What went well... 1. We loved the breakfast in the Horizon Restaurant. It was always hot and good variety from skillet pancakes, to french toast to scrambles and much more. We only ate at Lido deck one time for breakfast. 2. The pasta bar at Cucina was Excellent. 3. The servers in the Lido area, main dining room, etc. were phenomenal...always checking to see if you needed anything. Our stateroom steward Ron was excellent, very nice and genuinely asked how our day was going and remembered our names. We were in Room 7451. 4. The shows were GREAT in the Liquid Lounge and we loved the Havana Bar area with live Latin music. This area was open to the public after 7pm for whirlpool, etc. The violinists were great in the main lobby area. 5. We went as a couple with no kids and really liked the Serenity Adults only area on the 15th deck. 6. Embarkation and debarkation was super smooth and the best we've experienced. 7. Kyndall Fire the cruise director was very engaging and hilarious. 8. Pictures are all digital on the ship instead of the huge wall of paper pics that take forever to find. You can also see pictures on your TV in your room, and your balance. 9. Our aft ship state room was very nice and cozy. 10. We loved Roatan and Belize ports of call. We didn't get off the ship in Cozumel - we'd already been there 3-4 times. So we made it a lazy day. 11. Guys Burger Joint...yum.....Lido Deck was OK......nothing spectacular. Main Dining Room food was pretty good overall. 12. We met so many nice people and fellow cruisers and people were genuinely nice to each other..not all, but most. 13. Ship layout can be very confusing but you'll find your way. 14. Comedy shows were hilarious - we had Caroline Picard, Billy D. Washington, William Lee Martin and Dan Chopin and we went to the 18+ shows. Too funny! What was tricky.... 1. Lots of walking the stairs from slow or full elevators. 2. The 24 hour pizza would get crowded fast after dinner was over. They make it fresh so if the line is long, be patient because it's quite yummy. 2. Too many kids in the whirlpools and main pools. It was kinda ridiculous that kids are everywhere..........OMG. We didn't bother to do any main pools just the Serenity adults only whirlpools. 3. The view in the Main show area was bad in some areas due to polls all over the place. Get there early for a good seat but shows were AWESOME> 4. The smoke in the casino was terrible. We had to walk through it to get to the comedy show area and my clothes smelled like smoke. Beware! 5. Elevators were hot most of the time. Be warned. 6. The spa seminar we went to on accupuncture was not a seminar - they asked us to come back at 4:30 and we spoke to DR. Vu who couldn't answer our questions about fertility and asked how do you spell ovary and follicle. WOW. We signed up for a manicure since we got a $50 gift card but we got there and we were asked to come back since they were 'backed up' and were told there was a $7 tip. We just cancelled. What needs improvement.... 1. Carnival needs to be more strict and enforce the 'no reserving seats' policy, especially in the Comedy Club. One girl tried to reserve 10 seats for her family when the doors opened and she was telling people these are taken.....and it was happening during the whole cruise. All people need to do is come together as a group...simple as that. 2. Too many kids............I repeat, too many kids.........some of them ran and stomped at 12am and would push all buttons on the elevator for fun. Our next cruise will be in fall when there behinds are in school. 3. Blue Iguanna was disappointing because they served stale taco shells on one of the days. I didn't go back after that. 4. Not sure if Carnival can monitor this but in Belize, we did the Calypso Train Tour and it was $42 but we got it for $39 after Carnival guest services said it was sold out. The guys in port were selling for $25 but we found out they didn't take people to the train at all but to some non A/C van that almost ran out of gas. Read Less

We booked the cruise for end of summer, we had to stand in line at guest services 4 times the first day, because our cards wouldn't work for purchases or as our room keys! So our first day we stood in line at guest services for over 1.5 hours trying to get keys to work. At supper we were on anytime dining, so we went to dinner in dining room, we were greeted and seated. After 20 minutes, I asked a waiter, who would be taking care of our table? He immediately said I will send someone over shortly. If anytime dining is a problem for the staff, then do away with it! We didn't ask for anytime dining, that's what we were given. If carnival wants the vista to be there flagship, they missed the bar!! They have tried to include everything and left out the basics. An example of this, the casino is on the fourth floor, and there is not a mens restroom. The casino dealer told me the restroom was on 3rd level for the men. Makes no sense. If you have a womens restroom go ahead and spend the money for a mens restroom too. Again Thursday evening we are standing in line at guest services, card is not working again. They have our credit card on file, all charges are to go to the credit card, and guest services said our card is inactive, but she didn't know why? Guest services reactivated our card, and now we can make purchases again. Guest services has been a nightmare!! Supper on Thursday night, I ordered lobster tail which was an additional $20, the waiter brought me 2 lobster tails, I cut into the first one and took a bite. It was like a rubber band, overcooked!! I informed the waiter that it was not good, he kindly took it away, and explained that I would not be charged the $20 for the lobster. I thanked him for not charging me. Generally the table is cleared and then dessert menus are brought, not tonight! My wife was still eating her supper, and here comes the dessert menu. I know this was because I returned the overcooked lobster. Highlight of the cruise for us was the comedy show on Thursday evening and Mr. Sanchos at cozumel. Mr sanchos is not a carnivasl excursion, but is worth every penny. JiJi Chinese restaurant is a great place to eat! Cost like 15 per person, but you get way more food, than you can eat. Unfortunately, we have already booked the vista for December. Hopefully we will have a better experience in December. Read Less

