Just off the Vista - why the delays in arrival?

[jbobst]

We disembarked the Vista today in Galveston.  We had a rough embarkation last week as it was delayed in arriving.  Almost two hours in line outside of the cruise terminal in the warm afternoon last week when boarding.  Then late yesterday, on our final sea day, they announced we would again be delayed coming into Galveston.  No information as to why, but I suspect a continued propulsion problem? Why didn't they modify our itinerary to get us back in time or let everyone know well in advance that there was going to be delay again?  Thankfully we had our car at the port, but we felt bad for people with scheduled transportation.   It was just a frustrating day, not only for us trying to get off the ship, but I am sure for the people boarding.  

 

I have many complaints about the way everything was handled, but I just wish they would have been more communicative.  I would think everyone would have rather had a couple hours less port time (though it was already short as it was) and get back on time then go through the whole delay mess.  We asked a few employees about possible propulsion problems, but nobody knew anything or wasn't saying as much. 

[Guest BasicSailor]

Looking forward to your review. Usually there will be others commenting on the problems as well.

[BallFour4]

Here's my guess. It's only that. 

The inshore winds on Thursday night were gusting to 37 mph. Combine that with a fast moving line of rain that battered the gulf offshore for about 90 miles out and that might have been the cause.

.

[jbobst]

1 minute ago, BallFour4 said:

Here's my guess. It's only that. 

The inshore winds on Thursday night were gusting to 37 mph. Combine that with a fast moving line of rain that battered the gulf offshore for about 90 miles out and that might have been the cause.

.

I was thinking about something like that, but the Dream was docked next to us in Cozumel on Thursday.  We left about an hour earlier than they did and they arrived on time in Galveston this morning.  And that is at least two weeks in a row where the Vista arrived late.  Also, our first port last week (Montego Bay) had a delayed arrival.   There must be something wrong with the engines/motors/generators?   Looked like we were travelling around 16kts yesterday.  Seems like most cruises I've been on are generally in the low 20kts on the way back to Galveston (I think?).

[BallFour4]

3 minutes ago, jbobst said:

I was thinking about something like that, but the Dream was docked next to us in Cozumel on Thursday.  We left about an hour earlier than they did and they arrived on time in Galveston this morning.  And that is at least two weeks in a row where the Vista arrived late.  Also, our first port last week (Montego Bay) had a delayed arrival.   There must be something wrong with the engines/motors/generators?   Looked like we were travelling around 16kts yesterday.  Seems like most cruises I've been on are generally in the low 20kts on the way back to Galveston (I think?).

That's a better explanation. I carry a Garmin GPS in my bag to check speed and location (along with a ham radio HT and other geek stuff) and 20 knots is needed to make the Cozumel to here in Galveston run on time. 

.

Edited May 8, 2022 by BallFour4

[jbobst]

18 minutes ago, BasicSailor said:

Looking forward to your review. Usually there will be others commenting on the problems as well.

I don't think I am going to do a review as this wasn't a great cruise.   I don't want to be so negative, and I realize it's just my personal opinions.  You know the old adage, if you can't say something nice...

 

Of course the reality is, we were on vacation on a cruise ship, so it wasn't bad by any stretch.  🙂  But this was my 30th cruise, and the Vista was probably the worst ship I've ever been on.   Happy to answer questions if anyone has them, but probably gonna skip the review this time.

Edited May 8, 2022 by jbobst

[Guest BasicSailor]

8 minutes ago, jbobst said:

I don't think I am going to do a review as this wasn't a great cruise.   I don't want to be so negative, and I realize it's just my personal opinions.  You know the old adage, if you can't say something nice...

 

Of course the reality is, we were on vacation on a cruise ship, so it wasn't bad by any stretch.  🙂  We were on vacation so all good.  But, this was my 30th cruise, and the Vista was probably the worst ship I've ever been on.   Happy to answer questions if anyone has them, but probably gonna skip the review this time.

