Just back from the Celebration

[1sttimerhere]

Just got in today. Quick review. For my first cruise, it was awesome!! The Celebration is an older ship, the lounges a bit outdated, but the staff was fabulous, the ship was so incredibly clean. I can't say enough about Rudi, our head waiter, Dino, the Maitre'D, and even big Tex was funny. I'll give you a more detailed review later. We were not disappointed. :D

[StacyandTim]

Glad you had a great first cruise! :)

[dvcmember]

Glad to hear you had a wonderful time. I leave on Monday for our 5-night voyage on the Atlantic.

 

I was wondering if you could answer a few questions when you get a chance.

 

Who was the Cruise director?

 

Quality of food and entertainment

 

Public room decor

 

Cabin upkeep

 

I can't stand waiting four more days.

 

I will post a complete review of my trip when I get back.

 

GO CARNIVAL CELEBRATION!

[Jabee]

May 15, Big Tex will be on the Celebration...

after that Risa Barnes will be back...

[hobbit81]

Please tell us more! We are booked for next year and it is sooooo far away!

[southwardbound]

Would love to hear more about your Celebration cruise. We are thinking and need to decide soon about cruising in March. We are a family of 5 and are thinking of all being in one room CAT 12 (Verandah)with an non obstructed view or two rooms on the upper deck mid ship.(one oceanview and one interior) Any reactions after just cruising with the Celebration? We are just having a difficult time deciding....

Thanks!:)

[1sttimerhere]

I wanted to write about each day on my laptop after each day, but I ran out of energy!! So I'll just do this on the fly.

 

Size of our stateroom was pretty roomy! The bed and linens rocked. I missed those last night!! Our room steward was something to be desired. I never really knew who she/he was. The room was always made up nicely. Our main request was plenty of ice for my boyfriends insulin and that was mostly ignored after many requests. I also requested champagne glasses from room service and had to get them ourselves. I ordered Champagne from Carnival and it was there when we arrived. we had an inside cabin. Would have loved to have been able to see outside immediately in the morning, but was not a deal breaker. Might not even have an OV next cruise. I HIGHLY recommend getting to the port early. We got there about 12:10 and was on the ship by 12:40 eating on the Lido deck!!!!! I would have never done this had I not found these boards. This gives you time to explore the ship so you can get around easier more quickly. This is really important.

Food on Lido was typical the whole week. It was fine, not out of this world, but fine. We mostly ate in the dining room for dinner and breakfast. We had to request the early seating for dinner as I had asked for at time of booking, but did not recieve. Dino the Maitre'D was awesome and our headserver and assistant were as attentive as you could imagine. Service was so quick, I still cannot believe it. Try new things when you eat there, you will not be disappointed. Tried lamb, lobster, escargot.

The shows were decent. I felt they lacked a little something, but they were entertaining. I wasn't expecting braodway. I mean, its a cruise ship!! But the dancers and singers are talented. Comics kinda sucked. I didn't enjoy them and I laugh at anything! There were plenty of activities on the ship. You can chose to do them or not. We did a few. We did the country line dancing with Kay and he was great. The decor in the lounges was pretty hideous, however, who cares. I cannot tell you how hard everyone who works on the ship works. You can see it everywhere. Always cleaning the ship, making it nice. I have not one complaint about that. I think that is pretty important.

 

This was my first cruise so of course, I was overwhemled and excited at the same time. I wasn't looking for bad stuff, but would have definitely noticed. My only disappointment was on the last sea day, it was posted in Capers and talked about on the dembarkation talk about the kitchen tour. Apparently, no one in the kitchen knew about it and they turned us away. I really wanted to see how that all worked.

The photographers werent too bad, the drink hawkers kind of were, but I felt as they were trying to do their job. I thought the cruise director Tex was funny. I understand he isn't permanent. The one thing I noticed when talking to many workers there is that they stay for along time. A bartender 9 years, our waiter 4, Tex 4. That should tell you something.

While were were in port, I saw the bigger ships, but I don't think I was missing anything. I look forward to my next cruise on a newer ship, but I would sail the Celebration again. You definitely want to get to the front of the ship on the 9th deck for any sailing away from ports. That is fun. Also, it can be pretty quiet there if you want some quiet. I was engaged on formal night on the front of the ship somewhere between Jax and key West. What an amazing time.

 

Anyway, I could go on and on about it. If you have any further questions, please feel free to email me at krisi1uncc@yahoo.com and I would be glad to answer you. I will do my best to answer in a timely manner. Of course, i will also answer any questions on this board. For those of you already going on the Celebration, you will enjoy it.

[1sttimerhere]

oops double post!!

[SC-Cruiser]

Hey-

 

We sail in 8 days on the Celebration. Do you happen to have the dinner menus and/or Capers that you could post?? Thanks in advance.

 

Mike

[yogimax]

How smoke-filled was the casino?

[obx_fintoo]

Glad you liked the Celebration! She is a great old ship!

 

And congrats on your engagement! Now you guys can become seasoned cruisers together!

[jswell]

Hey, your experience on the Celebration sounds a lot like ours. My husband and I got back last Saturday and had a blast. We could never find our room steward either, requested things like laundry bags/forms, etc. from the room steward line and never got them, oh well, I guess they didn't want my money bad enough! But we were really pleased with the rest of the staff. I wouldn't hesitate to go on the Celebration again.

[djpaul]

Well it seems that every other Celebration thread I ask in, I kill the thread, so maybe this one will be different.

 

Could some of you who have been on the Celebration (especially those recently) give a brief (or extensive, it's great to relive memories) overview of the boat...and what you did on it. Not too far from sailing on it, and all of the tips I can get will save the group time/effort.

