Beautiful “BIG & I mean”BIG” Ship

Item: Carnival Celebration
Rating: 4
Author: Waterlillimm

Carnival Celebration Cruise Review

Waterlillimm

Contributor Level: Third Mate

77 Days Till Next Cruise

Cruises: 7+ cruises

Review: 1

Helpful Votes: 20

Overall rating:

4 out of 5

7 Night Eastern Caribbean (Miami Roundtrip)

Sail date: February 25, 2024

Ship: Carnival Celebration

Cabin type: Suite

Cabin number: 11429

Traveled as: Couple

Reviewed: 8 months ago

Review summary

Love the big new Celebration, non stop fun food & activities!…Just do your research prior to booking & enjoy… We will not hesitate to sail again on this beautiful ship! Carnival can be proud! Take a cooking class wit Emeril Legasse..you will not be disappointed!

Embarkation

5 out of 5

We were early after a time mix-up…Not a big deal we were assured by Carnival terminal staff. These people are amazing & their kind, courteous behaviour was like a welcoming party..just for us! Kudos

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

5 out of 5

Being realistic this ship has great food. If you feel it doesn’t meet your standards, you must be a renowned chef yourself or eat at top rated restaurants. We love having so many choices and that being the biggest decision of our day. If you deserve higher standards, that occurs while researching your trip. We knew, that, we could visit speciality restaurants for a fee. The dining room food & buffets were great. Only part of service slow…was drink orders.

Guy's Pig & Anchor Smokehouse/Brewhouse

4 out of 5

We love this food when we wanted to have a quiet dinner together. Nothing beats Guy’s BBQ. Love all of it…

Bonsai Teppanyaki

2 out of 5

Unfortunately, this venue for us for lunch was a major disappointment. Too loud, inconsistent food quality. Disregard for us, as individual paying patrons. We felt with 3 chefs trying to be heard over each other created disaster for enjoyment at our station. Seated with other guests, whom, did not engage in the fun & whispered to each other during. I walked out. Met up with hubby later. Loud tables still shouting inside venue.

Carnivale and Festivale Restaurants (Main Dining Rooms)

4 out of 5

We always enjoy our dinners in Carnival restaurants. This time not different from food or staff. 2nd week was hampered b a table of 7 adults, 3 with walkers who parked them in front of the window blocking our view. We were given this table for the view on our 2nd week… They were loud & gossiping. Hence the reason we only attended a couple of times. Also, a 30 min wait for a glass of wine, that was not consumable added to it. We will always dress up daily, look over menus & enjoy what’s offered!

Rudi's Seagrill

5 out of 5

Great place…. I don’t eat seafood but sure enjoyed my husband enjoying it!

Big Chicken

5 out of 5

Became one of our fav. for lunch!

Onboard Activities

4 out of 5

BOLT: Ultimate Sea Coaster

5 out of 5

As an older couple with a motivation for fun…. We (yup me) finally committed to doing the Bolt on our last day! Not to be disappointed, but overwhelmed with vibrations & sensations these 62 yr old thrill bones have not felt since visiting Universal rides 10 yrs ago. Be Brave….you will love it!

Serenity Adult-Only Retreat

4 out of 5

Great place to hang out, tan, sleep, drink & enjoy your sea days as most do… Sadly chair hogs enjoyed chairs in both the sun & shade… Not impressive behaviour by elders but the norm…as we witnessed during our 2B2

SportSquare

5 out of 5

I believe this includes the Rope Course with a zip line portion! By far, it was more than anticipated! Bucket list items ✅✅ completed!

The Ultimate Playground

5 out of 5

Perfect place for a bit of competition, giggles & fun… not to be missed! Great for all ages!

Casino

3 out of 5

Well, let’s say… if you play, make sure you can afford to lose it! More losers than winners in this casino!

Entertainment

2 out of 5

BINGO….do not participate unless you want to see who the real winner is. That would be “Carnival Cruise Lines”. Count the people, count the money…but most of all…there are no winners! The small amounts & gags to keep you playing are a simple tactic to regain lost revenue for this line. Sadly it was a big eye opener for soooo many on our cruises. Extras are expected for meals etc. but the money spent on Bingo is better spent elsewhere on the Celebration

Service and Staff

3 out of 5

The Staff is amazing 75% of the time. Those, that show they wish to be anywhere, but on our vacation,spending a long time they work away from reality & family is prevalent. We wish it was not so visible. We always “tipped” more than norm or expected, above the pre-paid gratuities. Simply, due to research & knowledge of their jobs . Circumstances, we can never change, but, when we see laziness & poor service, it is hard to compensate them. We also work tirelessly for our money too! No tips for us…

Ship Quality

5 out of 5

This Carnival Celebration ship, is cleaner than clean. We recognized the same cleaners after 2 weeks & our repetitive visits to the same locations at the same time daily. Rooms on the other hand, we helped with areas, we knew they didn’t do. We are not above anyone, so help is help!

Cabin / Stateroom

5 out of 5

Ship tip

If you can afford a suite ….do it! Book your own tours if you can …. Emmeril Legasse’ cooking classes are awesome!

Thumbs up

Ports of call

Amber Cove (Puerto Plata), Dominican Republic

4 out of 5

We did the cooking class excursion & cannot say enough good about it! The reviews were poor but untrue. Service, food & adventure park etc. made this our favourite park in two weeks aboard the celebration Eastern & Western Caribbean!

Thumbs Up 0

Miami, Florida

5 out of 5

Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas

2 out of 5

Going on a snorkeling excursion to Trunk Bay was a joke, major waste of money….think about how much money you are willing to pay for this. Pm for more insight.

Thumbs Up 0

San Juan, Puerto Rico

4 out of 5

Disembarkation

2 out of 5

Not impressive in any way, as “tour staff” (2 girls) at Port of Miami had ongoing disaccord & leadership issues between them. (Carnival what you gained in the embarkation staff you lost in the debarkation power struggle. We were left standing for 90 mins without seating or anyone knowledgeable to guide us. Big mistake booking transfer to FLA

6 Comments

byhisgrace 8 months ago

Thanks for your review

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ZATHROS 8 months ago

Thanks for sharing. I totally agree with you on cruise staff in general. It is a tough job for most and many of us passengers have no empathy. Sounds like you had a good time.

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Gwbigdog 8 months ago

Thanks for sharing

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javawoody 8 months ago

Appreciate the detailed review

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cruising2004 8 months ago

Great detailed review! Glad you had a wonderful cruise!

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HeavySeas 8 months ago

Thanks for sharing and glad you enjoyed your cruise

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