Vista Review... Not Impressed...

[S.S.Oceanlover]

That absolutely blows my mind (not doubting you, but there is a "herd" mentality out there) that people would stand in line for hours at a time to see a comedy show when you are on a ship that has about 1000 things going on. We aint talking a Richard Pryor performance....These people would essentially waste an entire night waiting online for a B rate comedy show....unbelievable :confused:

 

In the opinion of many that B rate comedy show is better than the other 999 things going on that night.

 

Bill

[Micahs Grandad]

In the opinion of many that B rate comedy show is better than the other 999 things going on that night.

 

Bill

 

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[asalligo]

It started off when we got to the port and were told that because their was a group of 900 or so home based Travel Agents on our cruise (holding their annual convention), Diamond, Platinum and FTTF people would have to stand in line, outside the terminal until noon, while they had a special, early boarding line for the Travel Agents (Regardless of their status). (we had a 10am staggered boarding time).

 

This would have made me livid.

 

I agree with your statement about the atrium also. I was watching early videos of the Vista and I felt that the atrium was just not grand and the design of the ship seemed bland.

 

Now, this is slightly hypocritical of me as I always thought I wanted less audacious decorations, but I was wrong.

[asalligo]

I know that many people have things they do while waiting for their cruise date to arrive. Mine is to watch the original Poseidon Adventure and Titanic before each cruse. :eek::D

 

Me too. If it has a cruise ship, I am down. Also love Deep Rising.

Edited December 16, 2016 by asalligo

[Fla Senior]

That absolutely blows my mind (not doubting you, but there is a "herd" mentality out there) that people would stand in line for hours at a time to see a comedy show when you are on a ship that has about 1000 things going on. We aint talking a Richard Pryor performance....These people would essentially waste an entire night waiting online for a B rate comedy show....unbelievable :confused:

 

The poster must have been referring to the Liquid Lounge where the main shows were held. We went to the comedy club several times. Each time we got in line 30 minutes before the show and was very near the front of the line. The main show lounge is a disaster and must be addressed by Carnival. But the comedy club is just fine. Smaller venue is perfect for comedians and the line wasn't bad at all.

[rob6465]

I'm actually pretty easy to please... lol you'd never know it by this review. I love Carnival and will keep sailing them exclusively.

 

99% of the people we spoke to on this cruise, felt the same way as us.

 

3 friends of mine said the same thing. They prefer the breeze now.

[jimbo5544]

Was on the Vista for the NY to Miami 11 night cruise, back in November. Being diamond and having cruised on Carnival a lot, I had to categorize the Vista as the Worst Carnival Cruise me and my wife have ever taken. Service in the dining room was SLOW! Many nights, it would take 30 minutes or more to get our appetizers. There were some nights where our main course took over an hour to arrive. The staff is simply stretched to thin. Even our room steward was overwhelmed. Many days, our room was not cleaned in the morning until 11:30 or 11:45am. We have never experienced that before. Simply put, we will not be sailing the Vista EVER AGAIN. Carnival can not properly handle that many people. We cruised on the RCL Allure of the Seas a couple years ago. Holds up to 6,400 people. Was an amazing ship and amazing cruise with GREAT service in the dining room and by our room steward. They can handle the big ships and Carnival can not, at least not on the Vista. Don't waste your time paying more to cruise the Vista as its simply not worth the premium for a brand new ship with LOUSY service. Again, we are diamond and do not normally complain, but this ship just did not cut it for us. You may decide differently.

 

 

You are correct, I did.

 

 

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[S.S.Oceanlover]

You are correct, I did.

 

 

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Just goes to prove that everybody is different. You also didn't care for the Oasis class ship you sailed on.

 

How many people can say that?

 

Bill

 

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[Jamman54]

I am not surprised at what the OP and other seasoned Carnival cruisers have said about the Vista. In reality the Vista is only 2.7% larger than the Dream Class tonnage wise (133,500 vs 130,000). However the Vista carries 6.1% more passengers than the Dream Class. This has resulted in the Passenger Space Ratio being a 28 as opposed to the Dream Classes 29. For Comparison the Conquest Class is a 31, Fantasy Class is a 29, and the Spirit Class is a 34. The Carnival Sunshine is the worst in the fleet at a 27. She was a 31 as the Destiny.

 

The other interesting thing is that the number of crew on the Vista only increased by 4.3% over the Dream Class which does not match the increase in passengers, so I can understand why some service issues have popped up.

 

All things being said, If I had listened to all the negative reviews on the Sunshine, I would not have sailed her. It turns out that we liked the Sunshine, and would sail her again.

 

And so it will be for the Vista. Somewhere down the line we will try her and form our own opinions.

