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Wednesday, September 20, 2006
Monday, August 07, 2006
Carnival Celebration Cruise Review
Introduction:
My most recent cruise was a Western Caribbean cruise aboard Carnival Cruise Lines' Celebration sailing from the port of New Orleans. It lasted from November 1 to November 8, 1996. This cruise review consists of a chronology of my cruise as well as my general comments on the cruise.
For some background, I'm a 20-something, single male. I have been on a cruise before, but I've never been to the Caribbean or to any of the Celebration's ports of call. My last cruise was also on Carnival Cruise Lines. It was aboard the Jubilee (Mexican Riviera) in November 1994. The last time I cruised, I requested a guaranteed single share. This means that the cruise line generally charges about 20-30% more than the double occupancy rate and matches a single passenger with a person of the same sex and smoking preference in a stateroom. If the cruise line is unable to find a suitable roommate, the single passenger gets the entire cabin to himself without having to pay an extra single passenger supplement. For a single-share passenger, cabin assignments are not made until just before sailing.
I booked my previous cruise for Thanksgiving week. This was a mistake since the ship was very crowded. The double-occupancy capacity of the Jubilee is about 1500 passengers, but there were 1800 passengers on board, owing to triple and quad occupancy in the staterooms. Also, because it was Thanksgiving week, there were about 200 kids onboard.
Anyway, on with the Celebration cruise... This time, I also booked a single-shared cabin. But I chose an off-season sailing away from holiday periods. My travel agent tells me that the best prices can be found in the Fall because of hurricane season. My package included round-trip airfare from San Francisco. The ports of call for this cruise were New Orleans, Tampa, Grand Cayman Island, and Cozumel.
Chronology:
I had an early morning flight from San Francisco to New Orleans with a connection in St. Louis. Air transportation was arranged by Carnival Cruise Lines. There were no other cruise passengers on the first segment of my flight. But when I got to St. Louis for my connecting flight, I met some people who were also going on my cruise.
New Orleans (Friday, November 1):
After collecting our baggage, we were met at the carousel by a Carnival agent who arranged our shuttle transportation to the Julia Street Wharf. We arrived at the New Orleans Terminal around 4 pm. Boarding the ship was pretty efficient. Some people asked me if they could carry their own luggage onto the ship. This is what I did both times I've cruised, since I don't like to wait for my luggage to arrive.
The Celebration is a nearly identical sister ship to the Jubilee that I sailed on before. The only significant difference is the decor. For example, the Celebration has a full-sized trolley car on the promenade level, which the Jubilee does not. According to the Carnival brochure, the ship is 47,262 gross tons, and will accommodate 1486 passengers (double-occupancy). This particular sailing was not full, which provides lots of space on deck and in the lounge areas.
The ship docks on the Mississippi River near the Riverwalk. Although it is within walking distance from the dock, I took a streetcar to the French Quarter. I walked through the French Quarter including Jackson Square, and Bourbon Street. The French Quarter is an interesting place, but I was warned to be careful in the area at night. I also stopped by the Cafe Du Monde for some hot chocolate and beignets. Around 7 pm, I headed back to the ship via the Riverwalk Mall. Since I had a late seating, dinner was served at 8:15 pm. The ship sails around 10 pm. But at the time the ship sailed, I still hadn't met my assigned roommate. I hoped that he didn't miss the ship!
At sea (Saturday, November 2):
The next day, I found out that my roommate had requested his own room. Since the ship was not full, the purser gave him another cabin. So, we each had a single cabin to ourselves. My "roommate" gave me a call in the midmorning. It was his first cruise, and he wasn't even aware that there were set meal times and tables in the dining room. My roommate, Tim, was from Texas and in his early 30s. We were assigned to the same dinner table, so I filled him in on the dining arrangements. We decided that although we weren't sharing the same cabin, we could still hang out together as if we really were "roommates."
The weather in the Gulf of Mexico was cooler than I expected, but it was still comfortable. The first day at sea was a bit overcast and breezy.
