Vista thoughts. Open Q and A. 12/17-12/24

Back to the salt mines and already wishing I was on another cruise. The 12/17 thru 12/24 Vista sailing was a great adventure. I want to give some input for others in the planning/dreaming phase. I will do that with this post. I won't do a full review, but I plan to do short reports about things that left an impression on me and my family.

Brief bio. We are from a large Midwestern metro area. Two adults and two teenage boys. This was my 10th cruise. 8 on Carnival. 1 on Disney. 1 on NCL. We like Carnival. Quality and value are good. We don't come to gamble or party hard. More to get away, relax and experience life away from our little corner of the woods. My wife is the planner and I give all the credit to her for the great trips we've had. She's got it down and we seem to get pretty good cruises for a very good price. We've had interior, ocean view, balcony and steerage. Well, not really the last one. Just felt like it (first cruise on an older NCL ship with cabin just below night club).

That being said, I will add to this shortly. In the meantime, if anyone has questions about Vista (or Dream, Breeze, Libert or Sunshine) I will do my best to offer an honest answer.

More to come...

Thank you so much for this great review. I'm looking forward to it! I will be sailing aboard the Vista in April and July!

Looking forward to your review

First impressions.

Faster to the Fun has been our "go to" for the last few cruises. We arrived at the port at 10:45 AM dropped off the large bags, went through security and waited about 20 more minutes before we were called.

Entering the ship on deck 3 you are immediately drawn to the massive video screen/sculpture that is the centerpiece of the lobby and circle shaped bar. It's pretty cool. The screen changes from time to time. The underwater theme was my favorite. At other times is snowed or showed cool designs.

The sculpture is three stories high and quite impressive. But, due to design elements (theatre and IMAX), the atrium ends at the third story. No glass elevators. The 3rd through 5th floors encircle the lobby. It feels like a very upscale mall really. Stairs go between floors. It looks pretty cool.

It's a matter of taste really, but I prefer the Dream class lobby with th soaring atrium, hanging sculptures and glass elevators. It just looks more grand. To me anyhow. That being said the Vista is unique and very cool.

By the way, we did not partake in either theatre experiences located on deck 6. We were too busy doing other things. We did watch a few Dive In movies on the Lido. Can't beat at a movie at sea. Unless it rains! Which it did one night for about 15 minutes. Right at end of Avengers Civil War. Don't tell me how it ends.

The movie nights are pretty popular. Lounge chairs get filled up as do the prime easy chairs and other seating on deck 11 and 12. Blankets are available as is free popcorn. Lido buffet, ice cream cones, pizza and deli sandwiches are all steps away, but close as the night goes on. Pizza is 24 hours and lines can be 10 or 15 minutes at times.

More to come....

Can't wait for the rest of your review.

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Thanks for sharing your thoughts with us.

I think I will miss the glass elevators and I my sister only rides ones with glass. She will be walking a lot!

Thanks for the feedback.

We did watch a few Dive In movies on the Lido. Can't beat at a movie at sea. Unless it rains! Which it did one night for about 15 minutes. Right at end of Avengers Civil War. Don't tell me how it ends.

 

Surprises me as I have not ever seen it crowded for the movies.

 

do you have a list of movies playing during your week

Crew Thoughts.

I have nothing but good things to say about the crew. I can't remember even one crew member who didn't smile or respond in a friendly way. We had early dining in the MDR. Our waiters were very nice. But beverage/bar personnel were somewhat scarce the first few nights. That got better.

Room steward was super. Budi addressed is by.

name. Always pleasant and smiling. Did everything we asked, though our needs were few. He was like a cleaning Ninja in that he would make our cabin look great in mere minutes; even after we had done our vacation best to let things go. In all respects.

