It’s a sea day aboard Carnival Celebration as we make our way to our first port of call: Amber Cove in the Dominican Republic. This sailing is a 7-day Eastern Caribbean itinerary that left Miami on Sunday. Along with Amber Cove, we’ll be visiting San Juan, Puerto Rico, and St. Thomas in the U.S. Virgin Islands, with two sea days on each end of our port stops.
As I mentioned in yesterday’s report, I’ve cruised on Celebration a few times since her debut in 2022, and much of what I’ve already covered about the ship, her amenities, and experiences can be found in the linked reviews 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
Not much has changed onboard—and she’s still looking fantastic!
A quick stateroom update: In the Day 1 report, I noted that the safe in my cabin wasn’t working. It’s since been fixed thanks to my awesome stateroom attendant, Adi. I also mentioned that the room’s location is a bit unusual. If you take a look at the deck plan below, you’ll see my cabin is wedged between a long wall of crew and mechanical spaces on both sides and behind. Because of that, there’s a persistent mechanical hum in the room, along with the standard A/C noise. The hum isn’t loud, but it’s always there—like my own personal white noise machine! Honestly, it hasn’t impacted my sleep or relaxation at all, and may even be helping. But if you’re sensitive to background noise, just a heads-up: other rooms in this area may have the same issue.
Carnival Celebration Stateroom 11519 Tour
Now let’s talk about the passengers. Several friends and readers have asked if people onboard are up in arms about the recent loyalty program changes announcement. Surprisingly, no. I haven’t heard anyone talking about it, nor have I been pulled into any conversations about it. Maybe not everyone is aware of the changes yet—which is hard to believe, considering the amount of online chatter they generated. But at least for now, it’s not a hot topic onboard. Later this week is the Platinum/Diamond party, and I suspect I’ll hear more opinions then, since those guests are the most affected.
With summer in full swing and school out, the ship is buzzing with big family groups and kids everywhere. In fact, there are a little over 1,900 passengers under the age of 12! From the toddler who screamed (screeched) for 10 straight minutes in the smoking area (while mom and dad pretended not to notice), to the teens making a mess at the self-serve ice cream stations, there’s plenty of people-watching to be had. In fact, one of my favorite cruise pastimes isn’t listed in the daily planner—it’s observing the wild and wonderful behavior of fellow cruisers. With nearly 6,500 guests onboard, there’s no shortage of material.
For a lot of families, this cruise is the big vacation. You can spot the big groups easily thanks to their matching T-shirts. I chatted with one group celebrating a 40th birthday—they’ve got 38 people sailing together! I can’t imagine vacationing with more than four people, let alone 38. I’ll share more on another group later when I talk about dinner.
One thing that really caught my eye since embarkation is the absolutely insane line at Guest Services. On both Day 1 and Day 2, it’s been backed up for hours. At one point, the line stretched all the way to the Miami Slice pizza counter. Later, it reached past Bar 820. Crew members even had to step in to direct guests—to separate the ones wanting pizza or deli sandwiches from those just trying to get to Guest Services. It was like rush-hour traffic on I-95. Here’s a ship map to put the line into perspective:
Are they all trying to remove gratuities? Filing complaints? No clue. But I’ve never seen a line this crazy on any cruise—not even on the second-to-last night when the “gratuity removal rush” usually happens.
Carnival Cruise Line WiFi Packages
Let’s talk Wi-Fi. In cruise Facebook groups, nothing stirs debate quite like someone asking, “Is the Wi-Fi good?” or “How much is it?” Because without fail, someone replies with, “Unplug, you’re on vacation.” But let’s be real—that’s not practical for most of us. We’ve become a society glued to our phones, and many of us need to stay connected. Whether it’s for work, checking in on family, or posting that perfect sunset pic like the one at the top of this post, being online is a must.
