Carnival Venezia’s new Italian Restaurant: ‘IL VIAGGIO’

[CruiseAdict218]

From John Heald:

 

CARNIVAL CRUISE LINE’S NEW RESTAURANT CONCEPT ‘IL VIAGGIO’

WILL EMBARK GUESTS ON A CULINARY JOURNEY ABOARD CARNIVAL VENEZIA
 
Reservations Open for New Specialty Dining Experience
Showcasing Italy’s Finest and Most Traditional Dishes
 
MIAMI, May 8, 2023 – Carnival Cruise Line announced today it will debut a new specialty restaurant on board its most recent addition to the fleet, Carnival Venezia, which is aptly named Il Viaggio – Italian for “The Voyage” – since it promises a journey across Italy through the country’s rich and diverse cuisine.
Il Viaggio’s food and beverage offerings are curated to showcase distinct culinary regions of Italy.. Each menu item, from “antipasti” starters to “dolce” desserts, is representative of a regional specialty, so guests can create elevated meals that bring together different tastes from all areas of Italy.
“Highlighting the various Italian regions renowned for certain specialties will invite our guests to enjoy an immersive exploration of flavors – a meal that’s truly unique, delicious and offers an enriching experience as well,” said Emeril Lagasse, Carnival’s chief culinary officer. “Guests will find their favorite Italian staples here, and they’ll also have the chance to try authentic dishes and drinks that might just become new favorites.”
Reservations for the restaurant are now open for guests booked on upcoming Carnival Venezia sailings. Il Viaggio will carry a reservations fee in line with Carnival’s other full-service specialty restaurants. To make reservations or learn more about specialty dining options, visit Carnival.com. 
 
Elevated Menu Will Indulge in the Best of Italian Cuisine
Creatively crafted to offer regional collections across each part of the menu, selections of appetizers, entrees, desserts, wines and cocktails all note diverse regions of Italy where they are most known. The menu will also feature signature dishes, called “Favorito” entrees. Among them is the Sicilian-inspired Pollo Parmigiana Pizza, which is made with a crispy chicken crust pizza with tomato basil sauce, mozzarella, pepperoncini flakes, parmesan and a honey-chili dressing, and the Lombardy-influenced Lombata Milanese, a 16-oz bone-in veal chop that’s thinly pounded, lightly breaded, pan-fried and served with a green salad.
A sampling of menu selections from each of the three courses offered includes:
“Antipasti” – Starters
House-Made Burrata (Lombardy): A soft, fresh Italian cheese is accompanied by heirloom tomatoes and Genevese pesto.
Panzarotti (Campania): A golden brown and savory puff stuffed with sausage and pesto.
Supli al Telefono (Lazio): Crisp risotto croquette filled with mozzarella and marinara sauce.
“Secondi” – Entrees
Pappardelle Al Cinghiale (Tuscany): Delicious ribbon pasta is tossed with pork ragu in a red wine marinade.
Jumbo Shrimp Scampi (Venice): A classic scampi sauce is flavored by garlic, pepperoncino, Pinot Grigio and accompanied by lemon risotto.
Pasta alla Genovese (Liguria): San Marzano tomato sauce flavors ziti pasta, along with cooked onion and simmered beef rib.
“Dolce” – Desserts
Mile-High Gelato Pie (Tuscany): A special creation that includes the delicious flavors of salted caramel, mocha, toasted coconut and Chantilly cream.
Cannoli Siciliani di Ricotta (Sicily): Crunchy shells filled with delicious ricotta cheese flavored by marsala wine and chocolate chips.  
Tiramisu (Venice): Espresso-flavored quintessential Italian dessert with mascarpone cream. 
 
Unparalleled Service and Authentic Ambiance Enrich Experience
Il Viaggio’s culinary team will be led full-time by an Italian executive chef. Carnival’s signature friendly service will make guests feel like family from the moment they enter, and in the fashion of renowned Italian restaurants, the staff will embody the warm hospitality and passion that characterizes Italian culture. The welcoming feeling will help create an exceptional and memorable experience for each guest during every visit.
The refined backdrop of the restaurant will celebrate the theme of journeying through Italy. Through artwork and architectural touches that highlight the different regions featured on the menu, Il Viaggio’s visual aesthetic will bring to life a nuanced portrayal of journeying through diverse Italian landscapes and guests will also have the option to dine al fresco on the restaurant’s lanai. Il Viaggo also features a show kitchen, where guests will see chefs baking the fresh focaccia bread that servers will share at each table to welcome them. Altogether, the intimate ambiance of the restaurant will perfectly complement the menu to create the truly unique culinary voyage that offers guests a unique and immersive dining experience.
Carnival Venezia is the first ship to showcase Carnival Fun Italian Style. It’s currently undergoing an enhancement project in Spain before embarking on a 15-day Carnival Journeys transatlantic sailing May 29, 2023 from Barcelona. The ship is set to arrive to her new home at in New York City and begin operations from the Manhattan Cruise Terminal on June 15, 2023. The ship accommodates more than 5,000 guests and will offer 10 different cruise durations and 22 unique itineraries featuring visits to 25 ports across 14 countries.

