Carnival Vista July 8 - 15

[Caps_Shield]

Just off the Vista this past week and there were more great things than bad.  Thought I would make a little list and be here if anyone had a certain question.

 

GOOD

1. The Havana Area - We had rooms in the Havana area from Cabanas to inside cabins.  The rooms were great and the area itself was amazing!  The pool was never really crowded and neither were the hot tubs.  It was so nice to be able to find a spot when you wanted.
2. Fahrenheit 555 - First trip in 9 or 10 cruises and it was well worth it.  Everything from the bread to the dessert were amazing!
3. Cruise Director Leon - Man was he fun!  My favorite cruise director next to Lee Mason.  He was all over and when you stopped to say hi, he really seemed to engage with you.  He is a superstar!

 

BAD

1. Number one has to be that the place closes down by 11pm.  I was on the Breeze the week prior also and there you can find a drink or a bottle of water until all hours.  On the Vista, after 11pm you are out of luck.  You could go to the casino and chase down a server but that seemed crazy since they were few and far between to begin with.  If Carnival is going to rip out the casino bar, IMO, you need to replace it with another bar opened late.  A few bars said they were open late then by 11pm they were closing down.  One night I just wanted a bottle of water and was out of luck.  To me that is poor planning and I have never seen a ship like this before.
2. Service in the Sushi bar.  It was non-existent.  Our server went on break after we sat down and we had to ask a food runner to help us.  It was a mess.  It was only 8:30 pm and the place was crowded.  I was shocked how many people had service issues.  may it was just a one time thing but it left a bad taste for me.  
3. Short time in Cozumel.  I understand we have a "propulsion" issue but the ship was doing 22 knots on the way to Galveston.  That seems fast enough.  We were the last ship in port for Cozumel and the first to leave.  Not sure why since we could see the Dream sailing in the distance that night.  They got extra time in that port. 

 

Other that that my group of 7 had a fun time!  If you have questions let me know!

Edited July 17, 2023 by Caps_Shield

[Momma1980]

Thanks for the review!

 

I hear that Vista has a dry dock scheduled  for January 2024. I hope this fixes the propulsion problem. We are sailing on her next year for the first time. 

[princess76021]

ThAnks for your review!  Always good to hear others opinons!!

Hugs from texas!!

[Butterbean1000]

Thank you for your review.  I hate hearing about the sushi restaraunt.  It's one of my favorite places for dinner. We are booked on the Vista for May '24  I have to say I am a bit nervous.  I've have read some pretty negative things about the Vista lately.  I'm hoping all will be fixed at dry dock.

[Rock Chalk Jayhawk]

Our family of 16 cruised on the Vista in May. This was either the first or second cruise for all of us, so we're not seasoned cruisers, but we all had a great time. My absolute favorite part was the Havana area! My boyfriend and I booked a Havana Cabana and we were in the pool/hot tub every single night after dinner and had them to ourselves. The rest of the family opted for other rooms. 

[kimandtim]

I don't want to hijack this thread, but I was on the July 8-15 sailing as well.  My observations were as follows:

Good

Service - dining staff was amazing. Everyone was helpful and friendly

Dining room food was tasty for the most part and served piping hot.  One of my pet peeves is cold or barely warm food.

Bad

Casino was small and smoky.  No video poker to speak of.  Very disappointing.

Was supposed to have priority disembarkation and it took me 2 hours of waiting in Lounge to get off the ship.

Overall, it was still a fun trip!  Looking forward to my Mardi Gras trip in October to compare my experiences on the two ships/ports

[happy cruzer]

So is it JiJi's or Bonsai that you had slow service in?  How about the deli and Cucino del Capitiano?

 

Getting my expectations set to be patient :).

 

thanks for the report.

[thundercrack]

On 7/21/2023 at 1:24 PM, kimandtim said:

@kimandtim Was supposed to have priority disembarkation and it took me 2 hours of waiting in Lounge to get off the ship.

 

I am booked on the Vista for next April and am starting to look at airfare back.  Is a noon flight too early?  

[kimandtim]

You will be fine for a noon flight if you self carry your luggage off.  You will be fine even if you don't provided you are either priority disembarkation or get one of the earlier luggage tags available.  We were still off the ship by 10:00 or so.  It just seemed like it was a hurry up and wait situation for us and we had a drive ahead of us as well as trying to help our children load up our grandbabies for the trip home.

Edited July 23, 2023 by kimandtim
new information

[kimandtim]

Also, under the heading of positives, we went to both the pasta place as well as Mongolian Wok for lunch and there was no wait and the food was really good (in my opinion)

[happy cruzer]

Regarding airfare.  If you fly out of Houston and the port is Galveston then allow lots of time to get to the airport.  Just because you are off of the ship at 10 does not mean you will be in the airport 1 hour early for a noon flight.  Two o'clock would be much safer.

[vwrestler171]

7 hours ago, thundercrack said:

I am booked on the Vista for next April and am starting to look at airfare back.  Is a noon flight too early?  

Where you will be sailing from Port Canaveral and not Galveston like this cruise, this is not the best spot for the correct information.  If possible, try and get a later flight.  MCO is a horrible airport.  I was there at 9:00 AM for a 1:00 PM flight and was still worried about missing it.  Finally got passed security around Noon.

[balcony bound]

13 hours ago, thundercrack said:

I am booked on the Vista for next April and am starting to look at airfare back.  Is a noon flight too early?  

Port Canaveral is usually pretty good at debarcation and getting you off the ship in a timely manner.  You have a 45 minute ride to the airport.  MCO is extremely busy, I'd allow at least 2 hours there.

[thundercrack]

7 hours ago, vwrestler171 said:

Where you will be sailing from Port Canaveral and not Galveston like this cruise, this is not the best spot for the correct information.  If possible, try and get a later flight.  MCO is a horrible airport.  I was there at 9:00 AM for a 1:00 PM flight and was still worried about missing it.  Finally got passed security around Noon.

@vwrestler171 Thank you, didn't realize this cruise was out of Galveston and for the info on MCO.  I may also look to see flights out of Sanford, just a little further but a small airport.  I have flown from there many times going to Orlando and never had a problem. 

[vwrestler171]

33 minutes ago, thundercrack said:

@vwrestler171 Thank you, didn't realize this cruise was out of Galveston and for the info on MCO.  I may also look to see flights out of Sanford, just a little further but a small airport.  I have flown from there many times going to Orlando and never had a problem. 

Yes Vista is in Galveston for a few more months and then it will move to Port Canaveral in November. 

[balcony bound]

8 hours ago, thundercrack said:

@vwrestler171 Thank you, didn't realize this cruise was out of Galveston and for the info on MCO.  I may also look to see flights out of Sanford, just a little further but a small airport.  I have flown from there many times going to Orlando and never had a problem. 

Melbourne airport is a great choice if that works.

[Caps_Shield]

On 7/22/2023 at 2:35 PM, happy cruzer said:

So is it JiJi's or Bonsai that you had slow service in?  How about the deli and Cucino del Capitiano?

 

Getting my expectations set to be patient :).

 

thanks for the report.

Bonsai Sushi was the bad service.  We loved JiJi and had a wonderful time there.  Cucino was also very pleasant.  In all my sailing, it was the first time Bonsai was this bad so maybe it was a one time thing.