FIRENZE Italian Fun Ship - REVIEW

[euroguy]

Hello everyone, it's been exactly 1 week since returning from the Firenze out of Long Beach. I've had time to digest the ship experience and time for my typical indepth review.  I will focus solely on the ship and staff. 

As many of you already know I was extremely excited to go on this ship, for a couple of reasons. 1. Completely different interior design from the typical CCL 2. David statue.

The ship is certainly not a mega ship. It has a capacity of 4126 guests. With that said it never felt overly crowded with the exception of the casino during prime times.

The Firenze is equipped with the "smart" elevators and was my 1st time to experience them.  As a whole i found the elevator system to actually work more efficiently with less stand by time and or over crowding, compared to standard on other ships.

SHIP LAYOUT- the layout from what i could tell was very similar if not exactly like the Panorama. It doesn't have the best overall flow compared to other ships and feels a bit clunky to get around at times. It is manageable.

FITS AND FINISHES-
Stateroom- the finishes felt like a nice upgrade and had a polished feel compared to the typical fun ship model of oranges, blues, laminated looking cabinates and closets. One are most notably was the bathroom which had a free standing sink cabinet with a faux marble sink and top which actually looked nice, compared to the typical fully molded plastic sink and counter. With that it did reduce space to set things on. The shower had a full glass door that was curved and opened as one piece vs the accordion style on the new ships. Initially I liked the one piece and seemed to perspective better however once the shower door is open it completely blocks the main door from cabin to bathroom, so noone can else can enter bathroom. It could be a bit tricky if two people wanted to use bathroom at same time.

As for storage I found that the hanging closets have been reduced as well as the actual drawers in the desk now only had one compared to other ships having multiple which was nice. As a solo traveler I had plenty but could see it being tough for multiple people.
As a whole the balcony cabin was nice and the upgraded finishes felt like a step up and not cheap.

EATING LOCATIONS & EXPERIENCES-
Being this is not a mega ship the food choice selections are fewer but more than adequate to not go hungry and have a variety.  All long with MDR I tried a few different eateries but not all.

Bonsai Teppanyaki - I've eaten this on 3 prior ships. True to form it was 100% on mark with the other 3 ships.

Lido Marketplace - I only went a couple of times most either late night or quick breakfast. In typical fashion long lines but moved quickly, food was hit or miss but I did have one night some pasta in cream sauce that was surprisingly good. Breakfast well not my favorite.  I just don't understand why they can't fully cook the scrambled eggs so they are not full of uncooked liquid egg. Gross!!! The rest was typical breakfast fare.  Also it was annoying that during busy times most of the time they only had 1 marketplace side open which slowed things down and created over crowding.

Tomodoro- which is just a few steps away from the Marketplace out on the lido was a great alternative for breakfast as it seemed to be over looked. I visited it 3 times fir breakfast and each time had either no line or 1 person ahead of me.  I had a custom made breakfast burrito, custom cook to order omelet and biscuits with gravy. All where good..no complaints quick, hassle free and no line.

Guys Burger - went couple times pretty much like any other however shorter lines and had some variations on the menu that are unique to Italian ship.

IL Mercato - this to me is a bit of a hidden secret or very over looked eatery and worth visiting. It sits above the lido deck and serves up hot and cold sandwiches, various meatballs sausages and few other items.  I had 3 hot sandwiches, ham and cheese, Philly cheese steak, Ruben ...all were great. I tried couple meatballs and chicken and beef and both had nice flavoring. It was a great place to grab a bite during day and late night. Never crowded. Has comfy chairs and tables as well as a bar with stools over looking out to the ocean, which was great to eat and look out on water and saw dolphins.

Java Blue - pretty standard for CCL however it was located on Lido Deck which was a bit odd and they didn't open until 7a. Which I thought was a bit late.

