It was our first Trans Atlantic cruise and we were the fourth cruise itinerary on the Horizon. Everything was wonderful. The ship is beautiful and we found it easy to navigate. The Room Stewards and Wait Staff were great - could not have done more for us. Food was excellent in the Dining Room and on Lido. Deck. In the evenings on Lido the choices were outstanding - we typically do not eat on Lido in the evenings but did so on this longer cruise. Guys Pig and Anchor food also great - no charge at lunch time although only open for lunch on Sea Days so a really good time to go is your first day upon Embarkation. Pizza was great - they will make variations of the four listings that are on the wall. Oh yes, Gelato is served daily on Lido at lunchtime - two different choices offered. We were on Deck 11 Cabin 11266 which for us was the perfect location - it is an Inside Cabin - not Spa even though Spa Cabins are further down the hall - with easy access to Lido Deck and Gym and Serenity Deck and elevators and really everything - we loved it - we were in a similar Cabin location on Vista a year ago. The evening entertainment was typical Carnival entertainment - no complaints - but similar to what we have seen in the past. The music/musician offerings throughout the ship were excellent - I would suggest there was something for everyone's taste. We had a really wonderful cruise - no hiccups for us - would not hesitate to cruise again on the Horizon. Read Less

This was our first time to go to Europe and to sail across the Atlantic. We really enjoyed all the ports in Europe and then the sea days on the ship. There is so much to do and loved all the food options available on this new ship. The Cruise Director, Mike Pack was the best cruise director that we have ever sailed with and we have been cruising since 1990. The entire crew was so helpful and this was one of the best cruises we have had, Along with the 4 ports we stopped at in Europe, we also visited Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada and this was a great experience. We then sailed into New York Harbor and we docked next to the Intrepid so that was exciting. We sailed right by the Statue of Liberty as we came into New York and that is an experience that we will never forget. This cruise ranks as one of the best that we have ever sailed on Read Less

We wanted to finally get to the Med and see Italy. This seemed a perfect trip to celebrate our Anniversary. We booked the 10 day out of Barcelona strictly for the ports we could get to. And boy were we not disappointed! The ship itself with the new interior designs were contemporary and really a step up from the "vegas" carpeting of the other ships we had been on. We had a Deluxe OV cabin with the 2 bathrooms which was really helpful for ease of getting ready at the same time. Our cabin steward was very friendly and helpful. All the staff were, I can;t remember talking to anyone that didn't have a smile or say hello. Embarkation was super easy, we had done a tour in the AM in Barcelona and didn't check in til shortly after 2 pm and basically walked on. Being able to buy alcohol in the duty free and take it onboard was a huge bonus, glad we knew that piece of info before hand for European sailings and saved some VAT. Ports were Livorno, Civitavecchia, Amalfi Coast, Dubrovnik, Corfu and Messina. Would totally go back to Amalfi and Taoromina in Messina in a heartbeat! We used 2 carnival tours which were well organized and ran on time. We did hear that there was a Carnival tour back late in Rome- story was they had to wait and hour and a half on 4 people who had no common courtesy to return to the meeting point on time :( 2 ports we just played it by ear and picked up Ho-Ho busses or wandered on foot. Dubrovik was amazing to wander in! Walked the walls, took the cable car, found a cliff bar! 2 tours we had booked from a fb posting thru a "TA". The tour company that did the driving and was the guide were awesome- word of advise if booking a fb tour, check into the organizer, don't get ripped off. Some will tell you they aren't profiting from booking a group, but ask questions, get the details, do the research on private tours if you don't book thru the cruiseline. If I was to do it again Ide book private directly, or use a toursharing group that books directly, It was disheartening and a bit of a scammed feeling to find out that even tho I was charged 20 or 25 Euros more when you add up 40 people for 6 ports....the "TA" basically profited enough to sail and tour for free. If they are upfront that they upcharge no problem, but don't scam people. Food in the MDR was really good, we caught both elegant nights, we also used the Steakhouse and Cucina (we both liked Cucina more than the steakhouse). Guys pig and anchor was great, live music and great food, try the trashcan nachos! Buffet was laid out differently in squares you could go right around instead of up against the wall. We found that this layout was easier to navigate and not as busy, but might have been just timing of when we went. Lots of options on the Buffet and the new cake selection instead of the old boring desserts was a great change. CD Mike Pack is a fireball LOL and so much fun. Shows were good, we didn't care for the music in the Celsetrial Strings show but that was personal opinion. The Soulbound show was fantastic. Ide definitely sail Horizon again, even with 10 days onboard we didn't have enough time to try out everything on the ship! Read Less

I waited so long to go on cruise in Europe, and finally I made it on the newest ship of Carnival line!! yaay and absolutely i had so much fun. we were three me, husband our baby (2 years old) we all were happy on this ship the crews are Amazing they are working very hard all the time to make our experience wonderful. i loved the crew of camp ocean they were very nice to my child and give me chance to had free time with my husband the entertainment was absolutely amazing. and there is thing for every one our room located in family harbor which i love it! the food was good, there were many choices every day (fish- meat- chicken-vegetarian) . it's not the best but most of the time it was was Delicious The most two thing I liked about my cruise were: the ship itself and the ports! basically I have cross many city from my wish list! we visit Rome- Naples- Florence- Pisa-Dubrovnik- Corfu - Barcelona Read Less

