Planning for our Carnival Vista Shore Excusions

In just a few short months we will be boarding the Carnival Vista for our very first family cruise and we can not wait. To helo us get in the mood I have been having a look at all the amazing destinations and trying to plan what shore excursions we would like to go on.

The cruise we are going on with Carnival Vista is for 8 nights and departs from Barcelona before visiting Italy, Spain and France.Day 1 and 2 will be spent at see enjoying all of the amazing activities on board like the skyride, imax, swimming pools and so much more.

On Day 3 we will be in port in Messina in Sicily. There is a brilliant excursion for Godfather fans to see some of the places that were used in the film. You can also take trips up Mount Etna, spend the day at the beach or visit some of the towns and cities.

On Day 4 we will be stopping in Naples where we will have to make a visit to Pompeii. The girls are really interested in visiting Pompeii after seeing it mentioned in one of the Night at the Museum films and they have requested that we make sure we go there when we are in port. There are also trips up Mt Vesuvius, in to naples or out on a boat.

Day 5 sees us visit Rome where there is a large selection of shore excursions to choose from depending on what you want to see and how quickly. I am not bothered about going inside the Vatican but would love to go inside the Colosseum as well as have lunch at a local restaurant to really get a feel for Rome.

Day 6 we stop in Livorno where there is a shore excursion for a visit to Florence and Pisa for families which enables us to see all the sites, eat locally and spend time wandering by ourselves.

Day 7 sees us stop in Marseilles in France where I will be stocking up on wine and cheese because you can’t go to France without doing this. There are lots of tours of local towns including some with wine tastings.

Day 8 we will be in Palma de Mallorca where the shore excursions include riding horses, flying a helicopter or visiting a winery among many others that take you around the island to see some of the amazing sites and architecture.

Day 9 we will unfortunately be back in Barcelona and heading home to Manchester but I can imagine that we would have had an amazing time visiting all of these wonderful ports and taking full advantage of all of the fantastic amentities on the Carnival Vista.

I don’t think we will be leaving the ship at every port but we will have to start thinking about which ports we want to explore the most. So far I am thinking Pompeii, Rome and Pisa.