Wrigley80's Carnival Vista Inaugural Cruise 5/1/16 photo review

[wrigley80]

Enjoying your review. Gotta love the lean.

The vacation wasn't official until I was able to do "The Lean"...after our wine tasting seemed like a perfect opportunity ;)

[Love2Cruz2015]

Just want to say I really enjoyed your review and your pics!! Thanks...

 

I'll be on Vista in December and another booking next year...also in FH area...can't wait!!!:D

[wrigley80]

After checking out the Fun Shops....I headed back to the Piano Bar. The Piano Bar guy was Ben Gentry on the Carnival Vista. He was very good and very interactive with the crowd. He passed around funny hats and glasses

 

 

I didn't need the funny hat...Pedro had that covered for me....haha

 

So all of a sudden this "person" walks in. Hhahahaha

[wrigley80]

So that is the end of Day #12 onboard the Carnival Vista....and was by far the best day of the cruise. We had a blast. I had such a fun day with my best friend

[wrigley80]

The last day of our cruise was here :( :( I couldn't how fast the second week of this cruise flew by. It will be hard to ever go back and cruise on a 7-day cruise. My next cruise is only 5 days...that will be rough...haha

 

Our final day would bring us to Marseilles, France. We didn't have anything planned for this port but decided to get off the ship and take the bus into town.

[wrigley80]

Before we headed off the ship for the day we went up to Lido for some breakfast. Apparently there was Towel Animal invasion on the Carnival Vista in France

 

 

 

 

[wrigley80]

I loved these two guys. The Blue Iguana towel man

 

The Red Frog Towel Man

 

 

[wrigley80]

 

 

Laura and I decided to hang out with Shelly and Bob for the day. They were our new friends from the same town we live in

[fuddrules]

 

Can I come over for pizza when you make it....hehe

 

IIRC, you used to live around Rockford?? If so, it wouldn't have been but a few hours. I guess that's one downfall of moving :D

[RaiderFaninNM]

Great review!!!

 

SO GLAD you got off in France, I was just there 3 weeks ago! I LOVED France! Man I dont know how you can go to those ports and not get off the ship, oh and pedro hat looks very hot......

[WhenIsLobsterNight]

I loved your review! Your pictures were amazing and I love your sense of humor. It sounds like you two had a great time.

 

My wife and I are long time cruisers who have taken 20+ cruises with the majority of them on RCCL and Celebrity. We have sailed Carnival twice before, but it was a long time ago. I am intrigued on this new Vista ship. Things like a brewery, IMAX, skyride and other features sounds like a lot of fun to me. My kids like ships with water slides, so it sounds like the Vista would be right up our alley.

 

We have placed a deposit down for a 5-20-17 Vista cruise. I think this ship will be a great match for our family, but I have a few questions I am hoping that you are perhaps somebody else on this board can answer. I have not yet found the answer to these questions:

 

1. Is lobster still served in the main dining room (without an upcharge) on sailings of 7 days or longer? I know NCL has removed lobster these days (Booooooo). I am hoping Carnival still has one. As you can guess by my name, I love lobster. We are from Kansas and good seafood in the middle of the US is hard to find.

 

2. Does Carnival still have a steel drum band on the pool deck during the day? I thought I heard that was now gone.

 

3. My wife loves wine. I mean, she REALLY enjoys trying new wines while in a cruise. RCCL has a vintages wine bar on some of their ships. Does the Vista have a true wine bar? If not, how would you rate the selection of wine on the Vista?

 

4. NCL has now started charging to attend the main evening show. I personally think that is pretty silly. Does Carnival charge for the main show like NCL?

 

Thanks for any help on these questions and once again I loved your review.

Edited July 11, 2016 by WhenIsLobsterNight

[lhuggi1]

I loved your review! Your pictures were amazing and I love your sense of humor. It sounds like you two had a great time.

 

My wife and I are long time cruisers who have taken 20+ cruises with the majority of them on RCCL and Celebrity. We have sailed Carnival twice before, but it was a long time ago. I am intrigued on this new Vista ship. Things like a brewery, IMAX, skyride and other features sounds like a lot of fun to me. My kids like ships with water slides, so it sounds like the Vista would be right up our alley.

