I have had so many questions since we got home from the cruise, mainly from people with families. The questions have revolved around family. It’s amazing how many people do not realise how family oriented the ships are and especially the Carnival Vista. I was the same before I went though. This post is about general family moments we had on board the Carnival Vista.
Is there much to do on the ship for families?
Please watch my video Our family holiday on the Carnival Vista, I think this video as a whole collects some snippets of our time on the ship. From arrival at the terminal in Barcelona to the children’s reactions when we finally arrive in our cabin. Snippets of the staff doing a dance to Happy in the Horizon’s restaurant and the children just being children in the pool at the back of the ship. There is so much to do on board that we didn’t get around to doing it all. There are still things that we didn’t get around to doing. So clearly that means we have to go on another Carnival Vista cruise next year!
Aren’t the ships steered towards couples?
No, No, No, No! The Carnival Vista ship could not be more family oriented if it tried. Don’t get me wrong there are places to escape from the children if you want to and a kids club that looks after children from 7am until 10pm inclusive of the price of the cruise. But, on the whole, this ship is designed for families to have fun. To be honest even the kids club became part of the fun for the children, they wanted to go and play with their friends, recharge their batteries and escape the heat from the sun.
There are family restaurants, children’s themed breakfast with Dr Seuss characters, a Dr Seuss library and even an arcade where slightly older children can hang out with their friends. The iMax theatre was incredible. I have never been to an iMax on land, let alone when we are crossing an ocean. Watching Finding Dory was rather fitting too. There is entertainment and games throughout the evening in the Liquid Lounge, which looks like a huge theatre. There is karaoke, quizzes and comedy events at the other end of the ship in the Limelight Lounge. I haven’t even mentioned the water park area, water slides and various pools scattered about the ship. Then you have the excursions that you can do in each port. We booked up two excursions from the booklet: they are filtered by ease so that you can choose to do an easy going excursion or one that is hard work.
Did your children not get frustrated waiting around in queues?
What queues? There is so many choices of things to do, places to eat and bars to drink there literally were no queues. The day at sea, which was just one day at the start of the cruise, meant everyone was on board all day and even on that day the only thing we queued for was the waterslides. The queue was about a 10/15 minute wait, which was nothing. The only time we had to wait for a table in the evening was on one night, where we had to wait in the Havana bar for 30 minutes. This was our own fault for going to the restaurant at the busiest time, so we were prepared for a wait. They give you a buzzer and tell you to wait in the Havana bar, where you can get a drink and listen to the lovely latino music. We loved it.
Considering there are 3900 passengers on board the ship, it certainly didn’t feel like it. Over half of these 3900 people were children. Again, you wouldnt of thought so. The kids club hardly had any children in it, we were amazed how quiet it was.
Did you and the kids feel sea sick?
Not one bit. The only thing we have had since getting home is the feeling that you are still on the ship, like when you get out of a lift sometimes. But no sickness what so ever. You do not really feel like you are on a ship in the middle of the sea somewhere. There was one night it was quite windy, the sea looked calm but the wind was making the waves crash against the ship. The only way I could describe it though is of turbulence when you are in a plane. So we didnt’ feel sick from it at all.
Could they cater for fussy eaters?
We had breakfast and lunch at the Lido restaurant, which is on deck 10 and the buffet type area. Isla wanted one thing, Noah wanted another and the grown ups wanted something else. So the buffet was a great choice. Equally some days the kids had burgers from Guy Burgers, or Pizza but we would all sit together in the Lido restaurant – as Daddy wanted to make the most out of the carvery area. So much choice. Even the menu in the evenings had more choice on them than I expected. There was always about 8 starters to choose from, always a vegetarian option and fish option. The mains just gave you so much choice: always a pasta option, a vegetarian indian option, vegetarian options, grill options and steak house options. I love the port of call options too which offered two things from the destination you had just left. The options were anything from starter to dessert and included cocktails too.
Would you do it again?
In a heartbeat. We have had such a fun, family time that we would do it again every week if we could. We loved every minute of the holiday from the sweet shop to the water slide. To the special moments the grown ups got whilst we knew the children were safe in kids club. I have never felt so relaxed after coming away from that holiday. Even now I am back in the routine of work and school, I am still feeling relaxed and happy. I love this feeling. I love the memories we have. I loved the experience and I completely recommend a cruise onboard this ship for any family. Can we come with you too?
I hope this post is helpful to those families thinking about whether to go on a cruise. I hope you enjoyed the video too, I love watching it back it makes me feel so happy. We took so many photos and videos whilst on our cruise as the Chillseeking family for Carnival Cruise Lines. We have so many fun things to share, that I decided to break up the posts into different sections. Keep posted to see the updates and if you have any questions you would like me to answer please put them in the comments section below.
