Celebrations Past Cruisers, Positive Views <,><

[suzyaz]

Ok, Lets Hear From All Of You Past Cruisers, That Cruised Carnival Celebration And Had A Blast.

Give All Of The Goodie Details...we Are Looking For All Upbeat And Positive Point Of Views On This Thread.

 

I Will Start You Off:

We Sailed On Carnival Celebration Back In ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

[jima53]

We enjoyed our ports Nassau and Key west, the soft server ice cream machine never gave out....and it was better than being back at work.

 

Jim

[suzyaz]

Thank You For Your Positive Coments On Your Cruise While Sailing On Celebration.

[gr1634]

We sailed her out of Galveston last June and thoroughly enjoyed the trip Took DD and SIL along. Did beginners scuba in Coz and SIL and I played golf in Playa Del. Food was great and we had a table for 4, which worked out great. Didn't lose too much in the casino and absolutely loved the shows. Ship was clean - was not the Conquest - duh......but clean neat and ready to go. We ahd a great time - so much so we are sailing her again next month out of Jacksonville. Had we not had a good time and the ship had been the pits - we would not be sailing her again. We have been on the Conquest and enjoyed that as well. So having said that - Celebration must be OK :)

[peppervegas]

Hi... I just got home after cruising on the Celebration this past weekend(3/3 - 3/7). I had been on the imagination a few years ago so I was kindof nervous about this ship given the size and information found in posts. WOW! Was I pleasantly surprised!! We had an inside cabin on the Riveria deck... it didn't sound that appealing but we felt like we could put the money for a "nicer" cabin to better use at one of the bars. That turned out to be the perfect plan.... our cabin was very nice, plenty of room for 2 girls getting away from work for a few days. We got our luggage very quickly and we were the first group called to disembark (after the self-assist people) so we got through the customs line pretty quickly. The ship itself wasn't noticably smaller or older to me... everything was very clean and well kept. It also had everything that I remember the imagination having.

 

The crew is what makes this cruise though.... the service was amazing and everyone that we talked to was very nice, and in most cases went above and beyond expectations. We did dinner every night in the dining and it would be an understament to say that our table was relatively loud and goofy. Fortunately, they did a great job matching people up so our table spent a lot of time together the entire cruise. The 1st or 2nd night one of our tablemates asked the Maitre D' (Joseph) what night creme bule (sp?) would be on the menu. She was told that it wouldn't be... it's only the menu for cruise's of 5 days or more. She was dissapointed but we never mentioned it again. We got to know Joseph in and out of the dining room throughout the rest of the cruise, and on the last night they brought up trays of desert for everyone and our waiter kept telling us that ours was coming. next thing we know - out comes a tray of creme bule for our table, compliments of the maitre d'!! The few times we ate breakfast or lunch in the dining room our wait staff from dinner would always stop by and check on us, even though we weren't in their section. I'm a very picky eater and they accomodated my every whim. I read some complaints about the food being cold in the buffet... we never experienced that.

 

The entertainment does leave something to be desired... both of the shows and the last comedian were rather dissapointing. The rumor we heard was that the entertainers start out on the smaller ships to get practice... so I guess we got the bottom of the barrel. It wasn't bad though... I just wouldn't expect any grand las vegas style shows.

 

The overall vibe of the ship is very lively and eventful - or maybe it just seemed that way?! we spent every night on "burbon st" and the nice thing about the smaller ship is that we could bounce back and forth between the casino, Galax Z club, our cabins and the food very easily.

