Carnival Vista Ship Review - Average Cruiser

Back when the Carnival Vista was new, there were a lot of unique features about it. Now it is one of several ships in Carnival’s Vista class. From the Havana space on the back of the ship, to the entertainment zone on the top deck, to the sky ride and the brewery there are many features of this ship that Carnival tried out here first before adding them into their newer ships. And all of these features are designed to keep to you entertained at sea!

If you have ever been on a Carnival Cruise ship, you have probably noticed the jarringly bright appearance of the décor on the older ships. The Vista makes a break from this and is actually quite pretty. The Atrium has an LED column that changes appearance from fish to beach scenes. The general décor is toned down from previous ships and you no longer feels like it’s the 80s (which is good because I left my hairspray & legwarmers at home).

Pools on the Carnival Vista

The Vista has three pools. Two are on the lido deck – one in the center and one in the back – and these are both open to everyone. These two pools are large enough to serve the crowds of people, however we missed the 18 & up pools that you can find on the Conquest class ships.

The third pool is on the back of deck five in the Havana Suites. This area is only open to guests staying in the Havana staterooms. There are Havana Suites on a couple of different decks at the back and only people staying in those rooms (and with the wristbands provided for those guests) are allowed in the Havana pool. We did not book a Havana room, which we regretted. Every time we looked down on the back of the ship, the Havana pool was much less crowded than the other pools. Plus, it’s a beautiful area.

Food on the Carnival Vista

All Carnival ships now have certain features such as Guy’s Burger Joint, but the Vista also includes eateries such as Guy’s BBQ and the Mongolian and Italian restaurants. Our favorite lunch eateries were Guy’s Burgers and the Mongolian Wok.

The Mongolian Wok is not fast food and I recommend showing up as soon as they open. This is a sit-down restaurant, but it is included in the price of your cruise for lunch. You also have the option of getting the food to go. Especially as the cruise goes on and people realize how awesome it is as a lunch option, more and more people crowd the Mongolian Wok every day for lunch. (It is much less crowded while the ship is in port!)

Check out our post on Food on Carnival Cruises for more information about the food on Carnival Cruises!

Entertainment on the Carnival Vista

Another cool new feature on board the Carnival Vista is the Entertainment Zone on the top decks. There is the typical miniature golf (which you can play any time of day) but there are also other new features like the bowling alley (small fee) and the soccer pool (free) which was one of our favorite experiences on the Vista.

Another new feature in the entertainment areas of the upper levels is the sky ride. Let me make this clear before I begin. You must be wearing closed toed shoes in order to ride the sky ride. Which means you have to pack closed toed shoes.

Don’t be like me and be super disappointed because you don’t think you need closed toed shoes in the summer. It looks like a lot of fun though. Try to do it early in the cruise and make sure you check the hours – they are short! Due to its short hours and dependency on calm seas, it always seems to collect a long line.

Other entertainment features onboard the Vista include the Dive-In Movie Theater on the Lido Deck. Check your fun times to see what movies are playing during your cruise. Carnival even includes popcorn and blankets are included (yes, even in the summer it sometimes gets cold up there).

Curious what we did on our cruise on Carnival Vista? Check out our Carnival Vista Cruise Review!

There are two other movie theaters you can purchase tickets for: IMAX and 4D. I would recommend purchasing your tickets early in the cruise because these tickets do sell out. You can pick your movie, date, and time on a kiosk in the movie theater lobby.

Another cool feature of the Vista is the brewery. Where they brew the beer right there on board the ship. I’m not much of a micro-brewery person (don’t judge!) but it is pretty cool that they brew their own beer right on board. At the Red Frog Pub you can pour your own beer tasting right at your table using your Sign & Sail Card to pay by the ounce.

The Carnival Vista includes many features included on all other carnival ships as well. The serenity deck at the top of the front of the ship allowed passengers 21 & up to have calm quite place to lounge in the sun. The casino on deck four offers plenty of places to try your luck. There is a spa, a theater, a comedy club, kids’ clubs, plus many other features.

As one of the largest and newest ships for Carnival, the Vista has many new features plus many of the things that other Carnival Ships have done right in the past.