Friday, July 15, 2022

Vacation, Vaccination, Vista-Nation- Sea Day #1

Back on Board 
Sea Day #1 
Sunday, July 3, 2022 

Sea Day #1 and Formal Night... Perfection! 

Morning
Despite sleeping fairly well, our teacher bodies naturally woke up around 7AM. We enjoyed some balcony time and then went to get our 1st specialty coffee with our Cheers Drink Package. TIP- We went ahead and purchased the CHEERS package since we had never had it with Carnival. Carnival allows up to 15 alcoholic drinks per 24 hour period and unlimited soft drinks, specialty coffees, Gatorades and bottle water. We never maxed out but it was so nice to be able to have as many coffees or Gatorades without worrying about a bill. This was $55.95/ day plus gratuities but if you plan on having 3-4 drinks and 1-2 coffees per day, it is worth it! 

Easily the TACKIEST shirt I have EVER owned but it seemed appropriate! 

The Java Cafe on the Carnival Vista was one of the best we have experienced as the baristas were fast and very friendly. TIP- There is also coffee offerings at the Ocean Plaza bar if the line is long. 

After we walked Deck 5 with our coffees, we went to Sea day Brunch in the Horizon's Dining Room on Deck 3. When we arrived at 8:15AM, when they opened, there were about 100 people waiting. Once they opened the doors we noticed a delay in getting people seated. It turns out that one of the changes post-covid is a new check-in system. TIP- Use the Carnival HUB app to "check in" to Sea day Brunch, Port Breakfast and Your Time Dining. Once your table is ready they will notify you in the app. Then all you have to do is just show up and show them your phone with your table number. At first this seemed weird but it turned out to be a HUGE blessing. You can request your table as you leave your cabin and by the time you actually get to the dining room, your table is ready. We realized that you would not be able to request a certain waiter or table but the system is set to seat people only with their party. Meaning NO SHARED TABLES. This is one of the best things to come out of the Pandemic! I am not sure if Royal Caribbean, Norwegian or other cruise lines have a system in place like this but Carnival did a GREAT job with this new procedure! 


The view as we stepped off the aft elevators to the Horizon's Dining Room. All of these people waiting for tables... But didn't realize you can reserve on the app. 


CHEERS... Our first drink on the drink package! 

Sea day Brunch was a great experience and the service from Sehrgi was fantastic. The new menu was not outstanding for the early breakfast we wanted but we enjoyed it none the less. We were reminded about the problem with dining on Carnival... The Dessert stall. This proved to be true on sea day brunch as they do not take your dessert order until AFTER you finish you main meal. I really wish they would take the full order at the beginning. 

After breakfast we ventured up to the Lido Deck to check it out around 9:15am. There were not very many chair hogs as most people were actually sitting in their chairs. We went to the back to get a view of the aft but it was not as picture perfect as I had hope due to the Havana Pool on Deck 5 blocking our view. TIP- This is my personal opinion but I hate this part of the Vista! 


The view I wanted... 


The view the Vista gave... 


A day at sea is ALWAYS better than a day at work! 
This was near perfect and something I was longing for since February 2020. FINALLY!!!

While we were walking around the outside decks, I noticed the Skyride was open and had a VERY SHORT line so I ran back to the room to get my tennis shoes on and got in line. I was only in line for about 10 minutes before it was my turn. TIP- There is a weight limit to this ride of 225 pounds and EVERYONE (even the 8 year in front of me) had to get weighed! We both got on the scale and then go in the SkyRide. I ended up paired with a Grandpa as his two grandkids went together. He asked for the outside so he could pedal over the ocean and I obliged as I was just a little nervous of the unknown. This ride was INCREDIBLE...so invigorating and exciting. The secret is... I started on the inside and by the end of the ride, my bicycle was on the outside! This was SO AWESOME! 


This was SO COOL! 


This was AWESOME! I am so glad I was able to do this! 

We then went to the atrium bar for some mimosas before going to play the Carnival 50th Trivia in Ocean Plaza. This was a trivia all about Carnival and we did not do well answering only 7/20... But we came in SECOND PLACE! The winners scored 8/20. After trivia we enjoyed some balcony time to enjoy watching the sea pass by. This is one of my favorite things about a cruise. It is so incredibly peaceful and even in the middle of the day, we had complete shade in our Cove Balcony. It was PERFECT! 