Tampa (Sunday, November 3):
In Tampa, the choices for shore excursions include Walt Disney World, Universal Studios Florida, and Sea World of Florida. All of the above attractions were in the Orlando area, and it is about a two-hour bus ride from Tampa. I decided to visit Busch Gardens, a theme park in the Tampa area. The cost of the Busch Gardens shore excursion was $54, which includes bus transportation. I think that it is worthwhile to visit Busch Gardens. My only complaint here is that tickets to Busch Gardens cost less than $30 with an AAA discount, so the cruise line is making a lot on the bus ride.
Tampa is also a port of embarkation and debarkation for some of the cruise passengers. Actually, Celebration passengers have a choice of boarding the ship in either New Orleans or Tampa when booking the cruise. I believe that most of the West Coast passengers like myself board the ship in New Orleans. Tampa would seem more convenient for East Coast passengers. Tampa is actually the "beginning" of the cruise. The segment from New Orleans to Tampa is the "end" of the cruise for passengers who embarked the ship the previous Sunday.
Busch Gardens is owned by the same company that makes Budweiser beer. It is a huge theme park that literally looks like a combination amusement park and zoo. There are animal exhibits, a monorail, roller coasters, and other rides. The "Montu" ride is billed as the world's tallest and longest inverted steel roller coaster. Animal exhibits were interspersed with many of the rides. Also worthy of mention is the Anheuser-Busch Hospitality Center where visitors can sample a variety of beers. Two free beers per day is the specified limit, but I didn't see anyone checking. Maybe that is why tickets to Busch Gardens are so expensive...
My roommate, Tim, decided to visit EPCOT Center in Orlando. That is about a 2-hour drive from Tampa. Coming from California where we already have Disneyland, Universal Studios, and Sea World, I felt it wasn't worth a 2-hour ride each way to spend a few hours at Walt Disney World. EPCOT will have to wait for another trip.
At Sea (Monday, November 4):
As we headed South into the Caribbean, the weather turned much warmer. This gave me a chance to work on my tan. My favorite place for sitting out on deck is the Sun Deck which isn't shown in Carnival's brochure. It is the deck above the Veranda Deck, and is much quieter and more secluded than the Lido and Veranda decks where loud Calypso music can be heard daily. Carnival veterans may infer another reason I like to hang out on the Sun Deck...
This was the first of two formal nights at sea. As mentioned above, this was the beginning of the cruise, so it was also the "Welcome Aboard" night. The Captain's Cocktail Party is where you can meet the captain and cruise director. The first of the revue style shows was in the evening after dinner. Entertainment included the Celebration dancers, many of whom were from England. When they are not performing or rehearsing, the dancers do other shipboard duties including running the on-ship bingo game.
Grand Cayman Island (Tuesday, November 5):
The ship only stops in Grand Cayman for a few hours. Although the ship drops anchor around 7 am, most shops in Grand Cayman don't open until 9:00 am. I took a midmorning island tour that included the Western portion of the island. The highlights of the tour include a town called Hell and a turtle farm. Unusual rock formations can be seen in "Hell." This is where I mailed some "postcards from Hell" to people back home. The turtle farm raises sea turtles, and allows visitors to touch them. Also worthy of mention is the "Tortuga" rum and rum cakes available on Grand Cayman.
The people in Grand Cayman are remarkably polite. Drivers will actually stop for people in crosswalks, which was a surprise to me. The island is also very clean. However, souvenirs are quite expensive in this port. The other cruise ships that were anchored in the area included the Celebrity Century, and the Holland America Maasdam. All of the cruise ships drop anchor and use tenders to ferry passengers back and forth to the island.
Shortly after 1 pm, the ship was on its way. About 20 minutes into our cruise, the ship stopped, and a tender came up alongside the ship. Apparently, a couple people had missed the boat back in Grand Cayman, and we were waiting for them to catch up with the ship. In any case, this event didn't delay our arrival at Cozumel, though I think that some people were upset about it.
