Just back from the Vista - not the best cruise

[mondello]

15 minutes ago, Retiredmedic said:

You will getting on as I get off the ship.

Don't drink all the beer! Our first time from Galveston and our first time on Vista class. Our 12/26 Horizon was moved to Sunshine. Hope we both have a great cruise.

[firefly333]

19 minutes ago, Retiredmedic said:

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.

So you are irked the port is profitable? John heald once said in my hearing Galveston is a cash cow and very good for carnival. Do you really think all these years it's been a local favorite and gotten some of the newer ships time after time because it's not one of the best ports in the opinion of many. I think it was when magic was new I sailed with john heald. We were thrilled to get magic. 

 

Ncl has been begging to get into Galveston and finally with rcl building a new port ncl is bringing in prima. Ncl tried houston but it wasnt the same. People love going out of Galveston. 

 

Rcl is building a new expensive terminal., you can bet they want to make a profit eventually. It was pushed back a year but I should have been on allure this month, not liberty. Next year another oasis ship harmony coming in.

 

I've always thought Galveston had some of the nicest cruisers from mid america. I'm beginning to worry about who carnival attracts at these rock bottom prices. People anti profit. People who want to force uber to pay a fee to drop you in the terminal, even though most of us are happy with status quo. I'm glad current rcl cruisers arent so unhappy as carnival posters. 

[firefly333]

3 hours ago, KmomChicago said:

 

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.

You call making a profit politics. We call it freedom to do business.

 

Obviously people love Galveston. Have you checked out hotel prices? ..yea that's why jubilee is coming ... people dont come back to Galveston. 

 

Btw my friends who flew in last xmas loved cruising out of Galveston though we all did get hotels near hobby with shuttles to make meet up easier. They booked the next two decembers they loved the type of cruiser they meet. Solid milk of the earth types cruise out of Galveston and most of us love it.

 

Sorry but stats showing how popular Galveston is as a port show you are wrong. Lines arent bringing in their best ships for no reason. If carnival wasnt pushing up near 100% before they were ready ..maybe they bear part of the blame. Rcl is only up to 70% and I dont read a bunch of negative comments. Breeze last sailed near 100% .. blaming Galveston is naive at best. 

 

Explain to me why rcl cruisers arent unhappy but carnival cruisers are complaining so to you it means people dont like Galveston.  Sounds like you failed business 101 if cruisers from only one line have complaints. Stay home and away from Galveston please. Dont need negativity. 

 

Listen to island guy blogger who almost always goes out of Galveston.. he loves it. And carnival. Go to florida .. maybe it will make you happier. Many of us have gone out of Galveston forever .. and love it.

 

Cant wait for my friend to get off vista. Hear how he liked 100% capacity. 

[Retiredmedic]

32 minutes ago, mondello said:

Don't drink all the beer! Our first time from Galveston and our first time on Vista class. Our 12/26 Horizon was moved to Sunshine. Hope we both have a great cruise.

Well if you drink beer with the words light or lite in name there will be plenty as I refuses to drink that stuff even if free. 

[Retiredmedic]

22 minutes ago, firefly333 said:

So you are irked the port is profitable? John heald once said in my hearing Galveston is a cash cow and very good for carnival. Do you really think all these years it's been a local favorite and gotten some of the newer ships time after time because it's not one of the best ports in the opinion of many. I think it was when magic was new I sailed with john heald. We were thrilled to get magic. 

 

Ncl has been begging to get into Galveston and finally with rcl building a new port ncl is bringing in prima. Ncl tried houston but it wasnt the same. People love going out of Galveston. 

 

Rcl is building a new expensive terminal., you can bet they want to make a profit eventually. It was pushed back a year but I should have been on allure this month, not liberty. Next year another oasis ship harmony coming in.

 

I've always thought Galveston had some of the nicest cruisers from mid america. I'm beginning to worry about who carnival attracts at these rock bottom prices. People anti profit. People who want to force uber to pay a fee to drop you in the terminal, even though most of us are happy with status quo. I'm glad current rcl cruisers arent so unhappy as carnival posters. 

Who ever thought it would be good for business to charge Uber and Lyft fees to drop off passengers at terminal, Charging shuttles money to drop off passengers is also just local government being greedy. 

