Constellation 2/4 - 2/11 (long review)

[Galaxy2004]

Just back from a wonderful week aboard Constellation. Below are our cruise highlights. You can also view a few pictures at http://community.webshots.com/ (go to lower right corner and enter “cruisingcupcake” in the “Find a member” box).

 

Our cruise experience: This was our 3rd cruise with Celebrity and our 2nd on Constellation. We have never sailed another line. Because we work long hours, we look forward to relaxing when we cruise so we concentrate on seeing the wonders of the various ports and lounging on board, thus, we do not partake of many of the on-board activities so you won’t find much information here on that.

 

Booking: We booked our cruise through an on-line cruise-only website. This was our 3rd booking with them and we have nothing but good things to say about them. We booked about 2 ½ months before sailing.

 

This was a Captain’s Club Reunion Cruise. We are only Classic level, but here is what we received during the cruise: package of chocolates, travel journals, chocolate covered strawberries, large zipper shoulder carrying bag. There were a variety of other events (Champagne breakfast, etc. and seminars) advertised that we did not attend.

 

Our cabin: 7212 - Though we originally booked one of the forward double balcony cabins, a cc aft opened about a week later and we requested to change to that cabin. To our surprise, this was one of the cabins that is handicapped/disabled accessible and the cabin (and the balcony) were quite a bit (4 ft or so) wider than the family view aft (9158) we had last year. At one time we had 4 loungers with 2 side tables spread across the width of the balcony!! The bathroom was also app. 2x the size of a standard bathroom (to accommodate a wheelchair). Our attendant (Analiza) and assistant were perfect (clearing the fridge to make room for our drinks and grabbing some nice lounge chairs for the balcony were hits with us). They were always around, but not hovering, and we wondered when either slept!

 

cc pluses: goose down pillows (from pillow menu), pads on balcony chairs, afternoon cheese and crackers (instead of canapés), thicker bathrobes, nicer showerhead. Nice extras, but only if the price is right.

 

Dining: We were originally assigned early seating, but we prefer late seating and were able to get a two person table at late seating upon request. We had a great waiter (Gusty) and assistant (Rhandy). Our favorite foods for dinner this week were the tenderloin on the 1st formal night, salmon (recommended by Gusty), and fish on the last night, as well as several wonderful desserts, including After Eight ice cream. Nothing appealed to us on the main menu on the 3rd night so we made reservations at Ocean Liners, which was absolutely fantastic. The food was delicious and the service outstanding.

 

Entertainment (in order from favorite down): Cirque du Soleil - Fantastic production that brought loud cheers from a packed theater; Mark Nizer, comedian/juggler - excellent; Fred Klett, comedian - hilarious (though I heard comments from some who did not enjoy the show); “Rhythm of the Night” production - Good music and singing, but a bit weak in the dancing;

Marty Daniels (Aft bar) - nice guitarist, but weak on vocals.

 

Ports:

 

St. Maarten - Rented a car for the day. There are several rental agents right off the pier (Hertz, Budget, Dollar and several local). We had reserved a car through AAA with Dollar. When we arrived we noticed the sign was for Dollar and another agency. When we told the guys at the booth that we had reserved a car with Dollar they said the Dollar agent had not been there in over a month because all of Dollar’s cars were reserved. They said we could book through the local agency. They were extremely aggressive/push, so we decided instead to rent through Hertz. I was hoping to shop, but it was Sunday and many shops were closed. There was very little activity around Marigot. We ended up driving the island and taking a few pictures. We settled at the Sunset Beach Bar and watched a couple of large jets land. I doubt you can legally get much closer to a landing jet! Bought a couple of cokes for the fridge (which we had cleared out for our soft drinks and Gatorades). Don’t know why, but the cokes on the islands are much sweeter than what we get in the U.S.

