Caribbean Cruise
December 2022

The first week of December, I had the opportunity to experience the newest ship in the Carnival fleet, the Carnival Celebration. This ship is by far my favorite out of all the Carnival ships I’ve experienced. The food, service and entertainment were amazing!

Completing our check-in on the Carnival app made boarding the ship in Miami fast and easy. We had a good-sized balcony stateroom with plenty of closet space and a decent-sized bathroom. I liked that there was a door instead of a curtain in the shower.

This ship had plenty of dining options, from Guy Fieri’s Burger Joint to Bonsai Sushi and more, and everything was very good. Some specialty dining options had a minimal cost, but there were so many options that were included. Even the main dining room was a great experience. A “must-do” is the sea day brunch in the main dining room on sea days. There were so many breakfast and lunch options, you’d need to go every sea day to try everything! Best part is it goes till 12pm. For the restaurants that didn't require reservations, we could join a virtual waiting room and the app told us how long the approximate wait was and notified us when our table was ready.

Carnival is known for fun and this ship was not short on that. There is a stage in the middle of the ship’s atrium featuring different shows each night, including the Magical Circus that has entertainment, acrobatics and dancing like you have never seen before. There were also many stand-up comedy shows each night and day, some for all ages and some late-night adult only options. There was even a culinary kitchen onboard where they offered all different kinds of cooking classes with the chefs, such as cupcake decorating, pizza making, and even tailgate snack making. A different class was offered each day. We did the cupcake decorating and had a blast! We even got our own spatula to take home. You can pre-book and pay prior to the cruise, which I’d recommend since they fill up fast.

Another cool feature was an adult-only area called Serenity. It had a pool, bar, and peace and quiet when we felt like getting away. The main pool had a party-like atmosphere and games every day.

The Carnival Celebration is beautiful and has options for everyone. Even though the destinations the ship visits are amazing, the ship itself is a great destination. It's huge, holding over 6,000 passengers, yet we could only really feel the capacity at the elevators and shows. Water slide, roller coaster, miniature golf – this ship is not short on things to do for ALL ages!

Our cruise sailed roundtrip Miami with stops in Amber Cove, San Juan, and St. Maarten, but we were having such a great time on board (and it was raining in San Juan) that the only port we explored this time was St. Maarten. We also enjoyed three days at sea for a total of seven nights. I would definitely recommend sailing on the Carnival Celebration for a Caribbean cruise!

Photos courtesy of Alix Latini and Marie Barrett.