Vista Inaugural 5/1/16 13-nights Trieste-Barcelona Review

[mississauga]

I am not sure if this has been asked already but does casino take Euros or US money? I couldn't seem to find a answer.

Thank You

 

 

US. Everything on the ship is in USD.

[cruisng4fun]

You can't wait to make your donation??

If I didn't get the answer then I wouldn't be able to donate because I wouldn't have had US money :D

 

Thanks mississauga:)

[NCTribeFan]

Yes, USD. I came home with almost 100E that I may never need. Would've been nice if I could've spent them at the wheel that last night.

 

I did see at last one ATM (not the ones in the casino) that dispensed Euros. I didn't use it because I knew I'd get a better rate at a bank ATM in any of the ports. At least that's what everyone said prior to sailing.

 

There was one guy who was often at the Roulette wheels who was rather loud and fairly obnoxious. You know the ones - bragging about how this was a "free" cruise for him thanks to a casino offer; about how much he paid for his suite upgrade; asking others what they'd paid; making off-color jokes to the dealers and other players. :mad:

 

Anyway, I went to the service desk one day (about my internet connection dropping after exactly two minutes) and he was there, screaming at the guy behind the desk about how the ATM had given him Euros and he'd wanted USD. Guy quietly explaining to him how there were different ATMs and they were clearly labeled. BigMouth didn't care - he insisted that someone in the casino had helped him because he'd wanted USD and they were stupid and screwed up and he wanted the guy behind the desk to change his Euros to USD and give him the USD he'd intended to withdraw. Service desk guy said he could do it but at the same exchange rate he'd have to do for anyone. BigMouth bellowing about how much money he'd spent on the cruise (but, but, you were bragging about it being free!), and how he would sue Carnival for their incompetence, and he was going to get all the bigwigs on the ship that he was friends with to come down and show this guy who was boss.

 

Ugh. He's one of the reasons (on top of the smoke issue) that I didn't spend much time at the Roulette wheel. If he was there, I wouldn't play. And if the other wheel was full of smokers, I just left. I detest people like that.

[inco]

That there isn't such a thing as "Get Off The Ship Card" that could have been played. He sounds perfect for that opportunity.

[les37b]

Yes, USD. I came home with almost 100E that I may never need. Would've been nice if I could've spent them at the wheel that last night.

 

I did see at last one ATM (not the ones in the casino) that dispensed Euros. I didn't use it because I knew I'd get a better rate at a bank ATM in any of the ports. At least that's what everyone said prior to sailing.

 

There was one guy who was often at the Roulette wheels who was rather loud and fairly obnoxious. You know the ones - bragging about how this was a "free" cruise for him thanks to a casino offer; about how much he paid for his suite upgrade; asking others what they'd paid; making off-color jokes to the dealers and other players. :mad:

 

Anyway, I went to the service desk one day (about my internet connection dropping after exactly two minutes) and he was there, screaming at the guy behind the desk about how the ATM had given him Euros and he'd wanted USD. Guy quietly explaining to him how there were different ATMs and they were clearly labeled. BigMouth didn't care - he insisted that someone in the casino had helped him because he'd wanted USD and they were stupid and screwed up and he wanted the guy behind the desk to change his Euros to USD and give him the USD he'd intended to withdraw. Service desk guy said he could do it but at the same exchange rate he'd have to do for anyone. BigMouth bellowing about how much money he'd spent on the cruise (but, but, you were bragging about it being free!), and how he would sue Carnival for their incompetence, and he was going to get all the bigwigs on the ship that he was friends with to come down and sh ow this guy who was boss.

 

Ugh. He's one of the reasons (on top of the smoke issue) that I didn't spend much time at the Roulette wheel. If he was there, I wouldn't play. And if the other wheel was full of smokers, I just left. I detest people like that.

 

 

I think i would have had to grin, have a little chuckle, nod my head so he knows I'm laughing at his expense. Then when if gets aggressive, he gets his get off the ship early card. I so dislike obnoxious people who look down on the staff and think they're more important than everyone else.

