I waited until one week out to book parking. I ended up just going for the cheapest option with a shuttle which was Discount Cruise Parking at $67.12 for the week.

 

Excurisions

Roatan

In Roatan I am planning on checking out the free beach, drinking some Honduras beer and possibly swimming in the ocean.

Belize

In Belize I’m going to book use onboard credit to book one one of the two Mayan ruins tours I haven’t yet been on. I have previously done Lamanai. This time I will either book Xunantunich or Altun Ha.

Cozumel

In Cozumel I wanted to go see the San Gervasio Mayan Ruins. These are very small ruins–nothing like what I’ve seen on the mainland. The problem is Carnival doesn’t offer an excursion to these ruins and every non-Carnival excursion I could find required you to book two people.

 

A taxi cab to the site looks to be $40 one way. That means I’m looking at $100 to see these ruins. That’s insane because I can buy I ticket to go see Tulum for $78. That trip would require ground transportation downtown, a 45 minute water shuttle to Playa Del Carmen, and an hour bus ride to Tulum. And the ruins would be much more impressive than what I would see in Cozumel. A trip to San Gervasio will have to wait because it’s not worth it right now.

 

I looked into a bar hop excursion that I think is the competitor of Cozumel Barhop. It goes to a couple of east side bars I haven’t been to. That also required you to book a minimum of two people.

 

The last thing I could think of that I wanted to do was find the brewery Sergio, who used to work at Cozumel Bar hop, opened downtown. I found the website for Kusam. The place looks nice. Beer and tacos. I think I’ll take a cab down there and give them a try. The more I look at it the more I think I may enjoy this better. I’ll re-evaluate the San Gervasio situation when I return to Cozumel in March.

Specialty Dining

I haven’t booked any specialty dining ahead of time because of my onboard credit. I will be booking the Steakhouse for embarkation night. In Galveston they don’t sell Cheers on day 1 so I will be taking advantage of the free bottle of wine from the Steakhouse as well as the bottle of wine you can bring onboard. I also plan on booking JiJi’s at least once, maybe twice during the cruise.

 

 

Edited November 27, 2021 by Saint Greg

[Jamman54]

Of course we will be following along. Should be interesting since now that I've met you, will this change my whole perspective? Can't wait to find out how this plays out for me. Anyway, enjoy your cruise and I hope that one day, in the very near future, we get to sail on the same ship with you again! 

 

Edited to add that Patti and I are ready to pull the trigger on a B2B on the Vista once she moves to Port Canaveral, so I'll be paying close attention.

Edited November 27, 2021 by Jamman54

[CruiseBro16]

Interested in hearing more about Kusam.

[Saint Greg]

Think I also want to stop at this place in Cozumel.

 

 

And try one of these.

 

Edited November 27, 2021 by Saint Greg

[SenatorsFan]

I can't believe it's time for another one of your great reviews! Thanks for doing this and I'll enjoy following along with you once again. 🥤

[canes20]

 

Ready to follow along

[blarko]

57 minutes ago, Saint Greg said:

When I was a kid my mom had a Christmas CD with that song on it and would blast that song in the living room starting about now and all the way through Christmas. I guess she had a whole album but that song is the only one I remember. And I hated it. Hated. I'm using the word hate here...about a song...Hate. But who knew that a couple decades later I'd be going on Christmas themed Caribbean cruises every December? I still don't like the song.

Yea, just listened to it and it’s annoying

[sid_9169]

What the... You're on another cruise?...

[karriec]

2 hours ago, Saint Greg said:

 

Beats the heck out of Jingle Bells.  I think I have a new favorite Christmas song.

[TravelGirlinDallas]

14 minutes ago, sid_9169 said:

What the... You're on another cruise?...

HOW WEIRD!!!!! 😂

[TravelGirlinDallas]

Woohoo! I’m here for this!!!

[Roscoe13]

The patron Saint of cruising. Can't wait! 

Edited November 27, 2021 by Roscoe13
Alcohol

[Hogladyrider]

Signed up and following.....keep the cruise reviews coming folks....it eases the not being able to cruise pain!

[wajowander2011]

Following along.  Looking forward to another of your fantastic reviews.

[Sea Viewer]

Looking  forward  to  this. Enjoy  your  cruise.

[AKR2011]

I'm so jealous of your adventures, but I will always tune in for them. I hope you have a blast!

[CruisinMama2003]

Of course Im here for this! Love Vista, Love Love Love Kendall Fire 🔥, and Galveston is the port I cruise from the most, just 3.5 hrs from me 😁

[Colorado Beach Bum]

We are on this cruise with you.  Looking forward to it.  We just scheduled our Covid test at Walgreens, hopefully it works out. We do have home tests as a back ups. Also booked Holiday Inn in Galveston that’ll give us parking for the week for $40. 

[Saint Greg]

A little backstory here. I have an old friend who has wanted to cruise since the first time I went on Vista and sent him the pictures. Ever since then he always asks for pictures from my cruises. He doesn’t know about Saint Greg.  
 

In May when I flew to Cozumel he bought a ticket on my plane and a room in my hotel. It was very difficult being there with someone who wanted me to do everything on their schedule.

 

When I talk about how busy Galveston is I frequently mention the Texans who never leave Texas. Heck I know people who haven’t left the metroplex in their lives. Anyway…he’s one of the Texas Texans. He isn’t cruising unless it’s out of Galveston. He was booked on my Vista cruise last December that was canceled. Around August he booked an interior guarantee on this cruise. A couple weeks later he sent me a message that his grandmother broke her hip and he had to take care of her so he canceled the cruise. 
 

A few weeks ago he called me and said he needed a break from grandma. His dad and brother need to help out. I told him it’s too bad he jumped the gun on canceling that cruise. He started talking about re-booking. Carnival put one of those sweetheart deals on his account.
He could book a room by mine for $360 after taxes and port fees.

 

Two weeks ago he called me and told me he was having a problem with his dad and we’d have to see about is rebooking. I haven’t heard from him since and I’m not going to contact him..at least not until after I’m on the ship. I don’t want to encourage him to book because I know how he’s going to be if he does. 

 

So there’s still that possibility he could book this week and show up on the cruise but I’m starting to feel like that’s not going to happen which is good with me.

 

Edited November 28, 2021 by Saint Greg

[Saint Greg]

For those who don’t follow Sid’s daily thread and don’t check the future cruises link on my signature for daily updates, l booked a cruise to Alaska for June. 
 

My flights are booked. My Seattle hotel is booked. One excursion is booked. The wheels are in motion. Things are happening!

[Jamman54]

4 minutes ago, Saint Greg said:

For those who don’t follow Sid’s daily thread and don’t check the future cruises link on my signature for daily updates, l booked a cruise to Alaska for June. 
 

My flights are booked. My Seattle hotel is booked. One excursion is booked. The wheels are in motion. Things are happening!

 

That's the way it should be....always something in motion!