Natalie Wins Facebook
Sea Day #3
Friday, July 8, 2022
1-2-3-FOUR GOLDEN Ship-on-a-Stick!
Morning
We woke up really early as we were now headed north and the sun was rising on our side of the ship. The sun was coming in the balcony windows around 5:40AM and beams of sunlight seemed to shine directly on our bed around 6:15AM. We snoozed as much as we could but we eventually got up and got ready for the day. TIP- On our next cruise in a cove balcony, I am going to try and bring Velcro to try and hold the curtain to the wall and avoid sunlight coming in. That is a HUGE plus of an inside cabin... pure darkness!
We grabbed breakfast on Lido this morning to change it up a bit. I have always LOVED the breakfast at Blue Iguana so that is where we chose to eat with customizable breakfast burritos. TIP- This option is a great way to get breakfast quickly and have a personalized option. The burrito was good but we still prefer the sit down wait service in the MDR. After breakfast we went and got our morning coffee at Java Café and listened to music in the atrium for quite a while before going to the morning trivia in the Liquid Lounge. I did go to guest services to ask about the Vista Trophy that Keegan promised us. The representative knew nothing about it but sent Keegan an email.
We made our way to the Liquid Lounge for morning trivia and got a front row seat in one of the booths near the stage. The morning trivia was so broad and only had 10 questions, of which we only answered 6 correct. After the morning trivia, we stayed for the Wave Show, which was essentially a morning show that was put on by Kyndall Fire and her FunSquad staff.
After that was the "Q & Awesome" answer session with Kyndall Fire. This is always a MUST ATTEND event on any cruise and we love getting to find out details about the cruise line or living on a cruise ship. Kyndall's version did not disappoint. Here is some great info we learned:
- Kyndall Fire lives in Ft Worth, TX and a graduate of Texas A&M. She has literally only worked for Carnival and got the job straight out of college. She took as class at TAMU and got to come on 2 cruises as a project (Where was this while I was in college). Her boyfriend, Joey, is also a CD; although I cannot find him listed as a CD in Carnival information. She has one more cruise and then going home until November. She will come back to Mardi Gras for 2 contracts and then hopefully will be the first inaugural female CD and take over the Jubilee out of Galveston. #KyndallforJubilee
- About 150-200 people do not get on the ship each week due to a positive Covid test or what Kyndall calls "Traffic in Houston". Honey, we live in Houston and the traffic ain't never THAT bad! But it is interesting to know about 4-5% of passengers get that positive result before boarding. I really hope the cruise industry takes this away soon... It is a WISH!
- On Carnival the CD and the Entertainment Director work together to create the best experience for the guests. Some cruise lines, like Norwegian and Princess, only have ONE person doing both of these jobs. That is why Carnival CDs are so much more fun and more noticeably around than other cruise lines.
- The Carnival Vista will not go into drydock until 2024. There was an azipod issue in 2019 and they "wet dock" the ship to fix that aspect of the ship but nothing else. There are lots of little issues (like the chair that broke last night on Chris) that need to be fixed. The Carnival Vista will leave Galveston in 2024 and go into drydock before relocating to Florida.
After this Q&A, Kyndall did the debarkation presentation explaining how to get off the ship the next day. Then she asked us to give around of applause to the staff and several came on stage... Including the CAPTAIN! I never imagined we would see him due to Covid!
Nice to see you Clauido... (That was a question on the Carnival 50th Triva)
After this we went to the Ocean Plaza for drinks and Guy's BBQ for lunch. As the week progressed, this lunch option became more well known and there was a line. This place is not a secret anymore. TIP- Try this place out early in the cruise to avoid lines and crowds. We ate lunch and relaxed in Ocean Plaza a bit and then went to our balcony to enjoy watching the ocean sail by.
Debarkation Information
Passengers can choose to carry their own luggage off the ship, or they can send their luggage the last night of the cruise and have a more relaxed morning getting off the ship. If you choose to do the "regular/ relaxed debarkation" you have to go to the Lido deck on the last day at NOON and get the ZONE TAGS- Zone 1-30, and that is how you will get off the ship on debarkation day. We snagged zone 16 at 12:45pm. Get there earlier if you want a better zone number.
Passengers can choose to carry their own luggage off the ship, or they can send their luggage the last night of the cruise and have a more relaxed morning getting off the ship. If you choose to do the "regular/ relaxed debarkation" you have to go to the Lido deck on the last day at NOON and get the ZONE TAGS- Zone 1-30, and that is how you will get off the ship on debarkation day. We snagged zone 16 at 12:45pm. Get there earlier if you want a better zone number.
Afternoon
We spent about 2 hours on the balcony (in the shade) enjoying the blue waters of the Gulf. We saw what we thought was another cruise ship headed in the opposite direction but we could never figure out if it was a cruise ship or not. We did some very light packing before heading back out to enjoy every last bit of our last day at sea.
We argued this was a Carnival Ship but without internet I could not even check.