Prior to embarcation, we stayed 3 days n Barcelona, the departing city, and thoroughly enjoyed the entire city. Embarcation n Europe is a dream, compared to any US port. Just seemed to have ample staff directing everyone as to wat was needed n hand and where to proceed to. This kept the short lines moving along quickly. The carnival staff at terminal were helpful and efficient. We were able to board the ship ahead of schedule. And u are allowed to carry on as many bottles of alcohol as you'd like. That holds true at all the European ports as well. So needless to say, my bar tab was mighty little this cruise, which was a plus. DisembarkationbEgan at 7am was completely finished by 9am. The only waiting was for more taxis to arrive back at the terminal. It was about a 20 min ride to the airport. Overall impression of the ship was terrific. Italy was a let down; was crowded beyond belief, felt like mice n a maze, was filthy, graffete everywhere, pick pockets on every corner. Store owners were less than polite to americans. NO restrooms!! Prices were within reason tho. Crew members on board were top notch, service and food n dining room was fair. Shore excursions were expensive and WAY TOO LONG, 8-10 hrs. Each port. Not worth the time or money. Could have easily done them on r own or n small groups w private guide. Read Less

i am just back from Carnival Horizon ship. this is my fourth cruise with Carnival and the ship is amazing. the atmosphere was so happy and cool, the service all over the ship was fantastic, food was great in the buffet as well as in the beautiful dining room. also recommnded to eat at Bonsai, we had a great time there and definitely go to the pig & anchor pub which offers 4 kinds of homemade draft beers. the rooms are large and bright, the casino was big and very active and fun was all over including the shows and the comdian which i highly recommend to go at least one night. the hamburgers are big wow!! the ice cream is unforgettable ... i didn't sail with kids but i saw so many features that they will love! skyride, waterslides, video games, IMAX and many more. well done to Carnival! it's definitely best value for money !!! Read Less

This ship and it’s crew are fantastic. We could fault nothing on our cruise. We stayed in the Havana area, we had 3 cabins in total, all were great, plenty of room on the 2 inside cabins, my grown up kids have always refused a inside cabin since trying one on NCL and feeling like being inside a prison, however they never had that feelin* on this ship, I think it’s because you have the fab Havana area a few minutes walk where you can spend your time sunning, hot tub or in the pool. Food. We ate at all the restaurants and was really blown away by Guys Smokehouse, food brilliant and the servers where fantastic, the Steakhouse was a slight let down if I was honest. Asian restaurant was perfect and we throughly enjoyed it. This ship has so much choice for eating you can never get bored like on other major cruise companies. Entertainment. One of the things we live about Carnival is the vibe across the ship, they have different music all over the ship, it really makes a change from the piano bars they have everywhere on our old favourite cruise line. The shows were very good as was the magician from UK. Party nights were brilliant with almost everyone joining in. Imax theatre was great as was movies under the stars. Overall the cabin crew were near perfect p, happy smiling faces that take enjoyment when greeting you. Cabin cleaner Laura went beyond her job to make sure we were taken care of Read Less

This ship was beautiful. Well laid out and easy to access all areas. The dining choices were amazing and endless. Ship employees were very happy and helpful. There was so much available to do on this ship, it was impossible to do it all. I particularly loved the Bingo games, comedy shows, iMax theatre, and the many pools and sun decks. There was entertainment for all ages. Very fun! The ports of call were extraordinary and the excursions were well planned and laid out. Getting on and off the ship was a breeze. No long lines. Each day was a new adventure. The cruise director had awesome daily activities planned out that were easy to access on my Carnival Hub app. Staying informed and connected was easy. I would have loved to stay on this ship for a month! I would highly recommend this ship to all. It was the perfect choice for our first cruise. Read Less