Playa del Carmen/Cozumel (Wednesday, November 6):
In the early morning, the cruise ship drops off passengers at Playa del Carmen on the mainland of Mexico, before continuing on to the island of Cozumel. This stop is to drop off passengers visiting the Mayan ruins at Tulum. The Tulum shore excursion sounded interesting to me, but I decided only to visit Cozumel. The ruins of Tulum will have to wait for my next trip. Unfortunately, none of the shore excursions on Cozumel appealed to me. I was basically interested in lying out on the beach and doing nothing, so I did not book a shore excursion this stop.
The Celebration did not dock in this port. Apparently, the pier in Cozumel can only accommodate two ships at a time, and several ships were in port that day. Actually this works out well because the pier is a few miles South of the town of San Miguel. Other ships that had anchored in the vicinity of the Celebration were ships from the Dolphin and Windjammer lines. Tenders from shore met up with the cruise ship and brought passengers to downtown San Miguel. The Celebration did not use its own lifeboats as tenders.
In the morning, I spent the time exploring downtown and shopping. I picked up a couple of Mexican-made blankets and a T-shirt in this port. The Mexican operated tenders also have various items for sale. In the afternoon, Tim and I took a taxi to "San Francisco" beach. I was surprised at how warm and calm the waters were in the Caribbean. In fact, the sea water was calmer than the swimming pool on a moving ship. I don't know how this particular beach got the name "San Francisco" because I've never seen a beach like that at home.
Just after sunset, we headed for a popular restaurant and bar called Carlos 'n Charlie's. It can be seen from the ship, and you can hear the commotion inside from the street. The bar seemed to be very popular among cruise passengers, including those from other lines. Other cruise ships in the area included the NCL Dreamward, Carnival's Ecstacy, and the Century. When we went inside around 5 pm, we observed dozens of drunk cruise passengers from various ships dancing on tables and chairs. To say the least, it was an interesting experience! Both Tim and I could honestly say we hadn't seen anything like it before. I have a souvenir shot glass from Carlos 'n Charlie's, and I don't remember what was in it. So, I'll assume it must have been tequila...
At Sea (Thursday, November 7):
I spent quite a bit of time in the casino during the cruise. The days at sea are probably when I spent the most time gambling. Since this was the last full day of the cruise, it was an opportunity to "win back" all that I lost. Ultimately, I ended up winning at Blackjack, but lost on all the other games I tried. So, I guess I should stick with what I know.
This was the second formal night at sea. It was also the farewell night as the cruise was ending for the New Orleans passengers. I had to go back to my room to change clothes and pack my suitcase. Around 1 am, the cruise line collects luggage to be carried off the ship. It is best to keep a carry-on with enough clothes for the last day.
Return to New Orleans (Friday, November 8):
The ship doesn't arrive back in New Orleans until after 10 am. However, disembarking passengers were not allowed to leave the Celebration until after the ship cleared customs. Many passengers complained about the long wait since we couldn't disembark until afternoon. I decided to have lunch before getting off the ship since I knew it was going to be a long day.
My flight back to San Francisco wasn't until 6 pm. Unfortunately, Carnival doesn't provide a convenient way for passengers to store their luggage at the pier. I would have liked more time to explore the French Quarter, but that wasn't practical with all the luggage. So, several other cruise passengers and I spent the afternoon at the New Orleans Airport.
General Comments:
The Celebration is about ten years old, but the ship is well maintained. I often saw maintenance people painting, cleaning, and repairing areas of the ship. My cabin was on the Upper deck in the forward section. Most of the single cabins are located in the fore of the ship. The reason for this is because the curvature of the ship's bow causes forward cabins to be smaller than average. My particular cabin had upper and lower bunk beds. Since I didn't have a roommate, I had the steward close the upper bunk, which converts into a picture frame! My cabin seemed large, though, because there was only one bed inside.
Having cruised with Carnival before, I didn't overinflate my expectations with regard to the food. I was not disappointed, and I would say that Carnival cruise food is well prepared. However, someone expecting to have lobster and caviar, would be very disappointed with the food. Some of the more interesting food items on the menu included escargots, frog legs, and fish for breakfast.