Front desk personnel were professional and polite. That is one job I would not want on a cruise ship. While I was waiting in line, I listened to what others were talking about. It's almost nonstop complaining about this or that. Some things were really minor. I witnessed some guests being pretty rude to the employees. That's sad. I can understand if something major went wrong, like your luggage is completely missing. But if something minor is the problem, such as your bottle of Fireball that you pre ordered wasn't delivered to the cabin on the first night, that hardly warrants getting testy.

We had Faster to the Fun and that gave us the privilege of going into the priority lane at guest services. That was nice. There were long lines on the first night at guest services. We had trouble with our keys working but then not working the next time. Eventually it got worked out between the front desk and the IT department. Minor problem. Handled well. Moving on.

Bar staff, food service staff on the Lido, security on port days, really everyone...was super nice and friendly. Thanks Carnival!!

We did watch a few Dive In movies on the Lido. Can't beat at a movie at sea. Unless it rains! Which it did one night for about 15 minutes. Right at end of Avengers Civil War. Don't tell me how it ends.

 

Surprises me as I have not ever seen it crowded for the movies.

 

do you have a list of movies playing during your week

 

 

The movie nights were themed. Animated night: Finding Dory and Rruth about Pets. Marvel night: Age of Ultron and Captain America Civil War. Sci Fi night: The Martian is all I recall from that night. Comedy: Ghostbusters and another I don't recall.

 

It's not really "crowded" but there are not many great seats. Being in the center is ideal. The comfy easy chairs are on deck 11 and 12. Those are hard to get if you arrive late.

Was there a deck party? I love them.

Was there a deck party? I love them.

2 on the Lido. I did not partake but my 17 y.o. did. I passed by and Matt the cruise director was very good from what I saw. Very good live music at one of them. People look to be enjoying themselves.

Thanks for your feedback.

Thanks for the review and Q&A. 16 days til we're on board.

So some questions, mostly about crowds for which I've seen some negative complaints on US-Caribbean cruises that weren't on Med cruises:

Havana Bar? Crowded at night?

Same with Alchemy?

Dinner reservations at JiJis once on board, easy to get? Waiting?

Serenity deck, chair hogs?

Serenity deck, salad bar, good, okay?

The bicycle thingie around the ship, lines? Wait times?

Rope Course?

Smoke level when walking through casino?

Anything that you thought was a must do? Would not do again if they gave you the winning powerball ticket?:eek:

Thanks and Welcome back tot he wonderful world of work:D

Thanks for the review and Q&A. 16 days til we're on board.

 

So some questions, mostly about crowds for which I've seen some negative complaints on US-Caribbean cruises that weren't on Med cruises:

 

Answer. Our guest count was the record. It was a full ship. Crowds were not a big problem though. We did the comedy club one night for the all ages. Got there 15 minutes early and walked right in.

 

Havana Bar? Crowded at night?

 

Answer. Not crowded. I was there twice after dinner and there were only a few people. Great space though. Decor is great. Band was very good. Hardly anyone outside after sunset.

 

Same with Alchemy? Answer. Never went. Did not notice a crowd.

 

Dinner reservations at JiJis once on board, easy to get? Waiting? Answer. We made reservations the night before for Jiji. We ended up canceling though and had dinner in the MDR. 555 Steakhouse looked busy the times I walked by. Just make sure you reserve early in the cruise for 555, Jiji or Capitano. You can always cancel. That way you get what you want. Even if you decide late and there are no reservations available, I was told to try last minute as well since people do cancel. But if you want to make sure you get in reserve early.

 

Serenity deck, chair hogs? Answer. On a sea day could be. It was closed on at least one seamday due to high wind. Early in the morning no one is there. High time is noonish and on.

 

Serenity deck, salad bar, good, okay? Answer. Looked pretty good. Drew a small line.

 

The bicycle thingie around the ship, lines? Wait times? Answer. My kids did that on day one. That was the only time. It was closed twice due to wind. I think the lines were long. Lots of kids on board. Holiday cruise had lots of kids.

 

Rope Course? See above.

