Willdra's Visual Carnival Vista Oct. 15-22 Review

[willdra]

Our table was in the same section as the night before. I didn’t remember it, but W said the server getting the menu wrong and  trying to give everyone those big menus was a dead giveaway. After he said that I recognized the staff.

 

Dinner was not fast. We sat a good while just waiting for our orders to be taken. After about 15 minutes I had to clarify that with W. I actually couldn’t remember if we ordered anything. He agreed that we still hadn’t ordered. I was relieved cuz that meant I wasn't completely bonkers. Yet.

 

When the servers graced us with their presence, W ordered 2 shrimp cocktails, Caesar Salad, Fried Chicken (he said he’s noticed that we eat a lot of beef on cruises), and Bitter N Blanc. He was gonna order the Beef Tenderloin also but he said he knew I wasn’t going to eat all of mine so he would just get some of my leftovers. I ordered Mango Cream, Baked Meatballs, Beef Tenderloin, and Bitter N Blanc. Although everything was perfect, I didn’t finish anything. W was right. He got to eat half of my Tenderloin.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[willdra]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[willdra]

W said we were just barely making it to The Love & Marriage Show in enough time to get a decent seat. That was correct. We got there about 20 minutes before the show started. BINGO was going on when we got there. Most of the people who played BINGO stayed afterward for the show, so not that many seats opened up.

 

Savannah put on a good show. She engaged the couples and audience. We laughed throughout. I liked that Savannah had a few different questions sprinkled in as well. Normally it’s the same questions every time.

There was one couple who did the absolute most to get up there, but when they went to answer the questions they didn’t seem to like each other very much. I hope they kept that same energy for therapy when they got home. It's possible they were on the wrong stage. The Show is called "Love and Marriage", not "Knuck If You Buck". 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[willdra]

The Silent Party started at 10:30. Since the Love and Marriage Show ended late, Savannah said that it wouldn’t officially start for a few more minutes. We kinda didn’t know what to do or what to expect at this activity. This was our first time doing it. When we got up to Lido, there were staff members showing everyone where to go. We had to go into the hallway where there were tables set up to check out the headphones. One member of your cabin had to show their card and they could sign the headphones out for everyone in their party. That person was responsible for bringing the headphones back and they had to be given back to the same staff member. Everyone was told more than once that there would be a charge for lost headphones. They provided us with headphones, and a few simple instructions, and off we went.

 

We put on our headphones and then went up to Deck 11. It was so cool seeing different groups of people singing and dancing to either the Red or Blue music. You could switch back and forth so if you liked the song that the Red DJ was playing better than the Blue, you could listen to that one. Sometimes the peeps with the other color would be having so much fun, it made me want to see what they were so gassed about. #FOMO.

 

If you took off your headphones, you could hear a bunch of people singing 2 different songs. Savannah was talking during some of the songs on the Red Team. She was funny, and she gave her crowd different instructions. On the Blue Team, one of the DJs was doing the talking. I think it lasted about an hour. According to my Apple Watch, I burned 500 calories dancing, singing, and jumping around. W and I were drenched afterwards. It was humid out, but it was super worth it.

 

When I thought about it later, this was my absolute favorite activity. It was a different concept to the deck party, and I was there for it. Especially the teens who were doing all of the dances to the songs. I wanted to be in their group! 

 

My pictures don't do it justice. There were many more people who showed up later. I was just too into it to stop to take pictures. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[willdra]

When the party concluded, the lines were crazy long to turn the headphones in. After we did that, we went back to our cabin. My dogs were howling. The way my heels are set up, they are not meant for dancing, a lot of walking, and especially not jumping up and down. Those shoes are for showing up, looking cute, then sitting your butt down somewhere. Dats all.

 

We changed clothes and shoes then went back to Lido for late-night supplies. I was gonna get pizza, but W was done too fast. When we met back up, he said the pizza line was short, but I didn’t go back out there. Another reason that I didn’t get the pizza was cuz of the havoc that it would reap on my personage. Eating pizza that late would have consequences and repercussions.  Either I wanted a happy gut or an angry butt.  

