Add me to the list of DCL cruisers that loved the Carnival Vista

Club Disney Chandler · Oct 26, 2016

linetbo said:
Did you pay extra for any restaurant? Did you use their excursions?

Not the OP but we tried the Vista this past June. We did not pay for any of the upcharge restaurants on board, there are so many choices of included meals that we didn't feel the need for it.

We did do 1 carnival excursion and it was ran just like Disney, go to a dedicated room, check in, get a sticker, wait to be go board the bus for a little bit, disembark together and spend the rest of your day with your new 50 closest friends. The big difference with CCL excursions is you can book them anytime before your cruise, but you pay for them when you book them. I already have an excursion booked for our 6/11/17 cruise and I haven't even made my final payment for the cruise yet.

Here is a link to my review if you want to read it, it has a lot of pictures of the ship as well.
http://www.disboards.com/threads/thoughts-on-the-new-carnival-vista.3521334/

Ofinn · Oct 26, 2016

linetbo said:
Did you pay extra for any restaurant? Did you use their excursions?

No. Im pretty frugal with my onboard spending. Its the only way we can cruise as much as we do.

Ofinn · Oct 26, 2016

momof2n2 said:
I wish we had the money to "get bored" of DCL. We were just priced out so quickly.

I asked my kids recently if they'd like to do another 7-day on NCL or a 4-day Dream (NCL verandah < 4-day Dream interior) and they unanimously said NCL. They had so much fun. The activities blew them away.
The thing NCL lacked, in their mind, was first-run movie theater.

Well you have 3 times the kids I have. I dont think Id be able to vacation very often with 6 kids. I loved the Imax on the Vista, but it comes at a cost.

kaseyC · Oct 26, 2016

linetbo said:
Did you pay extra for any restaurant? Did you use their excursions?

We were on the Vista in June. We did all private or DIY tours. My DH and I did eat in one of the specialty restaurants on board, the Fahrenheit 555 Steakhouse. It was fantastic and totally worth the $35pp charge. The food was delicious and the service was outstanding. Definitely better than my last few experiences in DCL's Palo and NCL's Cagney's.

linetbo · Oct 26, 2016

Thank you, I want to try other cruise line.

kaseyC · Oct 26, 2016

After seeing some of the prices on the early 2018 pricing thread especially for holiday weeks, my 2018 Spring Break cruise on the new MSC Seaside is an absolute steal. The price for me and 2 teens in a Yacht Club Deluxe Suite (Concierge level with perks that are way better than DCL) is $4982 total. Once again this is a Spring Break cruise!! I saw a quote on the 2018 thread for over $6K for 2 adults and 1 child in an inside cabin on the Fantasy during President's week. Wow!!

mcd2745 · Oct 26, 2016

kaseyC said:
After seeing some of the prices on the early 2018 pricing thread especially for holiday weeks, my 2018 Spring Break cruise on the new MSC Seaside is an absolute steal. The price for me and 2 teens in a Yacht Club Deluxe Suite (Concierge level with perks that are way better than DCL) is $4982 total. Once again this is a Spring Break cruise!! I saw a quote on the 2018 thread for over $6K for 2 adults and 1 child in an inside cabin on the Fantasy during President's week. Wow!!

I think MSC's entry into the Caribbean cruise market is something that has really flown under the radar, but could eventually have a significant impact. I've heard the private island they are developing in the Bahamas looks to be amazing.

Ofinn · Oct 26, 2016

Prices on the Fantasy for winter 2018 are higher than summer prices in 2014/2015. Seems like most quotes are between 6 to 10k for a family of four. The good offseason prices seem to be a thing of the past.

mcd2745 · Oct 26, 2016

More power to 'em, i guess if people are willing to pay that. Personally, I don't understand people perceiving any value at more than $2k per person for an inside stateroom on a 7-nt cruise. That's roughly $300 per person, per night. Insane.

