Monday, July 18, 2022

Vacation, Vaccination, Vista-Nation- Roatan

Nirvana Ain't Cheap
Roatan, Honduras 
July 5, 2022 

We are ready for a GREAT DAY! 

Morning 
We were woke up by the shifting of the ship and the loud noises of the ship pulling into port around 7AM but we decided to snooze just a bit more thinking we would only sleep 10-15 more minutes. When we woke up, it was 8:15AM. We got up and got ready before checking in on the Hub app for our Port Day Breakfast in the Main Dining Room. TIP- Reminder, be sure to check in for breakfast and brunch if not eating on the Lido Deck. 

Hello Roatan... It's been TOO long 
(Since 2018 Breakaway)

The port day breakfast menu is SO MUCH better than Sea Day brunch in our opinion as it offers standards like pancakes and waffles without the fanciness of the Sea Day brunch. The service was fast and we were done within 30 minutes of sitting down. 


The Carnival avocado toast... BEST THING EVER! 

We planned on getting off the ship mid-morning to go to the free beach after all of the crowds had gotten off the ship. On Embarkation Day, we made reservations for a Spa Taster at 10AM. We were not sure what all this entailed but the add mentioned "free massage samples" so we were in. We had a bit to wait for our appointment so we tried out a 50th Birthday cocktail at the Atrium Bar. 


The Carnival Vista atrium

We arrived at 10AM and then made our way to the spa and it was not crowded at all. We waited in the "Relaxation Room" and shortly after 10am, two therapists demonstrated 4-5 different types of massages the spa offered to us and 2 other couples. They then offered us a deal for a 75 minute full body massage for $169. This was a pretty good deal as we pay $89-109 on land for a 60 minute back massage. We declined but asked her to show us the Thalassotheropy pool as we are thinking about reserving that for our Breeze cruise in September for my birthday. 

As she was showing us this area of the spa she offered an additional price reduction in the massage as she walked us back out to the exit of the spa. Once we got to the reservation area, I told the manager that I had received a coupon from Carnival for $50 a service in the spa. TIP- Be sure to enter your celebration info into your booking prior to getting on board. They will give you coupons of all types!

The manager then explained that she would honor that $50 off for the $169 even though they are not supposed to. So a full body massage for only $119? That is crazy! We decided to go ahead and do it and the manager even gave Chris the $50 off even though he did not have a coupon. I just couldn't believe they were being so generous... Until I looked around and noticed we were the ONLY ONES there. The manager said port days are "slow" and especially the first port day.

TIP- If you are into this type of thing, meander on up to the spa on port days and especially the FIRST port day. I would imagine that port days with tenders are busier so the FIRST port day is best. We have also learned that when BOTH sea days are at the FRONT of the itinerary, people are really eager to get off the ship on that first port. These are just observations but they have proved to be true in this case! 

We each got a complete FULL body massage lasting 75 minutes for $238 TOTAL and they even put us both into the same room. This couples massage was incredible and unfortunately for my bank account, it will become a staple in our cruises moving forward. It was absolutely GLORIOUS! 


I cannot believe we are doing this... SO EXCITING! 


Couples massage room


The gratuities (the mandatory and additional we gave) pretty much took the $50 coupon back but it was still SO WORTH IT! 

Afternoon
These massages lasted until about 12:15pm and we made our way up to Deck 11 for the Mongolian Wok. TIP- The Mongolian Wok is open DAILY 12-2:30PM and offers personalized Asian noodle bowls full service. It became a staple of our cruise and the food and service were fabulous. We also stopped at the Carnival Deli on our way to our room to try a quick sandwich. I discovered I do in fact like pastrami. 

The dessert area at the back of the Lido buffet was quite impressive. 

After lunch we went back to our cabin to get ready to get off the ship and go to the free beach in Mahogany Bay. TIP- Mahogany Bay offers a complete FREE beach just right off the ship. It is walkable or you can ride the "Chair Lift" for $12-15/ per person. We LOVE this beach and it even has a GREAT snorkeling area off the pier. You can rent chairs or clamshells and even floats and other play toys. It is PERFECT for families. 


