Djptcp

Eating at the Columbia Restaurant in Ybor City is a must and you should make reservations. It has been in the same family since 1905 and the ambience and food are superior. DH and I have had lunch and dinner there many times and always bring out of town guests there when visiting us. We recently tried the Tampa Bay Brewing Company, also in Ybor City. It was featured on Diners, Drive-ins and Dives on the Food Channel. It's not a dive nor a diner, but a nice restaurant with a microbrewery. Food was good with a huge selection of beers. If you are a gambler, the Hard Rock Casino and Hotel is huge with excellent dining venues. If you want some nice beaches head over to Treasure Island on the Gulf Coast. Driving on the Tampa freeways can be challenging with lots of slow downs.

We have never "cheated" on ships' smoking policies and find Northern Aurora's comment totally unwarranted. I hope other Celebrity passengers are more "affable". We have strictly observed other cruise lines' smoking policies for over 30 years of cruising. Maybe choosing Celebrity was a mistake.

We are newbies on Celebrity (75 cruises mostly on Holland America and Carnival) and will be sailing on the March 13, 2024 Ultimate Caribbean and the Americas cruise. The Celebrity smoking policy says there are designated smoking areas on its ships and we are curious where they are on the Constellation? Thanks.

Thanks for the review. DH and I booked our first Celebrity cruise the other day - 12 day Ultimate Caribbean cruise in March, 2024. We have read many positive reviews of the Constellation which rid our fears of taking an older ship. We have sailed on 75 cruises,  mostly Holland America and Carnival, and live 50 minutes from the Port of Tampa. The fog can certainly be a pain sometimes.

I went to complete the Health Assessment for our Sat. cruise and the same thing - no credits, no booked cruises, and no cruise history. Also glad we aren't the only ones!! I emailed our PVP about it for help. Must be a computer glitch.

Thanks for the info. Interesting article, too.

We  just booked the Freedom for a 5-day cruise in April and when we went to order a bottle of liquor for the cabin, we could only order beer or wine, no liquor. When did this start?? 

Coincidentally, when we went to order a bottle of liquor for a Holland America cruise in October, 2023 there were only 6 choices (1 rum, 1 vodka, etc.) with a huge price increase. There used to be many liquor choices. Holland is owned by Carnival Corporation. We were able to order a bottle for our Jan. and Feb. 2023 Holland cruises, but those were ordered in late 2022 with the many choices.

I think you will love Holland America. DH and I are 4* Mariners on Holland and Diamonds on Carnival, so have lots of experience on both. The Holland ships are much more elegant than the over-the-top 70's decor on the Carnival ships. The food is superior on Holland, the crew is more gracious, the ambiance is more to our liking, and very few kids. We tend to meet more people on Holland ships than we do on Carnival; I guess because we are closer to the Holland demographic than on Carnival these days. Our last few Carnival cruises have been less than satisfactory with the passengers.

We haven't sailed on NCL in many years so can't make any comments about NCL now. Friends of ours who were dedicated Celebrity cruisers now prefer NCL.

I receive emails from the Holland America Inventory Dept. a week or so before the cruises (not every cruise). We jump on the Neptune Suite upgrades (always a cost but not so bad and always worth it). Usually receive the upgrade offers a couple of times a year and we can choose our cabin.

Start with an Emperor's Nectar cocktail. Then shrimp tempura and lobster pot stickers. The wasabi tenderloin or lamb chops. Then top it off with a flight of the 3 delicious sorbets.

Check FAQs on Holland website.

DH and I have sailed on the Rotterdam 4 times since she debuted in 2021. Love, love it.

Only complaints are the way too loud music in the Blues venue, smaller Neptune Suites, and the tiny casino.

Food is superior in the Tamarind, Rudi's Sel de Mer, Canaletto, and the Lido Marketplace. Have never eaten in the main dining room. The decor is modern and understated, great crew.

DH and I have sailed on the Rotterdam 4 times in the past year and I agree that the music is just way too loud. I've tried listening to the Blues groups from the 3rd Deck above the venue, but I can't stand it, just hurts my ears too much.

Having said that, we love almost everythig about the Pinnacle Class ships and will sail on the N. Statedam in Jan, and Feb. I probably won't be able to listen to the Blues groups, but will enjoy almost everything else aboard the NS. My other major complaint about this class of ships is the tiny size of the casinos. At least I can smoke in them.

When  you did the check-in for the onboard accounts you must have checked the boxes on each credit card to allow both access to both cards. Look at it again and make the changes.

DH and I have sailed on the Magic 3 times since July 2021 and loved it. The specialty restaurant, Cucchina, is wonderful and we always ate there at least twice on each cruise.

Loved having the two casinos (am a smoker) as it was nice telling smoke complainers to go to the non-smoking casino.

Did the OP not think in advance that Thanksgiving week would have a lot of families with a lot of kids??

Emperor's Nectar in the Tamarind - wow!

We have sailed on the Rotterdam 3 times and sail again on her next week. Highly recommend the Canneletto and the Tamarind. We are trying Rudi's Sel de Mer next week so can't comment on it yet, but the menu looks delicious. The Asian noodle dishes in the Lido Market are very tasty.

DH and I are 4* Mariners and have sailed on 2 Holland cruises since we reached 4* status. We were not invited to any awards ceremony, but DH did notice one being held on the NA in October. We will be sailing on the Rotterdam for 11 days starting on Nov. 30th so we'll see what happens. Truthfully, we didn't know 4* received any kind of recognition, although we used to enjoy attending the Mariner luncheons.

In their rush to return to normalcy the cruise lines, IMHO, deleted the vaccination requirement and the pre-cruise testing. Bring them back, please.

I had the short ribs and gnocchi on the  Nieuw Amsterdam a few weeks ago - always delicious but a lot of food after appetizers and bread. I think I will order a half portion on the Rotterdam at the end of this month. Thanks for the suggestion.

DH and I often share the antipasto appetizer. When eating at a specialty restaurant we have breakfast, but no lunch so we bring our appetites to them and enjoy the food. Some of the selections can be too much, like at the Pinnacle Grill. Wish some of their steaks were smaller.

DH and I are both Diamonds and are fast approaching our 50th Carnival cruise. Do we each get one Milestone cruise or do we only get one for both of us? We don't recall when we had our 25th Milestone cruise if we just got one or both had the one.

We always order the Steakhouse Selections in the MDR several times during our cruises. Definitely worth it. The lobster tails are very large and cooked perfectly and the filet mignons are also cooked just the way I like them (med rare). MDr fare is okay, but the Steakhouse Selections are much better.

Thank you to all responded to my confusion. DH and I are going on an 11-day Rotterdam cruise soon and will bring cans of Coke aboard for our cabin as we have ordered a bottle of rum for the cabin. Will see what happens.

I am so confused about the issue of bringing soda on board. I have read the Holland FAQs that say absolutely no alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages (soda, energy drinks, etc) may be brought onboard. The confusion rests with DH and I seeing passengers already on board at embarkation with cases and six-packs of soda with them. Most recently on the Nieuw Amsterdam in Oct., but also on the Rotterdam last Feb. and March. DH asked at embarkation in Oct. if we could bring soda on board with us and and he said yes. So, which is it???