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I know, tastes will vary, and I could have let myself out. On the other side of the coin, the only bad comedian of the cruise was not really a dirty comedian, except for dropping the F bomb in his R-rated set. One day at the buffet, I used a serving utensil that was thoroughly sticky. I asked a staff member to get a clean one, and I gave him the sticky one.
NYC Port
Still, the sheer number of different free places to eat is astounding; there are so many breakfast and lunch venues, you might never eat in the buffet. Old favorites that used to be overly packed -- such as Guy's Burgers, the RedFrog bar on the Lido Deck and Alchemy Bar -- now have plenty of real estate to handle happy crowds. Most staff we encountered were seemingly overworked, unduly burdened and unhappy, with Carnival Celebration’s food service staff appearing unusually affected. Room service, as on all Carnival ships, incurs a small additional charge. These spaces are certainly unique, but almost all are under-sized for a vessel carrying this many passengers.
Carnival Celebration is a Win for Multigenerational Families
Our most recent prior cruise was on Emerald Princess in November 2023, so I will make a lot of comparisons to Princess. Carnival Mardi Gras rooms are more thoughtful in terms of design and storage than other Carnival ships. Unsurprisingly, balcony rooms and Ocean Suites are popular for their views of the sea. If you're an ocean lover, look to the Cove balcony cabins on Deck 5 - we’ve heard of people spotting marine life like dolphins from their cabin. The first one on everyone's list is the Carnival Mardi Gras roller coaster Bolt, the first roller coaster at sea -- a genuine thrill ride you need to try at least once. And then there's the Atrium, located on the side of the ship instead of the center, a placement that allows the space to have three-story sea views during the day and become a top-notch entertainment space at night.

Carnival Mardi Gras's Deck Plans Feature Fun Themed Sections
When school is out, you can expect the number of kids to be well into the hundreds. Carnival, like the rest of the industry, has struggled with crewing issues since the end of the global pandemic. Qualified staff are in short supply, and it’s no secret that some of the crew on all ships throughout the industry are very green indeed.
Venezia review: After 47 cruises I finally tried Carnival

I imagine on full sailings, a lot of passengers would not be able to attend the shows. It’s everywhere midship on decks 4-5 and even inside the comedy club, and all decks of the atrium. We saw someone hit a $10k jackpot on a slot machine, and he seemed happy and surprised, which made everyone feel good.
The downside is that this places many rooms and suites on Carnival Horizon in the ‘cabins to avoid’ category, as some get noise from below as well as from above. On the other end of the spectrum, some of the most sought-after cabins on Carnival Horizon are the Havana Cabanas, which have Cuban-style décor and lovely outdoor spaces overlooking a private lanai for Havana-category passengers. On "elegant" nights, you'll see a range of clothing from ball gowns, dresses that leave little to the imagination, tuxes and suits to the same shorts and tees people sport all day long.
E.g., if you want lunch, but don’t want salad, you have to wait in the long line that starts with salad, and walk past the salad before you get the chance to take anything else. You could walk directly to the hot food, but you’d better be ready for some dirty looks. Other ships use a station approach, which works much better (there are many stations, and you walk up to the station that has the food you want).
Carnival Cruise Lines
On Carnival Horizon’s formal or elegant night, main dining room attire is fancier, with men wearing suits or dress pants with dress shirts and sport coats. Women wear cocktail dresses, pantsuits, evening gowns or elegant skirts with blouses. When Carnival Magic appeared on the scene in 2011, the cruise industry sat up and took notice.
Is everything free on Carnival cruises?
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Hope your bladder is strong ( just saying) The men’s bathroom well one stall if lucky two stalls you hit the jackpot the automatic doors stay open when the men are urinating just might not have door at all. Better service, better food more variety , a-lot more variety of entertainment around the smaller ships. This ship is Great for your first ship you have nothing to compare it too. Buffet breakfast selection was minimal and repetitive. For example, bacon was not available many days, and was usually not self-serve when it was available. Some things I like were never offered, like salmon, pineapple, and English muffins.
The same drink was $13.50 or $14 at Fizzanti or $15 at Amari (plus tip and sometimes tax). At least they were good size drinks; definitely bigger than a martini on Princess. I was surprised that there were very few drink waiters (or none) working the tables.
Design challenges aside, there’s no denying that Carnival Celebration is a total win for multigenerational families from all walks of life looking to cruise together. Families and diversity have always been part of Carnival’s DNA, and Carnival Celebration takes that to the next level. Following one mid-week performance, crew repeatedly asked passengers to clear the entire Deck 6 area so that shows could re-set. Families that were having coffee near the JavaBlue Café, or reading, or playing games were forced to clear out for the sake of “resetting” the show – dispersing more passengers to Carnival Celebration’s already overburdened public areas.
We found a spot between two sedans, but it was still tight. This was our 48th and 68th cruise, and first on Carnival. We are a couple in our late 50s and usually cruise with Princess, Royal Caribbean, or Celebrity, and have tried NCL, Cunard, and some cruise lines that don’t exist any more, like Sitmar, Home Lines, and Big Red Boat. This review is for Carnival Venezia on January 23, 2024, a 10-day round-trip from New York to 4 Caribbean ports.
Carnival Horizon sailings of two to five nights have one cruise elegant evening; sailings of six nights or longer have two. Carnival Horizon is a bold, beautiful ship jam-packed with activities, dining options, and bars and lounges galore. The cruise ship is sophisticated and modern, though with Carnival's take on those concepts, which includes bold colors, bright spaces and a heavy dose of fun. For any cruises listed, Cruise Critic does not guarantee any specific rates or prices. In addition, average cruise prices are updated nightly.
This is a good ship to be sober on, because you’ll rarely – if ever – be asked if you want a drink, and even then, only on the pool deck. There are no servers roaming around the ship’s other bars and lounges soliciting drinks like “the old days”. Instead, if you want a libation, be prepared to fight your way through the crowd to one of the bartenders behind the bar. The carnival Hub App is much better than the Princess App I used in November. The Carnival process for open dinner times is far superior to my experience on Princess.
We had stateroom 1354, which was a “Deluxe Oceanview” with the extra half bathroom/tub. Having the second sink and shower was a nice perk that I didn’t expect. First of all, I didn’t realize we had that type of room, and I had not realized the tub would have a shower. The sink is tiny and the room is tiny, but it helps a lot. The ship has 82 accessible staterooms with bathrooms with roll-in showers, wider doors and, where needed, ramps, in numerous categories.
For a nominal charge ($15 per person on our Eastern Caribbean sailing), you can have the thrills of riding the only roller coaster at sea. If I know when the steward is coming, I can throw the wet towels on the floor, but if I'm unsure, I end up keeping wet towels overnight. There is no air movement in the bathroom to dry them out. I suppose it's a race to the bottom, though, and other cruise brands will soon follow in this service reduction while also raising gratuities. We are looking forward to trying Venezia, as NY is our homeport.
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