Hello dry land and hello Honduras

Once we got off the ship and made our way to the beach, we started looking for a place to sit our stuff down. We were only planning on staying for 2-3 hours at max, especially since it was already 1:30PM, so we didn't want to rent chairs. As we were looking around, a nice lady offered us her two chairs with umbrella RIGHT ON THE BEACH in the front row. Her and her husband even gave us the wristbands, which were not needed. They were SO NICE and friendly and we even saw them again later in the cruise! Thank you Kind Texans... We appreciate you!


I love this area RIGHT past the Pier entrance store! 


The walkway to the Mahogany Beach

We lathered up with sunscreen and then got into the gorgeous waters of Mahogany Bay. TIP- We just got back from Panama City Beach, FL and I will admit that its crystal clear turquoise waters are in fact prettier than these Caribbean waters. I had heard that all my life but I can now attest that it IS TRUE! The emerald coast of Florida is hard to beat! But this beach did not disappoint and the Caribbean waters were just what we needed. 


We love this port and this beach! 


You can literally see the whole ship from the beach! 

We spent about 2 hours at the beach, in the water and laying out before we made our way back to the port area to grab a few souvenirs before getting back on the ship around 4PM. All aboard time was 5:30pm so we were well ahead of the crowd but the lines were already getting long. We went back to the room to shower and change before going to the Havana Bar for afternoon drinks. 


We love you Mahogany Bay 


Selfie Time 


Free photo prop on the walk to the beach! 

Evening
We spent our afternoon moving from the Havana Bar to the Ocean Plaza Bar to the Red Frog Pub on Deck 5. We were not hungry but wanted to try the wings we had read and heard so much about so around 5PM we ordered wings. TIP- These wings were AWESOME. Perfectly seasoned and really hit the spot for an afternoon snack. They are priced at $4.44 but if you have the CHEERS package you get 25% off, making them only $3.33. 

A frequent cruiser next to us said he literally "dreams about these wings". 
Ok Dude... That is a bit much but they were VERY GOOD! 

We went back to our room to watch the sail away from the balcony. That is always one of my favorite parts of the having the balcony. The Carnival Breeze was the only ship at the Mahogany Bay pier but there was a Royal Caribbean ship at the Coxen Hole pier just a few miles to the west. We were not sure at the time but it was the Allure of the Seas. We have a thing about trying to get onto the ships we see in port. The Allure of the Seas will be coming to Galveston in November... I see a new booking coming up! We watched the sail away and enjoyed the cool breeze of the balcony before changing and getting ready for dinner and the evening entertainment. 


We love being able to see this from our balcony! 


Hello there Allure of the Seas... We hope to see you soon! 
(February 2023... Let's do it) 


A MaiTai on the balcony is just perfect! 


All dressed up and ready for dinner and an evening aboard the Vista!

After getting ready for dinner we went to the sports bar on Deck 4 to wait for our late dinner seating. Neither of us were feeling very well for whatever reason but we went to dinner anyway. The nightly menu was not great but not terrible. However, the service from Ricky and his staff was AMAZING! 


Bitter and Blanc is BACK... But only for the 50th Birthday Celebration! 
This is my favorite cruise ship dessert EVER! 
So much so... that I ordered TWO! 

We were both feeling better by the end of the meal but so very stuffed and bloated from it all. We went back to the room to change clothes out of our dinner attire and into comfortable clothes but we fell asleep in the process. When we woke up... It was 12:30AM and missed ALL of the fun stuff for the night, including one of our favorites- the Love and Marriage Show. I guess our bodies had enough and just needed some rest. 

It was an incredible day of Nirvana and stress relief accompanied by a gorgeous beach and scenery. We love Roatan and we enjoyed our spa day! 

Up Next... Belize and the Vista to ourselves, well mostly! 

Thanks again for following along! 

