CELEBRATION - Apparently lots of passengers got sick --- we had great time.

[Lisa0719]

Just off the Celebration out of Jacksonville from 2/17 thru 2/21. We had a wonderful time. Just hubby and self --- mid 40's. The ship was fine --- not great but fine. I miss those majestic center entryways. Entering on floor 5 without much to see was a disappointment.

 

Apparently lots of passengers got sick on this cruise. So many that on the last night we rushed into Jacksonville arriving by 1:00 (they closed the casino at midnight because we were heading to port). They took some of the passengers off by ambulance. What was amazing was that there was NO information about this from the cruise directors and staff. It was weird. My husband and I were oblivious to the illness until the last day when we heard a group say that 30 of 60 people were sick in their party. I guess one sign should have been when all the sudden on day 3 the dining staff in the wheelhouse would no longer let you serve yourself. They served everything from the scambled eggs to the make you own salad bar. I guess that keeps people from leaning over the food and makes it less likely to get contaminated.

 

We flew to Jacksonville a day early and rented a car. We decided to drive down to Daytona and see the NASCAR practice. That was really fun. We stayed at the airport Hampton Inn and ate dinner that night at the Ruby Tuesday's down the street.

 

On Wednesday we took the 11:00 shuttle to the port. Lots of people there early, but everything went very smooth and we were aboard by noon. Ate lunch then parked ourselves in deck chairs and enjoyed the afternoon. Boat drill was typical. I was glad that the ship didn't sail before it was over (that happened on the Paradise). We were on deck and watched the ship sail out of port and under the bridge. An amazing site. We were also accompanied by a dolphin which was fun.

 

On Friday in Freeport, we choose the ship's glass bottom boat. I was torn with what to do in Freeport. This was a good choice for us and we enjoyed it.

 

We were about an hour or so late in Nassau due to traffic in port. We took a cab to Atlantis first thing. Just walked around, it was worth it to just see. We then returned and took the #10 jitney to cable beach. The day was cool and breezy. We layed on the beach a short while and then returned. We walked thru the straw market and did the pirate museum. Lastly we took a buggy and carriage ride. That was really nice. We were on ship early, about 7:00 and made our 8:00 dining time.

 

Sea day was beautiful. We spent day in deck chairs reading books and having an occassional foo foo drink. A really nice day. My only disappointment was that the ship did not get FOX so I could not watch the Daytona 500. I thought I would be able to sit at a bar and watch a little of it, but no.

 

The shows were ok --- 2 big ones--- one was show tunes and the other a country theme. The chairs in the Astoria lounge were really bad. Hard to sit there an hour and watch. We only made one late night comedy show. It was ok.

 

Disembarktion was fine. We were off by 10:00.

 

It was a great long weekend for my husband and myself. We enjoyed it all. Just glad we weren't among the sick!!!

[Lisa0719]

One other comment --- there was no past guest party on this cruise. I asked at the pursers desk and they said they don't do them on 4 day cruises. I was bummed. I think they should still do them.

[Tashaf]

Did you like the pirates museum? How long did it take you to do? Did you think it was worth it?

[Lisa0719]

The pirates museum took about a 1/2 hour and that's if you read absolutely everything, it was $12 a person ----- so I don't think it was worth the admission price. I'd give it about a $5 value.

[ernstbass]

I'm taking my neice on this cruise on 3/31 for her 17th birthday!

[Nu2Cruisin']

Apparently a lot of people get sick on all cruises? When you get any more information can you please let me know? Also, if you could share any more info about the ship, that would be great! My DW and I are going on this ship on June 27th and are nervously looking forward to it!

Thanks

[Nu2Cruisin']

I should say some people get sick on all cruises.. I know it must not be nearly as bad as it seems.. :) Just wanted to clear that up.

[Justin]

We just returned from the Celebration. It was a celebration to be off of the celebration. The people in our group are still sick. There were people in wheelchairs it looked more like a hospital than a cruise. We saw some ladies asking to see the Captain not sure what they were needing but they were told that he was a busy man and didn't have time to see any of the passangers. Will not travel on Carnival again.

[Nu2Cruisin']

If you don't mind me asking, what are you sick from? And besides being sick, do you have any other complaints or good things to say? If anyone else has cruised the celebration aside from this trip, do they have anything to add?

[kdickers]

If you don't mind me asking' date=' what are you sick from? And besides being sick, do you have any other complaints or good things to say? QUOTE']

 

I'd like to know too!!

 

I know there have been some REALLY BAD viruses (flue, stomach virus) going around here . . . lots of school districts closing due to students and teachers not able to attend.

 

Was this "sickness" something just with a certain group onboard or what?

 

Kim

[Justin]

I am not sure how many people were sick, but, on our deck were over 70 people and from what we heard it was the same on every other deck if not more. It was an (intestinal problem) that's what was told to a person in our group when she went to the ER. It looked more like a hospital there were wheelchairs outside in the halls on every deck and it was nothing to see people being wheeled away in wheelchairs that was a common thing. The food was cold except for the pizza and that's because you had to wait on that for about 10 mins. but it was hot and good.

[Nu2Cruisin']

the pizza and that's because you had to wait on that for about 10 mins. but it was hot and good.

