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

[Cherries Jubilee]

34 minutes ago, Jamman54 said:

Have a great cruise! 😎

Thank you! I won’t have internet onboard but I look forward to reading more of your review when I get home!

[Princess Cruiser27]

Another great read Jeff. I had lunch at the restaurant called Bicycle Thief. A former crew member from Princess works there as a Waiter, so I was there for about a hour and half for lunch.In your photo of the photo, the restaurant was packed the day I was there. Great food and drinks. I do recommend the Bicycle Thief restaurant. 

[ZoeyVictoria]

14 hours ago, Jamman54 said:

 

Thanks for reading and for sharing your opinions with us. We agree that the MDR experience left a lot to be desired, and we'll touch on that in the next segment. As a result, we only ate in the dining room once during our twenty one days on the ship. Not a big deal to us as we don't need to eat big, long meals every night. We're fine with the pay venues and the Lido Marketplace. Since the start up after Covid, we feel that the MDR experience hasn't been very good fleetwide, certainly not on the twelve ships we've been on since then, so we hardly eat there anymore. That's our choice, and we're okay with it. 

We are just behind you in making that decision.  We had one MDR experience on the Celebration (formal night) and would not go back. There are so many more choices on the Celebration, but on most ships we are torn because we do enjoy being served and because time spent in the MDR is way cheaper than time spent in the casino, which is where we go between dinners and shows. We might be just one really awful MDR meal from refusing to ever go back. 

[Cherries Jubilee]

Did you drop your luggage off downstairs or upstairs?

[Jamman54]

22 minutes ago, Cherries Jubilee said:

Did you drop your luggage off downstairs or upstairs?

Second Level.

[Jamman54]

1 hour ago, ZoeyVictoria said:

We are just behind you in making that decision.  We had one MDR experience on the Celebration (formal night) and would not go back. There are so many more choices on the Celebration, but on most ships we are torn because we do enjoy being served and because time spent in the MDR is way cheaper than time spent in the casino, which is where we go between dinners and shows. We might be just one really awful MDR meal from refusing to ever go back. 

I can understand. We have spent 21 days on Excel Ships and have eaten in the MDR one time, and it wasn't that bad. After so many cruises we can skip the MDR and not bat an eye. When we cruise our focus is not on the MDR, so it's not a big deal if we don't go. I completely understand that for some that is the focus, and understand the disappointment many feel. You have to do what's best for you. 

[Jamman54]

Day # 6  -  9/28/23  -  Fun Day at Sea #2.

 

We were up at 7am to a sunny but cool 60 degree day. The seas are calm. Despite what the screen says, we aren’t going anywhere…..

 

 

Here are today’s Fun Times……

 

 

 

 

The map channel is showing us where we’ve been, and where we’re going….

 

 

 

I made my way up to the Java Blue Café for my morning coffee. Patti catches me on the aft cam…..

 

 

I come back to the cabin to work on pictures for a while. Around 8:30am Patti heads up to the Lido Marketplace for breakfast. She passes the Luggage Tag Pickup on Deck 10…..

 

 

 

Looking out at the sunny skies and calm seas…..

 

 

To be continued….

[Jamman54]

After she finishes eating, Patti heads down to the Marco Polo Restaurant to check out the Green Eggs & Ham Breakfast…..

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Patti catches me at the Lobby Bar having a few double screwdrivers with Valentina…..

 

 

 

To be continued…..

[Jamman54]

Here is the Carnival Adventures Desk which will be closed until the next cruise tomorrow…..

 

 

Surprisingly, Guest Services isn’t busy at all…..

 

 

Patti gives us a peek of the Ladies Room…..

 

 

 

Patti and I head up to the Casino Cashier to pick up our Fun Play chips. We’re going to hold on to them until the next cruise. At this point I am going bar hopping for the next couple of hours. I’m going to start at Serenity, have a few at the Pergola Bar, and then make my way all the way aft to the Burano Pool Bar. Patti was going to browse the shops and get some pictures of some empty venues. She starts with Fahrenheit 555…..

 

 

 

 

 

Here is Bonsai Teppanyaki…..

 

 

 

 

 

To be continued……

[Jamman54]

Patti continues with Piano Bar 88……

 

 

 

 

 

Pixels Gallery is a little busy….

 

 

Patti stops back at the cabin where she finds today’s towel animal, and that our laundry she sent out yesterday has been returned….

 

 

 

Meanwhile, I’m sitting at the Burano Pool Bar when I decided to have a little lunch. I started with a grilled cheese and fries from the Deli, then a couple slices of pizza, and then topped it off with some Asian food that they were serving over at the Seafood Shack. Not surprisingly, I went back to the cabin for a little nap!

 

Patti heads down to the Teatro Rosso for the Q & A with Cruise Director Joey….