 

Dominica - This was our favorite port and we hope to take an extended trip here soon. Based on a couple of recommendations from this board, we had booked a tour with Kurt Wayland (Jami/Kurt de Negotiator). There are plenty of drivers available right off the pier. We were the only 2 who had booked in advance and Kurt asked if he would recruit a few more people. His van was large enough for 8 to fit comfortably. He did find 2 couples from the ship who wanted only ½ day tours. We stopped near the Botanical Gardens for pictures and shopping at some roadside stalls and then headed to Trafalgar Falls, with several stops for pictures and lots of commentary and jokes along the way. The Falls were very nice, but the round trip took about 2 hours. We returned to the pier to drop off the couples, who had booked a whale watching tour for the afternoon. Kurt then recruited 4 guys for the 2nd part of the tour. These guys were crew members from the ship. We stopped at Mr. Nice’s fruit stand for some laughs and wonderful pineapple and banana, then on to the Emerald Pool, where we all took a dip and came out looking “5 years longer.” The hike through the forest to the pool was beautiful and we had a wonderful guide, Georgianna. The best part was the excitement from the crew members during the tour. It was nice to see them interested in the island. One note, we met up later with some people who had booked with Beno but were very disappointed because of how overcrowded the vans were. If you arrive at a tour and it looks like you will be packed like sardines for hours on end, just tell them no and find another driver. If they are good (like Cosol in St. Lucia) they will be content with limiting the size of the group to ensure comfort and enjoyment for all!

 

St. Lucia - This was our first time to St. Lucia, but we hope not our last. We had reservations for an island tour with Cosol, who was highly recommended on this board, and with good reason. His “all-inclusive” tour was amazing. During the tour we stopped frequently for breathtaking views, viewed the Sulphur Springs (a pint sized Yellowstone), the Pitons, a botanical garden, waterfalls, and a short beach break. We also had unlimited beer, rum punch, cokes and water, as well as wonderful freshly picked bananas, Johnny cakes, fish cakes, cookies and bread. I could go on and on about how wonderful Cosol is, but you can read much of the same on the St. Lucia board. Note that Cosol has 4 vans and you may have his brother Yellow Bird or someone else as you driver. We lucked up and got Cosol, but understand that Yellow Bird was great fun.

 

Margarita Island - After 3 island days, we took a break and lounged on our balcony!

 

Aruba - Been there, done that. Lounged on our balcony most of the day, then headed into town for a couple hours of shopping.

[Texed]

Thanks for the review. We are going on Constellation on March 4th.:) I am in cruise mode.:D

[Andy]

Thanks for the review. We are going on Constellation on March 4th.:) I am in cruise mode.:D

 

Hi Ed !

 

Have a GREAT time on your Cruise. We are on Century again on the 9th of March.

[Andy]

Hi Rupert !

 

Thanks for the excellent review ! I am glad you had a great time.

[Texed]

Hi Ed !

 

Have a GREAT time on your Cruise. We are on Century again on the 9th of March.

 

Andy,

Are you going to join Terri and us for the Thanksgiving cruise?:)

[Andy]

Andy,

Are you going to join Terri and us for the Thanksgiving cruise?:)

 

Hi Ed !

 

I am working on making the switch to Century. It looks good though. The ONLY issue, is there are other family members going with us... and I have to work things out on their end, before we all change our bookings. I am waiting to hear back from them.

 

Which 2 sailings are you on ? Are you on the 11/18 & 11/23 B2B ? or the 11/23 and 11/27 B2B ? Please let me know.

 

It would be great to sail with you again, and Terri as well. I will keep you posted if we can make the change.

[poetic license]

Rupert,

 

Thank you for your fine review of CONSTELLATION. Sounds like the same beautiful lady we sailed this past November.

 

Cheers,

[smdubowsky]

We were on the same cruse. It's too bad you missed Margarita Island. Although some complained about the beach in previous posts, we thought the beach was the best of the cruise. We did not encounter the famous smell and the waters were calm, warm, and crystal clear.

[Texed]

Hi Ed !

I am working on making the switch to Century. It looks good though.

Which 2 sailings are you on ? Are you on the 11/18 & 11/23 B2B ? or the 11/23 and 11/27 B2B ? Please let me know.

 

Andy,

 

We are on the 11/18 and 11/23 B2B. I hope all of you can join us.:)

[crusinmama22]

Thanks for the review.

 

We sail this Saturday on the Constellation. We are flying in a day ahead, since we are from upstate NY that seemed like a good idea. Glad we did not go last week with the storm !

