Just OFF VISTA 2 11

[blueclawfan]

In replying to some people who asked about the vista before leaving i told them not to let what is written here to influence you but to serve only as a guide as we all have our own like and dislikes including what I may have to say. I am going to try and be as honest as I can.

 

Embarkation : We were priority because Carnival had called 2 weeks earlier and offered us an upgrade from Balcony to Suite which I took. We were in suite 7329 only 4 doors down from my original balcony. We were seated in the Priority Lounge which was located to the left and to the back from where Final Check In is located. With carnival in Miami you check in first downstairs then go upstairs for Final Check In. Check In was fast and simple though my passports had to be shown again since they didnt scan when they did it downstairs. We arrived at appx 10:55 and were able to go right to the door since we were priority. The line for others wrapped around the building. They must open doors sooner because there was over a thousand people in the other waiting areas. Our priority area had a few hundred and a very large wedding which went on first. There is no section calling in Priority and after the wedding went it was every person for themselves when it was our turn. No organization it was chaos . However we got on the ship went right to tour desk since thats where we got on and signed up for the Behind the Fun Tour. We were able to go to our room drop our carry ons and pick up our room key which was in a sealed envelope in the mail slot.

 

On the Ship: Comments I heard about the theater in the front of the ship where the shows are held are absolutely true. It is the worse set up I have ever seen on a ship. Chairs set up to be flat and not movie style worse ever on a cruise line. Even in our behind the fun tour the manager said yes I know but we are going to try and fix that on future ships. We sat upstairs we could see around the poles where we were and managed to get the same seats for every show . Shows were very good nothing to complain about them except for the server who continued to serve during the show even shinning his bright flashlight in our eyes. IMO serving should stop 5 minutes before the show for the enjoyment of people who came to watch. We went to the comedy club last night for the pg show. Was great and he mentioned only on carnival were there 6 poles for you to see around to watch the show. We didn't go to the multi plex because the show times were when there was something else to do. Felt there should have been more showings. LaLa Land and Lego Bat Man were the main movies. Guys Burger Lines, Pizza, and The Fish Shack were reasonable. The BBQ Pig Line was like they were giving away food free ( which they were ) . The lines were so long unless you were getting in line around 11:15 . They open 11:30 then your wait was only 15-20 mins. I went on the sky ride twice and waited no longer then 5 mins. You cannot try and go on these during sea days everything is a super long wait. The market place PLEASE BE CAREFUL WHEN ENTERING !! Certain days these floors were like ice. I don't know what it is but the flooring is not made for sneakers . People were slipping and falling. Carnival needs to look at this. Food was good and never had a problem finding a seat. The deli in the aft section of the market place was excellent.

We did not eat in the dinning room for dinner. Line Up for my time dinning on the 5th floor for dinning on the 4th floor must have been a though process of a rocket scientist. Too fancy and lines going down by Pixels area. Why not like other ships go to dinning room get seated and wait there if needed. IMO crazy just crazy. We did have breakfast twice in dinning room. Service was slow food was good. Steak House was fantastic over the top. I like my steak well done and it came perfect and tasty. Italian Restaurant had excellent food, service was great and would highly recommend both places.

 

Cabin: 7329 was a suite and had plenty of room,large tv and super large balcony. TV programming was much better than other ships i have been on. Small problem I had was hair and dirt alongside outside of jet tub. More attention to small details needed. Our steward was good . We seemed to be first each day which is good for us. He only had 3 more weeks and I am sure he was tired.

 

Just a word about Bingo for those who play. Vista had tons of players $40 for largest pkg. The venues where it is held need to be questioned . Except for the 2nd which was held in front theater all other venues were way too small. Everyone was on top of each other. For all the people the payouts were small so IMO Carnival makes a lot of money on this. Other ships I have been on give away the rest of money last day. Not carnival .

 

We had a good time so the vacation was good but if there is a next time it is back to RCC for me. Though I love those large ships I have never felt crowded on RCC.

[funinthesun1964]

Thanks for posting your thoughts. I leave on Vista in a couple of weeks.

