Returned on Sunday from the Vista

[BIGREDIOWAN]

This was my wife and I's 5th cruise and we took our 7 year old twins with us for their first cruise. I was a little cautious after reading some reviews on here that I wouldn't care for the Vista's layout. We didn't have much issue with the layout and once we figured out the ship's little quarks for getting around we got around fine. We had a fantastic time and loved the Vista!

 

A few things I didn't like:

 

1. The main lounge: What a terrible design, I get the functionality behind the moveable chairs, but there were stains all over the carpet from folks knocking their drinks over and from how tight it is on the main floor. We decided to sit up in the balcony in the first row. It's tiered seating up there so there isn't as many visibility issues minus the huge posts that cover up the view from some seats throughout the lounge.

2. Pixel gallery: Cool idea, but you're relying on the photographers asking for your room number and entering it correctly. We lost some photos somewhere because the photographer didn't ask for our room number, we didn't think about telling him, and he put some other folks photos on our room number on another night. I personally think some of the prices are getting a little ridiculous for pictures. If we would've bought all of the pictures we wanted it would've been over $300! Instead we knocked in down to $200 and had them loaded on a USB drive.

3. The menu was hit and miss for us in the MDR. The first 3 nights it was great! The last 3 was blah for our tastes. We actually didn't go to the MDR the last two nights and ate at the buffet after looking at the menu. Our kids are picky eaters, like most, so we didn't want to spend the money going to a specialty restaurant not knowing if they'd like those menu's as well. If it would've been just us, we probably would've done that.

4. Shops: We didn't really feel like the shops were as nice or had as much options on the Vista as past cruises, but it seemed like there were more of them for some reason. We usually buy a few things from the shops, but didn't really purchase much on this cruise.

 

Things we loved:

 

1. RedFrog Pub: I'm a homebrewer so being on a ship where they brew their own beer was super cool! We did the brewery tour and loved it. Minus the karaoke times the Pub wasn't that busy which was surprising, but it made it a good getaway from the crowds of people on the lido. Fun tip for you, there are beer stations at the tables here where you can pour your own beer. The beer is a little bit cheaper when you do this, there are similar stations by the buffet on the lido, but they never had any glasses around those stations. You are charged by the ounce then. For your standard pint it was around $5.00.

2. The sports area: Loved all the options to play with the kids while at sea. Miniature golf, pool, ping pong, bowling, etc. Plenty of things to keep them busy.

3. Camp Carnival: We only used this three times, but our boys loved it when they got the chance to go. The staff was friendly and it seemed very well run and was easy to drop the kids off for a few hours here or there.

4. Water Park: The water slides were closed the last day at sea due to wind speeds, but our boys loved hanging out there and playing in the water.

5. Your time dining: We've never done this and I was a little worried we would be waiting in some long lines to get a table. On the nights we ate in the MDR we got a table right away and never waited. We would go down to eat between 6pm and 7pm. We liked not feeling like we were stuck to a schedule and HAD to be there to eat at 6:30. Some days while at port that a rush to get there in time so this was a great option that we'll do again.

6. Cherry On Top: Since we had our boys with us we obviously made a stop here, cool candy shop with a bunch of different options. You can buy bulk candy by weight and I didn't think it was too pricey considering what they could've been charging.

7. Guy's Burgers: Longer lines at times, but worth the wait, the food was pretty decent.

8. Pig and Anchor: Super long line, but a great option when you're sick of eating the same food from the Lido Buffet. We went on the last sea day because I had forgotten all about it. It's a little weird to find it, but it's on deck 5 outside on the starboard side of the ship. You can only get to it from the outside.

 

There were some areas of the ship I really didn't check out, spa area, casino, etc. because they didn't really appeal to me personally. We would book the Vista again, we stayed on deck 8 in a balcony room and it seemed to be enough room for the 4 of us, one boy slept on the pullman bed, the other slept on the couch bed.

 

If you have any questions don't hesitate to ask. :)

[bury me at sea]

Sounds as though you had a good cruise overall. I'm glad the few issues you had were minor.

 

Thanks for taking the time to post.

[bfalls723]

My wife and i just got back from the same cruise on the vista. We were on the 11th floor. Great trip. Can't wait to go again. Lol

 

 

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[mrpayroll]

Glad you enjoyed it. Agree that the theater is a mess for seating. We enjoyed the 3D movie about the barrier reef. :)

[BettyPC]

Sounds like a great time!

[BIGREDIOWAN]

My wife and i just got back from the same cruise on the vista. We were on the 11th floor. Great trip. Can't wait to go again. Lol

 

 

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Cool, looks like we had a few issues that I've never run into before on a cruise. One was the medical issue that delayed us from leaving Miami. The other was another medical issue that delayed us from leaving to Cozumel, my wife and I watched an ambulance pull up to the port side of the ship from our balcony and watched it leave, the last was when we turned around to look for "something in the water" Hope the folks with the medical issues are alright.

[js]

Thanks so much for your review. Sailing Vista in a Havana Cabana in February and cannot wait! Did you use the gym? If so, what time did it open and were there enough treadmills? Also, was there a rowing machine?

 

Thanks so much!

 

 

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[BIGREDIOWAN]

Thanks so much for your review. Sailing Vista in a Havana Cabana in February and cannot wait! Did you use the gym? If so, what time did it open and were there enough treadmills? Also, was there a rowing machine?

 

Thanks so much!

 

 

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I did not, which is a first because I'm a workout freak and usually hit the gym daily. I think all of my stress at work finally caught up with me and all I wanted to do was play with the kids and relax.

[Coolchica1586]

Were you by any chance near the IMAX theater on Deck 8? I just got a room upgrade to Deck 8 near the theater and was concerned about noise...

 

 

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[riclop]

Thanks for your thoughts.

[js]

I did not, which is a first because I'm a workout freak and usually hit the gym daily. I think all of my stress at work finally caught up with me and all I wanted to do was play with the kids and relax.

 

 

Thank you. Glad you relaxed and didnt stress of trying to get a treadmill.

 

 

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[BIGREDIOWAN]

Were you by any chance near the IMAX theater on Deck 8? I just got a room upgrade to Deck 8 near the theater and was concerned about noise...

 

 

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I was towards the back half of the ship on the port side, 8396. So I was not close to the theater. My vacation planner said that was literally the last room he'd book us on on that floor and there were several others available more towards the front half. So I'm assuming he was concerned with that and that's why he didn't book us up there.

[easyboy]

Thank you for your review.

 

 

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[soopamanluva]

I remember turning around to look for something in the water/ I wasn't too concerned about that because I didn't really want to get off the ship and go back to real life.

 

 

We had a great time. a few minor issues but nothing to really complain about

[bfalls723]

In miami, there was an e- cig. Smoking in someone's luggage, they called in the bomb squad. Lol we say the thing floating in the water. They thought it may have been someone in the water and had to turn around. It ended up being a boey . Good trip though.

 

 

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