Afternoon
For lunch we went to Deck 11 to try out the Mongolian Wok. This was one of Chris's favorite lunch spots on other Carnival ships but on the Vista they made a specialty restaurant to order your personalized wok. This was SO AWESOME. It was very similar to the previous experiences except you could sit down and not have to stand in line while the chefs made your personalized lunch. This was one of our biggest hits and surprises of the cruise! Well done Vista! TIP- Mongolian Wok is open EVERY DAY 12-2:30pm (even port days) and offers a wide variety of fresh items to make your own noodle bowl. The service is fast and the food is excellent!  While it was busy on this first sea day, we NEVER had to wait the whole cruise. We loved this place! 

The Mongolian Wok menu. You can come here EVERY day for lunch and still not try it all. There are so many combinations! 
TIP- The Schezwan sauce is the BEST and NOT TOO spicy! 


My 1st SEA DAY lunch! YUMMY!

After lunch we walked around to try and find some lounge chairs in the shade but they were few and far between. We tried on Deck 11 and Deck 12 but all of the chairs were either taken or not in the shade. We then tried to go back to Deck 5 to try and walk all the way around the ship but much to our surprise, you cannot do that on the Vista. That was a big disappointment to us. We eventually went up to Deck 15 to check out the Serenity Adults Only area. TIP- There is literally ONLY ONE elevator that services the Serenity area. Be care to choose the correct elevator as most of them in the forward lobby only go up to Deck 12. 


The Carnival Vista Serenity Deck 15 Forward. 

Once in the Serenity we tried to find chairs but there were none available. The shade was almost non-existent in this area of the ship. Even the bar was in the complete sun. The best part of the Serenity was the Fresh Creations salad bar area just outside this adults only area. This was similar to a Salata on land but lacked a bit in flavor. We were so hot just from walking around trying to find chairs, we just took the salad to go back to our fully shaded balcony. TIP- It took about 9 minutes just to get an elevator up to Deck 15; keep that in mind! 


Fresh Creations on Deck 1

We enjoyed more balcony time in the shade before Chris laid down to take a nap and I went hunting for a chair again. I was lucky to find a clamshell type of chair on Deck 11 aft. I was able to enjoy shade and a quick nap in between people watching. 


This is why I cruise... The feeling of watching the open ocean is PRICELESS! 


This is my idea of a perfect sea day!


The Tides Aft Pool around 3PM... The water was... MURKY and nasty! 
There are only 2 pools on the Vista and only 4 hot tubs TOTAL. Keep that in mind if this is your thing... These were almost always FULL and for lack of better words... GROSS! 

I met up with Chris for afternoon trivia in the Ocean Plaza and this was the first time we felt the other 4,700 passengers. Even with a bigger Ocean Plaza, we felt a little crowded. We played the Superhero, Comedy Movie and Guess that song trivia games but did not place in any. TIP- We LOVE trivia on cruise ships and it is a great way to stay cool, meet new people and WIN PRIZES! Carnival offers a 24 karat gold piece of (plastic) ship on stick if you win a trivia. It makes for a GREAT souvenir and bucket list item for each of our cruises. 

Evening
The clouds had come out so we grabbed a coffee from the Java Blue Cafe and then went back to the balcony to enjoy a nice cool breeze before we took showers and got ready for formal evening. 


Early evening on our balcony... PRICELESS!


My heart is SO FULL! 

To start our evening we went to the PG Comedy show in the Limelight Lounge. I had read to get there early but we missed our opportunity and got there about 15 minutes before the show and there were NO SEATS at all. We stood around for a minute and then out of nowhere came Imean (The comedy show manager) and he took us way to the back to get seats. Thanks Imean. Bob Biggerstaff, the comedian, was funny but not THAT funny. 


The Limelight Lounge at 7:25 for a 7:30PM show! 
TIP- GET THERE EARLY! 

Once the show was over, it was time for our Late Dining dinner in the Reflections Dining Room on Deck 3. Since we went to the Steakhouse on night #1, this was our first experience with the main dining room. The doors opened at 8:10 for the 8:15pm seating and we found our table. As per most cruise lines, we were at a table ALONE but literally packed in like cattle to the two other parties in our line of tables. We were so excited for our first MDR experience and the AMAZING menu on this formal night. 

