Vista Embarkation Day Lunch

[Bgwest]

First time on Carnival. 

 

On other lines the staff generally try to push everyone to the buffet for lunch on embarkation day lunch. However, there is always at least one of the MDRs open for lunch. We have always preferred this option. 

 

Wondering if anyone knows which MDR would be open for embarkation day lunch on the Vista on August 14th. 

 

Thanks!!

[Joe817]

29 minutes ago, Bgwest said:

First time on Carnival. 

 

On other lines the staff generally try to push everyone to the buffet for lunch on embarkation day lunch. However, there is always at least one of the MDRs open for lunch. We have always preferred this option. 

 

Wondering if anyone knows which MDR would be open for embarkation day lunch on the Vista on August 14th. 

 

Thanks!!

Bg, to my knowledge, no MDR is open for embarkation day lunch. BUT..... you have many choices to eat lunch when you get on board. Off the top of my head, there's Guy's Burgers, Guys BBQ, of course the buffet, the pizza place, and the Italian Restaurant(AFAIK), and probably some others.  

[sanmarcosman]

With Covid precautions and new methods and procedures my answer is I don't know. Carnival has made no announcement as yet on how this will play out. As the other member stated the main sit down dining room(s) on Carnival did not open on embark day until the dinner service. One exception was during a brief trial period a few years ago for "Family Meal " time in one dining room for lunch on embark day. There was so little interest Carnival discontinued it.

Edited June 16, 2021 by sanmarcosman

[TravelBluebird]

For me, I need to be on deck, watching the world go by as everyone boards, with a tropical drink in one had and a Guys’ Burger in the other.

 

SO, as much as I prefer the MDR almost any other time to the buffet, embarkation day is the exception. 

 

On a sea day, its MDR brunch over the buffet every single time.

[BoozinCroozin]

For me because it will be our first cruise, I am heading to 2 locations for the embarkation lunch. First choice would be Pig & Anchor to see how good that smoked food really is. If there is a massive line, then to the Lido deck for Guy's burger or a pizza. I am not doing the buffet at lunch. We are going to be too excited to explore and enjoy instead of dealing with crowds in the buffet area. 

 

Quick bite, tropical drink, explore, and unpack before Muster is our first plan.

[firefly333]

10 minutes ago, BoozinCroozin said:

For me because it will be our first cruise, I am heading to 2 locations for the embarkation lunch. First choice would be Pig & Anchor to see how good that smoked food really is. If there is a massive line, then to the Lido deck for Guy's burger or a pizza. I am not doing the buffet at lunch. We are going to be too excited to explore and enjoy instead of dealing with crowds in the buffet area. 

 

Quick bite, tropical drink, explore, and unpack before Muster is our first plan.

The mexican is right across from guys burgers.

 

I am wondering about the bbq myself. Deck 5 .. wondering if it was open when we board, closes early 1 or 2 pm.

 

Jijis .. is upstairs I think and might be not too crowded if you get there soon. Renamed mongolian wok, no idea why it has another name if the pay dinner feature. Free for lunch.

 

And yes lol, last cruise was vista, but didnt find bbq the day I boarded. I remember Mongolian wok .. but never went, line too slow. Remember walking by.

 

 

Edited June 16, 2021 by firefly333

[lesters]

I just have to say how much I love reading these threads again... normal regular cruise questions.  Sure there is going to be an unknown element until things get going again... but I loved that this was a regular old school CC question about what to expect on the first day on the Vista.... which is super relevant to me as our first cruise back will be on the Vista - but not until February 2022 - but still I am reading everything and anything I can about her. 🙂

 

So thank you for the tips on embarkation day lunch!!

[mexicobob]

8 hours ago, BoozinCroozin said:

For me because it will be our first cruise, I am heading to 2 locations for the embarkation lunch. First choice would be Pig & Anchor to see how good that smoked food really is. If there is a massive line, then to the Lido deck for Guy's burger or a pizza. I am not doing the buffet at lunch. We are going to be too excited to explore and enjoy instead of dealing with crowds in the buffet area. 

 

Quick bite, tropical drink, explore, and unpack before Muster is our first plan.

Pig and Anchor is good and worth the wait. Whether or not it would be open on embarkation day would be debatable. Make sure you check it out before the cruise ends though. They have limited hours.

[Joe817]

3 minutes ago, mexicobob said:

Pig and Anchor is good and worth the wait. Whether or not it would be open on embarkation day would be debatable. Make sure you check it out before the cruise ends though. They have limited hours.

I had Guy's Pig & Anchor right after we boarded the Dream in July, 2019. As soon as I dropped my overly big backpack with my wife, I headed out to it. It was all I thought it would be. The BBQ was very good. And it went well even better with sipping on a FunShip Special. 🍹

[babygrljaz]

8 minutes ago, Joe817 said:

I had Guy's Pig & Anchor right after we boarded the Dream in July, 2019. As soon as I dropped my overly big backpack with my wife, I headed out to it. It was all I thought it would be. The BBQ was very good. And it went well even better with sipping on a FunShip Special. 🍹

Bbq is open on embarkation day?? Nice! On the Breeze it was only open on sea days. Thank you 😁

[Joe817]

12 minutes ago, babygrljaz said:

Bbq is open on embarkation day?? Nice! On the Breeze it was only open on sea days. Thank you 😁

Well, that was on the Dream. But I hope it will be open as well on the Vista. I'm going to be looking for it regardless! 

[mondello]

I have read that it is only open on sea days. Wouldn't surprise me if it wasn't open for embarkation when you think about it, they have enough going on with the weekly turn-around without having to deal with the time consuming task of manning the smoker for embarkation lunch.

