Celebration 11/12 - Choose Fun?

[marci4tony]

We are Carnival people - We don't have the option to cruise as often as many, but mostly have been loyal to the Carnival brand.  This was our first adventure post Covid, and were very excited to get back out to sea.  We are a long ways from the Gulf and Atlantic ports, so travel is always a big deal as well - and we never fly in the day of debarkation.  

Our choice of hotel was the Hilton Downtown Miami.  If you looking for somewhere to stay the night prior to your cruise with a great view, luggage storage and walking distance to a grocery store and restaurants, this is a great option.

The sticker shock will wear off – you are on vacation.  We came in on the “red eye” and found ourselves with a lot of time on our hands.  The cab ride, for four, from Miami International to the Hilton Downtown was about 45$.  The porter will take your luggage upon arrival at the Hilton, and store it until you can get checked in.  It is well worth your time and trouble to check in at the front desk when you arrive, no matter how early it is.  Because there is a lot of cruise traffic at this hotel, there are often early check outs – so put your name and number on the “early check in” listing, and they will call you when your room is ready.  Once you get checked in, the porter will bring your luggage to your room.

We opted for a double queen with a view of the bay.  It was worth the wait.  The hotel is dated, but well taken care of.  The room (on the 9^th floor) was spacious, and clean and very quiet.  The view of the cruise ship channel was outstanding!  (Especially at 4am watching Valliant Lady dock!) The rooftop pool had a great view, and was very relaxing for the afternoon.  The Starbucks (not everyone's choice of coffee) was nice to have as well - we did not have a coffee maker in our hotel room.

Across the street from the lobby to the north is a Publix grocery store. (sunscreen, hair products, etc) While the deli does make remarkable sandwiches, the wait was too excessive for it to be worth it.  An Uber to the famous Marketplace was less than 10$, while a short walk from the hotel to the north - The Opera House Miami –had the best mac and cheese I have ever had.  Lots of TV’s and football too!

The uber XL ride to the port was about 40$ and incredibly efficient.

The only feedback I had ever seen on this hotel was the slow elevators.  The hotel was very busy, and the wait was not worth mentioning in my opinion. 

The Uber to the port was about 40$ and with a 10:30am check in, the ride was uneventful, and short.  No traffic.  It was a blessing!

 

 

 

Edited November 27, 2023 by marci4tony
to relay Uber cost and time to port

[marci4tony]

I was introduced to the unique vacation style (cruising) in 2006 when we took our first cruise on the Liberty; I have been hooked ever since.  The wide-open spaces, the cleansing ocean air, and the serenity of watching the world go by knowing I wouldn’t have to do any of the cooking or cleaning.  That was my definition of bliss for nearly twenty years.

But I am highly discouraged to be put on this mega-ship with 6499 other passengers (Carnival Celebration) as Carnival advertises this is one of the best they have. I believe something was lost in translation along the way as they were busy reinventing themselves.  Something big.

My small group just disembarked on 11/19 off the Celebration.  We are not “world travelers” in any shape of the word – we just got accustomed to what Carnival had offered in the past.  Therefore we typically allocate our nominal annual vacation budget on Carnival.  However, some standards have slipped so low – especially the Main Dining Room – that we will be looking at our options a whole lot closer.

[marci4tony]

I was very pleased with a few things.

1)    The embarkation process – with the check in times/arrival times – I thought it was smooth and efficient.  I do not mind sitting at port in the waiting area while clearing prior passengers. But I also know its all about how you play the game.

a.    We were lucky enough to grab a couple FTTF – so we were able to board very early.  I don’t think we have cruised more than once without the FTTF benefit, and I believe it is very much worth it. 

b.    I am also tenacious enough to  understand the “check in time” process – I had to have been one of the first people in your que to attain a time as early as possible.  I did hear that system crashed, and had to be reloaded several times by some other fellow cruisers.  But by boarding directly after Diamond/Platinum/Suites, we eliminated the large crowds of people.  That is well done.

2)    Your debarkation process – Self assist, again with FTTF, had us up early, and off the vessel without the large crowds of people.  Timing was very good, there was a wonderful flow.

3)    The new glass shower door in the cabin.  Bravo.  I know it’s harder to clean, and probably difficult to replace, but I like the new door very much. 

4)    The design and overall furnishings are very tasteful, and not gaudy and over-the-top as some of your older ships.  I did especially like the internal layout of decks 6,7 and 8. There was a nice flow to that design, so kudos to your zones. The Ship model was very impressive, and the coins were fun to look for.

5)    Bolt was a kick in the butt.  The ride is short, but enjoyable.  Riding a roller coaster in the Caribbean was epic.  The views from the top of the ship are phenom

6)    The Teppanyaki chefs – We did pay extra to go to the Teppanyaki – We do this type of activity at home frequently, and knew the food would likely be good.  (For the most part, it was)  The show is always the same – no matter where you go.  But the three chefs on Celebration have found a way to spin their own individual style into a “restaurant” sing along.  I thought it was amazing the way each of the tables interacted with the other tables.  That was definitely something new and fresh.

