This review is “off the charts” excellent! A 7 day cruise on the Firenze is just not long enough. Your review confirmed that fact! Thank you for the shoutout!
There's just so much going on that 7 days was simply not enough. We struggled to do everything on 17 days! Thank you for the amazing support on this wild journey of ours!
Great review! Carnival must have heard your criticism of Moda Lounge-on our sailing June 13 karaoke was in the Tuscan Lounge. I agree with you about the upcharge for Empanada Pie, but they had some of my favorite bites on the ship.
Oh that makes us so happy to hear! Moda was just not the right place to host it. Glad you were able to try the empanadas. We just couldn't ever figure out their opening times, or when we would pass by and see it open, we'd be full from other food. Sounds like a great cruise!
Really, really great video! Going on Venezia and feel comfortable with this decision after your review and cruise tips from her sister ship the Firenze. This was comprehensive in many respects that will be used daily
So glad to hear you found this video useful! Don't miss our Carnival Venezia playlist on the channel as well as we have several videos from the inaugural launch of that ship as well!
Absolutely! We just love sharing our experiences we have and hope that even a couple of people that watch our videos get some benefit from it. We hope that you have a wonderful girl's cruise! Curious to hear how it goes... ❤
I couldn't agree more with all the loves and hates. My family & I were on that first 7 nights and unfortunately we didn't run it to you gentlemen like I had hoped. There's always the next cruise. Overall, we loved most of it and gave Carnival grace on many of the hates that we totally understood would happen w/ a new crew on a newish cruiseship. Anywho, hope to meet you both on our next cruise. Ttfn🙂
We're sorry to have missed meeting you! That first sailing had us so busy running around and capturing footage and editing videos. Glad to hear that you were able to enjoy the cruise, though! The positives definitely outweighed the negatives for us, and hope it was the same for you.
We booked the Bonsai Tappanaki on our cruise last week and it was one of the highlights for us. The food was really good for the price point. We hated the elevators this time around because no one used the system correctly. We also did not love our balcony because it was covered in soot from the funnel. We had to use clorox wipes to wipe down the railings to be able to stand outside. Never saw our stateroom host so couldn't ask for our chairs to be cleaned.
We're glad to hear that you enjoyed your Bonsai Teppanyaki experience. We're surprised that you weren't able to find your cabin steward during your sailing to get the railing/balcony cleaned. We always saw our steward in the hallway as they were moving between rooms. Hopefully you were still able to enjoy your cruise!
@@thiscruiselife We saw other stewardesses but not ours. We loved the cruise and are starting to think about our next cruise. We are talking about Alaska next year but not sure
Add you know WE LOVED FIRENZE and are excited for you to help us book our next cruise on her. The ship was absolutely beautiful! I do think it's a fabulous upscale ship, something different for Carnival. It did seem that for hard Carnival fans didn't seem to like the changes. It isn't as child oriented and is definitely day more of an adult centric ship. Watching this video we missed A LOT! there just want enough time on a 5 day. We agree, the shortened day in Cabo really sucked. We did not have any issues with the tenders, they went really smoothly on our sailing. It embark was super smooth! Our check in was 10:30, we were on the ship by 11:30! We had excellent service, loved our Steward, we wanted for nothing! Our dining staff was super attentive, we were usually out in an hour. We took your advice and got the Tuscan chicken wrap, yummy! We loved the shows! We didn't have time to do half of what we wanted. Dining room food was very good, there was 1 things I ordered that was not good but our wait staff made sure I got a replacement dinner ASAP. Joey is FABULOUS! He has a fabulous sense of humor, such a character! We were so impressed that he remembered conversations and people! He actually talked to his dad about my husband, he's in a ZZ TOP tribute band (one of the to in the Nation), Joey wanted to see videos lol. His dad loves ZZ TOP and actually had just gotten tickets to ZZ TOP tickets while we were on the ship, he found us to tell us lol. We loved Firenze! We will be doing at least 1 more on her in the next year, but very likely 2! Thank guys, we truly appreciate you!😊
We’re so sorry that we weren’t able to get this video posted sooner! Glad to hear that you enjoyed the cruise and I’m excited to help you celebrate your anniversary next year! Love that there was a connection between your husband and Joey’s father. We enjoyed Joey as the cruise Director and I’m certain that the ZZ Top connection made it even more special! Thank you for sharing your experiences with us from your recent cruise. Excited to get you booked! -Rocky
Great video!! I was waiting though for the elevators to get their moment in the hate section. 😆 It was a neat concept but no one knew how to use it and that they needed to hit the screen for each person. So many people would rush the elevators thinking there were buttons inside to pick a different floor and it just brought a lot of confusion once they saw it was just a screen with specific floors. Other than that I loved my time there, it is a beautiful ship and I agree Moda is stunning!
Haha. The reason elevators didn't make our list is because we rarely take them. Stairs are the way to go for us when we're on a cruise ship. The only time we use the elevators is late at night as we're returning to our room from a lower deck and at that time, there's really no confusion or issues when using them.
So glad for you guys to get that invitation. I appreciate all of your reviews. Our next cruise is the Firenze, so I'm going to watch all of your vlogs. We just got off of the Jubilee last week. I hope by the time we get on some of the kinks will be worked out!
We’re glad to hear that our videos helped you navigate your way on the ship! The Firenze is a great ship and it sounds like your experience with consistent!
Mark and Rocky I couldn’t have said it better myself. You guys hit every single point and I agree with everything that you said great video! Loved this ship! 🛳️ ❤
We're going September 21st 7 nights any tips or tricks leaving the boat at the end of the trio? Also what's the best level to stay on were going to be on level 7 and are staying in 2 interior rooms
@@absolutecrypto95 we always recommend a relaxed debarkation. Check your luggage and pick the latest (highest) numbers available. Then wait for the ship to announce that all walk-off and zone tags have been called. Go enjoy some food in the buffet or the debark breakfast in the main restaurant, and then just relax in Serenity if the weather is nice. By doing this, you’ll enjoy an stress-free walk off the ship.
Great review !! We just got off Firenze (May 12 - May 16), we were boarding as you guys were getting off :) We loved the look of the ship, very classy :) Our issues; the ice machines were not being refilled in the evenings, the "no scooters in hallways" safety rule that was recently implemented is NOT being enforced on Firenze. The empanada's we purchased were very stale. The elevators need signs!!! Many many people on our sailing did not know they needed to press the button for EACH PERSON going in them. Carnival needs to put a sign above every call box OR re-program the call boxes to ask "how many people" after you push the button for your requested deck.
It's funny, we were saying the same thing about those elevator systems. It's great that they've introduced videos in the elevator banks that teach you how to use them, unfortunately people aren't going to stand there and watch the video to understand it. We also encountered some ice issues and we hope the food and beverage team is working to resolve that. Really bummed to hear about the stale empanadas. Hopefully things will improve with that venue since it's an added cost. Thanks for watching the video and for sharing your experiences with us!
@@thiscruiselife Exactly! On embarkation day, the elevators were loud and crowded, nobody was paying any attention to the video. It's very frustrating to be told to stand in front of a specific elevator and the door opens with 20 people inside already. I hope they get that worked out because it is very frustrating. Thanks for responding :)
We were on the same sailing as you. A lot of the times we had to skip the elevators because no one was using them properly. It was also a huge mess getting off in Catalina.
@@juliehaimowitz2772 We're so glad you found us! Just wait, we still have even more content about the Carnival Firenze coming to our channel. Make sure you keep an eye on our Playlist for the ship for all those great details!
Oh no!!! You definitely should have said hello! We met sooooo many amazing new friends on board and it was truly humbling to get to meet so many of our followers and subscribers. NEXT TIME you have to say hello! It's a small cruise world out there and so I'm sure we'll have the chance! :) -Mark
Thank you for this! I am counting the hours until my sailing. After hearing about the water shuttle problems I am glad that my sailing does not have any tender ports.
Thank you for your thorough and thoughtful review! I did want to mention that all (or most of) the bars I have been to on Carnival have their own themed drinks. Like on the Radiance: Heroes bar, Blue Iguana, Red Frog Pub, Alchemy, all have drinks you can't find at other bars on the ship 😉
Thank you so much for watching! You’re absolutely correct about the unique offerings at the bars across the fleet. I think this ship was extra special since there isn’t a BlueIguana Tequila Bar or Red Frog Rum bar, etc. Not that there’s anything wrong with those venues, it was just refreshing to see something new. We hope you enjoy this beautiful ship when you sail in January! There’s of great new spaces onboard that you’re sure to enjoy!
Hello Guys! Great video on the Firenze and love (as always) your honest review. You did have me chuckling on Mark's funny face on the pistachio martini, the poor chicken meatball and his blue tongue from the extra sprinklings at the Moda Bar. I'm heading back on the Venezia in mid-September but will have to wait on the Firenze until perhaps it relocates to the east coast (NJ here). Safe travels! Kathleen :)
We always try to bring a smile or two into our videos! :) Glad we had you chuckling. And we promise to always bring our honest take to the ships we sail - with a focus on what we love about the experience. I really want to get back on Venezia myself. I loved that ship and now that I've got Firenze in recent memory, I'd like to get back on and really do a comparison. Have to figure out with our schedule tho. We need more time in the year!! ;) -mark
@@kathleenernst7935 Ah darn! We'd love to get on the Venezia however we'll be sailing away on the Carnival Liberty out of New Orleans just a couple of days prior. Have so much fun on your cruise!
