happycruiser220

On 4/6/2024 at 3:13 PM, tweety33 said:

I haven't been on the ship before, but in a video I watched a while ago, there was an area with tables, not congested with people, I'd have to look back to see deck # etc. but it was up above the lido deck, you can look down on the pool, I think there was also games on one side like ping pong etc, and lots of seats on the other side, some with tables. Just a thought.

Deck 11?

On 3/27/2024 at 6:42 AM, KaiBlue said:

We hope to be able to walk to the port as well.  It's about .8 of a mile so doable as long as it doesn't downpour!  We get free laundry as well and I'm going to take full advantage of it and hope to pack in just 2 carry-ons and 2 backpacks. We shall see. Shoes and toiletries are always the issue:(  I started laying out clothes last weekend so need to start the squishing process to see how much I can fit in!  We will see you at the Atrium bar on Tuesday!

Weather will be in the 70s Monday afternoon. 

On 3/15/2024 at 7:18 AM, jimbo5544 said:

Does that happen often?

Not as much as when you smoke angel dust

9 hours ago, SDPadreFan said:

You said San Juan is your departure port of choice. Carnival doesn't currently depart out of San Juan. Jimbo was merely pointing that out.

I never said San Juan is my departure port of choice. I said I like leaving out of San Juan. 

9 hours ago, jimbo5544 said:

Because they do not sail out of San Juan

I guess I was hallucinating when I left out of San Juan.

2 hours ago, jimbo5544 said:

Well if you like sailing on Carnival, then you have a def problem.

How you figure I have a problem? To each his own right? I paid for my cruise so why should it matter to you what line I choose to spend my money on? 🤦🏻‍♂️🤦🏻‍♂️

On 3/11/2024 at 9:12 PM, Mike45LC said:

I stopped cruising out of Ft Lauderdale and Miami because the ship was full of my grandparents and their neighbors (all retired New Yawkas).  They did NOT want to fly to San Jaun, so San Juan became my embarkation port of choice.  

I like leaving from San Juan. 

On 3/9/2024 at 2:06 PM, Crusin Karen said:

I’m from NE NJ so have a NY attitude too but I’m too shy to express it lol. I just fume inside and grit my teeth and I have eye rolls down to perfection. But if anyone bumped into me and spilled my $15 drink I would probably be pushed over the edge. And when the quiet ones are pushed over the edge-WATCH OUT! 🤬

Gotta hang out with me in the hood 😂😂

On 1/21/2024 at 3:59 AM, matymil said:

Ive had afew days to process our cruise on the Carnival Venezia and I wanted to give my honest thoughts of the whole experience. It seems like the Venezia and departure port of NYC are pretty polarizing amongst cruisers these days so just remember that this is my honest opinion of my experiences. We may not have the same opinion but it doesnt mean that either are wrong 🙂 Quick background; I was on the Venezia sailing leaving on 1/5/24 (HMC/Nassau/Freeport) out of NYC with my wife and 5 year old son. This is my 14th cruise, all with Carnival, 4th out of NYC and 1st on the Venezia.

 

The Good:

The ship: It is absolutely gorgeous. It looks nothing like any other Carnival but at the same time still seems very familiar because it is essentially a Vista ship. The attention to detail is nothing like any other ship in the fleet that's for sure. 

Nassau: I cant believe it but Nassau is actually a port worth getting off and exploring now. We had been to Nassau a bunch like most cruisers and like most cruisers we knew that unless you were doing an excursion, you really didn't need to get off the ship. After our excursion we came back and explored the new port area and honestly it is 1000% better. We didnt even get harassed after we left the gated port area. Its honestly like night and day.

The food: Did not have a bad meal on board. Everything from the MDR, lido, guys, etc was all great. La Strata was a great surprise. It takes the place of Guys BBQ on deck 5 outside. Very good quality all the way around (aside from the late-night snacks which basically the same on all ships)

MarQ: We sailed with him before, but it was back in 2016 when he was part of the Vista fun squad with Cookie, Nono and Matt Mitcham. You can see a blend of Cookie and Matt Mitcham with his energy and quick wit. Everyone in our group and everyone else we talked to all seemed to love him. He is easily our favorite Carnival CD now. 

 

The Bad: 

The staff: Another thing i can't believe because in all of our sailings we've always had awesome staff across the board with very few exceptions. Aside from the fun squad and our room steward it seemed like most of the staff did not want to be there. We never had the same MDR wait staff twice which was weird, i heard multiple people say that they think they may have been training? Some of the MDR staff seemed downright rude. I was used to long waits but afew of the nights our dinner took almost 2 hours which is tough with a 5 year old, plus our friends with us had an 18 month old. We talked to some of the staff and afew of them openly told us that they weren't happy. The casino pitboss openly told my friend "its the worst ship ive ever been on, my contract is done at the end of this cruise and im never coming back". The rest of the staff weren't necessarily rude but I always come off of a Carnival cruise with afew names of staff that I remember so I can praise them in the email survey. Aside from MarQ and afew fun squad members, I could not tell you one name of a staff member. This could very well be because of the clientele that deal with on a regular basis but either way it was the worst service weve ever had from Carnival by far. Not only did the other people in our group share the same opinion but others we talked to on the ship did as well. 

