Has anyone been on Carnival's Celebration lately?

[ryzmom]

My husband surprised me with a trip on this ship for my birthday for this week and I know nothing about it. It goes to Freeport and Nassau, Bahamas for 4 nights. Any info, tips or pictures would be greatly appreciated. It will go out of service on the 14th of April. My biggest concern would be dinner nights with a 4 year old on how he is supposed to dress! We get onboard on Thursday!

 

Thanks so much,

Deana

[karenw]

Hi, Deana! I was on Celebration last October. Like my agent said "Don't go on her expecting too much, but having a good time since you're on vacation". To my knowledge it is one of the oldest, smallest ships Carnival has. There was not a big pretty atrium, just something similar to a hotel lobby. The ship was clean but not as much to do as the other ships. Things like dressing for dinner seemed to be a lot more relaxed also. We enjoyed it for what it was: A few days away from home and work and lots of good food.

[Jebiford29]

Never been on it, but I'm sure you'll have a great time. Go with an open mind. She's an older ship, but still is in fine condition (so I've heard). Since your last cruise was on the world's largest (Freedom OTS), don't be surprised by the size difference.

 

I'm cruising with my 4 year old in a little over a week. We're recycling his Easter outfit from this year for formal night and just bringing some slacks and collared shirts for him for the other nights.

 

Have fun!!!

[HollyGoheavy]

I was on her 2 years ago and she's one of my favorite ships. She's small but that just means your 4 yo won't get tired out going all over the place. My son was 3 when we went and on formal night he wore khakis, a polo shirt and jacket, no tie. The other nights he wore nice docker type pants and a polo shirt and one night we left him at Camp Carnival.

 

Embarkation is a snap in Jax, so you'll be pleasantly surprised with that. Have a fantastic time!!

[OTTER]

My first cruise was on the Celebration. Still my favorite ship!!!

[Chigirlcruzin]

You're sailing on her second to last voyage as the Carnival Celebration before she leaves the Carnival fleet! Have a great time!

[bigboatrider]

My first cruise was on the Celebration. Still my favorite ship!!!

 

 

Our first cruise was out of Jax, great port and very easy as mentioned.

We sailed on Jubilee which is essentially the twin to Celebration. As posted, not much to her compared to some of the newer, shinier ships out there now. But, she will provide you with an excellent vacation if you let her.

Oddly enough, we sailed on Jubilee just before she was taken out of commission. She had already been sold to the Queen and only had I think eight more weeks or so to go after we sailed. We nearly booked on Celebration just to get in on the end of the run for her.

Relax and enjoy yourself.

[rgwiazdzinski]

we sailed on celebration a little less than a year ago. it was a great cruise, food was excellent, shows were great, service went well beyond our wildest dreams. it does not have the fancy tv screens or big atriums like the newer ships but it makes up for it in pure charm. you do feel the motion ofthe ocean a little more on celebration but we had real rough seas and i am very prone to motion sickness, i took my sea sick pills and did not have any effects from it. my wife tok lots of pictures so i will post some of them for you.

[linda8042]

Ryzmom:

My mom and I will be on this ship on Thursday also. It's her first cruise, but I've been on larger ships. We're both so excited, just to be on vacation!

:D

[rgwiazdzinski]

here are some more pictures.

[Essiesmom]

I sailed on her 1/26 and 3/27 of this year. She is a nice little ship, no fancy atrium, but good food and good entertainment. There will be one formal night, after you leave Freeport. Just dress him nice, a suit if you have one, but don't go spending a lot for just one night. Otherwise, as long as he is clean and neat. The wait staff will cater to him...there is a children's menu, but you can also get him stuff from the adult menu, sort of mix'n'match. the Lido buffet area has juice and fruit punch, after breakfast lines are down, the add lemonade (which I loved). Also iced tea (not sweet). EM

[wuudbee]

http://www.kodakgallery.com/MyGallery.jsp?&UAUTOLOGIN_ID=851273872209&UV=266113289063_649985863209

[obx_fintoo]

My husband surprised me with a trip on this ship for my birthday for this week and I know nothing about it. It goes to Freeport and Nassau, Bahamas for 4 nights. Any info, tips or pictures would be greatly appreciated. It will go out of service on the 14th of April. My biggest concern would be dinner nights with a 4 year old on how he is supposed to dress! We get onboard on Thursday!

 

Thanks so much,

Deana

 

Lots of good advice so far, but I will just add that our DD was 4 on our January Celebration cruise. The dining staff (as well as all the rest of the crew) dotes on the kids. He should be fine in pants and a polo shirt. I would take him to the first night dinner for sure. The strawberry bisque was a big hit with our DD. Tastes just like a strawberry milkshake.