Ugh! I NEVER had ice cream from swirls! The cruise went by too fast! The food was great but way too many choices! I didn’t get to try it all! Haha Frizzante is the Bomb and Jackie is amazing! Firenze is such a great ship! Can’t wait to be back on board in Jan!
We agree - there really were a lot of food options on board! Just makes for a great excuse to have to sail on the ship again! Frizzante is definitely a great bar and love all the extra seating in the area, too! Thanks for watching!
Ahhhhhh! I love love love the empanadas especially those at Java Blue on the excel class and in the Havana Bar on the Sunshine are amazing! It’s sad that’s a nickel and dime
Yes, Java Blue!!! We have an entire video about the free options there and I even forgot about the empanadas. Bummer that they've decided to charge for one more thing that used to be included. An all-too-familiar story these days!
I tried the pasta lunch when I was on Panorama or Radiance. I ordered the Lasagna, but it tasted sooo different to what I expected. You know, the tomato meat sauce? But that one was not like what we normally get from restaurants. I was not sure I did not really like it because of this different flavor.
Yeah. Sometimes the flavors may vary from ship to ship based on how the chef prepared the dish. In general, we have enjoyed the lasagna at lunch though.
@@katreniaumaru7418 we just pay attention to the various new ships and book them as soon as the itinerary gets released. As for the preview event, we recommend following your favorite cruise line and interacting with them regularly on social media. While it's not a guarantee, if they get to know you, they may be more likely to reply. Plus, building loyalty with a cruise line can help as well. Hopefully these tips give you a bit more guidance!
I glad carnival did great job I hope and wish carnival would change the Carnival Luminosa into this style I was on the ship and had good time overall but the feel was mix
The Luminosa has some great history with the original interior design styles from Joe Farcus. We love how his designs were implemented on the ship and how Carnival has embraced them! The Firenze definitely had different design when introduced and Carnival decided to keep a lot of it in tact. We adore that each ship has its own personality and are glad to see the differences from the rest of the Vista class.
There are two pools: one is midship under the retractable roof (which we always saw kids in), and the other is at the aft of the ship. Both are found on deck 10. They are average sized - similar to most cruise ship pools.
@@thiscruiselife another question ! I know we can’t bring water with us, was there water fountains available ? If we didn’t want to purchase water from the cruise
@@ZainZain-lk5yb We only know of drinkable water dispensers in the Buffet. Otherwise there are two large bottles of water in each stateroom available for purchase.
@@johannameinking07 we find that wherever they do karaoke it gets crowded!! :) Our favorite space is probably on the Spirit-class where they do it in the lounge on Deck 1 forward. That space is HUGE and accommodates everyone well.
I still have five days to go till I’m on Firenze. 😔 However, based on my experience on Venezia (and Radiance and Panorama), there is a thing I’m assuming will also be the case on Firenze that I absolutely hate! I hope you won’t mind me sharing… At all of the outdoor bars (Rococo, the aft pool bar, the Serenity bar…), they serve drinks in plastic glasses, for obvious reasons. However, for some reason, the plastic glasses they use have a strong plastic-y smell that ruins how your drink tastes, particularly if you just drink it from the glass rather than using some type of straw. What’s weird is that the plastic cups from the buffet and other Lido venues don’t have this same horrible smell!
Sorry hear about your experiences with the plastic cups on the newer ships! We honestly hadn't noticed the plastic-y smell, however we were also using straws in the drinks from Rococo. As for the Lido Marketplace, I vaguely recall the smell, but I guess it wasn't enough for me to call it out. In those situations, I'd recommend bringing your own empty cup from home where you can transfer the beverage to so you can enjoy it without the plastic-y smell. -Rocky
Disembarkation did suck. Allegedly an elderly lady died while on the boat, so they had to get her off or whatnot, still no clue why it took 2.5 hours to do this.
Oh no; that’s so sad. If that indeed is what happened, it requires local authorities and various other people to meet the ship, assess the situation, and eventually debark the person that passed, and finally clear the ship for general debark. We’ve sadly experienced this on a couple sailings and it can add quite a bit to the debark process. Hopefully the next time it’ll be much smoother for you! -mark
Oh gosh. That’s an interesting question: it really depends on the type of experience you’re looking for. Firenze, while beautiful, is still a Carnival ship so there will be a lot of families on board. The plus to that is how many included food options you get. Norwegian is a more sophisticated crowd and it comes with quite a few upcharge venues. The Bliss is also larger from a size and capacity perspective. While we haven’t sailed on the Bliss specifically, we can say that the Breakaway Plus class is gorgeous. When making your decision, you might want to also watch our full review on the Norwegian Encore just to understand what our experience was like. Hope this helps and if you have more questions, let us know!
Hey Guys!! love the video like all ways. Question, booked for Aug. for a 7 day on Firenze so excited, do you like that carnival wants to limit the cruise days and taking off the 7-day cruise itineraries? Do you think they would lose or gain customers with that move? And what are your thoughts? Maybe make a short video of what you think :) Again, Thanks for the video's you guys are awesome!
Thank you sooo much for the kind words and watching! I think it’s really a balance between long and short cruises. As we see Utopia of the Seas launching as the biggest “weekend” cruise, the other lines have to make sure they have itineraries that resonate and compete. Carnival has a variety of shorter and longer cruises out of LB, even on Firenze! Cool idea to do a video on that - thanks for the suggestion! -mark
Yes! Depending on the length of your cruise, but we had White Hot Night, 80s Night, Masquerade Formal Night, and Italian night (if you choose to dress up for it).
Great reviews! Thank you. Sailing on the Firenze in July with my husband. Do you recommend this ship for families (w/kids)?? Want to bring our 8 yr old son on a future sailing but wanted to know if there are lots to do for kids as well. Thanks!
Hello! Thanks for the question. Wet thing this is a great ship for kids! Tons of activities for kids from mini golf to the ropes course and all of the activities within the kids clubs. The Carnival Firenze is a fantastic ship and we hope you enjoy sailing on her!
Honestly, the positives far out-weighed the negatives. With it being the inaugural season, there's always going to be issues and the ones we encountered were minor and things that can easily be remedied after several sailings. We hope you have an amazing cruise!
They don’t have The Sanctuary (Princess Cruises), but the ship does have adults-only Serenity which includes spaces to lounge/lay out, a complete bar, and even an included build-your-own salad restaurant on sea days. It’s our “sanctuary” on board a Carnival Cruise! :) -mark
That all depends on what you plan on doing most during the sailing. Lido deck puts you near the pools, gym/spa, Serenity Adults-only area, and the Lido Marketplace Buffet, Seafood Shack (and it's alternates), Pizzeria del Capitano, Guy's Burger, Tomodoro, JavaBlue, and Rococo Bar. If you move down to the Terrazza, you'll have an included daily breakfast in the Moda Lounge, exclusive access to the Terrazza Moda patio with the hot tubs, and upgraded in-room amenities. This puts you closer to the main dining rooms, Teatro Rosso, the Firenze Casinos, and other public venues that host different programs throughout the cruise. Both areas definitely have their positives so it really depends on where you think you'll be spending most of your time, and if the extra money to move to the Terrazza area is worth it. Hope this helps!
Worst cruise ever. I am Diamond on Princess and for the parent company having such a new ship with a ghetto experience. WTF you can’t get food in the morning until 6:30 am. That is a huge issue for early risers. Many kids trash this ship throwing food on the ground at the elevators. Smashing ice cream into the ice cream machine. My other big problem with this ship is navigating around. It took us an hour to get our room on deck 14. We asked 4 cruise employees how to get to our room and no one could tell us. How can this happen? Never taking a cruise on carnival again. Princess all the way for us.
First, congratulations on your status with Princess Cruises! I’m sorry to hear you didn’t enjoy your experience. I’m curious what time you normally eat breakfast? We’re on Celebrity right now and breakfast doesn’t open until 7am on the buffet and 7:30am in the dining room. 6:30 on Carnival seems more than reasonable? I might not recommend Celebrity either if that’s an issue. Curious what happened with navigating to deck 14? It should just be a straight ride up in the forward elevators. I’m not sure how that could possibly take an hour to get to when the entire ship only has 15 decks, but would love to hear what happened. Thankfully, across our 3 sailings, we didn’t experience kids trashing the ship. It was very clean and well kept throughout our entire sailing. Excited to check out Princess this coming year based on your positive experience! -Mark
@@thiscruiselife we are morning people. Princess starts breakfast in the buffet at 5am. Plus princess has 24 hour food no break in the action. We got on the ship at 1:30. Did the muster drill. Went to the el Mercado for lunch. Loved the Italian sausage. Meatballs were cold. I guess no surprise huh? Lol. We then asked 4 crew members how do we get to deck 14. They directed us to an elevator bank that went to deck 11. Went back to the one who told us to go to this elevator bank and she didn’t know how to direct us. I asked 3 other cruise members and we were sent on a wild goose chase. You would figure that these folks were trained on the ships layout? The ship is not like a princess ship which is very easy to navigate.
@@bkgrynder Sorry to hear about those challenges. We found our way around the ship quite easily, but we’re also very familiar with this layout as it’s very similar to a lot of other Carnival ships. We’re excited to check out Princess next year to really see the difference in design, quality, and service!
Premade drinks will never compare to drinks made to order. That is Carnival being cheap. Shame on them. Tender boats are not to blame, it's Carnival's poor planning. New ship or not, tendering does not change. I could understand if it was a new port but it's not.
