The quick verdict
Carnival Firenze — 6.0 / 10
Carnival Firenze is measured here against the whole cruise industry, not against Carnival's other 28 ships. Not against her Venice Class sister, Carnival Venezia, either.
Venezia's own entertainment page was researched separately. It carries no locked score to compare against yet.
What this hull is matters to the score.
She was built for Costa Cruises as Costa Firenze in 2020, and sailed Costa's China-market-oriented design for three years. She was transferred to Carnival in 2024 under the "Costa by Carnival" program.
She was re-themed on top of the existing structure. Not built from a blank sheet the way Carnival's own Excel Class ships were.
That shows up directly in the card. Strength in Kids Clubs and a properly structured nightly nightclub rotation.
Set against that: a single dual-purpose theater a credible reviewer called "tired," and a recreation deck with no roller coaster, no multi-slide water park and no thermal spa suite.
Best for: families who want a staffed six-band kids' club and value Carnival's fare and itinerary flexibility over a marquee attraction. Also travelers drawn to a distinctly Italian-themed atmosphere layered onto standard Carnival "Fun Ship" programming.
Biggest strength: Kids Clubs & Youth Programming at 7.5 — six Camp Ocean age bands including staffed under-2 care. Confirmed on this ship specifically, not assumed from Carnival's general policy.
Biggest weakness: Recreation & Attractions at 5.0 — a single waterslide, no thermal spa suite, and pools multiple reviewers describe as small for the guest count. That's the direct, structural cost of a repurposed Costa hull — not a Carnival-built one.
See current sailing dates and cabin pricing for Carnival Firenze.
Check Sailings & PricesThe Seabound Entertainment Scorecard
Seven categories, each judged on its own merits, against the whole industry, not Carnival's own fleet or her Costa-origin sister ship.
Teatro Rosso, the two-deck main venue, is the only production room aboard, running a Playlist Productions rotation of Color My World and Dear Future Husband — the latter reused from Carnival Jubilee as a fleet-wide format, not built new for this ship — alongside Deal or No Deal, the Love & Marriage Show and bingo in the same room, since there's no separate atrium stage to carry that programming elsewhere. The Points Guy's review of this specific ship called the lineup "squarely OK" and the shows "tired," while praising the entertainment staff as "immensely talented." One consolidated venue doing double duty as both theater and game-show room, with a documented critical take on freshness from a credible source, holds this below a multi-venue build.
Real breadth across distinct rooms: Piano Bar 88 runs nightly singalong sets, Moda Bar pairs Italian cocktails with live music, Tuscan Lounge hosts Latin dancing and trivia, and an Electric Violin Trio performs in the atrium — a set The Points Guy's own review called "out-of-this-world." Amari Bar adds spritz-making demonstrations as its own bar-side format. That's several real, distinct formats on a mainstream ship, comparable in count to what this project has found on Carnival's own Excel Class, though most of these rooms are reused Costa spaces re-themed for Carnival rather than something purpose-built, which is why this stops short of the format-density this project reserves for a true multi-venue live-music build.
A full daily roster documented across multiple sailings: trivia, bingo, dance classes, alcohol and spa seminars, an adult scavenger hunt called The Quest, a terracotta-pot balancing challenge, and a gelato-eating contest tied to the Festa Italiana deck party. Firenze also runs a real, specific slate of inclusive meetups — solo travelers, singles, people in recovery, veterans, and LGBTQ+ guests — a real, distinct touch this project hasn't logged on every ship scored so far. Real and well-populated, without a named, third-party-verified structured competition on the order of MSC World America's Guinness World Records Games, or the SportSquare-scale sports-tournament infrastructure Carnival's own Excel Class carries.
A single Twister waterslide feeds a WaterWorks splash pad for younger kids; a ropes course centers on a mini-golf course, and a Deck 15 sports court covers basketball, soccer and pickleball. There is no roller coaster of any kind — BOLT is exclusive to Carnival's own Excel Class, a different hull design entirely, and nothing on this Costa-origin ship approaches it. The Points Guy's review describes the Lido pool as small for the number of guests aboard; Serenity (adults-only) and La Terrazza (suite guests) both carry hot tubs but no pool at all, and Cloud 9 Spa here runs no thermal suite, unlike the version aboard Carnival's newer ships. Present and functional across the standard mainstream categories, but limited by industry standards rather than a competitive strength — the clearest cost of a repurposed hull rather than a ship built from a blank sheet.
