Constellation - 11-day review

[Rob&Nancy]

This was our first cruise on Celebrity, we have one other on Royal Caribbean, so we're not experts, but would like to offer our opinion. Overall, we LOVED the cruise, the itinerary was perfect, loved all the sea days. Can't say enough about the ship and the crew - the service was just amazing. The weather was also perfect, which helps!

 

Quick overview - we are in our early 50's, have done several all-inclusives and one cruise. Stayed in cabin 7188, first time with a balcony, Concierge Class.

 

As said, we haven't done a lot of cruises, but this was as close to perfect as we can imagine. Embarkation was a breeze, we walked right up to an agent, checked in and were on board in minutes!

 

We thought our cabin had lots of room, and really did love the little added touches from Concierge Class. Our attendant Analiza was fabulous, and kept our room just beautifully. We loved the balcony, and had breakfast out there every morning. Can't imagine doing without a balcony again! The granola parfait was awesome, and wrote in Eggs Benedict several times, and that was excellent. Really liked the shower head, just perfect for getting all that sunscreen off! Lots of storage room, and I managed to work my way through all the pillows on the menu.:)

 

The ship is beautiful, some small signs of wear (chairs in Michael's Lounge are very worn), but the ship has great charm, and a feeling of old world elegance that is hard to replicate on the newer ships - please don't lose that in the re-furb.

 

We're not big jewelery shoppers, so frankly the shopping in Cayman was of no interest, and in Aruba, it felt like one big hustle. We did get a great deal on a beach bag in Aruba, but spent most of the day on the ship. We will definitely do an island tour next time and avoid the shopping entirely. We thought the deals on board were very good, and the quality of goods was also great.

 

Art auctions were big fun (especially loved winning the Bellet at the end!):)

 

We thought the food on board was excellent. Lunches were mostly in the Aqua Spa cafe - the food was incredible, with the added benefit of being (mostly) good for us!

 

We had the main seating for dinner, on the 5th floor, we didn't find it overly warm. We were right at the railing (Table 555), had a fabulous view of the lower level and the full wall of windows in the aft - great sunsets.

 

We had 8 at our table, a wonderful group, so many laughs! Our waiter Ottoniel and his assistant Josef were lovely, and spoiled us rotten - I'm not sure how Otto was able to find Creme Brulee for us almost every night, but thank you, thank you! The food selection was very good, never without something great to eat. We were never unhappy with the quality of the food, it was very tasty and perfectly cooked. The beef was excellent, and the lamb was out of this world, fish was so fresh and well cooked - never overdone. The escargots are amazing, had them almost every night. Desserts were just so nice, beautiful presentation on all meals. Formal nights were very elegant, and the lobster was cooked to perfection - I will never figure out how they do that for over 1,000 diners! We enjoyed the Baked Alaska parade - as I said, we're rookies, so all of this was big fun.

 

The ship was very easy to navigate around, we found the Bar at the Edge of the Earth very strange, but interesting.

 

The pools are nicely designed for lounging in to cool off.

 

We can't comment on the shows, frankly didn't see one of them. We're not late night people, we're very early risers, and we spent most evenings in the thallaso pool- which stays open until 11. Most nights we would finish dinner, change into our bathing suits and soak in the pool and spa until 9.

 

Loved our trip through the Panama Canal on the ferry - we learned so much,thank you very much to Reynaldo, he was a terrific guide. It's humbling to journey through that incredible engineering feat, especially considering the loss of life in constructing it! It was very warm, definitely bring sunscreen!

 

Costa Rica - beautiful, lush - we did the bus, train and boat tour - enjoyed that VERY much, and would strongly suggest you book the early morning one if possible, much cooler, and the birds and wildlife are more active early in the day. Heidi was our tour guide and did a wonderful job, her English was very good, and she was so knowledgeable, and very friendly.

 

Cozumel, we did the catamaran tour - that was big fun, but we were very happy that our boat was well under its 150-person capacity, we saw one pull in to the private beach a full capacity - that did NOT look like fun.

 

Overall, this was a fabulous cruise, we will definitely cruise with Celebrity again, and would not hesitate to sail on the Constellation.

 

I'm sure I've mentioned this, but the service was nothing short of perfection. Every single person you saw on the ship smiled and greeted you, no matter their role. We were amazed at the level of cleanliness, the ship was spotless - everywhere. Not a whisper of anyone with Noro, but there was a universal Cruise cough that you heard everywhere.

 

I agree with the other poster, bring an insulated mug and keep full with water, lemonade, iced tea or guava juice - all self-serve.

 

A short note to any other spoiled Canadians - my husband did get an ear infection, and had to visit the infirmary. An examination, an antibiotic and ear drops - $300.00. I guess we're just not used to that - our U.S. dinner partners seemed to think that was reasonable, but be prepared! We will be able to claim it back from our insurers, but it's out of pocket for now.

 

Disembarking was also completely painless.

 

Thank you to everyone at Celebrity - it was a perfect vacation. Please feel free if anyone has questions.

 

Nancy

[Namvet4]

Thank you Nancy for the interesting review....

 

A couple of questions:

 

Was the Concierge cabin spacious enough for a couple of larger than average persons? (I'm 6'6" tall!)

 

Have never stayed in an aft cabin..How was the "motion of the ocean"?..

 

 

Were the "perks" offered in Concierge class a real value or just so so? (I know this is subjective, but would appreciate your thoughts)

 

Thanks in advance for sharing...

[SANDY BEACH]

Rob & Nancy, Glad you have that perfect cruise. We find your description of Celebrity very accurate in our eyes. Constellation is our next cruise on Mar 2nd and can't wait to sail her. We are also in CC and enjoy the extra amenities it offers. Wecome home, as sad as it may be.

[SF]

Glad to hear you had a great cruise. :) We sail Constellation this summer.

[mjceditor]

Thank you very much for your informative trip report.

We are sailing on the Connie next Monday and I was very happy to hear you enjoyed the Panama Canal by Ferry. We have this shore excursion booked and will bring lots of sunscreen.

[raucht]

Rob and Nancy-

Thank you for your review, we are doing this cruise next week. could you answer a few quick questions for us (we are accross the river from Windsor). pls e-mail us at thomas.rauch@kkue.com if you have a moment.

 

Tom and Judy

[Rob&Nancy]

Thank you Nancy for the interesting review....

 

A couple of questions:

 

Was the Concierge cabin spacious enough for a couple of larger than average persons? (I'm 6'6" tall!)

 

Have never stayed in an aft cabin..How was the "motion of the ocean"?..

 

 

Were the "perks" offered in Concierge class a real value or just so so? (I know this is subjective, but would appreciate your thoughts)

 

Thanks in advance for sharing...

 

Funny - my husband and are both on the "Industrial size" side, and we found lots of room. The bed is a King, so you should be fine, but I would think that your height will be a bit of a challenge, at least in the doorways. We found the cabin to be plenty roomy, and also the balcony.

 

We weren't all the way aft, we were on the starboard side, in the aft section of the ship, and there was some significant motion a couple of nights, but nothing unmanagageable. We saw a couple of people with ear patches on, but no-one obviously suffering from seasickness.

 

You're right on the Concierge Class, it is subjective, and keep in mind, this is just our second cruise, so take that as you will. We liked the little perks, and while we wouldn't shell out $200 for it, we got a good deal for the upgrade, and so considered it worthwhile. Just for the extra space, you may want to do it.

 

Hope that helps.

 

Nancy