Nwercruiser

We just returned from Bermuda...Second day in Port we hired a Blue Flag Taxi Tour operator Dennis Hollis. He was excellent as we saw the entire island about in just over six hours. My husband and I could never have seen everything in a ship organized larger group as we did privately on our own. We learned about the history and herbs, dairy, buildings, landmarks, water tanks, and tales of Bermuda. Dennis was not only extremely friendly and welcoming but holds a wealth of knowledge!

-Toured Bermuda’s smallest church and St. Scaur Hill Fort Park.

-A quick stop to see the smallest drawbridge, Somerset Bridge.

-Stop at Gibbs Lighthouse and other panoramic spots along.

-Pics at Church Bay, Flatts Village and to see gigantic sea turtles at BAMZ

-Toured Grotto Bay resort, the caves onsite and a few others along the way, saw Church Bay.

-In St George walked to St. Peter’s and the Unfinished Church...also did some shopping and watched part of the wrench reenactment dunking.

-Drove by and had photo opportunities at Tobacco Bay and Fort St Catherine’s

-Saw original shipwreck site monuments and moongates along the way.

-Made a stop at the Swizzle Inn for lunch and the famous rum swizzle (very good)

-Drove along millionaires billionaires row I’ll call it where many famous people have mansions dotted overlooking along the ocean and golf courses including Bloomberg, Ross Perot, and Micheal Douglas etc.

-Took pictures and made a stop in the private estate in Tucker’s Town.

-Drove through botanical gardens which look in need of some love

-Coastline drive stopping to see where the different beaches are and take some pictures. Warwick, Jobsons Cove, Horseshoe, Shelly, Church Bay, Hamilton Princesses private beach, etc.

-To end we stopped at the glass beach and took pictures and looked at all of the seaglass along the beach.

Was a long tiring day but so worth it! Was $50 per hour for a five hour tour however he threw in the sixth hour at no charge. We gave him extra and invited him to lunch at Swizzle however he graciously declined and instead relaxed in the van.

If anyone needs...Dennis' email dwhollis@logic.bm.

Oh my days. I hadnt even read that far.

 

I see they are also back to charging VAT per drink on people who've purchased cheers on the 21 October

 

It's quite amusing that this link has been posted as some sort of explanation when all its done is prove beyond doubt that Carnival do not understand VAT and guests on board are being fleeced by them.

I'm boarding this upcoming Friday so am interested to see what happens between now and then... policy seems to change daily on this. I have no idea what to expect! (Nervous laughter)

I just couldn't help but point out it does not make sense for each cruise to be treated so differently!

What Carnival Vista cruisers need to know for the remaining Med cruises:

 

https://help.carnival.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/3809/~/value-added-tax-(vat)

Additionally I have a question... why do you figure the packages on the October cruises are not being offered and instead subject to the per drink VAT? Trying to understand why packages cannot still be purchased like the 9/23 and charged VAT on the package price only. This should not be so confusing! :confused:

Nwercruiser, are you on the Sept. 13th cruise?

No actually I'm on the 8 day right after yours that leaves Barcelona on the 23rd! Have a great cruise :)

Thank you for finding and posting these pictures! They are great, beautiful suite! Very excited as we are also staying in one in September! :)

Where is this notated on?

This is what I saw today on Johns Facebook page...

Now Carnival have even retracted in the pre cruise rate [emoji35]

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This is quite annoying as it was available to purchase just weeks ago. I almost did, went thru all steps for total, then decided to wait. My September cruise already had VAT tax yet they were selling it and many others did get the opportunity to prepurchase. Good example of the left hand not knowing what the right is doing. I will not be purchasing it now, limit consumption and bring on wine etc in ports as they are still allowing...so far! :confused:

For my upcoming 8 day Vista cruise on September 23rd it's listed in my cruise manager at a pre-purchase price of $249 couples pass or $159 for solo, for the duration of cruise. This under the book the spa, relaxation areas tab. I have however read in some past cruiser reviews it is sometimes offered onboard for two people for $199 once aboard. I am not sure but now with all cruises having added VAT there's the real possibility of an additional 21% tax as well.

Nwercruiser,

Check out my Inaugural Vista review below. We went to the spa a couple times for massages and the thermal suites. It was my first time in Cloud 9 spa and loved it so much we booked a Cloud 9 spa balcony on the Sunshine.

Thank you for sharing the review link here! Amazing spa pictures and I couldn't help read the entire thing start to where you've left off and enjoy all of the info, humour, and photos! Based on your experience will definitely consider at least purchasing the spa pass on our cruise to enjoy the facilities! :)

Congratulations on the upgrade njsmom! We are booked and considering calling to upgrade to the spa deck however the price of the weekly couples pass comes out half of the price to upgrade on our sailing,prompting my hope of reviews to help in deciding... crossing my fingers for the fairy to call! :)

Great pictures... Thank you for taking the time to post. I just joined CC and wanted to say we will be staying in an OS September of this year on Vista and I had been itching to see some real pictures and review of the stateroom size and balcony. As a new Carnival cruiser this is so exciting! Happy to also hear you and the others who posted so far have had pleasant experiences and no problems from the promenade deck below! Still a bit perplexed about hearing the suite perks that are in the grands only but hey what do I know! Lol. :)

Hoping that anyone who has sailed on Vista and visited the spa might provide some feedback if buying the pass is worth it...or having a suite or balcony on the spa deck? Have not seen much review if any regarding the spa or spa decks on Vista and am very curious for our upcoming cruise. TIA. :)