MDR - the ship has 2 different main dining rooms, the grand dining room is for your time dining which I do have a issue with but that's for another post. I had fixed dining and was in the 2nd smaller dining room. I did visit the grand dining room and it was nice looking and would have been nice to experience that.  The smaller dining room was interesting how set up. It had lots of faux walls and windows to give a more broken up dining experience. It wasn't a bad experience or feeling but it was difficult to get the full effect of the nightly singing or dancing in the dining room.  As for the food inate in MDR 6 of 7 nights. The prime rib and duck were really good. Nothing else really stood out as exceptional but I didn't return any dishes either.

The MDR was full most nights, which I contribute that it wasn't a mega ship with tons of specialty dining like I experienced on the Mardi Gras as MDR was almost empty every night.

SHIP DECORE- The main atrium, i could see what was trying to be done however it fell short in my view as it seemed to be a bit understated and lacking. A few addition statues or items would really have made it pop and stand out.  The open areas I felt had lots of seating and upgraded features and textures especially around the lower and upper lido area.  It was like little living rooms with lots of plants with faux walls with windows to give a more intimate experience and feel. In main walk ways and interior areas had lots of greenery smaller marble like miniature statues and crystal wares.  In some ways reminded me of the CCL Splender that I was on years ago.  The over all feel was certainly an upgraded feel and a nice switch to the standard CCL ship.

One thing I noticed on this ship the guests seemed to be more grown up and less party and on formal nights I actually saw most Gents and Ladies dressing up which was refreshing.

Due to the weather being unreasonably hot and humidity being off the charts I didn't explore any of the exterior decks.

DAVID STATUE- I did go to see and say hello to my old friend.  As you all know I first saw the David statue on my very 1st cruise on CCL Pride 20 years ago, and it was removed due to people complaing.  I feel it has found its proper home on the Firenze.

SPA- I did visit the spa for a massage which is my tradition. I booked far in advance and received a 30% discount so made for a reasonable price. I tried the newest strategy of writing on the top of the intake form "only interested in service purchased not interested in any products" and it worked. They did NOT try to upsell or do any heavy sales pitches, which allowed for a stress free ending to a relaxing massage.

STAFF -  I was pretty disappointed.

Cabin Steward - upon embarkation  Platinum and Diamond members are allowed to go directly to Stateroom and drop off a bag prior to open cabin times then leave to enjoy the ship baggage/backpack free.

As I was dropping off my backpack the steward entered the room and very coarsely stated the cabin isn't ready for you and not open until 130. I reminded the steward the policy for Platinum and Diamond drop off policy and that was exactly what I was doing and would be exiting momentarily. He just looked at me and walked away... not even an apology or acknowledgement. Not the best start. 

To add salt to the wound I was in my Stateroom at 130 getting things set up when the steward return once more and proceeded to tell me how he was aware that platinum and diamonds get a free 1.5 liter bottle of water and that we need to get from either a bar or restaurant as if I take from the cabin he would charge me for it.  Taking a deep breath, I pulled out my phone and showed him CCL POLICY which states the free water can be from bar, restaurant or Stateroom without charge.  Once more he just glared at me and walked away.  I ended up asking for the floor supervisor and had a conversation. Things got worked out. Needless to say the steward received no extra cash tips from me this trip.

MDR staff - I was at a table of 3, 2 single attractive females and myself, yeah lucky guy lol.

I guess im old school and want a paper menu. With that stated I made that clear on day one yet everyday I either had to ask for one or they figured it out after taking other orders and seeing me just looking at them. Didn't bother to even remember or say my name or my same nightly dining drink.
One night I asked for hot tea with lemon and honey and received the response of not sure if I can get any honey... I was shocked! Eventually got the honey.

This was very different from past cruises. I began watching other tables nearby that had different wait staff and thwy had drinks waiting for the guests and heard them being called by name.
Needless to say no extra cash tip for my wait staff

All other staff on ship being food eateries, bars, walking about, officers, cleaners etc all were very nice said hello and good morning or afternoon smiled etc when passing by and generally looked very happy glad I was onboard the ship.