Maybe in terms of liquor amount? In terms of taste, the Limoncello Kiss might be my new favorite drink on board! I loved the ease of being able to walk up, order, and walk away all within 30 seconds!! Mmmm. Now I'm craving one of those slushies!
On the Carnival Firenze there aren’t any launderettes. Thanks to the status we have achieved with the cruise line, we’re able to get our clothes washed which allowed us to pack lighter for the 17 days than someone normally would.
@@thiscruiselife thanks for the reply back. Ours is a short cruise and should be alright. Would be a nice option for a laundry mat. Especially for the longer cruises like yours. I got the balcony, so if I need to…I’ll hand wash and dry outside with clothes clips on chairs.
@@KevinSmith-oz5oz yeah. More and more of the cruise lines are removing laundromats in favor of passengers paying the premium for their laundry team. Just be careful if you hang your items on your balcony - the winds can be quite strong!
In my first trip, I tried both pg13 and adult comedian show. I felt like as a ESL person, pg13 might have less complicated vocabularies for me to understand the fun, and sometimes, in adult show, I could not understand many of the punch lines besides the dirty words...
That's really interesting feedback; I'd encourage you to share that on your survey. I'm bummed you missed many of the punch lines, because JC was one of the funniest we've seen. I'm LOL'ing just thinking about some it! 😂
@@thiscruiselife Oh I just mean English is my second language (ESL), many of the people here can understand..But yeah, the other reason I skip comedian show because I have to rush to the line if I really want to watch it.
Hey there. If you're looking for the full ship tour, check out our actual ship tour video. :) Enjoy! -Mark Carnival Firenze Ship Tour: Your First Look At Public Spaces On Board ruclips.net/video/N_lDcZshqKw/видео.html
Overall, meh on food. Buffet was meh, empanadas were great if you caught it on time, the Mexican place was one of the best. Burgers were okay and MDR was hit and miss. Most food wasn't worth writing home about. Please take the dill out of my country gravy! If i didnt do special dining, I would have been severely disappointed! They bragged to the moon about "Dear Future Husband", but I wasnt into any of the shows (I blame my Vegas experience). They had a craft day where we made masks, but I wasnt into the embroidery project. The nightclub had far too much R and B played! Silent disco and 80s was the best! Italian night was LAME!
@@allyr4272 thank you for sharing your experiences with us. We encountered several of those issues on our sailings and were hopeful that there would be improvements. It sounds like there’s still learnings ahead for the crew/ship. We always enjoy a good silent disco and it sounds like that was one of your saving graces.
We really enjoyed the Espresso Martini options available at Frizzante Bar. We've never seen so many different espresso options. If you're looking for Campari, though, you'll want to spend some time at Amari Bar - Campari and Aperol aren't our favorite flavors, but that's just us. Hope you have an amazing cruise!
Is the Amari bar smaller than Alchemy bar on Panorama？It looks smaller from video. And about the tea time..well...I don't you how were your past tea time experiences before, yet what you told me is quite similar with mine on Panorama/Radiance. I did not see the "ugly" cakes, just the options were not ...attractive for me, though I did not know what I like. I might not try tea time again because I can't eat too much especially I book early dining normally.
Hey there! Thanks for watching and sharing your questions. Amari and Alchemy are actually the same size, in the exact same position. It's much darker which gives it a smaller feel (I think they were going for more intimate?) As for the tea times... I'd say Carnival isn't well-known for quality tea time. ;) Virgin and MSC win by a million miles compared to the service and presentation. It was still enjoyable as we got to chat with our tablemates. They were less than impressed and finally flagged someone down to complain. I would imagine it would be hard to go from tea time almost right to dinner at early dining. Good news, so much other good stuff around the ship to enjoy. :)
@@yushengwixoss We are SOOOOO excited! Looking at options to sail her when she's over in our neck of the woods. We really want to do the Panama Canal sailing, but it's so expensive!!
@@thiscruiselife Yeah, the price for the 7 days rivera Mexico looks not bad for a solo curiser even when comparing with Carnival, if I am not so wrong.
Well, I enjoyed this review very much. I'm a Princess Cruise only girl however I thought my husband and I could take a quick cruise on the Carnival Firenze. We've stayed away from Carnival due to the "party ship" vibe and too many small children. What are your thoughts? Are these two viable concerns? Thanks
We totally get your concerns. We've found that when we sail Carnival (especially Firenze), it was very easy to not be around/bothered by children. We will say that the crowds tend to be a little more mature on those longer cruises, so if you can get on a 7-night cruise, there should be fewer small children on board. The "Party Vibe" also decreases when you get on a longer itinerary. Hope this helps!
We were on the 3rd sailing on May 7th. We were lucky and did not have the shuttle problem easy to get to our excursion and easy getting back on the ship. I did speak to several people that missed their planned excursions outside of carnival. Our only complaint is minor we never saw our room attendant. I needed something and had to go search for one. Amazing time amazing ship. We enjoyed the food either in the MDR or the buffet.
So glad you were able to enjoy your cruise! The food was great at most of the venues - we definitely didn't go hungry! Sorry to hear about the lack of interaction with your cabin steward. Thanks for watching our video review!
Although the ship.was beautiful, this was the most disappointing cruise I've ever been on. Service issues. We got back from a Carnival Excursion in Sense ads at 2. Called to get our luggage tags for disembarkation as soon as we returned and were refused luggage assistance. This is a policy issue. We've been on 20 + cruises and never had this happen. I do believe staff on the ship seemed to be more stressed and less happy than I've ever seen before. Overall, it was not an awful experience, Just disappointing. we interacted with some wonderful staff and co cruisers. It was surprising how many long time cruisers were complaining to us about their experience. We will do Carnival again, just not the Firenze. I think you are going to enjoy the Soltice:)
Oh no! I'm so sorry to hear that. For me, it was definitely the smoothest inaugural I've seen. And we had such fantastic service - to the point that we're looking to get back on the ship while this crew is still there. LOL To your comment, the Digital Debark process is not my favorite update Carnival has rolled out... We experienced the same thing on Carnival Conquest in February. While I don't throw my status around, you'd think after 50+ cruises, I wouldn't have to lug my own bags off the ship if I didn't want to. ;) But there was nothing they could do. Sorry that you also experienced that. We will definitely keep you posted on Celebrity Solstice. Soooo excited. Can't believe we're just a couple days away!
I (and 11 more of us) leave on this ship on May 30. I am super excited, and I thank you for sharing all the good, bad, and ugly with us. I can't wait to try the Lemon Drink! mmmm! You stated that the spa is open to everyone? You mean, EVERYONE on the ship? So, the sauna, hot tub, etc will be packed? I just wanted to make sure you meant everyone gets to go in, because I thought that was if you bought a package? Also, you said there is a buffet on embarkation day in the Michael Angelo Restaurant? Was that just on your inaugural sailing, or is this on all the sailings? Because I am willing to go there when we get on if its open. What is the Breakfast Shack? Is that near the lido, or? I usually don't make it to breakfast lol. Thank you!! I am so excited to be on the ship, and I already bought an Italian Lanyard and a shirt from Amazon that says Firenze on it. :)
Just a week away; you must be SO EXCITED! I hope that your group has the absolute best time, and you love the ship as much as we did. To answer your questions: The locker rooms (which are inside the spa area along with the gym) are open to everyone. This is where you will find the included sauna. But, because most people don't venture into the spa area, many times, we had the entire sauna to ourselves. It was the perfect spot to escape the crowds and just relax. Firenze and Venezia are unlike her sisters: Costa didn't originally build the upcharge spa like Vista, Horizon, and Panorama have. That means you can enjoy this beautiful included feature - but don't tell too many people! ;) Buffet on embarkation day is indeed located in the Michelangelo Main Dining Room at the aft of the ship. This is a full, permanent built out buffet inside the dining room. John Heald teased this new addition to the ship in one of his lives and everyone was like, "buffet in the dining room???" but it actually worked out great because no one knew about it and we had it to ourselves on embarkation day. Some sailings also include a lunch buffet, be sure to watch your Hub App for what lunch/brunch options are in the Michelangelo restaurant at the aft of the ship. Breakfast Shack is in the aft of the ship on lido. Rocky recorded a video about that venue which you can watch here: ruclips.net/video/UOV1aIXNvDo/видео.html It's delicious! Please, if for no one else, try it out for me! They've got chicken biscuits, biscuits and gravy, an omelet station, and breakfast staples like French toast or pancakes, hash browns, etc. all served to you. We also recorded a video on Chicken Shack that's open in the same space for lunch: ruclips.net/video/z9aalPzAXF0/видео.html If you have any other questions, don't hesitate to ask. Sorry for the LONG reply, I just don't want your group to miss anything! LOL Enjoy the sailing - you're going to look fantastic in your FIRENZE gear! -Mark
The food in the anytime dining room was horrible! Joel our server was not very nice either. Viaggio was a great experience. I had dinner n sea day brunch in the michaelango. 2-3 hr dining times was way too long 😢 Bonsai Tappanaki was the best food n service on the ship. Very disappointed that there was no thermal spa. (My favorite). The ship is beautiful, the shows are awesome, the piano bar n kareoke was fun. Serenity deck n salad bar was awesome. Boarding on may 2nd def was stressful with 4 hr delay. Meeting you guys while boarding was awesome. The Veteran's tea time was horrible. Cold tea n horrible food. The Veteran's event in the theater was nice. Our Cruise director Joey n entertainment team was awesome. Very Disappointing that the blue jackets were sold out by 2nd cruise week. Many familiar faces from other ships was nice as well. The meatballs were good. The pizza is pan pizza n not Chicago deep dish pizza. I enjoyed the covered pool area and deck 5 was my favorite. I def want to sail the Firenze again but was very disappointed that the May 2nd cruise was not the true "Inagural" cruise.
