Jamman54

We decided to head up to the Lido Marketplace on Deck 10. Also open for embarkation lunch on Deck 10 was Guys Burgers, Tomadoro, which is the equivalent of Blue Iguana Cantina plus some Italian fare, The Deli, Seafood Shack, and of course Pizza del Capitano. Outside on Deck 5 is the La Strada Grill which equates to the Pig & Anchor BBQ. We take the elevator up to Deck 10. The Venezia has the “Smart” elevators which we have begun to like. It just takes a day or so for everybody learns to use them properly….. We decide to get our lunch from the Deli. On the way there we pass the Sweet Spot….. We get to the Deli and there is only one person in line ahead of us. Patti orders the turkey sandwich on a pretzel bun, and I order a couple of chili dogs and fries….. The Marketplace is pretty crowded so we decide to take our food to the RoCoco Bar by the mid ship pool. This bar is located where you would find the Blue Iguana Tequila Bar. Looking at the menus, you can see some of your favorites from the Red Frog and Blue Iguana…… They also have a variety of pre-made frozen drinks….. Across the way, where the Red Frog Rum Bar would be, is the Java Blue Cafe. Kind of a weird location for it, but it did work for me….. After we finished eating, Patti was going to begin her picture tour, and I was going to head all the way aft on Deck 10 to the Burano Pool Bar (Tides Bar). To be continued……

We had not been sitting at the bar very long when the first of several Cruise Critic members that we would meet on these cruises, approached us to say hello. This is Rich (ramref) and Kathy. They are traveling with their in-laws Charley and Janice, whom you will meet later. They will also be on the Venezia for 21 days. Rich is a self-professed lurker, though I see he has posted twice already on this thread. We really enjoyed talking to and hanging out with these guys!...... After we finished our drinks we made our way up to the Promenade Deck 5 towards our Muster Station. Here are a couple more views of the Atrium as we made our way up…… Our Muster Station (A5) is in the upper level of the Teatro Rosso, which on other Vista Class ships is the Liquid Lounge…… After being scanned in we got to check out the room. To me this seemed bigger, probably because there isn’t a center aisle. Only the first three rows in the center have the removable chairs. The rest of the seating is fixed, and include cup holders…… This crewmember demonstrates how to put on a life jacket. It’s over in two minutes…… We decide to drop off our carry-on bags at our cabin. We walk up two flights of stairs to Deck 7. We are in Cabin # 7255, which is an inside cabin forward on the starboard side. Our Sail & Sign cards are in the mailbox, but the cabin is not ready. We put our carry-ons in the closet, and leave a note for our steward. It’s time for lunch! To be continued…..

I don't know, but one day the stars will align and it will happen! I'm hoping to be done by Thanksgiving!!!

Oh, wish you would have said something. We could have made arrangements to meet up later. We had a great time. We loved the ship! 😀 Thanks for jumping aboard once again! 😀

Hey Rich! It was a pleasure to meet and hang out with you guys on the Venezia. Please feel free to post your insights, experiences, and observations as the review progresses. Did you book the Spirit Hawaii cruise yet? 😀 I think you made a great choice! We are booked for a B2B on the Venezia again next year. 😎

Always a pleasure to have you along. It wouldn't be the same without you! 😀 Thanks for reading. Glad to have you aboard with us! 😎

Thanks for reading! Enjoy your cruise on the Horizon! 😎

Glad to have you aboard! Take notes! 😀 Wish we could have met on board. Let me know if you show up in any of Patti's pictures. 😀

Always glad to have you along for the ride! 😃 Thanks for jumping on board once again! The CC shirt had to be retired. 😀

First to the party. Welcome aboard! Don't know how much I'll have done before you go, but I'm positive you'll have a great time!

Boarding began a little after 10:30am. They called for Diamonds, Platinums, and Suites first. Here we are boarding the Carnival Venezia, our home for the next twenty one days….. We board onto Deck 3 and enter the Atrium, which on the Venezia is called Piazza San Marco….. Our first stop is the bar for our first drinks….. DJ Six is spinning the tunes in the Piazza San Marco….. Now that we’re aboard, here are today’s Fun Times….. To be continued……

Day # 1 – 9/23/23 - Embarkation Day!! It’s cruising day! We are up early to finish packing and load up the car for our ride into our homeport city of New York. The outer bands of Tropical Storm Ophelia have reached us and it is beginning to rain. Normally, we would park at the pier. Last year the cost was $42 / day, with a $400 cap, which would have been a bargain for parking for 21 days. This year, they raised the price to $45, with no cap, so it would cost us $945 to park. Not happening! Our son Ryan would be dropping us off and picking us up. Our plan is to leave at 8:30am for our sixty minute drive into the city. Ryan takes our standard departure picture……. Ryan is our chauffeur for today….. It’s not long before we are heading through the Lincoln tunnel into the city….. We arrived at Pier 88 at 9:40am, where the Carnival Venezia was waiting for us….. Bye Ryan! See you in three weeks!...... We enter the Manhattan Cruise Terminal…… Going through security and checking in was a breeze. We were seated in the Priority Area by 9:55am. Here is the embarkation photo backdrop, but the photographers haven’t arrived yet….. To be continued……

