SO EXCITED! Finally Sailing on Vista with the Family!

[Shaded Lady]

I've been waiting for 2 months now to book our next cruise, but the itinerary we wanted didn't go out that far... finally my PVP called me on Wed and WE'RE BOOKED!!!

 

We're going on Vista out of Galveston in June, 2019, and I finally talked my Daughter, Son-in-Law and Grandson into coming with us (I've been trying to get this to happen for 10 years!!) Most of the ports we're going to DH & I have been to but they're all new to the rest of the family, so we're okay with it.

 

I'm so excited to finally have this cruise on the books!

 

So now a

comment and a

few questions for all of you...

 

Based on the advice I got here, I finally have a Carnival Personal Vacation Planner (PVP). She's phenomenal! I talked to her about what we need and she promised to get in touch with me as soon as Carnival posted the dates we wanted... I got a call from her a few weeks later, within an HOUR of them becoming available! She's been working with me on all the details and I couldn't be happier! She's obviously one of the good ones! So thanks to everyone who encouraged me to get a PVP that I can build a relationship with for my future cruises!

 

Now the questions... anyone had a balcony on Lido deck, port side forward? Grandson is excited that he'll be so close to the pool and food! I'd like to confirm it's not too noisy! We're forward of the elevators so I'm hoping Lido music won't be bad. Anyone experienced in those cabins? We got 2 balcony cabins (not adjoining) and our PVP says the balcony partitions should open. I would love to confirm that.

 

We're 18 months out- furthest out I've ever booked a cruise. Any idea when I can typically expect the excursions to be available online?

 

Last time I booked, the checkin time was available as soon as I did the online checkin. Now I understand they hold off on when they open that up. Does anyone know the average time before sailing that they make the checkin time available online?

 

I know there's a pass for Thrill Theater that allows unlimited shows... does anyone know if there's such a thing for the IMAX theater? If so, how much? Can you buy Thrill Theater or IMAX tickets before your cruise?

 

Thanks to everyone on CC who has helped me research this cruise, and who may help with some of these questions... I know there are some grumpy gusses here who will only rain on my parade, but most of you on CC are just plain nice people who enjoy helping fellow cruisers!

[bury me at sea]

Hooray for you. I'm so glad family will be going with you.

 

I can't answer your Vista questions. We booked a July 2018 cruise on the Breeze a year out, are now at 198 days, and check-in times are not yet available. I've read other posts saying somewhere around 180 days is fairly common.

 

Have fun planning and anticipating.

[Shaded Lady]

Thanks Bury Me At Sea! I can always count on you to bolster my spirit!

 

Have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

[lcpagejr]

Thats great news for you and your family!! You've got a great attitude and don't let negative feedback on this ship bother you... Just take it with a grain of salt. Everyone's perspective is different and I can honestly say I have never had a bad cruise out of the 15 we've taken. Sure...like anything else in life...some were better than others....but all were fun and enjoyable!! We had a wonderful time last month on the Vista...great staff and ship. Unfortunately I can't help you with your questions as we did not do those activities We've cruised ion Lido deck on past cruises (Not the Vista)...and we loved the location. So convenient to everything. Let your countdown begin!!

[bury me at sea]

Thanks Bury Me At Sea! I can always count on you to bolster my spirit!

 

Have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

 

You're welcome. Happy holidays to you too. I'm hoping not to have another freak snow over the holidays, though it was pretty.

 

I'll be watching for your review of the Vista in 500+ days.

[Beachiekeen]

I’ll be just ahead of you in April 2019. This is the furthest out we’ve ever booked a cruise and it feels like it will never get here! Sorry I can’t answer your questions but I’ll post a review after my cruise so maybe you’ll find something helpful in it before you go on yours.

[riclop]

You will be ok as far as noise from lido goes.

[Shaded Lady]

I’ll be just ahead of you in April 2019. This is the furthest out we’ve ever booked a cruise and it feels like it will never get here! Sorry I can’t answer your questions but I’ll post a review after my cruise so maybe you’ll find something helpful in it before you go on yours.

Sounds good! I appreciate it! I'm just not sure how well I'll hold out for the next year and a half before this cruise!!!

[Shaded Lady]

You will be ok as far as noise from lido goes.

