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Carnival Vista 2019 7-Day Caribbean Cruise Review
Day 1   Part 2         May 18, 2019                        Galveston, Texas                                      
Scheduled Departure:  4:00pm              
Click Any Photo To Make It Larger!         
Cont. Walk Around The Ship's Promenade Deck (Deck 5):
             When my first part of Day 1's review left off I had just walked by Bonsai Sushi and the Alchemy Bar on Deck 5. If you want to return to Day 1 Part 1 click here. I continued walked towards the back of the Carnival Vista's Promenade Deck. After leaving the area with the Alchemy Bar and Bonsai Sushi I came across the Pixels Photo Gallery. The Carnival Vista's photo gallery is 100% electronic, which means no pictures are printed out for display. If a guest wishes to view their photos in the photo gallery he or she must use one of the digital screens provided and enter identifying information such as stateroom number. When the ship's photographers took pictures during the cruise they asked for stateroom numbers to ensure pictures were assigned to the right person's folio. 
                After walking past the photo gallery I walked by the Red Frog Pub and Ocean Plaza. The Red Frog Pub serves a variety of different drinks and has a brewery onboard. I did not take pictures of the Red Frog Pub on this day of the cruise because people were already inside. Next, I stopped at the Ocean Plaza. The Ocean Plaza has a small stage and many seats. This area of the ship is used to host a variety of trivia games, activities, and live music at night. On each side of the Ocean Plaza there is a revolving door that automatically begins turning when someone wants to go to the Lanai. The Lanai is the outside deck portion of the Promenade Deck. 
Carnival Vista Red Frog Pub & Brewery
Entrance to the Red Frog Pub & Brewery
Carnival Vista Ocean Plaza
Ocean Plaza
Carnival Vista Havana
Back Area Of The Lanai - Gates Keeping People From Entering Havana Pool Area
                  After walking around the inside of Deck 5, I went outside to the Lanai. The Carnival Vista's Lanai consists of several different places to sit and has many covered areas over the seating areas. Here are some pictures as I walked around the Carnival Vista's Lanai:
Carnival Vista Red Frog Pub Lanai Seating
Outside Seating For The Red Frog Pub
Carnival Vista Steakhouse
Outside Tables For The Fahrenheit 555 Steakhouse
Carnival Vista Library Bar Entrance From the Lanai
Entrance to the Library Bar from the Lanai
Carnival Vista Cherry On Top
Cherry on Top - Outside Service Window
Carnival Vista Cherry On Top
Cherry on Top outside Lanai area
Carnival Vista Lanai
Lanai
Carnival Vista Lanai
Looking Towards The Front Of The Lanai
Carnival Vista Lanai
Large Chairs On The Lanai
Carnival Vista Lanai
View Of The Bridge From The Lanai
Carnival Vista Lanai
Front Area Of The Lanai - View Of Galveston's Harbor
Carnival Vista Lanai
Very Front Of the Lanai
Carnival Vista Ship's Front
Looking Down At The Ship's Front
Carnival Vista Lanai
Seats Around The Lanai
Carnival Vista Guy's Pig & Anchor BBQ
Area Around Guy's Pig & Anchor BBQ
Galveston
Galveston Harbor - View From The Lanai
Reflections Dining Room:
                  After walking around Deck 5, I went down to Deck 2 to see if my stateroom was ready. Although my stateroom should have been ready when boarding began, the Sail & Sign card was not in the stateroom's mailbox. I went to the atrium lobby on Deck 3 to wait. While I was waiting I saw the entrance to the Reflections Dining Room and decided to walk inside to have a look. The Reflections Dining Room is the Carnival Vista's mid-ship dining room and is used for guests that have traditional early or late dinner seating. When I walked through the dining room the chairs were moved around because the previous cruise's debarkation process used this area for lining people up to leave the ship and crew members had not yet re-setup the dining room. Here are a few pictures of the dining room:
Carnival Vista Reflections Dining Room
Reflections Dining Room
Carnival Vista Reflections Dining Room
Reflections Dining Room
Carnival Vista Reflections Dining Room
Reflections Dining Room
Carnival Vista Reflections Dining Room
Reflections Dining Room
Carnival Vista Reflections Dining Room
Reflections Dining Room
Cove Balcony Stateroom:
                 My stateroom was a Cove Balcony stateroom located on Deck 2. The stateroom was located in between the front and middle elevators on the port side of the ship. The interior of the stateroom consisted of two twin beds, a couch that could be converted into a bed at night, and a small vanity area. Around the stateroom's small counter space there were two 120V electrical outlets and 2 USB charging plugs. This was a great feature of the stateroom because multiple things could be plugged in. I hope Carnival continues rolling out the USB plugs to other ships. When we arrived the beds were not yet split into two twin beds, but this was taken care of by the evening. 
