12 Cool Facts about Carnival Celebration

Carnival’s new ship, Carnival Celebration coincides with Carnival Cruises’ 50th birthday! In this post, I share 12 cool facts about Carnival Celebration and ways it’s paying homage to Carnival cruise ships, past and present. Why not see if you can spot them all whilst onboard?

1. Coins in Carnival Celebration’s Promenade for every ship

Coins for every ship in the fleet, both past and present, are embedded into the promenade’s floor on Carnival Celebration. You can spot these coins outside the Golden Jubilee bar on Deck 6.

In this area, you’ll also find a selection of Carnival Cruises memorabilia and displays.

2. Glass from Carnival Victory finds a new home on Carnival Celebration

At Carnival Celebration’s Aquaria Bar, you will find repurposed ocean-themed glass murals by Italian artist Luciano Vistosi. These were previously on Carnival Victory (now Carnival Radiance).

Carnival is incorporating elements of its older cruise ships into the new Carnival Celebration design in such a cool way.

3. Cool Facts about Carnival Celebration: New Golden Jubilee Bar

To mark Carnival Cruises’ 50 year Golden Jubilee, the cruise line has named one of the bars on Carnival Celebration in its honour.

The classic décor transports you through the five decades that Carnival Cruises has been sailing. For example, the windows in the back are circular, which is a nod to the old porthole windows found on Carnival’s first ships. 

Everything has been carefully thought about, including the furniture! Seating has been modelled on that found in the Riverboat Lounge on the original Carnivale ship. The cocktail tables are identical to the ones that were in the Hollywood Boulevard venue on Carnival Fascination.

On the walls of the Golden Jubilee are original sketches and drawing from Joe Farcus, who was one of the primary designers and architects of Carnival’s most popular ships. You will also find actual artefacts from previous Carnival ships.

There are blueprints of Carnival ships to look over whilst enjoying a classic cocktail from the special menu designed for this bar.

The cocktail menu focuses around true classics like the Tom Collins, Old Fashioned and Singapore Sling.

4. Model of TSS Carnivale ship

A model of TSS Carnivale is located at the entrance to the Carnivale Restaurant. TSS Carnivale was formerly Empress of Britain and joined the Carnival Cruises fleet in February 1976, cruising from Miami.

The model was retrieved from Carnival Inspiration before it was sold in 2020 for scrapping.

Carnivale was the second ship in the Carnival fleet (the original Mardi Gras was the first).

5. Most Shopping at Sea on Carnival Celebration

Carnival Celebration boasts the most shopping outlets of any Carnival cruise ship at sea. This means that there are plenty of shops to browse and find souvenirs of your cruise.

The nine shopping outlets are:

• 50^th Birthday – just for Carnival Celebration, many of the sold-out and limited-edition 50^th Birthday merchandise will be relaunched and only available aboard the ship.
• 305 Deco Celebration – paying homage to Carnival Celebration’s 820 Biscayne zone and Miami. This collection will feature vibes of Miami with beach totes, drink coasters, bucket hats, towels, lanyards, etc.
• Romero Britto – Romero Britto has designed a Celebration-specific line of colourful products including handbags, luggage tags and passport holders.
• Ruby and Sapphire (R&S) – the extensive collection of R&S apparel and souvenirs will shout Carnival.
• Signature Hull – showcases a collection of backpacks, clothing and accessories inspired by the line’s stunning new red, white and blue hull livery.
• Key Collectors – offers a selection of limited-edition collectors’ items including unique ship models, official coins with the original and new Celebration, a Funship Freddy plush toy, funnel hats and headbands.
• Holiday – for the first few months of the ship’s service, Carnival Celebration will have a Christmas shop with new ornaments, Christmas trees and fun pyjamas for the whole family.

6. Tropicale Bar

One of the cool facts about Carnival Celebration is the Tropicale Bar situated on Deck 6 in the Celebration Central area. This bar is named after Carnival Tropicale, which was the first Carnival ship to sport the iconic whale tail funnel.

The whale tail funnel has become synonymous with Carnival Cruises and the company has even made it part of its logo.

7. Carnival Celebration’s 820 Biscayne Zone

Miami is the home port for Carnival Celebration and so there are a number of venues that incorporate this major cruise port into it’s design and menus. These can be found in the 820 Biscayne Zone, named after the original address of Carnival Cruises’ Headquarters.

In this new and exclusive zone, you can experience the culture, architectural styles and flavours of Miami, where Carnival began sailing 50 years ago.

In this zone, you will find:

• Bar 820 – exclusive cocktails created with local Miami produce are served here
• Miami Slice – complimentary pizza served throughout the day
• Deco Deli – complimentary deli sandwiches on Cuban bread
• Cucina del Capitano – complimentary restaurant, refreshed for Carnival Celebration
• Rudi’s Seagrill – specialty restaurant, first introduced on Carnival Mardi Gras

Take a look at all of the complimentary dining options on Carnival Celebration.

8. Carnival Celebration has the car from Carnival Ecstasy

Sadly, Carnival Ecstasy has taken its final sailing after 31 years in the fleet. The 1934 Rolls Royce that had been on the ship’s promenade was removed earlier this year and will feature on Carnival Celebration.

9. New Space Cruisers Activities Debut on Carnival Celebration

For children aged two to 11 years old, Space Cruisers is a brand new activities programme to get children excited about Space. Space Cruisers debuts on Carnival Celebration in partnership with NASA and promises hands-on activities for a fun and educational experience.

Children will have the chance to take part in a series of space-themed activities to earn a special patch on completion.

Camp Ocean will feature an illuminated space wall that showcases the planets with light-up constellations on the ceiling. There will be actual constellations as well as Carnival-themed constellations such as a ship model and the line’s iconic funnel.

10. Evolution of Fun Ships

A first-of-its-kind porthole gallery installation will tell the Fun Ships evolution story. This exhibition in the Gateway Zone has porthole windows featuring dioramas for each of the five decades of Carnival’s history. There is also one representing the company today and a look to its future.

It’s clear that Carnival Celebration is paying homage to 50 years of cruising and the ship is dedicated to all those that have paved the way.

11. Original Vintage Engine Telegraph from TSS Carnivale

In the Gateway Zone, you will find the original engine telegraph that was installed on TSS Carnivale in 1955. It’s permanently set to “Full Ahead” sign as a symbol of Carnival’s forward movement.

12. Keeping it in the Family

The Godmother of Carnival Celebration is Cassidy Gifford but a cool fact is that Cassidy’s mother, Kathie Lee Gifford, was the Godmother to the original Carnival Celebration.

M/S Celebration was christened in 1987 by Kathie Lee Gifford, who was spokesperson for the cruise line. She took Cassidy along to TV ad shoots for Carnival Cruises.

Little did Cassidy know that she would be invited to carry on the family connection by being the Godmother to Carnival Celebration.

Princess Cruises decided to create a similar Godmother connect when HRH Princess of Wales christened the new Royal Princess in 2013 following Princess Diana, who was the Godmother of the original Royal Princess in 1984.

Read more about famous cruise godmothers here.

Cool Facts about Carnival Celebration

I hope you’ve enjoyed discovering some of the coolest facts about Carnival Celebration. This ship truly is a celebration of 50 years of Carnival Cruises.

As the sister ship to Carnival Mardi Gras, many cruisers are looking forward to enjoying more of the newest innovations such as the BOLT rollercoaster. But Carnival Celebration is incorporating old and new ships into its design.

Let me know what you are most looking forward to on Carnival Celebration in the comments below.