 

We have placed a deposit down for a 5-20-17 Vista cruise. I think this ship will be a great match for our family, but I have a few questions I am hoping that you are perhaps somebody else on this board can answer. I have not yet found the answer to these questions:

 

1. Is lobster still served in the main dining room (without an upcharge) on sailings of 7 days or longer? I know NCL has removed lobster these days (Booooooo). I am hoping Carnival still has one. As you can guess by my name, I love lobster. We are from Kansas and good seafood in the middle of the US is hard to find.

 

2. Does Carnival still have a steel drum band on the pool deck during the day? I thought I heard that was now gone.

 

3. My wife loves wine. I mean, she REALLY enjoys trying new wines while in a cruise. RCCL has a vintages wine bar on some of their ships. Does the Vista have a true wine bar? If not, how would you rate the selection of wine on the Vista?

 

4. NCL has now started charging to attend the main evening show. I personally think that is pretty silly. Does Carnival charge for the main show like NCL?

 

Thanks for any help on these questions and once again I loved your review.

 

 

When did you cruise NCL? I just cruised them last month and I was not charged to attend the main evening show.

[fuddrules]

 

Thanks for any help on these questions and once again I loved your review.

 

I'm sure Wrigley will be along to answer but in the interim.

 

Yes, Lobster is served 1 night. It's small so order 2 plates.

 

On Q2 - no steel drums but the Vista is now in the Med. That wouldn't be the best fit. Not sure if they will once it hits the Caribbean.

 

Q3 - ??

Q4 - No Charge. And honestly, Carnivals shows generally aren't much to write home about. However, their featured show, Flick, has been talked about in maybe....1 review? I'm kinda shocked. Where are the reviews? For Carnival, Flick is really good.

 

Also, if you like her humor (as do I), find a good spot in the Piano Bar. Typically after 9:30 or so. Ben can be a lot of fun with the right crowd.

 

Your kids will love the activities.

 

BTW, I also thought I'd love the Brewery tour, IMAX and skyride. I signed for the Brewery tour and then proceeded to forget to go. Every day I said I was going to go to the IMAX and skyride, yet, never made it. Too much to do.

[WhenIsLobsterNight]

When did you cruise NCL? I just cruised them last month and I was not charged to attend the main evening show.

 

Its been awhile since I cruised them myself. However, my parents were on either the Breakaway or Getaway (forgot which one) in May, and told me that to attend the main 7:00 show there was a surcharge of $20-30 per person. They refused to pay the charge and did not attend the main shows the entire cruise. They are diamonds on RCCL and were trying a new line for a change of pace. Not trying to bash NCL here, but they completely hated it. They said the entire ship was a nickel and dime thing with constant up charges. They also had a number of purchases like art, excursions and other things charge to their account that they had not purchased. They spent several hours dealing with customer service while on the ship who refused to remove the charges. They had to dispute their credit card and are still dealing with all of that. Needless to say, those are two people who will not sail NCL again.

[wrigley80]

IIRC, you used to live around Rockford?? If so, it wouldn't have been but a few hours. I guess that's one downfall of moving :D

 

 

Yep you're right. I used to live about 20 minutes from Rockford. I guess I'll just have to make myself one some night [emoji6]

[wrigley80]

Great review!!!

 

SO GLAD you got off in France, I was just there 3 weeks ago! I LOVED France! Man I dont know how you can go to those ports and not get off the ship, oh and pedro hat looks very hot......

 

 

You'll see coming up in the next portion of my review about Maraeilles that I didn't particularly care for France.

The people were rude and it was very dirty.

I definitely cruise for the ship....not the ports. It's very relaxing to have the whole ship to yourself.

And yes Pedro can be quite toasty at times [emoji12]

[kcbbq]

Thank you, thank you, thank you for all your hard work posting this review! I loved every word and every photo. You are hilarious! I'm so glad you let us sail along with you. :)

[eastcoastbaby]

I'm happy to see another review from you lady!!