 

I expect his problem was that his reading ability wasn't as good as he thought. I would loved to have seen it. :p (I dont normally laugh at the misfortune of others, but these are the times I would.)

[NCTribeFan]

5/11/16 Rome

 

Another cool, grey day. See a pattern here? At least today there would be no waiting for late arrivals for our tour since the four of us had our own driver. He was someone who Fearless Leader had used about 10 years prior. We did have to wait for him to arrive. Carnival sent those of us on our own tours down to where the shuttles taking people from Civitavecchia to somewhere (port entrance? Train station?). It really wanted to rain but only did so briefly. Our guy arrived and we piled into his nice Mercedes mini-van (which is something I haven’t seen in the states; it wasn’t a minivan like the soccer moms drive but more of a transit van sort of vehicle; it was very nice).

 

So. Rome. Everyone loves it. I wasn’t all that excited about it myself but I knew there were a lot of interesting places to visit; much more than we could see in a day. Our first stop was at St. Paul’s Basilica. It was beautiful and not crowded, unlike our later stops. When we exited, we went into the coffee/gift shop and got a cappuccino. I also paid 3E for a small box of Ricola cough drops, hoping it would help keep me from driving everyone (myself included) nuts with my non-stop hacking!

 

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This was Papal Wednesday, so the Vatican was going to be even more crowded than usual, so our driver planned our stops so that we’d arrive at St. Peter’s later in the day. Next stop was the Knights of Malta keyhole at Aventine Hill. Unfortunately, my photo through the keyhole didn’t turn out. You can’t actually see the dome of St. Peter’s. Sure missing using my phone’s camera by now! On to our next photo op at Circus Maximus.

 

[NCTribeFan]

5/11/16 Rome

 

On we drove through Rome with our guide pointing out all sorts of sights/sites. I’m afraid I don’t really know what all we saw. I got a couple of pictures of the Forum from the car and then I was afraid we were only going to do a drive-by of the Coliseum since he couldn’t find anywhere to park, but he circled around and we were able to get out and get a few photos. Personally, I was much more interested Ancient Rome than in The Vatican. This won’t be a popular statement, but I personally find the ostentatious display of wealth (and power) by the Roman Catholic Church to be rather unpleasant. It’s a bit like touring Versailles - let’s show the peasants how wealthy and powerful we are while we keep them hungry, ignorant, and frightened to death. I would’ve loved to have gone into the Coliseum, but that wasn’t on our agenda. The place was mobbed and I wouldn’t have enjoyed that aspect of it.

 

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Next on the must-see list was the Trevi Fountain. Of course, it was also a mob scene. We did manage to get a seat and took 2-at-a-time photos of tossing a coin over our shoulders into the fountain. That’s the only “obligatory” tourist photo I took.

 

 

[NCTribeFan]

5/11/16 Rome

 

Our driver dropped us at the top of the Spanish Steps. The main section is under restoration, so we descended on the right side to the fountain. The square is surrounded by high-end retail stores (Prada, Missoni, etc.). Our driver was very specific about where to meet him, but when we went to the place he told us, there was no shoe store, which is what he had told us to look for. So we turned around and walked all the way back to the fountain. I was sure we were in the right stop to begin with (have I mentioned that I have a good sense of direction?), but the others didn’t agree. Fearless Leader finally sent him a text and it turned out we were in the right spot to begin with but he had been wrong about the shoe store. Silly man! So, we were losing valuable time yet again.

 

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Time for lunch! Sadly, I have no idea where we ate, but it was pretty great. We had wine (of course) and some sort of appetizer plate. The others ordered pasta but I had prosciutto and brie inside fried bread mini-sandwiches. The bread was like a bun, but it was Italian bread with the outside/crust fried. Really tasty. Sorry I didn’t get a photo of the menu or the food!

 

 

On to the Pantheon. Yes, there were armed guards in many places in Rome, including outside the Pantheon.