Thank you for saying hello at boarding! It honestly was one of the highlights of our entire trip. :) Inaugural Season Blue Jackets: Not enough inventory to last the inaugural sailing, let alone season! This is my 3rd Carnival inaugural in less than a year and the same thing has happened on all 3. Is it just me, or shouldn't they just order more at this point? 😂 As for the dining room... Oh no!! I just published a post about the food in the MDR today on our website (www.thiscruiselife.com/cruise-blog/carnival-cruise-line-vegan-menus/). We Loved so many of the dishes. Would love to hear more about what happened with your experience and service so that we can listen for similar feedback. Thermal Spa... Yes, that is a definite change for both Venezia and Firenze compared to her Carnival Vista-class sisters. With the ships being designed for Costa and the Chinese market, the thermal spa was not a big draw/sell, and so they didn't include it. I did love the FREE sauna with floor-to-ceiling windows though. I was a little bummed that they cut the space in half from Venezia to put in more treatment rooms, but it was still nice to have a free option in 2024. Fresh Creations... So glad you got to enjoy! It's one of our favorite adds to Carnival ships and we always make it a point to enjoy it on Sea Days up on Serenity! Overall, it sounds like there were a lot of things you enjoyed. Like you, we will definitely sail her again. But, also like you, there were definitely some misses we experienced (tea time!!) Thank you for sharing your detailed thoughts with us... sorry that I wrote a book back, once I got started, I couldn't stop. Rocky finally had to tell me to stop typing. 😂 -Mark
Can you guys do a review with how much luggage you can bring on? Great review btw!! I’m going August 30-September 7 and I’m so excited as it will be mine and my husbands first ever cruise! 🥳
Thank you so much for watching and your kind words! Hopefully this got you even more excited for your August sailing. 💙 What an awesome ship to pick for your first one!!! In terms of luggage, we usually bring 2 big checked bags, 2 carry-on bags, and 2 laptop/backpack style bags without issue. For your first cruise, I promise you will over pack! 😂 But you’ll realize (like we have over the years) you really don’t need the *entire* closet! lol ;) Have a great cruise!!! -mark
Great review , my attention span isn’t normally 30+ minutes but that time flew by as I was able to re-live my 2 sailings on the Firenze with you 2. I missed a lot on board and will know what to go and do on my next sailing. You should get a hold of Tony from La Lido Loca and do a segment together. He was on that 4th sailing and did a video too
Thank you for such a kind compliment! We try to keep it fast-paced, but thorough, as there's just so much that someone could miss on Carnival Firenze without even realizing it! Thanks for re-living the sailings with us. It would be even better, however, if we were just still on board. ;) I haven't seen their video yet, but I'll go check it out! Thank you for sharing!
Guys, THANK YOU!! Amazing info and pointers!! Perhaps some of the "bugs" will be ironed out when we sail on her later on. You really put fires under our rear ends! We are EXCITED!!
We're sure that you're going to have a great cruise even if there are still a few challenges. We always say that if you look for the positives, you'll find them! Here's to an amazing cruise!
LOVEd ALL your videos about the Firenze. I am booked for the October 12😮😮-19,2024 for my birthday and I need to know about specialty theme nights to pack appropriately. Thank you so much for your GREAT content. You guys are a joy to watch!
You're going to have an amazing birthday cruise! The theme nights we had included White Hot Night, 80's Deck Party, Elegant Masquerade Party, and Italian night (Festa Italiana). Thanks for watching our videos!
Oh I love Trevor! He’s so nice. Met him on the glory, ran into him on the celebration and if I didn’t switch my Mardis Gras cruise to the panorama I would have seen him last Halloween! Moral is I love running into the same staff who helped make that vacation extra special! Great video!
Yes! Trevor is such a great guy. We've sailed with him now several times as well. It's so amazing when you get to see and interact with crew members from previous sailings. It's one of the things that keeps us coming back to Carnival. I have no idea how they remember us, but you're absolutely right, makes the vacation extra special! Thanks for watching and your kind words. -Mark
Thank you for all the Firenze content! I’m going with a family group of almost 30 people next month and can’t wait! I have a question on the masks. I’ve seen some videos where there’s a ship activity where you can decorate your own… is it free or an up charge?
A group of almost 30?! You are going to have soooo much fun! :) I just went back through the Fun Times to look for you and there's not a specific mask decorating event listed. With that said, there is something called "Creativity At Sea" the morning of the Captain's Venetian Toast and Gala. They may sometimes decorate masks at this event, however, we didn't attend so I cannot guarantee it. ;) We love the ~$7 to $9 sets from Amazon. We even added some of our own flare to the masks! amzn.to/4dFUZqB
Amazing review! Cannot wait to be on her again - the vibe was such a change and a nice option amongst the “booze cruise” vibe. Next time we’ll be on the Empanada Quest.
I'm going on my very first cruise in July on Firenze! You both have made me so excited and informed! Delightful and charming is your RUclips channel ❤❤❤❤❤❤
Aww. Thank you so much! We're glad you discovered our channel. Stay tuned for lots more Carnival Firenze content coming out soon, too. We hope you have an amazing cruise!
May i ask your opinion on the shore excursions i booked? Horseback riding in Cabo and Hiking in Ensenada. I'm nervous about logistics with tenders. I may cancel and just enjoy the ship (I'm solo on this adventure) Thanks a bunch!!
@@pattydinapoli5005 Hey there! Thank you for the message! If you booked your excursions directly through Carnival then you won't have to worry about missing the experiences as you'll have the Carnival guarantee by your side. You'll be given instructions on how to disembark the vessel when in port and what the meeting place is. Both excursions sound fun! Hope you enjoy the cruise, no matter what you choose to do!
Carolina! It was a great surprise getting to sail with you on those inaugural cruises. Every time we saw you, our hearts will filled with joy and happiness. We miss you and hope to sail with you again soon!
This review is “off the charts” excellent! A 7 day cruise on the Firenze is just not long enough. Your review confirmed that fact! Thank you for the shoutout!
There's just so much going on that 7 days was simply not enough. We struggled to do everything on 17 days!
Thank you for the amazing support on this wild journey of ours!
Great review! Carnival must have heard your criticism of Moda Lounge-on our sailing June 13 karaoke was in the Tuscan Lounge. I agree with you about the upcharge for Empanada Pie, but they had some of my favorite bites on the ship.
Oh that makes us so happy to hear! Moda was just not the right place to host it. Glad you were able to try the empanadas. We just couldn't ever figure out their opening times, or when we would pass by and see it open, we'd be full from other food. Sounds like a great cruise!
Really, really great video! Going on Venezia and feel comfortable with this decision after your review and cruise tips from her sister ship the Firenze. This was comprehensive in many respects that will be used daily
So glad to hear you found this video useful! Don't miss our Carnival Venezia playlist on the channel as well as we have several videos from the inaugural launch of that ship as well!
Thank you for the review. Heading on for a girls trip soon with my bestie and daughter and her best friend. I appreciate all the feedback.
Absolutely! We just love sharing our experiences we have and hope that even a couple of people that watch our videos get some benefit from it. We hope that you have a wonderful girl's cruise! Curious to hear how it goes... ❤
Just found your channel today and really loved your review. Just booked Firenze in October.
Awesome! Welcome to This Cruise Life and we hope you have an amazing cruise!
I'm going to Carnival Firenze for 4th of July and this video really helps my family with the decks and know what aren't the best and are the best
We’re so glad to hear that you found this video helpful! Thanks for tuning in. Hope you have an amazing cruise!
I couldn't agree more with all the loves and hates. My family & I were on that first 7 nights and unfortunately we didn't run it to you gentlemen like I had hoped. There's always the next cruise. Overall, we loved most of it and gave Carnival grace on many of the hates that we totally understood would happen w/ a new crew on a newish cruiseship. Anywho, hope to meet you both on our next cruise. Ttfn🙂
We're sorry to have missed meeting you! That first sailing had us so busy running around and capturing footage and editing videos. Glad to hear that you were able to enjoy the cruise, though! The positives definitely outweighed the negatives for us, and hope it was the same for you.
We booked the Bonsai Tappanaki on our cruise last week and it was one of the highlights for us. The food was really good for the price point. We hated the elevators this time around because no one used the system correctly. We also did not love our balcony because it was covered in soot from the funnel. We had to use clorox wipes to wipe down the railings to be able to stand outside. Never saw our stateroom host so couldn't ask for our chairs to be cleaned.
We're glad to hear that you enjoyed your Bonsai Teppanyaki experience. We're surprised that you weren't able to find your cabin steward during your sailing to get the railing/balcony cleaned. We always saw our steward in the hallway as they were moving between rooms. Hopefully you were still able to enjoy your cruise!
@@thiscruiselife We saw other stewardesses but not ours. We loved the cruise and are starting to think about our next cruise. We are talking about Alaska next year but not sure
@@brittanykostecka Alaska is great! Very different experience from sailing to Mexico, that's for sure. Glad you enjoyed the cruise!
