Our Carnival Vista B2B - Havana Style - (with pics!) - 4/14/24

[Jamman54]

Patti checks out the empty Jiji’s and Cucina del Capitano…..

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

To be continued…..

[Jamman54]

Patti steps back outside to take in the port views including the Adventure of the Seas which is docked at Terminal 5 next door…..

 

 

 

Another smoking section on Deck 11 mid ship on the starboard side….

 

 

Patti checks out Camp Ocean and Dr. Seuss Bookville…..

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

To be continued…..

[mamiamjo]

Good opportunity to get some “empty” ship pictures.👍 Looking forward to reading about the second leg of your trip 😎

[Jamman54]

Patti heads up to Deck 12. Here are a couple of views of the Norwegian Jade and the Disney Fantasy…..

 

 

 

Looking down at the Tides Pool…..

 

 

The fuel barge is coming alongside…..

 

 

 

Patti heads to the Sports Square and the Sports Court…..

 

 

 

 

 

Looking up at the Ropes Course….

 

 

 

To be continued…..

[rwest898]

Jeff. If you are doing a btob and purchase alcohol, do you pick up that morning or at the end of the second cruise?

[Jamman54]

Here are some Mini Golf views…..

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here are a couple of Water Works views…..

 

 

 

To be continued…..

[Knights on the Beach]

1 hour ago, Jamman54 said:

The big screen is telling lies!

 

 

  

 

5:30 AM????  🤣🤣🤣

[Jamman54]

Patti heads up to Serenity…..

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

To be continued…..

[Jamman54]

As Patti heads back to our cabin she passes through the Atrium where she sees our former shipmates leaving the ship……

 

 

 

Patti makes it back to the cabin, and at 8:30 we leave to head to the Reflections Restaurant for the B2B meet up…..

 

 

They provide coffee, juice, and Danish if you are hungry….

 

 

 

 

We find Beth & Mark and sit with them. Guest Service staff come over to us, scan our old Sail & Sign cards out, then give us our new cards. There’s nothing to do now but wait for the entire ship to be cleared. At 9:55am they tell us that we can go to customs now, so everyone gets up and leaves the restaurant. But as the line gets to the door we are stopped and told that they aren’t ready for us yet. What! Now we’re just standing in the Lobby…..

 

 

After about five minutes I decide to just sit at the bar and wait there…..

 

 

At least we have a pretty Dreamscape to look at…..

 

 

Finally at 10:20am we are leaving the ship to head to customs…..

 

 

 

 

To be continued…..

[MEUB1112]

When we did a B2B in Nola, the change over was so much fun. It was us and one other couple. So cool.

[Jamman54]

It took about fifteen minutes from when we left the ship to go through the facial recognition and then head back to the ship. Before we can re-board, we are held up once again…..

 

 

Five minutes later we are heading back on board…..

 

 

 

We have made it to our seats at the Lobby Bar at 10:42am. The new passengers boarded right behind us, so we had zero time to enjoy an empty ship…..

 

 

Anyway, now that we are back on board, here are today’s Fun Times…..

 

 

 

 

Yanti serves us our first drinks of this cruise……

 

 

Of course, our new Sail & Sign cards aren’t working. This has happened a few times during our B2B’s. It appears that Guest Services hasn’t activated our new accounts yet, so I walk over to Guest Services to confirm. They say it will only take a few more minutes.

 

They were correct, but then the next problem popped up. When I tried to order a second drink, I was being denied until we went to muster. What! Oh well, I believe that no one should be allowed to drink until you have mustered, so Patti and I went back to the Horizons Restaurant to our Muster Station (D3). Yanti said that our drinks will be waiting for us when we got back!

 

 

So that was our B2B experience this time around. Stuff happens. We felt bad for Beth & Mark as it was their first experience. It will be better next time guys! Our girl Melissa welcomes us back on board…..

 

 

To be continued…….

[Jamman54]

1 hour ago, rwest898 said:

Jeff. If you are doing a btob and purchase alcohol, do you pick up that morning or at the end of the second cruise?

Hey Rhonda! We really don't have any first hand experience with this, and we have heard conflicting reports. I would think that them knowing you are doing a B2B would hold it until you complete the second cruise. 

