Chris Dikmen & Rickee Richardson 7/17/23 Chris Dikmen & Rickee Richardson 7/17/23

Day 5 - Disembarkation in NYC

We disembark Carnival Venezia

We left our stateroom at 7:50 and were off the ship by 8:15. As we are only traveling with carry-on luggage, we skipped the long lines at the elevators and carried our luggage down to Deck 3 from Deck 7 (our stateroom deck). That probably saved us at least 30 minutes of waiting for an elevator.

The line to disembark on Deck 3 was long, but moved relatively fast. Once inside the cruise terminal, we breezed past the US Customs thanks to the new facial recognition systems in place. No need to have your passports in hand.

Once outside of the terminal, things get a little more interesting. Basically, chaos. Carnival does offer airport transfers to LaGuardia for $40 per person (I think). But, for about the same price we can get a private Uber/Lyft, to take us to the airport, which we prefer.

Once you step outside of the terminal (Pier 88) there is no taxi or Uber/Lyft pickup spot unless you cross a busy street (12th Ave.). First you have to cross a very busy bicycle lane, then two lanes of car traffic.

As you walk from the terminal to the opposite side of the street, which is were you can obtain an Uber/Lyft or taxi, you will be inundated with gypsy cab drivers holding Uber signs and offering you an “Uber” ride to the airport. We advise against accepting these offers because, in most cases, these are NOT Uber drivers.

Uber and Lyft drivers are only allowed to accept pre-arranged rides and they do not accept “hail” rides. So, either these ARE Uber drivers who are breaking Uber’s rules, or they are gypsy drivers using an Uber sign to attract riders. It is not like you would necessarily be in any danger with these drivers, but you would not have the Uber app to tell you in advance what the cost of the ride is to the airport. Another little tip we learned from our Lyft driver is that all taxis/Uber/Lyft vehicles will have a license plate on the front of the vehicle that begins with TLC (Taxi Limousine Commission). A gypsy cab vehicle will most likely not have this license plate.

Once we made it to the other side of the street, we used the Lyft app to order our ride and were quoted $62 for the drive to LaGuardia. Even after the tip, our total cost of $74.36 was less than the ship’s motor coach transfer. Of course, Uber/Lyft ride costs will vary from one day to the next, or even different times of the day.

By the way, when you get to the other side of the street, look for the building below to stand in front of for your ride.

Uber/Lyft Pickup Spot across the street from Pier 88

It only took about 5 minutes for our Lyft driver to arrive in a late model Mitsubishi Outlander SUV. We enjoyed a very nice, comfortable ride to LaGuardia with our Lyft driver and arrived in plenty of time for our 12:39 flight. In fact, we had a couple of hours to check out the beautiful Admirals Club at LaGuardia before heading to our gate.

Our flight home was on time and uneventful, which is a good thing. We once again scored exit row seats and had plenty of legroom.

Check out our Instagram (@cruisereport) and Facebook for additional photos and coverage of our cruise aboard Carnival Venezia, and subscribe to our YouTube channel (https://YouTube.com/cruisereport). Watch for our upcoming video review of Carnival Venezia.

Video Review

Our review of Carnival Venezia

Chris Dikmen & Rickee Richardson 7/16/23 Chris Dikmen & Rickee Richardson 7/16/23

Day 4 - Day At Sea and Bonsai Teppanyaki

Our last full day aboard Carnival Venezia is a day at sea. We have dinner at Bonsai Teppenyaki.

Today is our last full day aboard Carnival Venezia and it is a relaxing day at sea as the ship sails back to New York City. The seas are calm today and have been relatively calm the entire journey.

This morning, I decided to take my work somewhere a little quieter and out of the way. I found a great spot at Pergola Bar on Deck 11 midship. JavaBlue Cafe is just one deck down from here should I need a caffeine boost.

This afternoon, we are back at Gondola Lounge on Deck 5 for trivia and other games with Kimbo, one of the “Fun Squad”. All of the cruise staff members have been very fun and engaging.

Over the past four days, we have succeeded in winning six different trivia contests and ended up with five of the medallions (see below). Since we had won three in one day, we decided to give one of our medallions to the second place winner of one contest.

No other cruise line does daytime entertainment as well as Carnival. In addition to a variety of trivia contests, they have some very creative games to get everyone involved.

