Constellation Dry Dock

[dunedinmaiden]

Has anyone heard when the Constellation will go into dry dock for renovation/revolution?  I know it was postponed during COVID.

[terrydtx]

From information I have from my TA all Revolutionizeing is on hold until Celebrity has the cash to continue.  Earliest is late 2023 into 2024.  The only drydocking being done is for required maintenance and inspections.

Edited February 17, 2022 by terrydtx

[canderson]

13 hours ago, dunedinmaiden said:

Has anyone heard when the Constellation will go into dry dock for renovation/revolution?  I know it was postponed during COVID.

All that was accomplished during the July 2021 dry dock is likely all Connie will receive for some time to come.  Soft goods were all refreshed at that time along with the mechanical work.  Looking very nice at the present time.  We sailed on the first couple of her 'restart' cruises in November and were very pleased with the results.

[Wineaux007]

I wouldn't expect revolution/renovation anytime soon.  We're currently on Constellation, and we are sailing at 1/3rd capacity, if that, so no real revenue to do a complete revolution/upgrade.  Actually, the ship is just fine the way it is -- we are not disappointed in the least.  Crew/guest ratio is about 1:1.

[bikerunner]

Ship was in great shape when I sailed over Thanksgiving last year.  Would go on her in heartbeat if I could right now but sigh work does get in the way at times.  

[marieps]

We were on Connie in November and were very pleased with her appearance.  Great service as well.

[dunedinmaiden]

5 hours ago, Wineaux007 said:

I wouldn't expect revolution/renovation anytime soon.  We're currently on Constellation, and we are sailing at 1/3rd capacity, if that, so no real revenue to do a complete revolution/upgrade.  Actually, the ship is just fine the way it is -- we are not disappointed in the least.  Crew/guest ratio is about 1:1.

Thanks @Wineaux007  One last question, are the staterooms dated or showing wear and tear?

[Wineaux007]

1 hour ago, dunedinmaiden said:

Thanks @Wineaux007  One last question, are the staterooms dated or showing wear and tear?

They are not brand new looking, but nothing to complain about.  Carpet, bedding, just fine.  If you look for a little rust on the balcony, you might find some.  Balcony furniture looks new.  It's a great looking ship, and would have no problems booking it again in its current shape.

[WonderMan3]

8 hours ago, Wineaux007 said:

They are not brand new looking, but nothing to complain about.  Carpet, bedding, just fine.  If you look for a little rust on the balcony, you might find some.  Balcony furniture looks new.  It's a great looking ship, and would have no problems booking it again in its current shape.

As another poster mentioned above, during its last drydock several months ago the ship got a soft goods update meaning bedding and furniture in the staterooms. Not sure if that was all the staterooms but from videos I have seen recently from some of the suites the deck furniture looks like the Revolution-style furniture.

[WonderMan3]

20 hours ago, canderson said:

All that was accomplished during the July 2021 dry dock is likely all Connie will receive for some time to come.  Soft goods were all refreshed at that time along with the mechanical work.  Looking very nice at the present time.  We sailed on the first couple of her 'restart' cruises in November and were very pleased with the results.

Were you the poster who mentioned from your recent cruise that a staff member told you they were planning on adding the Retreat sundeck to the ship while it is in the process of doing sailings within the next year? 

[RollWave]

11 hours ago, dunedinmaiden said:

Thanks @Wineaux007  One last question, are the staterooms dated or showing wear and tear?

We were on Constellation's first sailing after COVID. Some of the main areas had some updates for example The Sunset Bar had updated furniture. Cafe Al Bacio had the same look as pre-Covid.

 

Our cabin was an Aqua Class cabin on deck 11. While some report that their cabins in other areas of the ship had been refurbished the AC deck 11 cabins were absolutely not refurbished. We along with others in this area of the ship were disappointed in the condition of the cabins.

 

One of the reasons we like Celebrity is for the classic understated yacht like feel of the ships. Not glitzy and to us just perfect! Constellation's public areas were still in nice shape and met our expectations. The cabin was a completely different story - we were extraordinarily disappointed in part because after 15+ sailings with Celebrity over the years we have never encountered such a shabby cabin. 

