At 43,0000 GRT, the Celebration is the smallest ship I've sailed on. It seemed barely larger than the Navy cutter that accompanied us out of Galveston. A fast moving hurricane had cut across our bows mere days before, but we had beautiful weather and calm seas. The ship was quite smooth for one so small - we seldom noticed any motion whatsoever.
We were originally scheduled for the same week on Carnival's new megaship Conquest, out of New Orleans. However, the 5-day Celebration cruise was half the price and actually had more hours in port. As a side benefit, we were able to upgrade to outside cabins.
This ship was typical Carnival...in miniature. It had all the requisite parts - brashy loud Cruise Director (a distant cousin of stuntman Evil Kneivel), excellent show band, decent nightclub bands, off-color comedian, and adequate but plain buffet selection. Yet, due to the size, it more of a "small-town fair" feel rather than a Las Vegas feel. We liked it.
Amenities? Well, yes but few. The health club had only a few machines, and there were no steam rooms. The two hot tubs were never quite hot enough. The dining rooms were fine, but difficult to get to until one remembered the routes. The pool area was nice, and the tables were seldom full. The announcements, heard poolside, were unintelligible, which may have been a blessing. The theater had good lines of sight from most seats, and was quite large.
The cabins were acceptable and moderately large. The 3rd berth was like a Pullman bed in a train, which gave us a nice open floor area.The room service selection was good, and service was prompt. The ship had undergone a refurbishment earlier in the year, so the carpet, drapes, and other linens were still in good shape.
Our dining room staff were excellent. In particular, our waiter "I Made" (pronounced ih-mah-dey) was an absolute joy. He always had a friendly smile, and made paper and napkin animals for my daughters.
The food on this cruise may well have been the best I've had on any cruise. My teenage sons both came to every dinner, where normally they just eat in the buffet so they don't have to dress up. On a number of occasions, we ordered multiple entrees or appetizers. The escargots were tasty and had no grit. The chateaubriand, a cut of meat not normally found in American steakhouses, was the best I've had, well, since Shanghai, 18 years previous. For an extremely low-budget cruise, I was impressed. With the amount my sons ate, they had to be losing money on us.
Copyright © 2008 by Dana Cline
Last updated on 7/8/2008
Website hosted by 1and1