Carnival Vista Review
4.5 / 5.0
saharaga
10+ Cruises • Age 50s
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Sail Date: Feb 2017
Cabin: Family Harbor Deluxe Ocean View
Traveled with children
We flew into Miami the day before the cruise. American Airlines runs a very disorganized operation at the Atlanta airport. We got on the plane on time but then had to sit on the runway for an hour so that MIA could clear some of their air traffic. We arrived in MIA and took the hotel shuttle to the Residence Inn Miami Airport. The hotel shuttle is shared by all the Marriott hotels in this area. It’s a little confusing finding the pickup area when you leave the baggage claim area. Apparently, the hotel shuttles pick up on the second level of the airport. So when you collect your bags, you don’t go out the door on the same level. You have to go up to the next floor. We arrived at the hotel a little after 4 pm. We’ve stayed at this hotel before and our experience was pretty much the same as last time. Great hotel in a great location. It’s an easy walk to several restaurants and convenience stores. It’s not a great location though if you need to do some shopping and you don’t have a car. There is a mall within walking distance but this is not where we would typically shop for pre-cruise items.
Embarkation Day
We spent a lazy morning at the hotel. Checkout time wasn’t until noon so we made the most of it. The hotel was happy to keep our luggage behind the counter while we walked to the Latin Café 2000 for lunch. We came back and called a Lyft and was at the port within 15 to 20 minutes. We chose a 2:00 check-in time because we had read about the potential chaos if you come earlier. We got there and there was no line inside or outside. They checked our passports and boarding paperwork. Then we made our way to through security. They seemed to have a hired a lot of young people in their late teens and early twenties who can’t be bothered to be courteous. They also weren’t really paying attention to what was being put in the scanner. The two at the scanner I went through were engrossed in a conversation with each other instead of paying attention to the monitor. This worked out for me because my forgotten bottle of water that would normally be confiscated, sailed right through.
Cabin Review
Family Harbor Deluxe Ocean View
Cabin FJ
When we first got on the ship at the front, it was a very long walk to cabin 2489 at the very back. There were a few other times we had to make this walk depending on where we were when we got on the elevator. If you book a family harbor oceanview, deluxe or not, be prepared for a lot of walking. The room itself was nicely decorated and our little boy loved having his own kid-sized tub. He used it every night. Since the room is so far back, we did hear and feel noise from whatever mechanical system is at the back of the ship. It was loudest on the first night. After that, it was a quieter constant hum and vibration that we could tune out. When we were in the cabin when they started the ship, the vibration and humming noise was more apparent but it got quieter as the ship started moving.
The oceanview window seat is quite large. It can easily fit two kids or a small adult and a child. I could sit in the window with my legs fully extended and I’m 5’4”. Our son turned it into his private lounge using the throw pillows from the cabin. He would get in there and pull the curtain closed to create his own little quiet area. This is a somewhat larger room. My husband and I differed in opinion on this. I thought there was quite a bit of wasted space. He liked that we had more room to move around. The bathroom felt smaller to me. The shower is definitely smaller.
I also think this cabin is an obstructed view cabin that Carnival is selling as a regular cabin. A portion of the railing that runs around the back of the ship was clearly in our line of vision when we looked out the window. There was also some contraption on the other side of our window that blocked our view on that side. My husband said it moves. It stayed there for our entire cruise.
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