I recently spent the week on the Carnival Celebration. This was my first time on this brand new class of ships and I wanted to check out a few of the very unique features of these vessels. This class of ship will be the future of Carnival Corp., so I thought it was important to explore them to see how they function, operate, and most importantly, how passengers seem to find these vessels. I also took this opportunity to document the vessel for the site.
But first some background and history. The Carnival Celebration is the seventh in these classes of vessels (Carnival’s version of these vessels are referred to internally as Excel-Class or XL-class). The ship and her eleven sisters (current and future) are part of what’s called the Excellence-Class. These are designed to be a shared platform across all of the Carnival Corp. brands. Just like the original Vista-class (e.g. Costa Atlantica, Carnival Spirit, Oosterdam, and Queen Elizabeth) whereby those vessels spanned across five very different brands, the Excellence-class already is incorporated into four different brands. These +180,000gt ships incorporate the latest in vessel design and probably most importantly, the latest in marine propulsion with the utilization of LNG, dual-fuel engines.
These ships follow modern design standards that we see elsewhere such as all public rooms placed low in the vessel; pool areas relocated lower; lifeboats extended out over the hull creating a promenade above them; and tall superstructures that are recessed in at parts as to reduce total volume (gross tonnage) above the center of gravity yet still allow additional decks above with more balcony cabins.
An additional note, take a look at the deckplans and note the decks that have balcony cabins. One of the design elements requested by Carnival Corp. was making sure that all the exterior of each deck contained a balcony cabin. Gone are the forward observation decks publicly accessible as seen on Vista and Destiny-class.
Now back to the Carnival Celebration. The ship is split into six different zones or neighborhoods. Each will be thoroughly covered below, but in short they are:
- Celebration Central
- The Gateway
- 820 Biscayne
- Summer Landing
- Lido
- The Ultimate Playground
The overall theme of the ship is simply a celebration of the 50 Years of Carnival Cruise Lines. No better place is that illustrated than the Golden Jubilee Lounge. A lot of the public rooms are named after former ships, Tropicale, Festivale, and Carnivale. The ships name was even previously used back from the original 1987-built Carnival Celebration.
CLICK HERE FOR CARNIVAL CELEBRATION DECK PLANS
Now let’s get on with the tour. As usual, we start with our standard obligatory random photos to give us a general vibe of what the rest of the ship will look like.
Stairwell Art:
Random carpet pattern
Random hallway photo
Random elevator lobby
Deck 03
Deck 3 only contains the gangways and medical center. The rest is Crew only.
Deck 04
Deck 4 is the lowest deck that is normally passenger accessible. This deck contains inside and outside cabins. In the center of it is the Family Harbor lounge and Camp Ocean kids area. The deck is mainly set up as the ideal place for families as they won’t have to venture far for snacks or to drop the kids off at the play area.
Deck 05
Deck 5 starts with the spa up front (though it is typically accessed from the deck above.)
The rest of the deck is inside, outside, and cove balcony cabins. The cove balconies make a reappearance from the Dream-class and Vista-class.
Deck 06
Deck 6 is the first deck of the public spaces. At the very front is the Grand Spectrum Theater. This is the main show lounge and it spans two decks (though we’ll cover Celebration Central in a few).
After that is the entrance to Cloud 9 Spa. This is just a lobby area and you descend stairs (or elevator) to the main area below.
Opposite that, on the port side, is the fitness area.
Walking past that there is the Punchliner Comedy Club on starboard.
And on port is the piano bar.
After that, you are on the bottom floor of what is the main atrium. On these ships, this is one of the most unique features. Its lineage, I’d argue, can be traced back to the AIDA Sphinx-class of ships. Instead of a large open space similar to the old-school Royal Caribbean ships, the Piazza on Princess, or the atriums on the NCL’s Breakaway-class, the AIDA ships combined that with a theater. There’s tiered amphitheater-style seating and it’s more designed to be a place where you can watch a show than simply just people watch. It’s a really neat concept when executed well and is a great use of space. Celebration Central takes that to a whole different level. It’s actually asymmetrical with the stage off to one side with a three-deck tall glass window behind that.
On the bottom level of Celebration Central is the Tropicale Bar (great name!) and most of the seating throughout Celebration Central.
On the port side is the Javablue Café.
Walking through Celebration Central on the port side is the Golden Jubilee lounge. Probably our top pick on the ship (but then again I’m a ship geek). It’s adorned with all sorts of historical artifacts from Carnival’s Past.
Past that is the Carnivale Restaurant.
On the starboard side is the entrance to the next zone called the Gateway. This is a two-deck promenade that runs a couple hundred feet down this side of the ship.
Just before you enter, there are several Fun Shops along with the candy shop.
At the start of it is the Latitudes bars. This is a great place if you want to try out more exotic drinks like a Pisco Sour, Caipiranha, or Paloma. It was our pick for the place to get Aperol Spritz’s onboard.
About mid-way down the promenade is the Emeril’s Bistro restaurant.
Walking past that is the Carnival Kitchen for cooking lessons.
There’s a conference room off to the starboard side.
And at the very back of the deck is the Festivale Restaurant. This is the main dining room onboard and spans two decks. The bottom level is for fixed-time seating and the second level is for open seating.
Deck 07
Deck 7 is also all public areas. At the very front is the second deck of the Grand Spectrum Theater.
Past that on either side is the casino. The massive casino spans almost a quarter of the deck.
At the latter part of it, it wraps around the Celebration Central atrium area.
Walking through that you are at some Fun Shops and then the second deck of The Gateway area again.
The front of it is the Alchemy bar. This venue is for those seeking craft cocktails and more meticulously made ones.
