The Celebration is almost over.

[BARBARA J.W.]

Hey Barbara,

 

We were expecting to see you and some of the other Celebration addicts on the final cruise. Guess it didn't work out for everybody.

We'll post any pictures if they do anything exciting for the final sailing.

 

72 hours to go!

 

Have a great cruise......

By the time I was ready to book,

The price was to high for a solo cruiser......

Also my work,we have a staff member out sick,,,

So I have been working my hours plus

some of hers,,So it would have not been good

for the other staff members,

If I was gone on a cruise.

 

I'll be cruising on the GLORY-9/13/08..

I am hoping JOSEPH will be there....

I ask him when I was on the Celebration dec/07-

Jan/08=BTB WHat ship he was going to, he said

the Glory...........

HAPPY CRUISING.........

[onejeepster]

I do like the newer larger ships but their is so much more to say about the smaller ships. We found that the Celebration food was much better, staff was great and you actually got to meet a lot of people on the ship that you met every day. Getting on and off the ship was super fast. I made a point last year to book this ship as I knew it was leaving the fleet and I am glad I had a chance to sail on her.

 

Dave

[Vidimom]

Darn, I was hoping Joseph would head over to the Valor and be on our cruise!

 

My DD and I took a girls cruise in December and it was WONDERFUL!!! We had a blast and a lot of great memories!

 

The whole crew were fantastic! I have sailed on 8 other Carnival cruises and the crew on this little gem was by far the best! I hope some of those wonderful people will join us on the Valor!

 

Here are a few of our pictures!

[onejeepster]

Talk about a small world, our cabin steward Ricky on the Celebration last year was also our cabin steward this year on the Liberty.

 

Dave

[IKE]

We also sailed the "Celebration" our 2nd cruise in January 1991. Loved the Ship and made friends with our tablemates from Michigan and are still in touch with them and have cruised with them twice since then. It was one of our best cruises and as of this past March have sailed 62 times. We sail the "Miracle" in Sept. and that is also a lovely ship. We have sailed Carnival 10 times so far and have enjoyed every cruise. Sorry to hear it is at the end of its sailings.......

[obx_fintoo]

I'll be cruising on the GLORY-9/13/08..

I am hoping JOSEPH will be there....

 

Hey Barb! Some who just got back today confirmed that Joseph is heading to the Glory on the 20th! Hope he'll still be there for you! I'll tell him hello for you when we sail on Monday!!

 

Look for a few live posts!:D

[Sunnyvacations]

I was on the Celebration last month for Spring Break and had a GREAT time. The ship appeared to be in good shape and the crew was SUPER.

I loved the bar on the aft and the trolley car.

[kconn]

I have a story - a few years back two of my girlfriends and I took the Celebration out of Galveston. As soon as I stepped on the ship I got that weird deja vu feeling. After walking around for a full day I finally had to ask an officer - was this the Mardi Gras? The answer was yes. I sailed the Mardi Gras when I was 12 with my family - first cruise. 23 years later, I was on her again. Sad to see her go

[travel girl23]

The Celebration was our first cruise, also, in 1999. DH and I wanted to celebrate our 25th anniversary with a cruise but had no idea which one. One morning, as we were getting ready for work, our favorite radio station offered a cruise on the Celebration out of New Orleans. The price was unheard of. We ran to the phone and made our reservation. It was our first cruise and we were hooked. The next year, the same radio station offered the same cruise itinerary but with the Inspiration, and we booked again. We are now platinum and still hooked on Carnival. We love the Celebration and feel we had the best waiter ever - Remberto. Here is a picture I took on that cruise. Travelgirl

[swscruiser]

The Celebration was our first cruise also Nov 1988. Had a booth table for 4. The other couple was from Colorado and he was an engineer for a company that made drive thru car washes. Do not remember their names, but we had a fantastic time. We only did this cruise because we were supposed to go the Cancun, However Hurricane Hugo (I think) had other ideas so our TA suggested a cruise instead. We were not sure, Thought we would be bored etc, But after more than 20 cruises since then we have never been bored once,:D

 

Keith

[OTTER]

My first cruise was on the Celebration out of New Orleans in 2000. It is still the best vacation I ever took and met great friends from California (it was their honeymoon) who we still see every few years. She will be missed!

[CheepWrent]

My first cruise was on the Celebration in the fall of 2003. I was so excited to be going on a cruise and for weeks before I sailed, my co-workers helped me count it down as they constantly saw me smiling so much that my jaws ached! They were living vicariously thru me when I returned to tell everyone of my adventure! I will never forget seeing the Celebration for the first time, when we came thru the historic strand district in Galveston, and when I stepped aboard the Celebration for the very first time being welcomed by various staff...I truly felt like royalty LOL. I was totally hooked to cruising so much so, that I have now become a part time cruise travel consultant, helping friends and family discover the cruising way of life!

 

I too, wish I could have sailed on the Celebration one last time before she departs the fleet but my work schedule would never allow me to do so. But now more than ever I am firmly committed to sailing on the Holiday before she too, leaves. However...as of last week when I was looking at her sailings, there does appear to be dates scheduled as far away as Dec. 5, 2009 on the Holiday. That is when we are wanting to sail on her. Maybe the powers that be have decided that the Holiday is the last of the original little gems and with lots of TLC and some "sprucing up" she can stay around a little longer. I can't wait to sail on the Holiday but I will surely miss the Celebration. I love reading everyone's stories about their first cruise on her!

[cuted126]

The Celebration was me and my dhs' first cruise together. Sad to see her go,she is a great ship!!!

