Carnival Celebration Maiden Voyage - Part 2

14 Day Transatlantic Cruise - November 6, 2022

Carnival Celebration in Funchal, Madeira.

Welcome to the second half of our Carnival Celebration Maiden Voyage cruise blog. If you missed Part 1, click here.

We’ve now started the transatlantic crossing, where we’ll be crossing the Atlantic Ocean over the next seven days.

Itinerary

Sun - Nov 6th - Southampton, England

Mon - Nov 7th - Fun Day at Sea

Tue - Nov 8th - La Coruna, Spain

Wed - Nov 9th - Vigo, Spain

Thu - Nov 10th -Fun Day at Sea

Fri - Nov 11th - Funchal, Madeira, Portugal

Sat - Nov 12th - Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain

(we’re here!)

Sun - Nov 13th - Fun Day at Sea

through

Sun - Nov 20th - Miami, FL

Fun Day at Sea #3

We started our morning with breakfast at Carnival’s Sea Day Brunch in the Festivale Restaurant main dining room.

After eating, we changed into our bathing suits and lathered ourselves up with sunscreen. Then we headed up to Deck 18 for Serenity, Carnival’s adults only retreat, to relax in the sun.

At 1:30pm we met up with our cruise Facebook group at the Piano Bar for a poker run/bar crawl. We went to four more bars: Aquaria, Alchemy, Golden Jubilee, and Red Frog Tiki Bar where we got a card at each. At RedFrog we turned in our hand, and whoever had the best hand won the pot! We didn’t win (we weren’t even close) but it was something we’ve never done before and we had a blast!

Following the poker run we went to the deli for lunch and then to our stateroom to watch the Formula 1 Brazilian Grand Prix. After the race, we both fell asleep for a quick nap.

After waking up, we got dressed for 80s night then went for a late dinner at Bonsai Sushi. This restaurant is à la carte, but has become one of our favorite restaurants on the ship!

Once we finished with our meal, we went up to the Lido Deck for the 80s Rock-n-Glow party! We don’t usually participate in the lido parties, but we had a lot of fun!

When the party was over, we went down to the Grand Spectrum Theater for the Comedy Showcase with Caroline Picard and Percy Crews 2! They were both hilarious, but Caroline might be our favorite comedian so far on this cruise!

We started walking back to our stateroom, but heard clapping and cheering from Piano Bar 88, so we snuck in and listened to the rest of Eden’s set. It was the perfect finish to the night!

Carnival Celebration’s Piano Bar 88 Menu

Fun Day at Sea #4

Today is Throwback Sea Day on board the Carnival Celebration! On Carnival Journeys cruises, Throwback Sea Day turns the ship around to the wonderful decade of the 80s. All of the activities for the day are recreated to resemble the way they were played in 1987 including walk-a-mile, knobby knees competition, horse racing, and culminating with the Captain’s Cocktail Party.

We went down to Emeril’s Bistro 1397 for breakfast. Jay really liked the shrimp & grits! This restaurant has à la carte items for an extra fee, but he said it was worth the extra money.

At noon we went to Carnival Kitchen for our Sushi 101 class. We signed up for this before the cruise. The Carnival Kitchen classes were so popular, most of them sold out the first day. The ones that didn’t were the ones available on port days, probably because those are too precious since we didn’t have many this cruise!

In Sushi 101, we learned how to make a spicy tuna roll and a shrimp tempura roll. It was so much fun learning how to make sushi, even if it didn’t turn out very pretty. I think we needed to cook our rice longer and use less mayo in the spicy tuna roll. Our sushi still tasted good though!

After our class we headed over to Guy’s Pig & Anchor Smokehouse/Brewhouse. We then checked out the Heroes Tribute Lounge, which doubles as a sports bar, and watched some tennis.

We went up to Limelight Lounge for a couple rounds of trivia, then hung out at Alchemy Bar. Tonight was the second elegant night. Soon it was time to get ready for the evening.

After getting all dressed up, we headed downstairs and took some professional portraits at a few different backdrops.