[CruiseAdict218]

Prices are $42 per adult and $10 per child, just fyi. 

[kona_wahine]

I tried making reservations this morning and “something went wrong” keeps popping up. Not sure if it’s too many people trying to reserve or it’s just basically not working. 

[steveknj]

1 hour ago, CruiseAdict218 said:

Prices are $42 per adult and $10 per child, just fyi. 

 

Seems kind of pricey.  I'm debating whether I want to try it or not.   I remember when the specialty places were like a $10-$15 surcharge, and maybe the steakhouse was $25.  $42 seems crazy to me.  Maybe I'm just cheap?  I get that on land a meal at a top Italian restaurant would probably cost more, but $42 a person, without drinks is even expensive on land!

[CruiseAdict218]

23 minutes ago, kona_wahine said:

I tried making reservations this morning and “something went wrong” keeps popping up. Not sure if it’s too many people trying to reserve or it’s just basically not working. 

John said so many people are trying to book it, that it “broke” the site and they are working on fixing it. 

[CruiseAdict218]

1 minute ago, steveknj said:

 

Seems kind of pricey.  I'm debating whether I want to try it or not.   I remember when the specialty places were like a $10-$15 surcharge, and maybe the steakhouse was $25.  $42 seems crazy to me.  Maybe I'm just cheap?  I get that on land a meal at a top Italian restaurant would probably cost more, but $42 a person, without drinks is even expensive on land!

No I agree it seems rather expensive, would hope it would be open to lunch for free but that’s just wishing. 

[nanamobo]

31 minutes ago, steveknj said:

 

Seems kind of pricey.  I'm debating whether I want to try it or not.   I remember when the specialty places were like a $10-$15 surcharge, and maybe the steakhouse was $25.  $42 seems crazy to me.  Maybe I'm just cheap?  I get that on land a meal at a top Italian restaurant would probably cost more, but $42 a person, without drinks is even expensive on land!

I agree that 42.00 is very pricey for any restaurant on the sea. All the food on a cruise ship comes from the same place The Kitchen!!! 

[jsglow]

53 minutes ago, steveknj said:

 

Seems kind of pricey.  I'm debating whether I want to try it or not.   I remember when the specialty places were like a $10-$15 surcharge, and maybe the steakhouse was $25.  $42 seems crazy to me.  Maybe I'm just cheap?  I get that on land a meal at a top Italian restaurant would probably cost more, but $42 a person, without drinks is even expensive on land!

We're in a different era now.  Carnival's Specialty Dining restaurants now range from $18 for JiJi's and Cucina up to $48 for Fahrenheit 555 Steakhouse.  It does seem from the description that this will truly be a 'fine dining' experience so I'm not surprised it's near the upper end of the range.

 

[jsglow]

25 minutes ago, nanamobo said:

I agree that 42.00 is very pricey for any restaurant on the sea. All the food on a cruise ship comes from the same place The Kitchen!!! 

Not true at all.  To the best of my knowledge ALL Specialty Restaurants have their own dedicated preparation venues. 

[TravelBluebird]

I saw the announcement about the restaurant, and rushed to my Cruise Manager to try to make reservations on the TransAtlantic. Sure enough tried twice, wouldn’t work, then I saw the announcement that we “broke the internet” with everyone trying to book at once.  

 

Well, at least we broke the Carnival site!  😂

 

Anyway, still broken as of 10 minutes ago. Really would like reservations for the Venezia TransAtlantic; I adore Italian regional food and the menu items disclosed so far look divine!  Yes, I agree its pricey but it sadly seems par for the course these days.  

[kona_wahine]

It will be almost $100 for the 2 of us, but doing it instead of the usual steakhouse. My hubby says “$100 for spaghetti?” 🤣 I showed him a picture of the steak, which looks pretty good. I really want to because it’s the Italian ship. 12 day cruise so something a little different. 

[staceyglow]

1 hour ago, steveknj said:

 

Seems kind of pricey.  I'm debating whether I want to try it or not.   I remember when the specialty places were like a $10-$15 surcharge, and maybe the steakhouse was $25.  $42 seems crazy to me.  Maybe I'm just cheap?  I get that on land a meal at a top Italian restaurant would probably cost more, but $42 a person, without drinks is even expensive on land!

