Vista Thanksgiving Cruise Review...Very Long but Positive!!

[lcpagejr]

WARNING… Very long review but hopefully it will be of benefit/informative to our fellow Cruise Critic family!!

 

 

My wife and I just returned from a 8 day Thanksgiving week cruise on the Vista.

A little about ourselves…. We began cruising in 1979 (Trans-Atlantic Honeymoon cruise on QEII)…. Fast forward 15 years and we began cruising regularly and for a 10-12 year period this was our annual vacation with our children. We have taken approx. 20 cruises with 13 being on Carnival. We have cruised every class except the Conquest class.

There have been a lot of mixed reviews on the Vista…. The negativity did not concern us before leaving as everyone is entitled to their opinion and view things differently. Being a frequent cruiser, we know someone elses experience isn’t necessarily what we will experience and we never worry about it.

 

 

We booked this cruise 3 weeks before sailing date…. We have never been a huge planning ahead type of family…and usually start thinking of a cruise 3 or so months ahead of time. I have booked atleast 75% of our cruises on-line without any phone conversations. I have 5-6 sites I compare prices on and while most are price competitive…I end up booking with the Agency who offers the most incentives (i.e OBC, etc).

Ok…preamble done…Let’s get into the review.

 

Pre-Cruise

We prefer to fly in the day before…alleviates the unknown factor (weather, delays, rushing, etc). However for this cruise since it was a 8 day (Saturday-Sunday)…due to work commitments we didn’t feel like flying out late and arriving after midnight and pay for a Hotel room for just 8 or so hours. So we flew out on a 7am non-stop Southwest flight from Philadelphia to Ft Lauderdale. Very uneventful flight and beautiful morning for flying. Flight actually arrived at 9:15am (30 minutes early). I had made arrangements with MJS Transportation for our trip to POM. Great company…excellent communication with main office upon arrival and by driver when he picked us up. $15/pp to the port and they have Mercedes Benz Vans which made the drive very comfortable!!

 

Embarkation

We arrived at the Port around 10:30. Dropped off our bags to the Porter and entered the cruise terminal with no wait or lines. Only 2 checkpoints…1st being to check our documentation (passports/BC’s,etc)… Then we went through security. Since we are Platinum we were then ushered to a separate area for Priority boarding. During our wait time we were handed a letter stating ship would not sail until 8pm due to operational considerations.Its my understanding they have been working on the rear thrusters for the last 3-4 weeks and use this additional time to complete some of the work. I will point out Ship sailed smoothly throughout cruise…with no vibrations or delays. At 11:30 they began the boarding process and within 15 -20 minutes we were on board. FYI… Our SS cards were in the mail slot at our cabin and you could use your boarding pass for bar purchases as soon as you got on the ship and if you prepaid Cheers (like we did)… it was already in the system. We took a quick stroll around the ship then headed to our Cabin in the Havana section (more on this wonderful area and experience later) and the SS cards were there. We then went to lunch at Cuciana del Capitano. This is free on embarkation day with a limited menu. It was delicious and we did not have to deal with the building lines in Lido Buffet, Guys Burgers, Pig and Anchor, etc. Note: While we were able to go to our Cabin immediately…We did notice the doors were shut on the other floors and some people were actually sitting in the stairwell area waiting to get to their cabins! Those doors opened between1-1:30 as Carnival earlier informed everyone.

 

Impressions of Ship

Ship is in beautiful condition. Saw maintenance people working on it daily. I really liked the layout of the ship. They have an upper Promenade (deck 5) and a lower Promenade (deck 4). Both connected to the Atrium area so you had options to bypass the crowds (mostly on Deck 5) especially in the evenings when it seemed there were more photographers than passengers and people lining up for pictures made a bit congested!! Majority of shops were ondeck 5…with a few on Deck 4…all off atrium area. Most of the restaurants, bars,libraries, etc were on Deck 5. The Casino and Sports bar were main attractions on Deck 4. The outside promenade deck ….like the Dream Class…is wonderful. Outside seating for the Red Frog Pub and Brewery, Bonsai Sushi, Pig and Anchor (had actual picnic tables!) and the Steakhouse. Plus lots of sitting areas. Only thing missing compared to Dream class is that there were hot tubs on this deck as on the Dream class ship. The deck wrapped around whole ship and stopped at the rear where the Havana cabins and pool area began. There are several floors on ship where you can have Bow viewing access with just railings…no 6’ glass dividers….I believe those floors are 5,7, 9,and 11. And yes… the interior color scheme of the ship seems a bit bland (cream and brown colors) ….but I didn’t find this of any concern or did it make the ship feel “cheaper”.