Improvement only comes if people provide information from their pleasure or displeasure. Perhaps provide that info in your Carnival survey. Carnival (Staff) is known to read here. But I do agree negative comments here always brings the sharks out.😉

Edited May 8, 2022 by BasicSailor

[BallFour4]

11 minutes ago, jbobst said:

...and the Vista was probably the worst ship I've ever been on.   Happy to answer questions if anyone has them, but probably gonna skip the review this time.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/onKQT9YCFduQsJqSA

The Vista is a weird ship. They crowd people in areas and some are far too small. The theater looks like a ballroom in a suburban city Marriott, the atrium design looks like a aging Las Vegas hotel and a few more. But, we did have a great cruise. Geez, all of them have been fun from the Mardi Gras in 1976 to the Breeze a few months ago. And Basic Sailor, love the shark comment. At 63 and living in the bay area I've caught a few sharks! 

Enjoy a few of my Vista photos from the above link.

.

Edited May 8, 2022 by BallFour4

[RockHoundTX]

36 minutes ago, jbobst said:

I don't think I am going to do a review as this wasn't a great cruise.   I don't want to be so negative, and I realize it's just my personal opinions.  You know the old adage, if you can't say something nice...

 

Of course the reality is, we were on vacation on a cruise ship, so it wasn't bad by any stretch.  🙂  But this was my 30th cruise, and the Vista was probably the worst ship I've ever been on.   Happy to answer questions if anyone has them, but probably gonna skip the review this time.

How was the MDR food? We did the Vista back in December and the MDR food was TERRIBLE. Easily the worst MDR cruise food in my 20+ cruises (some dishes were so greasy/oily that they were completely inedible). A large number of folks on the Facebook forum (including myself) got some type of food poisoning on the 3rd night. This was during Omicron so mostly just assumed it was due to lack of healthy kitchen staff. The only upside was that Guy's Burgers, Blue Iguana, and the sandwich station were great so still had plenty to eat. Giving it a second chance in a few weeks so curious if it is better now. Thanks.  

[PlanoTim]

34 minutes ago, RockHoundTX said:

How was the MDR food? We did the Vista back in December and the MDR food was TERRIBLE. Easily the worst MDR cruise food in my 20+ cruises (some dishes were so greasy/oily that they were completely inedible). A large number of folks on the Facebook forum (including myself) got some type of food poisoning on the 3rd night. This was during Omicron so mostly just assumed it was due to lack of healthy kitchen staff. The only upside was that Guy's Burgers, Blue Iguana, and the sandwich station were great so still had plenty to eat. Giving it a second chance in a few weeks so curious if it is better now. Thanks.  

My wife and I sailed on Carnival Vista in mid-April.  We ate in the MDR 3 times and the food and service were good every time.  The lobster served the first elegant night was the best we have had at any MDR meal.  The prime rib was very good too.  I hope your meals are as good as ours were.

[CC Rider 69]

9 hours ago, jbobst said:

I don't think I am going to do a review as this wasn't a great cruise.   I don't want to be so negative, and I realize it's just my personal opinions.  You know the old adage, if you can't say something nice...

 

Of course the reality is, we were on vacation on a cruise ship, so it wasn't bad by any stretch.  🙂  But this was my 30th cruise, and the Vista was probably the worst ship I've ever been on.   Happy to answer questions if anyone has them, but probably gonna skip the review this time.

How was the traffic northbound on I45 out of Galveston?

[Retiredmedic]

36 minutes ago, CC Rider 69 said:

How was the traffic northbound on I45 out of Galveston?

There was an emergency repair to the causeway bridge north and south bound Saturday. Live just 20 minutes from the island but it took us two hours to get there weekend. It was 3 hours to get back. 

 

[Retiredmedic]

10 hours ago, BallFour4 said:

Here's my guess. It's only that. 

The inshore winds on Thursday night were gusting to 37 mph. Combine that with a fast moving line of rain that battered the gulf offshore for about 90 miles out and that might have been the cause.

.

On our 3-26 cruise on the Vista it docked late, read several reports where the Vista is docking late the last several months.