A Checked Luggage Zone Tag board on Deck 5 is a reminder that the cruise is coming to an end. This is a very intelligent way of distributing additional disembarkation luggage tags. It is easy to see that most guests are opting for the early disembarkation.

Tonight, we have reservations at Bonsai Teppanyaki, Carnival’s teppanyaki restaurant on Deck 5 midship. We arrived ten minutes early, per the recommendation from the restaurant. We are seated at a table for ten. There are only four tables in Bonsai Teppanyaki so reservations in advance are definitely recommended.

The cost to dine here is $38 per person for dinner or $35 per person for lunch. Like all specialty dining venues, there is also an 18% service charge added to the final bill. The total for us to dine here was $89.68 all in.

This was the third time we have dined at a Bonsai Teppanyaki (Carnival Panorama, Mardi Gras and Venezia). The meal begins with a selection of appetizers, Miso soup and a salad. The only decision to make is your main course. You can choose from shrimp, lobster, filet of beef, chicken, or salmon. Or, you can choose a combo of any two items. If you want an additional entrée there is a $15 upcharge. Trust me, you won’t need an additional entrée.

Everyone at the table gets a bowl of delicious egg fried rice. In fact, it may be the best fried rice I have ever had at a restaurant (the secret is the garlic butter). Everyone also gets a selection of grilled veggies. The chefs are very entertaining and it can get quite noisy in here with all of the singing and clanging of spatulas. Plan on a fun evening of entertainment and great food.

The meal ends with a dessert Bento box filled with sweet treats. My favorite is the Green Tea Ice Cream.

After dinner, we head back to our stateroom to pack for the trip home tomorrow. Tomorrow morning, we will disembark and fly back to DFW and start preparing for our next adventure.

Video Review

Our video review of Carnival Venezia

Chris Dikmen & Rickee Richardson 7/15/23 Chris Dikmen & Rickee Richardson 7/15/23

Day 3 - Hamilton, Bermuda and Il Vaggio

Carnival Venezia stops at Kings Wharf, Bermuda and we have dinner at Il Vaggio.

This morning, Carnival Venezia is docked at King’s Wharf in Hamilton, Bermuda. As journalists and YouTubers, that means we have one day with most guests off the ship to get all of the photos and videos without large crowds.

I decided to set up shop at Lido Marketplace once again for my morning blogging duties.

My morning workstation at Lido Marketplace

With most guests off this ship on excursions, the towel animals get to take over the Lido Deck and enjoy the pool.

One of the most noticeable differences between Carnival Venezia and other Vista-class ships in the fleet is the Lido Deck. The Lido pool is smaller and there are fewer lounge chairs in this area. Instead of open deck space there are structures in place on Decks 10 and 11 surrounding the pool. And, unless my eyes are deceiving me, the Lido pool appears to have a sliding roof.

For more open-air lounge seating, guests can head up to Deck 12.

I cannot sail on Carnival and not have at least one Guy’s burger. There was no line today since most guests are on excursions, so I had no trouble ordering my Plain Jane cheeseburger.

We did disembark Venezia to get some exterior photos and video of the ship. However, we have visited Bermuda many times and saw no need for a shore excursion.

After we finished most of our photo/video duties, we did find time to visit the Gondola Lounge for an afternoon trivia with Buzz.

For dinner this evening, we have a reservation at Il Vaggio, Venezia’s Italian specialty restaurant ($42 per person). The cost to dine here includes a choice of one starter, one soup/salad, one entrée and one dessert per person.

Rickee ordered the Burrata with Heirloom tomatoes. A massive chunk of freshly-made Burrata topped some delicious tomatoes drizzled in an olive oil pesto dressing.

For my starter, I ordered the Fritto Misto, a combination of lightly battered and deep-fried shrimp, calamari and vegetables served with garlic aioli.

My salad course was a more traditional Caesar Salad, which was a noticeable step up from the one I had at the Sea Day Brunch in the MDR. The Romaine lettuce was fresh and crisp and the dressing had plenty of tart Parmesan flavor.

Rickee ordered the Misticanza Salad, a mixture of baby greens, hazlenuts and shaved pecorino with a prosecco vinaigrette.

For her main course, Rickee chose the Pasta Alla Genovese. She would have preferred something simpler, like Spaghetti Bolognese, but that was not offered. The ziti with shredded short rib beef and San Marzano tomato sauce was rich and delicious.