[TNcruising02]

5 minutes ago, Retiredmedic said:

Who ever thought it would be good for business to charge Uber and Lyft fees to drop off passengers at terminal, Charging shuttles money to drop off passengers is also just local government being greedy. 

We cruised out of Port Canaveral and when I mentioned that we were going to use Uber to take us to the terminal, the lady at the front desk of our hotel said to make sure they had a port pass because some drivers drop off outside of the port.  She said that drivers have to pay extra for a pass and that not all of them do.  I don't know if this is true, but that's what she told me.  This is in Florida, so it must be something that drivers or Uber/Lyft choose to get or not.  Businesses aren't greedy because they want to make a profit.  That's how they stay in business and are able to employ people or how people who work for themselves make money.

[Colorado Cruzer]

New Orleans isn't that far from Galveston so we choose to sail out of there due to no CHEERS on day one on Carnival. Good to know there are other deterring factors for sailing from Galveston. 

[KmomChicago]

33 minutes ago, firefly333 said:

You call making a profit politics. We call it freedom to do business.

 

Obviously people love Galveston. Have you checked out hotel prices? ..yea that's why jubilee is coming ... people dont come back to Galveston. 

 

Btw my friends who flew in last xmas loved cruising out of Galveston though we all did get hotels near hobby with shuttles to make meet up easier. They booked the next two decembers they loved the type of cruiser they meet. Solid milk of the earth types cruise out of Galveston and most of us love it.

 

Sorry but stats showing how popular Galveston is as a port show you are wrong. Lines arent bringing in their best ships for no reason. If carnival wasnt pushing up near 100% before they were ready ..maybe they bear part of the blame. Rcl is only up to 70% and I dont read a bunch of negative comments. Breeze last sailed near 100% .. blaming Galveston is naive at best. 

 

Explain to me why rcl cruisers arent unhappy but carnival cruisers are complaining so to you it means people dont like Galveston.  Sounds like you failed business 101 if cruisers from only one line have complaints. Stay home and away from Galveston please. Dont need negativity. 

 

Listen to island guy blogger who almost always goes out of Galveston.. he loves it. And carnival. Go to florida .. maybe it will make you happier. Many of us have gone out of Galveston forever .. and love it.

 

Cant wait for my friend to get off vista. Hear how he liked 100% capacity. 

Sorry to have come off so offensive. I’m sure we’ll enjoy our cruise on Vista from Galveston.

Edited March 7, 2022 by KmomChicago

[cmukid87]

1 hour ago, Retiredmedic said:

You will getting on as I get off the ship.

And I will be getting on as they are getting off!  
Can't wait for Vista Spring Break!

[firefly333]

24 minutes ago, Retiredmedic said:

Who ever thought it would be good for business to charge Uber and Lyft fees to drop off passengers at terminal, Charging shuttles money to drop off passengers is also just local government being greedy. 

And you know this isnt at other terminals how?

 

Only reason it came up here is because uber chooses not to pay the fee. And the OP was unhappy at having to cross the road and walk thru the small terminal to board. The terminal is quite small compared to ft Lauderdale or miami. There are many parking lots with a choice. Park n walk or pay extra for the shuttle. The shuttle is extra not because of greed they are covering costs. I only know what Jason the owner pays because hes on my friends list.

 

I'm 71 and park and walk. It's a choice. Look at dolphin or ezcruise. 2 prices. One is to walk ..which is even further to walk than the op walked. Cruisepark chooses to not even have a shuttle. Flat rate of 69.50 they only do on weekend. They used to have a golf cart to take you down the alley across from the terminal. 

 

Some in life like choices, I see some dont. I like having a cheaper choice and not being forced to pay more because you want to be dropped off at the door.

 

I'd bet at other ports it's being charged, but idk. Those ports are much bigger and the walk would be longer. I'd bet most complaining here arent local to texas. Outsiders wanting to dictate. 

 

All this over uber who gives us great prices and doesnt tack on $5 like the others. If you dont like it please stay away. 

 

Rcl is building a new terminal. How would you prefer they recoup the cost ? Or do you just want them to eat the cost? 

[Retiredmedic]

11 minutes ago, firefly333 said:

And you know this isnt at other terminals how?