[BTromboneFrack]

We were on this cruise and loved it.   Embarkation took forever, but when 3000 plus people are disembarking while 3000 plus people are getting on the ship, it is going to take awhile.    Nobody wanted this, especially the Carnival personnel, but as long as people understand that EVERYONE was doing their best, then its easy to be a bit more patient.   I mean, come on, we're all going on a cruise where we are pampered all week long.   So what if I had to wait in line for a longer time at the very beginning?    We loved the food in the MDR.  The service was great.   Our waiter even heard my wife mention she liked surf and turf on a day they were serving tenderloin, and then, out of the blue they came over with a second plate of sautéed shrimp -- and she didn't even ask for it.   Our room steward did a fine job.   The ship was full, but we only got bottlenecked one time on the first day after our muster drill (aft dining, 3rd floor).   yes, we did come in  a few hours late on our last day, but we also got to sleep in a bit longer.   It's all how you look at things.   Overall a great cruise.   

[jbobst]

It's one thing if there is good communication, and if it's something unexpected goes wrong.  We can all usually roll with unexpected issues and come together in a good way.  But if Carnival knows there is a problem and they keep dealing with delays, it's not fair to the passengers or crew to keep having to deal with delays like this.  I felt pretty bad for the stress the cruise director and her staff had trying to keep the chaos in check.  Why did they tell us only 14 hours before we are supposed to dock that we'll be delayed?  They knew about it well in advance.  

 

While the embarkation was rough, I couldn't understand why there is this very large air conditioned terminal building that was pretty much empty, yet 3000+ people are wrapped around the outside of the building spilling into the roadway?  As we were wrapped in the giant line, we couldn't wait to slowly pass by a few open doors to the cruise terminal to get some A/C blowing out of the building.  Only to see giant waiting areas inside the terminal completely unoccupied.  It's stuff like that that is frustrating.  Just poor planning and communication. 

 

If the Vista has some sort of long term issue causing all these delays, then switch it with another ship out of Florida and let the Vista do shorter (distance) cruises to the bahamas and places where it doesn't have to travel so far.  There must be other options to keep the ship in service until it can be dry docked and fixed permanently.  

 

To add to the answers already provided, traffic was bad heading north after the departing the ship.  The repair in causeway was tiny - and had just one construction truck and a couple police cars.  Not sure why they had to close 2 of the 3 lanes.  It took us awhile to get northbound but the southbound folks were really backed up.  What a mess.

 

Surprisingly, we did not eat in the dining room at all.  I've recently sailed on the Miracle and Breeze and had dinners in the dining room on those ships.  It was average at best so, this cruise we ate one night at the Cucina de Capitan and another night at the Sushi bar restaurant.  The rest of the nights was either a burger at Guy's right before they close at 6 or the buffet.  I actually didn't mind the buffet.  One night the food options weren't to my liking, but the other nights it was a good selection and decent quality for a buffet.   Just alot of people and poor buffet design.

 

I won't go into a full review because I'll get slammed I am sure, but I'll just say Carnival isn't for me.  They certainly fill a niche and people adore the cruise line, so I am glad they fill that niche.  But here are a some pro's and con's of the Vista in my opinion:

 

Pro's

• I've always been impressed by the crew aboard Carnival ships.  Some of the friendliest, happiest crews at sea!  Great folks generally and always great service!
• We got an "inside" cabin, and it was a forward facing cabin with a window.  The window was great and the width of the room was surprisingly larger than many balcony cabin's we've had in the past.
• Sushi restaurant was a very good experience (a little pricey after everything we ordered, but a very nice experience)
• Price for the cruise was cheap and affordable
• Guy's burgers is always consistent and delicious!
• I like the fresh made tortillas at Blue Iguana
• I like the options of Pasta Bar and Mongolian Wok for lunches (free of charge)

 

