Celebrity Becomes Carnival During Christmas

I did a back-to-back cruise this year on the same boat, (Equinox) and the same cabin (Concierge Class).   The first cruise was a 10 day eastern Caribbean and the second an 11 day journey to the Panama Canal and back.

The two cruises could not have been more different.

The first was ideal.   The cruisers all seemed to want the same things I did...peace, tranquility and a pleasant passage.   On December 12, on 'turnaround day' everything changed.

Among the new passengers were over 600 children who were virtually unsupervised for the entire cruise.   When they weren't unsupervised, their parents were part of the problem.   There were supposed to be rules of conduct but they were not enforced.   The staff was reluctant to tell anyone 'NO'.

Kids that appeared to be as young as 4 roamed the ship unsupervised, playing in the elevators, running in the hallways and otherwise intruding on others.   Teenagers acted as if the other passengers didn't matter and even taunted them when they misbehaved.   There were kids using the casino as a passageway and in one instance, a parent even brought his infant to the adult Jacuzzi in the aqua-spa and put the diaper clad infant in it with him.   When the other adults in the Jacuzzi objected he had a fit and refused to remove the infant.   Disgusting.

The New Years Eve party seemed designed to please the crew more than the passengers.   The main party at the outdoor pool had contemporary music which was OK since the more mature passengers like myself don't don a tuxedo or gown to hang around an outdoor pool in the heat.   The alternative sites didn't provide relief.   The dance area on the 14th deck featured salsa music and had 5, 6 and 7 year olds on the dance floor and otherwise acting like hyperactive kids.   The music planned for deck 5 was cancelled because the musician was sick.   The other music on deck 3 was good but was limited to a set of 5 songs.

I actually paid extra for this experience.

I have been a fan of Celebrity for several years and normally take a 3 to 4 week December cruise every year to ring in the new year.

Never again...at least not on Celebrity.   I have to resume my search for a cruise line that doesn't lose its 'class' over the holidays.