Saint Greg’s Best of 2022
This is a compilation of all of my favorite parts of my cruises from 2022. The best crew members. The best excursion. The best show. And so forth. Anything that I didn’t do in the past year is not eligible to win in their category for 2022. Glory, Splendor, Magic, and Celebration cruises are the only ones eligible for these awards.
Best Ship
Carnival Celebration
The only ship that can really compete with Celebration right now is her sister ship, Mardi Gras. The dining and entertainment options on those two ships are unmatched anywhere in the fleet. I also enjoyed the historic pieces that were taken from retired Carnival ships and placed in Celebration. It was very well done.
Best Cruise Director
Ryan Rose – Magic
For the second year in a row, I thought I knew who was going to win this going into the year, but I was wrong. This was my first time with Ryan Rose as Cruise Director, and he was a pleasant surprise. His Motown Showdown was the best Cruise Director hosted event I saw all year. Don’t miss it!
Best Hostess
Abigail – Glory
I am always amazed when a person can see me once and remember my name the next day. Abigail on Glory was one of those people. She knew my name every time she saw me the entire week. It was highlighted when I went on several other ships, and the dining room staff didn’t know my name after a full week.
Best Room Steward
Rafael – Magic
Rafael may be the best room steward I’ve had in my 20 Carnival cruises. All I ask of a room steward is evening service. Rafael gave me morning service, evening service, and delivered the paper Fun Times each night. I have not seen the paper Fun Times delivered in several years. He always went above and beyond what I asked of him. Rafael is the standard by which all future room stewards will be judged. I have a feeling I’m going to be saying “He/She is no Rafael” a lot.
Best Alchemist
FJ – Splendor
FJ from Philly was definitely the most entertaining alchemist I had in 2022. She was always in a great mood, and she made some great drinks. I highly recommend her Toblerone.
Best Comedian
Happy Cole – Celebration
Happy Cole was the first comedian Carnival hired back in 1985. It’s hard to believe it took me 20 cruises to catch him on one of my ships. He’s still hilarious. I highly recommend attending his shows if he’s on one of your ships. He faced stiff competition because Carnival brings out the big guns for their early cruises on the new ships. Happy was the best.
Best Dining Team
Perwira’s team – Splendor
Perwira’s team on Splendor was outstanding. They were always on top of everything. The best dining team of 2022 for me.
Best Musical Act
The Music Box – Magic
Best Show
The Most Magnificent Circus
This show is unlike the typical shows you’ll see on other ships. The seating situation at Center Stage is challenging but they did perform this show two nights in a row. There was also a practice session during the day.
Best Excursion
Altun Ha – Glory
I highly recommend Altun Ha for several reasons. It’s the cheapest and shortest of the Belize Mayan ruins excursions. Its also the easiest of those excursions because the ruins aren’t very spread out and you don’t have to walk through the jungle to get to them.
I also liked the way they handled the excursion. On most of these Carnival excursions it’s a large group you are just stuck with it. At Altun Ha they broke us down into three smaller groups. Each group had its own tour guide.
We also got to climb two Temples at Altun Ha, one smaller temple and one larger temple. On top of all of that you get to see and climb the most important structure in all of Belize: The Temple of the Sun God. This is where the Jade Head was found which is the crown jewel of Belize. It is the structure that is on the Belikin beer bottles. The national bank of Belize was designed to look like this structure. I think Altun Ha is the best tour for the money, convenience, and significance.
Best Home Port City
New York City – Magic
This was extremely tough competition because I cruised out of New York, New Orleans, Seattle, and Miami last year. New York, New Orleans, and Seattle are my three favorite home ports.
New York just has so much to see and do. I spent three days there prior to the cruise and I probably need to go back several more times. It also has the best sail away with the New York skyline and the statue of Liberty.
Best Home Port Operation
Seattle – Splendor
I did not have high hopes when I arrived at the small Seattle port with a huge line outside. This was when you had to have all of your COVID documentation and special authorization for Canada. But once that line started moving, it didn’t stop until I was on the ship. They even had someone walking the line with a mobile printer to print boarding passes for people.
On the return I was skeptical again. This is the only port I’ve seen since the restart that does not use facial recognition. But again, the line moved smooth as silk. I walked right out of the port and onto a transfer bus to the airport, even though I had a later ticket.
Best Moment
Tracy Arm Fjord
I did a lot in 2022 but the best feeling I had was standing outside on the boat going through Tracy Arm Fjord. It was about 50 degrees. I took off the coat, hat, and gloves and just enjoyed the cold air and beautiful view. Soon after that we would see a humpback whale and a black bear. It was a great day.
That concludes my “best of” for 2022. It looks like 2023 will be full of surprises. Shipyard delays are going to push Jubilee back to 2024 on my calendar. I will be returning to Magic to see Ryan and Rafael next month. Apart from that 2023 is a bit of a mystery right now.
