Vista 4/2-9, 2022 Review -- It was the best of times, it was the worst of times ...

[keels81]

I'm back -- from another trip (that maybe I'll recap, but we'll see how long it takes me to finish the first one). Oh, and I added an addition to my little humble home ... meet Belle!

 

 

Now that I've paid the Cuteness Tax, I'll get back on to trip reporting. 

 

When I was last here, I had made it on the ship ...

[keels81]

DAY 1: EMBARKATION

 

We were on-board by 11:15 and went to muster at Liquid Lounge right away. We were obviously with the B2Bers because after signing in, the Fun Squader checking us in asked if we knew how to put on a life jacket or if we needed a demonstration. Seeing as I was just on the Breeze three weeks earlier, I felt like my memory was good enough to skip out on the life jacket demo and we were cleared to go!

 

We then popped up to six to drop off our carry-ons (and the cases of Red Bull and sparkling water we'd brought aboard) and then we were off to explore!

 

1 went out to the Lanai to find a quiet spot to do some work, 2 took off to wander around and then I went to scope out what was different as this was my first sailing on a Vista-class ship. 

 

Also, my husband was having a rough week with having to work while I was gone, so I was trying to send him new things to get him hyped up for our upcoming sailing on the Horizon, like these tabletop beer stations in the Red Frog:

 

 

At 1:30, our rooms were ready and all of our luggage was there! I did a quick video room tour and then left to go settle and see about changing around some previously booked specialty dining. Spoiler: it all worked out!

 

I swear -- it doesn't matter if I'm the lead guest or alphabetical order or what ... I'm always listed last AND have the last sequential folio number when I travel with these two. 

 

Our plan was sailaway, drinks, back to the room to unpack and get ready for a quick dinner in the MDR before the Welcome Aboard Show.

 

I arrived back to the room and was greeted by this ... well, there's no missing my room now!

 

1 & 2 really out-did themselves in decorating the door (and our stateroom!) for my birthday. Here's another view of their hard work:

 

 

Unpacked, dressed and stateroom appropriately festive, it was off to dinner!

 

I wasn't that great about taking dinner photos, mostly because our head server Zoran had us so distracted and in stitches with his conversation and wit. He was definitely a highlight and I hope he gets elevated soon, because we definitely mentioned he should in our survey.

 

Some highlights:

So, now it's time for me to tell you about the BEST MDR DISH YOU'RE MISSING OUT ON.

 

You might casually pass over it as its innocuously titled "Daily Indian Vegetarian" or something like that. But it is nothing boring like that at all ... in fact, it's something super special.

 

My husband and I discovered this on the Valor back in January and I order one for the table every night we are in the MDR. So, let's take a look:

 

 

This is the condiment plate -- it never really changes each night, but does change slightly ship to ship. All week we had coriander rice with peas, tomato and cucumber salad, spicy garlic chutney, raita, papadam (that's the chip looking thing in the top left) and a fried bite that was very similar to falafel in texture and makeup.

 

And then here are the offerings on our first night:

 

 

So from top left clockwise, that's curried fried potatoes, curry with tomatoes spinach and paneer and then curried lentils with sweet potatoes.

 

They'll bring you more papadam if you need it, or even naan on nights that its available. If you've been to Disney, it's like bread service at Sanaa but much heartier and SO MUCH BETTER. It's great to share as an app for the table if you get tired of shrimp cocktail or mozzarella sticks.

 

After that, it was off to the Welcome Aboard Show and then I hit the casino before heading back to the room to get to bed. It had been a long two days for me, with the travel on Friday and early wakeup to get to the ship today.

 

Will this be the start of a winning streak? We shall see!

 

[keels81]

So, while I've got it on the brain ...

 

Dining With A Food Allergy

 

Late last summer, I was diagnosed with a pretty severe shellfish allergy -- like EpiPen serious when it comes to shrimp, crab and crawfish (*cries in New Orleanian*), but I've been able to eat around it pretty effectively.

 

On the restart of the Magic, I definitely got "shrimped" one night in the MDR and even though it was just slight cross-contamination, it was enough to make my next day pretty ... well, let's just say, fraught with peril.

 

It's not the kitchen or dining room's fault, I just have to be more cognizant of what I order and smart about my food choices. Soup, mixed green salad, vegetarian stuff, nothing fried when fried shrimp is on the menu, etc. But it's also why I tend to do a lot of specialty dining on cruises -- or plan to pre-eat (hello, Bonsai Sushi) or post-eat (pizza) if our plans involve the MDR. I've got a really great strategy that works for me.

