Carnival Venezia Cruise: 10-day Eastern Caribbean and 9-day Bahamas from Manhattan

January and February 2024

There are literally hundreds of posts and comments about this new Carnival ship. I tried to focus this post on some of the less talked about things; however, it is still a bit lengthy. There is lots of info, if you are looking!

We added a second cruise to our original booking a bit after we had booked the first itinerary. The cabin we had for the first cruise was not available the second week, so we had to change rooms on our back-to-back cruise. You can find more info about B2B details near the end of this post.

Above: Manhattan pier 88 as Venezia is pulling away
Below: the walkway as we are boarding

Arrival and platinum check-in ~ Manhattan cruise terminal

We walked one mile to the cruise port from DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel New York Times Square West. This was pretty easy without many pedestrians until we got close to the port. Our check-in time was one of the earliest, 10AM - 10:30AM, and there were quite a few guests wheeling their luggage away from the port when we were trying to enter the port area. We felt a bit like fish swimming upstream.  😄

The check-in process and security screening went quickly, and then we took a seat in the general waiting area until boarding started. We did not hear any special groups board, like wedding parties; just handicap and diamond guests before platinum guests boarded. We were on board around 10:45 AM. Guests boarded later than this for our second cruise, because our B2B process had not been completed yet at 10:30 AM.

 

Balcony cabin 7209 on Carnival Venezia

Balcony cabin 7209 category 8G

We felt like this cabin should be listed as an obstructed view cabin with a lower price than an 8G balcony cabin. We would have chosen the cabin next door, #7215, if we had realized the information I am sharing here.

Balcony cabin category 8G #7209 on Carnival Venezia

The balcony in this cabin is about 1' shorter than the rest of the balconies because of the way it starts out since it is the first cabin. Also, since the bridge is on deck 8, we had an extreme overhead roof, and some obstructions from the navigation equipment. The overhead roof was not as much of a hinderance to us as the equipment. If you prefer sun, you will definitely not like this room.

Balcony cabin category 8G #7209 on Carnival Venezia

The inside of this cabin was comfortable and quiet. Our steward was not the most thorough cleaner. There was a coin under the desk when we arrived that was not cleaned up until almost the end of our cruise. We thought the bed mattress was similar to other Carnival cruise ships, although many people have complained about them being hard. I prefer a soft mattress, and I did not have any trouble sleeping. The bathroom had a shower door, which we loved (sorry, no photos). There was a floor mat inside the cabin by the balcony door, which we never had before. We soon learned why! The balcony in this cabin floods in the corner just outside the door. It did not rain while we were in this cabin, so the water must come from some type of automatic bridge window washing. 

Balcony cabin view from  #7209 (category 8G) on Carnival Venezia

Many people have complained about the cigarette smoke smell on this ship, and it was definitely one of the worst we have ever experienced on a cruise ship. Cabin 7209 is on the smoking side of the ship for deck 5. We were far enough forward that we only smelled smoke on our balcony one day, which was when the ship was docked, and there was a slight breeze from the back. We chose this side of the ship so we could see the Statue of Liberty on our way out.

Balcony cabin category 8G #12204 on Carnival Venezia

Balcony cabin 12204 category 8G

Our next cabin was again the first cabin on its deck, although on the opposite side of the ship. Although this cabin is located on the spa deck, it is the same category as our first cabin, and is not considered a spa cabin. Our second cabin was almost the same as our first cabin, except for the balcony. And, our new room steward was amazing!

Balcony cabin category 8G #12204 on Carnival Venezia
Below: Spa treatment rooms start next to balcony

The balcony for this cabin is the same size as most balcony cabins, about a foot longer than the one we had in cabin 7209. The top two cabin decks on this ship (14 and 12) do not have an overhead at all, so this balcony was open to the sun (and rain!). This gave us a much better view; however, it also rained the week we were in this cabin, and the balcony is unusable when it is raining. The mini-fridge in both cabins kept our items ice cold. 

