First time cruising with Carnival. We have cruised with Disney, Norwegian and Royal Caribbean in the past. We would definitely do Carnival again in the future. LOVE CRUISES! My brain just shuts off as soon as I step on board. The only decisions I have to make is what I am going to eat and what I want to do (many multiple options). Many people who have never cruised are missing out. Btw, besides the very courteous and professional staff, ALL the guests whom we've met were nice and friendly. Never any negative issues. Many men actually waited for the ladies to step off the elevators first... which is very unlike NY behavior. Many guests were from out of town. Very impressive.
Embarkation
5 out of 5
The embarkation experience was very smooth. The check-in process was efficient and we received our luggage quickly.luggage
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
5 out of 5
The food in both the main dining room and Lido (buffet) were wonderful. Great variety and selection. We did not dine at the specialty restaurants as the food at the main, buffet, burger and other places were more than enough.
Onboard Activities
5 out of 5
My son and I used the gym (a lot of equipment) pools and hot tubs (very nice), arcade (we were hooked on The Boxer. We pumped so much money into it...lol). We used the above ground obstacle course (a lot of fun and not for those with a fear of heights.) We also saw the slides but we didn't use them.
Entertainment
5 out of 5
We LOVED the nightly stage and comedy shows. The singers/dancers were SPECTACULAR (Especially the blonde lady (forgot her name, sorry). Her singing voice literally sent chills down my spine. She was AMAZING!!) The comedians were funny. Surprised that the comedy club were always packed, so get there early for a good seat.
Service and Staff
5 out of 5
Great service. Friendly staff. Margarita was our room steward. She was wonderful, friendly and very professional.
Ship Quality
5 out of 5
Nice layout, loved the new intuitive elevators and everything was very clean. Staff were stationed by the buffet line and every drop of food was quickly cleaned up. Impressive.
Cabin / Stateroom
5 out of 5
We had a nice sized room with a balcony. We've been on four cruises (Venezia was our first Carnival cruise) and Venezia's room was by far the largest that we have ever been in. Very, very, very happy with the room. Very comfortable, large, very new and lean.
Ship tip
Please teach people how to use the intuitive elevators. We were a little confused at first. Once we quickly got the hang of it, it worked wonderfully. Love it.
We live in Long Island so it was a fairly quick trip to Manhattan's west side to reach the port. Port was fine.
Excursions: My son and I did the snuba in Nassau (10 out of 10, LOVED IT!! Probably our most memorable experience. So surreal). We also did the jet skiing in Half Moon Cay (loved it. There was a slow group and a fast group. My son took off with the fast group so I spent a lot of time chasing after him...lol. Exciting.) Horseback riding at the beach (in the water), Half Moon Cay. I wore a wrist mounted GoPro and posted the video on Instagram. I'm sure I made a lot of people jealous, no doubt. I scratched it off my bucket list. A must do. We also hung out at the beach in Freeport with the Stoned Crab excursion. The staff was very friendly. Most beach chairs were empty as we went off-season (LOVED THE SECLUSION!) There was a swing there which I saw ladies use for their picture perfect social media shots. The water was beautiful. next to jet skiing and motorized surf boards. We LOVED the excursions.
My son and I took an Uber down to Ocean Drive, had coffee at an outdoor seating restaurant and walked the drive. It was wonderful. We loved the vibe. We didn't purchase any excursions.
Btw, everyone. I forgot to mention that my son was genuinely sad when we disembarked. And he is not one that gets sentimental. We documented so much of our trip on my GoPro and our cameras. We will certainly cherish the memories.
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