I like to request a late dinner seating, meaning that dinner is served at 8:15 pm. This generally gives a little more time in port, or for days at sea, more time to dress for dinner. Since we generally finished our dinners around 9:30 pm, I was never hungry when the midnight buffet rolled around. On this particular cruise, I neither gained weight nor lost weight since I ate about the same amount of food as I usually do. But, I do like to try the more exotic entrees that I can't get at home.
My travel companions and I had a table for eight. However, since the cruise was not full, there were only five of us at the table. All were around my age, and we got along well. The waiter and busboy were good, but I got the impression they hadn't been at the job for long. I rarely saw my cabin steward at all. He was very efficient and could fold blankets and towels into animals and dolls.
My favorite places to hang out on deck are the Sun Deck, and the area around the pool. The best view on the Celebration is from the Veranda Deck, forward section above the bridge. It does get windy up there, though. In the evenings, I like to catch a show in the Astoria Lounge, or a late night comedy show in the Islands in the Sky Lounge. Then, I would typically head for the Rainbow Club Casino, or the Galax-Z Dance Club. I generally skipped the midnight buffet, except for the Grand Gala Buffet, which I just had to see...
Conclusions:
Overall, I enjoyed this cruise. Since I cruised with Carnival before, I knew what to expect. And since I cruised on Celebration's sister ship before, I knew my way around the ship the first day. Several of the activities were the same on both ships. For example, the knobby knees contest, wasn't so interesting the second time around. I would recommend this cruise to first-time cruisers that are interested in seeing the Caribbean. Personally, I would have liked to visit Jamaica, but it wasn't on the Celebration's itinerary.
I've decided that my next cruise will be an Eastern Caribbean cruise. I wouldn't mind taking Carnival again. But, I am also considering other cruise lines such as Princess or Royal Caribbean. Well, time to start planning my next cruise.
My most recent cruise was a Western Caribbean cruise aboard Carnival Cruise Lines' Celebration sailing from the port of New Orleans. It lasted from November 1 to November 8, 1996. This cruise review consists of a chronology of my cruise as well as my general comments on the cruise.
For some background, I'm a 20-something, single male. I have been on a cruise before, but I've never been to the Caribbean or to any of the Celebration's ports of call. My last cruise was also on Carnival Cruise Lines. It was aboard the Jubilee (Mexican Riviera) in November 1994. The last time I cruised, I requested a guaranteed single share. This means that the cruise line generally charges about 20-30% more than the double occupancy rate and matches a single passenger with a person of the same sex and smoking preference in a stateroom. If the cruise line is unable to find a suitable roommate, the single passenger gets the entire cabin to himself without having to pay an extra single passenger supplement. For a single-share passenger, cabin assignments are not made until just before sailing.
I booked my previous cruise for Thanksgiving week. This was a mistake since the ship was very crowded. The double-occupancy capacity of the Jubilee is about 1500 passengers, but there were 1800 passengers on board, owing to triple and quad occupancy in the staterooms. Also, because it was Thanksgiving week, there were about 200 kids onboard.
Anyway, on with the Celebration cruise... This time, I also booked a single-shared cabin. But I chose an off-season sailing away from holiday periods. My travel agent tells me that the best prices can be found in the Fall because of hurricane season. My package included round-trip airfare from San Francisco. The ports of call for this cruise were New Orleans, Tampa, Grand Cayman Island, and Cozumel.
Chronology:
I had an early morning flight from San Francisco to New Orleans with a connection in St. Louis. Air transportation was arranged by Carnival Cruise Lines. There were no other cruise passengers on the first segment of my flight. But when I got to St. Louis for my connecting flight, I met some people who were also going on my cruise.
New Orleans (Friday, November 1):
After collecting our baggage, we were met at the carousel by a Carnival agent who arranged our shuttle transportation to the Julia Street Wharf. We arrived at the New Orleans Terminal around 4 pm. Boarding the ship was pretty efficient. Some people asked me if they could carry their own luggage onto the ship. This is what I did both times I've cruised, since I don't like to wait for my luggage to arrive.
