natefish95

I have absolutely loved reading your reviews!

Spa and Fitness On the first day I did a spa tour. It was fine. They highlighted some of the specials treatments they have onboard. Cool, Cool. I talked to the acupuncturist onboard for a bit. Very unique that celebrity offers this, but I'm firmly in the camp that acupuncture is a pseudoscience and the guy onboard was a bit too "out there for me". I did a free consultation and apparently by looking at my tongue I have all sorts of issues and he recommends I do three session at $200 each plus gratuity. Absolutely not. I was curious to hear what he had to say and learn more because I was genuinely curious. I politely declined his suggestions and left. (What's funny is he ignored me the rest of the 10 days. I would say good morning if I saw him at the front desk and would get no response.) Looking at the massage offerings, they were really overpriced. I live in DC, and things are expensive here, but I can get a better massage locally for much cheaper (I have one in a couple hours actually). Now the gym, I loved! I'm a Peloton ADDICT! Having actually peloton bikes onboard is something I was most looking forward to. There were four on the Summit and if you're a Peloton member, you don't need to reserve them. Some of the parts should probably be tightened up a bit and I think the metrics were a bit low compared to what I normally do, but I still enjoyed riding at sea. In 10 days, I clocked in about 70 miles on the bike. They also provided good quality sweat towels (Carnival basically provided bathroom towels in the gym...). I LOVED the cold towels that were available as well. It felt so refreshing to wipe down my face with a cold towels after a hard ride. I didn't use any other equipment, but it looked like good quality stuff and the gym never felt crowded. Over on the side there was a section with yoga blocks, yoga mats, foam rollers, and some other pieces of equipment for use. What some people didn't realize is that there is a free sauna in the locker rooms off the hallway between the solarium and the pool. I used this pretty much every day. The locker room was very tiny and cramped, especially if more then 2 guys are trying to change at the same time. There were two showers as well. I heard the design was better pre-renovation, but I'm glad they kept the free sauna. It's small, but better than nothing. The men's locker room gets a lot of people coming in from the solarium to use the restroom. The sauna is all glass, so you feel like you're in an aquarium with people looked in as they walk by. Odd... Now being in Aqua Class, I had access to the Persian Garden. On the Summit it's behind the gym on the interior of the ship with no ocean views. There's a turkish hammam steam room, an "infrared" sauna, and a salt room. Plus two large showers with a bunch of different car wash-esque settings. I used the Persian Garden once and didn't enjoy it. First, there was nowhere to put my stuff. I left most of my stuff in my cabin one deck below, but I wear glasses, had my phone, and my kindle because I thought I would do some reading on the heated bench. I just had to leave my stuff in a heap on a bench in the room. Didn't love that. The turkish hammam was actually steamy, so that was nice. The "infrared" sauna never seemed to get hot and the salt room was so tiny it felt a bit claustrophobic. The doors to the salt room and sauna also had issues staying closed (we weren't in rough seas at all either). I did a cycle and sat on the heated bench and then left. I just didn't think there was anything special about it. If I don't do Aqua Class next time on this class of ship, I would absolutely not pay to access the Persian Garden.

Sorry for the delay! I fell asleep last night haha So first impressions were great. My least favorite thing about Carnival is how gaudy the interiors are. I loved the style and decor of the Summit. It felt very sleek, modern, yet comfortable. As soon as I got onboard, I went to my cabin and was super excited that they were open to drop my backpack and get my SeaPass (is that what they're called on Celebrity? I don't even remember.). Overall, I liked the design of the cabin. Again, it felt nice and sleek. I loved the colors and glass cabinets. I had no idea they came with binoculars, robes, slippers, umbrellas, etc. I definitely like I was on a line that's a step above (I tried out the binoculars and they were terrible. I would definitely bring my own if I was doing an Alaska cruise). I liked having a yoga mat in the room being part of Aqua Class. I left it out and did yoga a couple times in the room with the balcony door open. Peak relaxation! Probably my least favorite things the entire 10 days were the bed and the bathroom. It was a very firm bed with very flat pillows. I was so excited to get home to my soft bed and firm pillows. The bathroom looked nice, but I think the shower was very poorly designed. The shower head had excellent pressure, but the shower door opened inward, which led to a couple messes after I turned the shower on. Eventually I remembered to just turn the shower head to the wall then turn it on! I don't mind small showers, but the grab bar got in the way and the only shelf was taken up by the bottles of shower gel, shampoo, and conditioner. I took those out and made room for my own stuff. Other random first impressions: OMG they have cans of diet coke in the buffet. AMAZING! (I'm from Atlanta. Pepsi is the inferior soda) The ship smells amazing. Everything looks very clean and there is housekeeping everywhere wiping things down Cloth towels in the public restrooms? Oh fancy! The bathrooms have odd designs though. Only one urinal in most? The statues around the pool deck are a peculiar design choice... The rooftop terrace looks cool, but seems like a big waste of space. My fellow passengers don't seem as old as I thought they would be.