Dug720 · Oct 26, 2016

Club Disney Chandler said:
We did do 1 carnival excursion and it was ran just like Disney, go to a dedicated room, check in, get a sticker, wait to be go board the bus for a little bit, disembark together and spend the rest of your day with your new 50 closest friends. The big difference with CCL excursions is you can book them anytime before your cruise, but you pay for them when you book them. I already have an excursion booked for our 6/11/17 cruise and I haven't even made my final payment for the cruise yet.

I do like that HAL, RCCL, and Celebrity (the two other lines I have been on and one I strongly considered) have you pay for the excursions in advance. I like to have as much paid for as I can when I embark.

To accomplish that with DCL, I will book the excursion and then go to the Disney Store and put the amount of the excursion on my gift card.

Ofinn · Oct 26, 2016

mcd2745 said:
More power to 'em, i guess if people are willing to pay that. Personally, I don't understand people perceiving any value at more than $2k per person for an inside stateroom on a 7-nt cruise. That's roughly $300 per person, per night. Insane.

We could(were not) cruise on the wonder this December OGT rate for around 3200 out of Galveston. Honestly thats about all Im willing to pay for a caribbean cruise. We've been to the caribbean so many times I just cant justify 7 to 8k for a cruise to the carribean. Not that I wouldnt spend that much on cruise, but it would have to be a great itinerary. I honestly dont think people price out other cruiselines or have any idea the premium they are paying. You could do a European cruise airfare included for less than rhe price of some of these Fantasy cruises.

linetbo · Oct 26, 2016

Price for the Wonder 3/29/18 3 nights (one sea day and Castaway Cay thats it) 2 adults 11b $1789 almost $300 a night per person plus airfare, plus hotel, plus tips, etc. Its my daughter 18th birthday present but I think its too much. I need more options on what to do for my daughter birthday weekend.

mcd2745 · Oct 26, 2016

mcd2745 said:
I think MSC's entry into the Caribbean cruise market is something that has really flown under the radar, but could eventually have a significant impact. I've heard the private island they are developing in the Bahamas looks to be amazing.

After posting this I went searching for some more info on the island they are developing - Ocean Cay. Some pretty impressive stuff. Depending on the itinerary and the next port, some ships will be staying there until just before midnight. They will have restaurants and bars, live music (with a 2,000 seat amphitheater), etc for nightlife on the island. That's pretty cool and a real attractive feature IMO. There will also be a spa on the island (for the suite/concierge level guests only, I believe). There will be a dedicated family beach - everything I've read says they are a very family-friendly cruise line - as well as a calm, inland lagoon. Even a wedding pavilion.

darwinsrule · Oct 26, 2016

kaseyC said:
After seeing some of the prices on the early 2018 pricing thread especially for holiday weeks, my 2018 Spring Break cruise on the new MSC Seaside is an absolute steal. The price for me and 2 teens in a Yacht Club Deluxe Suite (Concierge level with perks that are way better than DCL) is $4982 total. Once again this is a Spring Break cruise!! I saw a quote on the 2018 thread for over $6K for 2 adults and 1 child in an inside cabin on the Fantasy during President's week. Wow!!

We were waiting for DCL to release for our spring break March 2018 before deciding what to do. Thankfully DCL made it easier with the pricing. We can afford DCL, can't justify it however when we could get a balcony on a 7 night (Seaside), or an 8 night (Vista) for hundreds less then an inside on Dream for 4 nights. Hell you could do both Seaside and Vista for the price of the Fantasy.

momof2n2 · Oct 26, 2016

kaseyC said:
We were on the Vista in June. We did all private or DIY tours. My DH and I did eat in one of the specialty restaurants on board, the Fahrenheit 555 Steakhouse. It was fantastic and totally worth the $35pp charge. The food was delicious and the service was outstanding. Definitely better than my last few experiences in DCL's Palo and NCL's Cagney's.

We had an amazing dinner at Cagney's on Getaway. But our meal at Tropicana was every bit as wonderful.

kaseyC said:
After seeing some of the prices on the early 2018 pricing thread especially for holiday weeks, my 2018 Spring Break cruise on the new MSC Seaside is an absolute steal. The price for me and 2 teens in a Yacht Club Deluxe Suite (Concierge level with perks that are way better than DCL) is $4982 total. Once again this is a Spring Break cruise!! I saw a quote on the 2018 thread for over $6K for 2 adults and 1 child in an inside cabin on the Fantasy during President's week. Wow!!

