Carnival Venezia has undergone a noticeable change to its exterior, with Carnival Cruise Line replacing the ship’s distinctive yellow funnel with the company’s familiar red, white and blue colours.
The repaint took place on 9th October 2026, shortly after the 135,225-gross-ton cruise ship repositioned from New York to Port Canaveral, Florida, ahead of its winter Caribbean programme.
Although the vessel now carries Carnival’s traditional colours on its funnel, its original straight-sided design remains unchanged. Unlike most ships in the fleet, Carnival Venezia does not have the company’s distinctive whale-tail funnel.
The alteration has attracted considerable attention among cruise passengers, particularly those familiar with the vessel’s previous service with Costa Cruises. It has also prompted questions about whether Carnival intends to make further changes to the ship’s Italian-inspired identity.
However, Carnival Cruise Line has not announced any wider rebranding plans, and the vessel continues to operate under its established “Carnival Fun Italian Style” concept.
Carnival Venezia Moves Further Away From Its Costa Cruises Origins
Carnival Venezia originally operated as part of the Costa Cruises fleet before transferring to Carnival Cruise Line in 2023.
When the vessel joined Carnival, the company introduced a new hull livery while retaining several elements associated with its Italian heritage, including the yellow funnel traditionally linked to Costa Cruises.
The arrangement gave Carnival Venezia a distinctive appearance within the Carnival fleet, combining the company’s newer hull colours with a funnel that reflected the ship’s origins.
That combination has now changed.
The funnel’s yellow paintwork has been replaced by red, white and blue, bringing its appearance more closely into line with Carnival’s established branding.
However, the ship has not received the whale-tail funnel fitted to many other Carnival vessels. Its existing funnel structure has simply been repainted.
Carnival Brand Ambassador John Heald shared photographs showing the updated appearance on his Facebook page on 12th October 2026, prompting a mixture of positive and negative reactions.
Some passengers welcomed the removal of the yellow paintwork, while others expressed disappointment that another visible connection to Costa Cruises had disappeared.
One Reddit user commented: “I wish Carnival had returned them to Costa Cruises instead, but it is what it is.”
Other passengers suggested that Carnival should have gone further by replacing the funnel structure entirely.
“Looks better but it still needs a whale tail,” one commenter wrote.
Another asked: “When will she get her ‘wings’?!”
The discussion has also raised questions about Carnival Firenze, the sister ship that transferred from Costa Cruises to Carnival in 2024.
Carnival Firenze continues to retain its yellow funnel, and the cruise line has not confirmed whether the vessel will eventually receive a similar repaint.
For now, the two former Costa ships have different funnel colour schemes despite sharing Carnival’s Italian-inspired onboard concept.
Will Carnival’s Italian-Themed Experience Change?
Beyond the visual alteration, some passengers have questioned whether Carnival Venezia’s new funnel signals a possible move away from its Italian-themed identity.
Both Carnival Venezia and Carnival Firenze entered the fleet under the “Carnival Fun Italian Style” concept, which combines Carnival’s traditional onboard experience with design features and amenities inspired by Italy.
The concept has remained an important part of how the two vessels are presented to passengers.
Following the funnel repaint, speculation appeared online suggesting that Carnival might eventually remove the Italian branding altogether.
However, there has been no official announcement supporting those suggestions.
The “Carnival Fun Italian Style” wording remains visible on Carnival Venezia’s hull, while its Italian-inspired interiors and onboard amenities have not been removed as part of the funnel repaint.
Carnival also continues to promote the ship using the same branding on its official website.
As a result, the new colour scheme should not be taken as confirmation that the cruise line intends to abandon the concept.
The repaint is currently a change to the vessel’s external appearance rather than an announced overhaul of its onboard experience.
Meanwhile, Carnival Venezia has begun its first winter Caribbean season following the move to Port Canaveral.
The ship departed the Florida port on 10th October 2026 for an eight-night Southern Caribbean sailing, with scheduled visits to Bonaire, Aruba and Carnival’s private destination, Celebration Key, in the Bahamas.
The 4,090-passenger vessel is scheduled to return to Port Canaveral on 18th October 2026.
Its new funnel colours will therefore be on display throughout its winter deployment from Florida, marking a further visual departure from the ship’s Costa Cruises history.
Whether Carnival Firenze will eventually receive the same treatment remains uncertain, with no confirmed plans for a matching funnel repaint.
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