Con's

• Issues with the ship causing slower speeds and delays to ports and embarkation/debarkation
• Wi-Fi was awful (heard many other passengers complain too)
• Elevators - THE WORST EVER.  We take stairs as much as possible, but absolutely HORRIBLE design on this ship!!!!  We spent about 15 minutes trying to help a lady in a wheelchair get an elevator and it was impossible.  I could write a small thesis on this topic.
• Ugly and bland décor.  Atrium and most public spaces were just bland bland bland.  And it's a dark ship.  No windows in the atrium and just a closed in feeling.  I have never liked the over the top Carnival interior designs on other ships, but I found myself wishing this ship had one of those over the top designs.
• The thrill theater, ropes course and pedal cars were closed.  The pedal cars and ropes course opened on the last day, but lines were so long, I didn't try them out.  Maybe I missed them being open earlier in the cruise, but I had asked mid way through the cruise and the staff person said they were just closed.  The pedal cars are one of the signature things of this ship class!
• I thought the Dream class had bad pool/hot tub designs but they managed to make the Vista class ships even worse!  Not including the Serenity hot tubs, there are only TWO hot tubs available to the the general cruise population on the Vista.  There are two hot tubs in the Havana deck, but those are only available to Havana guests.  How do you have a ship this size and only one small main pool with no hot tubs?!  At least Dream, Breeze, and Magic have them on the overhangs of the promenade deck, and those are far from any pool.
• Flow and design of this ship is bad.  Similar to Dream class ships, the ever popular Guy's Burgers is at a choke point to the buffet entrance, as is the Blue Iguana.  Way too much demand is placed on these locations and it's just designed poorly (blue Iguana too, but not quite as popular)
• Blue Iguana should be open more hours during the day - there aren't enough food options when people are getting back on board from a day in port.
• Pizza was good, but the implementation was poor.  I felt bad for the small lady running the place trying to make pizza's and trying to serve the long waiting lines of people.  It was also a bad flow design and they need more crew helping get the pizza out to the passengers at peak times.
• Smokey casino and sports bar - happy to have a place for smokers to gamble or hang out, but there isn't a way to section it off on this ship.
• Hallway smells by our cabin constantly
• Too many people everywhere - buffet doesn't have a good flow
• Deserts - Every cake we had or tried was just bad.  I almost wish they wouldn't have even bothered making deserts if they are going to make them so dry and of poor quality.  It would be better to just buy a bunch of betty Crocker cake mixes and bake those instead.
• Beds are very uncomfortable.  We were on the newest Carnival ship this past fall (the Mardi Gras) and their beds were just as uncomfortable.
• Thermal suite - super frustrating.  They gave us a spa tour half way through the cruise and the thermal suite looked decent enough.  They sold it to us for $99 per person for the remaining 3 days.  We came back to try it and realized the tropical showers were all broken or scalding hot, the heated tile loungers were mostly broken (not heated), and the hot tub only held a few people and it was constantly full.  We did squeeze into the tub at the end of our time, but the way it's designed is very uncomfortable.  The steam room buttons didn't work (not sure what they were supposed to do?).  We asked for a partial refund (we did spend about 30 minutes in there), but they said no refunds at all.  She said other people had complained about the showers, but they were adjustable only by the staff and had been "adjusted".  So that was a $200 waste of money.
• There needs to be a second gangway on this ship for embarkation/debarkation.  Seems like a bad design to funnel all those folks through one door on Deck 3 which isn't even a main thoroughfare deck.

 

I'll leave it at that.  Still a nice (and inexpensive) vacation.  

Edited May 8, 2022 by jbobst

[icft]

34 minutes ago, jbobst said:

It's one thing if there is good communication, and if it's something unexpected goes wrong.  We can all usually roll with unexpected issues and come together in a good way.  But if Carnival knows there is a problem and they keep dealing with delays, it's not fair to the passengers or crew to keep having to deal with delays like this.  I felt pretty bad for the stress the cruise director and her staff had trying to keep the chaos in check.  Why did they tell us only 14 hours before we are supposed to dock that we'll be delayed?  They knew about it well in advance.  

 

While the embarkation was rough, I couldn't understand why there is this very large air conditioned terminal building that was pretty much empty, yet 3000+ people are wrapped around the outside of the building spilling into the roadway?  As we were wrapped in the giant line, we couldn't wait to slowly pass by a few open doors to the cruise terminal to get some A/C blowing out of the building.  Only to see giant waiting areas inside the terminal completely unoccupied.  It's stuff like that that is frustrating.  Just poor planning and communication. 

