Vista March 26-April 2...Day by Day

[Silent Penguin]

Good Evening. God-willing, I'll be leaving on the Vista this Saturday-out of Galveston, TX (for those of you who don't know that's where the Vista is currently sailing from)  with one son, one daughter, and my daughter's boyfriend.  My dear husband, who chose not to get vaccinated, has graciously encouraged us to go without him instead of insisting we wait for that day in the future when  unvaccinated adults (without exemptions) can cruise again.  My oldest child also isn't going  he's just started a new job.  Like a lot of you, I scheduled the orginal cruise for 2020 and had it cancelled on us twice.

 

Who's going?  As I previously mentioned, there are four of us.  

Me - I'm the mom.   As you can see from my signature, this is not my first rodeo.  I'm winging it this time around in terms of pre-booking any of our  land transportation, excursions or premium dining reserervation.  The only thing I've done in advance is book our flights and pre-cruise hotel reservations. I'll let you know how that goes.  

My Son - He's 24.  Has been on several cruises with us growing up but none as a bonafide adult.  He's single.  Mechanical Engineer.  He was one of the "lucky" people who graduated college in 2020 but whose ceremony was "virtual".  Honestly, none of us were disappointed about the latter.  We didn't have to spend buckets of money to attend his graduation in Kentucky or sit through an infernally boring ceremony. 

My Daughter - She's 21 as of early March, so this is her first cruise as a bonafide adult.   This cruise is also her college graduation present.  She finished both high school and her Associate's degree in 2020.  

Her Boyfriend He's 24. This will be his FIRST cruise.  Funny story. By the time she got the courage to ask me if he could go since her oldest brother couldn't,  my husband and I had already decided to ask her is she wanted to invite him.  

 

Why we're going?

This cruise is my daughter's graduation present.   She originally asked for a cruise to Hawaii, but I told her she's got to do better than an Associate's degree for a cruise to Hawaii.  Her response, "Challenge accepted!"

 

Preparing to cruise with my adult children who have only cruised previously as minor

My kids, even though they have cruised all their lives,  had no idea how to plan for a cruise.  I wanted to handle this situation in such a way that respected their adulthood, so I asked them how much they would like to be involved with the planning.  We agreed that while they are incredibly busy, with their jobs and further education, I had a lot more free time, so I would take the lead.  I started a FB messenger group called, "Cruise Chat" and let them know what I was doing, reading, considering, etc.  They weighed in when they had an opinion, suggestion or question.  I also encouraged them to join Carnival.com and  our sailing's FB group to connect with and learn from other people.   We've also had many conversations about our expectations for how we want to spend our time onboard and on land and aspects of the trip only they could handle -updating passports if necessary, scheduling Covid tests, requesting time off from work, flight reservations and getting trip insurance since my son doesn't live in the same state as me.

 

I'm happy to report that all three "kids" have completed their health evaluations, scheduled their Covid tests, and downloaded the HUB and Verifly without me telling them to. 

 

Tomorrow....Covid tests in the morning , girls' nail appointments in the afternoon  if the tests are negative. Finish packing. 

[pc2425]

Looking forward to your review! My husband and I will be getting on Vista when you get off.  We have been on lots of cruises but first time on Vista.

[grantbob]

Following. We will be getting on the Vista a week after you get off. Have a great cruise!

 

Just curious, as someone who works for an engineering firm in KY, where did your son go to school?

[keels81]

Awwww, yay! I will be following closely as my girlfriends and I board the Vista on the 2nd! 

 

And what a fun group it sounds like you'll be traveling with -- I wish you all the BEST trip!

[SuzieQMoto]

Seems there will be several of us on the next cruise.  I also am on the April 2nd sailing.

 

See you all there.

 

Susan

[Jamman54]

Looking forward to following along! 

[Silent Penguin]

1 hour ago, grantbob said:

Following. We will be getting on the Vista a week after you get off. Have a great cruise!

 

Just curious, as someone who works for an engineering firm in KY, where did your son go to school?

Thank you! I hope you have a wonderful time, too.  My son got his engineering degree up here at the University of Maryland, but he's working on his master's degree down there in Louisville.  He's in the Edison program at UofL. He works for GE Appliances.  

