Two weeks ago I was returning from an 8-day Eastern Caribbean cruise on Carnival’s Mardi Gras and today I’m onboard the Carnival Celebration for a 7-day Eastern Caribbean Cruise out of PortMiami. This is my second cruise on Celebration, the first being a 7-day Western Caribbean cruise in April 2023.
Like my cruise on the Mardi Gras, this cruise was comped as a last-minute casino offer. When I say last minute, I mean it! The offer for this cruise appeared just 20 hours before the cruise was to depart, so some quick laundry and packing were in order once I confirmed my booking.
The offer was for an inside stateroom which I was charged a $100 room fee which was reimbursed by $100 in onboard credit, making it free, however, I paid $144 in port taxes and fees for a standard inside cabin.
I’ll discuss these offers later in this Day 1 report.
The ports of call for this adventure include Amber Cove, Dominican Republic; San Juan, Puerto Rico; St. Thomas, USVI; and three days at sea.
My boarding pass and luggage tags did not display a stateroom assignment since this was so last minute, so when I arrived at the terminal, I wasn’t able to check my bags at the curb because I was not on the passenger manifest. So bags in hand, I headed inside the terminal to see what was up.
After a bit of confusion by the port agents, they were able to give me a revised boarding pass with my stateroom number on it, however, I required some additional “handling” as I went through the check-in process.
A Carnival agent escorted me through security, where guests were placed in two rows with luggage and carry-ons placed on the floor. Once everyone was situated, drug dogs were walked by to sniff everyone’s baggage. If the dog sat down next to your bag, you were taken to have your luggage searched. Carnival recently started using these drug dogs at select ports and are also placing them on some ships to help crack down on marijuana and other drug use.
Oh, and in case you’re wondering… the dog sat down in front of two sets of luggage and those folks were taken to have their bags searched.
Once through the dog’s sniff test, I was escorted through security and then given secondary screening which included a pat-down. From there I was escorted to the gangway and with a scan of my boarding pass I was on the ship.
My first stop was to drop off my luggage at my stateroom up on deck 9 and was met with a surprise – my room was made up as two lower and one upper berth. This was due to the family who originally were booked in this room received an upgrade but the stateroom attendant was not made aware of it. After tracking him down, he said he would reconfigure it later in the evening.
This inside stateroom (9364), as I said, includes a king bed that converts to two twins and has one upper berth. It’s also a connecting stateroom. Like all the staterooms in the Excel-class (Mardi Gras, Celebration, and the soon-to-be-launched Jubilee), power outlets and USB ports are abundant. Single USB ports are located on either side of the bed and at the upper berth. Three power outlets and four USB ports are located on the desk area.
The bathroom features a roomy shower with a glass door however, the toilet area is very tight. In both the inside and balcony staterooms I’ve stayed in on Celebration and Mardi Gras, the bathrooms are equally small and may be a bit of an inconvenience for those larger guests.
Closet space and under-bed storage are abundant and more than adequate for two people.
Once unpacked, I headed to my assigned muster station to check-in. Since the restart after COVID, Carnival rolled out a new muster process that simply requires you to visit your assigned station, have your sign-and-sail card signed, and that’s it. If you need instruction on how to put on a life jacket they will provide it, but the muster drill is really no longer a thing on Carnival.
Sail away was 4:00 pm and we left on time, the first of four ships to depart PortMiami. The other three included the Carnival Horizon, MSC Seascape, and Norwegian Escape. During the sail away, the cruise director announced that there are 6,374 passengers on this sailing and it shows.
With Florida schools now out for the summer, the ship is packed with families and tons of kids. Tons of them. Celebration accommodates 5,374 passengers in lower berths, at full capacity the ship can hold a maximum of 6,500 – so this is pretty much a fully packed ship.
Around the ship, people were already daring to take a walk on the ropes course that is suspended above the 18th deck with a plank that extends over the side of the ship giving those who dare to venture out a great look straight down into the deep blue sea.
BOLT, the first (actually, second) rollercoaster at sea was taking guests on a $15 spin around the ship’s iconic funnel. I rode this the first time I was on Celebration and if you’re looking for real coaster thrills, you won’t find it here. The battery-driven cars travel twice around a short track at speeds up to 40mph.
While wandering around, I couldn’t help but notice that someone felt the need to dispose of their kid’s dirty diaper in a hallway. Granted, trash receptacles are non-existent for the most part, but restrooms are just about everywhere.
Before heading off to Bonsai Teppanyaki for dinner, I stopped by the casino to try my luck, and as usual, I had none. If I had a 50/50 shot at winning a jackpot or getting killed by lightning inside a building while it’s snowing outside, lightning would win.
However, as I mentioned earlier I’m on this cruise as part of a casino offer, which means that in order to keep getting invites for free cruises, free drink packages, etc., you have to drop “something” in the casino.
Carnival is very generous with its offers and in my case, I’m not a huge gambler and I’m not dropping thousands in the casino like some people are. Of course, those people are getting free balcony staterooms or suites, while I’m getting inside stateroom offers.
The free room offers will come if you spend money in the casino and will get better the more you spend. You should start to see them shortly after you return from your cruise and change frequently. Once you’re onboard, if you rack up a certain number of points, calculated on how much money you cycle through slot machines or table play, you’ll receive free drinks while you play.
If you typically gamble while on a cruise, make sure you track your play by using your sign-and-sail card and keep an eye on your email and your account on the cruise line’s website for offers.
My current free room casino offers are not ones that most cruisers can take advantage of, as they typically are for cruises that depart within 2 to 5 days, which makes them a true last-minute offer.
Friends of mine, get free balcony room offers for cruises out more than a year, so spending more will get you those better offers. Just remember, bet with your head… not over it!
Entertainment in Celebration Central, the ship’s atrium three-level show room with horrible sight lines, was a preview of some of the entertainment we can expect to see during the cruise.
Off to dinner at Bonsai Teppanyaki, which I call the best specialty dining value on the ship. For $38 you get an insane amount of food which includes six different types of dessert plus the added entertainment from your Teppanyaki chef as he/she cooks your meal in front of you.
The other specialty restaurants on board – Fahrenheit 555 Steakhouse and Rudi’s Seagrill – charge $48 per person, while Emeri’s Bistro 1397 is ala carte, so the $38 for Bonsai is a great deal.
Upon returning to my room, it was reset to just one bed, although I secretly did want to try out the top bunk!
We’re currently heading to the Carnival-developed port of Amber Cove which I was unable to experience on the Mardi Gras cruise but will be excited to check out on Tuesday, so be sure to stick around.
FunTimes for June 4, 2023:
The FunTimes for June 4, 2023, is also available as a PDF.