My honest thoughts and ramblings on the 12/11 VISTA cruise.

[CasaNueva]

Went on the 12/11 Carnival Vista cruise and I agree with what Gopearl has written. I'm a Carnival Diamond and overall I was disappointed with the ship design, particularly the atrium area-- no glass elevators a signature feature of a Carnival ship. The atrium feels "cold" with a lack of elegance. Carnival has gone on the cheap cutting capital expenses where possible, cutting payroll, and other expenses and that ultimately will make Carnival a less attractive option. There's a lot of competition out there

[Mooguy]

Went on the 12/11 Carnival Vista cruise and I agree with what Gopearl has written. I'm a Carnival Diamond and overall I was disappointed with the ship design, particularly the atrium area-- no glass elevators a signature feature of a Carnival ship. The atrium feels "cold" with a lack of elegance. Carnival has gone on the cheap cutting capital expenses where possible, cutting payroll, and other expenses and that ultimately will make Carnival a less attractive option. There's a lot of competition out there

 

No glass elevators and the elevators they do have are pretty small and not well ventilated.

 

This was our 13th. CCL cruise and I definitely felt crammed on this ship, preferred Breeze way more.

We had a spa cabin on deck 14 and had access to the thermal spa, this was the smallest thermal spa on a ship we have ever seen, just a small hot tub that holds maybe 8-10 at the most and over all just not very appealing.

The public restrooms were also the smallest Ive seen, not sure about the women's room but the mens room just outside the Liquid Lounge was very small and only had one small sink.

We still had a god time on the cruise but there were many little things that you really noticed they've cut back on or down sized.

 

Not sure what the deal was around the Lido buffet but the floor was extremely slippery.

[jimbo5544]

No glass elevators and the elevators they do have are pretty small and not well ventilated.

 

 

 

This was our 13th. CCL cruise and I definitely felt crammed on this ship, preferred Breeze way more.

 

We had a spa cabin on deck 14 and had access to the thermal spa, this was the smallest thermal spa on a ship we have ever seen, just a small hot tub that holds maybe 8-10 at the most and over all just not very appealing.

 

The public restrooms were also the smallest Ive seen, not sure about the women's room but the mens room just outside the Liquid Lounge was very small and only had one small sink.

 

We still had a god time on the cruise but there were many little things that you really noticed they've cut back on or down sized.

 

 

 

Not sure what the deal was around the Lido buffet but the floor was extremely slippery.

 

 

LOL, was there anything at all that you liked?

 

 

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[Mooguy]

LOL, was there anything at all that you liked?

 

 

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Fahrenheit 555 was very good, the air conditioner in our room worked very well, the red frog pub and brewery was good as well as Andy the entertainer in there, the bbq was very good, the casino was pretty kind, just to name a few...

It's not necessarily that I didn't like I'm just critiquing a bit I guess. We were just on Holland America's new ship a month ago and definitely did not feel as crowded as we did on the vista, and the Lido buffet lay out, serving stations as well as the quality of food were far better on the Koningsdam. Never had to wait in a line at the Dive In(HAL Guys Burger type joint) or really anywhere for that matter. I would go on the Breeze any day but would not be as excited to travel on the Vista again, but don't regret that we did.

[jimbo5544]

Fahrenheit 555 was very good, the air conditioner in our room worked very well, the red frog pub and brewery was good as well as Andy the entertainer in there, the bbq was very good, the casino was pretty kind, just to name a few...

 

It's not necessarily that I didn't like I'm just critiquing a bit I guess. We were just on Holland America's new ship a month ago and definitely did not feel as crowded as we did on the vista, and the Lido buffet lay out, serving stations as well as the quality of food were far better on the Koningsdam. Never had to wait in a line at the Dive In(HAL Guys Burger type joint) or really anywhere for that matter. I would go on the Breeze any day but would not be as excited to travel on the Vista again, but don't regret that we did.

 

 

Fair enough

 

 

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[bizzybee902]

I love the Breeze. The complaints seem valid and consistent amongst passengers. I'm kinda happy to book a later sailing to allow them to get the kinks out. Hopefully they pay close attention for the Horizon and new ship as far the layout, lines, and small areas. They clearly need more staff to support the amount of passengers.

 

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[gapearl]

How did you do that? Did you wait until everyone at the table was ordering?

 

I had my dessert with their appetizers and left as the entrees were served.

 

Thanks for the insight, Kim! I have the Vista booked for next October and have been wavering on whether or not to switch ships. Some of the things you brought up are the things that have concerned me. Do you think some of these will get resolved with more time in the Caribbean? Did you feel like there was a different vibe between Havana guests and the rest? I often wondered, on NCL with Haven guests, etc., if the rest of the population feels like inferior passengers.