Add you know WE LOVED FIRENZE and are excited for you to help us book our next cruise on her. The ship was absolutely beautiful! I do think it's a fabulous upscale ship, something different for Carnival. It did seem that for hard Carnival fans didn't seem to like the changes. It isn't as child oriented and is definitely day more of an adult centric ship. Watching this video we missed A LOT! there just want enough time on a 5 day. We agree, the shortened day in Cabo really sucked. We did not have any issues with the tenders, they went really smoothly on our sailing. It embark was super smooth! Our check in was 10:30, we were on the ship by 11:30! We had excellent service, loved our Steward, we wanted for nothing! Our dining staff was super attentive, we were usually out in an hour. We took your advice and got the Tuscan chicken wrap, yummy! We loved the shows! We didn't have time to do half of what we wanted. Dining room food was very good, there was 1 things I ordered that was not good but our wait staff made sure I got a replacement dinner ASAP. Joey is FABULOUS! He has a fabulous sense of humor, such a character! We were so impressed that he remembered conversations and people! He actually talked to his dad about my husband, he's in a ZZ TOP tribute band (one of the to in the Nation), Joey wanted to see videos lol. His dad loves ZZ TOP and actually had just gotten tickets to ZZ TOP tickets while we were on the ship, he found us to tell us lol. We loved Firenze! We will be doing at least 1 more on her in the next year, but very likely 2! Thank guys, we truly appreciate you!😊
We’re so sorry that we weren’t able to get this video posted sooner! Glad to hear that you enjoyed the cruise and I’m excited to help you celebrate your anniversary next year! Love that there was a connection between your husband and Joey’s father. We enjoyed Joey as the cruise Director and I’m certain that the ZZ Top connection made it even more special! Thank you for sharing your experiences with us from your recent cruise. Excited to get you booked! -Rocky
Great video!! I was waiting though for the elevators to get their moment in the hate section. 😆 It was a neat concept but no one knew how to use it and that they needed to hit the screen for each person. So many people would rush the elevators thinking there were buttons inside to pick a different floor and it just brought a lot of confusion once they saw it was just a screen with specific floors. Other than that I loved my time there, it is a beautiful ship and I agree Moda is stunning!
Haha. The reason elevators didn't make our list is because we rarely take them. Stairs are the way to go for us when we're on a cruise ship. The only time we use the elevators is late at night as we're returning to our room from a lower deck and at that time, there's really no confusion or issues when using them.
YASSSSS This is THE vid we have been Waiting for
Glad we could deliver! Hope you enjoyed all of the content and sneak peaks!
What a great video I agree with it all!! Thanks for the shout out can’t wait to sail with you guys again!! You’re doing amazing friends!!!!
Thank you so much Brandy! It was great getting to sail with you again and we look forward to the opportunity to sail together soon!
So glad for you guys to get that invitation. I appreciate all of your reviews. Our next cruise is the Firenze, so I'm going to watch all of your vlogs. We just got off of the Jubilee last week. I hope by the time we get on some of the kinks will be worked out!
Just came back from my trip on the Firenze and loved it! Thanks a bunch for the tips, really helped us get through our first cruise. Cheerio! 😂😂
We’re glad to hear that our videos helped you navigate your way on the ship! The Firenze is a great ship and it sounds like your experience with consistent!
Mark and Rocky I couldn’t have said it better myself. You guys hit every single point and I agree with everything that you said great video! Loved this ship! 🛳️ ❤
Awesome to hear that we were synced with our experiences! Glad that you enjoyed the ship as much as we did. Thanks for watching!
It was so awesome meeting you both
Thank you for saying hello! When is the next one? :)
@@thiscruiselife going to Alaska this summer. Working on polar bear towel 3d prints to hide..
@@toddblount8841 That's awesome! Surely the people who find those 3D prints love the change from the usual ducks!
I’ll be on Carnival Firenze in 10 hours! This video came at just the right time! 🎉
@@heartoffatima oh how exciting! Have a wonderful cruise!
Thank you for the video and tips! I am going on Carnival Firenze beginning August 13th. I can't wait.
That's just around the corner! We hope you have so much fun!
We're going September 21st 7 nights any tips or tricks leaving the boat at the end of the trio? Also what's the best level to stay on were going to be on level 7 and are staying in 2 interior rooms
@@absolutecrypto95 we always recommend a relaxed debarkation. Check your luggage and pick the latest (highest) numbers available. Then wait for the ship to announce that all walk-off and zone tags have been called. Go enjoy some food in the buffet or the debark breakfast in the main restaurant, and then just relax in Serenity if the weather is nice. By doing this, you’ll enjoy an stress-free walk off the ship.
@@thiscruiselife thank you guys
Great review !! We just got off Firenze (May 12 - May 16), we were boarding as you guys were getting off :) We loved the look of the ship, very classy :) Our issues; the ice machines were not being refilled in the evenings, the "no scooters in hallways" safety rule that was recently implemented is NOT being enforced on Firenze. The empanada's we purchased were very stale. The elevators need signs!!! Many many people on our sailing did not know they needed to press the button for EACH PERSON going in them. Carnival needs to put a sign above every call box OR re-program the call boxes to ask "how many people" after you push the button for your requested deck.
It's funny, we were saying the same thing about those elevator systems. It's great that they've introduced videos in the elevator banks that teach you how to use them, unfortunately people aren't going to stand there and watch the video to understand it. We also encountered some ice issues and we hope the food and beverage team is working to resolve that.
Really bummed to hear about the stale empanadas. Hopefully things will improve with that venue since it's an added cost.
Thanks for watching the video and for sharing your experiences with us!
@@thiscruiselife Exactly! On embarkation day, the elevators were loud and crowded, nobody was paying any attention to the video. It's very frustrating to be told to stand in front of a specific elevator and the door opens with 20 people inside already. I hope they get that worked out because it is very frustrating. Thanks for responding :)
We were on the same sailing as you. A lot of the times we had to skip the elevators because no one was using them properly. It was also a huge mess getting off in Catalina.
I am going in August and I’m so thankful I watched your videos, very informative!
@@juliehaimowitz2772 We're so glad you found us! Just wait, we still have even more content about the Carnival Firenze coming to our channel. Make sure you keep an eye on our Playlist for the ship for all those great details!
Loved this ship. 🚢 🚢 🚢 🚢 🚢 already booked again. Thanks guys. It was also nice meeting you.
It was great meeting you! Thanks for saying hi. Hope your next sailing on this beauty is just as great!
Now I kick myself I did see you Mark actually quite a few times so bummed I missed my photo opportunity with you. Hopefully we sail again one day!!!
Oh no!!! You definitely should have said hello! We met sooooo many amazing new friends on board and it was truly humbling to get to meet so many of our followers and subscribers. NEXT TIME you have to say hello! It's a small cruise world out there and so I'm sure we'll have the chance! :) -Mark
Thanks for your videos on the Firenze. I have this one booked for August and really has helped what to look for on board.
We’re so glad you enjoyed it. Hope you have an amazing cruise! She’s a beautiful ship!
Thank you for this! I am counting the hours until my sailing. After hearing about the water shuttle problems I am glad that my sailing does not have any tender ports.
Thank you for watching! You're very lucky to not have any water shuttles on your itinerary. Hope you have an amazing sailing!
Great video! Going for my birthday in September! Can't wait to see what the Firenze has to offer!
Thank you for watching! We hope you have an amazing cruise and happy birthday.
Thank you for your thorough and thoughtful review! I did want to mention that all (or most of) the bars I have been to on Carnival have their own themed drinks. Like on the Radiance: Heroes bar, Blue Iguana, Red Frog Pub, Alchemy, all have drinks you can't find at other bars on the ship 😉
I'm not sailing on this new ship until January but I am loving all this great info you guys gave to help me prep ❤
Thank you so much for watching! You’re absolutely correct about the unique offerings at the bars across the fleet. I think this ship was extra special since there isn’t a BlueIguana Tequila Bar or Red Frog Rum bar, etc. Not that there’s anything wrong with those venues, it was just refreshing to see something new.
We hope you enjoy this beautiful ship when you sail in January! There’s of great new spaces onboard that you’re sure to enjoy!
Hello Guys! Great video on the Firenze and love (as always) your honest review. You did have me chuckling on Mark's funny face on the pistachio martini, the poor chicken meatball and his blue tongue from the extra sprinklings at the Moda Bar. I'm heading back on the Venezia in mid-September but will have to wait on the Firenze until perhaps it relocates to the east coast (NJ here). Safe travels! Kathleen :)
We always try to bring a smile or two into our videos! :) Glad we had you chuckling. And we promise to always bring our honest take to the ships we sail - with a focus on what we love about the experience.
I really want to get back on Venezia myself. I loved that ship and now that I've got Firenze in recent memory, I'd like to get back on and really do a comparison. Have to figure out with our schedule tho. We need more time in the year!! ;) -mark
@@thiscruiselife Well if you can sqieeze in the Venezia - Sept 14 out of NYC is our date - Halifax and overnight in BERMUDA! ;)
@@kathleenernst7935 Ah darn! We'd love to get on the Venezia however we'll be sailing away on the Carnival Liberty out of New Orleans just a couple of days prior. Have so much fun on your cruise!
Great review. Totally agree thanks for the shout out❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️
You're welcome! Thank you for all of the amazing support!
It was nice seeing you guys on the April w5th sailing. Yes the ship was beautiful
That was such a fun cruise! Thanks for saying hi to us!
