C & L

2 hours ago, Stealthdog said:

 

The only entertainment/show that requires reservation is The Book.  No reservations are available for other shows/entertainment.   The Headliner shows (comedian, comedy musician, and magician) were all walk in first come first serve.  The Production Showgirls also seems to be that case (Showgirls is Day 7 & 8, so we haven't gone yet).

 

Bumper Cars is also walk up, first come first serve and they open the Seaplex daily for a couple hours most nights for it (usually around 7-9ish).

 

Activities that do require reservations on board - iFly, North Star, and the Zone Zero virtual reality all require reservations.  All three can be reserved thru the app.  iFly and North Start are complimentary on port days and have expenses on sea days.  The Virtual Reality has a cost and every time I've looked on the app, it looks like it is sold out, so it seems very popular.

Ah, Stealthdog, you are, once again, just SO thorough in your responses.  Thank you!

Big Thank you to Stealthdog for all the DETAILED information on this cruise ship and Southern sailing.

Could you take the time to answer the following questions:

1. What entertainment/shows/activities require Reservations?

2. What entertainment/shows/activities do you just walk up and wait in line or  take a seat--- Reservations Not required, it's -First Come-First Served?

I do know that certain onboard Activities require a fee.

Been on a two year hiatus from cruising and this is the first Quantum style ship on which we will be sailing.  

Your description and information is Outstanding.

Thank you

What I would like to see:

Temperature Check prior to boarding and through-out the cruise. (Full body infrared Scanners/Hand Held Device) if there is a problem-one goes for a further screening)  Ditto for Airlines and other mass transportation

Daily Temperature check of crew.

Higher criteria for cleaning.  (Is there an ultraviolet light/wand that crew could use to make sure surfaces are effectively cleaned?)

Utilization of sanitation wipes. (I know flushing is a problem-aren't there wipes that disintegrate like toilet paper?)

Update/Enhance Medical Facilities and Personnel on ship

Have protocol in place in regard to large illness outbreak on cruise ship and which ports would accept these ill passengers.( No more floundering ghost ships that no country wanted)

Honestly, I can't think of any restaurant on land that I have ever gone to that told me to wash my hands before I entered.  Cruise ships personnel have constantly reminded cruisers to wash hands and use the sanitizers.

Since, there has been such negative publicity in regard to cruising:

Invite Youtube 'Influencers' to cruise, especially those with families.  Let them highlight cruising. 

Forget doctor notes and age discrimination

Thanks so much for the response.  I am still having no luck with accessing online registration, let alone entertainment booking.

Yes, we're on the Jan 4th cruise.

Thanks for the quick response!   Today, is 90 days out until we cruise.  Will I be able to fill out the on-line check-in after today?

Do you know if RCI is charging for the zipline?

Today I paid off my January cruise on Symphony of the Seas.  I've have tried numerous times to complete the online check-in  information and to schedule activities but to  no avail.

1.  When will I be able to do so?   (previously I've been able to do so way ahead of cruise)

2.  How much does it cost to do the Zip line?

Thanks!

RCI has a wide variety of outstanding entertainment. I'm waiting for Carnival to improve their onboard entertainment. Fingers crossed that it could be happening.

June 2017

Grand Turk - on our own. When the ship docks at Grand Turk one can see an old cargo ship, Mega One Triton, wrecked/beached/aground. We walked from the port, down the beach to Jack's Shack, then cut up to the main road and walked another block and a half to Governor's Beach where this shipwreck was. For us, that was about a 15 minute trek. Besides a gentleman raking the beach and we were the only people there. It was Wonderful quiet area. There was shade, some old picnic tables, buildings, an outdoor shower, but no food or beverages. It was fun to see the 'shipwreck' and explore the outside of the wreck.. (Yes, there are people who have climbed aboard and explored the ship and even jumped off it, but it was too "icky" for us.) It was a nice juxtaposition to snap a picture of the old wreck with the new Carnival Vista in the background. In addition, there is a terrific Bio Rock Reef that was teeming with thousands of tiny schools of fish, some beautiful blue colored fish and a small barracuda. It was just perfect. An excursion of horse riders also stopped nearby and took the horses into the water. On our walk back to the ship, a small herd of 6 horses clopped alongside the roadway all on their own. Later on, we took our picture by the "Grand Turk" sign down on the beach.