We booked this cruise on the first day bookings were opened. Talk about anticipation, plus being able to see photos of the ship as it was being built in Italy. Embarkation was a snap. Quick and painless - probably the best experience that we have had yet. (Even though we had to drag our luggage through a protest in the port area of Barcelona, but that's not Carnival's fault.. and that is a whole other story) Carnival DID warn us via email that there was a major protest scheduled right at the same time that we were supposed to be boarding... From the minute we set foot inside the door of the port, to when we got on the ship was maybe 15 minutes, if you subtract the time that we had spent in the gift shop inside of the port. (HINT there was a liquor store inside the port, with fair prices. Carnival DOES let you bring liquor onboard for the Barcelona departures) The ship was gorgeous. Absolutely breathtaking.. Our cabin, as expected, looked like new.. LOL (remember, this was only the second sailing ever for this ship) We did NOT see any of the shows, but, from what our dinner table mates told us, they were easily the best shows that they had ever seen on a ship, period. So, I'll go with that! The food was great, easily the best that I have had on any Carnival, or RCCL ship. Our dining room service was horrible on the first night, and halfway through dinner on the second night, I got up and spoke with Ken, the Maitre D. He immediately changed our waiter out for the Senior Headwaiter, and from that point on the table service was by far the best we have had on a cruise to date. The digital Pixels gallery is a vast improvement over the old system... No more waste! And, its nice to not have to hunt for your photos. Of course, the photos are just too expensive, but that's life. At least you can buy just the digital image so that you can have them printed at Walgreen's for $3 each, instead of $15-20 on the ship. We DO have an issue with the VAT tax on the onboard shop purchases, it appears that everyone on the ship is being double taxed on the EU itineraries. I am working with Starboard (company that runs the fun shops) to try to resolve this - updates to follow Cruise director (Mike Pack) was great as always... he did a great job! Plus, it was nice to meet John Heald as well (as he was on our cruise.. nice guy) The bottom line. This was an awesome cruise. Sure, there were some minor snags, like the shuttle issues in Cagliardi, but that's a moot point, since Carnival replaced that port after our cruise. Food was great, and overall the service was the best we have seen on Carnival. I'm considering booking a Caribbean cruise on this ship when it comes to Miami.. I definitely wouldn't mind another trip on the Horizon! Read Less

We didn't think Carnival could top the Vista, we had an incredible cruise on her back in 2016 so kinda expected the same experience on Horizon. How wrong we were, they have really pulled out all of the stops and made Horizon even better!!! The cabins are spacious, bright with plenty of storage and a wonderful large TV with various different TV Channels, Movies, weather, itinerary information... The crew were as always, FAMILY - no better feeling than being able to hug it out with your cabin steward when you board, knowing it's just going to be a great week and the positivity flowing around the ship really had a presence. Food was divine, Carnival offer superb value for money including various different styles of cuisine and food outlets which are complimentary (other cruise lines would charge you for these!). Guys burgers - YES YES YES!! Buffet was superb with an abundance of choice, fresh gelato every day on the lido, I mean - HELLO!? FRESH GELATO!? Entertainment was superb and Mike Pack the CD was just a part of the ships family as everyone else. The ship was spotless, everything had been thought of, anything that could have been wrong on the Vista was taken, rectified and then amplified 100x better! Thank you Carnival Cruise Line for a superb holiday, WE WILL BE BACK. Read Less

We are just off the beautiful Carnival Horizon after a terrific 7 day Western Mediterranean cruise. About us: family of 4: 2 adults, 2 kids aged 11 and 8. This is our second ever cruise. Our first experience was the Disney Magic in 2015. We are vegetarian, so if you are a carnivore looking for food reviews I’m sorry, this will disappoint you. Embarkation at Barcelona was smooth and seamless. There were public protests expected in the city on embarkation day, so we were warned to give ourselves extra time to get to the port. This may have influenced how they ran embarkation: on registeration we were given a number card and people boarded by number group. We had preregistered for an 11:30 embarkation time and we were onboard before that time. We headed to the Lido for lunch and were among the first to eat lunch, then hit the ship’s amenities. We were in room 1384, a deluxe ocean view room with bunk beds. It was a great room with enough room for the four of us and a lovely large window with a wide sill. The kids loved piling pillows up and sitting in the window reading or watching docking and the activity on the docks or in the harbours. It was very quiet, except that we could hear the engine as a constant quiet purr in the background. The cabin had lots of storage. Although we are light packers (2 suitcases for all four of us), we did have both warmer and cooler weather clothing as the spring forecasts were variable, and we started and ended our trip in Montréal. All of our stuff unpacked into about half of the storage space. There were 2 bathrooms - one with a toilet, shower and sink, the other with a shower/bath and sink. Both bathrooms had a bit of counter space and small shelves for storage. Each had a retractable clothesline which was hand for drying bathing suits. Remember to bring some clothespins. The queen bed was very comfortable, and the kids slept well on the bunks, although personally I found the bunk mattresses a bit hard. We asked for room service only once a day, so the bunks stayed out: I had expected them to be put away during the day, but I guess we had to request this. The kids got along better having separate places to flake out in, so we didn’t bother. The ship was beautiful! There are lots of decks and places for people to hang out, so it was not apparent that we were four among 4299 guests. The pool areas obviously get crowded on sunny warm afternoon. The onboard rides and activities were terrific: Sky Ride and the Sky Course obstacle course were lots of fun. We did them on several days, usually just as they opened for the day so the wait was minimal. Please note that closed toed shoes are required - for the first few days lots of people had to return to their cabins to change their shoes. I would have loved it if these rides had longer open hours. My kids loved the mini putt, and we all had fun with the football/soccer pool game. The water slides were a lot of fun, with short to no waits at all - it helped that as Canadians the cooler Mediterranean spring weather was not a deterrent for us to get wet. We did any time dining and never waited for a table. We did not always get the same serving staff, although on the second day we were asked if we cared where we sat, so I presume that requesting the same table/area/wait staff can be accommodated, possibly leading to a wait for a table. Requesting a table through the app was not yet available on our cruise, we had to go to deck 5 in person. Food was plentiful and adequate. Vegetarian choices were a bit slim, but not hard to find. We preferred sit down restaurant service for breakfast and dinner as the food was significantly better than at the buffet. We did not eat at any of the extra-cost specialty restaurants (although I am sure their vegetarian options were delicious, the prices were not a bargain considering the value of our Canadian dollar at the time of our cruise). The 24 hour pizza was very good. I would have liked to see vegetarian options at the Blue Iguana (where they offered sides only, so a cold burrito), and the Mongolian Wok. The “featured vegetarian” item on evening menus was always excellent, consisting of 3 Indian curries with sides, all of which varied each day. We enjoyed the Carnival melting chocolate cake every day. Other dessert options were less satisfying: the buffet offered a big selection of cakes every day, but we found there was way too much icing for the amount of cake and were usually disappointed. The kids took great advantage of the 24 hour soft serve ice cream station. We did not see much of the onboard entertainment as we chose this cruise for the destinations and had busy days exploring Italy. We did enjoy the Dive-in movies most nights. Likewise the kids did not do the kids’ clubs. We did tours in Naples and Rome through private tour operators and toured Cagliari and Livorno on our own. I can provide details if anyone wants, but as these are not related to Carnival I will skip them for now. Disembarkation in Barcelona was very smooth. We chose to carry our own luggage off the ship, disembarking around 7:30 am after having breakfast in the Meridian restaurant and encountered no delays. There were lots of taxis waiting and we got to the airport quickly. And now the less-happy stuff: cigarette smoke. We’re from Canada where it is entirely possible as a non-smoker to go through a day or week without ever encountering smoke. Our past cruising experience was with Disney which has no casino, and restricts smoking to limited areas. On board the Horizon smoke was very evident: out on deck we were never far away from a smoking zone. By day 2 the middle stairs and elevators were smelly from the Casino and as the cruise went on the smell extended upwards to the top deck. For future cruises I will avoid rooms located near the casino stairs. People were complaining about “unfriendly and grumpy” staff on board. I found everyone to be quite friendly, but in a European way: competent and efficient, but not engaging in small chat. I learned quickly to ask for whatever I wanted when I ordered, because not all waiters will offer (for eg ketchup for French fries, or jam for toast). We had no issues with the elevators. The new system requires you to tap your destination floor when calling the elevator. You are told which elevator will get you there. There was confusion regarding how many times to tap the screen - some people were saying you tap once for every member in your party. We only ever tapped once, and only once did an elevator arrive that was too full to accommodate us. Our waits were very reasonable. That said we did take the stairs whenever possible. Overall it was a fantastic holiday and I would very happily sail on the Carnival Horizon again. Read Less