Little did we know how bad this experience would be. It took about 20 minutes just to get our order taken due to the VERY large party our wait staff was also taking care of. This party turned out to be very slow, rude and obnoxious. Once we finally got our food, about 45 minutes after we sat down, the appetizers were all wrong with the other 2 parties in our line of tables and many were COLD. These issues continued as the party of 16-20 people were demanding more and more of our wait staff time. Even the party next to us, who had gluten free needs, had their order messed up. It was a HUGE HOT MESS. After about 90+ minutes and multiple mistakes, I went to the maitre'd to explain our frustration. Mario and Mariana, the maitre'd of the Reflection Dining Room were extremely apologetic and even sent more waiters to help our section. In fact, by the time our dessert order was taken it was after 10PM and most of the passengers in the MDR were gone. 

We finally finished around 10:15pm, 2 HOURS AFTER our seating time. As we left I explained how good our waiter was but he was overwhelmed. I also asked to be moved to another table is possible. This was the absolute WORST dining experience we have EVER had on a cruise ship and we were so anxious to see if this was the NEW NORM or we just had a bad night. 

After dinner we made our way to the Red Frog Pub to listen to live music and enjoy our drink package. The music, drinks and service were great and really lifted our spirits. We called it a night just after midnight and went back to our room. 

It was a great first day at sea and we were SO HAPPY to be back on board. 

Up Next... Mission Accomplished on Sea Day #2. 

God is Good... ALL THE TIME!  

Click on a link to see our past cruising adventures:
Enchantment of the Seas- February 2020


 



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Thursday, July 14, 2022

Vacation, Vaccination and Vista-nation- Galveston

28 Months Later
Embarkation Day 
Saturday, July 2, 2022 

CRUISE #19... HERE we COME! 

Morning
The day had FINALLY arrived after a very long pause in our cruising lifestyle. We were up and out the door before 7:30AM. We got gas near our subdivision and then made our way to Kolache Factory in The Woodlands. When cruising from Galveston, this is a TRADITION and a must stop. 

IYKYK... It's a TRADITION! 

We then traveled 79 miles south towards Galveston with a short pit-stop at Buc-ees. I love seeing Buc-ee's on a Cruise day. There are so many cruisers in this store. There are groups with matching embarkation shirts and hoards of people with "Destination" shirts as well. Many have the face of pure joy as they are less than 20 miles from FUN and then others look exhausted and hung over due to getting off the ship that morning. It is GREAT people watching. 


Hello Galveston... It's been too long! 

We were at the EZ Cruise Parking lot by 9:30AM and ready to make our way to our home-away-from-home. TIP- EZ Cruise Parking is our go-to parking for cruises departing Galveston. This business is one block from the main terminal road that leads to both Terminal 1 (Vista/Dream) and Terminal 2 (Liberty of the Seas, Breeze and others). Plus they offer a shuttle and non-shuttle option. If you are a nurse, police/firefighter or teacher you get an additional 15% off as well. Sign up for their loyalty program and you can get $5 off your first parking. 

Once we got up to Terminal 1, we gave our bags to a porter and then made our way to the "Check-In line" where we were able to walk right in. TIP- Be sure to have your BOARDING PASS, PASSPORTS and paperwork WITH you and not give to these porters! ALWAYS carry a backpack with this information or you will have a hot-mess! 

We had a 10:30-11AM arrival appointment and it was before 10AM. The workers did not even look at the time but just our boarding pass. Once inside the actual terminal, Step 1 was to be checked by a healthcare worker. This was the step to check for vaccination but they never even looked at our actual vaccination cards but rather just our Verifly App that gave the "Ready to Sail" signal. They did not ask questions but just checked the Verifly App and were on to step 2. 

At Step 2 we went through security and had our carry-on luggage inspected. We always carry a very small carry-on with our wine, fan, swimsuits and a change of clothes. TIP- Each adult 21 and over can carry 1 (750 ml) wine bottle on board... just remember a corkscrew if needed. Also, as of July 1st Carnival is no longer offering fans for the staterooms but you can bring your own, which is ALWAYS a good idea. You never know if your room with be hot or comfortable! And trust me... Bring the swimsuits! 

Step 3 was the actual check-in for the ship on floor 2 of Terminal 1. We were able to get checked in to the Carnival Vista by 10:10AM. During this check in, they signed our printed boarding pass and explained the lunch options as well as the new muster drill (MORE LATER... BEST CHANGE EVER). Once actually checked in, we went to to Step 4, my least favorite... WAITING! 