Canal Grande dining room during breakfast and brunch

Food and beverages

There were only a few minor differences in the usual Carnival food items and process. I am covering a few basic pieces here.

Dining rooms: Anytime dining, breakfast, and Seaday brunch were in the back dining room, Canal Grande. Assigned dining and lunch pasta was in Marco Polo dining room, mid-ship. Early assigned dining was at 5:30 PM. On our 10-day cruise, there was one day that the dining room was open for lunch (different than the pasta lunch in Marco Polo), which we unfortunately missed, as it was on a port day. This was not offered during our 9-day cruise.

Brunch check-in app on Carnival Venezia

The app is used to check in for breakfast and brunch (also, anytime, I believe, although we did not use this for dinner, as we had assigned dining); however, guests had to stand in line at the entrance of Marco Polo to wait for the pasta lunch. We dined early, and usually received a table assignment when using the app in less than 10 minutes. One time, however, we had been seated in the dining room for 40 minutes before anyone greeted us! The lunch chocolate cake dessert in Marco Polo was amazing. I went there one afternoon just have this cake and coffee. 

huevos rancheros and frittata; both eggs a bit overcooked

I tried most of the Italian/ship themed items on the menu (designated with the Italian flag), and liked them all. All of the eggs I had on this ship were overcooked. If you do not want medium to hard eggs, I suggest ordering them the way you want them. I started doing this near the end of our first cruise.

Above: Carnival Venezia Chinese lunch from Seafood Shack location
Below: Carnival Venezia dinner antipasto 

Lido: Chinese food is served at the Seafood Shack on some sea days. This was very good, and is not listed on the app, or in the Fun Times. We were only able to find it open on two days. Tomodoro has the same Blue Iguana foods along with a couple of Italian sandwiches. 

Carnival Venezia beer menu

Bars: We usually buy a bucket of six beers, mixing three choices, to take advantage of the $6 discount. On Venezia, they would only let us mix two kinds, and then she gave us the incorrect beers, twice! The cans were buried in ice, so it was not until after we had one beer that we noticed a beer we had not ordered (we ordered and paid for craft beers). I walked back to the bar with the receipt on my phone, and fortunately got the same staff member to exchange it. We should have dug all the beers out right then, because later we took the bucket back to our cabin to put the beers in our fridge, and found two more incorrect beers! Wow, we never had that happen before. Our cabin was at the front of the ship, and we had purchased our bucket from Gondola Lounge at the back of the ship. I did not have any trouble getting the cans exchanged again by the same staff member, although this was quite an inconvenience. 

Mirrored ceiling in Java Blue Cafe on Carnival Venezia

This is the first Carnival ship we have been on that did not have any Happy Hour or drink specials. Usually, there are Bloody Mary and Mimosa specials in the mornings, and different daily pitcher discounts. When I asked the bartender at Rococo Bar (near main pool on lido) if there was a day with margarita pitcher discounts (something we have always taken advantage of before), he looked at me like I was an alien. The drinks prices have also increased to a ridiculous cost, IMO. I suppose people who live in more expensive areas, like NYC, may think the prices are fair. 

Amari mixology setup and participants on Carnival Venezia

Our son treated us to an Amari mixology class, which was fun.

Serenity deck on Carnival Venezia
Below: view of deck 12 from Serenity clam shell on Carnival Venezia

Pool and outside areas

Serenity area was very nice with many sitting areas. We were able to get a lounger in the shade on a few days, and also a clam shell, without having to save seats early in the morning. The hot tubs, however, were always full, no matter what time we went. Our B2B process between the cruises took longer than previous experiences, so we were unable to get to this area before new passengers did at the start of our second cruise.

Lido on Carnival Venezia

We did not spend much time around Lido Pool, which was usually crowded and noisy. We participated in the ship building contest, which was fun. Two groups went all out and purchased supplies to build their ships, rather than just building them from materials on hand. At least everyone's boat floated! 😄

The outside view is great from deck 11 by Pergola Bar, and the seating was comfortable. Tables games are located in this area on the port side.  Floor games are located on deck 11 starboard side.