 

 

 

He is joined on stage by Kyndall Fire, who is on this cruise with some of her family. In case you didn’t know, Joey and Kyndall are engaged to be married, with the wedding in the fall of 2025. Congratulations to them! In a few short weeks Kyndall will be heading over to join the Carnival Jubilee as her first Cruise Director……

 

 

 

 

To be continued…..

[Jamman54]

The $5000 Jackpot Bingo is next, hosted by Sinclair. This is the last bingo for Sinclair on this contract, as she is leaving the ship tomorrow…..

 

 

 

 

A lot of the crew on board now have been here since the end of April. Valentina at the Lobby Bar goes home the end of November, and our friend Zora gets off December 10^th.

 

The VIFP is at 3pm today but we decide to blow it off. We’ll get there net cruise…..

 

 

 

We decide to venture to the MDR tonight. We have Your Time Dining (YTD), so at 5:30 we request a table on the Hub App. We were given a table almost immediately. We were seated at Table # 723 on Deck 4 of the Canal Grande Restaurant…..

 

 

This is our waitstaff…..

 

 

We had a nice view from our table. The nice thing was that they didn’t sit other couples right next to us, leaving a space between tables…..

 

 

To be continued……

[Jamman54]

Here are tonight’s menus….

 

 

 

 

Here are Patti and I at dinner tonight…..

 

 

 

For starters we both had shrimp cocktail and a Caesar salad…..

 

 

 

Patti also had the Erbazzone…..

 

 

For our mains we both had the fried chicken…..

 

 

I also had the short rib…..

 

 

Service was extremely slow tonight, but even slower for others. We were done eating our main dishes, and the couple a few tables over from us, that were seated minutes after us, were just getting their appetizers. We waited a half hour for our desserts and then gave up. We were there almost two hours. Most of what was on the menu was available up in the Lido Marketplace, so we could have eaten in a half hour. We didn’t return to the MDR for the remainder of our time on the Venezia. This was basically the only negative of the whole trip.

 

After we left the dining room, Patti went back to the cabin to begin her packing for our move tomorrow. I went over to the Amari Bar for a couple of Pain Reliefs before heading back to the cabin to begin my own packing. We had a great warm up cruise, but the fun is just getting started!

 

Coming up next: Turnaround Day. Let the Journeys Cruise begin!!

[blarko]

Absolutely LOVE the shirt!!!!

[SenatorsFan]

Me too!🍻

[Jamman54]

7 minutes ago, blarko said:

Absolutely LOVE the shirt!!!!

 

4 minutes ago, SenatorsFan said:

Me too!🍻

 

It's the truth!!! 

[lennythenose]

5 hours ago, Jamman54 said:

 

 

I have this saying on 3 different shirts, but no beer glasses🤣. A plain t-shirt with margaritas, umbrella drinks, etc; a blingy t-shirt with wine glasses and a sweatshirt. 

[MeMetwo]

1 hour ago, Jamman54 said:

 

 

It's the truth!!! 

I showed the picture of Jeff’s shirt to my DH  and he said, “I need one just like that!”  😊

[Haljo1935]

20 hours ago, Cherries Jubilee said:

Catching up on your review while relaxing. I can’t believe I board tomorrow! 

You're going to have a great time!

Please be sure to post the link to your review so we can follow along (just like you did on mine 😊).

May sound crazy, but I really liked that the windows could open on deck 10 - made eating a Guys burger extra special. Honest - it feels different. Be sure you go up there. If the windows aren't open, you're allowed to open them.

[Roscoe13]

1 hour ago, blarko said:

Absolutely LOVE the shirt!!!!

I really want one too...but not sure if they come in 3 Xtra fat...

[Jamman54]

1 hour ago, Roscoe13 said:

I really want one too...but not sure if they come in 3 Xtra fat...

 

Of course they do. That's my size. Made by Life is Good. I have several different ones.😁

Edited October 29, 2023 by Jamman54

[Saint Greg]

6 hours ago, Jamman54 said:

A lot of the crew on board now have been here since the end of April. Valentina at the Lobby Bar goes home the end of November, and our friend Zora gets off December 10^th.

 

 

Valentina made almost all of my morning americanos, screwdrivers, and bloody marys for 15 days on the transatlantic.

[Jamman54]

Just now, Saint Greg said:

 

Valentina made almost all of my morning americanos, screwdrivers, and bloody marys for 15 days on the transatlantic.

I asked her if she remembered you and she did. You must have made a good impression! 😁

[Destiny0315]

35 minutes ago, Jamman54 said:

 

Of course they do. That's my size. Made by Life is Good. I have several different ones.😁

Custom tailored for the discerning male!

[Stallion]

Glad "we" are heading South for the second leg. Too cold for me!

[Essiesmom]

1 hour ago, Destiny0315 said:

Custom tailored for the discerning male!

Go to lifeisgood.com, choose men, then under interest, choose food and beverage.  Lots of good stuff.  EM

Edited October 29, 2023 by Essiesmom