Announcements were made around 10:55AM to begin boarding the ship and we heard the first DING at 11:05AM and were on board at 11:09AM. TIP- The new check-in system gives you a boarding group number A1-7, B-17 and etc. The first group to board any ship are the suite quests and the highest loyalty members followed by normal groups. Even with our B4 group, we only had to wait about 10 minutes from the first announcement to be making our way on to the ship! 


Our Embarkation Picture 
(I forgot to purchase it before getting off the ship... Epic Fail) 

Muster Station GLORY
Once we got on board we went straight to our Muster Station area in Bonsai Sushi on Deck 5 to complete our Muster Drill. TIP- This is the BEST CHANGE since the Pandemic. Instead of packing in like cattle in the TEXAS HEAT to watch workers show us how to put on a life jacket, now you can watch a 6 minute video on your phone while you wait to check in and then go to your Muster Station on YOUR OWN TIME to watch the demo live and THAT'S IT! The worker checks your cabin off and you are on your way! WHERE HAS THIS BEEN MY WHOLE LIFE??? 


We had to wait about 2 minutes for another group to arrive to demo the lifejacket! 


They even used a lifejacket on a teddy bear as an example! 

Then we went to  Guy's Pig and Anchor BBQ to see if it was open despite the worker not listing it as a lunch option. Our gut instinct was correct and it was open. TIP- This is a BBQ lunch option available on Dream and Vista class ships. It is outside on the Lanai area of Deck 5 (Starboard side) and in our experience passengers do not even know it is there until halfway through the cruise so this is a GREAT embarkation lunch option. It is not crowded and the food is SUPERB! 

The menu at Guy's Pig and Anchor BBQ 


My Embarkation Lunch... WOW, it was Good! 

Afternoon
After lunch we explored the lower passenger areas of the Vista. We immediately noticed that it felt "tighter" than the Dream class ships. While the atrium is beautiful, it feels closed off compared the to 9 story high atrium of the Carnival Dream, Magic and Breeze ships. Plus deck 3-4-5 just felt small and not as open to us. 

A view of the Vista Atrium from Deck 4 

However, the Vista offers something that the Dream class does not... The Havana area on Deck 5 aft. This is a "adults only" area of cabins, bar, relaxation area on the very back of the ship on Deck 5. All guests must be 21 or older to even stay in these cabins. These cabins also come with exclusivity to the Havana Pool and lounge area. Since it was still early in Embarkation Day, the bartender at the Havana Bar allowed us to go into the Havana area without wristbands so we could check it out.


The social area leading up to the Havana Bar area.


The Havana Bar 


The Havana Cabana area


The Havana Pool and lounge areas 
These chairs LINED this area and were SO NICE!

This area of the ship is VERY nice. It offers a medium sized cruise ship pool and two hot tubs. As well as countless loungers and clamshells. We were also able to see the Havana Cabanas. This is a "balcony" style stateroom but instead of overlooking the ocean, it overlooks a walkway in the Havana area. The balcony itself is HUGE and at least double the size of a regular balcony and offers unique seating arrangements, like a swing, but there is ZERO privacy. It is definitely a trade off. The Havana also offers inside cabins as well as suites that have AFT view balconies. As the week progressed, we realized how valuable the Havana pool, spas and lounge area really was, especially if you like this part of cruising. 

This video gives you an idea of the Havana area on the Vista:



A view of the Havana Pool area and the Havana Aft Balconies from the Lido Deck! 

However, the building of this area on the ship meant the average cruiser could NOT walk all the way around the ship NOR see the aft wake view without seeing the Havana pool area as well. I was NOT a fan of this at all! It felt as if Carnival took a great passenger area and then closed it off by adding more cabins, which means more people, and then make it exclusive to only those people. I actually think it is a GREAT marketing tool but gave the ship a weird feel. The inside Havana Bar and lounge area was available to the "average Joe" and we spent time in there daily but the outside pool area was off limits as soon as we left embarkation day.

After we explored the Havana area we grabbed our first drink "The Fun Ship". This is also a tradition when cruising Carnival and our cruise has now officially begun. We then made our way up to the Lido deck area. It was still early on Embarkation Day so there were not a LOT of people, which was great. This gave us an opportunity to really see this deck before the crowds hit. The main pool area seemed as if there was a lot of wasted space. The Main pool was very small, even for a cruise ship and it did not offer hot tubs but had the cabana seating area. The main deck area around the main pool was MASSIVE. At least double in size from other Carnival ships. It just seemed as if the pool could have been bigger as 80-90% of the time when we saw this area, they didn't even have chairs but just wasted deck space. 