[Silent Penguin]

Good evening from Limbo Land, Maryland.  Nothing left to do.  Casseroles are cooked for dh. We girls got our nails painted.  Verifly is downloaded and our documents have been uploaded.   We're all checked in with Southwest for our flight tomorrow morning. ( I sprung for the Early-bird check in, and we got spots in the 30's for zone A. ) 

 

 Actually, there is one unfinished detail. We're still waiting to find out if my son's Covid test came back negative.  He read Carnival's page about testing wrong and thought he needed the NAAT test.  We set him straight about that last night in the Cruise Chat,  but you know what they say about object in motion. He said he already had an appointment scheduled and figured he'd keep it and just hope the 1-2 day wait turned out to be just one.    Not my problem, because the rest of us know how to read and made it past the testing hurdle this morning. 

 

Speaking of testing.  Last November when I cruised, I was able to schedule my Covid test 3 days in advance, but this past Tuesday, when I tried to schedule for Thursday, there was nothing available.  Not on Friday either.  I checked in the states where my kids live to see if they were going to have the same results, and it was the same thing.  That lead me to suspect that CVS had switched to same-day appointments for Rapid tests, and I was correct.  This morning when I checked, there were appointments all over the place.  

 

I'm going to go put my luggage in the truck before  my daughter and her boyfriend get here. They are going to sleep here tonight and my husband is going to drive us all to the airport in the morning.   Our flight isn't until 11:15 am, but it's an hour's drive to the airport and I promised my husband a stop at a well-known bagel shop in Baltimore.  Supposedly, they have great whitefish salad, which he loves, and we cannot get that around here.  

 

Update: My daughter just messaged me that they had to turn around and go back home.  She forgot her favorite sandals.  I know what you're thinking, but  don't be quick to roll your eyes.  The girl is 21 years old and her feet are the size of a small child's.  It's really hard for her to find age-appropriate, quality footwear.   And, they only live 45 minutes from me anyway.  

[crewsweeper]

Enjoy your cruise.  We had a great on on the Vista pre-Covid.  I think you'll be one of the first Carnival ships to Great Cayman since they reopened.  And Jamaica hasn't been open that long.  Curious to hear about both.   Safe travels.

[LaRue1975]

Yay, I will be following along and am another boarding as you get off. I too had a family cruise booked with my adult children and grandchild in April 2020, we almost made it!  We were blessed with another grandchild so won’t sail as a family until she is three in 2024. It will just be the hubby and I this time but I am so excited, following your adventure will be a fun warm up. Have a great time! 

Edited March 25, 2022 by LaRue1975

[MrFunInTheSun]

Thanks for bringing us along!

[jcgld62]

I'll be getting on Vista when you get off. Last night Carnival changed our stop from Ocho Rios to Falmouth and shaved off 2 hours each at Grand Cayman and Cozumel, leaving little time to really do anything at either port.

Many are speculating that the ship is having issues and must sail at a slower speed. I'll' be anxious to hear from you how it is going next week.

[grantbob]

1 hour ago, jcgld62 said:

Many are speculating that the ship is having issues and must sail at a slower speed. I'll' be anxious to hear from you how it is going next week.

 

 I sure hope not! If you find out anything, please post it here. Thanks.

[txgranny]

I'll be joining you tomorrow on Vista!!

[SCBarker]

I'll be joining you as well. This is going to be one very full ship, I believe. It looks like we're up to 942 on that other site's roll call group.

[Silent Penguin]

18 hours ago, crewsweeper said:

Enjoy your cruise.  We had a great on on the Vista pre-Covid.  I think you'll be one of the first Carnival ships to Great Cayman since they reopened.  And Jamaica hasn't been open that long.  Curious to hear about both.   Safe travels.

Thank you for the well wishes! I'm sorry I can't tell you about Grand Cayman or Jamaica.    We're going to Cozumel, Belize and Roatan.  . 

[Silent Penguin]

7 hours ago, SCBarker said:

I'll be joining you as well. This is going to be one very full ship, I believe. It looks like we're up to 942 on that other site's roll call group.

Yes! Full.  A big change of pace after sailing in November on the Legend. If the ship was half-full, it might be an exaggeration.  Back to the real cruising experience.  

