Our Carnival Vista B2B - Havana Style - (with pics!) - 4/14/24

[silvercrikhix]

Great Review!  Thank you so much for all the time and consideration you both put into your reviews!  

[Jamman54]

4 hours ago, Tennessee Rose said:

I'm finally starting on the ride with you and Patti. Had planned to take a little break after just today finishing SaintGreg's latest, but I keep falling behind! I always love your reviews tied in with Patti's gorgeous photos, and always find new and interesting tidbits to add to my cruise info. Here we go!!!!

Thanks for reading, enjoy the ride! 😀

[Princess Cruiser27]

Another great read and photos Jeff and Patti. Thanks for the cruise along on the Vista. I always hated the the last day of the cruise when you have to put the luggage out. 

[l2f]

Jeff,

Thanks for another great review.

[KaiBlue]

Thank you Patti and Jeff!  The Vista is our next cruise in August and it will be our first time on her.  Really appreciated all of the pictures so we can get 'the lay of the land'.  Going to try JiJi's for the first time!

[mikayla73]

Another great trip in the books! Thanks for the info and thanks to Patti for all the great pics, I hope she's healing well!

[Ace Evans]

Another top-notch review!  You both are simply fantastic and we are all grateful for the time and effort spent with the photos and details of your journeys.  Best wishes to Patti in her recovery🙂

[Jamman54]

Our final thoughts, observations, and ramblings!

 

What follows is not in any special order or importance, just what pops into our minds concerning our two weeks aboard the Carnival Vista.

 

When the Carnival Vista was introduced back in 2016 we were not impressed. To us it was just a “Sunshined” Dream Class ship. They both were 14 decks high, and 122 feet wide. The Vista was just 51 feet longer. We’ll get back to that 51 feet later.

 

Now why do I say “Sunshined”? The Dream Class has the three deck high Main Show Lounge. On the Vista they made it a two Deck Liquid Lounge and filled up Deck 3 below it with cabins.

 

The Dream Class has that soaring ten deck Atrium with the glass elevators. On the Vista the Atrium is only three decks high and no glass elevators. Above that they have added an Imax Theater and even more cabins. They did give us the Dreamscape to try to make us forget the soaring Atrium with the glass elevators!

 

The Dream Class has the Limelight Lounge all the way aft on Deck 5. On the Vista the Limelight Lounge was moved down to Deck 4, and Deck 5 aft was filled with cabins. But here is where things got interesting. Remember that 51 feet we talked about earlier? That 51 feet extended up to Deck 5, and supported the new Havana Area. The cabins added to Deck 5 aft became higher cost Havana Cabins, with exclusive access to the Havana area. Now that intrigued us, especially since children under 12 were not allowed.

 

We were planning  to book a Havana cabin on a Vista Class ship in 2020, but we all know what happened then. As I mentioned at the beginning of this review, our first cruise back post Covid was on the Horizon, but not in the Havana Area. We did learn that we didn’t need a Havana cabana or balcony, and that an inside cabin would do just fine. We confirmed this with an inside Havana cabin on the Panorama in 2021, and then booked the inside Havana cabin for our Vista B2B.

 

We felt that this was one of our best cruises ever, because it was our most relaxing cruise ever. Having access to the Havana Area everyday was heavenly, and with the Cheers Package even better. It never really got crowded back there. We really didn’t need to get off the ship, and at most ports we just got off to stretch our legs and check out the port area. We did have Pool Cabanas at Amber Cove and Grand Turk, but Pool Cabana days are relaxing as well. As we neared the end of our cruise Patti said to me that she wished we could stay on another week. I agreed! After we got home we immediately booked a B2B on the Horizon in April of 2026 going to the Western Caribbean and the ABC islands, and of course we booked the same Havana inside cabin for the two weeks!

 

Once again we did not go to the MDR for any of our dinners. We enjoyed our dinners at Bonsai Sushi, Fahrenheit 555, Cucina del Capitano, and JiJi’s (the best!). The other days the Lido Marketplace was just fine. Most of what was being served in the MDR was being served there anyway. At times a salad, the Deli, or some pizza was all we needed.

 

I’m pretty sure that we had drinks at every bar on the ship, but the three bars we frequented the most were the Havana Bar, Lobby Bar, and Alchemy.

