The one that will send a lot of photos is SkyRide, the recumbent bicycle that riders propel beneath an 800-foot-long track suspended 150 feet above the waterline. SkyRide is just fun, It lasts about 90 seconds at normal pace and riders can reach speeds of 18 miles an hour if they pedal hard.
The dual track on SkyRide allows for companions to cycle together or friends to race the 800-foot circuit. Although its appeal to kids is obvious, wait times on a recent cruise peaked at 35-40 minutes, but that may grow as more children board during the summer months.
There is the Family Harbor: a class of cabins grouped around a key-carded lounge for families. The concept is so functional, its hard to believe no one has tried it before. The Family Harbor Lounge is surrounded by family-friendly cabins and access is controlled by key card. Some family cabins are designed with a bed nook and TV that can be curtained off from the rest of the cabin, which both kids and parents will find a cool idea for different reasons. In addition to a unified nautical design theme, the cabins come with perks such as free meals for kids at most specialty restaurants and a night of free babysitting.
Dreamscape is a central pillar in the atrium that projects moving images through LED technology.
Bringing IMAX to sea also seems a no-brainer, if a little complicated to execute. Carnival has taken a three-deck space in the interior to put 178 raked seats in front of the enormous IMAX screen.
Programming includes documentaries ($5.50), and 3-D family features and current Hollywood blockbusters ($12.95), which by the third quarter will be delivered digitally by satellite at the same time that they open in 1,100 IMAX land theaters.
The Vista has other innovations that merit high grades. Visitors gawk at Dreamscape, a multi-story mushroom-shaped pillar that is programmed with ever-changing images crafted in LED lights.
The Vistas photo gallery is the first end-to-end digital gallery on Carnival. Photos display on a video wall and are available for purchase on a guests hand-held device through the Carnival Hub app.
Light fixtures that look like rocket nozzles are part of the design scheme for Carnival Vista.
Another winning space on the ship is the Cuban-themed complex on Deck 5 aft. Havana Bar has been upgraded from the Carnival Sunshine to have more seating, a better bandstand/dance floor, and better theming, including dominos tables and a colonial map of Cuba on the wall. It extends outdoor to an aft pool area, and is surrounded by Cuban-themed cabins and suites. The latter come with open air patios that connect via a deck walk to the pool. The whole outdoor area is private to Havana cabin guests from 6 am to 5 pm, giving it a club atmosphere.
I didnt catch all of the entertainment, but more than ever before Carnival is taking musicians and dispatching them to parts of the ship you don’t expect to see them in. Examples include a strolling accordion player and a New Orleans jazz trio stationed at the entrance to one of the main dining rooms.
The stateroom corridors on Carnival Vista feature floor-to-ceiling photo panels. The Vistas design is the most elegant ever for a Carnival ship. I particularly liked the orange light fixtures that look like rocket nozzles and give the ship a lot of visual thrust. Another neat trick is the use of floor to ceiling photo panels in the stateroom corridors, which make the cabin doors almost disappear and keep the corridors from being visual dead zones.
A few things about the Vista were disappointing, puzzling, or didnt work. Not building USB charging outlets next to the beds is a missed opportunity on any new cruise ship. The Vista doesnt have them.
There are odd changes of elevation of an inch or two in some stateroom corridors that could catch walkers by surprise.
The Pixels photo gallery is the first end-to-end digital gallery in the Carnival Cruise Line fleet.
The otherwise appealing Lido Marketplace buffet can feel overcrowded at breakfast, and the excursion staging areas at times are overwhelmed, resulting in long lines.
The new a la carte Seafood Shack seemed expensive to me, compared to the great value Carnival delivers in other specialty restaurants. The prices are not bad compared to what you get someplace else.
For more information and to make reservations on any Carnival Ship, contact The Cruise Professionals at theCRUISEOUTLET.com at 203-288-1884 or email: info@thecruiseoutlet.com and check on their exclusive rates and amenities,
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