We are avid cruisers. Platinum Carnival, Princess, and RCL. This ship by far is the poorest designed ship this cruiser has ever experienced. We sailed on her when she first started in Miami and decided to give her another chance now that she has been in the system a while. First Matt, the cruise director is outstanding! Does what he can with what he has. Embarkation, outstanding, best ever seen. Room steward, probably the worst. Arrived at stateroom, no refrigerator, no life jackets, called pursers desk, purser argued with my wife about refrigerator being there “you just need to look in cabinet”. Reconfirmed life jackets missing, looked under bed for life jackets where they should be located now and confirmed that they were missing. Room steward met us in hallway and said refrigerator is on the way and life jackets are under the bed. I assured him that they were not. He asked if we wanted morning or evening service, I said both. He repeated morning OR evening service. My wife said evening is fine, New change in policy? I confirmed that it was not. Atrium music cancelled first night, no explanation. Atrium floor design bad for dancing, major thoroughfare for bartenders, photographers, and fellow cruisers. Also large support beam in middle of floor. Shows, main theater very poor design. Large beams block view of anyone lucky enough to get a seat. Seats on back row do not provide height to see over seats in front. Dancers were good, singing.... voices did not compliment each other. Comedy show, too small a venue, no seating 3 out of 4 shows arriving 20 minutes prior. Dancing, two floors suitable for dancing, Havana Bar and Ocean Plaza. Limelight lounge a impromptu floor, small and inadequate. Havana bar, small, good for Salsa, Rumba, and cha cha if no one else is dancing, band good. Ocean plaza, farmer band played polka after polka, only one beat. Voices did not compliment each other. Other band was good sometimes accompanied by three piece horns. Wednesday night singers didn’t show due to illness. Thursday night singers didn’t show for country but did show up later for Motown. No scale in fitness center. Was told that it’s use was only available during spa treatments. Food was adequate during cruise but had dropped in quality since last on vista. Carnival Magic and Dream are much better ships! Read Less

While I love Carnival and have cruised them for years, I would have to honestly say that their newer ship, the Carnival Vista, quite disappointing. Pros and Cons from my perspective: For the Pros: -due to the overall size, the ship appears to be very stable for handling the seas making for an enjoyable smooth cruise for those that sometimes fear feeling the motion at sea. While there is always some movement, considering the seas we encountered, I think it did well. -security and safety seemed to be good as well and I’ve always felt safe on the carnival line cruises. -Unfortunately I had to visit the infirmary during my cruise for a nasal infection, but as seen on previous times, Carnival has a very adept and professional medical staff aboard their vessels, and the Vista was no exception here. -The water recreation area, sky bikes, workout and outdoor activities on the upper deck for sports and activity enthusiasts are a plus and seem to be a real hit with everyone. -There were plenty of bar areas to adequately accommodate everyone’s thirst in a prompt time frame. -And, as with with all Carnival cruises and ships I’ve been on, the fun crew staff was very personable and accommodating. The Vista crew and staff went overboard, excuse the pun, to make sure everyone had a fantastic vacation. My personal hats off to our dinner host, Darko, our head waiter, Corina, our room steward, Putu, and to the Alchemy bar tender, Mark. I’d say Mark was one of the best bar tenders I’ve seen in some time for making custom drinks. His incredible ability to multi-task several customers and orders simultaneously, and quickly, without a flaw was very impressive. Now for the Cons: -Although the ship is larger allowing for a larger number of passengers, Carnival severely missed on addressing several areas such as: The rooms, the lido and pool areas, the casino, the dining experience, and food. -The rooms appear to be smaller than previous ships I’ve been on. We were in a porthole room, which compared to previous rooms of similar type, this one had far less space and closet storage. Speaking with a few others in different room types, it sounded as if the inside rooms and some of the window rooms were smaller, while the suites still similar to other ships. -As for the pool areas, while this ship boasts a larger size, the pool areas did not see an increase in size, which was a disappointment. The common pool areas appeared to be the same size as other boats. Finding seating was difficult and with a larger number of passengers. I would have expected more area for these pools and accommodating guests. I should add that this boat does have a third pool area at the rear of the boat this area was a private area only for guests that paid for the exclusive Havana suite rooms. A final comment on pools is that although Carnival will sometimes advertise adult only pool areas, this is not enforced and kids can be found in all pools, if that’s something important to you. -The casino area is a complete failure in my opinion. The Casino on the Vista appears to have been an afterthought. There is very little room to move around in this Casino, so much so that I saw at least two arguments between players that did not have enough room to get into a table area. Additionally, due to the poor design and limited space, Carnival put the Casino bar in the middle of the under-sized Casino area resulting in an overwhelmingly smoky atmosphere. (I noted earlier that I had to go to the infirmary for nasal issues which I highly attributed to the smoky conditions.) Speaking with many others that are Carnival Casino regulars, I heard the same resounding statement that they would not be taking this ship again due to this Casino. I should add that the Casino appears to be such an afterthought that to find a men’s restroom from the casino required going upstairs or a hike to the front of the ship on the Casino floor. My personal note for Carnival, I would love to see Carnival initiate a smoke free casino, with possibly a smoking area that is adjoining in a separate room or area that is far better ventilated. Unfortunately, with the Casino bar allowing smoking and being in the middle of the casino, you had many passengers that prefer to sit and smoke while dunking creating a very smoky casino area. -For food and dining, we were disappointed in the dining room itself. The atmosphere felt more like a Luby’s cafeteria rather than a luxurious dining hall as we would have expected. The food also was a bit less than expected. While we’ve always felt the food on the Carnival ships was ok, this one felt like they cut corners with the quality. We did have an opportunity to dine in the Italian restaurant, JiJis and the Sushi restaurant. All 3 were fanatics although they all require a premium for dinner services. Overall, as as Carnival has always strived to provide a great vacation for the common person without breaking the bank, I would have to say that the Vista does provide an opportunity for a good family vacation, but do expect some shortfalls with this particular Carnival ship. I personally would recommend the Carnival Breeze and/or Freedom. Read Less