I always wanted to try the inaugural sailing. I chose Carnival Horizon over Symphony of the Seas due to the itinerary. It turned out to be an amazing cruise. I and my sister had a fantastic time. We loved a few of the Port of Calls such as Dubrovnik, Capri, Amalfi Coast, Taormina(Sicily) and Florence. The whole crew of the ship whether they were the cabin staffs, dining staffs or the other services staffs, whenever you encountered each of them, they were genuine friendly, courteous and helpful. Our cabin was kept immaculate by the room steward, Pedro and his crew. The dining staffs - Piotr and Katrina and another crew member I cannot recalled his name were kind and wonderful and provided such an impeccable services which kept us coming back every single night of the entire cruise. Due to their attentive services, we even forgo our Specialty dining. Food in the Fine Dining Restaurant were superb great. Entertainment director, Mike and his crew were great and entertainment were good. The whole ship were kept very clean at all time even with 4000 or more passengers onboard. I would definitely recommend this ship. Overall, it was excellent and amazing cruise with Carnival. The only downside was Barcelona, we encountered two groups of pickpocketers whom are very bold and aggressive. Read Less

We choose to travel on Horizon for many reasons, firstly the sailing dates suited us very nicely and also it was a maiden voyage of Horizon. We came to know many fantastic staff on board during our cruise, Ms. Erbu from Turkey who was very nice, caring and helpful to us, , Ms Melina from Romania, Felix- from Peru, Vicktor from Hungry, David from Peru, Nikolina from Bosnia, Milutia from Bosnia , Frank who kept our rooms clean and tidy, There were many more staff that we had met and they made our our trip a great and memorial one. You had a great cruise director Mike. He made all the shows great and enjoyable for everyone. They was many varieties of food on board, We, both have highly recommended cruising to many of our friends. The shows every night was fabulous. we look forward to our next cruise on Carnival. Read Less