 

I remembered that I still had half of the Cuban Sandwich from the day before in the fridge. I'd put it in a sandwich baggie (put them on your checklist) so the bread wouldn’t get hard.  I ate that when I got back to 6393, and it was still good, even cold.

 

We wound down after that. There were several good movies free on the “On Demand” channel. The night before we watched “Judy” and on this night we watched “Underwater”. Along with my tea, I also drank some electrolytes just in case, cuz I felt not that great at dinner.

 

Before I fell asleep, I said a prayer thanking God that W didn’t find another hat in Roatan. I wasn’t quite ready to be married to a 94-year-old-looking man yet. The crazy thing is that W has lots of baseball caps that he wears all of the time. Why can’t he just keep doing that? Why does he want a hat that makes him look like he just broke out of the Nursing Home when they ran out of prune danish, and his bid whist game got canceled? Block it Jesus.

If.You.Really.Love.Me.You.Will.Block.It.

[MistyRo76]

10 hours ago, willdra said:

The Silent Party started at 10:30. Since the Love and Marriage Show ended late, Savannah said that it wouldn’t officially start for a few more minutes. We kinda didn’t know what to do or what to expect at this activity. This was our first time doing it. When we got up to Lido, there were staff members showing everyone where to go. We had to go into the hallway where there were tables set up to check out the headphones. One member of your cabin had to show their card and they could sign the headphones out for everyone in their party. That person was responsible for bringing the headphones back and they had to be given back to the same staff member. Everyone was told more than once that there would be a charge for lost headphones. They provided us with headphones, and a few simple instructions, and off we went.

 

We put on our headphones and then went up to Deck 11. It was so cool seeing different groups of people singing and dancing to either the Red or Blue music. You could switch back and forth so if you liked the song that the Red DJ was playing better than the Blue, you could listen to that one. Sometimes the peeps with the other color would be having so much fun, it made me want to see what they were so gassed about. #FOMO.

 

If you took off your headphones, you could hear a bunch of people singing 2 different songs. Savannah was talking during some of the songs on the Red Team. She was funny, and she gave her crowd different instructions. On the Blue Team, one of the DJs was doing the talking. I think it lasted about an hour. According to my Apple Watch, I burned 500 calories dancing, singing, and jumping around. W and I were drenched afterwards. It was humid out, but it was super worth it.

 

When I thought about it later, this was my absolute favorite activity. It was a different concept to the deck party, and I was there for it. Especially the teens who were doing all of the dances to the songs. I wanted to be in their group! 

 

My pictures don't do it justice. There were many more people who showed up later. I was just too into it to stop to take pictures. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is the first time I've ever heard or read about a Silent Deck Party on Carnival. What a fun and interesting concept! Hope it's on my next cruise! 

[Megan_Strick]

On 12/6/2022 at 7:52 PM, willdra said:

I ordered Shrimp Cocktail, Grilled Tilapia, and Roast Leg of Lamb, no dessert. W ordered the Ceviche, Broiled Striploin Steak rare, and WCMC.  It took almost an hour to get the first course. The dining room wasn’t crowded either. We all talked and we learned that not everyone knows where the ship is going and what they’re doing. Those 2 ladies still thought we were going to Montego Bay and Grand Cayman in addition to Cozumel. Errr. That’s old news. We received that info via email from Carnival a month ago. Even if you didn't get that memo, the app tells you where you are going.

 

There have been numerous opportunities to find out where your cruise is actually headed. Numerous. Did she not pay attention to any of them?? I guess not.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

That poor steak looks like it's on the struggle bus

[crazy4themouse]

Well. I'm not sure where you and your trip reports have been all my life, but I'm sure glad I finally found you! 😁 I don't usually read many trip reports unless it's a ship we've never been on, but I'm just itching to be back on Vista in a couple of months and figured reading a trip report might temporarily scratch my itch. I started reading yours and then spent a good chunk of my work day snort-laughing my way through your cruise journey. 😂 

 

You and W are adorable. Please keep up the good work, dear lady, and thank you for being you. 😊

 

 

[HolySpearit]

20 hours ago, willdra said:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I hope that lady from the other night got her chicken!!! 