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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Sunday, July 17, 2022

Vacation, Vaccination, Vista-Nation- Sea Day #2

 A Banner Day
Sea Day #2
Monday, July 4, 2022 

Happy Birthday AMERICA! 

Morning- Trivia 
We woke up earlier on this morning and spent a while on the balcony enjoying a cool breeze and the gorgeous colors of the sunrise sky on our starboard (west) facing balcony. We then got ready for the day, decked out in Red, White and Blue for the Fourth of July, and made our way to Deck 5 to the Java Café for our morning coffee. We enjoyed our coffee in Ocean Plaza before walking on the open Lanai Deck 5 area. TIP- As I mentioned in a previous post, the Vista does not have a complete wrap around deck so we could only see about 1/3 of the ship on Deck 5. This was a bummer. 
Deck 5 Lanai on the Carnival Vista 

After checking out Deck 5 Lanai, we checked in on the Hub App for Sea Day Brunch. TIP- Check in for Sea Day brunch, port day breakfast or Your Time Dining on your app. It saves SO MUCH TIME!  
Deck 5 port side with plenty of tables for eating. 

Our breakfast was good and semi-fast, although the service was better the day before. After breakfast we went back to Ocean Plaza to try and find good seats as we were going to be playing several games of Trivia for the rest of the morning. We were on a mission to get the "Golden 24K gold (plastic) piece of ship on stick" that Carnival gives to trivia winners. 


One of my favorite parts of a cruise... The morning omelet! WHY CAN'T I MAKE EM LIKE THIS AT HOME??? 

Our first trivia game was a Genius Test. This was basically a sheet of paper with 30 syphers/codes on it and then it ranked you based on your score. We arrived late and did not have the full time to complete this mission and scored 19/30. I think if we would have gotten back to Ocean Plaza on time, we could have done better. 

Then it was time for Golden Girls trivia. We have watched this entire show on Netflix one time through so we knew we would not win this one but it was still fun to play. My mother-in-law, Jackie, loves this show so I would intrigued to see how well she would do. Our final score for the Golden Girls trivia was 12/20. 

Then it was time for the "Independence Day" trivia about July 4th. We weren't quite sure what to expect from this trivia and we ended up doing very well with a score of 16/20 and went to a tie breaking round for the grand prize. The tie-breaker question was "In feet, how tall is the Statue of Liberty". Chris has never been there and I was not sure so we guessed 700 feet and the answer was 152 feet. The other person won and we took SECOND PLACE! Bummer! 

Then it was time for the trivia we were most excited for... The Office! We have been on 10 other Carnival ships that have done trivia before but never seen a The Office trivia. We are very avid fans so we were excited to try this out for the first time. We were not at all surprised when we got 20/20... But we were not the only ones with this perfect score. In fact, there were 4 groups total with a perfect 20/20 so we had to have a tie-breaker question again. This time it was a little more detailed: What was the name of the run Michael has in honor of Meredith. We didn't know it at the time but there are 18 words in this title. We got 9 out of 18 but the winner got 12 out of 18. We took SECOND place again! Always a bridesmaid... never a bride! 

All of this morning trivia was being hosted by one of the FunSquad workers named Keegan from South Africa. He was so fun and we really enjoyed him and the trivia. As he was setting up for the next trivia, which we had not planned to attend, Chris jokingly said "Do you have anything for 2nd place? That is all we've done all morning." He jokingly said no and then Chris said "Hey It's July 4th. What if I sang the National Anthem and got a Ship on Stick?" Keegan just laughed and said "Let me think about it" and then went on his way. 

We didn't really have plans so we decided to stay and play the "Wheely Big Trivia" as part of a large group team. We REALLY WANTED THAT SHIP ON A STICK. Chris played with a team and carried them with his random knowledge but our team did not win. 

At the end Keegan had a question about quadratic equations and of course Chris knew the answer but Chris asked which song it was based on. (Did you know there were songs to help you remember the quadratic formula? I didn't, apparently Chris can sing it to several tunes including "Pop goes the Weasel" and "Rolling in the Deep") and Keegan said "Oh yeah you're our song guy. Come on up". And then you guessed it... Chris sang the Star Spangled Banner in front of the entire Ocean Plaza full of people and he did a FANTASTIC job. It was REALLY SPECIAL.


