Carnival Venezia maiden voyage live

[IntrepidFromDC]

Tomorrow I leave on a non-stop from IAD to CDG, the beginning of my second European cruise combined with training around Europe.

 

In September I cruised on The Carnival Pride, then enjoyed training around Italy - Rome, Pisa, Cinque Terre, Parma, Bologna and Venice.  It was a wonderful trip and I realized I wanted to do more travel like this, mixing cruise with Europe train-travel.

 

May 29 I will be on the Carnival Venezia's maiden voyage, a TA from Barcelona to Manhattan, then I'll spend two nights in Manhattan before taking the 3-hour train trip from NYC's Penn Station to DC's Union Station, then the red line Metro (subway) home.  The cruise will visit the following ports after embarkation in Barcelona: Malaga, Girbraltar, Lisbon, Azores and Halifax.  I'm really excited because I haven't been to any of those places.

 

All this will follow 19 days training around France, Monaco and Spain.  I'll spend two or three days in each of the following: Paris, Dijon, Lyon, Avignon, Arles, Nice, Beziers, Carcassonne (largest intact medieval walled city).  I'll visit Monte Carlo, St. Paul de Vence and Narbonne on day trips.  I've been to Paris three times - all the other places will be new.

 

I'll post about every day and have some great excursions planned.  Typically when I visit a city for the first time, my first activity is the HOHO bus to get a quick immersion and further decide where I want to spend more time.  For towns that are too small to have a HOHO bus I usually start with a walking tour promising a good overview.

 

I am a foodie and have reservations at quite a few fine dining restaurants and I'll be sure to post lots of pics of food.  One example is a Michelin restaurant in Beziers (owner/chef has two Michelin starred restaurants) featuring closed-loop dining.  They grow their own vegetables and fish farm, the fish farm irrigates and fertilizes the vegetables...  Our concept - THE ALTER NATIVE - Gilles GOUJON (lalternativegoujon.fr).

 

I'm also looking forward to Arles, France where they have a perfectly intact Roman colosseum that is still used for man vs. beast battles to the death, as the Romans did.  As far as finding hidden gems, the beautiful medieval architecture of St. Paul de Vence with its' view of the Mediterranean is the one I'm looking forward to the most.

 

I'll begin the LIVE with the 19-day training around part of the trip and continue throughout the May 29 - June13 TA cruise on Carnival Venezia's maiden voyage.

 

Looking forward to sharing pics and learnings, receiving comments and questions, and ridiculousness is always welcome.

 

Pics: Arles, St. Paul de Vence, Carcassonne...

 

 

 

[phoneman69]

Well Enjoy your training trip. Sounds like some Very Exciting locations. I am Very interested in the back half of your trip as i have 2 cabins on the Carnival Venezia's June 19th 8 day sailing. So looking forward to hearing and seeing about the ship and remodel. May 29th is circled on my calendar as the day boarding starts in Europe then June 3rd for my check in. Look forward to all your post and activities.   

[Jamman54]

Wow! This will be another great adventure for you. We will be following along, and especially anxious to see what the Venezia has to offer. We will be on her for 21 days starting September 23rd. Have a safe journey across the pond! 

[MizMoon]

Wow - sounds wonderful - think I'll follow along!  

[fair-winds39]

Wow, quite a journey indeed. We will be sure to follow along. We will be on Venezia this October.

[MizMoon]

fair-winds-39 ---- Love your name - my 2nd cruise was on SITMAR Fairwind in 1975 from FL to St Thomas, Nassau and San Juan (1st one was it's twin FAIRSEA in 1974 to PV, MZT and point out Cabo).  Those were the days!   Yes - Intrepid is set for an adventure.   

[fair-winds39]

51 minutes ago, MizMoon said:

fair-winds-39 ---- Love your name - my 2nd cruise was on SITMAR Fairwind in 1975 from FL to St Thomas, Nassau and San Juan (1st one was it's twin FAIRSEA in 1974 to PV, MZT and point out Cabo).  Those were the days!   Yes - Intrepid is set for an adventure.   

Thanks MizMoon. I worked with a retired Navy officer who worked as a civilian at my workplace. He would often sign his correspondence with wishes for “Fair winds and following seas.”

[kona_wahine]

Look forward to your report and especially pictures of the ship. 

[IntrepidFromDC]

4 minutes ago, kona_wahine said:

Look forward to your report and especially pictures of the ship. 

I will post BOATLOADS of pics of the ship.  Realizing that this is a departure in more ways than one (no whale's tail!), I am anxious and excited to experience and share pics.  I really wonder about the staff - are they trained in the Carnival "fun" style?  Or do they get different training.

