Constellation Review for 10/16-10/27 *Ask Me Questions*

I gained three pounds. George gained two.

But let me start at the beginning.

We arrived in Newark, we being myself, George (my dh), BJ (my pregnant daughter), and Eric (her husband) on the 15th, to ensure there would be no rushing around to get to the ship, and to do a little sightseeing in NY. We had it set up with Cat Limousines to pick us all up in one vehicle and deliver us to the Hyatt in Jersey City. Both were great choices. We did not get to check in early, as requested, but they held our luggage and we set out to ride the PATH to NYC.

I did not like the PATH. I am claustrophobic, and to make matters worse, the PATH runs under the Hudson. And, yes, there was water dripping from the ceiling. But it was all over quickly, and we were off to see the 9/11 memorial. Actually, the PATH dropped us off right in the middle of the hole of the WTC complex. We walked around the whole complex, visited the memorial for a nominal fee of $10 pp (tax deductible), and also visited the fire station right next to the memorial. We walked to the two churches that are right nearby. They are beautiful. By this time, BJ was exhausted, so we set off back to the icky PATH and to the hotel. We were able to check in, and rested a bit before dinner. We ate at the restaurant in the hotel, and watched the sun set on Manhattan. Unforgettable!

The next morning, our breakfast was provided by the hotel. A full hot meal, which is a good way to start the day to the ship! We had it set up for the Cat Limo service to take us, and they were there as requested. We got to the docks, unloaded all of our luggage, and were shuttled to the building to sign in. There were two lines, both of which were very short. One for concierge class/suites and one for regular. We spent 10 minutes at most doing the paperwork, and off to the ship we went. We walked right up to our cabin, 8177, and, since the door was open, dropped off our luggage. We left BJ and Eric's luggage, too, since their room was closed. Our room steward, Fredy, who, by the way is absolutely wonderful, said we could close our door with the luggage in it. And when I say luggage, I am meaning my purse and a couple of carry on bags we brought onto the ship with us. Same for BJ and Eric. We saw our cabin for the first time at around 11:45.

So off we went to find lunch and check out the ship.

The Constellation is probably the nicest ship I've ever been on. We've traveled alot on Carnival because of kids and traveling with other friends. Their new ships are beautiful, but the Connie is in a class on its own. The ship is elegant and beautiful. It, I think, is laid out well, as you can get to the front and back of the ship on all levels. All food is at the back (where our cabin was!!). I looked for wear and tear on the ship, and saw absolutely none. Nowhere. The carpet looked new, and all of the furniture was in good shape. Beautiful ship. Interesting art. I didn't know dandelions could be art. I have to say, some of the art just didn't impress me. I mean, I could have done it. But, oh well. Interesting note: there is a picture on the wall near the buffet of a beach scene. Look for the topless woman. She's there all right!

I was amused at the buffet for lunch when, after I got my tray with a cloth tray liner on it, a cloth napkin with fork, knife, and spoon, my food, and then, the same, small plastic cups for drinks. I mean, we are on the Constellation, Celebrity Cruises, and we had the same plastic glasses that every cruise line has. Just seemed funny to me.

Of course, at this time of year, there were mostly seniors on the cruise with us. There were a couple of toddlers, and a couple of kids. That was about it for young'uns. There were I think three honeymooning couples, and other than them, BJ and Eric were probably the youngest couple on board. Since I love seniors, the cruise was great! We met some wonderful people. The pace is slow, which I like. Also, there didn't seem to be alot of smokers on this cruise, another thing I liked.

I won't spend alot of time on our ports, because we always went off on our own. We'd rent a car and take off if there was enough time, and just enjoy ourselves. There was good weather at all ports except Halifax, but it just sprinkled a little in the morning. The Sagueney River was very foggy, but gorgeous. I am sure I will have alot of gray pictures, but I snapped away anyway. We did see some Beluga whales at the mouth of the river, along with some seals and dolphins. It was so exciting. And COLD. It is COLD there on the Sagueney. COLD, I tell you. But fun!

