LIVE from Constellation - May 2nd - Italy & Spain 10nt cruise

[WonderMan3]

Hi

Do you know if they offered the sailaway experience on your cruise thank you

 

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Not sure what that is. Do you mean the helipad sailaway? If so then yes they had one on the sailaway from Valletta. We were invited by the Concierge but did not attend.

 

 

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[tfg]

No it's different to that it is $75 and you go on the bridge 30 mins before departure. You have to book on board nut apparently it's in the daily news

 

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[BettyPC]

Great live review! Thanks for taking the time to do it. We will be sailing on Constellation next year & it is great reading reviews about it!

 

Betty

[Banjo]

Great pics, thanks. Looks like you folks are having a wonderful time.

 

I see, reading the Celebrity Today, Jane Curry is performing. Seen her a few times on Celebrity and always liked her shows.

[margob111]

Adam,

 

Thank-you ... your Malta photos are incredible! Seriously, I'm salivating. We'll be there on a Constellation overnight this October.

 

I have a question for you: Are you perhaps familiar with any of your fellow cruisers who did a private Malta tour with Joan Sheridan? She was also also very highly rated on Trip Advisor; I hired her for a small group tour. It would be great to hear some recent comments.

 

I'll be looking forward to following your sailing!

 

Cheers,

Shawn

Shawn, before I forget, I believe Joan (I knew her first name but didn't catch her last) was our tour guide for a small group tour from Touringmalta.com. She was fabulous, in fact, the best tour guide we have ever had. I was going to review her when I got off our cruise, I was on the same cruise as Adam and keep looking for myself in his Malta pictures! We got home late last night so am now reading and saw this. I'm sure it is the same Joan, she provided a wealth of information, knows everyone in Malta and comes very highly referred. A lady on our tour had mentioned that her daughter did a lot of research on the Malts tours and specifically requested Joan. Enjoy Malta, its beautiful and you will love Joan.

[madmedic]

No it's different to that it is $75 and you go on the bridge 30 mins before departure. You have to book on board nut apparently it's in the daily news

 

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Is this available to all passengers or just suite? My other half would love this.

[tfg]

Is this available to all passengers or just suite? My other half would love this.

Yes it is available to all pax.you have to register at guest relations. The suite thing is completely different.

My husband would love it going to do it as a surprise

 

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[madmedic]

Yes it is available to all pax.you have to register at guest relations. The suite thing is completely different.

My husband would love it going to do it as a surprise

 

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Oh that's great! I will definitely go guest relations and register on the first day.:)

[Trixsea]

Thank you so much for your posts and photos. I will be sailing the end of June and some of these ports are new to me!! Very much appreciated!!!

[WonderMan3]

No it's different to that it is $75 and you go on the bridge 30 mins before departure. You have to book on board nut apparently it's in the daily news

 

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Sorry, not sure if they offered that on this cruise. I have posted all the Dailies in this thread though so you can look back at check them.

 

 

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[WonderMan3]

On Thursday we were in our final port, Barcelona. Mike and I had been here before back in 2009 when we stayed for a couple days. My goal this time was to revisit a couple things but add in some new items. Because we had done some broad city tours last visit we didn't book with a guide but went out on our own. We grabbed some breakfast at Oceanview before heading off ship. Taxis were readily available after exiting the terminal building. We headed over to Sagrada Familia for our first stop of the day. It took about 15 minutes by cab and cost around 12 Euro. I had reserved an entrance time of 9am which I did not realize was the opening time of the basilica. We were about 20 minutes early but there was already a line forming with ticket holders. If you hadn't pre-reserved a ticket it said earliest visit time available was 2:45pm, so make sure to reserve in advance. It had been raining on and off that morning but luckily while we waited for the 9am opening the rain took a pause. We entered and immediately went to pick up audio guides. Then we entered the basilica and headed for the towers elevators. We had booked a separate ticket to access the towers of the basilica. We had been to Sagrada Familia before but had not been up the towers. When we got to the elevator though an employee told us the towers were closed because of the rain and that we would get an automatic refund processed to our credit card. We were disappointed as this was the main reason we returned to visit the basilica. Luckily since it had been 8 years since our last visit there was a lot of new stuff to see, especially on the inside. This is a must visit if you come to Barcelona.

 

 

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[WonderMan3]

 

 

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[WonderMan3]

 

 

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[WonderMan3]

Continuing with our Barcelona day. After leaving Sagrada Familia a little after 10, we had time to waste as we had a reservation for entry into Parc Guell at 11. We decided to pop into a Starbucks across the street from Sagrada to get a beverage and snack. Just as we entered the skies opened up with a downpour so it was perfect timing. The rain stopped right as we were ready to leave. We grabbed a taxi and headed off to the Parc. At the Parc they offer reservations in advance for the monumental zone where Gaudi's work is. You reserve a specific time to enter and have a 30 minute window to enter by. Once inside you cannot leave or you will be denied re-entry. We explored the monumental zone but wound up skipping the rest of the Parc. Mother Nature blessed us and blew the clouds away and gave us bright sunshine and blue skies while we were there. Afterward we caught another cab to take us to Place Catalunya. We entered the Corte Ingles department store that faces the plaza and went up to the 9th floor. They have a huge cafeteria there with a great selection of foods and one of the best views in the city. We enjoyed lunch with a view before moving on.

