Past Firenze cruisers

[JGB]

Curious what time, ballpark, does Firenze actually start boarding?

I am on a June cruise and available check in starts at 10am I know that’s way early in terms of actual boarding 

[weezal]

11am, if it’s on time

[spencercoop]

Two weeks ago it was around 11:15am.

[lasvegascruising]

I was on the May 16 cruise.  We arrived at the parking dome around 8:30 am.  We had the 10-10:30 am slot, were let in the dome at 9:30 am sharp, had A03 boarding group and after diamond, platinum, etc., A01-A03 were called at 11:15 am.  

[Moz]

4 hours ago, weezal said:

11am, if it’s on time

Does the ship usually arrive on time and does it ever come in earlier than the listed time,  

[weezal]

6 minutes ago, Moz said:

Does the ship usually arrive on time and does it ever come in earlier than the listed time,  

it's a new ship and route, but i would assume it's typically on time (in carnival's best interest, to stay on schedule). on my sailing early may, it was late 2 hours (forgivable, since it was 2nd sailing)

[spencercoop]

27 minutes ago, Moz said:

Does the ship usually arrive on time and does it ever come in earlier than the listed time,  

 

It docked around 7am on May 16th.

[Moz]

15 minutes ago, spencercoop said:

 

It docked around 7am on May 16th.

Our cruise is a 7day and is scheduled for 9am,  Does anyone have information about that?

[Linsuesue]

   Our Firenze cruise in September had the return time to Long Beach bumped from 8:00 am to 9:00 am. What time are they actually letting people off the ship, if they are arriving at 9:00 am? Meanwhile, our flight out of Long Beach was also moved to one hour earlier. I just need to figure out when we can get off the ship so we can change our flights.

[spencercoop]

52 minutes ago, Moz said:

Our cruise is a 7day and is scheduled for 9am,  Does anyone have information about that?

 

30 minutes ago, Linsuesue said:

   Our Firenze cruise in September had the return time to Long Beach bumped from 8:00 am to 9:00 am. What time are they actually letting people off the ship, if they are arriving at 9:00 am? Meanwhile, our flight out of Long Beach was also moved to one hour earlier. I just need to figure out when we can get off the ship so we can change our flights.

Since it's the same cruise the Panorama does, maybe someone who has been on the Panorama recently can chime in?

[Linsuesue]

5 minutes ago, spencercoop said:

 

Since it's the same cruise the Panorama does, maybe someone who has been on the Panorama recently can chime in?

This is my 17th cruise but the first time that the arrival time has ever changed. 

[Moz]

5 minutes ago, spencercoop said:

37 minutes ago, Linsuesue said:

   Our Firenze cruise in September had the return time to Long Beach bumped from 8:00 am to 9:00 am. What time are they actually letting people off the ship, if they are arriving at 9:00 am? Meanwhile, our flight out of Long Beach was also moved to one hour earlier. I just need to figure out when we can get off the ship so we can change our flights.

 

We cruise in October but we have to leave for our flight from LAX so really wondering if the ship ever gets in early,

[Linsuesue]

1 minute ago, Moz said:

We cruise in October but we have to leave for our flight from LAX so really wondering if the ship ever gets in early,

 We are hoping it does!

[staceyglow]

34 minutes ago, Linsuesue said:

   Our Firenze cruise in September had the return time to Long Beach bumped from 8:00 am to 9:00 am. What time are they actually letting people off the ship, if they are arriving at 9:00 am? Meanwhile, our flight out of Long Beach was also moved to one hour earlier. I just need to figure out when we can get off the ship so we can change our flights.

The time people get off the ship can vary.  I have been on cruises out of Long Beach that got back to the port later than scheduled because of rough seas.  I would not book my return flight based on the hope that you can get off earlier than the posted arrival time.

 

[Linsuesue]

51 minutes ago, staceyglow said:

The time people get off the ship can vary.  I have been on cruises out of Long Beach that got back to the port later than scheduled because of rough seas.  I would not book my return flight based on the hope that you can get off earlier than the posted arrival time.

 

Yes, but is the arrival time the time the ship gets to the port or the time they start letting people off the ship?

[tonit964]

3 hours ago, spencercoop said:

 

Since it's the same cruise the Panorama does, maybe someone who has been on the Panorama recently can chime in?

I was on the Panorama last October, the itinerary showed a return time of 9am, we were pulling into port at 7:09am. I’m on the Firenze at the end of August and got the email about the time change from 8 to 9am. I don’t know why. 
 

I’ve done this itinerary a couple dozen of times and always arrived early as in like 6 or 7am. 

