Tazstravelgirl

A little background

I’ve never written a cruise review but I have over one hundred reviews on another site for most of our land travels. I thought I’d give this a go.

This was our 8th Carnival Cruise, booked EarlySaver 511 days out. We booked it primarily for the features of the still-being-built Vista after we sailed the Breeze back in 2014. We rationalized splurging for a balcony stateroom by choosing the 6-day itinerary over the 8 day.

Cruising this time, was my husband and I, both in our forties…him a little further along than me. Our kiddos are both in college now and will be cruising with us this summer on the Magic. Our Cruise was a 6 Night Western Caribbean out of Miami.

Price Drop?

I am a compulsive price checker and have benefitted literally from hundreds of dollars in price drops in our previous cruises. With the Vista still a work in progress, I did not expect to see much in the way of price drops amid the excitement and I was correct. Not a single reduction in price in 511 days, however we were very pleased with the price we paid for abalcony on a new ship.

Stay or Go?

As I researched the Vista and discovered all the activities, venues and restaurants it offered, I realized that it would be difficult to experience it all with only two sea days. We’ve never stayed on the ship on aport day of any of our previous cruises but we decided not to plan any excursions this time. For the first time we were cruising for the ship. We briefly got off the ship at all three ports; Ocho Rios, Grand Cayman, and Cozumel for a walk about and souvenirs and then got back on to enjoy the sparsely populated ship. No lines at the food venues. Deck chairs for days. Very relaxing.

The ship

It seems a lot has been made of the décor of the Vista. Personally, I found it very tasteful and while there are lots of browns and beiges, there are pops of color everywhere. I loved the funnels and enjoyed that there was much more seating in the atrium areas.

I did notice the cabins were a bit smaller but for the two of us, it was a non-issue. I believe the shower has shrunk a bit too.

We never waited in line for the Punchliner Comedy Show. It seemed the later the show, the less crowded the venue.

I will say the only space that is a problem is the Liquid Lounge, which serves as the theater and the nightclub. We sat in seats on the lower level for a show and you could barely see the stage. Then we moved up to the balcony but there were a lot of dead spots because of the pillars. Also, there is a second small stage that the performers use in the center of the floor. From the balcony, it was difficult to see what was happening on that stage.

Serenity

The area is very nice and we did snag a clamshell up there on a port day. The only problem with that is there is only bar service/lunch options available on sea days. To run and get drinks or food from Lido is actually pretty far. Our room was on deck 8 aft so it was quite a haul from there if you needed to “run” back to the room for anything. After that one day, we didn’t go back to Serenity.

Deck chairs

I’m a red head with just slightly more than zero pigment. I had a run in with melanoma a few years back so when it comes to the sun, I just can’t play. I take all the necessary precautions – SPF 5000, wide brimmed hat, a swim shirt, but what I really need is shade. It appears most cruisers prefer the opposite and the deck chairs in the sun were most sought after. On the first sea day I was able to get us chairs on 11 aft, right beside the doors that open to the elevators. A few of those chairs are along the vents and really can’t be used, but the ones closer to the door provided shade for us for nearly the whole day from the overhang above. Even on port days when we could have our choice of seats, we preferred to go back to 11 aft. A couple of times we even had bar waiter service up there.

Of course there was plenty of chair hogging going on and on sea days especially, you could see folks getting frustrated.

Pixels

The new Pixels section of the ship is technologically amazing. So fun to look at your pics on one of the large pillar screens. No more fighting to find your photos, especially since you can see them from your room television or your fun hub app on your phone.

What we did

Casino – we visited for a while each evening. Unfortunately, we didn’t win or we didn’t stop before we lost. It can be very smoky in the casino.

Shows – we saw both Flick and another one about disco music (sorry, I can’t remember the name). I am sorry to say that I didn’t care for either. The performers were talented but I didn’t find either show engaging. But that is just my opinion.

Punchliner Comedy – We saw three shows. One family friendly and two adult. One comedian was better than the other but they both made me laugh.

Dive in Movies – this is one of my favorite things to do on a ship. We saw Dr. Strange and it was awesome. There were a couple of nights that were too windy or we had already seen the movies. Hubby wanted to see one of the movies on the Romance themed night but they were both tear jerkers and I AM that girl. I would have been sobbing away there on a deck chair in the middle of the ocean. Who wants to do that????

Walked – I did my best to keep moving when I wasn’t stuffing my face or holding down a barstool! We used the Sky Track a few mornings and only used the elevators on elegant nights when I was wearing heels. By day two my calves felt like tree trunks from all those stinking steps!