Carnival Vista Cove Balcony Stateroom
View From The Stateroom's Door
Carnival Vista Cove Balcony Stateroom Couch
Stateroom Couch - Converted To A Bed At Night
Carnival Vista Cove Balcony Stateroom Vanity
Stateroom Vanity
Carnival Vista Stateroom Mirror
Mirror Above The Vanity
Carnival Vista
Beds - Later Split Into 2 Separate Twin Beds
Carnival Vista Cove Balcony Stateroom TV
TV
Carnival Vista Cove Balcony Stateroom
Stateroom - View From Balcony Door
Carnival Vista Bottled Water For Sale
Large Bottled Water Available For Purchase
Carnival Vista Cove Balcony Stateroom
Stateroom Phone, Fun-Times Newsletter, & Desk Outlets
The stateroom's bathroom was very similar to every other Carnival ship's stateroom bathroom that I have had. The bathroom consisted of a toilet, sink, and shower. One difference is the stateroom's toilet could only be flushed when the lid was completely down because the button was behind the toilet lid near the base of the toilet. In the shower, shampoo and shower gel were available in a dispenser.  
Carnival Vista Stateroom Bathroom
Stateroom Sink, Toilet, & Shower
Carnival Vista Cove Balcony Stateroom Sink
Bathroom Sink
Carnival Vista Cove Balcony Stateroom Shower
Shower
The cove balcony was nice. On Vista Class ships, the cove balconies are below the lifeboats and are the closest balconies to the water. My balcony consisted of two chairs and a very small table. The balcony door could be locked by crew members in the event of bad weather because the balcony dividers can be used as watertight storm doors to keep guests off their balconies in the event of bad weather. 
Carnival Vista Cove Balcony
Cove Balcony Table & Chairs
Carnival Vista Cove Balcony
View From My Cove Balcony
Carnival Vista Cove Balcony
Balcony Door
Walking Around The Ship More:
                    After going by my stateroom, I wanted to see more of the ship. My luggage had not yet arrived so I did not need to un-pack yet. I began my next walk around the ship on Deck 4. The Carnival Vista's Deck 4 is home to the casino, Limelight Lounge, Skybox Sports Bar, Liquid Lounge lower level, and upper level of the Horizons Dining Room. I started by looking in the Skybox Sports Bar. The Skybox Sports Bar had several large screens broadcasting different sports games. Although the Skybox Sports Bar was small there a good number of seats filling the lounge. 
Carnival Vista SkyBox Sports Bar
SkyBox Sports Bar
Carnival Vista SkyBox Sports Bar
SkyBox Sports Bar
Carnival Vista SkyBox Sports Bar
SkyBox Sports Bar
                        Next, I walked into the Limelight Lounge. The Limelight Lounge is a smaller lounge that is used for comedy shows and also serves as the ship's night-club. This space was not originally intended to be a nightclub, but most of the chairs were movable to create a nightclub late in the evening. 
Carnival Vista Limelight Lounge
Limelight Lounge
Carnival Vista Limelight Lounge
Limelight Lounge
Carnival Vista Limelight Lounge
Limelight Lounge
                           When I reached the back of Deck 4 I was in the upper level of the Horizons Dining Room. This dining room was used by guests with Your-Time Dining. I ate on the Deck 3 level of the Horizons Dining Room each night of the cruise. 