Limelight Lounge is a real, dual-purpose room — Punchliner Comedy Club by day, a themed nightclub after hours — running a documented weekly rotation on a typical sailing: Latin & R&B, a 70s/80s set, Caribbean & Afrobeats, and a 90s/2000s closer running past 1 a.m., plus a separate White Hot Party staged in the Piazza Del Duomo atrium. That's a real, structured, dated nightly rotation, not one generic dance floor, backed by a sizable Deck 5 casino with a separate nonsmoking annex. Whether a cover charge applies to Limelight Lounge specifically wasn't consistently confirmed across sources gathered for this page, so that's stated as an open question rather than assumed either way. Real, themed, rotating programming, held below the industry's very top tier by having one dedicated late-night room rather than a fuller built-out nightlife district.
Seuss-a-palooza Story Time, a Thing 1 & Thing 2 Birthday Breakfast, and a separately bookable Dr. Seuss Green Eggs and Ham Breakfast are all documented on this ship specifically, alongside family karaoke, Venetian mask-making, and a Build-A-Bear Workshop at Sea party. The Festa Italiana deck party is real and heavily produced, but The Points Guy's review specifically criticized it as "an amalgamation of stereotypes instead of an ode to" Italy — a stated, sourced execution complaint rather than an invented one. A confirmed, marching Seuss-a-palooza Parade of the kind documented on Carnival Jubilee did not turn up in the sources gathered for this page; that's logged as an evidence gap, not a claimed absence, and it holds this score in place rather than pushing it lower.
Camp Ocean runs four bands on Deck 11 — Turtles (under 2), Penguins (2-5), Stingrays (6-8) and Sharks (9-11) — plus Circle C and Club O2 for tweens and teens on Deck 3, six real age bands total, documented on this ship specifically by The Points Guy's own review rather than assumed from fleet-wide policy. Daytime Camp Ocean is included in the fare; Night Owls late-night babysitting runs until 1 a.m. at $9 per child per hour. A Bookville reading room and a fee-based Thing 1 & Thing 2 Birthday Breakfast round out the offering. Held just short of the industry's very top tier because this project has found deeper STEM-branded programming (Kennedy Space Center's Space Cruisers wall) on Carnival's newer Excel Class ships — but six real age bands with staffed under-2 care, confirmed on this specific hull, is genuine strength.
Weighted across all seven categories, Carnival Firenze lands at 6.0 — a solid, mid-industry result carried by Kids Clubs & Youth Programming (7.5) and a properly structured Nightlife rotation (6.5), held down by Recreation & Attractions (5.0), the clearest structural cost of this being a repurposed Costa hull rather than a Carnival-built one.
Same scores, your priorities
The seven category scores don’t move — they’re what the research found. The weights are the editorial call, and they’re provisional. Drag them to see how the number changes when the mix is yours. A what-if, not the score.
Matches the Seabound score.
A Costa hull re-themed, and a club that runs nightly
Camp Ocean runs four bands on Deck 11 — Turtles (under 2), Penguins (2-5), Stingrays (6-8) and Sharks (9-11) — plus Circle C and Club O2 for tweens and teens on Deck 3, six real age bands total, documented on this ship specifically by The Points Guy's own review rather than assumed from fleet-wide policy.
Daytime Camp Ocean is included in the fare; Night Owls late-night babysitting runs until 1 a.m. at $9 per child per hour. A Bookville reading room and a fee-based Thing 1 & Thing 2 Birthday Breakfast round out the offering. Held just short of the industry's very top tier because this project has found deeper STEM-branded programming (Kennedy Space Center's Space Cruisers wall) on Carnival's newer Excel Class ships — but six real age bands with staffed under-2 care, confirmed on this specific hull, is genuine strength.
What’s actually on
Every production named for Firenze on this page, as a ticket. Tap one to turn it over — the back says what it is, not what the brochure says.
Build one evening aboard
Tap rooms onto the rail in the order you’d hit them. Early, prime and late — not clock times, because this page doesn’t publish a schedule it can’t source. Showtimes change by sailing; the rooms don’t.
A show
Live music
Late night
Worth paying for
- Early—
- Prime—
- Late—
- Later still—
Pick a room to start.