Listen to Chris sing the National Anthem above... 
WAY TO GO CHRIS! You sang it like a PRO! 


For being from South Africa, Keegan really got into this performance!

And to fulfill his promise, Keegan gave us a Carnival Funship for Chris singing the National Anthem. When he gave it to us Chris said "Oh wow. This doesn't say Vista. We collect them from other ships. Do you have one that says Vista?" Keegan said that those were hard to find but he would try to get Room Service to bring us one later in the cruise and then continued to thank Chris for singing. It was really special.  


Way to go Chris!
You EARNED that Golden Ship-on-a-Stick!  

Afternoon
After Chris's debut with the microphone, we went and got lunch at Guy's Pig and Anchor BBQ just outside on the lanai area of Deck 5. TIP- Once again, this was not very populated and the line was minimal. Be sure to try this out early in the cruise as they are only open on sea days from 12-2:30PM. 


This was SUPERB! You've gotta try it out! 

After lunch we stayed at the Ocean Bar for a little while before going back to our cabin to try and enjoy more balcony time. We stayed on the balcony (STILL in the shade, btw) for about an hour before Chris tried to lay down to take a nap. I was not feeling a nap so I went roaming around the ship. I wanted to try and find a place to sit in the shade but at this point of the afternoon, there were no chairs to be found. TIP- The main pool, tides pool and water park area were PACKED with people. Try to do these things on a PORT DAY as there will be less crowds! I ended up walking most of the upper level decks a few times before going in to shop at the FunShops. 


Balcony time is my favorite time! 


The view from our balcony... PRICELESS!

The waterpark area on the Vista is well laid out and did not seem as crowded as the Magic or Breeze. 


The main pool area... There were some chairs (and chair hogs) here but not in the shade so I opted elsewhere. 


The Tides (aft) pool area. It was not as crowded as the day before but the water was still too murky looking for me!

Chris and I met up at the coffee shop for another afternoon coffee. This is such a great perk of the drink package as I could have as many specialty coffees and frappes as I wanted without having to worry about the bill at the end. We then went to the shaded side of the Deck 5 Lanai and found a clamshell type of chair in the shade so we laid out for a little bit but there was no breeze so it got stagnant. 


Coffee round 2 for me with my edible straw! 
Carnival is now offering edible straws instead of the paper straws. These are weird but so much better than the paper ones. They offered chocolate, lime and strawberry that we saw! 

We then went back to the Ocean Plaza bar and joined in on the movie trivia. Chris did fairly well but not enough to participate in the tie breaker. 

Then it was time for MY FAVORITE trivia... FRIENDS trivia. I have won this on 2 other Carnival ships in the past and have gotten 3 Golden ship-on-a-stick for this trivia. I was determined to get a Vista trophy as well. Sure enough, I answered 20/20 and was in the tie breaker challenge with 3 other girls. I was very confident in the tie-breaker question and was the 2nd to answer out loud. The 4th girl gave and answer and then asked to change it to my answer (Which was super shady). Her and I were correct and then we had an additional tie-breaker question. Once again I was very confident and WON! That is the 3rd ship IN A ROW I have won the FRIENDS trivia! I got another Golden Ship on a stick but it, too, did not have the VISTA on it!
We were just excited to have TWO! 


My FRIENDS trivia trophy! 
I will be playing for #5 on the Breeze in September! 

After FRIENDS trivia we went to the Havana Bar on Deck 5 AFT. TIP- The Havana Pool and Deck is exclusive to those who have Havana cabins but the Havana Bar area is available to anyone. It was rarely busy or crowded and the bartenders were fabulous! 

Evening
We then went back to the room to get ready for dinner as it was already 5PM. After we took showers and got ready, we decided to call the kids from our stateroom phone. We had NEVER done this but I just had a gut feeling to call them. They were fine and all was well but I am glad I called. TIP- We only talked to them for about 3-4 minutes but it was $8 well spent in my opinion! Also, for them it said the call was coming from Miami, FL.  So, they did not pick up at first.

