JohnBoy in NC

December on Celebrity Constellation 5 nights:

OceanView for 4 people. $1285 Total cabin cost with taxes/port fees.

$425 OBC for the cabin.

Classic drink package for wife and I.

Non-alcohol drink package for kids plus 40 min of internet each.

Wish I could score this every year!

It took a few days but my TA got the 210 charge for the extra perk to be removed from my future cruise in 2018

My TA has tried 3 times to correct my birthday to no avail. At least i have 2 more years to get it fixed.

The site showed sold out for my Feb 2018 Seaside...so I perused the deck plans and gave my TA several choices and she got my cabin for me. Also got my 5% status match, yeah!

Now to study/learn about MSC!

On my recent Summit cruise my $225 TA OBC was split as 150 OBR and 75 OBN. Since I had 3 perks I grabbed 300 from the casino in case i wanted to gamble it away.

Hope we have this flexibility going forward.

We like to dress up so i wore a tux (drove to port). Saw very few tuxes (handful only). Really couldn't tell the difference between nights. Still had great time.

Thank you for your great review. I was on the Eclipse when we passed you at sea on the 14th somewhere off the NW coast of Cuba. :D

Yeah our captain blew the horn and I assumed it was towards a Celebrity ship. :) Hope to sail an S-class one day! (or maybe the new Edge class in 2018/2019)

Thank you for your great review. We are leaving on our first Celebrity cruise on the Constellation on 12/26. We have sailed on Carnival mostly but tried NCL last year with great results. We are expecting Celebrity to meet our expectations without difficulties. I admit I have been somewhat nervous after reading some of the recent reviews. Your opinions have restored my faith and erased all doubts in my mind.

Thanks for the kind words - I too was a tad apprehensive about some recent reviews---but as always take some stuff with a grain of salt and make the most out of your vacation.

I had "high" expectations and Celebrity met them for me. I trust you will have a great time! Post a review when you get back if you can.

John in NC

This will be a quick review of our first Celebrity cruise. Really been looking forward to trying Celebrity after booking our Summit cruise well over a year ago. Then I scored my best cruise deal ever with the Connie a month ago and our cruising friends jumped on it with us to make it a last minute great family/friend vacation.

We have only sailed Royal, Princess and Carnival so far, with the nod going towards Princess. However I must say I was impressed with Celebrity with regards to the service and food, and boy oh boy our first drink package.

The Connie was in great shape – smaller than I had imagined but that is due I think to the grand foyer area having limited height/expanse. Yes you could see minor flaws/maintenance issues throughout but overall nice and clean. It was nicely decorated for Christmas but not the center of activity it seemed like other ships. We mainly frequented the Rendezvous lounge for music/bar, pools, theater, aft sunset bar, and Martini bar.

Embarkation was GREAT---after checking in around 11am we sat for 5 or 10 minutes…and we were onboard around 11:15am. Disembarkation not so good—we did self-assist like 1000 others and due to the small ship size the lines were snaking all around the grand foyer and people lost their cool with the chaos. However we made it within the first main wave and were in the car at Park-N-Go at 8:30am. Park-N-Go was great BTW—first time using them and will use them again in the future.

Things that I loved about Celebrity:

Their Drink Package:

I was going to upgrade to the premium package anyway at some point but when we got to the pool at 11:30am Kevin from Jamaica brought his smile and the drink of the day –Pomegranate Mojito. Knowing that this would not be covered under the classic package—we went ahead and upgraded right there. Easy Peasy. Kevin made sure he would not run it through until we were out to see to avoid sales tax etc. Kevin took care of us the entire cruise – knew my folio number so didn’t have to give him my card ever…and of course he knew our favorite drinks at all times. I found this to be the case with other servers as well….LOVED having no slips to sign. EVER. I did tip in one dollar bills whenever I could. It was so nice to not worry about whether or not it would be included under the classic package. Now I am no expert in certain liquors and I could very well survive under the classic package…but if you want to enjoy the Martini bar then you pretty much have to upgrade. Also love that Celebrity includes specialty coffees/drinks with any drink package---Café Al Bacio is a great place.

Food:

We ate in the MDR with our 4 cabins/14 people every night, so no specialty dining. The service was great and every night the sommelier would come by and fill our glasses and someone would ask for bar service. Dinner (we had 6pm early traditional) took an average of 1 hr 15 minutes. Not bad. I found the food and selection pretty good, portions on the small side but we always ordered several dishes/apps. I would say dinner was on par with what we have enjoyed on Princess. Breakfast and lunch we always dined in the Buffet and I found it very nice. Definitely better than Royal and Carnival in terms of quality and selection at the buffet….the Royal Princess Buffet was larger and a tad better than the Oceanview Café…but really close! I love food and always find good stuff to eat on ANY cruise, even on Carnival at times (especially some of their steakhouses). While I understand loyal Celebrity cruisers are not happy with recent cutbacks and food quality, I did find my Celebrity experience enjoyable food wise (especially knowing that all mass market lines are doing the same).

