Just back from the Vista - not the best cruise

[adonisr]

Just returned home from a Western Caribbean trip on the Vista.  Our last Carnival cruise was 5 years ago.  We've sailed twice on Celebrity and once on Princess since that last CCL cruise.  From our perspective, Carnival has taken a step down on quality since our last cruise with them.  As I get my notes / thoughts organized I'll add more details.

 

I found this cruise at a really good deal, so that helps offset the disappointment.  I'd have to find an equally good deal in order to consider CCL again.

[Bgcruising]

We do not get deals from carnival and feel like they take us for granted since we have hundreds of days on their ships. We find ourselves booking less and less with them. Who do you prefer?

[adonisr]

2 minutes ago, Bgcruising said:

We do not get deals from carnival and feel like they take us for granted since we have hundreds of days on their ships. We find ourselves booking less and less with them. Who do you prefer?

Our previous cruises before the covid shutdown were on Celebrity and Princess.  Either of them are by far better than Carnival when comparing normal cruise fares.  Both are a little more in cost, but worth it (in our opinion).  As I mentioned above, I found this cruise at a very good price, so we tended to overlook the downside items.

[cruisingguy007]

Anticipating the specifics. Appreciate you taking the time to share and look forward to your specific experience. This helps us all, industry included. 

[tallnthensome]

This is a classic case of you getting what you pay for . I sail many lines but have been booking and crusing  with Carnival lately. Not so much for the quality over other lines but pricing offers that are half of the other lines . I pretty much know what to expect after sailing Holand America, Princess, and such. Like you, I can look past a lot of things if the price is great especially when I sail with two kids. 

[mschancey]

We cruised the Vista 2 weeks ago and were very satisfied. Maybe because it was our first cruise since covid. Have cruised 17 times before, all with Carnival. guess we don't know what were missing if we haven't cruised other lines.

[adonisr]

So beginning with arrival - 

I assume this issue isn’t really Carnival’s fault.

 

This was the first time we’ve cruised from Galveston. 

 

We had no idea that the Port does not allow Uber access to the passenger pick up / drop off area.  Apparently, they’ve cut a deal with Lyft for exclusive access because there are Lyft pickup signs posted along the curb right in front of the building.  Our driver dropped us off down the street from the entry so we had to schlep our bags in the cold wind down the street to the terminal entry.

 

Our assigned check in time was the 1:30 – 2:30 window.  We arrived at 1:45.  Upon getting to the building, we found a line outside the building longer than a football field.  And once inside the building, we snaked through a winding que.  It took an hour before we stepped on board the Vista.  Based on our experience, the terminal is not equipped to handle a crowd the size that a ship the size of the Vista attracts.

 

The terminal staff were all very friendly and seemed overwhelmed but did the best they could.

 

[tonit964]

I really like and miss Carnival, it's been a while since my last cruise with them but now I'm finding they are actually more than Princess. The big deal breaker for me is the non refundable deposits and I haven't been able to find the Past Guest rate anymore. I actually think they don't offer that rate anymore.

Princess deposits are always fully refundable up until final payment, which is such peace of mind.

 

 

 

 

[Eli_6]

I have sailed out of Galveston 5 times--3 times on the Vista--and have always gone quickly through the port.  Never had any issues. I wonder if it had to do with having the later check in time because we typically get through everything very quickly. 

[firefly333]

33 minutes ago, adonisr said:

So beginning with arrival - 

I assume this issue isn’t really Carnival’s fault.

 

This was the first time we’ve cruised from Galveston. 

 

We had no idea that the Port does not allow Uber access to the passenger pick up / drop off area.  Apparently, they’ve cut a deal with Lyft for exclusive access because there are Lyft pickup signs posted along the curb right in front of the building.  Our driver dropped us off down the street from the entry so we had to schlep our bags in the cold wind down the street to the terminal entry.

