Dare I Book on Carnival Vista?

[SeaNStars4Me]

Thinking of booking a mid December cruise on Carnival Vista. One of the biggest draws for me is the itinerary. I'm now reading about itineraries changing and cruises being cancelled because of mechanical issues. How many times has it had these issues? Wonder if the fact they're cancelling a cruise in September and "fixing" it now would bode well for it being OK in December.   

[staceyglow]

I think the chances of Vista still having issues in mid-December is extremely low.   Even if they have to put it into dry dock, they would have 3 months to fix it.That is an eternity in terms of ship repair, especially when they are losing millions of dollars on every cruise they have to cancel.

 

In any case, you should purchase trip insurance, which I would advise whether you are on the Vista or on any other vacation where you have significant amounts of money at risk.

[ProgRockCruiser]

14 hours ago, SeaNStars4Me said:

Wonder if the fact they're cancelling a cruise in September and "fixing" it now would bode well for it being OK in December.

 

Assuming you are still located in Tampa, would you be driving to the port the day before and staying in a hotel?  Or just making an early-morning trek across I-4 -> 528?

 

Either way, you wouldn't "need" trip insurance if you book the hotel with full refund/no charge if cancelled the day or two before - which you'd know by then whether the cruise is cancelled.

 

So with no flights involved, the risk is minimized (for that reason).  Now, whether there are other risks that could cause you to have to cancel, that's where you need to consider trip insurance.

[DeniseTr]

I'd say if you see a comparable cruise on another ship, safest to go that way. 

Booking Vista is trusting that they will have it fixed. 

If you are driving to port, might be OK, but if flying, then you have the hastle of airline tickets to rearrange too.

[coondog99]

We have a group of 19 booked for the Vista on the Dec 14th sailing. While it has crossed my mind, I am still confident we will be on board enjoying it all.

[Knights on the Beach]

I'd still book Vista - but I live right by the port and can be flexible with travel plans.

[dbrown84]

man, I'm a potential first time Carnival cruiser.  I had pretty much decided on a cruise on the Vista in November, but now I'm seeing the posts about the mechanical problems and cancelled cruises.  there is the same itinerary on the Magic out of Miami.  maybe I'll hold off for a bit to see how things go 

[Tobleronebar]

Our itinerary on Vista for January was just changed. Trading HMC for Nassau. Not happy about this at all. This will be the first time I stay onboard while at port.

[mdin]

I'm booked on Vista for the December 28 sailing. I'm not too worried. I feel they have time to resolve this issue between now and then that will allow us to sail the original itinerary. Hopefully no new issues with the ship arise however. 

[coscab]

We are booked for January, I hate to fly and I am thinking of canceling incase we get stuck in Aruba or Bonaire and have to fly home😱

Edited September 10 by coscab

[ishap]

Really any ship can suffer mechanical issues at any time.  You have to book the ship/itinerary you want and just go with it.  I'm booked on the Vista for the 9/21 sailing.  Yes I'm a little worried, but only because it's being worked on now and I'm 11 days from sailing.  Yet I think she will be sailing for my departure. 

[UPNYGuy]

On 8/29/2024 at 9:59 PM, staceyglow said:

I think the chances of Vista still having issues in mid-December is extremely low. 

But this is the Vista… I’d trust a Ford Pinto to not catch on fire in a collision before I trust Vista not to have propulsion issues at least once a year. 

[jasong38501]

On 9/9/2024 at 7:05 PM, dbrown84 said:

man, I'm a potential first time Carnival cruiser.  I had pretty much decided on a cruise on the Vista in November, but now I'm seeing the posts about the mechanical problems and cancelled cruises.  there is the same itinerary on the Magic out of Miami.  maybe I'll hold off for a bit to see how things go 

Having been on both ships I think you would have a great time on either of them. I think I might actually like Magic better than Vista. I prefer the layout of the theater much much much more on Magic and I really enjoy going to the shows and that sort of thing. If you are the type of cruiser that enjoys specialty dining or really want to try the sky ride then Vista would be a better fit but don't be shy about trying Magic otherwise.

[Spooner2]

I just got off and had a ball..made the best of it. Met many nice folks and had a good time..I would think the issues should get better over time