This was my 44th Carnival cruise and 68th cruise overall, so I do have lots to compare it to! With all the propulsion problems going on, we expected Carnival to greatly reduce prices to sell out the June 29 cruise that was postponed to July 1 and turned into an 8 day cruise. I monitored prices daily and when it dropped to what I was comfortable paying, we booked. Good thing we did not wait any longer because by the next morning the sailing was closed. We also love the ports of Cozumel and Costa Maya and were very happy with lots of sea days and those 2 Mexican ports. For the first time in years we booked a balcony guarantee and within minutes received our cabin assignment. We were put in 8462, an 8C. I was quite busy taking care of everything we normally do over a period of months in just 4 days. We made our parking reservation at EZ Cruise and this was once again a good decision. We arrived, parked the car only a few spots from the shuttle pick up area, immediately got on a bus, and it departed with only 6 people on the bus. We gave a porter our luggage and walked down to the Priority entrance. We walked right in at around 11:30am and immediately checked in and cleared security with no one ahead of us. We then proceeded upstairs and boarded the ship. We went straight to the cabin where we were met by a nice young steward. Within 5 minutes we had our ice and bathrobes. We unpacked our carry on bags, filled the safe and headed up to the Lido for lunch. We were conveniently located near the aft elevators, so we always used that to access the Lido. The food line back there was rarely busy and there were loads of seats available. After lunch we went down to deck 5 to check on our table location. We were assigned a table for 2 in late dining, but did not like the location as the table was only inches from the next table. Darko, the Maitre D said he had just the table for us and put us at Table 174 in the Reflections dining room. It was a great, very private, table for 2 tucked away in a corner. The first night we had reservations at Cucina del Capitano and because we are gluten free we stopped in to pre-order our first night dinner. It was another excellent GF meal with Nonna's meatalls, Caesar salad, GF chicken Parmesan, a side order of GF pasta and lemon sorbet for dessert. We were surprised that it was not busy at all. Even though we were Diamond, we were refused a reservation for the steakhouse for the first night, and offered the 3rd night instead. We decided to cancel that reservation after meeting our waiter and having such great GF food and service in Reflections from Edi, Larimer and Yulius. We also enjoyed visits from Inna, the hostess from the Ukraine and Darko from Serbia. The first sea day we made sure we went to Brunch in the aft dining room. We had a wonderful waiter, Smitha, from India. She was fabulous. We also ordered our GF meal for that night since we had been in Cucina the night before. Brunch was wonderful as usual. The next 2 mornings at breakfast we were given window tables overlooking the wake, but the service was not nearly as good as we received on that first morning, so for the rest of the breakfasts and brunches we requested to be seated in Smitha's section. She was so friendly and efficient and remembered our preferences to the point where she could predict what we would order. We also received visits every morning from our favorite hostesses Inna from Ukraine, and Mini from India, who remembered us from our January cruise on the Vista. Inna even came to see us the morning she was in charge of the Dr. Seus Breakfast! On the 2nd night, just before second seating, the power went out. It had gone out for about 5 minutes earlier, when I was getting a shower, but came back on quickly. After waiting about 15 minutes for it to go back on we climbed the stairs from deck 3 to deck 8. By the time we arrived at our cabin the aft section had power so our cabin had lights, AC and working toilets. We changed clothes just in case something else happened. They were really good about making announcements to keep the guests calm. The cruise director, John Heald and the Captain took turns making announcements every 10 minutes. Finally, around 9:15 they announced that dinner service was resuming, so we went down to the dining room and had our dinner. Lots of people had changed clothes due to the A/C being out, but they welcomed everyone, even if wearing shorts or jeans on elegant night. We spent a couple of relaxing sea days either on our balcony or by the aft pool enjoying the great weather and calm seas. The sailing was really smooth aided by a sailing speed of between 9 and 13 knots. The day before we were to reach Costa Maya, we had to make a stop off Cozumel to let off a member of the crew who needed to be hospitalized. They originally said our arrival in Costa Maya would be delayed until noon, but we got in a bit earlier than originally scheduled. We booked a day at Costa Maya, so we got right off and walked to the check in point. After a short wait we got in a taxi with 3 other guests and were the first to arrive at Costa Maya. We were greeted warmly by the staff, given a short orientation and shown to our chairs on the beach and offered rum punches and guacamole and chips. Sadly, there was lots of seaweed and the staff worked feverishly to clean it up. I took a walk and found the pool tucked away in the trees and we moved there. The loungers were super comfortable and we were just steps from the bar. Our waiter came and found use there, took new drink orders and brought fresh guacamole. We had a super relaxing morning there. Then, when it was time for lunch we went to the restaurant, filled our plates and returned to our loungers where we spent the rest of the afternoon swimming, sunning and chatting withe fellow guests. They asked what time you wanted to leave and just our scheduled time they came to tell us our taxi was ready. We had the same driver and were quickly back at the pier. It was a delightful day and totally worth every penny. In Cozumel we went to the dentist for our 6 month cleaning and check ups and then headed downtown. It was so sad to see downtown practically deserted, even though there were 5 ships in port. The Museum was closed too. We had lunch at Palmeras, which was tasty, but a little pricey, and then headed back to the ship. We spent the rest of the afternoon at the aft pool enjoying the ship while most were ashore. We had more super calm sea days back to Galveston and arrived in port right on time. I will say the Priority debarkation was a joke They had Platinum, Diamond, FTTF and all the wheelchair people in the Reflections dining room with no separation between groups. The wheelchair people did not get off as they were supposed to when their decks were called. As soon as any wheelchairs were called they all headed for the door and clogged the entry when those who had not been called were sent back. Others, who were in none of the Priority categories entered the dining room through the back entrance and clogged the aisles with their luggage, so that when the cruise director finally came to call the Diamond guests, we had a difficult time getting through. It was our first time ever not having a separate place to wait and not having any pastry, coffee and juice offered. Once we got in the terminal, we got a porter and quickly moved into the immigration line. They had just opened a new line for the porters and we walked right up to the front and were seen by the CBP agent immediately. Because we had not been to Belize or Roatan, the agent just glanced at the passports and did not scan them. We were finished in seconds and on our way to the EZ Cruise shuttle. We put our luggage out the night before and were off the ship, through CBP and in our car by 8:40 and home before 10:00am. We sailed the Vista at the end of January 2019 in a Havana Cabana and came away hating the ship. Yes, we liked the Havana pool, but we detested the constant pounding of the Latin music to the point that we abandoned the Havana pool for the aft pool most days. While our waiter at dinner in January, Pierces, was the highlight of the cruise, the rest of it was so bad that we swore that we would never sail the Vista again. Well, I found I can be bought by a low price. But, I also know that if I sail the Vista again I won't pay the premium for a Havana Cabana. The crew on the Vista this trip was so much better than the crew that was on in January. It was a different Captain, Staff Captain and Hotel Director this time and I think the crew was happier with this management team and it showed. Captain Vittorio Marchi was wonderful as was Staff Captain Nick, who took the time to explain all the problems in detail to my husband at the Diamond event, and Alina the Hotel Director was so sweet. We remembered each other from sailing on the Liberty in 2016 with her. I am not going to rate the entertainment. We have seen the production shows over and over on multiple ships and did not go this time. We did go to 3 comedy shows before dinner and enjoyed them. We also enjoyed listening to the Polaris String Trio every evening before dinner. Read Less

