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Carnival Vista 2019 7-Day Caribbean Cruise Review
Day 5 Part 2            May 22, 2019                        Grand Cayman
Scheduled Arrival:   7:00AM                       Scheduled Departure:   3:00pm (last water shuttle was scheduled for 2:15pm)                                               

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Getting Back On The Carnival Vista:
                  Although the water shuttle ride getting back to the ship was short, it took a few minutes for everyone to safely get off the water shuttle because the waves were a bit rough. A crew member held the gangway steady on the water shuttle and a Carnival Vista crew member held the gangway steady on the ship's side of the gangway. The gangway was little, but it was rocking up and down as the water shuttle moved in the water. There was a thunderstorm in the distance that may have been causing the rough seas. After getting back on the ship, we had to form a line for the ship's security checkpoint. First our Sail & Sign cards were scanned and then we were directed to the metal detector machines. All electronics and belongings had to be scanned. The process was the same as our port of call stop in Montego Bay, but this time it took longer because of everyone from our water shuttle trying to go through security at once. After the security checkpoint, we were directed to the Deck 0 stairwell/elevator area that was mid-ship. 
                     Before heading to lunch, we made a quick stop by our stateroom. I needed to change camera batteries before going to lunch. While we were ashore in Grand Cayman, our stateroom steward had come by to clean the room. She left a towel animal and made up the beds. I stepped outside onto our balcony to see what I could see. I was able to see the water shuttle we had just gotten off of and our cove balcony had a good view of the Liberty of the Seas. 
Carnival Vista Cove Balcony
View Of A Water Shuttle From Our Cove Balcony
Carnival Vista Cove Balcony Glass Door & Window
Balcony Glass Door & Window
Carnival Vista Towel Animal
Towel Animal
Lunch in the Lido Marketplace:
                         Today's lunch was less crowded than the Montego Bay port day lunch. As a result of there being less people, I was able to get some pictures of the buffet food.
The Fun-Times daily activity newsletter as well as the Carnival Hub app listed the day's lunch options. The lunch options for today's port of call day were a little different and some places did not open for lunch. 
  • Seafood Shack -   The Seafood Shack is located at the back of the Lido Marketplace by the Tides aft pool. This venue costs extra and was open from 11:00am to 5:00pm for lunch. Dinner was also served at this venue from 5:00pm until 9:00pm.
  • Blue Iguana Cantina     12:00pm - 3:30pm
  • Mongolian Wok -   This was located in JiJi Asian Kitchen on Deck 11 (right above the Lido Marketplace buffet). The open time was from 12:00pm until 2:30pm.
  • Pasta Bar -  This was located in Cucina Del Capitano on Deck 11 (right above the Lido Marketplace buffet). The open time was from 12:00pm until 2:30pm.
  • Guy's Burger Joint -  1:00pm - 6:00pm

                Although the Fun-Times said Guy's Burger Joint would open at 1:00pm, one line was open at 12:00pm despite the Fun-Times saying 1:00pm. This was different than the prior day, when they actually opened later. I did not have a burger on this day because I did not realize Guy's Burger Joint was open until I had already gotten a taco from the Blue Iguana Cantina. I told myself I would get a burger on Cozumel day, but ended up not because they stuck with the 1:00pm open time on Cozumel day. 

