Category: Cruise Planning

I usually write a full story type review, although this time since we vlogged the entire cruise I decided to do a shorter version with port days and finish with the positives and negatives of the Vista so to speak. So let’s start by talking about our little pre cruise stay in Miami. I will add lots of pic throughout the review…I know everyone loves pictures!!!

For the first time we decided to take a red eye flight from Phoenix to Miami the day before our cruise. We had a smooth quick check in at the airport and surprisingly managed to keep our bags under 50 lbs, weighing in at 46.6 and 50.0 thanks to our new handy luggage scale we recently purchased.

 

 

 

 

We flew on American Airlines. We were able to sleep part of the flight there. I will say this flight was extremely warm, to the point of being uncomfortable. Usually I tend to be on the cool side when flying but there was not a bit of air flow on this flight. But we made it in to Miami on time at 8:30am, and took the hotel shuttle to our hotel.  We were staying at the Hampton Inn Blue Lagoon by the airport.

 

 

 

 

Our plan was to get an early check in, walk around the area, pick up our wine to take on the ship the following day at the Publix grocery store across the street, have a nice dinner and relax with excitement to board the Carnival Vista in the morning.

 

 

 

 

We booked this hotel due to the location of the shopping area and stores within walking distance. Well it all started off great, until we decided to use Jamie’s debit card at a bank ATM to take some cash out and the machine kept his card. Thank goodness I still had my card. I was not putting mine in that machine… We then realized this was the one time we forgot to call the bank and tell them we would be on vacation. So lesson learned…..ALWAYS CALL THE BANK BEFORE TRAVELING!!!

It all worked out. We spoke to the bank and also called our credit card company as well, just in case we decided to use that card. So then we were able to use my card and we had our cruise cash in hand for the next morning.   After this whole bank escapade and our sleepless flight, we were exhausted and our pre cruise fun in Miami quickly turned into let’s get some fast food and head back to the hotel. We walked around the shopping area across the street from the hotel and bought our wine to take onboard the ship at Publix. There was actually a liquor store next door we saw later which had a better selection of wines (we will remember this for next time). Then we saw a Subway and grabbed some sandwiches and tool back to our hotel and turned in for an early evening.

The next morning, we were up early with excitement, went down for our free breakfast (which was great).

 

 

 

 

Then we called for a taxi (which was $28 + tip for the 3 of us), and were headed to the port and before we knew it, the Vista whale tail was in our view!!!

 

 

 

 

Embarkation was smooth. We walked in, they scanned our boarding passes, we went through security, and headed straight up to the priority lounge.

We were sitting in the priority lounge by 10am and waited about an hour and then we were walking onto the ship. We tried to get to the Red Frog Pub first, as this is a game we play with our son Matthew(they give you a free drink if you’re first), but no luck for us this time. Too many B2B cruisers and they were all in there already.

So we did a little exploring around the ship and ate some lunch and had a drink before the muster drill.

 

 

 

 

 

Our muster drill station was in the casino so it was kind of interesting sitting at a roulette table listening to the drill.

After the muster drill we got ready for our first dinner on the ship. Our wait staff was wonderful and service was great all week. We ended up with a nice window view table. We made it to dinner all but two nights during the week. Food was very good each night.

 

 

 

 

After dinner we explored the Havana area & the Imax & Thrill Theater of the ship before turning in for the night.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The first sea day we relaxed in the morning, had breakfast at the lido buffet and then explored the ship some more before attending our facebook meet & greet which was planned in the Red Frog Pub. There were a lot of people there and we also did a shot glass exchange. It was fun putting faces with all the people from the group. After the meet & greet we participated in a cabin crawl. We were just crawlers this time because there were already so many cabins to view.   If you would like to see our cabin crawl you can watch our VLOG #2 (1st sea day) on you tube. It was fun seeing all the different types of cabins on the Vista. We all had a lot of fun. After this it was time to get ready for our 1^st elegant night dinner.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dinner was wonderful, we had a great night and we’re looking forward to Grand Turk in the morning….

 

 

 

 

Grand Turk

Usually when we’ve been in Grand Turk we just go to the beach, visit Topher the famous dog a Jack’s Shack or hang out at Margaritaville, so this time we decided to try something different. We booked an ATV excursion directly through Zoom Zoom tours. It was only $79pp and no extra charge for our son which rode on the back of one of ours. We got off the ship and found our tour. It turned out we were the only ones so we had a private tour at an awesome price. The ATV’s were in good condition and they provided helmets. It was great. We road all around the island and our guide David was awesome and very informative. He explained a lot of the history of Grand Turk and showed us some great spots. We stopped at a local beer/food stand and tried some conch fritters for the 1^st time. It was really tasty. It was fun riding around and seeing wild donkeys roaming the streets.  Here’s a few pics from our day…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I would definitely recommend zoom zoom tours. Here is their website to book direct.   www.zoomzoomtourstci.com

After the excursion we headed back and stopped in at Margaritaville for a few minutes to check out some of the spring break fun going on, then back to the ship.

