Our 1st Celebrity Experience - Connie 12/12/15

[JohnBoy 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

[Kdanemjm]

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.

[Aquahound]

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

[JohnBoy in NC]

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

[JohnBoy in NC]

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)