Just completed our sailing on the Vista TransAtlantic cruise. I would like to start by saying we had a terrific time. This cruise was absolutely fabulous and special and It had everything to do with the crew and the reason we return to Carnival cruise after cruise. From the Captain and all his officers brilliant handling of the ship during difficult weather while we headed to the Azores to the staff who delivered our food and beverages who continue to deliver with a cheerful smile and awesome professional service. Regarding the Vista ship on the plus side the Havana Bar area, The Sky Ride, the Lobster Shack, and the amazing IMAX theater really are great additions and we look forward to using them again on our next Vista cruise. The Vista does have some downsides however. This main theater is the worst we have ever experienced including the Sunshine which at least has decent site lines from the balcony. Carnival took a bad design from the Sunshine and made it worse. The Ocean Plaza area is nice but frankly this area is way overused especially in the morning. The breakfast area really should be used just for a continental breakfast. Using this for a hot breakfast interferes with everything else they are trying to do here from Crafts to Trivia to Bingo and seriously Yoga should not be held there. It really makes it uncomfortable for the participants and the people eating. I really believe they should use the Limelight lounge for many of the activities. On this cruise the Arts and Crafts was extremely popular and when people are trying to eat at the same time it made it nearly impossible. ALL in All though another great cruise on Carnival Cruise Lines. Read Less

Not a big fan of Carnival but was blown away with this recent Transatlantic : Barcelona to NY cruise on Carnival Vista. Been on 108 cruises and lately very disappointed with the poorer production and entertainment evening shows. Not this one! Production shows were fabulous and other entertainment was very good. Excellent water park; all crew extremely friendly; even with 4000 passengers and not hot sunny weather so more than normal people inside; never felt crowded inside ; extremely clean; fabulous stabilizers on one rough day; food as good as other cruise lines these days. Would certainly go on Vista again. Negatives: inside cabins only had one closet; small sewage smell on deck 3 but they made it up to us in drink coupons; never saw or did any officers attend meet and great; no lectures on computers, ipads, etc. There were so many platinum people on this cruise; embarkation for those people was terrible I was told; spa packages to use steam room was very expensive; no cover pool which would have been nice on Transatlantic Read Less

The Carnival Vista is a beautiful ship. Serenity area was most comfortable and relaxing. Enjoyed the Morning Show with Matt & Cookie each sea day. My husband and I thoroughly enjoyed Cookie's enthusiasm and personality. He assisted the cruise director and was a major contribution to onboard entertainment. He has a natural gift for being on-stage - he possesses self-confidence and has an incredible sense of humor. Excellent dancer and entertainer. He is very quick to respond with some off-the-wall humor. His quick thinking and reactions are priceless! Kudos to Carnival for hiring such a motivated individual who tries to ensure all passengers are enjoying their well-deserved vacations and holidays. Cookie is an asset to Carnival Cruise Line!!! Not sure I'd recommend the same Liquid Lounge seating arrangement to be designed for the Carnival Horizon. Hopefully, the contractors can create something different to allow more passengers clear visibility to view the stage area. Enjoyed the music played throughout the decks; and, would welcome more "oldies" and rock-n-roll - especially in the Marketplace on Lido Deck 10. Enjoyed the selection of the fresh salad bar - especially when they offered multiple varieties of vegetables. Many thanks to the buffet servers who put the extra effort into preparing all those fresh-cut delicious items; and, ensuring all the dishes were kept filled. Thank you Carnival was a wonderful journey. See you soon!!! Read Less

I chose this TA cruise, even though I hadn't really like the experience 8 years ago, because of the ports, disembarkation port & the fact that it was a new ship with lots to do on the sea days. There was also a very large & fun roll call group with lots of activities planned.The embarkation in Barcelona went well, didn't have to wait long to board the ship. I was surprised that my luggage was waiting for me when I got to my cabin! That was a 1st, even faster than when I'd had FTTF. With so many restaurants to try on this ship I decided on Cucina for lunch the first day & was not disappointed. The food was hot, tasty & free. During the 13 days I tried most of the choices for lunch & enjoyed them all. The homemade ice cream at the Sweet Spot on Lido at lunch was a nice addition to the desserts. The lobster rolls (2) with fries for $12 at the Seafood Shack were very yummy.. Of course Guy's Burgers & his new Pig & Anchor were really good. I also was lucky enough to do the Chef's Table which was fabulous & a nightly occurrence. If you like gourmet food, special attention & wine, do this for a great experience. It's worth the money. I had been waitlisted for 1st seating dinner & was able to get that once onboard by asking Ken Byrne, the singing Maitre d'. Travelling solo I was happy to be seated at a large table with other solo cruisers. Our wait staff were very good, attentive & friendly. Dinner did sometimes drag on but I was able to make the 7:30 show a few times. I found the food to be good except the desserts didn't really appeal to me (not a melting cake lover as it's too rich for me) so I sometimes ordered a banana split from the children's menu. Oh, talking about children I went to the Dr Seuss breakfast which btw had 6 adults at our table, all who really enjoyed it. There weren't many children on the TA but probably most of them were there. The entertainment on the cruise was very good. Matt, the CD & his team of Sue, MarkQ & Cookie were very lively & fun. John Heald was also on this sailing & did a couple of different shows. There was also a guest speaker who spoke on several interesting topics. The comedy shows were mostly good & well attended. Don't worry if the line extends to the casino, you'll still find a seat. Some of the seating & sight lines aren't the best, similar to Sunshine I believe they said. I loved the decor of the ship, found it quite like Breeze. I loved the changing light fixture displays at the atrium & casino bars. Another thing I really liked was the radio station channel on the tv which had beautiful scenes, sometimes like having your own aquarium in the cabin. There were a lot of choices for movies, the large screen outside by the pool, the Thrill Theatre, IMAX & quite good movies on the tv, some for free, others for a small fee. My cabin, an inside, was in a good location & had a great team looking after me, thanks Duncan & Rhea. They were very friendly, helpful & made towel animals nightly. One thing I was looking forward to but didn't see, was the towel animals around the pool, maybe I missed it or perhaps they didn't have it. If there was a chocolate extravaganza I also missed it. The ports were the major attraction for me on this itinerary but I did enjoy the sea days, doing things with the Cruise Critic roll call people & trying to do other things around the ship. We did have a Meet & Mingle at a reasonable hour on the 1st sea day, I believe but unlike on NCL not one Carnival staff member came. This is a new thing for Carnival so maybe that'll change in the future. The ports were Barcelona, Gibraltar, Ponta Delgada, overnight in Bermuda then ending in New York City. I'd been to them all except Gibraltar which was very interesting. I didn't do any Carnival excursions just ones with the roll call group. Another thing I really liked was the Hub app, such a neat way to see/order your photos, carry your Fun Times & check your bill. They'll be adding MDR menus at some point which will make it even better. I was very happy with the internet package & chose the middle offering, only $105 for 13 days, way better than other lines' rip off prices. The disembarkation wasn't the best. but probably to be expected on the Vista's initial landing in the USA. Matt kept us informed of how things were going & my departure was 1 1/2 hours later than originally implied. Luckily I was staying over in New York City so it wasn't a problem. If you can't tell, I loved this cruise & might even try another TA, (can you say Horizon), if the ports are as good as these were. Read Less