This was a first for us as far as cabin class. We were Concierge, and thoroughly enjoyed it. Especially the breakfast menu. And the pillow menu. We tried all three pillows, and Fredy left all of them in the cabin, so we had some pillows with a bed somewhere under them. Every night we were tossing pillows on the floor, but it was nice to try them all! The only thing about having breakfast brought up to the cabin is that there is no crispy bacon. I requested "crispy", but the crisp went away under that silver dome. If you want crispy, go to the buffet. We tried the buffet and the restaurant for breakfast, but the majority were spent in our cabin. We did get some waffles, and they are good. Beware of the blueberries. You can request them, but they change from blue to black cherry on the way to the table. Go figure. George wanted blueberries every time he turned around, and just had problems there. I think they mix them with other berries. Oh, and in the buffet, you can get fresh squeezed apple juice. Awesome!!!

We didn't make any shows. They just didn't push our buttons. And since we are early risers, we were usually sleepy by 9:00. We'd go to the cabin, watch a little tv, and then we were off to la-la land. Btw, the tv programs were not the best. They had CNN and ESPN, which, I think, were live. But everything else was just taped, and we got tired of watching the same thing over and over. They make money by pax just renting movies because they keep showing the same things. We watched two movies. We wanted to go to the Cirque show, but chose that night for the Ocean Liners alternative restaurant. We ate there twice and enjoyed it thoroughly. But, even thought we started at 6:00, we didn't finish until 8:45. The Cirque show was at 9:00, and we knew there would be no seats in the threatre at that point. There was a later Cirque show, but it was after our bedtime, so we didn't make it.

I digress. Back to the cc cabin. There were flowers, and we got pink and teal towels, each color changing daily. The robes are big and fluffy. There was also a small set of binoculars, but we had brought our own, and are glad we did. The binocs, like I said, are small. There were also three umbrellas, champagne, fruit, q-tips and cotton balls, a mending kit, lotion, conditioning shampoo, mints, shower caps, and two hair dryers. There was plenty of storage for us. We actually found out, on the day of disembarkation, that there is another storage door by the locked bar. We never even knew it was there! There were alot of hangers, but I had to request more, and they arrived quickly.

I was worried about the shampoo after reading Cruise Critic, so I had packed my own. But, maybe it was the water on the ship, but my hair was just flat. So off I went to the salon to see what they had I could buy, but they don't sell any hair products. Be sure to pack what you need for your hair, ladies.

One thing I would change in the cabin would be the mirrors. Or I would add a full-length mirror in a closet door. But the mirrors are at the foot of the bed. There is about 16" between the foot of the bed and the mirrors, so trying to see yourself full length is not really possible. I resorted to using the elevator doors, which add a few pounds to your image. Oh, well.

Be aware that there are two light switches by the make-up mirror. The one on the left is for the lights around the mirror. The one on the right is for your verandah light. That light is very bright. You really probably don't need to turn that one on. It shines into the neighbors verandah. Our neighbor kept turning hers on, and it was bothersome. I said something to Fredy, and he must have said something to her, because she didn't turn it on anymore. She may not have been aware she was turning it on.

As far as the food, we all thought it was excellent. I am always amazed at the people who complain about the food. We've never had a bad meal on any cruise ship. BJ had some food aversions due to her pregnancy, but other than that, we ate plenty of food with no complaints. We all got so irritated with the table next to us. It seated six people. They were always late, and on two nights, two ladies came in nearly one hour late. Our waiter and assistant were literally running to accomodate them. We shot them dirty looks, but I don't think they saw us. How inconsiderate. Our waiter and his assistant, Erdal and Carlos, were great.

I took some notes, and here are some other things you may want to know.

There is no need for a bungee cord, as your verandah door will stay open on its own.

While on the Sag river, turn on your tv to the ship's camera channel, and you will hear all of the announcements.

Your safe is either key operated, or you can use a card to slide through. But be sure it is pushed tight when you lock it.