 

 

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[WonderMan3]

 

 

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[WonderMan3]

 

 

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[margob111]

On Thursday we were in our final port, Barcelona. Mike and I had been here before back in 2009 when we stayed for a couple days. My goal this time was to revisit a couple things but add in some new items. Because we had done some broad city tours last visit we didn't book with a guide but went out on our own. We grabbed some breakfast at Oceanview before heading off ship. Taxis were readily available after exiting the terminal building. We headed over to Sagrada Familia for our first stop of the day. It took about 15 minutes by cab and cost around 12 Euro. I had reserved an entrance time of 9am which I did not realize was the opening time of the basilica. We were about 20 minutes early but there was already a line forming with ticket holders. If you hadn't pre-reserved a ticket it said earliest visit time available was 2:45pm, so make sure to reserve in advance. It had been raining on and off that morning but luckily while we waited for the 9am opening the rain took a pause. We entered and immediately went to pick up audio guides. Then we entered the basilica and headed for the towers elevators. We had booked a separate ticket to access the towers of the basilica. We had been to Sagrada Familia before but had not been up the towers. When we got to the elevator though an employee told us the towers were closed because of the rain and that we would get an automatic refund processed to our credit card. We were disappointed as this was the main reason we returned to visit the basilica. Luckily since it had been 8 years since our last visit there was a lot of new stuff to see, especially on the inside. This is a must visit if you come to Barcelona.

 

 

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Your pictures are fabulous. I didn't read your posts while I was on the ship but instead waiting until I got home. Apparently our paths crossed several times - thanks for the info on the reimbursement to our credit cards; we'll see if that happens. We too purchased the top views for the 9 am entrance time and were disappointed we couldn't go to the top. Thanks for sharing your pics and reviews.

[WonderMan3]

Your pictures are fabulous. I didn't read your posts while I was on the ship but instead waiting until I got home. Apparently our paths crossed several times - thanks for the info on the reimbursement to our credit cards; we'll see if that happens. We too purchased the top views for the 9 am entrance time and were disappointed we couldn't go to the top. Thanks for sharing your pics and reviews.

 

 

Thanks. I'm surprised they didn't tell you that at the entrance to the towers. If I don't see a reimbursement show up then I'll probably just dispute the charge with the credit card company.

 

 

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[WonderMan3]

We finished off our day in Barcelona after lunch by taking a stroll through the Gothic Quarter. I used Rick Steve's self-guided walking tour to take us through the area and that worked perfectly. We ended the walk at Dolceria de la Colmena to load up on some sweets for the remainder of our trip. We then hopped in a cab back to the ship.

 

 

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[WonderMan3]

 

 

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[WonderMan3]

 

 

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[WonderMan3]

 

 

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[WonderMan3]

Once we were back on the ship we saw we had a message from the casino manager. He was asking us to meet with him when we had returned to the ship as he had an incentive offer based on our play during the cruise. We went down to the casino to sign our certificate which was for a free cruise up to 7 nights in a Sky Suite. We have to reserve in the next 90 days and travel within one year. We were psyched. The casino host had already taken care of the spa and laundry charges on our bill the day before as part of our Blue Chip Club benefits. Because we had an onboard credit too from Go Best we found we had about $200 in credit left to use. The stores were closed onboard for the rest of the cruise since Barcelona was our last stop. So we headed over to the spa to see if they had a foot massage available. They had a 50 minute they could offer to us at in-port pricing. Those prices are normally only good through 1pm but since they were slow the reservationist let us have it for the lower price. They were able to service us right away and it was a great relief to have feet and calves worked on after a long day of walking. Afterward we were left with only a $35 bill we had to pay out of pocket; pretty good for a 10 night cruise.

 

For our last dinner onboard we booked at Tuscan Grille as I had yet to use my free dinner from the casino raffle earlier in the cruise. We had wanted to go the night before but they were full. We made our final visit to the Martini Bar before heading up. My standards for this cruise were Raspberry Lemonade and French Caribbean. Dinner was excellent again at Tuscan. Our waiter was Lailo who we also had on our previous visit. He was very friendly. Photos show the Crab Cake, Spaghetti and Meatballs, Filet Mignon, Carbonara and Polenta Fries. (I posted the Tuscan menu in an earlier post) We were so stuffed that we skipped out on dessert. Then it was back to the cabin to pack and put our suitcases out and off to bed shortly after 10.

 

 

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[WonderMan3]

On Friday we said goodbye to the Constellation. We woke at 6:30 and were out of our cabin by quarter of 8 and on to our final breakfast at Luminae. There were only a few other tables occupied. We ate quickly and were on our way off the ship by 8:30. Debarkation was super fast as there was no customs to go through. So we just picked up our bags and headed to the taxi stand.

 

Well, that concludes my cruise blog. We actually are still in Spain right now. After we left the ship we rented a car and drove to this beautiful little village in the hills of southeastern Spain called Albarracin where we spent two nights. Then on to Madrid today where we will stay until flying home on Wednesday. I won't chronicle those adventures here as it's getting off-topic. Happy future cruising to all!

 

 

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[Newbury newbie]

Great review and photos. We're on Connie 31st July, sailing out of Barcelona.............can't wait!!