 

Thanks in Advance

CC's official DJ,

djpaul

[SC-Cruiser]

DJ Paul-

 

I'm sailing in 8 days and will tell you all about it when I return (May 25th). I'll also throw the floor open for any and all questions and answer as many as I can.

 

Mike

[ljchris1990]

Hey 1sttimerher, I'm soooo glad you had a good time on the Celebration. Great review! Only 27 more day til my first cruise on the Celebration then its on the slightly newer and bigger Fantasy! We have decide to stair step our cruises from the smallest ship to the biggest.

 

ljchris1990

[cruzeluver]

DJ Paul-

 

We were on the Celebration last fall. Here is what I can pass along.

 

The ship- very well cared for. You cannot tell her age by cleanliness, You can tell however, by the decor. Lots of 1980s pastels and neon. The Islands In The Sky Lounge (all the way aft) looks like a leftover set from "The Golden Girls", all turquoise, pink and peach. The Bourbon Street promenade is all bright reds, yellows, blues and purples. The casino was actually a very good size for a smaller ship and never felt crowded, lots of slots and a few table games. The main show lounge, Astoria Lounge, is all the way forward. The decor is dated and a bit brash, but the seats are quite comfy, and is designed so there isnt a bad seat in the house. The main lido pool can get very crowded, so we used the smaller aft pool unless we wanted to go down the waterslide. Both of the main dining rooms are quite nice, although the tables are pretty close together. Service is excellent in the dining rooms. The buffet area is well laid out. If you just want pizza, a sandwich, a salad, or dessert you can skip the main buffet lines and go to the individual stations. Cabins are very spacious and the beds are to die for! There are a few small souvenir shops just off the Astoria Lounge, selling the usuall t-shirts, perfume, jewelry etc.

 

On sea days we hung out at the aft pool, rode the waterslide (big fun!), attended the art auction (really enjoyed that, bought one piece), went to trivia contests, watched the silly poolside games, a little casino time, attended all the evening main shows (overall pretty good) and ate like hogs!!

 

Hope this helps. I am happy to answer any other questions.

[djpaul]

Finally, I was beginning to think my "Quick Reply" button was broken...

 

I've heard alot about the decor, and really dont' think that'll bother me too much. I was born and bred in the 80's so it's all good there.

 

I am wondering alot about the ports of call, Key West and Nassau. I really want to go snorkeling at one of them (Heard things about Nassau's Atlantis but not sure what it even is). So any suggestions about things to do at the ports of call (be detailed, gives me something to read in the wait).

 

How's the nightlife on the ship? Do they have the Adult Only comedians, kareoke, etc. like the other ships?

 

Keep it coming...

 

your friend and mine,

Dj Paul

[tkportersat]

go to Carnival.com, select FAQ's, select dining options, then they have breakfast/lunch/dinner sample menus. They will upload in Adobe format, seem spot on from when I went on the Celebration.

[jswell]

djpaul-

 

We had a blast at each of the ports, make sure you check out the ports of call boards they are invaluable! In Key West we parasailed with Sebago and walked the town, had lunch at Schooner Wharf Bar and hit Sloppy Joe's. In Nassau we again walked/shopped, did the Blackbeard's Cay snorkel excursion, then took a cab ($4/person each way I think) to Atlantis, toured the Digs for free (since it was later in the evening).

 

I have a scanned copy of the Capers for May 5th, as soon as I can figure out how to shrink the file size I'll post it.

[earlethepearl]

I have a question that I have not seen a post on. Way back when the Celebration was new and running 7 day cruises out of Miami we sailed her several times. Every night at around 1:30 am they would setup a full breakfast buffet inside the trolley. This was the evening highlight after a night of partying. Also the Holiday used to do the same thing every night but it was setup inside of the bus.

 

Do they still do this by chance? My guess is not, but that has been almost 20 years ago.

 

Thanks!

[1sttimerhere]

They had a mexican midnight buffet outside on the lido deck by the pool the night we left from Nassau and another in one of the dining rooms the night before. There could have been more, but we could have missed them if so.

[earlethepearl]

This was every night of the cruise on the Holiday and Celebration, and there was ALWAYS a line waiting for the buffet to open. If you walked past around 1:15 or so, you couldn't miss it. You would just go through the line and fix your plate and either sit at one of the tables there, take it outside and eat, or back to your room. I have never seen this on any of the other Carnival ships or any other lines we went on either. It was kind of like having your own Waffle House (but better) every night!

[Jabee]

The Islands In The Sky Lounge (all the way aft) looks like a leftover set from "The Golden Girls", all turquoise, pink and peach.

 

The Islands in the Sky lounge was completely redecorated in March. They had it shut down while we were on board, and now it has new carpet and all seats have been re-upholstered.

 

It looked quite nice.

 

JB

[The4Cruisers]

Every night at around 1:30 am they would setup a full breakfast buffet inside the trolley. This was the evening highlight after a night of partying. Also the Holiday used to do the same thing every night but it was setup inside of the bus. Do they still do this by chance? My guess is not, but that has been almost 20 years ago.

 

Both times we were on Celebration the trolley was used to serve sushi in the evenings and milkshakes in the afternoon. The rest of the time, it was dark.

[The4Cruisers]

I can't say enough about Rudi, our head waiter, Dino, the Maitre'D, and even big Tex was funny. :D

 

On our last cruise, Rudi was our head waiter and Dino the MaitreD'. We thought they were excellent as well.

 

Congrat's on your engagement!