 

While on this particular Constellation sailing, we thought we would never go on another Celebrity cruise again. Post cruise our faith in Celebrity has been restored by the manner in which Celebrity handled the situation.

 

 

[canderson]

3 hours ago, WonderMan3 said:

Were you the poster who mentioned from your recent cruise that a staff member told you they were planning on adding the Retreat sundeck to the ship while it is in the process of doing sailings within the next year? 

I had heard that here from someone else who was on a subsequent cruise.  Don't recall who it was.

[BigAl94]

Constellation is now 20 years old and the cabins must be showing a lot of wear. New drapes and soft furnishings can only do so much. I recall we were disappointed with the condition of our cabin on Millennium 15 years ago when she was only 7 years old, torn drapes, stained and worn carpet, damaged furniture and corroded fittings so it's not a new issue with Celebrity. As Celebrity evolves, I don't see a future for the Millennium class ships and doubt they will embark on any further major expenditure on refurbishment.

[suefrankw]

Just reviewed the listings for 2024 Celebrity sailings . So far, listings have the Constellation sailing from January til March from Tampa

 

 

[WonderMan3]

5 hours ago, BigAl94 said:

Constellation is now 20 years old and the cabins must be showing a lot of wear. New drapes and soft furnishings can only do so much. I recall we were disappointed with the condition of our cabin on Millennium 15 years ago when she was only 7 years old, torn drapes, stained and worn carpet, damaged furniture and corroded fittings so it's not a new issue with Celebrity. As Celebrity evolves, I don't see a future for the Millennium class ships and doubt they will embark on any further major expenditure on refurbishment.

 

Why not? Both Summit and Millennium had their updates to all the cabins in 2019. The other two M class ships would have as well if not for Covid. The ships still seem popular even without the updates so I don't see Celebrity letting them languish once they have gotten past their Covid-related financial hit unless they plan on selling them off and don't want to invest any further in them. With the fleet expanding with the addition of Beyond and then Ascent next year you have to wonder if they have enough demand to fill all these ships.

[BSinPNS]

All cabins on deck 11 and the cabins aft of guest services were added about 5-10 years ago (depending on which one).  They were totally new at the time, so the grout and bathroom issues reported elsewhere on the ship shuoldn't be a problem.  Soft goods come and go during different yard periods.  MIllennium and Summit received the revolution upgrade which removed the old cabins and installed new ones - not just supreficial changes.  

[canderson]

7 hours ago, BigAl94 said:

Constellation is now 20 years old and the cabins must be showing a lot of wear. New drapes and soft furnishings can only do so much.

To be fair, you need to sail Connie once in her present condition before making too many assumptions.  FAR more than soft goods were addressed.  Our cabin had new furniture as well.  Remember, Connie was scheduled for 'the rev' right after COVID hit, so there was a warehouse full of new goods awaiting install.

 

As it happened, a "punch list" for cabins in our part of the ship was accidentally left in a storage cabinet in our cabin, so we were privy to a great many of the big and little details being attended to even AFTER the dry dock and before the restart in November.  If that list was any indication, the maintenance crew was being kept very, very busy for that time.  Ship looked fantastic. 

Edited February 18, 2022 by canderson

[Von & John]

For those who don't believe there is a future for the Millennium Class...

We certainly hope you are incorrect!

This is our favorite class/size ship & 4 weeks today we will be boarding the Connie for our 3rd Cruise on her...
 

[SkystheLimit]

As more ports of call resist mega ships it seems the M class might hold their own.  I know this size ship and smaller ships appeal to us more and more.  We would love to see more varied itineraries on these ships.  We are willing to spend the money for the unique itinerary.  

 

[WonderMan3]

I find that the M class ships do visit the more unique ports. If I had any key complaint about them it would be the limited dining options. Would love to see them maybe do a reconfigure of the Sushi/Cellar Masters space and make it Sushi and Le Grand Bistro (featuring Le Petit Chef at night) then replace the current LPC at Qsine space with the new Le Voyage concept. Then maybe turn the rooftop movie space into a Rooftop Grill.