We just got off the Vista on Sunday, and while this is not going to be a comprehensive, day by day review, I’ll give you my thoughts on the Vista, the issues she had, the pros we found with the ship and some of the cons… First of all, this was our first family cruise. In addition to my hubby and me, our daughter, son in law and 10 year old grandson cruised with us- it was the first cruise for SIL and grandson, 3rd for my daughter. We booked to standard balcony cabins on Lido deck, 10236 & 10240. It was our first time on the Lido deck and we all decided we loved the location, especially my GS who was never more than 2 mins from his next soft serve ice cream fix! The cabins were good, not noisy (I was originally concerned that Lido noise might make it that far forward, but it was never an issue). The only problem experienced was with the door slammers- this was by far the worst cruise for people slamming doors constantly! But the good news was, for the first time since we had a balcony, we had zero issues with people smoking on their balconies. We drove to Galveston on Friday with our grandson and stayed in a 2 bed, 2 bath suite at the TownePlace Inn & Suites on Seawall Blvd. Location was great, the suite was perfect as my daughter & son in law drove up Friday night. It includes a basic breakfast which was all we needed before boarding Saturday morning. We had FTTF so we left the hotel about 9:15, dropped our checked luggage at 9:30 and while the rest of us waited in line with the carry-ons, DH & SIL parked at EZCruise (no shuttle option- easy 5 min walk for hubby & SIL). We received the ubiquitous email asking us to delay our arrival by an hour but we disregarded, and check in started around 10:00. We waited in the boarding lounge until around 11:45 when boarding began. Our rooms were ready and our suitcases were already delivered! We dropped our carry-ons off and went to grab some lunch. So for the issues Vista had… for those of you who were not aware, on Jun 12 Carnival notified us that she was having propulsion issues (hmmm- where have I heard that before??) and our ports would be changing from Montego Bay, Grand Cayman and Cozumel to Mahogany Bay, Costa Maya and Cozumel… 2 new ports for me, so I wasn’t really concerned! While we were waiting for muster, about 2:45 the captain made a mysterious announcement about some changes to our itinerary, and that a letter was being delivered to all pax. If we had questions, they would be meeting everyone in the Limelight Lounge to answer them. I walked down there and got a copy of the letter, which basically said the propulsion issue was worse than they thought, so Mahogany Bay was being dropped, and we were being extended to an 8-day cruise! If people wanted to get off they could get a full refund, but if we stayed onboard for the cruise, we’d get $200 pp OBC, 50% Future Cruise Credit and the 8th day free, including wifi, Cheers and Bottomless Bubbles. The discussion in the lounge was outrageous- all I could hear was people screaming at the Carnival staff about how they hate Carnival, Carnival did this on purpose just to spite them, Carnival owed them! One woman wanted to stay on the ship for the current cruise plus get a 100% refund for it AND a 100% future cruise credit! Entitled much? To us it seemed like a win/win for us and that Carnival was doing their best in a bad situation so we opted to stay on for the cruise. The only concern I had was them waiting so late to make the announcement- 3 PM an hour before planned sailaway- almost everyone was onboard and many, like us, were already unpacked and ready to start our cruise! They gave everyone til 6 PM to decide if they wanted to get off. We had muster at 5:15 and we sailed around 7:30. Our speed the entire week was not an issue- we were able to make all our planned stops on time and the boat was as smooth as ever due to the slower speed. Another plus- Carnival worked with all the Galveston parking locations so we didn’t get charged for the extra day. Some Pros about the cruise: Our cabin steward, Anjana (said to call her Ana, I was the only person who knew how to pronounce her name properly!) was amazing! She managed both our cabins, with people taking naps, coming back & forth and not giving her any opportunity to establish any flow, yet she handled it like a champ! She offered us both times a day for service but went on to say, if it was a problem, she’d do whichever we wanted, if we didn’t want the intrusion. We opted for twice a day but made it clear that all we expected in the evenings was fresh ice. FTTF- worked very well for us this trip. Early check in, early access to cabins, priority line at Guest Services were all really beneficial. The checkin process was messed up because the previous cruise went to Belize and that always causes delays with CBP and Customs on their return (hence the request to delay arrival at the port by an hour) but we didn’t find that to be an issue, until all the priority boarders were in the lounge and they started allowing the staggered check in time groups to check in- with about 1500 passengers left to disembark, the port computers went down and they had to stop disembarkation as well as check in. Those with a later check in time were stuck waiting longer outside than the earlier folks because of this. This caused about an hour’s delay in boarding. Lido Buffet- it had some really pleasant surprises! The new cakes are in fact as delicious as everyone has claimed, HOWEVER they are only served in one spot in the buffet (the furthest aft Sweet Spot) and ONLY at lunchtime. At the other Sweet Spot closer to the front they had 2 flavors of gelato every day. OMG!!!! It was the best! I thought several of the items from the new Deli menu were pretty good (the wraps, the buffalo chicken sandwich) but my favorite, the Reuben missed the mark just a bit- instead of pressing it as Reubens normally are, they just toasted it, like they do at Subways… I found it made the bread hard and prone to cracking, so the sandwich fell apart. But it was still tasty! Bonsai Sushi was outstanding! I’ve been on a keto diet for 4 months so sushi has been off my list but I spoiled myself on the cruise and loved the food from this place! Another pro, not specifically about Vista but Carnival in general, was how they handled the whole Vista propulsion issue… other than notifying us too late, they made the tough decision to modify the next 2 cruises (departing June 23 & Jul 1) to be exactly like ours- same ports, same duration (8 days) and then CANCEL the next few cruises and take the ship out of commission and get her repaired in Freeport. Too often in the past they’ve allowed the sick dog to limp along for too long before making that call. I know a lot of people were probably pretty disappointed to miss their cruise, but hey- Carnival provided a 100% refund PLUS a 100% future cruise credit to those on the cruises that were canceled! Plus they are allowing a certain amount toward changed flights etc. Oh, another thing- often if you get an extra day that you didn’t pay for, it won’t count towards your VIFP points… not this time! They’re giving everyone credit for the full 8 days, even though we only paid for 7! Unlike some previous cruisers, I didn’t find Vista crowded at all. Food venues, shops, getting off in ports- it didn’t seem any worse than other smaller ships I’ve cruised on- in fact, in some cases it seemed a lot better! Now for some Cons: Matt Mitcham was off the week of our cruise and was replaced by Cookie Adams. Some of the early reports were that people really liked him. Don’t count me in that group! He was fatuous, dismissive and completely disorganized this whole cruise, IMHO! He made a point of calling out during the 80’s party about how he was the # 1 Carnival Cruise Director… the day after Matt Mitcham was named the CD of the Mardi Gras! Really, Cookie? Food- MDR- staff was kind of mixed- surly and inattentive, happy and very helpful. And the food, which I’m normally a big cheerleader for, was just, meh… a lot of it was cold, and had obviously been sitting quite a while. I’m normally the person who eats in the MDR every chance I get but this cruise we only ate there once for the Sea Day Brunch and three times for dinner. Camp Ocean- for the 9-11 year olds, it was pitiful how few activities they had planned for this age group. It seemed those younger and older were given a lot more attention and things to do. Mostly video games and even they were not really age-appropriate (too young). Another frustrating thing was that none of their activities are listed in the Fun Hub activities list, which would have been really helpful. Liquid Lounge- I have to agree with everyone’s assessment of this location- what was Carnival thinking? If you’re not one of the first folks in the lounge forget about being able to see anything half decently. We only went to one show because of this. I must say though that we really enjoyed Studio VIP and I would have liked to see some of the others that I hadn’t seen before. Disembarkation- As I mentioned we had FTTF. They told us to be in the Liquid Lounge by 7:45 with all our luggage. We were there by 7:20 but it was pure chaos. They had people putting their luggage in the middle section, supposedly in rows and at 7:40 started calling people by rows of luggage to debark the ship. But those who showed up last just walked off the ship well before us! And it was really slow! Normally we’re off the ship and in our car before 8, but this time we didn’t leave the parking lot til after 8:30! I can only imagine how long it took the rest of the folks to get off the ship! All in all, if I had to weigh the good with the bad, it was still a great cruise, because I didn’t have to cook, or clean and I got to spend time with my family. And nothing bad enough happened to prevent me from sailing on Vista again, just not right now! We came home to an offer to jump right back onboard for Jul 1 with a bunch of OBC and FCCs, but we decided no, we were good for now. But the day after I got home, I did book a Premier Aft Wrap balcony on Freedom for Thanksgiving next year, using the future cruise credits they gave me! So that’s my family cruise… it was over 18 months in coming, and it felt like it was gone before I knew it. But I still love cruising best of all! Read Less

