Celebration first time family cruiser

[onlygirlgraham]

I have cruised twice before but only on Royal Carribean. On 8/6/07 we will be taking our 3 kids (age 14/11/9) on the 5 day Carnival Celebration to Key West and the Bahamas. I do have a few ?'s if anyone could assist that would be great.

 

1. Are there "soda cards" that you can purchase for the cruise and if so what are the $$$ for them?

 

2. What are these "secret doors" I keep hearing about?

 

3. Where is the best place to be for viewing when you pull out of JAX port?

 

4. How many and on what night are the formal nights?

 

5. I purchased 2 cabins side by side R116 R118 does anyone know if they connect?

 

6. Any suggestions as to what is the best snorkal excursion in Nassau keeping in mind they kids have never done this so I want somthing age appropriate.

 

7. How much is parking in the port of JAX?

 

Thanks for any help.

 

Less than 2 weeks til cruise!!:D

[kimmimom]

There are soda cards you can buy, but we never buy them and drink the "free" stuff like tea, lemonade, etc, so i can't tell you how much they are.

 

Best place is the front of the ship and high up. We went to the adult deck, but we did not have any kids wtih us on that sailing. You want to see the bridge, so you want to be somewhere you can look up and see. i guess you could do it anywhere as long as you are able to look up wtih a clear view.

 

There was 1 formal night, can't remember which night though.

 

I think parking was $12 per day, but i can swear to that.

 

Enjoy!

[pinkrose28]

Onlygirlgraham, Are your children boys or girls? We're also a family of 5 on the Celebration 8/6, with 3 boys, ages 15, 13, and 9.

[douglinc@msn.com]

You're gonna love the Celebration, so far she is my favorite ship.

 

Doug

[Ape Cruizer]

1. Are there "soda cards" that you can purchase for the cruise and if so what are the $$$ for them? Yes. About $20 each.

 

2. What are these "secret doors" I keep hearing about? I researched before our cruise on the Celebration, but was unsuccessful in finding any secret doors or secret places. Although once on the ship we found a small deck that was near the bridge, I think we got there by going up some stairs at the front of the lido deck. So i suggest you just poke around until you find neat places.

 

3. Where is the best place to be for viewing when you pull out of JAX port? Even though you will be travelling with children, I would try to go out on the adults only deck. We went there for sail away, and there was only one couple actually sunbathing at the time, and the woman wasn't topless.

 

4. How many and on what night are the formal nights? There is one formal night, it is the night of your first "Fun Day at Sea"

 

5. I purchased 2 cabins side by side R116 R118 does anyone know if they connect? The Celebration doesn't have any connecting rooms.

 

6. Any suggestions as to what is the best snorkal excursion in Nassau keeping in mind they kids have never done this so I want somthing age appropriate. We pre-booked the Pearl Island Stingray Snorkel Adventure, it ended up being cancelled, so we did the Blackbeard's Treasure Beach Snorkel instead. I didn't really enjoy it because it is basically on a sand bar, the only fish we saw were some minnows in the shallow areas, but I think young children might enjoy it. You are supposed to look for coins in the sand as you snorkel. You can keep the coins as souveniers OR use them at specific shops in Nassau to trade for souveniers.

 

7. How much is parking in the port of JAX? $12 a day

[mrsgreenbeans]

We had our first cruise on the Celebration during spring break... It was wonderful. We have two DD's, 13 & 3 at the time. We only saw the 13yr old in the dining room or during port. The other times she was busy having the time of her life.

 

We never had a pop card either as the lemonade was pretty awesome. My MIL did have one, but it seemed more of a hassle than anything as you had to go to one of the bars to get it.

 

We drove in to Jacksonville and stayed at a hotel that had free park n' cruise. I think we had to pay $10 for the 4th person though for the trip to the terminal.

 

We watched sail away from the lido deck, outside of the wheelhouse grill near the little round pool. We had a fabulous view of going under the JAX bridge. It's quite the sight.

 

There is only one formal night, and it is on the first sea day, which I believe is the second night.