7)    The Housekeeping was stellar.  They were not intrusive, they were not nosy, and they were fast, and efficient.  That is one job on your vessels that does not get enough accolades.  Perhaps we take it too much for granted.

[marci4tony]

So, let’s talk about what failed to meet our expectations.

Firstly, let me ask - Why do most people go on a cruise, as opposed to a land-vacation somewhere?  A cruise is pretty much All Inclusive.  We get to travel to new and exotic places, and know that we will be pampered and taken care of by someone else.  No cooking, no beds to make, no vacuuming to do, and a serenity spa just waiting for me to show up.

1)  Food.   Main Dining Room – unbelievably bad.  Again, we are old school – We used to like going to the same table, with the same staff every night.  We liked the late dining because we then have time for a hot shower after being in port all day.  We don’t feel as rushed, and in the past, our staff has been professional and relaxed as well.  We always felt the service was better for late dining.

But on Celebration, every item I ordered save one or two things (for the entire week) was overcooked, and had been sitting under a heat lamp for a great deal of time.  The only thing that was melting with the famouns melting cake was the ice cream.  I have never had overcooked and dry melting cake before.  It was only a poorly overcooked and very dry chocolate cake at that point.  The Strawberry bisque, that was so graciously removed with the ridiculous menu change – now has a great deal of slimy chia seeds that is unpleasant on the palate and tastes highly artificial – Shall we talk the Striploin steak?  (Let’s not).  It was so bad – the flavor, the texture, the cook – that it had to be sent back. Twice.  The prime rib rub is not a good one.  When something “fried” sits for a long period of time near something wet (like lettuce) the fried part becomes soggy.  Shrimp Cocktail was even warm.  What happened to the tablecloths?  What happened to the edible bread selection?  The mushroom soup was ok flavor-wise, but again, had been either not been pureed enough (or too much) it was unpleasant on the palate.  It doesn’t take much to overcook shrimp, so if they are going to sit for long periods of time, either under cook them, or don’t serve them.  The calamari – inedible.  Unless you like chewing on rubber bands.  How do you destroy swordfish – overcook it!  Unless it was a dish that was slathered in a sauce on serving, EVERYTHING was overcooked.  The short ribs, and the lobster (thankfully) were done well.  We were constantly served the wrong dish – they weren’t paying attention as to who ordered what – and the service was incredibly off.  Our poor head waiter had one hell of a time working his ipad/iphone in taking orders.  Trying to get a water refill was impossible.  One night, we got bread AFTER our main course. And the dining room was empty! That didn’t make sense to us.

I have never been more grateful to Guy Fieri and Shaquille O’Neal for at least offering some quality food somewhere.  I wish I’d tried Chabang sooner.  I did also appreciate a nice salad up on Serenity, one afternoon – Lord knows your buffet has a lot to be desired.  What happened to the selections there?  The desserts?  C’mon guys.

[marci4tony]

So, it appears to me that the intent to give your passenger a variety of other offerings, that they lost your focus with dining.  If I wanted a choice of specialty restaurants to dine at, I could have taken an NCL or RC cruise. But no, I chose Carnival because you have set a high standard in the past that met, sometimes exceeded my expectations.  The quantity over quality appears to have bit you hard.

2)       Cruise Director Lee?  I think I saw him twice!  I kept telling my party how awesome he was, and although was promoted to a bigger and better position, we would have fun with him on our journey.  Twice.  I heard him more often than I saw him.  Twice.

3)       Some of the musicians were stellar!  Some of them, not so much.  If a string player cannot tell they are out of tune, perhaps they should be playing the drums?  The piano bar guy was ok – but nothing memorable.  One of the guitar players (possibly your Carnival House band – did not even act like he wanted to be there.  And it shows.  One thing about performers – you have to engage your crowd, or you will let them down!  If they look bored on stage, why would the audience “stay”?  Its not enough to just play the notes.  (drummer was stellar, keys player was awesome too)

4)       I’m not sure if the increased presence of security was more alarming, or made me feel more secure…  The jury is still out on that.  There was a LOT of “devils lettuce” smoked on that cruise.  So much for the drug puppy at embarkation.

5)       The cabins are considerably more narrow – It’s difficult to walk around the edge of the bed (which was directly under the TV in our cabin) without stubbing your toe or doing the side step shuffle. If that was a room on land, it certainly would not meet fire safety requirements.  