On Demand Movie – one night we just didn’t feel like doing much so we went back to the room, settled in and enjoyed a free movie OnDemand. I felt like maybe I should feel guilty but it was a perfect way to end the day.

Name That Song Trivia with Matt – We caught this in the atrium and it was tons of fun. There were people lined up on all three levels of the atrium to watch and it really was more of a show for everyone than a game for the few people who were actually playing with score sheets at the bar.See it if you can!

Cruise naps – Honestly, there isn’t anything much better than a cruise nap. Most days we took in all the shade we could handle and headed back to the room to sleep off the bazillion calories of food and booze we’d consumed. You know, to be refreshed to do it all again at dinnertime.

Atrium bar – For some reason, the atrium bar is one of my favorite places to sit and have a drink.

Liquid Lounge – Hard to admit it, but my babe and me hit the club one night. It really was so much fun. I don’t think anyone even cared that we are old and dance terribly, especially not the vodka.

Sky Ride – So glad we made the time to do this. It’s worth the wait in line and the views are amazing. Be warned though, it’s not an easy pedal around. Each track has an up slope and you really have to muscle through it. Saw some of the kids really struggling and getting stuck.

What we ate

Pig & Anchor BBQ – This may be my favorite thing I ate all cruise. The pulled pork and the baked beans were amazing. And the Carolina Sauce!!!! I may have to book another cruise just to have it.

Dining Room – we ate all of our dinners in the Reflections Dining Room at the 6 p.m. seating. Our table mates (another two top literally 4 inches beside us) were very enjoyable. Service was good but we didn’t get to chat with the staff as much as we have in the past. They were very busy. An odd thing happened our first night. We were escorted to our table and it was already occupied. Apparently the couple sitting in our seats had accidentally been reassigned to our two top table after they had requested to be moved from the large table they were assigned to. So after a few moments of awkward fumbling by the maitre’d, we were given the choice between a new two top or asking the couple to move. Ummm…let’s see…can you imagine making someone get up from their seat when they’ve already ordered food??? Me either. So we sat outside of our assigned section on night one and moved back to our correct seats for the remainder of the cruise.

Most food in the dining room was good.

We had made a plan to book either the Cucina or JiJi’s for dinner on nights that maybe the dining room menu didn’t appeal to us much. We tried to make a reservation one afternoon for that evening and the only thing left was an 8:30 reservation. We had plans already so we declined. The more I thought about it though; I realized that I can go to an Italian or Asian restaurant anytime I want at home. Heck, I WORK in an Italian restaurant. I’m there all the time! We were really enjoying the company of our tablemates and the service in the dining room. Assigned dining is what’s unique about cruising. Turns out our dinner that night was delicious, too.

Blue Iguana Cantina – I am in love with the breakfast burritos. I did not get anything else from there though.

Pizza – liked it

JiJi’s Asian (for lunch) – it was okay, nothing really special. However, it was nice to come in and sit down instead of waiting in aline to choose your food.

Guy’s Burgers – what’s to say? They’re amazing. I like the Straight up and I add bacon at the burger bar. Then I use the chipotle mayo to dip my fries in.

Room service – Hubby and I have a tradition of late night room service. Particularly, the BLT sandwiches. As if we need one more thing to eat. This time we discovered the grilled cheese sandwich on the last night. O.M.G. That was one special sandwich…and I really wish I could have one right now!

Late night snacks – I was disappointed in what was available for late night snacks, located at the deli. I kind of missed the days of hotdogs, burgers, nachos, fries and nuggets.

What we drank

To Cheers or not? – we seriously considered purchasing the Cheers program for this cruise. We’ve just started enjoying all-inclusive vacations and have up’d our drinking game a bit (that really shouldn’t be something I’m proud of). And since we had no kids with us and we weren’t porting at all, it was the perfect chance to see it if it would benefit us. In the end we decided not to purchase it and even if we came close to spending $600 in drinks we wouldn’t be losing out on anything. It’s a good thing we didn’t. As much damage as I tried to do we ended up spending a little over $300 in alcohol for the cruise (again, I should not be proud of this). It turns out I can only hang for so many days.

Double shot for $3 – if you have a favorite liquor you drink with a mixer, this is a great deal. My Absolut sea breeze ended up costing $9.95 with the double shot.

Me and the Mai Tai – since I began cruising, the Mai Tai has been my favorite drink. And believe me, it’s taught me my lesson for trying to drink 3 in one night. Carnival has changed its Mai Tai recipe since our last cruise and it now uses a name brand Mai Tai mixer from a bottle. I don’t like it as well, but jeez, you’d be hard pressed to find a stronger drink anywhere. I literally had to take a Mai Tai nap one afternoon after enjoying Mai Tai number two in my deck chair.