The layout: After we got settled in and we quickly started to realize that this ship was not designed for us. At first it was little things like there not being any laundry rooms (I was told its more custom for people to send away for laundry in Asian culture, which was the market this ship was meant for). Then we began to notice things like how crowded places like the MDR and lido seemed because of the design. Most lido decks have three tiers, this one has two but it also has a large stage that takes away several rows of deck chairs. Because its only two tiers, the screen is much lower. Not to mention that the second deck of the lido is very sectioned off (same with the MDR). You'll see lots of nice looking marble pillars but when youre trying to watch the screen, it makes it very hard to see and seating at a huge premium. The layout in the gym is also by far the worst I've ever seen. You can tell that the machines are European but if the weight area had more than one person in it, it felt crowded. I even went at off hours and it was still a mess. 

HMC: Got cancelled because of the rough seas. It is what it is but i can't wait for the pier to be built 🙂 

 

The NYC:

I'm probably going to offend NYC locals but my wife and I agreed that this is the last cruise we ever take out of NYC, no matter the time of year or the price. My last cruise out of NYC was last July and to say that was a disaster is an understatement. About a week after I got back from that cruise, Carnival announced the new curfew and cited the behavior of the kids on the Magic (sailing out of NYC) as being a main reason. 

First issue: we had was getting into the building. For some reason there was a delay getting us on board and we ended up having to wait outside in the cold, in a 5-block line for over an hour. 

Second issue: 30 seconds after boarding, we encountered our first (of many) extremely rude people. A lady who filming the atrium bumped into our 5-year-old son without saying anything and then proceeded to give my wife an instant attitude, which lead to a very heated argument. Granted my wife did not handle it the best but we had just got done waiting for almost 2 hours to get on board at this point and my wife gets very defensive when it comes to our son. Our friends saw the same woman later in the cruise with her arm in a sling so may she tried the wrong one🤷‍♂️

Third issue: The day that HMC got cancelled, we were up early so we decided to go to the back pool. We found 3 open lounge chairs next to three other chairs that had towels on them. We only took two chairs because my son did not need one. After about 20 mins he wanted to go to the splash pad so my wife took him and left her bag on the open chair. At this point, the open chair to my right was taken now. About another 25 mins past (45ish minutes after we took the chairs) and I hear this nasty lady yell "HEY!!!! YOU TOOK OUR CHAIRS!!!" I looked around, looked to my side and said "me?!?" She yelled back "YEAH!!!! We had 4 chairs saved and now we only have 3!" And this point a lady she was with starts chirping to. Side note; it was extremely windy and items weird blowing around the area including shirts, a flip-flop and.....(wait for it) the almost empty can of sunblock that the woman used to reserve the 4th chair for at least 45 mins. At no point did i move anything for any chair which I told the woman but that did not stop her from yelling so i responded by taking my bag, my other stuff and getting up. I said to her "You know what! Take both chairs because I dont want to sit next to someone like you anyway." I went off to the side, got dressed and texted my wife to not come back to the pool. As i walked back by the scene of the crime a group of people sitting on the other side stopped me and said "Hey! We saw the entire thing. You did nothing wrong. If you want, you can have one of our seats." To which i replied "Thank you but i have to meet with my wife and its not worth it" The lady heard and saw all of this so i really hope her made her feel fantastic. 

Final straw: Im gonna keep this one as brief as possible because it wasnt my kid in the center of this issue but this is the main reason we arent sailing NYC again because I dont want him around this behavior. I was taking my son to play mini golf when a group of about 15-20 kids came running towards us yelling about how they just beat some girl up. Me and my 5-year-old walked up on a lifeless girl, with her glasses on the ground, laying on the deck (about 13 years old ish) who wasn't responding to me. I ran and got security. When I got back to her, she was sitting up and crying. At this point security had said that they saw her messing around before and were basically blaming her which made her cry even harder but it wasnt my kid, wasnt my business and figured that it was under control. About 20 mins later im with my son in the arcade and the same group of kids come in and they start talking about how they are gonna beat up some other kid so i decide to go to guest services. While waiting i find out that i am standing behind the mother of the daugther who is talking to guest services. I take her off to the side and explain what i saw and give her my information if she needs someone to write a statement. At this point shes in tears and tells me that her daughter is autistic, and she has been getting bullied by these kids for the whole cruise. She told me that even her 9 year old was complaining about getting bullied. After that this is not an environment that i want my kid around. I know you get bad kids on every ship but I don't care what anyone says, there is a huge difference when it comes to sailing out of NYC.

Thats pretty about it. Thanks if you made it this far 🙂 

Being a NYer I sailed Magic 2x on an 8 and 7 day and had no issues.  Last year did the 15 days and no issues. I go again next month and November for 11 days I shouldn't expect an issue but if I do I'm quick witted and can give the NY attitude with no problem. Sorry about what you experienced. 