 

 

 

 

[mj]

Enjoying your review. Keep it coming. Glad you got to see the Trevi Fountain. It was closed when I was there last May.

[NCTribeFan]

5/11/16 Rome

 

After we returned to the van, we headed to St. Peter’s Square. I think we originally were not planning to enter the Basilica since we thought it would be too crowded all day, but our guide insisted that we had time and led us straight up to the doors. It was crowded but not as packed as I thought it might be. Again, I’m so unhappy about having to use my camera instead of my phone for the photos. But I can find plenty of perfect photos online. At least I was there (and I don’t need a selfie of me in front of the Pieta to prove it).

 

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Our last stop was at Colle del Giancolo/Janiculum Hill. It’s a park on top of a hill with fabulous panoramic views of Rome and a statue of Garibaldi on horseback. It was a great way to finish the day!

 

 

 

And once again, I have no idea what I did after returning to the ship. I’m pretty sure I dined alone. In fact, I’m sure of it since we never ate dinner together again until the last night.

[maryann2]

Thank you for taking the time to do such a detailed review. Sorry to hear that you became sick though.

Shame about you having to eat alone. Like you I don't do buffets either.

[NCTribeFan]

I don't mind eating alone. I've been single for over 25 years. I decided early on that I would go where I wanted and do what I wanted. I was absolutely NOT going to get involved with someone just to have someone to do things with. That is not a good enough reason!

 

I know women who practically won't leave the house without their partner. They won't go to a movie or out to eat or even shopping. I find that very sad.

 

I meet a lot of interesting people when solo. When you're with others, you talk to each other and miss a lot of what's going on around you. Had a great evening one night in the MDR talking to the two Australian couples next to me.

 

And if I don't talk to the neighbors, I people watch. And watch the staff. I don't think people realize just how hard they're working until they can watch them without the distractions of conversation.

 

Yes, it's nice to have others to do things with and dine with but I don't have to have that all the time. I'm an introvert. Making small talk with the strangers next to me is a good skill to develop. When I'm alone, I can choose to interact or not, depending on how I feel at any given time.

 

Booked the Pride Journeys 1/2/17 13-night sailing on Monday and will go solo. Not the least bit concerned about it. I know several people on the sailing (including some who were on Vista and some I'd sailed with on other prior sailings). I'm not sure whether I'll request to sit at a big table or by myself. The nice thing about dining alone is that they usually get you in and out very quickly, which gives you more time for shows and gambling. :D

[NCTribeFan]

5/12/16 Pisa & Florence

 

I had opted to join the big group for this day since the others were going to Cinque Terre. Since I’d never been to Italy, I thought I really needed to see Pisa and Florence. But then the day before, when our Rome driver was dropping us off back at the ship, I discovered that they actually weren’t going to Cinque Terre and had arranged for a private driver to take them to Pisa and Florence. Um, OK. I think maybe, at some point, I’d been told that, but it was during tax season and I’d already pre-paid with the other group. So, off they went on their private tour and I went off on the big bus.

 

We headed to Pisa first. Unloaded the bus and started walking into town when down came the crossing barriers at the train tracks. While we stood there waiting, it decided to start raining. I didn’t have an umbrella (and wasn’t going to buy one from the dozens of vendors being pests (although many people did)), but I did have my $0.99 emergency poncho that I’d carried in my bag for many cruises. It certainly gets warm inside those plastic bags, but at least I wasn’t getting soaked. Finally the train came through and our guide led us to what would be our meeting point later. Some people had tickets to climb the tower, so she went off with them. I followed along simply because they were going to the tower and that’s why we were there, mostly, right?

 

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Personally, I thought it was rather underwhelming. I mean, I’d seen lots of leaning bell and clock towers over the preceding 2 weeks. This one was larger, leaning a bit more, and famous. So I took a few photos and headed back hoping to find somewhere out of the rain. I hadn’t paid too much attention on the walk in and found myself not too sure of how to get back to the meeting place. But as I’ve noted before, I have a pretty good sense of direction and quickly realized that nothing looked familiar, so turned around and headed another way. Stepped into a cafe and got a cappuccino and sat at the doorway trying to dry out a bit. Thankfully, the rain had nearly stopped and was a mere drizzle for the rest of the morning.

