Carnival Vista

Carnival Vista is the largest and newest vessel in the Carnival Cruise line line up. There are many new and fun additions to this ship that no other Carnival ship has. Stick with me as I take you through the list of all the great new features, as well as guide you through great eats and things to do at each port visited.

Journey Cruise

The first difference I'll start with is this sailing was a Carnival Journey Cruise. What is a Carnival Journey Cruise? Well the difference between a Carnival Journey Cruise and a normal Carnival Cruise is that the Carnival Journey Cruise is a limited series with a few factors. To qualify as a Journey Cruise, the cruise must be nine days or longer. Then, there are six aspects that make a Journey Cruise a Journey Cruise. They are 1) Unique Destinations 2) Authentic Eats 3) Local Entertainment 4) Throwback Sea Days 5) Academy of Fun and 6) Cruise Connection.

1) Unique Destinations

The destinations on a Journey Cruise are typically ones less traveled. For instance, on this cruise I traveled to Bonaire which typically is not a port of call on most cruise ships.

2) Authentic eats

Authentic eats is actually a really cool concept where Carnival teamed up with popular local restaurants to recreate their recipes that will be served on board. So you get a taste of authentic foods at the comfort of the ship.

3) Local Entertainment

Not only at some ports do you see local entertainment as you exit the ship, but Carnival brings this same entertainment on board celebrating local cultures.

4) Throwback Sea Days

Being that I've been cruising for a while, I am conscious of how cruising has evolved. Throwback Sea Days are great for me because I get to relive some of the cruising past times that I was brought up on. Some of the past times Carnival brought back were the wooden horse racing, 80s night, the captains cocktail (now I am of age where I can appreciate the free booze lol), and the amazing midnight buffet!

5) Academy of Fun

The academy of fun is a series of enriching onboard courses. From a photography 101 course to social media tutorial, the Academy of fun is a great way to broaden your horizons while on the ship.

6) Cruise Connection

Cruise Connection is designed to allow cruisers to interact with staff and crew members even more than normal with Q & As.

Great New Additions To the Carnival Vista

Some notable additions to the Carnival Vista are the Sky Ride, Imax theater, Fresh Creation in Serenity, Havana, Family Harbor Lounge, and Skybox Sports Bar just to name a few.

Sky Ride

Sky ride is basically like riding a bike…. in the air! It is located at the highest level of the ship offering breathtaking views of the ocean.

IMAX Theater

Picture this, an IMAX Theater on a ship. Well Carnival Vista has it! For an additional cost, you can experience recent hit films and IMAX documentaries at the IMAX Theater.

Fresh Creation

Fresh Creation is the salad bar located in Serenity. Here you get to customize your own salad with a variety of toppings, proteins, and dressings. It is probably one of the best salads I've ever eaten.

Havana

Havana is a Cuban themed bar/ lounge. It also has exclusive staterooms and suites that offer members only lounge and pool area during the day.

Family Harbor Lounge

The nautically designed staterooms and lounge serves as a home away from home for families traveling with children.

Skybox Sports Bar

Skybox Sports Bar is a sports bar that mirrors your typical sports bar at home. You can come here to enjoy a beer and watch your favorite teams play.

Fun Times App

Remember the paper Fun Times itinerary? Well, Carnival made that into an app!

Differences Between Carnival Vista Vs. Other Carnival Ships

Liquid Lounge

An interesting difference between Carnival Vista and other Carnival ships is the disco (club) and the theater are one entity. During the day the space is a theater for shows and events and at night it transforms into the "Liquid Lounge." I have to say I’m not really fond of this set up. I prefer them to be two completely different locations.

Flick

Now you know if you cruised in the past, there are showgirl styled shows that happen every few nights of the cruise. Carnival Vista swapped out this style of entertainment for what they call Flick. There are no longer feathers, boas, or even the Copacabana routine that we are used to, but Flick is an incredible production. The dancing and musicality is outstanding. The show fills up quickly so it's important to go early. People are usually waiting online 30 minutes to an hour before it starts to make sure they get a seat. I missed half of dinner watching it. It's definitely a must see!

The Atrium

The new Atrium is smaller than it usually is on other Carnival ships.

Pixels Photo Gallery

Checking out your photos is now a completely new experience. The tech savvy gallery offers a new way to find, view, and purchase your photos. You can also view your photos from the comfort of your room by using your folio number on the TV.

Glass Elevators

For all the kids (even some adults) that find riding the glass elevators entertaining, I'm sorry to disappoint you but there aren't any on the Carnival Vista! I know! How could they?!

The Carnival Vista is a more advanced version of the Carnival Breeze in my opinion.

Ports of Call (Miles)

Grand Turk, Turks and Caicos 🇹🇨

Turks and Caicos is made up of 10 islands with a population of 32,000 people living on them. Grand Turk is populated by 4,800-5,000 people. Carnival Cruise Line spent 50 million dollars to develop this port. Rice and peas with fish, kunck, or lobster is the national dish. Grand Turk exports lobster, fish, and kunck.

I spent some time at my favorite beach, Governors Beach, which is not too far from the ship. A taxi there round-trip usually cost $8 ($4 dollars one-way and $4 dollars back.) Remember to only pay your fair at the end of your trip. Two gems that can be found on Governors Beach are the tremendous amounts of sea glass (if you're a sea glass collector) and the abandon ship that washed up on shore. Typically very few people go to Governors Beach so it's almost like a private beach that you have all to yourself.

Once we were finished enjoying the rays and the sand, we headed to Jack Shack. This is the destination for many people once they get to Grand Turk. The shack has a variety of local dishes as well as different cocktails. We decided to try the jerk chicken and rice and peas. It was definitely a great pick.

