Good morning! I just turned on the TV here for the first time and I noticed we have some different channels.

I wonder if it’s just while we’re in Europe or if this is a new thing for the fleet. BBC News, Sky News, Sky Sports, and Prime One for sure. I can’t remember if we had The Food Network and The Travel Channel before.

I’m confused by the shower gel and shampoo dispenser. It says both but it’s just one dispenser. Fortunately I bring my own soap (Imported from Ireland) but I do normally use the Carnival shampoo.

I just remembered I have an emergency shampoo in my suitcase. It’s been in there for years and I’ve never had to use it. But it’s good to be prepared.

I went by Java Blue for a mocha. What they have going here is two lines. One on each side. And they got up to four workers here.

Here is today’s Fun Times.

This is the weather and forecast.

After I finished my mocha I went back for a black coffee.

I like the way these windows can open. They have those black stoppers on them to keep you from opening them too far. But it should be good enough to get pictures without the window glare.

Java Blue is where the Red Frog Rum Bar would be on most Carnival ships.

And Rococo is where the Blue Iguana Tequila bar would be on most Carnival Ships.

This is the view from the balcony.

I headed down to Teatro Rosso for The Wave Morning Show hosted by Cruise Director MarQ.

Carnival President Christine Duffy is in attendance.

And she joined the show.

Christine is leaving in Lisbon but said she will announce special guests for the naming ceremony in New York City before she leaves.

Toward the end of the Morning Show I requested a table for brunch. It took 15 minutes to get a table assigned.

I’m stopping by Frizzante on the way for a screwdriver. They’re making coffees here as well.

It’s actually not brunch. It’s a port day breakfast on a sea day. I think that means we’ll get a sit down lunch in the main dining room today.

This is French toast with a side of hash browns and crispy bacon.

The hash browns are over cooked. You can’t eat that. The only explanation I can think of is they put in crispy hash browns instead of crispy bacon.

Fortunately I ordered more than enough food. The avocado toast is nice.

Let’s take a look at the aft area of lido deck.

Down there you can see the Terraza area. That would be the Havana area on Vista Class ships. It has hot tubs but no pool. That would be a deal breaker for some of the people I know who normally book Havana.

I stepped to the Burano Bar for a spicy bloody mary.

I’m going to enjoy that on the balcony.

There are so many pictures of Venice on this ship. I’m going to have to get all of the stairwell pictures at some point. That will probably be on one of the sea days during the crossing. The buffet has a ton of Venice illustrations as well.

The roof is closed on lido deck and they have some kind of game going on up on the stage.

I am down in the atrium for another spicy bloody mary.

The lunch for Diamond guests is going on in the Marco Polo Restaurant. I can hear Christine in there. She called it the Platinum-Diamond event and was quickly corrected by our very important Diamond guests.

I was going to turn Diamond next year but decided to open up my bookings to all lines. I booked NCL for August which will push my Diamond status back from 2024 to 2025 at least. And we’ll see how it goes. I was leaning Royal for the fall but haven’t booked anything yet. I’ll probably figure that out when I get back.

Here is the menu from that diamond lunch.

Now I’m up on deck 11 stepping outside from the forward elevators.

Now I’m going port side. They have those windows you can open up here as well. This entire area is sort of inside with windows that open. These don’t have the stoppers lke the ones on lido but they have three safety bars in the middle.

There is a bar up here. You could say deck 10 lost a bar due to Java Blue but really they just moved it up to deck 11.

Lyle Lyle crocodile is starting. That’s not what I came for.

It turns out the pool games were out by the aft pool. I’m used to them being by the main pool.

This is weird.

They’re basically just doing a scavenger hunt.

I haven’t seen any dogs on this ship and I don’t see any holes on this green so I’m trying to figure out what’s up.

Then I turn around.

They have a guy doing caricatures for free. He is taking tips. But you have to get up here at like 8am to reserve a time.

I’m back down in the atrium and switching to fun ships.

The “fireside chat” between Carnival President Christine Duffy and Emeril Lagasse has started. I’m two minutes late but I got a spot.

Here is Emeril talking about the new restaurant Il Viaggio. 

After that I would be really surprised if the main dining room menu stays the same in the future. They said they like where the specialty restaurants are but they want to elevate the main dining room.

After that I requested a table for lunch.

I was all hyped up for Mexican because this  is what the hub app has for the lunch menu.

But that’s not what is on the QR code. The QR code is a Spanish menu and that’s what we’re having.

I just went with waiter suggestions because I didn’t feel like making another decision.

GAZPACHO ANDALUZ chilled tomato and vegetable soup served with croûtons and brunnoise vegeta.

MOJO PORK AND SWEET PLANTAIN grilled pork chop, garlic roast potatoes, mojo sauce and crispy plantain.

