Saint Greg's Venezia Transatlantic May 29, 2023

[Saint Greg]

Couple more videos. The Roosevelt Island Tram and the boat to liberty island.

 

 

 

 

 

[Saint Greg]

On 5/31/2023 at 3:52 PM, MizMoon said:

I did HoHo in Malaga, but stayed on for first half or so - then we were stuck in incredible traffic, so I got off and toured around the area for a while and my bus route/company never returned.   Eventually got on another bus and when we were passing the port area I decided to go back to ship.  So I chose wrong company or routing - still enjoyed the beautiful city.  Thanks for the super pictures from the Fort and the Museum.  Looking forward to the "flamingo" show - you had me going!  Yes, I'm getting old - but. this just came to mind..... Is the song Malaguena about Malaga?  Cruise On!  

 

I don't think I specified how I did Malaga. I rode the bus to the fort. Then I rode the bus to the Picasso museum. Then I went on foot the rest of the day until the ride back to the port. The reason for this is the bus doesn't go in by the Picasso museum, music museum, and the other art museum I went to. I think the streets are too small. Then when I went to the bull fighting area and harbor cruise, I had multiple opportunities to get on HOHO buses in that direction but I opted to stay on foot vs. taking a chance on the bus not stopping where I wanted to get off. If it drove past the bull fighting area I would've ended up at that fort on the top of the hill again. I was too pressed for time to take that chance. 

 

I still feel the price was worth it for the ride to and from the fort and the ride back to the pier along with the tickets to the Picasso museum, art museum, flamenco show, boat ride, and walking tour (didn't get to use that one).

 

If someone was trying to do this now and use all of the tickets I would recommend getting on the boat in the morning. That would've allowed me to make the 4pm walking tour when I was over by the museums.

 

[detroitavant]

I think I saw that you were looking for the ship shaped ornaments? We collect those too.  We had to ask, but they had them in the back and not out on display.  First one had a broken nose but the second was fine.  Had the yellow stack w/blue C and the Carnival Fun Italian Style lettering on the bottom.

Edited June 28, 2023 by detroitavant

[pd7277]

On 6/2/2023 at 5:01 AM, Saint Greg said:

 

 

Pretty crummy furniture for a brandy-new ship.

[Saint Greg]

2 minutes ago, pd7277 said:

Pretty crummy furniture for a brandy-new ship.

Well it launched in 2019 so the question is has that furniture been sitting on the balcony for four years?

 

[kwokpot]

3 minutes ago, pd7277 said:

Pretty crummy furniture for a brandy-new ship.

Technically not a brand new ship.It's been sailing since 2019.

[jayjay10704]

Greg, do you happen to know if Venezia's spa is any good?

Jacuzzis, saunas, pool, etc.?

[Saint Greg]

18 minutes ago, jayjay10704 said:

Greg, do you happen to know if Venezia's spa is any good?

Jacuzzis, saunas, pool, etc.?

.

 

 

[matt082600]

On 6/10/2023 at 11:11 AM, Jamman54 said:

Back then they gave drunken people guns to shoot skeet, had pillow fights on a slippery round pole with paper thin mats on the deck, hit golf balls off the fantail, but watch out for that slice or ricochet off the railings. Beer drinking contests. Male nightgown contests that would make quest look like PG. Good, clean,  wholesome,  fun!!!  😁

Ahhh, the good old days!  😉

[Haljo1935]

22 hours ago, Saint Greg said:

 

Looks fabulous! Do they have ThermalPass? If so, any idea the cost? I'm on B2B in Sept and would like to get a thermal pass for the duration if they have it.

[kwokpot]

18 minutes ago, Haljo1935 said:

Looks fabulous! Do they have ThermalPass? If so, any idea the cost? I'm on B2B in Sept and would like to get a thermal pass for the duration if they have it.

The Venezia doesn't have a full thermal suite, what you see in the photos are all the facilites.They are complementary. 

[pcrum]

Inquiring minds want to know what you thought of Hamilton? We saw the Orlando tour and loved it. Of course, we’ve watched the original cast on Disney Plus also.  What did you think?
 

I went to grad school at NYU in the mid 80s. My son attended a musical theater conservatory in NYC from 2013-2016. I’m making my first trip back since 2015 next weekend. I’ve never been to Katz Deli so am planning to eat there after seeing your post. We have tickets to Funny Girl and Norte Dame de Paris. I love the city! Times Square has changed so much since the 1980s. It used to be hookers and porn shops, now it’s like Downtown Disney. I can’t get over all of the chain restaurants in NYC now. 
 

I enjoyed your trip report. We love TA cruises, but I don’t think Carnival is for us anymore. I was hoping Venezia would be different enough to lure us back, but the new menus are not appealing.  We favor MSC and NCL now. I’ll look for your Alaska trip report. 

[Saint Greg]

17 hours ago, pcrum said:

Inquiring minds want to know what you thought of Hamilton? We saw the Orlando tour and loved it. Of course, we’ve watched the original cast on Disney Plus also.  What did you think?
 

I went to grad school at NYU in the mid 80s. My son attended a musical theater conservatory in NYC from 2013-2016. I’m making my first trip back since 2015 next weekend. I’ve never been to Katz Deli so am planning to eat there after seeing your post. We have tickets to Funny Girl and Norte Dame de Paris. I love the city! Times Square has changed so much since the 1980s. It used to be hookers and porn shops, now it’s like Downtown Disney. I can’t get over all of the chain restaurants in NYC now. 
 

I enjoyed your trip report. We love TA cruises, but I don’t think Carnival is for us anymore. I was hoping Venezia would be different enough to lure us back, but the new menus are not appealing.  We favor MSC and NCL now. I’ll look for your Alaska trip report. 

