Willdra's Visual Carnival Vista Oct. 15-22 Review

[willdra]

 

 

 

 

 

[willdra]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[willdra]

Now as to be expected, there were also huge packs of kids. Some were running around loose, some were locked down in strollers, some were very well behaved, and some were not. Not a deal breaker, just good to know. W and I walked around looking, reading, and snapping shots of everything that we could. We were sending pics to our adult offspring. Even tho A was in Scotland at the time, she was jelly. #goals.  We were there about 3 hours, which could've easily been 6 or 7 had we arrived earlier. Sometime that afternoon we got a text from my folks. My Uncles and Aunts wanted to do dinner with us, so we left at around 4:45.

 

We got to my fam’s at 5:16 and we went straight from there to the restaurant. They asked us if we wanted to ride with them so we did. Reluctantly. Big huge fat mistake. My uncle is 73 years old and drives like he can't feel his feet or arms. He also drives a large boat-like car. Needless to say, I maybe had whiplash and vertigo after the ride. Unattractive.

[willdra]

Our dinner was at Pappas Seafood Restaurant. We were there extra early, so we didn’t have to wait. As soon as we sat down, my peeps told us that seniors can order from the lunch menu all day and pay half the price for the same dinner entrée. They must've been just talking to W, cuz I ain't nobody's senior. Yet. We thanked them for the info anyway. When the server came thru, I ordered the Shrimp and Crab Pappardelle Pasta. W asked for the Mississippi Catfish and Shrimp Etoufee. As soon as he said it, the server said "Would you like the senior lunch portion?". Ha!!!! I giggled at her thinking W qualified. He declined it and asked for the young man dinner. Ironically, my uncle ordered the same dish as a senior lunch portion, but when they bought them out, they were both the same amount of food. W was sad that he didn’t accept the offer to pay half the price for the same plate of food. Pride goeth before the fall. Mistakes are costly.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[willdra]

Our meal was so fresh and smokin hot. After the server took our plates, the table was still warm. It was scrumptious and I’m glad we went. We were there an hour or so, then we went back to get our car. W and I had been out all day, and I was worn out. Before we left their house, I went to the restroom. After I was done, I washed my hands, but I couldn’t find a towel or anything to dry my hands on. I looked and looked, for what seemed like an uncomfortable amount of time. The frustrating thing was that the bathroom was full of all kinds of stuff. To the brim. There were dolls, figurines, knickknacks and paddy whacks everywhere. But no hand towel. Not one. Priorities people. I finally resorted to good ole tp. I tore some from the roll, and just dabbed at the water so it wouldn’t fall apart. That worked and I was so glad I didn’t have to go up there and tell those golden-agers that I couldn’t find a hand towel. They would’ve gone and given me every hand towel in the house. Twice. We are Southerners. We will absolutely overdo it. Every time. Thank you. I can't even imagine the sheer ruggedness of being even slightly inhospitable to company. Unfathomable.

 

We said our goodbyes and left shortly after that. W wanted Cheez-Its for the trip (why did he just realize this?) so we went to the Mart of Wal. Of course, my Steady Eddie vacay bestie Walmart was about to see me. I setup W’s GPS for him, and we were on the way! We got there in a few minutes, and we split up to get what we were getting. We met up at the front and checked out a few minutes later. We didn’t get much. I might need to go shopping when I'm tired more often. I could save a lot of cash. Or not.

[willdra]

We got back to the hotel around 9, and it was jumping. There was a reception going on at the bar. There were lots of people down there, and in the lobby. W and I went upstairs dropped off bags, then went to look around downstairs. The hotel was beautiful and I am so glad that it picked me. It was impeccable from beginning to end. We took some pictures and looked at stuff. Afterwards we went back upstairs to get ready for bed and cruise day.

 

Before I fell asleep I said a prayer thanking God for all of the inventions that we have because of space travel. Scientists invented cordless headphones, freeze dried food, memory foam, solar panels, water filters, scratch resistant glasses, better tires, sports shoes, and many other life changing products because of the different needs of astronauts. I especially thanked God for Tang which I loved as a kid. I hope that whoever invented it had an extra special home in heaven and that their days were blessed with the best.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[willdra]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[willdra]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[willdra]

2 hours ago, atxlady said:

We sailed on the Vista in July. We had so much fun w everyone in the Effy store. Of course we spent way too much money!! But those guys were so much fun. Have fun!!

 

Thanks!! ❤️

[Debowah]

13 hours ago, willdra said:

My favorites were going into the Independence Space Shuttle and the 747 that carried it, and the Artemis presentation that we attended. That was wonderful, and provided intel on current and future events. Looking at videos and film of the launch after we got home, was so much cooler after hearing and seeing so much detail about it.

