Warning, this is a long review! If you want the "Cliffnote" version, yes it was amazing and, I most certainly recommend it! My wife and I booked this cruise as a "get-away" vacation, and it did not disappoint. The new Vista class from Carnival has plenty of options for all ages to enjoy every moment of vacation. The food in the main dining room, 6PM early dining, was delicious and served hot every night, and the new dining options add even more to the overall experience. Guy's Burgers was by far our favorite venue, but other options like the Blue Iguana Cantina, Cucina del Capitano, and the Lido Marketplace we're all amazing as well. The buffet on this ship has many more intriguing options throughout the cruise than previous cruises had; I would recommend giving it a shot before passing it off as your standard buffet menu. Another exciting addition was the Shake Spot adjacent to the Ocean Plaza. Milkshakes and coffee delights while playing trivia and other assorted games, yes please! As far as activities go, there is plenty for all ages to get involved! For the more adventurous, you have the Skyride and Skycourse to test your limits on the high seas. Right below those two attractions is the Sportsquare; you'll find bean bag toss (Cornhole for Southerners like myself), multiple foosball tables, pool tables, ping pong (table tennis if you want to be fancy about it) galore, and a great mini golf course. There's also the Club area of the Sportsquare that contains bowling (paid game), more ping pong, and Skybilliards- billiards with small soccer balls! There's also the aforementioned trivia, fun-squad lead Hasbro games, Bingo, and an IMAX theater and 4-D Thrill Theater for those days when you might have had more than enough sun. All of the crew members we encountered were pleasant and cheerful as always, including our stateroom attendant and dining room servers.

Our only complaints, yes there were a couple, are of the lack of smoking signs and the entertainment shows. For the smoking situation, there were not many (I didn't even see one) visual indicators of smoking areas. I don't like smoke, but I especially don't like breathing smoke in when relaxing in a hot tub, beating my wife at ping pong, etc. I would be even more upset with this if my wife and I had children on board inhaling the smoke. I also noticed a couple passengers moving ash trays to different seating areas, and I feel that this should be more strongly enforced. Now for the entertainment...I've alwaysoved the shows on cruises, even though I was harshly skeptical prior to my wife convincing me to attend one. This cruise, I feel that the focus was more on technical aspects and visual effects rather than the actual show. The dancers were incredible as always, but the vocalists weren't the best suited for the chosen shows either. The ports of call were incredible! I had only been on Western Caribbean itineraries prior to this trip, and was thrilled with every port of call. Grand Turk has pristine beaches, great snorkeling, and a Margaritaville to top it off! La Romana has deep forrests filled with amazing scenery and animals, Curacao has a gorgeous downtown area with a floating bridge (don't be worried if you're on it when it opens for a ship, just watch for others' facial expression of the surprise movement), and Aruba has beautiful waters and natural pools to spend the day. All in all, I strongly recommend the Carnival Vista, and the 8 day Southern Caribbean itineraries.