Live, More or Less, From the Vista 02-09 July 2022

[Petroplex]

Howdy, folks. I am boarding the Vista later today and thought I would try to do my best job of posting a more or less live review of the trip. My immediate party is 4, including two teenagers, and we are staying in a Family Harbor Suite. We are also travelling with another party of 5 that we know from church, and they are in a interior stateroom and a window stateroom, also in the Family Harbor section.

 

I always get to Galveston a couple of days in advance, because I love Galveston. It is part of the trip for me. We stayed at the Tremont House, which is an easy walk to the cruise pier. That is complicated a little by the fact that we still need to park the care somewhere. We secured parking at Galveston Park n Cruise, which we have used before. We loved eating at Katie's Seafood House on arrival, and we have tried some old haunts, as well.

 

We have our respective drink packages, and we all have green checkmarks in VeriFly. I can see on the cruise webcam that our ship has arrived on time. I will try, although not promise, to let you know about masks, lines, and anything else I can think of during check in. Our appointment is at 10, because me. More soon, I hope, but right now I need coffee.

[Hogladyrider]

Have a great cruise, will be following!

[Petroplex]

So we got here too early. We arrived at the pier at 9:41 for a 10 a.m. appointment. We went in immediately and were done by 10:04. Observations:

1. Masks are suggested but not required. Mayhe 5-10% wearing them.

2. They have shorter lines for suite and diamond/Platinum guests but are not directing people to those lines. So far, it doesn't much matter.

3. No designated waiting area for suite guests.

4. The last few people were still leaving immigration when we walked up. We are now in a large waiting area, and you can tell it will be a while.

5. We had green checks on VeriFLY, and nobody asked to see paper documents after that.

[peteandpris]

Looking forward for your review, thank you.

[mics pics]

Thanks for the updates so far, looking forward to following along. 

[sailorfool57]

I will be passing you on the 9th!  Keep us posted with anything we need to anticipate or look forward to checking out, please. Did this same itinerary in 2005 on Conquest. I’m just ready be back on a boat after 2019! I think we have a cove balcony on Deck 2. I do love Galveston!

[princess76021]

5 hours ago, Petroplex said:

Howdy, folks. I am boarding the Vista later today and thought I would try to do my best job of posting a more or less live review of the trip. My immediate party is 4, including two teenagers, and we are staying in a Family Harbor Suite. We are also travelling with another party of 5 that we know from church, and they are in a interior stateroom and a window stateroom, also in the Family Harbor section.

 

I always get to Galveston a couple of days in advance, because I love Galveston. It is part of the trip for me. We stayed at the Tremont House, which is an easy walk to the cruise pier. That is complicated a little by the fact that we still need to park the care somewhere. We secured parking at Galveston Park n Cruise, which we have used before. We loved eating at Katie's Seafood House on arrival, and we have tried some old haunts, as well.

 

We have our respective drink packages, and we all have green checkmarks in VeriFly. I can see on the cruise webcam that our ship has arrived on time. I will try, although not promise, to let you know about masks, lines, and anything else I can think of during check in. Our appointment is at 10, because me. More soon, I hope, but right now I need coffee.

just got on board, (actually watching on the webcam 🙂 ) will be following!!

we are supposed to get on board in october!

have fun!!

hugs

[Petroplex]

So the ship has a lot more beautiful spaces than I imagined. We are still in port, though, so they are on a restricted menu of Texas alcohols. For example, Red Frog pub cannot sell their own beer.

 

The only real disappointment was my room. Every video I could find of a family harbor suite showed a bed dropping from the ceiling. That doesn't exist in my room, which means my two larger teenagers will have to share a bed. While I acknowledge there was certainly some legalese which covered this, it is weird that rooms in the same category wouldn't have the same amenities. I was also frustrated that the desk agent with whom I spoke wouldn't let me finish sentences before cutting me off. That is exceptionally poor customer service. Even if you can't do anything, make a point of listening to understand the issue rather than listening to respond.

