The Constellation

Perhaps we just need a little reassurance! We took our first Celebrity cruise last March on The Equinox and LOVED it. Since I'm retiring the last part of December, we decided to book the 14 night Southern Caribbean cruise on The Constellation in January/2012 to celebrate.

There seems to be a great loyalty to this older ship, and I do understand that it won't be The Equinox. However, after reading some recent reviews of The Constellation I'm a little concerned about "old, dirty bathrooms", "rusted banisters on the balcony", and "this ship should be retired."

We're pretty easy to please, but should we be concerned? I still think we're going to have a great time but that's the way we approach every cruise!!! :)

Best class of Celebrity ships.. She had a huge redo last year and we were in the Med on her last August. We loved it...sure she is not brand new, but I think you will love her. Going on Infinity next month before it is redone and will be on Summit after her redo in Jan. HAPPY SAILING!!!:p:p

I was on Connie last November for her 1st Caribbean cruise since her refurbishment. And while I did not perform a "White Glove" inspection, I found the ship to be in perfect condition.

How old were the reviews you were reading?

I loved my Connie cruise so much that I have a repeat performance booked this December.

My favorite ship. Will be sailing on her again for 27 days in Novemeber. Adding the Tuscan Grille and the Bistro on 5 made the ship even better. Found the ship to be in excellent condition. The crew exihibited great pride in this ship.

This ship was spotless and looked great last August. What you read is not very accurate. Perhaps they are reviews of fans of other cruiselines who never sailed on her but feel compelled to provide their opinion - you know, heckling the other team?

Anyone who thinks she should be retired is - how can I say this delicately - NUTS!

Thanks so much for the quick responses. We're looking forward to another great experience with Celebrity. Hope everyones next cruise is a great one! :)

The Constellation is in great shape and is being well maintained. I'd disagree strongly with the observation that the bathrooms are dirty and old or that the banisters are rusted and do not feel the ship needs to be retired. We thoroughly enjoyed our 14 nights on her last March (probably the best itinerary in the Caribbean) as we did a recent cruise on the Eclipse earlier in the winter.

With that said she is almost 10 years old. While last years refurbishment did include replacement of almost all soft goods (carpeting, upholstery etc) she remains a 10 year old ship, albeit a well maintained one. Proper ongoing maintenance on a 10 year old ship means that if you look around you'll see many areas which have just been painted but you also might find some areas that are next in line and an area here and there that has one too many coats of paint. This applies to other ongoing maintenance areas as well.

The point is that some cruisers will enjoy a wonderful trip on the older and well maintained Constellation. Others will only be happy on a ship that looks, feels, and is, brand new. If you are one of the latter then I suggest you stick with one of the newer S class ships such as the Eclipse or Silhouette. But if the traces of age and wear that are unavoidable on an older ship won't detract from your cruise then you'll have a wonderful time on the Constellation.

We sailed on her this past March and just got off two days ago after a B2B in Europe. The Connie is a beautiful ship in great condition. You will enjoy your cruise for sure. We enjoy her so much we booked another 14 night Southern Caribbean for next March.

Love the Constellation - my favorite Celebrity Ship. Did the 14 day Southern Caribbean Cruise on Connie in 3/2011. Great cruise and great ports.

We, too, were on Constellation in Feb. of this year for a two week cruise. our second time on here in a couple of years and she was in perfect shape. With her updates and new additions, she has some of the feel you had on Equinox. You can find rust on almost any ship you sail on if you look for it (well, maybe not Silhouette because she's so new) but ships require constant maintenance to keep up with their harsh environment.

I don't recall any dirty restrooms in Feb. and I notice those kinds of things. Whoever said she should be retired is mistaken. She is a wonderful ship! I'd sail her anytime. We had a wonderful cruise in Feb.

ENJOY your cruise!

I dont think you need to worry. Six months ago we went round the horn on Constellations sister ship Infinity . This ship has not been 'soltizised' yet and the reviews were quite poor with people constantly saying the ship was worn out and rusty etc.

After sailing twice on Equinox , we were quite worried but we were actually pleasantly surprised and actually liked the ship better than Equinox!!!

The Constellation has already been refurbished so should be even better than Infinity and we have booked a cruise on her for the southern caribbean in Jan 2012.

I will also be sailing the Constellation for the first time in October and was happy to see this thread pop up. To those of you whom have called the Connie "your favorite ship", could you please elaborate? What is it about her that makes it your favorite? My only other Celebrity cruise was on the Millennium about 3 years ago, and I enjoyed it, with the exception of the speaker that was mounted underneath our balcony that played jazz music 24 hours a day for 17 days. I would have preferred to be lulled asleep by the sounds of the ocean and not by Herb Alpert. :)

Is there much difference between the two ships?

