The final port call on this 8-day Southern Caribbean cruise, commonly called an “ABC Cruise” because of the islands it calls on, is Curaçao. If you’ve been following along, the other ports were Aruba and Bonaire – the A and B part of the nickname. When it comes to these three islands, is my top pick, followed by Aruba, then coming in last, Bonaire. It’s unfortunate that for this cruise, Curcaco was given the shortest amount of port time. While Aruba and Bonaire saw the Carnival Celebration docked from 8 am to 10 pm, Curaçao was just a quick 8 am to 5 pm. With more to do in Curaçao than in Bonaire, it would make sense to swap days, but then that would result in an “A C B Cruise…”
In this report, I’ll talk about the final three days of the cruise and give a recap. As I have mentioned in the other reports, since this is my third cruise on Carnival Celebration in a short period of time, these reviews are going to be much shorter and just point out some of the day’s highlights. For more detailed reviews of the Celebration itself, be sure to check out these reviews:
- 7-Day Western Carnival Celebration Cruise Review (April 2023)
- 7-Day Eastern Carnival Celebration Cruise (June 2023)
Curaçao is a Dutch Caribbean island whose cruise port is smack dab in the capital city of Willemstad, and is within walking distance of numerous attractions, making it one of those ports I will leave the ship for. Upon disembarking, you’re immediately greeted by the iconic Handelskade, a row of brightly colored, Dutch-style buildings that line the harbor in Punda, the oldest district in Willemstad. But before you get up close and personal with them, you have to pass through the obligatory gauntlet of local merchants selling their wares, although this marketplace is very small compared to other ports.
In order to exit out into the city, you pass through Rif Fort – a historical landmark constructed around 1828 by the Dutch to defend the island’s harbor and stands at the entrance of St. Anna Bay. Today, Rif Fort has been restored and is home to restaurants, bars, shops, and even an open-air theater. The top of the fort also offers panoramic views of the Caribbean Sea and Willemstad’s harbor, making it a popular spot for photos.
Right near the port, there is a movable pontoon bridge, known as the “Swinging Old Lady,” which allows you to cross St. Anna Bay over to the city of Punda where you’ll find a streetside market selling fruits, vegetables, and souvenirs, plenty of stores, small local restaurants and food stalls, and of course, shops selling the world-famous Blue Curaçao liqueur.
If you’re into history, you can visit the Mikvé Israel-Emanuel Synagogue, which dates back to 1732 or if you want some beach time you can take an excursion or grab a taxi to nearby Mambo Beach – a white sandy beach with a beach club. I prefer to just wander around, check out the different cobblestone-paved streets, and on this particular visit, bake in the hot sun as temps were in the 90s.
After about two hours of walking around, I headed back to the ship as all aboard was 4:30 pm. Talking with others as we watched the sail away, many expressed their disappointment with not being here as long as the other two stops.
For dinner, I had another reservation at Bonsai Teppanyaki, and the service and the food were simply fantastic.
The next evening, our second elegant night, was the traditional prime rib and lobster night in the main dining room. A quick check of the Carnival Hub app revealed little to no wait times for other restaurants, but a max of 110 minutes for the MDR! After an absolutely horrible dinner the other night in the MDR, I wasn’t planning on going back, but curiosity got to me and I just had to experience for myself why people would wait this long for lobster.
So I checked in, waited for what turned out to be 90 minutes, then received a notification that my table was ready. Literally, as soon as I sat down, my server was asking me if I was ready to order. I explained that I haven’t decided and to come back in two minutes. She walked away and was back in about 20 seconds.
I started off with the Italian meatball soup, which had small meatballs and some veggies in a light tomato broth, for soup is was good. Next, I ordered a shrimp cocktail which consisted of four shrimp, which lived up to the name, and a dollop of cocktail sauce that wasn’t even enough for one dip.
Next up was what everyone was waiting for – the prime rib and lobster tail. The first thing I hoped for was the prime rib was going to have some, ANY, flavor to it unlike the piece the other night. Unfortunately, once again… none. It was tasteless.
The lobster tail itself was a small, probably 3 or 4-ounce tail, steamed. It takes a lot to screw up steaming a lobster tail and thankfully, this was cooked properly.
Besides the food being tasteless, again, the kicker was the food was sent out at such a rapid-fire pace I was in and out of dinner in TWENTY MINUTES. I thought I was at a quick service restaurant the way food was rushed to the table with not a minute in between courses. Lunch at Mcdonald’s would take longer than dinner! It was the strangest dinner experience I think I have ever had and still can’t figure out if this was happening with everyone dining that evening.