The Celebration is a nearly identical sister ship to the Jubilee that I sailed on before. The only significant difference is the decor. For example, the Celebration has a full-sized trolley car on the promenade level, which the Jubilee does not. According to the Carnival brochure, the ship is 47,262 gross tons, and will accommodate 1486 passengers (double-occupancy). This particular sailing was not full, which provides lots of space on deck and in the lounge areas.
The ship docks on the Mississippi River near the Riverwalk. Although it is within walking distance from the dock, I took a streetcar to the French Quarter. I walked through the French Quarter including Jackson Square, and Bourbon Street. The French Quarter is an interesting place, but I was warned to be careful in the area at night. I also stopped by the Cafe Du Monde for some hot chocolate and beignets. Around 7 pm, I headed back to the ship via the Riverwalk Mall. Since I had a late seating, dinner was served at 8:15 pm. The ship sails around 10 pm. But at the time the ship sailed, I still hadn't met my assigned roommate. I hoped that he didn't miss the ship!
At sea (Saturday, November 2):
The next day, I found out that my roommate had requested his own room. Since the ship was not full, the purser gave him another cabin. So, we each had a single cabin to ourselves. My "roommate" gave me a call in the midmorning. It was his first cruise, and he wasn't even aware that there were set meal times and tables in the dining room. My roommate, Tim, was from Texas and in his early 30s. We were assigned to the same dinner table, so I filled him in on the dining arrangements. We decided that although we weren't sharing the same cabin, we could still hang out together as if we really were "roommates."
The weather in the Gulf of Mexico was cooler than I expected, but it was still comfortable. The first day at sea was a bit overcast and breezy.
Tampa (Sunday, November 3):
In Tampa, the choices for shore excursions include Walt Disney World, Universal Studios Florida, and Sea World of Florida. All of the above attractions were in the Orlando area, and it is about a two-hour bus ride from Tampa. I decided to visit Busch Gardens, a theme park in the Tampa area. The cost of the Busch Gardens shore excursion was $54, which includes bus transportation. I think that it is worthwhile to visit Busch Gardens. My only complaint here is that tickets to Busch Gardens cost less than $30 with an AAA discount, so the cruise line is making a lot on the bus ride.
Tampa is also a port of embarkation and debarkation for some of the cruise passengers. Actually, Celebration passengers have a choice of boarding the ship in either New Orleans or Tampa when booking the cruise. I believe that most of the West Coast passengers like myself board the ship in New Orleans. Tampa would seem more convenient for East Coast passengers. Tampa is actually the "beginning" of the cruise. The segment from New Orleans to Tampa is the "end" of the cruise for passengers who embarked the ship the previous Sunday.
Busch Gardens is owned by the same company that makes Budweiser beer. It is a huge theme park that literally looks like a combination amusement park and zoo. There are animal exhibits, a monorail, roller coasters, and other rides. The "Montu" ride is billed as the world's tallest and longest inverted steel roller coaster. Animal exhibits were interspersed with many of the rides. Also worthy of mention is the Anheuser-Busch Hospitality Center where visitors can sample a variety of beers. Two free beers per day is the specified limit, but I didn't see anyone checking. Maybe that is why tickets to Busch Gardens are so expensive...
My roommate, Tim, decided to visit EPCOT Center in Orlando. That is about a 2-hour drive from Tampa. Coming from California where we already have Disneyland, Universal Studios, and Sea World, I felt it wasn't worth a 2-hour ride each way to spend a few hours at Walt Disney World. EPCOT will have to wait for another trip.
At Sea (Monday, November 4):
As we headed South into the Caribbean, the weather turned much warmer. This gave me a chance to work on my tan. My favorite place for sitting out on deck is the Sun Deck which isn't shown in Carnival's brochure. It is the deck above the Veranda Deck, and is much quieter and more secluded than the Lido and Veranda decks where loud Calypso music can be heard daily. Carnival veterans may infer another reason I like to hang out on the Sun Deck...