 

Our assigned check in time was the 1:30 – 2:30 window.  We arrived at 1:45.  Upon getting to the building, we found a line outside the building longer than a football field.  And once inside the building, we snaked through a winding que.  It took an hour before we stepped on board the Vista.  Based on our experience, the terminal is not equipped to handle a crowd the size that a ship the size of the Vista attracts.

 

The terminal staff were all very friendly and seemed overwhelmed but did the best they could.

 

I know someone onboard vista now and wondering if he just is overlooking carnivals issues or has a reaction to sailing full for the sailabration. Lol cant wait for him to get off next sat.

[adonisr]

1 hour ago, firefly333 said:

I know someone onboard vista now and wondering if he just is overlooking carnivals issues or has a reaction to sailing full for the sailabration. Lol cant wait for him to get off next sat.

Cruise Director Savannah told us our sailing was not at capacity - roughly 3400 on our sailing.

[adonisr]

1 hour ago, Eli_6 said:

I have sailed out of Galveston 5 times--3 times on the Vista--and have always gone quickly through the port.  Never had any issues. I wonder if it had to do with having the later check in time because we typically get through everything very quickly. 

Glad to know what we experienced was not the norm.

[adonisr]

The Ship

 

Overall, the Vista is a nice ship in good shape.  We didn’t see any wear and tear and the crew was constantly working on touching up and cleaning.  Décor and layout are pretty good with a couple of exceptions.

 

Main lobby - really nice with the dreamscape sculpture in the center. 

Sports Bar – kinda out of the way, but a good spot to relax and watch sports.

Horizons Dining Room – very elegant and a good layout.

Casino – only walked through here.  The cigarette smoke / smell in this area was horrible.  Quite simply, it reeked.  Carnival should really consider purchasing a few exhaust fans.

Liquid Lounge (main show space) – (This was one of the exceptions).  A cool looking room, but with only a handful of actual good seats.  Large columns seem to block your sight lines from most directions.  And the front

Deck 4 is the Mezzanine Deck and the deck plan shows an outer mezzanine deck but I could never find a way out to it.

The Lanai – a nice concept.  Wide with nice seating areas for relaxing.  The bars / restaurants along the Lanai had outdoor seating areas.   My only dislike of this area was the tall windscreen prevented being able to see the water like you would normally be able to see from a mezzanine deck.

Pool decks – plenty of chairs and space except (this is the other exception) – the area near the aft under the skytrack is a “drop zone”.  A mist of rust droplets from the track coats anyone under it.  Before we figured it out it ruined my wife’s swim coverup.  Several people around us experienced the same problem.

Serenity Deck – our favorite area.  Comfy cushioned chairs and a really nice salad station at lunch time.

 

[icft]

4 hours ago, adonisr said:

So beginning with arrival - 

I assume this issue isn’t really Carnival’s fault.

 

This was the first time we’ve cruised from Galveston. 

 

We had no idea that the Port does not allow Uber access to the passenger pick up / drop off area.  Apparently, they’ve cut a deal with Lyft for exclusive access because there are Lyft pickup signs posted along the curb right in front of the building.  Our driver dropped us off down the street from the entry so we had to schlep our bags in the cold wind down the street to the terminal entry.

 

Our assigned check in time was the 1:30 – 2:30 window.  We arrived at 1:45.  Upon getting to the building, we found a line outside the building longer than a football field.  And once inside the building, we snaked through a winding que.  It took an hour before we stepped on board the Vista.  Based on our experience, the terminal is not equipped to handle a crowd the size that a ship the size of the Vista attracts.

 

The terminal staff were all very friendly and seemed overwhelmed but did the best they could.

 

We sailed out of Galveston on the Vista once pre-covid. The terminal and other infrastructure, like parking, really are not designed to handle the volume. We were Diamond so our boarding experience was theoretically better than that of most. It sucked big time. As you noted, this really is not in Carnival's control. Texas sets things up for the benefit of companies so things like cutting a deal with Lyft and leaving Uber customers down the street is to be expected. The terminal got money from Lyft so the desires of the business side were met and they really don't care about the customers seeing as how the customers can't go to a competitor. That is the reasoning with the terminal. It doesn't meet the needs of the customers, but the customers have no other option so no problem.