 

Happy cruising everyone!! :D

[Bigbob75]

Seems like some are outraged that some group (ta ) were treated /catered too more than another group with (plat or diamond )..imagine a company deciding on one group should be handeled or caterered too more than some other ... shocking !!! Not ...

ironic for some in here .. to me just plain funny

[jimbo5544]

Just goes to prove that everybody is different. You also didn't care for the Oasis class ship you sailed on.

 

How many people can say that?

 

Bill

 

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Lol touché

 

 

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[jsfromsc]

Same thing on Paradise , violin music in the atrium ,that feels like a step backward in time :eek: . For entertainment ,really :confused:. T A convention long delays as well. I wonder why Carnival started catering to TA's again? A few years back they were trying to distance themselves from TA's.

 

Very fair review.

 

We actually enjoy a string quartet or classical music in the atrium. There are so many other venues where other music is played. It's nice to have a little variety.

 

But I am disappointed to learn of what Carnival did with the public venues on this ship. There's no point in choosing to sail on a bigger ship if it's only going to mean more crowds and not being able to see some of the shows.

[TheTravelista]

Not surprised at this. The Sunshine is just a disaster IMO and its the ship that all future builds will be based on for years to come. The Carnival Sunshine is the one ship I can honestly, truly say I hate.

 

The worst part is Carnival knows its a disaster and hasn't been well received, but instead of scrapping the plans to make public areas smaller to add more rooms, they continued it on an even larger scale.

 

Just sad.

[Podna's]

Travelista, that's the beautiful of opinions. Besides the comedy club, we loved the Sunshine. Sailed on her twice from Nola and PC. Hoping to do a 3rd cruise on her next rear.

 

 

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Edited December 17, 2016 by Podna's

[jimbo5544]

Not surprised at this. The Sunshine is just a disaster IMO and its the ship that all future builds will be based on for years to come. The Carnival Sunshine is the one ship I can honestly, truly say I hate.

 

The worst part is Carnival knows its a disaster and hasn't been well received, but instead of scrapping the plans to make public areas smaller to add more rooms, they continued it on an even larger scale.

 

Just sad.

 

 

There must be a reason for this..... Let's contemplate what it could be...my guess is they feel views like yours are wrong (and I agree). Cruising is changing and these are some of the ways Carnival is changing....not worse. Just different. We loved the Sunshine and were very happy to see these come across to the Vista and Horizon and Vista III.

 

 

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[BNBR]

Was on the Vista for the NY to Miami 11 night cruise, back in November. Being diamond and having cruised on Carnival a lot, I had to categorize the Vista as the Worst Carnival Cruise me and my wife have ever taken. Service in the dining room was SLOW! Many nights, it would take 30 minutes or more to get our appetizers. There were some nights where our main course took over an hour to arrive. The staff is simply stretched to thin. Even our room steward was overwhelmed. Many days, our room was not cleaned in the morning until 11:30 or 11:45am. We have never experienced that before. Simply put, we will not be sailing the Vista EVER AGAIN. Carnival can not properly handle that many people. We cruised on the RCL Allure of the Seas a couple years ago. Holds up to 6,400 people. Was an amazing ship and amazing cruise with GREAT service in the dining room and by our room steward. They can handle the big ships and Carnival can not, at least not on the Vista. Don't waste your time paying more to cruise the Vista as its simply not worth the premium for a brand new ship with LOUSY service. Again, we are diamond and do not normally complain, but this ship just did not cut it for us. You may decide differently.

 

And on Allure, you can just reserve the comedy show (among other shows) - no dealing with lines and that nonsense.

 

From what I'm reading, it seems just like you said - Royal has the big ship stuff down FAR better than Carnival. We have been strongly considering Vista, but may just skip it and continue with Oasis class... maybe Harmony.

[jimbo5544]

And on Allure, you can just reserve the comedy show (among other shows) - no dealing with lines and that nonsense.

 

From what I'm reading, it seems just like you said - Royal has the big ship stuff down FAR better than Carnival. We have been strongly considering Vista, but may just skip it and continue with Oasis class... maybe Harmony.

 

 

While true about rebooking a show on RCCL, having to do these things months in advance is like a Disney trip. I want a vacation where I do not need moths of preplanning or waiting in a standby lane... Sounds Iike you were pre decided for RCCL but to each there own.

 

 

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[jimbo5544]

We actually enjoy a string quartet or classical music in the atrium. There are so many other venues where other music is played. It's nice to have a little variety.

 

 

 

But I am disappointed to learn of what Carnival did with the public venues on this ship. There's no point in choosing to sail on a bigger ship if it's only going to mean more crowds and not being able to see some of the shows.

 

 

Having sailed her, my advice is try her. Don't base your decision on one not happy cruiser. My take is we found the Vista LESS crowded that other Carnival ships. The comments on the main lounge (while true it is smaller), we found (and we went to every main show) was that there were open seats each and every time. This poster had a LARGE TA group of over 900 on the sailing and this def sways perceptions.