 

Only reason it came up here is because uber chooses not to pay the fee. And the OP was unhappy at having to cross the road and walk thru the small terminal to board. The terminal is quite small compared to ft Lauderdale or miami. There are many parking lots with a choice. Park n walk or pay extra for the shuttle. The shuttle is extra not because of greed they are covering costs. I only know what Jason the owner pays because hes on my friends list.

 

I'm 71 and park and walk. It's a choice. Look at dolphin or ezcruise. 2 prices. One is to walk ..which is even further to walk than the op walked. Cruisepark chooses to not even have a shuttle. Flat rate of 69.50 they only do on weekend. They used to have a golf cart to take you down the alley across from the terminal. 

 

Some in life like choices, I see some dont. I like having a cheaper choice and not being forced to pay more because you want to be dropped off at the door.

 

I'd bet at other ports it's being charged, but idk. Those ports are much bigger and the walk would be longer. I'd bet most complaining here arent local to texas. Outsiders wanting to dictate. 

 

All this over uber who gives us great prices and doesnt tack on $5 like the others. If you dont like it please stay away. 

 

Rcl is building a new terminal. How would you prefer they recoup the cost ? Or do you just want them to eat the cost? 

I live only 20 minutes from the port, all my cruises except one are from Galveston. I have no quibble with cruise lines, but rather the people that are making these rules that end up costing cruisers money. I love choice, what I don't love is local government making those choices more expensive that I am willing to bet ends up in pockets of people making these stupid rules. 

[firefly333]

11 minutes ago, Retiredmedic said:

I live only 20 minutes from the port, all my cruises except one are from Galveston. I have no quibble with cruise lines, but rather the people that are making these rules that end up costing cruisers money. I love choice, what I don't love is local government making those choices more expensive that I am willing to bet ends up in pockets of people making these stupid rules. 

And again how would you have these terminals operate. How should they raise money to pay salaries and keep the lights on if not from cruisers? I'm surprised at all the anti profit sentiment here. I keep reading the word greedy and profits in some posts. Rcl and carnival arent even turning profits .. though I'm guessing some want them to cover the costs of these terminals operating.  Anti profits makes no sense to me. 

 

Back 10 years ago when it cost me $20 plus $5 tip to call a taxi ... so much better now with uber giving them some competition. No wonder taxi cabs are complaining. 

 

Personally imo this is about the ports want you to park in their parking spots, not private lots so they started to charge shuttles from ezcruise and lighthouse etc to drop off. ..port charges over $100 a week .. of course they want you to park there.

 

Profit is a dirty word these days. 

[Retiredmedic]

31 minutes ago, firefly333 said:

And again how would you have these terminals operate. How should they raise money to pay salaries and keep the lights on if not from cruisers? I'm surprised at all the anti profit sentiment here. I keep reading the word greedy and profits in some posts. Rcl and carnival arent even turning profits .. though I'm guessing some want them to cover the costs of these terminals operating.  Anti profits makes no sense to me. 

 

Back 10 years ago when it cost me $20 plus $5 tip to call a taxi ... so much better now with uber giving them some competition. No wonder taxi cabs are complaining. 

 

Personally imo this is about the ports want you to park in their parking spots, not private lots so they started to charge shuttles from ezcruise and lighthouse etc to drop off. ..port charges over $100 a week .. of course they want you to park there.

 

Profit is a dirty word these days. 

I know how my local government works. I have had to deal with city and county government officals my entire career. Again this has nothing to do with any cruise line operating out of Galveston. This about all the "fees" that local government charges people to operate. For 30 years I had to personally buy a permit from the county to "transport" patients inside the county. I have sat in many county and city meetings. 

[jasong38501]

Was on this exact cruise and had a wonderful trip. I had a 10:30 check in and flew through the check in process, 10 mins max, but then had to wait in the terminal for about an hour and a half to board. But as others said, it was a gangway issue, and no doubt the backup caused the later passengers a much longer check in process. I thoroughly enjoyed my cruise, Vista is a great ship. I do think the theater and the comedy club were small but I had heard the reviews and had expectations of that going in.