 

If you have a chance, go to Hogsbreath in Key West. They have a great Pina Colada and great food. We did not enjoy the beach there... way to rocky.

 

We did not snorkel in Nassau. The people that sat at the table at the Gala buffet with us recommended the local tour of Nassau so that's what we did. It was a great way to learn about Nassau. We also toured Atlantas which was fabulous. Our tour guide spent way more time with us than what they advertised. We didn't get to the beach there, but the tour was nice for a first timer!

 

I hope you enjoy the Cruise as much as we did!

 

Lisa

[onlygirlgraham]

thanks to everyone for all of the info

 

to pinkrose28 we have 2 girls age 14 and 11 and 1 boy age 9

 

I am sorry to hear there are not adjoining cabins but it shouldn't be tooooo much of a hassle.

 

my parents will also be along so we are making it a family event

[cruisin07family]

Please post a review when you return, including your kids' opinions. This is one we're considering next so we can do a couple days at my favorite place, Disneyworld, but still enjoy a cruise. Hubby is really on the fence about a cabin with no balcony - suites are out of the question as we're trying not to spend a fortune on a 5-day.

 

Have a great, great time!

[vafamily5]

Leaving on August 20th (Celebration)

 

1. Does anyone know what the sail-a-way party is like on Celebration? Do they even have one?

2. If anyone can recommend a particular dinner entree that is a favorite let me know so that I can be sure to try it out. (I love lamb...how was it)

3. Has anyone ever used the laundry service, and if so, how did it work out (satisfied??)

4. When you get to port how long does it take to get off the ship in Key West and Nassau? Also, did the ship ever arrive earlier then the itinerary time and did you get off the ship sooner?

5. How many midnight buffets are there during the 5 day cruise

6. How was the morning coffee?

7. What kind of unusual activities and things to do on board during the fun day's at sea? Anything that is a must do?

[MrPete]

I loved her sister, the Jubilee, so much, we sailed her three times!

[tigerdadky]

The celebration is a wonderful ship, never sailed it with kids so not sure on soda card seems like around 30 bucks. Anywhere on an outside deck is good for viewing the bridge. THe chocolate melting cake is a cant miss. Had it 4 of 5 nights and wished I had the other night. It is a small intimate ship and is easy to negotiate. It is a great ship for first time family before hitting one of the mega ships. I sure hate to see the celebration leave the carnival fleet. Didnt park at the jaxport terminal, we flew in but the celebration is the only show in town so there is ample parking and it is a easy terminal to get thru. Have a great cruise.

[onlygirlgraham]

I will be sure to post a review once I get back. I am sure the kids will have a blast as they have been spending hours on the internet and looking thru the brochure all about the Celebration and the cruise activities. I have heard the soda cards are between $20-$30 so I will leave it up to the kids if they want to purchase the card or stick with the free stuff, ie: juice, lemonade, tea etc. They have been saving for about 6 months and they are excited that they can choose how they spend there own $$ on the cruise. I do have a ? for anyone that has cruise with kids....what do they suggest as far as the sign and sail card. Do you think I should give the kids authority to have there own sign and sail cards??? I was thinking if they needed anything to come and see us and we could use our card but what if they are in another part of the ship or we are busy with spa etc??? Any suggestions?? Our kids are 14,11 and 9 and responsible but don't want anyone to get carried away.

[onlygirlgraham]

Please post a review when you return, including your kids' opinions. This is one we're considering next so we can do a couple days at my favorite place, Disneyworld, but still enjoy a cruise. Hubby is really on the fence about a cabin with no balcony - suites are out of the question as we're trying not to spend a fortune on a 5-day.

 

Have a great, great time!

 

I have done cruises only so far with balconies however since this ship doesnt have any (that arent suites) we decided an Oceanview cabin for us and another Oceanview cabin next door for the kids (a triple) would work out ok. I would LOVE to be able to hit Disney before a cruise and we did consider the Disney cruise and stay packages they have, however the $$$$ made it out of our range. Will let you know our experience when we get back!