When Ship Happens

Carnival Vista Part II

Here we go with Part II.  When we left off we were on Deck 5 and had just made it to the Red Frog Pub. As I said a blog or 2 ago… Mark and Trenton were on a mission to be the first guests. The first 2 guests of each cruise in the Red Frog Pub receive a free beer. Trenton didn’t qualify for the beer, but he is rather competitive. Lol

We had group shirts made for embarkation, but like I mentioned before... it seriously was herding cats so we only got a picture with the 4 of us ... (the 4 who are well aware of my craziness), but it was a fun idea. 

I was afraid that was going to happen so I took a picture of all the shirts before they had people in them!  lol

 

What is different on the Vista in the Red Frog Pub is it also has a functioning brewery where the beer is made on the ship. You can sign up for a brewery tour. It was $35 per person.  If you wish to do the tour I would recommend signing up early. Our cruise there were only 3 tours offered and each tour holds 12 people. 

You are given 4 different beers to try and even though those little glasses look small, they also place large pitchers on the table.  There is plenty of beer to drink during this process!  When the tour was over we got a certificate for 2 more free beers you could use anytime during the cruise and souvenir glasses to take home.

 

 

The Red Frog Pub itself was just like the others we have visited, fun atmosphere, great music and entertainment, wonderful staff. It was a great meeting and hangout place. There were lots of tables where you can play cards, etc. The Vista is equipped with stations at the tables where you can pour your own beer at the table if you choose.

If you have a large group… or you are just thirsty here are some deals… You can get a “fishbowl” for around $25 and 101 oz tube of beer is $35.

So here’s a story that started in the Red Frog Pub. Trenton, Mark and I walked through one evening and we walked out the doors going onto the deck. Undenounced to us, there was a little storm rolling through. The wind caught the door behind me and slammed it so hard, I swear the entire ship shook. There were some singers on the stage… so clearly that was an interruption. We sat outside under the covered awning and enjoyed the rain. After several minutes the rain did not let up and Mark wanted to go back inside. I was too embarrassed to go back in the Red Frog Pub after I had slammed the door, so I said let’s just walk down a little way and go back in. Well… that door was closed. As we kept trying to go further, the rain got harder. We ended up having to weave our way all the way back to the Liquid Lounge at the very front of the ship before we found a door we could get back in. We were DRIPPING wet! People looked at us like we were crazy, but it was fun!

If you were to continue aft after the Red Frog Pub you would encounter the Ocean Plaza where trivia and games were held, and the back of the ship is rounded out by the Havana Bar. It’s beautiful, but sadly, another spot we did not have time to check out.

If you splurge for a Havana Cabin on this ship, your pools and hot tubs are behind the Havana Bar on the back deck. I was going to go walking through there one night, but I completely forgot.

Deck 6

Deck 6 is mostly cabins, except for some fun things in the front of the ship. This is where the arcade can be found. We spent lots of time in there. It’s a nice arcade and Trenton walked away with an Ipod we probably could have bought a couple of times over for what it cost us in tickets, but the fun we had trying to win it was priceless!

This area is also the entrance for the Carnival Multiplex which is home to the Thrill Theatre and IMAX.

Thrill Theatre has several levels and it was my understanding the level you sit on determines the level of interaction you get from the movie. I think the shows were around $7.95 each or you could purchase a pass for the entire cruise. We didn’t attend any of the thrill theatre shows, but we did see people coming out (and heard them screaming while we were waiting) and everyone seemed to really enjoy it.

We decided to go to the IMAX one evening after dinner. We went to see Mission Impossible: Fall Out. The price was $12.95 per person. They do have a small concession stand where you can purchase candy and sodas. Mark was disappointed they didn’t offer popcorn, but I could see how having to clean up that mess in between each show would be cumbersome. Everything tells you to get your seat early, however, the show started at 7:30pm. It was a sea day. We showed up at 7:15 to get a great seat…

So I guess it really depends on how popular it is with the cruisers on your sailing.