[firefly333]

10 hours ago, Joe817 said:

Well, that was on the Dream. But I hope it will be open as well on the Vista. I'm going to be looking for it regardless! 

Dream has bbq inside and a good location. Vista has it outside on deck 5 where stuff isnt so much open ..but I'll try and remember to look when I board. Elevators are crazy crowded normally when you board, so extra hard to get to deck 5 then up to 10 where the pool and buffet is.

[Joe817]

2 minutes ago, firefly333 said:

Dream has bbq inside and a good location. Vista has it outside on deck 5 where stuff isnt so much open ..but I'll try and remember to look when I board. Elevators are crazy crowded normally when you board, so extra hard to get to deck 5 then up to 10 where the pool and buffet is.

Beg to differ. The serving line is outside on the starboard side. I remember having to stand out in the hot sun for 15 minutes to get my share of the BBQ(which was pretty good). IIRC, once I got my food, I did go inside and scarf it down.

 

[firefly333]

7 minutes ago, Joe817 said:

Beg to differ. The serving line is outside on the starboard side. I remember having to stand out in the hot sun for 15 minutes to get my share of the BBQ(which was pretty good). IIRC, once I got my food, I did go inside and scarf it down.

 

I'm confused.. are you talking about dream? Sorry I'm sure on dream it could be outside ..been years since I was on dream.

 

Its definitely outside on vista... after vista I hear it was moved back inside and enlarged.

 

I'm probably thinking conquest class where its upstairs where fish and chips was.. you dont say which ship ... but I'm assuming that picture is dream. I've never done breeze before., so dont know. Did vista last time and didnt like it outside. 

[arkaine23]

Without knowing what's changing for these early restart cruises.....

 

Highly recommend picking up some half price fishbowls at the Red Frog pub during happy hour, which is generally 2 hours in the early afternoon during embarkation day.  Can vary by ship.  It was 12pm-2pm last time I went out of Galveston, but I've seen posts saying 12:30 - 2:30 and even 3:00 - 5:00, so this probably varies by ship/port.   Always watch the various bars and newsletter for info about happy hours and free drinks if you don't buy Cheers and want to keep your drink spending low.

 

Guy's Burger, Pig & Anchor, Pizza, Tacos... best to grab what you like and find a spot on deck to eat/drink and get a good view on day of debarkation.

 

Know that you will probably have to use the stairs because the elevators will be mostly reserved for crew to move luggage in.  Red Frog tends to be in a mid level and on Vista at least I think its the same floor or 1 floor off from the Pig & Anchor.  Other ships I've been on Pig & Anchor is upstairs from the Lido deck buffets- there are always some quasi-hidden restaurants up there, and might be good options with shorter lines.  While Guy's Burger's, Pizza, and Tacos can be had on Lido deck, and its just a matter of dividing and conquering with your cruise partner to get some food and fishbowls and meet back up.  Pro-Tip:  hankerchief, napkins, gloves, hand towel.... if you're on drink-duty, carrying 2 fishbowls from the bar to Lido will freeze your hands if you don't work out an insulating layer.  Sometimes you won't get a fishbowl glass because they've given them all out (if you show up 10 mins before happy hour ends), and they may just give you a plastic pitcher of cocktail instead- same size.

 

So given ship differences, maybe do a little checking and planning to know where your bars and restaurants are.  Grab food, cheap drinks, minimize wandering through crowds and up and down stairs, get a good spot to sit or walk around on a high deck and enjoy the view. 

Edited June 17, 2021 by arkaine23

[Joe817]

4 minutes ago, firefly333 said:

I'm confused.. are you talking about dream? Sorry I'm sure on dream it could be outside ..been years since I was on dream.

 

Its definitely outside on vista... after vista I hear it was moved back inside and enlarged.

 

I'm probably thinking conquest class where its upstairs where fish and chips was.. you dont say which ship ... but I'm assuming that picture is dream. I've never done breeze before., so dont know. Did vista last time and didnt like it outside. 

Yes, that pic was taken on the Dream. 

[sid_9169]

Jiji Asian for embarkation lunch. Free, and not crowded. Much more relaxed than the buffet, or standing in line for Guy's or Blue Iguana...

[babygrljaz]

12 hours ago, Joe817 said:

Well, that was on the Dream. But I hope it will be open as well on the Vista. I'm going to be looking for it regardless! 

I'll by looking in September for sure! 😁

[princess76021]

2 hours ago, babygrljaz said:

I'll by looking in September for sure! 😁

from where?  which ship?  inquiring minds 😁

[bmilacek]

I wonder if they'll still do the free beer for the first ones in the Red Frog Pub.

[mondello]

2 minutes ago, bmilacek said:

I wonder if they'll still do the free beer for the first ones in the Red Frog Pub.

Didn't know they did this. I'm B2B on Valor so the second leg will obviously be the earliest I've ever been on the ship.

[bmilacek]

1 minute ago, mondello said:

Didn't know they did this. I'm B2B on Valor so the second leg will obviously be the earliest I've ever been on the ship.

It used to be a thing. A picture would be taken and John would post it for each ship on embarkation day.

[babygrljaz]

1 hour ago, princess76021 said:

from where?  which ship?  inquiring minds 😁

Vista out of Galveston ☺

[AtSeaWithChris]

On 6/16/2021 at 2:16 PM, BoozinCroozin said:

First choice would be Pig & Anchor to see how good that smoked food really is.

well, it's not that great IMO. Wait until there is no line and try it. This is of course my opinion. I am a self--professed BBQ snob. I have tried their BBQ on 5 different ships (the BBQ is the same whether or not it says Guys on it) and am not impressed.