May 19-June, 2 Weeks on 'VISTA', daily review

[gbearcruiser]

This morning we wake up as we are docking in Aruba.

It's a beautiful sunny day, TV says 7:30am/85 degrees, gonna be a sunny warm day at the beach, guess we'll struggle through! -))

We order room service, I get a turkey sandwich, my wife has some of last night's delicious beef from her stew in a roll, plus our coffee for 2!

Today we'll leave the ship around 9:30/10:00, take a short taxi ride to 'Reflections' beach restaurant/bar on Surfside beach.

We love the taste of their meat, it has the taste of expensive beef that doesn't need seasoning to improve the taste!

Reflections has the nice Aruba beach with loungers, and a swim up bar pool!

It's a quieter place during the day as they don't have a lot of the things that attract the young, jet ski rentals, etc., just a beach and pool.

At night, long after we leave, I've been told Reflections turns into a popular outdoor dance club for the locals.

On our last trip here, we met quite a few people during the day who were staying on the island, of course they could go anywhere, and they said this was their choice for quality of food, and value for a beach location. So far, I would agree! -))

The cost for 2 loungers, and an umbrella the last we visited a month ago was $18., the taxi ride from the port was about $10.!

 

I love your review. I will be on the Vista soon, not lucky enough to do a B2B, but living it through your review.

I have been to Aruba on an all Inclusive and on cruises, and I so agree, I love the taste of their food and water, yes water. I had to actually google the reason why and guess what there is a whole blog about why the food and water taste so good. It has to do with their water treatment plant that utilizes the most modern of technologies to convert sea water to drinking water. The quality of water exiting the plant is of the highest quality. Its desalinated.

[AmBear]

A break in this Vista b2b review for a moment,,,,

To everyone who's commented, 'thanks' for your kind words.

I read 'every comment', and they are appreciated.

I just haven't had time to thank everyone individually.

 

Future reviews we're planning that might interest some,,,

An 'Ultra Casino cruise' in the fall for those in the casino club,

A 'Journey's cruise' on the Breeze out of Port Canaveral in November which includes a lot of islands not on most cruise schedules,

The Horizon when she comes to Miami,

and a Hawaii cruise round trip from California.

 

Happy Cruising to all!-))

[AmBear]

Big disappointment tonight, we got to the theater early, and there was still a line, but we'd get good seats as we weren't too far back. As the doors opened, everyone rushes in, but we still got some great seats.

Then the disappointment, an announcement is made that because of rough seas, the show will still be Flick, but has been changed to just the singers sitting on stage, none of the dancing, or special effects will be done.

The singing was good but the cruisers this week really missed out on a good show. We've seen it 4 times previously on other ships, and it's really entertaining. Luckily for us, we have next week's western cruise where they hopefully perform the entire show.

Those following here on next weeks western cruise, you'll want to see Flick, it's Carnival's best.

After the show, we decide to eat light in the buffet, which is a nice thought, but it never happens with me at least.-))

We're tired from our day in the sun at Reflections, so we call it a night.

[AmBear]

This morning we wake up to our first of 2 sea days returning us to Miami.

We're going to use these 2 days to do some exploring of the Vista, we want to try out both the IMAX, and the thrill theater.

We stopped by the other day, they have some computer screens there so you can pre-order your tickets to shows. The IMAX costs $12.50, the thrill theater was $5.50. if I remember correctly, I'll let you know when we buy the tickets.

Other things going on around the ship today

Tonight is the second cruise elegant night in the dining room.

 

The Show Theater has 'America Rocks' 7:30/9:30pm.

 

70's music trivia party in the atrium at 10:15pm

 

Carnival Quest in the show theater 11:00pm

 

For you hairy guys, the hairy chest contest at 12:30pm lido deck 10

 

$4000. jackpot bingo at 2:15pm in the show theater.

