Italy and Croatia on Celebrity Constellation June 25, 2024

[PurpleTraveller]

Thursday July 11 - Milan to Istanbul

 

We checked out of our hotel and walked to Milan Central Train Station at 5.45am. We bought our train tickets to go to the airport on the Malpensa Express train at one of the Trenitalia self service machines. The tickets cost €13.00 each. The direct trains to the airport leave every 30 minutes from platforms one and two. Our train was the 6.25am which arrived at the airport at 7.16am.

 

We flew from Milan to Istanbul without any problems. When we arrived we met our driver for our transfer. We had organised transfers to and from the airport through our hotel.

 

We arrived at our hotel the Hotel Arcadia Blue which is just one block from the Blue Mosque. 

 

 

To our delight we were upgraded to an ocean view room on the eighth floor. When we opened our curtains this was our view!

 

 

 

 

Once we managed to stop looking at our view we settled in to our room and then went out for a walk and dinner. When we returned to the hotel we had the pleasure of watching the sunset from our room and then watching the lights of Istanbul come on as night fell. We sat watching the view whenever we were in our room and it never got boring.

 

 

 

 

[PurpleTraveller]

Friday July 12 to Sunday July 14 - Istanbul

 

Over the next few days we thoroughly enjoyed sightseeing in Istanbul. We went to all the places that we hadn't seen on our first visit five weeks previously. 

 

We went to the Grand Bazaar,

 

 

 

 

walked across the Galata Bridge to visit the Galata Tower

 

 

 

and visited more than one beautiful mosque.

 

This is the New Mosque which was built between 1597 and 1663.

 

 

 

 

And this is the Rustem Pasha Mosque built in 1561.

 

 

 

[PurpleTraveller]

Friday July 12 to Sunday July 14 - Istanbul Continued

 

We also visited the remarkable Basilica Cistern which changes the colour of the lights for an amazing experience,

 

 

 

 

 

 

went on a Bosphorus cruise where we sailed past palaces, castles and mosques, sailed under bridges and had a wonderful time

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

and visited the interesting Hatice Turhan Valide Sultan Tomb which was built in 1663. It is the Mausoleum of five Ottoman Sultans and other members of the royal family.

 

 

 

On our last morning we watched Norwegian Viva sail in past the Blue Mosque while we were eating breakfast at the Rooftop Bar in the hotel.

 

 

 

We walked everywhere in Istanbul, saw some fantastic sites, had some great meals and had a wonderful time in Istanbul before we flew home.

 

[PurpleTraveller]

Well it's time to wrap up this review so here are my thoughts.

 

Conclusion

 

We had a wonderful cruise and these are my opinions only.

 

Embarkation and Disembarkation 

 

Embarkation was very quick and easy.

 

We self disembarked which was quick and easy and then used the Celebrity Transfer to Ravenna Train Station. This was very convenient and easy. 

 

As a side note the line of people waiting for taxis at the dock in Ravenna was very long. We estimated that there were about 100 people in the line. There are very few taxis in Ravenna so future cruisers arriving in Ravenna should plan their onward travel. The cost of the Celebrity Transfer to Ravenna Train Station was well worth the convenience and the time saved waiting in a long line for a taxi.

 

Ship

 

We found Celebrity Constellation in great condition, particularly considering her age. All public areas were fresh after her dry dock earlier in the year. We liked her size and it was very quick and easy to move around the ship. We would happily sail on Constellation again.

 

Cabin

 

We loved our cabin! It was very spacious, clean and comfortable. It was great to have a small couch as well as two tub chairs. The view from the porthole was good and the room was very bright and sunny. The shower was in reasonable condition and the shower curtain was clean and a none issue for us. The only issue with this cabin is that you do get noise from the anchors when anchoring and vibration from the thrusters when docking. Sometimes when the ship is reversing the noise and vibration can go for quite a long time. This didn't worry us but may disturb others. We didn't hear any noise from our neighbours or the hallway as there was no passing foot traffic as there was only one more cabin after ours in the hall.

