Last cruise for a while - Vista was not great

[cruisingguy007]

8 minutes ago, keels81 said:

Not having a casino bar sucks and makes the terrible layout of that ship even worse. 

 

Preach! 

[UPNYGuy]

19 hours ago, popeyesChickenSandwich said:

The Vista overall felt cramped. It's the largest ship I've been on, but felt the smallest

 

DW and I do not book a cruise on a Vista class and larger without going in the Havana / Terrazza area. It cuts down on this exact issue. We booked 2 cruises blindly on Venezia in the Terrazza area without knowing exactly what it was just to get some privacy.

[ABQrobin]

Ditto.... we are not casino people at all but you can smell it all over decks 4 and 5, especially in the lobby.

Food... yeah, my biggest complaint.  It was not good in MDR and the staff is so short (probably due to crew with covid).  We only ate the MDR twice and skipped it the rest of cruise.  Not worth 90 minutes or more sitting and waiting.  JiJis and Bonsai sushi and even the Lido buffet at night were better than the MDR.  Amazing.  

Elevators... yup, wait and wait and then when door opened it had 15 people on it, like sardines.  We took the stairs a LOT.  

Shows were good, cruise director great, Fun Squad good...  

 

We have been on the Vista 3 times now (our of our last 5 cruises) and won't do that class of ship again for awhile.  Lines lines lines everywhere you go... and so little staff to handle it.

[iheartmarshall]

I was on the Vista in 2017 and hated it!  I didn't like the layout and I remember thinking everything was so sterile, like I was in a mall that was going out of business.  I know many hate the elaborate decor of the older Carnival ships and while I agree that they're at times over the top, I just couldn't get settled on the Vista.

I agree about the food quality going downhill too.  We cruised in June (our first since 2018 thanks to the pandemic/cancellations) and I was not impressed with the food at all.  I usually enjoy Carnival's options but something was off.  Now does that stop me from future cruises?  No; I have two more coming up within the year as we like cruising and can find good in even "bad" cruises.  But there's definitely a noticeable difference in the quality. 

[NebraskaSatellite]

We were on the Breeze in 2018 and Vista in 2019 - loved the Breeze, were meh on the Vista.  Both were summer Caribbean cruises and had similar demographics and percent of capacity on board.  The Vista's layout and venues were not as well thought out as for the Breeze.  We'll likely choose a Dream-class ship the next time we go.

[MsOne]

5 hours ago, NebraskaSatellite said:

We were on the Breeze in 2018 and Vista in 2019 - loved the Breeze, were meh on the Vista.  Both were summer Caribbean cruises and had similar demographics and percent of capacity on board.  The Vista's layout and venues were not as well thought out as for the Breeze.  We'll likely choose a Dream-class ship the next time we go.

This is disappointing to learn of because I was on Breeze in 2018 and it was definitely some extremely crowded/bad flow areas...I thought Vista was the same, didn't learn until this thread that it's supposedly worse. Too bad it's 2 weeks before our cruise (just did online check-in). AND, it's a sold out sailing. Hopefully the first time cruisers I'll be with won't be turned off from cruising or Carnival. 🤷‍♀️

[Joebucks]

On 12/23/2022 at 12:23 AM, keels81 said:

 

Also agree. The Vista stinks, especially if you're a casino person. Not having a casino bar sucks and makes the terrible layout of that ship even worse. 

 

I absolutely hate it. Casino bar was a really fun spot.

[ledges1]

I was on the Horizon during Halloween. I got a sore throat begining Wednesday night and lasted through the following Monday (5 days). Tested negative for Covid using the gov't test. 

I also felt cramped on the ship in the Casino and in the sports bar. It was crowded due to the World Series. The Comedy Club was smaller also. I was ok with the design of the ship but that is probably because I am tired of the Conquest line. The Horizon did have more venues to enjoy.