CREMA CATALANA slow-cooked caramelized milk custard with a brown sugar crust.

They have Waltz dance lessons going on in the Gondola Lounge. This would be the Ocean Plaza area on Vista class ships.

Amari is open and not crowded yet so I stopped by.

I wanted to try the pistachio martini but again like at the frozen drink place yesterday, they don’t have it but they are doing a substitute.

Diana looks nefarious over there.

Amalfi Martini

This was Diana’s creation. A guava rum drink.

Another from Diana. This is a dark rum drink.

Darius is here now.

I was looking around at the shirts. I thought they had the same inaugural season shirt I got on Celebration. They have the same shirt but it doesn’t say inaugural season.

They have polos and the blue inaugural shirts but they only say it on the sleeve.

The leaning tower hat is kind of cool.

And if you don’t want to pack the Venetian mask, they’re $13 here which isn’t too bad. I despise glitter so I’d be going either the black one myself.

They don’t have the mini ship ornaments I’ve been collecting. This is all they have so it’s what I got.

I stopped by pixels to pickup my platinum pin and gift. I’m not sure If I’ll use a fanny pack but it’s a step up from the koozie.

I had The Chef’s Table booked for tonight. It’s hard to make these plans in advance because you don’t know what the schedule is going to be.

I’ve been on the fence about it because tonight is the Venetian thing. We didn’t know that until today’s Fun Times came out and I’m basically going to miss it with The Chef’s Table. I don’t know why they schedule it like that. On Magic I missed the Captain’s toast due to The Chef’s Table.

When I finally saw the the Guest Services line down, I stopped by and asked about moving to a different day or canceling. They called the manager which is Hanna. She’s the Viaggio manager I dealt with last night. She told me it’s a $25 fee unless you cancel 24 hours in advance. I wanted to talk to her anyway to let her know people who pre-booked and paid gratuity for Il Viaggio were being told they didn’t pay gratuity.

On that she said she would check into it. On my Chef’s Table situation, she said all she could do is move me to tomorrow at 6pm.

Tomorrow we’re in Malaga until 8pm That means I’ll have to be back on the ship by 5 to get ready for The Chef’s Table. I can do The Chef’s Table on any ship. I really don’t want to lose time in Malaga for it but I didn’t want to pay a cancellation fee either. I said go ahead and move it. She did.

I walked down to the elevator and stopped. I turned around and went back. I said hey Hanna I have The Chef’s Table tomorrow night at 6 right? Yes. And I can get a full refund if I cancel 24 hours in advance right? Yes. I hold up my phone that says 5:38. I’d like to cancel. Done. Full refund? Yes.

I’m seeing a Costa ship from my balcony.

I believe it’s the same class as this ship.

This is a Classic Mocha Martini from Frizzante.

I decided to try one of these beers.

I like it.

Now I’m in the atrium for the Venetian party.

After that I went back to Frizzante for another Moretti.

The Limelight Lounge is packed for Bud Anderson Comedy.

Bud Anderson.

After comedy I went back to Frizzante for another Moretti.

Then I headed to the balcony to catch the sunset.

I’m back in the Limelight Lounge for Spike Davis comedy.

Spike Davis.

The sunset is still happening.

After the Spike Davis show it was too late to book Il Viaggio in the app. I had that in my mind for tonight after my Chef’s Table cancellation. I decided to walk up and see if they’d let me in because nobody is ever full for dinner this late. I asked Hanna if she wanted to get some of her money back. She asked if I’d like to join them for dinner tonight. Sure.

Emeril and family are behind me.

I had a different server than last night. I told her what I had last night and asked for her recommendations outside of those items. She made her recommendations and I went with those. Here they are.

I knew which bread to order this time. The parmesan pesto bread.

This mile high dessert is the star of the show tonight. This is the dessert you need to order if you come here.

These were better than the day old ones I tried this morning.

I know I’m eating here at least one more time because I pre-booked it for the last night as well. If I were picking my own items I probably would’ve gone with the pork chop. I didn’t want to do that because I had a pork chop for lunch.

At the Emeril talk today items that were specifically mentioned were the chicken parmigiana pizza, the pork chop, and the mile high. The waiter last night mentioned the pizza as well but supposedly it’s so big they want it to be for two people.

Be careful with all things financial at this restaurant. Last night they were bringing around the $42 bill asking for a tip, I assumed it was the same tonight and immediately hit the 20% option. Tonight, they actually already added 18% and were looking for an additional tip on top of that. So I intended to tip 20% but I actually tipped 38%. On top of that they actually charged me for two people. I went back and Hanna removed the second person.

This is what they had in the Main Dining Room.

Broadway Beats in Teatro Rosso.

I am off to bed. I have a big day tomorrow in Malaga.