At 7:30 we went to Rudi’s Seagrill for our dinner reservation. We had an amazing meal! I had Coquilles Saint-Jacques, seared shrimp, house tossed salad, crab stuffed lobster tail imperial, and key lime pie. Jay had lobster mac n’ cheese, seafood bisque, prime New York strip, and apple cheese cake. This has been my favorite specialty restaurant meal so far this cruise!

After dinner, we went down to Piano Bar 88 to sing along with Eden and end the night.

Fun Day at Sea #5

We started our morning with a quick breakfast in the Lido Marketplace buffet. Then we spent the early afternoon at trivia in the Limelight Lounge. We participated in weird & wacky, wheely big, and general knowledge trivia.

At 3pm we went to tea time in the Carnivale Restaurant main dining room. It’s the first time we’ve seen it offered this cruise, and it was so busy, we never got scones or sandwiches before having to leave for the next event we wanted to attend. We did get macarons and other sweet treats though, so it wasn’t a complete bust!

We went down to Piano Bar 88 for Guess the Song with Eden. We knew we wouldn’t do great, but didn’t do as bad as we thought we would.

Still a little hungry, we decided to go back up to Deck 16 and grab a snack at Shaq’s Big Chicken.

Then we walked up to the Ultimate Playground and played a round of mini golf.

We strolled down to Deck 17 to watch the sunset, since we don’t get to see it from our aft balcony. While there, Jay decided to get a Guy’s Burger since he had’t had one yet this cruise. He said it was as good as ever!

We headed down to Guest Services to cancel our last dining reservation at Bonsai Teppanyaki. We decided we really enjoyed it and it was delicious, but didn’t need to eat it again. We’d rather use the money to go to Bonsai Sushi again.

On the way to the Grand Spectrum Theater, we stopped in the Havana Bar for a cocktail and to listen to some karaoke. At 7:45pm we went to the Grand Spectrum Theater for the Love & Marriage show. It was so funny!

We decided to get a small bite to eat for dinner, so we went to Emeril’s Bistro 1397. I had the Natchitoches meat pies (they reminded me of empanadas and were really good!) while Jay had the gumbo. We split the beignets for dessert. They weren’t as good as the ones you can get from Cafe Du Monde in New Orleans, but they were close and hit the spot!

Since we enjoyed the first Love & Marriage show so much, we decided to go back for the second one at 9:45pm. Lee the Cruise Director asked different questions and it was just as hilarious as the first!

When we got back to our cabin for bed, we had a letter with important Miami debarkation information. It asked how we wanted to debark: self assist “express debarkation” (we carry off our own luggage) or checked luggage “luggage collection” (we leave luggage out the night before and pick it up in the cruise terminal after debarking the ship) and if we had pre-purchased transportation to the airport. The letter requested that it be turned in to Guest Services by the next evening. Oh no, are we that close to the end of our cruise?

Fun Day at Sea #6

We started our morning with breakfast at Guy’s Pig & Anchor. They have a small traditional breakfast buffet set up. After breakfast, we went to pick up our Carnival VIFP Gold pins at Pixels on our way for coffee. The line at Java Blue was so long we walked up to Bar 820 who also has espresso machines and it was so much quicker to get coffee!

At 10:30am we went to Limelight Lounge for Carnival’s 50th Birthday trivia. We stayed for Wheely Big Trivia, but I thought yesterday’s was better because it was more like trivial pursuit.

On our way back to our room to change into our bathing suits, we stopped by Shaq’s Big Chicken for lunch (Jay has seriously fallen in love with their ranch). We changed, then went up to Serenity to relax by the pool for a while.

We changed, then went up to Serenity to relax by the pool for a while. There was a rainbow out over the ocean.

When we were all toasty, we went back to our room to throw some closed toe shoes on, then headed up to the Ultimate Playground to do the ropes course. On our way we made reservations for Bolt: Ultimate Sea Coaster on the Hub App. The ropes course was a lot of fun - I loved the zip line, but didn’t really enjoy the swings.

Then it was finally time for us to ride Bolt! When we got there the operators suggested we go separately so we could each control the car to whatever speed we preferred. Fine by us, Jay got in the first car and I got in the second. We got 2 laps each. It went by fast, but it was SO worth it! I loved seeing the wide open ocean as I was flying by! It cost $15 each and we both got off saying we wanted to go again.