 

Food

 

Food is very subjective but we thought the food overall was good. In the San Marco Restaurant we enjoyed our meals though DH thought that sometimes the portions were a bit small. The selection of food in the Oceanview Cafe was good and we liked the layout. We loved the lemon tarts from Cafe Al Bacio. Yum!

 

Service

 

Overall the service we received throughout the cruise was great. The dining team we had were excellent and our steward was very good. All crew we encountered throughout the cruise were friendly, polite and very helpful. We did not have a single instance of poor service.

 

Packages

 

We didn't purchase a package as we drink little alcohol, don't drink coffee and don't need daily internet. We had OBC and used it to pay for two of our shore excursions, the transfer to Ravenna Train Station, the shuttle in Zadar and our drinks during the cruise and left the cruise not owing anything. I had a European Sim card with Data for my phone so used it when on land to check emails.

 

Weather

 

As expected the weather was warm. It was very warm in Naples but the weather in the rest of our ports was very pleasant. When not doing shore excursions we always try to leave the ship early each morning to avoid the worst heat of the day and then return to the ship for a late lunch. A byproduct of this was that most places were a lot quieter with less crowds early in the day. The temperature was usually wonderful to spend the evenings out on deck and we enjoyed spending time at the Sunset Bar in the evenings.

 

Ports

 

We enjoyed all our ports even though we had been to five of them before. We particularly enjoyed visiting Lucca from Livorno and Zadar. It was fantastic to see Portofino without crowds and the sail out from Kotor is always wonderful.

 

Tenders

 

We had to use tenders in Portofino and Kotor. We got tender #1 tickets in Portofino so obviously were very happy. There was a bit of a line to return to the ship but it wasn't at all bad. In Kotor we didn't have to worry about tendering from the ship as we were on a shore excursion. There was no line to get a tender back to the ship from Kotor. 

 

Shore Excursions

 

We had a mixed bag of shore excursions. 

 

Naples - Our shore excursion to Sorrento and Amalfi by Boat was a little disappointing as we lost most of our free time in Sorrento because of a delay with a faulty bus luggage compartment door. It felt very rushed, having lunch at 11.15am was too early but the ferry ride to and from Amalfi was great. 

 

Messina - Our shore excursion to Tindari was great as we were in a mini bus with only one other couple. It was relaxed, there were no crowds and was very enjoyable. 

 

Kotor - Our shore excursion to Budva was marred by the weather though that is no-ones fault. We did enjoy visiting Budva before the thunderstorm. We also didn't visit one of the three highlights in the Celebrity tour description. 

 

Split - Our shore excursion to Salona and Trogir was very enjoyable. I really liked Trogir and there was still time to see the Diocletian Palace in Split.

 

Entertainment

 

We didn't go to the Theatre once during the cruise. We enjoyed the live music at the Sunset Bar but the live music at the Rendezvous Lounge was too loud to enjoy. We spent quite a few evenings enjoying the Sunset Bar.

 

Passengers

 

The ship was almost full and most passengers we encountered were great. We met some lovely people throughout the cruise. There was a wide range of ages from babies to older passengers. There were quite a few children and teenagers on board and the ones we saw were well behaved. There was a large number of passengers from the United States and United Kingdom with a fair few Australians.

 

Overall

 

We had a wonderful cruise and enjoyed visiting Italy, Montenegro and Croatia. Celebrity Constellation is a lovely ship and we were pleased to cruise on her. We would be happy to sail on Celebrity Constellation again in the future.

 

Well this is the end of my review. Where are we off to next? Our next cruise is a 14 day cruise on Emerald Princess to Iceland and the British Isles in September 2025, though I wouldn't be at all surprised if I book another cruise before then.

 

Thank you for reading my review. I really appreciate all of your lovely comments.

 

Until next time Bon Voyage! 🛳️

 

 

Edited July 28 by PurpleTraveller

[chemmo]

Thank you so much, you have been my early morning coffee read for several days now…So much nicer than listening to the daily news!

[gordylad]

thanks for the info.......once again superb review

[MikeMary4449]

Thank you @PurpleTraveller for your fantastic and comprehensive review.  We have enjoyed all your detailed information and beautiful photographs.  We will be using many of your tips while on our B2B (Rome-Ravenna-Rome) cruise on the Constellation this September.  On your recommendation we have booked the Hotel Smeraldo in Rome at the conclusion of our April, 2025 TransAtlantic also on the Constellation, one of our favorite ships.  It would be a pleasure to meet you on a future cruise.  Safe travels!

