Vista Trip Report with photos and videos!

[ABQrobin]

1 hour ago, dmdiver said:

Love the review.  We saw Cowboy Bill Martin on a past cruise & really liked him.  I follow him on Facebook, too.  Looking forward to seeing him again, as he is going to be on our sailing as well.  Did y'all enjoy Rendezvous in Belize?  This is what we have booked for our family in Belize.  Well, except DH & his buddy will be scuba diving.  

 

Did you by any chance use Skype onboard the ship?  Our daughter has a 13 month old & wants to be able to video call her, so we're wondering how reliable it is.

 

Thanks, no, we never used Skype so I have no idea how reliable.  We used e-mail daily though and had no problems.  It seems to work well.  

[emdia43]

On 5/6/2019 at 4:25 PM, ABQrobin said:

 

Thanks!

yup, same towel animal trick.  I was laughing so hard I almost fell out of my chair.  

Video?

 

[ABQrobin]

9 hours ago, emdia43 said:

Video?

 

 

HAHAHA..... nope.  Video is not allowed of any of the Comedians, and even if I had, it would be so shaky from my laughing you wouldn't have seen a thing.  He had the crowds laughing hard the entire show, it was a great ab workout!

[ABQrobin]

FRIDAY -  Cozumel Revisited!

 

We pulled into Puerta Maya with several ships already docked.  It was going to be a busy 7 ship day in Cozumel!

 

 

 

 

 

We had not made any real plans for this day, other than taking a taxi into downtown for shopping and lunch.

 

It was going to be sunny, so those who had a bad day in Cozumel on Monday had better weather this time.  With 7 ships in port though, it might be crowded at all the beach clubs!

 

The Magic was already docked at the pier, and passengers were just starting to get off as they started to tie us off.  The other side of us was a dock which would have the Dream in a few hours.  International pier already had a RC ship as well as another Carnival ship, I think it was the Miracle.  Downtown, at Puerto Langosta there would be 2 more ships.

 

 

[ABQrobin]

If you have never been to Cozumel,, let me say here that NO PORT stop is easier to navigate and get around that COZUMEL. 

 

A little background here ==  We have been coming to Cozumel on vacation for 19 years.  It was where we got certified to scuba dive when DH came home from a long year remote tour in Greenland..yes, he was stuck in Thule Greenland for a year of freezing temps and darkness.  As a reward for his horrible tour, I rewarded the 3 of us (our son was 12 at the time) to scuba lessons at our local dive shop in Colorado Springs, where we were stationed at the time.  He arrived home in Feb of 2000 to find out I had paid for the classes and was booking a vacation to somewhere warm, Mexico.

 

We debated back and forth between various destinations in Mexico, and then I discovered a website with photos of Mexico, many underwater.  I was sold.  I figured we would just go there on vacation and snorkel, but then I started reading about scuba and saw a tv show where they kept saying how easy it was... and it just seemed to be destiny.  We started the scuba classes in April 2000 and I found a dive shop in Cozumel to do the referral dives during our June trip.  On that trip, we fell in love with Cozumel and it became our annual summer vacation for many years.  We watched it go from a scuba-vacation island to a busy cruise port island.

 

I wish I still had all the photos we took over the years but unfortunately I lost most of them from the 2000-2005 timeframe when the online storage website went belly up and didn't notify everyone until too late to retrieve.  Lesson learned, always back up your photos somewhere!  I now have a hard drive to save photos on as well as my Smugmug website account.  

 

So... back to my travels to Cozumel.  In 2014 my DH had surgery, so our regular visit to scuba dive Cozumel was squashed.  What to do?  We had never considered cruising but wanted to do an Alaska cruise someday... so why not do a Caribbean cruise to try it out?  The rest is history.  This cruise made our 10th, all since 2014. Yes, we are hooked.

 

...more....

 

 

[cincicruisers]

Thank you for sharing your review with us.  

[rcprncss]

I enjoyed this.  Can't wait to see your second experience in Cozumel.

 

[ABQrobin]

Back to this cruise....

 

We pulled into Cozumel Puerta Maya right on time, bright and early as the sun was rising.  Ships were already docked and other ships were coming thru the channel on their way to ports.  It was going to be a hectic day...but it was all thanks to our wonderful captain arranging we had a port instead of another sea day!  So this day was a Bonus...