 

Comedy 5:30/7:30/9:15pm

 

High Seas Karaoke in the Havana Bar at 7:30/10:00pm

Red Frog Pub Karaoke at 4:00pm

 

This week and next week are Premier casino cruises, so for those who are Premiere casino members, today's Premiere events are,,,

10:30 snowball raffle,

12:00-2:00 fireball raffle,

3:00pm Dodge the Bull,

11:00pm Matilda the Cash Cow

For casino players, the casino has only been busy a couple times, which is surprising since this is a Premiere cruise. The next 2 days are seadays, so we'll see if that changes.

 

IMAX theater

A Beautiful Planet 3D 9:45am

Under the Sea 3D 10:45am

Deadpool 2 11:45/2:00/10:30pm

Avengers: Infinity War 4:30/7:30pm

 

Thrill theater

Coastal Predators 10:15/11:15am

Cartoon Classics 12:15/12:45/1:15pm

Just the Rides 2:30/3:30/5:30pm

Destination Adventure 6:00/7:00/8:00pm

Thrillogy, Dare to be Scared 8:30/9:00/9:30/10:00pm

 

Dine in movies

Justice League 7:00pm

Thor: Ragnarok 9:30pm

12 Strong 12:00am

Edited May 25, 2018 by AmBear

[TigerGalCruiser]

Thanks for the posting about the movies! We're on the June 24th Vista sailing, and I was curious as to which movies would be playing.

[smurfm69]

We are doing the Saona Island excursion next year but with an independent company. Carnival does tend to overbook with their excursions. A number of years ago we did cave tubing in Belize with an independent company and it was awesome! There were only 2-3 people linked together on tubes with a guide. We saw the Carnival sponsored group on the same excursion and there were about 15 people linked together.

[AmBear]

We are doing the Saona Island excursion next year but with an independent company. Carnival does tend to overbook with their excursions. A number of years ago we did cave tubing in Belize with an independent company and it was awesome! There were only 2-3 people linked together on tubes with a guide. We saw the Carnival sponsored group on the same excursion and there were about 15 people linked together.

 

Yes, it was over booked, or the tour operator wasn't honest on how many they could handle. Carnival did reimburse our money as the tour operator refused to, so we got a learning experience for free. :D

Carnival did say they were sending some people out to check it out, as the beach was a concern with it being rocky under water.

There were some really nice resorts we could see on our boat ride out to Sonia Island, I'm sure g-maps would show their names.

A couple other things we noticed on our bus ride to the beach to meet the shuttle boat, the roads were in really good condition, but there was tons of litter everywhere along the side of the road.

[AmBear]

We return to our cabin for awhile after breakfast, my wife wants to use the internet, send emails to family/friends, so I head to the Casino! -))

After awhile she comes to the casino, and we head off for our first visit on the Vista to Guy's BBQ! And it's good, has a lot of that dark bark on the beef that I enjoy!-))

After Guy's, my wife wants to get some desert at the buffet, and I'd like an ice cream, so off we go.

Now about ice cream on the Vista, the good and the bad,,, ,

The bad,,,there are only 2 locations for soft serve ice cream on the Vista, port and starboard just inside the doors from the pool. There is no machine by the back pool!

Now the good, besides the 2 soft serve ice cream locations, they have fresh made hard ice cream, (2 flavors) at the center of the front part of the buffet!

Behind these 2 hard ice cream machines, are condiments you can put on you ice cream. Today's flavors were hazel nut, and raspberry.

Each hard ice cream machine has an attendant there to scoop it out for you. The only negative is they run out every so often, and have to make more, but it only take a few minutes.

Of course I had both, (so I could tell you if they were good), and yes they were good! -))

 

The internet on the Vista, (we bought the value package), and it's fast enough to watch you tube videos on my tablet, so I think it's pretty good, best we've seen on Carnival! What's the old saying, 'So far, so good'!-))

It's not the high speed 100mb plus we got at home, but I'm OK with it, so that's saying alot cause I get cranky waiting for slow internet! -))

[realtorfromtexas]

This is awesome! We get on as you are getting off. In the meantime. We shall live vicariously through your posts.

[robd216]

We let our cabin at 9:45, which was the time stated in the fun times to leave the ship, and we're surprised there was no line as we walked off.