Those are 3 terrific ideas. RCI is quite innovative, so maybe your suggestions will spark an idea.

I judge all ships that I cruise on -based on what RCI has done with their ships. (Royal is superb on entertainment, too.) The Celebrity Edge is being built and it will have a rooftop garden (reminds me of Central Park), plus they are going to have a Magic Carpet (reminds me of the Rising Tide Bar) which will move on the OUTSIDE of the ship and go from the rooftop garden to Deck 2. RCI is far ahead of other cruise lines. They just need to find NEW ports in the Caribbean and elsewhere.

Our Thoughts and Opinions:

Vista - 8 Day Southern Caribbean Cruise - June 3 - June 11th

Grand Turk, La Romana -Dominican Republic, Aruba, Curacao

4 Adults, 2 Teens

Adjoining Balcony cabins - Lido Deck - Starboard side

Rooms - 10267 & 10269

Transportation: Personal Vehicles

We arrived at Port of Miami around 10:45 and the only parking available to us in the parking garage was the top deck! All covered parking was taken.

Dropped off luggage and was able to enter building as our Staggered Check-In Time was 11:00.

Everything went very smoothly until we hit the boarding area. It was hard to hear the number that was being called out to board the ship. (Give the Carnival staff a megaphone or install more speakers through out the boarding area). The electronic Number Sign for boarding was way behind the verbal call-out, too. Once our section number was called out; there was a line for the escalator and then a short line for picture taking. While waiting for the escalator there was a couple who told staff they had Faster to the Fun Pass and what should they do. Unfortunately, for them, the staff was unable to get them ahead of the rest of us.

Cabin - Can't wait till Carnival upgrades to swivel televisions. The doors that links the adjoining cabins- when opened- block access to the balcony (on another ship the doors were hinged to fold back against the wall). The mirror in 1 room was hung so low (and crooked) we were unable to plug in our battery charger. The bathroom design has still not changed. Still locked into the 50's motel look and still utilizing a shower curtain. Other than those 'piddily things' the cabin was alright. Would recommend the Port side for this trip instead of the Starboard side of the ship. The cabin attendant, who was terrific, asked us to choose either having our rooms made-up in the morning or the afternoon.

Muster Station - the Muster Station, B-4, was in the Casino!. It was stinky and smoked filled. People were smoking DURING the Muster presentation. Shame on Carnival for having the muster station in the Casino. If you can't tolerate smoke or have children with you- would recommend you Check in and then leave/ask to attend the Presentation in another area.

Ship Design - could Never understand why anyone would prefer an Older ship to a spanking, brand new ship and Now, we understand why. This brand new ship is dark, and tunnel like. The Liquid Lounge was very poorly designed. If you did not get seated up close to the action it was hard to see the show. The 2nd tier (balcony) of the Lounge had beveled - glass strips that did not give a clear view of the show and many times caught the lights and reflected into your eye.

Entertainment - Carnival needs to plow their record profits into improving the Entertainment. The shows in the Liquid Lounge were high school-like productions with extremely poor stagecraft. RCI has excellent entertainment in their theatre.

Food - Only ate in the complimentary venues. Carnival excels when it comes to food.. Their food is very tasty compared to RCI. We ate lunch once in JiJi Asian Kitchen- plenty of noodles little meat and vegetables. Did not try the Pasta Bar for lunch. In the Lido Marketplace the best spot seemed to be in the rear near the Carvery. In the morning, before the food stations were scheduled to be open, the area across from the Carvery had pastries and fruit available. Uniformed staff also seemed to like this area, too. Carnival should consider an electronic posting of foods (menu) that will be available so that cruisers are not continually plucking aside the 'food curtain' to see what's on the menu. Yes, I do know that they do post a printed out menu pasted flat against the wall where one can hardly see what's on the menu in the Marketplace.

