We chose to take the Vista's transatlantic re-positioning cruise because we found the travel itinerary of interest to us.
The good: The Skyride. The specialty dining, in particular 555 Fahrenheit, and to a lesser degree the Italian Restaurant was very good. Afternoon tea in the main dining room was great with well prepared and delicious offerings every day that it was offered. Staff at teatime were outstanding.
The bad: Embarkation in Barcelona was poorly managed chaos. Arrived at the port a 1 pm never made it on board until 3:45 pm. Once on board we found our cabin to be very dirty with dust and hair on all of the surfaces (desk etc.) and inside the drawers. The bathroom vent was black with (dust? mold?) something. After cleaning the cabin with two towels, which were black with dirt once we finished, we went to customer service to complain. No apology was offered but housekeeping was notified and the bathroom vent was cleaned and the soiled towels removed.
Very dirty upon arrival. Size is good. Electrical outlets were positioned so that some of our battery recharges could not be plugged in. Sony alpha 7 battery charger for example. Customer services was unable (unwilling?) to provide an extension but the Housekeeping Supervisor provided up with his personal extension outlet.
We did our own touring of the city. We found the restaurants, at least the ones we selected to be excellent. The city is a very tourist friendly city. English was spoken almost every where.
The weather was too windy for the cable car to operate. We purchased our tickets in advance and so far have not had success in obtaining a refund. We hike to the top of the rock and back down. It was a memorable experience. I would like to go again when there was good weather.
The tour we purchased in advance was a 10 person van tour. When we arrived at the van there were eight people on board. An American woman who was in the front passenger seat objected to us being added to the tour. She was rude and belittled the tour operator. She left the van with her travel companions and said she would not be in an over crowded vehicle...a 10 person tour is what she had purchased. The tour operator arranged for us to have a private tour with a driver and guide. Both were excellent and we had a wonderful time with them in spite of poor weather conditions. We would love to go back to the Azores for a longer stay.