Fogfog Posted January 7, 2008 #1 Share Posted January 7, 2008 We sailed the Connie for the holidays on the 11 night Ult Carr. Some things were a great surprise, and in general we had a nice time. Embarkation was really smooth. Debarkation was LONG and the staff had to keep asking the non-US pax to please fill out their forms -including their green immigrations forms etc...When we asked those working in charge of the debarkation why the debarkation was running so late--Staff told us it was because people showed up in line without the forms completed properly etc..and were not ready. So we were running 45min-1hr late...because the gangway et was full all the way back tot he ships doors. When our color got called--we were were off and through in 15 minutes --including getting our luggage. Food was good to excellent...most of the time. Some meals were more memorable than others as it would be at any resort dining room. Our table service in San Marco was excellent. Our servers were just wonderful and our lead man was knowledgeable about the menu items and steered us well. Our Sommelier was pushy and a heavy pourer---emptying bottles into our galsses rather than asking if we wanted to carry over bottles. We had to slow her down! She reminded us of a pool deck "drink of the day" hawker...It was her second X cruise and she came from "Cunard" ...we weren't impressed. Ocean Liners we'd give mixed reviews. We went Christmas Eve. The Service started out amazing and the food ranged from nice/good to just ok--but nothing was far above the dining room food...but it may have been our choices..the beef filet with a sauce...and the lobster/scallops. Yes, The goat cheese souffle was nice but they served it the next night in the regular San Marco dining room..and then a goat chees tart the night after that-- Our table reservation was at 8--and we noted that when a large party --in very sloppy clothes --arrived at 10ish--the service dropped wayyy off as most of the servers were now handling that party of 16. In fact our dinner took almost 4 HOURS !! and by 10:30 we all didn't care if we had dessert, petite fours etc..we were DONE! Totally exhausted and tired of waiting for our courses to arrive. So if we did it again (unlikely) we'd ask for speedier service--A lovely dinner can be had at 2-2 1/2-even 3 hrs...but 4--yikes! Our regular tablemates from the San Marco has a better experience with their menu item choices and faster more attentive service on the last night of the cruise...they als did the regular "tasting menu/wine paring" We really disliked the sommelier in the Ocean Liners--after DH asked for suggestions--(we wanted a bottle of red and white) he suggested two bottles at about $100 a piece. When Dh asked for other suggestions because we didn't want to be at that a high a price point--they guy was mute! Really. No suggestions at all! None. No response. A good sommelier can make suggestions at all price points. The wine list had other options. He just didn't make any suggestions. And he walked away --was no help. Our room stewards were awesome and the room was perfect...always. Absolutely delightful people and both cabins were well cared for... The Martini bar was fun and we did enjoy the Spa cuisine for lunches regularly. Sushi in evenings was fresh and always a hit...a good choice depending on the days activities--before our late seating meal. We were surprised that on the ship for this trip was more than 1/2 from europe. John the cruise director told us that of the 2100 or so on board, about 500 were from the UK, about 300 Germans, 200 french, and a large portion of the remaing 1000 were from outside the US. So the mix was refreshing. Of the 2100, about 250 were kids ranging from 0-18 yrs of age. With the storng euro its a bargain for our friiends overseas to vacation here right now. We were surprised to learn that the avg age of a X cruiser on the Constellation is 70!...but it did "show" ...There were lots of walkers, and scooters...LOTS...but John said they were happy that X was reaching a wider audience and while its important for X to be faithful to their base, they were making strides to provide a meaningful cruise experience for all aboard. According to the kids program staff--the only "issue" for the entire cruise was a group of the same teens (--not from the US--I won't say who here--) and they were a problem. Throwing towels overboard from the fantail, running into the kids center yelling--and then one night were doing card tricks to solict money from pax! Our teen -age 14 enjoyed the teen programs where kids actually showed up to participate... Since this particular group didn't "gel"--(according to the teen program staff) maybe because of lots of cultural things--who knows--some things were more fun for him then others...but our Ds did go to the programs and enjoyed them When asked if he'd sail Celebrity again--he said yes--because of homemade ice cream and the salad dressings! LOL Also sushi-- He did have fun and make friends.. Our DS12 loved the programs and also loved meeting the kids. Some kids from the UK were disruptive--like throwing flip-flops down the stairs at the beginning of the cruise...so DS moved on to find other friends--"because so n so" is a jerk mom......" Glad he knew to move on-- He enjoyed the games, scavenger hunts etc...He was up and out early and on sea days we hardly saw him because of the camp programming...He also loved the food. There were 250 kids of the 2100 on board...but the kids programming was ready for the and had plenty for them to do. Overall--the presence of kids/teens was pretty understated. You didn't notice the very "young" ones as a huge hoard anymore than the very "old" ones...Like any community--it was a mixed bag... Actually I take that back--I think there were tons more older pax...and walkers/scooters etc than strollers... I saw few strollers...and there were babies in the dining room (late seating) --though if they cried--the parent took them out to settle them...Never did I feel like the children were any disruption nor trouble....