The Fun Ship... It's time to start cruising! 


The Main Pool area on the Lido Deck. Lots of Deck space for deck parties but seemed like a HUGE wasted space. 

The buffet area of the Lido deck was standard Carnival set up but the seating area seemed to be bigger or at least set up to offer more seating. The Tides Pool (Aft pool) area was well laid out as well and offered a HUGE bar area. This pool was average size as were the hot tubs but it was no longer "adults only" area as we had experienced on other Carnival cruise ships in the past (Well before Covid). 


Here is the Aft (Wake) view on the Carnival Vista... tainted by the Havana Pool area! 
This was my least favorite thing about this ship! 


The Tides Pool, spas and Tides Bar. 


It's TRADITION! 

As more and more people were boarding the ship, it started to get more and more crowded so we went back down to Ocean Plaza on Deck 5 in the AC. This area of the Vista was HUGE and much bigger than that of the Dream or Breeze. We spent a lot of time here during the week. I was able to talk to the Maitre'D and get a table ALONE for our Main Dining Room (MDR) experience. 


The Ocean Plaza was much larger than that on the Breeze or Dream with lots of seating areas! 

Our cabins were ready at 1:30PM so we made our way to our Cove Balcony on deck 2. Due to luggage being delivered throughout the ship, only 1 elevator PER POD was available. I was very grateful that we only had 3 flights of stairs to get to our cabin. 

Cove Balcony
This is our absolute FAVORITE cabin category EVER! This is a standard cruise ship balcony cabin on the inside but the balcony itself is BELOW the life boats. This meant a completely covered balcony 95% of the time. This is absolutely PERFECT for our fair-skin. This balcony sits just 25' above the water line so keep that in mind. This means that if there is ever bad weather the cruise line WILL close off your balcony but it is a gamble I am ALWAYS willing to take. It simply is the BEST! 

After I unpacked some of luggage, we went back up to Deck 12 to check out the Sports Square area and play our traditional game of mini-golf. Despite me having a re-do 2nd game, Chris still won. One of these days I will win again. Maybe on the Breeze! 


The mini-golf area was very well kept for a ship carrying over 1K kids! 


Our mini-golf traditional game! 


Hello Carnival Vista... You like nice! 

TIP- This Sports Square area was AWESOME and one of the best we have seen. It offered mini-golf, shuffle board, 2 pool tables, ping pong and so much more. Towards the aft of this deck was the enclosed basketball and soccer areas as well as exercise equipment.  Plus this is where the Ropes Course and SkyRide were housed. This Ropes Course was much bigger than the Dream Class ships and offered an easy and hard course. The SkyRide was AWESOME and only available on Vista class ship! MORE ON THAT LATER. If you are cruising with kids 8-18, this is the place they will spend the majority of their time. It was incredible! TIP- The SkyRide at 2PM on Embarkation Day had ZERO people in line! Bring TENNIS SHOES! 

Sports Square on the Vista


The indoor area of the Sports Square offered large "kick pool table", ping-pong and more! Plus it's in the AC! 

After our mini-golf game we wanted to try and explore as much as we could before sail away so we went to Deck 4. This deck housed Horizons Dining Room, Limelight Lounge (night club and comedy club), the Casino, The Sports Bar as well as FunShops and the Liquid Lounge (the main theater). This theater felt so small. TINY in fact. The seating area was set up really weird and many options had viewing hazards in the way. Not to mention some of the seats were not even facing the actual stage but sideways rather. It was weird and with a ship that carries 4,700 each week, it didn't just feel crowded... IT WAS CROWDED! We learned later in the cruise that when they built Vista class ships, the main theater was also the dance club. They need to rethink that architectural design flaw in the future. 


The Limelight Lounge on Deck 4 (The Comedy club and night club area) 


The Sports Bar on Deck 4
(Very large from our experience) 


A view of the Liquid Lounge on Deck 5 
(Notice how weird the seating is) 


A panoramic view of the Theater from the stage. 

We then went to our cabin to call our kids one last time and then watch sail away from our cove balcony. The kids were in Lubbock with Chris's parents and already having a GREAT time, although they were jealous they were not on this cruise with us. Sail away was amazing and we saw lots of dolphins as we left the Galveston channel. We turned our phones onto airplane mode and the cruise mindset had officially begun. The rest of our luggage was delivered to our room around 4:30 so I got it all unpacked and then we got ready for dinner. 


