Springbreak Children overload

Item: Carnival Celebration
Rating: 3.6
Author: dhernan81

Carnival Celebration Cruise Review

dhernan81

Contributor Level: Second Mate

166 Days Till Next Cruise

Cruises: 7+ cruises

Reviews: 5

Helpful Votes: 93

Overall rating:

3.6 out of 5

7 Night Eastern Caribbean (Miami Roundtrip)

Sail date: April 02, 2023

Ship: Carnival Celebration

Cabin type: Inside

Cabin number: 4246

Traveled as: Family (older children)

Reviewed: 1 year ago

Review summary

Avoid springbreak on Carnival unless you have a million kids, unruly kids running around aimlessly and causing havoc. My room steward didn't clean my room several times because the snoozing sign was up and we were not even there and our snoozing sign was in our cabin,once the room steward and I realized we would make an effort to communicate everytime I left the cabin. Kids pressing all the elevator buttons. Running through the hallways and decks. Would stay in the pools and hot tubs all day. The comedian even joked how the cruise was a children's orphanage. The kids definitely outnumbered the adults. As for the ship, it's beautiful, the layout was great, and the venue's were nice. Plenty to keep you entertained, and although kids were everywhere, I still found some quietlocations because the ship is that big.

Embarkation

5 out of 5

Super easy and swift. Came on a hotel shuttle and on board within 20 minutes.

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

3 out of 5

Free options we'll worth it, for fee options, skip.

Fahrenheit 555 Steakhouse

1 out of 5

Not good for the price, when your free options taste better than the fee options, there's a problem. Food quality was not what the best.

Emeril’s Bistro 1397

5 out of 5

Great breakfast option, worth the fee.

Seafood Shack

3 out of 5

Pricey, but overall good.

Onboard Activities

4 out of 5

Although crowded cruise, there are plenty of activities for kids and adults that like to play like kids.

Carnival WaterWorks

5 out of 5

Water slides and water park are so much fun, we would go when everyone was getting ready for dinner to avoid the crowds.

Virtual Windows

5 out of 5

Time journey was a very cool concept.

BOLT: Ultimate Sea Coaster

5 out of 5

Excellent, fun & scary at the same time.

Entertainment

3 out of 5

Entertainment was ok, I felt the smaller ships had better Entertainment. I really enjoyed the Amor Cubano show. The rest were ok, and I couldn't follow the storyline.

Service and Staff

3 out of 5

Could tell they were understaffed and service was very slow. They did the best they could, had no issues, just pack your patience.

Ship Quality

4 out of 5

The crew try there best to keep things clean but people are just so nasty and just trash the ship. I tried my best not to be that person.

Cabin / Stateroom

4 out of 5

Bathroom was tiny everything else was adequate.

Ship tip

Be patient, don't set your expectations too high, and don't go during springbreak. Must see Time journey show, eat at Emeril's, a quiet indoor location near latitudes bar or left of gateway; outdoor location, past the port side bbq and outdoor dining venues, nice sun loungers mostly empty.

Thumbs up

Ports of call

San Juan, Puerto Rico

5 out of 5

It's one of my favorites.

Thumbs Up 0

Amber Cove (Puerto Plata), Dominican Republic

3 out of 5

Stayed at port, Amber Cove pool was crowded due to 2 cruise ships in Port. But it was still nice to chill in the water.

Thumbs Up 1

Philipsburg, St. Maarten

5 out of 5

Always fun, love Grand Case beach, even in the rain.

Thumbs Up 0

Miami, Florida

2 out of 5

Feel like you must know Spanish if you want to get around.

Thumbs Up 0

Disembarkation

5 out of 5

Again, quick and easy, left after the crowd, 9 am, and no issues.

Traveler Photos

12 Comments

byhisgrace 1 year ago

We made a similar experience because we went last tear during spring break

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Sogmoore 1 year ago

Great pix

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Gwbigdog 1 year ago

Thanks for sharing

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envy1219 1 year ago

Thanks for sharing your review

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cruising2004 1 year ago

Thank you for sharing your cruising experience.

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CruzeFan 1 year ago

Never cruise near a holiday, in March through mid-April or in June - August.

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Jzusvme 1 year ago

Thanks for your review

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BryantAZ 1 year ago

Thanks for taking the time to share your experience with us!

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karlgrgurich 1 year ago

Im not sure Christmas is any better either…..

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javawoody 1 year ago

Thanks for sharing

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AuntPinkie 1 year ago

Appreciate your details. It only takes once to learn about cruising during Spring Break. It seems, however, that it is longer than ever; all of March and half of April. I’m always bewildered by the parents that assume it isn’t THEIR child causing problems. Sorry your cruise was marred by your timing. Hope you try again at a different time of year. I’ve been warned by a crew member, that Thanksgiving is worse than any week of Spring Break.

Thumbs Up 2

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MissieLeigh 1 year ago

Thank you for the info. I don't usually think in terms of spring break since it has no bearing on my life so you've given me something to think about when booking future cruises. We're tax preparers so vacation anytime between January and May isn't feasible for us. Summer and fall are the best times for us.

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