Dining

There are two main dining rooms onboard Celebration, Vista and Horizon, and both operate as traditional set-time, set-seating facilities for dinner. Dining times for dinner are staggered; early sittings include 5:45 p.m. in Horizon and 6:15 in Vista, while late sittings include 8 p.m. in Horizon and 8:30 p.m. in Vista. A smart move on Carnival's part, this enables early-seating diners to be able to enjoy their meal without having to rush. This also nips possible bottlenecks on stairwells and in public areas in the bud, as passengers are not all rushing to dinner at the same time. Lunch and breakfast are served in open-seating fashion (on our sailing, always in Horizon). However, because there are few if any two-person tables, this isn't a great option for those who aren't in the mood to chitchat.

The Horizon Dining Room is decorated in warm brown tones on walls set off by pastel yellow linens, with rectangular and round tables, and an assortment of semi-private booths partitioned by clear panels. Golden wall sconce lighting fixtures are a nice touch. The Vista Dining Room is similar in style, but with a lighter, more pastel feel. The food surpassed my expectations (save for the usually boring salads), and I enjoyed all of my meals, particularly dessert (though, oddly, on Baked Alaska night, the Alaska wasn't actually baked). Entrees range from chateaubriand to lobster tail to roasted turkey with all the trimmings. I particularly liked the pasta dishes, as they were also available in a smaller portion as a starter dish -- perfect if you are deliberating between two different meals.

The Wheelhouse Bar & Grill buffet is Celebration's casual dining option. There was nearly always a line -- and tables were hard to come by, especially in the heat of the lunch rush -- but there is outside seating, and the eats were generally worth the wait. Each side of the buffet offers the same items, so it doesn't matter which line you are on. Table clearing is prompt, but drink service is lacking unless it is the friendly bar waiters trying to sell the drink of the day or your particular poison (they will make it a point to remember).

Hint: In another smart dining-related move, Carnival has placed the salad bar and the dessert buffet away from the regular selections, so that you can grab a few extra tomatoes or another slice of cake without having to stand in line.

The "regular" buffet for lunch includes a selection of non-green salads, such as potato, navy bean and baby shrimp, and couscous, as well as hamburgers and hotdogs, a variety of hot dishes and a carving station. One day featured turkey with all the fixings, another day roast beef. The separate green salad bar has the veggie and dressing fixings. The dessert stand features cookies and cakes which are decent, but no match to the creamy, self-serve ice cream and frozen yogurt. This station is always loaded with cones and small dishes, and is open 24 hours. The breakfast buffet offered made-to-order omelets that seemed popular though I was too impatient to wait for one. The scrambled eggs were blah, but the pancakes were incredibly hot and tasty. There was also sausage and crisp bacon, and lots of pastries and breads to choose from, plus fruit, milk, yogurt, cream of wheat, oatmeal and cereals.

The 24-hour pizzeria is located in the Wheelhouse Bar & Grill, and is an excellent bet for a snack or light lunch, especially when the lines are practically out the door at the buffet. Pizza comes in several varieties, from the standard cheese and pepperoni to a gourmet mushroom and goat cheese, and is always hot (so hot I burned the roof of my mouth two days in a row!). There are always fresh pies in or ready to go in the oven, so don't settle for a slice that has been sitting under the heat lamp. There is also fresh Caesar salad available here around the clock.

Room service is available 24 hours a day. The menu includes juices, breads and pastries, sandwiches like turkey, ham and cheese, and BLT on your choice of bread or specialty items like grilled zucchini, mozzarella and Portobello with basil aioli on focaccia (delicious) or shrimp salad on a French roll. There are also salads, veggie platters, cookies and brownies, cakes, yogurt, fruit salad, beverages (including bar service at regular bar prices). Service was very prompt; I called in an order at lunchtime and it arrived in just over 10 minutes. Full stateroom bar service is available 9 a.m. until 3 a.m.

In-stateroom continental breakfast is available by hanging a checked-off menu on your doorknob before a generous deadline of 5 a.m. You can indicate between which times you would like delivery. Service was prompt once more, perhaps too prompt: it came 15 minutes before my start time and I was still in bed (the staffer didn't seem to mind that I was in my pajamas, though). There are no hot dishes on the list, just fruit, cereals, yogurt, breads and pastries, juice, milk, coffee. Our order automatically came with milk with our cereal.

One last dining option: Bourbon Street, the ship's "promenade" area, actually has a real trolley car that becomes a sushi bar each night from 5:30 until 8:30, which is an elegant touch for an older, less luxurious ship. The selection of freshly prepared rolls (my favorite was the spicy mackerel) varies each evening.

---