This was our 14th cruise on Carnival. Haven't sailed on one their ships in over 3 years. This was our 41st cruise. The reason we picked this cruise was we got a great casino rate. Galveston is only a 4 hour drive from home. First impression of the Vista was not that great. Being Platinum got us right on at 11:30. Guy's Burgers hit the spot. Ate there several more times while on board. The outdoor BarBQ by Guy's on sea days was also very good. The MDR's food was ok but only once was our food really hot. The Lido Deck food was luke warm at best. If you like your desserts you need to be on the Lido at lunch. The cakes we're the best but they ran out fast and the line was 40-50 people deep. Staff was good about clearing tables and being friendly. The show's in the Liquid Lounge we're ok. The setup in the lounge was strange . They use movable chairs in the lower section to accommodate the many stages they use during shows. Get there early if you want a good seat. The casino is the worst for smoke the smoke went out into the public areas. We would go up to deck 5 an crossover rather than go thru the casino. Matt the cruise director and his ass't Amanda we're some of the best. A must go to is the salute to the veterans. You don't have to be a veteran to be moved by this event. I'm a retired USAF MSgt and a Viet Nam veteran. This event brought many to tears. Thanks Matt for this being the host and making this my favorite part of the cruise. Our cabin was an inside on deck 8 aft. The only noise we heard we're people slamming their doors and talking loud out in hall. Debarcation went very well. We had priority self debarcation so we we're in our car driving home by 8AM. The ship is lackluster. Hard to find your way around. Read Less

Crew is the least friendly and coldest we've ever encountered on Carnival. The ship is full of gimmicks (for extra $); the "accessible" balcony cabin, was impossible to "navigate"; Guest Services was curt and unaccommodating when we requested a different cabin, even-though we said we'd take an inside one without requiring any fare adjustment or credit. The Spa "therapists" were all smiles and no substance, it did not feel sincere at all. The dinner menus were uninspired and repetitive, and the Reflections restaurant is does not feel inviting or comfortable. Too many large tables and not enough servers. The "FUNSquad" was not very fun at all, they mostly just go through the motions for trivia, name the song, and other games and activities. Room Service delivered our breakfast ALWAYS outside the requested 30-minute window, up to 30 minutes earlier and then 45 minutes late on the last day. A few times we tried to order coffee in the afternoon (there was no self-service Decaf available anywhere on the ship...), and that would take from 45-minutes up to TWO hours to have it delivered. Read Less

We have sailed 10+times with Carnival. Through the years the attention to detail and the desire to make you feel special has gotten overlooked. Wait staff no where near as good, room stewards not as attentive, food not as good or repetitive. This particular shop is VERY difficult to navigate. My wife and I searched for an hour to find the movie theater which is an extra cost. Too many areas are extra. We are going to try a competitor to see the difference. Carnival needs to get back to focusing on the customer and not the bottom line. They tend to be getting more focused on making money than bringing the luxury and pampering to the consumer as they did in the beginning. I realize we have come to expect certain things but the fall off in quality is obvious. I went to a comedy show and remembered almost every line from the same comedian 2 years earlier. SAD Read Less

