SweetCruiser39

Just curious if this was ever clarified now that the ship has sailed? Do the Havana suites have a true hammock or hammock chair?

Hi Oli,

I am cruising on the Vista on August 6. This will be my 13th cruise, so I'll try to answer what I can.

1. From what I am hearing, it is probably not worth it to purchase the cheers package because in Europe, the cruise line doesn't stop you from bringing bottles of liquor on. Of course, it's all a matter of preference. Some people buy the packages because they like the speciality coffees and such.

2. My time dining is where, instead of choosing early or late seating, you just go to the dining room when you are ready. I, personally, do not like this because I have seen people waiting in lines for dinner. I prefer to have late seating dining, at the same table every evening, so that I have the same waiters for the entire cruise. I found that early seating was too early, as it doesn't allow the opportunity to get back from excursions or to clean up after a day at the pool. If you can't set up a seating preference before the cruise starts, you can go after first boarding to the service desk and try to arrange it.

3. For formal night, yes, the little ones are allowed in all the same areas as on any other night. As for how they should be dressed on formal night, I would say think of how they would dress for church and that will be fine.

4. Tips on what to bring? That's a tough on. That all depends on how you will be spending your time.

5. As for bringing a coat, well, we are from Houston, Texas which I think is actually hotter than the Caribbean. When we went to Europe for the first time in August of 2014, we froze. We ended up buying sweatshirts and wearing the one long pair of pants we brought over and over. I don't think you need coats, but light jackets can't hurt just in case.

6. There is a store onboard for immediate needs like toothbrush, aspirin, etc. But not a full blown "drug store.

7. I'm still trying to figure out the excursions myself.

8. Carnival is fantastic for little ones. There is Camp Carnival, but my kids always chose to just hang out with us. Either way, Carnival is very kid friendly. I really can't think of anything specific that you need to know ahead of time, maybe others will have some suggestions.

9. I've never been to this port, so I'm not sure about times.

10. Just bring your documents, passport, and a credit card. If you check in online, all the information you need should be on there.

I think that's about all I can answer for now. Don't worry, Carnival cruises are a great family vacation.

Make sure you buy Vatican tickets ahead online (you will be able to pick a time for the day of your ticket). Also, hiring a separate tour guide for the Vatican will save you time and frustration- they know how to navigate through and bypass the "herds". We could never have seen all we did otherwise. Enjoy your cruise.

This is why I am trying to book with the other tour company mentioned in this thread. They apparently handle all of that for you. But so far, no luck getting in touch with them.

We saw the Sistine chapel. We spent about 10 minutes in there. We met up with another van, so we were considered a group and got in without a long wait. It was not a stop and look at everything in depth tour… so the Vatican Museum was a quick blur, but seeing the Sistine Chapel and St Peters was an awe inspiring experience.

Another question about this tour. It doesn't look like admission tickets are included. I would like to avoid lines if possible. Is it advisable to purchase admission tickets beforehand? And if so, for what? And for those that do not, how is this handled so as to not hold up the tour?

Also, I am having a difficult time booking online. Were you able to do so or did you email the tour company?

Thanks again!

Thank you so much for this info. I had not seen this tour company popping up during any of my searches. But I went to the website that you gave me, and this sounds perfect. I'm traveling with two teens and two twenty-somethings who get bored easy. It looks like this tour should keep them entertained and allow me to experience the sights.

Were you able to see the Sistine Chapel? I'm reading that lines can be 3 hours long unless booked with a tour?

We just finished Rome with Can't Be Missed tours. They picked us up at the dock in a eight passenger van (there were two in our group and another family of five we were teamed with). Our driver, Sammy, spoke perfect English and we knowledgable and professional. We were driven to Rome where we were dropped at the Colosseum. There we met our tour guide, Michaella, who gave us headsets so she could stay in constant contact with the group. She took us on a whirlwind tour of the highlights of Rome and the Vatican giving us tremendous information along the way. We walked six miles all together, but were able to see things I had only hoped we might have the chance of seeing. Sammy picked us up at the Vatican and we were brought back to the boat by 5:30. If we had been with a Carnival excursion there is no way that we would have seen it all and we would have been stuck in a group of 50. This was definitely the way to go and it was $50 less than the Carnival excursion that was similar.

This sounds awesome. Did you book online?

I booked a Family Harbor suite for the 12 day, August 6 sailing from Barcelona. At the time, there were no Havana cabins AT ALL. We were actually considering cancelling, then I did a mock booking online in early May, and all of a sudden, there were Havana Cabana suites available! And inside Havana cabins as well. So we decided to go ahead and confirm our booking and switched to one Havana Cabana suite, and one inside cabin for our party of 5. The odd thing is, I played around online and found that there were actually 2 more of the four Havana suites available!

I don't know if they held these cabins, if people cancelled, or if folks changed their minds about the Havana suites when the reviews and actual pictures came out. It makes me a bit nervous, but then again, I think by now we all know the pros and cons of the Havana cabanas.

So I say to anyone who really wants one, keep checking. A lot of people seem to be getting "lucky" and snagging a Havana cabin.

My family of 5 (myself, two teens, 22 year old daughter and her boyfriend) will be on the 12 day Carnival Vista cruise leaving from Barcelona on August 6. I have booked excursions at 4 of the 8 ports of call, but I'm concerned about Livorno (Florence/Pisa) and Cititavecchia (Rome), because right now, I have nothing planned. Apparently Florence/Pisa and Rome are quite a distance from the port. So I'm wondering if Carnival runs a shuttle between the port and the cities? Or are taxi's readily available? I think I should have considered this before deciding what ports we would spend our money for excursions on!

Thanks!

My family and I will be sailing on the Carnival Vista on a 12 day cruise sailing out of Barcelona on August 6. We are a group of 5 including myself, my teenage daughter and son, and my 22 year old daughter and her boyfriend. We are having a very difficult time booking excursions. My kids are used to sailing the Caribbean where excursions are really based on what activity you want to participate in rather than trying to sightsee. We have all pretty much agreed, we do not wish to be stuck on a bus listening to a tour guide. So with that, I can't decide which ports we should book an excursion and which we would do fine just walking around on our own? Here are our ports of call:

Marseille, Livorno (Florence, Pisa), Rome, Naples, Dubrovnik, Corfu, Messina (Sicily), and Cagliari (Sardinia).

I read a review from someone who mentioned that Carnival actually has a shuttle for a small fee (small compared to the price of excursions) in Marseille. I'm wondering where else they provide this service?

Anyway, with so many ports, we really can't afford to book an excursion at every single one. So any advice on this would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!