 

Staff

Probably the most friendly and happy staff I have observed in quite awhile. Always greeting you with smiles. Bar servers were walking around the main areas regularly and asking if you wanted a drink. It appeared the Red Frog Rum Bar on Pool deck ….was understaffed at times…but other bars seemed fine and there usually wasn’t along wait at the Bars. The only area I saw any type of average/disinterested service was at the Tides Bar on Deck 10 Aft. I saw Matt Mitchum, the Cruise Director,daily. Very personable and energetic. He was involved in a lot of the activities. We were fortunate he had just returned from vacation and this was his 1st cruise back.

 

ShipActivities/Entertainment

Wife and I pretty much stay low key… I wander the ship a lot and visit the Casino and check other areas out during the evening . Wife retires early and gets up early. During the day there was always something to do… normal stuff like Art, ice carving, trivia, bingo, seminars, spa and sports deck activities, etc. It was nice to view any pictures taken digitally on the numerous screens in photo area…sure beats hunting down your pictures like previous cruises!! The Serenity area was always crowded on Sea Days. Very nice area….no pool but hot tubs. Also had a nice little salad bar during lunch. Waterpark, sky course and skyride were always busy. Seemed like plenty of chairs around pool deck and the deck above overlooking pool. As a matter of fact…considering cruise had over 4000 passengers…it didn’t feel as crowded as I might expect for a Holiday cruise.Casino was always active and busy…. Made my usual donation. Shows appeared to be well attended. I only watched one show …that being “Flick”…which I thought was very entertaining. Piano Bar had its usual crowd each evening. We had several deck parties which were well attended. There were 5 comedians…2 performed for the 1st 3 days…. And 3 performed for the last 3 days. 2 days of Karaoke also went on. Dive-in movies were a bit dated….and were PG…action type movies. The only negative that stood out was the lack of a dedicated after hours Night/Dance Club. They had nightly Dancing in the Havana Bar area and Ocean Plaza area… but they converted the Limelight Lounge in a night club setting after the comedians… and they rolled in a liquor cart to serve drinks. Good music…but didn’t have the feel nor bar area like the dedicated night clubs on other class ships. I really enjoyed the Atrium entertainment nightly “Strings classics with Dolce”…Very talented trio who played strings to favorite themes and recent soft pop classics. One last note…being Platinum, we were invited to the Platinum/Diamond cocktail party. It was held on the final day of our cruise. We did not attend. We had the Cheers package…. So free drinks weren’t of much value plus it was at 4pm and we didn’t feel like altering our last day of cruise for this event.

 

Food

In Main Dining Room

As we stayed in the Havana Cabins…. And selected 2nd seating …we were seated in the Horizon Dining Room. The Horizon Dining Room is used for Anytime Dining…The Reflection Dining Room…mid-ship..Is for early/late assigned dining. I believe they seated us in Horizon out of convenience….and I’m extremely happy they did. We had a table for 2 on the 2nd level overlooking the lower level. We had a great head waiter (Nathaniel) who made our dining experience magnificent each night. Never had to wait for drinks….He had a rule once he saw our drinks half empty…he brought us a fresh drink.We didn’t care since we had the Cheers package! And we were in/out within 1hour every night. It was great. What I think expedited everything was we were in the anytime dining room so the flow of food was ongoing unlike the assigned seating dining room.

We were very impressed with the quality of food on this cruise….As a matter of fact probably the best MDR food on recent Carnival cruises. Food was always hot and tasteful. The beef dishes were excellent all week. Desserts were hit or miss… One night I liked all 6 offerings…other nightsI had to struggle to find a dessert item I really wanted….I would default to Carnival chocolate melting cake on those occasions. The Baked Alaska on the last night was excellent.

 

Other Food

We had the Sea Brunch on 1 sea day. While it was good….I really didn’t see a difference from just eating breakfast in the dining room on any other day. The Ocean Plaza area (used the Taste Bar) had a light breakfast and lunch buffet. Great alternative to the crowds on the Lido deck and it was very close to our Havana area cabin!. One of the best kept secrets on the ship.Had everything you would normally get at breakfast…other than omellette’s and for lunch they had hot dishes but not as many as the main buffet…but still it was good. The Pig and Anchor was very good…and it was open 5 of our 8 days…which was great! Guy’s was very good as usual. The pizza was so-so… I’ve had better. We ate at the buffet several times for breakfast and lunch … Normal fare like other cruises. All in all we were very satisfied with the food and numerous options available

