Drew B 58

There are LOTS of great outdoor seating/lounging areas, both in the sun and the shade. They just don’t happen to be right around the Lido pool…

I was pretty sure that on a separate sailing, a year later, there wouldn’t be people at my table STILL b*tching about the mechanical issue and the canceled ports…

I cruised Celebrity with my four-year-old niece once and she had the best time in their kids’ club! There were only about a dozen kids in her age range on the whole ship and they had multiple counselors (I believe three) who showed them a great time and made them feel special. And it wasn’t just in the kids’ club. All over the ship, it seemed all of the crew learned her name and treated her like a princess the whole week!

Celebrity is the only other line I’ve ever sailed besides Carnival. The ONLY time I’ve experienced bad passenger behavior that negatively affected my experience was on Celebrity. There was a mechanical issue with the propulsion system that caused us to miss two ports (out of seven). The lost ports didn’t ruin my cruise, but the other passengers’ behavior threatened to! They lost their d@mned minds! They were holding “demonstrations” all around the ship to complain about the compensation offered. This went on for DAYS! I wasn’t able to enjoy any meals in the dining rooms thereafter without having to listen to at least one of my tablemates b*tch about the issue. It was a bit of a nightmare… They ended up giving everyone a 50% off future cruise voucher, so I booked with Celebrity again the following year to take advantage of the deal. That was in 2007, and I haven’t sailed with them again since. There were definitely a lot of good things about Celebrity and I would say it is better than Carnival in some areas. However, passenger behavior was NOT one of them!!!

So you have NOT sailed MSC, yet you “prefer” it? Sounds like an opinion we should give a lot of weight to!!! I have not sailed MSC (and explained above why I don’t intend to). However, since it’s not a line I’ve personally experienced, I have no way of knowing which I would prefer..,

Honestly, this is what has held me back from sailing with MSC. I find the “experience” breakdown feels too much like a caste system. At least on paper - I don’t know if that’s how it feels when you are living it. I find that distasteful. My favorite thing about cruising is how “democratic” it is with everyone in the same boat (pun intended). I recognize that other lines are moving in this direction, too, with the things like the “ship within a ship” concepts and “Aqua class” with a special restaurant on Celebrity. I HATE it, though, and will resist it kicking and screaming!

I’m aware. I’m just asking that, since Carnival DOES allow cigarette smoking in the casino, what is the harm in also allowing vaping?

I had no idea they didn’t already allow vaping! If they’re allowing smoking, why would it matter if they also allow vaping. Vape “smoke” is far less offensive than cigarette smoke (and that’s coming from a cigarette smoker…).

I almost never get to play it on ships because it’s so popular and always occupied. I was able to get in there early mornings on sea days, but that was about it!

If you decide you want to do this, it’s very easy to do without paying for an excursion. You can either take a cab or walk there (we walked and it took 20-25 minutes, I believe).

I have heard the odds improve a bit when volume is maxed, but that may be apocryphal…

I’m guessing they’re referring to the free lunch at Cucina del Capitano on other ships, which would not apply to Venezia…

They do offer fancy donuts (for a few) at Java Blue. I’m pretty sure you can request gluten free pizza.

Included: • Lido Marketplace (buffet) • Canal Grande Restaurant (MDR) - open for breakfast, seaday brunch, dinner, and occasionally lunch • Marco Polo Restaurant (MDR) - fixed dining • Guy’s Burger Joint • Tomodoro • Pizzeria Del Capitano • La Strada • Asian lunch buffet (served at Seafood Shack on sea days) • Tea time • Swirls (soft serve ice cream) • Continental breakfast via room service Additional Cost: • Fahrenheit 555 steakhouse • Il Viagio • Bonsai Sushi • Bonsai Teppanyaki • Seafood Shack • Several premium options on MDR menus • Java Blue Cafe • Dr. Seuss Brunch • All room service other than continental breakfast

I know you didn’t ask me and I’ve never sailed NCL, but when I heard they charged a corkage fee for your bottle of wine AT EMBARKATION, I decided I will never sail them. Now this is not like if you bring the bottle to a restaurant and they open it and pour it and provide the stemware. This has to be paid in advance, even if you intend to open it yourself and consume it in your cabin! In my opinion, that is just outrageous! What are they going to charge for next? Bringing your own TOOTHPASTE aboard?!?! It’s a matter of principle more than the money. I can’t support such crooks!

It seems to me that they have made a number of efforts, particularly in the last year, to make known that respectful passenger conduct is required. Doesn’t seem that was enough to prevent these incidents…

I’ve done lots of short cruises. Never seen a fight. The biggest problem I’ve dealt with was a pervasive smell of vomit when some drunk DESTROYED one of the public restrooms off the atrium. 🤢

The only time I ever had a problem with constant smell of weed on a Carnival ship was back in 2008. And it was on a 7-day cruise. Someone (or ones) was smoking constantly on their balcony one or two cabins down from me. I could smell it both from my balcony and in the hall throughout the whole week. I’ve done a bunch of Carnival cruises since then, ranging from 3-7 days and not had another issue. Which is not to say that I’ve never caught a whiff on any of them — just that it has never been frequent or prevalent enough to bother me. I think it might just come down to random luck where your cabin happens to be rather than a recent decline in the caliber of guests or a difference between shorter and longer cruises…

For me, it’s not even mainly about cost. I just know that six hours is the MOST I can sit on a plane before I start to completely freak out!

I understand. I would LOVE to do an Australia cruise, but I know I could never handle that long a flight. My dream is to do a transpacific to Australia followed by another transpacific back. But that’s not realistic. That isn’t how the schedule ships…

I meant what venue ON THE SHIP had the pecan pie? MDR? Buffet? One of the specialty restaurants? I don’t eat meat, so I don’t have anything to add on the subject of burgers or barbecue…. 🤪

As someone who benefits from the casino deals (typically “free” cabins and DOU in the casino), it doesn’t make a lot of sense for me to sail with anyone other than Carnival. However, if I WAS able to get a better deal, I wouldn’t hesitate to do it!

A lot of the early reviews of Carnival Venezia include troubling stories of rampant fighting and drug use. As a result, I’ve seen people questioning whether the ship is right for them and considering canceling upcoming cruises. I just wonder whether the two are related. It seems to me that at the end of each cruise, all of those guests (including the problematic ones) get off the ship. Whether or not the NEXT group of passengers will also include problematic passengers seems like a crap shoot. The trouble-makers may sail Venezia again (assuming they haven’t been banned for life) or they may choose a different ship, whether with Carnival or with a different line. And the next group of passengers may include troublemakers or it may not. So whether or not the next cruise on Venezia (or the one after that or one in six months or one in a year) will ALSO have a lot of fighting and drug use seems impossible to predict… If the problems noted are about the ship or the decor or the crew or the food or the crowding or the venues, I can understand making the decision that the ship is not for you. If it is about the other passengers, though, I think it is counterintuitive to assume that they will be the same in the future. Maybe if these reports continue long term, we can reach an assumption that for some reason, the ship in question attracts “the wrong crowd”. With Venezia, though, I believe it is way too soon to say… * I realize this thread title isn’t very good. I had a hard time condensing what I was trying to say into one short phrase…

The only B2B cruises I can think of where leg one starts in one port and ends in another and leg two starts in the second port and returns to the first are the one-way Alaska cruises - South to North followed by North to South. However, those cruises tend to hit the same ports in reverse order, so are likely not what you are looking for…