What happened to the DOD??? I noticed that no “Drink of the Day“ was ever listed in the FunTimes and there were no signs at the bars. Have they gone away? I still ordered a Funship Special as my first drink at the bar but it wasn’t advertised like it used to be.

Where have all the bar waiters gone? Like others have said in reviews, there are not nearly as many waiters on the decks or in the venues as I remember in my previous cruises. At peak times I did have to wait a littlelonger at the bars but the bartenders were still great and were doing the best they could to keep up.

Debarkation

We had a 12:15 flight out of Fort Lauderdale to go home. We knew we’d have to get off the ship quickly and chose Self Assist. Deck 8 was scheduled to be released at 8:30 a.m. That might be pushing it if our transportwas delayed but we figured we’d see how it went. Turns out that shortly after 7a.m. the cruise director gave an open 15-minute window for any self-assist passengers to exit the ship. We hurried up to get out of the cabin and make our way to deck three. It was a bit of a struggle to get down there quickly with the elevators and our huge bags. But we were off the ship in no time at all, even though we missed breakfast. We ended up at the airport 4 hours early, which is better than fretting about missing your flight.

Final thoughts

I think after 7 cruises, we’re over the hubbub of everything that goes on on the ship and have learned to enjoy doing what we feel like doing, when we feel like doing it. We still feel cruising Carnival is a great value.The staff of this ship was wonderful. We had a great time, talked to a lot of great people, drank and ate our fill, and shook our groove thangs. More importantly, my husband and I got to spend a whole week together without a care in the world. Here’s to cruising! :cool:

We've booked flights from FLL for Miami cruises as early as 11:15 as well as 11:45, and never had issues making the flights. We always reserved transportation with SAS (ridesas dot com) and took advantage of Self-Assist to debark the ship early enough.

Perfect! We also use SAS and I figured we'd be okay but I wa a little hesitant after we almost missed a flight home from Galveston because it took FOREVER to get thru customs. It's the first time we've ever had to wait but it was stressful. Thank you!

Sorry...I know a ton of people ask these questions.

We will debark the Vista in Miami and would love to book a direct flight home from FLL at 12:15p.m. Is that enough time to get off the ship and transported to the airport?

Not knowing the port. But my guess is the early time may also have something to do with time difference between ship and port. There are some that don't observe daylight savings and the US changed theirs a few years back so it doesn't match with some foreign ports for a week or two.

The port is Costa Maya. I believe they do observe daylight savings.

My Vista cruise in February will be my first time selecting a time slot to check-in at the terminal. Just curious to know how early we can/should check in online to select a time. I know the slots are capacity controlled...didn't know if there's now a mad dash to get the early times.

We have a 7 a.m. - 2 p.m. port time on the Magic. Will there be someplace open for breakfast before we head off the ship for our excursion? On all of my 7 cruises, I don't think I've been awake that early:eek:

I guess room service is always an option.

Just to clarify... If I have a 7am - 2pm port with my ship departing from the East Coast, what time can I actually get the transportation to Maya Chan? (Specifically, what time do they start transportation? And I assume that would be an hour behind ship time?). Trying decide if it will be worth it for the early port time. I have a reservation on hold. Thanks in advance!

Yeah, I didn't think about seasonally high hotel rates when I booked my really great cruise fare 😕.

Still, I don't trust Ohio weather or the airlines enough to fly in the day of the cruise. Guess I'll just keep my eye out for a good deal and snag it up when I see it.

I was actually pricing hotels for our February 2017 cruise but rates aren't posted yet so I used February 2016 to search. Hotel prices are REALLY high across major brands. $250/night for Sleep Inn. I've stayed at that hotel before for less than $100/night.

Does anyone know if there is some kind of annual event going on that weekend or another reason the rates would be so high?

Thanks!

FINALLY got one booked! Only 509 days to go! Ready for Vista!

Going on a girls cruise and I'm looking to make a beach day out of our stop in Nassau. Frankly, I've read too many poor reviews and vague threads trying to find what I want so I'm just going to ask for exactly what I'm looking for in a beach and see if I hit pay dirt:

1. Chair and umbrella rental (ginger, melanoma...you get the point)

2. Bar or bar service on site

3. Clear, calm water that I can maybe snorkel on my own if I feel like it. (Think Half Moon Cay or Roatan...where you just want to stay in the water all day between cocktails and applications of SPF 75)

4. Won't break the bank

5. Safe and clean

6. And a little bit of natural beauty.

What I really want is a Corona commercial. Will I find it in Nassau?