The casino. It is a good size, but the machines still spit out coins. I'd just as soon have paper. I mentioned it to the teller, but he said people prefer coins. I didn't argue with him, but I prefer paper. However, they are changing over to paper in a couple of years. There are only four $5 slot machines, and they are all "bonus game" machines, so the payout is slightly lower. The nickel machines are paid out in quarters, so if you leave a nickel or two on the machine, you cannot cash it out. You have to play it. There are only four, yes four, penny machines, and you cannot get on one unless you are lucky. I cashed out $600+ on one, but I was betting max (2.70) and got there early in the morning before they were swamped. The tables were hitting off and on. We really held our own in the casino. I hit $1,000 on a dollar machine, and George had alot of $500, $600, $800 hits.

Here's an interesting note: There is no tax if you hit any amount over $1200 on a slot machine. When we were on Carnival and NCL, they took our info for IRS and told us that cruise ships had changed, and we now had to pay taxes on winnings on ships. However, Celebrity told us we were in international waters, and so there was no IRS involved. So I suppose it is up to the ship line. We tried our best to hit something really big while on X, so we wouldn't have to pay taxes, but it just didn't happen.

Our cabin was 8177, and it was very quiet. We would get it again. But, boy, on the morning of disembarkation, there was plenty of noise. It was like: cruise is over!!

Apparently the norovirus reared it's ugly head, because on the last few days of the ship, they really tightened up on the drink stations, and bringing out cheese for us to choose from. You could see them cleaning surfaces everywhere. Even in the casino, they were cleaning the machines. But, think about it. The coins are not cleaned at all. Talk about spreading germs! I wish I had thought to mention that on my comment card.

Being part of Cruise Critic was great. We had our first meeting, which I could only stay at for a few moments. Our "formal" meeting was fun, and George and I met some wonderful people. We all also got invited to a Bridge tour. It was very interesting. I highly recommend it if you can get an invite.

If you have any questions about Connie, please ask, and I will try my best to answer them for you.

In short, we would definitely cruise on the Constellation again. It was a "perfect" cruise, and we are going through withdrawal being at home again.

Did I say I gained three pounds, and George gained two?? :eek:

Shay

I left something out.

We noticed the dress during dinner. Most everyone observed the dress code. Maybe because there were more seniors on this cruise, but it was nice to see everyone basically dressed for dinner every night, even if it was casual. I don't think I saw anyone underdressed on the formal nights at all. For the informal nights, George and Eric wore slacks and a crisp shirt and tie, but no jacket. Eric didn't have one packed except for his suit jacket, so they went without their jackets, fully expecting to run back to the cabins for them. But they didn't have to. We saw a few other men with no jackets, but they still looked nice.

Shay

Hi Shay: We were on the cruise just before you and we also were blessed with fabulous weather. In Quebec City though it was cloudy and very windy but hey we just put on a extra coat and all was fine. We thoroughly enjoy the Constellation too and am glad you guys had a good trip. All of our roll call group also got invited to the bridge tour. Now that was neat.

Glad you had a great cruise. So did we.

Marilyn

Something else. We were given, towards the end of the cruise, a very nice vinyl bag with a carrying case. The bag is actually very big, and it has a zipper. It was great for those extras we bought while vacationing. We were also given a dark blue paperish/material bag in the cabin. We put our dirty clothes in it, and our steward gave us another one, so we ended up bringing three bags home.

I think only cc/suites got the vinyl bags, but I am not sure.

Shay

Great review. We leave on 11/7. Can't wait. Did you happen to hear the band that played at the pool? I guess on your cruise they may have played indoors. How were they? I like to relax by the pool & listen to some nice music. Glad that you had a great cruise.

On the very few occasions we ventured out by the pool, there was no band playing. Sorry, but I think the 40 degree weather along with the rain and wind had a hand in that. We heard some bands inside, and I thought they were good. But no tropical music.

Shay

Thanks so much for your review. I leave on the Constellation on 11/7. I'm in cabin 8166 which should be close to yours (although mine is a FV). I'm new to Celebrity, so what made it to your "not to miss" list?