 

I wouldn't say to switch but stay and experience the ship for yourself. Hopefully things will improve, the main thing being adding extra staffing. Many people have said they weren't prepared for the extreme humidity in the Caribbean with the sky ride and that it wasn't an issue when in the Med. Hopefully they'll figure something out with that, maybe having it open in the afternoon to early evening and not in the morning only to say sorry closed. I didn't spend any time in Havana during the day so I didn't know who was in one of those cabins and who wasn't. People on the roll call that had a Havana room enjoyed them and never said anything negative about their neighbors.

[gapearl]

Kim~

Sounds like you have quite a following and maybe you should think about booking a group cruise. Let us know if you decide to do that! Thanks for the honest review. These are the reasons I am afraid to book a mega ship!

 

LOL I'm popular but don't think I'm that popular to host a group cruise. :p I enjoyed the Magic and Breeze and think that's about as big as I'd want to go. I think the Conquest class is just right- not too big but not too small. The thought of Oasis and Allure is intriguing but again way too big for me. I have NCL Escape booked and had been thinking about canceling it in favor of a land trip. Now that I see I don't care for the mega ships, that might help sway my decision as well.

 

Another great review, I am a bit disturbed about that incident with the drunk crew member, while you could handle yourself what if that was a 16 yo girl? Maybe a note to the CD without mentioning names. He could then at least talk to the group as a whole.

 

 

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I'm definitely going to make sure I include that in my post cruise survey.

[gapearl]

I read the atrium is small to make room for the IMAX theaters upstairs. I like to see that liquid LED lava thing at the atrium.

 

I am getting on this ship next week. My first time on Carnival. Value for your $? I shall see.

 

Yeah that's what everyone said. There's a similar LED thing in casino but smaller. Have a great cruise next week. Come back and share your thoughts when you return.

 

No glass elevators and the elevators they do have are pretty small and not well ventilated.

 

This was our 13th. CCL cruise and I definitely felt crammed on this ship, preferred Breeze way more.

We had a spa cabin on deck 14 and had access to the thermal spa, this was the smallest thermal spa on a ship we have ever seen, just a small hot tub that holds maybe 8-10 at the most and over all just not very appealing.

The public restrooms were also the smallest Ive seen, not sure about the women's room but the mens room just outside the Liquid Lounge was very small and only had one small sink.

We still had a god time on the cruise but there were many little things that you really noticed they've cut back on or down sized.

 

Not sure what the deal was around the Lido buffet but the floor was extremely slippery.

 

I thought it was my imagination when I thought the public restrooms seemed small! Yeah I noticed that too with the ladies room. Some of ours also only had one sink as well. I didn't notice the lack of glass elevators immediately but missed them when I did.

[clarkg]

Thanks for the review.

[bunnyette]

I think this was a great review! It didn't have photos etc...but I don't need that. You gave the important information that we fellow cruisers can't find elsewhere. Thank you for taking the time.

 

 

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[annamg]

Thanks Kim for the highlights. While I'm sad not to see one of your fantastic reviews, I'm glad you got to relax and enjoy yourself without making sure you got enough for a review. I'll be on the Vista in 3 weeks. I'm excited and can't wait. Wish the lines were not so long for the comedy club, but I guess it's popular and people love to laugh. Maybe they will get it right with the Horizon or the ship that is coming out after her and make some of the areas of the ship bigger again. I think they could do away with some of things they have on the ships. Or they could make the ship bigger...hmmm...not so sure about that :).

[crusinpsychRN]

Another great review, I am a bit disturbed about that incident with the drunk crew member, while you could handle yourself what if that was a 16 yo girl? Maybe a note to the CD without mentioning names. He could then at least talk to the group as a whole.

 

 

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I was on a cruise and saw the magician hitting on teenage girls at the pizza place late at night. It was disgusting. I reported what I saw to GS.

[seannyice81]

Great post-cruise wrap-up Kim! Glad you had a great cruise!:)

 

I hear you on the overall feeling of the ship. More, but smaller areas. The atrium that I thought was underwhelming. Overall somewhat ho-hum after Breeze. Breeze will be Carnival's version of Michael Jackson's Thriller or Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon. At least to me.

 

I wasn't there, but from the description, I would have been :mad::mad::mad: with those staff messing with you like that.

[ILCruzr]

The Havana Bar had a live band with a dance floor that mostly stayed empty when I was there. I never really saw more than 20 people in here. It’s a shame because they were good. The second night, the band had a break and the Fun Times had that Latin music would be played. The DJ played mostly Latin music, but also played some reggae and the occasional wobble. The party was supposed to be going here until 1 am, yet at 12:30 am he started talking about the last song was coming soon. Huh? My experience has been that the evening venues will stay open if there’s a good crowd. Well this was the one night the Havana Lounge was packed! I can respect the fact that people want to get off work on time and not stay after hours. But if there’s a room and dance floor full of people dancing and having fun, at least close when you’re scheduled to close and not 15 minutes early.