I can say I was hesitant to book a cabin in this area because I was unsure of the sound from the IMAX. I did not hear any complaints from passengers. Nor could I hear sound outside in the common area from the movies when I was passing through.  What I can say is this area was very populated with kids. Many just seemed to hang out on the steps between the arcade and movie plex.  Just food for thought if you are picky when it comes to choosing your cabin. 

Stay tuned for Part III

Carnival Vista Part 1

The Ship:

The Carnival Vista did not disappoint. While she is large, she is still fabulous and has many activities. More than what you can do in one cruise.  The layout is a little different than most of the other ships, but I thought the changes were for the better. The flow seamed easier and most things were centrally located.  I never found myself stuck in one location without a means to get to another. 

Deck 3:

This was where you entered the ship. Instead of the glass elevators that go all the way up, the Atrium is only a couple of stories high. There is a really pretty “LED Funnel Mural” in the center that changes throughout the cruise. I’m sure it has an official name, but that’s what I am calling it. "Funnel Mural".  There is also another one in the casino that rises up.

Your shore excursion desk and guest services are still located in the Atrium along with an Atrium bar and a small dance floor.  There are still stairs that come down from Deck 5 and a place for the musicians to play. You can also access the Reflections Restaurant on Deck 3. I am assuming this is the restaurant for timed dining as we had Your Time Dining and I almost missed this was even here!

Since I brought it up…. Your Time Dining. Oh what a cluster #@$! that was. I had heard due to limited space in front of the dining room they were having you check in on Deck 5 for Your Time Dining. On your sign and sail card it tells you your check in for dinner is at the JavaBlue Café. This was all the communication that was given.

There were multiple people looking for the Java Café Dining Room … ALL WEEK! (Not kidding!)  They also did not tell you only 1 person from your party was supposed to check in at this location. I found it on this sign… 3 days into the cruise.  Why did it take me 3 days to find the sign you might ask.... because that's how long it took the people to thin out enough that it was visible.  Look closely for the "one guest per party please"... they typed it in the smallest font possible.

So here is what happens. Everyone that used to stand orderly in line to check in at the dining room is now crowded into the small walkway space.  You can't tell if people are there to look at their pictures, get a coffee, or check in for dinner.  The only thing missing would be if they set up a picture opportunity in the walkway as well!  lol 

They have 2 people at the desk checking everyone in, but you aren’t allowed to line up behind them. You must line up down the walkway. However, on Night 1 and Night 2 (elegant night) this space is so crowded you can’t find the line to stand in, so people become frustrated and many just walk away and choose to eat elsewhere. (Such a shame). Once 1 person from your party checks in, they will assign you to a table and tell you which dining room to go to. They give you a printed out ticket, then you are supposed to collect the rest of your party, take your ticket, and go check in at the appropriate dining room.

It does become less crowded as the week goes on. I honestly think it is because so many people give up after the first 2 days and just choose to eat elsewhere and only a small percentage of people who figure out the process by trial and error and get it down return for the rest of the cruise. That being said… we had a party of 12. We ate in the Main Dining Room 4 times during the 8 day cruise and each time we were given a table immediately. The only wait was in collecting all 12 people and getting them to the correct dining room at the right time because you could be either on Deck 3 or Deck 4.  It strongly resembled what you would imagine herding cats to be like.

Deck 4

The front of the ship starts off with the Liquid Lounge.  This is the style with the removable chairs and it turns into a night club at night.  Not my favorite set up.  It does have a bar in the back.  We did not attend any shows while we were onboard, so I am not sure how the view or seating was.  Surrounding the Atrium and the "funnel mural" are 4 Fun Shops.  If you continue on towards the center of the ship you will come to the casino.  I had heard it was smokier than the others, but I didn't really notice that.  It was not unbearable for me.  It did feel smaller than some of the other ship casinos. I am not sure why.  We played in there a little and on the last sea day they called my name for a drawing.  I got to spin the wheel and won $25.  Apparently your name is entered in the drawing for every 100 points you have.  I only had 200 points.  So if you aren't a professional casino player... there is hope for you too!  Mom entered a slot tournament and made it to the second round.  It was fun to watch and cheer her on.  If you have never witnessed one of these, you should.  I laughed so hard!