[jsglow]

The challenge on the 7 night Mexican Riviera itinerary is that it's fully 936 nautical miles between Cabo and Long Beach. Carnival tries to do that in roughly 42 hours. To achieve that they need to average approximately 21-22 knots; basically top speed the entire way. In ideal conditions they can make it in early. But nobody should count on that. My guess is that the revamped 9a arrival time more closely matches their historical result. And from their perspective, they would rather under promise and over deliver. Things only becomes a problem when she arrives late as folks have to change early flight plans. We sailed Panorama last year when we didn't even dock until after 11a. We're Diamond and were among the first 100 or so disembarking and it was darn close to noon if I recall correctly.

 

@Linsuesue, that's the time she supposedly arrives at the port. Disembarkation begins thereafter after she clears Customs. Maybe 30 ish minutes?

 

Bottom line. Don't push your luck with a 'too early' flight. Just don't.  

Edited June 3 by jsglow

[jsglow]

I want to add one additional thought. Firenze is most typically assigned to the 5/5/4 itineraries. Those typically spend their last day of the cruise at Ensenada. From there it's an easy overnight back to Long Beach. She's filling in for Panorama when she takes up the 7 day route. It's the route that makes early arrival challenging; NOT the ship. So if you're on a 7 nighter you can ignore any anecdotal port arrival information concerning other (easier) itineraries.

[BABAZ]

If it is coming from Cabo, as others have said it will probably be late. 

 

Where is the ship arriving from the day before your sailing?

[pc_load_letter]

Was on the week after the inagural, week of May 6th, and we got on fairly quickly. I think it was a little after 11am.

 

[n6uqqq]

Does anyone know what is on deck 11 in place of Cucina del Capitano and Jijis like on the Panorama? The deck plans just show a grey area with nothing listed.

[n6uqqq]

On 6/3/2024 at 9:17 AM, jsglow said:

I want to add one additional thought. Firenze is most typically assigned to the 5/5/4 itineraries. Those typically spend their last day of the cruise at Ensenada. From there it's an easy overnight back to Long Beach. She's filling in for Panorama when she takes up the 7 day route. It's the route that makes early arrival challenging; NOT the ship. So if you're on a 7 nighter you can ignore any anecdotal port arrival information concerning other (easier) itineraries.

Seems like Carnival has had more trouble with arrivals since they switched to Cabo being the last stop instead of first. I won't book 7 day cruises this way, leaving Cabo at 2:30 PM is lame imho! When PV is the last stop they have 2 full sea days to get back.

[pc_load_letter]

Whoops, double post.

Edited June 17 by pc_load_letter

[n6uqqq]

Just now, pc_load_letter said:

We were on it in May the week after the inaugural.

 

We got on around 11:30 with boarding starting around 11am.

 

 

Did you like the Firenze? It looks really nice on the YouTube ship tours I have seen.

[pc_load_letter]

22 minutes ago, n6uqqq said:

Did you like the Firenze? It looks really nice on the YouTube ship tours I have seen.

 

It has pro's and con's. The deal breaker for me and why we will probably NOT sale on it again is for the following reasons....

 

1. The retractable roof is dumb. For just about the entire cruise it was closed making the main pool area very warm to the point of being miserable. The side areas (on 11) have nice seating but it's entirely closed in and there is zero air circulation. (Staff kept saying it was too windy to open roof up.

2. This ship should not have been assigned to CA. Small pool area pushes everyone to the back (aft)

3. The aft, while similar to Pano....Carnival now views it as necessary to have DJ music out there. The speakers are about a foot above your head and WAAAAAYYYY too loud to be enjoyable. You can't even hold a conversation.

4. Bars way to crowded.

5. Carnival clientele. Speakers on pool deck, the group next to us smoking weed on balcony.

6. Tried Serenity and while it's nice, there is NO breeze and hardly any shade. Got very hot even at sea. Worse during port.

 

 

On the positive...

 

1. Great that the chicken place is open for bfast and lunch.

2. We thought the buffet was good. MDR was excellent.

3. Service, excellent.

4. Il Vaggio excellent.

5. Good new bars

 

Since we are in San Diego, we really just cruise out of LB for quick getaways about once a month. We generally like Radiance. Since we cruise this itinerary so much, we always stay on the ship at port. We just want to relax. Turing the aft pool area into the new lido party area was frustrating for us. And the main pool area was a joke of heat, not many chairs and no breeze.

 

If you're the type that likes to chill in your room or inside doing activities, you will probably be fine.

Edited June 17 by pc_load_letter