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

[GOTTA CRUISE NOW]

We will be on the Celebration 3/17. I am not afraid. There have been many people around here getting sick. It's the same everywhere! I usually take hand gel along as a precaution, anyway! Practicing safe handwashing techniques will go a long way in staying healthy! The cruiseline is doing its best, in my opinion. If they disinfect an area, all it takes is one person with the virus to touch something in that area, and BANG! Guess what? Whoever touches that spot next is likely to get sick also. That's why it's also not a good idea to use handrails. Although on a ship it's kind of necessary sometimes!

[jima53]

I'm not sure what others think or what Carnival thinks but the Center for Disease control has decided that Carnival needs to operate under tighter sanitation guidelines on the Celebration. That is according to a article in our home town paper,,, http://www.jacksonville.com which states that the buffet line is also ending on this ship. Guess it will be pizza and ice cream on the lido. Those sandwiches were pretty good too. The buffet area on our cruise was the major complaint for us...t oo much cold food, and undercooked meat still bloody. Lets see what carnival does about this problem. Also the numbers of crew and passengers ill for both cruises, back to back in february numbered about 90each time....

 

Jim

[ernstbass]

I didn't see anything in that article about closing buffet lines. Where did you get that info?

[Here4Beer]

We were on the Celebration 2/26 to 3/3. The boarding was delayed a couple hours because they were sanitizing the ship. Everyone boarding was given notice about how to prevent getting the "Noro virus". The buffet on the Lido deck was no longer "self-serve". The crew was wearing latex gloves and they dished out whatever the guests wanted, instead of the guests getting their own by touching the food or tongs. Although this made some lines longer, it was certainly more sanitary for the guests.

[Nu2Cruisin']

Here4Beer,

Besides the update on sanitation can you give us a full review on how the whole trip went?

Thanks!!

[Here4Beer]

Here's my review: We flew into JAX the day before and stayed at Hampton Inn Airport. I picked them because of free breakfast and shuttle from JAX. The hotel sold vouchers for the Express Shuttle to the Port and back to the Airport for $10.00 round trip per person. We got the 11am shuttle to Port, but had to wait until 1:30 to board due to sanitizing the ship. It was an awesome view as we sailed under the bridge on the way out to sea. The bad odor someone mentioned may have been from the port in JAX. I think maybe there is a Paper Mill there. That's what it smelled like to me. Maybe it was just because of the time of year, but this sailing from Jax was cold, rainy, and quite rocking until we got down near Miami. As a preventive measure the buffets were not self-serve, the crew dished out everything, including the salad bar and the desserts. We thought the food selection and quality was good. The shows were Broadway type with one doing show tunes and one Country, also a couple comedians, magician, and the guests' talent show. This is a smaller ship, and anyone who has been on the bigger ones probably will be disappointed. I chose it because of Key West and flight options. One slight inconvenience is the way you have to get to the Dining Rooms. We were on Riviera Deck and had to go up one floor, then walk back to another elevator, and then go up a couple more floors to Dining Room. The return trip also got pretty rockin as we sailed between Miami and JAX. The water was spashing out of the pool so they closed the pool. In Key West we bought our own tickets for the Trolley ride. Very informative driver and tour. We went all the way around town on the Trolley, and then walked around the downtown area. For some reason ??? the ship did not dock in Nassau until about 2pm, and the stores there close about 5:30-6:00. We walked downtown and stopped at Senor Frogs. On a previous cruise we had taken the excursion to the Blue Lagoon, which was very nice boat ride to a secluded beach. Disembarking was easy and quick. We left the ship at 9am and got to the airport by 9:30.