I could not resist trying the 14 oz. grilled pork chop and it was a good choice. The pork was perfectly cooked, moist and delicious.

Chef Sachin stopped by our table and we were able to thank him personally for an excellent meal.

Our meal ended with the Mile-High Gelato Pie, which had been recommended to me. This massive, three-layer gelato pie, topped with whipped cream and drizzled with salted caramel, was decadent and delicious. Our only mistake was in ordering one for each of us. We could have easily shared one serving.

After dinner, we waddled down to Deck 4 to line up outside of Limelight Lounge for this evening’s Punchliner Comedy show. The line waiting to get in extends all the way back to the casino. You should show up at least 30 minutes ahead of show time for Punchliner comedy.

Tonight’s show featured Macio, a comedian we have enjoyed on previous Carnival ships. His show tonight had different material, and was hilarious as usual.

Tomorrow is our last day at sea as Venezia sails back to NYC. Tomorrow night, we have reservations at Bonsai Teppanyaki, another of our Carnival favorites.

Video Review

Our video review of Carnival Venezia

Chris Dikmen & Rickee Richardson 7/14/23 Chris Dikmen & Rickee Richardson 7/14/23

Day 2 - A Day At Sea and The Chef's Table

Today we do well at trivia and have dinner at The Chef’s Table.

Today is a day at sea and, for us on Carnival, that means trivia! No other cruise line does as good a job at onboard entertainment as Carnival and we love their trivia and games. However, before the games begin, I get some blogging and computer work done at Lido Marketplace. I am there early and they are just getting set up for breakfast service.

The best coffee on the ship is at JavaBlue Cafe, but it comes at a price.

Carnival Venezia was brought over from sister brand, Costa. The only remaining identity is the yellow stack with the Costa “C”.

Rickee and I did very well at trivia this morning. I won the first trivia contest and Rickee won the second one. Then, we teamed up with other guests to play Wheelie Big Challenge, and our team won that, too!

We decided on a light lunch today, so we wanted to try the Sea Day Brunch in Canal Grande dining room, one of the two main dining rooms on Venezia. As you can see from the photo below, the two-top tables are extremely close together, making private conversations difficult.

We did see a choice of bread on the menu, and we assumed they would place a basket on the table, or at least come around with a tray of bread choices, but I guess you have to order bread.

I ordered the Chicken Caesar Salad, which was just okay.

This evening, we have booked a reservation at The Chef’s Table, which is the ultimate dining experience on Carnival ($99 per person). They limit participation to 14 guests at The Chef’s Table.

We met at 6pm at reception and were escorted into the galley where the meal begins with a glass of champagne and a tasting menu of appetizers presented by Chef Ronie.

Several chefs prepare a variety of dishes for our Chef’s Table experience.

In The Galley on Carnival Venezia for Chef’s Table Dinner

Our meal begins with a series of delicious small bites.

The multi-course meal included seafood, lamb and beef short rib (below).

The plating and creativity of the dishes keeps Carnival at the top of our Chef’s Table rankings.

The Chef’s Table on Carnival Venezia was every bit as good as we remembered from Carnival Panorama in 2020. In our opinion, this is still the best Chef’s Table experience of any cruise line we have tried.*

*We have dined at The Chef’s Table on Carnival, Princess, Viking, and Azamara.

Video Review

Our video review of Carnival Venezia

Chris Dikmen & Rickee Richardson 7/13/23 Chris Dikmen & Rickee Richardson 7/13/23

Day One - Embarkation and Sail Away

We spend 4 nights aboard Carnival Venezia

This morning we checked out of Hotel Elysée and ordered an Uber to take us from the hotel to Manhattan Cruise Terminal which, with traffic, is about a 30-minute ride. The Uber cost was $24 plus tip. We arrived at Pier 88 at exactly 11:30, which was our designated arrival time. Carnival Venezia was docked and ready to receive a new group of excited cruisers.

This is our 140th cruise and I can honestly say I don’t think I have ever seen this many people waiting to board a ship. The size of the crowd was insane. That said, the process was well organized and there were plenty of staff on hand to direct you to the correct line.