All that being said I doubt I sail out of Galveston again. Since it's a port I have to fly to there is a lot of extra expenses and hassle to get to the port than I'm used to out of Miami, Fort Lauderdale or New Orleans.

[pc2425]

I am glad to hear that you had a good trip on Vista jasong38501.  I am booked on Vista 4/2. This will be our first time on Vista class.  Really looking forward to it,  I was on the Breeze 2/19 and that was my first time out of Galveston. I had no issues at all with the port.  We came in the day before so we took a taxi to the port.  For the trip to Hobby after the cruise we used Galveston Express.  They were great!  Right on time and no issues.  We are flying in the day of the cruise this time and will be using Galveston Express both ways. 

[adonisr]

Cabin - We had a standard balcony cabin on Deck 8, slightly aft of mid-ship.  We found that we had plenty of storage space and the cabin was in great shape.  Our room steward was like a ninja - other than the first evening when he asked if we wanted am or pm room cleaning, we never saw the guy.

 

The bed was comfy for us.

 

Two chairs and a small table on the balcony made for a good late day reading spot.

 

If you like to lay in the room and channel surf - you'll be disappointed.  Not many channels and NO sports channels.

[adonisr]

Entertainment - (I know this category is very subjective depending on personal tastes)

 

The trio of violin players who played in the main lobby most nights were excellent!  We stopped and listened anytime they were playing.

The lady who played acoustic guitar and sang - umm, not an American Idol candidate to be sure.

The main shows in the Liquid Lounge were all entertaining.  Our least favorite was the Cuban music show, but it was still entertaining and worth staying for the whole show.

Comedy - each performer did a PG-13 show and a R+ show.  It's pretty obvious that Carnival tells the performers they have to do each type of show.  We have no interest in watching a comedian who can't be funny without spewing a stream of obscenities and cuss words so we went to two of the PG shows.  Both guys seemed totally lost trying to be funny without being R rated.  

[adonisr]

Finally - food.

 

Again, we were not at capacity and the buffet area was not big enough for the crowd.  I'd hate to see it with 100% capacity.  The choices not that numerous but what we did try - for the most part was pretty good.  The salad portion of the buffet was pretty small.  We are big salad eaters so this was a disappointment for us.

 

Guys Burgers was good - we had one for lunch twice.

 

The burrito bar was just ok.  We only did it once.

 

Guys BBQ was only open on sea days and being down on Deck 5 was out of the way so we never tried it.

 

We had anytime dining in the Horizons Dining Room.  Check in via the app worked well.  We never waited more than 10 minutes for our table to be ready.  The menu each night was so-so.  The waiters take your entire order at the beginning - even dessert.  I'd read about this before we went, so I was prepared to push back on dessert and ask to wait until we'd had dinner.  We did this the first night.  Big mistake.  Took forever to get our dessert.  They bring all of the dishes out at once.  So if you get an appetizer, salad, and entrée - your entrée sits for a while.  Ours was warm, but never hot.  The warm melting chocolate cake was luke warm and the ice cream was to a soft serve state.  A couple of nights we struggled to find something that really looked interesting to try.

 

We visited the steakhouse on Thursday night.  The food was excellent even if the portion sizes are stupid large. Service was more like what the traditional dining room used to be like.

 

On Friday night, we were so bored with the dining room we went to the buffet.  They had the same main course meats but no side dishes.  We found that really strange.  We got our food and sat down and I pulled up the dining room menu on the app.  Each entrée in the dining room had a vegetable side with it.  None of the sides were on the buffet.

 

Overall, the food was a disappointment.

 

Again, based on what we paid, we enjoyed the week.  But when pricing rebounds to pre-covid rates I'd be real hesitant to try another Carnival ship.

[jasong38501]

We had the exact opposite experience with the food on Vista last week. 

This was the first cruise I have been on where we never repeated a venue for lunch. We did the buffet, we did Guy's burgers, we did the tacos at Blue Iguana, we did the Deli, we did the Mongolian Wok, we did the Captain's pasta lunch, and we did Guy's Pig and Anchor. 

The dining room service for dinner was one of the best I have had on a cruise ship. We had your time dining and by the second evening we made sure we had the same server. Never was our entrees brought out with our first course. We had efficient service but the head server had time to for enough conversation to tell us all about her daughter and husband plus her village she grew up in back in the Philippines. She had so many questions every evening about our day, what we did in each port, where we were from. Some items were better than others but she made sure every evening we enjoyed everything and often times offered to bring something else if we didn't.