This was my first cruise with my 11 year old daughter. We planned for months and were excited to spend minimal time on the ship and go to our planned stops- Jamaica, Cayman and Cozumel. Carnival announced 4 days before the cruise that the ship was having mechanical issues and could not get to Jamaica but was being redirected. After an initial disappointment, we sucked it up and chose new itineraries in the new places we were going. Everything was planned for months, time off work and airfare purchased. We left AZ at 3 am and got to the ship on time. Onboarding was easy, but once we got on board we were told of another itinerary change- we were only going to TWO stops in Mexico and staying on the ship an extra day. We could have gotten off the ship for a full refund, but having traveled with a child who would be more disappointed that the entire vacation was called off was not an option. I spent a fair amount of time on board trying to change excursions, waiting in line to talk to guest services and had to buy service to call the airlines and change my flights, which were non refundable. I dropped an extra $800 for one way tickets back to AZ since the cruise was extended the extra day. I emailed Carnival (since I never actually got to talk to guest services because of the wait time) and was told that mechanical issues were out of their control. The excursions we booked were canceled at the last minute because of the rough seas- and we couldn't get anything else because they were sold out, due to the itinerary change. While Carnival offered 50% off the next cruise, I am wondering why they think I would remotely want to cruise again based on this terrible first experience? The only saving grace on the ship was the staff. They were great and we had fun watching the shows. But after 4 days sailing, we were a bit stir crazy, and our first excursion was sitting on some less than wonderful Mexican beach. I didn't book a cruise to sit on a ship for an extended period of time- I booked as a means to get to exotic locals and have some adventure. Adventure it was not, and mechanical issues are certainly within the control of a company that manages ships. Departure was fine for us but we were also one of the first called off the ship. The room was fine, food was fine, but the hassle pretty much ruined the only vacation we have taken in three years. If I wanted to sit on a beach in Mexico I would have rented a house and driven there. Carnival is assisting with the airline ticket payments but overall, it was not worth the frustration or hassle, as we didn't get to do much of anything that was planned. They gave on board credit which I used for a massage to try and destress from it all. Read Less

We had not sailed on this class of ship before nor been on this itinerary so we were very excited. Embarkation was a breeze. Our boarding window was 12 - 12:30 PM. We walked up at 12:01 and were on the ship within 15 minutes. Debarkation was the opposite, however. It took us 6 hours to get from state room to the sidewalk. We were given a few explanations but the most common one was that CBP computers went down. This was not Carnival's fault but certainly was not pleasant. We really enjoyed this ship. I've seen reviews of horrible lines and poor service and we didn't experience any of that. Our room steward was excellent and we had no complaints whatsoever. Lines for things like Lido buffet and pizza were longer at peak times but that is to be expected. And they moved quickly, in my opinion. We showed up 10 minutes early to shows and activities and had no issues finding seats/participating. I agree that some seats in the Liquid Lounge are poor because of the pillars that block the view. We used the Hub app to check into Any Time Dining for dinner and never waited more than 15 minutes for a table. The food quality was excellent. Two fish dishes were slightly bland but that's the worst I can say about the MDR! Lido options were usually very good. I did note that most of the cakes seemed to be the same on the inside with a flavored frosting/decoration on the outside. Chocolate cakes were the exception and very good. Pizza and Guy's burgers were excellent. My son enjoyed Camp Ocean and the arcade as well as the America Rocks show and IMAX 3D movies. Our ports were Cozumel, Belize City, and Roatan. We did a beach day on our own in Cozumel but used Carnival excursions for the others. The water shuttle process in Belize was easy and we loved Mahogany Bay in Roatan. Read Less

I am a frequent cruiser and have cruised RCCL, NCL, Disney, Celebrity, and Carnival all in the past. I find that Carnival has the best deck parties and just seems more fun in general. However, this ship deserves the poor reviews. The Pro's: Great Deck parties Stage Show Flick Sports Square and all it entails like Sky Ride and Ropes Course The Thrill and Imax theaters Guys Burgers, the Lido Deli The Con's: Horrible Dining Room Experience- I was unable to eat any of the meat dishes I was served. We had one waiter for our table for 12. The service was extremely slow. Drinks were hard to get, and even harder to get a refill. Cabin Steward: I only asked to have ice delivered twice/day and service in the evening. I repeatedly had to request ice, and my beach towels weren't replaced. I had to find him and ask about it and he said he ran out of towels before he got to my room. WHAT??? We also didn't receive any debarkation information. We got it from other family members. Elevators: SUPER SUPER SLOW. I took the stairs. Liquid Lounge: Seating was awful, as others have stated. Punchliner Comedy Club: Not enought seating. If you arrived 30 minutes early, you still may be standing. Debarkation: Total nightmare. Took us about 1 1/2 hours. I read that it took others up to 6 hours. We had Faster to the Fun. We actually had a fun vacation, and I will probably cruise Carnival again in the future. However, I had a Panorama cruise booked for next June and I cancelled it this morning. I don't want to sail on a ship that is a sister to the Vista. I really didn't like the layout or the closed in feeling of it. If the shows and the dining room experience are important to you, I wouldn't recommend this ship. Read Less

This was our third Carnival Cruise in the past 5 years, all of which left from Galveston. This was our first cruise more than 5 nights. We chose this cruise because it fit a very specific time table in June of 2019. We're from Texas and have visited Galveston before but not this time. I'd recommend spending some time in Galveston if it's your first time, there's plenty of history, food, and fun nightlife places to enjoy. We had pre-booked parking at EZ Cruise Parking, ($80) and we had no problem embarking within our window. My wife and I were very happy about our room. It was an interior room but had a "walkway" view at the very front of the ship on the Lido deck, so we did have a window which had a great forward view. We went to the show on the first night which was a kind of preview of the shows for the rest of the cruise and we were hooked. We saw every show and they were all very good. The Cloud 9 Spa and exercise rooms were fantastic, especially the "Thermal Rooms" packages which we purchased for the entire cruise. We went almost every day, enjoying the mineral tub, eucalyptus steam rooms and saunas. The food was very good, but not as good as I expected. I just thought the other cruises we'd been on the food was better, especially the breakfasts, and specialty dining rooms. We only went to the dining room once for breakfast and it wasn't good, so we stuck with the buffet the rest of the cruise and it was a bit plain. The dining rooms were much better at night, our favorite meals of the cruise were in the "Dine Anytime" or Horizons Dining room. We did spend extra on the steakhouse and the "Captains Italian" restaurant, both were disappointing base on what we had done before. Guy Fieri's Burger Joint was fantastic, and so was the Pizzeria. The IMAX was an interesting feature and we took advantage of a showing of "Dark Phoenix", it was a very enjoyable experience. We spent a lot of time on the Serenity Deck (21+) and we highly recommend the salad bar there, the hot tubs up there were just the right temperature too. We only did one excursion, in Belize we did the "jungle buggy, zip line, cave tubing and lunch" excursion and it was worth it. We saw many reviews complaining about bus times, wait times, etc. and we didn't mind it at all. In fact our guide was so good the bus trip to the excursion went by without much notice. (FYI, go to the bathroom before you get on any bus or tender) In Roatan, Honduras, we hung out at the "free" beach for most of the day and it was great, especially for those of us who can't do more than one day at a time on a beach. Plenty of good drinks and places to relax, I'd recommend renting a clam shell shade for the day. Matt the Cruise Director was the best / funniest we've seen. The ship is huge, I wish I would have had more time to explore it all. We would definitely recommend the Carnival Vista and I'd like to visit Belize again, I'm a bit done with Cozumel, lol. Finally, getting off the ship was a nightmare, all kinds of issues with the computers at Customs. The kick you out of your room at 8:45, we didn't get to head to the gangway until after noon, then stood in line at customs for an hour and a half. I know it wasn't Carnival's fault, but they didn't or weren't willing to make things easier for us. Read Less

