It's Time for a CELEBRATION!!! (with pics) - April 16th 2023

[matt082600]

Hey buddy, thanks for taking the time to post another great review.  An extra special thanks for the nostalgic pics.  I have 2 boys too.  There's no way that was easy for you and Patti, but it was a treat for those of us that enjoy the yesteryear of cruising, and we appreciate it.  Can't wait for the rest of the review!

[Jamman54]

6 hours ago, matt082600 said:

Hey buddy, thanks for taking the time to post another great review.  An extra special thanks for the nostalgic pics.  I have 2 boys too.  There's no way that was easy for you and Patti, but it was a treat for those of us that enjoy the yesteryear of cruising, and we appreciate it.  Can't wait for the rest of the review!

Thanks for coming along for the ride once again, and for your kind words! Much more to come! 😎

[3smithboys]

Can’t wait to read another one of your reviews too and to see all of the beautiful pictures you always include. We are going on the Celebration in July for our 1st ABC cruise. What did you think of the Celebration in comparison to the Mardi Gras? We did a b2b last summer and loved it! 

[Jamman54]

1 hour ago, 3smithboys said:

Can’t wait to read another one of your reviews too and to see all of the beautiful pictures you always include. We are going on the Celebration in July for our 1st ABC cruise. What did you think of the Celebration in comparison to the Mardi Gras? We did a b2b last summer and loved it! 

Glad to have you along again! Today I'll be posting our sail away from Miami and our first evening's exploits. The Celebration and Mardi Gras are almost identical, you'll have the same experience you did on the Mardi Gras last year. 

[Stowaway LFC]

On 5/4/2023 at 5:26 PM, Jamman54 said:

Ahoy, Cruise Critic Family! My beautiful wife Patti and I have just returned after another cruise adventure. This time we sailed aboard the new, big, and beautiful Carnival Celebration, on a seven-day cruise to Cozumel, Costa Maya, and Mahogany Bay.

 

 

How many of you got to sail on the original Celebration? I sailed on her when she was brand new in 1987. The last time I sailed on her was in 2005 with Patti and our boys. I’m feeling nostalgic today, so here are a few pictures from that cruise for old times sake. We’ve come a long way in the last eighteen years!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

To be continued…..

Wow!  Flashback!  My very first cruise was on the Celebration!  We went to Cozumel, Grand Cayman and Playa.  I'll have to dig out my old pic of me hanging out of the trolly and my mom and I kicking legs up in the hot tub!  Thanks for the memories! Can't wait to read this review!

[Jamman54]

We both unpacked our bags, and then relaxed until it was time for sail away. We met Gilbert our Cabin Steward and requested evening service and ice twice a day. No problem! The Carnival Celebration sailed right at 4pm and was the first of the eight ships to leave. Patti wanted to hang out on the balcony, so I took the camera and headed for the open decks. Once upstairs I saw that our Cruise Director Lee Mason has got the Sail Away Party well underway…..

 

 

 

 

 

 

DJ OJ is spinning the tunes with help from the Cat in the Hat and Things 1 & 2…..

 

 

I’m looking towards the Valiant Lady and Parking Deck “G” where our car is parked…..

 

 

 

Here a couple of random Miami views…..

 

 

 

 

To be continued…..

[Jamman54]

The Carnival Celebration has pushed away from Terminal “F” to begin her journey out to sea…..

 

 

 

 

The first ship we pass it the Norwegian Encore…..

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

To be continued…..

[WhiteOptima]

18 hours ago, Jamman54 said:

Patti comes back down to Deck 17 mid ship. This is a view of the Beach Pool looking forward…..

 

 

 

 I am sitting in the water by the stairs.  Our friends came on this leg of our B2B and found me there.  I actually was watching Red Frog for @Jamman54 but it was crazy there and ending up catching him at Tides Bar later. 

 

 

 

 

[Jamman54]

The next ship we will be passing is our old friend, the Carnival Spirit. We were just on her in January. As we sailed by, the captains of the Celebration and Spirit engaged in a horn battle……

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Carnival Spirit is preparing to leave on her 16-day repositioning cruise to Seattle for the Alaska season. Safe journey old friend!

 

 

To be continued…..

[Jamman54]

Next up is the MSC Seascape…..

 

 

 

 

 

At the Norwegian Terminal is the Norwegian Escape…..

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

To be continued…..

[Jamman54]

We are now approaching the Royal Caribbean Terminal and the last ship in line, the Oasis of the Seas……

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

To be continued….

[Jamman54]

After we pass the Oasis OTS, I’m going to head back down to our cabin. As I pass the Beach Pool, I could see that Lee still has the party going!

 

 

 

 

 

Back on our balcony, I hand the camera back over to Patti so she can document the port side views. Here is the Fisher Island Ferry…..

 

 

 

 

Nice Yacht! Looks like a scene from “Below Deck”…..

 

 

 

 

 

To be continued…..

[Jamman54]

There’s our yacht, just over there! Lol……

 

 

 

We’re sailing past the Marina. Notice the seaweed?