Mike and Mary

[expattraveler]

Both reviews very well done! Great pictures and informative. 
 

Thank you!

[PurpleTraveller]

14 hours ago, chemmo said:

Thank you so much, you have been my early morning coffee read for several days now…So much nicer than listening to the daily news!

 

Thanks for following along! I'm pleased that you enjoyed the review. 😊

[PurpleTraveller]

10 hours ago, gordylad said:

thanks for the info.......once again superb review

 

You're welcome! Thank you and thanks for reading the review. 😊

[PurpleTraveller]

6 hours ago, MikeMary4449 said:

Thank you @PurpleTraveller for your fantastic and comprehensive review.  We have enjoyed all your detailed information and beautiful photographs.  We will be using many of your tips while on our B2B (Rome-Ravenna-Rome) cruise on the Constellation this September.  On your recommendation we have booked the Hotel Smeraldo in Rome at the conclusion of our April, 2025 TransAtlantic also on the Constellation, one of our favorite ships.  It would be a pleasure to meet you on a future cruise.  Safe travels!

Mike and Mary

 

Thank you so much! I'm really pleased that the review has been useful to you. I hope you enjoy staying at Hotel Smeraldo and that you have wonderful cruises. You never know we may meet up on a future cruise which would be lovely. 🛳️

[PurpleTraveller]

1 hour ago, expattraveler said:

Both reviews very well done! Great pictures and informative. 
 

Thank you!

 

Thanks and thanks for reading both reviews. 😊

[anniemag]

Thank you much for the review!!! We will be taking a similar cruise next June and I have made a lot of notes. I loved all the photos. I am also happy to see that you enjoyed the Constellation. This will be our first cruise with Celebrity and many of the reviews of the Constellation have not been favorable. I'm glad you had a wonderful time, and I hope your next adventure is even better! 😊

[sushraya]

Thank you @PurpleTraveller!  Loved the review.

 

We are going the opposite way on our cruise - from Ravenna to Rome.   We are flying into Bologna and taking the train to Ravenna.  Can you tell me if you bought tickets for this train beforehand?  Online?  Does this one have reserved seating or is it just a regional train - grab any available seat?

 

Edited to add:   Just saw that you responded to my question on the ports forum.  Thank you so much!

 

Edited July 29 by sushraya

[PurpleTraveller]

19 hours ago, anniemag said:

Thank you much for the review!!! We will be taking a similar cruise next June and I have made a lot of notes. I loved all the photos. I am also happy to see that you enjoyed the Constellation. This will be our first cruise with Celebrity and many of the reviews of the Constellation have not been favorable. I'm glad you had a wonderful time, and I hope your next adventure is even better! 😊

 

Thanks! I'm so pleased that you have enjoyed the review.

 

We went on our first Celebrity cruise on Reflection in June 2022 and had such a wonderful cruise we booked another two Celebrity cruises. Constellation is a lovely ship and while she may not have all the bells and whistles of a new ship she is well maintained, has a fabulous crew, does good itineraries and is a great size. We would very happily cruise on her again.

 

Hope you have a wonderful cruise next June! 🛳️

 

Edited July 29 by PurpleTraveller

[PurpleTraveller]

3 hours ago, sushraya said:

Thank you @PurpleTraveller!  Loved the review.

 

We are going the opposite way on our cruise - from Ravenna to Rome.   We are flying into Bologna and taking the train to Ravenna.  Can you tell me if you bought tickets for this train beforehand?  Online?  Does this one have reserved seating or is it just a regional train - grab any available seat?

 

Edited to add:   Just saw that you responded to my question on the ports forum.  Thank you so much!

 

 

Thank you! I'm glad that you enjoyed the review.

 

As you read on your other thread the train from Bologna to Ravenna is a regional train with no reserved seating and we just bought our tickets at the station as the price is the same as buying online.

 

Hope you have a wonderful cruise! 🛳️