This cruise was a family cruise with 2 grandparents, two toddlers, 1 teen, and 9 adults on the Carnival Vista sailing out of Galveston, TX to Cozumel, Belize and Mahogany Bay. This was my 7th cruise and 5th with Carnival so I am getting to the point of knowing what to expect when cruising and I'll share my thoughts on this one. EMBARKATION This was the first time in 7 cruises that I felt like I basically showed up and walked right on the ship. I wanted the Faster to the Fun when I first booked the cruise, but it was sold out which was a good thing because it wasn't needed. We had a 12:30 - 1:00 check-in window and were in our rooms by 1. TIP: Bring a backpack to carry on your wine, (soda) pop and the things you might need before you can get to your room and luggage. Check everything else in with the porter so you don't have to drag it on the ship. SHIP We chose the Vista because it was one of the newer bigger ships and we like to try different ships. I felt the Vista was very clean, the decor (for Carnival) was nice and there was tons to do onboard. If you are the type that likes to just stay on the ship from start to finish, I don't think you could ever be bored and not find something to do everyday. The biggest perks on this ship for our family were the waterpark and slides, Skyride, Rope course and the hot tubs which I felt were never crowded. We also did the Thrill Theatre which was fun for a one time try. One of the biggest complaints I've read about this ship were the missing glass elevators. I didn't feel it was ever crowded enough on the ship to miss them. Wait times were busy during high peak hours, but we just used the stairs in those cases. TIP: Enjoy all of the aboard activities during non-peak times when possible. If there is a port you are staying on the ship or a big event happening you are not interested in, then go take advantage of the pools, slides, rides, mini golf etc.. We didn't get off the ship at Mahogany Bay until mid afternoon and had a great time in the pools. CABIN We all had balcony cabin on the Lido deck (10) and I can't see ever booking a cruise without those cabins. You are right there were everything is happening - food, activities, bars, movie theatre and more. Our cabin was nice. Wasn't noisy aside from the balcony door slamming occasionally. The stateroom attendant always kept our ice filled, cleaned our room twice a day and asked if we needed anything from time to time. FOOD & DINING We didn't use the buffet's for any food, because we didn't need to as there were so many other options. We did get deserts from the buffet area and really like the Gelato ice cream. Favorites were Guy's Burgers, Blue Iguana Cantina (great tacos) Pizzeria, Deli and a few others. Never stood in line for anything more than a couple of minutes tops other than for the pizza that still wasn't that long. We had early dining and had a great wait staff. I am not a picky eater and love to try different things and found there was a very good selection of food. Love the "Ports of Call" selections. However, I do feel like the dining room food was not as good as our previous Carnival cruises. Tasty, maybe just not as flavorful as past sailings. TIP: If you never been on a cruise or just didn't know, you can order as many things as you like at the dining room. Didn't like your spare ribs? Order something else off the menu. You can also get hidden items like the Banana Split if you ask the waiter. Also if you are not a fan of the sauces or spices they put on then ask to have your meal served plain and then have them bring you a particular condiment you like. ENTERTAINMENT We did a couple of the comedy club shows and they were funny. Trivia is always a family favorite and we finally got to bring home a Ship on a Stick trophy. Movies Under the Stars is always a great way to relax for us. We didn't do the shows at the main theatre, but heard they were good. Cruise Director Matt is the best in the business. Always had us laughing and threw a great deck party. TIP: If you want to take advantage of the onboard entertainment get the whole group there early to get good seats. Saving seats is frowned upon and should be. There is nothing worse than getting to a show early and finding one person has ten seats saved. DRINKS We are not big drinkers, except on cruises. This was the first cruise where we decided to try the Cheers program. Worth the money if you take advantage of all they have to offer - milkshakes, specialty coffees, (soda) pop, and 15 a day in alcoholic drinks. I felt like there were plenty of opportunities to get your money's worth without having to try and get to your drink limit. TIP: For the Cheers program, always ask for premium liquor in any of your cocktails. Since you cannot use your drink package on the first day of the cruise leaving the Galveston port, bring on your own bottle of wine to have the first night. Don't plan on drinking much on a particular day? Get a couple shots and put them in your rooms mini fridge for when you do. PORTS AND EXCURSIONS Cozumel - This was some of our family's fourth time at this port and always a favorite. Plenty to do on this island without buying an expensive excursion. We decided to take a taxi to Sky Reef and had a lot of fun. It was less than $200 for 7 of us to snorkel, have a drink, get a backrub, taste some tequila and enjoy the area. TIP: Do some research and you will find plenty of things to do at Cozumel fairly cheap with just a taxi ride to them. Belize - We did buy an excursion for this one as we felt it was safer to do. We did the Cave tubing with lunch and it didn't disappoint. The bus ride was long to and from the place but our guide did a great job of keeping us entertained - Yeah Man! Cave tubing was fun and interesting. Lunch was tasty and I recommend getting the Cashew wine for the trip back. TIP: Bring water shoes and some cash for the gift shop. If you have health issues, keep in mind that there is a little bit of a trek through the rain forest including walking up some wooden stairs all the while carrying your tub. Grandparents had a little bit of a struggle keeping up with the group. Mahogany Bay - This was your basic beach port with amenities. Nothing fantastic, but we had a relaxing time. It's nice to have a port where you can get off the ship, stretch your legs and not have to pay for anything. TIP: No need to bring snorkel gear to this place. Really nothing of worth to see here. DISEMBARKATION Worst part of the cruise in my opinion. Carnival is not totally to blame, but things could have been done better. I didn't care for the way they provided the information for the disembarkation process the night before getting off the ship. Didn't hear the announcement or see that they had a stand for the tags so we ended up not getting any luggage tags and had to carry off all of our luggage. Oh well, lessons for next time. Due to customs issues there was a super long wait to get people off the ship as well as having to stand in a long line to get through customs. If you are carrying all of your luggage, have toddlers and senior citizens, standing in a long line for over an hour can test your nerves. TIP: Don't be in a hurry to get off the ship. Go enjoy a nice breakfast at the dining room. Kick back and relax in your cabin until you have to get out and then go find a nice place to sit until they call your deck to leave. Also, find out the disembarkation process the day before leaving if you want luggage tags. VISTA EXPERIENCE The whole family loved this ship and had a great time. There was plenty to do for all ages and never felt we didn't get our money's worth. For a big ship with lots of people nothing was ever crowded, and did about everything we wanted to do onboard. Other than disembarkation, we never had any problems with the whole process from booking to being on the cruise. FINAL TIPS: First time cruisers do plenty of research. Watch videos, read reviews and find out what you can before you go. This will help you have a better time while onboard. Watch the Cruise TV in your cabin to see what's going on and read your Fun Times. Have a waterproof watch on so you know what time it is and allow you to be early to the activities and entertainment. Relax, have a good time and remember that you are not a work, you don't have to cook, clean or make your bed. Happy Cruising! Read Less

When we first entered the atrium, it was just like someone’s extra large living room with extra number of chairs and a bar. The decor is simplistic and lack of the grandeur ambience other carnival cruises we have been on(total four carnival cruises so far). This actually goes for the whole cruise ship. A lot of activity and small areas for sitting with nice chairs but the whole design of the ship feels claustrophobic. Buffets have very limited options and it was disappointing because buffet is one of the things we enjoy on cruises. Guy’s burger used to be available until midnight on other ships but stops service at 6pm today (not sure if it is the same hours everyday). Not sure if this is a way to get people go to fee based restaurants which there are four or five. We enjoyed JI JI Asian fusion restaurants and went twice. Formal dining is not at par with other carnival cruises either. There is IMAX and thrill rides which is nice if you are willing to pay for it. There are more photos purchase options like downloading on your phone , USB or prints but the problem is the photos are displayed digitally instead of prints and the digital prints have carnival logos all over and I ended up ordering photo in which my face is twisted but that specific detail is blocked . We booked two excursions and despite of the high price we did not even get a bottle of water for drink. I would be careful to go with carnival and read reviews first before I take carnival cruise again. Read Less