Crowds Waiting To Check-In for Carnival Venezia

It took about 45 minutes for us to check in and almost exactly an hour after we arrived at the cruise terminal, we stepped aboard Carnival Venezia. We were told that staterooms would not be ready until 1:30, which is typical Carnival protocol. Although, one crew member did tell us that staterooms would be ready at 1:00pm. That did not turn out to be the case.

We saw an open table at the Atrium bar right after boarding the ship so we grabbed the space and ordered two glasses of Prosecco to officially begin the cruise, at least in our style.

After Prosecco, it was time to complete the muster operation by visiting our muster station, which was at the very aft of the ship on Deck 3. Because of the way Venezia is designed, there is no way to walk from Atrium Bar on Deck 3 to the aft part of the ship so we had to haul our carry-on luggage up one flight of stairs to Deck 4, then walk all the way aft On Deck 4, then go down another flight of stairs to Deck 3. You may wonder, “Why not just use the elevators?” Yeah, right.

Our muster station is the Canal Grande dining room on Deck 3 (the restaurant is on two decks). We had our boarding passes scanned, watched a quick demo on how to put on a life vest, and we were done.

We still had a little time before our stateroom would be ready, so we decided to grab a light lunch at Pizza del Capitano on Deck 10 aft. And, in case you are wondering, the aft elevators were not as crowded, so we were able to get an elevator from Deck 3 to Deck 10.

I still consider Carnival’s pizza to be among the best at sea. And, since most guests head to the Lido Marketplace buffet for embarkation lunch, we always go for the less crowded option.

The staterooms were opened a little early, about 1:15pm, and we found our stateroom, 7491, which is far aft on Deck 7. The stateroom key cards were waiting for us in the little mailbox by the door.

Rickee’s stateroom key card worked, but mine did not, which required a visit to Guest Services. It took us about 15 minutes to wait in line at Guest Services to get the room key issue sorted out. They basically made me a new key which now works perfectly. If there is one flaw in the design of these Vista class vessels it is that Carnival placed Guest Services right next to one of the noisiest bars on the ship with blaring loud music. This makes it nearly impossible to communicate with the staff at Guest Services.

With my new key in hand, we returned to our stateroom to check out the view of the New York skyline from our balcony.

After unpacking our clothes, we head back up to Deck 10 aft for sail away. Since our stateroom is located aft, we took the aft elevators to Deck 10 where we end up at the Burano Pool and Bar. Honestly, I have never seen that many people in a pool at the same time! We ordered a couple of cocktails at the Burano Bar, and walked up to Deck 11 where we could get a better view of sail away.

Our Cruise Director made an announcement over the PA letting us know that we would be passing by the Statue of Liberty on the starboard side. Since our balcony stateroom is on the starboard side, we decided to enjoy the view of Lady Liberty from the relative peace and quiet of our own balcony.

Our stateroom attendant, Mara, did stop by to introduce herself and ask if we needed anything. I mentioned that there was no "Do Not Disturb” sign in our stateroom when we arrived, and she assured me she would bring one by later. Rickee also asked for a few more hangers. I also mentioned that there was no breakfast room service menu and Mara informed me that Carnival no longer provides those menus. Instead, room service breakfast must be ordered through the Carnival Hub app.

This evening, we stopped by Amari Bar on Deck 5 midship for a pre-dinner drink. Amari Bar is located where Alchemy Bar is on other Vista-class ships and has a similar menu. We were pleased to find one of our favorite cocktails from Alchemy Bar on the menu here: the Cucumber Sunrise.

After enjoying our cocktail, we decided to have dinner at Bonsai Sushi, which is located just across from Amari Bar. Bonsai Sushi is one of our favorite dining spots on Carnival ships. The food is reasonably priced and the food is always very good.

We started by sharing an order of the Edamame.

I ordered the Kukuni starter which is delicious braised beef short rib with a Teriyaki glaze and a very good, spicy salad. This is one of my favorites.

Rickee ordered the Shrimp Tempura as her main course. Five large deep-fried shrimp for $8 is a pretty good deal.

My “go-to” main course is the Spicy Tuna Roll, which is one of the best you will find on any cruise ship.

Tomorrow, we will be trying our hand at Carnival trivia and we have reservations at The Chef’s Table for dinner.

