True to carnival reputation

Item: Carnival Venezia
Rating: 3.4
Author: IGotATravelGuy

Carnival Venezia Cruise Review

IGotATravelGuy

Contributor Level: Second Mate

36 Days Till Next Cruise

Cruises: 7+ cruises

Reviews: 5

Helpful Votes: 60

Overall rating:

3.4 out of 5

9 Night The Bahamas (New York Roundtrip)

Sail date: February 02, 2024

Ship: Carnival Venezia

Cabin type: Balcony

Cabin number: 6480

Traveled as: Couple

Reviewed: 4 months ago

Review summary

The ship staff were lovely - they made it worth being on the ship. Management sucked.

Embarkation

4 out of 5

Embarkation was not bad. We purchased faster to the fun to get on the ship early and access to our room plus other things we did not get to utilize. The terminal was hectic, more so than other cruise lines that sail out of Manhattan terminal.

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

3 out of 5

Main dining was adequate. We didn’t go hungry but the Emeril tagged dishes were always a let down. The best appetizer was the shrimp cocktail, always good! The best dessert was definitely the melting chocolate cake but only if I got a well done one. I didn’t like it runny - some nights I could pour it out of the ramekin. Carnival only carries pepsi products -Boooo!! I ordered one Pepsi and forced it down my gullet. That was $5 I didn’t need to spend, lol! Buffet was surprisingly underwhelming. There is a front buffet and a back buffet and I strongly advise checking both because most days they had different items. Bonsai teppanyaki and bonsai sushi well worth the price of admission!!!

Bonsai Sushi

5 out of 5

We ended up eating here a la carte. We were tired of the lack of lunch options, so decided to try the sushi. The staff recommended it so I was sure it was going to be good. If they are willing to pay for additional food….mist be a good sign.

Canal Grande Restaurant

4 out of 5

I wish we were able to have the same service team but everyone was lovely. We were able to switch floors (deck 3 or 4) and tables on request. We were sat in an area that felt like a hallway. It made the sound bounce a lot with a 4 top table of young couples - everything was extra awesome and great and they were loud. We were happy to move and they were able to accommodate us.

Seafood Shack

2 out of 5

Really weird hours. Never got a chance to try it.

PIzzeria del Capitano

4 out of 5

Lines. Lines and more lines. The pizza? Fantastic! Line up, not great.

Lido Marketplace

3 out of 5

Underwhelming. Long lines at all times. The seating area is tight. But the drink /water stations were nice. Check both buffet areas, they often had different offerings.

Bonsai Teppanyaki

5 out of 5

We had lunch service here - it was great! The chef was funny, made jokes and sang and offered up good one-liner jokes. Food was probably the best on the ship!

Onboard Activities

3 out of 5

Family feud was very fun. I saw both shows. We played deal or no deal - paid $50 for three cards and won $30 free casino play (won $28 in slots-cashed out) and won 2x $25 bingo plays (won $500 - cashed out). Caught a comedy show - it was ok.

Serenity Adult-Only Retreat

3 out of 5

It was kind of small and crowded all the time. Our sailing was still cold so not much sunning to be had. And you had the seat holders which there is a sign that they ignored and staff did not enforce.

Entertainment

2 out of 5

Marq was annoying AF. His “Ok bye” sign off made me cringe every time. I think he is super unprofessional by sharing embarrassing stories of people sailing on the current voyage. Like ok, they might have been funny or unbelievable stories, but if you have to say “oh I hope they aren’t in here now” as you publicly laugh at/ ridicule them….do better.

The Fun Shops

5 out of 5

Shagun was super sweet as were most of the team members in hip fish. The two gentlemen in the Venezia shop were always friendly and polite.

Dive-In Movies

3 out of 5

Never caught anything they showed

Teatro Rosso

2 out of 5

Pretty theater but the upper back seating is virtually useless to see the stage

Watches & Fine Jewelry

5 out of 5

The teams here were phenomenal! Arthur for Cartier, Stoja, Ali, Siddhi, Javed, and Carlos in Effy, and Louie in Bvlgari.

Service and Staff

2 out of 5

This gets two stars because Carnival messed me up - Big time! I take a injectable medication and it needs to be refrigerated. I get a letter in my cabin stating that the mini fridge is not suitable for medications. I can rent a “ medical cooler” for $75 deposit that will be returned when I return the cooler. I go to guest services and they give me this cooler with cup holder and no instructions but to “plug it”….If I wasn’t ocd and read the info on the cooler and googled the instructions- this could heat too! So thankfully I set it to cool. But this gets so much better….they don’t tell me (nor offer me a spare card) that I need to keep a card in the key slot of my room so the power would remain on to power the cooler. Other than that, the staff were lovely. Stateroom host Edi was super! The team at EFFY jewelers were great! Bvlgari ambassador and the Cartier ambassador were excellent!

Ship Quality

3 out of 5

The lido marketplace seating was tight. Felt like a mid-level mall food court. Hallways were tight. I didn’t feel like I could sit anywhere and relax with a book. Ship layout was a bit confusing the first few days.

Cabin / Stateroom

5 out of 5

The room was nice. Comfortable and well situated. The balcony window / door was a nice option. I’m used to a sliding door. Stateroom host Edi was lovely. Greeted us by name every time he saw us.