 

[mondello]

Others have posted that Uber refused to pay the access fee.

[icft]

34 minutes ago, mondello said:

Others have posted that Uber refused to pay the access fee.

Same difference. The priority is the terminal getting money. Airports do the same thing. Charging transportation providers to bring customers to you is nuts and only possible for a monopoly. A miserable terminal is only possible for a monopoly also. At least with airports and their partial federal funding the satisfaction of the customers is a required consideration.

 

I actually like the pro business approach of Texas in most cases. It encourages a lot of business formation and therefore competition and customers generally get treated better. But when the government agencies with a monopoly pursue a "business" approach (whatever the market will bear) it is not so good compared to other places.

[firefly333]

2 hours ago, mondello said:

Others have posted that Uber refused to pay the access fee.

Exactly and as customers a little bit of paying attention you know the choices. I took uber who let me off across the street ...I knew this of course when I booked them.

 

Lyft has a $5 surcharge i didnt want to pay. ..which goes to the terminal. On the way home i took a taxi who said ok $20. .. and i said ok rather than contact uber and wait. It was my choice. Uber was $9.

 

If pax dont know this and why uber is less it's also on them. We have resumed since covid over 6 months. It's well known by those who research parking and such. 

 

Ezcruise parking owner says his van pays $25 each time it enters the port area. There is a reason park n walk is cheaper. 

 

This has nothing to do with the boarding process itself ...lyft posts there is a $5 surcharge. They come out and say so, so do taxi cabs. Sorry if pax dont know it's also on them not doing research. There are parking lots all over with shuttles who pay the port. My guess is they took uber the same reason I have, many hotels let you park there for free, and it's on you to get to the port. And now blaming the port and uber and lyft. .. I'm fine with crossing the street and paying less with uber. 

 

This whole thing blaming uber ..... the price is less than  a taxi and lyft who add a surcharge for a reason. 

 

Come on guys .. the prices of asking for a ride to the port are out there. Personally to me i like having a choice between paying a surcharge or not. ..this talk about pushing uber to pay it and add it onto my fare is making me go grrrrr. .. nothing like posters from other ports posting how Galveston needs to do things. 

[firefly333]

1 hour ago, icft said:

Same difference. The priority is the terminal getting money. Airports do the same thing. Charging transportation providers to bring customers to you is nuts and only possible for a monopoly. A miserable terminal is only possible for a monopoly also. At least with airports and their partial federal funding the satisfaction of the customers is a required consideration.

 

I actually like the pro business approach of Texas in most cases. It encourages a lot of business formation and therefore competition and customers generally get treated better. But when the government agencies with a monopoly pursue a "business" approach (whatever the market will bear) it is not so good compared to other places.

Thank you for a intelligent post.

[mondello]

Agree with Firefly, I was just pointing out that Lyft paid their port access fees and Uber chose to not pay. I try to plan and research each port with due diligence and am aware of my choices way before I visit each new port. Some have posted that their Uber was waved in and allowed to drop off but never to pick up inside the port area. Happy cruising to all!

[KmomChicago]

1 hour ago, firefly333 said:

Exactly and as customers a little bit of paying attention you know the choices. I took uber who let me off across the street ...I knew this of course when I booked them.

 

Lyft has a $5 surcharge i didnt want to pay. ..which goes to the terminal. On the way home i took a taxi who said ok $20. .. and i said ok rather than contact uber and wait. It was my choice. Uber was $9.

 

If pax dont know this and why uber is less it's also on them. We have resumed since covid over 6 months. It's well known by those who research parking and such. 

 

Ezcruise parking owner says his van pays $25 each time it enters the port area. There is a reason park n walk is cheaper. 