CONCLUSION-
Firenze is a beautiful ship and it's finishes are a nice upgrade. The ship sails beautifully and smooth. The Captian is on the younger side and very personable. The staff as a whole are wonderful and welcoming and show they are happy you're onboard. With a few minor hiccups I have no complaints. Since the Firenze is close to my home I will be sailing on her again without regret and with positive anticipation. Hopefully my next trip on her the weather will not be so scorching and I can explore more of the outer decks.

 

[RoadTravelled]

@euroguy Thanks for the very thoughtful as well as thorough review — much appreciated.  This pretty much mirrors our experience on her sister ship Venezia out of NYC.  We really enjoyed the ship and would definitely sail her again as well.

Oddly, this was our first cruise also on CCL where our cabin steward was really not up to the usual excellent level of service we get.  Not sure what the problem was but she was just not on her game.  We did the YTD in the MDR so had new waiters every evening.  They were all great though and we had a great time.

It seems that CCL and maybe all cruise lines are still short staffing their cabin stewards — either because they can't hire enough, fast enough or it's intentional to cut costs.  But, it seems the end result is a lot of very stretched people who just don't have the time to devote properly to focus on customer service.  It's a shame.

Be sure to complete the passenger survey, if you get it, to let them know both the positive and negative.  Otherwise, they won't know what the pain points are.

[euroguy]

@RoadTravelled it's good to hear that Firenze and Venezia parallel each other so if in the future I select to sail her I know that myself and others will appreciate the upgrade feel. 

Like you I was bit dismayed by the housekeeping staff. I can't put my finger on the cause as I saw plenty of them and none looked over worked or stressed. Yet at the same time way off of the mark on customer service.  It was certainly a strong contrast compared to the rest of the ship staff. 

I did reply to the CCL survey and provided proper feedback, hopefully it will make a difference.  I'm sure by me talking with the floor supervisor on the onset will be noted. 

I'm not sure if you tried the specialty dining for the Italian restaurant but I passed on it as nothing really jumped out at me saying "you must try this" like Rudys Seafood Grill on Mardi Gras.

One picture I did take of MDR food was a lamb shank and that was pretty good, nice presentation and super tender fall off the bone meat with great flavors.

I will be on the Horizon Feb 1 out of Miami so will be interesting to see how the food and staff compare.  Unfortunately I don't see Rudys on the Horizon. 

Have you been on the Horizon? If so what's your impression.

[RoadTravelled]

@euroguy  Good report.  Yes, we have sailed on the Horizon but it was back in 2018 on the maiden voyage.  So, can't really give you a review that would be current state.  But, we enjoyed both this ship and its sister Vista.  It's easy to navigate and has a clean, sophisticated decor that we like much more than the old Joe Farcus interiors.  I should also note that both of these ships, particularly the Vista have a history of propulsion issues that despite many fixes and dry docks seem to continue to plague them.  Just be aware that your cruise might be affected but hopefully not.

[Cruising Caribbean]

@euroguy I loved reading through this review! The cruise sounded like a true success considering you would like to get back on it again in the future! The photo of you and David made me happy. I know you have anticipated that photo for some time! The food looked yummy, and the decor looked very different that other CCL ships, more regal! It's a good observation about the layout. I think I cruised this ship when it was a Costa ship, and I remembered the same feeling about navigating it. It wasn't so straightforward. In fact it took skill to get around! I remember enjoying the fact that I had to think to get around, like it was a hunt as a kid. I also love the size of the ship. The capacity of Carnival Firenze is perfect in my eyes, not too big and not too small. Thanks for all the fun photos and you awesome account of the ship! I'm glad you enjoyed yet another cruise with CCL!

[euroguy]

Almost forgot the most important picture

Edited 8 hours ago by euroguy

[euroguy]

Also here is a picture of the new pins being given out to Platinum and Diamond guests. It's larger than a quarter 

Edited 8 hours ago by euroguy