Fresh off the Venezia: The Good, The Bad, The NYC

[fair-winds39]

1 hour ago, ShortCruising said:

Wow! Thanks for this review. My husband and I were toying with the idea of cruising Carnival out of NYC. We live in the Midwest so it’s the only port within single-day driving distance. We’ve cruised out of Bayonne, NJ once on RCI and are going again this summer. We loved the entire experience—port, ship, and clientele. So interesting considering that the two ports are so close to one another.

 

We have 3 kids (12, 6 and 2) with the oldest being on the spectrum. We will definitely strike the CCL/NYC combo off our list. He wouldn’t know how to handle witnessing that behavior let alone, god forbid, being part of it. For now, he’s still afraid to stray out of eyesight to grab an ice cream. 

I do wonder if it’s just a result of an unfortunate mix of sailing, cruise line and clientele. Although I have seen many people complain about kids on CCL and I’ve never had those experiences. (Ok, one group of teens did loudly tease my husband about looking like Jesus, but he is one of those long haired freaky people…) Might also be that we have a sky-high tolerance for teenage nonsense as two high school teachers. A lot of mischief is another Tuesday for us except that we can ignore it on a ship (within reason)! Violent behavior is a whole other level of unacceptable though. I feel for the mother and the child. I know I wouldn’t have been able to get my child to leave the stateroom if he even just saw that happen. 

 

 

 

All I can say is there was another cruise ship next to Pier 88 debarking at the same time we were boarding Venezia and it was nothing short of chaos.There were plenty of luggage trolleys, but maybe 2 porters just grabbing luggage and putting it on the trolleys. I was crossing fingers in hopes that our luggage would make it onto the ship. Too much going on in a small area. Maybe it is different when there is only one ship in port.

 

Went on a girls trip out of Bayonne port last March, and it was a breeze, and what a completely different experience.

[matymil]

3 hours ago, pe4all said:

We went on Magic out of NYC June 2022.  It was my Diamond cruise, so I have definitely been on many CCL cruises. I always cruise with my special needs dd35-also Diamond.  NY is our home port and we definitely want to try again - but not when school is out - lol.  As a teacher  for 37 years I can now cruise when most kids are in school as I am retired and not hampered by having to book during school vacations.

I thought we wouldn't have to deal with kids because it's Jan 

[matymil]

9 minutes ago, fair-winds39 said:

All I can say is there was another cruise ship next to Pier 88 debarking at the same time we were boarding Venezia and it was nothing short of chaos.There were plenty of luggage trolleys, but maybe 2 porters just grabbing luggage and putting it on the trolleys. I was crossing fingers in hopes that our luggage would make it onto the ship. Too much going on in a small area. Maybe it is different when there is only one ship in port.

 

Went on a girls trip out of Bayonne port last March, and it was a breeze, and what a completely different experience.

When was this? When we boarded there was only the Venezia in port and it was still terrible 

[shof515]

10 minutes ago, fair-winds39 said:

Went on a girls trip out of Bayonne port last March, and it was a breeze, and what a completely different experience.

 

the great thing about Bayonne port is that only one cruise ship can dock at the terminal where as Manhattan cruise terminal can dock up to 4-5 ships at the same time. typically usually at Manhattan terminal one ship will dock at pier 88 and another ship at 90 to somewhat ease the crowds in the area

[Haljo1935]

Thanks @matymil for your insights and observations. We did B2B Venezia from NYC Sept 2023. Mostly liked the ship (did not like: smoke smell from casino all the way up to 7 mid-ship elevator, narrow hallways, small pool, lack of self laundry), noticed a few small maintenance issues (missing door plates, broken hinges in cabin) and found MDR service to be uniformly slow. 

The item for us that makes it a No Go is the port at debarkation - waiting in major rainstorm (not NYC fault, lol) for pre-paid airport shuttle that had not been ordered by the ship. Ugh...

We had a few rude or less than friendly people during the cruise, but no more so than any other cruise from any other port. We encountered some ill-mannered children, but no more than usual (but we try real hard not to go to Caribbean during school breaks & this itinerary was Canada)  and heard yelling a few times but did not see any fights or aftermath of any.

I'm sorry your son had to see what must have been a very confusing incident and applaud your efforts to help the girl & her mother and do the right thing.

JFK has some cool art, FWIW.

 

 

 

[ShortCruising]

15 minutes ago, fair-winds39 said:

All I can say is there was another cruise ship next to Pier 88 debarking at the same time we were boarding Venezia and it was nothing short of chaos.There were plenty of luggage trolleys, but maybe 2 porters just grabbing luggage and putting it on the trolleys. I was crossing fingers in hopes that our luggage would make it onto the ship. Too much going on in a small area. Maybe it is different when there is only one ship in port.