I haven't been on CC in a few months, I see that you moved to Florida, I live here too, close to Jacksonville.Are you still a travel agent? Florida is probably a great state, for your line of work :)

 

I'm trying to talk my husband into another Carnival Cruise, our last one was 2013 :( I love cruising.

[Conway733]

I love this review! I really hope that someday I get to do a long cruise, like this one...and Europe would be great too!

 

Sorry to hear about your dad. I lost my dad in January of 2015. Its hard some days, isn't it?

[wrigley80]

I'm sure Wrigley will be along to answer but in the interim.

 

Yes, Lobster is served 1 night. It's small so order 2 plates.

 

On Q2 - no steel drums but the Vista is now in the Med. That wouldn't be the best fit. Not sure if they will once it hits the Caribbean.

 

Q3 - ??

Q4 - No Charge. And honestly, Carnivals shows generally aren't much to write home about. However, their featured show, Flick, has been talked about in maybe....1 review? I'm kinda shocked. Where are the reviews? For Carnival, Flick is really good.

 

Also, if you like her humor (as do I), find a good spot in the Piano Bar. Typically after 9:30 or so. Ben can be a lot of fun with the right crowd.

 

Your kids will love the activities.

 

BTW, I also thought I'd love the Brewery tour, IMAX and skyride. I signed for the Brewery tour and then proceeded to forget to go. Every day I said I was going to go to the IMAX and skyride, yet, never made it. Too much to do.

 

We didn't have the show Flick on our inaugural cruise. I never made it to the dining room for dinner but you can order as many lobster tails as your little belly can tolerate....haha.

[wrigley80]

Thank you, thank you, thank you for all your hard work posting this review! I loved every word and every photo. You are hilarious! I'm so glad you let us sail along with you. :)

 

Thank you for following along. Happy to hear that you are enjoying it. Happy to see that I could make ya giggle. I hope you enjoy the rest

[wrigley80]

I'm happy to see another review from you lady!!

I haven't been on CC in a few months, I see that you moved to Florida, I live here too, close to Jacksonville.Are you still a travel agent? Florida is probably a great state, for your line of work :)

 

I'm trying to talk my husband into another Carnival Cruise, our last one was 2013 :( I love cruising.

 

Yep I moved to Florida in March. After my dad passed away I realized that life is too short not to follow my dreams of living in Florida and working in something that I am made to do.

I will be up in your area in a few weeks. I am cruising on the Carnival Elation on September 10 with some friends.

I really enjoy it here. I have made some great friends in the short time so far that I have been here.

You live in Florida and your last cruise was in 2013 ?? Yeah you are long overdue ;) :)

[wrigley80]

I love this review! I really hope that someday I get to do a long cruise, like this one...and Europe would be great too!

 

Sorry to hear about your dad. I lost my dad in January of 2015. Its hard some days, isn't it?

 

My next cruise is on September 10th on the Carnival Elation. It is only a 5-day. After being on the Vista for 13 days a 5-day is going to seem like nothing....but any time I can get back to Half Moon Cay on a cruise I am going.

Sorry to hear about your dad as well. Yes it is very hard some days....like you would give anything to hear his voice or his laugh one more time. I still have a few videos on my phone of my dad that I listen to on occasion when I need to hear him. They say that every day gets easier...I know I still struggle everyday to accept that my best friend isn't with me anymore

[wrigley80]

OK who is ready for some more pictures. Our final full day of the cruise was here....how was that even possible. We were in Marseilles, France. Laura and I debated about getting off the ship but ultimately we decided to get off and take the bus into the Old Town Harbor area. The round-trip bus ride was $12.00 per person and that was charged to your sail and sign account

 

 

 

The bus dropped us off and we were told that the buses back tot he ship would be running continuously. We walked around for a while before we decided to take a train ride around to get some pictures

 

 

The train ride was 12 euros. It was an OK tour. Only lasted about 45 minutes but the seats were very uncomfortable so 45 minutes was long enough

 

[wrigley80]

 

 

The Old Town Harbor area was very pretty with all the big sailboats