Shows & productions
One consolidated venue carrying both the production slate and the game-show roster. A credible source reviewed it as functional, not fresh.
Teatro Rosso spans two decks and is the ship's only dedicated show venue.
Its Playlist Productions rotation runs Color My World, built around well-known songs with color-themed titles. The other is Dear Future Husband, the interactive pop wedding musical that debuted aboard Carnival Jubilee in December 2023.
That one is reused here as a fleet-wide format, not something staged new for Firenze.
There's no separate atrium stage the way Carnival's newer ships carry. So Teatro Rosso also hosts the ship's game shows and gatherings in rotation: Deal or No Deal, the Love & Marriage Show, a Welcome Aboard Show, and multiple bingo sessions across a typical seven-day sailing.
That's per a documented sample entertainment schedule for this ship.
The Punchliner Comedy Club runs its sets inside the Limelight Lounge — not a standalone comedy room. PG-13 shows run early in the evening, R-rated sets later.
A fleet-wide Carnival format, not a Firenze original.
The Points Guy's own review of this ship is the most direct source on quality here. It called the overall entertainment lineup "squarely OK." It described the shows themselves as "tired" and said the reviewer "hoped for fresher content."
The same review praised the entertainment staff as "immensely talented." It singled out an Electric Violin Trio set in the atrium as "out-of-this-world."
Both the specific praise and the specific complaint are stated here, not smoothed into a single verdict.
Live entertainment & music
Several distinct rooms, most of them reused Costa spaces re-themed for Carnival — not purpose-built.
Piano Bar 88 runs nightly request-driven singalong sets around a grand piano. Moda Bar, styled with an Italian-influenced atmosphere, pairs classic Italian cocktails and martinis with live music.
Tuscan Lounge hosts Latin music, dancing, and daytime trivia sessions. It's named, per Carnival's own marketing, as a tribute to Florence's home region.
In the Piazza Del Duomo atrium, an Electric Violin Trio performs live sets. The Points Guy's review called them "out-of-this-world" — one of the specific highlights of the entertainment roster.
Amari Bar runs its own live-adjacent format: guided spritz-making demonstrations paired with craft cocktails.
Taken together, this is breadth for a mainstream ship. Several distinct rooms, each with its own format, roughly comparable in count to what this project has documented on Carnival's own Excel Class.
What holds this below the industry's deepest live-music builds: most of these rooms are established Costa venues, renamed and re-themed for Carnival's 2024 relaunch. Not designed around this ship from the keel up.
Activities & participation
A full daily roster plus an inclusive meetup slate, without SportSquare-scale sports infrastructure.
A documented sample schedule across a typical sailing shows a standard-but-full daily roster. Multiple trivia sessions, bingo, dance classes, alcohol-tasting and spa seminars, and an adult scavenger hunt called The Quest.
Italian-specific programming ties into the Festa Italiana deck party. A terracotta-pot balancing challenge, a blindfolded competition, and a gelato-eating contest, alongside Italian-language lessons.
The Points Guy's review also documents a specific slate of inclusive meetup groups — solo travelers, singles, people in recovery, veterans, and LGBTQ+ guests. That's a sourced touch this project hasn't found on every ship scored so far.
This is well-populated daytime programming. Two things hold it short of the industry's top tier.
One is the absence of a named, third-party-verified structured competition on the order of MSC World America's Guinness World Records Games.
The other is the sports footprint. One court covering basketball, soccer and pickleball, plus mini golf and a ropes course — smaller than the multi-court SportSquare complexes Carnival's own Excel Class carries.
Recreation & attractions
Standard mainstream hardware without a signature attraction. The clearest structural cost of a repurposed Costa hull.
A single Twister waterslide feeds the WaterWorks splash pad built for younger kids.
Away from the water, a ropes course is centered around a mini-golf course. A Deck 15 sports court covers basketball, soccer and pickleball, with a fitness track where four laps equal one mile.
There is no roller coaster. BOLT: Ultimate Sea Coaster is exclusive to Mardi Gras, Carnival Celebration and Carnival Jubilee's Excel Class, a different Carnival-built hull design entirely.
Nothing aboard this Costa-origin ship approaches it.