[Jamman54]

7 minutes ago, MEUB1112 said:

When we did a B2B in Nola, the change over was so much fun. It was us and one other couple. So cool.

That would be cool. We're doing a B2B on the Valor next year, so hoping for an experience like yours. On this cruise I believe that there were 49 cabins doing the B2B. 

[MEUB1112]

It was so interesting to see the behind the scenes work of the crew.

[Jamman54]

We had another drink and then made our way up to Cucina for lunch…..

 

 

 

 

 

 

After lunch we went to hang out for a while at the Havana Area. Around 2pm we went back to the cabin to relax where we found that the Hotel Director, Donato Becce, had sent us champagne and fruit for our B2B……

 

 

 

 

Just before 4pm we went back to the Havana Area for the sail away. Which ship will be leaving first today?

 

 

It looks like it will be the Adventure OTS, as she is dropping her lines…..

 

 

To be continued…..

[WhiteOptima]

22 hours ago, rwest898 said:

Jeff. If you are doing a btob and purchase alcohol, do you pick up that morning or at the end of the second cruise?

Depends on the cruise ship and staff.  I picked it up the morning of debark and had for my 2nd cruise last April on Celebration.  Venezia they told the lady in front of me you are B2B so have to get after next cruise.

[Jamman54]

We watch as the Adventure OTS departs from Terminal 5…..

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In the distance we can see that the Mardi Gras has sailed as well. Darn. We were hoping that we would sail by her and maybe hear a horn battle…..

 

 

 

 

To be continued…..

[Jamman54]

We’re the next ship to sail. Because we had docked bow in this morning, the Vista will have to back out and spin around to head out to sea. We are now sailing past the Disney Fantasy and the Norwegian Jade…..

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here are a couple of Port Canaveral views…..

 

 

 

 

We’re now sailing past Gator’s Dockside and Rusty’s Seafood & Oyster Bar…..

 

 

 

 

To be continued……

[Jamman54]

We are now sailing past Fishlips……

 

 

 

Next we sail by Seafood Atlantic and Grill’s…..

 

 

 

Some fishing boats are coming back into port after a day of fishing…..

 

 

 

We pass the Victory Casino Boat…..

 

 

The Norwegian Jade is following us out to sea…..

 

 

We are passing Terminal 3 where the Mardi Gras docks…..

 

 

 

To be continued…..

[Jamman54]

We are now sailing past Jetty Park…..

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Pilot Boat is following us out to sea…..

 

 

It’s another beautiful beach day…..

 

 

 

Off in the distance you can see the Cocoa Beach Pier and the Riki Tiki Bar…..

 

 

To be continued…..

[Jamman54]

We are sailing past the jetty and the fishing pier……

 

 

 

 

 

 

We hung out in the Havana Area until we watched the sunset…..

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We made our way to the Lobby Bar and hung out with Yanti and Melissa. Around 9pm we made our way to the Lido Marketplace for a bite to eat. We finished off with some ice cream which we took back to the cabin. Goodnight!

 

Today’s Cheers count: Patti = 3, Jeff = 15. For the day (+6), for the cruise (+18). Patti and I also used our free drink coupons that we were given for our B2B. These did not count towards our Cheers numbers.

 

Coming up next: Another relaxing sea day, plus the Diamond Lunch, Deal or no Deal, and dinner at JiJi’s.

[Princess Cruiser27]

Another great read Jeff. 

[LatinaInTexas]

Finally had a chance to catch up, all 16 pages at once lol. Nothing like a good  read with excellent pictures to relax with. Have Vista booked for March next year and even though I have sailed her before all I can remember from that cruise was discovering JiJis.

Lucky I have you and Patti to refresh my memory, you two are awesome! 

Working at Target forever I first hand know how all the walking can take it's toll. Thankfully all I deal with is some  minor arthritis in my ankles and knees. Hoping all goes well with the upcoming surgery and that it helps Patti💜

[Knights on the Beach]

So many delays with the B2B process! I heard someone say the escalators went down in the terminal at one point but even besides that, it seemed a bit chaotic. Once back on the ship, we went straight to muster since it was right there in Reflections. But our new cards didn't work. Only one thing to do at that point - head straight to lobby bar and have drinks with Jeff & Patti! (My favorite part of the whole B2B process.)