When we arrived at our bus, 2 minutes before our 10:00am meet up time, the bus was full, waiting for us! That was a first for us, an excursion wanting to leave early!

We booked through Carnival the Sonia Island VIP excursion,,,,

my recommendation is 'DON'T TAKE THIS EXCURSION'!!!

 

I'm going to vent some here, so you may want to pass this part,,,

$95.pp, and it wasn't worth it!

We started with a 20-25 minute bus ride to Bahibe, where the 40 of us on the bus boarded a speed boat.

Our first stop after about 25 minutes was a sandbar they call a natural pool. There were about 15-18 other boats there as well. The water only came up to your knees, so you're standing in knee deep water for 30-40 minutes being offered rum drinks(I don't drink rum). Some never got off the boat.

Then we got back on the boat, for another 20 minute ride to Sonia Island.

Because our excursion boat arrived last to the island, no one on our boat could get a sun lounger, they were all taken by others who bought this excursion. Carnival had over booked this excursion!

So the 40 of us only could sit in these little white plastic chairs you see at kid's birthday parties. Needless to say most were very unhappy, and more then a few of us told our guide immediately, but what could he do. He did act funny, like amazed we would think a $95. VIP beach excursion 'should include beach loungers'!

Several other things noticed, the beach is mostly rocks as you past knee depth. I saw more then one woman fall and hurt herself on these rocks. There was just no way you could walk into swimming depth water, at least above your waist without passing through this rock area. We spent over an hour traveling by bus and boat, and the best they could do is bring us to a Rock Beach! -((

Another thing was they parked the approximately 18-20 boats that brought the excursions to the island in the area just past that rock area, so to swim around, you had to go between these boats!

The food was tasty, but the rice dish with chopped up lobster in it, also had chopped up lobster shell in it, so after pulling these little bits of shell out of my teeth 3-4 times, I decided not to finish it!

 

When we got back on the ship, I took a shower, and proceeded down to the excursion desk to complain, and attempt to get refunded.

The counter girl actually argued with me, that Carnival doesn't 'over book' their excursions, which I replied in a volume that could be heard across the atrium, 'what do you call a beach excursion without enough loungers for everyone, I call it over booking'! Shocked, she quietly said, we will get back to you tomorrow after we contact the vendor, which again I told her 'forget the vendor, it's Carnival who over booked, this is Carnival's fault'!

We'll see what happens, but this is one excursion, one port I won't be coming back to. And I will write about this on all my blog sites.

Sorry I went on about that. But it's good for my blood pressure to get it out! -))

 

We decide to try out the buffet tonight, we're tired from the heat, the frustration of the excursion, the long bus, and boarding rides, we just want a simple small, quiet meal,.

I end up trying 2 types of pizza, one with no cheese, one with no sauce, both were good, but likely better with sauce and cheese together!-)) I walked pass the Sea food shack with my pizza, and saw a guy there with his fish and chips, they looked really good, and I love good fish and chips, so we'll have to try out the Sea food shack during this 2 week b2b cruise.

No show tonight, we actually see some of the theater performers eating in the buffet, so we head back to our cabin after eating to play on our computers, and watch a little TV.

Tomorrow we arrive to Curacao, after noon, so we have plenty of time to get up, have breakfast, etc.

Happy cruising.

Carnival may have in fact not overbooked the Saona Island Excursion. There are other excursion companies like Seavis who run the same excursion...but for less money. I think the Seavis price is $60 per person. That said, Carnival should guarantee that you get a beach chair if you pay for one... regardless of who got their first.

 

Sent from my SM-G935V using Tapatalk

[robd216]

Do you know if you can buy week-long passes for the thrill theater and IMAX theater? When we sailed on the Breeze, we were able to buy an unlimited pass for the thrill theater which made the cost a lot more reasonable.

This morning we wake up to our first of 2 sea days returning us to Miami.

We're going to use these 2 days to do some exploring of the Vista, we want to try out both the IMAX, and the thrill theater.