The Points Guy's review describes the Lido Pool (Deck 10, midship) as "ridiculously small for the number of people on board." It notes more shade than typical, though.
The aft Versilia Pool carries two hot tubs of its own.
Serenity, the adults-only retreat, and La Terrazza, reserved for suite guests, both carry two hot tubs apiece. No pool at all in either space.
Cloud 9 Spa here offers massages, facials, body wraps, acupuncture, and medispa services with Elemis products. It runs no thermal suite — an amenity gap against the version of Cloud 9 Spa aboard Carnival's newer ships.
The attached fitness center is, per The Points Guy's review, "on the small side." Free equipment and organized classes sit alongside for-fee personal training.
Present and functional across every standard mainstream recreation category, but without a single attraction that separates this ship from the pack. That's a structural difference this page attributes to the hull's Costa origin, not to any shortage of research.
Nightlife
A structured, dated weekly rotation in one dual-purpose room, not a single generic dance floor.
Limelight Lounge runs the Punchliner Comedy Club by day and converts into a themed nightclub after hours.
A documented sample schedule across a typical seven-day sailing shows a dated rotation. A Latin & R&B night, a 70s/80s set, a Caribbean & Afrobeats night, and a 90s/2000s closer running from 11 p.m. to 1 a.m.
A separate White Hot Party is staged in the Piazza Del Duomo atrium late in the cruise.
The Points Guy's review describes the room's décor as crushed blue velvet with a "creepy clown statue." An atmosphere note worth stating alongside the programming itself.
Around it, the Deck 5 casino is described in multiple reviews as a good size, with a separate, smaller nonsmoking annex. Moda Bar and Amari Bar both run later into the evening with live-music and cocktail programming of their own.
Whether a cover charge applies to Limelight Lounge specifically wasn't consistently confirmed across sources gathered for this page. That's stated as an open question — not assumed either way.
A dated, themed nightly rotation is strength here. It's held below the industry's very top tier by resting on one dedicated room, not a fuller built-out nightlife district.
Virgin Voyages' Manor remains this project's locked leader in this category.
Family entertainment
Dated Seuss and Italian programming, plus one specific, sourced complaint about authenticity.
A documented sample schedule for this ship confirms Seuss-a-palooza Story Time, a Thing 1 & Thing 2 Birthday Breakfast, and a separately bookable Dr. Seuss Green Eggs and Ham Breakfast.
The latter was photographed and reviewed aboard this ship by an independent travel writer.
Family karaoke, Venetian mask-making, and a Build-A-Bear Workshop at Sea party round out a typical sailing.
The Festa Italiana deck party is the ship's headline family event. Cast members in Italian costume, gelato-eating contests, Italian lessons, and a blindfolded terracotta-pot challenge.
It transitions into nightclub-style dancing as the evening continues.
One sourced complaint belongs here alongside the praise. The Points Guy's review criticized Festa Italiana as "an amalgamation of stereotypes instead of an ode to" Italy — a stated execution note, not an invented one.
Separately, a confirmed, marching Seuss-a-palooza Parade of the kind documented on Carnival Jubilee did not turn up in any source gathered for this page. That's logged as an evidence gap — not a claimed absence.
It holds this score in place rather than pushing it lower.
Dated programming across two distinct family formats (Seuss and Italian-themed) is substance. That holds even with the sourced authenticity critique attached to one of them.
Kids clubs & youth programming
Six age bands confirmed on this ship specifically, including staffed under-2 care.
Camp Ocean occupies Deck 11 and splits into four bands: Turtles (under 2), Penguins (2-5), Stingrays (6-8) and Sharks (9-11). They cover arts and crafts, themed parties, science experiments, games and story time.
Circle C (tweens) and Club O2 (teens) run separately on Deck 3, with parties, scavenger hunts and sports activities. Arcade access is fee-based.
All of this is documented for Carnival Firenze by The Points Guy's own on-ship review. Not assumed from Carnival's general youth-programming policy.
Daytime Camp Ocean is included in the cruise fare. Night Owls late-night babysitting runs until 1 a.m. at $9 per child per hour, per that same review.
Camp Ocean here also houses a Bookville reading room and hosts a fee-based Thing 1 & Thing 2 Birthday Breakfast.
