Pellaz

I think Venezia is similar to the Vista class, so hopefully your visit to the Engineering Control Room will be as nifty as mine was. (Well, darnit, I thought it was nifty. 🙂 )

That $8 surcharge for subsequent visits is a change from when we sailed the Mardi Gras. For us, we had YTD and the MDR, Chibang and the Cucina were all listed on our ship-cards, with no surcharge noted. We ate dinner twice in the Cucina (because it was really good).

Well....yes and no. Unless something has changed in the last few years, the tag colors identify what deck the bags are going to. While Carnival says it is fine to print them in B&W/grayscale, we had a bag dropped off in front of our room that wasn't ours. That tag had been printed in B&W...and the bag belonged to the stateroom directly above ours. 😮

Hear, hear!

Glad you enjoyed it! Reviews for the BtF Tour here on Cruise Critic have generally been pretty positive over the years. While every tour is different and some have been better than others, I've always enjoyed them...and I've done nine. 😮 You never truly know what you'll get, either. Some tours have included an individual photo with the Captain, some a group photo, and some a group photo by the ship's bell and spare anchor in the prow. We've seen inside a temporarily vacant crew cabin, the Captain's private dining room (on older ships), and even inside the Captain's cabin (once; we had to tiptoe past since the door was open and he was working at his desk. 🙂 ) I noticed (below) that the price has increased...no surprise there. Pre-COVID it was around $70 on ships without a steakhouse, and closer to $100 on ships with a steakhouse. Thanks. Aside from the increased prices, this looks exactly how I remembered the details from before. Kudos on finding it on the website; as I recall it was never easy to find. In fact, I first discovered the existence of the BtF Tour right here on Cruise Critic, just before my first Carnival cruise on the Imagination (r.i.p.) Maybe because it was my first tour, maybe because we got a little extra on that one, but it still ranks as one of THE best BtF Tours I've done. The Chief Engineer himself officiated in Engineering Control (!) and we were there so long we were late getting up to the Bridge. 😄

Happy dance! 'Course, now I can't make a beeline for JiJi's or the Cucina upon boarding; I'll have to go to ShoreEx first. And I meant it when I said Engineering was worth the price alone, on the Vista. The control room looked like a starship's bridge, complete with a flatscreen video "table" they could display things on, like a live view of one of the azipods. 😮 I was tempted to ask if they could use it as a plotting table to plan an attack on a Solarian League star-system...but I digress. 😄

"Mongolian Wok" is an area of the Lido Buffet on some ships that serves Mongolian stir-fry. It's similar to a land-side wok setup where you stand in line, then get your items, and have them cooked in front of you by the Wok crew. This is available on Breeze, Dream, Freedom, Liberty, Magic, Splendor, and Valor. JiJi's lunchtime version of it is a bit different: sit-down service, and -- at least in the past -- you'd fill out a card with the items you want (meats, veggies, noodle types, etc.) and they'd cook it fresh and bring it to you.

I browsed through pages of topics and didnt see them mentioned...which could be good news (they've been back and not causing any major discussion) or bad news (they're NOT back and maybe not likely to return). 😮 So, uh, what's the story? 🙂 Before COVID I took the tour on every Carnival cruise and always learned something new, or was able to see something new. Our next cruise is on the Horizon in about a month, and having done the tour on the Vista before, I know the Engineering Control Room alone is worth the price of admission...

You don't technically HAVE to go to the casino cage if you win one of those $2,500 "cash cube" prizes since it drops down in the machine and you can just...stroll off with it, but you need to. Not only does the "cash cube" not contain $2,500 (it's actually $1,000 in singles), but I'm pretty sure you'd get a "step aside, please!" when you tried to debark without completing the required IRS forms. I briefly considered strolling off with it (and robbing myself of $1,500, oops), but it was 1 am on the last night of the cruise, my suitcase was already down on Deck 0...and the cube o'cash wouldn't fit in my carry-on backpack. 😄

Yes, you can...at least sweet frozen drinks. I was able to get daiquiris and such there. They DID vary depending on the bartender, though.

