Carnival First Cruise Blog: Day 2, at Sea

Note: We blog daily on Carnival Vista on the first Carnival cruise, which returns to sailing after the March 2020 suspension. You can read the previous days here:

Happy Independence Day in the middle of the Gulf of Mexico!

It’s the fourth of July, and even at sea, it’s a big deal. Today we are the first of two days at sea as the ship sails from Galveston to Roatan’s first port of call in Honduras.

The ship is decorated with red, white and blue ornaments, but it is the passengers who really bring the fourth person. Around the ship, people wear everything from the U.S. flag, from U.S.-themed shoes to novelties to Uncle Sam hats. Despite being in the middle of the Gulf of Mexico, there is no doubt about what day it is.

Note some differences

Since yesterday’s energetic sailing, we’ve seen a few things that make it clear that while the cruise is back, it’s not quite exactly as it was … yet.

First, last night there was a clear feeling that the ship is less than full. We haven’t heard any official word on how many passengers are on board, but we asked several people working at the terminal. They estimate it was somewhere between 2500-3000 on a board with 4000.

In the evening, the atmosphere on board was definitely quieter than what we normally see. It’s still energetic, but there are seemingly fewer people on board. Today, when it was on the Lido deck on a sunny afternoon, it was full but not as crowded as you’re used to seeing.

Second, if you are someone who sails with children, be prepared for greater differences. As mentioned on day 1, we sailed with an unvaccinated child who was granted an exemption.

The carnival made it clear that there would be more restrictions and protocols, including testing, masks, and no children’s areas. That’s great, and what we expected. The bigger difference is leaving the ship in port.

We knew that only “bubble” excursions would be available at ports of call. Independent exploration and some excursions would not be available. This makes sense depending on the situation.

We did not know that in some ports this means that there is only one option for bubble trips. There are only four different ways to get off the ship in all three ports of call. (There are many more excursions available for vaccinated travelers.)

Roatan, for example, has only one excursion to a beach resort. It would cost a family of three more than $ 230 for a few hours to the beach. Belize offers two excursions, neither of which is ideal for smaller children. Cozumel also has only one excursion.

It is understandable why unvaccinated travelers simply cannot go ashore. Still, we thought there would be more than one or two excursion options in the harbor.

Let’s spend a day at sea

So how have we spent the day? Considering everything that has passed in the last 15 months, the first day of the sea seems surprisingly familiar over the ship.

This morning meant breakfast at a buffet where everyone got what they wanted. If you forgot it, the buffet is still self-catering, just like it was before the break. Carnival decided to keep things the same at 95 percent + vaccinations on the first cruises.

From there, we went to the excursion point to find out the best options for leaving the ship at the port.

We decided on an excursion in Cozumel – Passion Island Power Catamaran. It is an all day trip to a private island on a catamaran where we can relax on the beach for lunch and an open bar. With this trip, our son can go for free, and it really got cheaper than the List Price. For the three of us, it costs $ 140. We’ve all already been waiting for it, despite the fact that it’s only on Day 6 of the cruise.

As mentioned above, one tour option in Roatan was simply too expensive (about $ 230 for a three-hour trip). The two options in Belize were not ideal for a small child. Unfortunately, on a seven-day cruise, this means we’re going to leave the ship together in only one port of call.

Although we had planned to head to the pool area in the middle of the morning, the weather did not cooperate. The morning was cloudy with a few fleeting showers. Instead, we hit the arcade (Warehouse) of our son, who loved to spend a few bucks shooting dinosaurs. The arcade feels very new and offers a lot of different options. Just know that costs can go up fast. Each game is $ 1-2, and it usually doesn’t last that long.

From there, our family headed for the Sports Deck just past the shower, carrying the ship. In the direction we played table tennis until the weather cleared. In one story, I wouldn’t believe if I didn’t see it happen, he missed the ball, which then landed straight into his shirt pocket. It was a million-in-one shot.

Our son also loves to play a game that is a combination of football and pool that is available on Vista. Kick balls into pockets on a massive pool table.

For lunch, we chose the Seaday brunch, which is served in the dining room (open from 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.). Several people thought the same, but it wasn’t far from full, and we were able to sit down right away. (You can now also sign in in advance through the HUB app, but this option looked buggy when we tried it.) If you’re looking for something a little different than a buffet for lunch, it’s a great option.

Breakfast options range from muffins and cereals to horse ranchers or steaks and eggs. There are also some lunch options. In this case, I chose the “Aft Deck” burger. It features smoked breast, cheese, homemade pickles and fried onions.

It’s certainly not what your cardiologist wants your cancer to be, but your taste buds like it. The burger was messy to eat (the breast could be a little softer and easier to bite), but the taste was firm.

By far the highlight, however, was the dessert. We ordered a slice of 7-layer chocolate cake, complete with coffee-flavored ice cream. The piece was big, almost too much for us all to eat. Still, it was so good that nothing was wasted.

As the day passed, the clouds began to break some. While there was never a clear blue sky at noon, there was enough sunshine in the afternoon to want to rest and play in the water.

Our son loved the water park, riding on one mini slide more than dozens of times. This is a great place for families to have fun. By spraying and pouring water, children can get wet, and it’s much more active than simply hanging out in the pool.

The afternoon also brought an ice-sculpting demonstration, which apparently everyone on board stopped to watch. In honor of the holiday, the ice sculptor created Kotka from a huge piece of ice. Watching his work was very entertaining. It was amazing how quickly he was able to complete his creation.

From there, we moved to an armchair under a shady spot for our son as he read his books and drew his paper tablet as the adults got the sun. Since there are no child areas on this cruise, much of our time revolves around entertaining our son (as you might tell us about our daily activities so far). Mom and Dad can get time to just rest in the afternoon without interruption for a nice break.

Tonight we are going to try Ji Ji Asian Kitchen, visit one of the comedians and watch an evening show at the Liquid Lounge.

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