Thanks- good to hear!

 

I read a review about noise from the Imax Theater if you had any of the interior cabins just aft of the elevators so I avoided being near there, but I wasn't sure about the noise from Lido... not that I expect my 9 YO grandson will let his old grandma nap during the day anyway!!!

[helene109]

I went with deck 8 adjoining inside and connecting balcony’s a little more $ but it will be worth it!

 

 

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[Shaded Lady]

I went with deck 8 adjoining inside and connecting balcony’s a little more $ but it will be worth it!

 

 

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Are you sure your adjoining rooms (door inside) also allow connecting balconies? I was told by several different sources including my PVP that you can have one or the other, but not both... if the rooms adjoin, the balconies can't be opened and vice versa... too late for me now since I've booked, but I decided to go with connecting balconies instead. If we could have had both, I might have gone for it!!!

[firemanbobswife]

Are you sure your adjoining rooms (door inside) also allow connecting balconies? I was told by several different sources including my PVP that you can have one or the other, but not both... if the rooms adjoin, the balconies can't be opened and vice versa... too late for me now since I've booked, but I decided to go with connecting balconies instead. If we could have had both, I might have gone for it!!!

 

You are correct. In order for the dividers to be able to be opened without blocking someone’s balcony door, the heads of the beds need to share a common wall which is not the case for connecting cabins.

[CA_Cruzing]

We sailed Vista this Nov and stayed on deck 7. Super quiet which is what we wanted. Lido is very active so there’s going to be more sounds and noise naturally. Will it bother you? Depends on how much quiet you need/want to daytime nap.

 

Nights on Lido are less crowded so it would be quieter except for any night parties.

 

One observation we had was the heat from Lido deck and the doors opening and closing from the cabin area to the deck area made the cabin hallways warm.

 

I don’t know how that would affect your rooms but that was our observation.

 

Overall, we had a great 8 day Vista cruise. We are booked on Vista again this summer with our teen kids.

 

Great ship, plenty to do, the water park is impressive and it sounds like with your family present you’ll have an amazing cruise.

 

BTW, we always book 18 months out if we can. It helps us stay focused on work knowing we have vacations already on our calendars.

 

 

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[Shaded Lady]

FiremanBobsWife- thanks for the confirmation.

 

CA-Cruzing thanks for the updates... we'll make the best of it, since we're now booked, but I don't think any of the items you mentioned would be deal-breakers for us.

 

I normally book 8-10 months out... if I'm this excited now, I can only imagine how it'll be when we get closer!

[RedSails1968]

Adjoining and connecting are two different things. Adjoining just means next-door, no connecting door.

[helene109]

Adjoining and connecting are two different things. Adjoining just means next-door, no connecting door.

 

 

 

I am going to be upset if my Balcony’s don’t connect but I see we do have an inside door that connect too! Tempted to call Carnival just to get another opinion on if they do connect if not then the $200 extra isn’t worth it!

 

 

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[firemanbobswife]

I am going to be upset if my Balcony’s don’t connect but I see we do have an inside door that connect too! Tempted to call Carnival just to get another opinion on if they do connect if not then the $200 extra isn’t worth it!

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There’s no way around it, they won’t without blocking one of the outside doors. The doors are located at the foot of the bed and the large window is next to the head of the bed. So if you open the divider, it won’t lie flat and someone’s door can’t open.

 

If you want to make sure your balconies can make one long one, then you’ll need non connecting cabins and to make sure the heads of the beds share the common wall where the large window is. One person will have their window blocked by the divider, but at least you can access the balcony from both cabins. It just depends what is more important to you.

 

These are non connecting cabins that share the common wall at the head of the bed. Cabins 9268 and 9270 on the Liberty.

[helene109]

There’s no way around it, they won’t without blocking one of the outside doors. The doors are located at the foot of the bed and the large window is next to the head of the bed. So if you open the divider, it won’t lie flat and someone’s door can’t open.

 

If you want to make sure your balconies can make one long one, then you’ll need non connecting cabins and to make sure the heads of the beds share the common wall where the large window is. One person will have their window blocked by the divider, but at least you can access the balcony from both cabins. It just depends what is more important to you.

