Just off Constellation 11/6-11/11

[Guest Cruisenewbie20181]

Just returned from 5 day cruise out of Tampa. Just for reference my wife and I are 66. We had 11-11:30 embarkation but it was delayed by an hour. Not Celebrity’s fault just Coast Guard doing their inspections. When we had the all clear it only took about 10 minutes to get through security and on the ship.

We headed up to our room to pickup sea pass cards and were pleasantly surprised to find our room ready. Either it was empty from previous cruise or room attendant was very quick. We had an inside stateroom on deck 7 forward. It was our first time in an inside and it was just fine. We were only in the room to change clothes and sleep. Probably wouldn’t  choose forward location again you could feel a lot of movement. Our room attendant was Eduardo from Honduras. He has been with Celebrity for over twenty years as a room attendant. He was absolutely wonderful, always had a smile, and very personable. He took pride in his work.

 

After we gathered our sea pass cards and unpacked we headed to the buffet for lunch. Our overall rating for the buffet would be 5 out of ten. We were not impressed with food selections and the buffet had a very odd layout. For breakfast there were two omelet and one eggs benedict station. All three stations were in the back end of the buffet. It took close to 15 minutes to get an omelet. There were maybe 6 juice machines and only two had orange juice. It was frustrating circling the buffet looking for OJ. Lunch was hit or miss. We had one dinner at the buffet and honestly I don’t even remember what we had that’s how unimpressed we were.

 

Dinner in the main dining room we would rate a 7 out of 10. Appetizers were delicious. Best french  onion soup I have had in years. Dinner was good but didn’t wow, vegetables undercooked and cold as were the mashed potatoes. Shrimp overcooked. Service was slow the first night only saw our waiter once to take our order, never asked if I wanted anything from the bar and never asked us about dessert. I complained on the way out and that helped because service was better the rest of the cruise.

 

We enjoyed participating in the activities music trivia, general trivia, archery, putting contests, baggo, and yes or no. David who led most of the activities was a joy to be around. He engaged the audience and seemed to really enjoy what he was doing. The production shows were good not great. Comedian Phil Tag was very funny. I think we laughed continuously during his routine. His late night  adult only show was funny without being dirty or crude. We would see him again anytime. 
 

Overall we thought the ship had a very boring, dark, dull decor. The ambience reminded me of an old downtown office building. The grand foyer was anything but grand. The entire ship including the outside and pool area needs some color.

This cruise didn’t leave us excited and anxious to go on another cruise, certainly not a Celebrity cruise.

 

 

[Bill Miller]

Thanks for your review. Reviews should always include the good, the bad and the ugly. 

[mahdnc]

2 hours ago, Cruisenewbie20181 said:

Just returned from 5 day cruise out of Tampa. Just for reference my wife and I are 66. We had 11-11:30 embarkation but it was delayed by an hour. Not Celebrity’s fault just Coast Guard doing their inspections. When we had the all clear it only took about 10 minutes to get through security and on the ship.

We headed up to our room to pickup sea pass cards and were pleasantly surprised to find our room ready. Either it was empty from previous cruise or room attendant was very quick. We had an inside stateroom on deck 7 forward. It was our first time in an inside and it was just fine. We were only in the room to change clothes and sleep. Probably wouldn’t  choose forward location again you could feel a lot of movement. Our room attendant was Eduardo from Honduras. He has been with Celebrity for over twenty years as a room attendant. He was absolutely wonderful, always had a smile, and very personable. He took pride in his work.

 

After we gathered our sea pass cards and unpacked we headed to the buffet for lunch. Our overall rating for the buffet would be 5 out of ten. We were not impressed with food selections and the buffet had a very odd layout. For breakfast there were two omelet and one eggs benedict station. All three stations were in the back end of the buffet. It took close to 15 minutes to get an omelet. There were maybe 6 juice machines and only two had orange juice. It was frustrating circling the buffet looking for OJ. Lunch was hit or miss. We had one dinner at the buffet and honestly I don’t even remember what we had that’s how unimpressed we were.

 

Dinner in the main dining room we would rate a 7 out of 10. Appetizers were delicious. Best french  onion soup I have had in years. Dinner was good but didn’t wow, vegetables undercooked and cold as were the mashed potatoes. Shrimp overcooked. Service was slow the first night only saw our waiter once to take our order, never asked if I wanted anything from the bar and never asked us about dessert. I complained on the way out and that helped because service was better the rest of the cruise.

 

We enjoyed participating in the activities music trivia, general trivia, archery, putting contests, baggo, and yes or no. David who led most of the activities was a joy to be around. He engaged the audience and seemed to really enjoy what he was doing. The production shows were good not great. Comedian Phil Tag was very funny. I think we laughed continuously during his routine. His late night  adult only show was funny without being dirty or crude. We would see him again anytime. 
 

Overall we thought the ship had a very boring, dark, dull decor. The ambience reminded me of an old downtown office building. The grand foyer was anything but grand. The entire ship including the outside and pool area needs some color.

This cruise didn’t leave us excited and anxious to go on another cruise, certainly not a Celebrity cruise.

 

 

 

I was on the sailing before yours. Your description of the Oceanview Cafe layout for breakfast is spot on. 

 

As far as the dark ship decor goes, I'm curious if you've been on other Celebrity ships for comparison. 

 

David

Edited November 12, 2022 by mahdnc

[Guest Cruisenewbie20181]

No this was our first Celebrity cruise. More vibrancy on NCL and RCL than Constellation.

[volk904]

We were on this same cruise.  We enjoyed the cruise and booked it knowing the Connie did not have the major upgrade we had on the Summit on our last M class cruise. That said I would agree the Breakfast Buffet was not the best but we made do. On the last sea day we tried the MDR for breakfast and it was pretty good.  
I enjoyed Phil Tag as well.  I though the Mast Grill had some really good Burgers that were bigger than in the past.  The internet was decent. Finally the pagers for your main dinning room were great compared to standing around waiting.  

[prmssk]

We were also on this same cruise.  I didn't go to the comedian but my husband who did said he really enjoyed it, one of the best comedians he has seen on a cruise in a while.

 

On 11/12/2022 at 2:03 PM, Cruisenewbie20181 said:

Overall we thought the ship had a very boring, dark, dull decor. The ambience reminded me of an old downtown office building. The grand foyer was anything but grand. The entire ship including the outside and pool area needs some color.

 

The boring, dark, dull decor you describe is the traditional cruising vibe many of us like.  But it absolutely is not vibrant.  Celebrity ships that have been revolutionized have much lighter colors and a more modern feel.  The Edge class I think takes that a step further with more color.  But Celebrity will likely never be quite the vibrant colors of an NCL or even Royal ship.  This ship is also smaller than most (if not all) NCL and Royal ships so it will be a different atmosphere.

 

Before you completely give up on Celebrity, you might want to at least look at the Edge class ships.  They may have more of what you are looking for.  Since we all have different things we want out of a cruise, it's nice to have variety both within a specific cruise line and among all cruise lines.