Lunch on the Carnival Venezia

There are several lunch options on the Carnival Venezia that are different from the choices on most Carnival Cruise ships. From additional menu items at Guy’s Burgers to a completely different menu at the Deck 5 bar-b-que, there are some Italian style updates to the lunch options on the Carnival Venezia!

Guy’s Burgers

Guy’s Burgers has updated its menu to include two new Italian style burgers. These burgers add Italian items, like fried mozzarella, to the standard Guy’s Burgers. A Straight Up Burger is probably my favorite food on a Carnival Cruise ship, so I only tried an Italian burger once and then stuck to regular burgers after that. They weren’t bad, but I did not find them to be an improvement on a regular Guy’s Burger.

Italian burger from Guy’s on Carnival Venezia

Tomodoro

Tomodoro replaced Blue Iguana. But it’s essentially the same thing with the addition of some Italian items. You can still get your burritos, tacos and burrito bowls like you can on any other Carnival Cruise ship. But they also have a couple of like pre-made options you can grab.

I tried the meatball sub. It was pretty good, but small and it didn’t come with anything else. I ended up going over to Guy’s to grab some fries, but that only works on days where there isn’t a long line.

La Strata Grill

La Strata Grill is located outside on Deck 5. It is only open for lunch on sea days. La Strata Grill serves what it describes as Mediterranean Street food…mixed with bar-b-cue. It’s mostly just Mediterranean food though.

They have several salads, usually a couple of different types of sandwiches, then some sides like corn, grilled zucchini and squash, macaroni and cheese and baked beans. The garlic bread is absolutely amazing. I don’t even know how you make bread that great. I highly recommend the corn as well. It didn’t really look like much but it was really good.

Even if you don’t end up having a whole meal at La Strata Grill, it’s worth checking it out and grabbing a few items to sample.

The Asian Station at the Seafood Shack

On sea days, the Seafood Shack has an Asian Station. By the end of the cruise, the line was at least 30 minutes long to get the food here it was so good! And it’s not like they even have to cook it! It was probably the most popular lunch option on the Carnival Venezia during our sailing.

The individual items they have change daily, so check out the menu before you get in the line expecting the exact same foods as the day before.

Pro Tip: Try the Asian on the first sea day because once other people realize it exists, the line gets really long.

Deli

The deli is open during lunch and the afternoon. They make the sandwiches to order so it can get a little bit of a line, but usually it moves quicker than you expect. They also have fries and coleslaw to go with the sandwiches.

Pizza

In the back of the buffet by the pool there is the pizza. It’s thin and crispy and a nice choice when nothing else sounds appealing.

Main Buffet

The menu at the main buffet changes daily so it is always worth checking out what they have. I almost never eat anything except salads and desserts from the main buffet.

And the desserts are worth it. No matter where you get your food for lunch, it is worth heading to one of the two dessert stations to grab a slice of cake and a couple of cookies! Because calories don’t count on a cruise.

General lunch tips for the Carnival Venezia

Everything is not open every day, so make sure you check out the Asian at the Seafood Shack and La Strata Grill on sea days. They are not open on port days.

Definitely try some of the Italian menu items at the various places. If you don’t love them, you can always get something else. Food is free on a cruise ship.

Swing back by the buffet at the end of your meal for dessert. Carnival’s cake quality has noticeably improved in the last few years (especially the chocolate cakes), so make sure you try some cake.