We stopped by the other day, they have some computer screens there so you can pre-order your tickets to shows. The IMAX costs $12.50, the thrill theater was $5.50. if I remember correctly, I'll let you know when we buy the tickets.

Other things going on around the ship today

Tonight is the second cruise elegant night in the dining room.

 

The Show Theater has 'America Rocks' 7:30/9:30pm.

 

70's music trivia party in the atrium at 10:15pm

 

Carnival Quest in the show theater 11:00pm

 

For you hairy guys, the hairy chest contest at 12:30pm lido deck 10

 

$4000. jackpot bingo at 2:15pm in the show theater.

 

Comedy 5:30/7:30/9:15pm

 

High Seas Karaoke in the Havana Bar at 7:30/10:00pm

Red Frog Pub Karaoke at 4:00pm

 

This week and next week are Premier casino cruises, so for those who are Premiere casino members, today's Premiere events are,,,

10:30 snowball raffle,

12:00-2:00 fireball raffle,

3:00pm Dodge the Bull,

11:00pm Matilda the Cash Cow

For casino players, the casino has only been busy a couple times, which is surprising since this is a Premiere cruise. The next 2 days are seadays, so we'll see if that changes.

 

IMAX theater

A Beautiful Planet 3D 9:45am

Under the Sea 3D 10:45am

Deadpool 2 11:45/2:00/10:30pm

Avengers: Infinity War 4:30/7:30pm

 

Thrill theater

Coastal Predators 10:15/11:15am

Cartoon Classics 12:15/12:45/1:15pm

Just the Rides 2:30/3:30/5:30pm

Destination Adventure 6:00/7:00/8:00pm

Thrillogy, Dare to be Scared 8:30/9:00/9:30/10:00pm

 

Dine in movies

Justice League 7:00pm

Thor: Ragnarok 9:30pm

12 Strong 12:00am

 

Sent from my SM-G935V using Tapatalk

[AmBear]

Tonight's show 'America Rocks' was 6 singers, and 8 dancers, 14 in total, plus a 6 piece band!

I'm wondering just how many performers are on the Vista!

We arrived early again, about 6:50pm, (the doors open at 7:00pm for the 7:30pm show), and there were about 50 people in front of us!

So my advice is get there early, cause the showroom fills up fast.

Tonight was elegant night, and the Vista had quite a few gentlemen dressing up. I wasn't one of them, as we decided we'd eat light at the buffet later.

They set 4 small circular stages out in the audience that singers, and dancers used during the show, so our seats about half way back were perfect. If you sat too far in front, you missed a lot of these performers behind you.

We really enjoyed the singing, and the dancing tonight, this is a very talented group.

Cruise director Emma came out on stage before the show, and got the crowd singing with her a couple songs.

Emma can really sing well, she might be one of Carnival's great hidden talents! -))

Tomorrow is our last sea day before we say good bye to these passengers, and say hello to next weeks cruisers!

Happy cruising! -))

[AmBear]

We end our night at the buffet, I get 2 slices of pizza, and a 'made to order' BLT. My wife got the flat iron steak with some veggies. We are satisfied with our food.

The sandwich station on Vista makes your sandwich the way you want it, not the pre-made type as on other ships.

 

This morning is our last sea day before arriving to Miami tomorrow to begin week 2 of our Vista journey.

We head up to the buffet for breakfast, and thought we'd add a few comments about the buffet,,,

The water dispensers are set up so you can fit a pretty good sized water bottle under to refill.

The only 100% juice they had this week was apple, orange was a blend, likely a sugar beverage.

The buffet after day one hasn't been real busy, it's a steady flow where you can always find a table (no booths) easily. I'm sure it will be super busy tomorrow with people exiting the ship.

The food in the evening buffet seems to mimic much (not all) of what is offered in the dining room that night.

The food in the breakfast buffet is almost exactly the same every morning.

I head off to the Premiere club slot tournament this morning, never win, but it's free! -))

[grandmarnnurse]

We end our night at the buffet, I get 2 slices of pizza, and a 'made to order' BLT. My wife got the flat iron steak with some veggies. We are satisfied with our food.