 

At the Havana Bar huge thanks to Jendra, Kiran, Katherine, & Lin! You never let our glasses get empty! Also kudos to Jerlyn and Khim who handed out the towels, swabbed the decks, and brought us frozen fruit several times a day, every day!

 

We also spent a lot of time at the Lobby Bar and had a lot of fun there. How can you not when you had Melissa, Yanti, and Mustafa taking care of you! You guys are the best!

 

We had a great trio of mixologists at the Alchemy Bar. A huge shout out to Aleksander, Janko, and Goran!

 

I have to give another big shout out to Setyo at the Ocean Plaza Bar who made my coffee for me every morning. Simply outstanding!

 

We didn’t go to any of the shows since there wasn’t anything that we hadn’t seen before. I did manage to see every comedian on the ship for the two weeks at least once, and I thought they all did a pretty good job.

 

My Husband Daycares for this cruise were The Paddock in Aruba, and Karel’s Beach Bar in Bonaire. I highly recommend either one of them!

 

On every cruise we meet some of our fellow Cruise Critic members. This cruise we had the pleasure of meeting Knights on the Beach (Beth & Mark). What a great couple, and we shared quite a few drinks together during the two weeks. They had also done the B2B. We look forward to seeing them again at sea or on land. Thank you Beth for sharing your photos and experiences during the course of this review!

 

My mind has gone blank, so if you have any questions at all we’ll be more than happy to answer them for you. If I think of anything else, I’ll be sure to post it.

 

And now here are our future cruise plans. On August 31^st  2024, we will be boarding The Carnival Venezia from our homeport of New York, on B2B cruises to Bermuda and Canada. It just so happens that Lee Mason will be boarding the ship the same day as us, to take over as Cruise Director. It should be fun.

 

2025 will be a special year for cruising for us. To start off, we will be making a mega road trip that will take us to New Orleans and Galveston, two ports we haven’t sailed from, on two ships we haven’t sailed on. On March 31^st, 2025 we will be boarding the Carnival Valor in New Orleans for B2B 5 day cruises to the Western Caribbean. Upon return we will head over to Galveston where on the next day, April 12^th, 2025 we will board the Carnival Jubilee on a 7 day cruise to the Western Caribbean. That should be some adventure!

 

Then in September we will be flying out to Seattle, where on September 26^th, 2025 we will be boarding the Carnival Spirit for a 15 day cruise to Hawaii. It will be great to go there once again! Will any of you be sailing with us? If not, we’ll be bringing the cruises to you!

  

 

Before I end this, I have to thank my beautiful wife Patti. I couldn’t do these adventures, these reviews, or live life without her. She is my best friend, my rock, and a heck of a photographer! I’m happy to report that her recovery from her foot surgery is going very well, and she’ll be ready for action when we board the Venezia!

 

 

Speaking of photography, the photos you see on these reviews are only a small portion of all the photos Patti takes during our cruises. If you would like to see the whole package, there is a link in my signature for our Cruise and Vacation albums. Feel free to check them out if you are so inclined.

 

 So, until next time, may you have blue skies and calm seas!!!

[pcvtmom]

Much love and appreciation to you and Patti for another awesome review!

 

[MEUB1112]

Awesome review and recap, you ought to love Galveston and especially NOLA, our favorite port!! If you have questions about hotels or dining please let me know.

[jimbo5544]

Great review Jeff.  we differ on the initial views of Vista, but that is fine.  Looks like you had a great cruise, cannot wait for more along the way.

[wrightkj]

Gosh, I enjoyed reading your review and perusing Patti's pictures - thanks for sharing!

[LUVMYGSDOG]

Another great review!  Thank you!!

 

Kim

[nhilding10]

Thank you so much! The reviews themselves, the photos, the honest feedback, and great sense of humor and personality along the way, always make these a must-read! Thank you for bringing us along and letting us enjoy the ride with you!

[SenatorsFan]

Thanks for taking us along for another great review. Big hugs to you and Patti for all the time you put into entertaining us! 🤗

[markmbsc]

Another amazing review!! Thank you for sharing your adventures.