 

This has nothing to do with the boarding process itself ...lyft posts there is a $5 surcharge. They come out and say so, so do taxi cabs. Sorry if pax dont know it's also on them not doing research. There are parking lots all over with shuttles who pay the port. My guess is they took uber the same reason I have, many hotels let you park there for free, and it's on you to get to the port. And now blaming the port and uber and lyft. .. I'm fine with crossing the street and paying less with uber. 

 

This whole thing blaming uber ..... the price is less than  a taxi and lyft who add a surcharge for a reason. 

 

Come on guys .. the prices of asking for a ride to the port are out there. Personally to me i like having a choice between paying a surcharge or not. ..this talk about pushing uber to pay it and add it onto my fare is making me go grrrrr. .. nothing like posters from other ports posting how Galveston needs to do things. 

 

Your points are all 100% valid - however this is the kind of stuff that makes people choose not to return to a certain port as well as start off their cruise with a bad taste. Yes researching your voyage is necessary. No not everyone wants to do that for every stinkin' detail nor realizes certain oddball technicalities will apply to only one port of departure when they've sailed out of others and never experienced anything like that. 

 

It's absolutely annoying to find out politics are in place to make things as expensive and difficult as possible for you/me/us, the passengers, and worse when it would not necessarily be obvious or common knowledge without making a specific effort to check it out. How will we get to port? We'll just take an Uber, simple. NO NOT SIMPLE. Why not? It's simple everywhere else we traveled in the last 8 years. WELL TOO BAD. THIS IS GALVESTON, YOU IDIOT. WHY DIDN'T YOU RESEARCH?

 

In any case, we are probably only going to sail out of Galveston once ever, this upcoming in April, and we are just going to use the cruise line bus to and from Bush airport in Houston. It's a bit on the spendy side but this is not the first grumble I've read about accessing this port and so the Carnival shuttle seems like the least hassle. 

 

We looked at a private bus shuttle company that actually gets good reviews and is cheaper but looks slightly more complicated and we felt like Carnival is more likely to put us on a subsequent bus to make sure we eventually get where we need to go if we manage to screw up and miss our scheduled one.

[crdtrnr]

The terminal was crowded due to the passengers trying to get off the ship 2/26.  The gangway had problems, and it delayed the ones trying to get off.  It created a domino effect.  They were not able to start boarding until almost noon.  The terminal usually is not that crowded.  It had been reported on our facebook group, so most were already aware that there would be a delay, and crowding.

 

[mondello]

They have had repeated problems with the balky gangway. I'll be on Vista 3/26; I'll bring @chengkp75 and we'll see that it is fixed once and for all! 

 

Seriously, they're bringing Jubilee to Galveston. Sure hope they have a nice new terminal with all the necessary infrastructure.

[KmomChicago]

Just now, mondello said:

They have had repeated problems with the balky gangway. I'll be on Vista 3/26; I'll bring @chengkp75 and we'll see that it is fixed once and for all!

I would appreciate that. 

[Retiredmedic]

8 hours ago, icft said:

We sailed out of Galveston on the Vista once pre-covid. The terminal and other infrastructure, like parking, really are not designed to handle the volume. We were Diamond so our boarding experience was theoretically better than that of most. It sucked big time. As you noted, this really is not in Carnival's control. Texas sets things up for the benefit of companies so things like cutting a deal with Lyft and leaving Uber customers down the street is to be expected. The terminal got money from Lyft so the desires of the business side were met and they really don't care about the customers seeing as how the customers can't go to a competitor. That is the reasoning with the terminal. It doesn't meet the needs of the customers, but the customers have no other option so no problem.

 

Things like this irk me. Texas is supposed to be a business friendly state, but I guess crony capitalism and greedy councils looking for their palms to be greased ruin things.

[Retiredmedic]

58 minutes ago, mondello said:

They have had repeated problems with the balky gangway. I'll be on Vista 3/26; I'll bring @chengkp75 and we'll see that it is fixed once and for all! 

 

Seriously, they're bringing Jubilee to Galveston. Sure hope they have a nice new terminal with all the necessary infrastructure.

You will getting on as I get off the ship.