Ports:

Grand Turk - on our own. When the ship docks at Grand Turk one can see an old cargo ship, Mega One Triton, wrecked/beached/aground. We walked from the port, down the beach to Jack's Shack, then cut up to the main road and walked another block and a half to Governor's Beach where the shipwreck was. For us that was about a 15 minute trek. Besides, a gentleman raking the beach and we were the only people there. It was Wonderful quiet area. There was shade, some old picnic tables, buildings,an outdoor shower, but no food or beverages. It was fun to see the 'shipwreck' and explore the outside of the wreck.. (Yes, there are people who have climbed into the ship and jumped off it, but it was too "icky" for us. It was a nice juxtaposition to snap the old wreck with the new Vista in the background. In addition, there is a terrific Bio Rock Reef that was teeming with thousands of tiny schools of fish, some beautiful blue colored fish and a small barracuda. It was just perfect. An excursion of horse riders also stopped nearby and took the horses into the water. On our walk back to the ship, a small herd of 6 horses clopped alongside the roadway all on their own. Later on, we took our picture by the "Grand Turk" sign down on the beach.

La Romana, Dominican Republic - Carnival Excursion. First, let me say that I waited too long to purchase the very popular Dune Buggy Ride in La Romana. It was Sold Out online. I called Carnival and asked if any tickets would be available on the ship for this excursion, but was told "No". However, there could be some cancellations (I would have needed 6 cancellations!) Well, once on ship, I hit up the Shore Excursion Desk and casually asked if there were any cancellations for the Dune Buggy Excursion figuring that a few of us Might get lucky with a cancellation. Yes I was told there was another Dune Buggy Ride Excursion scheduled and promptly bought the all 6 tickets. Carnival needs to have clear responses to telephone inquiries regarding Sold Out Excursions. The Dune Buggy excursion was fun, but as everyone says, Very Dirty.

Use the shower on Lido Deck, do not wash off in your room! They sell bandanas and glasses for the ride and ask you Not to give money to the children who tend to run up to the buggies as you pass through small towns.

Aruba - Carnival Excursion. Bought 6 tickets for the North Coast Jeep Safari online. It was a fun rocking and rolling, bumpy ride. The drivers were terrific. We stopped at a Donkey Sanctuary (can buy food to feed the donkeys), an old gold mill on the beach, a chapel, and a lighthouse; then a quick swim on the beach. Later took a 10 minute walk from the ship to the "I heart Aruba" sign for pictures.

Curacao - on our own. What a beautiful Unesco World Heritage site. This is an island I would definitely like to come back and explore more. Did our own walking tour (maps are available at tourist center). Crossed the water on Queen Emma Pontoon bridge, spotted the trees with carvings in the knot holes; also took our picture by the mammoth 'Curacao' sign near Wilhelmina Park, saw the Floating Market, an 'art alley' (wow, what a urine smell) and then crossed back over the water to go to the Kura Hulanda Museum ($10). The museum is somewhat disjointed but was able to see the very interesting slavery exhibit and step down into the bowels of a slave ship.

We chose to Self Disembark and were on our way home by 7:25.

Hey thanks for your review.. the points you have made here are important to me..so while I don't ride elevators or count bars either , public space , ease of getting a drink on the lido and pool side area is what I look for .. so thank you for that.. I will keep my eye out for other reviews .. as a whole all are trying to squeeze more rev .. so it's certainly trending that way.. I too like the conquest class ... btw

I try to weed out other comments that might have ulterior motives , like peeps in the industry who make a living off bookings .. :) again thank your

BINGO! Your last sentence: "I try to weed out other comments that might have ulterior motives, like peeps in the industry who make a living off bookings" is right on target.

Nasty Peeps to say the least. The cruise lines or whoever needs to hire people who can POLITELY address cruisers' comments which reflect negatively on ships, cruising.

In our 35+ cruises I have never counted bars, you must have been bored. How do you know what the bar staffing is, on Vista or any other ship? Oh, do you normally spend a lot of time on the elevators? I guess the future ships of Carnival are not for you, for us, the Vista was the best we have been on. No mention of anything except common space, how was the rest of the cruise?

