ProgRockCruiser

Well, alrighty then! Thanks very much for the correction!

I would phrase this as "The three Carnival Vista-class ships are essentially identical, and one would assume very close to identical in the overall power and propulsion systems. They have all experienced problems that affects max cruising speed, but Carnival has been very careful to not divulge whether the issue is the same in all cases, whether it is design/systemic in nature, or just seemingly bad coincidences." Just hypothesizing, but maybe the sister ships don't seem to suffer the same symptoms (reduced max speed for whatever reason) because they have not stressed in utilizing those max speeds in their previous cruise stations? Putzing around the Med might only need 10 kts max most of the time (that's a guess on my part - feel free to educate me!), but hauling up and down the California coast might be a bigger ask of the system, regularly. Or maybe, because built for a different line, they really are different somewhere, somehow, and that's the weak link on the Carnival brand ships. I guess I would ask the forum this: Has any other class of ships in the Carnival fleet had a seemingly similar/same propulsion/power issue affect the majority of its ships before the Vista trio? i.e. it sure seems like the Vista-class have had an above average rate of these types of issues compared to the rest of the fleet. The average consumer really doesn't care why, they just care that it seems to affect a certain class of ship, and that will build up a distrust towards those ships. On this forum we're trying to dig a little deeper (but with no real data) because we are more than the average cruiser in interest level, I suspect. I doubt ABB puts out a catalog of "stock azipod designs", so I'm not sure if we can say whether the Vista-class implementation is executed anywhere else. Maybe everything is a custom-design, and three or four in a row of the same implementation is about the limit. Maybe this analogy is poor, but: most gas-powered cars have an automatic transmission these days, at least in North America. Yet it is obvious that some manufacturers have better designs than other manufacturers. When certain 7- 8- and/or 9-speed trannies first came out, some of them had higher than normal failure rates. (I'm thinking of Honda Pilots and related vehicles, IIRC, but could be anyone). The trannies were a minor evolution in design, yet had very specific problems inherent in just that specific design-line. Since then they have (hopefully) redesigned them such that future models don't have the same issue. But it took mass production and several months of real-world use to reveal the issues. (Or the manufacturer knew there "could" be problems, but white-washed them.) Maybe the Vista-class azipods are like that. Or maybe not. Only Carnival knows, I suppose. I hope they know...

Yikes. Guess the issue is serious enough to warrant pulling a whole month's worth of sailings! Will she have to go into dry dock, and where would that be, I wonder?

This is one part of "upgrades" and cabin classes that amuses me. For some reason each higher deck is "always" better than the one below, and the closer to mid-ship the better. Other than the fact that the lowest decks have to be porthole/OVs because balconies are, um, "not appropriate", I have no personal desire to be higher up or closer to mid-ship. If I could swing it, give me an aft balcony on deck 2! But I know for many pax being on the same deck as Lido pools and buffet is important, and some pax like to be mid-ship for ship-movement reasons. Ever since our first cruise we have carefully selected our cabin based on deck and location and balcony options. It would take a _significant_ upgrade at a reasonable price to make me want to move.

Well that's not the spirit of Cruise Critic! Indeed, I alluded to that in my response. However, if _your_ car is going into the shop every month, even if for something different each time, and your neighbors' cars almost never go in, then it speaks to a potential systemic issue in the overall design. I think that is what concerns me the most: the whole propulsion system might be under-designed end-to-end, and failures can not only occur in multiple areas, they might be having knock-on effects - like if your car transmission suddenly seizes, the engine isn't too happy about it... It would be nice if Carnival (and other brands that suffer mechanical issues) were more forthcoming about exactly what is going on, but that is rarely communicated to the general public...

Zoinks! Glad we're already booked at the old rate of about $90 pp for an upcoming cruise. That might give me hesitation to book next time.

@chengkp75 will have a more comprehensive response, but if there is a part or several part/components that can fail, but not with any predictability, they have to just go with what they can. Maybe it takes 8 hours to replace, and they are scheduled to be in port only 6 hrs, so they can't do it without incurring port charges, and maybe they take the chance it will be OK limping along, and then suddenly it isn't good enough. And maybe they just can't keep enough parts on hand (on board) for the three affected ships. Or more, if we include the Costa-built ships. So they have to limp along while one gets shipped from Vista to Panorama. (And now Vista is at risk...) Nobody in any kind of transportation-based business is ever going to do that. "Thank you for flying All-Spi-Fro-Blu airlines, as we prepare for landing please extinguish all smoking materials, including the plane if possible."

The answer is "it depends". If they have enough time, they'll shop it around as an upgrade offer for hundreds of dollars (if not more). If they have only a little time left before sailing it may get offered for much less, and if/when taken, then try to fill that cabin with an upgrade offer the the next tier down, etc. I've been offered a couple of lateral moves (at best, IMHO - one balcony to another, last one on the same deck just more mid-ship) for an upcoming cruise that were something like $90 extra. Not worth it to me.

Casinos being open while in port is controlled by the local Government - if they have casinos of their own there will be restrictions on Cruise ships operating their own casinos while docked / in the local waters. If they don't have their own, they might not be as interested. I'm guessing T&C aren't big gambling centers?