(though the pool-hygiene things was an issue) We found entertainment generally boring and "so-so" in most bar-type venues...and the band on deck needs to branch out a little... Though the one lead male singer in the theater productions had a tremendous voice that would bring the house down. He was amazing! One thing that suprised us was rudeness...not of staff but of older pax. Our first experience on board--we are alone waiting for an elevator on deck 3 having come aboard. Several couples of older pax arrive after us--but as they elevator arrives--they storm in leaving our pary of 4 standing there. No consideration for the people who had been waiting. This was the norm... Also we found trying to get out of an elevator could be diffficult as the older pax were pushing their way in before letting others off. We were surprised and dissapointed in the me first attitude. And if you asked them to wait to let you off--they ignored you! It went like that for the cruise. So much for role modeling:o general elevator etiquette seemed lacking. One day an older pax yelled at our teen while in line at the buffet telling him that he was going the wrong way. The X server/staffer across the buffet kindly instructed the older pax that HE was going the wrong way and the line started at the other end. That kind of thing was not uncommon--as the older pax seemed generally angry about having families on board. Never was there an apology. And yes the buffest food service and all ran smoothly--regular cleaning was in effect and the handwipes and purell gel available. It didn't bother us at all that the staff was interested in keeping people healthy. We appreciated it very much. FYI--the cleaner is NOT a bleach product..its an anti-bacterial--thats according to the X crew. As for excursions--the snorkel/sail/swing in Aruba was a blast, We used Leland Miles in Cartagena with great success and the Canal by Ferry is a fabulous way to see the canal. The only other issue was the pool had to be closed one day--and completely disinfected..There were some babies in diapers in it all week--but frankly there were adult wearers of adult depends in the pools too...all the same really....I think cruise lines should enforec that equally. We did find the extreme chorine smell of the T pool and spas indoors too much--the fumes were heavy..so we didn't spend too much time there..and frankly would see the same people lounging all day --soaking for hours-- There were some lounge chair hogs--people did stake out towels and an old magazine to hold chairs for 2-4 HOURS! They would stake out the chaird before breakfast and some back to them later in the day--sometimes after lunch! So we mentioned on our comment cards that the pool deck guys need to clear chairs more often..as per X policy...and enforce it as possible. All in all the only other place we had real comments for X was the sommelier department. We did do the wine pairing seminar etc and other pax we met had great ones. We understand that they were staffed short by a few regular sommeliers having to return home for family emergencies..and a few were new. So that may be the real crux of it. Thats about all I can think of for now... Hope that helps if you are thinking of Celebrity for a family cruise. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rebeccalouise Posted January 8, 2008 #2 Share Posted January 8, 2008 It is funny that you mentioned the adults in diapers issue- I would much prefer a baby in swim diapers to an adult in diapers!I must say that my experience on Constellation was excellent and I was surprised by some of the comments. The sommeliers are obviously going to push the expensive wines. That is the same in restaurants on land. I agree that the indoor spa pool has a smell. I called it the old people smell- just because the same old passengers were there all the time. I opted to use the hot tubs outside instead. At least the air was fresh.I think teens are the most difficult to travel with. 13 year old boys in particular are thrill seekers and tend to get into mischief. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fogfog Posted January 8, 2008 Author #3 Share Posted January 8, 2008 The adult Depends thing occurred to me while sitting in the T pool one day--- My DH called it God's waiting room--the same people...sacked out---all day long. It had a smell--and the fumes in those hot tubs were hard on my eyes... We opted to be outside anyway--using the spa area for the spa food. Our teens had fun without getting into trouble...they enjoyed the programs--the younger one more than the older maybe--because of spotty participation. .....but a few of the teens from another part of the world were evidently into mischief a few times... not enough for most pax to know about--- I had gone by the teen club to get our son's holiday gift because he missed picking it up--and the staffer mentioned it then when I asked about how it all was going Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fogfog Posted January 14, 2008 Author #4 Share Posted January 14, 2008 Our ds12 is now an email pen-pal with a kid in the Uk which he met on our cruise:) And both boys arcade expenses for the cruise totalled to less than $250 combined..avg about 11-12 $ a day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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