We love cruising and this is the first time we've ever been ready to get off a ship. If you soley cruise for drinking and eating at specialty restaurants, she's the ship for you. We found the decor on the other ships to be better, easier to navigate, and just overall more enjoyable. Before we sailed her, I found the negative reviews hard to believe. But now I believe them. As my son said, he was grateful for the cruise, but it wasn't what he's used to. I think it's a fair statement.
Embarkation
5 out of 5
The actual loading zone of the port itself is absolute chaos. But, the embarkation in the actual terminal was the smoothest I've ever experienced.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
4 out of 5
Food was good in the MDR. Lido is lido, Guy's was great as expected, but pizza was terrible. We didn't try the specialties because we know we like the MDR. We weren't fans of the places to eat like pizza, Guys, deli, Lido, etc being spread out over multiple floors.
Onboard Activities
3 out of 5
As previous cruisers have said, center stage is an utter disappointment and it's hard to see anything unless you want to waste hours saving a seat. Lee was sick and the circus was canceled. What shows we were able to see were decent. Same activities to be expected from Carnival, nothing new. Pools are still small, putt-putt area is much smaller, no sports square, waterslides are separate from Lido.
Service and Staff
4 out of 5
Worst Carnival staff I've ever had. Our MDR server was great, but that was about it. Not the personable fun staff I'm used. I even asked some how long they had been with Carnival thinking they were knew and that wasn't the case. So I'm not sure what the deal was. This was the first room steward I've ever not left extra gratuity for.
Ship Quality
3 out of 5
She's a big girl, but I felt she was choppy. The biggest disappointment was how much outdoor space the specialty restaurants take up. Summers Landing is probably the best place on the ship, but has very few seats separate from Pig N Anchor. I won't even start on the elevators other than to say there should be more for that many people and folks really need to research elevator etiquette.
Cabin / Stateroom
4 out of 5
Very narrow. Bathrooms are tiny and the glass shower doesn't make up for that. I don't see how a bigger person navigates it. Extra soda bed was like concrete compared to other ships.
Ship tip
Pack your patience. If you like restaurants and bars, she's the ship for you. If you like a little peace and quiet, head to port side on deck 8, down past the string of restaurants.
Definitely more hectic than I prefer. Taxi drivers were pushy and in your face. We went to Magen's Bay and wouldn't recommend it. It was tiny, smelled and had more of a lake look than anything. We'll try Sapphire next time. It is a beautiful port though.
This was a nightmare. For the life of me I can't figure out how Carnival doesn't have a better process in place. The same mass rush as other ships but with over 6,000 people is ridiculous.
It is a neat ship but does have many issues, especially the center show area. What were they thinking 🤔? Despite some issues we still had a great time. Sorry you didn't like it. Thanks for your thoughts tho.
I absolutely loved the Celebration. It was one of my favorite cruises. I don’t drink and I don’t go to the specialty restaurants. I didn’t feel this was an out of control drinking group of people. I loved the food at all the included restaurants, there were a lot of food choices and they were all delicious. I love the ship and can’t wAit to sail her again.
I absolutely loved this ship. It was one of my favorite cruises. I do not drink, so I don’t go to the bars. I didn’t feel like it was a drinking cruise at all. I loved all the choices of restaurants and the food was delicious. The ship is gorgeous!!!!! I will sail her again.
Just to add. We had food crumbs in our room when we arrived. I took pictures just to document it. I've never had that experience on other Carnival ships. We were never sat in the same are for dining and two different nights sat without drinks for over 20 minutes. I've read through comments on other negative reviews and noticed that if they had a bad experience cruising must not be for them. I love to cruise, and will continue to do so, but this was a disappointment and it was pretty common to hear others complaining.
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