Carnival offers several Wi-Fi packages, and you get a 15% discount for buying them pre-cruise than once onboard:
- Social Plan – Access sites like Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, WhatsApp, Snapchat, Pinterest, Reddit, X, and LinkedIn. Doesn’t include email, streaming, or Wi-Fi calling. $22/day per person or $18.70/day if purchased in advance.
- Value Plan – Everything in the Social Plan, plus general web browsing and email. Still no streaming or Wi-Fi calling. $26/day or $22.10/day in advance.
- Premium Plan – Faster speeds, access to Netflix, Hulu, FaceTime, Zoom, Ring, etc. No cellular Wi-Fi calling. $28/day or $23.80/day in advance.
- 4-Device Premium Plan – Covers up to four devices with Carnival’s fastest connection. Streaming and video calls supported (when signal allows). $84/day, available online only, not onboard.
Important note: None of Carnival’s internet packages support Wi-Fi calling through your mobile carrier. If you’re used to that on other lines, you’ll need to switch to an app like WhatsApp, FaceTime, or Google Voice instead.
As for performance—browsing, emails, and video calls work just fine. I regularly attend online meetings at sea without a hitch. The only struggle? Uploading large files. Yesterday’s 4-minute YouTube stateroom tour took over an hour to upload. This morning’s 30-second TikTok? About 15 minutes. Downloads are quicker, but uploads are slow. Also, not all VPNs are supported—so remote workers, keep that in mind.
Sea Day #1 = First Elegant Night
Since it’s our first sea day, that means it’s Elegant Night! These usually happen on the first and second-to-last sea days. It’s when passengers who enjoy dressing up can do so and have photos taken by the ship’s photographers positioned all around.
Elegant attire is suggested, not required. So while some are in formal wear, plenty are still in shorts at dinner—including in the main dining room and even the steakhouse. It’s your cruise—dress how you like and dress code enforcement is pretty lax – unless you show up in a tank top and flip flops.
On Elegant Nights, the dining room serves a special menu called “Feast.” Tonight’s doesn’t include lobster tail (that’s saved for the second Feast), but the dining room was still packed. At 7 p.m., wait times for Your Time Dining were running 60–70 minutes.
As you probably know, I usually skip the main dining room on nearly all cruise lines, not just Carnival. Between the hit-or-miss food and the rushed service, it’s just not what I’m looking for when I go out for dinner. I prefer a more relaxed dining experience and usually opt for specialty venues—like last night’s dinner at Cucina del Capitano, the ship’s Italian restaurant.
Elegant Night Feast Menu for the Main Dining Room
Dinner at Fahrenheit 555 Steakhouse
Tonight I went with Fahrenheit 555, the ship’s signature steakhouse. For $52 per person, you get two apps, an entrée, and dessert.
For the full Fahrenheit 555 menu, as of June 2025, click here to view it in PDF format.
I kicked things off with shrimp cocktail and tuna tartare—both fresh and flavorful.
For my main, I ordered the 14 oz. New York strip, cooked to a perfect medium, along with broccoli and onion rings. While the steakhouse now defaults to the chef’s “recommended” sides, you can still swap them out for something else, as I did here.
I even saved a little room for dessert—ice cream and sorbet to cap things off.
Service at Fahrenheit 555 was excellent, as always. My server was attentive, my drinks were never empty, and both the restaurant manager and chef made the rounds to check in on every table.
Earlier, I mentioned large family groups—and one took over an entire section of the steakhouse for a birthday and anniversary celebration. There were 42 of them dining together!
After dinner, I popped into the casino. Night one was decent—I had enough small wins to stretch my initial “investment” for about an hour. Tonight? Not so lucky. My cash disappeared faster than my pre-dinner gin and tonic. But I didn’t see anyone else hitting jackpots either, so I wasn’t alone.
More tomorrow as we arrive in Amber Cove!
As always, thanks for following along.
FunTimes for June 23, 2025:
The Funtimes for June 23, 2025 is available as a PDF and can be downloaded by clicking here.