 

Our plans were just to hang out in San Miguel, the town/city on the island.  We watched the docking which is always interesting, then went back to room to grab our stuff.  They opened 2 gangways, as usual here, so people were pouring out onto the pier in no time.  We walked from our room on Deck 6 down to deck 2, then forward to the midship stairs, then straight down to Deck 0, and right out the "hole in the ship".  It literally took 10 minutes at most.  

 

The people from the Magic were getting off at the same time so the pier was a madhouse.  

 

 

Pedicabs were racing back and forth.

 

 

As you walk down the pier, you have to walk through the Dutyfree store, then you are out into a large port shopping area.   Keep walking and you will come to the port exit.  There is where you pick up your taxi to wherever on the island you want to go.  It can't be any easier.  

A gentleman is there, with a clipboard, asks how many people you have and where you want to go... he waves his arm to the next taxi in line... and you are loaded in.  It is FAST.  No problemo, just off you go.

 

...more...

 

 

[ABQrobin]

PERFECT weather here this time!!!

 

 

taxis waiting

 

 

Off we go into town

 

 

Traffic, especially with 7 ships in port today, is CRAZY!

Back 19 yrs ago, on our first visit to Cozumel, there were maybe a dozen or two taxis, and very little car traffic.  All traffic was really locals on scooters.  Now in Cozumel there are hundreds of taxis, plus rental cars, and traffic, horns honking, crazy traffic.  There are also accidents everywhere, which is why I don't recommend renting a car here anymore... the chances of missing the ship, with car problems, ick, just wouldn't risk it.

 

Taxi fare was $8, and we ended up getting out a bit before Centro, the city center square, due to backed up traffic.  

 

From there we walked up the main street, Rafael Malgar, to Centro.

 

 

[ABQrobin]

Lots of people, and more ships downtown at Puerto Langosta.

 

 

 

El Centro is the large city square, just off the main road.  It is a park-like area, all walking plaza, with trees and park benches, and usually live music and dancers or activities going every day.

 

 

There is a new Cozumel sign, so we had to stop for photos.

 

 

 

there is a public restroom here, but they do charge.... but its clean.

 

[ABQrobin]

After shopping for a little while, we decided it was time to find our lunch restaurant... La Choza.  

This is a place we have been to several times, but not in past 5-6 years.  It is not in the tourist district, it is a few blocks inland and southside of town.  We walked a little ways, then asked a man.....  here is important to note:

YOU CAN TALK TO THE LOCALS!  Do not be afraid of them.  They love their island and love tourists!  We asked this man, who was a local, where is LaChoza?  He was very nice, told us one more block east and turn left, straight ahead.  Perfect!  He was very nice and friendly, like EVERY person you meet in Cozumel.

 

We followed his directions, and they were perfect.  As soon as we turned the corner we saw the sign about a block down the road.  Yippee!

 

 

 

 

We walked inside and were told to sit anywhere and a waiter was soon there with menus.

 

It is a large open restaurant, with a couple of fountains and a huge tropical garden inside.  Lots of locals and tourists were there eating already, and it felt like home to us.  This is so much better than eating at one of the tourist restaurants along the waterfront.

 

 

 

[ABQrobin]

 

the menu is really nice, lots of choices

we decided on chicken fajitas and chicken kabob

 

 

 

[ABQrobin]

After a wonderful lunch, we went out front and a taxi pulled up..  perfect.  We decided to go back to port, shop a bit more, then back on the ship early.  

 

We arrived back at port, after sitting in horrible traffic again, and then went to 3 Amigos, right by the ships for a last stop to relax and people watch.  

 

 

The Dream had arrived and was sitting next to us

 

 

 

 

 

 

[ABQrobin]

 

 

 

 

All the bars were busy, as expected, but we were able to get a table at 3 Amigos right out on balcony overlooking the water.

 

 

we were both still full from lunch, but drinks were nice now.. it was hot.

 

 

[ABQrobin]

 

After relaxing here for awhile, we made to hike back down the pier to the ship...  quite a view with 3 ships at Puerta Maya, and 2 more right next door at the Internatiional Pier.

 

 

 

The Dream right next to us... haven't done it yet, hopefully next year.

The Magic we have done twice.

 

[ABQrobin]

Back onboard, there were lots of people already!  The pools were all full, and Lido was hopping.  