 

Ports

Grand Turk

Considering they were racked by the Hurricanes… the area around the ship was in very good shape. Margaritaville was hopping…and the beaches by the ship area were busy. Very short stop…only there until 2pm

 

La Romana, DR

We last stopped here in 1995….but not much has changed other that the ship now docks. We did a private excursion with Seavis Tours (Sonoma Special). Had a great time… about 30 people from our cruise had booked through them. Due to limited time in port they customized the tour to meet our timing. Speed boat to a private island beach…open bar and lunch …then we stopped at a shallow area about 100 yds off shore to view Starfish and scuba. Water was waste deep and we had snacks and drank rum and any mixer for about 45 minutes.Very enjoyable day. Ingrid our guide was excellent and I highly recommend this tour company. They also offer other land based tours as well.

 

Curacao

Really enjoyed our port time here. We just walked the area…RIF Fort was very nice and we walked into downtown and visited the shops and bars. Crossed the Queen Emma Pontoon Bridge which is really fun when you get stuck on it when they move it to allow a boat to pass!! All in all a great Port. Would like to go back. Didn’t dock until 2pm so daylight tour options were limited

 

Aruba

Loved this island…Probably the most touristy but still beautiful and the beaches are great. Did not do an excursion as we met up with some of my family who just happened to be vacationing in Aruba that week at a time share. Fun day.

 

Havana Experience

OK… I saved the best for last!!

 

 

Since my wife and I were cruising alone for the first time in a long time….I decided to splurge and book a Havana balcony cabin and am I glad I did!! We had cabin 5239 which was closest to the pool area…very convenient to everything! Had 2 options to get to our cabin…main hallway entrance and the balcony/porch entrance…you get a special access card allowing you to go into your cabin through balcony door, Great option and saved a lot of steps to the pool and bar!! Only wish they had more comfortable seating on your porch area. Swing seat was great…other pieces of furniture they can throw overboard…not comfortable or very practable. Our Room steward Lawrence was visible and engaged with us daily. We opted for morning room service ….He gave us a choice if we wanted both morning and evening service. It felt like we had our own Butler at the pool area. Our Bar Server Julio constantly stopped by and chatted and took care of our drinks throughout the cruise. Never felt crowded…always had a nice seat anywhere in this dedicated portion of ship. Saw very little non-Havana passenger traffic after 7pm. It was like our own little retreat and you got to know your fellow passengers which was really nice. Once you do the Havana….you will be hooked. No crowds, quick service…and spacious area. If you want to mingle and get involved with the rest of ship…. You can do it when you want….Awesome time!!

 

Disembarkation

Very organized on the ship and in the customs/baggage area. Began self-assist at 6:45…. Called Priority at 7:15… We began leaving ship at 7:45 after a brief farewell talk with Matt and we were in a cab to Airport at 8:10am. Rented a car at Miami Airport and drove to West Palm Airport. Was at West Palm area by 10am. West Palm is agreat little Airport and easy to get to…If you can save money flying in and/or out don’t hesitate to do it. Since we booked our air so late… I saved close to $300on 2 tickets by flying out of West Palm vs Fort Lauderdale.

 

Final Thoughts

The cutbacks in some areas are apparent if you’ve been cruising for the past 15-20 years. Yes there are no more midnight or even a 1x Gala Buffet. Yes there is no longer a Captains welcome aboard party…instead the Captain and his staff were introduced in theAtrium area and they toasted us with a glass of Champagne…They had one…but passengers didn’t….seemed awkward! Yes there is no table cloths in the MDR exceptfor the 2 formal nights and yes there is no more open seating in MDR for lunch. But cruising is still a great value and we will continue to spoil ourselves as often as we can on the high seas.

 

 

 

Excellent cruise with excellent weather. One of our best cruises on Carnival. I would not hesitate to cruise on Vista or the upcoming new Horizon again. Feel free to ask any questions and I’ll respond as quickly as possible.

Edited November 30, 2017 by lcpagejr

[riclop]

Thanks for the review.

[Keith1010]

Terrific review and report and happy you to know you enjoyed the cruise.

 

Keith

[easyboy]

Great review! Thanks.

[Cap'n Ron]

Nice to see a very positive review. We sail on Vista in February and CANNOT wait to go!

 

Sent from my XT1635-02 using Forums mobile app

[thesmiths]

Nice, Glad you enjoyed yourselves.

 

Can't wait, I am so looking forward to this...We are on her in May for our 25th, Also in the Havana Area, Aft Wrap on 7.