 

 

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[LMaxwell]

There must be a reason for this..... Let's contemplate what it could be...my guess is they feel views like yours are wrong (and I agree).

 

Smaller venues / more venues increases opportunities to charge for different experiences. On the one hand, they know not everyone wants to see a production show or eat in an MDR, so they don't need rooms capable of holding half the guests at once, but this allows them to create more niche venues, some of which have charges or drive more onboard spending. Not hard to figure out. Doesn't mean the person you were responding to was wrong. I'm surprised you could not tell something so obvious.

[jimbo5544]

Smaller venues / more venues increases opportunities to charge for different experiences. On the one hand, they know not everyone wants to see a production show or eat in an MDR, so they don't need rooms capable of holding half the guests at once, but this allows them to create more niche venues, some of which have charges or drive more onboard spending. Not hard to figure out. Doesn't mean the person you were responding to was wrong. I'm surprised you could not tell something so obvious.

 

 

Did I say he was wrong? Charge for what?

Edited December 17, 2016 by jimbo5544

[LMaxwell]

Did I say he was wrong?

 

Yes. Quite clearly at that.

 

Charge for what?

 

More niche venues = more specialty dining, more niche clubs (drive alcohol sales) etc. Sometimes there doesn't have to be an upfront cover charge in order for something to be designed to drive secondary sales.

 

For instance; many new ships, not just Carnival brand, lack the soaring glass topped atriums made popular in the late 1980's, 1990's, and 2000's, having been replaced by 2 or 3 story atriums so that ships can fit more cabins = create more revenue. Obviously that's good for business, but someone having a preference for a dramatic and open space doesn't make them wrong, just means it is their preference.

[jimbo5544]

Yes. Quite clearly at that.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

More niche venues = more specialty dining, more niche clubs (drive alcohol sales) etc. Sometimes there doesn't have to be an upfront cover charge in order for something to be designed to drive secondary sales.

 

 

 

For instance; many new ships, not just Carnival brand, lack the soaring glass topped atriums made popular in the late 1980's, 1990's, and 2000's, having been replaced by 2 or 3 story atriums so that ships can fit more cabins = create more revenue. Obviously that's good for business, but someone having a preference for a dramatic and open space doesn't make them wrong, just means it is their preference.

 

 

Well, I guess that is a way to look at it. Another way would be that the space was unneeded and based upon how crowded the lounge was when we were not the Vista I agree. While it is def smaller space, it seemed right based upon how full it was for shows. I also enjoyed the show coming into the area on the flat space where people sat. Crowding that these people experienced could have been easily been explained by the large TA group (and many management types from Carnival as well.

 

On your first point, my agreement was on the use of the space (which I am pretty sure I am entitled to .... But maybe not. Not that I agreed he was wrong.

[BNBR]

While true about rebooking a show on RCCL, having to do these things months in advance is like a Disney trip. I want a vacation where I do not need moths of preplanning or waiting in a standby lane... Sounds Iike you were pre decided for RCCL but to each there own.

 

 

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We booked all of our show reservations on the ship, one of them was same day. You can certainly prebook quickly online though. I guess you prefer the "stand for 4 hours in line" method, but yes, to each their own.

 

I was very close to booking Vista in March (with another CC'er, actually) - they are still going and I'm sure will have an amazing time. But reading more and more of the mostly "disappointed" reviews is making me think it just might not be for us. And this review and others makes it very clear that Carnival has some work to do to compete on the "big ship" level.

[Computer Nerd]

Yes. Quite clearly at that.

 

 

 

More niche venues = more specialty dining, more niche clubs (drive alcohol sales) etc. Sometimes there doesn't have to be an upfront cover charge in order for something to be designed to drive secondary sales.

 

For instance; many new ships, not just Carnival brand, lack the soaring glass topped atriums made popular in the late 1980's, 1990's, and 2000's, having been replaced by 2 or 3 story atriums so that ships can fit more cabins = create more revenue. Obviously that's good for business, but someone having a preference for a dramatic and open space doesn't make them wrong, just means it is their preference.

 

Oooooo, nothing like a good conspiracy theory.

[jimbo5544]

We booked all of our show reservations on the ship, one of them was same day. You can certainly prebook quickly online though. I guess you prefer the "stand for 4 hours in line" method, but yes, to each their own.

 

I was very close to booking Vista in March (with another CC'er, actually) - they are still going and I'm sure will have an amazing time. But reading more and more of the mostly "disappointed" reviews is making me think it just might not be for us. And this review and others makes it very clear that Carnival has some work to do to compete on the "big ship" level.

 

 

Not sure what ship you are referring to but the only line I ever had for a show was Oasis... Adios

 

 

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