Celebrity Constellation - Italy/Dalmation Coast 2019 - Questions??

My wife and I are considering an Italy/Damation Coast cruise on the Constellation for the fall of 2019. We have been on 1 M-class ship, the Infinity, in September 2017 and really enjoyed it. We enjoyed the Celebrity product, and while on that cruise we booked a November 2018 cruise on the Silhouette (Celebrity "feels right" by us). I always read ship reviews, but find many seem to be very biased, and of course, are "all over the board". Most recent Constellation reviews are for the Middle East. My questions are:

How are Celebrity's European offerings? This would be our first European cruise.

The itinerary is very port-intensive (a plus!). Do they offer a lot of excursions? Or best to shop around?

We found the Infinity to be in very good condition, and clean, and the layout suited us very well. Should we expect the same conditions on the Constellation?

Any thoughts/suggestions are greatly appreciated!

We are avid Celebrity cruisers and did the Dalmatian Coast cruise in 2016 on the Constellation. It's an amazing trip but, as you said, very port intensive. It's been our experience that European cruises tend to have very active roll calls and that's where to look for excursions. There are some ports you can do on your own but many require a guide. Our cruise started in Venice and ended in Rome and we allowed extra time before and after the cruise.

The Constellation is the same class ship as the Infinity and will look very familiar to you.

Have sailed the Constellation twice in the Mediterranean and enjoyed both cruises. Did a B2B on the Silhouette in October from Rome and loved it too. Have the Constellation booked for a B2B in Spring of 2019 for Dalmatian coast and Mediterranean cruises. I slightly prefer the S-class ships but have not been disappointed by the Constellation and if you plan to sail into or out of Venice the larger ships are not an option.

I prefer to arrange private or shared tours rather than ship tours. Usually much better, fewer people and often cheaper. Check out the roll call for your cruise to find others to share tours with. Also the port of calls section is very helpful.

Agree with above response that a few extra days before or after the cruise is wonderful. Let’s you get over jet lag and really explore, particularly if starting or ending in Venice or Rome.

We did a cruise on the Constellation in 2016 from Barcelona to Venice. We did two days in Barcelona before the cruise and i wish we would have done three it's a great city and so much to see. We did two days in Venice at the end and two days were perfect for us to see what we wanted to see but Venice is a very expensive city so plan to spend some money.

This July we are doing a cruise on the Reflection starting and ending in Rome, I would have been fine with the Constellation again but the Reflection had the itinerary we were looking for.

You have already cruised on an M class ship, so that should not be an issue. However, you most likely will enjoy the S class ships a little more, but that is my hones opinion...Europe is a magical place to cruise and the Adriatic is gorgeous! You will have an awesome cruise full of memories of the Dalmatian Coast and will not want to return home!

We are looking at the Constellation for our very first Celebrity cruise. We are looking at the October sailing to Spain, France and Italy. I just read a LOT of negative comments from folks just back from the mid east cruise. It is making me nervous about our choice! Our two big cruises to Europe were with Princess and then Avalon Waterways. CAn any one else reassure me that this is a good ship? We don't like the mega ships and liked the size and ports of this one Thanks!

Thanks for the replies, everyone. Yes - I do frequent the roll calls for the cruises we've been on, though thought it was a bit soon for one to exist for this cruise (but, perhaps not! I shall check.). :D The one we are considering is 10-nights, leaves from Venice, and ends in Rome. It has just one sea day, with stops in various cities in Croatia, Montenegro, Malta, and Italy. I think too that after our Silhouette Caribbean cruise, we may slightly prefer the S-class ships, but glad to hear the experience on Constellation would be very comparable to the Infinity.

In my signature line, you can read my personal travelogue (experiences) for the Italy / Dalmatian Coast cruise on board the Celebrity Constellation (M-Class).

Heather

We are looking at the Constellation for our very first Celebrity cruise. We are looking at the October sailing to Spain, France and Italy. I just read a LOT of negative comments from folks just back from the mid east cruise. It is making me nervous about our choice! Our two big cruises to Europe were with Princess and then Avalon Waterways. CAn any one else reassure me that this is a good ship? We don't like the mega ships and liked the size and ports of this one Thanks!

We were on 3 cruises on Connie last year and have 3 more booked this year! So you can see we are fans of this ship! We also do the S class but like the size and the friendly atmosphere on Connie. The cruise you are looking at we have done a number of times on both class of ship and its a great itinerary. Dianne

We did the Dalmation coast on Constellation in October 2016 and loved it.

Excursions with local guides are easy to book. Just join the RollCall of the cruise and find others planning or joining tours.

Here´s our travellogue: http://travellove.one/Our-Trips/Adriatic-Constellation-1---Ven/adriatic-constellation-1---venice.html

Just let me know if you have any questions.