I just went and looked up MSC because they are the only Caribbean May 2018 cruise I can find. I am sincerely interested! Wow. I was NOT expecting THAT for MSC! I'll be adding that to my NCL/Vista comparisons as soon as the other two share their dates. HOWEVER - I ended up with NCL for May 2016 b/c DCL was taking too long for my tastes. MSC might get my $$ because they were ready first!

momof2n2 · Oct 26, 2016

Sytrace said:
We go in the off season so our rates are not out of control. I think the max we have spent on a cruise was the 7 night to San Juan and Saint Maarten in April 2015 (well worth it)
But we average about $5200.00 or so between on board discount bookings and time of year we sail. Of course, much less on those shorter cruises so it all evens out. We homeschool so it is really easy to get away here and there. The kids are getting older though and we really interested in seeing different places.
It is just so darn convienent to depart from Port Canaveral.

We also homeschool, but boy vacations hit a snag this year since my oldest is taking courses at the community college and will again next year. We are now going to be locked into school calendars. It was SO good for so long, though... Sad I discovered cruising as late as I did.

Sytrace · Oct 26, 2016

momof2n2 said:
We also homeschool, but boy vacations hit a snag this year since my oldest is taking courses at the community college and will again next year. We are now going to be locked into school calendars. It was SO good for so long, though... Sad I discovered cruising as late as I did.

That is definitely a snag. But in the best possible way.

My two are a couple of years away from worrying about college classes...but it DOES move faster than a typical public school year. We are finishing 8th and 9th grades in a few weeks and will take a month off between. When we start again in January, they will be in 9th and 10th grade. And starting to get ready for college and all that entails. I better book more cruises! lol.
I really think we will be trying other lines though.. just for a variety of ports and experiences.

Club Disney Chandler · Oct 26, 2016

I'm looking at MSC too for 2019 after reading the trip report @Love2Cruz wrote on that other cruise review website. They've got a new ship coming out that looks amazing.

kaseyC · Oct 26, 2016

Club Disney Chandler said:
I'm looking at MSC too for 2019 after reading the trip report @Love2Cruz wrote on that other cruise review website. They've got a new ship coming out that looks amazing.

There are so many new ships coming out from many cruise lines with cool and innovative features. I want to try them all!! We are sailing the RCCL Harmony of the Seas for 2017 Spring Break, MSC Seaside for 2018 Spring Break. For summer of 2018, if the new Carnival ship offers a British Isles itinerary, I will be all over that. If not I will probably book NCL Bliss which will enter service in 2018 sailing Alaska itineraries.

Ofinn · Oct 26, 2016

Sytrace said:
That is definitely a snag. But in the best possible way. My two are a couple of years away from worrying about college classes...but it DOES move faster than a typical public school year. We are finishing 8th and 9th grades in a few weeks and will take a month off between. When we start again in January, they will be in 9th and 10th grade. And starting to get ready for college and all that entails. I better book more cruises! lol.
I really think we will be trying other lines though.. just for a variety of ports and experiences.

Mine are in 8th and 6th grade. The 8th grader will be starting 9th grade math in month or so, and the 6th grader is just finishing his 5th grade math book. We use Abeka which I think is pretty advanced for math so I'm not too worried about him being a little behind. If I sent them to school I think they would be totally lost with the common core math. I'm a math science person so those subjects are easy for me. English and writing are my weaknesses. I think they are learning a lot about History through our traveling. We're still a long way from worrying about college, but I'm hoping my oldest will be able to start taking course at the community college when he's 16 or 17. High school kids where we live can get there associates while there in high school so I see no reason my oldest can't. My youngest on the other hand may be one of those 6 year college students. He's a super smart kid just not the most studious.

Add me to the list of DCL cruisers that loved the Carnival Vista

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