Carnival Vista Transatlantic October 2016 We are experienced cruisers but have never actually done a Transatlantic cruise before… the price for this one was most definitely right! So, we booked it…. Cloud 9 Spa Balcony, deck 12 front. Very lucky to get the Cloud 9 Spa cabin for the price we got it, it comes with its own amenities such as robes, toiletries and slippers plus the all important free pass to the spa! I am not one for writing long boring reviews about every tiny detail that happened so here are the basics : THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS A BAD CRUISE. That is it folks……..haha…. Cabin, well it’s a balcony cabin, its got a bed, a balcony, a shower….. The ship : Superb. Brand new and rammed with amenities. The only gripe onboard for us is the terrible theatre, the Carnival management know all about it. Poor views all over basically. Shows, well, production shows don’t thrill us but we watched them, the usual, enthusiastic dancers and singers, pretty good. Other shows included an illusionist, comedy magician and singer. Very good. The comedy club is where Carnival stand out from the rest in our opinion, it is simply superb. On this trip they had SIX different comedians. Ranging from trouser wetting funny to paint dryingly boring. Happily though, the trouser wetting ones where in the majority and 5 or so shows a night, what is there to complain at? Nothing ! Staff excellent as usual, special mention to Cookie on the entertainment staff, that lad is going to go places. Food excellent also, main dining room excellent, buffet excellent,Guys Burgers didn’t excite us, way too much salt. We never pay for the speciality restaurants. Met some fantastic new people, hopefully got some friends for life. Last thing to note : This was a 13 day cruise, 9 sea days..if you are a new cruiser, don’t do a Transatlantic until you can figure out if you get sea sick. We had a couple of rocky days and there were plenty of folks in trouble – not us, we are immune ! Read Less

We had looked at this cruise for some time but trying to put a package together with airfares, transfers, Hop on/Hop off bus, hotels in Barcelona and the actually cruise itself was to say the least overwhelming. We just happened to get an offer from a travel agency with everything included if we could get back & forth to the NYC area. We had almost passed it up, but finally decided to take the plunge and try it. The travel agency (ICruise) was slow in it getting information to us but in the end, everything went extremely smoothly. The flight to Barcelona was delayed for 3 hours out of Newark Liberty airport due to cargo compartment problems. If you have never flown across the Atlantic, know that it is very tiring. My cousin said, "Try to sleep as best a possible, You'll need it" and he was right. Barcelona is an amazing city. We spent our 2 days in Barcelona engulfed in history, architecture, art, and the culture of the Catalonian people. We visited Mont Juic, Sagrada Famillia, saw the Park Guell, Mirador de Colon (Columbus column), La Rambla, La Boqueria market, the Cathedral of Barcelona and many more sights. The cautions were that pick pockets were there to steal you money if you weren't careful. I'm sure it is true but we never had a proble and were out in the streets and restaurants late into the evening. It was worth every minute of it and the hundreds of pictures we took. The tranfers went smoothly from the plane to the hotel and hotel to ship. We are Platinum cruisers with Carnival, but so were over half the other cruisers. Carnival did not plan well fo this, making it a slow process to get on-board. Once on board, the rest was great. Wonderful music, comfortable rooms, (supposedly the biggest room in the Cruise industry), and lots to eat without waiting in long lines. The ship's design spread people out and gave multiple options at all meals. The Captain and CD with their teams made a very enjoyable 13 days. We stopped at Gibraltar, Ponta Delgada (Azores), and Bermuda, before getting to our destination in NYC. The entertainment was very good, and the variety was suitable for just about everyone. There were wonderful lectures about the places we would see, there were shows with good music and dance. There was comedy, trivia games, crafts, and even lessons in Ballroom dancing. The ship also features some amazing water slides, a high ropes course for beginners and the more experienced, and two bike tracks that literally take you out over the ocean at a height of 100 ft above the water...All of this for just $100/day. It was a Bucket List, life experience that we would do all over again...We did plan our own shore excursions through the help of our Cruise Critic family. And saw amzing sites while on shore. We spent most of our shore days on shore engulfed in the culture and history of the places we stopped. An incredible trip of a life time... Read Less

