Jul 13

Jul 13 Day One - Embarkation and Sail Away

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.