Celebrity Constellation Review Jan 2014

[MikeACY]

Celebrity Cruises, Constellation.

Jan 25th – 30th 2014

 

Here is a summary of our cruise experience on the Constellation.

-Customer service department PRIOR to the cruise. Rude and unhelpful. They couldn’t care less about my issue. They left a poor impression on their cruise line. I told them if I wasn’t already booked, I would cancel my trip.

-Embark: Simple and easy.

-Ship: Clean, well maintained.

-Interior State Room: 6905, corner room. Larger then most. Some reviews said they were small, but this cruise was the opposite. Probably one of the best rooms I ever had whether it was a balcony, exterior or interior.

-Staff: Unlike the customer service department prior to this cruise, everyone was extremely friendly and seemed to enjoy their jobs. Our room steward was great, and our waiters on table 312 late seating were excellent.

Food: Buffets were as most cruise lines. Dinner was the same. My only big disappointment was there was no lobster on formal night. I was told they only give lobster on 7+ day cruises…ours were 5. I told them I just came off a 5 day cruise on Carnival in November and they gave us lobster. I was told lobster was available at one of the premium restaurants for $35 a person.

Attire in the main dinning room was business casual, except on formal night where a jacket is required. However I did see a few people wear blue jeans and another with dress shorts. I heard that on 5 day or less cruises they are more lenient.

-Brunch: Don’t miss it! Ours was offered on our last full sailing day from 10am-noon. Very good.

-Entertainment: Main theater shows were better then most cruises. They had 6 singers instead of the usual 2, and they were excellent. The last night show was really good. On other nights there was a comedian one night and a magic show on another, all in the main theater. In the other lounges I was disappointed with the entertainment. I’m not sure if it was the season, but I would estimate the average age of the passengers to be around 70, I’m in my mid 50’s. Therefore the music/shows in the lounges catered to that age group. I didn’t want to go into a lounge and here violins playing. A piano bar would have been nice (none offered, if there was I’m sure they will be playing classical music on this cruise) and there was no “night club”.

-One thing that really stood out on this cruise was the Captain. Although very professional, he was extremely funny, funnier then the cruise director. He made jokes when he introduced his Chief Crew personal, he took part in a “liar’s” show, and he and his crew members had a volley ball tournament with the cruise passengers in the main pool. Most captains you see once and that is it, not this one. He made the cruise that much better!

-Bar service: A big difference from other cruises I have been on. No one was walking around the pool deck, or anywhere for that matter, to take drink orders. Except for one or two personal pushing a beer cart, if you wanted a mixed drink you had to walk up to the many bars at the pool or around the ship. Now I didn’t find this a problem for this was the lowest bar bill I ever had on any cruise, but I could see where some passengers may not like the fact that they will have to get up off their lounge chairs to get a drink.

-Disembark: Easy, we docked at 7am, had to be out of the room at 8:45, and we were off the ship by 9:15.

-Summary: ship is nice, clean, rooms bigger then most, cruise staff friendly right down to the Captain. Our stops in Key West and Cozumel were on time and longer then most stops (10 hours at each port). Don’t forget you can bring on a 750ml of wine per person, soda (not sure of the amount but I brought a 12 pack) and water. You can email me with any questions you may have.

[Cybercsp]

Thanks for your review. We sail a week from today, and it is nice to hear that you were pleased with the captain and crew. I wonder if there are fewer bar waiters on deck because many people have the drink package and they don't want to make it too easy to get the drinks <grin>.

[Tommy3putts]

Considering this cruise next year. Thanks for the info!

[KirkNC]

Thanks for the report!

[BVIArabella]

What was the Captain's name?

I wonder if he will still be there in March?

Good review. Thanks.

[roohound]

Thanks for the review. I'm doing this cruise on 3/8 and it's good to hear positive things. Here's a really random question if you don't mind - how late can you get ice cream? I don't eat a lot of it in the "real world" but man, I do love getting some ice cream right before I go to bed - which usually isn't until 11p-12a at the earliest

[Duanerice1]

Thanks for the review. Always love reading them. I had to chuckle when you posted this:

 

"but I could see where some passengers may not like the fact that they will have to get up off their lounge chairs to get a drink."

 

You are so right but definitely a first world problem :)

Duane

[vulcan1971]

I enjoyed getting your perspective on this ship since I am booked on the 16 day westbound transatlantic for Nov 2014. I'm really looking forward to being back on an M class ship that has been "solsticized".

 

Sent from my Samsung Note 2 on the T-Mobile 4G LTE Network

[scubamommy!]

Thanks for the review! We will be on her 3/31.

 

WHAT? No night club? I thought there was one? I wonder if this changes with the general age of passengers on the ship?

[Texed]

ACY,

 

Thanks for posting. :)

[Andy]

Hi MikeACY,

 

Thanks very much for your review. Glad you had an enjoyable time on Constellation. Welcome Home !