Bonaire 🇧🇶

Bonaire is a Dutch island. Dutch and Papiamento are Bonaire's official languages with many people speaking English Spanish and Portuguese as well. The island is 9 hours from Amsterdam. It is 24 miles long and 100 Sq miles with a population of 20,000 people. An interesting fact is that their drinking water is distilled sea water. Bonaire is a diving island. It's not necessarily for tourism. The famous 1,000 Steps is really only 69 steps. The national dish incorporates fish, iguana, or goat. 90% of their stuff is imported. Education and medical are free.

This was my first time going to Bonaire so we definitely wanted to tour around the island. There are two different tours you can take in Bonaire. One tour takes you to the north side of the island and the other takes you to the south side. We decided to do the northern tour being that we were promised that we would see flamingos. That was supposed to be the highlight of the tour for me and I was definitely disappointed when we reached the destination with the flamingos. What they don't tell you is that the flamingos are a lot further than what you expect them to be making them very hard to see. During the tour, we visited a cactus tequila distillery which was interesting. We also passed a lot of undeveloped land filled with nature and cactus.

Once the tour concluded, we headed to Sorobon Beach in the south side of the island. We grabbed a drink and enjoyed the ocean. Something I loved about this beach is that you can walk out for about a mile, if not more, and the water will only catch you at your knees or thighs depending on how tall you are.

Aruba 🇦🇼

Aruba is a Dutch island with a population of over 104,000 people. The island is 19.6 miles long and 6 miles across. Dutch and Papiamento are Aruba's official languages with many people speaking English Spanish and Portuguese as well. Aruba's national dish is keshi yena, or a large, round ball of cheese served steamed or fried and stuffed with minced meat.

This was our chill day where my mom and I just enjoyed the beach. We went to Riu beach and ate lunch at Mojitos Cantina and Grill.

St. Maarten 🇸🇽

St. Maarten is an island divided into a Dutch and a French side. The French side (Saint Martin) is 33 sq miles and the Dutch side (Sint Maarten) is 16 sq miles. The population of the entire island is about 120,000-130,000. The peak season is November – June. The national dish on the French side creole Shrimp and BBQ and Johnny cake on the Dutch. All the casinos are on the Dutch side but the French side is known for the food. Tourism is the islands main source of income and the pelican is the national bird.

I returned to Maho beach so my mom could experience the planes flying over the beach. She was so excited lol.

Meals

These were some of the yummy meals on board.

Memories

Carnival Vista provided a lot of memories from towel animal classes, to learning social media tips at the Academy of Fun, to the all white party, to doing the wobble on deck, The Captains Cocktail, the the Diamond and Platinum Members Welcome back party, and so much more! Here are a few highlights

Towel Animal Fun

Academy of Fun

Dancing on Deck!

Mannequin Challenge

Throwback Sea Day- Captains Cocktail and Midnight Buffet

White Night

Diamond and Platinum Reunion

The group of ladies I ate dinner with.

That time the Maître d sang one of my favorite Frank Sintra songs to me!

They've been together for 64 years and married for 62. In real life, they're life goals!

Me being silly and my mom thinking she's so cute lol.

Morning show and Clue game show

Tea Party!

Never too far from home!

This Carnival Vista Journey cruise left from my hometown of New York City and ended in its home of Miami. With a few days to spare, my mom and I stayed in Miami. The following are a some things we did and places we ate while there.

Best Western Premier

Best Western Premier is a very nice hotel. I definitely give it a five out of five star for cleanliness, the design is very modern, and the staff was very friendly and helpful. The location is decent for travel to the airport (the hotel provides complementary shuttles to and from the airport) but not ideal if you plan to travel to South Beach unless you have a car. This hotel is a full service hotel so you do have to pay for breakfast, lunch, and dinner if you choose to eat there. Overall, I would recommend this hotel.

Little Havana

Little Havana is a highly Cuban populated area in Miami. It is where many Cubans settled in 1959 after fleeing Cuba when Castro came to power which is how it got its name. In Little Havana, there is the strip called Calle Ocho—home of Domino Park and Versailles Cuban Bakery And Restaurant along with much more. Visiting Little Havana definitely gave me a closer look into my culture and even more of a burning desire to visit Cuba. Being there at the wake of Castro's death, made it that much more interesting.

Calle Ocho

Calle Ocho, SW. 8th Street, is the main strip of little Havana attracting many tourists daily. Here you can find the famous Domino park and Versailles Cuban Bakery And Restaurant just to name a few attractions.

Domino Park

Domino Park is the hangout spot for older men and women enjoying a game of dominos.

Versailles Cuban Bakery

The famous Cuban restaurant is known for its café Cubano, cortadito, empanadas, guava pastries, and guarapo- sugarcane juice. The roast pork Cuban style—roast pork marinated with Cuban mojo and slowly oven roasted served boneless with Moro rice and boiled yuca with mojo was AH-MAZING! My mom had the grilled pork chop served with Moro rice and sweet plantain. We topped the meal off with an ice cold glass of guarapo. Both dishes were delicious!

Barton G.

If you're looking for a fun elaborate way to dine, Barton G is the place for you. I must say this was definitely a highlight of my stay in Miami. Just about anything you order is prepared in the most elaborate arrangement making dining there fun and extravagant. I ordered the fried chicken and my mom ordered the Cesar salad. We ended with a huge Mary Antoinette cotton candy platter with cake and chocolate covered strawberries.

Vok was such an awesome attentive waiter!

Wynwood Art walls

I discussed Wynwood Art walls in my Miami post but wanted my mom to get a taste of one of my passions, art, so I took her. We were there a day before Art Basel started so a lot of new murals were going up. It was very interesting to see the artist in action.