 

Went on a girls trip out of Bayonne port last March, and it was a breeze, and what a completely different experience.

Good to know. Just another reason for us to stick to Bayonne or cruise Carnival from other ports. Starting off with that sort of chaos while trying to manage my family would not be our definition of FUN. 

[edspec]

@ShortCruising Same here.  DS would be terrified if he saw violence up close.  He tries so very hard to do the right thing which means he assumes others will do the same.

[fair-winds39]

57 minutes ago, matymil said:

When was this? When we boarded there was only the Venezia in port and it was still terrible 

We boarded on the 14th of October (Sat.) and returned on 23rd (Mon.). Debarking on 23rd was terrible also. Getting our luggage, no problem. It was outside of the terminal that was unbelievable.

[matymil]

1 hour ago, edspec said:

@ShortCruising Same here.  DS would be terrified if he saw violence up close.  He tries so very hard to do the right thing which means he assumes others will do the same.

The mother told me that her daughter actually does Judo so she showed restraint in that situation. 

[LouChamp]

Aloha. Thank you for your honest review. We have been blessed to cruise since the 1970s and for me, you did not offend this NYer who was born and raised in Manhattan. While we continue to sail out of Manhattan, Brooklyn and New Jersey, I personally do not like the NY vibe. The piers, the people etc. Been there done that with a city bordering on Anarchy which is why we divide our time between NY and Honolulu.  If not for the kids, I would say bye to the apple. That said and enough of my soapbox I did enjoy your reports and wish you healthy and happy years of cruising!

[x lindsay x]

Wow this is tough to hear as I will be traveling with my 6 year old on that ship in the coming months. We are on an 11 night cruise so hopefully a longer cruise will mean a less crowded ship. I've sailed out of NYC 3 times before and have never had any issues with the passengers, though the last time was 2018. I have had issues with embarkation and disembarkation taking forever once but at this point I kind of come to expect that with such a small port. 

 

 @matymil - how was the kids club? We've got lots of sea days so I know my kid will be looking forward to spending a ton of time in the club. 

[Crusin Karen]

Two of the 50+ things I’d like to tell kids who cruise: NO RUNNING. They run all over. Thru hallway of lido marketplace with people carrying plates of food, etc. And  the elevators: wait for the pax who have arrived on their deck to get OFF before you stampede ON. 

[pe4all]

11 hours ago, matymil said:

I thought we wouldn't have to deal with kids because it's Jan 

I am always surprised at the number of kids onboard my January cruises.  Don't know if it is because they are being home-schooled, or if the parents just pull them out of school for a week.  As a retired teacher I kind of understand missing a day or two of school for the educational aspect of visiting places and learning about a culture different than ours - but to pull out for a week or more....🤷‍♀️  just mho.

[Crusin Karen]

13 minutes ago, pe4all said:

I am always surprised at the number of kids onboard my January cruises.  Don't know if it is because they are being home-schooled, or if the parents just pull them out of school for a week.  As a retired teacher I kind of understand missing a day or two of school for the educational aspect of visiting places and learning about a culture different than ours - but to pull out for a week or more....🤷‍♀️  just mho.

Agreed! I wonder if they are doing “virtual schoolwork” while on cruise. I was on this 8 day 1/6-1/14 cruise and was surprised how many kids there were. I booked 3/25-4/6 because I got a good deal and my cabin of choice was available. I now realize it’s over Easter and I assume spring break. From NY. It’s gonna be a circus! 😵‍💫

[MsTabbyKats]

1 hour ago, Crusin Karen said:

Agreed! I wonder if they are doing “virtual schoolwork” while on cruise. I was on this 8 day 1/6-1/14 cruise and was surprised how many kids there were. I booked 3/25-4/6 because I got a good deal and my cabin of choice was available. I now realize it’s over Easter and I assume spring break. From NY. It’s gonna be a circus! 😵‍💫

Just got off the Venezia an hour ago!  There were a lot of kids...I call them "the gifted kids" because they don't need school.  Parents probably sitting on a bar stool and the kids do their thing.  But I really didn't see any bad behavior.  Some were generally considerate and courteous.

 

Anyway...as a NYC native, I can tell you, very few people on this sailing were from NYC.  So those "bad apples" aren't from the Big Apple.  It's pretty easy for me tell who's from here....by accent and general appearance.

[EllieinNJ]

We are on Feb. 11 to 23.  It includes Superbowl, Valentine's Day and President's Day.  Expecting lots of kids but the price we paid was too good to pass up.

[elcuchio24]

The set up and terminal in Manhattan sucks for sure. Its within driving distance from us, so we have done a few out of there, but certainly not our first choice. I will say, we did a bermuda cruise last year and the passengers were all just fine and plesant.