Carnival Vista Horizons Dining Room
Horizons Dining Room - View From Deck 4
Carnival Vista Horizons Dining Room
Horizons Dining Room - View From Deck 4
Carnival Vista Horizons Dining Room
Horizons Dining Room - Deck 4 Level
                             After walking around Deck 4, I went back up to Deck 5. One of the areas I missed earlier was the Havana Bar at the back of the Deck 5. The Havana Bar is a room that is Cuban themed and at night has live music. At the very back of the Havana Bar are sliding glass doors that leads to the Havana Pool & outside area. This area is only accessible for guests that have Havana wristbands. Havana wristbands are only for guests staying in the Havana staterooms. However, at 6pm the doors are unlocked and anyone of the ship can go into this back area. I will have some pictures of the Havana pool and outside areas later in the review. Here are some pictures of the Havana Bar:                     
Carnival Vista Havana Bar
Havana Bar - Tables & Chairs Near Entrance
Carnival Vista Havana Bar
Havana Bar Stage Area
Carnival Vista Havana Bar
Many Tables & Chairs In The Havana Bar
                           After looking in the Havana Bar area I continued walking around the ship. I came across the Circle C youth program lounge on Deck 6. Circle C is the youth program for 12-14 year olds. Here are a few pictures of the Circle C youth program lounge:
Carnival Vista Circle C Youth Program Lounge
Circle C Youth Program Lounge
Carnival Vista Circle C Youth Program Lounge
Circle C Youth Program Lounge
Carnival Vista Circle C Youth Program Lounge
Circle C Youth Program Lounge
                           Another youth program on the Carnival Vista is Club 02. I saw the Club 02 youth program lounge on Deck 4. Here are a few pictures of the Club 02 youth program lounge:
Carnival Vista Club 02 Youth Program Lounge
Club 02 Youth Program Lounge
Carnival Vista Club 02 Youth Program Lounge
Club 02 Youth Program Lounge
Carnival Vista Club 02 Youth Program Lounge
Club 02 Youth Program Lounge
Carnival Vista Stairwell Area With Low Level Lighting
Stairwell With Emergency Low Level Lighting
Muster Station Drill:
              
The Muster Station drill is always a required event for every passenger on the cruise ship. My muster station was "B" which was located at Bonsai Sushi & the Alchemy Bar on Deck 5. All of the Carnival Vista's muster stations are inside which was great compared to other classes of ships. The drill was much more enjoyable being able to sit in the air conditioning compared to other cruises of having to stand outside. The drill was scheduled to begin at 3:30pm and began nearly on-time. Announcements were made prior to the start of the drill to inform guests and crew what would happen when it was time for the drill to begin.
           For this muster station drill, we were told to bring our Sail & Sign cards so the cards could be scanned. During the drill, crew members walked around with tablets to scan cards.  During the drill we learned about wearing lifejackets, what to do in an emergency, and received some other general information about onboard safety. Most people didn't pay attention to anything being said during the drill. Thankfully we didn't have a real emergency because people would have been clueless. 
Sail-A-Way:
               Our departure from Galveston was scheduled for 4:00pm. When the muster station drill ended I went up to Deck 9's front observation deck area. This was one of my favorite areas for watching the ship's arrival or departure from ports of call. The Carnival Dream departed before us and was already making good progress down Galveston's harbor while the Carnival Vista waited to depart. Our departure from Galveston was on-time. Unfortunately, the clouds made the sky dreary and made the visibility not as good. Thankfully it did not rain! Here are some pictures I took as the Carnival Vista departed Galveston:
Carnival Dream Departing Galveston
View From Deck 9 As Carnival Dream Departs
Carnival Dream
Carnival Dream
View Of Galveston From The Carnival Vista
View Of Harborside Drive & Cruise Terminal
Carnival Vista
Vista's Ropes Being Untied
Galveston
Tanker Arriving In Galveston
Galveston
View Of The Harborhouse Hotel & Outside Pier
Carnival Vista Departing Galveston
Cruise Terminal #1 and Carnival Vista's Side
Galveston
View Of Galveston As We Departed
Galveston
Tanker Docked
Galveston Tractors
Tractors & Equipment Sitting On Pier
Pelican Island
Pelican Island
Galveston Ferry
Ferry Landing On the Galveston Side
Seawolf Park
Seawolf Park
View Of Galveston From The Carnival Vista
Looking Back At Galveston's Harbor
Galveston
Green Buoy As We Began Curving
Bolivar Anchorage
Ships In The Bolivar Anchorage
Galveston
Viewing The Tip of Galveston
Carnival Vista Front
View From The Ship's Front
Carnival Vista Dinner
Table Setup For Dinner
First Dinner On The Carnival Vista:
​
The dinner check-in process on the Carnival Vista for Your-Time Dining is a little different compared to other Carnival ships I have sailed on. Check-in for dinner took place on Deck 5 at a desk that was only used for Your-Time Dining Check-In. Our Sail & Sign cards said dinner check-in was from 5:30-9:30pm and we were supposed to check in by the Java Blue Cafe on Deck 5. At the check-in desk on Deck 5 each party was supposed to have one representative line up to request a table. When the table was request a paper slip was given to the cruiser that said dining room deck and table number. After leaving the desk we walked to our assigned dining room deck and found signage indicating there was a line for cruisers already checked in. The doors to the dining room opened at 5:30pm and we were seating within minutes. This process made Your-Time Dining more efficient. 
               The table assignment we were given for this night of the cruise was the Horizons Dining Room on Deck 3. Both decks of the Horizons Dining Room were being used for Your-Time Dining. Our dining room service for the night was good. For my appetizers I had the Smoked Chicken Quesadilla and Caesar Salad. For my main course I had the Sweet & Sour Shrimp with a side baked potato. For desert, I had a banana split off the kid's menu. Carnival's computer system printed the waitstaff a notice about my birthday taking place during the cruise and the waiters sang "Happy Birthday" to me. I do not like personal attention directed at me so it was a miserable 30 seconds. They brought a small birthday cake to me and I got to blow out the candles. The cake they brought tasted good!