Almost forgot about our one chic night. Since we drove to FLL I did bring my tux and will report that tuxedos were few and far between. It didn’t bother me because my wife and I like to dress up when we can (I bought the tux for our 2014 Royal Princess cruise) but I know it has been a hot topic of late on these boards. I also did not experience pushy photographers at all on this cruise. Some cruises are crazy in this regard if you know what I mean….so this was nice.

Entertainment:

Celebrity had a decent live house band (Ocean 5) that played several times throughout the cruise. They were pretty good, enjoyed the 80’s night and Classic Rock show times. Yes they had a DJ afterwards but having a decent live band was very nice, especially since this type of music entertainment has been lacking on our recent cruises. I know that a 5 night cruise brings on a younger clientele, but this sailing seemed pretty energetic and our whole party enjoyed the vibe! (we are in our mid-40’s). 80’s night was CRAZY…and a lot of fun to WATCH…ha! They had a great/funny illusionist (Jason Bishop) that was awesome and we saw Jayne Curry (covered many divas and was funny). We also saw I think two production shows that were not too bad…on par with other typical cruise line shows. They did have two other live band/solo artists but we did not hear them.

One Announcement per day and Non-smoking casino:

Loved this, and the captain made the one announcement even better. He was hilarious! While we don’t frequent the casino…we enjoyed being able to pass through without the extensive smoke. Nice.

So a quick summary of the two ports on our trip:

Key West was rainy off and on but we enjoyed walking around (boy that walk to the southernmost part of the continental U.S. was long – and the photo line took 20 minutes!). We tried two different key lime places based on input from the Key West boards…and Blue Haven was the best hands down (over Kermits). While Kermits was good and cheaper…Blue Haven was in another league.

In Cozumel we tried Mr. Sanchos all inclusive for the first time and we all loved it. Very nice ordering whatever food you want all day long off the menu and getting whatever drinks you wanted. Drinks were weak but you could ask for stronger. Ladies got great massages from Carmen there and the kids loved the water toys/park. Some of us enjoyed the free tequila tasting tour….the guide says he hates his day off. :) It was a fun day for all.

Conclusion:

Loved the Celebrity product and will sail again (after our January Summit cruise of course) if the deal/value is there. Prices too high for me at this point but I will always keep an eye out with Celebrity in mind for our future cruises.

Feel free to ask questions and I will chime in on other Celebrity threads/posts now that I have actually some experience with them.

Happy Cruising to All!!

JohnBoy in NC

This happened to our friends sailing on the Connie last week. Not sure if this is the case for all cruiselines/ships--but the deadbolt doesn't work like you think it would. Sailpass key will open the door even if you have deadbolt engaged. I guess this is a security feature but I would think only ship staff could have this capability and not everyone in your traveling party.

Let's just say our friends were very occupied at the time when one of their boys opened the door and barged in. He will be ok after some therapy. :)

After hearing about this we locked our deadbolt and I used my sailpass card and sure enough it opened the door as normal. SO I just thought this bit of information may benefit other couples traveling with kids.

Cheers!

JohnBoy in NC

From the OP

Just off the Connie and had Summit luggage tags waiting for me at home. Luckily I saw it and grabbed it before my wife went threw the week's mail. Again I did NOT check the box to mail me tags. My coworker who is going on the same cruise received hers as well without asking Celebrity to do so.

Nice perk but not if you want to keep it a secret! :) Anyhow hope this helps future cruisers planning a nice surprise for their spouse.

Happy cruising all!

JohnBoy

I'll try on Summit next week. Since it's moving from ship to ship (like a noxious plague), and Lois reports Summit was still good, I'll ask.

 

We have $600 from Celebrity and classic drinks, tips, etc., and MC freebies, so I may just be bringing home lots of some over-priced (but free to me) something.

 

I've spent a year expecting to be spending that $600 in San Juan. But as long we sail and have fun, it's a win.

Please post results if you can. On Summit in January and have lots of OBC as well. Have a great cruise!

That's a GREAT idea! :) That way, the OP would still have the tags to use -- as part of the surprise -- when he tells her! :cool:

Thanks everyone for the info---great idea to send to another address. We do use an online TA and I will ask her not to send (if they do or as others surmised maybe a glitch in the system this past time).

Can't wait to sail Celebrity soon!

John in NC

For my upcoming cruise on Connie, I did request luggage tags and received them. Then the following week I got more luggage tags from Celebrity...so really no need to request from the website/My Reservation.

So can you request Celebrity NOT to send us luggage tags via mail? Reason being my January Summit cruise is a TOTAL Surprise for my bride...and I don't want to tip her off by receiving a Celebrity mailing a month or two before the trip. She knows she is going on a cruise but not which cruise line, itinerary etc.

Can Celebrity flag in their system to stop automatic mailing of luggage tags?

(great service BTW, just don't want it for this sailing!)

Thanks

John in NC

LOL You're welcome John Boy! Now I wonder if I can score a second perk? See you on the Connie!

YES thank you for the price alert and your upgrade story!!! We are both happy happy happy. Good luck on getting the 2nd perk!

BTW my friend was trying to do the same but waited too long I think...quad veranda gty gone for a few days now...and his price difference is now several hundreds of dollars in his category.