 

 

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Once again, a cruiser offers Their opinion of Their cruise and a snarky responder starts to criticize the comments.

This is Not the first time a cruiser has mentioned the lack of elevators on the Vista. It has been mentioned many times. Moving people about on a big ship IS important. And it is also, Not the first time a cruiser on the Vista has complained about bar service.

Hi Need help in deciding between these 2 cruises. I am traveling with a 5 Year Old Boy so the kids activity is the most important decision criteria

 

Carnival Vista - 6 Days Caribbean Cruise v/s Harmony of Seas 7 Days Caribbean Cruise

 

Both the price is exactly the same and the dates are in March... We did had one cruise 3 years ago on Disney Dream.

 

Decided on these two as these are the newest ships with lots of kids activity... others i thought of were Celebrity Reflection and HAL Koningsdam and Disney Magic from San Juan in April..

Definitely, Harmony of the Seas. Was on the ship during Thanksgiving and all the children seemed busy and happy.

KMT1000 I am directing my answer only to you, because there be people that will argue with me that staggered check in is wonderful but I want to give you MY thoughts on it.

 

I am ALL AGAINST it...for many reasons. We also arrive the same time or perhaps a half hour later than you usually do to the terminal, so WE know, there never are lines....

 

Putting that aside this is why I feel staggered check in is not fair:

 

1- I like to board as early as possible and have most of my day on the ship, I feel boarding around 1-3pm you basically loose half the daytime on the ship and you pretty much loose having lunch

 

2- I always do pre cruise night stay at the port of embarkation, I have to leave the hotel by 11 where the heck would I sit and go to wait to 1-2pm to get to the ship!

 

3- I like to get to my cabin immediately when available so I can unpack and get things all situated, this is nice because its all done and I can start enjoying my cruise.

 

Sometimes we take last minute cruises, which would mean I will not be able to get early boarding time as most people generally prefer this, so I will no longer be booking up any Carnival last minute cruises unless my PVP can verify I can get on board before 11am. I will just take my business more to Royal Caribbean and Princess.

 

About your boarding time, I suggest grabbing the 1pm you don't want to end up any later time, and keep watch or call your PVP from time to time to see if an earlier slot opens for you.

Totally Agree and Support your reasons for disliking Staggered Check-In. Seems the problem with many ports is the Poor Port Design for Traffic and the chaotic pick up and drop off of luggage.

Just off the Harmony of the Seas Thanksgiving cruise. Have to say that all repairs/touch ups/ punchlist problems were repaired since the first sailings in Europe.

In Our Humble Opinion:

Entertainment: A+: great costumes, wonderful stagecraft, talented performers.

FINE LINE AQUA SHOW - an unusual 'skirt' dancer, and then lots of dynamic, foot splashing water dancing with some diving. Unfortunately, 3 times during the show there were mechanical problems (aerial, floor and fountains not working properly).

GREASE - talented performers, good stagecraft, spouse loved it.

HEADLINER - Journey tribute band, spouse loved it, but many walked out (next day some people said show was 'too loud').

1887 ICE SHOW- great costumes, interesting ice 'projections', and a "bubble blower"

COMEDY SHOW - 1st comedian was great, 2nd comedian had a difficult time connecting with audience, gained some momentum at the end of act

COLUMBUS SHOW - talented performers, creative writers, and once again, exceptional stagecraft.

In addition, there was an I-SKATE SHOW and BIG DADDY'S HIDEAWAY HEIST Aqua show where no reservations were required.

Food:

Windjammer: C (spouse), D (me) spouse consistently ate chicken, fish, mashed potatoes, carrots, broccoli, cauliflower. I sampled lots of dishes.

We both like the fries.

MDR: B (spouse), C (me) We had 5:30 MTD and had very good service (though as the crowds came, service slowed slightly, as to be expected) There were about 4 choices of bread and our water was replenished frequently. The food in the MDR was better than WJ.

We felt RCI falls significantly below par in the Complimentary Food Restaurants. There is lots of room for improvement.