 

I was back at the meeting place 30 minutes early so I made use of the facilities in one of the tiny bars (there are two with a gift shop between). Then, since I’d done that, I felt obligated to get a Moretti and it outside and wait. Yes, it was only about 10 a.m. Whatever! They were supposed to have free wi-fi but I wasn’t able to connect. Soon it was 10:30 and, surprise! We were missing a bunch of people. So we waited. Finally, the stragglers show up, in no apparent hurry, and THEN some of the women decided to get in the long line for the bathroom. Now, I fault the guide for this part. Before we arrived, she should have told everyone that once we were back on the bus, we’d be stopping at a rest area to use the facilities there. We were at least 15 minutes late leaving.

[NCTribeFan]

5/12/16 Pisa & Florence

 

Back on the bus and off to the rest area where everyone else used the facilities and then decided to buy snacks and wine. Really? We’ve been in all these wonderful ports and they decide to do their wine shopping at a motorway rest area?

 

We arrive in Florence and pile off the bus and hike up the hill and through the train station. But, of course, there are people who can’t keep up. So we have to stop and wait multiple times. Mind you, we have tickets for the Academy for a certain time but our guide didn’t seem concerned. In fact, once we reached the Cathedral square, we were given some shopping time. Very little (15-20 minutes?) but we apparently weren’t in enough of a hurry to go straight to the Academy. But we didn’t have enough time to actually do any shopping. Or go through the Cathedral. Personally, I would’ve gladly traded the visit to Pisa for an all-day visit to Florence. There’s just so much more to see in Florence and so much art and history.

 

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Yet again, we had to wait for the stragglers, then headed off to the Academy. Our guide went in to exchange her voucher for our tickets. They control the number of people allowed in so it isn’t completely packed at all times. We had understood that the audio guides would be part of our admission price (which was prepaid) but they weren’t. I decided to opt out and just headed in. I was standing looking at some sculpture when I turned and there he was! David!! OMG! He’s perfect. And huge. I had no idea he was that large. Again, I felt no compulsion to take a selfie. Do I really need my smiling face in a photo under David’s dangling bits? No, I think not. What could I possibly add to this magnificent piece of art?

 

 

 

 

I didn’t go through the entire gallery and opted out of the group lunch since I figured it would take forever. While in Venice, I bought myself a gorgeous red leather bag and had wanted to get something for my DD, but everyone kept saying, “Oh, wait until you’re in Florence. That’s the place to buy leather.” Except here we were, with very little time and I was starving. After exiting the Academy, I stopped in a little shop and had yet another savory meat and cheese pastry while sitting at the tiny table next to the entrance so I could people watch. Decided I needed some gelato for dessert, too. I stopped at every shop that had leather bags hanging in the doorway and couldn’t find anything comparable to the bag I got in Venice. It was frustrating. I wasn’t going to buy something just to say I got it in Florence. Leather has to have the right “hand” for me to spend my money. I don’t buy designer anything, but I do carry Coach bags (which I buy in the final markdown bins at the outlet stores). So I know what good leather should feel like and I wasn’t finding what I wanted. Finally, I spot a small, red, tooled-leather crossbody bag that had the right softness and was unique with it’s pattern of roses. At 45E, it certainly would do although I’d wanted something slightly larger.

 

Finally having my shopping out of the way, it was time to have a Moretti and to sit and people watch some more. The sun was out but it had gotten very, very windy and there was lots of grit in the air. This was not what my ailing sinuses and lungs needed, so I finished my beer and headed back to the train station. This time it was the guide and most of the people who’d done the group lunch who were late getting back (as I figured might happen). Still, we were in no danger of being late back to the ship.