Video Review

Our video review of Carnival Venezia

Chris Dikmen & Rickee Richardson 7/12/23 Chris Dikmen & Rickee Richardson 7/12/23

Carnival Venezia Pre-Cruise in New York City and Hotel Elysée

Pre-Cruise night in New York City

Today, we flew from DFW to New York LaGuardia on American Airlines. We are traveling with only carry-on luggage for this four-night cruise.

The flight from DFW to LGA was uneventful and on-time, which is what you always hope for. The flight was completely full and a little bumpy, but otherwise, it was fine. We scored some excellent Main Cabin Extra seats in exit row 16 so we had plenty of legroom.

As our flight was on final approach to LaGuardia, the city comes into view and I had forgotten just how massive New York City really is.

After landing and entering Terminal B at LaGuardia, we noticed that the airport has undergone quite a bit of renovation since our last visit, which has been at least ten years ago. We did not need to wait for luggage since we are traveling with only carry-on, so we followed the signs to ground transportation. By the way, the signage at LaGuardia is excellent.

We ordered an Uber to take us to our hotel and, by the time we arrived at the Uber pick-up station, our car was waiting for us. We ordered Uber X, which was the least expensive option and the cost to midtown Manhattan was $65. We had a 20% discount coupon from Uber, so our net cost was about $54. Of course, with tip, that brought the price back up to around $65.

The drive from LaGuardia to Hotel Elysée only took about 20 minutes. Traffic was not that bad until we got into Manhattan.

The facade of Hotel Elysée is undergoing some renovation, so the beautiful image above is somewhat encumbered by construction scaffolding, a common sight on many buildings in NYC.

Once inside the hotel it really does have the feel of an intimate French country inn. Hotel Elysée was opened in 1926, nearly 100 years ago! During that time, the hotel has undergone some renovations, but has retained the classic elegance of that period.

When we checked in, we were shocked to learn that we had been upgraded to one of the Presidential Suites! We were also informed that the computer system that programs the room keys was malfunctioning, so we would have to be escorted to our room by Jesse, a staff member, who could unlock the door for us with a master key. Jesse told us that he has been working at Hotel Elysée since he was 17 years old and that it is the only job he has ever had.

Jesse unlocked our door, revealing one of the most elegant suites we have ever experienced.

The suite has a huge living room with a fireplace, bookcases stocked with books, a sofa and casual seating for up to eight as well as a dining table that can seat six guests. A small desk at one end of the room is positioned across from a baby grand piano! I don’t think we have ever stayed in a suite with a piano.

Our suite even has a very nice-sized kitchen with full refrigerator, stove and microwave. There were no dishes or cutlery provided, but I assume that needs to be arranged in advance.

The bedroom is equally impressive with a king-sized bed, elegant seating, beautiful furnishings and a huge free-standing closet complete with mirrored doors. The bathroom is large and equally elegant with a full-sized bathtub and large walk-in shower.

As far as the hotel’s location, it is on E 54th Street between Madison Ave and Park Ave, within walking distance of Central Park. This is an upscale boutique hotel that should be considered by any cruise traveler embarking or disembarking a ship at Manhattan Cruise Terminal. For more information, check out the hotel’s website at https://libraryhotelcollection.com/en/hotel-elysee.html.

After unpacking and spending some relaxing time in our suite, we decided to venture out into the city for dinner. We have reservations, or so we thought, at The Blue Mezze Bar and Mediterranean Restaurant. We pondered having an Uber take us from the hotel to the restaurant, but the weather was nice and, on the map, it did not look that far away, so we decided to walk.

As it turns out, we should have done Uber. It was a very long walk! The Blue Mezze is located at 2nd Ave and E 77th Street. It took us more than 35 minutes to walk there from the hotel, but we probably needed the exercise. We felt like this part of NYC is pretty easy to walk and it felt relatively safe.

We arrived at Blue Mezze at 6:35pm, just missing the Happy Hour prices on drinks and mezze which ends at 6:30pm. We decided to sit indoors, hoping for air conditioning, but it was not as cool as we were hoping. We ordered a Mezze Sampler and three glasses of wine (I had a second). Our final tab with tip was $122. Seems a little steep for nothing besides appetizers, but this is NYC. The service was good, the food was also good, but far from the best mezze we have had. The place was packed and very noisy, perhaps the noisiest restaurant we have ever visited.

After dinner, we ordered an Uber to take us back to the hotel where we retired to our Presidential Suite for night’s rest. Tomorrow morning, we will embark Carnival Venezia!