 

If the Vista has some sort of long term issue causing all these delays, then switch it with another ship out of Florida and let the Vista do shorter (distance) cruises to the bahamas and places where it doesn't have to travel so far.  There must be other options to keep the ship in service until it can be dry docked and fixed permanently.  

 

To add to the answers already provided, traffic was bad heading north after the departing the ship.  The repair in causeway was tiny - and had just one construction truck and a couple police cars.  Not sure why they had to close 2 of the 3 lanes.  It took us awhile to get northbound but the southbound folks were really backed up.  What a mess.

 

Surprisingly, we did not eat in the dining room at all.  I've recently sailed on the Miracle and Breeze and had dinners in the dining room on those ships.  It was average at best so, this cruise we ate one night at the Cucina de Capitan and another night at the Sushi bar restaurant.  The rest of the nights was either a burger at Guy's right before they close at 6 or the buffet.  I actually didn't mind the buffet.  One night the food options weren't to my liking, but the other nights it was a good selection and decent quality for a buffet.   Just alot of people and poor buffet design.

 

I won't go into a full review because I'll get slammed I am sure, but I'll just say Carnival isn't for me.  They certainly fill a niche and people adore the cruise line, so I am glad they fill that niche.  But here are a some pro's and con's of the Vista in my opinion:

 

Pro's

• I've always been impressed by the crew aboard Carnival ships.  Some of the friendliest, happiest crews at sea!  Great folks generally and always great service!
• We got an "inside" cabin, and it was a forward facing cabin with a window.  The window was great and the width of the room was surprisingly larger than many balcony cabin's we've had in the past.
• Sushi restaurant was a very good experience (a little pricey after everything we ordered, but a very nice experience)
• Price for the cruise was cheap and affordable
• Guy's burgers is always consistent and delicious!
• I like the fresh made tortillas at Blue Iguana
• I like the options of Pasta Bar and Mongolian Wok for lunches (free of charge)

 

Con's

• Issues with the ship causing slower speeds and delays to ports and embarkation/debarkation
• Wi-Fi was awful (heard many other passengers complain too)
• Elevators - THE WORST EVER.  We take stairs as much as possible, but absolutely HORRIBLE design on this ship!!!!  We spent about 15 minutes trying to help a lady in a wheelchair get an elevator and it was impossible.  I could write a small thesis on this topic.
• Ugly and bland décor.  Atrium and most public spaces were just bland bland bland.  And it's a dark ship.  No windows in the atrium and just a closed in feeling.  I have never liked the over the top Carnival interior designs on other ships, but I found myself wishing this ship had one of those over the top designs.
• The thrill theater, ropes course and pedal cars were closed.  The pedal cars and ropes course opened on the last day, but lines were so long, I didn't try them out.  Maybe I missed them being open earlier in the cruise, but I had asked mid way through the cruise and the staff person said they were just closed.  The pedal cars are one of the signature things of this ship class!
• I thought the Dream class had bad pool/hot tub designs but they managed to make the Vista class ships even worse!  Not including the Serenity hot tubs, there are only TWO hot tubs available to the the general cruise population on the Vista.  There are two hot tubs in the Havana deck, but those are only available to Havana guests.  How do you have a ship this size and only one small main pool with no hot tubs?!  At least Dream, Breeze, and Magic have them on the overhangs of the promenade deck, and those are far from any pool.
• Flow and design of this ship is bad.  Similar to Dream class ships, the ever popular Guy's Burgers is at a choke point to the buffet entrance, as is the Blue Iguana.  Way too much demand is placed on these locations and it's just designed poorly (blue Iguana too, but not quite as popular)
• Blue Iguana should be open more hours during the day - there aren't enough food options when people are getting back on board from a day in port.
• Pizza was good, but the implementation was poor.  I felt bad for the small lady running the place trying to make pizza's and trying to serve the long waiting lines of people.  It was also a bad flow design and they need more crew helping get the pizza out to the passengers at peak times.
• Smokey casino and sports bar - happy to have a place for smokers to gamble or hang out, but there isn't a way to section it off on this ship.
• Hallway smells by our cabin constantly
• Too many people everywhere - buffet doesn't have a good flow
• Deserts - Every cake we had or tried was just bad.  I almost wish they wouldn't have even bothered making deserts if they are going to make them so dry and of poor quality.  It would be better to just buy a bunch of betty Crocker cake mixes and bake those instead.
• Beds are very uncomfortable.  We were on the newest Carnival ship this past fall (the Mardi Gras) and their beds were just as uncomfortable.
• Thermal suite - super frustrating.  They gave us a spa tour half way through the cruise and the thermal suite looked decent enough.  They sold it to us for $99 per person for the remaining 3 days.  We came back to try it and realized the tropical showers were all broken or scalding hot, the heated tile loungers were mostly broken (not heated), and the hot tub only held a few people and it was constantly full.  We did squeeze into the tub at the end of our time, but the way it's designed is very uncomfortable.  The steam room buttons didn't work (not sure what they were supposed to do?).  We asked for a partial refund (we did spend about 30 minutes in there), but they said no refunds at all.  She said other people had complained about the showers, but they were adjustable only by the staff and had been "adjusted".  So that was a $200 waste of money.
• There needs to be a second gangway on this ship for embarkation/debarkation.  Seems like a bad design to funnel all those folks through one door on Deck 3 which isn't even a main thoroughfare deck.