This was the first of two formal nights at sea. As mentioned above, this was the beginning of the cruise, so it was also the "Welcome Aboard" night. The Captain's Cocktail Party is where you can meet the captain and cruise director. The first of the revue style shows was in the evening after dinner. Entertainment included the Celebration dancers, many of whom were from England. When they are not performing or rehearsing, the dancers do other shipboard duties including running the on-ship bingo game.
Grand Cayman Island (Tuesday, November 5):
The ship only stops in Grand Cayman for a few hours. Although the ship drops anchor around 7 am, most shops in Grand Cayman don't open until 9:00 am. I took a midmorning island tour that included the Western portion of the island. The highlights of the tour include a town called Hell and a turtle farm. Unusual rock formations can be seen in "Hell." This is where I mailed some "postcards from Hell" to people back home. The turtle farm raises sea turtles, and allows visitors to touch them. Also worthy of mention is the "Tortuga" rum and rum cakes available on Grand Cayman.
The people in Grand Cayman are remarkably polite. Drivers will actually stop for people in crosswalks, which was a surprise to me. The island is also very clean. However, souvenirs are quite expensive in this port. The other cruise ships that were anchored in the area included the Celebrity Century, and the Holland America Maasdam. All of the cruise ships drop anchor and use tenders to ferry passengers back and forth to the island.
Shortly after 1 pm, the ship was on its way. About 20 minutes into our cruise, the ship stopped, and a tender came up alongside the ship. Apparently, a couple people had missed the boat back in Grand Cayman, and we were waiting for them to catch up with the ship. In any case, this event didn't delay our arrival at Cozumel, though I think that some people were upset about it.
Playa del Carmen/Cozumel (Wednesday, November 6):
In the early morning, the cruise ship drops off passengers at Playa del Carmen on the mainland of Mexico, before continuing on to the island of Cozumel. This stop is to drop off passengers visiting the Mayan ruins at Tulum. The Tulum shore excursion sounded interesting to me, but I decided only to visit Cozumel. The ruins of Tulum will have to wait for my next trip. Unfortunately, none of the shore excursions on Cozumel appealed to me. I was basically interested in lying out on the beach and doing nothing, so I did not book a shore excursion this stop.
The Celebration did not dock in this port. Apparently, the pier in Cozumel can only accommodate two ships at a time, and several ships were in port that day. Actually this works out well because the pier is a few miles South of the town of San Miguel. Other ships that had anchored in the vicinity of the Celebration were ships from the Dolphin and Windjammer lines. Tenders from shore met up with the cruise ship and brought passengers to downtown San Miguel. The Celebration did not use its own lifeboats as tenders.
In the morning, I spent the time exploring downtown and shopping. I picked up a couple of Mexican-made blankets and a T-shirt in this port. The Mexican operated tenders also have various items for sale. In the afternoon, Tim and I took a taxi to "San Francisco" beach. I was surprised at how warm and calm the waters were in the Caribbean. In fact, the sea water was calmer than the swimming pool on a moving ship. I don't know how this particular beach got the name "San Francisco" because I've never seen a beach like that at home.
Just after sunset, we headed for a popular restaurant and bar called Carlos 'n Charlie's. It can be seen from the ship, and you can hear the commotion inside from the street. The bar seemed to be very popular among cruise passengers, including those from other lines. Other cruise ships in the area included the NCL Dreamward, Carnival's Ecstacy, and the Century. When we went inside around 5 pm, we observed dozens of drunk cruise passengers from various ships dancing on tables and chairs. To say the least, it was an interesting experience! Both Tim and I could honestly say we hadn't seen anything like it before. I have a souvenir shot glass from Carlos 'n Charlie's, and I don't remember what was in it. So, I'll assume it must have been tequila...
At Sea (Thursday, November 7):
I spent quite a bit of time in the casino during the cruise. The days at sea are probably when I spent the most time gambling. Since this was the last full day of the cruise, it was an opportunity to "win back" all that I lost. Ultimately, I ended up winning at Blackjack, but lost on all the other games I tried. So, I guess I should stick with what I know.
