Vista - Simply Incredible

[Harry Lake]

34 minutes ago, DENIE said:

....also, we are on the 1/9/2024 sailing in the Caribbean.  We'll see how that compares age-wise.

A side note. Pre-covid we did a trip that included Antarctica. We were small enough capacity that we could go ashore (a treaty does that). Before traveling we actually had to get a form signed by our primary care physician saying that it was safe for us to travel there. Imagine doing an at sea rescue down there.

 

[Pandazoo]

@Harry Lake I don’t believe there are any rescues there.  Same as on transatlantic.  You take your chances and roll the dice.  

[Pandazoo]

@mauibabes Thank you my DW reads reviews and obsesses about them.  It’s OK as her obsession is good for technical planning.  I am grateful for the positive reviews as we all agree there is no perfect trip but O’s have been pretty close!  I will post about our Vista trip for sure.  Starting the New Year off right!🥳

[Harry Lake]

2 hours ago, Pandazoo said:

@Harry Lake I don’t believe there are any rescues there.  Same as on transatlantic.  You take your chances and roll the dice.  

Oh, I think they'd give it a shot.

https://abcnews.go.com/Technology/story?id=3905858&page=1

[DurangoWino]

Confirming that they do have Splenda onboard.  Might not be in every sugar bowl but they do have it.

[RJB]

On 12/5/2023 at 12:51 PM, zteamtwo said:

Welcome to Oceania---it is the best.  Quick question--does Vista have Splenda?  Thanks.

YES

[Waltershipman]

16 hours ago, JRIH said:

I've been on 3 Carnival cruises.  That's all they were, booze cruises.

 

 

16 hours ago, JRIH said:

I've been on 3 Carnival cruises.  That's all they were, booze cruises.

My last carnival cruise was Easter vacation over 30 years ago. That says it all for ne although tastes and ones age group and family dynamics dictate decisions 

[Pandazoo]

@Harry Lake  Saving/rescue of another vessel is quite different from a single passenger having a medical emergency and needing to be airlifted.  Only military and coast guard have the huge helicopters needed and they are limited in how far they can go.

[Harry Lake]

9 minutes ago, Pandazoo said:

@Harry Lake  Saving/rescue of another vessel is quite different from a single passenger having a medical emergency and needing to be airlifted.  Only military and coast guard have the huge helicopters needed and they are limited in how far they can go.

We were within swimming distance to land for several days so here's hoping 🙂

[mexicobob]

On 12/5/2023 at 7:44 PM, PelicanLvr said:

DW and I are 65...just off Nautica last month in November (Spain & Canary Islands).  We had a great cruise with terrific staff and ports.  

 

But....we felt VERY young.  Fellow passengers were.....quite mature.  Makes me concerned about O's future.  Felt way too "old" for us.  

 

 

DW and I are about 70. Were on the Riviera last April in the Mediterranean. Fantastic cruise. Very few young people on the ship and all of them were oriental. Maybe that will be the future of Oceania. Look forward to sailing again with them, but for now will try something with a younger crowd. Will miss the food and service, so will be back soon.

[Parrot Head1]

On 12/5/2023 at 11:48 AM, JDPCruisers said:

Thanks for sharing your experience so far. We are seriously looking at Vista for our first Oceania cruise in 2025 having been Royal and Celebrity cruisers but considering a change to a smaller more exclusive experience and services. Will continue to follow along for your thoughts.  

Thank you for sharing your experience as my wife and I will be on Vista for the 10-day Miami to Miami in there PH1 Penthouse on deck 11 for the December 30th sailing.  This will be our first experience with Oceania and there newest ship Vista.

[Parrot Head1]

That's great to here! 

My wife and I will be sailing on Oceania for the first time with Vista for the 10 day December 30th Miami to Miami as well in one of there PH1 Penthouse suites on deck 11 to celebrate our 30th wedding anniversary.

Thank you for the insight and enjoy the rest of your cruise :)

 

 

[DurangoWino]

Last night of our fabulous cruise.  Finally made it to Embers and it was good but to me ranks 4th behind Polo, Toscana, and Red Ginger.  Glad that their rolls were not served all over the ship or I would have gained ten more pounds.

 

Please make sure to see the singers/dancers last production called Into the Night.  Fantastic show and was the best of all three shows.  The entertainment has been outstanding this trip.  Since the last update Tom Franek did two great shows of piano/songs.  Very talented guy who is up for three Grammys.

 

High compliments to the Vista staff, everyone was very professional and tried very hard to make everyone’s trip enjoyable.  Vista is an amazing ship and worth every effort to take a cruise on.

