I’m On The Fabulous Firenze! A Review With Pics.

[LaRue1975]

Hello from the Fabulous Firenze! I boarded yesterday with two girlfriends, we all qualify for Medicare so can’t quite call it a girls trip! 😜 Boarding was delayed and the usual cluster you get in Long Beach. It’s funny reading all the comments on the Facebook group for this cruise complaining that this is the worst embarkation experience they have ever had, welcome to Long Beach! The ship is drop dead gorgeous and definitely a different vibe, more relaxed and chill I think. We had lunch in the dining room. We thought it would be traditional table service but it was a buffet and actually quite nice. The food was good, basically a smaller version of the Marketplace Buffet but it was much nicer due to the beautiful setting and relaxed atmosphere. There was silverware and cloth napkins on the tables and I was happy to get a chance to get pics of Michelangelo dining room. Now I need to get ready for Elegant Night but will be back later with more pics from our first two days. I am really enjoying cruising Italian style! 😎🛳️😎

[daveo6313]

Thanks for the pictures.  We are going on her in December and really looking forward to it.  

[Journey11]

Thanks for the info and great pictures.

I hadn’t given any thought to this ship.

But now I’m curious. Will follow your review.

I hope you have a wonderful cruise.😊

[wrightkj]

5 hours ago, LaRue1975 said:

Hello from the Fabulous Firenze! I boarded yesterday with two girlfriends, we all qualify for Medicare so can’t quite call it a girls trip! 😜 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Still qualifies as a GIRLS trip! Have fun!

[LouChamp]

Aloha. Enjoy your voyage and thank you for the pictures!

[CoastalCatharine]

Looking forward to more. Love the photos!

[pe4all]

Ship pics look great so far!  Very Italian.  Can't wait to read more.

[ski_mom]

Following along too - we will be on her at the end of October (Halloween cruise)

[MistyRo76]

I am considering this ship out of LB for a cruise in 2026 to celebrate my 50th birthday! It may end up being a girls' cruise as well! So I'm excited to follow along with your voyage! Your pics to start are great! I hope you have an amazing time with your girls! 

[LaRue1975]

After unpacking we enjoyed the Sailaway Party from the Pergola Bar on the Panorama deck. The cruise director and fun squad did a great job so I’m looking forward to the 80s Rock & Glow Party tonight. The staterooms are basically the standard Carnival stateroom with some nice upgrades. The shower is 100% better, I liked it even better than the one on the Celebration. It seems roomier and easier to get in and out of the water pressure is the best I have ever had on a cruise ship. The decor is much nicer too, the drapes have tie backs and are truly black out which is a huge improvement. Also there is a motion light on the bottom of the closet which is very beneficial when you have to find the bathroom in the middle of night. That coffee table has done some damage to my toes in the past, not this cruise! 😜

 

[LaRue1975]

Before dinner we stopped at the Frizzante Bar for pre dinner martinis. This is going to be our go to bar, we had a blast there last night after dinner. We had two Lemon Drops and an Expresso and they were perfect! We had dinner at the adjacent II Viago restaurant and it was one of the best dining experiences I’ve had on a Carnival ship. The salads were wonderful and two us had the Shrimp Scampi and my other friend ordered the sea bass, both were delicious! We had Cannolis, Tiramisu and Mile High Gelato Pie for dessert. They were all good but it’s the Mile High Gelato Pie for the win, it was to die for delicious! I am not sure my pics are loading, if they don’t all appear I’ll come back later and try again. 

[pinto18]

1 hour ago, LaRue1975 said:

It seems roomier and easier to get in and out of the water pressure is the best I have ever had on a cruise ship

We just got off the day you got on. I agree, the water pressure was amazing!!

[TravelE]

1 hour ago, LaRue1975 said:

Before dinner we stopped at the Frizzante Bar for pre dinner martinis. This is going to be our go to bar, we had a blast there last night after dinner. We had two Lemon Drops and an Expresso and they were perfect! We had dinner at the adjacent II Viago restaurant and it was one of the best dining experiences I’ve had on a Carnival ship. The salads were wonderful and two us had the Shrimp Scampi and my other friend ordered the sea bass, both were delicious! We had Cannolis, Tiramisu and Mile High Gelato Pie for dessert. They were all good but it’s the Mile High Gelato Pie for the win, it was to die for delicious! I am not sure my pics are loading, if they don’t all appear I’ll come back later and try again. 

 

I had the black photo problem using my iPhone. I found that it went away if I changed the camera settings to make the file size smaller.

 

Go to

Settings -> Camera (scroll down to find it) -> Formats -> Choose High Efficiency and under Photo Capture, change from 24 MP to 12 MP.

 

Good luck!

 

[LaRue1975]

Ok, I think I figured out the photo situation. The service at II Viago was fantastic, Lewis served us complimentary limoncello shots after dinner. Cheers! 

Edited Monday at 11:03 PM by LaRue1975

[LaRue1975]

We hit the casino after dinner, had a blast and didn’t roll in until well past our normal bedtime. 😜 Java Blue is up here on the lido deck where we are so gratefully coffee was only a few steps away, whew! After coffee we stopped at the Atrium Bar for mimosas to take with us to Sea Day Brunch. I don’t have pics of the brunch because it was just ok. The Atrium however is spectacular and harkens back to the days when it was called the Grand Atrium. After brunch we hit all the shops, got drinks again from Frizzante and sat outside on the Lanai. It was cloudy and cool earlier but was now shaping up to be a beautiful day. We grabbed a bite at nearby La Strada Grill right before they closed, it was good and a perfect light lunch. The drink is an Aperol Spritz from Fizzante.  