Although the décor of this new ship was lacking for me, this was a wonderful cruise across the Atlantic. I loved our stops in Gibraltar and the Azores. Ponta Delgada and the Azores is one of my favorite places on earth. It is gorgeous. The Vista is not elegant looking. I know they were trying to get away from glitz and be more sophisticated, but plain, mid-century modern décor just didn't do it for me. The family Harbor and Havana sections were very nice however. So was the Lido deck. Even tho the captain had my cove balcony closed because of rough weather for 2 days, I still enjoyed the cabin and that balcony. I found the food good as usual on Carnival, and had good service from a friendly crew. The beds are SO comfortable! Storage space is more that adequate in the balcony cabins; I know the insides had less storage space. The Serenity area was very nice, with a good salad bar, but crowded when I went. Not so serene. Halloween was a hoot on this ship! About half the guests were dressed in all kinds of costumes, and the night was a lot of fun and really different! Everything is now digital in the photo dept. and you can see your pictures in your cabin! Matt, the popular cruise director, was very visible, and seemed to love his job. I am not one for activities on the ship, but there were a lot of them. Trivia games, arts and crafts, movies, a few lectures, etc. Embarkation and debarkation were very easy and uncomplicated for me. If you go a bit later on embarkation day, you encounter less problems and crowds. Read Less

On our 30th cruise, but the first time with Carnival, and I was a bit apprehensive. Lets start with the negatives, this ship is never going to win a beauty pageant, she is ugly. The Atrium is like a Holiday Inn lounge, really bright and very unwelcoming and the cabins, which are large and well appointed but soundproofing is terrible, the cove balcony's had major problems when the storm doors were closed for two days, and made them "inside" cabins. Oh, And she sails like a bag of spanners! OK, that's out of the way. Now the positives..I can honestly say that this was the most fun I have ever had at sea. Yes, its a bit American, with dancing around the pool, dressing up for Halloween, crazy activities taking place including an X rated "Scavenger Hunt" one late night in the Nightclub, (which was hilarious!!), This ship treats Adults like Adults (not like we are all sweet Granny's like Cunard), so there are late night adult only comedy shows, which were very popular. The fun never stopped, but it was never forced on any one and there were loads of areas to be quiet, including the Serenity deck. I never once had problems getting a sun bed or getting into the Jacuzzi. The food on the whole was good and full of variety, I read one review saying there was not much choice for lunch, what a load of twaddle. You could chose from: Guys Burgers (Best burgers I have had at sea- just like Five Guys!), The Tex Mex Taco & Burrito bar. Then, in the self serve 4 mains (two meat, 1 fish, 1 veggie), plus a Carvery, Massive Salad bar with cold cuts, Deli Bar sandwiches & Hot Dogs, Fresh Pizza (open 24hrs), Noodle Bar, Italian bar, in the serenity Healthy Eating bar...is that not enough choice! Food was good and tasty, yes it was American style, so veg was a bit limited in the dining room...but ask and you shall get. (Creamed Spinach-YUM!). Sea Day brunch was good, fantastic Smoked Salmon bagels with Cream Cheese or Eggs Benedict (3 ways), plus Steak and Eggs for late brekkie..Thanks! You may wait a short while for this as service was a bit slow on busy times. As we Brits were on board, they catered for us at Breakfast with a choice of English or American style (Burnt to a crisp!!) bacon too. The drink package was outstanding value 15 alcoholic drinks a day (up to a whopping $20 per drink , so you could have a glass of decent Champagne or the Alchemy bar crazy alcohol filled creations), plus all the sodas, plus unlimited Milkshakes, Coffees, Teas and waters. We went to see "Deepwater Horizon" in the IMAX, wow, the sound is amazing and that screen is huge. There was a 4D thrill theatre, which we did not use, but friends did and loved it all at nominal charge. The ship even showed the new "Inferno" film just 3 days after its release. With the $200 OBC we got ,we had a bottle of Moet Imperial Ice Champagne, dined in three special restaurants, of which the 555F Steakhouse was superb, and our only costs on a 13day holiday (apart form our all inclusive) was $92!! We had one cabin day, we had a slight sea leaving Gibraltar, but the ship (which is designed for Caribbean sailings) handled it awfully, it certainly did not cut through the waves , more crashed into them. But the in demand movies were great on the TV, plus all the news channels. Room service was fast and very good. Add in the thrilling Skyride, two massive water flumes, and a great wet zone, pools (unheated!), ropes course, 18hole crazy golf, plus themed bars , movies around the pool with blankets and fresh popcorn, and the usual Violin duo, singers (who were all very good), shows, arts and crafts, bingo etc etc.....something for nearly everyone. The staff were friendly..(and believe me, some of our US cousins can be very demanding and a bit rude!), and the Cruise director Matt and his team were fantastic. They never stopped. If you love the old fashioned traditional style cruising, you will not like this. Its a holiday at sea, with minimal dressing up. Although a lot of people wore Shirts and nice trendy Jeans , some stayed in "resort wear". If like us you are early 50's and love a bit of laugh, modern pop music, staying up late, eating Pizza on the back deck at 3am and being treated like an adult, do it,. If you want lectures, classical music and to sit and read , i would give this ship a swerve and go on Cunard. Please come and do another European trip Carnival. I want to it again. Read Less

