The Venezia was so beautifully decorated for the holidays! The ship really did feel magical. It was a wonderful way to spend Christmas!
Embarkation
2 out of 5
I understand that weather was a factor in why embarkation took so long. So it isn’t entirely the fault of Carnival. But the Carnival (excursion booked) shuttles from the airport were all running extremely late. The 10AM shuttle didn’t arrive/leave until 12:30 in the afternoon.
Even though this was entirely beyond any of our control, all of us who booked these shuttles, were forced to wait in the latecomer boarding line for several hours, because we were late for our scheduled embarkation times.
Even though my flight got in before 10AM and I was scheduled to board the boat by 12, I didn’t get on until after 4pm. Also, the bad weather pretty much died down by that morning. They should’ve been better prepared.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
3 out of 5
The specialty restaurants all knock it out of the park. The service was stupendous. The food was delicious.
The main dining room was also pretty delicious. There were some hit or miss dishes. But I am sure that’s true of every ship. Once again, the service was always impeccable. The crew constantly bent over backwards to make sure everyone was accommodated and satisfied with their meals.
Seafood shack was wonderful. Definitely worth the extra bucks.
Guys Burgers, look, they’re all premade burgers that are being kept warm when you get them. But they definitely hit the spot. It’s not the best burger you’ll eat, but it’s definitely not the worst. The pepperoni burger is probably the best one they make and definitely worth a try!
Where the quality dipped was the buffet. Often the buffet served the same food as the MDR for dinner. But it is a lot different when it’s been sitting in a heating tray. This particular buffet isn’t laid out very well either. So there are a lot of bottlenecks. I can only really compare it to a ship that has the island style buffets. Where people can move freely and just grab what they want and go. But this buffet involves waiting long lines most of the time for food that is dried out by the time you get it. The dessert bar at lunch though was definitely worth the wait.
Onboard Activities
5 out of 5
I went to the comedy club and the theater shows. I also did a lot of the holiday themed activities.
There’s so much to do on this ship! I couldn’t squeeze it all in. You will never be bored! The entertainment options on this ship are really impressive.
Entertainment
5 out of 5
The comedy shows were all outrageously funny. They had several different comedians rotating sets throughout the trip. All of them got huge laughs. Arvin Mitchell made me laugh so hard I stopped breathing for a few seconds!
Service and Staff
5 out of 5
The crew and staff were all wonderful. It’s the end of the year. It’s the holidays. And the crew really brought the holiday magic.
My room steward, Edi, was warm and friendly.
Louis in the steakhouse will make your meal memorable! Every staff member I encountered was very friendly and helpful.
Ship Quality
5 out of 5
It’s a lovely ship and the crew goes to great lengths to maintain its glimmer.
Cabin / Stateroom
5 out of 5
The interior cabin was more spacious than I anticipated. At least 18 inches on each side between the bed and the wall. There’s also a lot of storage space and several hooks.
A lot of reviews online state that the beds are very uncomfortable, I didn’t find this to be true though. Granted, I prefer a little bit firmer mattress, the bed was quite comfortable and I fell asleep easy every night.
My room steward, Edi, was warm and friendly. He always made sure the room was fresh and clean.
Ship tip
Get to the shows you want to see a half hour early! Especially the comedians. Seats go fast!
Full disclosure: I left my cabin at 7am and was one of the first 100 people off the ship. So everything went smoothly. Took less than 20 minutes.
Staff even navigated me towards the shuttle pick up spot.
Much better than embarkation.
Thanks for the detailed review. True that the Guy’s burger patty is not made to order. With the vast volume of burgers they deliver every hour it would be a disaster to cook one patty at a time. However, to be fair, the wait time between the fresh patty cooking on the grill to being served is typically less than a minute or two tops. As soon as a full tray of patties comes out from the grill on the other side of the door, they are getting another tray loaded up. Sometimes you have to wait for a new tray but it’s always less than a minute. Definitely the best burger at sea and top 10 anywhere!
Radioactiveduck, thanks for the clarification and glad you enjoyed the rest of your cruise. When I saw the two stars for embarkation, it looked like that reflected on the weather, not the cruise line's lack of preparation in the port.
Jim I gave the cruise an overall 4.7 stars. That’s a great rating. The embarkation process was terrible and many of us had to go over to the next pier building and then wait outside for hours before even getting to the Venezia pier. Considering the exact same scenario happened the voyage previous I’d have thought they’d be better prepared this time around. NCL had a ship going out on the same day as us and didn’t have nearly the amount of problems as Carnival. Also as I stated in my review, the rain cleared up by the time my flight came in, so well before embarking.
It’s less about complaining and more about alerting other passengers about the procedures. I was quite happy with the entire experience, but the whole embarkation procedure was extremely unorganized, stressful for passengers and crew alike, and definitely didn’t deserve 5 stars. Weather is always going to weather. Carnival should have prepared better.
Every review that starts: "I understand the weather is not the cruise line's fault" is immediately followed with complaints, criticism and poor ratings. This stuff just never ends proving nobody understands nothing.
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