We walked down to Guy’s Pig & Anchor Smokehouse/Brewhouse for a drink. We ordered a couple cocktails with a twist, the bacon manhattan and the smoked boulevardier. The bartender asked if he could take a picture of us and then added us to the Wall of Shame (I honestly don’t know why). We were enjoying our time there, so we decided to just stay for dinner.

Bacon Manhattan next to the Guys Pig & Anchor Classics with a Twist Menu

I ordered the maple & chili salmon with extra green beans & bacon. Jay ordered the brisket, ribs, pulled pork, mac & cheese (better than last time), onion straws, and french fries. The food came out much quicker this time and was delicious!

After dinner, Jay called it a night. I wasn’t quite ready for bed yet, so I went down to the Grand Spectrum Theater for Family Feud Live. This is fairly new to Carnival, only available on Carnival Mardi Gras and now Carnival Celebration. Lee the Cruise Director, stood in for Steve Harvey and did a fantastic job, along with the teams selected from on board guests. It was so fun to watch!

After Family Feud I went to the Punchliner Comedy Club for Happy Cole’s comedy show. Trivia Night Live was immediately following, so I stayed and joined a team. The last round was a guess the song music trivia, and they were the most unusual songs, I think we only guessed one right. My team definitely didn’t win, but we didn’t get last place either!

Fun Day at Sea #7

Today was a very leisurely day at sea. We slept in late, then went to breakfast at Guy’s Pig & Anchor. We hung out there for a bit and took part in sports trivia. We thought we knew sports pretty well, but not when it comes to international sports!

When we were hungry again (that’s getting harder and harder on this cruise) we went to Cucina del Capitano, the Italian restaurant, for lunch. Lunch at this restaurant is included in your cruise fare on all Carnival ships.

We each chose the pasta bowl with penne, but I got alfredo sauce and garlic shrimp, while Jay ordered bolognese sauce with Italian sausage.

Carnival Celebration’s Cucina del Capitano Pasta Bowl Menu

Jay wanted a beer so we went to Guy’s Pig & Anchor Smokehouse/Brewhouse (they brew some of their beers on board). They were serving lunch so we had to try some! I don’t know how we found room for more food, but we did.

Carnival Celebration’s Guy's Pig & Anchor Smokehouse/Brewhouse Lunch Menu

After eating (again!) we headed to Limelight Lounge for an afternoon of trivia: general knowledge followed by The Golden Girls. Then we went to Havana Bar for Guess That Song: TV Themes trivia.

We found two seats at Alchemy Bar and learned the awesome bartenders will make an espresso martini if you bring espresso from Java Blue or Bar 820. Alchemy Bar just doesn’t have an espresso machine. Jay ran over to Bar 820 and the espresso martinis they made us at Alchemy Bar were phenomenal!

For dinner, we went to Cucina del Capitano. This restaurant is included in your cruise fare on Carnival Celebration (and Carnival Mardi Gras), while an à la carte restaurant on other Carnival ships. It’s included here, because its used as overflow seating for the main dining rooms and to encourage guests to spread out through the ship.

Carnival Celebration’s Cucina del Capitano Menu

I started with the ligurian minestrone soup and had the grilled shrimp for my entree. Jay began with nonna’s meat balls and then had spaghetti carbonara. For dessert I enjoyed the lemon frozen torte and Jay ordered espresso with a side of gelato, then combined them for a DIY affogato, one of his favorite desserts!

After dinner we went to the Grand Spectrum Theater for Lisa Alvarado’s comedy show.

Fun Day at Sea #8

Somehow it’s already the next to last day of our cruise! We started the morning with some cappuccinos from Bar 820 and then went to donate and get our shirts for the Groove for St. Jude. After that we headed up to Guy’s Pig & Anchor for breakfast. We stayed there for some sports trivia. Then went to Pixels to buy one of our cruise portraits.

We went to our room to change and then headed up to the Ultimate Playground to do a couple rounds of the ropes course.

For lunch we went to Cucina del Capitano. I started with the di verde soup and Jay had the fried mozzarella. We each got the pasta bowls with bolognese this time, just different pasta shapes.