Willdra, your reviews are always entertaining and informative, THANK YOU!  My son is an Engineer that worked on quite a few of the rocket engines for Artemis.  We watched the launch from our driveway, it was spectacular and so much more exciting being personally invested. The things that are being worked on and planned for the future are truly mind blowing. Thank you for taking the time to share your adventures with us. 

[willdra]

2 hours ago, Debowah said:

Willdra, your reviews are always entertaining and informative, THANK YOU!  My son is an Engineer that worked on quite a few of the rocket engines for Artemis.  We watched the launch from our driveway, it was spectacular and so much more exciting being personally invested. The things that are being worked on and planned for the future are truly mind blowing. Thank you for taking the time to share your adventures with us. 

 

Your son has an amazing job, and I'll bet it was spectacular to watch some of his work from your driveway! It's giving me chills just picturing it! 🤩🤩🤩🤩

[willdra]

1st Cruise Day

 

 

I got up when W shook me to let me know that my alarm was going off. That happens sometimes when I’m sleep sleep. I don’t even hear my alarm. God is good.

 

W went back to sleep while I started the process of cleaning my body parts. When I was about halfway done, I opened the curtains in the room, which always wakes him up. My family can sleep thru every noise, but as soon as a sudden bright light hits our eyes, we pop up like a Jack in the Box. The hotel room had wall to wall windows, so there was an abundance of light. I actually rubbed my hands together and let out a small "muuaahaahaaa"  cuz I knew W was gonna be shocked when I let that light in. I wasn’t wrong. He hopped right up. 

 

The move was to get ready, pack up, then go down for breakfast. We did all of that except when it was time for breakfast the bar area was empty. I could’ve sworn they told me breakfast would be there when we checked in. I went up to the front desk to ask and they said the only option was the coffee shop or Rosalie which didn’t open until 10. We opted for the coffee shop. When I drink coffee in the morning, I’m usually not that hungry anymore, so I should be good with that. I got an Americano and W got a regular coffee. W asked if mine was good, and I told him it was wonderful, but the aftermath of all of that lactose laden cream that I consumed could be catastrophic. I figure we might have 2 hours before my stomach declared war. We will surely see. I definitely wouldn’t place a bet on it tho. This volcano could erupt at any minute.

 

[willdra]

We went back up to the room to drink our coffee and contemplate all of our life choices. So far so good. At around 8:45 we were done. We walked down and out to get the car from valet parking. When the attendant asked what kind of car it was, W actually said "I don't know, it's a rental". Ummm so you mean to tell me you've been driving a car for 2 whole days, and you have no clue what kinda car it is? Whose mans is this? I rolled my eyes and took a step to the right out of pure shame and told the guy that we were in a black Dodge Journey. He looked relieved cuz now he wasn’t just looking for "a rental". I gave W a look, but as always, he was oblivious. Completely carefree. I'm low key jealous. I want to be just outchea with no concerns whatsoever. 

 

Our rental arrived, and we needed to stop for gas before dropping it off. It was already 75 degrees. Whew, it was gonna be another warm one in Houston. Although it was in the 80’s every day, humidity was really low, so it never really felt too hot. Humidity is cruel and it ruins everything. Thank God it was on vacay while we were there.

 

It was a fast trip back to Houston Hobby airport. We were scanning in our rental car at 9:34. The Hertz shuttle driver saw us unloading and told us to wait at the car, then he drove over to pick us up. Nobody else was waiting, so he loaded us up and we left. He asked which airline we were going to, but I told him we needed to get back to the baggage claim/rental car desks. That’s where I saw the Carnival Shuttle sign on Thursday. He said "yes I know exactly where you’re going, and I’ll get you there". It took maybe 10 minutes to get over there. He stopped right at the door that we needed. After he unloaded our luggage, he didn’t just say” ok byeee!” He walked in with us and told the Carnival Shuttle Rep to take care of us. He was really nice, and he didn’t have to do any of that. W gave him a bigger tip because he more than earned it.

[willdra]

There was a line already getting ready to get on the Carnival shuttle. We were early, our time was 10am, but the lady at the door said that we could join that group. I’m glad we did cuz this whole process takes a while. We were given instructions and red tickets. It was hard to hear everything the rep said, but we could make out the important stuff. We had to wait to get on until they loaded the wheelchairs and walkers (and the people in them). While we were in the line, I noticed a couple (2 people) with 6 suitcases. What in the Waldo Geraldo Faldo do they need 6 suitcases for? My back and my neck started hurting just looking at that. Who was going to carry and keep up with all of that luggage? And for Why??? Uggghhh. Look away.

