Ft. Lauderdale – Nassau, Bahamas – Ft. Lauderdale  -July 20 – 22, 2009 

As you know we have been talking about the new ship in port, the Bahamas Celebration.  Celebration Cruise Lines flagship is the newest vessel in the short cruise market specializing in Bahamas itineraries of 2 and 3 nights.  The ship sails twice weekly on two night cruises and then a 3 night on the weekend.  I had walked on the ship several times but finally had an opportunity to sail and experience first-hand this product.

The ship was formerly a ferry in the Baltic and has been extensively refit for its new role of Bahamas Celebration.   The public areas on this vessel are comparable to the mass market vessels and in most cases, newer.   The ship does feature a 5 deck atrium and glass elevators and the spa and shops on deck 4 are expansive and new.  The spa and gymnasium are brand new and are very large for a ship this size.  Speaking of size, the Bahamas Celebration is the only 1000 passenger ship to be found in the port which makes it especially attractive to potential charterers and large event promoters. 

We arrived to the port around 2pm for embarkation as the ship sails at 6:30PM on all of her itineraries.  This is unique as well.  Great for those who want to put a full day in prior to heading on vacation.  Once we checked in, we made our dinner reservations for both nights.  The Bahamas Celebration has 5 dining venues including the Cove, an intimate specialty restaurant.  All dinner restaurants require reservations but only the Cove has an upcharge of $25 per person.  The Crystal Dining Room, Rio’s, Trattoria, and the Poolside Buffet round out the dining options.   We opted to have dinner on the first night at the Cove and at Rio’s – the Brazilian Steakhouse.  From here we boarded the vessel and were met by the line of stewards in white gloves and were escorted to our stateroom.

The Bahamas Celebration features standard inside and ocean view cabins and 3 levels of suites and also has a coach category.  The standard staterooms are a comfortable 155 square feet with eiter twins or queen beds.  Bedding is not convertible at the moment so it is important to choose the correct cabin.  The suites are very nice and feature vanities, sitting areas and in most cases double windows.  All standard staterooms and suites have flat screen LCD televisions in addition to telephones.  Power is European but the stewards have converters that are available upon request.  The coach cabins are the no frills staterooms which are either upper/lower berth configuration or one queen and are just under 100 square feet.  These cabins are truly better suited for single occupants, in my opinion.  One of the pleasant surprises were the bathrooms which were a very nice size and most featuring showers with sliding doors that were very comfortable.  Also, Celebration Cruise Lines does provide complimentary soaps, shampoos, and conditioners in all staterooms.

Once we had a look at the staterooms it was up to the pool deck for a cocktail and sail away.  The ship’s pool is on the forward top deck and there are two great covered bars up here as well.  We enjoyed a couple of tropical cocktail and then walk forward of the pool to the sunning area where there are some south beach inspired sun beds as well as deck chairs and tables.  Once we sailed away we walked aft to find the “Pirates of the Caribbean” children’s retreat which is a water park.  A deck above is the water slide which rivals any of the big ships.

We walked through the rest of the public areas which included the Casino, Pub 437, the Ocean Breeze Lounge and the View Show Lounge.  The Casino is ample sized and is a really nice room.  The Casino Bar is a great spot to hang out and people watch while taking in some sports on the big screen.  Pub 437 is an English Pub inspired bar and features a solo act or duo nightly and also features sports on the flat screens.  The Ocean Breeze Lounge is a very nice room on the aft of the vessel that has great ambience.  It opens up to the back deck privately and would be an ideal location for private group events and/or meetings.  The View is the main show lounge on the ship and double as the disco afterwards.  It is a two-deck lounge with two bars and dance floors and really lights up at night.

Our dinner in the Cove was very intimate.  We were one of only 3 tables being served as we chose to dine late (9:00P).  The menu was very nice including nice appetizers like escargot and shrimp cocktail and main courses of lobster, filet mignon, salmon, etc.  A very reasonable and nice wine list is available here as well.  We chose a very nice white wine and enjoyed our service.  The food was good but fell short of the expectation you associate with an up charge restaurant.  I must mention, however, that we were on the first voyage that the Cove was open for and I will account some of it to this.

After dinner we went to the View for the show.  The Bahamas Celebration entertainment is set to their room and featured a 3 person dance team to start then a vocalist that sang some modern and classic numbers.  The two features were next – a cirque du soleil juggler and then the adult comedian.  The crowd was into it and I thought that the show was fun.  One of the good things I thought was that they got people up and onto the dance floor at the end of the show to “officially” open the disco which was a great time.   The disco went strong until we parted at 3AM and I am certain it went beyond that.

We arrived in the Bahamas on Tuesday and were very happy to see that we had the best slip in the dock, just 15 or 20 feet to the welcome center.  The Bahamas Celebration procures this location because it visits 3 times a week and if you’ve ever walked the long dock in Nassau in the humid summer, this is definitely appreciated.  We enjoyed Nassau for the day before returning to the vessel for a relaxing nap prior to sailing off.

We had a walk through the photo gallery prior to stopping in to Pub 437 for a cocktail and then made our way to Rio’s for dinner.  Again we chose the late seating of 9:00pm but, unlike the Cove, Rio’s was packed.  We were seated and headed to the buffet to pick up some side items and salads.  Once we returned to the table we were greeted by the waiters carving the meats from the skewers.  Cuts of beef, chicken, pork and turkey were offered.    We did find that, although the selections were nice that the walk around service was sporadic and by 10pm it seemed that it was finished.  We had only sampled a few cuts and I specifically asked the maitre’d if they were through as we had been waiting on the steak specifically.  He did make a great gesture and brought us out a fresh plate of carved steak although the general walk through service was wound down.    This concept is great but considering the time it takes to be seated and then visit the buffet for your sides – they need to do a better job of keeping the meats coming out fresh and timely. 

From dinner we opted to skip karaoke at the Ocean Breeze but rather headed back to the disco at the View for another fun night.

When we awoke on Wednesday, I was surprised that we were not already alongside the pier in Port Everglades but still sailing in.  This was at about 830AM.  We headed to the buffet for breakfast on deck.  The breakfast buffet is rather ordinary featuring precooked scrambled egg dishes, bacon and sausage and breads.  There was fresh fruit and yogurts which we opted for as well as juices, coffee and tea.

From breakfast we headed down to the main desk to pick up our liquors purchased in Nassau as they return them to you the final morning.  From there we relaxed in our cabin until disembarkation began and we were called to walk off.

In summary, the Bahamas Celebration is the unique 2/2/3 night Bahamas product.  The ship is useable for certain events and charters without a doubt.  Obviously the coach cabins should be left to singles in our market or not used at all.  I also think that they need to up the food and beverage a notch to compete directly with the 3night mass market.  This was a good cruise and we had a great time.  We would go again and I really think that event promoters should consider this vessel for charter or large groups.  At 1000 pax, this is the way to go.