 

So, let's circle back to our first night with Zoran. He was really upset that I was only ordering the mixed green salad, the shared Indian platter and then chocolate melting cake. (Leslie had the brisket, Angela had the mahi as mains I believe). When mains came, he said he wanted to make sure I wasn't hungry and brought me a "half order" of the grilled chicken main -- it was half of a perfectly grilled chicken breast with a small portion of roasted carrots and broccoli and a small side of mashed potatoes. Like think a perfect portion plate if you've had gastric bypass or what would be a really delightful lunch at a bistro.

 

I took a bite and ultimately consumed most of the entire plate. I was really thankful for Zoran for thinking of me and his call to bring me that chicken plate was definitely not one I would've made for myself, but I'm glad he did -- and it was a really good, light and healthy way to start the cruise!

 

Long story short, make your allergies known right up front. As often as you need to. I'll likely continue my strategy for the most part, but it's nice to know our head server was truly thinking about our needs at the table.

[x lindsay x]

You are so right, the Indian vegetarian is consistently the best thing on the Carnival MDR menu. On the Vista last summer one of the dining room leads came around to talk with us about our meal and offered to bring a meat version of the Indian platter to us the next day, and upon our request it was made spicy. It was the best thing we had onboard all week.

 

 

[princess76021]

thanks for taking the time to do this!!

hugs

[MistyRo76]

On 4/11/2022 at 12:58 PM, Joe817 said:

Ouch! So sorry to hear this happened to you. I learned early on, that while touring the Quarter to never get distracted, keep a close eye on the sidewalk, and stop frequently to just look around. Those uneven sidewalks are dangerous!   I do hope you have a great time(s) on your cruise(s) with your g.f.'s. 

This is good to know as we are cruising on the Valor from NOLA in October and plan on doing some French Quarter sightseeing (i.e. day drinking) on our pre-cruise day! 

[keels81]

9 hours ago, x lindsay x said:

You are so right, the Indian vegetarian is consistently the best thing on the Carnival MDR menu. On the Vista last summer one of the dining room leads came around to talk with us about our meal and offered to bring a meat version of the Indian platter to us the next day, and upon our request it was made spicy. It was the best thing we had onboard all week.

 

 

 

I like to think of myself as a pretty adventurous eater, so having the shellfish allergy has really dampened MDR dining for me (not just on Carnival, but all lines). I also don't really like cooked fish, so that really limits things for me to enjoy a meal. But the grilled chicken and vegetarian Indian platter, it's something like I always eat here at home and really enjoy it -- but to have them consistently knock it out of the park with different flavors and textures, and even customizing it, just makes it even more enjoyable.

 

We even joked that on our next cruise, we're going to go to the MDR just for that and drinks -- like HH -- when we have a later evening specialty reservation.

[keels81]

9 minutes ago, MistyRo76 said:

This is good to know as we are cruising on the Valor from NOLA in October and plan on doing some French Quarter sightseeing (i.e. day drinking) on our pre-cruise day! 

 

Let me know if you need any New Orleans recs! 

[MistyRo76]

47 minutes ago, keels81 said:

 

Let me know if you need any New Orleans recs! 

Thanks! We have our hotel booked. We are at the Bienville House Hotel. And definitely plan to hit up the Carousel Bar at Hotel Monteleone. But if there are any other must see places (bars, restaurants, music, etc.), feel free to pass 'em along! 

[keels81]

8 minutes ago, MistyRo76 said:

Thanks! We have our hotel booked. We are at the Bienville House Hotel. And definitely plan to hit up the Carousel Bar at Hotel Monteleone. But if there are any other must see places (bars, restaurants, music, etc.), feel free to pass 'em along! 

 

OH MY GOSH! Bienville House Hotel is amazing ... the lobby bar there is actually the best tiki bar in the city -- Beachbum Barry's Latitude 29! You'll definitely have to check it out!

 

https://latitude29nola.com/

Edited April 20, 2022 by keels81

[Joe817]

3 minutes ago, MistyRo76 said:

Thanks! We have our hotel booked. We are at the Bienville House Hotel. And definitely plan to hit up the Carousel Bar at Hotel Monteleone. But if there are any other must see places (bars, restaurants, music, etc.), feel free to pass 'em along! 

You will LOVE the Bienville House! We've stayed there twice. Very convenient as it's right on Decatur St, next door to the Falstaff Mall, which is really neat. Lots of eclectic shops. A little further down is Cafe Dumond. A little further is Margaritaville.  