Ahoy, Cruise Critic family! My wife Patti and I have just returned from three weeks aboard the beautiful Carnival Venezia, from our homeport of New York City. These were B2B cruises, the first being a 6 day New England and Canada cruise to Portland, Saint John, and Halifax. The second cruise was a fifteen day Journeys cruise to Grand Turk, Aruba, Curacao, Barbados, St. Lucia, St. Maarten, and St. Thomas, along with seven sea days. There is quite a story on how we got to these cruises. We were originally booked on the Carnival Magic out of New York for B2B cruises, the first being an eight day cruise to the Caribbean, followed by a seven day cruise to Canada. We booked these cruises nearly two years out in order to get our favorite bowling alley balcony for both legs of the B2B. Then Carnival made the announcement that they were moving the Magic from New York to Norfolk, and replacing her with the Carnival Venezia. We were both excited and disappointed at the same time. Now, we have been involved with ship changes several times, and each time Carnival transferred already booked passengers to similar accommodations on the new ship BEFORE opening bookings to new passengers. This time, Carnival opened up new bookings before taking care of existing passengers, which had to cause a public relations nightmare for them. The cruise boards were flooded with complaints from existing passengers on how Carnival didn’t give them similar accommodations. There were many upset people. It took Carnival over three weeks to finally give us our new cabin assignments. Even our valued PVP couldn’t help us on this one. We were extremely unhappy. As I mentioned, we had been booked in a bowling alley balcony for both legs of our B2B. On the Venezia, it is a Terrazza Premium balcony, and it is more money. Carnival never had the courtesy to give us a call and at least offer it to us. It was sold out from under us almost immediately. We were assigned a different regular balcony cabin on each leg of the B2B. They weren’t even on the same decks, and both were connecting cabins! It was apparent that we were given the leftovers after three weeks of them taking new bookings. At this point we were going to cancel and look at NCL or Royal Caribbean for this fall’s cruises out of New York, but then we spotted the Venezia’s fifteen day Journeys cruise. We found a regular balcony cabin we liked, so we called our PVP to book it. He also went to bat for us and got our non-refundable deposits from the Magic cruises transferred to the Journeys cruise without penalty. It turns out that this fifteen day Journeys cruise was about a thousand dollars less than the cost of the fifteen day B2B that we had booked on the Magic, so now we were feeling a little better. The fifteen day Journeys cruise departed on a Friday and returned on a Saturday. We know how stressful it is getting into New York City on a weekday is, and should be avoided if possible. We saw that the six day cruise before the Journeys cruise departed on a Saturday so we booked it for a B2B. Now, we will depart and return on a Saturday, avoiding the weekday morning rush hours, and we get to go back to New England and Canada, which we both love. That’s a definite win-win! We weren’t able to book the same balcony cabin as we had on the Journeys cruise, so we booked an inside cabin around the corner, which will make for an easy move on turnaround day. So that’s how we wound up on the Carnival Venezia for twenty one days! This is going to be a very long review. Being that this was a new ship for us, we were going to cover it like a glove, with lots of detail. Patti took over six thousand pictures during our time aboard her. I brought along my laptop so that I could download her pictures daily, and crop and resize them as needed. But even so, I couldn’t keep up with the amount of pictures she was taking. As I am writing this, I have completed all of pictures of the first cruise, and the first five days of the second cruise, more than enough to get this party started. I will continue to work on them daily until I am finished. For those that are wondering, our go to camera is the Canon PowerShot XS740 HS, and our water, and back-up camera, is the Fuji FinePix XP60. Before we get started, let’s talk about the Carnival Venezia. Although she was built for Costa, she is a Vista Class ship. If you have been on the Vista, Horizon, or Panorama, you will know your way around. The major difference is the mid ship pool area on Lido Deck 10. It is boxed in just like the Splendor’s is, and has a retractable sliding glass dome. All the way aft on Promenade Deck 5 on the other Vista Class ships is the Havana Area and cabins. On the Venezia, this area is called the Terrazza Carnevale. The major difference is that there is no pool, and it is open to all passengers after 7pm. As far as the bars and restaurants go on this ship, many have the names you are familiar with, and many are under different names. As the review goes on, I will point out the ones you may not be familiar with, and correlate them to the establishments you do know. Okay, I think we’re ready to get started. Well almost. Two days before the cruise we get an email and a text from Carnival saying that because of Tropical Depression -16, which would later become Tropical Storm Ophelia, we are NOT to come to the Manhattan Cruise Terminal until a final decision on the cruise is made. Oh-oh! The next day we get another email and text from Carnival saying that our cruise is on, and to report to the Terminal at our regular appointment times. Apparently, the storm was moving northward slow enough that we can board and get out of dodge before the storm hits late Saturday into Sunday. Yay, we’re going cruising!!! To be continued…..

We're along for the ride! Enjoy your cruise with JinxyB! 😎

Wish we could! 😀

Hey CJ!!! You're going to have an awesome time! CC friends that we met that were on with us for 21 days, will be getting back on the 28th with you guys. We're soooooooo jealous!

You're off to a great start! Great ship, great itinerary, and the Havana is the cherry on top! 😎

There are 3 hooks by the cabin door, and one by the bathroom door. 😎

Yep, they stopped it almost two years ago. We had a Havana cabin on the Panorama in October 2021 and it was great to grab something quickly in the morning. It was discontinued shortly thereafter. 😎

You should have also gotten a letter for a free Steakhouse dinner for two. 😎

Unless you are Platinum or Diamond. 😎

I'll second the Alchemy Bar. 😎

On the Pride it's called the Piazza Cafe, located on Deck 2 forward. 😎

I was told it was a circuit breaker issue. Should be resolved shortly. 😎

Yes, there is Let it Ride on board. Saw the table, didn't take note of the limits. 😎