 

These are non connecting cabins that share the common wall at the head of the bed. Cabins 9268 and 9270 on the Liberty.

 

 

 

Wow thanks but my pvp assured me that both will open on the vista deck 8!

 

 

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[Shaded Lady]

Wow thanks but my pvp assured me that both will open on the vista deck 8!

 

 

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I'd double-check with them, since my PVP confirmed what FiremandBobswife said... you can have one or the other... better not to have an unpleasant surprise when you board.

[belkin]

I've been waiting for 2 months now to book our next cruise, but the itinerary we wanted didn't go out that far... finally my PVP called me on Wed and WE'RE BOOKED!!!

 

We're going on Vista out of Galveston in June, 2019, and I finally talked my Daughter, Son-in-Law and Grandson into coming with us (I've been trying to get this to happen for 10 years!!) Most of the ports we're going to DH & I have been to but they're all new to the rest of the family, so we're okay with it.

 

I'm so excited to finally have this cruise on the books!

 

So now a

comment and a

few questions for all of you...

 

Based on the advice I got here, I finally have a Carnival Personal Vacation Planner (PVP). She's phenomenal! I talked to her about what we need and she promised to get in touch with me as soon as Carnival posted the dates we wanted... I got a call from her a few weeks later, within an HOUR of them becoming available! She's been working with me on all the details and I couldn't be happier! She's obviously one of the good ones! So thanks to everyone who encouraged me to get a PVP that I can build a relationship with for my future cruises!

 

Now the questions... anyone had a balcony on Lido deck, port side forward? Grandson is excited that he'll be so close to the pool and food! I'd like to confirm it's not too noisy! We're forward of the elevators so I'm hoping Lido music won't be bad. Anyone experienced in those cabins? We got 2 balcony cabins (not adjoining) and our PVP says the balcony partitions should open. I would love to confirm that.

 

We're 18 months out- furthest out I've ever booked a cruise. Any idea when I can typically expect the excursions to be available online?

 

Last time I booked, the checkin time was available as soon as I did the online checkin. Now I understand they hold off on when they open that up. Does anyone know the average time before sailing that they make the checkin time available online?

 

I know there's a pass for Thrill Theater that allows unlimited shows... does anyone know if there's such a thing for the IMAX theater? If so, how much? Can you buy Thrill Theater or IMAX tickets before your cruise?

 

Thanks to everyone on CC who has helped me research this cruise, and who may help with some of these questions... I know there are some grumpy gusses here who will only rain on my parade, but most of you on CC are just plain nice people who enjoy helping fellow cruisers!

 

 

We had 9258 on the Vista. Great location and quite cabin. We did do the Imax and enjoyed it. I did not see unlimited tickets for it nor did I see where you can buy them in advance. We bought our tickets just before we went into the show. It is very easy and you do it from a small computer like device that it mounted on the counter. We have been a few times and never had to wait. Not able to confirm your balcony partitions without the cabin numbers.

[firemanbobswife]

Wow thanks but my pvp assured me that both will open on the vista deck 8!

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They will open because they open them when they clean all the balconies, but like I said, someone’s door will be 100% blocked and it won’t lie flat. Not sure if the room stewards will leave it that way or not as it could be a hazard with the wind.

[helene109]

They will open because they open them when they clean all the balconies, but like I said, someone’s door will be 100% blocked and it won’t lie flat. Not sure if the room stewards will leave it that way or not as it could be a hazard with the wind.

 

 

 

Thanks I guess 1/2 is better than none I could always change it to 2 cove connecting ugh so hard to decide

 

 

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[firemanbobswife]

Thanks I guess 1/2 is better than none I could always change it to 2 cove connecting ugh so hard to decide

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You'll have the same issue with the Cove connecting balconies. Those dividers on the door side are water tight and actually seal the door from the outside in case waves are rough. In that case, your balcony becomes an OV so then it would be good to have connecting cabins so you can go back and forth on the inside.

[helene109]

My pvp said she double checked and both connect!!! Maybe if I just called their 1-800 I would feel better

 

 

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[Shaded Lady]

My pvp said she double checked and both connect!!! Maybe if I just called their 1-800 I would feel better

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I’d just trust that she’s right and not second-guess any further! We will have a blast no matter what!