Carnival Cruise Line knows all about Fun; they’ve been providing it for decades.  Opening up a world of travel to many who might not have gone beyond the borders of North America otherwise, Carnival delivers what they advertise.  It’s a travel product that has evolved over time to include just about every possible demographic.  On new Carnival Vista, all the core elements of The Fun Ship experience have been not only preserved but made better.  Fans of the world’s most popular cruise line will find a lot to like.  Rolling in some new features, expanding a number of existing offerings from other ships and carefully staffing Carnival Vista we see the past, present and future of the line all in one neatly wrapped package.

 

 

From the outside, Carnival Vista casts a profile similar to other ships in the Carnival Cruise Line fleet, complete with trademark Funnel.   Step inside and it’s hard to miss the familiar curvature of a giant LED charged funnel of sorts that will change patterns, scenes and looks throughout the day.

 

 

Interestingly, entertainment is a much greater part of the onboard experience on Carnival Vista.  A wide variety of live music weaves its way through the ship, covering nearly every genre possible as we experienced as lovely violin music filled the atrium space before dinner.

 

 

Also interesting, it appears that Carnival Vista is built to be everything to everyone.  Leaving the atrium area and the classical music behind, I walked past the Red Frog Pub and Brewery where a bunch of passengers were excitedly playing a beer game of some sort.   Continuing on to the Ocean Plaza area of that same deck, passengers were involved in a complimentary dance class.  This is all in the course of a five minute walk on a very big ship where venues are nicely spread out to accommodate a variety of tastes and interests.  Take smoking for example.

 

 

Not far from that central atrium area, lies what appears to be a second one from the look of a second inside LED funnel.  What we’re actually seeing in the photo above is a light feature that begins in the casino bar below.  Because that is an inside smoking area, the feature is enclosed with glass to prevent the odor of smoke from wafting through upper decks.

I’ve been on both sides of the smoker/non-smoker issue and have to give Carnival credit for figuring out a way where both groups can be on the same ship and not annoy each other.  Non smokers can enjoy areas around the casino without smelling like cigarettes just by walking around the ship. Smokers are not relegated to an ever-decreasing in size area of the ship away from all other humans.  Smart.

 

 

On the topic of healthy lifestyles (or not), Carnival Vista has cruise travelers interested in either covered. At the top deck Serenity adults-only retreat, healthy fare is featured and just steps away from comfortable lounge chairs and no children.

 

 

Also available, Guy’s Burger Joint with a 2000-calorie lunch that has passengers lined up all day.  That’s in addition to a more healthy selection at Ji Ji Asian cuisine as well as healthy choices on every menu in every other venue too.

 

 

JiJi Asian is one of a number of venues that has an ocean view, if not outside seating on a surrounding deck.  We see that in bars, restaurants and other places as Carnival Vista delivers on a promise to connect passengers with the ocean and the marvelous “vistas” available at the places the ship visits.

As I preview Carnival Vista, the ship is on her second sailing, a 10-day trip through the Mediterranean. Soon, Carnival Vista will sail from Florida on a Caribbean itinerary she is custom built to knock out of the ballpark.  Here are some other reasons for that thought:

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Details on all of the above coming soon, sourced from passengers who actually experienced these features.