This was our 7th cruise with Carnival. First time cruising out of New York. Also our first time visiting New York. We stayed 2 nights prior to the cruise, at the Comfort Inn Midtown. The hotel is only about 1-1/2 blocks from the port so it was very easy walking to the ship on embarkation day. The cruise port is not as big as the ports in Florida so it was a bit more crowded, but overall, ...
Loved the smaller ship the Elation. Wasn’t. Crowded at all and hardly any lines for food etc and was told it was at capacity. Perfect time of year also because children are in school. Jacksonville port was smaller and easy to navigate and you park right beside the ship. Half Moon Cay was the first stop and was the perfect low key beach day. Nassau was the second stop and was nice to see and had ...
EMBARKATION AND DEBARKATION
Bad
Very disorganized, needs better signage in the building and outside for shuttle drop off areas
FOOD IN DINING ROOMS
Okay
Tasty and well presented, however serving sizes were weird (big pieces of meat, hardly any vegetables)
FOOD SERVICE IN DINING ROOMS AND SIT DOWN RESTAURANTS
Not So Good
Staff seemed overwhelmed, looked like there needed to ...
This was an extended family and friend's cruise. We have all been on other cruise lines. Some of us cruise more often than others, but all have been on at least six cruises over the past few years. I would say that, overall, we enjoyed the trip, but getting used to the Carnival "fun" took a couple of days. My first reaction to the open areas was, "Wow, this is like the mall used to be at Christmas ...
Truth be told, we chose this cruise because Carnival gave us a ridiculously good deal on it (probably due to it originating in New York in the winter, which turned out to have some mild weather issues). But the Venezia proved to be a charming ship with some sophisticated design features that we really enjoyed. Some features, like the luxurious Italian decoration and theming (including a Venetian ...
Before proceeding to the review, I want to give you an idea of my experience, as I find knowing the cruise "experience level" of the reviewer is helpful to give weight to the contents of the review.
Loyalty Statuses:
Carnival Gold
NCL Platinum
MSC Black
DCL Gold
Royal Caribbean Emerald
On to the review. I am a frequent cruiser, and love sailing from New York. Being from New ...
This was my first time on a cruise ship and my overall experience was positive. Cruise ships in general are a modern marvel. I couldn't help but smile as I boarded the massive floating city.
While I was both impressed and intrigued by the size and scope of the ship. I did suspect it was nearing the end of it's use. Some areas of the ship seemed a little worse for wear. The carpet in the ...
Having previously sailed on the ship for its 4 Day US Inaugural to Bermuda and a 6 Day cruise to Canada/New England. I figured I would share some updated thoughts on the ship after being in service for 8 months.
Embarkation: We arrived just prior to our scheduled window of 10:00am, made it through security and had no issues. After that however, there was a delay of clearing off prior pax, so ...
We chose this particular cruise based on the itinerary. Aruba, Bonaire & Curacao were three islands that we hadn't visited together before, only Aruba & Curacao on a previous Carnival Cruise.
Embarkation was a breeze but disembarkation was not and we our luggage was not where the signage said it would be when we went to look for it. We were part of group 22 for disembarkation which meant our ...
I had read a number of the reviews going into this cruise, and honestly, I'm not sure I was on the same ship. The casino was just as smoky as other cruises I've been on. The line at the buffet was long, sure, at the one near mid-ship, not the 2nd line near the back of the ship, which is where we generally ate. Rooms were a good size, felt well designed, and had more closet space than other ships ...