ABOARD THE CARNIVAL VENEZIA -- I grew up identifying with my mother's Italian side of the family, but that failed to prepare me for a cruise like this.
The Deck 3 atrium is grand and awash in gold and marble décor, an Aperol spritz or a Bellini is incredibly easy to find and so is furniture covered in crushed velvet.
"There's one thing that's not Italian here," my mother, who I brought as a guest, told me me as she leaned over her pepperoni pizza burger at lunch. "None of the furniture here is covered in plastic."
I figured my opinionated mother would be a good companion and judge on this ship's four-day sailing from New York to Bermuda, the Venezia's first cruise from the city where it will homeport until October 2024, when it repositions to Port Canaveral, Fla.
My mother is a second-generation Italian-American with family roots stretching to Naples. Pasta was one of the four major food groups in our house and her red sauce recipe is a staple in our family. That said, she had never been to Italy and never cruised.
The design and décor of the ship is impressive. The Italian-styled ship is specifically inspired by Venice, and that is clear moments after walking onboard. The shiny three-story atrium is grand, gold and marbled. The ceiling is painted like a sky, which I thought might be chintzy but is instead airy and charming.
Travel Weekly senior cruise editor Andrea Zelinski (right) with her mother on the Carnival Venezia. Photo Credit: Andrea Zelinski
And a winged Lion of Venice towered above a circular bar, not unlike the statue estimated at more than 2,000 years old sitting atop a column at the Piazza San Marco in Venice.
"Swanky," my mother told me, all smiles as we looked around.
We wandered the pool deck to check out the stage to watch people wearing Venetian masks and elaborate robes wander around a small nearby pool interacting with guests in classy silence. These masks were important in Venetian culture as they allowed people to conceal their identity and mix within social classes, making their presence here something novel. One man dressed as a clown was more showy and insisted I record him balancing a chair on his forehead after he finished juggling.
Also paying homage to Venice, the two-story Canal Grande restaurant featured an authentic gondola in the center of the lower floor. The two-seater looks like it is sailing on a canal flowing through the restaurant, surrounded by canal poles and streetlights, making guests nearby feel like they are dining on the streets of the city and instantly took me back to my own experience eating dinner aside a canal in Venice.
These details on the Venezia were beyond my expectations for a contemporary cruise line. Many parts of the ship have an elegant Italian style, upscale Italian drinks and a classy vibe for a ship that can carry about 5,000 people, although there was no shortage of people angling to squeeze into the hot tub or families leaving behind evidence of their presence, like sticky lollipops on the ground below their lounge chair.
My mother appreciated the Murano glass décor encased in the lido buffet and said the tiramisu is the best she's ever had (I can't disagree, I had it twice) and we both found the calamari tender and delish at the Canal Grande restaurant.
The center of the Canal Grande Restaurant features a gondola on a faux canal. Photo Credit: Andrea Zelinski
However, neither of us was impressed with the pizza burger (the pepperoni was crunchy like bacon, there was not enough red sauce and the fried mozzarella patty was coagulated by the time we bit into our burgers).
My mother was surprised there wasn't more Italian music on the ship, although we caught a show on the lido deck with dancers teaching guests how to do traditional Italian dances. She expected to hear more from Andrea Bocelli and Josh Groban. However, I enjoyed the pop cover songs played by violin or guitar in the atrium that made me want to sing along or tap my foot.
There's a lot more sailing left on this journey, but so far, the Italian flourishes on this ship are landing well with my Italian mother.