I'm booked on a B2B on the Connie in the Med this spring. If you want to sail into or out of Venice, the S class ships are too large to do this. At some point, Venice may close its port to cruise ships, so gather ye rosebuds while ye may. I have sailed the Connie previously as well as the other M class ships. They're all great.

I'm booked on a B2B on the Connie in the Med this spring. If you want to sail into or out of Venice, the S class ships are too large to do this. At some point, Venice may close its port to cruise ships, so gather ye rosebuds while ye may. I have sailed the Connie previously as well as the other M class ships. They're all great.

True! The law has already been passed. Then this will be a sign not to be see anymore.

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We have been on Constellation twice, the latest time being a Middle East cruise in December 2016 . There were 8 of us and we all loved everything about it. We've also been on Silhouette and Millenium, so can compare Celebrity ships

Thanks again everyone! I love the advice I get all the time on CC! Looks like we may have to snatch this one up before it can no longer happen. This itinerary is the one leaving from Venice, with stops at several ports in Croatia, then Kotor, Montenegro; Valleta, Malta; Catania/Sicily, Italy; Naples, then Rome. Glad to hear the Connie is a still a favorite for some. We loved the look/feel of the Infinity in September 2017, so looks like this would feel "right at home.":)

Thanks again everyone! I love the advice I get all the time on CC! Looks like we may have to snatch this one up before it can no longer happen. This itinerary is the one leaving from Venice, with stops at several ports in Croatia, then Kotor, Montenegro; Valleta, Malta; Catania/Sicily, Italy; Naples, then Rome. Glad to hear the Connie is a still a favorite for some. We loved the look/feel of the Infinity in September 2017, so looks like this would feel "right at home.":)

That's an awesome itinerary. I would grab it in a hurry. Valleta is a real treat.

In my signature line, you can read my personal travelogue (experiences) for the Italy / Dalmatian Coast cruise on board the Celebrity Constellation (M-Class).

 

Heather

hvbaskey - love your travelogue! Thanks for sharing. Makes us even more excited to do this cruise.

Thanks again everyone! I love the advice I get all the time on CC! Looks like we may have to snatch this one up before it can no longer happen. This itinerary is the one leaving from Venice, with stops at several ports in Croatia, then Kotor, Montenegro; Valleta, Malta; Catania/Sicily, Italy; Naples, then Rome. Glad to hear the Connie is a still a favorite for some. We loved the look/feel of the Infinity in September 2017, so looks like this would feel "right at home.":)

I wonder if we may be on the same cruise -- is this the October 10, 2019 sailing? We booked this cruise as the middle leg of a B2B2B while on the Summit last fall (also while on a B2B2B). We have been to a number of the ports, but all three cruises have such great itineraries we had to book. Very port intensive, but when we leave the ship in Barcelona we will spend some time resting before the flights for home. We have a favorite hotel in Barcelona, so may just spend some time sleeping late -- for several days.

But back to the Constellation -- we have only done three cruises on the Constellation, with the last one some time ago in 2014. But we have always enjoyed our time on her. Lovely ship.

We did a similar cruise on the Constellation last fall going Venice to Barcelona. Totally amazing trip. The ship is fine. No, it is not new, no it is not as fancy as the S class ships and the standard cabins are a bit smaller BUT, the ship is fine, the crew is great and sailing out of Venice, a total wow. We left on a dreary weather day and it was still stunning. I only wish the ship could have gone even slower. The rest of the ports were great too. We did private tours or DIYs in each port and there are lots of great options. Make sure you allow yourself a few days in Venice. It is an amazing city with so much to see. Barcelona is great too but we had been there the year before and needed to get home so we were off the ship at 7:15am and at the airport before 8am.

Thanks for the replies, everyone. Yes - I do frequent the roll calls for the cruises we've been on, though thought it was a bit soon for one to exist for this cruise (but, perhaps not! I shall check.). :D The one we are considering is 10-nights, leaves from Venice, and ends in Rome. It has just one sea day, with stops in various cities in Croatia, Montenegro, Malta, and Italy. I think too that after our Silhouette Caribbean cruise, we may slightly prefer the S-class ships, but glad to hear the experience on Constellation would be very comparable to the Infinity.

I'm booked on the same cruise for this summer. You can email me at maltatour18@gmail.com if you'd like to touch base.

Northern Aurora - Very cool! We haven't booked yet as we need to finish paying for our Silhouette Caribbean cruise this November, but it sounds like we should try to nab this one fairly quickly. Love all the positive reviews about the ship and this itinerary. It is one of those that the more we explored it, the more fascinating it sounded!

CanadaDeb - hope you will post something in CC about this cruise - would love to hear about it.