 

 

Mark took our cards back to muster (they worked that time) and the crew member remembered that we were both there a short time before. 

 

 

As Jeff said earlier, embarkation started while we were walking back onto the ship so it didn't take long before the lobby bar was busy. I didn't know this lady but I sure know that shirt she's wearing - she said she bought it the night before! Ellie Mae's Tiki Bar is owned by a very good friend and is one of our favorite restaurants in Cape Canaveral. 🙂

 

 

We avoided the crowds on Lido and had lunch at Jiji.

 

 

Port Canaveral just announced there will be another cruise terminal on the other side of CT-5 (where Adventure of the Seas is docked). It's expected to be ready by the summer of 2026. It's currently a cargo berth and the SpaceX ships (Bob, Doug, Melissa) are frequently docked there.

 

 

The new parking garage going up in the left top corner of this picture, is now much bigger than when I took the picture on 4/20. It looks massive compared to the existing garages at CT-5 & CT-6. It's very much needed! Princess will also be porting here seasonally starting at the end of this year.

 

 

Back inside at the Havana Bar to enjoy some quiet.

 

 

Mark is always the one to spot ducks - I never see them. lol

 

 

Dinner that night was at the steakhouse and we drank the free wine - it wasn't terrible. Not going to lie, the bread was my favorite part.

 

 

 

 

Did someone eat half my cheese on the way to the table? LOL

 

 

 

We both had the prime ribeye - mine was OK, Mark's was less than tender.

 

 

 

My fault for the bad picture - I should have taken it before the chocolate was poured on it.  😂

 

 

 

Time to visit Melissa for some white peach sangria - so delicious.

 

 

 

Marty brought the welcome aboard show to the atrium. I guess this is what we missed last week when we were in bed by 9:00 almost every day. 😂

 

 

One last stop before bed.

 

 

Edited May 15 by Knights on the Beach

[Jamman54]

26 minutes ago, Knights on the Beach said:

So many delays with the B2B process! I heard someone say the escalators went down in the terminal at one point but even besides that, it seemed a bit chaotic. Once back on the ship, we went straight to muster since it was right there in Reflections. But our new cards didn't work. Only one thing to do at that point - head straight to lobby bar and have drinks with Jeff & Patti! (My favorite part of the whole B2B process.)

 

 

Mark took our cards back to muster (they worked that time) and the crew member remembered that we were both there a short time before. 

 

 

As Jeff said earlier, embarkation started while we were walking back onto the ship so it didn't take long before the lobby bar was busy. I didn't know this lady but I sure know that shirt she's wearing - she said she bought it the night before! Ellie Mae's Tiki Bar is owned by a very good friend and is one of our favorite restaurants in Cape Canaveral. 🙂

 

 

We avoided the crowds on Lido and had lunch at Jiji.

 

 

Port Canaveral just announced there will be another cruise terminal on the other side of CT-5 (where Adventure of the Seas is docked). It's expected to be ready by the summer of 2026. It's currently a cargo berth and the SpaceX ships (Bob, Doug, Melissa) are frequently docked there.

 

 

The new parking garage going up in the left top corner of this picture, is now much bigger than when I took the picture on 4/20. It looks massive compared to the existing garages at CT-5 & CT-6. It's very much needed! Princess will also be porting here seasonally starting at the end of this year.

 

 

Back inside at the Havana Bar to enjoy some quiet.

 

 

Mark is always the one to spot ducks - I never see them. lol

 

 

Dinner that night was at the steakhouse and we drank the free wine - it wasn't terrible. Not going to lie, the bread was my favorite part.

 

 

 

 

Did someone eat half my cheese on the way to the table? LOL

 

 

 

We both had the prime ribeye - mine was OK, Mark's was less than tender.

 

 

 

My fault for the bad picture - I should have taken it before the chocolate was poured on it.  😂

 

 

 

Time to visit Melissa for some white peach sangria - so delicious.

 

 

 

Marty brought the welcome aboard show to the atrium. I guess this is what we missed last week when we were in bed by 9:00 almost every day. 😂

 

 

One last stop before bed.

 

 

Well, we all made it through the B2B process so we're on for another 8 days! The party continues! 😁