Fantastic Cruise aboard the Excellence Class

Item: Carnival Celebration
Rating: 4.7
Author: CruisinFanatic

Carnival Celebration Cruise Review

CruisinFanatic

Contributor Level: Purser

94 Days Till Next Cruise

Cruises: 7+ cruises

Reviews: 2

Helpful Votes: 52

Overall rating:

4.7 out of 5

7 Night Western Caribbean (Miami Roundtrip)

Sail date: November 26, 2023

Ship: Carnival Celebration

Cabin type: Inside

Cabin number: 5262

Traveled as: Family (older children)

Reviewed: 5 months ago

Review summary

Lackluster service, amazing food and drinks, extremely comfortable and very friendly and attentive bar staff and other staff, even better wifi which rivaled my home internet, and an amazing and truly FUN ship that created lasting memories to come.

Embarkation

5 out of 5

Seamless, and due to platinum VIFP status, made embarkation a breeze. The new terminal made for the ship is modernized and extremely well maintained.

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

5 out of 5

Carnivale and Festivale Restaurants (Main Dining Rooms)

4 out of 5

Food in MDR was hit or miss at times, but overall, amazing food, and love the everyday selections. Do note that any additional entrees after the 2nd entree will incur a $5 charge per additional entree.

Big Chicken

5 out of 5

Amazing. Tip; open for breakfast until 3pm where they serve honey glazed chicken

Chibang!

5 out of 5

Open for lunch on sea days, and wow. Cannot be beat. Amazing food with tons of flavor. However, don’t overdose as portions are pretty large!

Street Eats

5 out of 5

A yummy alternative to burgers or tacos on the lido. Time fries stand now offers wings for an additional up charge.

Cucina del Capitano

5 out of 5

Complimentary dining option was SPECTACULAR. Amazing spinach side dish and the array of choices was absolutely amazing alongside the quality of the food.

Guy's Pig & Anchor Smokehouse/Brewhouse

5 out of 5

What’s there to say. Amazing BBQ.

Onboard Activities

5 out of 5

Bolt was absolutely amazing, and in my opinion, worth the price. Stunning views of the sea when on the ride, although a little short. Waterworks/waterpark had much more thrilling and enjoyable slides, and with the ship being at max capacity, there was minimal lines for any attractions, including the ropes course on a sea day. Zipline is not for the faint of heart.

Entertainment

5 out of 5

Amazing violinists. The euphoric trio performer turned out to be a distanced cousin of mine, and seeing them perform for nights on end in s bars and shows were a treat. Tip: To get good seats near center stage (deck 6, mid), arrive at least 30 minutes early to snag a good seat. Best seats are either on deck 6 or 7. Lee and on board cruise activities and performers were great, with tons of trivia and other events to go around, however, there being a much smaller selection kf activities compared to other carnival ships I’ve sailed on.

Service and Staff

3 out of 5

This is where carnival celebration missed the mark for me. Our dining room staff took upwards of an hour every night just to deliver appetizers, with our room Stewart Dewa being unseen for the entire cruise nor did he give us a friendly greeting of any kind. On the contrary, bar staff were always friendly and engaging, and wish Carnival’s service would improve a bit more in this regard.

Ship Quality

5 out of 5

Excellence class was the best addition to caemivals fleet, and all public spaces were maintained rigorously, and I never saw any spaces banged up or noticeably broken or in disrespair. Elevators can get very cramped very quickly however.

Cabin / Stateroom

5 out of 5

Cabin was extremely small and barely managed to fit three people. If booking a mega ship line this, stick to Oceanview or interior cabins.

Ship tip

1.) Carnival Celebration offers some speciality dining options complimentary, which include Chibang, Cucina del Capitano, and Guys BBQ. Make reservations to get an assigned table when it is your time to dine through the carnival hub app, and you will be notified when the table is ready. Furthermore, arrive early to shows within celebration Central as the venue fills very quickly.

Thumbs up

Ports of call

Miami, Florida

5 out of 5

Costa Maya (Mahahual), Mexico

5 out of 5

Cozumel, Mexico

5 out of 5

Mahogany Bay, Roatan, Bay Islands, Honduras

5 out of 5

Disembarkation

5 out of 5

Off the ship and unpacked at home by 8:40am (we live in Miami), needlessly to say, the swiftest debarkation I’ve had on any other cruise ship, which left the cruise on a great note.

Traveler Photos

9 Comments

Other reviews of this sailing

Interesting experience

we had a wonderful time on Celebration

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