[firefly333]

5 hours ago, MsOne said:

This is disappointing to learn of because I was on Breeze in 2018 and it was definitely some extremely crowded/bad flow areas...I thought Vista was the same, didn't learn until this thread that it's supposedly worse. Too bad it's 2 weeks before our cruise (just did online check-in). AND, it's a sold out sailing. Hopefully the first time cruisers I'll be with won't be turned off from cruising or Carnival. 🤷‍♀️

I didnt like vista was smaller theater and comedy club but I did love JiJis. I would go there one night. It's worth the extra price. Better than chops and cheaper. I've done vista twice, before and after covid. I also got the lobster rolls twice and made a dinner out of them, from the seafood place. 

[Rudyard]

I also had an issue with the size of Vista. I really miss the larger theaters and the seating with drink tables for just about everyone. Every show was standing room only unless you go there at least half an hour early. I'm also a big karaoke fan. Loved the Havana bar, but whoever thought it was a good idea to put Karaoke in there needs to be fired. We actually had people having to sit on the floor because there wasn't enough seating.  

[CruizinSusan70]

15 hours ago, ledges1 said:

I am tired of the Conquest line. The Horizon did have more venues to enjoy.

The Mardi Gras and Celebration have even more venues to enjoy, including the Limelight lounge doing family comedy and the Punchline doing adult comedy, sometimes simultaneously.  And the MG theater does late night comedy a few nights as well.

[popeyesChickenSandwich]

@CruizinSusan70 LOL thanks - I'm not looking for your condolences, and we did use paid dining options because of the quality.

I still maintain that decline in the quality of MDR food is a valid grievance. In the past it was at a quality of let's say 8/10, and this experience the food was 4/10 - what's up with that? The point of my post is that I am going to wait until economic conditions improve and Carnival (or any other cruise line) has a better opportunity to showcase the value they are capable of providing before going again. When I do re-book, yes it will be a "booze cruise" because that is what I enjoy.

[CruizinSusan70]

1 hour ago, popeyesChickenSandwich said:

@CruizinSusan70 LOL thanks - I'm not looking for your condolences, and we did use paid dining options because of the quality.

I still maintain that decline in the quality of MDR food is a valid grievance. In the past it was at a quality of let's say 8/10, and this experience the food was 4/10 - what's up with that? The point of my post is that I am going to wait until economic conditions improve and Carnival (or any other cruise line) has a better opportunity to showcase the value they are capable of providing before going again. When I do re-book, yes it will be a "booze cruise" because that is what I enjoy.

Since you're from TX, you'll have lots of opportunities to snag deals out of Galveston since that port seems to be the darling of the cruise lines these days and MSC will soon be bringing their ships and deep pockets to the largest state in the lower 48.

[pjhootch]

We were on the Horizon in September, and came home with Covid.  Just a coincidence the Horizon and Vista are twins.  The ships are more crowded and harder to keep some distance from people, even outside.  But the real issue had more to do with us being a bit too relaxed about wearing masks- most likely.  

 

We just got off Magic December 11th, and we did not get sick, although many people did.  We were in the casino and not using masks. Stupid of us, but I was really hoping I still had immunity from September's bout.  Apparently we both were still fairly immune.  Because people were packing the elevators and the casino was packed solid.

 

The MDR is not what it was before the cost of food shot through the roof.  We started our post pandemic cruising in September of 2021.  The first few cruises we had some really excellent MDR meals.  On Horizon in September and especially on Magic a couple of weeks ago- the food was really "meh".  We usually enjoy it for what it is.  Have to say we ate about 5 meals out of 8 elsewhere.  We had some OBC so used it at Capitano for a meal, and my husband ate at the Seafood Shack.  We mostly just snacked at the buffet.  We did attend both elegant nights and the prime rib was perfect.  The filet was cooked nicely and the lobster was not tough.  But it was a 2 hour ordeal and I was really tired. 🙂

 

We used to find the MDR food better than restaurants at home (that I am willing to pay for), I hope they bring the quality back up.  Our wait staff has been consistently fantastic, even when they are clearly understaffed for elegant night.  We did have a comped steak house meal in September, and it just wasn't that great either.  I would have been disappointed if I paid for it, even before the recent price increase.