 

Smoke level when walking through casino? Answer. This was noticeable, but not like a cloud of smoke. More smoke at busy times.

 

Anything that you thought was a must do? Answer. You should seriously consider the shows and live music. They were top notch. The singers in the shows were fantastic. All of the performers were quite good. I suppose that could change if someone leaves the ship p, but on our cruise the performances, musicians and the productions were really good. I had expected less and was pleasantly surprised. As with all things in the performing arts people will not all agree. My wife did not care for Flick, an original show for Carnival, but I thought the music and voices were great. They basically do scenes from a movie with dancers while a singer or two do the big song from the show.

 

Would not do again if they gave you the winning powerball ticket?:eek: Answer. We did not book a shore excursion in Grand Turk. So we were stuck with the beach or Margaritaville as we could find no private operators to take us out snorkeling. That was a bummer since the Magic was also in port and the crowds were too much for me. Key wife and kids made do but I went back on ship to relax. Just bad luck having two big ships in port that day. The original schedule was to be there earlier in the week, but the captain flipped the ports around to avoid bad weather.

 

 

 

 

Thanks and Welcome back tot he wonderful world of work:D

I answered the questions in the body of the quote above. Sorry if that I saw confusing. See above.

Overall we liked this cruise a lot. Vista is a fine ship. It has some imperfections, but they all do. You will enjoy your cruise if you remember that, A cruise is what you make it. Everything you need is there, just keep an open mind and be ready to change plans if something does not work out. I let the crowds and lack of excursions bother me at Grand Turk. Should have had a drink from a blender and gone with the flow.

Originally Posted by crewsweeper View Post

Thanks for the review and Q&A. 16 days til we're on board.

So some questions, mostly about crowds for which I've seen some negative complaints on US-Caribbean cruises that weren't on Med cruises:

Answer. Our guest count was the record. It was a full ship. Crowds were not a big problem though. We did the comedy club one night for the all ages. Got there 15 minutes early and walked right in.

Havana Bar? Crowded at night?

Answer. Not crowded. I was there twice after dinner and there were only a few people. Great space though. Decor is great. Band was very good. Hardly anyone outside after sunset.

Same with Alchemy? Answer. Never went. Did not notice a crowd.

Dinner reservations at JiJis once on board, easy to get? Waiting? Answer. We made reservations the night before for Jiji. We ended up canceling though and had dinner in the MDR. 555 Steakhouse looked busy the times I walked by. Just make sure you reserve early in the cruise for 555, Jiji or Capitano. You can always cancel. That way you get what you want. Even if you decide late and there are no reservations available, I was told to try last minute as well since people do cancel. But if you want to make sure you get in reserve early.

Serenity deck, chair hogs? Answer. On a sea day could be. It was closed on at least one seamday due to high wind. Early in the morning no one is there. High time is noonish and on.

Serenity deck, salad bar, good, okay? Answer. Looked pretty good. Drew a small line.

The bicycle thingie around the ship, lines? Wait times? Answer. My kids did that on day one. That was the only time. It was closed twice due to wind. I think the lines were long. Lots of kids on board. Holiday cruise had lots of kids.

Rope Course? See above.

Smoke level when walking through casino? Answer. This was noticeable, but not like a cloud of smoke. More smoke at busy times.

Anything that you thought was a must do? Answer. You should seriously consider the shows and live music. They were top notch. The singers in the shows were fantastic. All of the performers were quite good. I suppose that could change if someone leaves the ship p, but on our cruise the performances, musicians and the productions were really good. I had expected less and was pleasantly surprised. As with all things in the performing arts people will not all agree. My wife did not care for Flick, an original show for Carnival, but I thought the music and voices were great. They basically do scenes from a movie with dancers while a singer or two do the big song from the show.