I believe @Jamman54 mentioned he had a Pig Patty on Venezia in his huge review thread of their B2B. I think Carnival just tries to highlight something different on that ship's signage just to be different because of the ship, but the usual offerings are still available.

In a previous Vegan menu thread I posted some details about the "vegan salmon" that was being offered. Basically, it is a plant-based product built up in such a way that it looks and feels, and apparently tastes, like fish. I assume the method of cooking, and how much (seared outside vs fully cooked) affect the result, and maybe there are variations of the product depending on how you intend to cook it.

Unfortunately, when you have a common design, then common design flaws affect all instances. From what I gather, one of the issues is that there is a lot of power applied to those azipods, more than the previous versions on the Dream class for example, because the Vista class is just that bit bigger, and it is simply over-stressing certain components. Seals fail, etc. The "best" solution would be to redesign the azipods to be beefier etc, but there may be physical constraints limiting that (only so much room below decks, etc) and it may be prohibitively costly. We're sailing on the Vista "soon", and I am a little concerned we won't make all the ports we have planned if she suffers a similar issue (again).

Lol, maybe it should be, along with an AI analysis of your social media posts & tie-in to CCTV footage of how you behave in public... "Big Brother is watching, and if you act up you will be hit with an ASBO and not be allowed to cruise."

On the other hand, Carnival's food is allegedly so full of salt, your sister should have no problem maintaining sodium levels...

When you go get your extra room keys at CS, that would be the place/time to ask. Anything you find out here is pure speculation, since I don't recall this ever being a topic before, so no-one has specific experience to report (which might be outdated anyway if the cruise line changed policies, etc). If you do that, please do report back so we have at least one data point / anecdote.

Our first cruise was an Aft Ext Balcony on Liberty, deck 7 I believe. Ever since then we have preferred aft balconies, preferably with one deck of cabins above and below for public deck area noise isolation, but we have also enjoyed forward a facing balcony on Mardi Gras, aft-area bowling alley balconies on Dream class ships, and a forward Cove balcony on Breeze. We did an interior once for cost savings, and while it was OK, we really missed that hour of coffee in the morning, and the night cap in the evening, out there on a balcony. We've also done one of those forward facing Scenic Ocean View rooms on Elation with the floor to ceiling, wall to wall windows. That was pretty nice, but we did miss our fresh air. So, given all other factors equal (esp. price) we'd pick an aft ext balcony, except on an Excel class ship - we want the water behind us, not Summer Landings...

From what I gather and can see for myself from the plans, the Havana area on the Excel ships is a failure compared to what was done on the Vista class ships. Which is too bad.

If I wasn't a 35 min drive from Port Canaveral, I'd completely understand wanting to fly into Miami vs Orlando/Canaveral.

Not sure if it is within your budgetary reach, but the Havana cabins (and the semi-private Havana area) on Vista are supposedly well worth it. I've never been on Vista, but we're sailing on her "soon enough", and then I'll have a this vs that opinion - though I think there really isn't that much difference, from what I gather, beyond the plusses of the Havana area. Other than the hot tubs, doesn't Vista have essentially the same features in a slightly different layout, though? I guess I'll find out "soon enough".

Yeah, maybe @chengkp75 can comment about whether that is something that is supposed to occur well out at sea, or not at all.

John Heald posted about this issue earlier today and said "the beards" were working on it. Hopefully stable now.

On 5 Oct JH posted the Big Screen Lido movies for November. So any day now he should post the movies for Dec.

I first thought you were overestimating the value of the Steakhouse, because the MDR meal it replaces is already paid for. But then I remembered a nice dinner I had recently at a local high-end steakhouse (maybe a bit better than the on-board Carnival Steakhouse), and that was easily $120 to $140 pp just for food. So yeah, the Carnival Steakhouse is still a pretty good deal. If you compare the Carnival Steakhouse to Longhorns then maybe it isn't such a good deal, but I don't think that's a fair comparison - Longhorns is acceptable (better than Golden Corral, lol), sure, but not as nice as Carnival.

I've found the cakes to be somewhat bland on Carnival ships - except the really nice ones you get in the Steakhouse. They just seem to be lacking in overall "flavor" - it looks delicious, but once you taste it you think they forgot to add something. But beyond the cakes: We were on Magic last December (2022), and the food was generally quite enjoyable in the MDR for dinner and seaday brunch (we don't eat dinner at the buffet) and the other non-buffet areas on Lido (Deli, Guy's Burgers, Blue Iguana Cantina) or Guy's P&A BBQ spots for lunch - oh and the Cucina del Capitano lunch. I wonder if they had a kitchen/galley crew change. My wife and I are both foodies and know how to make and enjoy a good meal, so it's not like we have low expectations...

There is one bar on the Conquest Class ships, e.g. on Liberty called the Cabinet Bar, (deck 4, aft, right outside the MDR), that was almost always quiet when we sailed on Liberty (never been on any other Conquest class ships). It only got busy when it hosted karaoke. I wonder if the out-of-the-way location (not on Promenade or Lido decks) contributed to that? I don't see any other bars like that on Vista - they all seem to be quite accessible in the usual spots.