Celebration - just back yesterday

[Frank12]

I was apprehensive about sailing on a ship this old and small. Many of the posts and reviews on CC eased my mind a little, prior to sailing.

Let me say that within an hour of being onboard, I was totally at ease.

 

If you look real close you can tell she is an older vessel, but is in great shape and is very clean. The staff and crew were wonderful. The food, as always, was excellent. The shows were very entertaining and the ship did not seem crowded - even on sea days. Remarkably - NO CHAIR HOGS!

 

The only lines were during the lunch hour at the buffet, but they moved quickly. If you didn't feel like standing in line all you had to do was go get a drink at the bar and wait about 20 minutes or so and they were gone.

 

I have now sailed all classes of Carnival Ships except the Destiny. I have read it on here many times and have to agree - ANY CRUISE IS A GOOD CRUISE.

 

If any of you are concerned with sailing one of the smaller ships, don't have a second thought. A cruise is what YOU make of it. The Celebration exceeded my expectations.:)

[poptart]

Thanks for the heads up! We just booked the Celebration last week. We were on the Holiday in March and loved it and are looking forward to our 5 days on the Celebration.

[Breezybreeze]

Thanks of the post. We are sailing on her next month. This is our first cruise. We have heard alot of good things about The Celebration. One more good thing about her is great.:D Sounds like we should have a great time. Just one question did you feel the ship moves alot? My DH is easly sea sick (why we have never gone on a cruise before). I have been told that it moves more then the bigger, but I have nothing to compare that too. What do you think?

 

 

Happy Sailing:cool:

 

June 21, 2007

[Frank12]

Thanks of the post. We are sailing on her next month. This is our first cruise. We have heard alot of good things about The Celebration. One more good thing about her is great.:D Sounds like we should have a great time. Just one question did you feel the ship moves alot? My DH is easly sea sick (why we have never gone on a cruise before). I have been told that it moves more then the bigger, but I have nothing to compare that too. What do you think?

 

 

Happy Sailing:cool:

 

June 21, 2007

I did notice slight movement that I did not feel on the larger class vessels. I would not classify it as "a lot". We did, however, have some fairly windy conditions. By the time our summer weather patterns set in and the end of June rolls around the Atlantic between here and the Bahamas is usally as smooth as a lake. Just keep your fingers crossed and hope for no tropical systems....that changes everything. Good Luck!

[Creole Girl]

Thank you for your input. Will be sailing in July and I can't wait. As you have said, any cruise is a good cruise.

[sassafrass]

WE are going on a mother/daughter cruise in February. How was the food? How were your ports? TIA!

[Frank12]

The food was very good, as always, on Carnival. I highly recommend eating in the dining room every night. It is excellent.

The buffet is good, but not as good as the dining room.

The pizza is great and the salad bar was too.

For desert....you cannot do a Carnival cruise without trying the choclate melting cake. It is to die for.

 

Our Ports were Freeport and Nassau. Having been to each several times, we just went to the beach on our own at Freeport and did a little shopping then went back to the boat and hung out at the pool at Nassau. If you check the Bahamas thread under ports of call, I'm sure you'll find some great recommendations for shore excursions, etc.

[tigerdadky]

The celebration is truely a lovely little ship. I just fell for her real quick. You can almost see from one end to the other when your on the deck with the lounges. It dont have all the whistles and bells and might not be the best ship with kids but I think its just perfect for couples, especially the over 40s crowd. I wished carnival would consider building a new small cruise ship but I guess it wouldnt be feasible for them. There is no doubt once the Jaxport cruise terminal moves and they can accommodate larger ships the celebration will either be docked or sold. If you can't enjoy yourself on the celebration, cruisin aint for u.

[Breezybreeze]

Thanks for the quick reply Frank12, I have already been praying for great weather those days.:p Want this to be a great experience for my DH, So I can book the next cruise:D

 

 

Thanks again,

 

 

Happy cruising:cool:

[Tigeress297]

Thanks for the review!! We are book on her the end of July! Have been a bit worried since she is an older smaller ship, but like you said it is what you make it!

 

Hopefully we will enjoy her also since it is only a 4 hr drive for us this would be a great little ship for a quick cruise when we could fit it in!

[1sttimerhere]

Celebration. I loved you so much. I am glad others do as well! :D

[FRIZZYAAF]

Frank 12- Thanks for your input. We are sailing on The Celebration on July 23rd. How were the bars and night entertainment??

[adamt]

sailing on her the 28th. have heard nothing but beaming reports from cruise vets and first timers alike.

 

i'm SO looking fwd to it.

[DqALEX]

I was apprehensive about sailing on a ship this old and small. Many of the posts and reviews on CC eased my mind a little, prior to sailing.

Let me say that within an hour of being onboard, I was totally at ease.

 

If you look real close you can tell she is an older vessel, but is in great shape and is very clean. The staff and crew were wonderful. The food, as always, was excellent. The shows were very entertaining and the ship did not seem crowded - even on sea days. Remarkably - NO CHAIR HOGS!

 

The only lines were during the lunch hour at the buffet, but they moved quickly. If you didn't feel like standing in line all you had to do was go get a drink at the bar and wait about 20 minutes or so and they were gone.

 

I have now sailed all classes of Carnival Ships except the Destiny. I have read it on here many times and have to agree - ANY CRUISE IS A GOOD CRUISE.