At 2pm the Groove for St. Jude started. This is a charity event that Carnival holds on every cruise to raise money for the St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. In 2022, Carnival Cruise Line raised more than $3.5 million for St. Jude, with more than $1 million raised in the last three months of the year.

After that we went down to Limelight Lounge for Calling All Nerds trivia and stayed for mythology trivia. We saw on the Hub app they were holding another tea time so we tried it again. This time it wasn’t as busy, so we were able to get something from each round of tea, scones, sandwiches and cakes.

On our way to that evening’s comedy we stopped by Latitude’s for some drinks. I had the Bramble and Jay ordered a Pimm’s Cup. Then we went to The Punchliner for Thomas Brown’s comedy show. After that we went to the Grand Spectrum Theater for the premier of the Playlist Production show, Color My World.

Then we went back to the Punchliner for another of Thomas Brown’s shows where he invited two other comedians to join him.

At 10:30pm we went to a late dinner at Bonsai Sushi. This really has become our favorite restaurant on this ship. I love the spice they add to the edamame (the waitress told me the name of it, shichimi togarashi, and I can’t wait to get some at home). The spicy tuna roll is really spicy without a lot of mayo, it’s just so good. Jay’s favorite are the gyuniku beef skewers. After dinner we rolled back to our room (we seriously may fast for a few days when we get home).

When we arrived back at our stateroom for bed, there was the dreaded farewell letter with debarkation information and luggage tags waiting for us. That can only mean one thing: our cruise is almost over.

Fun Day at Sea #9

It’s the last full day of our cruise. We started our morning by watching the F1 Abu Dhabi Qualifying in our room. Then we went down to Bar 820 for coffee before heading to Guy’s Pig & Anchor for some breakfast.

At 10am we went to Carnival Kitchen for our Pasta Master Class. We really enjoyed learning to make fresh pasta and a delicious sauce to pair with it (so much so that Jay ordered a pasta press attachment for our mixer, looks like I have more fresh pasta in my future).

Around 3pm the Captain made an announcement that due to a medical emergency we’d be getting into Miami early at 2am, but it would not affect debarkation times.

It rained off and on the rest of the day. We were interested in booking another ride on Bolt: Ultimate Sea Coaster, but it was closed due to the rain. I’m happy we got to ride it once at least. My advice: book it early in your cruise, so you don’t miss out, you never know when it will be closed for weather or maintenance.

We spent the afternoon hanging out at Guy’s Pig & Anchor (they had run out of most bourbons at this point) then we went to Alchemy Bar (who had run out of basil and berries).

At 7pm we went to Limelight Lounge for Thomas Brown’s comedy show. After many laughs, we went back to Alchemy Bar for a bit.

Though we had been avoiding it all day, it was time to pack. We begrudgingly headed back up to our room to quickly shove all our stuff in our suitcases and put them outside our door for pickup.

Walking around the ship, trying to soak it all in once last time, we found cornhole outside of Deco Deli and Miami Slice on the Lanai. So we played a quick game.

This should surprise no one at this point, but we decided to go to Bonsai Sushi for one last dinner. It was delicious, as usual!

Miami, FL

And just like that… the 14 day maiden voyage of the Carnival Celebration is over. Today, we woke up to a miserable and rainy Miami, which coincided splendidly with my mood.

We watched the F1 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix in our room. Everyone had to be out of their staterooms by 10am, so we said one last goodbye to our cabin, then walked up to the Lido Marketplace buffet for some breakfast.

We just stayed there and relaxed while they called the debarkation groups. Don’t worry, we didn’t go hungry, they opened the buffet and Shaq’s Big Chicken again for lunch.

We were the last group, #31, which was called at 12pm. At 12:15pm Lee, the cruise director, made the final call so we reluctantly headed down to the gangway and made our way off the Carnival Celebration for the final time.

Though sad this cruise is over, it always makes it easier when we have another one to plan and look forward to. Next June, we’ll be cruising on the Island Princess to the Norwegian Fjords over the summer solstice. It’s going to be weird not having any sunsets (or sunrises, not that I’m ever awake for those anyway). Until then, happy cruising!