CABIN: A- (spouse) A (me)

RCI has done an excellent job of organizing the cabin. User friendly for electronics, large TV (needs more varied programming), good size balcony (2 chairs, footstool and small round table), bathroom- easier to maneuver, good water pressure; Closets provide ample storage with numerous hangers, plenty of drawers for your clothing; sophisticated color scheme, HARD mattress and pillows. The refrigerator had a periodic hum and the glass divider between balconies rattled. Stain on balcony floor.

SERVICE:

Cabin Attendant- did his job, though the threshold from our room to balcony was always dirty.

MDR - Excellent head waiter and assistant

WJ - Offered beverages and also offered to get food

GUEST SERVICES - very good

NEXT CRUISE - slow, unfriendly, too early in the morning?!??!

Royal Caribbean needs to STEP UP taking care of this brand new ship. Hire more staff to maintain it and have managers who make sure things are clean!

We could not see through the glass balcony. It was so filthy. We actually cleaned the railing and glass as best we could so that we could sit and see out. Later on in the week, Thursday to be exact, the Crew cleaned all balcony glass in our area.

In the WJ, it was disconcerting to pull out a chair at breakfast and see food still on the carpeting from the previous night. It was dirty along the WJ window sills and tables were many times poorly wiped down.

In addition, too many times it was chaotic entering the WJ. Someone at RCI thought it a good idea to have the hungry hordes of people wait in line to wash their hands at 4 sinks! Some days we entered through the 4 sink line and other days we were able to enter through the double doors. It was/is just poor, poor planning on someone's part.

Dirty, stained cushions on outdoor furniture in Central Park.

In the Solarium there was peeling back of some type of material on the glass that flapped and rattled in strong breeze.

You have to connect to your own wifi or cellular network to submit and receive the QR receipt on an IOS or Android device that can connect to the internet, a process that takes seconds. A couple of hours after I docked, I turned my iPhone's cellular data on, enabling it for the mobile passport app. Checking the app now, it shows that at 8:21am I submitted and received my receipt which was valid for 4 hours.

 

You can (and should) fill out the profile info ahead of time without being connected.

 

More info here: mobilepassport.us including a list of airports using this service.

 

~ Judy

Thank you so much. You have been most helpful.

Thank you all for the compliments- I'm glad you found this mini review helpful.

 

 

 

 

For your first time on an Oasis class ship, best tips are: make your reservations as soon as they open for your sailing, study the deck plans ahead of time, don't try to do everything, go with the flow and enjoy!

 

With the mobile passport app, just do all the steps but the submit whenever you have a chance rather than waiting until the last day. Then all you have to do is connect to wifi and press submit anytime within 4 hours of going through customs at Port Everglades.

 

~ Judy

 

 

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Hi Judy

We would really like to take advantage of the Mobile Passport App.

Question: Is the wifi free or is one charged for connecting to the Mobile Passport App?

Thank you for your initial question. It helps new cruisers sort out problems that could occur while cruising and gives them a prospective on how Guest Relations/Cruise Companies resolves difficulties that do arise when cruising.

Unfortunately, there are some very nasty people on Cruise Critic. Take heed who they are.

It would never occur to me to be rude to someone who ask a reasonable question.

Yes, there appear to be "Cheerleaders".

Me too! there are 3 of us sharing but I think I'd prefer a pull out couch over a pullman bed.

D3 Ocean balcony with queen bed, pullout sofa and pullman deck 11-quiet room

video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S62Cw2US1BE

Boarding Sunday, let's hope the weather clears up in the western Caribbean or we'll be going to different ports!

if you are near this balcony prepare for door slammings all night and day long, as people access the area. clunk, clunk, clunk.

Thought BLUE PLANET was excellent, OCEANARIA was very good and CHICAGO was good, but can't quite put my finger on why I wasn't that impressed, though the performers were very good.

ICE GAMES was fine, enjoyed the Russian 'kite skaters'. Headliner, MOSAIC, was good and the comedians were also good. The first comedian was VERY GOOD, there was a polish to him.

We were on deck 11 aft, portside. Alot of walking but didn't gain a pound!

No noise, but do look at a deck plans and stay away from crew areas on your deck.

We've book a June trip, too. Deck 11 aft, starboard, this time.