Grand Turk. Heck, I'd like to retire there. 🙂 Also the ABC's... Well, I'm assuming Bonaire is nice; we've been to Aruba and Curacao and liked them but Bonaire is coming up for our first time in (checks watch) 27 days! St. Maarten is on my bucket-list, hopefully while a jumbo jet is scheduled to land over Maho Beach. 😄

Of course prices are up! They have to pay for that new vegan menu in the MDR! 😄

10:30 or so, both with FTTF (pre-COVID) and without (afterward). Latest with FTTF was 11:30, due to police activity and an investigation onboard. (Part of the reason why virtually every ship nowadays has lifeguards stationed at the pools. 😢) I have friends who have boarded a ship at around 7 a.m 😮 ...But they were part of the stage crew for a full-boat music charter and the load-in process begins as soon as the ship clears from the prior sailing.

Wow. Curioser and curioser! I guess we'll just head to Jiji's and the Cucina (they're across from eachother) upon embark and I'll be pleasantly surprised if JiJi's is open...and grumpy as all get-out for a period of not less than 10 seconds and not more than 30. I'll be on a cruise, after all!

For reference -- pretty handy for ALL dining venues and all ships -- here is the same "For your dining pleasure" page, but on Carnival's website itself, not GoCCL: https://help.carnival.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/4252 Note that, while the Mongolian Wok, Chibang! and the Cucina's "Pasta Bar" are mentioned as lunch options, the lunch stir-fry at JiJi's is not. 😮

I love the way Carnival bartenders (usually) make a Miami Vice, with strawberry daiquiri poured on one side and pina colada on the other simultaneously, producing that red/white division down the middle of the tall glass. When they do it right, I tip an extra dollar. 🙂 Now that I have to watch my sugar, I'll get a Frozen Mudslide, since -- as my retired RN cruise-friend pointed out -- it has only half the calories of a typical daiquiri. 😉

It's an awesome alternative to the Lido Buffet Madness (tm). But shhh, don't tell anyone; it's best to keep it a secret...sort of. 😉 Yes, the pencil and ordering sheet is what I've experienced before at JiJi's for lunch and that's fine with me. Not the same as Mongolian Wok, to be sure, but there's 100% less standing in line for 30 minutes. 🙂 See, NOW I'm getting concerned. To borrow a phrase from The Princess Bride's Prince Humperdinck, if there is no complimentary lunch stir-fry at JiJi's, I shall be very Put Out. 😄 Pretty sure the complimentary pasta bar is still offered across the vestibule at the Cucina, so even if JiJi's is closed, there's still an awesome nearby alternative to Lido Buffet Madness. (Along with the complimentary Guy's Smokehouse lunch offerings, which are also not well-advertised.)

I checked for recent posts regarding Jiji's and didn't turn up anything. We're sailing on Horizon next month and in the past they've offered complimentary stir-fry at JiJi's for lunch. However, when I looked at the "For Your Dining Pleasure" page at GoCCL, the lunch stir-fry wasn't shown for ANY ship. Is it still available? It's one of my favorite meals on Carnival, along with Mongolian Wok. If it isn't, that's IT! I'm cancelling our cruise and booking on a quality line, like Margaritaville At Sea! 😄

I shudder to think how much the Private Oasis at HMC costs now. 😮 (I booked it pre-COVID at $1500 for full capacity, plus a few extra folks' surcharge.)

Cucina del Capitano or Captain's Pasta Bar (at lunch) has entered the chat. 🙂 It is listed as either in the following: https://help.goccl.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/4252 Pasta bowls made-to-order, and its complimentary. And yes, it'd be great if they could roll something like that out on every ship, but I think all the newer builds have the Cucina anyway.

lol, I came here to post that. Also, mayonnaise at Big Chicken (on Excel Class)

Maybe on Royal, but not on Carnival. Some elevators will be marked "baggage express" (or similar) and will be in dedicated baggage delivery mode. I think it was the midships elevator bank that was used; sensible if so, since it is probably the least-used of the three. It's not perception, it's reality. If you have an aft cabin on a Royal ship, you WILL walk farther to get to anywhere aft on the ship.

Ahh yes, much like the very first shot of HMS Surprise in Master and Commander. (You have to really look for it, though. 🙂 )

I assume you can take any leftovers with you to-go, right? --For the "paid" dinner, I mean, not the free Jiji's stir-fry lunch, which is one of my favorite dining choices on Carnival.

They might offer it...but then bring you a normal portion. Seems like that happens a lot with the "pasta entree served as an appetizer" option; my friend John's appetizer was the same size as my normal portion...just served on a smaller plate. 🙂 I'm pleased to see they have officially codified this offering in the new menus, too. More than two, not more than three...but in fairness, three entrees would be a LOT of food, let alone four.