Carnival Vista Review
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This was my 29th Carnival cruise. If I was blindfolded and placed on the ship, I would not have been able to recognize it as a Carnival ship by the interior decor, which was pleasing and tasteful. But when I saw the plastic trees on Lido, I could guess Carnival correctly.
I liked the dual atria, with its conical, changing vortex of color. The older Carnival atrium are much taller or higher than those on the Vista, which extend just one or two decks each.
The Vista is much larger than any other Carnival ship and it sailed very smoothly, despite emails from Carnival about "propulsion issues". We usually cruised between 19 and 20 knots on the long hauls and 16 or 17 between ports.
Cabin Review
Balcony
Seemed a tiny bit smaller than the usual Carnival balcony. Service was great.
Port Reviews
Grand Turk
Went down the beach thinking of going to Jack's Shack, but saw it was already crowded. Stopped at a different vendor who had padded loungers - Shark Reef Club, I think. Not as good a lunch as Jack's, but a quieter, calmer experience.
Aruba
Used the local bus to go to Eagle Beach, like many other cruisers. There was a large rainstorm in Aruba 2 days earlier, and they received their usual annual rainfall in just 1 day! Some large waves at the beach. Had I known, I would have gotten off the bus earlier, perhaps at Druiff Beach, where the Tamarjin Hotel is located. Waves were much calmer there.
St. Maarten
With 6 ships in port and a 20,000 pax load, I did not want to go far from the port, so just took the water taxi over to Phillipsburgh and moseyed around there for a few hours, then back to the ship.
Some folks who went to Orient Beach talked to us about the awful traffic on their way back, took over an hour and a half to return, almost missing the ship.