[d-lite-n-cruisin]

Awesome trip!  I'll be following along as we are sharing 15 of the 21 days @Jamman54 will be on here.  Your trip sounds epic!

[carsastic]

Outstanding, planing a long weekend in Paris soon , b4 doing and Italian tour … very interested , Grazie

[TxTeach79]

Heck yeah! Sounds like an amazing trip! Clicked the follow button so incredibly hard!

 

I was almost on this sailing! Had nerves about my Pride 5/28 sailing being the first one out of drydock and almost switched over, but @HelloItsMeB isn't really a big TA fan, so that will have to wait - we rode it out and stuck with it, but we'll be sailing from Barcelona the day before ya! Have an incredible time!

[IntrepidFromDC]

32 minutes ago, TxTeach79 said:

Heck yeah! Sounds like an amazing trip! Clicked the follow button so incredibly hard!

 

I was almost on this sailing! Had nerves about my Pride 5/28 sailing being the first one out of drydock and almost switched over, but @HelloItsMeB isn't really a big TA fan, so that will have to wait - we rode it out and stuck with it, but we'll be sailing from Barcelona the day before ya! Have an incredible time!

I've been thinking about the Titanic myself, and notice the similarity between the Venezia smokestack and the Titanic multiple smokestacks... enough about that!  If you're in Barcelona the evening of 5/27 and want to meet for a couple drinks, it would be great to shake your hand and share a "Go Cowboys!"

[TxTeach79]

4 minutes ago, IntrepidFromDC said:

I've been thinking about the Titanic myself, and notice the similarity between the Venezia smokestack and the Titanic multiple smokestacks... enough about that!  If you're in Barcelona the evening of 5/27 and want to meet for a couple drinks, it would be great to shake your hand and share a "Go Cowboys!"

 

Where did you decide to stay in Barcelona?? Also, speaking of Titanic, a few years back my folks did a TA on Grand Princess in April on the anniversary week of the sinking, and the captain stopped the ship over the wreck site, they had a big ceremony, and there was a Titanic expert onboard doing lectures, sounded very cool (if not a little weird)

[maxandmolly]

Looks like a fantastic trip!  Can’t wait to follow along. 

[IntrepidFromDC]

25 minutes ago, TxTeach79 said:

 

Where did you decide to stay in Barcelona?? Also, speaking of Titanic, a few years back my folks did a TA on Grand Princess in April on the anniversary week of the sinking, and the captain stopped the ship over the wreck site, they had a big ceremony, and there was a Titanic expert onboard doing lectures, sounded very cool (if not a little weird)

[pe4all]

Following!  All those places, and a TA cruise to boot!

Edited May 10, 2023 by pe4all

[LouChamp]

Aloha. Thank you for taking the time to keep us posted. As always please post food pictures if you would and can. Have been blessed to sail on Costa and visited many of your beautiful places on your itinerary but always enjoy them over and over. Have a safe journey!

[sammee]

Thanks for doing this. I don't get to sail her until November, but will be following your journey.

[nanamobo]

Can’t wait till you start posting your trip. Enjoy your time. We will be on her July 13 with our immediate family celebrating our 50th anniversary!,

[hard_eight]

Sounds like a great trip! Thanks for taking us with ya!

[TravelBluebird]

I’ll be on the trip with you!!  Hope to meet you on board.

 

Also doing a LIVE! here plus coverage on my YouTube channel.

 

I will start my LIVE! About 5 days before the cruise; we’ll spend some time in Barcelona.

 

I look forward to following your LIVE! As well!

[mz-s]

19 hours ago, IntrepidFromDC said:

I will post BOATLOADS of pics of the ship.  Realizing that this is a departure in more ways than one (no whale's tail!), I am anxious and excited to experience and share pics.  I really wonder about the staff - are they trained in the Carnival "fun" style?  Or do they get different training.

 

Interesting question - I just assumed the ship would be crewed by Carnival crew...is that not the case?

[staceyglow]

53 minutes ago, mz-s said:

 

Interesting question - I just assumed the ship would be crewed by Carnival crew...is that not the case?

Makes sense to me that they would staff it with Carnival people.  It's not like the old crew from Costa is hanging around in the dry dock area waiting for them to finish the conversion so they can get back on.

 

I know that the cruise director is a Carnival person. 

[IntrepidFromDC]

1 hour ago, mz-s said:

 

Interesting question - I just assumed the ship would be crewed by Carnival crew...is that not the case?

It's my understanding this is a "different product" so the training may be more geared to fun Italian style than FUN we're used to.  I'll find out in 19 days. Until then,  we're boarding for Paris!