We were originally booked on Carnival Freedom, but one day I found an email in my inbox telling me that Freedom was going to be dry docked during our vacation (WHAT?!?) and we needed to rebook. Through much discussion, and more than one reservation specialist, we were able to book on Vista. I am so glad we did!! I try not to travel on Carnival. Any other cruise line is nicer, classier, newer/cleaner, etc. The only reason I ever cruise with Carnival is because I live in Texas and it's either Carnival or Royal Caribbean, with Carnival having more ships. My experience with Carnival was on an older ship that was decorated like the inside of an old casino--very garish and ugly! I never saw my cabin steward and the crew were not friendly. There was very little communication. I swore I'd never do it again. When my daughter asked me to go again, I said yes...knowing that it was going to be sub-par. BUT WAIT!! The Vista is beautiful--it's only 3 yrs old, so it's decor is still on trend with streamlined furnishings and calming color schemes. It's a large ship with almost 4000 passengers, but I never felt like it. There were plenty of lounge chairs, both in the sun and in the shade. Of course, the main pool area filled up on sea days, but there are 3 decks surrounding the pool, so lots of seating. There is also an aft pool, and of course, the private Havana pool. Those other pools take some of the load off of the main pool. There are tables and umbrellas on the promenade deck. Many people took books out there and spent the afternoon reading and napping. Fantastic! I can't speak to the entertainment--getting dressed, rushing to, then crowding into a theater is not how I want to spend my vacation. I didn't see any shows, or comedians, or even go to the IMAX. From what I heard, they were all wonderful. There are many food choices on Vista! I never ate in the main dining room (for the reasons I listed about entertainment above), but I didn't need to. There is the buffet, hamburgers, pizza (even can have it delivered to your cabin!), fish and chips, BBQ, sushi...specialty restaurants. Everything I tried was enjoyable. It's nice to have choices!! The crew is amazing! Cruise director Matt is a humorous fellow. He kept everyone laughing and having fun. Our cabin steward, Rodrigo, knew our names by the first morning and would greet us every time we saw him...which was often. I never had to ask a thing of him; he was perfect. Any crew member we encountered smiled and greeted us. The embarkation process was one of the best I've ever had! From the time we arrived at the port terminal to the time we got onboard was only 45 minutes!! The safety drill went quickly too. Excursions? Very orderly. As well as debarkation process. I was very impressed with my cruise on Carnival Vista. So much so, I am planning another one! I think the people who rate this ship low are people that would complain about any ship. No trip is perfect. We are humans, all. I came back rested and happy with my vacation. Read Less

We picked this cruise because we wanted to go out of Galveston and the timing was right. We have never been on a cruise so had few expectations. Now about our experience: Although I am sure this is mentioned in all reviews, Matt, the Cruise Director is one of a kind. His wit and kindness to everyone he meets is remarkable. It was as though he had 4,000 close friends that week. He did a very touching program honoring vets. I could see the look in the eyes of the vets and could tell how very much they appreciated his kind remarks. At one point or another, there were not many dry eyes in the room. I have never seen anyone, in any profession, embrace their job with the joy and professionalism that Matt does whenever he is among all his guests. There were so many activities offered everyday that we only participated in about 1% and we stayed really busy the entire week. If there was a lacking area, I could only find one. The buffet was not very good in either of our opinions. It did not seem to include American tastes for lunch and evening meals. This is not to say that we went hungry because there were many other options. All the kiosks on floor 10 around the pool were exceptional. I will miss Guy's Burgers the most. The dining room and Steak House were excellent. I just like a buffet and was a little disappointed that we were not able to take advantage of it. All in all, the sea days as well as the port days were so fun and entertaining. We saw some great comedy shows, were challenged with trivia, attended art shows, and the dive-in movies were a great time. This is just to mention a few activities we enjoyed on board. This was our first cruise ever but it will not be the last. Thank you for reading. Read Less

We were asked to go as part of a group of 14. We have been on several cruises and were interested in checking out Carnival's largest ship out of Galveston. Matt the Cruise Director was excellent. Our balcony room was spotless, and was kept tip top. Really good water pressure. Previous balcony rooms directly overlooked the water, but this ship had a 5th floor that was out farther than our 6th floor, so we had a bit of an obstructed water view below us...but felt a little safer?! The food was awesome! Our waiters were awesome! Our dining room ceiling seemed a little low where we were. I didn't actually feel like the ship was much bigger than the Freedom we were on last, just more passengers. There were definitely longer waits for some things. Fortunately we had great weather the whole trip. On board activities and entertainment were plentiful, and very enjoyable. Staff running them were excellent. Smaller activities filled up fast, so you had to get there a little early. Our first excursion was to Roatan...Isle of Roatan. Rode a ski lift from the ship area to the beach where we spent the day. A little disappointing. Easy on and off the ship (for all the stops). Nice water and beach with amenities, but really crowded, with 2 ships docked. The area was buoyed off and there were almost no fish. Belize was next, tender boats to get off the ship, and our excursion took us to St. Hermans Blue Hole (NOT the Great Blue Hole). A bit of confusion to get us there, but after about a 70min van trip, we hiked in and out of a nice little cave with a small stream in it, then drove another mile to the Blue Hole where we swam a little. We all enjoyed the trip. Cozumel was the last stop...beautiful water but was windy, and the city was jam packed. Our group had 4 20ish age "kids" with us. Their first cruise, and they loved it. We would definitely go on this ship again. Read Less