The sandwich station on Vista makes your sandwich the way you want it, not the pre-made type as on other ships.

 

This morning is our last sea day before arriving to Miami tomorrow to begin week 2 of our Vista journey.

We head up to the buffet for breakfast, and thought we'd add a few comments about the buffet,,,

The water dispensers are set up so you can fit a pretty good sized water bottle under to refill.

The only 100% juice they had this week was apple, orange was a blend, likely a sugar beverage.

The buffet after day one hasn't been real busy, it's a steady flow where you can always find a table (no booths) easily. I'm sure it will be super busy tomorrow with people exiting the ship.

The food in the evening buffet seems to mimic much (not all) of what is offered in the dining room that night.

The food in the breakfast buffet is almost exactly the same every morning.

I head off to the Premiere club slot tournament this morning, never win, but it's free! -))

Loving your review! But just an FYI—-due to health concerns, it is advised that passengers never put their water bottles/personal cups under the dispenser. It’s an infection control issue. I always fill the provided cups and pour into my personal cup.

[AmBear]

Loving your review! But just an FYI—-due to health concerns, it is advised that passengers never put their water bottles/personal cups under the dispenser. It’s an infection control issue. I always fill the provided cups and pour into my personal cup.

 

Your comment reminded me of 2 things,

1) the Vista is mostly blue and red cards, at least on this cruise. They will try to board the elevator before you exit, etc.

2) maybe because they're blue or red cards, or because they're pigs:D, (no I'm not saying all blue-red cards are pigs;)) I've seen a lot of people filling their containers from the lemonade despencer right under the dispenser!:eek:

The water dispensers on Vista have about a 14-16 inch clearance, so 'hopefully' most water bottles will fit underneath.

[AmBear]

I played in the Premiere slot tournament, and I think I came in the first place After qualifying for the play down round! Oh well, there's always next week.

We play for awhile, we both loose, then head to the buffet for a late lunch. I asked the Premiere rep how many points I needed to get a restaurant invite on this cruise, as the number is different on every cruise, and she said I qualified for either Cuchina, or Jijis. We really didn't like Cuchina, so we chose Jijis tonight.

We'll let you know later how it goes.

Soon we're off to the Platinum/Diamond party, I'm interested to see how many are on this ship/cruise. The party is being held in the showroom.

 

Our Premiere gifts this week included the usual notebook/pen combo, champagne, cookies, chocolate strawberries, and a pair of pretty nice over the shoulder carry bags. The new carry bags they've been given out lately have pockets, a longer handle so you can put it over your shoulder, and they seem better/tougher made.

 

The Platinum gifts were chocolate strawberries again, over the ear headphones, that my wife traded in at customer services for night lights. Guess she's worried about me bumping into walls in the night at home! -))

Gotta run to the party, write more later.

[cruisinqt]

I played in the Premiere slot tournament, and I think I came in the first place After qualifying for the play down round! Oh well, there's always next week.

We play for awhile, we both loose, then head to the buffet for a late lunch. I asked the Premiere rep how many points I needed to get a restaurant invite on this cruise, as the number is different on every cruise, and she said I qualified for either Cuchina, or Jijis. We really didn't like Cuchina, so we chose Jijis tonight.

We'll let you know later how it goes.

Soon we're off to the Platinum/Diamond party, I'm interested to see how many are on this ship/cruise. The party is being held in the showroom.

 

Our Premiere gifts this week included the usual notebook/pen combo, champagne, cookies, chocolate strawberries, and a pair of pretty nice over the shoulder carry bags. The new carry bags they've been given out lately have pockets, a longer handle so you can put it over your shoulder, and they seem better/tougher made.

 

The Platinum gifts were chocolate strawberries again, over the ear headphones, that my wife traded in at customer services for night lights. Guess she's worried about me bumping into walls in the night at home! -))

Gotta run to the party, write more later.

 

We will be turning Platinum on our upcoming cruise on the Vista this September. We are really excited because not only are we turning Platinum but we are also trying out our first (of many I hope) Ocean Suite. :) I had no idea you could exchange your gift for something different at guest services. Are there many things to choose from?

