Carnival Vista Review
Carnival Vista Mediterranean Cruise 5/14/16
Rating by category
Additional details
It was exciting to be a part of a new ship with a new itinerary for us. The ship is lovely and has so many activities. One of us rode the skybike and did the climbing track. We all played miniature golf. We read books from the library, we ate in the steakhouse. Actually, in a 10 day cruise we still did not have time to eat in all the locations! We really did have a wonderful time.
The Vista is a very large ship with a capacity of over 3900 passengers. I think our sailing, the second sailing for this new ship, was totally booked. So, because of the volume of passengers, there were lines. There were long lines at embarkation. There were long lines at the buffets. The elevators were always crowded. The excursions included LOTS of people. The lines at the Must See destinations were very long. It was raining at one of our destinations, and standing in line, in the pouring rain, with hundreds of travelers from several different ships was a bit of a challenge. (Translated, that means pushing and shoving and people trying to cut in line because they all have to be back at the ship at the same time......) That was pretty frustrating....but totally not related to the services Carnival provided...
We used the formal dining and our wait staff was very attentive. The food was good and always there are many choices. We ate in the steakhouse one night and the service was phenomenal. We are pretty casual travelers and the formal service was simply amazing. The food was memorable. I think I will make the photo of my cheesecake the screensaver on my phone!!!!
Cabin Review
Premium Balcony
Our first Balcony cabin. Nice, fairly spacious, had everything we needed. Our steward was always on top of things. Beautiful towel animals. Cabins airtight and airconditioned. Our neighbors seemed to slamming the doors A LOT. Kindof irritating. Would stay in that cabin again......
Port Reviews
Barcelona
We arrived in Barcelona the night before embarkation. We were unable to visit the inside of the Sagrada Familia because we didn't have tickets and it was sold out. So be sure to get your tickets online before you go!!!! Loved the open market on the Rambla. So much gorgeous food and wine!! No time to visit the Picasso Museo. (and we DID have tickets!!). Just wish we had more time. Plan to spend a day here, it is great!!
Florence (Livorno)
Took a port terminal shuttle to the train station and took the train to Pisa and Lucca. Had no trouble managing the train but the time constraints made us a little nervous. HOWEVER, I would do it just the same. Pisa, the city, is so beautiful it was nice to just ramble through the streets. Lucca, our next train stop, was one of my favorite experiences. It is beautiful, old, photogenic and relaxed. I could've stayed there for a month!!
Rome (Civitavecchia)
This was my second visit to Rome. I spent a week there a few years ago. This time we were able to spend our time visiting Capitoline Hill. All ruins are fascinating to me and this was a fun day. We were able to take the train easily and did a hop-on hop-off tour that worked well for us. (there are several choices....I think they are pretty equal.....) The hop on tour was 20-25 euros and our train trip was less than 10 euros. Not enough time, though. This was a good budget choice. We used Rick Steve's Guidebook for all our ports. It is an EXCELLENT source of information.