6)       Stage set up for Carnival Central – I know, I shouldn’t beat the dead horse, and it was probably a great idea on paper.  But wow…  Line of sight?  Does that strike any bells?  One cannot see the entire “show” unless they are in a few key seats.  And I watched people save places for over an hour on big show nights.   Were the shows worth it?  Possibly.  I didn’t wait around for over an hour for a seat in which I could see the show.  If I couldn’t see what was going on, I got up and left (twice) – I mean, the Piano Bar and Alchemy (thank you Raymond)  had pretty good entertainment as well.

 

In hindsight, I can go to a resort in the Keys, have amazing clean and spacious lodging, go to a theme park (for a drive) and do my own excursions, and eat at McDonalds and IHOP or an expensive steakhouse (or any other restaurant I choose) for vacation.  Why would I cruise with Carnival again?  Perhaps they have been overthinking the definition of fun.  I guarantee - - I am not alone.|

Edited November 27, 2023 by marci4tony

[Drazil65]

Thank you for your honest assessment and opinion of your Celebration cruise, it is appreciated.  Sounds like you might be in the "the bigger ships are not for me" group possibly, there are many that feel the same way as you. The bigger ship class is not for everyone for sure

 

Your vacation time and funds are important and you should have what is essential to you and your family in order to have a great time.  Many things have changed these last few years and those changes (ie: like no tablecloths in MDR among others) are not going to meet all expectations but are important enough to consider when making vacation plans.   It comes down to making choices and what you can or cannot deal with when it comes to taking a cruise vacation.  At least now you have a comparison and information to decide for the future.  Thank you again for your feedback and good luck with whatever choices you make in the future,  

[marci4tony]

If it were only about the tablecloths....  😞  

 

[marci4tony]

I was asked about mobility scooters independently - 

 

There were several scooters - the elevators, only one at a time, obviously.  They never seemed to bother anyone, they never appeared (to me) to be in anyone's way.  They would park them in the hall across or nearby the cabin and it did not feel like there wasn't enough room - even in the eating areas.   We did move some furniture around in the Sports Bar area (Guys Pig/Anchor restaurant area)  In general, people were very gracious to those on scooters.  

[MPH711]

I’ve seen the same cut backs you have. It’s a shame. The buffet is incredibly small for that size ship (and it’s small now on their other ships as well). When they stopped having tablecloths in the main dining room I understood it saved a lot of time and wash loads but unfortunately the dining room has more of a banquet hall look to it. When you go on a different cruise line you really notice how beautiful the dining room looks with the tablecloths. It also feels like a more upscale dining experience. 

Edited November 27, 2023 by MPH711

[jimbo5544]

Thanks for the review.  All opinions count and are valid.  If you did not enjoy the Celebration to the extent you mention then you should look elsewhere.  For us the Celebration was a fantastic time.  Been on her and her sister 3 times and 3 more scheduled.  We have never thought of cruising as “all-inclusive” and frankly think the food on ships (specifically Carnival) is better than almost every single AI we have ever been to, but that is us.  I hope you find a better fit for your next trip.  

 

 

[jimbo5544]

12 hours ago, MPH711 said:

I’ve seen the same cut backs you have. It’s a shame. The buffet is incredibly small for that size ship (and it’s small now on their other ships as well). When they stopped having tablecloths in the main dining room I understood it saved a lot of time and wash loads but unfortunately the dining room has more of a banquet hall look to it. When you go on a different cruise line you really notice how beautiful the dining room looks with the tablecloths. It also feels like a more upscale dining experience. 

How big a buffet do they need?  The real shame is that Carnival was forced to shut down for 19 months  in a draconian move that put them 28 billion in the hole.  That is billion with B.  The cutbacks, or economies you describe are the result.  The ENTIRE industry is trying to recover from this mess.  People vote with their wallets, if some are unhappy, spend somewhere else, that said, bookings have never been better.  People continue and want to experience the FUN, we are part of that group.  If you want we can discuss this “better” dining experience you describe, but were so vague on.  Start a thread, will be happy to discuss further. 

 

 

[jimbo5544]

13 hours ago, Drazil65 said:

Thank you for your honest assessment and opinion of your Celebration cruise, it is appreciated.  

Are positive reviews dishonest?  😁😂😉

[bmraar]

20 hours ago, marci4tony said:

2)       Cruise Director Lee?  I think I saw him twice!  I kept telling my party how awesome he was, and although was promoted to a bigger and better position, we would have fun with him on our journey.  Twice.  I heard him more often than I saw him.  Twice.

We were on this cruise as well, and this was my number one issue.  Cruise directors are important parts of cruising to us.  We are joiners, we love the activities.  I had heard how great Lee was, but we did not see him.  Even the major events onboard, he wasn't present.  Did not attend the white party.  Did not host Deal or No Deal.  Announced the DJ for the Evolution Party and then left, so even when the fun squad was featured he was not there.  It was odd.  I don't have anything negative to say about him, I just wish I saw him.