Here are some pictures from the Lido Marketplace's main buffet lines: 
Carnival Vista Lido Lunch Buffet
Lido Marketplace Main Lunch Buffet Line
Carnival Vista Lido Lunch Buffet
Lido Marketplace Main Lunch Buffet Line
Carnival Vista Lido Lunch Buffet
Lido Marketplace Main Lunch Buffet Line
Carnival Vista Lido Lunch Buffet
Lido Marketplace Main Lunch Buffet Line
Carnival Vista Lido Lunch Buffet
Lido Marketplace Main Lunch Buffet Line
Carnival Vista Lido Lunch Buffet
Lido Marketplace Main Lunch Buffet Line
Carnival Vista Lido Lunch Buffet
Lido Marketplace Main Lunch Buffet Line
Carnival Vista Lido Lunch Buffet
Lido Marketplace Main Lunch Buffet Line
Carnival Vista Lido Lunch Buffet
Lido Marketplace Main Lunch Buffet Line
Carnival Vista Lido Lunch Buffet
Lido Marketplace Main Lunch Buffet Line
Carnival Vista Lido Lunch Buffet
Lido Marketplace Main Lunch Buffet Line
Carnival Vista Lido Lunch Buffet
Lido Marketplace Main Lunch Buffet Line
Carnival Vista Lido Lunch Buffet
Lido Marketplace Main Lunch Buffet Line
Carnival Vista Lido Lunch Buffet
Lido Marketplace Main Lunch Buffet Line
Carnival Vista Lido Lunch
My Plate Of Food From The Buffet Line
                   Carnival's new buffet style desserts are a big improvement from the past Lido buffet desserts. On previous cruises, the buffet's key lime pie dessert has been one of my favorite things to eat. Carnival served key lime pie on this day's dessert menu and it was even better than it used to be! I love key lime pie and Carnival's key lime pie is my favorite! I had key lime pie for dessert and regretted not getting more, but I was stuffed. The gelato station was also open during today's lunch. I do not remember what the flavors were. Here are some pictures of the dessert cakes from today's lunch:
Carnival Vista Lido Marketplace Desserts
Lido Marketplace Desserts
Carnival Vista Lido Marketplace Desserts
Lido Marketplace Desserts
Carnival Vista Lido Marketplace Desserts
Lido Marketplace Desserts
Carnival Vista Lido Marketplace Desserts
Lido Marketplace Desserts
Carnival Vista Lido Marketplace Desserts
Lido Marketplace Desserts
Carnival Vista Lido Marketplace Desserts
Lido Marketplace Desserts
 My lunch review would not be complete without a few more food pictures! Enjoy!
Carnival Vista Cookies
Cookies From The Dessert Station
Carnival Vista Key Lime Pie
My Slice Of Key Lime Pie - It Was Great!
Carnival Vista Tacos
Shrimp Taco With Guacamole
Carnival Vista Burgers
Straight Up Burger From Guy's Burger Joint
Carnival Vista Taco Salad at the Blue Iguana Cantina
Taco Bowl From The Blue Iguana Cantina
Afternoon Walk Around The Ship's Outside Decks:
                            After lunch, I took a walk around the ship's outside open decks. I went up to Deck 12 and walked towards the front of the ship. At this time, the SkyRide and ropes course were not yet open (they opened at 2:00pm).  The outside deck facilities at Sports Square were vacant and this would have been the perfect time to play a game of mini-golf. Here are some pictures from my walk:
Liberty of the Seas
Liberty of the Seas Anchored
Carnival Vista Deck 12 SportsSquare
Deck 12
Carnival Vista SportsSquare
Looking Up At SkyRide's Tracks (Left) & Ropes Course (On Right)
Carnival Vista SportsSquare Mini Golf Course
SportsSquare: Mini Golf Course Area
Carnival Vista SportsSquare Mini Golf Course
SportsSquare: Mini Golf Course Area
Carnival Vista SportsSquare Billards
SportsSquare: Billards
Carnival Vista SportsSquare
SportsSquare: 4 Way Ping-Pong Table
Carnival Vista SportsSquare Entrance
SportsSquare on Deck 14 - Ropes Course Entrance
Carnival Vista SportsSquare
SportsSquare
Riding SkyRide:
                      Although I rode on the SkyRide on an earlier day of the cruise, I wanted to do it again. The SkyRide was scheduled to open at 2:00pm. I arrived a few minutes after 2:00pm and a line was already formed. Luckily, I did not have to wait too long to get a turn on the ride. However, when I got off the line was long enough to where the people joining the line had over 30 minutes of waiting (Carnival had signage indicating how long the estimated wait was from certain points). I enjoyed my ride on the SkyRide and had plans to ride it again on Cozumel day. (Sneak Peak:  I rode the SkyRide on Cozumel day and two rides after mine they had to shut it down for the rest of the cruise due to at track issue. I'll talk about this more in Day 6's review). 