Hidden behind the bar is the entrance to the Limelight lounge. An alternative to the main show lounge.
Walking further down the Gateway is the ship’s steakhouse, Fahrenheit 555. There’s also a great wine and champagne bar at the entrance.
The art gallery is here as well.
At the back of the deck is the top floor of the Festivale Restaurant.
Deck 08
Deck 8 starts with the Havana area up front. All the inside and balcony cabins comprise this area. Part of that ship-within-a-ship concept, there’s a private bar, pool, and lanai deck for only passengers in these cabins.
The main passenger areas start around the forward stairwell. Here there is the Havana bar on starboard.
On the portside is the Chibang restaurant. A fusion between Mexican and Asian cuisine.
Walking through that, you go across a small walkway across the Celebration central area.
Opposite the view of the stage is the Bonsai sushi restaurant as well as the Teppanyaki tables.
Aft of the Celebration Central area, the deck is accessible both indoors and outdoors. As the lifeboats are positioned on the deck below, and hung out directly over the water, this allows for an outdoor wraparound lanai area. Just like what the Dream-class debuted.
Staying indoors we now emerge at the next neighborhood on the ship, 820 Biscayne. As the ship is based year-round in Miami this area is South Beach themed with lots of neon and bright colors. At the very start of it is the Pixel’s photo gallery.
Past that is the start of this zone with the Bar 820. There is a large indoor and outdoor area with the latter part out on the lanai. It should be noted that the outdoor area on this side is the smoking area so just be advised. Especially if you’re in cabins directly above it.
Here also is the entrance of the Italian restaurant Cucina del Capitano offering some of the best Italian food on the high seas. Walking through that restaurant (a staple on pretty much every Carnival ship) you can find many photos proudly on display of past milestones throughout the history of Carnival Cruise Lines.
Back inside and walking further down on 820 Biscayne, there are a few food venues. The Miami Slice pizzeria and the Deco Deli.
At the very end is the Carnival Adventures shore excursion desk. Opposite that is Rudi’s Seagrill with a seafood menu set by acclaimed chef Rudi Sodamin.
Interestingly enough, the guest services area can be found here at the end of the 820 Biscayne. I say interesting as it really is tucked away here as opposed to a lot of other vessels where it’s always paired with the shore excursion desk and typically found at the bottom deck of the main atrium.
At the very back of the deck is the Summer Landing zone. Surrounded on three sides by outdoor decks and highlighted by a wake-view pool at the very back. Indoors is a vast open area that contains the logo store.
This is also where a few Guy Fieri restaurants are. The Pig and Anchor Smokehouse and Brewhouse is here along with the onboard brewery.
The Hero’s Tribute Lounge honoring folks who served in the military.
Outside, there’s the Waterhole Bar out on the Lanai on starboard.
On port is the Guys BBQ area. During the day it’s complimentary and served outside. During the evening it’s an upcharge indoor restaurant. Insiders tip, there’s a breakfast served down there as well.
As mentioned above, there’s then the Patio Pool right at the aft of the deck.
Another insider tip, at the very front of the lanai on the starboard side, about amidships, is this private area. Not a bad place to be when sailing in or out of port as you are very close to the water at this deck.
Deck 09
Decks 9 to 15 are all cabins with Balcony and inside cabins.
Deck 16
Deck 16 starts with the bridge forward and then the main pool area. But before getting to the pool area there is the Blue Iguana Cantina on the portside.
On the starboard side are a few street food style venues here including the Seafood Shack, Time Fries, Steamin’ Dream, and Sizzle.
Then there’s the ship’s main Pool area.
And at the aft end of this area is the Red Frog Tiki bar.
Walking through the pool area, you are at the Lido Marketplace buffet.
The very aft part of the deck is outdoors and contains a small pool here.
Surrounding it are the Tides Pool Bar and the Shaq’s Big Chicken venue.
Deck 17
Deck 17 is almost split into two sections as you can’t walk from the cabins up forward to the outdoor area amidships. There’s been much debate about why this is, and I’ll cover it in an upcoming post.
The outdoor area starts with a sun deck surrounding the pool area. On the aft port side is another Red Frog Tiki bar.
Past that the rest of the deck is outdoor as well as some indoor areas flanking it.
On the port side is the ever popular Guy’s Burger Joint.
On starboard is the Warehouse Arcade and the Circle C tween’s area.
A bit further down and on the portside is the Club 02 teens area.
At the very aft is a sun deck with half of it being the smoking area.
Deck 18
Deck 18 is more traditionally split into two areas both a fore and aft.
The forward area is the vast adults-only Serenity area. On these ships it’s been significantly enlarged, and contains it’s own pool.
(I would bet that this pool area alone is the exact same square footage as some ships lido decks from the 90’s)
At the very front of Serenity are probably the best views when sailing in and out of port.
The aft section of this deck is the Ultimate Playground. This acts as the main sports decks with the jogging track surrounding it. At the very front is the large TV that you can see from the Pool area and decks below.
Past that is the Sports Court (typically set up for Basketball) as well as a ropes course suspended around it.
The ships trademark whale tail funnel is behind that.
Just aft of that is the Carnival waterworks water park.
At the very end of the deck is the mini golf area.
Deck 19
The forward part of Deck 19 is the Loft 19 private area. This is a private retreat-style area that you can purchase access too if you want an even more quieter and chiller area than the Serenity below. You can then purchase private cabanas too. Loft 19 is split into two parts with a walkway surrounding the Serenity pool below.
The aft area of Deck 19 is the Bolt Sea Coaster. A full on roller coaster at sea. A first of it’s kind. (well really the first was on her older sister the Mardi Gras)