We grabbed a quick snack, cake of course, then up on deck to watch the pier runners for other ships.  The Magic was supposed to leave before us, but wasn't budging, people still getting onboard.  I guess they had groups going to mainland excursions that hadn't returned yet.  This is a port that it is important to do ship excursions if you go to mainland!  That ferry thing can be very unpredictable, as can traffic.  

 

 

The Magic didn't leave until very late, in fact we couldn't pull out until they did as we had been tied off in such a way that they had to be released first.  So we waited and waited.  Finally Magic started to pull away, and just a minute later they had us ready to go also.  It was a steady stream of ships backing out and heading up the channel away from Cozumel going towards the US coast.  

 

We decided to do the MDR for dinner tonight... and with that I will start another HIt or MISS.

 

..more coming...

[Cairns Cruisers]

Darn, No pictures showing again after the waiter with the menus?

 

[ABQrobin]

10 hours ago, Cairns Cruisers said:

Darn, No pictures showing again after the waiter with the menus?

 

 

Are you saying my photos don't work?

[ABQrobin]

Another Vista -  HIT or MISS!

 

The MDR....  gosh, we have seen so many reports about this issue here on CC for the past 2 years regarding the Vista procedures.  Here is what we think.

For YTD... you have to check in  on Deck 4 at station next to the Pixels gallery OR you can do it on the Hub App.  If you do it on app, you have 10 minutes to get there before your reserved table is canceled.  So you need to be dressed and ready, and start walking that direction.  Your table may be on Deck 3 or 4, no way to know until you get the notice, it is random.  

 

The first few times, we were assigned to a table over on one side, with walls blocking us off from main dining room.  It was like we were relatives at Thanksgiving that had to sit at a table in the hallway as the main eating area was full.  I really felt that way.  On one night, they did "Showtime" and our waiter was literally dancing right next to my chair in that narrow passageway - very awkward.  We could not see any other performers, dancers, waiters, people, nothing... it was just weird.  

On the last night, we decided NOT to check in on the app, and just go to desk on Deck 4 and request in middle of diining room, not on the sides...bingo!  We got a really nice table that time, overlooking whole dining room.  It was nice.  It was also sad to see how many large empty tables were out there.  I really think people don't like this new system and skipped it after a few days.

 

Chairs - OMG, who designed these horrible chairs?  Every table has chairs that have the backs tilted back at an angle.  You can't sit upright in them.  Very uncomfortable if you have good posture.  You literally cannot lean back your entire meal, you have to just sit there with no back, might as well be on a stool.

 

Decor - overall, the decor is nice, very clean and elegant, not a lot of personality.  Not memorable.  All I see are those horrid chairs!

 

Service - seemed to be the slowest of any ship we have been on as well as fact you just never see your waiter at all unless they are bringing something to tables.  The layout is just not very friendly.

 

So..... my rating?

 

BIG MISS!

 

 

Our view from table on last night....  at 6pm, look at all the empty seats!

And those horrid chairs.

 

dinner in the hallway

 

If we sail on the Vista again, we will not do the YTD.  We will do Early dining or just do other venues, like the Lido buffet.  

So disappointed!

 

 

[lennythenose]

19 minutes ago, ABQrobin said:

 

Are you saying my photos don't work?

I can still see them. 

[ABQrobin]

37 minutes ago, lennythenose said:

I can still see them. 

 

thanks!  I was worried since most of my report is nothing but photos.

[ABQrobin]

Another Vista - Hit or Miss..........  Elevators

 

oh my.... what a mess the elevators are on the Vista!  They apparently work on a program telling each individual which floor to go to rather than stop at floors where people are waiting.  It is so frustrating!  We usually take the stairs if only going 1-3 floors, but sometimes you just want to take the elevator.  Be prepared to wait..... and wait.... and wait.  You'll watch the elevator come up and go right past your floor, then back down past you again.  Its a friggin nightmare, IMHO.  

I can't tell you how many times we stood there for 10 minutes or more, watching the elevators go whizzing by without stopping, just to turn around and have to use the stairs to get where we were going.  Since we were AFT on Deck 6, we actually had the best elevators right there, apparently they weren't used as much so easier to get on.  But geez, don't even try them anywhere else on the ship most of the day.  Uggghhh.

 

And we did miss the glass lobby elevators.  We don't use them much on other ships, but there are a nice visual going up and down from lobby.