 

The ship passengers are mostly jacksonville locals and people from n. carolina, s. carolina, georia or florida. The crew told us that it's been that way since they started sailing out of jacksonville so I would expect the same for your cruise's. I'm not saying it's a good thing or a bad thing.... and I'm from north carolina myself so I can say that yes - plan for a good ol' southern cruise with lots of beer cans being popped during dinner. If you enjoy people watching I would highly recommend checking out the Galax Z club after midnight on any given night. It's actually better than the midnight comedy show. haha

 

All in all, I have no complaints...the drinks were strong, we made some great new friends and got a lot of R&R. My least faveorite things would probably be: 1. the general makeup of the clientele and how they intrepreted the dress code. I think the boundaries of what was acceptable to wear in the dining room were pushed to the limit and I was dissapointed w/ how unformal the formal night was. 2. For the most part the boat was pretty stable but the last day got progressively worse. coming back into Jacksonville was pretty rough. I personally am pretty motion sensitive so there were times when I could feel the movement and other people weren't. but the last night things were sliding around the table and everyone was feeling it. 3. the entertainment... the activities were fun but the shows - not so much.

 

The best things... 1. the people we met. Also I think with it being a smaller ship you got to know more people than you might have otherwise 2. The crew - again, great people! 3. the cleanliness and overall look of the boat. the only noticeable difference to me was the lack of the atrium/grand lobby ... but realistically - I only walked through there like 5 times so I didn't miss it.

 

I hope this helps!! If anyone has any questions or wants more specifics please let me know and I'll do my best to answer them for ya!

[sbinsc]

pepper, thanks for the review. My family will be on the Celebration 3/26 (less than 3 weeks now). We are really looking forward to it. Did you ever eat at the Lido buffet? Are the crew members still serving there?

[pa girls]

Thank you sooooo much for this review. We leave in just 8 days!!! I feel so much better after reading this. We will post our review when we get back as well. Thanks again!!:)

[kathy2323]

hey, we were on that cruise too and all I can say is ditto ditto ditto. And yes, the ones who didn't bother to dress up on formal night got under my skin also. I don't think they should have allowed them to enter the dining room with shorts and jeans and t-shirts

[peppervegas]

Kathy - What dinner seating did you have? Were you in the Vista at 8:30 by any chance? I wonder if we crossed paths at all?!?!

[excitedcruiser]

We sailed on the Celebration when it was in Galveston. It was our first cruise, so we had nothing to compare it to. The ship itself was fine. The entertainment was awesome and no problems with the cabin (OV Main Deck). The staff was curtious and our ports of Cozumel and Calica/Playa Del Carmen was wonderful.

[cruisercw]

We were also on the 3/3 cruise and have the same positive experiences to share. Food on the Lido buffets are still being served by the always smiling crew. My sons (14/15) ate there several nights rather than going to the formal dining and we ate there on formal night as we could not fit the proper attire in our already full luggage. Food was excellent and always hot... loved the mushroom, garlic and goat cheese pizza.

 

We also noticed the significant movement on the first and last nights, but my normally motion-sick son went through the whole cruise with the patches on and never had a problem.

 

We had an excellent overall experience and cannot wait for our next cruise....

[sbinsc]

We were also on the 3/3 cruise and have the same positive experiences to share. Food on the Lido buffets are still being served by the always smiling crew. My sons (14/15) ate there several nights rather than going to the formal dining and we ate there on formal night as we could not fit the proper attire in our already full luggage. Food was excellent and always hot... loved the mushroom, garlic and goat cheese pizza.

 

We also noticed the significant movement on the first and last nights, but my normally motion-sick son went through the whole cruise with the patches on and never had a problem.

 

We had an excellent overall experience and cannot wait for our next cruise....

 

It is very encouraging to hear of very positive recent cruises on the Celebration.

 

My kids are so looking forward to formal night (they are even making me wear a Tux).

 

I can do without the rough seas, but as always I will take some Bonine. (or get a patch)

[peppervegas]

pepper, thanks for the review. My family will be on the Celebration 3/26 (less than 3 weeks now). We are really looking forward to it. Did you ever eat at the Lido buffet? Are the crew members still serving there?

 

 

You will have a great time! Yes, I ate the Lido buffet a lot and I agree with cruisercw - the food was great. The layout of the Wheelhouse Grill seemed kindof funky to me so I would suggest that you walk around and check everything out first before jumping in the line for the "standard" buffet. By the third morning I was able to walk up to the Omlette station and not even have to ask for my bacon and cheese omlette, they knew what I wanted! My friends said that the Sushi wasn't that great but other than that no complaints!

