New Experience

Item: Carnival Celebration
Rating: 4.5
Author: cruiserdana

Carnival Celebration Cruise Review

cruiserdana

Contributor Level: Second Mate

Cruises: 2-3 cruises

Reviews: 4

Helpful Votes: 73

Overall rating:

4.5 out of 5

7 Night Western Caribbean (Miami Roundtrip)

Sail date: November 26, 2023

Ship: Carnival Celebration

Cabin type: Inside

Cabin number: 4424

Traveled as: Family (young children)

Reviewed: 11 months ago

Review summary

For our first family cruise it was a bit different but still had a great time! I definitely would recommend this itinerary for the sea to port days were a good mixture! I do wish as a foodie I had a better experience in that department but won’t defer me from continuing to book more in the future.

Embarkation

4 out of 5

Traveling out of the Miami port is very heavy traffic. We sat just at the cruise port to get to our terminal for over an hour. Once out of the taxi though it was smooth. No long waits. (5 minutes max).

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

4 out of 5

The Carnival Deli

4 out of 5

Being able to get a plain hotdog for our kid was a lifesaver here! But the meatball sub for my boyfriend was not good. He even tried it again to see if perhaps it was an off day the first time and it was the same outcome. The Rueben though, still tasty!

Carnivale and Festivale Restaurants (Main Dining Rooms)

3 out of 5

Since the role out of the new menu the food, in my opinion, is not the same. I felt like every night had along the same options. There isn’t the “Rare Finds” section anymore either. Typically I love the main dining and this time I was under impressed.

Lido Marketplace

2 out of 5

The buffet for being on Celebration was the smallest poorest selection I’ve ever seen. Dream and Valors had so much more to offer. I believe there were 5 main course options to choose from. Only 2 being a meat option. They did have the salad bar which was good. The dessert buffet, tiny. The only time I really actually enjoyed the buffet was for breakfast!

Chibang!

4 out of 5

Only complaint is they need a better way of organizing opening. We were told our table was ready and people were just barging in through the doors. Positive, the food was very good here! I loved having either Mexican or Chinese to choose from.

Street Eats

3 out of 5

I was most excited to try the Steam Dream. I saw they had a daily item and one was dumplings. So pumped. Only to be let down. Half the time there wasn’t anyone working the counter when opened. I did get a kebab finally and it was delicious!

Miami Slice

5 out of 5

My boyfriend has named this the best pizza he has had on a cruise, this is our third one! He ate it every single night 😂

Guy's Pig & Anchor Smokehouse/Brewhouse

5 out of 5

Portions, perfect. Pulled pork butt, so yummy! We went when they seat you and wait on you so that was fun. Only thing I wasn’t a fan of was the coleslaw, only because I’m not a raw red onion fan and that was filled with it. Other than that, give me more!

Guy's Burger Joint

5 out of 5

I mean come on, who doesn’t love a good burger! The fries were perfectly seasoned. I love having grilled onions on my burger and they were nice and hot every time.

Onboard Activities

4 out of 5

Unfortunately we didn’t get to hit up the pools like we wanted. I was surprised the Spa deck, the pool closed at 9pm. The water park was a good time. The slides are for all ages!

Carnival WaterWorks

5 out of 5

Great time for the kids and us adults had fun going down the slides too! 3 slides to choose from!

Entertainment

4 out of 5

We had a lot of good laughs and fun’s at all the venues. From the Punchliner comedy club to the piano bar! The shows were awesome too! Very talented people aboard this ship! Definitely prep to be to shows 45 minutes to an hour prior to get good seats

Children's Programs

5 out of 5

We had a 7 year old and an 8 year old attend camp stingray daily and loved it! Always wanted to go back the next day. From competitive activities and games to pajama parties for night owls! The night owls is 10pm-1am and is roughly 8.5/hour!

Service and Staff

4 out of 5

We encountered the best of the best and the sour. Overall, friendly staff! Some of the bartenders just seemed to be over it and came across rude.

Ship Quality

4 out of 5

Huge ship of course! 19 floors. Everything is very spread out so prepare to walk. There are elevators but sometimes it’s crammed like sardines. I was sad that all the elevators were in the middle of the ship instead of like other ships where they were glass and you could view the atrium. Most of the ship was clean! Not too many “odd smells”. I was definitely impressed with how clean pool areas were. I hate seeing loose wet hair on the ground. I get it happens and it’s bound to be there but was extremely surprised with the lack there was! So way to go!

Cabin / Stateroom

5 out of 5

The family harbor interior room worked! We had a king bed with an upperpullman. Still enough space to move around! Our room steward did an excellent job with the cleaning and towel animals! I heard complaints from others on the ship about their rooms being dirty but ours was not! Thankful!

Ship tip

We did not book a single excursion through carnival for the first time for this trip, we had a blast still! If you received the offer “drinks available for you anywhere on the ship” do not buy the drink package for the other person in your cabin. You can buy it on ship at the bar. Hide ducks, it makes it a good bonding experience for your party and the people finding them!

Thumbs up

Ports of call

Mahogany Bay, Roatan, Bay Islands, Honduras

5 out of 5

We went to hotel Henry Morgan for this beach day! Don’t panic at first sight, the beauty is at the end of the golf cart ride down to the beach. The sand is soft. The water felt great! It isn’t all inclusive. There are also many, many, many vendors asking you to buy this or that. First, don’t take the first offer given to you. We wanted to snorkel and was first offered 30 a person, as the day continued we finally was able to get 15 a person with the kids half off! I also got a full body message! It was wonderful! 40 dollars for 30 minutes, I’d pay that again and again for how great she was.

Thumbs Up 0

Costa Maya (Mahahual), Mexico

5 out of 5

For this day we rented our own golf cart which they give you a map and each stop has a special something, shot whatever. It was 90 bucks for the day but was so worth it! We got to go wherever we liked on our own time line. We stopped at about 3 or 4 different spots! Some of the beaches had a lot of debris while others didn’t. I think the kids favorite excursion! They got fresh mangoes and watermelon that were devoured before we could blink our eyes.😂🩵

Thumbs Up 1

Miami, Florida

5 out of 5