Just off the Vista (the good and the not so great)

[dulcemariamar]

I am just going to post a quick review about my 8 night cruise on Carnival Vista. I don't have pics to post but just wanted to share my review here.

 

Background

 

I am American and I traveled with my European husband and my 3YO child. We live in Europe. I would say that about 80% of the passengers were from the States. I was a bit surprised to see that there were so many. I have taken cruises with RCC and NCL in Europe and there Americans were definitely the minority onboard. But considering Carnival does very little advertising in Europe it made sense that there were so many Americans. There were not that many kids onboard ship but perhaps it only felt like that because my last cruise was with Disney. There were a lot of babies/toddlers though. People were generally friendly and respectful.

 

Ports of Call

 

Barcelona

Palermo

Naples

Rome

Livorno

Marseille

Palma de Mallorca

 

I am going to be honest. I booked the cruise to basically just stay on the boat. I don't have much to write about the ports. Even though, it was mostly Americans onboard there were a lot more Russians/English from when I was on Carnival Magic a few years ago. I was hoping to enjoy an empty ship when we were in Rome and florence but it seemed that there were a lot of English people who also decided just to book the trip to enjoy the ship.

 

I did get off in Palermo but I didn't really see anything interesting. Even my waiter commented about how dirty it is. In Marseille, we got a paper from Carnival warning us about an increase in crime in the city so I did see a lot of people who chose to stay onboard ship that day. Palma de Mallorca was great but it was super hot. I cant imagine taking this cruise in July/August.

 

Carnival offers a shuttle to the center of the town for most of the ports. They don't advertise it in the excursion book but they wait to announce it once the ship has docked in the port. It is still a more expensive option then local transportation. (Between 14-18 euros per person) but it could be an interesting option.

 

Food

 

Breakfast was not great. It was better in the main dining room but even then I had better on other companies. Plus, the MDR was only open for 2 hours between 6:30-8:30. I was usually never up that early. In the Lido deck they would basically not replenish the food. My DH loved the chocolate muffins but if he got there after 9:30, then they would be gone for the day. The choices in the Lido deck were not that great especially the eggs, pancakes option. I stuck mostly to fruit, cereal and pastries.

 

Lunch was better. The quality of food in the Lido buffet was not great but I enjoyed their pizza (best pizza of any cruise line IMO), hamburgers, deli station and pasta bar in the Capitano Cuccina. And in the Lido for both breakfast and lunch, they never opened all the stations. So for breakfast there was only one tray to get your scrambled eggs and side options from.

 

Dinner was quite good but I found that the food got a bit repetitive the last two days. We had some misses but then we just ordered something else off the menu. The bread wasn't fresh every day. I got a lot of toasted bread from the day before. That was kinda of annoying.

 

The Boat

 

Somebody else posted this and I agree with them but for being only a month old, you can already seem some wear and tear. The carpets are already stained especially in the atrium area and the paint is starting to chip off. It seems that they cut corners and you can see that.

 

The biggest disappointment was the atrium area. On the first day, I kept on looking for the atrium until my DH had to point out that we have walked through it several times. It is only 3 decks high and is very sterile looking. (actually, a lot of the ship is quite bland and I miss the glitz of the typical Carnival ships). I love big, tall atriums. So I felt that was lacking.

 

Most of the public spaces were great though. We loved all the bars and great spaces to play games and just to sit down and relax. The water works area was a lot of fun and my LO loved it. Red Frog Pub was great. The main theater is also really small. It is not a big deal since Carnival is not known for putting on big shows.

 

entertainment

 

The live music was pretty good. I love love the group Dancing with my cousins. Their voices are amazing. Velvet Vibe was also good but a bit loud for my tastes. The piano bar singer was not a strong singer but maybe he had an off night when I went. I did not go see any shows but I did go to the family game show and that was fun and I laughed a lot.

 

Camp Ocean

 

It was awesome. It was seriously the best. After our fiasco with Disney kids club I was so happy with our experience here. They have a great way of grouping the ages together and starting in the afternoon, they had a new activity every hour and a party every night. My child loved going. Plus, they have a beautiful Dr. Seuss reading and game room next door that you can go to with your kids.

 

Seuss at Sea

 

Seuss at Sea is a cute addition to the ships. My daughter loved their activities like the parade and show. We were only disappointed with the food served at the breakfast. Some of it was inedible. I saw a lot of people leaving their food untouched. I would still go but I was glad that I ordered plain French toast.