 

 

 

That evening, I asked if we shouldn’t open the bottle of wine I’d bought in Crete and no one wanted any. Their excuse was that two of the others were now sick and didn’t want to drink (gee, I hadn’t let that stop me for the past 10 days!), so I took it to the MDR with me. Of course, I was charged a corkage fee. It was just OK. Don’t remember my meal.

 

I finally found a slot machine that was relatively “nice” to me. Nice in that I actually won a little and didn’t simply feed the money into it’s greedy mouth. I won some and cashed out $100 and took it to the Roulette wheel, where I promptly gave it right back. I know there were lots of people on the ship who had booked freebies or deeply discounted casino rates. Personally, I think allowing an itinerary like this to be booked with a bounce-back offer is just wrong, but it happens. Anyway, it seemed like I was the only person in the casino the entire week who didn’t have a Drinks on Us card. So I asked one of the casino hosts. She looked me up on her laptop and just shook her head. OK, I know I only had about 800 points from the slots, but I’d played Roulette almost every night (and sometimes visiting twice a day), but apparently because I don’t throw down $50 worth of chips every spin, I wasn’t accumulating enough points, after 11 nights, for a drink card? Fine. We’ll see how much I don’t spend in the casino on my next cruise.

[inco]

Back in 2008 when we were there, we got stopped for taking pictures inside. I did get one shot of David before being confronted. Judging from your pictures I guess you can now do that?

[patrice1]

I don't mind eating alone. I've been single for over 25 years. I decided early on that I would go where I wanted and do what I wanted. I was absolutely NOT going to get involved with someone just to have someone to do things with. That is not a good enough reason!

 

I know women who practically won't leave the house without their partner. They won't go to a movie or out to eat or even shopping. I find that very sad.

 

I meet a lot of interesting people when solo. When you're with others, you talk to each other and miss a lot of what's going on around you. Had a great evening one night in the MDR talking to the two Australian couples next to me.

 

And if I don't talk to the neighbors, I people watch. And watch the staff. I don't think people realize just how hard they're working until they can watch them without the distractions of conversations.

Yes, it's nice to have others to do things with and dine with but I don't have to have that all the time. I'm an introvert. Making small talk with the strangers next to me is a good skill to develop. When I'm alone, I can choose to interact or not, depending on how I feel at any given time.

... :D

 

I am reminded of myself at 30, dying to see Europe, newly divorced, couldn't find anyone to go with and an introvert. But I planned a 4 month backpacking trip on my own for months and did it. It was the best experience of my life. Actually wore all t-shirts with New England colleges or sports because I figured people would approach me that way and it worked. Although, one of my favorite memories was getting off a bus at the top of iOS, Greece and hearing someone shout at me as it drove off, "Red Sox Suck!". ;-) Never minded talking tp people or dining alone after that trip.

Edited May 29, 2016 by patrice1

[NCTribeFan]

5/13/16 Cassis/Aix-en-Provence

 

France! I know it’s very popular to hate France and everything French, but I love France and everything French. About 20 years ago, I did a study abroad with three weeks in Paris and a week in Nice. It was fabulous. So I personally was very much looking forward to this day. Fearless Leader had decided to split the two vans between the more mobile and the not-so-mobile, even though we were going to the same places at the same time. You know what I’m going to say next, right? We were supposed to meet just off the gangway, as we had been for almost two weeks, yet some people had gone through the terminal and some hadn’t, so someone had to go in search of the others. And what did that mean? It meant we got another late start. Imagine that!

 

And then just as we were setting off, our driver, Anais, was stopped by a policeman and had to get out all her paperwork to prove she was a licensed tour guide and not some Uber driver stealing work from unionized, licensed taxi drivers. Our very first stop of the day was at Clos d’Albizzi winery outside Cassis. They predominantly grow white grapes, but our guide (young woman, family member, who was working in the vines with her dog alongside when we arrived) said that their rose was very popular and there was lots of demand for it locally, so that’s what they used the red grapes for and actually bottled very little of their red. We tried two whites, the rose, then a dessert white. Had we had more days to go, I would’ve bought a bottle. If I’d had something to use for packing, I could’ve brought home a bottle. I never expected the rose to be so nice! But apparenty it’s very trendy these days.