We just booked the Glory during the "Flash" Sale.

Did not let us book "on-line" with kids in one cabin(age 13/17).

 

So we called Carnival, did the whole thing over the phone.

He said it's no problem,they could be up to three state rooms away.

 

We booked Balcony and kids in an inside stateroom directly across the hall.

 

No playing "musical S&S cards".

Okay. I've found the info you posted here on the Carnival site now. I will call Carnival and ask them to switch our rooms prior to the cruise but I'm curious as to why the agent had to book us that way if my kids are old enough to be two doors down. Thanks everyone for the help!

We have been more than 3-4 cabins away from our now 18 and 13 year old no problem. Just have them switched when you get onboard. IME they don't really care where you sleep. Nephew has even bunked with them a few times without even being booked in the room.

Thanks. I just wish they'd allow me to make the switch before the cruise. Also don't want to have to play musical S&S cards if we just switched on our own.

Can't find a recent thread for this. My family of four is cruising next month. Kids, ages 17 and 19, are booked so that hubby and I are in separate cabins two doors down from one another. Will GS give us grief switching rooms on embarkation? Found an older post that says 2 doors down is okay but Carnival's website says minors must stay directly next door or across the hall from parents. Which makes sense since we booked at Future Cruise Desk and a Carnival employee did the booking. A little help please?:confused:

We have been to Paradise Beach 2x. It is very quiet early on, then gets busy by mid day. You can still get service and a place to lounge. We prefer to hang out at their awesome pool. We plan on returning in March.:)

Thank you!

Do you mean Paradise Beach? Yes it'll be crowded if there are lots of ships in port. But for teens looking for activities, Paradise Beach or Mr Sanchos are good choices, similar amenities. Mr Sanchos does have an AI package that'll help avoid crowds.

 

I did mean Paradise Beach. Thanks!

We've been to Nachi Cocum twice and have enjoyed the quiet atmosphere. This cruise we are taking our 19 and 17 year old teens and I'm thinking they'd probably like something a little more lively with more activities. My question though, is it really crowded or can my husband and I still sit on the beach under an umbrella and enjoy a relaxing day?

Thanks for your input :)

Yes, $100 for the cabin. I think I'll challenge myself with a little self control and pass on the balcony for now. We're seldom in our room anyway and I enjoy being close to lido. But I'll be watching prices daily. I think I drive hubby a little crazy with my compulsion for always getting the best deal. Not a good deal...THE best deal. :o

Just had a third price drop on our Breeze cruise. Coming along nicely on OBC. Should I keep my 4F interior on deck 8 aft and see how low we can go or upgrade to a cove balcony for only $100. Also, just booked an expensive all inclusive land vacation. So I'm torn. Any help???

Mai Tai!!! My fave.

Just wondered since you had driven to Charleston. Thought you might be in SC or NC. I'm sure flights are less going to Miami then Orlando to Port Canaveral.

I would do The Glory. Those ports are amazing and things to keep the price down when traveling with a family.

Yes, flights are less expensive to Miami. Hopefully we can come across a great deal for the five of us. Now that I've seriously thought about visiting those ports again I'm getting pretty excited about the Glory. Can't wait to book!

The 7 Day on Glory sounds like a winner to me!

HMC is a wonderful beach and we always enjoy St. Thomas! :)

LuLu

I think I am leaning that way. This was the itinerary I took on my first cruise. I love all these stops.

Of course, I get to have my cake and eat it too. My husband and I are sailing the Breeze for our anniversary in October.

The Liberty is a great ship and leaves from Port Canaveral. Is that close enough to drive? It's also had the 2.0 upgrades.

Could drive from Ohio but definitely choose not too!:D

Thanks for the review! I am considering this cruise so it is helpful. Can you tell me the name of your tour operator in SJ? Did you get to make any stops to explore on foot (at forts, etc.)?

Glad you had a great time!

Who can help me? Hubby and I took kids (16, 18) and my mother on their first cruise last summer. We drove to Charleston and cruised the Fantasy to HMC, Nassau & GT. Of course they loved it and want to go again so I am trying to narrow down some choices for next May.

Our choices are Glory 7 day Eastern Caribbean - HMC, St Thomas, SJ, and GT.

or

Breeze 6 day Western - Falmouth, Cozumel, Grand Cayman

Both sail out of Miami. Breeze is a little cheaper. Comes down to ship versus itinerary. Should I try to wow them with all the Breeze has to offer or take them to two islands they'd love to visit again with two bonus stops? My kids literally had the best day of their life at HMC. Considering they've been only on Fantasy, the Glory may Wow anyway with its 2.0 upgrades.

What do you think???