On the final night onboard, I had dinner at Chibang! where the previous visit this cruise let me down. That visit had main entrees coming out before appetizers and cold food served when it was time for the main course. I was hoping for some redemption this time around! I ordered dishes from both the Mexican and Asian menus this time and started off with some nachos and pork tacos as appetizers. No complaints about either of those.
Next up for mains, I went with the beef and broccoli and a pork dish. The beef and broccoli was served hot (in both heat and spice terms), while the pork was cold.
Again, the restaurant was packed and the staff seemed very overwhelmed so the issues both nights at Chibang! I can only attribute to a lack of proper staffing.
So, a quick recap of the cruise:
Highlights:
- The oceanview stateroom I had, 5429 on deck 5, was fantastic. The layout, extra space since it was the same size of a balcony stateroom without the balcony, made it even roomier. I’m still not completely happy that you can’t pick either morning or evening to have your room serviced and that Carnival only does it once per day now, but it works.
- The crew is overly attentive and does their absolute best to accommodate you with whatever you need.
- Guy’s Burgers, Big Chicken, and Emeril’s did not disappoint and are great spots for quick eats.
- Ports of call on a Southern Caribbean cruise are far better than a Western run, but these aren’t always as abundant as Eastern and Western cruises, so if you have the opportunity to book one – do it.
- Bonsai Teppanyaki – the best specialty restaurant on board, and I’ve dined in all of them. You can’t beat the value for the price and the food quality is exceptional.
- As the line’s flagship, she’s taken care of very well. There is constant work and cleaning being done everywhere to keep Carnival Celebration looking her best.
Lowlights:
- 6,400+ people was stretching the double occupancy, max capacity of the ship and it showed. Some nights were so crowded on board that it was tough to move around without shoving your way through crowded hallways. The sheer number of people also led to service issues which I already discussed.
- The main dining room food was absolutely horrible. Carnival is in the midst of rolling out updated menus for the MDR across the fleet, hopefully, it’s an improvement.
- The buffet offers a very limited number of items and as one person described it, “it’s slop.” While I won’t go that far, the selections are not the highest quality, but it’s a good choice for a salad or a snack, but I wouldn’t rely on it if you’re looking to have a “good” meal onboard.
- We had a very hot week onboard and while many want to stay in the sun some of us like to look for shade. The outdoor decks over very little opportunity for that. This can be remedied quickly by adding some umbrellas or retractable awnings. On the Serenity Deck (21+) there is hardly any shade at all and in the one spot there is, people tend to get there early in the morning and stay there all day.
As far as disembarkation was concerned, this time it was more organized than the last month. Instead of calling all those with Express Debarkation, the method where you carry all your luggage off the ship without any assistance, at the same time we were called by muster station beginning exactly at 7:37 am. While some still didn’t follow instructions, calling groups at a time to get off the ship resulted in shorter lines and an overall quicker experience.
With the exception of the port’s gangway malfunctioning and the whole process coming to a halt for about 10 minutes while the issue was corrected, I was off the ship, through customs, and at the curb at 8:17 am which was exactly 40 minutes.
Overall, with the exception of a very crowded ship, I’d rate this cruise an 8 out of 10. Now, let’s talk price. As I mentioned, this cruise was comped as part of Carnival’s last-minute casino rate promotion.
Here’s what this cruise cost me at the end of the day:
- Cruise Rate – $0 ($100 charge was refunded as onboard credit)
- Port Fees & Taxes – $124
- Premium WiFi – $150
- Bottomless Bubbles Non-Alcoholic Beverage Package – $76
- Gratuities, Special Dining Charges – $726 (does not include gambling money)
- Port Parking – $0 (I was driven to the port by friends)
The total for this cruise came to $1076. In comparison, my April 7-day Western Caribbean cruise on Carnival Celebration came to $3176 for a balcony stateroom and all the above except I had the CHEERS! beverage package for drinks.
Thanks for following along… until the next time!
FunTimes for July 20, 2023:
The FunTimes for July 20, 2023, is also available as a PDF.
FunTimes for July 21, 2023:
The FunTimes for July 21, 2023, is also available as a PDF.
FunTimes for July 22, 2023:
The FunTimes for July 22, 2023, is also available as a PDF.