 

I'll leave it at that.  Still a nice (and inexpensive) vacation.  

I agree with most everything you had to say about the Vista. We sailed on her once in 2018 and swore to never go on a Vista class ship again; and we haven't. Worst design ever! Who puts the bathrooms nearest the casino a fifty yards away? Who comes up with such customer unfriendly elevators? Who channels people through a lot of "intimate spaces?" Who puts such a small casino on such a large ship? But the crew were great and the Lido food areas were well designed.

[Lane Hog]

22 hours ago, jbobst said:

While the embarkation was rough, I couldn't understand why there is this very large air conditioned terminal building that was pretty much empty, yet 3000+ people are wrapped around the outside of the building spilling into the roadway?  As we were wrapped in the giant line, we couldn't wait to slowly pass by a few open doors to the cruise terminal to get some A/C blowing out of the building.  Only to see giant waiting areas inside the terminal completely unoccupied.  It's stuff like that that is frustrating.  Just poor planning and communication. 

Isn't the hall used for initial security screening and document checks also used by arriving cruises for baggage pickup?  If so, it takes time to change over the setup, get the x-rays up & running,  and they probably also need clearance from the port to switch over since it's a Customs facility.

[Altamira]

We were on a back2back disembarking the Vista this past Sat, May 7th also. We had many (not all) of the same experiences that have already been mentioned here, and a few others.

 

1. Carnival needs to do better. We are fully vaccinated and boostered. We tested Covid positive on Sat, along with lots of other people reporting the same on the other social media website. Post pandemic we’ve taken a NCL cruise in Dec ‘21 and a RCCL cruise this past March. Of those three only Carnival was not enforcing the sanitizing/hand washing outside the Lido buffet despite having these very cool hand washing machines installed at the entrance. The vast majority of people, with only very rare exceptions, ignored both. Once inside there was mostly self-service, and widespread coughing, Lots of people talking about their bad “allergies”. We ate only at venues where crew were serving the food. Of course the crew can also be sick, and in fact we lost one of our great dining room servers for a week because he came down with Covid. But obviously the odds are much in your favor being served, if only because a fewer number of people are touching the serving utensils.

 

2. The sound. We were stunned by all the yelling into the microphones. At times you could barely understand what was being said because of the sound distortion. The second of our back2back cruises was a bit better and we wondered if there had been complaints. Also relentless was the pressure on people, on audiences, to perform, to show we were having fun by making NOISE. To act like we were wannabe, obnoxious, “Spring Breakers”.

 

3. Galveston is our home port and our first cruise 10 years ago was on the Conquest. We want to love Carnival, but with the fantastic Allure of the Seas coming in Nov, and the new NCL Prima, and the Ruby Princess coming to Galveston next year, Carnival is going to need to make more an effort to broaden its appeal to people like us who are retired and cruise 50 or more nights a year. Because we all like more, not fewer options. And right now I’d have to say that out of the ten cruise lines we know, that we don’t have a favorite. But we have a least favorite.