 

Negatives

 

The biggest negative for me was the cleanliness of the ship. It could have been cleaner especially the public areas. But what really gets me is that there is not crew members who actively try to get people to wash their hands before going to the buffet. There were gel dispenser there but most people did not use it. On all other cruise lines, they basically harass you to wash your hands with gel or spray.

 

Final Rating

 

We loved our cruise with Carnival Magic a few years ago so I was a bit disappointed to see that Carnival Vista did not match up. The quality of the food in the Lido, especially for breakfast, was a lot worse. I felt like there were less crew onboard ship so the daily maintenance was lacking. It generally feels like they are trying to save money but things are starting to suffer. I would still sail with Carnival but i was happy with my NCl experience so carnival might not be my first pick anymore.

 

So overall the cruise gets a 6.5-7 rating from me,

[jabberjaw070596]

...

Edited June 13, 2016 by jabberjaw070596
MISTAKE

[cruising maniac]

Thank you for your fair review. :)

Edited June 13, 2016 by cruising maniac

[quickrate]

Just a FYI, it has been proven that hand sanitizer and gel do very lttle to deter germs and actually aren't very good for you. Just good ole soap and water before you go to eat is the best option. Thank you for your review and your perspective.

Pat

[dulcemariamar]

Just a FYI, it has been proven that hand sanitizer and gel do very lttle to deter germs and actually aren't very good for you. Just good ole soap and water before you go to eat is the best option. Thank you for your review and your perspective.

Pat

 

Well, when you see people leave the bathroom without washing their hands, the idea of at least using hand sanitizer before going to the buffet sounds like a good idea.

 

But my LO came down with a stomach virus on our last cruise so I was probably a bit paranoid as well.

[SadieN]

Thanks for your review.

 

Couple of questions....

Were the areas of paint chipping on the upper walls or where something banged into it?

 

Usually there are many lido breakfast stations open until 10 or so. Did you arrive later than this?

 

Most want Carnival to tone down the decor. Simply a case of 'Can't please everybody.' Not a dig at the OP, just a statement.

 

Going to dig thru posts and look for pix of the 3deck high atrium.

 

ETA--looked at the deck plans. The Thrill Theater and the IMAX have taken over where the higher decks of the Atrium should be. Wondered where they put those, something had to give.

Edited June 13, 2016 by SadieN

[aquarianne11]

Thank you for your review and tips.

 

Did you book the Green eggs and Ham breakfast? My daughter is already 8 but I think she will still have fun. Thanks!

[NCTribeFan]

I didn't miss the tall atrium or the loud decor at all. So much more modern than the "Vegas" style that Farcus was so fond of. I thought she was lovely.

 

OP, there were lots of renderings of the ship (including the atrium) available during the build on Carnival's website. I pretty much knew just what she was going to look like before boarding (and knew the layout so I wouldn't get lost). Some people like surprises, but I like to know what to expect. :)

 

I've written a review and talked about my feelings about the food and pretty much everything else.

 

I did mention in my review that I think it was a huge mistake to use dark brown carpeting on the stairwells/landings. When we boarded (and we were the first passengers to sail her), it looked like it was covered in sandy footprints. I can't imagine what it will look like once she's in the Caribbean where there really will be sandy footprints!

 

We had only three sea days on a 13-night sailing and I'd actually would've liked more time on the ship, but I didn't go all that way to stay on the ship (I'd never been to any of the ports before and hadn't been to Europe in nearly 20 years).

 

If I see someone starting to leave the bathroom without washing her hands, I say something. Yes, I believe in public humiliation! And then I use the little papers that are available to open the door.

 

I think at least 25% of the passengers on our sailing came home sick. I'm no germaphobe but I'm very conscientious about hand-washing when I travel (because I can't trust that others are). And because you're suddenly in close quarters with people from all over the world who have brought their own locals bugs with them to which you haven't been exposed. Sometimes, you just get sick.

[cruizinisthebest]

Just a FYI, it has been proven that hand sanitizer and gel do very lttle to deter germs and actually aren't very good for you. Just good ole soap and water before you go to eat is the best option. Thank you for your review and your perspective.

Pat

 

Agreed.

 

Thanks for your review.

 

Most want Carnival to tone down the decor. Simply a case of 'Can't please everybody.' Not a dig at the OP, just a statement.