 

We cruised out of Miami Oct. 30 on Splendor. Embarkation was same way. We arrived at terminal by 11 and the place was a zoo. We waited outside to get into the terminal with everyone else. No one ever said, if you are priority (we are platinum), you can go ahead. They checked our passport and boarding passes downstairs and then we went upstairs, they directed us to another line, and found out that we didn't need to be in that line since we had already linked a credit card to our S&S card. Our friends pulled us out of the line and we confirmed with a rep who was standing nearby. When we arrived at the priority area, it was packed and kind of difficult to find a place to stand, let alone sit. People were herding on to the ship and as we were waiting in line to go up to board, they called Zone 4. The people who did not have passports, but instead had birth certificates had to have pictures taken just before entering the gangway and this held up the line. Like you said, chaos!

 

Did you go to any of the comedy shows?

[blueclawfan]

Went to the 7:30 show Drake I think It was fantastic and clean

 

 

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[crewsweeper]

Thanks for your thoughts blueclawfan.

 

On our Vista cruise in January, the system was down. They couldn't check in and scan passports. And then they had to take everyone's picture before boarding. But we got to the terminal just before 10A as I wanted to find a decent parking spot (another story for another time) and by the time I came back from the parking lot, half the people waiting were in line and upstairs the zoned seats were filling up fast and we had to sit in a different boarding area at first. Not sure if it even matters what time you are signed to check in. No one was asking us.

[easyboy]

Thank you for your feedback.

[pe4all]

Thanks for your review. How quiet was your cabin? Did you hear any noise from below/above? That is one complaint I have heard about the Havana cabins.....

[blueclawfan]

Thanks for your review. How quiet was your cabin? Did you hear any noise from below/above? That is one complaint I have heard about the Havana cabins.....

 

very quiet except for the slamming of cabin doors by people

[MNKEITH]

Thanks for providing your feedback. I get to see for myself in 11 days !

[JaniceB]

Thanks for the report!

[sailor_jimc]

Was on the same sailing. I agree with everything you said about the Liquid lounge (show lounge) It is almost useless as a show theater. I counted .. it you put a body in every seat the main floor could hold almost 500 people.. About a third of those people would not be bale to see the stage. Up stairs was worse. if you were in the back row, you were looking att he balcony ceiling and had to duck down to be able to see and then only about half the stage was visible.

 

I wanted to try the Pig and Anchor BBQ.. but I didn't have 3 hours of my last cruise day to spend on waiting in line.

 

I loved the decor, but as with any new class of vessel, there seems to be some issues that HOPEFULLY can be addressed with the next ship

[jcpelly]

I was on this cruise also and I have never been on a cruise that I didn't like. I was pretty close to that point on this cruise though. Check in was a joke and took 2 1/2 hours to get on the boat even though we showed up on time. My take on the boat is that it would be a great ship if they fixed the showroom and eliminated about 1000 passengers. Everything is crowded on that boat. The only time it wasn't is if you stay on the boat on a port day. It seems like they just added more passengers and shrunk up all the venues to allow for the added staterooms. I wouldn't go on the Vista again unless I got a REALLY good deal. Back to the older boats I guess for me.

[SNJCruisers]

The Vista is a ship that contains life boats, not the other way around.

 

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[crewsweeper]

Was on the same sailing. I agree with everything you said about the Liquid lounge (show lounge) It is almost useless as a show theater. I counted .. it you put a body in every seat the main floor could hold almost 500 people.. About a third of those people would not be bale to see the stage. Up stairs was worse. if you were in the back row, you were looking att he balcony ceiling and had to duck down to be able to see and then only about half the stage was visible.

 

I wanted to try the Pig and Anchor BBQ.. but I didn't have 3 hours of my last cruise day to spend on waiting in line.

 

I loved the decor, but as with any new class of vessel, there seems to be some issues that HOPEFULLY can be addressed with the next ship

Sorry your cruise was spoiled by the Liquid Lounge. I do agree it's not the best design and I only stayed 10 minutes for America Rocks before I left. But there's a host of things to do. Want music..Havana Bar's Latin combo was excellent.

And while there are waits for P&A BBQ, they aren't 3 hours. There are 2 lines moving. Wait was longer at Seafood Shack where they prep everything to order. Serenity's Salad bar was the better venue for lunch, IMO. Line might look a bit long but moves fast and they're making your salad to order.

[CA_Cruzing]

was your cruise booked with mostly adults or families with children?

[SNJCruisers]

Serenity's Salad bar was the better venue for lunch, IMO. Line might look a bit long but moves fast and they're making your salad to order.

Is the new chopped salad at Serenity available every day or only on sea days? Also, is it similar to the chopped salad option in the MDR on RCI on their sea days? Thanks

 

 

 

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[riclop]

Thanks for the review.