 

You want some rude folks, try a Mediterranean cruise....

[elcuchio24]

3 hours ago, pe4all said:

I am always surprised at the number of kids onboard my January cruises.  Don't know if it is because they are being home-schooled, or if the parents just pull them out of school for a week.  As a retired teacher I kind of understand missing a day or two of school for the educational aspect of visiting places and learning about a culture different than ours - but to pull out for a week or more....🤷‍♀️  just mho.

 

We limit it to one week a year pulling them out of school for vacations, the rest we try to do over school breaks. I dont feel bad doing it with 6/9yo kids, especially for the 'education' they receive visiting new places and people. We did that for Europe this fall.

 

Given two years of 'remote' school imposed on us during Covid, not feeling bad pulling them out for a week...

[x lindsay x]

4 hours ago, Crusin Karen said:

Agreed! I wonder if they are doing “virtual schoolwork” while on cruise. I was on this 8 day 1/6-1/14 cruise and was surprised how many kids there were. I booked 3/25-4/6 because I got a good deal and my cabin of choice was available. I now realize it’s over Easter and I assume spring break. From NY. It’s gonna be a circus! 😵‍💫

 

Don't worry too much - spring break in NYC is much later in April, more aligning with Passover then Easter. I do know those dates align with the spring breaks of some of the districts in the suburbs around the city. 

 

[Crusin Karen]

1 hour ago, x lindsay x said:

 

Don't worry too much - spring break in NYC is much later in April, more aligning with Passover then Easter. I do know those dates align with the spring breaks of some of the districts in the suburbs around the city. 

 

Thanks. Not going to worry too much. I live across the GW Bridge in NJ so I’m used to “stuff” lol and I have 8 grandchildren under the age of 13 so I go with the flow!  I do a lot of 😵‍💫🫣😣🙄 on my cruises but living 20 minutes from the port makes up for a lot!!! 

[Travelling2Some]

3 hours ago, x lindsay x said:

 

Don't worry too much - spring break in NYC is much later in April, more aligning with Passover then Easter. I do know those dates align with the spring breaks of some of the districts in the suburbs around the city. 

 

Just as general info for NY, the week off will be the week after Easter if Passover falls  after Easter that year.  But if Passover is before Easter then the break will be the week before Easter.  The week you really should avoid sailing from NYC is Yeshiva week - usually the third week of January.  This week can have a lot of partial charters due to the need for Kosher food regulations to be observed.

[Crusin Karen]

2 hours ago, Travelling2Some said:

Just as general info for NY, the week off will be the week after Easter if Passover falls  after Easter that year.  But if Passover is before Easter then the break will be the week before Easter.  The week you really should avoid sailing from NYC is Yeshiva week - usually the third week of January.  This week can have a lot of partial charters due to the need for Kosher food regulations to be observed.

Interesting! Thanks for sharing that, Had no idea! 

[Saint Greg]

After cruising from Spain, Alaska, Seattle, California, Texas, New Orleans, Florida, and NYC, I really haven't noticed a huge difference in people's behavior. I'd say the biggest difference I've noticed is the sports teams they cheer for.

 

If I noticed anything different about New York, I'd say the night club was more packed there. Like to the point where you couldn't get inside it. Even on the last night when I would expect more people to go to bed earlier.

[MarkieMarkNYC]

I boarded the ship yesterday. We chose this cruise because we anticipated that there would be few children and so far we have seen some but not many. The crowd so far has been pretty mellow and quite friendly. Staff so far have been very nice and service in the main dining room last night was efficient. 
I’m a New Yorker so have been following this thread with interest. This sailing has a nice mix of cultures and a variety of people and it’s been very enjoyable. It doesn’t seem full. There are plenty of places to sit and read or just stare in that blissfully-catatonic way that is so nice on a cruise ship. 

[IntrepidFromDC]

First, thanks for sharing everything, especially about the gang of kids beating up the autistic girl.  That is heartbreaking and shocking, I've never seen anything like it on 27 Carnival cruises.  Also so sorry for your five-year-old's experiences.  I hope there were some good experiences (kid's club, etc.) to balance.

 

Second, I was on the Venezia inaugural sailing from Barcelona to Manhattan and I'll be on it again (third time) sailing out of Manhattan in three weeks.  I hope my experience is more like my first two, not like yours.  I agree the service wasn't as "fun" and "cheerful" as the "regular" Carnival fleet, but I still had a really good time both times.  And I always add two nights in Manhattan because I love NYC so much.  In fact I just started salivating thinking about the meals I have planned.  Anyway, I post this second point just for balance, Venezia apparently offers good and bad experiences.

 

Happy cruising!