edrussell

Hey all, we've just recently got off our first Carnival cruise after taking 6 on RCCL. We do buy the drink package on RCCL and we also bought the Cheers package on Carnival. Since we were cruising out of Manhattan I knew it would not take effect on Day 1, but I was surprised with one aspect of how Carnival bars worked (at least on Venezia). On RCCL all bars have soda on a gun so you can easily grab a glass of soda (most friendly bartenders will even give people a glass without even a refreshment package). On Venezia they only had cans of soda. So on Day 1 I was hoping to be able to use our Cheers package to at least get a glass or two of soda, but no dice. We were forced to buy a can at 3.00 per can. Not a huge deal as there was free iced tea and lemonade but it was a surprise. Next time we will take on a case of soda with us. Easy peasy. Is this the case on all Carnival ships? (not the Cheers package on Day 1, but the lack of fountain pop). Also one particular bar made a big deal out of handing over beers or Truly opened. We are very used to grabbing a beer or two on RCCL and taking them back to our room to enjoy later. We were able to do this on Venezia in most bars, but one of them made a big deal out of it. My wife asked for a beer to take with her and he said quite loudly that 'the rule is they must be opened and he would NOT give her a beer unopened'. Odd. I asked another bartender at that bar later and she also said it was a 'rule'. More often than not we just avoided that bar as most of the bartenders there were grumpy. Just a one off? Not a question, but the straws on Carnival, *****... I am sure it has been discussed here, but my god they are terrible. RCCL has compostable ones on most ships and they are just fine. Next time I'll bring my own metal ones. Signing for every drink as well, something we just aren't used to. I get the why, but what a bloody waste of paper. Just a few questions and comments. Cheers all.

We've asked more than one bartender specifically about this and only once received a shoulder shrug. The other times our bartenders have confirmed there is no 'rule'. However at least twice bartenders that we've gotten to know well have said that each bartender has latitude to run their bar. So I personally believe there is nothing official, but they can pull out that reason if they want to. Unlike Carnival where I can say firsthand not only is it official, but their POS will not allow any input inside the waiting period for the PAX.

We were on the Sept 8 to 16 sailing and had some rough seas on the return. The ship does move around a bit which can make walking in the often crowded lido buffet a challenge. I didn't notice slippery floors, but others mentioned it. With the right footwear I think he will be fine. As for lines, there definitely can be lines but try and go at off peak times and they really are not that bad. If bland food is a concern for I can understand not going to MDR, we ate there all 8 nights and REALLY enjoyed the food, but it definitely was not spicy. Truthfully though neither was the buffet. Enjoy the sailing we did like the ship.

Our fridge worked VERY well also. Easily the best fridge we've ever had. We kept a nice cache of room beers which once they cooled down kept anything else in the fridge very cool.

Just got off Venezia on Sept 16 after an 8 day. Altered ports yes, but that has nothing to do with the ship of course. LOTS good to say about her, enjoyed 8 nights in the MDR and all but one night the food was great. Lido marketplace food was decent, good pizza. Overall the food was above average. LOVED deck 5 outside, so many places to sit and enjoy ocean views. Great music all over the ship. Comedians were excellent, Family Feud was also fun. Our room (deck 8 aft, interior) was perfectly fine as well. Some crew weren't the most friendly, but after several sailings in a row with altered ports due to weather I am sure they felt the brunt of that. No Cheers package on day 1 out of NY, which we did know about, but that is a pain. My biggest complain was our fellow PAX. Many were I think were just exposed to other humans for the very first time on this cruise I swear. ZERO manners. The pools are definitely small and the layout is unique, but we would happily cruise Venezia again.

Our freeplay was loaded onto our sail and sign, when we played at the slots it was accessible via our account last week when onboard. Unsure how that applies for table games.

Had the chance to try my first guys burger on our sailing last week. I wondered what the hype was all about surrounding a burger. Almost anyone that I've spoken with regarding food onboard Carnival mentions it for some reason. Made me wonder. It is just a burger after all. I mean even the 'best' burger is still just a burger. We tried it twice, yup just a burger. Absolutely fine, but no reason for excitement. Of course this coming from someone who doesn't really crave burgers all that often.

Asian buffet is worth it.