[willdra]

10 hours ago, MistyRo76 said:

This is the first time I've ever heard or read about a Silent Deck Party on Carnival. What a fun and interesting concept! Hope it's on my next cruise! 

It was strange at first, but once we got into it we had a great time. I’m still telling people about it when they ask about our cruise. I hope they roll it out fleet wide! ♥️♥️♥️

[willdra]

1 hour ago, crazy4themouse said:

Well. I'm not sure where you and your trip reports have been all my life, but I'm sure glad I finally found you! 😁 I don't usually read many trip reports unless it's a ship we've never been on, but I'm just itching to be back on Vista in a couple of months and figured reading a trip report might temporarily scratch my itch. I started reading yours and then spent a good chunk of my work day snort-laughing my way through your cruise journey. 😂 

 

You and W are adorable. Please keep up the good work, dear lady, and thank you for being you. 😊

 

 

Thanks so much for coming thru!! Glad you’re enjoying my journey! 😃😃😃

[willdra]

49 minutes ago, HolySpearit said:

I hope that lady from the other night got her chicken!!! 

I know right! 😂😂😂 Her mouth was so ready for that chicken, she was upset that the fish tasted like fish, and not chicken. 😱😱😱

[willdra]

10 hours ago, Megan_Strick said:

That poor steak looks like it's on the struggle bus

It looks like it tasted like depression and moist socks. 😜

[willdra]

UnBelizable

 

I really can’t Belize that I was tricked into coming back to Belize. This is hands down my least favorite port. We have tried a variety of different activities in Belize over the years, but nothing has made us scream “I LOVE IT HERE!” Sadly, (For us) Belize is like that crazy relative nobody really likes, but you have to invite them to the cookout to make your mom happy. For the time being. As soon as you are 100% sure that you can outrun mom (and anything that she throws at you), you are gonna lose that creep's number for good tho.

 

W and I had no real plans other than going to the pier, shop a little, then back onboard. With that being said, we got up around 8:15. Savannah was just starting to announce shore ticket numbers at that time. We could’ve done Priority Debark between 8-9 but nobody in our cabin was getting up that early. Especially not for Belize. #Notinterested

 

 I checked the app for our food options and saw that Blue Iguana was closing at 10. No hurry. W put a bag of laundry together to leave out for the steward while I got ready to go. He mostly puts stuff that won't get ruined or shrink easily in there. We learned our lesson the hard way when we first made Platinum. We put everything in the bags. Happily. We even shoved it full to the brim. What we were not gonna do, was mounds of laundry when we got home! When they brought back our clothes, they'd shrunk down to Barbie and Ken doll size. I couldn’t even get my arm in my shirts. We had to throw it all away. At least we were successful in not doing much laundry when we got home. #Neveragain.

 

 

 

 

[willdra]

That morning I liked taking my time and not rushing to do things. We went up to Lido around 9 for breakfast. W got in the omelet line, while I got coffee then found a table. I told him what area I would be in, so he could find me when he was done. When he brought the omelets over, I got up and went to Blue Iguana for my regular Rancheros and Arepa. They were kinda busy, so I had to wait a few minutes for someone to come on that side.

 

When I got back to the table, I put the omelet on top of the Rancheros, cuz technically that’s how it’s eaten. Shazam! That took both the omelet and the Rancheros to a whole nother incredible level! So so good! I’m mad I didn’t think of it sooner. I’m slipping y'all.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We sat around on Lido for a few then went back to the cabin. We still had time to waste until 10:30, which is when they would call for general debark. Tickets were not required after 10:30, and we didn't want to take up space that people with excursions needed.

 

 

 

 

 

The Dream was right beside us and we could see her from our balcony. It was also overcast, and it rained off and on all day. We sat out there until time to go. Part of my plan was to get back to a partially empty ship to take a few more pictures.

