First Impression of the Carnival Venezia

Honestly, we weren’t sure what our first impression of the Carnival Venezia would be. Would it feel like a typical Carnival ship? Would it feel like Costa? What would the “Italian vibe” bring to the table?

We have now been on board the Carnival Venezia for two days and these are our first thoughts and impressions of the Carnival Venezia:

The Italian decor is on 10

And I like it! The Italian decor flows throughout the ship from the atrium, to the dining rooms and up to lido and the serenity deck. The halls of the ship are decked out in Venetian photos and even the bathrooms in the cabins feel like you’re in a European hotel.

Fun (shaded) seating all around!

There are so many different seating areas in the main spaces of the Venezia. Many cruise ships just have decks of loungers and those are the main seating choices. For a pale person who easily sunburns I sometimes struggle to find a seat that is shaded, but where I can still feel like I’m on deck and able to enjoy the entertainment. There are many different types of seating in the lido area and quite a few beach umbrellas on the upper decks so there are still spots of shade. And comfy chairs.

The floor plan feels like the Vista

If you have been on a Vista class ship, the layout of the ship should feel very familiar. The buffet, the location of the venues throughout the ship, all of that feels very much like a Vista class ship.

The main pool has a roof

The roof on the Lido pool has a roof and it rained on our first morning on board and they just closed the roof. Which is great that it is still a usable space when it rains.

The Lido feels kind of like an Italian square

TheLido deck feels like an Italian square, if Italian squares have pools in the middle of them. The Lido has a the classic pool and some deck chairs you expect in a pool area, but it also has cafe tables. It feels like you are in a European square. There are comfy chairs in the balconies overlooking the square and small tables you can stop to enjoy food or drink.

The main Java Blue coffee shop is also on the lido (with a full covered seating area) so you can feel like you are in an Italian coffee shop right off the Italian square.

The bathroom is smaller than Carnival’s normal bathrooms

While the standard cabins are not large on any cruise ships, the bathrooms on carnival normally have enough room for two people to comfortably stand next to each other in the bathroom. Not on the Venezia. It is definitely a one person bathroom and there is not nearly as much counter space as you usually have in a Carnival bathroom.

That’s a small sink for a Carnival cruise ship!

But there is a door to the shower instead of a shower curtain so that’s a positive?

There are only three drawers in the cabin

The cabin (we are in a standard balcony cabin) is around the same size as most cruise ship cabins. There are three sections of the closet, but there are no drawers under the vanity. The entire cabin only has three drawers. I’ve been in cabins with less storage space, but I’ve also been in cabins with a lot more!

Only two pools and four hot tubs

The aft pool is open to everyone and has a pool and two hot tubs. The main lido pool is open to everyone and has just the one pool (with stairs to get in it) and no hot tubs. On the 21+ Serenity deck there are two jumbo sized hot tubs, but no pool.

The guests staying in the Terrazza cabins have access to a private area with two additional hot tubs on the back of the ship.

Will there be enough pool space when the Venezia heads to Port Canaveral in 2024? I’m not so sure!

Final first impressions of the Carnival Venezia

I like it. I like the Italian theme. There are plenty of comfy seats throughout the ship. There are places to sit outside in the shade which I like. I worry about enough pool space, and even deck chair space, on a summer Caribbean cruise.

But would I sail on the Venezia again? Absolutely. I’m enjoying the Fun Italian Style!