What holds this just short of the industry's very top tier: this project has documented deeper STEM-branded infrastructure aboard Carnival's newer Excel Class ships — Kennedy Space Center's Space Cruisers wall and Planet Play toddler space. This Costa-origin hull doesn't carry that hardware.
Six age bands, with staffed care confirmed from under 2 years old on this specific ship, is well-documented depth all the same.
Entertainment venues
One main theater doing double duty, a themed nightclub-comedy room, and an Italian-themed bar spread across the ship.
Teatro Rosso (two decks) is the sole production and game-show venue. Limelight Lounge runs the Punchliner Comedy Club by day and the ship's themed nightclub rotation after dark.
The Piazza Del Duomo atrium, named for Florence's cathedral, is the ship's central gathering space. It hosts the Electric Violin Trio and the White Hot Party.
Bars confirmed for this ship specifically run wide: Piano Bar 88, Moda Bar, Tuscan Lounge, Amari Bar, Frizzante (espresso martinis and a spritz menu), Rococo and Pergola (pool-deck bars), Versilia Bar (aft pool), Spritz Bar (inside Serenity), and Heroes Tribute Bar (sports viewing on large screens).
The Deck 5 casino runs a main smoking area and a separate, smaller nonsmoking annex.
Included vs extra cost
The theater, comedy club, Limelight Lounge and most of Camp Ocean are included. Night Owls, Turtles-adjacent sessions and the spa carry their own fees.
Included: both Teatro Rosso productions (Color My World, Dear Future Husband) where currently scheduled, Deal or No Deal, the Love & Marriage Show, bingo, Punchliner Comedy Club sets in Limelight Lounge, and the daily activities roster. Also included: Festa Italiana and the rest of the deck-party rotation, daytime Camp Ocean (Penguins through Sharks, Circle C, Club O2), the Twister waterslide and WaterWorks splash pad, the ropes course, mini golf, the sports court, all pools (subject to Serenity and La Terrazza's guest-eligibility restrictions), and the fitness center.
Extra cost: Night Owls late-night babysitting ($9 per child per hour), the Thing 1 & Thing 2 Birthday Breakfast, the Dr. Seuss Green Eggs and Ham Breakfast (separately reservable), Build-A-Bear Workshop at Sea, Cloud 9 Spa treatments and the Cloud 9 Salon, casino play, and specialty dining — see the dining guide for cost and value there.
Pricing varies by sailing and changes without notice. Check the Carnival HUB app for current rates, not any figure printed here.
Paid entertainment experiences
A ship earns credit here for a distinctive paid experience; she's never marked down for having none. This sits outside the seven scored categories above — extra credit only.
Nothing found on Carnival Firenze matches the immersive-dinner-theater or escape-room format this section is built to catalog most precisely.
No themed narrative dining experience or standalone escape room turned up in any review, deck plan or press listing gathered for this page.
The closest fit is the Dr. Seuss Green Eggs and Ham Breakfast, a separately bookable, staged character breakfast independently reviewed and photographed aboard this specific ship. The other is Build-A-Bear Workshop at Sea, a paid, hands-on experience confirmed present here.
Both are fleet-wide Carnival formats running on dozens of ships, not something built specifically for Firenze. They're logged here as color — not scored anywhere on this card.
The Amari Bar's guided spritz-making demonstrations are a paid extra too. They're a bar-side format already credited under Live Entertainment & Music above, not narrative spectacle of the kind this section tracks.
Reservations
Most of Firenze's entertainment runs on open, walk-up seating. The exceptions are the character breakfasts and late-night childcare.
Teatro Rosso productions and Punchliner Comedy Club shows run on published nightly schedules with open, first-come seating, not an advance-reservation system. Plan on arriving 20-30 minutes early on busier nights, particularly for the later, R-rated comedy sets.
The Dr. Seuss Green Eggs and Ham Breakfast is a reservable, fee-based dining event. Book it through the Carnival HUB app ahead of a specific sailing. Do the same for the Thing 1 & Thing 2 Birthday Breakfast.
Camp Ocean's Penguins-through-Sharks bands, Circle C and Club O2 run on standing published hours, with pre-registration encouraged at embarkation. Turtles and Night Owls, both fee-based, should be booked through the HUB app given limited staffed capacity.
Cloud 9 Spa treatments should also be booked in advance. Spa capacity runs tight on most sailings.