 

Camp Carnival will have a kid's dinner each night, so if he doesn't enjoy the dining room, you can feel comfortable with him being with the staff and other kids. For his age, you will be issued a pager and must show it when you drop him off and pick him up. Our normal evening was, grab something on the Lido deck, then take DD to Camp around 7pm. They will have fun activities and end with videos before 10pm. We usually picked her up around that time. After 10pm they have a babysitting service (and more activities). There is a $6 per hour charge after 10. DD never wanted to leave before 10 but would have been a mess if she'd stayed later.

 

We've done this itinerary many times, so here's a bit of port advice. Freeport doesn't have much to do at the port and it's about a 25 minute drive to get to anything. We don't often go off the boat here and with DD just played in the kiddie pool. In Nassau, some fun things for your son's age would be the glass bottom boat tour or the horse and buggy rides outside of the Market Place.

 

Enjoy your b-day cruise and expect to have a great time. If you have any other specific questions, I would happy to try and answer them.

[douglinc@msn.com]

The Celebration is still one of my favorite ships.

 

Doug

[Rita/KY]

We went on that cruise last June. Now we are addicted to cruising!:) The Celebration is a small ship, but it is still fun. One of our favorite shows, and I think your four year old would like it, was the juggler. He was so funny!

 

We took the Dolphin excursion in Freeport, and it is wonderful. My daughters still talk about it; both agree that it was the most "awesome" thing we have ever done on a vacation. There were a couple of little kids in our group, and they had a great time. One little fellow was a little afraid at first, but once he petted the dolphins, he was fine, and wanted to do it again.

 

You are going to have a great time!

[scotts82705]

Love the celebration went aug 06 and oct 07. The atrim is gone but still a beautiful ship. The lido deck is smaller, but other than that it is great.

As for the clothes. We dressed my kids up for 2 cruises, and they were about the only 2 dressed up. They ended up going to camp carnival they wanted to do the kid fear factor and not adult dinner. So maybe just some cheap slacks and a polo.

[ryzmom]

Thanks so much everyone for your great advice and reviews. Thanks for the pics rgwiazdzinski. I know that this is a smaller ship and I love the newer and larger ships, but my husband really planned this well and I love him for that. He took the time to think of everything, so I just want to make sure that they have a great time as well.

 

Wuudbee - I can't see your photos cause it said that I need a password. But I would love to see them.

 

Thanks again everyone!

Deana

[Essiesmom]

Deana, I will give you the same advice I gave those on the last cruise: I see you have a previous Carnival cruise, but they will not have a past guest party on your cruise because it is only four days. But if you want one of the little funnel pins with the ship name on it, ask your cabin steward on embarkation day or the day after. Whatever they have left will be of no use after April 19! Also, there should be fire sale prices in the shop on anything logo that says Celebration. They also had Carnival logo stuff on sale, but whatever doesn't sell of that can be sent to another ship. Celebration stuff no. Several different mugs, fridge magnets, tshirts...EM

[navybaby1113]

I was on her about a month ago and we absolutely loved it. The staff was absolutely great and the food was amazing. The activity directors made the cruise so much fun. We stayed on the ship during Freeport and had so much to do.

 

I posted a review on the Celebration if you're interested.

http://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=39489

[cruzngma]

Celebration will always be our favorite. She will be missed.

 

One thing not to be missed is when she sails out under the bridge. Be sure to be on deck for that!

[ryzmom]

Thanks navybaby1113 - loved your review, thanks so much and cruzngma thanks for the tip about the under the bridge, my son will love it and I will have to make sure we have our camera for that one.

 

I am taking everyone's advice and not worrying about dressing up my 4 year old to the max in a suit - I stress over the little things like that. I am just worried about carrying on a 12 pack of soda - do I put it in my suitcase or just walk on with it? HELP on this would ease my mind tremendously.

 

Thanks!

[rgwiazdzinski]

Thanks navybaby1113 - loved your review, thanks so much and cruzngma thanks for the tip about the under the bridge, my son will love it and I will have to make sure we have our camera for that one.

 

I am taking everyone's advice and not worrying about dressing up my 4 year old to the max in a suit - I stress over the little things like that. I am just worried about carrying on a 12 pack of soda - do I put it in my suitcase or just walk on with it? HELP on this would ease my mind tremendously.

 

Thanks!

 

we put a case of water in a suitcase last year and just checked, got it with no problem and once it was gone we used the suitcase to pack the stuff we had bought while in port.