Hi all

Have Classic drink package on upcoming Connie cruise. From past threads I know you can upgrade to the Premium drink package as long as there are a few days left on your cruise. With a 5 nighter - the timetable is shortened of course. Any experience on upgrading on a 5 nighter--can you wait until the first sea day? (Day 1 - embark, Day 2- Key West, Day 3 - sea day...)

May do once we leave FLL heading to Key West...but wanted to know if I had some options.

Thanks!

jw

Qsine is good. If you choose to do it I would try to join your friends. Qsine is a venue that I believe is more enjoyable as a group though as you can fill up pretty fast as it is tapas style.

 

Normandie is true fine dining with table side cooking. If you do the whole spectrum of the menu(appy/salad/dinner/dessert/cheese) you're looking at a $250 dinner for 2 for $100. The service is wonderful and the food just as good.

I don't know how I can be able to eat dinner at both places! Skip lunch? Normandie sounds nice....I will probably give it a try!

Thanks for the tips everyone!

Don't get your hopes up too high about the ipad - stock fluctuates and is often quite lousy when you are looking for the newest ...

 

Have a great cruise.

yes I had read about this on the boards...we have a mini and would be ok with the current version and not the newest. I plan to price what is on the market in early January and if a decent model is on the ship...then maybe pull the trigger? My bride is chomping at the bit for a "nice" Christmas present of an ipad...and the Summit cruise is a total surprise---so I am going to hold her off if I can without spilling the beans as to why wait till later? :)

Sounds good. You do know that for a 5% fee you can pull that OBC from the casino as cash? Bring down the cost of the trip even more.

I do - but have 3 of my kids on the cruise (my son rooming with his friend) so the $300 Celebrity OBC will be used for grats for 5 people!...and some of the TA OBC will probably be used for some pictures I bet.

Yes if the TA OBC shows up as nonrefundable then we will definitely visit the casino if we have any left on the last day. For my Summit cruise I have even more total OBC and with the Pick3 promo we will either be buying an ipad or getting cash from the casino! :)

John

Great get! See that you're doing Summit. Make sure you do Normandie before the restaurant is removed during her drydock.

Yeah...another couple is going on this cruise with us and they have already booked QSuine...which I want to do but they did it on formal night...so hmmmm. I saw where Normandie is going away for Tuscan Grille...if they offer a good discount we may try it...I guess the Connie cruise will give us a taste of what to expect in the MDR.

I take it you had a great experience at Normandie? Looks like a nice place/romantic.

Thanks!

John

Recently went through an interesting set of upgrade after final payment experiences on Celebrity. End result - VERY Happy.

Originally scored a great deal on quad inside GTY cabin on Connie. Made final payment and then an even BETTER deal came up for a quad OceanView GTY. The price was actually lower than what I paid for my inside (by like $30 or something), but my TA got Celebrity to upgrade to OV GTY for the price I paid for my inside plus I got to add 1 Perk (GoBig!) - so I choose the $300 OBC since a 5 night sailing.

Next day I got two sets of friends and their kids to bounce on the incredible deals for quads GTYs (3/4 free, plus non-alcohol package and 40 internet min) that Celebrity had going on.

Then a week later I saw where for $70 more for my same OceanView GTY I could get the GoBetter! (adding one more perk)---Classic package for my wife and I. Here is what is interesting - TA said Celebrity would not give me the drink package for the $70 difference, but it would be $150 flat. I don't know where or how they pulled that number...but I ended up taking the offer. They had to apply some sort of coupon in their system for it to work and required supervisor approval, but I now see it under Order History in Manage my Reservation on celebrity website.

Of course I will take my TA paperwork onboard...but with 2 perks and a lot of TA OBC with an OV and 2 kids free - scored my best cruise deal ever!

Look forward to sailing Celebrity (two M-class sailings coming up)....and hope to sail an S-Class sometime later. I am a big Princess fan and I hope our friends experience a great time (they have only sailed Carnival/RCCL). Look forward to being able to contribute on the Celebrity boards once I have sailed them a few times. I appreciate all of the knowledge/experience that people have shared - really helps one plan!

John in NC

Usually I don't check every time Royal has a sale...but this is the first time I saved some $...$280 total (lost $50 OBC from TA since the total cost went below a threshold).

My Jan Allure 2017 is still $600 higher with this sale vs what I grabbed it for this summer.

John in NC

I have been looking at the 5 night Connie 11/23 (thanksgiving) as I'm on the cruise after.

 

An inside GTY can be had with taxes for $697.37 with a Resident discount.

 

It can be had for $770 including Classic Beverage and $300 OBC (Better).

 

So this is $77 a day per person, drinks package alone would have been $64.90 per day per person

 

Not a bad deal.

I can only see Residents Offer...no Better deal. Homepage Holiday 2015 promo limits to December only (for me). Great deal if you grabbed it!!!

John in NC

Will they have decorations Dec 12th week? Hope so!!

John in NC

Thanks John. I think we will give it a try :)

One last recommendation....eat a light lunch! Hope the weather is perfect and enjoy yourselves!