What is actually worth your time
Don’t miss
- The Electric Violin Trio in Piazza Del Duomo — the reviewed standout of the live-music roster.
- Festa Italiana, if you go in expecting broad, playful theming rather than an authentic cultural showcase.
Worth trying
- Dear Future Husband, if interactive audience-participation theater appeals to you.
- Limelight Lounge's themed nightclub rotation, for a properly structured week of different music nights.
Only if it interests you
- A second night in Teatro Rosso — the rotation is two shows plus game formats, not a deep multi-title slate.
- The Twister waterslide, mainly a draw for younger kids specifically rather than a headline attraction.
Who this ship’s entertainment is best for
Families who want a staffed kids' club and an Italian-themed atmosphere, over cruisers chasing a marquee attraction.
Families get structured value from Camp Ocean's six age bands. Staffed under-2 care is confirmed on this specific ship — not assumed from Carnival's fleet-wide policy.
Travelers drawn to Carnival's "Fun Ship" culture wrapped in a distinctly Italian-themed atmosphere — Piazza Del Duomo, Tuscan Lounge, Festa Italiana — will find real, if not always subtle, execution of that concept here.
Nightlife-focused cruisers get a documented, structured weekly rotation of themed nights, not one generic dance floor.
Cruisers whose trip depends on a marquee thrill attraction on the order of BOLT, a deeper multi-slide water park, a thermal spa suite, or a second full-scale production theater should look to Carnival's own Excel Class ships instead.
Or adjust expectations for what a repurposed Costa hull, however well re-themed, is built to deliver.
How this ship compares
The class grouping and the specs both check out. The story is a transfer from Costa, stated plainly, not glossed over.
Class and specification verification, stated plainly. ships.csv groups Carnival Firenze under carnival-venice-class alongside Carnival Venezia. Independent sourcing confirms the split makes sense.
This is Costa's Venezia-class design, built by Fincantieri specifically for Costa's China market. It's distinct from Carnival's own, separately designed Vista-class.
Carnival's own June 2022 press release called the pair "Vista-class sister ships" to Carnival Vista, Carnival Horizon and Carnival Panorama. That's a marketing framing this page doesn't adopt without the correction.
Firenze's stated 135,156 gross tons and 4,126-guest double-occupancy capacity both check out exactly against independent shipbuilder specifications. No correction to ships.csv was needed for either figure.
She was built at Fincantieri's Marghera yard. Her sister Carnival Venezia was built roughly 200 miles away at Fincantieri's separate Monfalcone yard — same builder, different physical yards.
That nuance is worth stating — not assuming identical construction. It's similar to the Meyer Turku/Meyer Werft split this project has already documented on Carnival Jubilee's own Excel Class.
The transfer, stated plainly. This ship was delivered to Costa Cruises as Costa Firenze on December 22, 2020, and entered Costa service on July 4, 2021 from Savona after a pandemic-delayed launch.
She sailed three years of Mediterranean, Middle East, South American and Canary Islands itineraries. Then Carnival Corporation announced her transfer in June 2022.
A roughly 49-day dry dock refit at Navantia in Cadiz, Spain in early 2024 added the "Fun Italian Style" theming. She was christened Carnival Firenze in Long Beach on April 25, 2024.
One visible holdover The Points Guy's review documents: she still carries her original yellow Costa funnel with its giant "C." Not Carnival's signature red-white-and-blue whale tail.
Carnival Venezia, her Costa Venezia-class sister, was researched separately in this project and carries no locked score here to compare against.
Against the wider industry. Firenze's 6.0 sits below her Carnival fleetmate Carnival Jubilee's 7.0. That's the direct cost of no roller coaster and one consolidated theater instead of two venues.
It's also the cost of a Teatro Rosso lineup a credible reviewer called "tired" against Jubilee's freshly debuted productions.
She also sits below MSC Seaside's 7.2. That's another ship built years before her Seabound review, but one that still carries a dual racing zip line this ship doesn't.
She sits comfortably above two other rebrand-hull ships already locked in this project. Norwegian Spirit (the former Star Cruises SuperStar Leo) sits at 5.2, and MSC Sinfonia (the former Festival Cruises hull) at 5.1.
That gap is structural, not a research artifact. Firenze's 2024 transfer came with a full re-theme and a current-standard, six-band Camp Ocean.