Carnival Vista SkyRide Station
SkyRide Station
Carnival Vista SportsSquare
View Of SportsSquare From Deck 14
                            Despite today being a port day, the Carnival Vista's WaterWorks were open. Since there were very few people on the ship, I decided to climb up the WaterWorks stairs to see the view from the slide entrance. Here is the view from one of the highest areas of the ship accessible to guests:
Carnival Vista
Looking Towards The Back Of The Ship From The Waterslide Entrance
Carnival Vista Twister Waterslide Entrance
Twister Waterslide Entrance
Carnival Vista Kaleid-O-Slide Waterslide Entrance
Kaleid-O-Slide Entrance
Departure From Grand Cayman:
                          About one hour before our departure from Grand Cayman, I saw the Carnival Paradise begin moving. The ship backed away from Grand Cayman and then turned around. We would see the Carnival Paradise again in Cozumel. After I saw the Carnival Paradise get far away, I went up to Deck 9's front area to look out. It was about 2:15pm, which was the time the last water shuttle was set to depart from Grand Cayman. Around 2:15pm, we saw the last water shuttle come back to the ship. Once the people from the water shuttle were back on the Carnival Vista, we stayed anchored for a few minutes and then departed Grand Cayman.
Carnival Paradise Departing Grand Cayman
Carnival Paradise Departing Grand Cayman
Grand Cayman
Georgetown's Shoreline
Carnival Vista in Grand Cayman
View From The Front Of The Ship
Grand Cayman Water Shuttle
Last Water Shuttle With Passengers Coming Back To The Ship
Grand Cayman
Water Clear Of Water Shuttles
Liberty of the Seas
Liberty of the Seas In The Distance After We Began Sailing
                             After walking on Deck 9 I went down to Deck 5 to see if the Ocean Plaza had any water available. I was extremely thirsty and being outside made me feel zapped! While on Deck 5 I took a quick walk outside to see the view from the front of the ship. 
Picture
View Of The Ship's Front From Deck 5
Carnival Vista Leaving Grand Cayman
Grand Cayman Getting Smaller As We Moved Farther Away
Carnival Vista Lanai
View From Deck 5
                                As I walked around Deck 5, I saw the Fun Shops were now open. All of the ship's Fun Shops are closed during the ship's time in a port of call. I decided to take a quick look inside the shop that sold Carnival logo items. This shop had a variety of Carnival Vista themed merchandise as well as general Carnival Cruise merchandise. Each time I am on a different ship I buy a model of that cruise ship. Since this was my first cruise on the Carnival Vista, I made sure to buy a Carnival Vista model. I have included a few pictures of the logo items below. However, there are many more items that I did not get pictures of. 
Carnival Vista Logo Items Shops
Fun Shops: Logo Items Store On Deck 5
Carnival Vista Logo Items Shops
Fun Shops: Logo Items Store On Deck 5
Carnival Vista Logo Items Shops
Fun Shops: Logo Items Store On Deck 5
                             As I walked around the ship, I was mindful of the time because I needed to give myself enough time to get ready for dinner. My last stop before going back to the stateroom was the Reflections Dining Room on Deck 3. The Reflections Dining Room seated guests that had early or late seating. The Your-Time Dining was not held in the Reflections Dining Room. This dining room is only one deck and had entrances from the atrium and mid-ship elevator/stairwell area. Below you will find a few pictures of the Reflections Dining Room:
Carnival Vista Reflections Dining Room
Reflections Dining Room (Mid-Ship)
Carnival Vista Reflections Dining Room
Reflections Dining Room
Carnival Vista Reflections Dining Room
Reflections Dining Room
                           After getting ready for dinner, we went and checked in on Deck 5 for a table. We were one of the first people to check-in and then I headed down to the Deck 3 level of the Horizons Dining Room to line-up for dinner. The dining room did not open its doors until 5:27pm, but this was three minutes earlier than the scheduled dinner time. 