My only dining complaint was sea day brunch. The service both times we went in there was incredibly slow.

As far as the entertainment, you said "both guys" when referring to the comedians. Did you even realize there were 4 different comedians on board? One I did not care for, two of them had good and bad performances, and one, who was on Breaking Bad, I thought was very funny every time I saw him.

I enjoyed the guitar soloist. She was the one entertainer who took the time to chat and get to know her audience.

The rock band who often played in ocean plaza was very good as well.

The violin trio was my least favorite music option. They looked absolutely miserable every time I saw them perform.

I think the variety of things to do and places to eat on this ship were unbelievable. I think that is why people have such different experiences on the same sailing on the same ship, because there are so many different things people are doing at the same time.

[ddled]

OK. I was going to do a separate review of this cruise but this thread is the obvious place it seems. We were  on this same cruise- I had 11 friends and relatives in my group. All but 1 had cruised before-some a lot. My wife and I have done 29-only 2 on Carnival. Princess, and Royal mostly.

 

Boarding was slow due to the gangplank issues. 1.5 hours in the cold. We had a good time, the low price was a bonus. I would do Carnival again after they bring in Jubilee. Have sailed Galveston numerous times. Parked this time at Port of Galveston lots. Lots of cars, lots of shuttles. Coming back there was a long line to shuttle back, left our luggage with my wife at terminal. Porter told me without luggage I could get on the shuttle at the head of the line. No problem. Drove car back to get wife, luggage, sit, no problem. Facial recognition has helped Galveston a lot.

 

Ports were as usual. Took shore excursion in Berlize to Mayan Ruins. 2.5 hour bus ride each way, worth every minute. The Mayans are fascinating-much better than Alton Ha, which is another option. Xunantunich is the name We didn't get off in the other 2-been there. Feedback was good-our group was pleased.  

 

POSITIVES- Food was great-best I have had anywhere . Tried to eat in all the restaurants at least once-too many. Room was nice, attendant average-made nice animals. Service on entire ship was ok-nothing out of the ordinary and not as good or friendly as Royal Liberty in November.  Entertainment was great. There are 4 comedians through the week-not all the same, don't stop after the first one. Room is packed, get there early-lots of seat saving goes on. Usher at door says there is no Carnival policy against it-some saved entire rows. Same thing at pool. Theater shows were tremendous  5 shows by dancers in one week?  How do they do that?  Rock band did their thing well if you like rock. Piano bar singer was good in a great room. Guitar player was on board. Steel drums performer very good. You have to ride the sky ride-under 250 pounds only. They weigh. Made the mistake of looking straight down once-bad idea. Violins were very entertaining-never saw them talk to each other or us but what do I know? Lots of fun all over. Cruise director Savannah was fun-talked a lot on the PA system. Bubbly. Bingo looked fun-people seemed to enjoy it- I'm too cheap. Some of our group enjoyed the casino-had a good time but the house won! Imagine that. Smoke in casino stayed there mostly, but was thick. The IMAX and the movies on deck were great-saw Batman on release day-inIMAX no less.. Fun

 

NEGATIVES  Dining room service first night worse I have ever seen. Couldn't get the lady to sell me a wine package-said it was not because of TABC, didn't know how, started avoiding me. I asked for the Maitre d and got it resolve and he comped me a bottle of wine for my troubles. Issue solved. Ate last night in Horizons with our group, wait team was tremendous. Luck of the draw. The APP Carnival Hub. was down too many days. They had 2 2.5  hour help sessions the first day-my wife was told it was down, mine worked, sil did not. Typical in our group. Had no my planner for 3 days, then it reappeared. Not a good plan, was better 2 years ago on this ship,  they have everything down to menus on it now. Heard lots of complaints about the wi fi as too slow or not working at all. IT has a lot of work on the Vista. Our balcony chairs were covered in paint drops from previous painting. Stateroom attendants only once per day-now they have twice as many rooms. It shows. Service average at best-maybe an new normal..Another place they are cutting costs. 2 years ago they announced that on all ships from Galveston there would be a country band and the one was great then. None on board, has been one, wonder if Covid got them?  Before you flame me for wanting country music I've heard it all before and it packed the lounge on Vista 2 years ago. Enough said. There is minimum service and offerings in Lido. They were good for anyone in a wheelchair, and for my wife when she dropped her salad on the floor, but the average person gets everything they want themselves. I am use to Royal and their wandering waiters in buffet. No salmon in buffet-only in dining room. Bacon only some days. Small cuts here and there but it has been a rough time for cruise companies and most of us are glad enough to get out we overlook things we used to have. Computer system seems to be a problem. Their first try at Deal/no Deal got cancelled-tech issues. The floors on deck 6 port side sag and move when you walk on them. In front of the IMAX theater too. Couple other places. Not something I wanted to think too much about. If they were plywood I would say they were rotten. Steel? 