Spirit and Sinfonia's own transfers left thinner family and youth product behind on older, less-renovated hulls.
The Seabound entertainment verdict
Carnival Firenze earns 6.0, measured against the whole cruise industry, not against Carnival's own 28 other ships. That's a solid, above-midpoint result.
Her entertainment identity was built on top of an existing Costa hull — not designed for Carnival from the keel up.
She's the third entry on a Carnival scorecard that will eventually carry 26 more hulls, including her own Venice Class sister.
Her strongest category is Kids Clubs & Youth Programming at 7.5. Camp Ocean's six age bands, including staffed under-2 care, are confirmed on this specific ship by an independent on-board review. Not assumed from Carnival's general policy.
Nightlife (6.5) is strength too. Limelight Lounge's documented, dated weekly rotation of themed nights is structured programming, not one generic dance floor.
What holds her back is Recreation & Attractions at 5.0, the clearest structural cost of a repurposed Costa hull. No roller coaster, a single waterslide, pools reviewers describe as small for the ship's capacity, and no thermal spa suite.
Production & Headline Shows (5.5) reflects a specific, sourced critical take from a credible reviewer: "tired" shows in a single venue doing double duty as both theater and game-show room. That sits alongside real praise for the entertainment staff's talent.
Live Entertainment (6.0), Activities (6.0) and Family Entertainment (6.0) are each reasonably populated. They're built on reused Costa venues re-themed for Carnival, though, not something purpose-built.
Families chasing a staffed kids' club will get real value here. So will travelers drawn to a distinctly Italian-themed atmosphere layered onto Carnival's standard "Fun Ship" programming.
Cruisers whose trip depends on a marquee thrill attraction, a deeper water park, or a second full-scale production theater should look to Carnival's own Excel Class ships instead. Or watch for how Carnival Firenze's own Venice Class sister measures up as her page comes in.
See current sailing dates and cabin pricing for Carnival Firenze.
Check Sailings & PricesQuick answers
Is Carnival Firenze really a former Costa ship, or is that overstating a routine rebrand?
Real, dated and well-documented, not a routine repaint. She was built by Fincantieri at its Marghera, Italy yard for Costa Cruises as Costa Firenze, floated out in November 2019, delivered on December 22, 2020, and entered Costa service on July 4, 2021 (a pandemic-delayed debut from Savona), sailing Costa's China-market-oriented Venezia-class design — sister to Costa Venezia, delivered a year earlier at Fincantieri's separate Monfalcone yard. Carnival Corporation announced the transfer in June 2022 as part of a program it branded "Costa by Carnival," the ship went through a roughly 49-day dry dock refit at Navantia in Cadiz, Spain in early 2024, and she was christened Carnival Firenze in Long Beach on April 25, 2024, her first sailing with Carnival guests aboard. ships.csv already groups her correctly under carnival-venice-class alongside Carnival Venezia, and her stated 135,156 gross tons and 4,126-guest double-occupancy capacity both check out against independent shipbuilder specifications — no correction needed there. One nuance worth stating plainly: Carnival's own 2022 press release called the pair "Vista-class sister ships" to Carnival Vista, Carnival Horizon and Carnival Panorama, but that's marketing framing rather than the technical picture — independent classification treats Costa's Venezia-class as its own Fincantieri-Marghera design built specifically for the Chinese market, distinct enough from Carnival's own Vista-class that ships.csv's separate carnival-venice-class grouping is the more accurate one.
Does Carnival Firenze have BOLT or a water park like Carnival's Excel Class ships?
No, and that's a real, structural difference worth stating rather than assuming away. Carnival Firenze carries no roller coaster of any kind — BOLT is exclusive to Mardi Gras, Carnival Celebration and Carnival Jubilee's Excel Class, a different hull design entirely, and nothing on this Costa-origin ship approaches it. Her recreation deck is a single Twister waterslide feeding a WaterWorks splash pad, a ropes course centered on a mini-golf course, and a sports court for basketball, soccer and pickleball on Deck 15. Multiple reviews, including The Points Guy's, describe her Lido pool as small for the number of guests aboard, and her Serenity adults-only retreat and suite-only La Terrazza both carry hot tubs but no pool at all. Cloud 9 Spa here has no thermal suite, unlike the version aboard Carnival's Excel Class ships. This is a real, sourced gap, not a scoring penalty for being a Costa-origin hull by itself — it's simply what the hardware is.