              The food was very good and served fresh & warm! I took screenshots of the menus from the Carnival Hub App. Click any of the menu pictures below to make it larger!
Carnival Vista American Table Appetizer Menu First Night
American Table Appetizer Menu
Carnival Vista American Table Main Course Menu First Night
American Table Main Course Menu
Carnival Vista American Table Port of Call Menu
American Table Location Themed Menu
Carnival Vista American Table Dessert Menu
American Table Dessert Menu
Here are some food pictures from tonight's dinner:
Carnival Vista Dinner Bread Basket
Bread Basket - Had A Variety of Rolls
Carnival Vista Smoked Chicken Quesdilla
Appetizer: Smoked Chicken Quesadilla
Carnival Vista Shrimp Cocktail
Appetizer: Shrimp Cocktail
Carnival Vista Dinner Chilled Vietnamese Roll
Appetizer: Chilled Vietnamese Roll
Carnival Vista Dinner Romaine Caesar Salad Appetizer
Appetizer: Romaine Caesar Salad
Carnival Vista Dinner Strawberry Bisque Appetizer
Appetizer: Strawberry Bisque
Carnival Vista Sweet & Sour Shrimp Main Course
Main Course: Sweet & Sour Shrimp
Carnival Vista BBQ Beef Brisket Main Course
Main Course: BBQ Beef Brisket
Carnival Vista Grilled Chicken Breast Main Course
Main Course: Grilled Chicken Breast
Carnival Vista Baked Potato
Side Dish: Baked Potato
Carnival Vista Fresh Tropical Fruit Plate
Dessert: Fresh Tropical Fruit Plate
Carnival Vista Banana Split
Dessert: Banana Split (From Kid's Menu)
Carnival Vista Chocolate Melting Cake Dessert
Dessert: Carnival Melting Cake
Carnival Vista Caramelized Phyllo Dessert
Dessert: Caramelized Phyllo with Caramel Cream
Carnival Vista Birthday Cake
Birthday Cake
                       After dinner we took a walk around the Carnival Vista's Lanai on Deck 5. One thing I always try to do after dinner each cruise is walk around the ship or jogging track to try and burn some of the calories I consumed. Here are a few pictures taken from the Lanai:
Carnival Vista Lanai
Lanai
Carnival Vista Lanai
Lanai
Carnival Vista Ocean Plaza Outside Area
Area Outside The Ocean Plaza
Evening Entertainment & Activities:
  • 7:45pm  Clue Murder Mystery  -    This was the first part in a week long scavenger hunt where guests on the ship could try and solve a mystery. I arrived to the Liquid Lounge late and missed the full instructions. The case seemed interesting and is something I will do during future cruises. 
  • 8:15pm    Gender Showdown -      This event was a game show that had one guy and one girl competing against each other for a Ship on a Stick trophy. Part of event involved answering questions and another part involved mini-activities. I was in the Liquid Lounge for this event because I wanted good seats for the Welcome Aboard Show. Personally, I thought this event was cringey and the jokes were not well received by the audience (the Fun Squad had to ask people to laugh). 
  • 9:15pm   Bingo  -   Carnival loves its Bingo Sales and trying to sell bingo cards was no different on the Carnival Vista. Although I did not participate in this bingo game, I watched someone win a $500 diamond. 
  • 9:45pm  Welcome Aboard Show -      The Welcome Aboard Show consisted of our cruise director, Matt, talking for a few minutes. Matt was a great cruise director and the crowd enjoyed hearing him speak. He is one of the best cruise directors I have ever seen. After Matt spoke the Carnival Vista's Playlist Productions cast performed a short dancing routine. The Welcome Aboard Show didn't last more than 30 minutes. 

Note:  The Liquid Lounge is the Carnival Vista's main show lounge. This lounge can be used for a variety events and the chairs on the first floor are movable to allow the venue to be used for a variety of different types of activities and shows. 

After the Welcome Aboard Show I was exhausted from getting up early so I went to sleep. I wanted to wake up in time for a morning walk around the ship!
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Carnival Vista Fun Fact #2:
The Carnival Vista cost approximately $780 million dollars to build. This amount doesn't represent the money Carnival must spend each cruise to maintain the ship and supplies needed for each cruise. Cruise ships are expensive!
​NEXT:  Day 2's Sea Day Cruise Review!
​Day 2's full cruise review is coming up next. Day 2's review will include more ship photos, a look at the blue water of the Gulf of Mexico, and more!
Click Here To Continue To Day 2's Cruise Review

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