 

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Next, we set off for Cassis. No, the liqueur is not made there. During that month in France, I became very fond of Kirs and drink them regularly even though I make them with the cheapo Creme de Cassis, not the good French stuff.

 

Cassis is a lovely fishing village with a large market. We were dropped off, had the meeting point noted and sent on our way with a warning that we would not have time for a true lunch at one of the cafes (I think we had about 45 minutes to explore, shop, and grab some lunch). We went in a couple of boulangeries but didn’t buy and headed into the market. My companions were stopping and looking at everything and since I suspected I wasn’t going to find anything I wanted to eat (but the cheeses looked fantastic), I headed back to the waterfront and back into one of the boulangerie/patisseries for a Croque Monsieur that I ate as I walked along the waterfront.

 

 

As cool and grey as it was, there were actually people on the beach. Brrr. I was wearing several layers and wasn’t overheating in the least. Back in the vans, we went up to Cap Canaille for some gorgeous views.

 

 

[NCTribeFan]

On to Aix-en-Provence, birthplace of Cezanne. Unfortunately, it started to rain. I had neither an umbrella nor my emergency poncho, but at least I was wearing a jacket. It isn’t a rain jacket, but prior to packing, I’d bought a can of spray waterproofing and used it all hoping to turn it into a rain jacket! Of course, this was the one day I wore sandals since I knew there was no climbing hills up to ruins involved in the day’s activities. Aix is beautiful and I really would’ve enjoyed the walking tour had the weather not been so awful. We walked and walked and our guide pointed out all sorts of buildings and told us stories, but, honestly, I was miserable. I’d been sick for about 10 days, and I was cold and wet. But I wasn’t going to cave and go hang out in a cafe for an hour (like 2 of my cabinmates). I hadn’t come all that way to NOT do the tours!

 

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We stopped in a coffee shop, used the unisex facilities, got a cafe au lait, dried out for a couple of minutes, then moved on. We also stopped in a shop that makes calissons and heard the story behind their creation. We visited the Cathedral, which was built on top of a Roman forum. Inside the Cathedral is The Burning Bush triptych by Nicolas Froment. The baptistry contains Roman columns.

 

 

 

 

 

We walked back to the meeting place (we’d lost several more people along the way as the walking tour was quite long and took quite a long time), then back to the vans. Naturally, by the time we arrived, it had stopped raining. Doesn’t it just figure? There had been so much to see and I’d missed a lot of it just trying to keep the rain out of my face!

 

Aix isn’t far from Marseille, but it was a Friday afternoon. Monday was a bank holiday. And there was an AC/DC concert in Marseille that evening. Traffic was horrid! It was obvious our driver was getting concerned when it was nothing but brakelights as far as you could see into the distance. Still, we knew there were big Carnival buses parked near us that hadn’t left and there was no way they were arriving at the port before us. We were supposed to be back onboard at 5:30 and we didn’t arrive until 6. Back in the cabin, I saw at least three big buses pull up well after 6.

 

I’d grabbed a bunch of my clothes out of the closets that morning. I pulled the cases out from under the bed and started packing. I actually had a few items I hadn’t worn. We all went to dinner together taking the last bottle of wine from the cabin. No corkage fee this time. So I got charged but someone else didn’t. Not fair. But the wine was pretty good. The meal was not. I got some chicken dish that was inedible. The chicken was so dry I couldn’t chew it. Whatever. I wasn’t going to starve.

 

Back to the cabin to pack for real. I finished, changed into the clothes I was going to wear the next day, and headed to the casino for one last attempt to win (I didn’t), and to cash out my S&S card and few chips I had. I was back in the cabin around 10:30 (bags had to be out by 11) and my cabinmates were still packing. Yes, they’d been at it the entire time I was gone! Did I mention earlier that I thought they’d overpacked? They were struggling to get everything in their bags. Good grief. I mean, really, can’t you live without your electric toothbrush for two weeks? And do you really need your portable fan that you used just while putting on makeup? And your own washcloth? And robe? And a 6-month supply of every imaginable OTC drug you think someone might possibly need? Oh well! Not me! They’d found 2 articles of clothing that I’d had laundered in the back on a shelf, so I stuffed that in my bag and out in the hall it went!

