Asheda M.

The carnival vista
November 4th-10th
This was not my first cruise.
Room 6259 with balcony
The staff was great. Always pleasant and professional.
Before sailing, I downloaded the Carnival Hub app months prior. I never saw anything Vista specific. Just the typical cruise information. Most of what was on the Hub was umbrella and applied to most of their cruises. When were just days out, I called Carnival to make sure I was packing accordingly. The information I received was we were having 1 elegant night on the second night of the cruise. Of course there were 2 elegant nights and an all white party. Wow what a disappointment when my husband had only packed the 1 elegant suit and neither of us had a white outfit.
The ship itself... let's just say thank goodness that was the last sailing from Galveston before updates/remodeling. The decor throughout the ship including the staterooms was, to put it politely outdated. The shower had horrible drainage. Maybe that's how all of Carnival ships are but standing in pooling water is not my idea of feeling clean. I pray I don't get athlete's foot
The pool area gave me the creeps. There were times when I thought I was going to get the plague from just walking past it. One of the pools had to be closed temporarily before we left Galveston so one of the staff could scoop something out of it. Yay!

I can't forget to mention the God awful sewage smell in the middle of the ship on days 2 & 5. Completely unbearable.
The biggest gripe I have is the elevator system. Taking the stairs may be an option for some but for elderly, those with disabilities, crutches, or walkers waiting 10 to 15 minutes for an elevator is actually unacceptable.
The food was edible. Due to religious beliefs my husband and I don't eat pork or shellfish. I really didn't think this would be an issue. I was wrong yet again. Very minimal options especially at breakfast. There was nothing "fine" about the fine dining. Stale bread, under seasoned food with a wait longer than the elevator system. As for drinks what's included is water, juice at breakfast, coffee, and the lemon concentrate they call lemonade. Im sure that lemon concoction gave me a stomach ulcer. Never ever select open dining option with Carnival. The dining room was such a clusterf*@k. We used the carnival hub app for "easy" table reservations. Once we were notified that our wait was expected to be under 10 minutes, we still waited over 30 minutes and 45 minutes once seated to just get bread. The sad thing is we were trying to plan around the big crowds.

As for activities, this was a very geriatric experience. My husband and I are in our early 40s and did not find many activities that peaked our interest. However, if you want to feed their casino machines in a small room full of smokers good luck!
I can't forget about the cruise photographers. Not sure if they go to school to learn the 3 repeated poses of awkward, more awkward, and finally just plain weird. I am so glad there were photographers at all of the excursions so that we could have some good pictures of our 15th anniversary that was ruined by a Carnival cruise nightmare.
Please don't take this review as me wanting any freebies. The only thing free I'd take from Carnival is tickets on the Royal Caribbean or Virgin.