We choose the Vista, because it is a newer ship, and had great reviews. It was very pretty, and the LED light displays were amazing. We missed; however, the large central area. We had trouble getting our bearings on the ship because there was no central point to help us. The ship was very pretty, but not spectacular. Our cabin was lovely. We were in the spa area, so the colors were pleasing. Our cabin was spotless, and our room steward was the best we've ever had. His name was Yasa, and he was extremely efficient and courteous. We weren't looking for a lot of activities as we have cruised for years and we just enjoy going to sea. We did have some serious problems. We noticed that the hand sanitizers were not working most of the time. There was no one at the entrances to the eating establishments to see to it that all hands were sanitized. We were a party of 16, and when we got off the ship, Eight of our party either had the flu or strep infections. The floor in the Lido Cafe was slick when the humidity was high, which was most of the time. They either need to replace that tile or run matting down the surface. One of the biggest problems we encountered was the smoke from the smoking areas. They had one of the smoking areas right outside the children's play area. Our twins were taken there to play, but their parents took them away immediately because of the smoke. The smoking in the casino has gotten out of hand due to the Vaping people we're doing. It's time to stop the smoking in the casino. Celebrity doesn't allow smoking inside their casino, and it is just as active as the Carnival Casino. We probably will not go on the Vista again, because it is not really handicap accessible. We were on deck 11, and couldn't go to the stern from our hall, because there were two steps at the end of the hall. We had to go up and down many elevators to get from one end of the ship to the other. The spa area needed work. There were overhead lights out as well as some of the jets in the tubs weren't working. the entertainment was spectacular, but the lasers flashing everywhere were hard to deal with. The Liquid Lounge was too small for a ship that size, and having all the center seating on the same level on the main floor made it hard to see, especially if you were in a handicap area. there are no card areas with the exception of the Library which was doubling as the display area for purchased art. They were complaining that the art sales group didn't have a place for their business that was big enough. The designers of this ship missed the boat! The main saving grace for us was the wonderful crew. The workers were super. They also made it possible for our entire family to be together at a huge round table for our evening meals. That was so appreciated. To sum up our observations, we will go on Carnival again, but not Vista. Our Embarkation and disembarkation were perfect. Everything was extremely well organized. The only wait we had was because of customs. Read Less

We chose this cruise out of Galveston to avoid the schools winter break here on the East Coast (NY). Arriving to the port was not bad, usual traffic. Parking was easy at EZ park across the street ($80 for the week). Woman at the exit was extra unpleasant lol but that did not impact our trip. We had an ocean suite (7333) that was clean, quiet and comfortable, just what we expected. The food was all good, no complaints at all. I read other reviewers complaining about cutbacks on different aspects of the food but I have to disagree. The waste on these ships is ridiculous and I'm glad that it is being recognized and certain things like midnight buffets and free room service eliminated or downgraded. You don't need to eat 24/7. We went to 2 specialty restaurants, 555 and El Capitano. If you're a steakhouse lover then you will be happy with 555. The portions were large, food was good and service excellent, especially Andrada our waitress from Romania. She made the experience even more enjoyable and I hope Carnival recognizes her for the asset she is. El Capitano was fair. Coming from NY, we know what real italian food should be and maybe wasn't exactly what we expected, but it was fine. People were raving about JIJI but we did not get there. We did go to Bonsai and it was excellent, highly recommended. Our only issue on the whole trip was the Port of Galveston. Drop off and pick-up are a dangerous nightmare and the city workers (police? traffic safety?) do an absolutely awful job and could care less. They were zero use and actually lied about walking across the street until I said "so if the 8 year old with us gets hit, we will come right back to you right?" All of a sudden he spoke to his "boss" and was able to direct us. They should be ashamed of the service they provide. If we all did our job like them, people would be dying left and right. This is not Carnivals fault though. We found the cruise line top notch all the way. Oh and if you get a chance, do the behind the scenes tour. It was amazing and you will appreciate the crew even more than before Read Less