just came back from TA Barcelona - NY and had a wonderful time on the Vista. What a beautiful ship ( only minor is the theater - layout ) room : we had an Oceanview on level 1 which was perfect and very quiet entertainment : so much to choose from on so many levels of this ship staff : very attentive and helpful food : unbelievable how many choices there is to choose from wonderful crew amazing fun team and cruise director we cruised about 20 times mostly with RCI but in this case Carnival has beaten them anyone who dare to complain about this ship should stay at home we saw people wasting full plates of delicious food we heard people nagging about the weather (???) we saw rooms that looked like a war zone we heard people complain about so many ridiculous things shame on you all ! if you want a great time on a classy Carnival ship,The Vista is definitely worth to try. Read Less

My wife and I chose this cruise to visit some points in history that we had not visited before. We chose a balcony room, it was roomy and very functional. Our service on the ship was always good, this included dining and room service. Our room steward and crew did an acceptional job. The ship was loaded with activities and shows. We saw a move at the IMAX and were quite happy with the experience. Carnival is our preferred cruise line, but are going too try some of the others to see how they fair. Overall our trip was great,we saw a lot and visited many sights. Thank You Carnival for a great trip. We have scheduled two more trips with Carnival to the Mexican Riviera and one to Ensenada during Christmas of 2016. We cruise not so much for the destinations, but just to be on a cruise. The cruise vacation has a good dollar value and includes plenty of relaxation if you want. My wife especially likes this type of vacation. Read Less

On board I discovered the cabin next to us paid $700 less than we did (they booked around a year or so ago). When I told friends we met on board, I discovered they paid $800 less than us. They booked around 2 or 3 months prior to sailing. Both, like us, were on 3 b-to-backs and this was the transatlantic crossing portion. We were ending 15 mths of travel worldwide. We booked a while ago, but did not always have internet availability. After 33 cruises, I'm well aware of cruise price fluctuation and it being the responsibility of the travelers to check constantly for price fluctuations. It just wasn't always possible when on the go, although I did email vtg a couple of times as I had a feeling my price was high. Very disappointed in the fare difference We were involved in a car accident as passengers (in Spain) the day before we boarded. I judge the ship from the perspective of someone with limited mobility. Elevators slow. No big crow's nest-type place to relax indoors. No toilets on deck 11. Had to make my way down one deck Lido deck (Marketplace) was inconvenient for me, Muffins at the back of the ship, croissants in the fwd section); grapefruit & prunes at back, other items fwd etc. Too much walking, crew helped, but would have liked to get it myself. Crew were attentive when I needed help (quite often) and the first 2 cruises were perfect for recovery (port intensive, so we had the ship to ourselves almost every day.) Doctor on board was always busy. (Availed myself of their xrays and he replaced my cast with another. Kept me supplied with drugs until I was able to fill a prescription). Perfect to know he was on board if I needed him and I did not feel the charges were excessive (the way most excursions are for instance) We're used to Celebrity food so we kept our expectations low since we were sailing Carnival. Food far exceeded our low expectations (still prefer Celebrity's food though) Plush comfortable deck chairs were SO appreciated! All in all, quite a different cruise experience (had to cancel all excursion plans due to our disability). We had a wonderful time and I can still say "we've never been on a cruise we didn't absolutely love"! Read Less

The number of various ports was exceptional - providing something of interest for everyone. Carnival Vista is beautiful and spacious. Crew is most attentive to ensuring it is tidy and clean. Our cabin steward team was prompt, energetic, and attentive to ensure our room was fresh and clean. Exceptional outgoing personalities - respectful, courteous, and thoughtful. Replenished our ice bucket daily. We enjoyed eating at the Lido Marketplace Buffet for each of the daily meals - breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Fresh and delicious selection of various types of food items. Especially enjoyed the slow-churned, hand-dipped ice cream / gelato Attended a few of the Dive-In Movies We are sailing the Vista's 1 Oct and 11 Oct journey cruises - would have preferred a different selection shown - rather than all duplications. Hopeful anticipation that the Vista's TA Dive-In Movies get changed out for a different selection. Don't understand why Carnival must charge so much for the IMAX theater, I would think they could make more money lowering the price and increasing the number of viewers. Read Less