 

All in all it was a fun time   Masks pretty much went away after March 1 for about 70%. Crew still masked. I will wait to sail Carnival until they bring Jubilee in in 2023. Good cruise held together by the food and entertainment . 70% occupancy, Savannah said this week they are full. Cruising is back until the next problem. Questions?

[lindya]

14 hours ago, crdtrnr said:

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.

 

We boarded Vista 2/26 in Galveston ..we arrived 30 min early..12:30p..no problem going thru lines..moved quickly and on the ship by 1:30ish..had heard they were running late but it still went fairly smooth.

[dandeck]

2 hours ago, jasong38501 said:

We had the exact opposite experience with the food on Vista last week. 

This was the first cruise I have been on where we never repeated a venue for lunch. We did the buffet, we did Guy's burgers, we did the tacos at Blue Iguana, we did the Deli, we did the Mongolian Wok, we did the Captain's pasta lunch, and we did Guy's Pig and Anchor. 

The dining room service for dinner was one of the best I have had on a cruise ship. We had your time dining and by the second evening we made sure we had the same server. Never was our entrees brought out with our first course. We had efficient service but the head server had time to for enough conversation to tell us all about her daughter and husband plus her village she grew up in back in the Philippines. She had so many questions every evening about our day, what we did in each port, where we were from. Some items were better than others but she made sure every evening we enjoyed everything and often times offered to bring something else if we didn't.

My only dining complaint was sea day brunch. The service both times we went in there was incredibly slow.

As far as the entertainment, you said "both guys" when referring to the comedians. Did you even realize there were 4 different comedians on board? One I did not care for, two of them had good and bad performances, and one, who was on Breaking Bad, I thought was very funny every time I saw him.

I enjoyed the guitar soloist. She was the one entertainer who took the time to chat and get to know her audience.

The rock band who often played in ocean plaza was very good as well.

The violin trio was my least favorite music option. They looked absolutely miserable every time I saw them perform.

I think the variety of things to do and places to eat on this ship were unbelievable. I think that is why people have such different experiences on the same sailing on the same ship, because there are so many different things people are doing at the same time.

Excellent review!  Happen to remember your server's name in the dining room?  

Thanks!

[KmomChicago]

Thanks for these additional reviews. Food, with MDR being our least favorite option on most ships, and entertainment are definitely two of our main reasons for cruising and it's great to hear these are good. 

 

The spongy floor on Vista is a very weird thing but as noted, maybe best not to think too much about it.

 

The only part of cruising we actually don't like is the logistics of getting to and from, which, no matter how we do it, it's a long, stressful, exhausting, expensive experience.  Enough so that the balance is tipping back toward the staycations we were treated to during the shutdown. 

 

The days in between have been universally terrific on any ship, any line.  All the more reason to enjoy to the fullest once we get there, and of course we will.

[jlabs03]

On 3/6/2022 at 4:27 AM, tallnthensome said:

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. 

I am the same way. I prefer other lines but Carnival sails out of my home port and the casino gives me free rooms or great reduced rates with OBC. If I had to pay regular price or if another line is within a couple hundred dollars I chose the other line . I set my expectation accordingly when I sail carnival and always have a great time.

[ddled]

DanDeck- the name of the excellent team leader in Horizons deck 4 was Alexandru. His entire team was very prompt, entertaining, and everything you expect..