If people have broken the system trying to make a reservation, then I guess that many, many people are fine with the price.  And if they sell out quickly, they will probably be raising it.

[staceyglow]

System seems to be working again (at least for my particular cruise) Just booked Il Viaggio, but slots are already filling up.

[TravelBluebird]

3 minutes ago, staceyglow said:

System seems to be working again (at least for my particular cruise) Just booked Il Viaggio, but slots are already filling up.

 

Same here! Was just able to get a reservation for the TransAtlantic! Yay! 

[TravelBluebird]

43 minutes ago, kona_wahine said:

It will be almost $100 for the 2 of us, but doing it instead of the usual steakhouse. My hubby says “$100 for spaghetti?” 🤣 I showed him a picture of the steak, which looks pretty good. I really want to because it’s the Italian ship. 12 day cruise so something a little different.

 

Same for us; we’ve done the steak house so many times; we are going to do this instead!  It’s a 15 day cruise so we may well end up in the Steak House one night if we get bored of the MDR, but something totally new and different appealed to us!

[jimbo5544]

2 hours ago, steveknj said:

 

Seems kind of pricey.  I'm debating whether I want to try it or not.   I remember when the specialty places were like a $10-$15 surcharge, and maybe the steakhouse was $25.  $42 seems crazy to me.  Maybe I'm just cheap?  I get that on land a meal at a top Italian restaurant would probably cost more, but $42 a person, without drinks is even expensive on land!

You have a strong memory.

[jimbo5544]

1 hour ago, jsglow said:

Not true at all.  To the best of my knowledge ALL Specialty Restaurants have their own dedicated preparation venues. 

….and you would be correct

[kona_wahine]

Got our reservation! 

[steveknj]

2 hours ago, kona_wahine said:

It will be almost $100 for the 2 of us, but doing it instead of the usual steakhouse. My hubby says “$100 for spaghetti?” 🤣 I showed him a picture of the steak, which looks pretty good. I really want to because it’s the Italian ship. 12 day cruise so something a little different. 

 

Actually once you throw in the booze and service charge it's over $100.   I guess I'm just cheap.  Or maybe it's because I've been sailing NCL over the last year and they usually give us 2 specialty restaurants as part of their standard fare (provided you don't go the "guaranteed cabin" route.  So perhaps I've lost touch of the prices.  If that's what it's going to cost for a specialty restaurant, we'll probably stick to the main dining room and perhaps eat somewhere nice on one of the islands. 

[cmichael1221]

3 hours ago, jsglow said:

We're in a different era now.  Carnival's Specialty Dining restaurants now range from $18 for JiJi's and Cucina up to $48 for Fahrenheit 555 Steakhouse.  It does seem from the description that this will truly be a 'fine dining' experience so I'm not surprised it's near the upper end of the range.

 

Agreed!  The whole point of the Costa By Carnival ships is a more upscale experience.  Based on what little I've seen of the menu, $42 looks well worth the price.  Heck, you can barely go to Olive Garden and get a full meal for $42 and that is by NO MEANS a fine dining experience!

 

[nwcruiselover]

After trying many times to book this morning, I was able to book for the last night of the TA cruise.

[jsglow]

20 minutes ago, nwcruiselover said:

After trying many times to book this morning, I was able to book for the last night of the TA cruise.

Post a full review!

[kona_wahine]

2 hours ago, steveknj said:

 

Actually once you throw in the booze and service charge it's over $100.   I guess I'm just cheap.  Or maybe it's because I've been sailing NCL over the last year and they usually give us 2 specialty restaurants as part of their standard fare (provided you don't go the "guaranteed cabin" route.  So perhaps I've lost touch of the prices.  If that's what it's going to cost for a specialty restaurant, we'll probably stick to the main dining room and perhaps eat somewhere nice on one of the islands. 

our trip on the Venezia 12 day is taxes and fees only so I think we can splurge on the dinner. 😉🤣. We went to Alaska on NCL last year…nothing is free OR cheap! Ya we had 2 specialty dinner and free drinks, but the price of the cruise was WAY more than Carnival. I know Alaska is expensive anyway, but I’ve researched them since and Carnival just always wins out. It was a great cruise, and carnival is behind on the food aspect, but price wise I can cruise more on carnival. 

[nanamobo]

We started cruising back in 1988 on Royal Caribbean and the food was excellent in the MDR. We cruised again in 1990 and Royal started to introduce the specialty dining with one restaurant at 20.00. We weren’t impressed to pay extra $$ to eat in a specialty restaurant when we already paid for our cruise including food. As I stated there food was excellent. I felt back then as I do now the more we paid extra for specialty food, this will be the norm and food won’t be included in your fare.

 

This is my personal opinion. 

[BlerkOne]

"The Voyage". Have food, will travel!