Carnival releases more info on Celebration Key.

[3smithboys]

56 minutes ago, Sagittarius traveler said:

 

make sure you be very detailed we are trying to see if all of it worth the hype 

I will definitely take pictures and post them with our review and observations. There will be 7 of us in the cabana, so we have to pay for/add an additional person to the reservation once we are onboard. Let’s see how easy that process is as well. This will be the 1st time in many years DH and I are cruising with our adult children and my mom and cousin, so it will be interesting to be able to report back from the 20 something through and 80 year old person’s perspective. 

[Sagittarius traveler]

2 hours ago, 3smithboys said:

I will definitely take pictures and post them with our review and observations. There will be 7 of us in the cabana, so we have to pay for/add an additional person to the reservation once we are onboard. Let’s see how easy that process is as well. This will be the 1st time in many years DH and I are cruising with our adult children and my mom and cousin, so it will be interesting to be able to report back from the 20 something through and 80 year old person’s perspective. 

family reunions are nice big or small fun for all , my daughter use to always have her moment with grandpa and they listen to the music in the atrium dancing together lol

[CorrieCJ]

I haven't spent a lot of time on these boards lately so Celebration key wasn't really on my radar. I just came off a 9-night on the Venezia where the ad was run NON-STOP on the Lido (remember when they used to show underwater scenes, fish, and so on?). My kids were having fun pointing out the CGI people.   At the moment, I'm inclined to agree with those who feel like it's just a money grab and is taking people away from cruising as a way to explore new destinations. We love HMC and we took cabanas several times until the price shot up to a ridiculous number. We did Amber Cove once and it was a nice day away. So ... I'll wait to hear what people think and what the costs are like, but at the moment, I'm not truly interested.

[jsglow]

18 minutes ago, CorrieCJ said:

I haven't spent a lot of time on these boards lately so Celebration key wasn't really on my radar. I just came off a 9-night on the Venezia where the ad was run NON-STOP on the Lido (remember when they used to show underwater scenes, fish, and so on?). My kids were having fun pointing out the CGI people.   At the moment, I'm inclined to agree with those who feel like it's just a money grab and is taking people away from cruising as a way to explore new destinations. We love HMC and we took cabanas several times until the price shot up to a ridiculous number. We did Amber Cove once and it was a nice day away. So ... I'll wait to hear what people think and what the costs are like, but at the moment, I'm not truly interested.

I remember that too from this past Spring. I was totally annoyed and very much missed my favorite doggie first jumping out of his suitcase and then lying on the beach with his 'what you lookin' at?' expression.

[ARcruisin2]

21 hours ago, 3smithboys said:

I will definitely take pictures and post them with our review and observations. There will be 7 of us in the cabana, so we have to pay for/add an additional person to the reservation once we are onboard. Let’s see how easy that process is as well. This will be the 1st time in many years DH and I are cruising with our adult children and my mom and cousin, so it will be interesting to be able to report back from the 20 something through and 80 year old person’s perspective. 

I thought the price was the same, regardless of 2 people or 7... as long as you don't exceed the maximum capacity

[3smithboys]

2 hours ago, ARcruisin2 said:

I thought the price was the same, regardless of 2 people or 7... as long as you don't exceed the maximum capacity

From what I understand, the maximum capacity is 8 people; however, the price includes up to 6. You have to pay extra for person 7 and 8. When I called they didn’t know what the price would be and said we would have to do it onboard. I think it’s crazy that we have to pay for anyone else…

[PrincessArlena'sDad]

24 minutes ago, 3smithboys said:

From what I understand, the maximum capacity is 8 people; however, the price includes up to 6. You have to pay extra for person 7 and 8. When I called they didn’t know what the price would be and said we would have to do it onboard. I think it’s crazy that we have to pay for anyone else…

Crazy, yes.  But, also consistent.

 

They have the same policy for the cabanas at HMC and Mahogany Bay.

[cjknox]

13 hours ago, CorrieCJ said:

.....At the moment, I'm inclined to agree with those who feel like it's just a money grab and is taking people away from cruising as a way to explore new destinations....

The number of viable destinations in the Caribbean is finite. The only remaining play is for major cruise lines to develop their own environments. Eventually (20-30 years) we should see these recent developments (Celebration Key, Perfect Day) enhanced further into something similar to a remote theme park/resort - a la Disney; except accessible only by cruise ship.

[jimbo5544]

18 hours ago, CorrieCJ said:

I haven't spent a lot of time on these boards lately so Celebration key wasn't really on my radar. I just came off a 9-night on the Venezia where the ad was run NON-STOP on the Lido (remember when they used to show underwater scenes, fish, and so on?). My kids were having fun pointing out the CGI people.   At the moment, I'm inclined to agree with those who feel like it's just a money grab and is taking people away from cruising as a way to explore new destinations. We love HMC and we took cabanas several times until the price shot up to a ridiculous number. We did Amber Cove once and it was a nice day away. So ... I'll wait to hear what people think and what the costs are like, but at the moment, I'm not truly interested.

It is what it is.  They are dropping a half a billion into this place.  To expect them not to sell the heck out of it would be unrealistic. Cruising is evolving, we all make choices on what we want out of our cruising vacations.  RCCL led the way, and CCL can either follow or not.  

 

The truth is, more and more cruises go to private islands and ports of call that are shorter in length (as in number of days).  By definition, most cruisers are newer and the facts are it will most likely hit the sweet spot for their vacation.  I am sure we will experience it, but for us, the longer, classic and unique cruise opportunities continue to reign supreme.  

[CorrieCJ]

20 hours ago, ARcruisin2 said:

I thought the price was the same, regardless of 2 people or 7... as long as you don't exceed the maximum capacity

From my experience at HMC, when we took a cabana for four people, there was never an issue for our family of 6 using it. It's just that they only provided four sets of snorkel gear, four mats, snacks for 4 (which was enough for 6 anyway), etc.

[Earthworm Jim]

ll

13 hours ago, cjknox said:

The number of viable destinations in the Caribbean is finite. The only remaining play is for major cruise lines to develop their own environments. Eventually (20-30 years) we should see these recent developments (Celebration Key, Perfect Day) enhanced further into something similar to a remote theme park/resort - a la Disney; except accessible only by cruise ship.

 

Eventually in 20 to 30 years that finite number of Caribbean cruise destinations will decrease considerable because all the ships will be megaships that all ports can't accommodate by then. The major mainstream lines don't seem to be building moderate or small sized ships anymore and the current fleet of those sizes will be retired by then.