[NCTribeFan]

5/14/16 Barcelona/Home

 

Sadly, I knew I couldn’t stay any extra time in Barcelona, as much as I wanted to, so I’d booked my return flight for late morning. American changed it to early afternoon so I was in no hurry, but cabinmates were all on a different flight and needed to be at the airport much earlier than I. Fearless Leader had arranged airport transport for us plus an English couple who were also on their flight. We weren’t in a huge hurry so although two of us were Platinum, we had #17 tags. The others went to the MDR for breakfast. I went to Lido and had two eggs over medium and bacon.

 

Back to the cabin to track down the steward to give him some cash, get our carry-ons, and back up to Lido to wait until we were called, which didn’t take long. It was very easy to find our bags in the terminal, so we grabbed them and headed outside to wait for the English couple and meet our driver.

 

The signs at the airport said BA at one door and AA at the next, so we all piled out, tipped the driver, and headed in. I figured there would be somewhere to meet up once we checked in and checked our bags. It only took me about 5 minutes. I turned around and saw the BA agents, but didn’t see anyone I knew in the line so I headed to the long security lines. They actually went quickly and I soon was putting on my shoes and gathering my things. They were in a different terminal and you had to go through passport control to get there, which I couldn’t do since wasn’t flying from there. So I went downstairs to the shopping/dining area thinking they might come down for one last cappuccino but I didn’t see them. So I didn’t get to say goodbye and we didn’t get to settle up our finances.

 

It was a long, long way to my gate. For our terminal, passport control wasn’t until just before the few end gates and they weren’t even open yet. Before long, I was hungry so walked back up the terminal and got a sandwich and chips. I ate half and saved the rest for later. We were supposed to be boarding but passport control still wasn’t open. I got in the long line and waited. They finally opened up and the line began crawling along. Apparently this flight had been selected for extra screening and many people were sent to another in-depth search line. We had to show our passports about six times.

 

Finally, we were on the plane. This time, I wasn’t lucky enough to get an empty seat next to me. No worries. I didn’t sleep anyway. Watched the ending of Mockingjay Pt 1 and all of Pt 2, read some, ate, and dozed a little. And then the long, slow, excruciatingly painful descent began. I’d taken decongestants and used a nasal spray, but my head was still so clogged up they obviously didn’t do enough to keep me from having horrible pain in my ears. If this has never happened to you, I assure you, you never want it to happen! It stopped shortly before we landed in Philly, but my ears didn’t unblock. In fact, over two weeks later and it still sounds as though I’m 10 feet underwater.

 

I didn’t have a really long layover and my bag took forever to arrive on the carousel. I got in another very long line, through customs, then back over to recheck my bag and change terminals. I had 30 minutes more than I thought so didn’t need to hurry quite so much. Onto the small plane and off for a very bumpy ride all the way to RDU.

 

I never, ever am one of those people who says, “it was a nice vacation but it will be good to be home.” Nope. Never. Not me. I’d travel nonstop if I could. But I’ll tell you what was nice. It was warm!! I walked out of the terminal at about 8 pm and it was warm!! That made me very happy. To the taxi stand, into the taxi, and home in about 12 minutes. As soon as it was dark, I went to bed.

[NCTribeFan]

Yes, you were allowed to take photos everywhere we went (except at the Cathedral in Malta and then only no photos of the Caravaggio paintings).

 

NO FLASH allowed in any of these buildings.

 

It seems many people have no idea how to turn off the auto flash settings on their phones and cameras because there were people using flash (and being scolded) every place we went despite the signs and warnings from guides.