View from lounger on deck 5 on Carnival Venezia

Another quiet area with great views that was not usually crowded was the Lanai area on deck 5. The port non-smoking side of the ship has seats similar to the loungers on serenity.

Rope course on Carnival Venezia

Entertainment and activities

We enjoyed the waterslide, ropes course, and mini golf on decks 12 and 14. We did not have a wait for any of these activities on port days. We also played a couple of Fun games and trivia in Gondola Lounge. The lounge was always quite full during trivia. 

Teatro Rosso showroom on Carnival Venezia

Shows were great, although no different than other Carnival ships we have been on. We went to a few of the shows in Teatro Rossos showroom, and a few of the comedy shows in Limelight Lounge. We did not get to all of the comedy shows that we wanted to, because this room often filled up. Sometimes, we waited in line, and sometimes we arrived about 15 minutes beforehand to see if there were any seats left.

Italian party on Lido deck on Carnival Venezia

Italian theme night on Lido deck was great. We did not get to this on our first cruise, because the area was extremely crowded when we arrived after it started. On our second cruise, we arrived earlier, but still after it started. We were lucky enough to arrive just when a table facing the stage became available. We saw a magician, music, and more. Italian food tastes were brought to guests by servers.

VIP platinum and diamond gift on Carnival Venezia January & February 2024

Platinum perks, past guest party, 25th cruise

The only new thing for us in this category were the milestone cruise cards we received. Our first leg of this B2B was our 25th cruise, and we received milestone cards for both cruises. The gift was a small bag, and the past guest party was typical with the movie and drinks. Even though we changed months during our B2B cruises, (from January to February), the gift on the second cruise was the same bag. 

B2B on Carnival Venezia from Manhattan cruise terminal

B2B cruise info

There were 128 B2B passengers on this ship--wow! We waited in Marco Polo dining room to get our new keys, and then disembark and re-board the ship. We had a bit of delay going through the process, as we had to wait for six passengers who were still on the ship. We heard their names repeatedly called over the intercom to disembark, and then we finally saw them exiting the ship after 10:00 AM. After this, all 128 of us lined up to walk out to the cruise terminal, scan our cards, and then turn around to walk back on the ship. Guests also had the option to disembark, and then board later with an "in transit" card, which apparently made the re-boarding process easier. We each received a beverage coupon, and a complimentary B2B photo. A bottle of champagne was delivered to our new cabin.

Misc. and overall 

We chose this cruise, because I thought the new ship looked cool when I heard about it. Although there were many things we loved about this cruise and ship, there were enough things that we did not like to make us bypass this ship next time. I realize likes and dislikes are a matter of preference, and I am listing some facts below to help others decide.

- All of the food on this ship was very good!

- The ship is beautiful, and it was cool to experience cruising from NYC and past the Statue of Liberty.

- The ship size is the main reason we would not choose this ship again. Public areas were extremely crowded, and I do not mean just the lido area that sun seekers complain about. It was crowded everywhere. We left a few events that were overcrowded. I looked up the ship size facts after our cruise, and one reason this ship was so crowded is because of the passenger capacity relative to the ship size. This ship is similar in size to Carnival Horizon, yet the guest capacity is higher. The photo above shows the double occupancy figures; if you look at the maximum capacity numbers, Venezia holds 283 more guests than Horizon.  

- The cigarette odor on this ship was the worst we have ever experienced. The entire mid ship area reeked from decks 3 through 6. We could smell it at Amari, in the atrium, halls, the fine dining and comedy club entrances, and when using the stairs. You could also smell smoke from balconies on the starboard side, and when walking on the track on deck 12 (again from starboard side).

- It was very noisy on this ship. The noise volume from musicians in the atrium and on lido, along with comedians in Limelight Lounge, was louder than we have ever heard. We observed people with sensitive hearing leave these areas, and we did a couple of times, as well. 

Canal Grande dining room on Carnival Venezia

I will be sharing more photos and info on my Facebook page, along with a post about our ports of call. 

Let me know if you have any questions or information you'd like to share.