[eaflorida]

As a Diamond Member having 55 Carnival Cruises under my belt, I do agree that the Vista cruise I took from NY to Miami in Nov 2016, was the worst of any of my 55 Carnival Cruises. The service in the dining room was SLOW! Sometimes, it would take 30 minutes to get your appetizer. Our room steward would not have our stateroom cleaned some days until 11:30 or noon. Never experienced that in 54 other Carnival Cruises. I was simply unimpressed with the ship and the service and that has NEVER happened before to me and my spouse.

 

I am fortunate to also be Diamond Plus on Royal Caribbean, and have sailed the Allure of the Seas twice. This ship holds 6200 passengers and was a treat, compared to the poor service that Carnival provided us on the 4,000 passenger Vista. From getting onto the ship, to the service and amenities on the Allure, there is simply no comparison. Carnival Vista needs a lot more crew to handle their passengers. They need bigger spaces for their venues.

 

I used to sail almost exclusively on Carnival, but it appears that my more recent Royal Caribbean experiences have far surpassed our Vista experience.

 

What it all comes down to is that the cruise lines are doing extremely well financially now with such strong bookings and high prices. But, dollar per dollar, I think Royal has a much better grasp on how to handle its passengers. No more Vista for me and my spouse for sure!

[CA_Cruzing]

As a Diamond Member having 55 Carnival Cruises under my belt, I do agree that the Vista cruise I took from NY to Miami in Nov 2016, was the worst of any of my 55 Carnival Cruises. The service in the dining room was SLOW! Sometimes, it would take 30 minutes to get your appetizer. Our room steward would not have our stateroom cleaned some days until 11:30 or noon. Never experienced that in 54 other Carnival Cruises. I was simply unimpressed with the ship and the service and that has NEVER happened before to me and my spouse.

 

I am fortunate to also be Diamond Plus on Royal Caribbean, and have sailed the Allure of the Seas twice. This ship holds 6200 passengers and was a treat, compared to the poor service that Carnival provided us on the 4,000 passenger Vista. From getting onto the ship, to the service and amenities on the Allure, there is simply no comparison. Carnival Vista needs a lot more crew to handle their passengers. They need bigger spaces for their venues.

 

I used to sail almost exclusively on Carnival, but it appears that my more recent Royal Caribbean experiences have far surpassed our Vista experience.

 

What it all comes down to is that the cruise lines are doing extremely well financially now with such strong bookings and high prices. But, dollar per dollar, I think Royal has a much better grasp on how to handle its passengers. No more Vista for me and my spouse for sure!

 

http://www.foxnews.com/travel/2017/02/14/2000-royal-caribbean-passengers-stranded-after-ship-fails-life-jacket-inspection.html

 

 

I'll stick with Carnival.

 

 

The Vista is the most different of any Carnival ship built to date. I take that as a plus from what I've been reading on CC.

 

 

As for slow service, any new venture/product has launch issues. I have never seen perfect in my life.

[jimbo5544]

As a Diamond Member having 55 Carnival Cruises under my belt, I do agree that the Vista cruise I took from NY to Miami in Nov 2016, was the worst of any of my 55 Carnival Cruises. The service in the dining room was SLOW! Sometimes, it would take 30 minutes to get your appetizer. Our room steward would not have our stateroom cleaned some days until 11:30 or noon. Never experienced that in 54 other Carnival Cruises. I was simply unimpressed with the ship and the service and that has NEVER happened before to me and my spouse.

 

 

 

I am fortunate to also be Diamond Plus on Royal Caribbean, and have sailed the Allure of the Seas twice. This ship holds 6200 passengers and was a treat, compared to the poor service that Carnival provided us on the 4,000 passenger Vista. From getting onto the ship, to the service and amenities on the Allure, there is simply no comparison. Carnival Vista needs a lot more crew to handle their passengers. They need bigger spaces for their venues.

 

 

 

I used to sail almost exclusively on Carnival, but it appears that my more recent Royal Caribbean experiences have far surpassed our Vista experience.

 

 

 

What it all comes down to is that the cruise lines are doing extremely well financially now with such strong bookings and high prices. But, dollar per dollar, I think Royal has a much better grasp on how to handle its passengers. No more Vista for me and my spouse for sure!

 

 

Happy cruising, sounds like you will be happier on Mega of the seas...

 

 

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