Vista cruise-finally-after Irma

[Birdie1410]

My group of three was supposed to sail on the 9th but didn't get to go until the 13th, with itinerary change to Mexico. No biggie for us on itinerary change as we were just happy to get to go. Got to port in plenty of time, considering power outages and debris. No power to escalators at port. Oh well! Got on board in just a few minutes. EVERYbody was so nice! Had FTTF but that didn't matter much as there were only 800 people cruising (not counting crew, of course). Never again in my life will I expect such service on a cruise ship! Plenty of help for everything. When we first walked around, the ship seemed a bit less clean but by the evening, all was spic and span! You have to remember, some of the people cruising had been on the ship 13 days! After exploring a bit of the ship, we all decided they needed to add a bit of shaded area to Serenity. It was hot, hot, hot! We are used to the heat but this was way too hot. The cabin was a little smaller than expected but it worked out just fine for 3 women and all their stuff. The worst thing on the ship is the elevator system-can you say confusing? Met an awful lot of people trying to figure out how to get to certain areas because the elevators are set up strangely. lol It got to be a joke after a couple of days. Due to so many folks cancelling, the pools were nearly empty at all times. We got to simply enjoy. I will post some pictures as soon as I can get them all off my phone.

[riclop]

Thanks for your thoughts.

[OCruisers]

Glad you FINALLY were able to go and mostly enjoyed the cruise! :D

Would love to see your pictures when you have time.

[Pellaz]

A cruise on a ship the size of the Vista with only 800 pax onboard would be like unto Heaven!

 

What was weird about the elevators, aside from the fact that there are fewer of them? This isn't the first time I've seen this mentioned, about the Vista.

[mylittleone2000]

I'm guessing the elevator thing is similar to the Breeze? You have to take certain ones to get to dining room, etc? Can't cross entire decks, must go down one, up another to get to certain places. Or I could be totally wrong! Either way, I'll find out in two weeks!

 

Glad you had a great trip! Surprised everyone didn't get pretty great upgrades if that many rooms were empty! Could have all had suites! LOL

[TennesseeTater]

I just got off the Vista yesterday and mid way through the cruise they installed a new system for the forward elevators. They essentially installed touch screens in the elevator Lobby's and you selected what floor you would like to go to and it assigned you an elevator. They took away the buttons inside the elevators so some people didn't pay attention and then where in for a surprise when they got in the elevator and couldn't select a floor. I think it worked out great and hope they roll this out.

 

 

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[mylittleone2000]

I just got off the Vista yesterday and mid way through the cruise they installed a new system for the forward elevators. They essentially installed touch screens in the elevator Lobby's and you selected what floor you would like to go to and it assigned you an elevator. They took away the buttons inside the elevators so some people didn't pay attention and then where in for a surprise when they got in the elevator and couldn't select a floor. I think it worked out great and hope they roll this out.

 

 

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That sounds cool, and we'll mostly be using the forward elevators so looking forward to it! I've used elevators like that before and as long as everyone pays attention, it goes smoothly!! Thanks for the update.

[Pellaz]

I just got off the Vista yesterday and mid way through the cruise they installed a new system for the forward elevators. They essentially installed touch screens in the elevator Lobby's and you selected what floor you would like to go to and it assigned you an elevator. They took away the buttons inside the elevators so some people didn't pay attention and then where in for a surprise when they got in the elevator and couldn't select a floor. I think it worked out great and hope they roll this out.

 

Oh wow, that sounds nifty. I've never seen that before, looking forward to trying it.

[Pellaz]

I just got off the Vista yesterday and mid way through the cruise they installed a new system for the forward elevators. They essentially installed touch screens in the elevator Lobby's and you selected what floor you would like to go to and it assigned you an elevator. They took away the buttons inside the elevators so some people didn't pay attention and then where in for a surprise when they got in the elevator and couldn't select a floor. I think it worked out great and hope they roll this out.

 

Looking at the deck plans I can see exactly why they rolled this new system out.

Only two of the forward elevators goes up to Deck 14, and only one of those continues all the way to Deck 15.

This should eliminate the need for "changing elevators" if you want to go to the top decks but your elevator doesn't go that high. (I noticed this issue with one of the elevator banks on RCCL's Independence of the Seas last February.)

[Birdie1410]

Yes, my comment about the elevators was because you could only use a certain bank of them for some floors and other banks of elevators for different floors. Unwieldy at best. At least we weren't the only ones confused!

 

And indeed, it was truly beyond belief to sail with no lines, anywhere! I know that part will never be repeated. Thanks to all who had hopes for us to have a good time. We sure did.

 

If someone can teach this old gal how, I will be happy to add on some pictures.

[riclop]

Thanks for the report.