Just back from Constellation W. Carib. 4-night sailing 31 Jan 2013

[AndyB]

Just back from a wonderful, relaxing long weekend aboard the Constellation. After reading so many unhappy reviews on Connie recently I was a little worried, but happy to say we found the ship and crew to be delightful. About us: we are Andrea and Kathy, 48, best friends on a long-overdue girls’ getaway. I have cruised Celebrity 5 times before (Century 3x, Eclipse and Summit); this was Kathy’s first cruise. I was anxious to show her all the things that make cruising such a great vacation!

Happy to answer questions and give more detail, but here’s the short version:

Overall experience – 4-star – we had a fantastic time!

Food, service, the whole experience was great. Not perfect, but truly relaxing and enjoyable.

[AndyB]

Here are a few details (while they're still fresh in my mind):

• Itinerary – Key West, Cozumel, day at sea; not enough time in each port to do a whole lot, but as I booked this as a relaxation cruise, this wasn’t a problem.
  
• Stateroom – Concierge Class, #8134 starboard side just forward of the aft elevator – very convenient; bathroom was showing some wear, but bed was comfortable; balcony is pretty small, but with a table large enough for a meal.
  
• Stateroom Attendant – Joseph – was friendly and attentive, very prompt to handle our little requests (extra towels, etc.)
  
• Select Dining – never waited more than a couple of minutes, with reservations or without; I have always done early seating with the family, but wanted to try Select this time, and wasn’t disappointed.
  
• Dining room – we ate in the main dining room 3 out of 4 nights and food was very good (i.e. not on par with specialty restaurants as I’ve known them, but better than “banquet food”); service was prompt and food was the right temperature, meats cooked as we requested. Servers Ada and Reeghan (sp) handled their tables very well.
  
• Buffet – standard fare with waffle station in the morning, sushi in the afternoons; pizza and pasta (stir-fry for the pasta fixin’s was a nice touch); I heard some complain no omelet station, but Kathy had an omelet every morning, so maybe it just wasn’t advertised well.
  
• Shows – we saw one production show, “iHollywood”, which was decent; I’m not the biggest fan of the shows, but this one moved along and was well-done. Singers, dancers, a couple of acrobats. Did not attend the magic show but heard from other passengers it was not great.
  
• Other entertainment – Karaoke sing-along guy Derek Lewis was very entertaining; party band served their purpose; another Caribbean band was decent as well; piano singer in Michaels club I wasn’t very impressed with (sorry I don’t recall their names).
  
• Bars/Lounges – the Martini bar was the place to be, and we spent most of our evenings there J. Bartenders Marco, Boontham and Rizalito put on quite a show; Rendezvous lounge was lively when Derek Lewis was playing, otherwise pretty slow; I hardly saw anyone in Cellar Masters the whole trip; Reflections lounge I only saw during the day for activities.
  
• Excursions – in Cozumel we took the Passion Island by Boat excursion and had a great time on the beach – 3 ½ hours of beach time with nothing near capacity – it was heavenly – cool breeze, massage on the beach, great guacamole (the rest of the food was so-so), drinks included – a great afternoon.
  
• We didn’t do: Casino, Spa, Specialty Restaurants, Bistro on 5, Café al Bacio
  

Like I said, happy to answer any questions, and I’ll come back with other details and pictures as I recollect them. Ready to plan the next trip!

 

Andrea

[MicCanberra]

Thanks, great review/ information. Glad you and your girlfriend enjoyed it.:D

[portofrome]

Thanks for your review.

[gelo7]

Glad that you enjoyed your cruise.