[misssea]

I've only gone on 2 cruises. The Celebration in 1995 and the Freedom last week. Although I had a good time last week, I think I liked my last cruise better. I liked the fact that you could get outside everywhere on Celebration. There aren't too many areas where you can do that on Freedom except for Lido deck. Also, I thought the service and entertainment in the dining room was far better than Freedom. We had one waiter and one busboy per table and they really got to know us and vice versa. There were way more waiters and they all danced around the room and with the guests during "show time". In fact, we tipped our waiters but also tipped the 19 year old waiter from the next table because of how much he interacted with us. There seemed to be more singles on Celebration compared to tons of kids, families and older folks on the Freedom. We met a lot of them. I was thinking I would have liked to have sailed her one more time.

[my2yorkies]

The Celebration was my first cruise too. We sailed this past July, DH, myself and my two sons (15 & 9). Had a blast! Crew was awesome and food was absolutely delicious. The Celebration got me hooked! Next cruise is on the Holiday in June and I can hardly wait. We are taking my dad with us this time..will be his first cruise.

[mainer208]

Nice thread...our first cruise, too was on the Celebration in January 1990. First time we ever flew as well...part of a large group (that was the last time) who had been on the Holiday the prior year. We were on Empress Deck and loved the ship and just totally overwhelmed with the who experience. We did the eastern, San Juan, St. Thomas & St. Martin. Sailed her again in 1993?

 

Sad to see her go but this thread brings back some nice memories. Even though we love the balconies on the new ships, my husband often says how he loved the Celebration.

[Essiesmom]

I sailed on Celebration twice this year...Because she was leaving the fleet and it is only a two hour drive to JAX. I looked her up last night and it looks like her cruises are going to be popular in Europe, many cabin grades already sold out. I think she is the perfect size for a ship. And she was never the Mardi Gras...Mardi Gras started life as the Empress of Canada in 1961 and was scrapped in 2003. As for Holiday, I read an account on another forum that Celebration was chosen over Holiday for this cruise line because Holiday was in much worse condition and the new company wanted nothing to do with her. EM

[BARBARA J.W.]

I sailed on Celebration twice this year...Because she was leaving the fleet and it is only a two hour drive to JAX. I looked her up last night and it looks like her cruises are going to be popular in Europe, many cabin grades already sold out. I think she is the perfect size for a ship. And she was never the Mardi Gras...Mardi Gras started life as the Empress of Canada in 1961 and was scrapped in 2003. As for Holiday, I read an account on another forum that Celebration was chosen over Holiday for this cruise line because Holiday was in much worse condition and the new company wanted nothing to do with her. EM

 

 

THat's sad to hear........

I have been on the Holiday for a BTB.....

Made me think of the Celebration...

Maybe Carnival could move the Holiday

to Jax ,and she could do 3 & 4 nights..

Go to Nassau,& Freeport,maybe their

private island..Or CTN=Cruise to nowhere......

The Fascination do 4 & 5 day...

[tonythewop]

The Celebration was a pretty new ship when we took our first ever cruise together as husband and wife back in August 1988. I still remember booking a cabin category 2 guaranteed category 4. When we arrived at the port we were pleasantly surprised to have been pushed all the way to category 8 ( she was popular that year ). We did not enjoy the couple we were assigned to but , it was a great cruise with lots of great memories..still have our souvenir glasses ( ..out of real glass..go figure )

Wow...that means we've been married 20 years.. !!!

To the CELEBRATION..enjoy your new start in Europe.;)

[grneyedmustang]

The Celebration was also responsible for my cruising addiction. I met many great friends on board - in fact, one of them is coming on the cruise that I have booked on the Holiday!

 

One of the things I liked about the Celebration over the other ships is that it was a lot easier to get to the outside decks. There's something to be said about the smaller ships. I like the larger ones, but I like the smaller ones too, because I think you get to know more people on the smaller ships.

[DrTigger]

Today was the first day of the final voyage. Has anyone heard if she was given a proper "goodbye" in Jacksonville?

[DarthGrady]

Today was the first day of the final voyage. Has anyone heard if she was given a proper "goodbye" in Jacksonville?

 

Good question. I hope someone from CC is on that cruise. I would like to hear if they did anything special for her. I imagine that they would, its a special occasion when a ship enters or leaves a fleet.

[Essiesmom]

There are several CC'ers on board...Go look at the roll call. EM

[pearose]

Celebration was my kids first (and only so far) cruise and my third, but first on Carnival. My mom took the family on a 5 day cruise on the Celebration in 2002 for my son's graduation present. It was great, the kids had a wonderful time and can't wait to cruise again some day. Each cruise I try to keep notes of what we did each day to go with pictures I take and then post them on a special website detailing that particular cruise. That way the ones that went can go back any time and 're-live' the experience, and the ones that didn't get to go with us, can read and see what we did, almost as if they were there. A bit corny to most I'm sure, but I have a page for each cruise I've taken and plan to continue the tradition......

 

http://www.peanutsplace.com/celebration/celebrate.html

 

Sorry to see the Celebration go. It'll always have a special place for me, since it was the trip I got to see cruising for the first time in my kids eyes!

[SL HomeschoolMom]

Celebration was my husband's (then boyfriend) and mine first cruise, in 1989. Still the best cruise ever. Our cabin steward was amazing...he would stack change we left on the dresser by denomination. Still remember the wait staff too...whatever we ordered to drink for supper previously would be on the table when we got there...by the end of the cruise, there was a line of different choices waiting for us.

 

The only negative for us is that I had just graduated from university, and was looking for a party ship (it was the '80s:)). Most of the ship had been booked by 50th! high school reunions...still, there was still about 10% young people, so lots to have fun with.

 

Of course, now that I'm older and wiser myself, I wonder if the high school reunion attendees weren't having even more fun that I was:D

 

My husband was in Jacksonville Monday, and saw the Celebration.