 

During formal night make sure you walk all around the promenade and the admiral deck. They have several different backgrounds for pictures set up all over the place.

 

I saw on your other post you mentioned you get motion sick. I have a lot of issues with motion sickness and I'm very sensitive to it... I used the patch and had no problems whatsoever. The last night was definately the worst and I started to get a slight headache, the only other problem I had was trying not bump into things!!

[suseg]

Thanks for the review. It was refreshing to hear some nice things rather than all of the "bad mouthing". I, for one, am looking forward to our cruise...family...sea...sun...what more could a goil want?:D

[suzyaz]

Thank you so much for the review....and all of the positive things about Celebration.

[kathy2323]

Kathy - What dinner seating did you have? Were you in the Vista at 8:30 by any chance? I wonder if we crossed paths at all?!?!

yes we were at table 120

[peppervegas]

yes we were at table 120

 

We were at table 157! ... I bet we crossed paths at some point! What a small world... email me if you'd like to exchange pictures or something - I'd love to figure out if we did talk or anything! :)

[aggie05]

Howdy. My mother and I sailed on the Celebration out of Galveston in November '02. It was supposed to be a cruise for my parents, but at the last minute my father couldn't go and since we have the same first and last name (middle name is different) I got to go instead. It was the first cruise for both of us. Check-in went well, and getting there a bit early helped because we were on the ship within probably 20 minutes or so. I dont have anything to compare the ship to since it is the only one I have been on, but I was pleased with the condition of the ship and our room. The food was great and the people we met at our dinning room table were terriffic. We pretty much lounged around the entire time. It was warm enough a few days to go up on deck and get some sun, but otherwise it was chilly. The ports were fun. We snorkled in Cozumel and took the Jeep adventure in Calica. I wasn't too impressed with the Jeep adventure, but the snorkling was wonderful. The ride back to Galveston was a little bumpy and I was sick (from eating in cozumel, i think) so it wasnt the most pleasant experience of my life. The only part of the whole experience that I didnt enjoy was getting off the ship. It was a madhouse. But we made it. Now if I can just make it till May 15th when we sail the Elation out of Galveston.

[Travelmom64]

Thanks for a great review, were there many children on board? Did you notice the slide open most hours of the day? or any other kids activities going on? We will be onboard Easter Sunday, just curious if anyone knows if Carnival staffs a clergy on a holiday cruise?

[Ship Addict]

I have sailed on the Celebration three times, and I loved each and every trip! EAch trip was different -- the first was with my oldest daughter and my ex, the second was a Girls Only Cruise, and the third was just me and my two daughters right after the divorce. Needless to say, all three trips had a much different tone, but Carnival fit the bill for each of them quite nicely! It was a great family vacation, then a great Spring Break recapture type vacation, and then a quiet trip just for the three girls.

 

I thought the ship was in pretty good shape considering her age. Of course, I haven't seen her since she was drydocked, so I guess she looks a little better now. And I also can't comment on the shows, because I heard they changed those after the drydock also. But I found the crew to be great on all three trips.

 

I also had cabins in three different locations on the ship -- inside and outside cabins on three different decks -- and the locations were all great, with the exception of one cabin being very vibraty when the bow thrusters were being used.

 

Go and have a great time and let us know how it goes!

[sbinsc]

Thanks for a great review, were there many children on board? Did you notice the slide open most hours of the day? or any other kids activities going on? We will be onboard Easter Sunday, just curious if anyone knows if Carnival staffs a clergy on a holiday cruise?

 

Hey Travelmom, my family will also be on the Celebration on Easter (leaving 3/26). How old are your kids? Mine are 8 and 10, and plan to spend some time with camp carnival activities.

 

We are also wondering about the Easter services. I imagine there will be some kind of clery/minister/priest on board, but haven't heard for sure.