Goodbye Texas... We will see you in 7 days!

|
We love sailing from Galveston

Evening
We made reservations for 6PM at the 555 Steakhouse. TIP- Always try and do the steakhouse the FIRST or SECOND night as they offer a FREE bottle of specialty wine on these nights. We had experienced the Carnival steakhouse a few times prior but let me just go ahead and say that this experience was beyond even our wildest dreams. The head chef offered us a canape in addition to the 5 course meal. The service was exceptional and the food was nothing short of phenomenal. I would have been willing to pay for this experience a second or even THIRD time... it was THAT good. TIP- The steakhouse is $42 per person and allows you to choose 1 from each category: appetizer, salad or soup, entrée and 2 sides, dessert. You cannot beat that on land in most steakhouses and the food will blow you away. This food was shockingly good and we rated most items 10 out of 10. Trust me... Just make the reservation and DO IT! You will not regret it! Carnival also gave us free champagne for our anniversary as well. The entire experience was incredible and really set the tone for the whole cruise! Well done Carnival!


Blue water... BLUE WATER!
MY HEART IS SO HAPPY! 


The Steakhouse was HUGE! 


Specialty Merlot FREE from the Steakhouse! 


The canape- compliments of the chef! 


Mushroom risotto... WOW! My mouth is watering as I type this! 


Lobster Bisque 


Surf and Turf was worth it's weight (or my weight) in GOLD! 


Cheers to 16 years! Happy Anniversary from Carnival! 


That was an experience I will never forget! 

As soon as dinner was over we walked around Deck 5 a bit before going back to our Cove Balcony to try and watch the sunset. The clouds made it a little difficult but there is NOTHING better than a sunset at sea!



It doesn't get much better than this! 

After the sunset we went to the Welcome Aboard Show in the Liquid Lounge on Deck 4-5. I am so very glad I had read to get there early as there was only 1 show and all 4,500 people wanted to see this show. And remember what I mentioned above about the layout of the theater... it was awful and most people who were late chose to just stand and not sit due to the poles being in the line of sight! This show was good and gave a taste of the shows to come. This was also our first experience with Kyndall Fire- Cruise Director. She turned out to be a PHENOMENAL CD and one of the best we have ever had! 

After the show we took our 2 bottles of wine to the Ocean Plaza and listened to the Vista Band for a while before heading back to the comedy show. This comedian, Bob Biggerstaff, was funny and not too appalling for an adults' only show.... but this was his best showing of the cruising. He was not our favorite. It was a great night of food and entertainment but it was after midnight and we were tired. We went back to our room and were asleep before 1AM. 

What a way to come back. This day was INCREDIBLE and we could not wait for the next 6 days! Welcome back on board... It has been TOO LONG!

God is Good... ALL THE TIME!  

Click on a link to see our past cruising adventures:
Enchantment of the Seas- February 2020


 



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Wednesday, July 13, 2022

Vacation, Vaccination, Vista-nation- Before the Cruise

Welcome to the World of Anxiety
Weeks Leading Up to the Cruise 

Congratulations... You have booked a cruise! 

Time to get excited...Not really! It's time to worry until you're blue in the face about all of the rules and protocols. Times have really changed since the pandemic and the free feeling of "I'm just going to get on the ship and forget about all my worries" does not happen immediately. You have to EARN that feeling with a negative Covid test and of course the Covid 19 Vaccination. 

The cruising industry is the ONLY group left in the travel industry that requires the vaccine and then still requires a NEGATIVE test to board the ship. You need neither to fly on a plane or ride on a train or city busses and subways. You can get into Disney World in the middle of the summer with the entire state of Florida and not have to show any proof of vaccine or a negative test. We're talking shoulder to shoulder crowds and still... no proof needed! Only the cruise industry... This makes for a very anxious lead up to your vacation. 

Prior to March 2020 and the complete shut down of the world we once knew, Chris and I had been on 18 cruises and felt we knew the cruising world "inside and out"... boy were we wrong. Cruising has changed SO MUCH since our last cruise on the Enchantment of the Seas in February 2020 and I hope to be able to share all of these changes here and through this blog on our cruise aboard the Carnival Vista in July 2022. 