 

 

 

 

 

[willdra]

The general shuttle boarding wasn’t announced until 11am. W and I threw on our bags and went to wait the wait. We walked forward to take those elevators down to 1. They block off Deck 0, so the elevators can’t go down there. As we were standing there another couple was already waiting to go down. 2 up elevators came thru so they decided to ride up then back down. Welp as luck would have it, when a down elevator arrived to pick us up, it was the one that they rode up on. We press the buttons to go down, and they got off on Deck 3. Deck 3 y’all. They did all of that to go down 3 decks. Sweet dreams are not made of this.

 

Let's also pause and note that I am failing miserably at my pledge of not judging people. I must do better. Forgive me fam. 

 

We get off on Deck 1 then walked down to 0. There was a long line waiting for the next tender. A few minutes after we got down there a Carnival employee came thru with the little clicker counting heads. He said that we would definitely all get on the next shuttle. We got on around 11:29. I started to tell W I didn’t want to go anymore, but we’d already gone that far.

 

While we were walking to board the tender, W kept stepping on my shoes. I had him get in front of me cuz I was about to put the hahas on him. That is super annoying. For some unknown reason, once he starts walking on my shoes, he can't stop. Asking him to stop walking on my shoes is like falling down in the shower and trying to grab the water to break your fall. Pointless. Just trade places to keep the peace. 

 

 

 

[willdra]

Once we were seated on the tender, it took 10 minutes or so to get going cuz they have to fill up the boat. We sat in front of a lady with her credit card in a clear lanyard around her neck. She had it turned around so you could see the back. If I was a scammer all I would have to do is take a picture of that card, then just use it or clone it. The CVV was showing and errythang. What's worse, is that since she's on a cruise, chances are she wouldn't even find out that she was a victim until we got back to Galveston. I looked away from her, out of sheer agony, and there was a young man next to her who also had a clear lanyard on, with his Driver License facing the front. Guaranteed identity theft. Please don’t do this cruise cousins. Vacay is prime time to get got. Do your due diligence. 

 

Speaking of fraudsters, soon after we sat down, I got a notification that “Shoestring” was trying to Airdrop me a picture. I quickly declined. I don’t know "Shoestring" (don't want to either) and that picture could contain a virus or worse. I don’t accept calls, texts, or files from unknown sources. It’s all "Scam Likely" to me. If I don't know the source, I don’t need to see it. Periodt.

 

Ok back to the cruise. 

 

The boat ride over was 22 minutes. We were told repeatedly to come back early enough to allow ourselves enough time to get back onboard. When we got to Belize, we jumped off of the tender and went into the shops. I found some nice gifts and I couldn’t wait to give them to the recipients. W looked, but didn’t find a new hat. This just proves that God is still in the miracle working, prayer answering, business.

 

 

 

[willdra]

It was fish grease hot in Belize, and the sun wasn't shining. We didn’t stay in any store too long. Even the ones with air conditioning were lukewarm room temperature. After I felt like I’d seen enough I got a frozen rum punch at one of the little stands. It came in a color changing cup and it was huge! W and I had to sit on the side for me to drink it. There was a water shuttle there waiting to get filled up. When I was almost done with the drink, we got on. It was 1:19 ships time. The local time was 12:19 so it’s important not to change to local time on your devices or you would think you still had an extra hour. We were there way later than I planned. I wanted to be back earlier.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[willdra]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[willdra]

 

 

 

 

[willdra]

It took longer to get back than it did to go. At around 2:07 we were back in the cabin. We checked the app and decided that I would get lunch in the Cucina del Capitano, which they call Pasta Bella, and W would get Mongolian Wok, which is in Ji Ji Asian Kitchen. It’s always funny when we get up there, and we confuse the hostesses by splitting up and ordering in 2 different venues. Like it’s some sort of scandal. 