 

 

I love the toned down look. I also loved the glitzy look, but I think it's old and has its place for the older ships. So I agree, no matter the design someone will dislike it.

[Micahs Grandad]

Thanks for your review. We like the Dream and Conquest class which come with good sized comedy club venue.

 

From what I have heard this is way too small on the Vista and hard to get seats.

[dulcemariamar]

Thank you for your review and tips.

 

Did you book the Green eggs and Ham breakfast? My daughter is already 8 but I think she will still have fun. Thanks!

 

You can only book once you are onboard ship. It costs 5 dollars per person. I booked it at Camp Ocean.

[dulcemariamar]

I didn't miss the tall atrium or the loud decor at all. So much more modern than the "Vegas" style that Farcus was so fond of. I thought she was lovely.

 

OP, there were lots of renderings of the ship (including the atrium) available during the build on Carnival's website. I pretty much knew just what she was going to look like before boarding (and knew the layout so I wouldn't get lost). Some people like surprises, but I like to know what to expect. :)

 

I've written a review and talked about my feelings about the food and pretty much everything else.

 

I did mention in my review that I think it was a huge mistake to use dark brown carpeting on the stairwells/landings. When we boarded (and we were the first passengers to sail her), it looked like it was covered in sandy footprints. I can't imagine what it will look like once she's in the Caribbean where there really will be sandy footprints!

 

We had only three sea days on a 13-night sailing and I'd actually would've liked more time on the ship, but I didn't go all that way to stay on the ship (I'd never been to any of the ports before and hadn't been to Europe in nearly 20 years).

 

If I see someone starting to leave the bathroom without washing her hands, I say something. Yes, I believe in public humiliation! And then I use the little papers that are available to open the door.

 

I think at least 25% of the passengers on our sailing came home sick. I'm no germaphobe but I'm very conscientious about hand-washing when I travel (because I can't trust that others are). And because you're suddenly in close quarters with people from all over the world who have brought their own locals bugs with them to which you haven't been exposed. Sometimes, you just get sick.

 

 

Wow, 25% of the passengers? What were people sick with ? Colds or stomach bugs?

[dulcemariamar]

Agreed.

 

 

 

I love the toned down look. I also loved the glitzy look, but I think it's old and has its place for the older ships. So I agree, no matter the design someone will dislike it.

 

I agree that you cant please everyone but it some places it was way toned down for my liking.

[aquarianne11]

You can only book once you are onboard ship. It costs 5 dollars per person. I booked it at Camp Ocean.

 

Thanks for the info!

[travelchatkat]

I am just going to post a quick review about my 8 night cruise on Carnival Vista. I don't have pics to post but just wanted to share my review here.

 

Background

 

I am American and I traveled with my European husband and my 3YO child. We live in Europe. I would say that about 80% of the passengers were from the States. I was a bit surprised to see that there were so many. I have taken cruises with RCC and NCL in Europe and there Americans were definitely the minority onboard. But considering Carnival does very little advertising in Europe it made sense that there were so many Americans. There were not that many kids onboard ship but perhaps it only felt like that because my last cruise was with Disney. There were a lot of babies/toddlers though. People were generally friendly and respectful.

 

Ports of Call

 

Barcelona

Palermo

Naples

Rome

Livorno

Marseille

Palma de Mallorca

 

I am going to be honest. I booked the cruise to basically just stay on the boat. I don't have much to write about the ports. Even though, it was mostly Americans onboard there were a lot more Russians/English from when I was on Carnival Magic a few years ago. I was hoping to enjoy an empty ship when we were in Rome and florence but it seemed that there were a lot of English people who also decided just to book the trip to enjoy the ship.

 

I did get off in Palermo but I didn't really see anything interesting. Even my waiter commented about how dirty it is. In Marseille, we got a paper from Carnival warning us about an increase in crime in the city so I did see a lot of people who chose to stay onboard ship that day. Palma de Mallorca was great but it was super hot. I cant imagine taking this cruise in July/August.

 

Carnival offers a shuttle to the center of the town for most of the ports. They don't advertise it in the excursion book but they wait to announce it once the ship has docked in the port. It is still a more expensive option then local transportation. (Between 14-18 euros per person) but it could be an interesting option.

