Wingman2010

1 hour ago, SoloAlaska said:

So happy to hear. I’m trying NCL in December which will be after 2 Celebrity cruises. Hopefully I will fall in love and have found my line which is better value as a single compared to Celebrity. I’m a little worried it will be too casual, I don’t want my cruise to turn out like a video of “people of Walmart” lol.

Hard for me to assess this based on this Alaska NCL cruise....  Pretty much an LL Bean dress code every day...😂

     Just returned from our first NCL voyage (Jewel, Alaska southern route), DW and I were very pleased.  Our background: many RCCL cruises, several Celebrity and Carnival trips, one Princess cruise.  

Things we really liked:

-Staff on this ship was very pleasant and eager to please (something we've seen declining on other lines)

-Food in the non-specialty restaurants (including the buffet) was consistently good, we didn't see the need to bother with the upcharge places.

-Ship was clean and kept that way throughout the cruise.  No issues with non-bussed tables in the buffet or dishes left in hallways like we are seeing on other lines.

-Decent entertainers in the smaller ship venues- we never even made it to the big production shows!!

We realize that this is just one data point but this strong first impression certainly will lead to a second NCL cruise!!

Definitely Giovanni's over Jamie's. IMO they are not even close....

My "old" comment in reference to the ship certainly did not intimate that it was beyond it's useful life. That being said, interior furnishings can look pretty dogeared after ten years without attention. Ocean cruise ships go into some sort of drydock every few years to upgrade carpets, etc.   So there was some concern that Gate One put this ship into service needing some renovating.... 

I will post a full review but thought I'd just share the highlights here for those Gate One river cruise customers that are thirsty for info.

The ship- is in great condition. Gate One must have done some renovating because this doesn't look like a ten year old ship.  Very clean everywhere and cabins were very comfortable.  Those that like it cold in the cabins will love the a/c system!!  

The crew- is very accommodating. Every member we came in contact with was very courteous and helpful. A huge plus were the Cruise Director (Soma) and the Entertainment Director (Armin).  These two young guys were a key ingredient on our trip.  Like a straight man and his sidekick, they will keep everything running smoothly and keep you laughing at the same time. The restaurant staff does a good job of remembering your preferences and are easily approachable when they forget.

The food- obviously very subjective but we had no issues with the options offered (and one of our travel mates is a vegetarian).  I would put the taste and quality very slightly above the large sea cruise lines like RCCL and Celebrity.  The wine offered at dinner is actually rotated each night (one white and one red) and it definitely flows freely.

The itinerary- was Danube: Budapest to Regensburg.  We had no low water issues.

Summary: Gate One delivers a great river cruise experience at an attractive price. We would not hesitate to river cruise with them again.   

Feel free to ask any questions!!

8 hours ago, haleygirl said:

To Wingman2020 - I am really looking forward to your review of the Monarch Princess.  My sister and I will be boarding her from Regensburg on September 8 after our land tour.  This will be our first river cruise.

This was also our first river cruise.  That being said, We had no direct experience to compare Gate One to, though we have researched the other lines extensively.  Hopefully your cruise will still have Soma (Cruise Director) and Armin (Activities Director)on board (I know they rotate every so often).  These two individuals brought a fantastic youthful (they are both in their twenties) exuberance that really set the mood.  We also had some reservations with the ship's condition but could not find one issue there at all!!

Just completed a Gate One river cruise on the Monarch Princess and will post a review soon (because there isn't much Gate One info out there).   The short and sweet version: loved the ship, the crew and the overall product.  We got that same opinion from almost everyone we talked to during the cruise.

Fingers crossed that the water levels hold for the following week!!  We board the Gate One Monarch Princess in Budapest on Sunday and hope for an uninterrupted sail.....

Thanks for reviewing Gate 1!  We are cruising with them on 8/4 and are very obviously interested in any reviews we can get our hands on....

Thank you for posting!!  We have a Gate 1 cruise coming up in August and it's nice to hear positive reports....

