Carnival Celebration Eastern Caribbean Cruise Review – Day 2: August 25, 2025

Day 2 onboard Carnival Celebration was spent at sea as we make our way toward the first port of call on this 7-day Eastern Caribbean cruise—Grand Turk in the Turks and Caicos.

As a quick note before diving in: I’ve already written extensive day-by-day reviews of Carnival Celebration, so to avoid being repetitive, this week’s coverage will be focused on the highlights and lowlights. If you want the full, detailed walk-throughs from my previous cruises on this ship, you’ll find those linked below:

• Carnival Celebration Western Caribbean Cruise – April 2023
• Carnival Celebration Eastern Caribbean Cruise – June 2023
• Carnival Celebration Southern Caribbean Cruise – July 2023
• Carnival Celebration Eastern Caribbean Cruise – February 2024
• Carnival Celebration Western Caribbean Cruise – October 2024
• Carnival Celebration Eastern Caribbean Cruise – June 2025

Breakfast: From Brunch to Biscuits

Sea days always mean one thing in the main dining room—Sea Day Brunch. For anyone who wants a slower start to the morning with table service, it’s a great option. The menu mixes traditional breakfast with lunch-style entrées, so you can pair pancakes with a burger if that’s your thing.

But if you wanted to grab something quick and claim your favorite Lido deck chair (but don’t be a chair hog, please), the casual options around the ship are your friend:

• Lido Marketplace buffet for the traditional breakfast staples like eggs, pancakes, cold cuts, bacon every other day (yes, this is a thing with Carnival) and more.
• Guy’s Pig & Anchor Smokehouse serves up a limited breakfast buffet if you want to avoid the chaos of the Lido Marketplace, this is a great spot to head to on Deck 8, but it closes early so don’t dilly-dally!
• BlueIguana Cantina with fresh breakfast burritos (always a crowd-pleaser).
• Shaq’s Big Chicken, where the chicken biscuit sandwiches are a fan favorite.

Whether you’re a sit-down brunch person or just looking to grab a bite beforehitting the pool, there’s no shortage of breakfast choices – and they’re all free.

Upcharges Keep Expanding

As I mentioned during my June sailing, Carnival continues to expand upcharge food options across Celebration and the fleet. While cruising still comes with plenty of complimentary food, the line between “included” and “extra cost” has gotten blurrier over time.

Two new additions that I first noticed in June:

• Masala Tiger – carved out of part of the buffet, this new Indian station is open at lunch and dinner. The menu includes masala fried shrimp ($10), tandoori lobster ($28), an Indian sampler with seabass, shrimp, chicken, and lamb ($30), and desserts for $2.
• Empanada & Pie – offering both savory and sweet hand pies. Empanadas are $1.50 each, 4 for $6, or 6 for $8. Pulled pork pies are $2, and dessert-style pies are available as well.

Another notable addition? Chicken wings. You’ll find them during the day at Street Eats on Deck 16 and in the evening at Guy’s Pig & Anchor Smokehouse. Prices aren’t exactly cheap, but the cost of wings just about everywhere has reached ridiculous heights—$6 for 6, $9 for 10, $13 for 15, $17 for 20, and $19 for 24—but they looked good, and I saw plenty of trays being carried off to tables.

Of course, these aren’t the only for-purchase bites onboard. The Seafood Shack has long been a favorite, with lobster rolls, fried shrimp, and clams. Emeril’s Bistro 1397, available only on the Excel-class ships, offers New Orleans-style dishes à la carte. Add in the usual specialty restaurants—Bonsai Teppanyaki ($49), Bonsai Sushi (a la carte), Rudi’s Seagrill ($52), and Fahrenheit 555 Steakhouse ($52)—and it’s clear Carnival is leaning harder into giving guests more paid options.  Heck, even the free pizza place now has two $6 upcharge pizzas, a teriyaki one and a Korean steak BBQ pie.

That said, you won’t go hungry without spending an extra dime. Complimentary favorites include Guy’s Burger Joint, Shaq’s Big Chicken, BlueIguana Cantina, the rotating stalls at Street Eats, the deli, pizza counter, Lido Marketplace, and the main dining room. Plus, both Cucina del Capitano and Chibang are included once per cruise (with additional visits costing $8 per person).