What show plays in Teatro Rosso, and is Carnival Firenze's entertainment any good?
Teatro Rosso, the two-deck main venue, runs a Playlist Productions rotation of Color My World and Dear Future Husband — the same interactive pop wedding musical that debuted on Carnival Jubilee, reused here as a fleet-wide format rather than something built new for this ship — alongside bingo, Deal or No Deal and the Love & Marriage Show in the same room, since Firenze has no separate atrium stage to split that programming onto. The Points Guy's review of this ship called the overall entertainment lineup "squarely OK" and the shows "tired," while praising the entertainment staff itself as "immensely talented" and singling out an Electric Violin Trio performance in the atrium as "out-of-this-world." That's a real, specific critical take from a credible source, stated here rather than smoothed over, alongside real praise for individual performers.
Does Carnival Firenze have a nightclub or real nightlife?
Yes, and it runs a real, structured weekly rotation rather than one generic dance floor. Limelight Lounge doubles as the Punchliner Comedy Club by day and a themed nightclub after hours, with a documented nightly rotation across a typical sailing: Latin & R&B, a 70s/80s set, Caribbean & Afrobeats, and a 90s/2000s closer running past 1 a.m., plus a White Hot Party staged in the Piazza Del Duomo atrium. It sits alongside Moda Bar's live Italian-cocktail lounge music, Piano Bar 88's singalong sets, and a sizable Deck 5 casino with a separate nonsmoking annex. Whether a cover charge applies to Limelight Lounge specifically wasn't consistently confirmed across sources gathered for this page, so that's stated as an open question rather than assumed either way.
Is there staffed childcare for infants under 2 on Carnival Firenze?
Yes, confirmed on this ship specifically, not just as a fleet-wide policy. The Points Guy's own review of Carnival Firenze documents Camp Ocean running four bands on Deck 11: Turtles (under 2), Penguins (2-5), Stingrays (6-8) and Sharks (9-11), plus Circle C and Club O2 for tweens and teens on Deck 3 — six real age bands in total. Daytime Camp Ocean is included in the cruise fare; Night Owls late-night babysitting runs until 1 a.m. at $9 per child per hour, per that same review. Camp Ocean here also houses a Bookville reading room and hosts a fee-based Thing 1 & Thing 2 Birthday Breakfast alongside the separately bookable Dr. Seuss Green Eggs and Ham Breakfast. A confirmed, marching Seuss-a-palooza Parade of the kind documented on Carnival Jubilee did not turn up in the sources gathered for this page — a stated evidence gap, not a claimed absence.
Does Carnival Firenze still look like a Costa ship?
In one visible way, yes. Per The Points Guy's review, Carnival Firenze retains her original yellow Costa funnel with its giant "C" rather than being repainted with Carnival's signature red-white-and-blue whale-tail funnel carried by the rest of the fleet — a real, visible holdover from her Costa Firenze life that Carnival's own 2024 refit didn't change. Everything guests actually experience on board was renamed and re-themed for the "Fun Italian Style" concept — Piazza Del Duomo, Il Viaggio, Teatro Rosso, Camp Ocean — but the funnel is the one piece of the original Costa identity still visible from outside the ship.
How does Carnival Firenze's Seabound Entertainment Score compare to other ships in this project?
Carnival Firenze lands at 6.0, a solid mid-industry result that sits below her Carnival fleetmate Carnival Jubilee's 7.0 and below MSC Seaside's 7.2, both ships with a full-scale attraction or a dual zip line this ship doesn't carry. She sits comfortably above two other rebrand-hull ships already locked in this project: Norwegian Spirit, the former Star Cruises SuperStar Leo, at 5.2, and MSC Sinfonia, the former Festival Cruises hull, at 5.1. That gap traces to a real, structural difference — Firenze's 2024 transfer came with a genuine thematic overhaul and a full six-band Camp Ocean built to current Carnival standards, where Spirit and Sinfonia's own transfers left thinner family and youth product behind. Kids Clubs & Youth Programming, at 7.5, is her clear strongest category; Recreation & Attractions, at 5.0, is her softest, reflecting a real hardware gap against Carnival's own Excel Class rather than any research shortfall.