 

Food

 

Breakfast was not great. It was better in the main dining room but even then I had better on other companies. Plus, the MDR was only open for 2 hours between 6:30-8:30. I was usually never up that early. In the Lido deck they would basically not replenish the food. My DH loved the chocolate muffins but if he got there after 9:30, then they would be gone for the day. The choices in the Lido deck were not that great especially the eggs, pancakes option. I stuck mostly to fruit, cereal and pastries.

 

Lunch was better. The quality of food in the Lido buffet was not great but I enjoyed their pizza (best pizza of any cruise line IMO), hamburgers, deli station and pasta bar in the Capitano Cuccina. And in the Lido for both breakfast and lunch, they never opened all the stations. So for breakfast there was only one tray to get your scrambled eggs and side options from.

 

Dinner was quite good but I found that the food got a bit repetitive the last two days. We had some misses but then we just ordered something else off the menu. The bread wasn't fresh every day. I got a lot of toasted bread from the day before. That was kinda of annoying.

 

The Boat

 

Somebody else posted this and I agree with them but for being only a month old, you can already seem some wear and tear. The carpets are already stained especially in the atrium area and the paint is starting to chip off. It seems that they cut corners and you can see that.

 

The biggest disappointment was the atrium area. On the first day, I kept on looking for the atrium until my DH had to point out that we have walked through it several times. It is only 3 decks high and is very sterile looking. (actually, a lot of the ship is quite bland and I miss the glitz of the typical Carnival ships). I love big, tall atriums. So I felt that was lacking.

 

Most of the public spaces were great though. We loved all the bars and great spaces to play games and just to sit down and relax. The water works area was a lot of fun and my LO loved it. Red Frog Pub was great. The main theater is also really small. It is not a big deal since Carnival is not known for putting on big shows.

 

entertainment

 

The live music was pretty good. I love love the group Dancing with my cousins. Their voices are amazing. Velvet Vibe was also good but a bit loud for my tastes. The piano bar singer was not a strong singer but maybe he had an off night when I went. I did not go see any shows but I did go to the family game show and that was fun and I laughed a lot.

 

Camp Ocean

 

It was awesome. It was seriously the best. After our fiasco with Disney kids club I was so happy with our experience here. They have a great way of grouping the ages together and starting in the afternoon, they had a new activity every hour and a party every night. My child loved going. Plus, they have a beautiful Dr. Seuss reading and game room next door that you can go to with your kids.

 

Seuss at Sea

 

Seuss at Sea is a cute addition to the ships. My daughter loved their activities like the parade and show. We were only disappointed with the food served at the breakfast. Some of it was inedible. I saw a lot of people leaving their food untouched. I would still go but I was glad that I ordered plain French toast.

 

Negatives

 

The biggest negative for me was the cleanliness of the ship. It could have been cleaner especially the public areas. But what really gets me is that there is not crew members who actively try to get people to wash their hands before going to the buffet. There were gel dispenser there but most people did not use it. On all other cruise lines, they basically harass you to wash your hands with gel or spray.

 

Final Rating

 

We loved our cruise with Carnival Magic a few years ago so I was a bit disappointed to see that Carnival Vista did not match up. The quality of the food in the Lido, especially for breakfast, was a lot worse. I felt like there were less crew onboard ship so the daily maintenance was lacking. It generally feels like they are trying to save money but things are starting to suffer. I would still sail with Carnival but i was happy with my NCl experience so carnival might not be my first pick anymore.

 

So overall the cruise gets a 6.5-7 rating from me,

 

I am on the Vista next week for the 10 day Greece to Barcelona, thank you for your write up it helps knowing what to expect when we are on the ship. I agree I like a grand Atrium as well.

[Isasprings]

I was on the Vists 5/24 and the Atrium is one of the most BEAUTIFUL I ever seen....and the ship is super clean I do agree that the liquid lounge is small.

Wear and tear! Sorry there is none....We clean our hands every time we go to the Lido in a machine

Before we eat did you saw it? I did because a lot of people were using it.

Edited June 14, 2016 by Isasprings

[riclop]

I am just going to post a quick review about my 8 night cruise on Carnival Vista. I don't have pics to post but just wanted to share my review here.

 

Background

 

I am American and I traveled with my European husband and my 3YO child. We live in Europe. I would say that about 80% of the passengers were from the States. I was a bit surprised to see that there were so many. I have taken cruises with RCC and NCL in Europe and there Americans were definitely the minority onboard. But considering Carnival does very little advertising in Europe it made sense that there were so many Americans. There were not that many kids onboard ship but perhaps it only felt like that because my last cruise was with Disney. There were a lot of babies/toddlers though. People were generally friendly and respectful.