Wifey still does not know!

[Pellaz]

Thanks for the great review; it pretty much matches my impressions of Vista exactly. Our cruise was marred by lousy weather and that makes a big difference with Vista since so much of the ship uses open, outside seating, but I can't blame the weather on the ship.

[Clarea]

Excellent review, thanks!

[lcpagejr]

Nice, Glad you enjoyed yourselves.

 

Can't wait, I am so looking forward to this...We are on her in May for our 25th, Also in the Havana Area, Aft Wrap on 7.

Wifey still does not know!

 

You will enjoy....The wrap arounds on each corner are huge and you will look right down on the Havana pool/hot tub/bar area. Enjoy your cruise!!

[stressedmomof3]

Great review.

One question : Could you hear the music playing late at night in your Havana cabin?

 

Thanks ahead of time.

[Port of Tampa]

Thanks for the review. Can't wait to check her out in 16 days!! Been tareveling like crazy for work and need a vacation.

 

Cheers and happy cruising.

[lcpagejr]

Great review.

One question : Could you hear the music playing late at night in your Havana cabin?

 

Thanks ahead of time.

 

Our cabin was the last balcony cabin closest to pool (#5239). Didn't hear a thing. Granted I came in after 12 every night...but my wife retired early every night and is a very light sleeper.... Never said one word to me!!

[TNcruising02]

Thanks for posting your review. I enjoyed reading it!

[jimbo5544]

Our cabin was the last balcony cabin closest to pool (#5239). Didn't hear a thing. Granted I came in after 12 every night...but my wife retired early every night and is a very light sleeper.... Never said one word to me!!

 

 

 

We had the one on the opposite side, 5240. Never heard a thing, great cabin.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

[Hogladyrider]

Great review, thanks for taking the time to share your cruise with us.

 

We sail on Vista in March 2018. Unfortunately all Havanna cabins were booked so we plan on checking out the area in the evening.

 

You really were fortunate to be able to snag/book one of those cabins so close to sailing especially on a holiday!

 

Thanks again, happy cruising!

Susan

[jackparts]

We too were on the same cruise and agree the cruise was great. We were Misplaced Fascination cruisers and pre cruise was royal hell due to Carnival. The Seona Special in La Romana was great, we were with Christine and had a great time also. Our rooms (3) were all over the 7th floor and all noticed the air quality seemed different right from the start. Asked the steward but said no problem. The last day and night, we started to develop problems. Son in law is in hospital, daughter in emergency room twice, myself and wife have sore throats , kids have the trots, colds and overall blahs. Not blaming or complaining, just wondered if anyone had any of the same.

[lcpagejr]

We too were on the same cruise and agree the cruise was great. We were Misplaced Fascination cruisers and pre cruise was royal hell due to Carnival. The Seona Special in La Romana was great, we were with Christine and had a great time also. Our rooms (3) were all over the 7th floor and all noticed the air quality seemed different right from the start. Asked the steward but said no problem. The last day and night, we started to develop problems. Son in law is in hospital, daughter in emergency room twice, myself and wife have sore throats , kids have the trots, colds and overall blahs. Not blaming or complaining, just wondered if anyone had any of the same.

 

Wow...sorry to hear that and its a bummer your cruise ended like that!!. We were fine but of course we were on a different floor and lots more airflow with always using the walkout porch/balcony area in Havana area. I do remember a post from someone who sailed on Vista for the 11/4 cruise asking if anyone else had come down with diarrhea on that cruise. You can probably find it if you go back several pages. Be interesting to see if they were on same floor??

[tugtraveller]

Thanks for a great review. One question. What did you mean:

 

"and yes there is no more open seating in MDR for lunch"

 

Did you mean that they do not serve lunch in the MDR on sea days? or you have to have assigned seating? or???? I am not a frequent cruiser, so I am confused as to just what you are saying. THANKS!

[lcpagejr]

Thanks for a great review. One question. What did you mean:

 

"and yes there is no more open seating in MDR for lunch"

 

Did you mean that they do not serve lunch in the MDR on sea days? or you have to have assigned seating? or???? I am not a frequent cruiser, so I am confused as to just what you are saying. THANKS!

 

Now that they offer "Sea Brunch" on Sea Days (8:30-1:00pm)...they have done away with the Lunch seating for MDR. Sorta covers breakfast and lunch. They offer both breakfast and lunch menu items on Sea Brunch days

[tugtraveller]

Okay. Well, my husband will love that! I can have breakfast and he can have lunch, which he considers "real food". haha