[MistyRo76]

17 hours ago, keels81 said:

 

OH MY GOSH! Bienville House Hotel is amazing ... the lobby bar there is actually the best tiki bar in the city -- Beachbum Barry's Latitude 29! You'll definitely have to check it out!

 

https://latitude29nola.com/

Glad to hear the positive feedback on the Bienville House! We got it off of a Priceline Pricebreaker deal where we were guaranteed one of three hotels (Monteleone, Bourbon Orleans and Bienville House). BH was the one I was least familiar with but the pics on the website looked great and the Trip Advisor reviews were mostly positive (only real negative I saw was noise from a nearby train...but it's one night...we can deal!). And since prices on NOLA hotels were HIGH, HIGH, HIGH in general, we went for it! I was hoping it would end up being the Monteleone cause that was my #1 pick...but I would have been happy with any of them! 

[MistyRo76]

17 hours ago, Joe817 said:

You will LOVE the Bienville House! We've stayed there twice. Very convenient as it's right on Decatur St, next door to the Falstaff Mall, which is really neat. Lots of eclectic shops. A little further down is Cafe Dumond. A little further is Margaritaville.  

Yes! The location seemed ideal! It's my first real visit to NOLA (outside one work trip in my 20's where I was traveling alone and stayed in a hotel by the airport - so I saw really nothing!) and I want to be near the action. We want to walk around, explore, eat, drink, listen to music and do ALL the NOLA things we can in one day! lol Plus I really wanted a hotel that "felt" like NOLA....charm, character, history! I didn't want to feel like I was staying at any old Hampton Inn/Courtyard/Embassy Suites, etc. 

[MistyRo76]

On 4/12/2022 at 5:19 PM, keels81 said:

 

Whataburger is not a food chain ... it's a LIFESTYLE.

I live in Kentucky (right outside of Cincinnati, OH) and we don't have Whataburger's here. I ate at one 20+ years ago when I was on a trip to TX but didn't remember much about it. Last week we drove to Panama City Beach with the family for Spring Break and stopped at a Whataburger for lunch somewhere in Alabama...and O.M.G...it was SOOOO good! My burger was delish and my chocolate shake was perfection! Hubby tried the Dr. Pepper shake and thought it was really good too! Wish we had these restaurants here in the "north"! 

[MistyRo76]

On 4/10/2022 at 12:18 AM, keels81 said:

This next one isn't easy, but I'll highlight it more in my day-to-day

 

The Bad:

* Cruise Director Savannah. At first, I thought she just wasn't my style and she was doing the affected Southern accent to pander to the broad Texas passenger base. But then, as the week went along more issues with her and the Fun Squad kept coming up. A literally "on-stage" argument between her and a new Fun Squad/ACD that I'd just seen on the Breeze during Sailabration. Never saw her around. No prizes that she released to the Fun Squad for games. The same guy got pulled for both Deal or No Deal games. Multiple arguments between Fun Squad members about "well, Savannah said this" and frustration towards guests just wanting to do things like cornhole tournament. It was clear to me that she didn't even communicate to her immediate staff. The worst was Cozumel day when she came on the intercom to say what was going on and completely lied. The Captain came on not even 30 seconds later and told us exactly what was going on and that now we'd have a delay getting to Galveston.

* HUB App. Completely crashed and was unusable on the first sea day. Even charged us twice for the Chat once they rebooted the whole dumb system. Still better than Disney IT but that's not saying much.

* Guest Services. Staffed with two people max, the whole time. And when you finally got to them, you had to really get a paper trail of what they were doing. Let's just say the $600 gift card I applied actually ended up as a $600 credit limit on my main card ...

* Sign & Sail Cards -- PEELAPALOOOZA

 

But it's not all bad? Is it bad when the sundress you brought with you matches the curtains?

 

Super cute dress! I have to ask where you got it from! I'm always on the lookout for cute cruise/summer dresses! 

[KmomChicago]

On 4/11/2022 at 1:08 PM, satx78205 said:

Thanks for the report.  We're going on the Vista at the end of this month.  We were on Vista over NYE with Kyndall Fire as the CD.  She had a lot of energy. 

I’m glad we’ll have Kyndall tomorrow.

[CruisinMama2003]

1 hour ago, KmomChicago said:

I’m glad we’ll have Kyndall tomorrow.

Shes one of our favorite CDs!