 

Once we got moving, we were to drop our luggage off along the guard rail behind the bus, give our tickets up at the bus door, then get in. W asked if he should leave his carryon suitcase there, and the lady told him to bring it on cuz they give the luggage directly to the porters, and he may not have a chance to get it back.

 

When I walked onto the bus, this lady in the front row was like “I love your hair!” then she touched it. Like she knew me. Who does that??? I don’t touch people (or their hair) that I know. I'm sure as heck not reaching out and touching stranger's hair. God only knows what they got going on up there! Also, it's none of my beeswax what somebody's hair feels like. I paused for a second, cuz shock, then I just smiled and kept walking. It was her lucky day.

 

We got going around 10:12. Galveston is a different sort of port. Riding in, it seemed weird that a cruise ship would be there. Like it would be out of place. After about an hour on the bus, we got our first good glimpse of Vista. At first, we were sitting on the wrong side, but the bus turned, and we got much better views of her. 

 

 

 

 

 

[willdra]

 

 

 

 

[willdra]

We walked over to board and noticed there was no Priority Line sign to get into the building. W loathes lines, so we went up and asked. They checked our passes, then told us to go ahead to the front, but stay to the left. When we got closer to the door, the lines divided into 3. Left was Suites/Diamond/Platinum, Middle was for cruisers who were on time, Right was cruisers who were too early. We hugged that left wall, and walked on in. The first stop was just to check Boarding Passes and Citizenship Documents. After that we went into another section for security. This line was where all H. E. double hockey sticks broke loose. We found a line to get into, we loaded our crap on the belt to go into the scanners, then the line stopped moving. We stood there a long time, and we saw this couple at the end of the scanners going back and forth with security about something in their bag. The security agent has the lady literally take every freakin thing out of her bag right there in the line. Never mind all the people waiting. Never mind the HUGE table in the back with agents setup to go thru the bags. We are just gonna hold up everybody else and do it right here. I sweater god we were giving him the strongest Jedi death glare that we could. Didn't work. He was still holding up the line.

 

There was a couple in front of us waiting to go thru the body scanners, and none of us could move. Finally, a young man came along and instructed us all to go thru. Everyone went thru the scanner with no beeps. Then the security agent who was holding the couple hostage told W and I to go back cuz he didn’t see us walk thru. Listen Otis, if you were paying attention to the line like you were supposed to be doing, instead of conducting full purse cavity searches to find a whopping bottle of perfume, then you would’ve seen us! W and I both sighed as hard as we could, then walked back thru.

 

Our line was so backed up at that point the other security agents just let everyone get their stuff and go. By spending (wasting) so much time with that lady and her bag, there's no telling what all was just waved by to get the line going again. Pointless.  After that we went to the desk where they checked our VeriFLY passes and took our pictures. This time there was a Priority Line to the left. When we got to the desk, the agent just glanced at the "Ready To Sail" pass and said “You’re good to go”.

 

Our Zone had already boarded so we walked over to the "Smile and Go" Scanners then onto the ship. Y’all this embarkation took F.O.R.E.V.E.R. We walked into the ship at 12. 

[willdra]

 

 

 

 

[willdra]

We wanted to get Muster over with first, so we did that. Ours was in the Limelight Lounge. When we got up there, they were just starting another briefing. We scanned in, sat down, and were out in 3 minutes.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[willdra]

We found our cabin next. This time we were in 6393. It was already clean, and my water had been delivered when we arrived. The cards weren’t in the slot tho. We dropped off our bags, I took a few pictures then we vacated the premises so they could finish up.

 

I could tell that W was turning into Grumpy Smurf, so we went to eat before doing anything else. I went up to Guys and he went to Cucina del Capitano for pasta. Guys Burger Joint was buzzing. I don't think everyone knows there are two lines. The first one wraps around the front and ends up by the toppings station. The second line is along the wall on the side by the restrooms and elevators. I went to the second line. The first line is almost always slower, and it’s in the way. People can’t walk by or get toppings cuz the line is blocking all of the blessings.

 

It took me less than 5 minutes to get my burger. Then I fought my way through the toppings bar. I loaded up and took everything back to the table that W and I had pre picked as the rally point. He got there maybe a minute after me. We ate and rested our nerves for a minute.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[willdra]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[willdra]

When Grumpy Smurf was gone, and "Not quite happy" Smurf appeared, W and I went out to the Lido to take a few pictures. It was already crowded out which was surprising. We made it work tho, then went up to Serenity. Now this area was not congested. There were a few couples here and there, but it was way calmer than Lido.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[willdra]

 

 

 

 

 

 

[willdra]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[willdra]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[willdra]