This was the second formal night at sea. It was also the farewell night as the cruise was ending for the New Orleans passengers. I had to go back to my room to change clothes and pack my suitcase. Around 1 am, the cruise line collects luggage to be carried off the ship. It is best to keep a carry-on with enough clothes for the last day.
Return to New Orleans (Friday, November 8):
The ship doesn't arrive back in New Orleans until after 10 am. However, disembarking passengers were not allowed to leave the Celebration until after the ship cleared customs. Many passengers complained about the long wait since we couldn't disembark until afternoon. I decided to have lunch before getting off the ship since I knew it was going to be a long day.
My flight back to San Francisco wasn't until 6 pm. Unfortunately, Carnival doesn't provide a convenient way for passengers to store their luggage at the pier. I would have liked more time to explore the French Quarter, but that wasn't practical with all the luggage. So, several other cruise passengers and I spent the afternoon at the New Orleans Airport.
General Comments:
The Celebration is about ten years old, but the ship is well maintained. I often saw maintenance people painting, cleaning, and repairing areas of the ship. My cabin was on the Upper deck in the forward section. Most of the single cabins are located in the fore of the ship. The reason for this is because the curvature of the ship's bow causes forward cabins to be smaller than average. My particular cabin had upper and lower bunk beds. Since I didn't have a roommate, I had the steward close the upper bunk, which converts into a picture frame! My cabin seemed large, though, because there was only one bed inside.
Having cruised with Carnival before, I didn't overinflate my expectations with regard to the food. I was not disappointed, and I would say that Carnival cruise food is well prepared. However, someone expecting to have lobster and caviar, would be very disappointed with the food. Some of the more interesting food items on the menu included escargots, frog legs, and fish for breakfast.
I like to request a late dinner seating, meaning that dinner is served at 8:15 pm. This generally gives a little more time in port, or for days at sea, more time to dress for dinner. Since we generally finished our dinners around 9:30 pm, I was never hungry when the midnight buffet rolled around. On this particular cruise, I neither gained weight nor lost weight since I ate about the same amount of food as I usually do. But, I do like to try the more exotic entrees that I can't get at home.
My travel companions and I had a table for eight. However, since the cruise was not full, there were only five of us at the table. All were around my age, and we got along well. The waiter and busboy were good, but I got the impression they hadn't been at the job for long. I rarely saw my cabin steward at all. He was very efficient and could fold blankets and towels into animals and dolls.
My favorite places to hang out on deck are the Sun Deck, and the area around the pool. The best view on the Celebration is from the Veranda Deck, forward section above the bridge. It does get windy up there, though. In the evenings, I like to catch a show in the Astoria Lounge, or a late night comedy show in the Islands in the Sky Lounge. Then, I would typically head for the Rainbow Club Casino, or the Galax-Z Dance Club. I generally skipped the midnight buffet, except for the Grand Gala Buffet, which I just had to see...
Conclusions:
Overall, I enjoyed this cruise. Since I cruised with Carnival before, I knew what to expect. And since I cruised on Celebration's sister ship before, I knew my way around the ship the first day. Several of the activities were the same on both ships. For example, the knobby knees contest, wasn't so interesting the second time around. I would recommend this cruise to first-time cruisers that are interested in seeing the Caribbean. Personally, I would have liked to visit Jamaica, but it wasn't on the Celebration's itinerary.
I've decided that my next cruise will be an Eastern Caribbean cruise. I wouldn't mind taking Carnival again. But, I am also considering other cruise lines such as Princess or Royal Caribbean. Well, time to start planning my next cruise.
Sunday, August 06, 2006
Welcome to Carnival Cruise
I created this blog to showcase a cruise review that I wrote for the Carnival cruise ship Celebration, several years ago. Unfortunately, that review never got a lot of attention because of its location on the web, and I never really publicized it.
In addition, I plan to include information about Carnival Cruise Lines, and its parent company, Carnival Corporation, as well as general cruising information in my blog. Enjoy.
In addition, I plan to include information about Carnival Cruise Lines, and its parent company, Carnival Corporation, as well as general cruising information in my blog. Enjoy.
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