[going2cruz]

No Dance Club:eek: I hope the casinos open late .......

[portofrome]

Thanks for your review.

[perico1206]

Great review, Mike! We were on this sailing, too, and had a blast. Aqua class and Blu were wonderful and we made good use of the drink package....I drank a gazillion Pellegrino's with lime and some wonderful wines with dinner. The only disappointment for me was the Persian Gardens, it should be renamed the Persian Pit. All of it was located in the interior of the ship and there were no individual lounges, just u-shaped benches, not tranquil at all! I felt like I was in a dungeon, really bad design compared to the S-Class ships. Thank goodness Blu still makes Aqua class shine.

[Gracie115]

Great review, Mike! We were on this sailing, too, and had a blast. Aqua class and Blu were wonderful and we made good use of the drink package....I drank a gazillion Pellegrino's with lime and some wonderful wines with dinner. The only disappointment for me was the Persian Gardens, it should be renamed the Persian Pit. All of it was located in the interior of the ship and there were no individual lounges, just u-shaped benches, not tranquil at all! I felt like I was in a dungeon, really bad design compared to the S-Class ships. Thank goodness Blu still makes Aqua class shine.

 

How funny and shows how we all react differently.....we love the Persian Gardens on the "M" class and find the ones on the "S" class "cold" "impersonal" and way too open.....used once on 4 different trips....we use the "M" class everytime we sail.....as they say...different strokes for different folks..... We were on Connie in December and completely concur about Blu making Aqua class shine....:)

[TxKroozer]

The captain on the constellation is Captain Tasos. Just promoted to captain in last 4 months and as stated has a great attitude and personality. Very funny as well. We sure enjoyed being on the constellation the last two cruises.

[miched]

We sailed on the Constellation last March.

 

It was a great cruise and a very lovely ship.

 

Until I started sailing on Celebrity I never thought that the Captain and staff made much of a difference. The captain and staff on the Constellation was the friendliest and very visible and always mingling with the passengers. It was one of those little things that really made a great cruise a fantastic one.

 

It was a different captain than the one the OP named and he was one of the best up to that time. He was also into having a good time but still being professional with his duties as the captain.

 

 

🌅🌴🍸🍻

[jasbo49]

Here's a really random question if you don't mind - how late can you get ice cream?

 

We were on the cruise before the OP's, and ice cream was open till 10 p.m. It's a really nice feature, though. Always chocolate and vanilla, and then another 5 or 6 flavors that rotate in and out day by day. This is real ice cream, not soft serve, and it's all made right there on the ship.

 

Also, another shoutout for Captain Tasos. It's the first cruise we've been on where the captain was a factor, and it was all for the better. We happened to run into him at the elevator one morning and he gave us directions and a smile, just like any crew member would.

 

Jim

[Iamthesea]

How long will Captain Taos be on the ship? We sail at the end of March and again towards the end of May. Would love to have him one of those cruises.

 

Night club? I have been on the ship and there's Revelations and Rendezvous. Also, there are shows in the Centrum sometimes.

[akowilm]

No Dance Club:eek: I hope the casinos open late .......

 

Revelations on Deck 11. I promise there will be dancing!!!!!!!!!!:D

[Azulann]

As others have noted, I never really cared about who the Captain was on the ship.

but Captain Tasos rocks. I was on the Constellation in November for a 12 Eastern Med.cruise. Captain Tasos would give not only the update before sailway but a little story from Greek mythology each evening. Perfect for the setting we were in. He also hosted an "ask the Captain" talk in the theater one day.He is funny and really explained all the safety features and how they plot their course.BTW he is single, drives motocyles and this is his first contract as a captain. His brother is also a captian with Celebrity.

His mother was on the ship in November and he participated in a chef cook off on the pool deck one day which was great fun. The whole officers class both in Nov,and a more recent sailing I was on in Jan , were outstanding and very appoachable.

I think he said his contract would be up in Jan or Feb. I hope he continues on the Constellation. anyoe who is sialing with him in Europe is in for a treat for sure.

Edited February 3, 2014 by Azulann

[riclop]

Thanks for the review.

[desertcruiser]

Thanks for the review! We are leaving for 5 nights on Constellation on 2/22 and are really excited! Maybe you can answer a question...which night was the 'formal night' onboard? I know it wouldn't be the first night or last night but we are trying to find out if it is night 2, 3, or 4 so we can make specialty restaurant reservations and complete our packing list accordingly. Glad you had a nice trip!

[ladytaekwondo]

DH and I will be on the Connie on Feb 17th! First time on Celebrity! Anything on board we should NOT miss?

[KirkNC]

Thanks for the review. We just got off the Infinity and they did serve lobster on the last formal night (14 day cruise).