 

Ports of Call

 

Barcelona

Palermo

Naples

Rome

Livorno

Marseille

Palma de Mallorca

 

I am going to be honest. I booked the cruise to basically just stay on the boat. I don't have much to write about the ports. Even though, it was mostly Americans onboard there were a lot more Russians/English from when I was on Carnival Magic a few years ago. I was hoping to enjoy an empty ship when we were in Rome and florence but it seemed that there were a lot of English people who also decided just to book the trip to enjoy the ship.

 

I did get off in Palermo but I didn't really see anything interesting. Even my waiter commented about how dirty it is. In Marseille, we got a paper from Carnival warning us about an increase in crime in the city so I did see a lot of people who chose to stay onboard ship that day. Palma de Mallorca was great but it was super hot. I cant imagine taking this cruise in July/August.

 

Carnival offers a shuttle to the center of the town for most of the ports. They don't advertise it in the excursion book but they wait to announce it once the ship has docked in the port. It is still a more expensive option then local transportation. (Between 14-18 euros per person) but it could be an interesting option.

 

Food

 

Breakfast was not great. It was better in the main dining room but even then I had better on other companies. Plus, the MDR was only open for 2 hours between 6:30-8:30. I was usually never up that early. In the Lido deck they would basically not replenish the food. My DH loved the chocolate muffins but if he got there after 9:30, then they would be gone for the day. The choices in the Lido deck were not that great especially the eggs, pancakes option. I stuck mostly to fruit, cereal and pastries.

 

Lunch was better. The quality of food in the Lido buffet was not great but I enjoyed their pizza (best pizza of any cruise line IMO), hamburgers, deli station and pasta bar in the Capitano Cuccina. And in the Lido for both breakfast and lunch, they never opened all the stations. So for breakfast there was only one tray to get your scrambled eggs and side options from.

 

Dinner was quite good but I found that the food got a bit repetitive the last two days. We had some misses but then we just ordered something else off the menu. The bread wasn't fresh every day. I got a lot of toasted bread from the day before. That was kinda of annoying.

 

The Boat

 

Somebody else posted this and I agree with them but for being only a month old, you can already seem some wear and tear. The carpets are already stained especially in the atrium area and the paint is starting to chip off. It seems that they cut corners and you can see that.

 

The biggest disappointment was the atrium area. On the first day, I kept on looking for the atrium until my DH had to point out that we have walked through it several times. It is only 3 decks high and is very sterile looking. (actually, a lot of the ship is quite bland and I miss the glitz of the typical Carnival ships). I love big, tall atriums. So I felt that was lacking.

 

Most of the public spaces were great though. We loved all the bars and great spaces to play games and just to sit down and relax. The water works area was a lot of fun and my LO loved it. Red Frog Pub was great. The main theater is also really small. It is not a big deal since Carnival is not known for putting on big shows.

 

entertainment

 

The live music was pretty good. I love love the group Dancing with my cousins. Their voices are amazing. Velvet Vibe was also good but a bit loud for my tastes. The piano bar singer was not a strong singer but maybe he had an off night when I went. I did not go see any shows but I did go to the family game show and that was fun and I laughed a lot.

 

Camp Ocean

 

It was awesome. It was seriously the best. After our fiasco with Disney kids club I was so happy with our experience here. They have a great way of grouping the ages together and starting in the afternoon, they had a new activity every hour and a party every night. My child loved going. Plus, they have a beautiful Dr. Seuss reading and game room next door that you can go to with your kids.

 

Seuss at Sea

 

Seuss at Sea is a cute addition to the ships. My daughter loved their activities like the parade and show. We were only disappointed with the food served at the breakfast. Some of it was inedible. I saw a lot of people leaving their food untouched. I would still go but I was glad that I ordered plain French toast.

 

Negatives

 

The biggest negative for me was the cleanliness of the ship. It could have been cleaner especially the public areas. But what really gets me is that there is not crew members who actively try to get people to wash their hands before going to the buffet. There were gel dispenser there but most people did not use it. On all other cruise lines, they basically harass you to wash your hands with gel or spray.