Hi everyone! I got back from my first Celebrity cruise(s) yesterday and figured I would do a quick review. For some background on myself, I'm probably not the typical Celebrity cruiser. I'm a mid-20's solo cruiser that normally does NCL or Carnival. I don't see Carnival as "Walmart of the Seas" and love being casual on vacation. But I love cruising and I love trying new things. Last year when Celebrity dropped the solo supplement temporarily, I jumped on it. I've always been curious to try something new and now the price was very, very right. Since I would be doing my first Celebrity, why not book two and do my first back to back? Since it's my first, why no go all in do Aqua Class and the "Indulge" package? YOLO The itineraries were a solid "meh", but I knew I wanted an M class ship because I just prefer smaller ships. January is a good time to cruise for me so I booked January 9-14 to Cozumel and Grand Cayman and January 14-19 to Key West and Cozumel in cabin 9050, an Aqua Class balcony. I also upgraded to the Indulge package because I knew I wanted the premium beverage package. The premium wifi and $200 OBC for each sailing was nice too. Pre-Cruise, I was very pleased to see that my lowly Royal status transferred making me "Select" on Celebrity. I didn't book any excursions, but did pre-book a dinner at Qsine for "Le Petit Chef" because it sounded fun and different. I'm not going to do this day by day, but I'll try and group it thematically, but it will probably by more stream of consciousness-y. Let's begin!

The Spirit was still my favorite cruise of 2022. I had an incredible time and did not let 1 issue dampen the entire trip. I might be going back on Spirit later this year actually.

When I was in San Diego earlier this year, I loved doing the zoo, La Jolla cove, and the Midway. When I go back in April, I'm not quite sure what I'll do, but might do the Midway again.

I'll be on the Jewel in April with the same itinerary, so I will be following along! I long the ramblings of your old, grumpy dad btw! Your positive, insightful commentary and his being the polar opposite is hilarious.

Your reviews always put a smile on my face!! You should have put a trigger warning when you mentioned using Concur to book your hotel. I haaaaaate that system so much. I try to be a good employee and book things myself, but something always goes wrong and I have to call the travel agency because Concur is only showing flights with layovers in Somalia and Sudan when I'm trying to go to Buffalo. No ma'am. I'm considering doing the Vista next year, so can't wait to read the rest!

If you want to do a beach day in St Maarten, head over to the French side and go to Orient Beach. A lot of really nice beach bars and comfortable chairs. Most are topless and all the way on the end is the full clothing optional section.

Carnival's hottest bar is Alchemy! It has everything: John Heald lookalikes, a lady blowing a snot rocket into her elbow, and the ghost of George HW Bush. Try their signature drink called the annoying cruiser. It's that thing where stand in front of barstools rather than sitting and throw a tantrum there's no Bud Light at a cocktail bar.

Holy crap, it's George H.W. Bush!

I love how you got that lady mid sneeze. Or she's about to puke into her elbow.

On US-based cruises like 95% of passengers are American. Next to that, the next largest group are Canadians and they specifically ask if there are any Canadian veterans (there almost never are). No one is forced to attend. If a non-American veteran has something to say, they can contribute during the open forum when all are welcome to speak. Did you actually have something to contribute to the conversation?

Sounds like the driver should tip you for your superior riding skills

St. Maarten is my absolute favorite port. Orient Beach is my personal paradise on the French side.

I just binge read your entire review and it was great! I was hungover yesterday and now I feel hungover again just reading this haha. It's definitely not my vibe, but it's an interesting concept. I would loooooove to see the outrage if Carnival did drag shows or a drag brunch. The outrage would be the best people watching ever--even better than when people get all huffy a comedian curses in the adult show.

Oh thank god, a thread I can actually stand to read. People have been especially whiney on the boards lately. Looking forward to your adventures on Celebration!

Thanks for checking! Definitely a disappointment

I actually really like the itineraries. Have my eye on a Canada/New England cruise in September 2023, but also like one of the 12 day Journeys cruises in February 2024. Decisions, decisions. Really glad John Heald did videos from the ships. Definitely ups the excitement I think.

It would be foolish not to use something you paid for! Drink packages are a necessity! Really appreciate your thoughts on the excursion. I'm not prone to sea sickness either, so I'll keep this excursion as a contender possibly. We're only in Ensenada from 7:00am-1:00pm, so I probably won't even get off the ship there. I'll watch sailaway from the thermal spa haha

This was a GREAT review! You family anecdotes are hilarious. You'd be a great drinking buddy! I'll be on the lookout for your Alaska cruise review hopefully! One quick question, for the Luxury Day Sail in Cabo, how much shade was on the boat and how did you like the schedule overall? I'm considering it for my cruise in April, but I'm also pale as hell and burn easily.

Looking forward to reading more! When you're onboard, could you see if there is a free sauna or steam room off the gym? Or, could you check the thermal suite and see if there are single-sex saunas in the locker rooms or all co-ed?

Do y'all not get out ever? $48 for a full steakhouse dinner (appetizers, steak, dessert) is such a great value. I've been to steakhouses were a single steak is more than that. The quality in the steakhouse is actually good, especially when compared to the MDR. If you're a family of 4, you're only paying $24 more dollars total for a full steakhouse meal. Not that much really. Also, can y'all please find some actual good lobster and stop obsessing over the rubber that Carnival claims is lobster. All of these changes are pretty common sense when you stop and think about how much food and money is wasted every week.

"You did not survive a pandemic to fake an or****" I can feel the Zeniths clutching their pearls now.

Sorry I made you dread your cruise! I'm still thinking about how great my cruise was despite the issues. I would sail on the Spirit next week in a heartbeat! Glad you had a great time!