 

 

 

We are sailing by South Pointe Park and Smith & Wollensky…..

 

 

 

 

 

Someone’s having a party!

 

 

To be continued…..

[Jamman54]

We are now sailing past South Beach…..

 

 

 

 

 

 

We’re leaving Miami behind…..

 

 

 

 

The Oasis OTS is following us out of Miami…..

 

 

Soon, the Pilot Boat comes alongside to pick up the pilot. The Celebration is now officially heading to Cozumel.

 

 

Hope you enjoyed the sail away!

 

To be continued…..

[WhiteOptima]

We had cabin 11202 for 2 weeks.  This is a FWD facing cabin and the balcony had plenty of room.  We watched both sail always from here along with entering ports.  I asked for a lounger and was accommodated.  The crew outside area was below but never a noise issue.  Would definitely book this cabin again.

[Jamman54]

41 minutes ago, Stowaway LFC said:

Wow!  Flashback!  My very first cruise was on the Celebration!  We went to Cozumel, Grand Cayman and Playa.  I'll have to dig out my old pic of me hanging out of the trolly and my mom and I kicking legs up in the hot tub!  Thanks for the memories! Can't wait to read this review!

Glad to have you aboard with us! Happy that the old Celebration pics brought back some good memories. 

[Jamman54]

1 minute ago, WhiteOptima said:

We had cabin 11202 for 2 weeks.  This is a FWD facing cabin and the balcony had plenty of room.  We watched both sail always from here along with entering ports.  I asked for a lounger and was accommodated.  The crew outside area was below but never a noise issue.  Would definitely book this cabin again.

Great views! Did you have any wind issues when underway?  

[jimbo5544]

Hey Jeff!  I knew it was time for another great Jamman review.  Take us along for the ride.

[Jamman54]

2 hours ago, jimbo5544 said:

Hey Jeff!  I knew it was time for another great Jamman review.  Take us along for the ride.

Always great to have you aboard Jimbo! 

[Jamman54]

We decided that we were going to try Chibang for dinner tonight. Our experience on the Mardi Gras was not good, but we wanted to give the Celebration’s version a try. At 5:30 I requested a table for two on the app, and the wait time was less than ten minutes. We made our way down to Deck 8, and stopped at the Havana Bar to take some pictures……

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dreams Studio is located next to the Havana Bar…..

 

 

Looking down at Center Stage from Deck 8…..

 

 

 

To be continued…..

Edited May 6, 2023 by Jamman54

[asalligo]

See myself in several of your sail away party videos while I was recording it.  

[Jamman54]

Chibang is located on Deck 8 fwd on the port side……

 

 

After twenty minutes our table was ready. They tried to seat us at a shared table, but we weren’t having it. Why do they do that when we didn’t ask for a shared table? Anyway, we got our table for two…..

 

 

They gave us a menu even though we didn’t need it…..

 

 

Here are some Chibang views…..

 

 

 

 

 

The kitchen staff are hard at work…..

 

 

 

Patti had the chicken spring rolls, a green salad, sweet & sour shrimp, and red beans…..

 

 

 

 

I had the pot stickers, a green salad, Kung Pao chicken, and Hakka noodles…..

 

 

 

 

We had a better experience than the Mardi Gras this time, but the Asian menu is nowhere near JiJi’s quality. Once a cruise here is enough for us!

 

To be continued…..

[Greenpea2]

The Havana Bar looks beautiful! Can't wait to belly up to it. 😉

[Donna1127]

On 5/5/2023 at 2:07 PM, Jamman54 said:

Unfortunately, with eight ships in port today, the traffic bogged down so it was slow going to reach our terminal. Here is the MSC Seascape at Terminal “C”…..

 

 

The Carnival Spirit is at Terminal “D”…….

 

 

This terminal sign says that we’re heading in the right direction…..

 

 

We pass the Norwegian Encore at Terminal “E”…..

 

 

 

We finally reach the Carnival Celebration at Terminal “F”……

 

 

 

We pull over here and drop off our luggage…..

 

 

We now have to drive down the road a little bit to park in Parking Deck “G”. The Grandeur OTS is docked at Terminal “G”……

 

 

 

Once in Parking Deck “G”, we found a spot to park on the second level. We took the stairs down, and then made the short walk back to Terminal “F”. Our cruise journey is about to begin!

 

 

To be continued…..  

 

[Jamman54]

After dinner, I was going to go bar hopping, and Patti was going to walk around and take pictures, and maybe browse the shops a little. I’ll get back to me later. Patti heads aft on Deck 8 and comes to Bonsai Teppanyaki and Bonsai Sushi which are located mid ship by Celebration Central. We will be eating at both these venues this coming week…..

 

 

 

 

Patti continues to head aft on Deck 8 and next discovers the Pixels Gallery…..

 

 

 

 

Once past Pixels Gallery, Cucina del Capitano will be on the port side…..

 

 

Patti continues aft on Deck 8 into 820 Biscayne…..

 

 

Bar 820 is on the starboard side, and Miami Slice Pizza is on the port side…..

 

 

 

To be continued…..