Matt in Hawaii

I dont think you need to worry. Six months ago we went round the horn on Constellations sister ship Infinity . This ship has not been 'soltizised' yet and the reviews were quite poor with people constantly saying the ship was worn out and rusty etc.

After sailing twice on Equinox , we were quite worried but we were actually pleasantly surprised and actually liked the ship better than Equinox!!!

The Constellation has already been refurbished so should be even better than Infinity and we have booked a cruise on her for the southern caribbean in Jan 2012.

Hey, if you're leaving on The Constellation on 1/14/12, we're on the same cruise!!!! Regardless, have a great time, as we plan on doing. :)

I love the M class ships. The redo is nice. The old do was also nice. I'd sail on either. I just hope that in the redo, they get new mattresses.

I LOVE the Constellation. She is my favorite ship. I sailed on the Constellation right before the redo and it was fantastic! The ship is great! The crew is great! My cruises on the Constellation get a 10+!

The constellation was our first Celebrity cruise (December 2010), we loved it so much that while we were on the RCI Rhapsody of the seas in May we missed the Connie and used the onboard booking option to book a Connie cruise in April. We are doing almost the exact same 14 day itinerary again. It was a great cruise a good mix of great ports and great sea days.

As for the Connie itself, we were on it after the refit and it was all really nice and new looking. In the rooms, the carpet, curtains, bedding, couch, etc. all looked really new. The bathrooms are old, as in they are not the newly designed ones with glass doors, etc., but they were clean and we had no problem with them. The rest of the ship had a really great atmosphere and we loved the layout. It is a fairly large ship, but it never felt large (we love the approx. 1300 people feel of the HAL Maasdam, but we liked the Connie better - it didn't feel like it was that much bigger of a ship). We loved the martini bar and met lots of great people. The staff was also very friendly and very nice.

All and all we remember the Connie as one of our favorite cruises ever.

Sue

We have just returned from a 12 night Baltic cruise on the Connie. Last year we did the Med on Equinox. Loved both ships! Both times we had balcony cabins. We found the storage space much better on the Connie both in the room and the bathroom. Loved the Rendezvous Lounge and Reflections and most of all can't say enough wonderful things about the staff and their interaction with everyone. We liked the Equinox but the atmosphere on the Connie was much warmer and friendlier.

Perhaps we just need a little reassurance! We took our first Celebrity cruise last March on The Equinox and LOVED it. Since I'm retiring the last part of December, we decided to book the 14 night Southern Caribbean cruise on The Constellation in January/2012 to celebrate.

 

There seems to be a great loyalty to this older ship, and I do understand that it won't be The Equinox. However, after reading some recent reviews of The Constellation I'm a little concerned about "old, dirty bathrooms", "rusted banisters on the balcony", and "this ship should be retired."

 

We're pretty easy to please, but should we be concerned? I still think we're going to have a great time but that's the way we approach every cruise!!! :)

We took 14 days cruise on Connie last April after her make over - sure, few things were disappointing, like some rusting on the the balcony and balcony furniture being old. But all public bathrooms and other public areas were very clean. This was our 4th time on Constellation and was one of the best cruises we took (40+). We did like the Equinox, but Connie is our favorite, she has her charm. It is all comes down to what is important. We loved it. And will be going next April to say good buy to her before she is moved to do short runs.

We did the Holy Land cruise on Equinox last October and the Baltic this May. We thought the Equinox was outstanding, but the Connie was very nice. Thought there were more little private areas, better shows and personalized service on the Equinox. You will have a great time on both.

We love the Constellation. Our last trip on her was last November. Never found her dirty or rusty. I am sure if you look hard enough you could find a penny size of rust on any ship, after all they sail on the ocean with all that salt air. I love the new Solstice class ships but that would not stop me from sailing on a M class. Enjoy 14 days sailing on the Constellation and make up your own mind whether the negative comments were true.

Pat

Hey Pat!

The Connie has always been one of my favorite ships. It just has a great 'feel'. :)

Hey Pat!

The Connie has always been one of my favorite ships. It just has a great 'feel'. :)

Hi Gail, I agree Constellation has always pleased me. We would be going on her again but Silhoette is coming to my backyard so I just had to jump on. Sorry to see that she is doing short cruises in 2013. Loved her 14 day southern itinerary.

Pat

Tuggers- where have you been hideing?? Hope to read a " Live from the decks" pretty soon.

Greetings

Michael

Just returned from a cruise to the fjords and found the Connie in fine shape. As others have said, nothing is going to make her a "new" ship, but everything was spotless and the crew was outstanding. It was a lovely cruise.

We were on the Constellation in March, 2011 for a 14 night cruise. She was absolutely beautiful and in great shape. The ONLY complaint I had is....... the cruise wasn't nearly long enough. I am now looking foward to our next cruise on the Equinox in March, 2012.