mikel24m

I will admit I have been suckered in by the Havana area and their dedicated pool area, and the excellent prices!

 

So we're in our 40's but we are not party people- we seek out quiet reading spaces on sea days (which is why that Havana aft pool area is so enticing - we HATE fighting for chaise loungers).

 

Important to us:

-Good dining (don't mind paying additional for specialty restaurants)

-Good service

-Good ports (we get off the ship every time!)

-Variety of bars and a good looking ship interior

-Casino (bonus if it's non-smoking)

-Entertainment in the evening - preferably live music

 

What we dislike:

-Rowdy, drunken crowds

-Loud music piped in public places (it makes the pool decks unusable on a lot of ships!)

-Lines and crowds

-Fighting for deck chairs

-Lack of quiet space to relax and read

 

So...that being said, is a Havana room on Carnival Vista a good choice? (We will go in January, not during a high-kid travel time.)

 

I just have always pictured Carnival as this rowdy ship with tons of partiers...give me your thoughts, and thank you!

Just off the Vista Sunday so I can help some.

 

Chair hogs were BRUTAL! I'm an early riser and had my coffee on lido deck, by 6:30 am there were ZERO chairs on the lido pool area open.They all had towels. I did watch them tag chairs but also saw one day 15 chairs being saved by 2 ladies and the other chairs were not tagged so I asked a senior officer for informational purposes why can they save so many chairs and her response was it's for their family.

 

Casino was smokey everywhere and they didn't enforce non smoking anywhere in the casino area

 

Lines were horrible! We like the Comedy shows and ALWAYS had to be super early to get seats. Always a wait for elevators although we always did stairs. Buffet lines were busy but not horrible unless certain times of the day. Food quality was fine not gourmet but edible. We aren't picky eaters.

 

We ate at the seafood shack for dinner one night it was $27 we got a pound of grilled shrimp, a fried seafood platter and a bowl of clam chowder in a bread bowl. One night we ate at the Italian place it was $30 plus a tip and was good too. I'll post a few pics at the end for you. If I can answer any other questions I will feel free to ask

 

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Wonder if almost free cruises will count.Ours was $200 with $100 OBC from the casino. I Guess in 14 days we'll see. It says can take up to 14 days after to show up in your account

 

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The internet is getting much better .our last cruise on the Vista was not so great now we are on the Vista right now and the value plan is awesome.I guess depends on the ship

 

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We were able to have a booth for the 2 of us on the Sunshine.

 

Was wondering if this was possible on Vista since we are booked on the Horizon which is her sister ship.

 

This would be for YTD. Thanks for any info.

We are on Vista now and have no issue getting a table for 2 .Not sure about a booth though

 

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I was thinking of getting Cheers, but I do not like alcoholic drinks. I drink wine maybe twice a year and liquor and beer taste disgusting to me. I do like fruity non-alcoholic drinks, iced coffee, milkshakes, Powerade and water. For our 4 day cruise on the Liberty, do you think the Cheers package would be worth it? If so, what are some good virgin drinks and other drinks that I may be interested in?

 

Question #2 To use the early saver and VIFP, I am in the room with my son and daughter and my husband is in the room with my nephews. Neither of us are big drinkers. If I get the Cheers package then I will be the only person who can purchase it because my kids are not 21 yet. However, once on board my husband and son will have get their rooms switched. How will this affect the Cheers package if I pre-purchase it? If my husband will have to end up paying for Cheers, then it will definitely NOT be worth it. Is there anything I can do to prevent this?

I don't think I would do it. I'm on the same situation except I don't drink at all and I thought about it but decided it's cheaper for us to pay as we go. I love coffee and can drink prob 10 per day but I figured we can bring a bottle of wine and a 12 pack of soda each so we're ahead of the game already. We got to Florida a few days early and got her wine from Aldi for $2.79 a bottle lol.

 

As far as good virgin drinks my favorite is mango pina colada. I think it's called mango swirl. I also love mojitNOs ,virgin mojito with muddled lime and mint, simple syrup and club soda. I agree with the poster that said you haven't found the right bartender that can make you drinks you like. I'm a bartender and I know I could whip you up a drink you'd love in no time. I'd make you a nice Malibu bay breeze or an east coast sex on the beach with chambord, peach schnapps,midori and pineapple and cranberry juice.Try those if you want something you'll like :)

 

Cheers

 

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I've cruised Vista twice, first in a spa suite and the most recent cruise in a Havana Premium Vista balcony. Go for the Havana. The balcony is spectacular, and having access to the Havana area in the day is worth every penny. Plus, if you really want, you can add on a spa pass (either daily or weekly).

