Cherries Jubilee

7 hours ago, First Aider said:

Sorry guys, we will not be on the ship. And we still have no idea why my husband was removed. He is 78 and I’m 76, and we have no bad records! 
Carnival kept telling us we had to email security but they never returned an email to tell us. Nor did they call.

We will never cruise on them again. 

I’m so sorry this happened to you. I hope you’re able to find a replacement vacation at some point to make this up to yourselves.

On 2/9/2024 at 8:31 AM, First Aider said:

We were scheduled to leave Sunday, but Carnival called our travel agent yesterday to tell him my husband has been removed from the list. I had to e-mail security to find out WHY???? I am still waiting for a call back. 

We have sailed Carnival  6 times and he was always with me. I don't understand what their problem is.

Please pray it's all a mistake. 

Wishing you luck. I hope it’s all worked out.

I had some family issues and I wasn’t sure I was still going to make this cruise but it looks like I’m still going. I can’t believe it’s 3 days away. I started overpacking…uh I mean packing last night. I hope to just about finish that today so I can relax.

I didn’t add names until I checked in and I didn’t check in until 4 days before the cruise so it must be up until check in now.

I’ll be on this cruise too. It’ll be my 2nd time on the Venezia. I can’t wait!

I do too. I wish they would at least keep them out of a few hot tubs.

I hope everyone is ok.

My condolences to you and your family.

18 minutes ago, jimbo5544 said:

Not trying to start a dog fight on the topic.  I have been in both as well.  Not even sure why it is an issue.  All cruise ships and lines have way more in common that differences.  Just wanted to reply to a couple of your points and then I will move on.  First, the reason that the food is the same is because Carnival WANTS it to be same.  She now is a Carnival ship.  The Italian flair is way more about the heritage and decor than food (which BTW is way better than Costa food).  

 

In regards to the kids and keeping them happier on Oasis (class), it really depends on ages and demand.  I would def concede the flow rider, but the rest not so much.  A merry go round and flow rider attract a WAY different crowd.  I s the ice rink open every day?  I do not believe so.  Saw WAY more adults on rock climbing walls than kids.  I could go on, but will not.  No need.  I did a lengthy review of our sailing on Oasis and posted it on the RCCL main page as well as here.  There is a reason we have only sailed Oasis class once.  

 

Listen I get the hype, the wow, the sizzle (Icon right now).   That comes with some caveats, no tender ports (NONE) and limited ports of calls.  For a lot, the sizzle wins….not for us.  Your opinion (or your kids) may vary.  Time to move on.

I’m not a fan of Italian food myself and I don’t even know what Italian entertainment people were expecting. 

I personally didn’t expect Carnival to roll out a bunch of new things for the Italian ships and I was happy that they didn’t.  When I cruise Carnival I want the experience I’m accustomed to and already know that I enjoy. 

I’ve sailed both and will sail both again. The issue here is Oasis has significantly more for kids to do. If your kids took part in the wet and dry slides, laser tag, ice skating, zip line, flow riders, large pools and the carousel they may very well be disappointed by a ship that has a few wet slides , ropes course, mini golf and small pools. 

I personally didn’t do some of the things offered on Oasis so Carnival not having them doesn’t bother me but I’m not a kid so it’s different.

As for Venezia I was on her for 12 days and I didn’t notice a smoke smell anywhere other than the casino and I didn’t find the free food offerings any more Italian than they are on any other Carnival ship unless you count the 2 new burgers at Guys. I actually saw a lot of complaints that they marketed this ship as “Carnival fun Italian style” and then put very little effort into making it different from their other ships. It’s literally just decorated differently. Some voyages have an Italian festival one night but the cruise director has skipped that a few times too so your basically just getting a Carnival ship from 2019, neither old nor completely brand new.

 I don’t think any Carnival ship has enough additional activities to compete with Oasis class for kids if they actually did all that stuff.
 

I really enjoyed your review as usual! Thank you for taking us along!

The length of the cruise is more important to me than the ports so I would go with Venezia. I you want the best ports it’s Horizon.

13 minutes ago, jimbo5544 said:

Money pays bills

From the outside looking in it doesn’t look like Carnival had any trouble filling Venezia for the upcoming winter cruises but I understand if that’s not the case. They have to do what they have to do.

I enjoyed Venezia despite a few of its flaws. I planned on writing a review but the holidays are taking all my time at the moment. I’ll be sailing her again in February and I hope it’s at least an equally enjoyable experience.

I wouldn’t suggest this ship for anyone who loves spending most of their time on the lido deck because it is small and incredibly stuffy and hot when the roof is closed. I also don’t like the buffet setup. I think some of the passengers were more rude and irritated because of the lines unfortunately.

I thought the ship was beautiful and the food was pretty good. 
 

I didn’t mind the cold days because we still had a full cruise worth of hot days. I personally wouldn’t take a 7 day from NY in the winter but I’ll gladly take these longer itineraries. It’s too bad Carnival decided not to do winter in NY again.

I wish they had tried another winter. People did a lot of complaining but the ship still sold out. 
 

On Venezia it was the Ringer but on ships that still have it I would go for a Piggy Patty with ketchup and pickles.

My family really enjoyed it. We did it on both Oasis and Symphony. The biggest problem I have with it is that it’s always near the end of the cruise and I’m not very hungry at that point lol.

Thanks for the info! I’ll be back on Venezia in February. Here’s hoping the food is just as good!

I’m so sorry for your loss.

I’d love to sail Celebration or Jubilee. I sailed Mardi Gras and loved it but I would prefer a longer cruise to the Southern Caribbean so I will probably end up sailing something else.

I’m back on Venezia in February and I’m pretty happy about it.

Private taxi was telling us $25 per person round trip today. I’m wondering if prices changed or they are cheating us?

Did you drop your luggage off downstairs or upstairs?

13 minutes ago, Jamman54 said:

The Venezia looks GREAT on the PTZ Cam all bathed in Sunshine! You guys are going to have an awesome sail away today. Wish we were back on with you! 

We wish you were too! 

12 minutes ago, havanadaydreaming said:

Almost time

So freaking excited!

Unfortunately I did NOT sleep well *sigh*

It’s finally our turn! I hope everyone made it here safely and we all have an amazing trip!