 

 

Matt is truly special and is the most memorable cruise director I will probably ever have. I’ve seen for myself why people love him so much. He has this energy where it’s hard not to smile and have a good time in his presence. His deck parties were crazy fun. I would love to be on another ship with him as cruise director.

 

 

I only had one issue with a crew member. This might be petty, but I thought it was tacky. One late night, I headed up to get some pizza before heading to bed. About 10-15 members of what I assume was the entertainment staff (I assume as not many crew are allowed up here) showed up loud, obnoxious, and a couple were obviously drunk. A couple of guys were in line directly behind me standing THISCLOSE to my backside and their hands kept brushing my rear end. I was polite and turned to them like hey, I don’t know who it is but someone’s hand keeps hitting my behind. Instead of saying sorry my bad, they started laughing loudly and one of them said “I’m gay!” As in I’d never want to touch you. I was like I don’t care if you’re gay, I just want my personal space. They continued laughing and this guy then stood with his back directly to me, as if to taunt me and say eff you. When I moved, he moved, When I shifted, he followed. After a couple minutes of this, I turned to him again and asked why he was doing this on purpose. He opened his mouth but before he could say anything, one of the ladies in his group pulled him aside to her as if to say stop. No I didn’t report him, as I can handle myself with some drunk prick kid. I don’t have an issue with Carnival allowing certain members of their staff into the guest areas, however I do think behavior like this is highly inappropriate.

 

 

The ports of call were Amber Cove, Dominican Republic, and Grand Turk. I booked the 12 waterfalls of Damajagua with Iguana Mama (Google them, this is awesome) in DR. In GT I had lunch at Jack’s Shack and enjoyed some beach time.

 

 

Overall, I had a fun, enjoyable cruise. There are still some kinks that need to be worked out on this ship. The Vista is HUGE and the biggest ship I’ve sailed to date. I’m not sure that I’m a fan of the mega ships and not sure that I would book the Vista again or even the Horizon. It's just so many more people with smaller areas because they tried to cram so much onto this ship. Feel free to ask any questions and I’ll be happy to answer if I can. :)

 

Kim! I almost had a chance to meet you! I was on the Regal Princess, which was the other ship in port with you on the Amber Cove day. I witnessed the sky ride incident where the guy was stuck on it for about an hour and they had to crane him down. That was quite a show-and a bad reflection for carnival on their new ship. It was interesting to see for sure.

 

But the Vista looked beautiful from the Regal and I hope to one day sail her. BTW have you ever tried Princess? I really liked the Regal-it was elegant and it had the BEST food I have ever had on any of my cruises. The Lido deck on that ship is AMAZINGGGG and knowing you are a foodie, I bet you would love it!

 

But if you do book the royal or regal and want a balcony-book deluxe or higher. The standard balcony room is TINY with an equally TINY bathroom (let's just say sitting on the toilet you feel like you are almost in the room lol) with small balconies. But the rest of the ship I loved-you should try those ships.

 

Wish I could have seen you in the DR....maybe some other time!

[Mooguy]

Kim! I almost had a chance to meet you! I was on the Regal Princess, which was the other ship in port with you on the Amber Cove day. I witnessed the sky ride incident where the guy was stuck on it for about an hour and they had to crane him down. That was quite a show-and a bad reflection for carnival on their new ship. It was interesting to see for sure.

 

But the Vista looked beautiful from the Regal and I hope to one day sail her. BTW have you ever tried Princess? I really liked the Regal-it was elegant and it had the BEST food I have ever had on any of my cruises. The Lido deck on that ship is AMAZINGGGG and knowing you are a foodie, I bet you would love it!

 

But if you do book the royal or regal and want a balcony-book deluxe or higher. The standard balcony room is TINY with an equally TINY bathroom (let's just say sitting on the toilet you feel like you are almost in the room lol) with small balconies. But the rest of the ship I loved-you should try those ships.

 

Wish I could have seen you in the DR....maybe some other time!

 

 

Good to know, sailing Royal Princess later next year

[crusinpsychRN]

Don't think I've read so many negative things about a ship besides Sunshine which I liked.

[mrsfuzzmo]

Kim, can you tell me which night was WHITE NIGHT and if it was on one of the formal nights? Trying to pull together some outfits! Thanks!

[MrsPhoenix91]

They continued laughing and this guy then stood with his back directly to me, as if to taunt me and say eff you. When I moved, he moved, When I shifted, he followed. After a couple minutes of this, I turned to him again and asked why he was doing this on purpose. He opened his mouth but before he could say anything, one of the ladies in his group pulled him aside to her as if to say stop. No I didn’t report him, as I can handle myself with some drunk prick kid. I don’t have an issue with Carnival allowing certain members of their staff into the guest areas, however I do think behavior like this is highly inappropriate.