I sailed on the Vista with my husband and two teenagers. We had such an amazing time. Even though the ship was full you could still find a quiet place to read or just enjoy the view. My husband has food allergies and the staff in the main dining room was very accomodating, making sure his food was prepared properly. We had your time dining. I wasn't sure if we would like that but we ended up loving the flexibility of it and the ability of check in via the Hub app. And we never waited more than 10 minutes for a table. We enjoyed several of the comedians and the Playlist productions. Our kids loved the Club O2 and made several friends. The Cruise Director, Matt, was amazing and kept things fun. We also loved the Polaris trio that played in the atrium. We had balcony cabin 8382 and loved the location. It was convenient to the Lido deck as well as the main dining room, the Limelight Lounge, and Liquid Lounge. I would definitely sail on the Vista again! Read Less

This was our first time on the Vista, our 19th to date. We have only cruised CCL and this was 14th different ship. We were not impressed with a few things that might be okay for others, we are mature but young at heart and enjoy most activities on board. The biggest disappointment was the atrium in main lobby what a shock no more glass elevators lowered ceiling, sure vortex was cute but lobby was not the same. It seemed the designers tried to cram as many areas as they possibly on ship . Huge mistake as while on board I heard this from many veteran cruisers. Who ever designed the elevator system should rethink this design as it was the worst we have ever experienced. CD Matt was great but trying to relax at the pool in the morning and have the morning show blast us out volume wise should be addressed, have a crew member monitor when they start to make sure we are not blasted with it. The show it self was fine and informative. Lido food court seemed to be very warm most of the time and yes I understand with that many people it will get warm.. once again a crew member to check periodically.. All restaurants BI,RFP, were always quick and fresh. Steak house we waited over an hour to have main course brought to us. We were at 5:30 seating 3rd in line to be seated the second table ate and left before we got our main course. we always do SH and always excellent, But when ast. mgr. explained it was what we ordered I just had to put this in. They did comp us a dinner two nights later at 8:45 anyway in closing the Vista is not for us. we prefer smaller ships . Cruise on :) Read Less

I was very reluctant about taking a cruise but once underway the crew and my guests that I went with made it very enjoyable. The people in the Omelet area, Lu and his partner were wonderful. I have never been treated so well as we were by Webster and his crew from the room steward team. They wen't above and beyond their duties to make sure we were happy and comfortable. During dinner Ketut, Roy and Wayan were fabulous in the Horizon dinner area. The entire crew, bartenders, Matt the cruise director and all were just fabulous. At first this was my first and only cruise until I experienced the Carnival Vista. Now I can't wait to plan my next cruise. Thank You Carnival Vista, our cruise planner and all of the staff from the Vista for making this an incredible and unforgettable vacation. and I must say that Matt the cruise was extremely funny, helpful and made the trip enjoyable. The debarkation process was extremely slow due to Galveston Port Patrol, Not Carnival. Thank you Carnival cruise lines! I will be back!!! Read Less

We sailed on Carnival Vista on Sunday, April 28, 2019 for scheduled stops to Cozumel, Mexico, Belize and Mohogany Bay, Isla Roatan, returned to Galveston, Texas on Sunday, May 05, 2019. Getting on the ship was a breeze, sail and sign cards were at our room waiting on us. Our cabin was ready at 1:30 pm as provided to us, luggage arrived as scheduled. Our cabin was cleaned twice a day, great job by the steward, she remember our names and always asked how we were doing and if we needing anything. The food was great, never waited in line longer than 15 minutes. Vista decor was very plain compared to the other ships we have been on. The steakhouse is better on the smaller ships than the Vista. A disappointment to me is we didn't dock at Mohogany Bay, Isla Roatan. We selected this cruise for our daughters college graduation and because she wanted to go to Roatan. On the morning, 0630, of Thursday, May 02, 2019 I saw a ship out of our cabin window and thought why am I seeing this ship. So, I got dressed and went down for coffee, I saw Mohogany, Bay, Isla Roatan to the east and then the ship I saw passed by us at approximately 0730 and dock in Roatan. At 0800, the captain announce that we will not be docking at Mohogany Bay due to the winds being to high. At 0830 the captain came back on the intercom and said we will be going back to Cozumel, Mexico. I thought, well the captain is being cautious and didn't want to take a chance damaging the ship. On Monday, April 29, 2019 the sky ride on Vista was not operating due to high winds, so on that Thursday, May 02, 2019 when we were scheduled to stop in Roatan the shy ride was operating. Rumor on the ship was the Vista had mechanical problems with the thrust motors. On April 18, 2019 the Carnival Vista didn't dock in Roatan due to high winds as well. I know the Liberty of the Sea docked in Roatan on Tuesday, April 30, 2019 because I talked to passengers that were on Liberty of the Sea in Cozumel on Friday, May 03, 2019. I arrived home and checked winds for Roatan: Tuesday April 30, 2019 - High/29 mph - Low/21 mph Wednesday May 01, 2019 - High/29 mph - Low/15mph Thursday May 02, 2019 - High/25 - Low/14 mph Carnival Vista docked in Roatan on May 14, 2019 and the winds were 23 mph. I very disappointed we didn't dock in Roatan, didn't get to enjoy our cabana we had rented and snorkeling to see the beautiful reef. Read Less

This was my eleventh cruise on Carnival. We were on the Carnival Vista for a 7-day Western Caribbean itinerary during the week of April 28 to May 5, 2019. Our ports were Cozumel, Belize, Mahogany Bay (cancelled and went back to Cozumel due to high winds). We left from the port of Galveston. Passengers: 4000 plus on our sailing. With 400+ platinum cruisers and 200+ Diamond. Passengers were older and mostly from Texas. Much fewer young people than normal for Carnival. Also, Premier Gambling groups were on board. Getting there: We flew into IAH (George Bush International) on Delta one day before and stayed at the Marriott right in the airport. What a great hotel and what a wonderful stay. Strongly recommend staying here. M-club was also pretty good for snacks and breakfast. We transferred to the Port by private car---using Omega Royal transportation and they were superb! See hotel and transport on TripAdvisor. Check-in: was a breeze. We are platinum cruisers now. We had our bags with us and were on board and in our cabin in 15 mins. I used to always get FTTF but do not need it now. At $90 a cabin its your call----but I always got it for the preferred embark, debark and dedicated line at guest services. Buffet: Food was standard for Carnival and might I say excellent. There is a buffet mid-ship and at the back on deck 10. Don’t be afraid to walk around—while the main foods are the same, there is gelato at lunch in the center area and fancy multi-layer cakes at the back also at lunch. There is also a small buffet in Ocean Plaza on deck 5. However, crowded the buffet area was; I never waited more than 5 minutes. I really don’t understand the people who complain about food on a ship. The buffet food is plentiful and there is a variety. People often say selections do not change---well, it’s hard to have change and have a variety when pretty much everything is already there. People also need to take their time and look. We had brisket, turkey, and strip loin and sirloin steak at the carving station. Many vegetarian options and different fish every day. At night there was a “snack buffet” starting around 11:30 pm. This included, different foods over the week and don’t forget Pizza is 24 hrs. My one complaint about buffets is always the same----many people do not use hand sanitizer although it is right there. JIJI Asian: This is 15 dollars per person, and it was outstanding. We had pork-belly, Wagyu short ribs, three kinds of dessert, of which the ice cream crepes were our favorite. Noodles where also excellent. It was a great meal---but so was every other meal we had. Also, if you want to try this area at lunch it is called the Mongolian and does complementary stir-fry. Pizza: On this ship, wait times were usually 5 mins. However, at peak dinner periods and including the 11 pm times could be 20 minutes or longer. Carnival pizza is authentic Italian thin crust pizza made with double zero flour and baked fresh on stone ovens----it is excellent. The Vista has real stone ovens. If you are expecting American style pizza------then think New York style not Chicago and not big Chain store pizza. Ice Cream: Still there. No toppings for Sundaes. Just cones and bowls. But if you go to the dessert buffets there are things you can use to make a Sundaes-----Vanilla sauce, cookies, fruit compotes------put crushed cookies or other desserts on a bowl of ice cream Read Less

