It’s a play on words, but Carnival’s newest ship Vista really is a ‘carnival’ at sea!
This summer my family and I embarked in Barcelona for an 8 night western Mediterranean cruise, taking in 7 cities over 3 countries on one amazing ship. Carnival prides itself on being a company providing fun family vacations and one of their messages is ‘Switch on Fun‘!
Fun is certainly what we got! Under the leadership of Cruise Director Matt Mitcham, the youngest and most fun Cruise Director I have ever sailed with – this holiday was a party from start to finish! On a side note, Matt is also British (yay!) and something of a hottie! Check out his Instagram!
If you have been on a cruise ship before you will probably have embarked the ship at the gangway level, gone through the X-ray machines with your bags then headed straight for the lifts to take you up to the action – which can usually be found on the Lido deck. Not on the Vista! We embarked the ship straight into the party! It was unlike anything I was expecting. Deck 3 – the Atrium, was home to the guest services desk, shore excursions desk and the Vista lobby and bar and from the centre of the Atrium you could also see the shops surrounding the LED feature column on decks 4 and 5. DJ Cruz supplied the ‘welcome aboard music’, and the atmosphere was paaaarty!
The ever changing LED column in the Atrium, Deck 3, 4 and 5: Vista
You could tell straightaway that this was going to be a cruise unlike any other. It may have been ‘all go’ from the start but there were also plenty of quiet times on this cruise holiday – you could escape the music and people milling round if you headed for Serenity – an adults only area on deck 15, but Matt really did bring the fun – starting entertainment on the Lido deck on our fun day at sea, getting the passengers up off their loungers and dancing. We all go on our holidays to rest and relax, but often we do this in our own ways. Matt and his buddy Orlando brought the passengers together – giving it a community feel and breaking down shyness barriers with these strangers who were now just the people we were dancing with! It was very inclusive – you could feel free to dance and join in the fun because everyone around you was too. This is a short video clip I shared of the buzzy atmosphere on our sea day.
The Vista is the first ship in Carnival’s new Vista class, the second ship to join the class will be the Carnival Horizon which sets sail in 2018. Until then, Vista is having all the fun… What a place to party!
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2015-2016 Blog Ambassador: JuggleMum is proud to be an official ambassador for Carnival Cruise Lines and to bring you exclusive news and information about their newest ship – Carnival Vista. Carnival is ‘The World’s Most Popular Cruise Line®’ operating 24 ships. Learn more at their website
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Sounds like you had a brilliant time. We have been on a few cruises in the past (my MIL lives in Florida and it’s something she likes us all to go on for her special birthday’s), and it amazes me how huge but very organised these things are. I spent quite a bit of time behind the scenes on our last cruise and it all just runs like clockwork – amazing! 🙂
Wow, looks and sounds amazing. Of course I’d have to ditch the kids to have a good time on that myself… anyone up for some babysitting duties?! Glad you had such fun x
haha well the babysitting is taken care of as the kids have their kids club – it’s so much fun for them, they prefer it to hanging with us!
I can’t believe the amount of fun things they have on the cruise ships these days – so much more than the last time we cruised x
Sounds amazing, Nadine but how do they manage security and check in then? Do they do a count in each port as on more traditional cruise boats or is that done electronically?
I’d love to try this out, it does sound amazing!
Hey Oana, security is really tight so to be reassuring but not a hindrance. When you embark you get your own cruise card – like a credit card sized plastic rectangle that acts as your ID, your room key and your charge card all in one! This is the way they know who is who and who is onboard. At each port if you disembark they scan your card and so they know exactly who is off and who is on. It’s all very secure – and they won’t let your child disembark the ship before you – Mum or Dad’s card has to be scanned first before they will let a kid off. It really is brilliant.
Hee hee – check you out drooling over the Cruise Director! 😉 This sounds amazing. I could whizz around those slides all day.
haha he is eye candy but he’s also got a great personality and is a lot of fun.
I’ve heard so many great things about cruises and I’m always shocked by how much is onboard! x
I really enjoy following your posts – Carnival is a ship we have yet to sail on so its exciting to see what is on offer x
Thank you Mary!
I was so envious seeing your social media posts whilst you were away. It does look like you had an amazing time and Carnival really know how to kit out a cruise ship. Mich x
It looks really amazing, I’m almost convinced I want to go on a cruise now x
It is so much fun. x
Having never been on a cruise before I really didn’t know what to expect but I can honestly say it was amazing. The sail away party set the scene for the whole cruise and there was nothing I did not like or enjoy. I never did get the free hug that Matt was giving away though :0(
I didn’t get a free hug either! I didn’t know he was dishing them out or I’d have been there like a shot!! x