Would not do again if they gave you the winning powerball ticket? Answer. We did not book a shore excursion in Grand Turk. So we were stuck with the beach or Margaritaville as we could find no private operators to take us out snorkeling. That was a bummer since the Magic was also in port and the crowds were too much for me. Key wife and kids made do but I went back on ship to relax. Just bad luck having two big ships in port that day. The original schedule was to be there earlier in the week, but the captain flipped the ports around to avoid bad weather.

Thanks and Welcome back tot he wonderful world of work

Bad weather caused a change in the itinerary. We learned that by a note in the mailbox on night 1. That was a disappointment, but it was easy to get over. I had the internet package (middle one) and looked up some weather and sea reports. High winds and seas were in the path of our original scheduled course.

So they shuffled the ports and took us out to sea for 2 days. Then St. Maarten, San Juan and finally Grand Turk. One sea day then back to Miami.

It upset some, but I think most people were happy to not get wind and rain on port days. Now the first 2 sea days were pretty windy and there were some 12 foot waves and higher. That according to the weather sites online. The apparent winds were 40 plus knots and that's pretty windy. The Vista handled it well and hardly anyone I talked to was ill. Saw a lot of the patches behind the ear. My wife took some motion sickness pills as a precaution, but was fine. The motion made for great sleeping!!

The ship is very stable and the motion is pretty well controlled by stabilizers so you can hardly tell. I felt it a bit when looking out the windows on deck 4 as the visual of the sea through a porthole makes me more queasy than the motion. So no lower deck portholes for me! Outside on the Lido or Sports deck the view did not bother me. But it was really really windy. Like one strong constant wind. You could almost lean into it and be held up by the winds. By the time we got to St Maarten the seas had calmed and the winds were light. A short rainstorm in the mid afternoon passed by in about 10 minutes and left us with a gorgeous rainbow over the mountains near Phillipsburgh.

The captain made the right choice. We fared well and had great weather on all the port days. And of course we had lots of fun on the sea days enjoying the ship's amenities.

Next up, the Spa.

I answered the questions in the body of the quote above. Sorry if that I saw confusing. See above.

 

Overall we liked this cruise a lot. Vista is a fine ship. It has some imperfections, but they all do. You will enjoy your cruise if you remember that, A cruise is what you make it. Everything you need is there, just keep an open mind and be ready to change plans if something does not work out. I let the crowds and lack of excursions bother me at Grand Turk. Should have had a drink from a blender and gone with the flow.

GOT IT! Thanks so much! We do intend to enjoy the cruise and ports. Hopefully without itinerary change but been there done that and had a great time too.

I second your comment about Vista being a smooth ride in rough waves. I thought it handled the seas better than any other Carnival vessel I've (been on maybe 14 ships of the fleet).

As far as Grand Turk, we spent 1 and 1/2 hrs positioning the ship to dock, the CD kept explaining tides and winds were hampering the process. Docking in Bonaire was also a project, maybe 45 extra minutes. We did have the extra docking time added to our departure time in both ports.

Does anyone recall if Margaritaville still has their all you can drink package including lunch. It was $50 last visit a couple years ago. Trying to decide what to do on Grand Turk and drinking sounds like a good idea!!![emoji41][emoji484]

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From posts on TA and the GT ports of call threads, they haven't offered it this year and it appears they aren't planning on doing so. Nothing of their FB or website.

Thanks for the review.

From posts on TA and the GT ports of call threads, they haven't offered it this year and it appears they aren't planning on doing so. Nothing of their FB or website.

Thanks!!!

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Did you make it down to Fieri's Pig and Anchor on I think deck 5? Was it only open on Sea days and was it packed? When it was Big Jimmys, we never went because the line was so long.

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Does anyone recall if Margaritaville still has their all you can drink package including lunch. It was $50 last visit a couple years ago. Trying to decide what to do on Grand Turk and drinking sounds like a good idea!!![emoji41][emoji484]

 

 

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I didn't see it, but it was jam packed with 2 ships in on the same day.