IT WAS NOT the Breeze... she was in port as we got home on Saturday!
We went to the Ocean Plaza and checked out the last few trivia's but they were not as interesting so we went up to Deck 12 to walk the track a bit. We only walked 3 laps before getting too hot and going to Deck 11 to chill. We found an open clamshell chair on Deck 11 and sat there for over an hour enjoying the shade and a little view of the wake.
The aft wake view on the Vista... distorted by the Havana area!
That's OK... Just tilt your head and you get the view I was longing for!
We then went back inside and tried to found a place to sit and enjoy a few drinks but everywhere was PACKED. It took 7 days but we felt the other 4,500 other passengers. We finally found a place at alchemy bar...This place was AWESOME. Chris and I were both so upset we found this on the LAST day of the cruise! This will be our first stop on the Breeze! But be forewarned, these drinks are strong! Just two and we were DONE!
Seriously the best drink on the ship!
The Alchemy Bar menu... They ALL look good!
They even offer small appetizer plates! The olives... WOW, so good!
Evening
We ventured across the ship to Bonsai Sushi to have an afternoon snack around 5pm. This sushi is so good, especially for a cruise ship and we try to get some on every Carnival cruise we take. We got the tempura roll, the California roll and some miso soup. It was all FABULOUS and well worth the small amount extra you will pay.
We ventured across the ship to Bonsai Sushi to have an afternoon snack around 5pm. This sushi is so good, especially for a cruise ship and we try to get some on every Carnival cruise we take. We got the tempura roll, the California roll and some miso soup. It was all FABULOUS and well worth the small amount extra you will pay.
Chris's miso soup being poured by the waitress!
The tempura roll... WOW, it was AWESOME!
As we were leaving Bonsai Sushi, I saw a friend from a past cruise who I still keep up with on Facebook. She cruises ALL THE TIME and often times with her granddaughter. We recognized each other and then she says "Oh yeah, Natalie is the super star French Horn player." This cruiser does not recognize me (or Chris) from all of our cruise blogs or Cruise Facebook group but instead recognizes my teenager for being such an amazing musician! I may or may not post too much about how awesome my kids are but...when you got it, flaunt it!
Way to go Natalie Grace! You win Facebook!
Way to go Natalie Grace! You win Facebook!
That's MY girl... killing it on her French Horn!
After our sushi we went back to the room to try and do more packing to get off the ship the next day. The more cruises we take, the more we like the checked luggage debarkation option. However, this means we have to pack all of our luggage and leave outside the stateroom by 10:30PM on the last night. This really makes debarkation SO MUCH EASIER... But more on that later!
I could really stare at this ALL DAY. It is so peaceful and our waters were some of the calmest EVER! Just incredible!
It's almost over... NOOOO!
After we got packed and freshened up for the evening, we went to the PG comedy show in the Limelight Lounge. Kirk Smith, the comedian, had the exact same show from a few nights ago. I really wish they would go back to "naming" their shows so we wouldn't have wasted our time.
We went to back to our room to place our luggage outside the door and then go to dinner. When we got in the room we noticed a trophy and personal note from Kyndall Fire sitting on the table. She must have gotten word we owed a trophy. It was so sweet and personable! BUT... It still didn't have VISTA on the back! We laughed but were so grateful. Then Chris went to the vanity area and there was ANOTHER trophy WITH THE VISTA ON IT and a note from Keegan! WOW... We could not believe how nice and friendly these people were! So we left with 4 Golden Ship-on-a-Sticks... 2 EARNED and 2 GIFTED! Thank you Kyndall and Keegan and Carnival Vista!
Ship-on-a-Stick #3
Kyndall's note... This was so cool because she technically had NOTHING to do with the trophy Keegan promised Chris for singing the Star Spangled Banner!
THE TROPHY we needed to complete our collection!
It has VISTA on it!
Keegan's note... THANK YOU KEEGAN! We will NEVER FORGET YOU!
Chris was SO EXCITED AND PROUD!
The last view from our cove balcony!
And a "sunset" view no less... This was priceless!
We placed our bags outside the stateroom and went to dinner! We were a little late (8:20pm for an 8:15PM seating) so the service was noticeably slower. TIP- Always get there on time to help with the whole process! But the food and overall service was still phenomenal! Ricky, John and Jenny will still remain one of our best wait staff teams of any cruise! Thank you all so much!
After dinner we went to Ocean Plaza to listen to music but I was not feeling 100% as the richness of pasta I ate did not agree with me. We walked around and then we ended the night at Alchemy Bar and actually shut it down shortly after 11PM. TIP- The bars and all venues close at 11PM on the last night of the cruise. Diana, the waitress, was AMAZING. She made a special drink of Sprite, strawberries and limes to help my "tummy ache" as she said. It was really sweet.
It was a great last day aboard the Carnival Vista and while it may not be our favorite ship, this was still an AMAZING cruise and just what we needed! I cannot believe it is over... But I am ready to get home!
Up Next- Our Debarkation Experience and arrival back in TEXAS!
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