Elegant Night & The Main Dining Room Menu

Tonight is the first elegant night of the cruise, and a special menu is being served in the ship’s main dining room.  On 7-day cruises, there are usually two elegant nights which are held on the first and last sea day.  Elegant night number one, doesn’t include the lobster tail that people stand in line for, that’s saved for Elegant night number two.  Number one has a special menu, but there really isn’t anything “notable” on it.  You can check it out below:

Oh, and were people dressed up?  Remarkably, I did not see a large number of people dressing up!  Usually large family groups will and then hit up the various photo opps around the ship, but not tonight.  There were still a good number of people in shorts walking around in the evening.  Say what you want about that and it often sparks debate, but it is what it is.  Dress codes aren’t really enforced any more and as long as a thong doesn’t show up in the dining room, nobody is going to turn you away.  So wear what makes you comfortable.

Dinner at Fahrenheit 555 Steakhouse

For dinner, I headed to Fahrenheit 555 Steakhouse—not just because it’s one of my favorite spots onboard, but because of the new addition that’s made an appearance on the menu: the $25 Wagyu Cheeseburger.

First, a bit about the steakhouse itself. On Carnival’s Excel-class ships, Fahrenheit 555 sits on Deck 7, and it’s one of the most upscale dining venues onboard. The room feels more intimate than the main dining spaces, with low lighting, white tablecloths, and attentive service. It’s a spot where people come to celebrate special occasions or just treat themselves, and it usually books up quickly. The cover charge is $52 per person, which includes a three-course meal (appetizer, entrée, and dessert).

Now, about that burger.

The Wagyu Cheeseburger has shown up on multiple menus around the ship, but the steakhouse version is the most indulgent. Here, the patty is 16oz—two ounces larger than the versions offered in the main dining room, Cucina del Capitano, or Chibang. The toppings are the same: aged cheddar, bacon, lettuce, tomato, pickles, and crispy onions, all served on a toasted brioche bun with seasoned fries.

But here’s where it gets interesting.

The burger isn’t included in the $52 steakhouse cover. It’s an additional $25 upcharge. That means if you go to the steakhouse specifically for the burger, your total cost ends up at $81.50 once you factor in gratuity. For a cheeseburger.  However, you do get to choose an additional entree, so the cost is a little easier to “digest.”

So… was it worth it?

The burger was huge—easily the size of two normal burgers stacked together. The Wagyu beef had good flavor, very, almost too juicy but not greasy, and the toppings worked together to add crunch and sharpness without overpowering the meat. However, the brioche bun did not hold up under the weight of it all.  After a few bites, the burger became a wet, sloppy mess.  When dining in a steakhouse, the last thing you want to do is wear more than you eat.

The fries?  An abomination. Limp, mushy… oh, and they’re the fries from Guy’s Burger Joint!  So if you like them, I’m sorry, they are just awful.  I commented to the chef about the fries and he brought over some fresh-fried crinkle cut fries which were so much better than the Guy’s Burger’s limpy excuse for fries.

Taste-wise, it was very good. It was just a hot mess to eat.

But then there’s the price tag.

$81.50 for a cheeseburger dinner is steep, no matter how you slice it. For comparison, you can get a 24oz Porterhouse for $35. That seems like better value than the burger.

Still, I understand why Carnival added it. For guests who want to dine at the steakhouse with their group but aren’t in the mood for steak or seafood, the burger provides an option. And for those curious enough to splurge once, it’s a fun one-time experience. Personally, I’m glad I tried it—but I wouldn’t order it again on a future sailing.

I Tried the Carnival Cruise Line $25 Wagyu Cheeseburger. Should You?

Oh, and in addition to the burger, I also enjoyed some tuna tartare, a young lettuce salad, and got a second entree of some grilled shrimp, and rounded out the meal with some fresh fruit.  All were delicious and service, as always, was on-point.

Wrapping Up Day 2

Sea days are always a great chance to relax, explore, and eat your way around the ship. Today’s report highlighted a shift in the cruise dining experience: upcharges are becoming more common, and Carnival is no exception. From Indian dishes at Masala Tiger to empanadas, wings, and now Wagyu cheeseburgers, the line is moving toward more à la carte choices.

Some cruisers love it—they enjoy the variety and don’t mind paying a little extra for something different. Others feel it’s nickel-and-diming and long for the days when nearly everything was included.

For me? I’m somewhere in the middle. I’ll happily try these things once, especially if it’s new, but I’m also perfectly content grabbing a few chicken tenders at Shaq’z Big Chicken,  some tacos from BlueIguana, or a late-night slice of pizza.

Tomorrow we’ll be in Grand Turk, so stay tuned for the next update.  As always, thanks for following along!