Our previous experience of Carnival had been good. We choose this particular cruise on the Vista as this ship was new and it's advertised as their flagship. We embarked from Athens this process went smoothly bearing in mind the numbers of guests boarding. Our stateroom was fine as you would expect on a brand new ship. We were not previously made aware that all purchases on board were also subject to a 24% Athens tax plus their usual 15% gratuity charge this lasted for the entire cruise an example of this meant a can of Strongbow cider cost $8.27 (£6.30). Drinks packages advertised prior to cruising had been withdrawn no staff member could explain why. The main dining room resembled a school canteen no linen table cloths, dirty cutlery, poorly laid tables, cramped conditions, bland decorations and poor service. Food served in the main dining room was usually luke warm or cold there was no real variety with the daily menu's. Food served in the buffet was average however from the takeaway venues eg pizzeria was excellent .The staff who were friendly and helpful were in the minority.

The waterpark ,sun decks and sports facilities were excellent and catered for children .In my opinion the entire ship lacked atmosphere! We will never use Carnival again.