I went on this cruise with family and friends because it was the newest biggest one coming out of Houston from Carnival. On more than 1 occasion my room service in the AM never showed up. I never received my excursions ticket, which caused delays for me and separation from my party. My room was by the IMAX theater and it shook and rumbled until early hours. Even though I asked about this prior to booking. My neighbors had a party with all small children and security had to get involved. The food was fantastic and so was the entertainment. Please be honest with guest about rooms close to IMAX theater (7292) had low rumbling thunder and explosions that shook the room. Oh and I was charged by the spa for a service that I never received and it took several calls to have it removed. I was staying in my room alone so I am unsure if that was why my room service was overlooked. They said just call, if noone shows up, but you are on hold for 15 minutes, this is why I put my order in advance to prevent being on hold and long waits. Read Less

There are reviews of this ship, so I won't go into lots of detail. Here are some of my thoughts: 1. Tons of stuff to do for adults and kids alike. I'm not a lay on the lounger person and only hit the hot tubs a few times. I like to 'do' on a ship. So, I did: ropes course, pedal cars, comedy shows, big shows in lounge, one bingo, The Clue Game, Hasbro, Love and Marriage show, lots of trivia, an art show, family games, bean bag toss, danced late in the atrium parties, etc.. I had a blast. I did not have time for the Trill or Imax theaters, or mini golf (nice course), or a ton of other things that were going on the ship. HINT: Check your fun times and look at what is offered, so you can plan your day. We took our IPAD and check all the activities on it. 2. We did not plan shore excursions except for Cozumel. Big mistake. Grand Cayman and Jamaica were a bust. BORING. HINT: in Cozumel take a Taxi to Chankanaab National Park ($12ishthere and $12ish back). $23 admission. Snorkel, beach, zipline, animal shows, massages, walking trails, fake ruins, lots of other things to do-google it. Clean, Don't do the ship tour, just walk off go to taxi stand. This is a set price. Beat the crowds. We take our own snorkel gear and noodles to float. Then leave noodles with other kids on beach-now room for souvenirs. 3. The ship is huge, but easy to navigate. Elevators got busy-but you are on vacation, what's the hurry. I found the décor a little plain for me. Loved the new atrium electronic display that changed throughout the trip. 4. The biggest CON I had was the casino got way too smoky. Worst ship in 14 cruises on 4 different cruise lines that I have been on for smoke in casino. I mean terrible. We did enjoy the casino, but my clothes reeked. In fact, I would change to the same outfit to go to casino at night so only one set of clothes stunk. 5. I usually love anytime dining, but did NOT like it on this ship. As a couple we were placed at little 2 people tables (that won't hold your food) in the worst locations. I asked to sit at larger tables-but nope stuck in horrible places. If you have a large group you will be fine. If you like eating just you and your other you will be...…. If you like to converse with others at mealtimes like in the old days and make new friends....Main dining room is a must for you. Waiters fine, but service was always off, because of how we were seated. Food was cruise food. Loved most of it. 7. Lots of choices to eat for lunch...my favorites are Guys Burgers because you get the burgers and then fix them the way you want. Be sure to read the board there to see other ways they will make your burger. They even have a bacon patty burger. My other new favorite was the Deli station toward the back of the buffett. BLT was great. We wanted to eat around 11am and this was open...I ate there 3 lunches. My older kids prefer the main dining room for lunch and breakfast-I have never tried this myself but they say it's great to be waited on and have a leisurely meal.(They were on this ship in March.) Read Less

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I really missed the typical Carnival atrium with the glass enclosed elevators that ascended top to bottom. The atrium area of the Vista had a neat LED "fish tank" but not as impressive as the typical atrium area. I wan't impressed with the Havana Bar or cabins either. Didn't care for the stage show. The more I cruise, the less I like the food in the Main Dining Room. The Steak house was excellent as usual and I also enjoyed the other specialty dining options. By far the worst in my 6 cruises. Otherwise, the ship was enjoyable.Shore excursions were a mixed bag. Snorkeling in Belize was the best we've done. Snorkeling in Cozumel was an afterthought because we were pulled from the water very soon after we got in due to inclement weather - certainly not the excursion operator's fault. We purchased FTTF and that always makes a big difference embarking and debarking. Read Less

We had an ocean suite and we are platinum, so the boarding process was very quick. Only time we stopped was when our carry on went through the x-ray. Friends that had faster to the fun said the same thing, they walked right on to the ship with out stopping. Before muster drill our suitcases were in our room and we had completely unpacked and had things put up before muster. Suite was good, but not as big as the same class suite on the smaller ships. Balcony did have 3 chairs and a table and one chair was reclining. Our room steward always kept us with ice, and kept the room very clean, and she always knew us by name. We had your time dining. They have changed the way they do it, now there is three ways. Go to deck 5 and make a reservation with a person, which is a waste of time, do it with the app or just show up. First night doing this was a mess. We made a reservation for 6:30pm. It was about an hour before our table was ready. Since the dining room fills up, ;you still have to wait for a table to "open" before you are seated. There after I made the reservations with the app and for right now and the wait was less than 10 min. and they sent me the table number. Showed up at the dining room, showed them the table number on the app and were seated. Then we got a really good wait staff. After talking to them, they told me to just show up at opening time, go to the desk and request him and his staff, and that they would seat us with them. We did that the next night and it worked. Problem was, the people on deck 5 told us one thing, the people at the desk told us different things, so until we just asked the waiter, he told us how to do it. First night we had steak house reservations which came with a free bottle of wine or half off of the listed wines. We were 3 couples and all of us requested the free bottle of house wine. The bar waiter was really insistent we should get the half off listed wine as the house wine was not as good. He really made us feel like if we did not take the half off deal, that we were just a bunch of country hicks with poor taste. We gave in, mainly to get him to go away, but we did report him. Those were the only things that did get to us on the entire cruise. For such a big ship, this was our first time on Vista, we never noticed any really long waits at any of the places to eat, guys burger lines always moved fast and our wait was a couple of minutes. We really like the ship but we did have a minor thing that people might need to be aware of. We all had custom magnetic signs made to place on our doors. Yes, the cabin doors are metal, but they have a "coating" of plastic or something like that on them such that our magnetic signs would not stick. So we had to place them on the outside wall. Not a big deal, but still something to plan for if we sail again on vista. We found all the staff that we encountered were all friendly and professional. Due to high winds in Honduras, the Captain decided not to try to dock their, so we set out back towards Galveston. In a few minutes they advised us we would do another stop in Cozumel. Of course there were many ticked off people, including some diamond members, raising hell with the staff about it. I think it took real guts for the Captain to decide NOT to try docking in high winds, maybe causing damage to the ship and or the pier. It could have been bad, but some don't care about that, only want to get their way, not matter what the cost to the ship, the pier or the consequences of something bad happening. Then they would have been even more mad that he tried to dock in high winds. A no win situation for the Captain but a real good decision taking all things in consideration. Maybe more people should actually read the rules and regulations instead of just clicking "I agree" on the legal information. Read Less

