We just returned from our 10 day med cruise on the Carnival Vista, and since I can't sleep I've been up since 3 am I thought I would start a review. Despite working a 12 hour shift yesterday in which I thought I was going to fall asleep standing up I was still up at 3 am this morning. I hate jet lag and time changes.
I know Carnival gets bashed on these boards, and a lot of people on these boards have it in their head that
DCL is the best cruise line, and will never be convinced otherwise. For the rest of you open minded folks who may be looking for a less expensive alternative to the Fantasy this review is for you.
The ship itself is brand new and absolutely gorgeous, but I'm going to try to break it down into categories. Sorry no pictures there are plenty of pictures online and on these board all ready so just google it.
Just a little about the cost we paid roughly 3k that included gratuity for a family harbor oceanview room for the 4 of us. This was with no special discount just Carnivals "more the merrier" rate which made the 3rd and 4th passengers almost free about 200.00 each.
THE ROOM- We have gotten used to being on deck 2 on the Magic and Wonder so being on deck 2 on the Vista was not a big deal for us. The room itself was 230 sq ft. A little larger than Disney. There were 2 bathrooms one with a shower and toilet, and one with a bathtub, shower and sink. The two showers was nice. The rooms of course were brand new so great AC, great plumbing, fridge worked great,super comfy beds, huge big screen tv on the wall, and there were lots of outlets. I loved the nautical decor. There was a lot more storage space then DCL. There was two big closets one with shelves to put clothes and one with room to hang clothes. I preferred the closet shelves to the little tiny drawers on the DCL ships.
The only thing I didn't like was having the bed next to window. I prefer the couch next to the window. The room were of course much nicer than the Wonder or Magic, and equal to the Fantasy. I would give the edge to Carnival on this because of the double showers and the storage space.
FAMILY HARBOR LOUNGE.
What a fantastic concept this is. The whole deck 2 aft section is the family harbor area which is designed for families, but not exclusive to families. The Lounge area is huge and consists of tables and chairs, sofas, 2 large screen TV's, 2 Apple desktop computers, 2 play station large screen TV's, and a large selection of board games. Oh and of course the food. In the morning they put out a hot breakfast consisting of scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage, potatoes, oatmeal, cold cereals, pastries, meats cheeses, fruits, and for you Brits beans. In the afternoon the put out cookies, brownies, cakes four different kind of sandwiches always PBJ and Ham and then different specialty sandwiches such corned beef and cabbage, cucumber, BLT, chicken salad etc. At night they put out 3 different kind of cookies and brownies. Everything was delicious. They even serve real eggs not powdered....Are you listening Disney?
The fridge was always stocked with white and chocolate milk, and several different kinds of yogurt.
Iced water was always available along with lemonade and iced tea. They also had a soft serve ice cream machine.
Ok and now for the best part a Cappuccino and latte maker. Yes fresh ground coffee everyday.
The upcharge for the this section of the ship was around 50.00 per person when people figure how awesome it is I'm sure that will go up or maybe not since it's on deck 2. They also have balcony's on deck 2 in the family harbor section and family suites. The suites are pretty pricey and are under the galley. I did hear some complaints. Like on any ship including DCL make sure you know what's above you on deck 3 when you book a room on deck 2. We had no noise issues. I loved the convenience of walking 30 feet in the morning to get coffee, or a glass of water. It was also very convenient on a port intensive cruise like this. Breakfast was very fast and easy. To be continued......
