Carnival Vista

Hello, Just back from our 8 day sailing on Carnival Vista.

We have always sailed with Royal and love their Oasis Class ships, but we were getting tired of the same Itinerary. We wanted to sail the Southern Caribbean on a newer ship and the Vista looked amazing. So we booked it for our final March break cruise with our kids, as the oldest is going to college next year.

We booked Havana Extended Aft cabin 7467 and booked the kids in a Havana Inside cabin 7457. The Havana area is Awesome! We loved our Aft cabin. It was dead centre on the aft and the view was amazing, the cabin was very spacious inside. Our Cabin Steward was fantastic. Our kids inside cabin was much smaller and the HVAC unit was very loud in their cabin.

It took us a few days to get familiar with the layout because we found it very confusing having to go up one deck across then back down again to get to certain venues. Once we were familiar with the layout we really enjoyed the ship. We really enjoyed all the outdoor spaces and all the live music in so many of the venues.

Flick and America Rocks were fantastic! We got there early and had front row seats for both shows. Matt was the best CD we have ever encountered on a cruise ship. Cheeky Charlie and Richie Rich were also great! These three people make the Vista a very fun experience! I can see why they call Carnival the Fun Ships.

Our biggest disappointment was the crowding and the lines. There were lines for everything and not enough staff. Two times at night we tried to get pizza and the line was horrendous, with only one person making and serving the pizza. We gave up after standing for 20 minutes in a line that didn't move. The bars did not have enough bartenders. The line for breakfast on Lido was huge. Lines to get on and off the ship seemed to take forever.

The other major disappointment were all of the delays. We were late boarding on embarkation day, I think due to the fact they still only have one gangway functional in Miami.

We were late getting to Grand Turk. Then when we were finally ready to get off the ship, another ship was coming in so they had to close the gangway until they were safely docked. There were literally thousands of people waiting for over an hour in the hallways on deck one. It became very hot. We had very little time in Grand Turk and we didn't want to get stuck in the big line to get back on. So we went back on the ship after only spending 2 hours on the beach.

We were one hour late getting into Curacao, but the Captain made it up to us by letting us stay one hour longer in Aruba.

Getting back on the ship in Aruba their computer systems went down and we were stuck in yet another hot line (or should I say cluster of people pushing and shoving) for well over an hour.

The internet did not work for several days, and man did I have some cranky teenagers on my hands. When they fixed the Wifi, the speed was great and everyone was happy again.

We really liked the food options for lunch on Carnival. Guy's burgers were fantastic! Jiji's Asian Kitchen was also fantastic! Seafood Shack was excellent and inexpensive. We loved having Brunch on Sea days. (Wish Royal would offer this)

Food in the main dining room in the evening was similar to Royal's quality. But we thought Carnivals breakfast buffet options were lacking.

Carnival had better quality desserts, and the cakes on Lido in the afternoon were fantastic.

We did venture out of the Havana area a couple of times to go to the main pool area but it was crowded and loud. Did I say how much we LOVED the Havana area. There were always loungers available in the sun or shade. Hot tubs were perfect temperature and there was never many people in the pool or hot tub. Easy access to our rooms on deck 7, there is a staircase by the Havana Bar. So just up the stairs were our rooms.

We preferred the Vista over Royal Caribbean's older ships but it doesn't even come close to comparing to the Oasis, Allure or the Harmony, IMO. I would sail Vista or Horizon again but only if I had the Havana area.

All & all we had a great trip with a great itinerary!

Glad you had a great time. I really would like to try the Havana rooms. Have heard great things.

Tried my first carnival ship last week. Loved the experience but hated the lines! Thought maybe that was just the older ship layout and design. Hmmm. Sounds like that may not be the case. We waited 35 minutes for a really great pizza but I thought that was crazy. Waits at bars, always at the buffet. But overall a good time!

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Thanks for your review! I leave for an 8 day on the Vista this Saturday and really wish I had booked Havana, at the time of booking I had no idea that you got perks in Havana so I didn't bother! Lol

Did the Allure last year and loved it. It was so spacious there were times you forgot you were on a boat. We're going in two weeks on Vista (for the itinerary) in our first cove balcony and are super excited! Can't wait! We were going to do Harmony of the Seas this year but it goes to all of the same places Allure did :-( Downside of being a huge ship I suppose.

Thanks for your review!

We were on the same sailing.

Things we liked:

- itinerary

- guys burgers

- mongolian wok

- sandwich bar

- evening music

- mexican restaurant

- bbq restaurant

- adults only serenity

- comedy shows

- Matt best CD

Things we didn't care for

- cabin service only 1x daily

- slow dining room service and boring menu

- long waits at times at buffet and other places

- theater shows were lame

- theater has a horrible lay out

- hub not working and ship computer system often down so staff had to manually charge everyone

- poor communication around delays boarding, delays in ports, etc.

- cabin was so loud with music from nearby bar until 2am

Thanks for your review! I leave for an 8 day on the Vista this Saturday and really wish I had booked Havana, at the time of booking I had no idea that you got perks in Havana so I didn't bother! Lol

You will have a great time! The serenity area looked really nice too if you want a quiet area to relax. You just need to be there early for a good spot.

OP, I was also on the same sailing, as a very very first time cruiser...review to come ... to be fair to Carnival and a few of the delays though....embarkation was delayed by homeland security not clearing the ship quick enough...there is no way Carnival Corp. created it, or wanted 1000 emails about missed flights etc.. another delay was caused by 20-25 foot swells all night, and a significant 50kt headwind. Completely beyond the ships control...arriving on a floating ship an hour late beats the alternatives of pushing through the waves at speed imho. Another delay was caused by passengers casually walking up to the gangplank 30-45 minutes late, not sure if this was a Carnival excursion issue or plain passenger rudeness, but it put the ship behind. Glad the trip went well, as did mine!

Thanks for the review.

Thanks for the review. You say the WiFi speed was great when it was working. Any details on that? Pages loaded fast? Did you try streaming audio or video? That’s a new WiFi system that is only on vista and horizon right now.

Thanks for the review. You say the WiFi speed was great when it was working. Any details on that? Pages loaded fast? Did you try streaming audio or video? That’s a new WiFi system that is only on vista and horizon right now.

Our kids had the social plan ($4/day) and they did live streaming. I think on Instagram or Snap Chat. It worked perfectly for them when it was working. We had the second package ($10 day), although we didn't do any live streaming it worked perfect when it was fixed.

Our kids had the social plan ($4/day) and they did live streaming. I think on Instagram or Snap Chat. It worked perfectly for them when it was working. We had the second package ($10 day), although we didn't do any live streaming it worked perfect when it was fixed.

Thanks! Hopefully it gets more stable as time goes on. They just installed it last month.

I was on the Vista the same time as you! You’re Review is absolutely SPOT on. We had a great cruise. We also usually cruise Royal Ships. All and the issues you stated didn’t ruin our Vacation. We are just kind of roll with it kind of people. I do think these are some things that absolutely need to be addressed by Carnival. Matt & Cheeky Charlie and Richie Rich are a wonderful team and really get the party started.

THANK YOU!!!

We will be in the same cabin in April!

THANK YOU!!!

 

We will be in the same cabin in April!

You will love it! Best cabin on the ship. IMO

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