 

So excited having trouble sleeping!

[Galaxy2004]

We were on the same cruse. It's too bad you missed Margarita Island. Although some complained about the beach in previous posts, we thought the beach was the best of the cruise. We did not encounter the famous smell and the waters were calm, warm, and crystal clear.

Don't want anyone getting the wrong idea about our decision to stay on board in Margarita Island. We visited the island 2 years ago with a stop on Galaxy. At that time, like smdubowsky, we really enjoyed the beach area. We also liked the little shops right off the boat and would definitely go again! This year, the convenience and comfort of our balcony, following three days of island tours, won out.

[smdubowsky]

Don't want anyone getting the wrong idea about our decision to stay on board in Margarita Island. We visited the island 2 years ago with a stop on Galaxy. At that time, like smdubowsky, we really enjoyed the beach area. We also liked the little shops right off the boat and would definitely go again! This year, the convenience and comfort of our balcony, following three days of island tours, won out.

 

I completely understand. We've been to St. Lucia several times and stayed by the pool on the ship. Much better than the sea days when you have to fight for a lounge chair.

[Galaxy2004]

smdubowsky,

 

Yes, we got two prime chairs near the pool after a leisurely breakfast and enjoyed basking in the sun for a while before retreating to our balcony (which was shaded until midday). Of course, on a sea day these chairs would have been gone by 7 a.m. I was walking the track about 7:30 a.m. on our sea day and most of the padded chairs had already been "marked" as well as many of the other chairs. I heard several conversations in which people were trying to figure out just how early you had to get up to get a lounge chair!

[Roadhawg]

We were on this same cruise. As far as Margarita Island, we went to the beach for about an hour and decided this was just a bad sunburn waiting to happen. We did a little shopping for the nieces and went back to the ship. As far as the day at sea, we were one of the unlucky ones who got seats on the top deck in the sun. Fortunately, it was breezy! We did get lots of color, just in time to come home to the Nor'easter and no sympathy whatsoever!

[smdubowsky]

We were very lucky to have excellent sunburn protection for the cruise. When we were in Vancouver this summer after our Infinity cruise, someone told us to pick up some L'Oreal Ombrelle SPF 60. It is not available in the US. We put the lotion on and it completely protected except where we later found out the spots we had missed.

[Roadhawg]

Oh, I'll have to look for that in Prince Edward Island when we're up there this summer. Hopefully, it's available Canada-wide. We are careful about putting on lotion but those "holidays" can be mighty funny looking! We had a wonderful time on the cruise regardless.

[hmg]

Rupert, thanks for the great review. We're lucky to be sailing Constellation in March. :)

Do you remember if they held the Cirque du Soleil show before or after late seating?

[sagiter]

My understanding as to why Cokes are sweeter out of the US is that depending on where the Coke is made they use either corn syrup or cane sugar. Here in the US it's corn syrup. In some SA and Mexican plants (or all) they use Cane sugar which is sweeter. Corn syriup here is cheaper. Elsewhere Cane sugar is cheaper. obviously they go the cheapest route.

[Galaxy2004]

hmg,

 

The Cirque show was before late seating. Maybe 7:45? It's only a "taste of Cirque" - maybe 30 mins, so plenty of time to get to late seating. The theater was full, so I'm sure some early diners ate a bit quicker than normal that night. Hope they have the guy that was spinning around in a big wheel like contraption during your sailing as he was amazing. Certainly wish we were going again!!

[Galaxy2004]

My understanding as to why Cokes are sweeter out of the US is that depending on where the Coke is made they use either corn syrup or cane sugar. Here in the US it's corn syrup. In some SA and Mexican plants (or all) they use Cane sugar which is sweeter. Corn syriup here is cheaper. Elsewhere Cane sugar is cheaper. obviously they go the cheapest route.

Thanks for that info. All of us touring with Cosol on St. Lucia that day were trying to figure out the difference.

[hmg]

Thanks, Rupert.

 

A bit of Coke information. In the US, during the few weeks leading up to Passover (this year i believe Passover is April 12) Coke may be made with sugar--making it Kosher for Passover. From what I'm told, true Coke-a-holics love Passover for this reason.