 

The casino bar is located in the center and has another "funnel mural" that rises up through Deck 5.  Here is a picture from Deck 5 looking down.

So one thing I did not like.  There is not a poker table in the casino.  If you leave the casino and continue going towards the back of the ship, you will come to the Sports Bar.  It is not connected to the casino like it is in many ships.  In the corner of the sports bar is the poker table.  It is kind of back away from everything so it was not as busy as it normally is when it is placed in the casino.  It was also an upgraded poker table... not the same Poker Pro that is on the other ships.  Instead of having your own little raised hub to put your card in, see your cards, and decide on your play.... it is all one flat screen table.  There were several complaints about the touch screen not working well and not being accurate... meaning where you touched is not necessarily the button you got.  Mark played one night... I decided it wasn't for me. 

Continuing on aft you will come to the Limelight Lounge.  This seemed bigger than on the other ships.  Matter of fact, we left dinner one night and the comedy show had already started.  We stopped in and were able to get 4 seats together on the side.  Some of the other Limelight Lounges are left with standing room only.  Maybe it filled up later in the evening, but I was pretty impressed.

Deck 4 rounds out with the Horizons Dining Room all the way to the back of the ship.

Deck 5

Deck 5 begins with the upper area of the Liquid Lounge, followed by more Fun Shops around the Atrium circle.  Lots of shopping opportunity on this ship!  AND instead of a $10 sale one day... they have an entire $10 shop! 

Located in this area is also the Cherry On Top.  It still has all the candy selections and gifts to purchase, but it also comes with an ice cream shop!  I desperately wanted to do this and we never did. (super sad face).  Looks really yummy though and even has a nice outside seating area where you can take your ice cream outside on the deck.  The ice cream cookie sandwiches look amazing!  It's a must do for next time!

After you pass through this area on Deck 5 you will find anything you have possibly been searching for!  If you are thirsty... this is the place to be!

As it circles around the funnel mural from the casino below you have the Piano Bar... Library Bar... Alchemy Bar... and Bonsai Sushi.  We kept talking about going to the Piano Bar, but never made it.  I took the kids one night and we went to Bonsai Sushi.  For my birthday... one week before the cruise Mark and Trenton had given me 2 new charms for my Tiffany's bracelet.  One of them was a scooter for me to remember our crazy stop in Curacao a few years ago.  (You might remember the scooter blog where I swear I almost died?!)  It is my absolute favorite charm!  So... While at dinner I realized ... it was NOT on my bracelet.  The rest of our group was in the Red Frog Pub so I quickly started back tracking my steps and went to grab Mark so he could "HELP ME LOOK" for it.  He was very sweet and helped me back to Bonsai Sushi... where I knew it was not.  So I frantically headed back up to the room and thankfully found it in my cabin.  Yet another moment where I am freaked out and he is completely calm!  So as I head back to Bonsai Sushi (I'm still starving) ... everyone including Mark is now getting up to leave.  Not one morsel of sushi left!  Some help he was.... lol 

 

 

 

The Library Bar was nice.  We saw people in there all week.  We stopped in one day to try out the automatic wine dispenser, but it didn't work.  Sounds like a great concept though... wine and books are 2 of my favorite things!

You will also find the Steakhouse in this area.  No more hunting for it in some obscure location on the ship, tucked away in the corner.  It is right there, front and center!  I tried to make a reservation through carnival.com under our booking twice, but I never got an answer.  I was kind of bummed and was just hoping I could get a reservation for our large group once we got on the ship.  Then I saw one of my all time favorite Steakhouse Manager's was on ... the VISTA!  I sent her a quick message and she was able to confirm a reservation for me for our entire party.  It was a celebration dinner for Mark's birthday and I had also pre-ordered a bottle of Dom Perignon.  Since it was not all done together, the bottle was set to be delivered on a different night, but Jovana got everything arranged and perfect for me to be able to surprise him!

The new steakhouse menu was great!  We enjoyed everything.  I did like the other bread better though... and the art on the table is ok.  It's a one time experience.  Probably won't do it again.... I miss the cheesecake!  lol

It was a fantastic and memorable experience!  The Steakhouse crew is simply amazing and provided a great Birthday Celebration.