[TravelE]

1 hour ago, Petroplex said:

So the ship has a lot more beautiful spaces than I imagined. We are still in port, though, so they are on a restricted menu of Texas alcohols. For example, Red Frog pub cannot sell their own beer.

 

The only real disappointment was my room. Every video I could find of a family harbor suite showed a bed dropping from the ceiling. That doesn't exist in my room, which means my two larger teenagers will have to share a bed. While I acknowledge there was certainly some legalese which covered this, it is weird that rooms in the same category wouldn't have the same amenities. I was also frustrated that the desk agent with whom I spoke wouldn't let me finish sentences before cutting me off. That is exceptionally poor customer service. Even if you can't do anything, make a point of listening to understand the issue rather than listening to respond.

Oh no! I wonder if they have any rollaways available for your teenagers.

[princess76021]

Just watched you sail away ☺☺

 

Forgot to tell you my sail away cocktail is something with rum!  Thank you 😘😘

 

Hugs

[AJSkarbo]

I will be on in 3 weeks so I am looking forward to following along! Are your teens planning to use the teen club? If so, can you post the activities? I have a 13 year old that is curious about what to expect. 

[jimbri]

Enjoy your cruise.

[JillinCalgary]

Oh I will definitely be following too!  We are sailing out of Galveston on July 23rd... we are very exited!  My husband and I and 2 of our children, boys ages 22 and 18.. Enjoy your cruise!!!

[Petroplex]

So it is Sunday, I think. I know it is the first full day on the boat, and I know I am incompletely sober. I intended to conpose this as random observations about the cruise, so I will start with observations on drinks:

 

1) I am normally a Royal Caribbean cruiser. I have been impressed by how many spaces here I enjoy drinking. Red Frog Brewery is, in particular, amazing. Flor de Cana 18 covered by the drink package? Yes, please. However, for the love of bacon, please wait using lemon rum as your default rum for mojitos.

 

2) The rules in the casino suck very much bad. Slots are mostly dollar slots requiring more than one unit. There is one 3:2 blackjack table, and it has using an auto shuffler.

 

3) The Family Harbor section is surprisingly quiet given there number of kids.

 

4) Lines actually aren't bad, unless you worship at the Altar of Guy's Burgers. It is a great burger, but the line there is 25 people deep whereas 3 people want pizza.

 

5) Pay the $5 to message other people on your party on the app.

 

6) JiJi Asian kitchen was nice, but I preferred eating in the MDR. Yes, I ate two duvet last night. Yes, that was a mistake.

 

7) I am dumber than whichever politician you happen to oppose. However, don't walk barefoot on the top deck to get to the water slide. My wife is a black belt in taekwondo, and I would rather let her watch me kiss the Swedish bikini team, which is a completely feasible scenario, than do that again. It would hurt less.

 

😎 The spa is amazing. I haven't had a treatment, but I did but the pass to use the facility.

 

9) Guest services takes a while.

 

More later. Lemme know if you have questions.

 

 

[JillinCalgary]

Sounds great!  I do have a quick question... is there 3 card poker in the Casino? Please and thank you!

[dmet0225]

49 minutes ago, Petroplex said:

…..I know I am incompletely sober…..

 

7) I am dumber than whichever politician you happen to oppose. However, don't walk barefoot on the top deck to get to the water slide. My wife is a black belt in taekwondo, and I would rather let her watch me kiss the Swedish bikini team, which is a completely feasible scenario, than do that again. It would hurt less.

 

 

 

The “incompletely sober” comment is impressive.  
 

I quite walking barefoot on the cruise decks in 2004.   I might be a slow learner, but not that slow.

 

Edited to add that I will be on the Vista on July 30.

Edited July 3, 2022 by dmet0225

[kwbrad]

If you have time, would you find out what the imax movies are for July, and if the thrill theater is running or still shut down.

Have a great time!  

 

[Petroplex]

15 hours ago, JillinCalgary said:

Sounds great!  I do have a quick question... is there 3 card poker in the Casino? Please and thank you!