[AmBear]

Do you know if you can buy week-long passes for the thrill theater and IMAX theater? When we sailed on the Breeze, we were able to buy an unlimited pass for the thrill theater which made the cost a lot more reasonable.

 

Sent from my SM-G935V using Tapatalk

 

Rob, stopped by the IMAX on deck 6 forward, they told me there is no unlimited pass, but you can come in on day one, or any day, and purchase any movie, any day ahead of time.

[AmBear]

We will be turning Platinum on our upcoming cruise on the Vista this September. We are really excited because not only are we turning Platinum but we are also trying out our first (of many I hope) Ocean Suite. :) I had no idea you could exchange your gift for something different at guest services. Are there many things to choose from?

 

Congrats on turning Platinum, the increased benes. are nice. It really shows when you board, leave the ship, and when you are at a tender port. You right with Diamonds leading the way, also your cabin is ready when you board, no waiting til 1:30!;p

As far as exchanging the gifts, I don't think they have much of a choice, but you try.

Next week I already imagine we'll take the headphones offered on week one, or we'll be going home with 4 night lights!;)

[AmBear]

We will be turning Platinum on our upcoming cruise on the Vista this September. We are really excited because not only are we turning Platinum but we are also trying out our first (of many I hope) Ocean Suite. :) I had no idea you could exchange your gift for something different at guest services. Are there many things to choose from?

Happy days as a platinum:D

[AmBear]

We've returned from our dinner tonight at Jiji's, and we both thought it was better then Cucina next door.

They give you a choice of an appetizer, a main dish, a side dish, and desert.

We ordered,,,,(they want you to share, family table style), so we tried to order what we both could eat.

our appetizer was 2 different types of shrimp dumplings,

our main dish beef short ribs, and peppered beef with vegetables,

our side dishes were wide noodles with vegetables, and chicken fried rice,

and our desert was rose Creme Brule with ginger ice cream, and fried wonton wrapped lychee fruit with tapioca pearls.

Definitely the fanciest meal I had in a long time, but the restaurant was very laid back, comfortable.

We'll likely try it again this week again!

(remember Jiji's with a simpler lunch menu is free, so you can try it before spending any money on it for dinner.).

 

Walking back to our cabin, luggage is already being picked up for tomorrow's debarkation.

The Captain announced because of the bad weather tomorrow, we were arriving into port early, around 3am. Of course we'll all still be asleep!-))

Edited May 27, 2018 by AmBear

[bellatsava]

Are the pools open at boarding in Miami? My 6 year old is chomping at the bit to swim as soon as we get on the ship. I am trying to plan what he should wear so that he doesn't end up on the ship with pools open or opening soon without swim trunks.

 

Thanks in advance.

[sid_9169]

I guess they didn't make it back early after all... I was watching you pull into the channel around 8:30 this morning... I can only assume that the terminal is going to be crazy today, with the new passengers ( me included) will be waiting for embarkation to begin...

 

Sent from my Space Phone 9169...

[AmBear]

Are the pools open at boarding in Miami? My 6 year old is chomping at the bit to swim as soon as we get on the ship. I am trying to plan what he should wear so that he doesn't end up on the ship with pools open or opening soon without swim trunks.

 

Thanks in advance.

yes they are, enjoy:D

[AmBear]

I guess they didn't make it back early after all... I was watching you pull into the channel around 8:30 this morning... I can only assume that the terminal is going to be crazy today, with the new passengers ( me included) will be waiting for embarkation to begin...

 

Sent from my Space Phone 9169...

We made it to just 5 miles off Miami, then the port notified the ship at 1:30am, they were closed.

Port reopened around 7:30, we started moving towards the port.

Then the winds kept everyone on the ship until around 10:20, when those with luggage on deck 1&2 were called.

Right now it's 11:00am and they are calling 'all' those with luggage!

We are happy campers that we're not going anywhere today with our b2b, and feeling sorry for those traveling to the Vista, you're gonna wait to get on! And of course to those leaving, travel safely!