 

I thought it was great. I’d rank it 1st out of the five Broadway shows I’ve been to. The cast was great. The show was great. 

 

I don’t think anyone had a better seat than I did. The people up front would have no opportunity to see the orchestra pit as I did for Phantom because it was all under the stage other than the director’s head popping out.

 

The theater was smaller than I expected. I know people say they’re all smaller than you expect but to me there are levels. I definitely felt like Wicked had the biggest theater and Mr. Saturday Night had the smallest. With Chicago second smallest and Hamilton/Phantom in the middle.

[Saint Greg]

If a cruise vacation was a movie, Marques Matthias would be the narrator.

 

As a cruise director for Carnival Cruise Line, Matthias' voice guides guests through their days onboard, outlining the ship’s scheduled activities and giving instructions over the vessel’s speakers, or emceeing events.

 

“Being able to (take) a cruise and realize that people get paid have to have that vacation life, I was like, ‘That's something I want to be a part of,’” said Matthias, who goes by MarQ Anthony on the voyages.

 

Meet the cruise director of Carnival Venezia, the line's newest ship (usatoday.com)

 

[blarko]

50 minutes ago, Saint Greg said:

If a cruise vacation was a movie, Marques Matthias would be the narrator.

 

As a cruise director for Carnival Cruise Line, Matthias' voice guides guests through their days onboard, outlining the ship’s scheduled activities and giving instructions over the vessel’s speakers, or emceeing events.

 

“Being able to (take) a cruise and realize that people get paid have to have that vacation life, I was like, ‘That's something I want to be a part of,’” said Matthias, who goes by MarQ Anthony on the voyages.

 

Meet the cruise director of Carnival Venezia, the line's newest ship (usatoday.com)

 

That was a nice article. MarQ was the CD when I cruised on Elation. I really enjoyed him as CD. He was fun, funny, entertaining, approachable and very personable. What did you think of him on Venezia?

[Skai]

Thank you for the in-depth review.

[sunkey1]

On 5/30/2023 at 1:46 PM, Saint Greg said:

 
 I’m willing to do old ships. I’m doing jewel on NCL but they aren’t charging me double. Im getting my ticket, flight, drink package, internet, and four specialty dinners for significantly cheaper than just a ticket on carnival. And carnival is the same old Seattle - Seattle where on NCL I’m doing more of Alaska with Seward - Vancouver.

The RCL ship I’m looking at in the fall is old but going out of Boston. Carnival no longer stops in Boston and the price is again better on RCL.

 

 

We did the Jewel to Alaska in June 2022 and it was in great condition, very well maintained. This in contrast to the Magic that we took in April that year that was very run down. The handle on my balcony door was wonky and I finally ended up getting locked out on my balcony. My hub called guest services and they sort of repaired it. Never got any kind of “we’re sorry that happened” follow up. 

[Saint Greg]

1 hour ago, sunkey1 said:

We did the Jewel to Alaska in June 2022 and it was in great condition, very well maintained. This in contrast to the Magic that we took in April that year that was very run down. The handle on my balcony door was wonky and I finally ended up getting locked out on my balcony. My hub called guest services and they sort of repaired it. Never got any kind of “we’re sorry that happened” follow up. 

I was on magic in September of last year and February of this year and I didn’t think it was “run down.” So jewel should be in excellent shape.

 

[sunkey1]

4 minutes ago, Saint Greg said:

I was on magic in September of last year and February of this year and I didn’t think it was “run down.” So jewel should be in excellent shape.

 

Then yes, it should. I'm probably a little pickier than some, especially when I've been on a new ship and then go on an older one. Just my opinion. 

[Saint Greg]

15 minutes ago, sunkey1 said:

Then yes, it should. I'm probably a little pickier than some, especially when I've been on a new ship and then go on an older one. Just my opinion. 

I’ve only been on three ships older than Jewel and most of those were my first cruises so it will be interesting. But I’m not going in expecting a 20 year old ship to compare to a new ship or anything.

[Andi Land]

11 minutes ago, Saint Greg said:

I’ve only been on three ships older than Jewel and most of those were my first cruises so it will be interesting. But I’m not going in expecting a 20 year old ship to compare to a new ship or anything.

If you have time in Seward to do the Kenai Fjords tour by boat, it’s a good one. We did the shorter one because our 6 hour one was cancelled due to weather. The short one was great and I’ve heard excellent things about the longer one. 

[Haljo1935]

49 minutes ago, Saint Greg said:

I’ve only been on three ships older than Jewel and most of those were my first cruises so it will be interesting. But I’m not going in expecting a 20 year old ship to compare to a new ship or anything.

I don't think I'm alone in expecting basic repairs and safety maintenance on all ships, no matter their age, beyond that I do think personal expectations vary and can set a cruiser up for disappointment. I'm w/you @Saint Greg that my expectations for a 20 yo ship are different than a new one.

Overall, I think Maintenance has a big task given the wear and tear often inflicted by hearty partiers on some ships. Even normal day-to-day use by thousands of passengers is a lot.

[Saint Greg]

On 6/1/2023 at 6:15 AM, Saint Greg said:

Wait. I feel like I skipped my sunset pictures when I posted dinner last night.

 

It seems I also didn’t post my Malaga deck sunset pictures.

 

 

 

 

 

 

or my gondola lounge buffet they they don’t use pic

 

 

[rwest898]

Beautiful pictures!  Also did you find a big difference between Amari and Alchemy?

[Saint Greg]

3 minutes ago, rwest898 said:

Beautiful pictures!  Also did you find a big difference between Amari and Alchemy?

 

Only the main menu.