Our Carnival Venezia B2B - 21 days of "Fun Italian Style" (with pics) - 9/23/23

Jamman54 · October 23, 2023

1 hour ago, MistyRo76 said:

A friend of mine was on another cruise line going to New England/Canada and was impacted by Ophelia. They skipped port calls in Halifax and Bar Harbor and made it to St. John. Then spent three days sitting out in the harbor in NY waiting for the weather to clear enough to dock. They made the best of it, but crazy trip! Hope Ophelia was kinder to you and Patty!

We were able to sail and get out of dodge before Ophelia actually hit, just had to deal with some rain for two days. As we sailed out of New York we passed the Norwegian Escape anchored in New York harbor waiting out the storm. 😎

Jamman54 · October 23, 2023

1 hour ago, jennas_mum said:

How many football games were shown today? We get on as you are getting off and my husband is also a big football fan.

Enjoying your review!

Thanks for reading. We got off the ship on the 14th so this is not a live review. They showed three games on the big screen on Sundays plus the Monday and Thursday night games. Same for the Heroes Bar. 😎

pirate4me2 · October 23, 2023

Alright Jeff, you talked me into it by praising Venezia so much....I pulled the trigger and booked the Journeys cruise on her in 2026. 3 new ports for me and Chris, so I am pretty excited!! I will miss the Havana area, but I think the funky looking balcony cabin I booked will make do. 🙂

Jeafl · October 23, 2023

On 10/20/2023 at 2:28 PM, Jamman54 said:

It’s time for food porn. The Foccacia bread was to die for…..

For our starters, Patti had the Suppli’al Telefono, and I had the Panzarotti. The both of us also had the Insalata Caesar salad, which is not shown…..

For our mains, Patti had the Sea Bass, and I had the Chicken Scarpariello…..

For our desserts, Patti had the Mile-High Gelato Pie, and I had the Cannoli Siciliani Di Ricotta…..

They also gave us an additional complimentary dessert…..

Everyone gets a complimentary Limoncello shot…..

To be continued…..

How were the cannoli?

Jamman54 · October 23, 2023

1 hour ago, pirate4me2 said:

Alright Jeff, you talked me into it by praising Venezia so much....I pulled the trigger and booked the Journeys cruise on her in 2026. 3 new ports for me and Chris, so I am pretty excited!! I will miss the Havana area, but I think the funky looking balcony cabin I booked will make do. 🙂

I think you will enjoy the Venezia. It's the same but different. 😁 Journeys cruises are always a lot of fun. We enjoyed the Venezia so much that we dumped our Greenland cruise next September and booked another B2B on her. 😎

Jamman54 · October 23, 2023

4 minutes ago, Jeafl said:

How were the cannoli?

Very good, in fact the whole meal was very good! 😀

ProgRockCruiser · October 23, 2023

On 10/18/2023 at 9:36 PM, ProgRockCruiser said:

So what's up with the giant mushroom planters in the river,

On 10/19/2023 at 6:12 PM, Jamman54 said:

We thought they looked more like golf tees!

I'm not much of a golfer, so maybe what I thought they resembled says something about me more than anything else... 😵

ProgRockCruiser · October 23, 2023

On 10/21/2023 at 3:09 PM, Jamman54 said:

We were up at 7am, and when we turned on the Bow Camera, we could see that we were already docked in Portland. It’s partly cloudy outside and the temps will be in the high 50’s to low 60’s. That’s the Norwegian Sky in front of us…..

I read this half-paying attention. I thought it odd that you'd somehow sailed all the way to Oregon from NYC, and that you were also able to see the clouds and blue sky of Norway from there.

Note to self: finish your coffee!

pirate4me2 · October 23, 2023

44 minutes ago, Jamman54 said:

I think you will enjoy the Venezia. It's the same but different. 😁 Journeys cruises are always a lot of fun. We enjoyed the Venezia so much that we dumped our Greenland cruise next September and booked another B2B on her. 😎

Ah just admit it, you were no longer interested in the Greenland cruise since I wasn't going to be onboard! 😂

OK, no more off topic for your thread....I will sit back and enjoy the rest of the show quietly (maybe!).

ramref · October 23, 2023

Hey Jeff,

It’s finally official. We are booked for the Hawaii cruise on the Spirit!

d-lite-n-cruisin · October 23, 2023

20 minutes ago, ramref said:

Hey Jeff,

It’s finally official. We are booked for the Hawaii cruise on the Spirit!

Very nice! We are on the Spirit on 10/9 from Seattle to New Orleans on the Journey Repo through Panama Canal.

fair-winds39 · October 23, 2023

On 10/16/2023 at 7:51 PM, Jamman54 said:

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…..

Just home today from eight days on the Carnival Venezia. Really looking forward to reading your thoughts on your own Venezia journey.

Jamman54 · October 23, 2023

1 hour ago, ramref said:

Hey Jeff,

It’s finally official. We are booked for the Hawaii cruise on the Spirit!

That's Great!!! In one year and eleven months we'll be boarding the Spirit in Seattle!

Jamman54 · October 23, 2023

50 minutes ago, fair-winds39 said:

Just home today from eight days on the Carnival Venezia. Really looking forward to reading your thoughts on your own Venezia journey.

Welcome home! Hope you enjoyed your cruise.

Jamman54 · October 23, 2023

Continuing with our day in Portland. We hung out in the cabin until it was almost time for sail away at 5pm. The outside temperature had dropped to about 50 degrees as the sun began to drop, so no way was Patti going outside. She handed me the camera and sent me on my way. I made my way up to Deck 12 aft. The first thing I saw was a whole bunch of little sailboats scurrying around the harbor…..