We then went walking around the ship and the Lido Deck in particular to check out the Lido Buffet food. Since the previous night in the MDR was such a hot mess, we were not sure if we would have to come to the Lido Buffet to eat. The food looked so gross and was not appetizing at all. However, there was not a line at the Pizza Pirate so we grabbed a few slices. TIP- The pizza service and overall quality has gone UP since our last Carnival cruise in 2019. We were impressed! You can take the ready slices already made or you can make your own personal size pizza if you are willing to wait 10-15 minutes. 


One thing I REALLY miss is the list of items on the buffet at the beginning of the line. None of these even seemed interesting enough to try... so we skipped it! 


Pizza Pirate pepperoni pizza was pretty good actually and at this time (6-6:30pm) you could walk right up and get a slice or place an order! 


Happy Fourth of July!

We then went and got in line for FLICK in the main theater. We had seen this show before but it is one of our favorites of any cruise line or show. While we were waiting in line we saw Kyndall Fire, the Cruise Director. We grabbed her real fast to take a picture as it is a tradition of ours. And that made our entire cruise a success... Mission Accomplished! We have the Ship-on-a-Stick and we have a picture with the CD.
The Vista was a SUCCESS! 


Thank you Kyndall Fire... You're the best! 
Kyndall is towards the top of our CD list. It's hard to be the Flying Scotsman, Schwartz and Cory Rogers but she is right up there. She is the most personable and friendly CDs ever. She was not afraid to walk right up and shake peoples hand, dance with them or just about anything. VERY FRIENDLY!  

Once we got into the Liquid Lounge Theater, we found 2 seats at the back that were raised a bit to see the stage better. They were on barstools but we didn't care. Chris noticed that his seat was not as stable as he would have liked so we switched. The older couple who took the 2 barstools beside us also mentioned the seats being wobbly. The FLICK show was the last show of the current Playlist Cast onboard the Carnival Vista. In fact, the oncoming cast was sitting right behind us watching this production. The show was incredible and continues to be our favorite cruise ship show. Not to mention, we ended up having the BEST SEATS IN THE HOUSE with our random barstool chairs! 


Our view from our seats. Quite possibly the best seats in the house
(for viewing...) 


This cast was phenomenal. 

After the show we walked right into the Reflections Dining Room and I stopped to ask Mario, the maitre'd, if there was a different table we could sit at due to the huge party being part of our waitstaff's load. Mario moved us over to a corner at a table for 4 but we had it all to ourselves. He apologized again and he, too, agreed that the party was terrible and he even said "They nearly killed my waiter last night". From that point forward, we had one of the best overall MDR experiences we have EVER had in 19 cruises. Our new waitstaff was fast, efficient and friendly. Ricky, John and Jenny were great! It made for an extraordinary MDR experience. Thank you Mario... You saved our cruise! 

After dinner we wanted to listen to live music so we tried the Piano Bar but it was packed so we went to the Ocean Plaza to listen to the Vista Rock band before we went up to the Lido Deck for the July 4th Deck Party. This deck party was AWESOME but kind of gross. There were SO MANY PEOPLE and it was so hot, humid and sticky! It felt way to close for post-Covid times. Even pre-Covid, this was too close for comfort! After about 5-6 songs, we decided to bail and go get water and AC. We ended our night at the Piano Bar and this pianist was so talented. We called it a night shortly after mid-night. 


This is the PERFECT way to spend July 4th! 


Happy Birthday America! 


We loved the Deck Party... But it was TIGHT! 

The singing of our National Anthem with 3K+ people... SO COOL! 

This truly was a BANNER day as Chris sang the Star Spangled Banner and we walked away with not one but TWO Golden Ship-on-a-Sticks AND we got a picture with Kyndall Fire!
Mission Accomplished! 

Stay tuned for our first day in port... Roatan! 
Thanks again for following along! 

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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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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