Carnival Vista- 11/4 Embarkation Day- Post One
Saturday, November 4th- Embarkation Day:
We were up around 7a.m. and headed down to get breakfast, which was pretty good for a complimentary meal. Turns out that a lot of higher-end hotels require you to pay for breakfast, which is ridiculous; my two biggest criteria when booking a hotel are free airport shuttle transportation and free breakfast, otherwise it’s a no-go. I had MJS booked for shuttle service from Hollywood to the Port of Miami, so we called around 8 to check-in for our 9:30 pickup. We were the only two people from Hyatt Place, and all of the other customers were across the small driveway at Hyatt House, so we walked over there at 9:30 to meet the shuttle. We encountered some traffic on the way to Miami but nothing major, and we still made it around 10:15. After dropping people off at another ship, we made it to the Vista! After having this trip booked for 687 days, it was crazy that we were in front of the ship and almost onboard!
Around 10:25/10:30am, we hopped in line, which was already VERY long. We had 11am check-in time and I was really questioning if everyone else in this extensive line had the same time or if they were trying to cheat the system. Regardless, it didn’t matter, as the line starting moving at 10:35 and we were through security and found a seat in the boarding area by 10:50. They didn't even look at our 12 pack of soda or bottles of wine, as a heads up. The moral of this story is, long lines don’t necessarily mean long wait times. The first boarding group started at 11:11 and we had boarding group 4, which came up quickly. We were on board around 11:45 and had drinks in our hands at noon. We finally made it!! 😃😁
Yes, we were "that couple."
It didn’t even matter that we received notification that due to “operational considerations” we would be delayed leaving until 10p.m. Some people seemed really upset about it, and I suppose if I gambled I might be annoyed too, but since I don’t and the bars were fully functioning, I was totally good! We took our drinks and carry-on bags to deck 11 to some pretty comfy seats and started people-watching on the pool deck.
Around 10:25/10:30am, we hopped in line, which was already VERY long. We had 11am check-in time and I was really questioning if everyone else in this extensive line had the same time or if they were trying to cheat the system. Regardless, it didn’t matter, as the line starting moving at 10:35 and we were through security and found a seat in the boarding area by 10:50. They didn't even look at our 12 pack of soda or bottles of wine, as a heads up. The moral of this story is, long lines don’t necessarily mean long wait times. The first boarding group started at 11:11 and we had boarding group 4, which came up quickly. We were on board around 11:45 and had drinks in our hands at noon. We finally made it!! 😃😁
Yes, we were "that couple."
It didn’t even matter that we received notification that due to “operational considerations” we would be delayed leaving until 10p.m. Some people seemed really upset about it, and I suppose if I gambled I might be annoyed too, but since I don’t and the bars were fully functioning, I was totally good! We took our drinks and carry-on bags to deck 11 to some pretty comfy seats and started people-watching on the pool deck.
Here's a little video of the steel drums, the excitement of embarkation, and a brief time lapse.
Go Full Screen for your viewing pleasure:
JiJi's lunch menu. Just put an X in the items you want, and they'll bring it to your table when it's ready.
My delicious lunch!
After lunch, we headed to the Red Frog Pub (this quickly became our favorite venue) and ordered a flight of beer. My favorite had to be the Java Stout, although it isn’t heavy as a normal stout would be (something about people not liking full-bodied beers while in the hot sun, pfft). My husband liked the IPA and enjoyed several of those throughout the cruise. We signed up for the brewery tour for the next day, Sunday, at 2:30pm. They had a physical sign up sheet on a clipboard at the bar, and there were offering three time slots for the Sunday sea day. We saw many tours occur throughout the week and they were promoted in the Fun Times and over the announcements from the Cruise Director, Steven Schwartz (more on him later).
A self-serve station and a flight of beer (they did not come from the self-serve taps):
In order left to right: Thirsty Frog Red, Caribbean Wheat, Java Stout, Port Hoppin' IPA
In order left to right: Thirsty Frog Red, Caribbean Wheat, Java Stout, Port Hoppin' IPA
We wandered deck 5 until they announced that our rooms were ready, and we headed down to see our first-ever balcony in room 2305. We were incredibly surprised with the decorations and gifts lining our room, and felt very fortunate that we both have parents who bought honeymoon packages to help us celebrate. Not only did we have cute hanging decorations that stayed up all week, but we received a chocolate cake, a bottle of champagne, two different sets of champagne glasses, a Carnival beach towel, and two different picture frames. Shout out to our parents for the lovely gifts!
Cove Balcony 2305
Cove Balcony 2305
Standard Bathroom:
Very delicious surprise cake!
We headed out to the balcony to watch the organized chaos that is a homeport day for deliveries, luggage, and logistics. My husband also noticed there was a crane moving large equipment around and onto the front of the ship, and a company whose name indicated that it did underwater work had equipment next to the ship. From this, we quickly gleaned that the “operational considerations” were due to maintenance or repairs, and our late departure was to ensure that whatever needed fixing would be done fully and appropriately.
We dropped off our carry-on bags and grabbed all of our camera equipment to head out to explore the ship. We visited the majority of decks 3, 4, 5, and 6, including stopping for a drink at the sports bar and watching college football and seeing the lobby area of the IMAX theatre. This would be the last time we ever went near the IMAX, so I’m glad we visited briefly to take a few pictures.
We then headed to the atrium and people-watched while waiting for our muster drill to start, since we were in the Reflections dining room right off of the atrium. The muster drill took a fairly long time to get through the whole thing, but I did appreciate the ability to sit in a chair instead of standing on a hot outside deck in the sun. After the muster drill, we booked it to guest services to ask a few questions about when the pin/bottled waters for VIFP status would show up in our room and what the extra OBC on our account was. In case you ever stumble upon a weird amount of OBC (ours was something like $29.25 per person), it could be port/tax refunds, which ours was because the itinerary was changed.
I LOVE the Dreamscape!!
(This amazing funnel-shaped LED screen that displays both static and moving scenes)
UP NEXT: Saturday, Embarkation Day continued
LINK: Continuation of Embarkation Day
Cove Balcony 2305
Cove Balcony 2305
Standard Bathroom:
Very delicious surprise cake!
We headed out to the balcony to watch the organized chaos that is a homeport day for deliveries, luggage, and logistics. My husband also noticed there was a crane moving large equipment around and onto the front of the ship, and a company whose name indicated that it did underwater work had equipment next to the ship. From this, we quickly gleaned that the “operational considerations” were due to maintenance or repairs, and our late departure was to ensure that whatever needed fixing would be done fully and appropriately.
We dropped off our carry-on bags and grabbed all of our camera equipment to head out to explore the ship. We visited the majority of decks 3, 4, 5, and 6, including stopping for a drink at the sports bar and watching college football and seeing the lobby area of the IMAX theatre. This would be the last time we ever went near the IMAX, so I’m glad we visited briefly to take a few pictures.
We then headed to the atrium and people-watched while waiting for our muster drill to start, since we were in the Reflections dining room right off of the atrium. The muster drill took a fairly long time to get through the whole thing, but I did appreciate the ability to sit in a chair instead of standing on a hot outside deck in the sun. After the muster drill, we booked it to guest services to ask a few questions about when the pin/bottled waters for VIFP status would show up in our room and what the extra OBC on our account was. In case you ever stumble upon a weird amount of OBC (ours was something like $29.25 per person), it could be port/tax refunds, which ours was because the itinerary was changed.
I LOVE the Dreamscape!!
(This amazing funnel-shaped LED screen that displays both static and moving scenes)
UP NEXT: Saturday, Embarkation Day continued
LINK: Continuation of Embarkation Day
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