[Beachiekeen]

This was my first review of yours to read but it won’t be my last! I thoroughly enjoyed it and am saving your future cruise list so I won’t miss another. I sailed in a Havana aft balcony on the Vista for my 50th in 2019 and it was so much fun (although your itinerary was much better). It was fun to see the ship again. Thanks so much to you and Patti for letting us in on all the fun!

[Jamman54]

1 hour ago, Beachiekeen said:

This was my first review of yours to read but it won’t be my last! I thoroughly enjoyed it and am saving your future cruise list so I won’t miss another. I sailed in a Havana aft balcony on the Vista for my 50th in 2019 and it was so much fun (although your itinerary was much better). It was fun to see the ship again. Thanks so much to you and Patti for letting us in on all the fun!

Thanks for stopping by and checking us out. We're glad to have you! We have a bunch of reviews that you can access through my signature. 😎

[MeganGC1983]

Fantastic review, BRAVO! Thank you Jeff & Patti, outstanding, as always! 

[HolySpearit]

We will be on the Jubilee 2 weeks after you in April 25! Looking forward to the prospect of coming back and then getting to re-live it all over again through your review! 😁

[Jamman54]

44 minutes ago, MeganGC1983 said:

Fantastic review, BRAVO! Thank you Jeff & Patti, outstanding, as always! 

Thanks Megan! 😎

[Crusin Karen]

You and Patti NEVER disappoint! Thanks for another great review. Keep booking those cruises: the more you go on, the more we can experience it when you get home. Now you can watch some Yankee games and relax until August and Venezia! 👏

[jedi bobs]

I was down to Gattlenburg/Pidgion Forge, I know of Pattie's hearing difficulties.  There are a couple of dinner shows down there that you and her might enjoy.  The best n IMHO would be Dolly Parton's Stanpead/ witch dals with Horses and such, while the Pirates Show has Aqua animals, and such.   While the Hatfild and McCoy's show is a good one, there is a lot of dialog in it, and not a lot of singing and dancing.  We usaly stay at a small older hotel, with real Keys that has an indoor pool and a Jaccozi inside your room if you are interseted.  

 

It appers that you and Patty had a great time on the Vista. I was on her shortly before the Drydock, and the playlist didn't start preforming until day 4 and they didn't even do full shows, just the concert versions.  Our cruise director was not great and it showed,, but the crew were happy to be going to dry dock, and were very chatty.  

 

In Cozmel there is a nice little allinclusive that is $40 and just past the Royal peir and only takes 50 people at a time, it has a small pool and access to the ocean if you are intrested.

 

Hope that you and Pattie are doing great and Pattie is healing.

 

[Jamman54]

9 hours ago, Crusin Karen said:

You and Patti NEVER disappoint! Thanks for another great review. Keep booking those cruises: the more you go on, the more we can experience it when you get home. Now you can watch some Yankee games and relax until August and Venezia! 👏

Hey Karry! Thanks for coming along for the ride once again. It wouldn't be the same without you! 😎

[Jamman54]

6 hours ago, jedi bobs said:

I was down to Gattlenburg/Pidgion Forge, I know of Pattie's hearing difficulties.  There are a couple of dinner shows down there that you and her might enjoy.  The best n IMHO would be Dolly Parton's Stanpead/ witch dals with Horses and such, while the Pirates Show has Aqua animals, and such.   While the Hatfild and McCoy's show is a good one, there is a lot of dialog in it, and not a lot of singing and dancing.  We usaly stay at a small older hotel, with real Keys that has an indoor pool and a Jaccozi inside your room if you are interseted.  

 

It appers that you and Patty had a great time on the Vista. I was on her shortly before the Drydock, and the playlist didn't start preforming until day 4 and they didn't even do full shows, just the concert versions.  Our cruise director was not great and it showed,, but the crew were happy to be going to dry dock, and were very chatty.  

 

In Cozmel there is a nice little allinclusive that is $40 and just past the Royal peir and only takes 50 people at a time, it has a small pool and access to the ocean if you are intrested.

 

Hope that you and Pattie are doing great and Pattie is healing.

 

Thanks for all that great information! We really haven't done any planning for those cruises yet, as we're still planning for the Venezia. Looking forward to seeing you guys on the Valor! 😎