Day 1 -- Embarkation
We embarked at 3:45 PM -- no line, no wait. We had inspected our cabin and toured the ship by 4:30, when our luggage arrived just as we returned to our cabin. We looked at the Carnival Caper only to discover that we had missed lunch, which ended at 4:00 PM. We also discovered that our seating assignment was incorrect, which meant we wouldn't have dinner until 8:15! We had a piece ofpixxa on the Lido Deck, then I unpacked, which took quite a while. We headed up one flight to the Horizon Dining Room at 6:00 PM and asked the Maitre De to change our dinner assignment, which he did. We had dinner alone that evening, then went to 'Win, Lose, or Draw' in the Astoria Lounge. Greg played, but the men's team lost to the women, so he didn't win a 'gold plastic ship-on-a-stick' trophy. The ship sailed at 10:00 PM, and we enjoyed watching the lights as we traveled down the Mississippi. We played blackjack in the casino for a bit, and retired to our stateroom at midnight only to find that the noise and vibrations were unbearable. We did NOT have a restful night as the ship maneuvered the Mississippi until about 6:00 AM.
Day 2 -- Fun Day at Sea
I had breakfast on the Lido Deck and explored the ship a bit more, then went back to the cabin
at 11:00 to get Greg. We had lunch in the Wheelhouse, then played Scrabble on the Lido Deck
as we watched the Pillow Fight Championship. I wish I would have participated -- it looked like
fun! Next we watched the 'Newlywed / Not-So-Newlywed Game' in the Lounge, then stayed there for
Bargain Bingo, which we lost (of course). We returned to our cabin to relax, then had dinner, where
we finally met our tablemates. After dinner we had a few drinks then went to the variety show;
comedian Kenny Miller was great (we are still laughing about it). Illusionist Frank Martin was
also pretty good, but we had already seen most of his illusions. We had a late-night snack after
the show before returning to our cabin.Day 3 -- Tampa
We arrived in Tampa at 8:00 AM. After a quick breakfast, we were on our way to Busch Gardens,
where we had a great day. We returned to the ship at 5:00 and had dinner at 6:00 as the ship
left port. We attended the Welcome Aboard Show in the Astoria Lounge; comedian Eddie Capone
was terrible. After that, it was on to the casino for the Rum Swizzle Party. We had about 15
rum swizzles while Greg played blackjack -- he broke even. We returned to our cabin at 11:00 and
ordered room service, which was actually very good.
Day 4 -- Fun Day at Sea
Spent most of the day on the Lido Deck, reading, swimming, and having a blast on the waterslide. At 3:00 we attended the first art auction -- saw lots of wonderful pieces, but nothing we were interested in. At 5:00 we returned to our cabin to get dressed for formal night.We had hoped to have formal pictures taken, but the lines were VERY long, so we opted for a picture at the "Trolley" instead. It came out very well, and we bought at 8x10 the next day.
The amateur shots, as you can see, were all overexposed. Dinner was great, and everyone looked so nice in their dresses and suits. The food was particularly good tonight as well, especially the Pasta Carbonara, which our waiter, Pethuk 'forced' everyone to try. After dinner we went to the 'show', which was NOT very good. The dancers did their best, but the costumes, sets, and music left a lot to be desired. I must mention, however, that the Celebration Orchestra gave a top-notch performance each night. I was very imnpressed. After the show, our cruise director, Steve Cassel, did a PHENOMENAL jugglig act. Both Greg and I were amazed by his performance. After the show, we gambled (broke even again), then ordered room service before retiring for the evening.
Day 5 -- Grand Cayman
After a great morning in Grand Cayman, we returned to the ship for lunch (those port day buffets are less than appealing) and a shower. We then attended the second art auction, at which I purchased a Salvador Dali illustration from Dante's Divine Comedy. We had NOT planned on buying any artwork during our cruise, but I fell in love with the piece when I saw it, and I had to have it. Lots more people purchased artwork today, and although there were only about 20 people present at the auction, it was exciting, and I thoroughly enjoyed it.
By the time the auction ended, it was time to get ready for dinner. We had a great dinner, then played blackjack a little more -- Greg won about $25. We planned to go to the talent show and midnight Gala Buffet, but we were exhausted and turned in early.
Day 6 -- Cozumel
We ate breakfast in the dining room for the first time today; we decided that we prefer the Lido Deck, because they offer the same food buffet style, plus an omelet station. We rushed through breakfast to make our shore excursion, and we had a wonderful day in Cozumel. We returned to the ship in time for dinner, then went back to the duty free shop at the port to get an onyx chess set Greg had meant to buy earlier. Once the ship left port, we gambled a bit, then went to the 10:30 show. The show was terrible, so we left early and had a late snack at the Mexican Buffet. This was probably the best food we had on the entire cruise. We were exhausted from getting so much sun in Cozumel, so we went to sleep after the buffet.
Day 7 -- Fun Day at Sea
Our last full day on the Celebration...I was determined to relax as much as possible after a very busy week. I had an early breakfast, checked out the duty free shop, got a book from the library, then read a bit on the Promenade Deck. After the Debarkation Talk I met up with Greg, and we had lunch in the dining room. We tipped our waiter and bus boy at lunch because we had decided not to get dressed up for formal night, so we would not be at dinner. Pethuk encouraged us to come and showed us the menu, so we told him we would think about it. After lunch, we relaxed on the Lido Deck, attended the last art auction, then gambled a bit. Greg won $50 and I won $30 on the nickel slots. It was almost time for dinner, so we headed back to our cabin to relax a bit. When we entered the hallway at 6:00, we saw lots of people dressed formally, and NO tshirts and shorts whatsoever. We hurried to the Lido Deck, only to find that there was NO casual dinner whatsoever. We did not want the pizza, so we went back to our cabin, threw on some "nice" clothes, and made it to dinner 20 minutes late. Dinner was again very nice, and we talked for the last time with our dinner companions. After dinner we went to the art sale in the Admiral Library, where Greg bought a signed Warner Brothers sericel, and we also purchased two small Zammy Steynovitz signed lithographs. Tonight was the second "big show", but we were not interested in attending. We spent a bit more time at the casino, then returned to our cabin to pack.
Day 8 -- Debarkation
We woke up at 7:00 and had our last Lido Deck breakfast as we watched the ship travel back up the Mississippi. The ship rocked back and forth throughout its journey, and things were rolling and falling all over the deck. It was a neat feeling, but I imagine many people were seasick this last morning of the cruise. By 8:00 we were seated in the Astoria Lounge to await debarkation. I went up on deck to take a few pictures of the ship entering port, then Greg and I played a long game of Scrabble. While debarkation was supposed to begin at 10:30, there was a delay, and we were not able to leave until nearly 12:00. Once we were allowed to disembark, it was a painless procedure. It took only a few minutes to find our luggage and breeze through Customs, and we were on our way home.
We had a GREAT time on our first cruise -- it is something we will remember forever. We plan to cruise on the Celebration again in 2 years, then I am sure we will try some of Carnival's other ships. I would also like to give the Grand Princess a go, but all in good time...
If you have any questions about the Celebration, feel free to email me.