 

Thank you for sharing the nitty-gritty on your Vista cruise. I enjoyed this particular review the best! I do wish you had reported that staff member's behavior. He isn't "some drunk prick kid". He is an employee whose conduct was inappropriate...Management cannot change that staff member's behavior if they don't know about it.

Edited December 28, 2016 by MrsPhoenix91

[Cuervosar]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Gone are the days of searching for your pictures in a sea of thousands. They don’t print photos, but will ask for your stateroom number before your photo is taken and they are available digitally within a few hours. You can view them with your own device through the Carnival Hub app or view them on one of the ipads in the Pixels gallery. When you see a picture you like, you pick your size and then place your order, and you can also order the digital file for $14.99. I think this is great and long overdue. I do wonder if photo sales will be down since you can screenshot the pictures you like. Yes they will have a watermark, but many won’t care about that. Also I wonder what they do about lost pictures when a photographer enters a wrong room number. I had a family's Grand Turk pictures entered under my number. How would they be able to be viewed by those folks? Is there a system for that?

 

This new photo thing is horrible. We used to habitually buy the most hideous photos of our fellow cruisers we could find, then we create our own coffee table books.

 

Best time ever when guests come over.

[pghsteelerfan]

Thank you for your thoughts on Vista. We have gotten so used to the Conquest class since our last four cruises have been on Glory, Valor, and Liberty twice. We were also on Miracle and loved her and the layout. They just seem to be the perfect size for us. I have other friends who have gone on the mega ships and their thoughts were identical to yours. I'm not saying we won't try one of the larger ones, just something we'd seriously have to take into consideration and know where to keep our expectations and where to plan ahead, when necessary.

 

I'm glad you enjoyed Vista overall and I've also heard only great things about Matt. I can't believe those guys in line behind you for pizza...all I can say is that gal who pulled the one guy away probably saved his arse from some major humiliation. :p But I agree, that kind of behavior is unacceptable.

 

Thank you again for taking the time to give us your thoughts.

[Clarea]

Thanks for the very detailed feedback.

[KPfromCT]

Thank you for your thoughts on Vista. We have gotten so used to the Conquest class since our last four cruises have been on Glory, Valor, and Liberty twice. We were also on Miracle and loved her and the layout. They just seem to be the perfect size for us. I have other friends who have gone on the mega ships and their thoughts were identical to yours. I'm not saying we won't try one of the larger ones, just something we'd seriously have to take into consideration and know where to keep our expectations and where to plan ahead, when necessary.

 

I'm glad you enjoyed Vista overall and I've also heard only great things about Matt. I can't believe those guys in line behind you for pizza...all I can say is that gal who pulled the one guy away probably saved his arse from some major humiliation. :p But I agree, that kind of behavior is unacceptable.

 

Thank you again for taking the time to give us your thoughts.

 

Hi! You say you loved the Miracle, and you live SOOOOOOO close to the Pride! lol I don't see that in your "cruising history".

 

Maybe that will get DH on a cruise. No airfare.:D:D:D

[Love2Cruz2015]

LOL I'm popular but don't think I'm that popular to host a group cruise. :p I enjoyed the Magic and Breeze and think that's about as big as I'd want to go. I think the Conquest class is just right- not too big but not too small. The thought of Oasis and Allure is intriguing but again way too big for me. I have NCL Escape booked and had been thinking about canceling it in favor of a land trip. Now that I see I don't care for the mega ships, that might help sway my decision as well.

 

 

 

I'm definitely going to make sure I include that in my post cruise survey.

 

I agree with you there, I think the Vista is the largest I would do so I certainly won't be booking the behemoths at RCCL. I would try their Freedom class though, maybe one day. You should try MSC, their ships are on the smaller side too, but still big, similar to Conquest class.

I have another Vista booked so I'm glad to go on her again now that I know my way around...but I definetly prefer the Dream & Conquest class, the service was better on the smaller ships.

 

I probably won't try Horizon until she is stateside.

[cruizinisthebest]

I agree with you there, I think the Vista is the largest I would do so I certainly won't be booking the behemoths at RCCL. I would try their Freedom class though, maybe one day. You should try MSC, their ships are on the smaller side too, but still big, similar to Conquest class.

I have another Vista booked so I'm glad to go on her again now that I know my way around...but I definetly prefer the Dream & Conquest class, the service was better on the smaller ships.

 

I probably won't try Horizon until she is stateside.

I was a little taken aback by the size of the Magic. We had a 4j cabin. Everything seemed miles away! My sister was on the total opposite end in one of those extended balconies. The walk was endless! I loved the Magic but I'm not sure I like big ships. Makes me wonder why I booked the Vista with the same cabin type to boot! Lol.

 

I would like to try Royal. I wonder what class of their ships is closest to the Conquest class or the size of the Sunshine. That's really enough ship for me!

 

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