My Vaccination Experience 
Chris has been vaccinated since April 2021 due recommendations from his doctor, while I remained unvaccinated due to recommendations from my neurologist. I have had epilepsy my entire life and my neurologist told me to wait just a little while until the vaccines were researched a little more. But while I was waiting, I caught Covid in May 2021. In fact, I got Covid so bad it nearly killed me. I spent 5 nights in the hospital and took about 4 months to truly fully recover from this terrible sickness. Thank you Jesus for healing me as I am so undeserving. 

As I continued to recover, I knew my immune system would be strong as I had such a bad round of Covid. But the cruise industry continued to require the vaccine with no end in sight. As Chris and I traveled to California on 2 separate trips in 2021 and 2022, I realized it was difficult to do certain things when one spouse was jabbed and one was not. I decided in the spring of 2022, it was time to sacrifice and just get the vaccine. I knew this would be helpful to our marriage and beyond. I got the first dose on May 1st and the second on May 29th. This meant, we were now able to take a cruise after over 2 years. 

Check-In Details 
Once we had this last minute cruise booked, we had to complete a vaccination attestation form online and proceed with vaccination records as well as lots of other forms to be completed to actually get on the ship. Passengers were not able to actually check-in for the cruise until 2 weeks prior to sail away date, unlike 75 days in the years past. 

Covid Test- I need some NEGATIVITY in my life 
As of July 2022, the cruise industry is still requiring all passengers to  show proof of a negative Covid test. Since I was not boosted, and since I had just took the final dose of the vaccine, we had to wait until 48 hours prior to the sail away date to get tested for Covid 19. We tried to stay away from large crowds and indoor public spaces for about a week before testing as we really didn't want all of this to go to waste with a positive test. I swear this requirement kept me up at night, worried I would not be able to take the vacation I had hoped to take for so long. On Wednesday, the day before we were allowed to officially test, I took an at-home (non-proctored) test to try and ease my anxiety. IT WAS NEGATIVE. I thought maybe, just maybe, I could relax. 

Nope! The Thursday before we set sail on Saturday, Chris and I had appointments with Walgreens to get a Covid test. This was on June 30, 2022 and on July 1st the government decided to stop paying for this Covid test and instead, the consumer will need to pay. Boy were we lucky... We did not have to pay! TIP- Now Walgreens charges $130 PER TEST although you "can" request reimbursement from your insurance.

We arrived for our appointments and the drive-thru line to take the test was 6-7 cars deep. We got the testing supplies from the nurse and took the quick nasal swab test and then returned it to her. Then we waited... For about 3 hours before Chris got the NEGATIVE result and mine came in NEGATIVE shortly after that. What a HUGE relief it was to get that test result. We were finally going to be able to get back on a cruise ship after 28 LONG months! 

THANK YOU JESUS! LET's GO CRUISING! 

Verifly App 
One of the greatest inventions to come out of this Pandemic is the Verifly App. This is a free app that allows passengers and consumers to enter flight or trip details and sync all paperwork for said trip. This meant we could enter our vaccination paperwork as well as our negative Covid tests into this app and it would "verify" the validity and then we would be "Ready to Sail". Overall this app was very easy to use and fairly quick in getting approval of the vaccines and test results. By 4PM on Thursday before we sailed on Saturday, we were both "READY TO SAIL". Once we actually got to the cruise terminal, this Verifly App was used to validate us and approve us to get onboard the Carnival Vista. TIP- Be sure to download this app and enter your info prior to sailing, as it will save you a LOT of time. And it is FREE! 

It is an interesting feeling to book, pay for and plan an entire vacation and time away from work only to know that at any given moment 48-72 hours before the vacation starts, it can all be taken away from you. I do not like this new part of cruising but I do not necessarily see it going away in the near future. I, personally, am still hopeful that a negative test will no longer be needed by 2023 and I hope and pray the vaccine requirement will be gone shortly after that. These are just hopes and dreams but isn't that what life is all about! 

Be sure to stayed tuned for our day by day experience on the Carnival Vista. Cruising has in fact changed since February 2020, but mainly for the better! I will be sharing tips, tricks and our personal experiences by the day. I hope by sharing our experiences and what we had to do to cruise again will help those who are thinking about cruising. 

Thank you SO MUCH for your continued support. This entire blog has been based around cruising and we have had to take a 2+ year hiatus and you have still stuck with us! THANK YOU fellow readers and supporters! We greatly appreciate you! 

Stay tuned! Up Next... Embarkation Day aboard the Carnival Vista! 

God is GOOD... All the Time! 

Click on a link to see our past cruising adventures:
Enchantment of the Seas- February 2020


 



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