 

Allowing unvaccinated passengers isn't causing the virus to spread any more noticeably than prior - when cruises were mostly vaccinated only.  Hard to be certain since there are no accurate numbers and we can only guess from anecdotal evidence.    Probably some issues are because the boosters aren't a perfect match for the most recent virus making the rounds.  

 

We are leaving again January 22nd and I am getting a booster a couple of weeks beforehand and crossing my fingers!

Edited December 26, 2022 by pjhootch

[crewsweeper]

On 12/22/2022 at 11:39 PM, staceyglow said:

My pet peeve!  Able-bodied people getting on the elevator to go down one flight of stairs.  I actually try to take the stairs as much as possible to burn off all the "terrible" food I am eating on the cruise.

You have to do a LOT of stairs to burn off even a bite full of that "terrible food" you're eating. 1000 stair risers burns under 50 calories.  That's 62 flights of stairs on a ship.

[crewsweeper]

Pre Covid, but we enjoyed the heck out of both the Vista and the Horizon.  I think the key is to do the Havana area.  Much better than the Mardi Gras, post Covid.  But I think the Dream class ships are the best in terms of size and layout.  Especially the spas and gyms and locker rooms.

[MogeyMan]

On 12/22/2022 at 9:39 PM, staceyglow said:

My pet peeve!  Able-bodied people getting on the elevator to go down one flight of stairs.  I actually try to take the stairs as much as possible to burn off all the "terrible" food I am eating on the cruise.

And how exactly do you determine in your infinite wisdom "able bodied?"

[staceyglow]

10 minutes ago, MogeyMan said:

And how exactly do you determine in your infinite wisdom "able bodied?"

I guess it is presumptuous of me to assume that a group of teenagers who literally ran onto the elevator and then ran off of it were able-bodied, but I think the odds are in my favor. 

Edited December 26, 2022 by staceyglow

[icft]

5 hours ago, staceyglow said:

I guess it is presumptuous of me to assume that a group of teenagers who literally ran onto the elevator and then ran off of it were able-bodied, but I think the odds are in my favor. 

ZING! You are approaching legend status in my eyes... 😁

Edited December 27, 2022 by icft

[MogeyMan]

That's rather different than what you said. And you know it is.

[wesorbeth]

On 12/22/2022 at 4:58 PM, Eli_6 said:

And before I got on another cruise, I am going to get the booster again.  I think one thing that may have helped my kids is they literally got their booster like 2 weeks before the cruise because they had just become elligible.  I honestly don't think the boosters last that long.  Maybe 2-3 months tops. 

I am not in a high risk group and I have the vaccine and booster. I got COVID in August (50yrs old) and we sick for 3 weeks, my husband (53) was sick for two days.

[Eli_6]

2 minutes ago, wesorbeth said:

I am not in a high risk group and I have the vaccine and booster. I got COVID in August (50yrs old) and we sick for 3 weeks, my husband (53) was sick for two days.

That is kind of how my husband and I were in reverse...he got really sick and I was only mildly sick. He is 47 and I am 42.  

[spleenstomper]

On 12/22/2022 at 10:39 PM, staceyglow said:

My pet peeve!  Able-bodied people getting on the elevator to go down one flight of stairs.  I actually try to take the stairs as much as possible to burn off all the "terrible" food I am eating on the cruise.

Just remember that disabled people don’t always look disabled to your mind when judging people. 

[staceyglow]

1 hour ago, spleenstomper said:

Just remember that disabled people don’t always look disabled to your mind when judging people. 

I do remember that.  But I am certain that is not the case for 100% of the people who do that.

[spleenstomper]

1 minute ago, staceyglow said:

I do remember that.  But I am certain that is not the case for 100% of the people who do that.

Thanks. I’m feeling a bit sensitive today because I’m leaving on Glory in 5 days and today I can’t get off the sofa.