Vacations are ALWAYS GREAT!

Item: Carnival Celebration
Rating: 4.4
Author: DrBobSal

Carnival Celebration Cruise Review

DrBobSal

Contributor Level: Second Mate

20 Days Till Next Cruise

Cruises: 7+ cruises

Reviews: 7

Helpful Votes: 143

Overall rating:

4.4 out of 5

7 Night Eastern Caribbean (Miami Roundtrip)

Sail date: July 21, 2024

Ship: Carnival Celebration

Cabin type: Balcony

Cabin number: 12362

Traveled as: Couple

Reviewed: 2 months ago

Review summary

Great time! Already looking to book our next cruise. Enjoy sailing on the newest ships. This was second time on Celebration. As frequent Carnival cruisers, most things were familiar. Wish that Carnival was not constantly looking for ways to trim and cutback, but that’s our world right now. One odd thing about this itinerary was being in Nassau on Friday, day at sea on Saturday, and back in Miami on Sunday. On Saturday, we were literally stationary in the water for more than 15 hours. It was odd. At night, it was literally silent on the balcony. I would have preferred a circular route back to Miami versus not moving at all. Next year, this same itinerary will include a day at Celebration Key on Saturday.

Embarkation

5 out of 5

Incredibly smooth and organized. We are Platinum guests, so we had 10:00-10:30 arrival window. Waited a short time in lounge before boarding started. We were on the ship and having a bit to eat by 11:15am.

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

4 out of 5

Overall, we ate well. Breakfast on Lido each morning with a custom omelette. Only criticism continues to be that bacon is only served every other day. This is one of many ongoing, petty cutbacks from Carnival. I am not a fan of buffets, so lunch consisted of pizza, Guys burgers, and Shak’s Chicken. Loved all of the options. For dinner, we did not eat in main dining room at all. Instead, Chibang, 2x Cucina, 2x Teppanyaki, 1x steakhouse, and 1x Rudi’s Sea Grill. We enjoyed almost everything that we ate. Again, lots of examples of cutbacks. Side dishes were always available at Steakhouse. Now, very small “sides” come with the dinner.

Cucina del Capitano

4 out of 5

Food was good. Again, a bit petty by Carnival, but there is now an $8 pp charge if you eat here a second time. This was free during sailings on Celebration in 2023 and Mardi Gras in 2022.

Bonsai Teppanyaki

5 out of 5

Excellent! Delicious food, fun atmosphere, and great service. Be sure to try the Geisha (drink) - BEST DRINK ON ENTIRE SHIP! Be sure to book in advance - seatings are limited. We dined there on Tuesday and Saturday b/c only one time last cruise was not enough!

Onboard Activities

5 out of 5

Entertainment

4 out of 5

Favorite activities were Family Feud and Deal or No Deal. B/c this was our second time on this ship, we were not motivated to see the other shows. We attended lots of comedy. I would say that the comedians were fair.

Service and Staff

5 out of 5

Our cabin steward was wonderful! Always greeted us by name and was so attentive to anything that we needed.

Ship Quality

4 out of 5

Took the stairs A LOT - elevators are slow. Cabin was awesome 12-362 had a fabulous extended balcony. Only criticism was that sofa in room had some staining. Overall, ship was in good shape and well-maintained.

Cabin / Stateroom

5 out of 5

Ship tip

Focus on having fun. Don’t focus on what’s not perfect. You’ll always find something that could be better. If you’re not having fun on vacation, that your problem - not Carnival.

Thumbs up

Ports of call

Nassau, Bahamas

4 out of 5

Amber Cove (Puerto Plata), Dominican Republic

3 out of 5

Grand Turk Island

4 out of 5

Miami, Florida

5 out of 5

Disembarkation

5 out of 5

Smooth and efficient. Again, we are Platinum and had priority debarkation. We were off the ship, in Uber, and checked-in at our post-cruise hotel by 8am. No issues at all.

Traveler Photos

12 Comments

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