There is. One table @ $10.

[Petroplex]

13 hours ago, kwbrad said:

If you have time, would you find out what the imax movies are for July, and if the thrill theater is running or still shut down.

Have a great time!  

 

Minions, a treasure movie, a James Bond movie, and something about icebergs. I will look again later. Those are also the dive in movies.

[Petroplex]

We just got back, and I will write more over the next few days. However, I want to talk about debarkation while it is fresh. We were in a suite, and they told us to be in the theatre by 8 for priority self-assist. We got there early and actually left at 7:41. We have passports and went in a line using Carnival's facial recognition technology. Two machines were working well, although our machine didn't recognize any of the for of us. That involved spending roughly 5 second each with an immigration officer who was standing right there, and we were officially back in the U.S. at 7:59. The longest part was paying my Texas liquor tax. We were actually rolling in our re-packed car at 8:19, although there was a long delay while we figured out where to put souvenirs. Overall, this was as well organized as I have seen.

[Petroplex]

Hey, folks. I had another trip scheduled two days after this trip ended, so I am just now getting around to posting menus and pictures and such. Two observations:

 

First, there were 9 people in our party. All were fully vaccinated, and everyone who was old enough was boosted. We have three confirmed COVID cases this week along with two more people mildly ill with similar symptoms. Everyone is fine, everyone is recovering, and symptoms did not appear until after the cruise was over. In my particular case, I am double boosted, asymptomatic, and still testing negative 6 days later. Please be careful and make whatever choices you feel are best for the particular needs of you and your family. Please also don't turn this into a thread about what COVID policy should be. I am making an observational data point so you can make your own choices as best suits your particular situation.

 

Second, our itinerary was:

• Embarkation
• Fun Day at Sea (first formal night-- Lobster night)
• Fun Day at Sea
• Roatan
• Belize (second formal night-- No lobster)
• Cozumel
• Fun Day at Sea

 

If you want to see the menus from each night, I have posted them here. We found something we liked every night, although we noticed a lot of repetition and the service seemed hurried due to lack of staff. I will post bar menus and specialty restaurant menus as I get a chance over the next couple of days.

[ski_mom]

Thanks - we will be on the Vista in October.  It's a new ship for us and I can't wait!  Love reading your observations!

 

[DANCING GRANDMOMMY]

Following. Thank you so much for your time. 

[princess76021]

14 minutes ago, ski_mom said:

Thanks - we will be on the Vista in October.  It's a new ship for us and I can't wait!  Love reading your observations!

 

us too!!!

[dmet0225]

5 hours ago, Petroplex said:

Hey, folks. I had another trip scheduled two days after this trip ended, so I am just now getting around to posting menus and pictures and such. Two observations:

 

First, there were 9 people in our party. All were fully vaccinated, and everyone who was old enough was boosted. We have three confirmed COVID cases this week along with two more people mildly ill with similar symptoms. Everyone is fine, everyone is recovering, and symptoms did not appear until after the cruise was over. In my particular case, I am double boosted, asymptomatic, and still testing negative 6 days later. Please be careful and make whatever choices you feel are best for the particular needs of you and your family. Please also don't turn this into a thread about what COVID policy should be. I am making an observational data point so you can make your own choices as best suits your particular situation.

 

Second, our itinerary was:

• Embarkation
• Fun Day at Sea (first formal night-- Lobster night)
• Fun Day at Sea
• Roatan
• Belize (second formal night-- No lobster)
• Cozumel
• Fun Day at Sea

 

If you want to see the menus from each night, I have posted them here. We found something we liked every night, although we noticed a lot of repetition and the service seemed hurried due to lack of staff. I will post bar menus and specialty restaurant menus as I get a chance over the next couple of days.

Thank you for posting the menus.  I was recently diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, so this will help me plan for my Vista cruise in 2 weeks.  I will also be extra cautious about my surroundings for the next 2 weeks so as to minimize my potential exposure to the roid.