A nice looking yacht was tied up nearby…..

Over there you can see the Maine Narrow Gauge Railway…..

I check out the Sports Court and the exercise equipment back here…..

I’m looking down on the Burano pool from Deck 12…..

There are actually people in the hot tubs!

To be continued…..

Jamman54 · October 23, 2023

I’m looking over at the smoking section on Deck 11 aft on the starboard side…..

We will be sailing out this way….

With the zoom on Patti’s camera you can see the Portland Head Light in the distance…..

Captain Crescenzo makes the announcement that we will be delayed sailing because one Carnival Shore Excursion had not yet returned. Great. I can feel it getting colder by the minute. Here are some late afternoon port views…..

A constant stream of ferries and tour boats sail by…..

The Pilot Boat is heading out. That’s a good sign…..

To be continued……

Jamman54 · October 23, 2023

The Norwegian Sky sails from Portland…..

To be continued…..

Jamman54 · October 23, 2023

The delayed shore excursion has made it back on board, so the Venezia pushes away from the pier…..

Captain Crescenzo spins the Venezia around to point her out to sea…..

We are leaving Portland behind…..

To be continued…..

Jamman54 · October 23, 2023

The Venezia heads out in to Casco Bay. I start out on the port side of the ship, and the first thing we pass is Fort Gorges…..

Here is a little history. Fort Gorges is a former United States military fort built on Hog Island Ledge in Casco Bay, Maine. Built from 1858 to 1864, no battles were fought there and no troops were stationed there. Advancing military technology, including iron clad ships and long range guns, made the fort obsolete before it could be used. The fort is now a park, accessible only by boat. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1973. Source = Wikipedia.

We are passing Little Diamond Island. You need to take a ferry to get out here…..

We are now cruising past House Island and another fort. This is Fort Scammel and here is some history. House Island is a private island in Portland Harbor in Casco Bay, Maine, United States. It is part of the City of Portland. The island is only accessible by boat. Public access is prohibited, except for an on request tour sanctioned by the island's owners. House Island includes three buildings on the east side and Fort Scammell on the west side. The buildings are used as summer residences. The island's name derives from the site of an early European house, believed that built by Capt. Christopher Levett, an English explorer of the region. On June 21, 2012, the Wall Street Journal reported the island for sale for $4.9m. Source = Wikipedia.

To be continued……

Jamman54 · October 23, 2023

I then moved over to the starboard side of the ship to take in the views along the rocky coastline…..

The sun is setting over Portland…..

To be continued……

ober134 · October 23, 2023

Just found your review. Looks like a beautiful ship. I think I need to find a sailing on it! Will be following along now to the end. Great pics btw.

Jamman54 · October 23, 2023

We are approaching the Portland Head Light…..

Here’s some history on the Portland Head Light. The Portland Head Light is a historic lighthouse in Cape Elizabeth, Maine. The light station sits on a head of land at the entrance of the primary shipping channel into Portland Harbor, which is within Casco Bay in the Gulf of Maine. Completed in 1791, it is the oldest lighthouse in the state of Maine. The light station is automated, and the tower, beacon, and foghorn are maintained by the United States Coast Guard, while the former lighthouse keepers' house is a maritime museum within Fort Williams Park.

Construction began in 1787 at the directive of George Washington, and was completed on January 10, 1791 using a fund of 1,500 dollars established by him. Whale oil lamps were originally used for illumination. In 1855, following formation of the Lighthouse Board, a fourth-order Fresnel lens was installed; that lens was replaced by a second-order Fresnel lens, which was replaced later by an aero beacon in 1958. That lens was updated with an DCB-224 aero beacon in 1991. Source = Wikipedia.

We are now out to sea…..

I went back to the cabin to ask Patti what we wanted to do for dinner. We weren’t really that hungry, so we went up to the Lido Marketplace. Patti made herself a salad, and I grabbed a pepperoni pizza…..

Patti grabbed herself a yogurt, then went back to the cabin to watch a movie. I went to the Limelight Lounge to see Valerie Storm’s (18+) Comedy show. She was very good……

Afterwards, I went to the Lobby Bar for a couple of double Bacardi and Pepsi’s. Regie was playing her guitar for us…..

Afterwards, I made my way back to the cabin for the night.

Coming up next: Our day in Saint John. Axes and beer anyone?

Destiny0315 · October 23, 2023

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I prefer the yachts with their own choppers onboard! 😉

This one was in Freeport in May of '22. Enjoying your review, photos and history lessons. 🙂

Jamman54 · October 23, 2023

4 minutes ago, Destiny0315 said:

I prefer the yachts with their own choppers onboard! 😉

This one was in Freeport in May of '22. Enjoying your review, photos and history lessons. 🙂

Me too! Sorry we didn't get to meet on board.

fair-winds39 · October 23, 2023

On 10/17/2023 at 8:08 PM, Jamman54 said:

Patti collects me at the Burano Pool Bar and we head back to our cabin which is now ready……

The bathroom has a glass shower door…..

There is only one closet to hang clothes. The safe is the keypad type…..

This is the provided hair dryer…..

This refrigerator actually kept beverages cold……

There are three hanging hooks by the cabin door, and another hook by the bathroom door….

This is Blessing our cabin steward, and he really was a blessing! We requested morning service, an ice bucket with ice, and an extra set of towels. There was no problem with any of our requests, and he was a HUGE help on turnaround day with our move to our new cabin. I would take him any day!

To be continued…..