[edgee]

Here are some positives with a few negatives, especially compared to the O ships, I observed during 16 night cruise on Vista in November:

Positives

--Aquamor restaurant 

--No more sliding door closets against the bed in regular cabins

--Gorgeous front spa deck

--Completely covered outdoor dining outside Terrace

--Beautiful chandeliers and art work throughout ship

--Grand Dining Room broken up into sections...not quite as O ship "grand," but much better IMHO

--Baristas with own bakery 

--No indoor windowless cabins...lowest level cabins have French balcony

--Great technology in Vista Theatre

--Casino is airy and spacious

--Offering evening Pizza/Flatbreads/Wings option in Waves like on refurbished Riviera and soon on Marina is great

-Lots more...it is a wonderful ship

 

Slight downsides

--Limited drawer space in cabins

--Horizons is smaller than O ships and only one way in and out (Can't sneak out back way if Capt's speech during events is boring )

--They did not fix overcrowded dessert area in Terrace

--Sight lines in Vista Theatre are a problem..lots of views of people's heads..plus limited leg room for some seats in the back and on sides

--Thin walls between cabins..lots of tv noise and muffled conversation heard from neighboring cabins..., but to be fair it could seem that way because A/C system is so quiet...no white noise from A/C whooshing sound to muffle talking and TV noise.

--Ember is a very upscale Appleby's..a poor specialty restaurant replacement for Jacque.

--Gym and adjacent exercise studio are smaller and therefore more crowded at times compared to O ships

Edited December 11, 2023 by edgee

[Parrot Head1]

My wife and I are sailing on Oceania and Vista for the first time here on December 30th for 10 days. We booked a Penthouse suite PH1 on deck 11 towards the middle back of the ship port side cabin 11062. We hope it's in a good location as our TA recommend as the best available when we booked about 8 or so months ago. 

Thank you for the information on Vista as my wife and I will be celebrating our 30th anniversary and our looking forward to experiencing Vista and the Oceania brand vs our October cruise we took on Celebrity Equinox which was our first experience as well which was very good for a older ship.

[MarkWiltonM]

We were on the same cruise as the OP. We agree that it's a beautiful ship, inside and out. We especially loved the fully covered exterior "terrace" of the Terrace Cafe, and the Aquamar Cafe serving delicious healthy food at breakfast and lunch. 

 

Food is so very subjective, but: We had yet another mediocre meal in Toscana (our first Toscana meal on Vista) and terrible service. The server insisted on taking our order before the couple we were with had had a chance to look at a wine menu. The server said he would "hold" our food order until the wine order was in. (I wondered why he couldn't just come back and, meanwhile, ask the sommelier to hustle on over?) Bread and olive oil showed up two seconds before our appetizers. We had great service in Polo but the food wasn't special. We don't eat a lot of red meat so it's not a good fit for us anyway, but the "firecracker" sauce on my halibut was flavorless (no acid, no salt, no heat despite the word "firecracker") and my side order of truffle fries was served cold, as were the haricots verts which were actually better in the main dining room. One person at our table got a tough lobster tail and the server immediately replaced it with one more to her liking, which was nice. We didn't go to Red Ginger. It bores us compared to the great Asian restaurants we frequent on land. Unlike many, we loved Ember: the decor, the casualness, the unpretentiousness, and the food, which was simple and well-prepared. it's nothing like Appleby's (I haven't been to an Appleby's in 25 years but I doubt it has gotten better). Ember reminded us of the restaurants on Virgin Voyages, which are much better than those on Oceania IMO (the restaurants on VV are the only things we like on those ships, unfortunately). We ate mostly at Terrace Cafe and we ate in the Grand Dining Room four or five nights (beautiful room and the food was okay--sometimes pretty good, mostly just okay "hotel food" but because we didn't expect much it was fine). 

 

The floors in Terrace Cafe and at Waves got very slippery when even slightly wet, which was the rule rather than the exception at dinner, for some reason. Be careful in there. Terrace, Waves, and Aquamar got very busy at lunch and service in Aquamar could be quite bad when that happened. Best to avoid the rush if possible. 

 

We were in a B3 veranda stateroom and it was fantastic, as was the service provided by our attendants. Very comfortable mattress in particular, and great lighting. Beautiful stateroom and bathroom. 

 

Edited December 12, 2023 by MarkWiltonM

[MEFIowa]

12 minutes ago, MarkWiltonM said:

... The floors in Terrace Cafe and at Waves got very slippery when even slightly wet, which was the rule rather than the exception at dinner, for some reason. Be careful in there. ...

Having spent 30 nights on Riviera since 12/2021 and another 10 on Sirena, I don't EVER remember TC or Waves as being "wet" or "slippery". One assumes that if there is a spill, they pick it up. On Riviera last month I got a glass of milk at the TC milk dispenser and the glass literally separated at the bottom, leaving me holding a glass with no bottom and milk on the floor. They immediately cleaned it up.

 

Though the grilling station at the TC seems to be extremely crowded these days.

