This was only my second Carnival Cruise. I usually sail Royal Caribbean, but was enticed onto the Carnival Sunshine two years ago and was pleasantly surprised. I felt Carnival had a bit more of a "youthful" vibe, so I promised my college-aged daughter a Carnival Cruise and we chose the Vista...their newest, largest ship...for her Spring Break. The ship itself was very nice. It was nice to be on a new ship with so many activities with all the parts available and working. We especially liked having so many small areas to visit, so it did not feel too crowded (except when getting on and off, of course). Most impressive was the entertainment. We loved a small group/duo called Sauce Factor, which played a different genre each night (and quite well!). We also love Graham, the guitarist in the Red Frog Pub. My husband also loved the Strings duo and the female duo (guitar and bongos) (sorry, don't remember all the names). The one production show we saw (Rock) was excellent, and the comedians were very good as well. The sports deck was amazing...the best I've seen. So many activities for the younger crowd...full size basketball court, nice mini-golf course, foosball, shuffleboard, pool tables, table tennis, ropes course, really cool exercise equipment, and the sky ride is super amazing. Even a giant floor 'pool table' with mini soccer balls mimicking pool balls and two bowling lanes! The Red Frog Pub has even more activities, with table shuffleboard, darts, ring games, dominos, etc. I loved many of the activities in the Ocean Plaza throughout the day...unique trivia and interactive games like giant Trivial Pursuit, Yahtzee, etc. Also loved how there were many types of chairs in many nooks and crannies around two pools (I am very uncomfortable in lounge chairs and that is one of my major complaints onboard many ships).

There are two limited areas...the Serenity Deck and the Havana Club...and there, unfortunately the Vista comes up a little short. The Serenity Deck (adults only) is nice, but small and crowded, and no easy access to any pool (they do have hot tubs). The Havana Club is really nice (it is for Havana Club guest until 7 pm, but then accessible to all...and a nice hidden place to watch the sunset); it was so nice, I would consider upgrading to it in the future...IF it wasn't for the incessant latin music (and only latin top 40 at that!). Yes, it's latin themed...but should have all the normal outside music, in my opinion.

The area most disappointing for us was the food. The Lido Marketplace buffet was so poorly laid out that no matter what you wanted (full plate or a few select items) you needed to wait in a line for at least 20 minutes! Even during non-busy times, as they closed lines so that it was always at least 20 minutes...and forget bopping back up for an extra one of these or those...another 20 minutes. The main dining room does not have tablecloths so that you feel a bit like you are eating in a cafeteria. We were on My Time Dining, and don't know if this is indicative, but were always placed in a very undesirable area in corners and by service areas. And most of the food was mediocre, at best. One bright spot was lunch...there were so many lunch options, with Guys Burgers and the BBQ place, being our favorites. But there were light bites everywhere; a pasta-to-order place, the Mongolian Wok Asian-to-order (which we did not get to try), a pizza place, a mexican bar, and on and on. All that we tried were pretty good. Did not get to try them all. Surely wish some of these were available for dinner! We did try JiJi's Asian for dinner one night, and I found it quite enjoyable, but my family did not totally agree. The sea day brunch in the main dining room was also very good. Read more