 

Well Justin, I am glad you had something positive to say! LOL! I am very sorry for your troubles but if there is one thing I have learned is to not let it ruin my trip and just try my best to learn from your experience. By the way, my DW said in response to your comment about the captain being too busy, that she hoped he was indeed too busy, trying to fix all the problems and take care of all of the people on his ship, both sick and unsick. We're not trying to be doubters of the severity of your situation, just trying to get as much info as possible and see the positive side of things!

Better luck for your future travels:D

[Lisa0719]

just to reiterate ---- we had a great time. didn't notice any cold food. We did the dining room for all dinners and the Wheelhouse for breakfast and lunch. We did have room service for lunch once. We enjoyed everything and had a great time.

[jima53]

I see the Celebration may have continued their new tradition of cold food on the Lido deck. How long before a big fat lawsuit from a sick passenger wakes them up to their food practices. Somethings wrong on that ship when people consistently complain about lido deck food being cold. Heard many people complaining on our cruise about the food being cold. I hope anyone that had bad experiences on this ship would mail a complaint to the home office instead of filling out the one on the ship.

 

Jim

[douglinc@msn.com]

It's been a while since we have been on the Celebration, but we sailed her twice out of New Orleans and twice out of Galveston and had a great time on each of these trips. At that time the service, food and crew was the best we have had before or after. Overall she is still my favorite ship. I guess anyone can get sick on-board and have a miseralble trip. The problem was probably brought on by a passenger that was sick when he (or she) got on board. We just came off the Elation (2-6) sailing & there was a few people on board with colds and as we got off the ship on Sunday, I started coming down with a cold also, but this time of year that is not unusual. It is hard for me to blame the cruise line for coming down with a cold. I had the same problem in Las Vegas a few years back, the day before we left I came down with a terrible cold & had to spend the last night in the hotel. But overall I enjoyed that trip also.

 

Doug

[Nu2Cruisin']

douglinc, thanks for your positive remarks! I too have heard that colds can be brought on the ship. Perhaps winter is good b/c less kids, but bad b/c higher illness? I'm hoping for me and my DW, Celebration is an oldie but a goodie!

[suseg]

Lisa and Justin: Did either of you notice any foul odors (such as one would have when having sewer problems)? I have heard others complaining of that. We'll be taking the Celebration in October (our daughter's wedding cruise...her choice) so was wondering if I need to bring some bleach to put down the drains.:confused: Your help will be appreciated. Thanks

 

Susan

[BARBARA J.W.]

Just Have To Jump In And Say.i Had A Great Time...

I Was On The Celebration Nine Days...

Chris And Big Tex Were Great..........

Staff Was Friendly..............

The Ship Was Easy To Get Around...................

 

I Am Guessing Maybe Some Passagers May Have Been Sick

Before Getting On The Ship...

Maybe They Had Already Paid For Their Cruise.....

So They Didn't Want To Lose Their Money And Cruise...

And Who Knows Some Of The Staff Could Have Been Sick Tooo.....

And Was Still Working................

This Is The Flu Season And Other Sickness Going Around...................

I Would Go On The Celebration Again.........................

Happy Cruising To All.........

Barbara

[Lisa0719]

We were in R91 and didn't notice any foul odors at all.

 

Lisa

[ginag]

I'm standing up for the Celebration! This ship was our first cruise and it was wonderful! Great food, excellent crew, CLEAN ship and we had the time of our lives.

I agree with several other posters.....people bring illness's on board, whether anyone wants to admit it or not. The cruiselines don't make it a practice to have unsanitary conditions. Do you think they want people to get sick and have a miserable cruise? :rolleyes: Get a grip!

[Cheryl73]

This same type of post was on another message board regarding the type of sickness that was on the Celebration. I posted a reply there and will put the same one here:

 

"Just to add something here, I don't think this was just a cruise ship problem. I live in Tennessee and several of my coworkers and their families have been sick with those same symptoms. I am a truck driver coordinator and have had a lot of my truck drivers get sick with the same exact thing. They have been in every state around us and called in sick. Several had to go to the emergency room to get help to stop the vomiting and the diarreah. One coworker said that her stomach pains were almost worse than when she gave birth!

To me this sounds more like a VERY bad stomach bug instead of a cruise line problem. The doctors told them that they have seen a lot of people with the same thing. Luckily though I haven't caught it!"

[kdickers]

That was the point I was trying to make in my earlier post. Thanks for responding. I didn't want some readers (especially Newbies like me) to think that this was an isolated problem with the Celebration or Carnival. But I got the impression that one poster was trying to "pin" this on the sailing or cruise line.

 

 

Kim

[kathy2323]

I was bummed out when I read about the sickness because we are taking our first cruise next week on Celebration. I called Carnival. They told me that less than 1% of passengers were sick and that they "sanitized" the ship afterwards anyway just in case. My DH was sick that same week at home. I chalk it up to this time of year. Also, I figure because of this my cruise will be cleaner than usual. I for one am planning to have a great time.

[Justin]

Just to follow up with everyone, the cruise that left out of Jacksonville on the day we returned (2-21-05) also had some that got sick:( . I guess they didn't clean it as good as they thought, but the CDC is requiring them to report daily on the next 2 cruises:) . I have been in contact with them and there were a lot more than what Carnival would have you believe. I hope if you are planning on cruising in the near future that you have a fun and safe cruise and don't become sick.

[sbinsc]

My family will be on the Celebration March 26th, I hope if there are any issues with sickness that they are cleared up by then.