Carnival Celebration Review

4.0 / 5.0
80 reviews

Is this REALLY a Carnival ship?!

Review for the Eastern Caribbean Cruise on Carnival Celebration
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Oregon Cruiser1976
2-5 Cruises • Age 40s

Rating by category

Cabin
Value for Money
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Entertainment
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Sail Date: Jan 2023
Our view from our stateroom. Doesn’t get any better.
Our daily towel friend.
Beautiful bar area

This was our fifth overall cruise, and our first post-pandemic. First, this ship is GORGEOUS! We have sailed Carnival before and I was shocked at how nice this ship is. This ship could easily have been mistaken for NCL or RCI. No orange carpet, pink walls, or tacky neon. We stayed in forward spa balcony 17-204. Our room was very nice, and our balcony was huge because of its location. We were all the way forward on the top deck of staterooms. There is a private elevator from this floor directly to the spa. If you’re staying up there, ask your attendant where it’s at. It’s tucked away and only for spa customers. The last thing anyone wants to see is me wandering around the ship in my robe. Our stateroom attendant was Heru, and I just loved him. Our balcony had two chairs, a table, and one lounger. I asked Heru if we could get a second lounger, and he brought us another. That’s how large the forward spa balconies are!! We had a private retreat and it was amazing. Overall, the included dining was very good. I’ve always liked Carnivals cocktails, and they didn’t disappoint this time either. Kudos for the new self service soda machines (when they are working) located around the buffet. Service at bars was very good! The Bolt roller coaster is a riot!! My DH and I rode it twice. More adults than kids riding. Of course, there were very few kids on our January sailing. Yay! Loved watching other people ride it; their screams and shrieks were awesome. Putt putt was fun; we must have done it ten times. Ropes course is scary!! Hear me out. There is a part where you walk off the ropes course and glide across an open area. Scarier than it sounds. Towards the end of the course, I found another challenge and my feet fell off the course. I hung there and screamed like a baby until a nice man in front of me helped me get back on track. LOL. My husband may have embarrassed by my antics. Super fun but don’t need to do it again.

There will always be pinch points, so here they are: dining at Cucina del Capitano is now free of charge, but not nearly as good as their other ships that charge for this restaurant. They are super busy, and it being no fee, we could taste a difference. Waiting to get served in Chi-Bang is painful!! One night we were in there for at least 90 minutes for dinner. The food at Chi-Bang is wonderful, and their specialty cocktails are great. Chi-Bang was my favorite sea-day lunch spot. So good. Not sure what happened, but the service in Fahrenheit 555 was TERRIBLE!! While we were waiting to be seated, a server found a pink rubber duck above the menu. We didn’t even see it until she grabbed it and made a comment about how annoying the rubber ducks are. She put it in her pocket and huffed off. Our server in the restaurant was abysmal. Did not welcome us into the restaurant, did not smile, and was borderline RUDE. Smoked oysters were not to my liking because of the vinegar like purple fruit they served on them. Lady seated at table next to us said she loves oysters, but these were bad. Rest of the food was very good. I asked for the cheese plate for dessert, and asked if it came with fruit. Server said “no, you only get one dessert. Either cheese or fruit.” Not what I asked, but okaaaay. I wouldn’t go back there just based on the lousy service. If we’re going to pay $100 extra for this dinner, we better get acknowledged that we exist, and the server should crack a smile for Pete’s sake. Too bad; their dining room is just beautiful.

The good on this ship outweighed the bad big time. There are so many included food options, it’s crazy. From buffet (not too bad), to street eats (2 thumbs way up) to Shaq’s chicken (it really is good) to Guys Burgers (hubby didn’t like that they replaced buns with roll looking things) to the great pizza, yummy sandwiches (I’m looking at you Cubano) to salads on sea day in the Serenity area, and so many other INCLUDED restaurants, we were blown away by the food choices. Entertainment has FINALLY gotten better. In the past their performances were like a high school performance (not in a good way). Their onboard casino is huge and awesome. Total non-smoking casino area that does not smell. I. Need. To. Go. Back. On. This. Ship!

Cabin Review

We were afraid there would be lots of wind at the front of the ship, but were pleasantly surprised that there was not much. Love the Elemis bath products, and I genuinely hope to see our stateroom attendant Heru again someday.

Port Reviews

Amber Cove (Puerto Plata)

Second time here; we did the zip line. Would be a much, much better port of call if there were a beach. Won’t be going back.

San Juan

We walked to the “Old Fort”. If you go, just walk. No excursion necessary to do the National Park. So glad we went there. The rest of Old San Juan looks just like any other Caribbean downtown. I feel so fortunate that I’ve been to so many special places and can say that. Life is good.

St. Thomas

I wanted to get off the ship and stay in St Thomas forever. It’s that beautiful. We did the snorkeling and Honeymoon Beach excursion. Snorkel and beach were OK, but our tour guides made it AWESOME!!

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