It’s the first of two back-to-back sea days as Carnival Celebration heads back to Miami as the end is in sight for this 7-Day Eastern Caribbean cruise. Along the way, we stopped at Amber Cove in the Dominican Republic; San Juan, Puerto Rico; and St. Thomas, USVI.
So far that cruise has been good overall, despite the fact that 6,374 passengers are on board, and at times there are areas of the ship that suffer from congestion that even Sudafed can’t help. Weather-wise, we’ve had plenty of sunshine, hot temperatures, and flat seas.
Carnival Celebration is the newest ship in the Carnival fleet and the second of three Excel-class ships. Launched in November 2022, she is the line’s flagship, however, that title will be passed on to Carnival Jubilee when she launches later this year from Galveston, TX.
Built to celebrate Carnival’s 50th anniversary, Celebration has a few “Easter Eggs” that can be found on Deck 6 in the Golden Jubilee bar. These include some original and replica items from ships that have long been retired. They include:
Mardi Gras Bulkhead
Just before you enter the Golden Jubilee, you’ll notice a curved etched glass wall that’s framed in brass and mahogany. This bulkhead was originally on Carnival’s first ship, Mardi Gras.
Carnivale Engine Telegraph
Preserved and now on display is the 1955 engine order telegraph that was used to communicate orders from the pilot on the bridge to the engine room. The telegraph used to be on the portside bridge wing on the former Carnivale.
Carnivale Nightclub Doors
While they are now in a permanently open position on Celebration, these doors used to swing open and lead partygoers into the Mardi Gras Nightclub on board Carnivale. Made from polished brass, the etchings in the glass depict musical instruments.
Carnival Fascination Tabletops
In the lounge area of the Golden Jubilee, you’ll find tabletops that used to line Hollywood Boulevard on the Carnival Fascination. They feature signed sketches from famous caricaturist Al Hirschfield that depict various scenes from classic American movies.
Lounge Chairs
The chairs that accompany those tabletops are replicas of those that used to be in the Riverboat Lounge onboard Carnivale.
Ted Arison Sculpture
Ted Arison, the founder of Carnival Cruise Line was presented with a sculpture of him and the president of the Kvaerner Masa-Yards, Martin Saarikangas, The shipyard built several Carnival ships including the Carnival Sensation where this sculpture was previously on display.
Celebration Shipbuilder Plate
The shipbuilder plate from the MS Celebration, built by the Kockums Varv shipyard in Sweden, is on display along the back wall in the Golden Jubilee lounge.
Carnivale Door Insets
Etched glass insets that were part of Carnivale’s main lobby doors are replicated on the Golden Jubilee’s bar front and bottle display.
Maple Leaf Floor Motif
Carnival’s first ship, Mardi Gras, was previously a Canadian Pacific Line ocean liner named the Empress of Canada. The ship featured maple leaf designs in the balcony railings of the Grand Ballroom and more hidden through the ship. This unique design is replicated in the floor of the Golden Jubilee.
Many of these items would have been lost in the scrapping process of these old ships but were salvaged by maritime historian and collector Peter Knego who offered them to Carnival for display onboard Celebration.
Since it was a sea day, there were plenty of activities to partake in, which you can check out in the FunTimes at the end of this post. Most however, were spending the day out on the Lido deck or soaking up the sun on the ship’s outer decks which had an abundance of deck chairs available all day long, except by the pool.
When it came time for dinner, since it was the last elegant night of the cruise, the ship’s main dining room was serving lobster, so they were running a 70 – 80 minute wait time for much of the evening. Specialty restaurants along with the ship’s Italian restaurant and Asian-Mexican restaurant had availability and wait times of only 10 – 20 minutes.
I went to Cucina del Capitano where I asked if I could be seated outside, and they told me it was too hot out, so no. I found that kind of laughable and just said, OK, inside is fine. Meanwhile, Rudi’s Seagrill was seating people outside, so it must have been cooler over there – that’s sarcasm. Walking through the restaurant, we passed plenty of empty tables, but they decided to sit me smack dab in the middle of two four-tops with a foot of space in between. I asked to be moved but was not accommodated.
I left.
I ended up going to ChiBang!, the Asian-Mexican restaurant, which also wasn’t busy and didn’t seat me at the table in the middle of others.
I started off with the Super Loaded Nachos and the Sopa. The nachos were average, with the birra sauce adding flavor to what would have been a flavorless starter. The Sopa had large pieces of tender and flavorful beef in a very savory, yet salty, broth.
Up next, I went with the Polle en Mole which was a small half-chicken smothered in mole sauce. The chicken literally fell off the bone, was super tender, and packed with flavor. The Steak Ranchero I also ordered, was cooked to the medium temperature I asked for, but was thin and tough. Of the two, the chicken was the hands-down winner.
After dinner, I stopped by the casino and again had no luck whatsoever. To put it into perspective, as of today, I have spent the same amount of money I spent on the Mardi Gras two weeks ago. The casino tracks your spend as points as points, with one point given for each $2.50 cycled through the machine (cash and winnings). My points are 90% LESS than what they were on the Mardi Gras with the SAME spend. That is a pretty big difference between the two casino’s payouts. I could see a small % variance, but this is pretty significant.
When I returned to my stateroom, the four young adults in the room next to me were once again screaming bloody murder and body slamming each other off the walls, so yet another call to security was made in order for something to be done with these animals.
One more day at sea is left, and the next report will contain the good, bad, and ugly of the entire cruise, so see you then!
FunTimes for June 9, 2023:
The FunTimes for June 9, 2023, is also available as a PDF.