[DurangoWino]

Have to agree with your table guests at Polo, the lobster I got was tough.  Also my lamb at our second night at RG was a bit lamby tasting - the sea bass is the way to go there.  The second night of Caribbean Night at the Terrace was pretty cool with a whole tuna cut up in pieces displayed.  I saw them wheeling it to our ship in St Johns and wondered when/how it would show up.  
 

For the numbers of people being served food each meal, I think the crew does a great job serving very good food.  Now were these restaurants onshore not sure any would make a repeat performance for dining but on a ship I’ll give them some leeway.  But your observations are spot on.

[MarkWiltonM]

20 hours ago, MEFIowa said:

Having spent 30 nights on Riviera since 12/2021 and another 10 on Sirena, I don't EVER remember TC or Waves as being "wet" or "slippery".

I have also been on Riviera and Sirena, in 2022 and 2023, and I agree those floors were not slippery. But the tiles in the Terrace Cafe and Waves on Vista were often damp (not just in one place but all over) in the evening and no one was attempting to dry them with, for example, a large dust mop. They did have yellow warning signs out. When the floors were dry, as they typically were during breakfast and lunch, they were not slippery. Why these were damp in the evening is a mystery to me, as is why they did not address the issue, because of the danger/liability.  

[SATaxman]

1 hour ago, MarkWiltonM said:

I have also been on Riviera and Sirena, in 2022 and 2023, and I agree those floors were not slippery. But the tiles in the Terrace Cafe and Waves on Vista were often damp (not just in one place but all over) in the evening and no one was attempting to dry them with, for example, a large dust mop. They did have yellow warning signs out. When the floors were dry, as they typically were during breakfast and lunch, they were not slippery. Why these were damp in the evening is a mystery to me, as is why they did not address the issue, because of the danger/liability.  

We were on Marina in an Oceania Suite below the TC. One afternoon, while sitting on the balcony, I was getting wet. Water was pouring down and the wind made it blow on the balcony. I went upstairs to the TC and saw that they were cleaning the deck. All tables and chairs were moved and buckets of water being poured on the TC deck. I went to the customer service desk and nicely told them that since there were only 2 suites affected by this, a simple note to us warning about this would have been the appropriate thing to do. Soon after, we received a note and a bottle of champagne.

[edgee]

On 12/12/2023 at 11:09 AM, MEFIowa said:

Having spent 30 nights on Riviera since 12/2021 and another 10 on Sirena, I don't EVER remember TC or Waves as being "wet" or "slippery". One assumes that if there is a spill, they pick it up. On Riviera last month I got a glass of milk at the TC milk dispenser and the glass literally separated at the bottom, leaving me holding a glass with no bottom and milk on the floor. They immediately cleaned it up.

 

Though the grilling station at the TC seems to be extremely crowded these days.

Vista has tile in the Terrace and a surface on walking track and other areas around the pool that tend to be slippery...wet or not.  Different from other Oceania ships in a not good way.

[LHT28]

24 minutes ago, edgee said:

Vista has tile in the Terrace and a surface on walking track and other areas around the pool that tend to be slippery...wet or not.  Different from other Oceania ships in a not good way.

how true   I fell coming out of Barristas  on the slippery  deck  not  a good choice  of flooring for  a ship 😲

[edgee]

9 hours ago, LHT28 said:

how true   I fell coming out of Barristas  on the slippery  deck  not  a good choice  of flooring for  a ship 😲

Lyn, I had read your post about your injury prior to my cruise and was extra careful. Definitely saw what you were talking about, especially when surfaces were wet. Also noticed beautiful but not necessarily safe floor surface in Terrace..seemed slippery.

[Hambagahle]

On 12/6/2023 at 3:36 PM, Pandazoo said:

@Harry Lake I don’t believe there are any rescues there.  Same as on transatlantic.  You take your chances and roll the dice.  

Rescues are possible on TA cruises.  I have been on two crossings that involved them.  First was on Cunard (in the 1960s) when a seaman on a ship not that far from us was severely injured.  he was brought to the Queen Mary on a lifeboat and the Cunard medical team took over from then.  The second was when we were on Riviera, on a TA crossing a few years ago.   Around 0600 the ship suddenly slowed.  And a mammoth helicopter appeard above us.  We were about 500km south of the Azores and it was from a Portuguese military base there.  It winched the stretcher up and flew off.  We later heard that it was a passenger who had had a heart attack.  He recovered.  And his wife disembarked in Madeira and flew off to be with him.   Apparently we were just at the limit of the range of the helicopter so he was very lucky.  The ocean is not as lonely as one might think!

[Vallesan]

2 hours ago, edgee said:

Lyn, I had read your post about your injury prior to my cruise and was extra careful. Definitely saw what you were talking about, especially when surfaces were wet. Also noticed beautiful but not necessarily safe floor surface in Terrace..seemed slippery.

 
Thanks for bringing up the floor surfaces. I use crutches and am constantly aware of slippery floors. They won’t be very good for antibody using a cane either. Although I very much fancied the Vista I think I might give it a miss!