We had just about given up on a carnival cruise lines, BUT thankfully booked on the Vista and my faith in carnival has been restored! It is a relatively new ship, nice decor, light colors, inviting for conversations. This is not a lavish ship with glass elevators, fancy fixtures etc but very welcoming. We liked that it was open, friendly and clean.
Our room was perfect for us. Handicap accessible, lots of room and easy to get in and out of. We were on deck 11 (Spa Deck) and was one of the nicest rooms we have had. We did have a window which allowed us to watch the sun rise. Our room steward was great and kept our room tidy at all times.
As a handicap (wheelchair bound) person this ship is tight. I avoided the LIDO deck because it was difficult to manipulate the wheelchair between tables, food lines and general seating area. I NEVER waited in a food line because my chair would not fit without moving the barricades etc. I did eat outside where there was more room. The hamburgers were wonderful and easy to get too. Pizza was the normal cruise ship pizza but easy to get to. Up on the 15th floor there is a wonderful "salad" bar. Great fresh food, tasty and easily accessible. The Pig and Anchor on deck 5 is a little hard to find but great food. Worth the search!!
Get for a wheelchair bound person. Lots of room and easy to get around it. Always clean and easy to find. It was quiet and gave us a great window to look out of. There is a small deck outside our window but says for crew members only so we followed to rules and didn't go there BUT many people did. We saw lots of people out there to take pictures - looked very windy out there. This was in the front of the ship
IF YOU ARE IN a wheelchair or have trouble walking, this is not for you. Took my chair and it got beat to death. Very narrow walkways and my chair made others have to get off the sidewalk - inpassible. Very little handicap accessibility. Beautiful area - saw a lot of the destruction from hurricane. Roads are very uneven, very few curbs you did not have to manually life the chair up on. Pebble, uneven but very historical if you can walk!
Very sad, nothing like the St.. Maarten I remember. There was so much destruction that it looked nothing like before. They are putting it back together but..the sites they have choosen to show you are nothing like before. They are trying to entertain us, but it was sad. Traffic was horrible. Many times we were waiting 10-15 minutes just to turn unto another road. The guide was ok but they are trying to re-open tourism but it just wasnt what we expected. It was so sad to see the mess they are in and broke our hearts. I support the island and saw the trials they are going through. they should be commended on their efforts. Best shopping was basically right off the ship. I will go back in another year and hope they have been able to restore more of the island. I would be surprised if they were at 50% - poor people but determined and deserve to be respected! They are working hard. Cannot even imagine what they have been through