That's what we did. I bought a couples spa pass during a sale for I think $186 for 2 for the 8 days. I just wish the T pool was like the other cloud 9 ships. I'm alittle disappointed that such a new big ship dropped the ball on that one

 

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Last sea day and cruise (week one) wrap up: 2/23/18 – 2/24/18

 

On the last sea day, have pity on me… life is tough… I got another massage. This time it was a bamboo massage. Again, Bibi was my masseuse and the massage was wonderfully relaxing. I did like the hot stone massage better and I let Bibi know that. I told her that I may come back for another hot stone massage on the last sea day of the 2nd part of our cruise.

 

After the massage, my wife and I went to Cucina del Capitano for lunch. Lunch is free and it is the same ordering process as the Mongolian place. You fill out an order form of what type of pasta, sauce, etc you want and then it is brought to your table. We enjoyed our pasta lunch. We are Catholic and do not eat meat on Fridays during the Lenten season. This is a good place for a meatless meal.

 

For the afternoon, I played trivia and went to the casino. My wife wanted me out of the room so she can pack our bags. We were moving to another cabin for part 2 of our cruise. All bags had to be packed and ready to be moved Saturday morning. She says she can pack quicker without me being there to distract her.

 

After trivia (no wins for me), I played Let It Ride in the casino. I did not remember how to play, so the dealer helped me. It was only us at the table. I came out way ahead of what I expected so I took my chips and cashed them in.

 

After dinner, we had some drinks at the Alchemy Bar. After that, I participated in Matt’s song trivia. We only had to write down the name of the song. I missed one. His trivia was at 10:15 PM in the atrium and a lot of fun.

 

 

Matt standing on the bar in front of me:

 

 

 

Matt and I (selfie):

 

 

 

 

Odds and ends:

 

I forgot to mention our wonderful cabin steward, Patrick. He was from Jamaica. Very nice guy and kept our room looking good. Always had the bucket of ice ready for us and actually folded some of our clothing that we left on the couch.

 

The 6 day cruise to the western Caribbean was very enjoyable. We met a lot of good people (passengers and crew). I did not see many kids running around, even though there were many kids aboard. I asked several of them (and their parents) where they are from. Most were from New York. A lot of school districts in NY have a winter break. The bed was very comfortable. A nice firm mattress; just right for me.

 

Saturday morning around 4 AM, we were in Miami. We got up at 7:30 and left our room at 8:30. Left all our luggage behind. We headed to the Lido deck and had the very delicious Blue Iguana breakfast burritos. At 9:45, we reported to the Limelight Lounge (4 aft) and waited for the next part of our cruise to begin.

 

 

Miami in the morning:

 

 

 

... Coming soon is part 2; eastern Caribbean

Did you try the lasagna for lunch in the Cucina del capitano? OMG I am drooling waiting for that! Best lasagna I've ever had. And the homemade ice cream /gelato during lunch. I need some stretchy pants :)

 

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The the "T" pool was tiny compared to that type of pool on other Carnival ships. I enjoyed the hot tubs on the Serenity deck a lot more.

That's the exact thing we said too. Great minds think alike :)

 

We loved the salads for lunch on serenity too, we spent Alot of time there and intend to again in 2 weeks

 

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Following and eager to read more. We did the Vista a little over a year ago, and stayed in the Havana Cabana area, but have stayed in a Spa cabin, which would be my next choice if no Havana cabin available. Will be interested to hear what you thought of the Thermal Suite.

We booked the spa pass for the week again. We were not impressed but it will do, we got it during a special for $186 for both of us for 8 days .The thallaso pool is literally knee deep! It's a disappointment for such a new big ship

 

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Great start looking forward to more on the ports . We cruise again on the Vista in 2 weeks

 

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We always love the Lido deck but recently have been liking at balconies. I guess what the original poster needs to do is ask themselves what they like the most on a cruise and what they'll be doing all cruise and position themselves accordingly. For instance we love the spa passes and always get them so this cruise we booked close to the spa area forward. If one spends time at the pool or bars they book lido close to the action .Deck plans are our friend

 

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Wouldn't life be easier if the cruise line looked at what a mess this is ALL the time or at least our last 15 times doing it!

 

Why change the meeting spot to a place more equipped to handle this other than the dining room where people just pour into and drop luggage to block everyone else

 

Have ropes, make lines to form, give tickets AND check them. Their are solutions it just needs to be addressed

 

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I know the food varies in Lido, but why would the sea day brunch in the MDR be that much more special than the buffett? Just wondering why people think so, but know I am going to experience the difference when my cruise finally gets here.