 

Final Rating

 

We loved our cruise with Carnival Magic a few years ago so I was a bit disappointed to see that Carnival Vista did not match up. The quality of the food in the Lido, especially for breakfast, was a lot worse. I felt like there were less crew onboard ship so the daily maintenance was lacking. It generally feels like they are trying to save money but things are starting to suffer. I would still sail with Carnival but i was happy with my NCl experience so carnival might not be my first pick anymore.

 

So overall the cruise gets a 6.5-7 rating from me,

Thanks for the review.

[Tapi]

Just a FYI, it has been proven that hand sanitizer and gel do very lttle to deter germs and actually aren't very good for you. Just good ole soap and water before you go to eat is the best option.

 

Pat

 

 

They may not be as effective as soap and water, but considering how many people I see that walk right from a bathroom stall, bypass the sinks in the bathroom, and go straight for the buffet, I'd prefer if they at least take 2 seconds and sanitize their hands. It's absolutely disgusting to know that someone just wiped their bottom, didn't wash their hands and are now standing in front of me, holding the same serving utensil that I'm about to use! [emoji13] Once again, I know that sanitizers are not 100% effective, but they are better than nothing, which seems to be the method of choice of many these days. [emoji849]

[cocacola86]

Just booked the Vista for April 2018 in a Havana Inside, can't wait.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums mobile app

[Trumpster]

Vista so far doesn't appeal to us like the Dream Class does. I'm sure we will go on her but see no rush to go. Much of what the ship has won't enhance our vacation and much of what it doesn't have or is weaker in, will impact our vacation.

 

Certain cruisers will get plenty out of the vista, just not us as much.

[NCTribeFan]

OK now. Did you guys read what I said about hand washing? ;)

 

And do you really follow the people out of the bathroom to see where they're going after they didn't wash their hands?

 

Instead of stalking them, say something to them! Tell them they need to wash their hands! Let them know it is not ok for them not to do so.

 

Re: Havana insides - hope you're aware that they have late-night Latin music in the bar every evening. People on our sailing were complaining about the noise.

 

I use cruisedeckplans dot com. Love their "drag decks" feature that lets you see what's above and below you.

 

Had people complain about noise back in the Family Harbor area because they'd booked cabins under the galley! Well, yes! And booking under the pool area can be noisy.

 

Just because it's a brand-new ship doesn't mean that these "standard" issues won't apply.

 

I haven't been on any of the Dream class. I didn't sail Vista because she was new - I sailed her for the itinerary. But as I stated in my review, for the number of passengers, I never felt like she was crowded. The only crowds were every morning when we were all trying to get off the ship and start our day in port, which happens on all cruises.

[Rh2458]

Wow, 25% of the passengers? What were people sick with ? Colds or stomach bugs?

 

How does someone actually confirm a statistic like that? If there were 4,000 guests that would mean 1000 got sick. I see no way of someone actually confirming a number like that.

[JaniceB]

Thank you for the well written review.

[cocacola86]

It's kind of like the Oasis class it doesn't appeal to everyone

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

[cruizinisthebest]

OK now. Did you guys read what I said about hand washing? ;)

 

And do you really follow the people out of the bathroom to see where they're going after they didn't wash their hands?

 

Instead of stalking them, say something to them! Tell them they need to wash their hands! Let them know it is not ok for them not to do so.

 

Re: Havana insides - hope you're aware that they have late-night Latin music in the bar every evening. People on our sailing were complaining about the noise.

 

I use cruisedeckplans dot com. Love their "drag decks" feature that lets you see what's above and below you.

 

Had people complain about noise back in the Family Harbor area because they'd booked cabins under the galley! Well, yes! And booking under the pool area can be noisy.

 

Just because it's a brand-new ship doesn't mean that these "standard" issues won't apply.

 

I haven't been on any of the Dream class. I didn't sail Vista because she was new - I sailed her for the itinerary. But as I stated in my review, for the number of passengers, I never felt like she was crowded. The only crowds were every morning when we were all trying to get off the ship and start our day in port, which happens on all cruises.

 

I don't see how people know who is leaving the bathroom either unless you are stalking each and every one.

 

As far as booking the ship, because it's new - I see nothing wrong with that. It's sure why we booked it as the itinerary we've done twice before. I just wish I could have gotten the best of both worlds and booked one of the European sailings. My pocket and fear of long flights just wouldn't allow for it. :(