 

It's the flash that does the damage. A non-flash photo doesn't hurt anything.

 

Now, if they'll just ban selfie sticks! ;)

[Rosesgt]

Hope you don't mind my 2 cents on the cruise.

We arrived in Venice and also spent 3 nights at the Hotel Ala. It was perfect for us. We had a room overlooking the canal and everyday we had gondolas going by in 3's. One had and accordion player and a singer and the other 2 boats would follow behind. It was amazing. We did a free walking tour of the city and got to see lots of not your typical sights. It was a great tour. Venice was perfect, except for some rain, it is a city that we plan on visiting again.

 

The Vista is the perfect ship for the Caribbean. It is decorated very light, not the heavy curtains you normally see in the public areas. It's spacious with lots of open areas outside.

We had a cove balcony which was great. Cabin 2322 and we didn't have a single issue. The last 2 nights, the seas were rough and every time I went out on the balcony I came back wet with sea spray. The ship handled the rough seas better than any other ship I've been on. Never felt any bad rocking.

 

We did late seating and every night Ken would sing to us. He has a great voice and is very personable. I was told he had planned on retiring, but was coaxed off the Pride to do this ship.

 

John Heald was with us and would make announcements during dinner. One night, in his typical style, he said, to the man that lost his expensive Rolex watch, I just want you to know that it is now 940 PM. He cracked me up many times during the cruise.

 

The Red Frog Pub on deck 5 was our place to go mostly because of the Brewery there. The Red Frog IPA was the best and the brew master Colin was on top of his game.

 

Every port we visited was picture postcard perfect. The one port that was a little disappointing was Athens. We did a CC excursion and mostly because of a workers strike that day, it made it a little hard to get around the city and took away from some of what we had hoped to see. Fortunately for us, we had spent a week in Athens many years ago, so we weren't too disappointed. I will say that climbing up the Acropolis was easier back in the 70's than it was this trip.

 

NCTribeFan, thanks for posting your pictures, we took lots ourselves, but still haven't had time to sort through them all. All in all it was one of our best vacations and the Vista was our most enjoyable ship. We will cruise again on her.

[meatloafsfan]

Thank you for posting such a wonderful detailed review - especially of all of your excursions and tours at the Ports.

 

Your pictures are lovely and solidify the fact that I don't want to travel to Europe. I would feel an obligation to do the same kind of tours as you (landmarks, architecture, art work) and would end up hating myself halfway through the cruise.

 

It is very nice to be able to see such detailed pictures though. :D

 

And here's hoping the casino on your next cruise is nicer to you and your next cruise is more profitable than this one was. :)

[NCTribeFan]

I have a few more miscellaneous photos to post and thoughts to share, so I'll try to get to that tonight.

 

It will be interesting to hear what people on the transatlantic have to say about her, movement-wise. I would look out the window and it looked like it was rough, but in the cabin, I couldn't feel anything. Don't know what it was like in cabins higher and forward, since I've always felt much more motion up there, but she was very, very smooth. Like I said, there were a couple of times that you could feel a definite list, but no side-to-side bouncing off the walls walking down the hallways movement!

 

I'd read other threads about how rough it can be in the western Med but certainly wasn't an issue for us.

 

The itinerary is a tough one. I knew it would be exhausting. Being sick and it being cool and damp a lot of days didn't really help, but I'm so glad I did it.

 

I've always said that when you spend the time and money to get to Europe, you have to "do" as much as you can to justify that time and expense. I would never just fly over and get on the ship to sail back to the states. There's just so much to see there.

[idlenote]

Thanks for a great review, given us a lot to look forward to.

 

Your commentary on the musical chairs while trying to get everyone on the bus had me laughing out loud, how many times have we stood and watched this?

 

Get well soon.

[Wants to be rich]

Someday I may get to Europe! I got chills seeing the pictures of the ruins you posted.

 

I will be on the Vista in January, 2017 in the cabin that was next to yours. There will be 3 of us, so based on your reports, we should manage nicely.

 

Thanks for the review.