This Deck has it all.... we are only midway through!  As you continue towards the aft of the ship you will encounter the Red Frog Pub and Brewery.  This was our home away from home and overall meeting place for the cats...I mean group. :)

Stay tuned for Part II ....

Carnival Vista Embarkation

Getting There:

It is no secret our preferred means of travel is via Cruise Ship. We will cruise anytime the opportunity presents itself.  However, this cruise was special.  Mark and I were celebrating our birthdays so we had family and friends joining us. 

Our vacation started at 4:00am in taking our friends to the airport. They live a little over an hour away so they spent the night with us and had the first flight out.  I returned home, jumped in the shower, threw the last minute stuff in the bag, requested an Uber and went to pick up Mom.  By 6:30am the 4 of us were loaded up and headed to the airport. 

Security at DFW was about par… Trenton’s bag got flagged because he had a “R2D2 Bop It” that was apparently “suspicious”. The Security guy laughed when he saw it and yelled back at the scanners… “What do you guys have against R2?”

It was finals week for me in school and I was taking 2 summer classes, so work hard… play hard was the theme for this cruise.

Our flight was uneventful… Miami was not. There were storms rolling through (no surprise) so there was a mild delay in getting off the plane.  The big delay came when it took them over 2 hours to offload our luggage.  Seriously the entire flight was sprawled across the baggage claim… waiting.  One guy was making up his own song and rapping on Snapchat “Trapped in an Airport”.  Our luggage was finally released and we got it all except for Trenton’s bag.  Thankfully we saved our baggage claim numbers and they were able to locate it 2 baggage claims away… no clue how it got there.

We requested a Lyft and headed outside. The Lyft app showed Juan was picking us up in a White Infinity SUV.  Instead, Jose showed up in a Grey Nissan… Because those are similar.  We verified he really was our driver, climbed in and headed to the hotel.  Trenton noticed on our app we had passed the hotel.  We tried to tell “whoever was driving” but he didn’t speak any English.  We did finally make it to our hotel…. After he stopped at 4 prior places asking “Is this it?” 

It didn’t end there. We had 4 hotel rooms reserved and only 2 were ready at our designated check in time.  They promised to let us know when the others became available.  The last group of our travelers arrived about 6pm.  The 3^rd room was now ready.  (Check in was 4pm).  We dispersed more bags and headed out to dinner as everyone was starving.

We headed to South Beach and had dinner at Havana 1957 and then to the beach for some sunset views.

 

After dinner and a nice walk on the beach we decided to head back to the hotel.  We were not notified the 4^th room was ready until after 8pm!!  This little mix up did end up getting all 10 of us free breakfast and a free shuttle to the port the next morning so I’m not complaining.

We stayed at the Doubletree Grand by Hilton in Biscayne Bay.  Rooms were great, you can see the ships in port if you have a bay view and there is a little section that connects the Doubletree and Marriott next door.  There are shops, a nail salon, small bar, restaurant, deli and liquor store there so its great for last minute cruise items or grabbing a quick drink or bite to eat.  The restaurant took our breakfast coupons so that was great!  The hotel also arranged for us to have a shuttle take us to the port at 9:40am (it does not normally run until 11am) so we really appreciated that. 

Embarkation:                                                                 

We arrived at the port about 9:50am. I was pleasantly surprised with the improvement in the porters. We were met at the van, our luggage was taken and processed for us.  We were directed to go stand in the priority line.  They did not let us inside until a few minutes after 10 so the wait was not bad.  Once inside everything went smoothly.  Mark and Trenton had a pact to be the first in the Red Frog Pub so our seating in the Priority Lounge was very strategic.  Their surveillance paid off and there was only 1 family in front of us.  Once on the ship, Trenton took off at a sprint.  He made it there first.  Since he wasn’t “legal” they gave the 2^nd beer to me and I passed it on to one of our friends once they made it there. 

Our rooms were ready when we boarded and sign and sail cards were in the mailbox as promised.

Stay tuned for ... The Carnival Vista