Glad to hear your cruise has finally begun!!  Thanks for the updates....

Guess I was worried about our 8/4/19 cruise for nothing!!   Glad the ship was repaired so quickly.  Hope they used the ace mechanics... 😀

What was your timing on application date to conditional approval date to receiving the email saying an appointment was not necessary? I am eligible to renew October 5, but then leave the country October 16, returning November 13. I am wondering if I am likely to get that email before November 13.

 

Tom & Judy

I want to say it was approx. a month. We applied, got conditional approval in like 2 weeks and then the email showed up a week or two after that. We were ecstatic since we were frustrated with our attempts at making an appointment - and we happened to have an international trip coming up.

I think it depends on the location. Walk-ins without an appointment are not welcome at some locations (like Denver).

There is a difference between being a walk-in and being at customs because you are returning from an international trip.

After getting our conditional approval letters, we got a subsequent email telling us that an interview appointment wasn't necessary IF we would be coming back into the states from an international flight. All we had to do was tell a passport control agent who then directed us to the final interview area....

My wife and I just completed our GE. We also were looking at a several month wait for our interviews but were lucky in that we happened to have an international trip scheduled immediately after we received our conditional approval. If you have received conditional approval, and you happen to be returning from an international trip, you can complete your interview (without an appointment) at the airport you are reentering the country through. We only had to wait like 30 minutes.....

The pool butlers (at least in the solarium) on our August Constellation cruise were very aggressively monitoring for chair hogging. Along with the passing out of the 30 minute limit printed notes, we saw several cases of items being removed from chairs. My wife and I were impressed, it was sort of entertaining.....

And guess what, there were chairs available throughout the sea days!!

We actually got the cabin assignment early, several months prior to sailing.

We loved Croatia and Spain. Kotor was also a nice treat, the sail in and sail out is magnificent!!

Unless you stole it from someone or if it's some type of knock off an Armand Nicolet is the diametric opposite of a $50 watch. They are usually between $1,500 to $5,000 with a few used ones available on the used market around a $500 price point. Any possibility that your wife bought it for you and then tell you it was a $50 watch so that you wouldn't be overly concerned about the $'s she might have spent?

Armand Nicolet and Nicolet are two different watch companies entirely. You are correct that Armand Nicolet is an expensive (Swiss Made) watch. Nicolet watches are much less expensive (mostly Japan made). You can see both brands (new and used) on eBay

We just got off the Constellation (Med cruise), we were in cabin 8002 which is pretty much as far forward as you could get. Prior to boarding, I was also worried about motion. The good news is that we didn't experience any at all!!

My recent experience on the Constellation was that the first night was a mob scene (and we ended up getting seated approx. 30 minutes late for our 7:30 slot). I had concerns that this was going to be the norm but every other night we were seated almost immediately.

The problem on night one appeared to be caused by a large group of suite guests (the "reservation" line is also for suite guests - with or without reservations) that were trying to get several adjoining tables. The Hostess spent almost 20 minutes with them alone.....

Not sure what happened to the word spacing after this was posted????

BACKGROUND

My DW and I are Diamond RCCL cruisers, we decided to giveCelebrity a try to open up more itinerary choices. The fact that Celebrity gives us Elite statuswas another deciding factor. We havesailed smaller ships and mega ships before and are ok with either, understandingthat we usually have to give up size for a more unique itinerary. We chose this Constellation 9 night cruisebased on the Barcelona to Venice Mediterranean sailing that included Croatiaand Montenegro.

PRE-CRUISE

Had no problems with the Celebrity website, the bookingprocess, selection of meal times, tours, etc. I was able to set up my schedule exactly the way I wanted. Bought a couple of excursions. So far sogood…

I have to say that I was a bit dismayed with some of therecent Constellation reviews on Cruise Critic. A few of them described the ship as being “in major disrepair” and asbeing filthy. There were also reviewsthat complained about terrible service and rude staff members. As anexperienced reader of reviews, I understand that opinions can vary widely. I also understood this ship wasn’t builtyesterday.