 

[Silent Penguin]

Good evening!  I'm updating from the Springhill Suites of Marriott at Hobby Airport, where I booked the four of us a suite for 128.00 total.   It's not the most scenic part of Houston being a mile from the airport,  but it's clean, comfortable and has a free breakfast.  It also has a 24-hour airport shuttle that will drop you other places if they are on the way to or from the airport.  And, unlike the ship's cabins, it has beaucoup outlets and USB ports! 

 

It's quiet here now because the Trike/Bike group (gang, club, etc) left for dinner or to wherever they went to party and aren't back yet,  but when we arrived, around 4:30, it was a bit of scene out front with people and their machines everywhere. Music blaring and the smell of weed wafting in the breeze.  Our shuttle couldn't even get to the front door.  A hotel employee came out and told them clear the driveway,  which they did. I guess, as long as they keep the ruckus outside and respond appropriately to the hotel staff to keep it to a dull roar so we can all sleep tonight, live-and-let-live. 

 

We got take-out from the Ranchos Taqueria for our dinner.  Really good food. Good prices. Nice people work there.  There are plenty of other options within a few minutes walking distance if you are looking for  the likes of a Denny's, Wafflehouse, taquerias, etc. We weren't in the mood for cleaning up nicely and going out for dinner, so I don't know what's closeby in that department.  

 

You all know how tiring pre-cruise travel can be, so I'm going to finish this up with a word about flying down here.  Somehow, we hit the sweet spot for arrival time.  At 9:30 am there was no line at the Southwest counter or at security. Is that a thing? I have never, ever arrived at the Southwest counter and/or security and there was no line.    And, when we landed at Hobby, there was barely any wait for our luggage to come out in the baggage area.  Is there some new technology involved or did we just get lucky?  

 

Time to go shuffle some things around between the suitcases and carry-on bags before going to sleep.  Tomorrow...get breakfast before the bikers wake up and eat all the Pop-tarts (kidding, we don't even like Poptarts)... then Uber to the port after a stop at Wal-mart.  

 

Here's the only picture of us so far.  Dh just dropped us off at BWI.  Not pictured is my son.  He lives in Kentucky.  

 

 

[crewsweeper]

15 hours ago, Silent Penguin said:

Thank you for the well wishes! I'm sorry I can't tell you about Grand Cayman or Jamaica.    We're going to Cozumel, Belize and Roatan.  . 

My bad wrong itinerary.   Not sure what's up in Belize, but the other 2 ports are just fine.

[keels81]

Quick favor -- when you get settled in and linked up on the Hub App, can you let me know if either the 80's night or White night are also formal nights? I'm trying to get my packing plan together ...

[Saint Greg]

I thought there was a cruise starting today. I examined page 1 so many times. Never did I think it would be on page 3. Now I know why the screen name is “silent” penguin

[BlerkOne]

12 hours ago, keels81 said:

Quick favor -- when you get settled in and linked up on the Hub App, can you let me know if either the 80's night or White night are also formal nights? I'm trying to get my packing plan together ...

Vista should have

 

Carnival Vista

MEGA DECK

WHITE NIGHT

80'S R&G

[keels81]

10 hours ago, BlerkOne said:

Vista should have

 

Carnival Vista

MEGA DECK

WHITE NIGHT

80'S R&G

 

Thanks - I'm aware. Just trying to find out if any of these parties are also on elegant nights.

[Saint Greg]

39 minutes ago, keels81 said:

 

Thanks - I'm aware. Just trying to find out if any of these parties are also on elegant nights.

 

When I was on Vista in December the 80's Rock n Glow was the 2nd Elegant night. But White Night was Belize night. 

 

Maybe Silent Penguin will break silence at some point and let you know if it's the same this week.

[keels81]

2 hours ago, Saint Greg said:

 

When I was on Vista in December the 80's Rock n Glow was the 2nd Elegant night. But White Night was Belize night. 

 

Maybe Silent Penguin will break silence at some point and let you know if it's the same this week.

Thanks Greg! I guess I’ll just plan as if both are on elegant nights. 
 

Maybe I will do a live from the Vista next weekend …