Carnival Vista Review

4.5 / 5.0
1,043 reviews

Where's a waiter, included food, service?

Review for the Western Caribbean Cruise on Carnival Vista
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RuthieAgain
First Time Cruiser • Age 60s

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Additional details

Sail Date: May 2018
Cabin: Balcony

Poor Service. This was my first cruise, and I expected the greatest time of my life on this new ship, the Vista, from reviews online and from my sister (a frequent cruiser on other Carnival ships). I was told that I would be treated very special, akin to a queen, with free food and waiters/butlers EVERYWHERE and at all times. However, neither happened. I had to PAY for everything I wanted, on a supposedly an all-inclusive cruise, spending approx. $1K on the ship for food and a few drinks for my husband and me. My entire group on this cruise (my husband, and two sisters with their husbands) each paid for "Faster to the Fun" (FTTF) perks, and we all found that package was a waste of money, except for when we had to stand in line at Guest Services. I spent most of the trip searching for food, only to find out that the eating places were only open at certain times with small windows (12-2) and everything closed for late night (except for a pizza shop that had thousands of people in the line also searching for a late night snack), including the “specialty restaurants” serving sub-par food during the 2 hours they were open for lunch and then serving better food at a premium price when it re-opened at 5 pm. The main buffet on the Lido was closed most of the time, with long lines and a lack of food variety being served, especially at breakfast. Omelettes served at breakfast with either a bad mix of or unmixed eggs (see photos) in one of only 2 LONG lines serving over 4000 guests. Lunch lines were long where only sandwiches were being served, while the rest of the buffet areas were closed. To top it off, room service only offered a continental breakfast. Furthermore, I had to fetch whatever I needed (i.e., water, condiments, etc.), after being pointed in the direction BY the waiters as where to find whatever I was asking for (when they were even around – typically, we had to walk to find one). We also lounged several times on decks where we had to either find a waiter to order our drinks or go stand in a line to get them ourselves (which was the norm on this cruise), including on the Lido deck and at parties. When we lounged on the 5th floor deck, I NEVER saw a waiter... ever… on any occasion when we were there. Further, I waited forever on hold for Guest Services, using my "dedicated" extension to call them (so long that the call was disconnected each time). Few outlets in rooms, tho the rooms were nice. Lastly, for debarkation, I also had to wait for someone to meet me and my party, as per FTTF instructions provided, for debarkation at the end of the cruise -- a no-show! No one came to escort us off the ship. We eventually left the designated "meeting" location and joined a "general" line outside in another area to debark. I complained to the female cruise director about the debarkation issues when I saw her, while I stood in the long "general" line with others (folks who had not subscribed to FTTF) to exit the ship. She pulled us out of that “general” line and placed us in another shorter line (thanks for that!). My sisters, who both cruise often on other ships, including Carnival, also tried to assure me that this was not the norm for Carnival (they were also disappointed with the service). Needless to say [again], I was extremely disappointed, as my experience did not match the countless reviews that depicted a wonderful life on a cruise. I expressed my dismay to Carnival, but received no response, much less an apology. I will never take a Carnival cruise again, based on my experience on board the Vista.

Cabin Review

Balcony

Cabin 8F

Cabin with balcony, was very clean and comfortable. Very few outlets/plugs. "Butler" was fantastic at keeping room clean, including turn-down service provided daily.

Port Reviews

Miami

We boarded in Miami, Florida. Wasn't too bad of an experience.

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