 

If any of you are concerned with sailing one of the smaller ships, don't have a second thought. A cruise is what YOU make of it. The Celebration exceeded my expectations.:)

Frank welcome back. I agree 100% about the Celebration. I never felt crowed on that ship. Its a very nice ship to take a cruise on. IM booked again for the August 25 cruise. The Celebration is my go to ship

[jbhcw]

things about the Celebration:) Getting excited about our anniversary cruise. As long as they have a pool-chair, the dining room, my cabin, a little entertainment - I'm happy. I think I have sailed all the Carnival class ships except the Celebration, we are really looking forward to November.:)

[Retired Man]

Is chair hogs a problem on Celebration. Anyone had any experience with this problem?

[Retired Man]

Disregard previous post....found my answer in Frank12's post!!

[DqALEX]

Is chair hogs a problem on Celebration. Anyone had any experience with this problem?

I have never seen a problem on the Celebration with chair hogs

[Frank12]

Frank 12- Thanks for your input. We are sailing on The Celebration on July 23rd. How were the bars and night entertainment??

 

We didn't really spend any time in the bars at night. The wife and I like the sun, so most of my drinks were purchased at the pool deck bars. Don't miss the bloody mary specials each morning! Our bartender was very liberal with the vodka.

 

The Astoria lounge shows were good. I've seen better, but I've seen a lot worse. Same with the comedians. We had a juggler/comedian who did more jokes than juggling. Really enjoyed him. He was very entertaining.

All in all I would rate the entertainment as good. Worth seeing - not a waste of time.

[Djptcp]

DH and I will sail on the Celebration this Saturday for the 5-day cruise -- our 30th anniversary celebration. We sailed on her twice last year and enjoyed it very much. It's not as luxurious as the HAL Zuiderdam we sailed on in December, but it's comfortable, clean, good food, and we like the smaller ships. We live in Lake City, FL where the raging fires are right now, so getting out of town for some fresh sea air is just the ticket!

 

Carnival - 1995, 1998, 2006, 2006, 2007, 2007

Holland America - 2004, 2006

NCL - 1994, 1996, 1997, 2003

Royal Caribbean - 2002

[poptart]

DH and I will sail on the Celebration this Saturday for the 5-day cruise -- our 30th anniversary celebration. We sailed on her twice last year and enjoyed it very much. It's not as luxurious as the HAL Zuiderdam we sailed on in December, but it's comfortable, clean, good food, and we like the smaller ships. We live in Lake City, FL where the raging fires are right now, so getting out of town for some fresh sea air is just the ticket!

 

Carnival - 1995, 1998, 2006, 2006, 2007, 2007

Holland America - 2004, 2006

NCL - 1994, 1996, 1997, 2003

Royal Caribbean - 2002

 

How far/long is the drive from Lake City to the port in Jax? We are considering staying overnight there when we head to our cruise in Sept.

 

Thanks for any info!! We just want a clean bed and a shower for the night.

[beloum]

I was apprehensive about sailing on a ship this old and small. Many of the posts and reviews on CC eased my mind a little, prior to sailing.

Let me say that within an hour of being onboard, I was totally at ease.

 

If you look real close you can tell she is an older vessel, but is in great shape and is very clean. The staff and crew were wonderful. The food, as always, was excellent. The shows were very entertaining and the ship did not seem crowded - even on sea days. Remarkably - NO CHAIR HOGS!

 

The only lines were during the lunch hour at the buffet, but they moved quickly. If you didn't feel like standing in line all you had to do was go get a drink at the bar and wait about 20 minutes or so and they were gone.

 

I have now sailed all classes of Carnival Ships except the Destiny. I have read it on here many times and have to agree - ANY CRUISE IS A GOOD CRUISE.

 

If any of you are concerned with sailing one of the smaller ships, don't have a second thought. A cruise is what YOU make of it. The Celebration exceeded my expectations.:)

 

Frank12,

I had a question you may be able to help me with. I sailed on the Celebration 1 1/2 years ago and loved it. We have just booked again for 9/8 One of the things which made our trip so enjoyable was Josef the Maitre'd in the Horizon dining room. I have heard he is still on the ship, but was wondering if you could tell me if he is in the Horizon or Vista Dining room. Thanks a lot.

[NurseBeth]

Frank12,

I had a question you may be able to help me with. I sailed on the Celebration 1 1/2 years ago and loved it. We have just booked again for 9/8 One of the things which made our trip so enjoyable was Josef the Maitre'd in the Horizon dining room. I have heard he is still on the ship, but was wondering if you could tell me if he is in the Horizon or Vista Dining room. Thanks a lot.

 

Beloum,

I know I'm not Frank ;) but my fiance' & I sailed on the Celebration this past December, and we had Josef for our Matre'D! He is awesome! He was in the Vista dining room. We all loved him so much he was actually signing autographs on our complementary Celebration "watercolor" photos they passed out on the last night of dinner. :)

[tigerdadky]

Chair Hogs were a major problem on my celebration cruise, but it was also a spring break week and lots of kids onboard. If the parents were just half as good as their kids, I dont think chair hogging would have been a problem. The kids on the cruise were having a great time, it was their parents who had chairs saved for the whole family who never used them. But I was on a cruise and on a lovely ship so the chair hogs didnt ruin my cruise.

[marym933]

How far/long is the drive from Lake City to the port in Jax? We are considering staying overnight there when we head to our cruise in Sept.

 

Thanks for any info!! We just want a clean bed and a shower for the night.

 

Lake City is just a little more than an hour from Jacksonville, straight across I-10. There are some nice motels in Orange Park, Mandarin and at Jax Beach. They are also about an hour from the port.

 

Good luck to those in Lake City - I'm hoping for a lot of rain!