This is our third carnival cruise and we really enjoyed the Vista! It’s a huge ship and even over spring break it did not feel nearly as crowded as other ships have. There are several pools/hot tubs and lots of places to be/activities to do, so people are spread out. The staff are friendly, as always and the food was very good. We are in the main dining room every night but lots of people raved about the specialty dining. We enjoyed the cruise director, Matt, but Emma is still by far our favorite! Our kids really enjoyed the waterworks area (loved the slides) and the sky ride. We loved our room location. Quiet, close to the elevators/stairs and it was centrally located so easy to get everywhere! Overall there were 9 of us in our group, from age 5 to 65 and we all had a great time! I’d sail on the Vista again in a heartbeat, even over spring break. ;) Pros: Large ship with LOTS to do so it doesn’t feel as crowded as other ships. You don’t have to fight for deck chairs or space. The layout was nice and easy to get around. Friendly staff and really good food (Mongolian wok and of course, Guys are really good and included) Cons: The main showroom layout is poor. Makes it difficult to see the show from almost everywhere. (The shows were pretty good though from what we could see). Comedy club is too small for how popular it is but it is larger than other ships. The casino seemed to smell way more smoky than other ships. It was hard to even walk past it and we definitely weren’t going through it or in there (we would have had it but been so bad). We were actually surprised how bad it was since it’s a new ship but it was really awful. Embarking and disembarking are a nightmare but I think that’s more of an issue with the port than the ship. Port Galveston seemed to be far more disorganized but than Port Canaveral but once through to the cruise line it wasn’t bad getting on. Getting off was the same. It took hours for them to let us off, the port kept stopping the process. We just hung out on the lido deck though, not a big deal and not the vista’s fault but if you’re sailing from Galveston prepare for disorganization!! Read Less

I absolutely enjoyed my stay on the Vista! Embarking was very fast and hassle free. My daughter and I had faster to the fun. We walked right up to the desk and was checked in, in a matter of minutes. We were on board at 11:45 am! We skipped checking into our rooms first and went right up to the Lido deck to have guys burger joint. The burgers were hot off the grill with hot fries. Amazing! I think I had four of those burgers during our six day cruise. My only complain was that my muster station meet up was in the smokey casino. It was hard to sit in there waiting for the meeting to start and inhaling the smell of smoke. After that the deck party was fun. The cruise director Matt was very entertaining and welcoming. We had early dining in the Horizons, we had the perfect view of the sun setting every night at dinner. The dining room staff was very attentive. I enjoyed most of the courses that I tried. I also ate in the steakhouse one night. I was not that impressed and felt that I should have just ate in the main dining room. The service in there was extremely slow and took about three hours for dinner. I was falling asleep waiting for our entrees. The room steward Natalia was very nice and kept clean towels and our room clean and comfortable. For one of the port days we went to Mr. Sanchos in Cozumel. We had a blast there. The service and food was delicious. Overall I enjoyed my cruise. I would like to sale the Vista at least one more time but I will be trying other ships before returning. Read Less

I will start by saying that i have been on 8 cruises. We are easy to please, love to party and always decide to make it a good experience. I will break this down in categories for you. 1. Embarkation was the best that we have had on any cruise. we have been on multiple cruiselines and to many differtent ports. we waited in line for 5 minutes tops. We got on as quick as we could walk the pathway. 2. Ship layout was terrible but we got used to it. Pool sizes are super small. Chairs are easy to get because the pools/ outdoor areas are all broken up and located in different areas. The elevators are pretty slow going. Take the stairs as much as possible. The Atrium isn't a very good setup, thats why they have an elevator problem. They got rid of the glass speed elevators in the atrium so everybody has to use the others. The show lounge was designed by someone that clearly has never been on a cruise and using the theatre.Once again expect to have fun and not worry about the small stuff. 3. Staff: A+++++. This was by far the best staff that we have evry encountered on a cruise. Friendly helpful and sincere. Enough said. 4. Cruise director Matt is the best in the business. He by far exceeded our expectations of a great CD. 5. Casino - I am not a smoker and thought the smoke level was fine. I have read a bunch of complaints but disagree with them.By far the funest casino ive been to on a ship. Loud and open late.Hottest craps table that ive seen on a cruise ship. 6. Food: buffet avaerage but what i expected. Pizza is not very good in my opinion. We ate it only out of convienience. dining room dinner was average. Steakhouse was not as good as advertised but im a steak snob. Sides, apps and desert were fab but the steak definitely isn't prime. I didn't get to try the seafood shack. The barbaque was average but the mac and cheese is a total joke. I really cant see why Guy would endore that mac. a 5 yr old making kraft would have better results. Tip the mac and cheese at the small buffet just inside the doors from barbaque is outstanding. The sushi is very good and very cheap for sushi. We didn't try the Italian place but it was great. The JI JI asian place was incredible. best food on the ship that we ate. guys burger is very good and the taco/burrito joint is very good. As you can see i like food. 7. bars - Alchemy is very good but very slow. Tequilla bar and staff was great. steakhouse bar was a favorite. Piano bar is a must if you like fun. The atrium bar is great during the violin shows. The violin group is amazing. 8. entertainment - We did the comedy a lot and they were great. The love and marriage was the best that ive seen on any ship. The quest game was out of this world but be prepared for a raunchy loud drunken time. The cruise was a love hate for us. We had a blast because we are fun and simple people. I would suggest to try the ship for sure but we wouldn't do the ship again unless the price comes down to what other carnival ships charge. Read Less

We booked this cruise for Our 16th anniversary. We have never taken “real” vacation with just the two of us as most of our time off has been camping with our kids. Overall I would not be opposed to taking another cruise maybe in a couple years. Good: 1. The staff on board was excellent. Our room steward Arthar. Corina served us at both the pool and in the main dining hall on several occasions and she was awesome. Oscar and Mark at Alchemy bar were great 2. La Cocina Italian restaurant 3. Gigi’s Asian restaurant Bad: 1. The sushi bar was edible but I would not go back. We did have a cooked sea bass that my wife raved about. 2. Most of the mixed drinks at the bars were supper sweet, weak, not very good. Go to Alchemy 3. The dinning hall was ok but nothing to rave about Read Less

Chose this Cruise for our 27th wedding anniversary. We had so much fun on this cruise. All the staff we interacted with were very professional and always had a smile. Especially Milan and Mark in the Alchemy Bar. We stopped here for drinks before dinner every night, best dirty martinis I have ever had. The decor of the ship was plain but did not bother me. We did not even miss the glass elevators. The Havana area is great. I would recommend choosing a room that allows access to this area. No crowds at the bar or at the pool area. Walked out at 10 and plenty of loungers still available. Since this was an anniversary cruise we only ate in the main dining room twice. The food was good it was what I expected. The other night we ate at the specialty restaurants and the food was exceptional. We had so much fun on this cruise we booked another cruise on the Vista. Read Less