 

BIG MISS!

 

 

Edited May 14, 2019 by ABQrobin

[ABQrobin]

So.......   here is a recap of our HITS and MISSES for the VISTA:

 

HIT

SkyRide

JiJi Asian restaurant

Bonsai Sushi

Cruise Director

Crew

Comedy Club

Live Music

 

 

MISS

MDR for YTD

Elevators

Main Theatre Shows

 

 

MIXED

Lobby Bar and LED showpiece

New Cakes and Gelato

 

 

 

Edited May 14, 2019 by ABQrobin

[ABQrobin]

Debarkation..... uuuggghhh.  The day we all hate!

 

I just don't know why, but it seems Galveston has problems with this.  Our last 2 cruises out of here, the lines to get off ship were hours long, getting luggage and standing in line for customs, just a nightmare.  

This time, they started debark with Platinum, Diamond, and FTTF.... then stopped it after they were off.  Everyone else onboard sat for an hour waiting, then they started with Deck 1... another hour went by.  They announced that the lines were long and they weren't allowed to let anyone else off yet.  What???????  How can this be?  Don't they do ships every day?  This isn't a new thing.  Why the hold ups?

 

It was now after 10am, and we had a flight to catch.  If the lines were over an hour long to get out of the building, then another hour shuttle to airport... we might be in trouble.  We took our bags down to Deck 4 and spoke to one of the attendants at the roped off area.  She said, nope, sorry... no way.  I told her that the airline wasn't going to hold a plane for us, we needed to get downstairs in line for customs and get out of them asap.  She finally said when they started opening back up, she would let us go.  I grabbed DH and we stood there at the rope... finally out we went, and sure enough, over an hour wait to get checked out at customs.  The lines went on and on and on and on......

Galveston.... what is the problem here?  

 

 

If we had not done this, we would definitely have missed our flight, which was after noon like they recommend.  I realize that half the people cruising from Galveston drive to port, so it isn't that big a deal, but to the rest of us who must fly.... geez, get it together!!!

 

The only saving grace now is that we turn Platinum our next cruise, so we will be in that first group getting off the ship.  It shouldn't have to come to this, but it apparently does.

 

That's about all I have to say about the cruise.

We enjoyed the Vista and will definitely consider cruising her again.  There were more Hits than Misses.  

 

If you have any particular questions feel free to ask!

 

robin

Edited May 15, 2019 by ABQrobin

[jbethel11]

3 minutes ago, ABQrobin said:

Debarkation..... uuuggghhh.  The day we all hate!

 

I just don't know why, but it seems Galveston has problems with this.  Our last 2 cruises out of here, the lines to get off ship were hours long, getting luggage and standing in line for customs, just a nightmare.  

This time, they started debark with Platinum, Diamond, and FTTF.... then stopped it after they were off.  Everyone else onboard sat for an hour waiting, then they started with Deck 1... another hour went by.  They announced that the lines were long and they weren't allowed to let anyone else off yet.  What???????  How can this be?  Don't they do ships every day?  This isn't a new thing.  Why the hold ups?

 

It was now after 10am, and we had a flight to catch.  If the lines were over an hour long to get out of the building, then another hour shuttle to airport... we might be in trouble.  We took our bags down to Deck 4 and spoke to one of the attendants at the roped off area.  She said, nope, sorry... no way.  I told her that the airline wasn't going to hold a plane for us, we needed to get downstairs in line for customs and get out of them asap.  She finally said when they started opening back up, she would let us go.  I grabbed DH and we stood there at the rope... finally out we went, and sure enough, over an hour wait to get checked out at customs.  The lines went on and on and on and on......

Galveston.... what is the problem here?  

 

 

If we had not done this, we would definitely have missed our flight, which was after noon like they recommend.  I realize that half the people cruising from Galveston drive to port, so it isn't that big a deal, but to the rest of us who must fly.... geez, get it together!!!

 

I only saving grace now is that we turn Platinum our next cruise, so we will be in that first group getting off the ship.  It shouldn't have to come to this, but it apparently does.

 

That's about all I have to say about the cruise.

We enjoyed the Vista and will definitely consider cruising her again.  There were more Hits than Misses.  

 

If you have any particular questions feel free to ask!

 

robin

No! This means the end of your review. I'm sad 😔!