22 hours ago, olderfle said:

Are the secret areas always towards the front?

 

Yes they are

On 2/28/2024 at 6:50 PM, jedi bobs said:

I know that I can carry on 1 12 pack PP, but on a B2B can I carry on 2 per person?

 

In 2022 saw one passenger carrying 4 cases. 😜😜

On 2/3/2024 at 7:42 PM, CGinMTL said:

We are looking to book this cruise

I have been on Costa and carnival

Looking forward to feedback on this ship

Beautiful ship, decor, paintings. I love the ship. Has its "secret decks" on 5, 6 and 7. Then 9 and 10.

On 2/27/2024 at 1:32 PM, olderfle said:

Kelly from Montana is going! First time cruising solo so will be a new experience. Will fly by the seat of my pants . Excited to go out of New York.

It's ok I did solo on Venezia for 15 days. Loved it. Magic 2x in 2022. I'm booked for April and November on Venezia.  NY is my home port.

2 minutes ago, SnorkellinGal said:

And to see you again as well of course! 

I'll let ya know

5 hours ago, SnorkellinGal said:

lol - stubborn! I’m in no rush to go on one of the big-big ships - but let me know if you venture to a port beyond NYC. It’s the only way I’ll get another one of those mega-cookies 😉

My friends sailed on Mardi and Celebration. They thought it was too big for their liking. They definitely won't sail Icon. Bigger is not always better. IMO. Ahhhh the cookies 😜😜

27 minutes ago, SnorkellinGal said:

Are you ever going to venture to another port of departure? I don’t think I’ll sail on the Venezia again. I may do another Florida sailing in the future - hoping for an itinerary that includes celebration key and Key West. 

I will. Prefer NY for now. Don't want to deal with hassle of flying. My friends in FL have been harping on me about taking a cruise from FL with them. I'm like nahhh yall come up. Wish celebration or Mardi Gras can come to NY but it won't fit under the bridge. 

33 minutes ago, Destiny0315 said:

I am doing good and will probably be on the Venezia again in mid March. In April I have plans for hopping on the Horizon and Celebration down in Miami. I hope all is well with you and if I see you in a future roll call with me I will be sure to remind you to bring some of those great cookies again like you did back in Sept/Oct on the Venezia.

Glad to hear you're doing good brother. I'll be on Venezia April 15 then again November 4th. Both 11 days. Looking at a few cruises in 2025 too. I'll just miss ya. I'll make my way to Miami one day. All is well in my world, thankfully.  Definitely will bring those bad boys again. Made alot of people happy. 

On 11/24/2023 at 8:40 PM, Destiny0315 said:

Great to read that you will be back out cruising again soon Leona. OZ awaits your return! I have been on the Mardi Gras since we cruised on the Venezia in Oct and will be on the Sunshine out of Charleston in Dec. Enjoy those South Pacific sunsets.🙂 Rob

Hey Rob. Hope all is well with you.

On 11/27/2023 at 4:04 PM, JOHN 57 said:

just booked a cruise for Hawaii 9 Feb 25, on carnival Radiance

also going to

Dream 13 Jan 24

Jubilee 24 Aug 24

Radiance 9 Feb 25

Enjoy John. Tell Myriam I said hello. Miss yall.

On 11/4/2023 at 3:26 PM, SnorkellinGal said:

Don’t cry Jorgie- U can find me on Carnival Splendor Apr 1-11 and 11-21 out of Sydney, AUS. You shud book too. New Zealand first and then the Great Barrier Reef. 
 

- Leona

Already booked for April and November.  Have fun in Oz land.

On 12/27/2023 at 2:12 PM, Gillybob said:

Just booked this cruise.  Never sailed out of NYC before so looking forward to that.

If the weather is nice, you're in for a treat!

Hi all. Booked this cruise last night. Also booked for November 4.  Will there be any meet and greet? Traveling solo.

On 11/27/2023 at 2:37 AM, Zingy2 said:

We are booked on this cruise as well.  Second Leg of a B2B on the Venezia.  First time sailing on her and we will be cruising with two other couples on this leg.  Looking forward to it!

It's a beautiful ship. I did the 15 day cruise in October. 

9 minutes ago, Rahi said:

For two people we spend 3k plus for an aft balcony room.. I don't consider this cheap cruise for us. We could have purchased a cheap room.. I get that you can cruise for next to nothing on this cruise line.. but we don't go for that. I also get why there was so much rift raft on this ship vs RCL

I didn't see anything that you speak of on this ship, not even the riff raff and it was a 15 day sailing. I met some great folks on this cruise and I was a solo traveler. My only gripe as I stated before, was many of the ice machines were not working. 

On 9/21/2023 at 10:38 PM, SnorkellinGal said:

Looked it up - sounds like it will be available at the front of the main dining room where you go to be seated:

 

“allergies. Easily operated on touch-screen tablets at food venues, the Menu Mate food ingredient program is powered by award-winning CertiStar software to mitigate the risks of allergic reactions.”

 

should be quite helpful for anyone with food allowed or sensitivities.

Lost you after Curacao  😭😭