Edited Monday at 11:29 PM by LaRue1975

[LaRue1975]

After lunch I walked around and took pics of Lido area. I have heard a lot of complaints of not being able to find deck chairs but as you can see yesterday’s sea day was not a problem. This was around 3 PM and the sun hadn’t been out until early afternoon. Plus it was first Elegant Night so a lot of people were probably getting ready. Regardless, the Firenze offers plenty of deck chairs in the sun and shade IMHO. 

[LaRue1975]

The Panorama Deck is mostly covered and has many great areas to sit comfortably and relax with in indoor/outdoor feel. The Pergola Bar is right in the middle on the Port side, it’s nice to have a bar in this deck for those looking for a more chill area while still being able to enjoy the Lido vibe. They also have two ping pong tables and a foosball on this deck and I saw several card games and board games going on. We went to dinner in the MDR, it was good but we forgot to get drinks before we went in. Service was slow as it usually is on Elegant Night in Anytime Dining so I was too thirsty and hungry to remember to get pics! 😜 

 

Afterwards we had a roaring good time at Frizzante with a few rounds of martinis and shots but no pics thank goodness! 🤣🤣 We finished up at the casino and stayed out way past our bedtime. Oops, we did it again! Ok, I think I am caught up for the first two days. I will get a lot more pics, there is so much more to explore, the Italian ships are a great addition to the Carnival fleet! 

[rainbowflag]

"we enjoyed the Sailaway Party from the Pergola Bar on the Panorama deck."  " The Panorama Deck is mostly covered and has many great areas to sit comfortably and relax with in indoor/outdoor feel. The Pergola Bar is right in the middle on the Port side" 

 

The Pergola Bar was located on deck 11,called the Sun Deck, when we sailed Firenze. Panorama Deck is all cabins.

 

Thanks for the great photos, you took many more than we did 🙂 

Edited Tuesday at 02:16 AM by rainbowflag

[Sillyjilly]

So far so good! Thanks for sharing.

We'll be on her next month and now I'm really getting excited!

Enjoy your cruise!

[LaRue1975]

We are pulling into beautiful Puerto Vallarta and my glasses immediately fogged up when I stepped on the balcony, welcome to Mexico! We are going on the Majahuitas Beach Cove excursion which I have really been looking forward to. I should be able to get some really good pics there. Hopefully I can catch up this afternoon and post the pics from yesterday’s Sea Day. The ladies gave me permission to post a few of our pics so I’ll put one here from our hangout Frizzante Bar, cheers! 🥳🍸🍸🍸🥳

Edited Tuesday at 01:53 PM by LaRue1975

[dctravel]

Thanks for doing this! We sail on Firenze for Christmas and I love getting a feel for the ship before we depart.

 

Are the sandwiches  at La Strada pre-made or can they be customized?

[LaRue1975]

I’m back! Our excursion was fabulous! I can say with confidence it is the best one I have done on the Mexican Riviera for sure and could even be the best overall, so much fun! I will cover it after I go through all my pics. Yesterday was pretty mellow, a nice relaxing Sea Day to prepare for our three port days in a row. We skipped breakfast and went to Pasta Bella. They don’t have a Cocina on this ship so it is served in the seated dining room. It was very good and the service was great. Sorry I don’t have pics but once they sat that bowl in front of me I forgot about taking pics! 😜 

 

We played in the casino in the afternoon and had dinner in the MDR. We went back to Frizzante for pre-dinner martinis, the bartenders there are very engaging and big on the shenanigans. Our kind of bar evidently! As we were led to our table in the dining room I noticed there were tables open in the middle and asked the hostess if we could sit there instead. She went to the desk to check and we were seated right in front and our server was wonderful. We are going to ask to sit there from now on. The food was excellent and I remembered to take pics, yay! We had the crab and shrimp cake and lasagna appetizers. I had the Chicken Roulade and my buddies both ordered filet mignon from the Steakhouse menu. We all ordered the Italian dessert. Everything was delicious except the dessert. 

 

[LaRue1975]

We had front row seats for the dining room show and after dinner we saw Color My World in the showroom. I hadn’t seen it before and enjoyed it, the female lead is very good. The showroom seems more spacious and the sight lines seem better too. I’m not sure if that’s true but I could see well the entire show which was nice compared to the other Vista class ships. After the show we went to Lido for the 80s Rock & Glow Party which was fantastic. I really like our cruise director Tyler, he is pretty cool and not annoying or dorky, lol! I think it’s a tie between him and Deon for best 80s party. That’s it for day 3. I may have time tonight to post the pics from our excursion. This has been a really good cruise so far, thanks for following along! 

[lasvegascruising]

Wonderful pictures of the Firenze!  The three of you are beautiful ladies and look like you all are so happy & having a great cruise.  I thought I really didn't care for the Firenze and would not sail on her again BUT your pictures are changing my mind.  I am from Vegas and it is a nice drive down to Long Beach for a cruise.  I think I may reconsider and look for another five day cruise.  So happy you are sharing with us.  My husband found a bartender at this bar that mixed up a manhatten that he loved.  We stopped by a few times to visit her!

[LaRue1975]

On 9/15/2024 at 8:00 PM, daveo6313 said:

Thanks for the pictures.  We are going on her in December and really looking forward to it.  

You are going to love going Italian style! It will be perfect for the cooler weather you’ll get in December, enjoy!