Vista 7/1/16 8 day Med Review - a Vista like no other

[jimbo5544]

I threw some options out to the group on meet and greet dates and format and got lukewarm responses. I know that the FB group ended up meeting embarkation day at two in the Red Frog (I did not attend). With the Vista being new and having so little time on the ship, we wanted to explore the ship as much as we could during that time. The group here decided on the first sea day at 4 pm at the same location. I went and met about 6 people there and we discussed the ship and the cruise and our thoughts. The next day someone from there posted the the "official" CCL CC meet and greet was July 4th (I think... I may be mixing up my days) at 5 pm. I ended up going to that as well and it was sparsely attended. The host was Mischele I believe of CCL mischele fame (a guy) here, who we talked some and then he made a call and Matt came down. I will post a pic of that later. I did mention the selection of the time, it was posted in the Fun Times but would have missed it if not for the post from the roll call group. I did bring up the timing of these and he said he would move that info up the ladder.....

[jimbo5544]

Thanks for a preview of my upcoming trip on the Vista. I love Flat Stanley! Teaches children so many skills: geography, writing, history and communication. As for roll calls, I am enjoying our roll call, it's very active, and I can't wait to meet my new CC friends. I never logged onto one before. It has helped me in my planning, packing, etc. thanks for sharing.

 

 

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My pleasure, I agree on Flat Stanley, just did not expect the group to "embrace it so much". I also agree on roll calls, we have learned valuable information over the years and also made long lasting friends due to roll calls.

[jimbo5544]

Once back on the ship we changed and headed up to the aft pool where me met up with the rest of the group and we cooled off (this became a these over the next 4 days), had some libations and discussed the day's events and compared notes.

 

We also discussed the next day which was to be Naples. Our entire group were to be together for our private excursion to Sorrento, Amalfi/Positano and Revello.

 

I was finally on European time so after dinner we meandered around the ship enjoying the ships entertainment (more to come on entertainment a little later). We finally headed back to the cabin around midnight, we had an early wake up call for Naples.

[jimbo5544]

Coming up Naples (one of our top ten excursions days ever........) :):)

[BobbyD]

I am enjoying your report. We took the Magic to the Med a few years ago and had a "trip of a lifetime", with John Heald as our CD! We are hitting the Eastern Med in three weeks w/ Celebrity but the itinerary might be changed due to the turmoil in Turkey. The current cruise on that itinerary replaced Ephesus and Bodrum with Sicily and Rhodes. Definitely want to try out the Vista in the future!

 

Also, when we were on the Glory a couple of years ago, Ken the singing Maitre D was on the ship. He was quite entertaining!

[jimbo5544]

I am enjoying your report. We took the Magic to the Med a few years ago and had a "trip of a lifetime", with John Heald as our CD! We are hitting the Eastern Med in three weeks w/ Celebrity but the itinerary might be changed due to the turmoil in Turkey. The current cruise on that itinerary replaced Ephesus and Bodrum with Sicily and Rhodes. Definitely want to try out the Vista in the future!

 

Also, when we were on the Glory a couple of years ago, Ken the singing Maitre D was on the ship. He was quite entertaining!

 

Thanks for following along (esp from a fellow nutmegger;))! Our last time out we sailed with John as the CD (on the Carnival Liberty), he is a great guy. Matt has an energy that exceeds description. We are friends with Ken from way back (hung out with him in the Red Frog drinking and listening to him singing) when the Magic first came over to Galveston. He is a classy guy and they broke to mold when they made Ken. I don't think you will be disappointed in the Vista. I will summarize her at the end of the review.

 

While I understand the substitutions, Sicily and Rhodes are certainly not Ephesus and Bodrum, but with the world as it today, you do what you have to do.

Edited July 19, 2016 by jimbo5544

[thecruiserofships]

Thank you for the review! I am enjoying your pictures!

[happytogetherj&j]

We had Ken as our MD. He is great! I forget what ship- I'm so happy to hear positive reviews about the Vista.

 

 

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[Ms. Fun Bunch]

Loving your review, the pictures are to die for! Looking forward to more!

[jimbo5544]

Thank you for the review! I am enjoying your pictures!

 

Thanks for following along. choosing and then loading the pics can get a little tedious, but I am enjoying doing it. More to come.

[jimbo5544]

We had Ken as our MD. He is great! I forget what ship- I'm so happy to hear positive reviews about the Vista.

 

 

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Ken is a great guy, we enjoy sailing with him. He is one of a kind as well.

[jimbo5544]

Loving your review, the pictures are to die for! Looking forward to more!

 

Thanks for the kind words. Selecting which pics to post and keeping track of jumping around is head scratching at times. Much more to come.....

[jimbo5544]

Naples

 

We had a 7:30 meet time for our group on the pier to meet the drivers and guides. All of the group was up bright and early and we met in the lobby (all present and accounted for) at 7:15. Most ate together before that. This excursion was for our entire group.

 

The group leaders were waiting for us and we quickly made our way to the vans, boarded and were on our way. After about an hour of travel on the way to Sorrento, we pulled off on an overlook where we could look forward to Sorrento and back to Naples and Capri. Here are some pics from that looking to Sorrento.

 

 

[jimbo5544]

....and here is or total motley crew. Those two standing on the rock wall.....there is about a 900 foot drop from that....drove me crazy

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[jimbo5544]

We then re-boarded the buses and headed down to Sorrento . We had to go through a tunnel to in the mountain to do so.....pretty cool. They dropped us off and gave us two hours to have some fun. We had been to Sorrento before but others had not. We all split up and went our separate ways.

[jimbo5544]

Here are some pictures from the town, it is really nice and I would not hesitate staying here as a portion of a land based trip.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[jimbo5544]

.....and some more, we found some of our crew along the way relaxing and enjoying.....

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[jimbo5544]

....and some more including the steps down to the marina from the Excelsior Hotel (I think)......

 

 

 

 

 

 

[jimbo5544]

....as we made our way back to the pickup point a couple more including a church I meandered into.....

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[jimbo5544]

I could easily spend 4 or 5 days here. One of my favorites in Italy, at least until the next stop..... We made our way back on the buses and then onward (and upward)..... next up Positano.

[jimbo5544]

When I laid out the agenda for this day, working with Joe Bananas, I had wanted to include a lunch somewhere appropriate and price the excursion to include the lunch. They responded quickly with a recommendation that I accepted based upon their expertise. I cannot find the name of the place now (I do have it somewhere but cannot put my hands on it), but the plans were to spend some time in Positano then go to lunch and then go to Revello.

 

As we did this the group grew hungry and we start climbing through the hills. Saying it was tight and narrow roads would be an understatement and twice we had to backup for other traffic but we finally made our way to the lunch stop. Here are some pics of a look back down to Positano......

 

 

 

 

 

[jimbo5544]

It was an open air restaurant with absolutely fantastic views. There was no menu, we got what "Mama" cooked. The rest of the family served us. Wine and water flowed as well, here are some more pics.....

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[jimbo5544]

and some more....... The food was great the desserts were spectacular (there was a home made cream puff with pistascio sauce OMG)

 

 

 

Edited July 20, 2016 by jimbo5544

[jimbo5544]

and some views of the ships down in the water.......

 

 

 

 

[jimbo5544]

Going back up we went through the gardens where they grow all the food.....