We had plans to ride the sky cars on the ship while everyone was in port. We were hoping for a short wait, although we still waited about 45 minutes. Much better than the usual 2 hours some people were talking about. We thought they were so much fun and worth the wait. Unfortunately, we only had the chance to ride them once due to the daily long waits.

 

 

 

 

After our ride on the sky cars we went back to our cabin to clean up and get ready for the interview I had scheduled with the director of Camp Ocean. I had made plans to interview the director prior to our cruise for my facebook group called “Cruising Carnival with Kids”. Here is the link for anyone interested in watching the interview.

I will say the Camp Ocean on the Carnival Vista is the best Camp of all the Carnival fleet. I can’t imagine a child not wanting to spend every moment there. The staff was very friendly and attentive to all the children. The toys, games, computers, activities were endless. They even had an outdoor play area. It was considerably larger than the other Camp Oceans I have seen.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Well we were then off to dinner, but not without taking a couple pre dinner photos along the way. After dinner Matthew went to Circle C and we were out for the evening to have some fun. We started at the casino, then got caught up watching the amazing violinist trio playing at the lobby bar. The “Allure Strings” were fantastic. We actually ended up watching them just about every night for a while. They were so talented.

 

 

 

 

We also stopped by the Java Café by the Ocean Plaza. Java Joe created us a coffee drink and artistically drew a flower on the top. It was so pretty I hated to drink it.

 

 

 

 

We checked out a few more areas around the ship including the Family Harbor area.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Then headed back to order some room service before turning in for the night.

La Romana

We have arrived in the luscious green La Romana.

 

 

 

 

After doing an upper deck video for our you tube channel we grabbed some breakfast, grabbed our backpacks and headed off the ship. We followed the crowd to the taxi area.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We had plans to take a taxi to the Dream’s resort for the day. We did a little bartering for a taxi. They wanted $15 per person but if we had more people it would be $10 per person, so we found 4 girls who were unsure of where they were going to come to the Dream’s with us. So we all climbed in the taxi van and were off to the Dream’s Resort for a day of all-inclusive fun.

 

 

 

 

 

It was about a 15 minute drive and our taxi driver was friendly and showed us a few sights along the way.  We arrived, walked in and purchased out day passes (which were $65pp for adults and $34 for children). The facilities were beautiful, 2 pools, one with swim up bar (seem to be more adults at that one). The other pool had a blow up rock climbing wall and volleyball net. There was a bar, pizza place and on the beach area a burger, hot dog and chicken BBQ area. There was also a cute little boat stand where they were serving fresh fruit. The staff were all pleasant and accommodating. We had a very relaxing enjoyable day. We had made arrangements with our taxi driver to pick us back up at a certain time so we all met back in the front later in the day for our ride back to the ship. Here’s a few pics from our day at the Dream’s…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We stopped for a few souvenirs before boarding the ship. By this time, it was time to get ready for dinner, so we went to our cabin to get ready. After another great dinner we hung out around the ship while Matthew enjoyed another night at Circle C. We also listened to a band called Plan A Duo. It was 2 guys playing guitars and singing. They were very talented and we really loved listening to them. I of course had to get a quick pic with them on their break.

Later in the evening we stopped by the Lido deck to check out the late night deck party.  We ran in to the girls we had shared a taxi with earlier in the day and everyone was having a great time.

 

 

 

 

Then it was time to turn in for the night!!!

Bonaire

Since we were not arriving in port until 1:30pm today, we planned to go to the main dining room for breakfast. Unfortunately, we arrived 5 minutes late and were turned away. We didn’t realize they closed at 10:00am. So we ended up eating at the lido buffet. Matthew was able to get his waffle so that was all that mattered and things were good. We explored more of the ship after breakfast while waiting to arrive in Bonaire. We checked out the shops onboard. The shops are set up quite different than other ships. There are many more shops and all separated between decks 4 and 5 circling over the atrium bar area on deck 3. The Vista has a unique set up.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It gets very mixed reviews. One of the biggest complaints is the missing glass elevators in the atrium. We really did miss those. The Atrium was nice but very plain and was missing the WOW when you walk through. There was the glass staircase which looked very elegant, although it seemed very dangerous to me. I was surprised no one has fallen on it yet after a few too many drinks…haha

 

 

 

 

We grabbed some lunch before arriving in Bonaire.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Getting off the ship in Bonaire went smooth. We had booked a glass bottom boat excursion through Carnival and turned out to be good. Since Bonaire is known as being a diver’s paradise, we wanted to see some of the underwater, but since Matthew doesn’t snorkel we thought we would check it out thought the glass on the boat. Our tour guide was great. He was very informative and shared a lot about Bonaire. We were able to get a lot of pics, including under water with our go pro.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After the tour we walked around. Stopped at a small flee market type place, bought a couple local souvenirs.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Then we headed to  Rumba’s Café for a drink and some appetizers. We were also able to access their free WIFI. The food and drinks were tasty and we had an awesome view of the water. We had 2 beers, a margarita, a coke, calamari and a slice of pizza for $36. Not bad considering the Caribbean tends to be a little pricey. We were actually in port until 10:30 in the evening but we decided to get back on the ship for dinner.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The dining room was fairly empty this evening since we were still in port.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We decided to go to the casino after dinner. Usually when in port the casino is closed but when we were in Bonaire the casino was open in the evening. Tonight was my lucky night in the casino. I won a few spins on the wheel of fortune slot. So that ended my night in a happy place!!!