Ugh! I NEVER had ice cream from swirls! The cruise went by too fast! The food was great but way too many choices! I didn’t get to try it all! Haha Frizzante is the Bomb and Jackie is amazing! Firenze is such a great ship! Can’t wait to be back on board in Jan!
We agree - there really were a lot of food options on board! Just makes for a great excuse to have to sail on the ship again! Frizzante is definitely a great bar and love all the extra seating in the area, too! Thanks for watching!
Ahhhhhh! I love love love the empanadas especially those at Java Blue on the excel class and in the Havana Bar on the Sunshine are amazing! It’s sad that’s a nickel and dime
Yes, Java Blue!!! We have an entire video about the free options there and I even forgot about the empanadas. Bummer that they've decided to charge for one more thing that used to be included. An all-too-familiar story these days!
Great review,miss you guys. Until next time
Thank you for watching! We'll see you then!
I really wish they had the deep bowls at Fresh Creations like they do on the Panorama.
We're hoping that they're just on back-order. We love those "deep dish" salads from Fresh Creations!
I tried the pasta lunch when I was on Panorama or Radiance. I ordered the Lasagna, but it tasted sooo different to what I expected. You know, the tomato meat sauce? But that one was not like what we normally get from restaurants. I was not sure I did not really like it because of this different flavor.
Yeah. Sometimes the flavors may vary from ship to ship based on how the chef prepared the dish. In general, we have enjoyed the lasagna at lunch though.
How can I join the opening of crusie
@@katreniaumaru7418 we just pay attention to the various new ships and book them as soon as the itinerary gets released. As for the preview event, we recommend following your favorite cruise line and interacting with them regularly on social media. While it's not a guarantee, if they get to know you, they may be more likely to reply. Plus, building loyalty with a cruise line can help as well. Hopefully these tips give you a bit more guidance!
I glad carnival did great job
I hope and wish carnival would change the Carnival Luminosa into this style
I was on the ship and had good time overall but the feel was mix
The Luminosa has some great history with the original interior design styles from Joe Farcus. We love how his designs were implemented on the ship and how Carnival has embraced them!
The Firenze definitely had different design when introduced and Carnival decided to keep a lot of it in tact. We adore that each ship has its own personality and are glad to see the differences from the rest of the Vista class.
Do you remember how many pools are on the ship? Are they big , small? Kid friendly ?
There are two pools: one is midship under the retractable roof (which we always saw kids in), and the other is at the aft of the ship. Both are found on deck 10. They are average sized - similar to most cruise ship pools.
@@thiscruiselife another question ! I know we can’t bring water with us, was there water fountains available ? If we didn’t want to purchase water from the cruise
@@ZainZain-lk5yb There are water and ice machines available throughout the Lido Marketplace Buffet.
@@thiscruiselife thank you! do you know if between the station rooms there’s water ?
@@ZainZain-lk5yb We only know of drinkable water dispensers in the Buffet. Otherwise there are two large bottles of water in each stateroom available for purchase.
On our sailing karaoke was in the Limelight
This makes me so happy to hear! A much better space for it, IMO!!! -mark
@@thiscruiselifeyes, it was crazy crowded, but better in the enclosed area I'm sure. I agree that the other area is a bit weird.
@@johannameinking07 we find that wherever they do karaoke it gets crowded!! :) Our favorite space is probably on the Spirit-class where they do it in the lounge on Deck 1 forward. That space is HUGE and accommodates everyone well.
Great video thank you
It's our pleasure! Thank you for watching!
❤❤ Love these reviews!
Thank you! They're fun to make for us, too!
I still have five days to go till I’m on Firenze. 😔
However, based on my experience on Venezia (and Radiance and Panorama), there is a thing I’m assuming will also be the case on Firenze that I absolutely hate! I hope you won’t mind me sharing…
At all of the outdoor bars (Rococo, the aft pool bar, the Serenity bar…), they serve drinks in plastic glasses, for obvious reasons. However, for some reason, the plastic glasses they use have a strong plastic-y smell that ruins how your drink tastes, particularly if you just drink it from the glass rather than using some type of straw. What’s weird is that the plastic cups from the buffet and other Lido venues don’t have this same horrible smell!
Sorry hear about your experiences with the plastic cups on the newer ships! We honestly hadn't noticed the plastic-y smell, however we were also using straws in the drinks from Rococo. As for the Lido Marketplace, I vaguely recall the smell, but I guess it wasn't enough for me to call it out. In those situations, I'd recommend bringing your own empty cup from home where you can transfer the beverage to so you can enjoy it without the plastic-y smell.
-Rocky
Wow! Brian or David Huba Huba!
Haha. They were great table-mates. We enjoyed sharing stories and laughs during our first itinerary.
Disembarkation did suck. Allegedly an elderly lady died while on the boat, so they had to get her off or whatnot, still no clue why it took 2.5 hours to do this.
Oh no; that’s so sad. If that indeed is what happened, it requires local authorities and various other people to meet the ship, assess the situation, and eventually debark the person that passed, and finally clear the ship for general debark. We’ve sadly experienced this on a couple sailings and it can add quite a bit to the debark process. Hopefully the next time it’ll be much smoother for you! -mark
Quick question... which woild you choose?
Firenze or MCL Bliss?
Great video review! Thanks guys.
Oh gosh. That’s an interesting question: it really depends on the type of experience you’re looking for. Firenze, while beautiful, is still a Carnival ship so there will be a lot of families on board. The plus to that is how many included food options you get. Norwegian is a more sophisticated crowd and it comes with quite a few upcharge venues. The Bliss is also larger from a size and capacity perspective. While we haven’t sailed on the Bliss specifically, we can say that the Breakaway Plus class is gorgeous. When making your decision, you might want to also watch our full review on the Norwegian Encore just to understand what our experience was like.
Hope this helps and if you have more questions, let us know!
Awesome video!
Thank you so much for watching! Hopefully you'll get to sail this ship soon!
Hey Guys!! love the video like all ways. Question, booked for Aug. for a 7 day on Firenze so excited, do you like that carnival wants to limit the cruise days and taking off the 7-day cruise itineraries? Do you think they would lose or gain customers with that move? And what are your thoughts? Maybe make a short video of what you think :) Again, Thanks for the video's you guys are awesome!
Thank you sooo much for the kind words and watching! I think it’s really a balance between long and short cruises. As we see Utopia of the Seas launching as the biggest “weekend” cruise, the other lines have to make sure they have itineraries that resonate and compete. Carnival has a variety of shorter and longer cruises out of LB, even on Firenze! Cool idea to do a video on that - thanks for the suggestion! -mark
Are there themed events like white party, that calls for dressing up for?
Yes! Depending on the length of your cruise, but we had White Hot Night, 80s Night, Masquerade Formal Night, and Italian night (if you choose to dress up for it).
Great reviews! Thank you. Sailing on the Firenze in July with my husband. Do you recommend this ship for families (w/kids)?? Want to bring our 8 yr old son on a future sailing but wanted to know if there are lots to do for kids as well. Thanks!
Hello! Thanks for the question. Wet thing this is a great ship for kids! Tons of activities for kids from mini golf to the ropes course and all of the activities within the kids clubs. The Carnival Firenze is a fantastic ship and we hope you enjoy sailing on her!
I hope they clear up all the bad befoe I go in August
Honestly, the positives far out-weighed the negatives. With it being the inaugural season, there's always going to be issues and the ones we encountered were minor and things that can easily be remedied after several sailings. We hope you have an amazing cruise!
@@thiscruiselife Thank you for all the great information
Do they have a sanctuary and is it worth it?
They don’t have The Sanctuary (Princess Cruises), but the ship does have adults-only Serenity which includes spaces to lounge/lay out, a complete bar, and even an included build-your-own salad restaurant on sea days. It’s our “sanctuary” on board a Carnival Cruise! :) -mark
Hi need your input would you upgrade to Terrazza on deck 5. We originally have balcony on lido deck?
That all depends on what you plan on doing most during the sailing. Lido deck puts you near the pools, gym/spa, Serenity Adults-only area, and the Lido Marketplace Buffet, Seafood Shack (and it's alternates), Pizzeria del Capitano, Guy's Burger, Tomodoro, JavaBlue, and Rococo Bar.
If you move down to the Terrazza, you'll have an included daily breakfast in the Moda Lounge, exclusive access to the Terrazza Moda patio with the hot tubs, and upgraded in-room amenities. This puts you closer to the main dining rooms, Teatro Rosso, the Firenze Casinos, and other public venues that host different programs throughout the cruise.
Both areas definitely have their positives so it really depends on where you think you'll be spending most of your time, and if the extra money to move to the Terrazza area is worth it. Hope this helps!
Thanks again staying on lido deck as we have our 16 year old grandson! Thank you both definitely appreciated
@@marycoberley8132 You're very welcome!
Worst cruise ever. I am Diamond on Princess and for the parent company having such a new ship with a ghetto experience. WTF you can’t get food in the morning until 6:30 am. That is a huge issue for early risers. Many kids trash this ship throwing food on the ground at the elevators. Smashing ice cream into the ice cream machine. My other big problem with this ship is navigating around. It took us an hour to get our room on deck 14. We asked 4 cruise employees how to get to our room and no one could tell us. How can this happen? Never taking a cruise on carnival again. Princess all the way for us.
First, congratulations on your status with Princess Cruises!
I’m sorry to hear you didn’t enjoy your experience. I’m curious what time you normally eat breakfast? We’re on Celebrity right now and breakfast doesn’t open until 7am on the buffet and 7:30am in the dining room. 6:30 on Carnival seems more than reasonable? I might not recommend Celebrity either if that’s an issue.