Pam

Pam,

That really depends on what you like to do. My husband and I are both business owners, so relaxation is what we like the most. We just love going to the cabin around 3:00 in the afternoon and watching a movie and taking a nap. The curtains make it dark, and the bed is so comfy.

We also got to where we enjoyed the battle between the sexes, a game played all during the cruise. We joined it right at the end, but thoroughly had a blast.

The thassalotherapy pool is a "not to miss" item. For us, it was doubly great because we were on a cold weather cruise, and the warm water was awesome.

The workout facility is good, too.

Since I think you'll be in the Caribbean, there will be some different things that we didn't get to participate in due to the weather. However, we've done Caribbean cruises before, and we still love our naps. But I love hanging out at the pool and watching the games.

You'll have a blast!

Shay

Hi Shay !

Thanks for the great review. I am glad you had a great Cruise on Constellation. We are on her in a few weeks, on the first Caribbean sailing after she repositions to Ft Lauderdale.

I was awaiting word on the thassalotherapy pool - as a fellow business owner, that is exactly what the doctor ordered. Thanks for the good word Shay!

pgh, we are on the same sailing. Why not join our roll call. We are meeting at sailaway at the bar at the edge of the earth. Join us. There is a cc meeting planned too. Probably the first sea morning.

I assume there will be a band at the pool on the days we are in the Caribbean. Looking forward to it.

We just returned from the same cruise. We had a very nice time, and the ship was lovely. We were a little overwhelmed by the number of seniors on this sailing, as we are both 31. Our travelling companions were in their forties & fifties, and even they were feeling pretty young! We were told by every staff member that we were really messing with the average age! ;) They also told us this is the one itinerary on the Constellation that is 95 percent over the age of 60.

We were all impressed with the food in the dining room and tried many different foods. Our waiters, Jose and Darko, made everything taste better! They anticipated our every desire and we'll really miss them.

My husband really loved the hamburgers & hot dogs at the pool cafe. The sushi was excellent and really displayed nicely. We had the ice cream every day too. What a treat! The buffet food was just so-so. The breakfasts were not anything to write home about, except for the WAFFLES! They were amazing! The pasta bar was great too. You will certainly never go hungry!!!

Our Concierge Class room was great (7208). We loved our balcony and spent lots of time there, even in the cold. The ship was well-maintained and didn't show any visibly obvious wear and tear.

The production shows were good, but the singers were not that great. Good news though, this was their last cruise. Maybe the next singers will be better. The Cirque show was outstanding and really shouldn't be missed. Our main complaint about the entertainment on the cruise would have to be the musical entertainment. The orchestra was great and it was a treat to listen to them. The guitarist was decent, and that is where it ends. The band in the disco was just mediocre. They sounded the same on every song. The Mozart duo was pretty bad. They sounded like two high-schoolers with a synthesizer. Considering that is who played every day in the Rendezvous Lounge for dancing, it was pretty sad. But by far the most disturbing, was the Piano player in Michael's Bar. It was like watching Liberace at his worst! We were really looking forward to sitting back in the piano bar and listening to some great music. Apparently the guy even has his own groupies, which was really, REALLY disturbing. I really expected more out of the entertainment on Celebrity, so hopefully this was a one time fluke...

I'm sure we'll try Celebrity again at some point. Our next will be RCCL next year to the Caribbean.

TXRed626,

It was great, wasn't it?

It seems to me that cruising in the fall will ensure more seniors. It's just that time of year. We've had several fall cruises on different lines, and it's mostly seniors. George and I are 48 and 46 respectively, so we were a bit younger than the majority. But I still enjoy the slower pace. Even Carnival in the fall is mostly seniors.

That ice cream was great! I had it every day! (Hence the three pounds...)

We really wanted to make the Cirque show, but dinner in the Ocean Liners Restaurant takes nearly three hours. We'll plan that better next time.

Shay

Shay,

thank you for a well written review. we have always sailed on the M class ships and enjoy them very much. We are sailing on the Summit come this february. This will be our first 14 day cruise and first aft CC cabin. We are looking forward to it very much.

You certainly ad good luck on the slots

( can i rub your hand? )

Thank you again for a great review

Nadine