 

 

I ordered the Lasagna, Bread, and Caesar Salad. My lasagna came out first. I got the bread and salad afterwards. W came over when I was almost done. The servers started dressing the tables for dinner right around 2:35. W was taking his time eating like he had all day. I reminded him that they closed at 2:30 and we were now being rude. No, we weren’t the only ones up there. There were about 6 tables occupied, but it felt yucky to be sitting in there blah blah blah-ing while the staff was trying to clean up. I'll bet right about then, we were looking like some expired fajita meat to them. W didn’t get it, so I had to really break it down to him. Then he got it. Sometimes we need to look at things from other people's perspective. Or simply ask ourselves “How would I feel if this thing or that thing happened to me?”. It hits different when we put ourselves on the other side of the table. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Anywho we left right after that. I was tired and cranky. W wanted to go to Serenity. I went up there with him, but I wasn’t committed to staying. I had already made my plan of escape, but W asked me to stay. He was lucky that it was overcast with a slight breeze blowing. After W was sure that I wasn't gonna bolt, he got in the hot tub. I sat in the clamshell and caught up with my reading. My goal is to read at least 1 whole book on each cruise. Most of the time, I read 2. 

 

Right after 5, it started sprinkling. We packed up and went back to the cabin. It really didn’t even fully rain, but the sprinkles were enough to get us out of there. God cares. He knew I needed to go in. We sat on the balcony until time for dinner. Comfortable and cozy.

[willdra]

This was elegant evening number 2. On a Wednesday. I wasn’t doing makeup or anything time consuming. That dining room was gonna get whatever face I gave it. I was ready quick and W of course was done in a flash. I checked us in and our table was ready right then. It was the same table that we had on the first elegant evening. A little 2 topper in the back. There were several of the same people sitting back there as last time. The rude F-bomb dropper and his crew were back too. Did Carnival think we all bonded and wanted to see each other again? There have been a few people that we wouldn’t mind sitting with again. It wasn’t any of these peeps tho.

 

 

For dinner I ordered Shrimp Cocktail, Crab Cake, Grilled Shrimp, Filet Mignon, and no dessert. I knew I couldn’t finish dessert. Normally Filet Mignon is thick, but this one looked like somebody ran over it with steam roller. It was a flat Filet. It was tasty tho. Since we got our food so fast and we were finished within an hour, W and I went to the Motown Showdown which started at 8:15. It had just started when we pulled up.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[willdra]

The atrium was packed. There was hardly any spaces left but W and I found a good one. This is always a fun activity. Especially after dinner when you can dance off some of those calories that you just consumed. My favorite tho was when the DJ transformed into Tina Turner. He looked hideous, but it was funny. He was working it!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[willdra]

The next activity after that was the comedy club at 10. We went to go and change then walked down there to get in line at 9:30. The line was already formed from the Limelight Theater down to the Sports Bar. The Sports Bar was full, and there were people sitting out in the hall watching baseball also. They started yelling when people blocked the TV.

 

It got kinda crunk and this one lady was about to throw hands when the TV watchers were getting rowdy with her. It was funny that this little gray-haired lady was giving them the business. She looked so sweet and innocent until her place in the Comedy Show line was challenged. It goes to show that you can’t judge a book by its cover. Just because she’s somebody’s Nana, and she looks like she went to school with Jesus, Joseph, and the Technicolor Dream Coat, doesn’t mean that she ain’t about that life. She was definitely holding her own. 

 

The comedian at the Comedy Club was Steve Wilson. He was funny. W laughed a lot and that’s really unusual for him.

 

After the show, we went up to the Lido to check the pizza line. It was my lucky night! There were only a few peeps in line, I think the drizzle of rain scared folks off. Thank you, mother nature! It only took me a few minutes to score a couple of slices of heaven. They were fresh out of the oven, triangles of triumph. And they were mine. All mine. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Before I fell asleep, I said a prayer thanking God for memory foam. This material has made sleeping, walking, and so many other activities infinitely more comfortable. When something has memory foam in it, we already know it’s gonna be soft. God bless the scientists who came up with this miracle material and not only used it for space travel but also opened it up to the rest of the world. #brilliant

 

 

 

 

 

[AKR2011]

I hate being so late to this party, but I am so happy to finally check in. Your reviews and nightly prayers are the absolute greatest. Thank you so much for taking the time to do these for us!