We are RCCL cruisers (been prime for a few years now). We are very familiar with their tier benefits and have always cruised via their offers. Last Saturday we disembarked our first ever Carnival cruise onboard Venezia. This was via a COMP when my wife status matched with them. We managed just below 4000 points so not a massive amount of points, but we feel we gave them a decent enough amount of play. We had purchased cheers anyway so DOU didn't do much for us. Even if we did want to use it there is no casino bar on Venezia and there was not enough servers anyway. So please educate me on their player's club, is there a site to check for offers (we have logged in via carnival.com)? What actually is their tier benefits etc? How do they stack up to RCCL as far as offers go? A new world for us.

Happy to hear that we left the ship in good shape for you. We just disembarked her on the previous cruise. Looking forward to reading the rest of your review. You will get used to the elevators, and when you do I bet you will come to appreciate them. We initially didn't like them at all, but got so used to them by the end of the cruise.

My wife's current offers.

Our first cruise was on Enchantment and our fifth on Lady G. In between we've sailed on Oasis, Adventure and Anthem. My favorite ships were far and away Enchantment and Lady G. Sadly they are going to be a thing of the past before we know it. Not that I really dislike the larger ships, I don't. There is just something about the 'feel' of the more classic ships.

Compared to last year this time our offer list is bare bones to say the least. Sadly even if it were overflowing we don't have the vacation time left this year to take advantage. We are trying to stick to Baltimore and Bayonne to keep the cost down on future cruises as we can drive to either port, and that makes the offers even more rare. We are on Venezia on Sept 8 off of a teaser offer Carnival sent our way (first ever Carnival cruise) and have the same budget as we would normally take on a RCCL sailing. Let's see what that opens up for us.

If you get as many casino COMP as my wife does you might as well sublet and just live onboard being that close. I envy your decision. All the best!

Oh my, harsh critics... We love watching Tony. He makes me laugh and life is too short not to try and laugh once in a while. To each their own of course.

Just a survey... Deep down I am sure even the bean counters know they can't justify charging for it. I just don't get it, it is bloody pizza, even the 'best' pizza is just pizza. A food to be consumed when trying to sober up at the best of times. Perhaps they could charge if you want a full pizza?

Zero line, walked right on. Spoke to the staff and they said even with multiple ships there are rarely lines. It was so fun. You will love it.

To each their own, we aren't wine drinkers and wouldn't know the difference between the good stuff and the house wine. My intention wasn't to get into a wine valuation course, simply to determine what the offer really was. To those that answered the question I very much appreciate it. Cheers all.

RCCL is not going to put passengers at risk unnecessarily nor their cruise ships or crew. If the situation warranted it they would cease porting there. The port area is quite a distance from the serious unrest as well as it being a secure area. Of course something 'could' happen, but something 'could' happen in loads of foreign ports. With all of this said don't use this board as a final source to make your decision, do that based on your own. If you are nervous about it, don't go or stay onboard. I can imagine it would not be enjoyable for you if you are nervous about the port stop. We would go back in a heartbeat, we would even take our kids and grandkids which we'd never do if we thought even for a second there was undue risk.

So I guess the second night is dependent on sailing then. We will likely go with night 1. We have some OBC to burn through, might as well use it on a steak dinner I suppose.

They ask you what your preference is.

@Drose716 thanks so much for the confirmation! I think we will book it.

So not a sure thing for the free bottle of wine on Night 2 then. Not a huge deal, but we figured why not if we were trying a specialty dining experience. Booking something on Night 1 is a bit of a iffy for us since we try not to have any plans on night 1 being our first night onboard.

We are taking our first cruise on Carnvial on Venezia in Sept and I have a couple of questions. From what I understand you can get a free bottle of wine if you eat in the steakhouse on night 1 of the cruise. I've also read that it is also applicable on night 2. Although there is conflicting information on that. Does anyone have any firsthand knowledge of this on Venezia? Also if we order some booze for the room (we are thinking of ordering 2 X 4 pack of beer) when are they delivered? Since the Cheers package doesn't kick in until day 2 sailing out of NY does that impact these deliveries? Thanks!

Glad to hear that. We've been on Oasis/Anthem/Adventure/Enchantment/Grandeur and our favorite ships are Enchantment/Grandeur. Didn't care for Oasis much, Anthem was great, and Adventure was OK. Casino wise again we likely Enchantment/Grandeur the most. The Casino in Adventure was awful. I have high hopes for the casino on Wonder. Note that we are slot players and like old school non-video reel machines which are exceedingly rare now sadly. We also don't play many themed machines.