I think Alot of people like it because it seems like going out to a pay venue. Hard to explain but for us we use our free drink coupons, have steak and eggs or fruit loop French toast :) We look forward to it every cruise. If you can make sure to make it to afternoon tea as well. We look forward to that as well its not fancy just a cup of tea some scones and sweets with some finger sandwiches

 

We liked it Alot when they had a short comedy show right in the venue while we ate brunch

 

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Also from the Midwest originally before moving to Florida. Also love seafood, but 2 apps and 2 entrees isn’t greedy. They used to have lobster, and then I ate all the lobster and now they don’t have lobster anymore

 

The food I am looking most forward to is a shrimp taco from Blue Iguana with habanero salsa as soon as I board

Carnival still has lobster in the Mdr

 

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Lasagna from cucina de capitano

 

 

 

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Here's a picture :)

 

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Lasagna from cucina de capitano

 

 

 

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I know it was extra. I had just hoped to reserve it ahead of time so I wouldn't have to worry about it later. Christmas time seems to be at a premium for cruising.

You would think they would love to pre reserve spots for extras and allow people to pay ahead. That's money in the bank even if they're no shows

 

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Crud [emoji53]. Given Mr Sanchos is just down the beach on the same ‘strip’ so to speak, is the snorkelling any better? Or is there somewhere you’d recommend that has an all inclusive beach that isn’t too ‘rowdy’ that also has good snorkelling??

 

 

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People like to go to chankanaab to snorkel usually. Mr Sanchos will be the same as Nachi snorkel wise. It's not really rowdy at all just more lively and much much better food than Nachi. We went to Nachi maybe 5 times until we discovered the better food at Mr Sanchos :)

 

We'll never do Nachi again for that reason. Don't get me wrong it's nice but for us it's too quiet

 

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Curious as to the snorkelling at Nachi? I am leaning towards there when I go with my 70y/o mother as it has the more quiet atmosphere, but I am hoping to see some stuff snorkelling?

Everytime we've ever been the snorklings not great

 

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What is the best way to get from the pier to Nachi?

Taxi is pretty cheap about $20 with tip each way for up to 4 people

 

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I just got my answer from Mike. The old "Sorry, you don't get crap". Then yesterday I got an e-mail asking me if I was pleased with the response I got from them. Needless to say, I said no. We aren't big spenders but we cruised a total of 12 days last year. Each night DW and I spent at least $100 each night. They ask if I had any comments. I say "We spent at least $2400 in your casino last year and it doesn't even qualify for a cookie? We didn't really expect anything. We use to get casino cash in the past without spending that much money. But, we do it for entertainment, knowing full well we'll never get rich doing it. (Or even get a free cookie!)

The cruise line casinos just don't get it! For years I have responded to surveys and give them a gamblers point of view. We know we are going to lose and that's what we do and have fun doing it. With that being said we used to get so many things that would make most of us happy that costs the casino peanuts! I can buy a fruit basket with wine for $50 ,choc covered strawberries for like $10, cookies for like $10, a free picture or 2 . Dinner in the steakhouse for under $100 for a total of like $300 for a week and it would make most of us feel special to get recognized for the amount of money we spend. Last cruise my sign and sail bill was $13000 an that was on top of paying for a balcony cabin. And we got strawberries once and the steakhouse once. Here in Atlantic City we get like $600 a WEEK in gift cards !!! And we each get a free cruise on Carnival from Tropicana plus tons of other gifts and free play.

 

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Hello, first time cruiser here. We are wanting to shop in Cozumel and go to a beach club. Do you have any suggestions on were to find good priced shops outside the Carnival port? Also, we were thinking about going to Mr. Sanchos or Nachi Cocom, which do you like better?

Been to both Nachi and Mr Sanchos multiple times each. My opinion if you like very quiet almost too quiet Nachi is your place. If you like good food Mr Sanchos is 1000% better but the whole place is more upbeat. For us Mr Sanchos is the clear winner

 

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They definitely seem to have changed the "bounce-back" offers now. It used to be "free" - just pay the port taxes. Now (at least in the offer I received on Glory a few weeks back) was $100 for an interior cabin plust $100 obc on 2 to 5 day cruises, or $200 for an interior cabin plus $100 obc. I did use the offer and (always) upgrade to a balcony, but it definitely isn't "free" anymore.

Our offer was inside for $100 and $100 OBC or $200 for oceanview with $200 OBC. We booked a big corner 4J to try it for basically free. They don't offer cash much anymore.I remember days of $800 waiting for me at the cage

 

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19000 will get you invited to the Premier Cruises which offer cruises at a reduced rate, and of course the free drink card! If you hit the 19000 on a Premier cruise, then you'll be invited to their fall and spring ultra cruise, along with the Premier cruises!:cool:

We've had offers for premier cruises many times but the dates didn't work for us and we don't like busy casinos and with the whole ship being gamblers it's tough to get machines you like as well

 

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If I already sent a request threw the Players Club email form and have not yet received a reply ( only been 4 days) is it worth it to contact the casino threw this email? Sailings not until May.

Thanks Matt

It took me about a week to hear back.

 

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