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. 

Entrance to the Red Frog Pub & Brewery

Ocean Plaza

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:

Outside Seating For The Red Frog Pub

Outside Tables For The Fahrenheit 555 Steakhouse

Entrance to the Library Bar from the Lanai

Cherry on Top - Outside Service Window

Cherry on Top outside Lanai area

Lanai

Looking Towards The Front Of The Lanai

Large Chairs On The Lanai

View Of The Bridge From The Lanai

Front Area Of The Lanai - View Of Galveston's Harbor

Very Front Of the Lanai

Looking Down At The Ship's Front

Seats Around The Lanai

Area Around Guy's Pig & Anchor BBQ

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:

Reflections Dining Room

Reflections Dining Room

Reflections Dining Room

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. 

View From The Stateroom's Door

Stateroom Couch - Converted To A Bed At Night

Stateroom Vanity

Mirror Above The Vanity

Beds - Later Split Into 2 Separate Twin Beds

TV

Stateroom - View From Balcony Door

Large Bottled Water Available For Purchase

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.  

Stateroom Sink, Toilet, & Shower

Bathroom Sink

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. 

Cove Balcony Table & Chairs

View From My 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. 

SkyBox Sports Bar

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. 

Limelight Lounge

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. 

Horizons Dining Room - View From Deck 4

Horizons Dining Room - View From Deck 4

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:                     

Havana Bar - Tables & Chairs Near Entrance

Havana Bar Stage Area

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:

Circle C Youth Program Lounge

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:

Club 02 Youth Program Lounge

Club 02 Youth Program Lounge

Club 02 Youth Program Lounge

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:

View From Deck 9 As Carnival Dream Departs

Carnival Dream

View Of Harborside Drive & Cruise Terminal

Vista's Ropes Being Untied

Tanker Arriving In Galveston

View Of The Harborhouse Hotel & Outside Pier

Cruise Terminal #1 and Carnival Vista's Side

View Of Galveston As We Departed

Tanker Docked

Tractors & Equipment Sitting On Pier

Pelican Island

Ferry Landing On the Galveston Side

Seawolf Park

Looking Back At Galveston's Harbor

Green Buoy As We Began Curving

Ships In The Bolivar Anchorage

Viewing The Tip of Galveston

View From The Ship's Front

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!

American Table Appetizer Menu

American Table Main Course Menu

American Table Location Themed Menu

American Table Dessert Menu

Here are some food pictures from tonight's dinner:

Bread Basket - Had A Variety of Rolls

Appetizer: Smoked Chicken Quesadilla

Appetizer: Shrimp Cocktail

Appetizer: Chilled Vietnamese Roll

Appetizer: Romaine Caesar Salad

Appetizer: Strawberry Bisque

Main Course: Sweet & Sour Shrimp

Main Course: BBQ Beef Brisket

Main Course: Grilled Chicken Breast

Side Dish: Baked Potato

Dessert: Fresh Tropical Fruit Plate

Dessert: Banana Split (From Kid's Menu)

Dessert: Carnival Melting Cake

Dessert: Caramelized Phyllo with Caramel Cream

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:

Lanai

Lanai

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!

Please Like RyG's Cruise Guide On Facebook!  
 Click Here For Our Facebook Page
I will be sharing review updates, cruise tips, and more!  

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
Click Here To Return To The Review's Main Page