 

 

 

 

Goodbye Bonaire…..

 

 

 

 

Aruba

We arrived in Aruba and it had really changed over the years. We were there about 12 years ago and looked very different. We planned to do the Kukoo Kunuko excursion through Carnival. We had done it several years ago before our son was with us and thought he would enjoy this one. It had changed over the years as well. Much shorter tour now, but we still enjoyed it. We say some sights and went to the beach. It is a big red party type bus and you can shake the maracas to the music as you are driving around. It was well worth the inexpensive price. Our guide was a lot of fun.  Here’s a few pics from our day…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Jamie got a little too much sun and was not feeling well so Matthew and I went to the lido buffet for dinner than off to the new show FLICKS in the theater. Matthew was able to score us some front row seats. It was a great show, very different from what I’ve seen in the past.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After the show Matthew talked me into some late night fun and games and mini golf at the sports square before heading off to bed.

 

 

 

 

Sea Day

We decided to sleep in today and then go to the main dining room for sea day brunch. It was St. Patrick’s Day so we got our St. Patty’s Day shirts on and headed to brunch. We had our usual sea day brunch favorites.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After breakfast we wandered around the ship for awhile, went by the arcade, then Matthew headed to Circle C and since the weather was not very good, we hung out inside the ship and played some trivia, etc…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here are a few pics pf Club O2 as well….

 

 

 

 

We had the amazing Pig & Anchor for lunch. We ate so much BBQ that we felt stuffed and since it started raining we decided to take an afternoon nap.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tonight was the 2^nd elegant night and also St Patrick’s day, so I was excited to have an excuse to wear a green dress I have had. We took some pics and enjoyed another wonderful dinner.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After dinner we went to the America Rocks show which was another one of Carnival’s newer shows and was very good.

 

 

 

 

Final Sea Day

We were signed up for the early Dr. Seuss breakfast, which has become tradition with us. It was very good as usual. Even though Matthew is getting older, we all still enjoy it. The weather was cloudy and rainy again today, so no laying in the sun.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It was all indoors again today. We later ate lunch in Cucina del Capitano.  It was a little bit of a wait, but very good as usual.

 

 

 

 

In the afternoon we went to the diamond/platinum pas guest party and Matthew won the guess the ships award once again. That boy really knows his ships!!!

 

 

 

 

The cruise director, Mike Pack also took our go pro and decided to add some fun memories to our videos….It was a lot of fun. I actually started not feeling so well after the party and we opted to miss the last night’s dinner in the main dining room. This was a first for us, missing dinner on the last night.

We later depressingly packed up all of our belongings to get ready to disembark the following morning.

 

Debarkation

 

 

 

 

Back in Miami….

This was probably the fastest and smoothest debarkation we have ever had in 19 cruises. We did self assist and walked right off. Going through customs took less than one minute. We had filled out the paperwork Carnival gave us but the custom’s person told us they don’t use it anymore. He just looked at our passports and that was it. Very interesting.

We grabbed a taxi and headed to the Hilton Blue Lagoon by the airport for our one night post cruise stay.

We arrived at the Hilton and had requested an early check in. we had to wait about an hour but were able to enjoy the facilities. The Hilton was very nice, clean, and had some nice areas outside where you could even watch planes take off and land. We just relaxed for the day, grabbed some food from the bar area in the evening and just talked about our cruise and looking forward to the next one. We went to sleep early because we had to be up by 4am to catch a shuttle to the airport for our extremely early flight home.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Our flight home was smooth and felt quick.

With the time change we were home and in our house by 10am. Our dog Lucy was excited to see us and now the planning for the next cruise which is so close.

We will be heading on the Carnival Legend to Alaska on May 23^rd on the John Heald’s bloggers cruise with family and friends. It is sure to be a good time.

The Vista is an amazing ship.  It’s amenities are endless.  The IMAX, Thrill Theater, Waterworks water park, Serenity deck, the Cabana area, and much more are all wonderful.  You can not help but have the time of your life.  I will just make a few comments of some things that may need some rethinking.  One thing is the seating in the main lounge.  The seats angle down towards the back, in fact they almost seem like they go down, so you can’t see over the seats in front of you.  So you need to get there early and sit up front to see.  Also there are the silver poles all over and takes away from your view as well.  Another minor thing is the missing glass elevators in the Atrium.  The Atrium feels very plain and the WOW factor is definitely gone.  I say bring back the glass elevators.  Also the lay out felt a bit unorganized. It didn’t have a nice flow to it, and the casino felt crowded and needed more filtering for the smoke.  Would I go on the Vista again???  Of course I would.  Even with those minor imperfections, she is still an amazing ship!!!

A few recap pics from our week…..