Curious what happened with navigating to deck 14? It should just be a straight ride up in the forward elevators. I’m not sure how that could possibly take an hour to get to when the entire ship only has 15 decks, but would love to hear what happened.
Thankfully, across our 3 sailings, we didn’t experience kids trashing the ship. It was very clean and well kept throughout our entire sailing.
Excited to check out Princess this coming year based on your positive experience! -Mark
@@thiscruiselife we are morning people. Princess starts breakfast in the buffet at 5am. Plus princess has 24 hour food no break in the action.
We got on the ship at 1:30. Did the muster drill. Went to the el Mercado for lunch. Loved the Italian sausage. Meatballs were cold. I guess no surprise huh? Lol. We then asked 4 crew members how do we get to deck 14. They directed us to an elevator bank that went to deck 11. Went back to the one who told us to go to this elevator bank and she didn’t know how to direct us. I asked 3 other cruise members and we were sent on a wild goose chase. You would figure that these folks were trained on the ships layout? The ship is not like a princess ship which is very easy to navigate.
@@thiscruiselife we are booking the Sun Princess in March out for Florida. Thanks for all your great videos. Helped a lot on what and where to eat :)
@@bkgrynder Sorry to hear about those challenges. We found our way around the ship quite easily, but we’re also very familiar with this layout as it’s very similar to a lot of other Carnival ships. We’re excited to check out Princess next year to really see the difference in design, quality, and service!
Premade drinks will never compare to drinks made to order. That is Carnival being cheap. Shame on them. Tender boats are not to blame, it's Carnival's poor planning. New ship or not, tendering does not change. I could understand if it was a new port but it's not.
Maybe in terms of liquor amount? In terms of taste, the Limoncello Kiss might be my new favorite drink on board! I loved the ease of being able to walk up, order, and walk away all within 30 seconds!! Mmmm. Now I'm craving one of those slushies!
How did you wash your clothes…is there a laundry room on the ship or only dry cleaning pickup? Will be on this cruise in June thx
On the Carnival Firenze there aren’t any launderettes. Thanks to the status we have achieved with the cruise line, we’re able to get our clothes washed which allowed us to pack lighter for the 17 days than someone normally would.
@@thiscruiselife thanks for the reply back. Ours is a short cruise and should be alright. Would be a nice option for a laundry mat. Especially for the longer cruises like yours. I got the balcony, so if I need to…I’ll hand wash and dry outside with clothes clips on chairs.
@@KevinSmith-oz5oz yeah. More and more of the cruise lines are removing laundromats in favor of passengers paying the premium for their laundry team. Just be careful if you hang your items on your balcony - the winds can be quite strong!
In my first trip, I tried both pg13 and adult comedian show. I felt like as a ESL person, pg13 might have less complicated vocabularies for me to understand the fun, and sometimes, in adult show, I could not understand many of the punch lines besides the dirty words...
That's really interesting feedback; I'd encourage you to share that on your survey. I'm bummed you missed many of the punch lines, because JC was one of the funniest we've seen. I'm LOL'ing just thinking about some it! 😂
@@thiscruiselife Oh I just mean English is my second language (ESL), many of the people here can understand..But yeah, the other reason I skip comedian show because I have to rush to the line if I really want to watch it.
@@yushengwixoss yes, I'm bummed that you weren't able to enjoy it as much. But you are right, THOSE LINES!!! Ugh.
This should be a video of the ship, not a video of you.
Hey there. If you're looking for the full ship tour, check out our actual ship tour video. :) Enjoy! -Mark
Carnival Firenze Ship Tour: Your First Look At Public Spaces On Board
ruclips.net/video/N_lDcZshqKw/видео.html
Overall, meh on food. Buffet was meh, empanadas were great if you caught it on time, the Mexican place was one of the best. Burgers were okay and MDR was hit and miss. Most food wasn't worth writing home about. Please take the dill out of my country gravy!
If i didnt do special dining, I would have been severely disappointed!
They bragged to the moon about "Dear Future Husband", but I wasnt into any of the shows (I blame my Vegas experience).
They had a craft day where we made masks, but I wasnt into the embroidery project.
The nightclub had far too much R and B played! Silent disco and 80s was the best! Italian night was LAME!
@@allyr4272 thank you for sharing your experiences with us. We encountered several of those issues on our sailings and were hopeful that there would be improvements. It sounds like there’s still learnings ahead for the crew/ship. We always enjoy a good silent disco and it sounds like that was one of your saving graces.
Great video gentleman,
Could you suggest a good Italian adult beverage? We will be sailing in May 2025.
We really enjoyed the Espresso Martini options available at Frizzante Bar. We've never seen so many different espresso options. If you're looking for Campari, though, you'll want to spend some time at Amari Bar - Campari and Aperol aren't our favorite flavors, but that's just us. Hope you have an amazing cruise!
Is the Amari bar smaller than Alchemy bar on Panorama？It looks smaller from video.
And about the tea time..well...I don't you how were your past tea time experiences before, yet what you told me is quite similar with mine on Panorama/Radiance. I did not see the "ugly" cakes, just the options were not ...attractive for me, though I did not know what I like. I might not try tea time again because I can't eat too much especially I book early dining normally.
Hey there! Thanks for watching and sharing your questions. Amari and Alchemy are actually the same size, in the exact same position. It's much darker which gives it a smaller feel (I think they were going for more intimate?) As for the tea times... I'd say Carnival isn't well-known for quality tea time. ;) Virgin and MSC win by a million miles compared to the service and presentation. It was still enjoyable as we got to chat with our tablemates. They were less than impressed and finally flagged someone down to complain.
I would imagine it would be hard to go from tea time almost right to dinner at early dining. Good news, so much other good stuff around the ship to enjoy. :)
@@thiscruiselife By the way, you guys know VV Briliant Lady will sail from LA in 2026? Not sure if LA will be her new homeport.
@@yushengwixoss We are SOOOOO excited! Looking at options to sail her when she's over in our neck of the woods. We really want to do the Panama Canal sailing, but it's so expensive!!
@@thiscruiselife Yeah, the price for the 7 days rivera Mexico looks not bad for a solo curiser even when comparing with Carnival, if I am not so wrong.
@@thiscruiselife But 2026...gosh..far.
Well, I enjoyed this review very much. I'm a Princess Cruise only girl however I thought my husband and I could take a quick cruise on the Carnival Firenze. We've stayed away from Carnival due to the "party ship" vibe and too many small children. What are your thoughts? Are these two viable concerns? Thanks
We totally get your concerns. We've found that when we sail Carnival (especially Firenze), it was very easy to not be around/bothered by children. We will say that the crowds tend to be a little more mature on those longer cruises, so if you can get on a 7-night cruise, there should be fewer small children on board. The "Party Vibe" also decreases when you get on a longer itinerary. Hope this helps!
We were on the 3rd sailing on May 7th. We were lucky and did not have the shuttle problem easy to get to our excursion and easy getting back on the ship. I did speak to several people that missed their planned excursions outside of carnival. Our only complaint is minor we never saw our room attendant. I needed something and had to go search for one. Amazing time amazing ship. We enjoyed the food either in the MDR or the buffet.
So glad you were able to enjoy your cruise! The food was great at most of the venues - we definitely didn't go hungry! Sorry to hear about the lack of interaction with your cabin steward. Thanks for watching our video review!
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Although the ship.was beautiful, this was the most disappointing cruise I've ever been on. Service issues. We got back from a Carnival Excursion in Sense ads at 2. Called to get our luggage tags for disembarkation as soon as we returned and were refused luggage assistance. This is a policy issue. We've been on 20 + cruises and never had this happen. I do believe staff on the ship seemed to be more stressed and less happy than I've ever seen before. Overall, it was not an awful experience, Just disappointing. we interacted with some wonderful staff and co cruisers. It was surprising how many long time cruisers were complaining to us about their experience. We will do Carnival again, just not the Firenze.
I think you are going to enjoy the Soltice:)
Oh no! I'm so sorry to hear that. For me, it was definitely the smoothest inaugural I've seen. And we had such fantastic service - to the point that we're looking to get back on the ship while this crew is still there. LOL
To your comment, the Digital Debark process is not my favorite update Carnival has rolled out... We experienced the same thing on Carnival Conquest in February. While I don't throw my status around, you'd think after 50+ cruises, I wouldn't have to lug my own bags off the ship if I didn't want to. ;) But there was nothing they could do. Sorry that you also experienced that.
We will definitely keep you posted on Celebrity Solstice. Soooo excited. Can't believe we're just a couple days away!
I (and 11 more of us) leave on this ship on May 30. I am super excited, and I thank you for sharing all the good, bad, and ugly with us. I can't wait to try the Lemon Drink! mmmm! You stated that the spa is open to everyone? You mean, EVERYONE on the ship? So, the sauna, hot tub, etc will be packed? I just wanted to make sure you meant everyone gets to go in, because I thought that was if you bought a package? Also, you said there is a buffet on embarkation day in the Michael Angelo Restaurant? Was that just on your inaugural sailing, or is this on all the sailings? Because I am willing to go there when we get on if its open. What is the Breakfast Shack? Is that near the lido, or? I usually don't make it to breakfast lol. Thank you!! I am so excited to be on the ship, and I already bought an Italian Lanyard and a shirt from Amazon that says Firenze on it. :)
Just a week away; you must be SO EXCITED! I hope that your group has the absolute best time, and you love the ship as much as we did.