Carnival Vista Horizons Dining Room
Deck 3 Entrance To The Horizons Dining Room
Carnival Vista Horizons Dining Room Elevator Area
Two Of The Four Elevators Outside The Horizons Dining Room
Carnival Vista Horizons Dining Room
Our Table
Second Formal Night's Dinner:
                   Tonight was our second formal night of the cruise. Once again, the tables in the Horizons Dining Room were setup with table clothes. We had the same waitstaff as the prior few nights. Although the first formal night served a lobster dish for free, the second formal night had lobster available for a charge! Lobster is NOT free on both formal nights. Tonight's dinner food and service were very good. For my appetizers I had the four season salad and romaine caesar salad. For my main course, I had the flat iron steak. Normally, the flat iron steak comes with a baked potato, but on formal night the flat iron steak does not. I asked for a side baked potato because I enjoy baked potatoes. My dessert selection for the evening was a banana split off the kid's menu. All of the food was great and I left the dining room as stuffed as always! 
                 The American Feast formal night menus have a slightly different layout compared to the normal night's dining menus.  As a result of this different layout, the menu is able to fit on two pages. Here are my screenshots of the menus for tonight's dinner from the Carnival Hub App:
Picture
Picture
Here are my food pictures from tonight's dinner: 
Picture
Bread Basket
Carnival Vista Crab Cake Main Dining Room Appetizer
Appetizer: Chesapeake Crab Cake
Carnival Vista Shrimp Cocktail Main Dining Room Appetizer
Appetizer: Shrimp Cocktail
Carnival Vista Four Season Salad Main Dining Room Appetizer
Appetizer: Four Season Salad
Carnival Vista Romaine Caesar Salad
Appetizer: Romaine Caesar Salad
Carnival Vista Flat Iron Steak Main Dining Room Main Course
Main Course: Flat Iron Steak
Carnival Vista Grilled Chicken Breast
Main Course: Grilled Chicken Breast
Carnival Vista
Main Course: Striped Bass Fillet
Carnival Vista Baked Potato
Side Dish: Baked Potato
Carnival Vista Fresh Tropical Fruit Plate Dessert
Dessert: Fresh Tropical Fruit Plate
Carnival Vista Banana Split On Kids Menu
Dessert: Banana Split (From Kid's Menu)
Carnival Vista Amaretto Cake Dining Room Dessert
Dessert: Amaretto Cake
Tonight's Playlist Productions Show: "Amor Cubano"
                       After dinner I wanted to see the Playlist Productions show that was scheduled to take place in the Liquid Lounge. The showtimes for the evening were 7:30pm and 9:30pm. However, the doors to the Liquid Lounge opened 30 minutes prior to show-time. This meant the doors opened at 7pm for the early show and 9pm for the late show. 

After Show Quick Walk Around The Ship:
​                       Once the show was over around 8pm I decided to take a walk around the ship's jogging track. After a quick walk on the jogging track we took a walk on Deck 5. I happened to remember the Havana pool area that is normally restricted was open for all cruisers because it was after 6pm. I took a walk through the Havana Bar and stepped outside into this back area of Deck 5. The Havana pool area had a small pool at the very back of Deck 5 and hottubs on each side. There were several deck chairs in this back area as well as a bar counter that was part of the Havana Bar. Overall, this area was very nice. Although I did not stay in a Havana stateroom, it appeared this is a nice deck space for people that paid for the Havana staterooms. Here are some pictures of the Havana area at night:
Carnival Vista Havana Pool Area
Havana Pool Area
Carnival Vista Havana Pool Area
Havana Pool Area
Carnival Vista Havana Pool Area
Havana Pool Area
Carnival Vista Havana Pool Area
Havana Pool Area
Carnival Vista Havana Pool Area
Havana Pool Area
Carnival Vista Lanai
Lanai
                       After walking around I began to feel tired and I wanted to be up early enough to see the Carnival Vista's arrival in Cozumel. I went by the Lido Marketplace for some water before heading back down to Deck 2. 
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