To answer your questions: The locker rooms (which are inside the spa area along with the gym) are open to everyone. This is where you will find the included sauna. But, because most people don't venture into the spa area, many times, we had the entire sauna to ourselves. It was the perfect spot to escape the crowds and just relax. Firenze and Venezia are unlike her sisters: Costa didn't originally build the upcharge spa like Vista, Horizon, and Panorama have. That means you can enjoy this beautiful included feature - but don't tell too many people! ;)
Buffet on embarkation day is indeed located in the Michelangelo Main Dining Room at the aft of the ship. This is a full, permanent built out buffet inside the dining room. John Heald teased this new addition to the ship in one of his lives and everyone was like, "buffet in the dining room???" but it actually worked out great because no one knew about it and we had it to ourselves on embarkation day. Some sailings also include a lunch buffet, be sure to watch your Hub App for what lunch/brunch options are in the Michelangelo restaurant at the aft of the ship.
Breakfast Shack is in the aft of the ship on lido. Rocky recorded a video about that venue which you can watch here: ruclips.net/video/UOV1aIXNvDo/видео.html
It's delicious! Please, if for no one else, try it out for me! They've got chicken biscuits, biscuits and gravy, an omelet station, and breakfast staples like French toast or pancakes, hash browns, etc. all served to you. We also recorded a video on Chicken Shack that's open in the same space for lunch:
ruclips.net/video/z9aalPzAXF0/видео.html
If you have any other questions, don't hesitate to ask. Sorry for the LONG reply, I just don't want your group to miss anything! LOL
Enjoy the sailing - you're going to look fantastic in your FIRENZE gear! -Mark
The food in the anytime dining room was horrible! Joel our server was not very nice either. Viaggio was a great experience. I had dinner n sea day brunch in the michaelango. 2-3 hr dining times was way too long 😢
Bonsai Tappanaki was the best food n service on the ship.
Very disappointed that there was no thermal spa. (My favorite).
The ship is beautiful, the shows are awesome, the piano bar n kareoke was fun.
Serenity deck n salad bar was awesome.
Boarding on may 2nd def was stressful with 4 hr delay.
Meeting you guys while boarding was awesome.
The Veteran's tea time was horrible. Cold tea n horrible food.
The Veteran's event in the theater was nice.
Our Cruise director Joey n entertainment team was awesome.
Very Disappointing that the blue jackets were sold out by 2nd cruise week.
Many familiar faces from other ships was nice as well.
The meatballs were good.
The pizza is pan pizza n not Chicago deep dish pizza.
I enjoyed the covered pool area and deck 5 was my favorite.
I def want to sail the Firenze again but was very disappointed that the May 2nd cruise was not the true "Inagural" cruise.
Thank you for saying hello at boarding! It honestly was one of the highlights of our entire trip. :)
Inaugural Season Blue Jackets: Not enough inventory to last the inaugural sailing, let alone season! This is my 3rd Carnival inaugural in less than a year and the same thing has happened on all 3. Is it just me, or shouldn't they just order more at this point? 😂
As for the dining room... Oh no!! I just published a post about the food in the MDR today on our website (www.thiscruiselife.com/cruise-blog/carnival-cruise-line-vegan-menus/). We Loved so many of the dishes. Would love to hear more about what happened with your experience and service so that we can listen for similar feedback.
Thermal Spa... Yes, that is a definite change for both Venezia and Firenze compared to her Carnival Vista-class sisters. With the ships being designed for Costa and the Chinese market, the thermal spa was not a big draw/sell, and so they didn't include it. I did love the FREE sauna with floor-to-ceiling windows though. I was a little bummed that they cut the space in half from Venezia to put in more treatment rooms, but it was still nice to have a free option in 2024.
Fresh Creations... So glad you got to enjoy! It's one of our favorite adds to Carnival ships and we always make it a point to enjoy it on Sea Days up on Serenity!
Overall, it sounds like there were a lot of things you enjoyed. Like you, we will definitely sail her again. But, also like you, there were definitely some misses we experienced (tea time!!) Thank you for sharing your detailed thoughts with us... sorry that I wrote a book back, once I got started, I couldn't stop. Rocky finally had to tell me to stop typing. 😂 -Mark
Pasta Bella is just OK on Radiance too BUT... the lasagne you can also get for free during the free lunch is AMAAAZZZIIING!!!
Yes! We loved that lasagna at lunch. Delish!
Can you guys do a review with how much luggage you can bring on?
Great review btw!! I’m going August 30-September 7 and I’m so excited as it will be mine and my husbands first ever cruise! 🥳
Thank you so much for watching and your kind words! Hopefully this got you even more excited for your August sailing. 💙 What an awesome ship to pick for your first one!!!
In terms of luggage, we usually bring 2 big checked bags, 2 carry-on bags, and 2 laptop/backpack style bags without issue. For your first cruise, I promise you will over pack! 😂 But you’ll realize (like we have over the years) you really don’t need the *entire* closet! lol ;)
Have a great cruise!!! -mark
Great review , my attention span isn’t normally 30+ minutes but that time flew by as I was able to re-live my 2 sailings on the Firenze with you 2. I missed a lot on board and will know what to go and do on my next sailing.
You should get a hold of Tony from La Lido Loca and do a segment together. He was on that 4th sailing and did a video too
Thank you for such a kind compliment! We try to keep it fast-paced, but thorough, as there's just so much that someone could miss on Carnival Firenze without even realizing it! Thanks for re-living the sailings with us. It would be even better, however, if we were just still on board. ;)
I haven't seen their video yet, but I'll go check it out! Thank you for sharing!
Guys, THANK YOU!! Amazing info and pointers!! Perhaps some of the "bugs" will be ironed out when we sail on her later on. You really put fires under our rear ends! We are EXCITED!!
We're sure that you're going to have a great cruise even if there are still a few challenges. We always say that if you look for the positives, you'll find them! Here's to an amazing cruise!
LOVEd ALL your videos about the Firenze. I am booked for the October 12😮😮-19,2024 for my birthday and I need to know about specialty theme nights to pack appropriately. Thank you so much for your GREAT content. You guys are a joy to watch!
You're going to have an amazing birthday cruise! The theme nights we had included White Hot Night, 80's Deck Party, Elegant Masquerade Party, and Italian night (Festa Italiana). Thanks for watching our videos!
Oh I love Trevor! He’s so nice.
Met him on the glory, ran into him on the celebration and if I didn’t switch my Mardis Gras cruise to the panorama I would have seen him last Halloween!
Moral is I love running into the same staff who helped make that vacation extra special!
Great video!
Yes! Trevor is such a great guy. We've sailed with him now several times as well. It's so amazing when you get to see and interact with crew members from previous sailings. It's one of the things that keeps us coming back to Carnival. I have no idea how they remember us, but you're absolutely right, makes the vacation extra special!
Thanks for watching and your kind words. -Mark
Love you both ❤❤ I can't wait to sail her 2025 January. Thanks for the info!!
Thank you for the kind words! We appreciate your support of our channel and hope that you have an amazing cruise next year!
Thank you for all the Firenze content! I’m going with a family group of almost 30 people next month and can’t wait! I have a question on the masks. I’ve seen some videos where there’s a ship activity where you can decorate your own… is it free or an up charge?
A group of almost 30?! You are going to have soooo much fun! :) I just went back through the Fun Times to look for you and there's not a specific mask decorating event listed. With that said, there is something called "Creativity At Sea" the morning of the Captain's Venetian Toast and Gala. They may sometimes decorate masks at this event, however, we didn't attend so I cannot guarantee it. ;) We love the ~$7 to $9 sets from Amazon. We even added some of our own flare to the masks! amzn.to/4dFUZqB
@@thiscruiselife thanks for the info! I think we will play it safe and bring our own 😊
Amazing review! Cannot wait to be on her again - the vibe was such a change and a nice option amongst the “booze cruise” vibe. Next time we’ll be on the Empanada Quest.
Leandra, you're amazing! Glad you also had an awesome experience on the ship. Game on for that Empanada Quest. Love it!
Ooops! I accidentally on purpose booked Firenze for August with my sister-- Empanadas beware!!!!!! Forget duck searching, it’s Empanada searching!
I'm going on my very first cruise in July on Firenze! You both have made me so excited and informed! Delightful and charming is your RUclips channel ❤❤❤❤❤❤
Aww. Thank you so much! We're glad you discovered our channel. Stay tuned for lots more Carnival Firenze content coming out soon, too. We hope you have an amazing cruise!
May i ask your opinion on the shore excursions i booked? Horseback riding in Cabo and Hiking in Ensenada. I'm nervous about logistics with tenders. I may cancel and just enjoy the ship (I'm solo on this adventure) Thanks a bunch!!
@@pattydinapoli5005 Hey there! Thank you for the message! If you booked your excursions directly through Carnival then you won't have to worry about missing the experiences as you'll have the Carnival guarantee by your side. You'll be given instructions on how to disembark the vessel when in port and what the meeting place is. Both excursions sound fun! Hope you enjoy the cruise, no matter what you choose to do!
You two deserve such praise for being an expert resource (plus joyful content) Thanks mucho❤
@@pattydinapoli5005 You're so kind! Thank you so much for being part of this journey!
My favourites ❤
Carolina! It was a great surprise getting to sail with you on those inaugural cruises. Every time we saw you, our hearts will filled with joy and happiness. We miss you and hope to sail with you again soon!