EMBARKATION(BARCELONA)

Was a breeze. Thistime we opted for a later pier arrival (so that we could enjoy a few last hoursof Barcelona) of around 2:30ish and we basically were able to walk on, godirectly to our room, etc. We hadpriority boarding but really didn’t need it. We were able to buy some wine inthe port store and carry it on with no issues.

THE SHIP

Obviously not a new ship, the Constellation does show somewear and tear. To describe it as beingin “major disrepair” or “filthy” is simply ridiculous. Ship was certainly clean and we observedadequate ongoing cleaning activities. Wespent most of our deck time in the solarium and there was always an attendantthere cleaning and drying the floors from pool and spa splashes. Most of the deckchairs looked brand new. The carpetingdidn’t even appear that worn to me. After reading those scathing reviews read pre-cruise, I was very pleasedwith the ship’s condition. Layout wasalso easy to learn.

THE CABIN – 8002

We usually opt for a balcony but settled for an Oceanview(booked a Guarantee) in order to spend more on sightseeing, etc. We were assigned cabin 8002 which turned outto be a really oversized oceanview (due to the shape of the outside of the shipand the hallway, this cabin is like 30-40% longer than the standardoceanview. We really enjoyed thespace!! The location of the cabin(extreme FWD) was not of any consequence regarding noise or movement on thissailing. Regarding condition/cleanliness – perhaps a little (and I mean a little)wear and tear, but very clean. We had nocomplaints about the cabin. Our Cabin Steward, Neil from India, was fantastic(best we’ve ever had on any cruise). Always a big plus when the Steward seeksyou out on day one to both greet you and to find out if you have anyquestions/requests.

DINING

Always subjective, but here goes. We had Select Dining and I made reservationsfor dinners pre-cruise. We only reallyhad an issue on night one when we waited in the reservation line for 30 minutes(behind a large group of suite guests with NO reservation that were trying toget multiple tables together, by the windows, etc, etc). IMO, the hostess really should have pulledthis group aside to seat those in line WITH reservations. When we finally gotto the hostess, she declared “you’re late for your reservation”, to which Ireplied “think it’s the other way around because we were here on time”. We were automatically seated at tables fortwo, which by the way, are like 6 inches from other tables for two. Really more like a table for four. We didn’t mind the closeness (we met somereally great couples) but there is a bit of awkwardness because the food is comingat different times at each table of two - since the couples are seated atdifferent times. On to the dining roomfood quality: overall, a bit better than RCCL. The prime rib was really good, as were the fish dishes. Loved havingsome new choices. Service in the diningroom was very good overall, think we had one waiter on one night that was justaverage. No issues at all with wine anddrink service either. We have had issues in the past on RCCL (getting timelydrinks in the dining room), no issues onthe Constellation.

The Oceanview Café was also a positive experience forus. A big plus was that there werealways open seats (which is not the case on the larger RCCL ships). I give the food quality and selection aslight edge over RCCL.

We did not eat in any specialty restaurants.

THE STAFF

Our overall experience with Constellation staff members wasexcellent. I already mentioned ourexemplary Cabin Steward. Many, many staff members called us by name (more sothan any previous cruise). Of theseveral dining room teams that served us dinner, we only had one waiter thatwas “so-so”. The Captain’s ClubAmbassador was very attentive during the evening happy hour. Our one interface with Guest Services(complaints about the really crappy internet) was handled to our satisfaction. The staff members in the Oceanview Café werevery efficient, dirty plates were always quickly removed- pleasantly. I was also impressed with how organized thequeues for excursions were handled by those staff members. I mentioned theslightly snooty Select Dining hostess -after the first night our interactions withher were fine. So, call me completelypuzzled by those negative staff reviews I’d read pre-cruise…..

CAPTAIN’S CLUB

Certainly enjoyed the nightly cocktail hour(s). No drink coupons loaded on the card for thiscruise, the cocktail crowd was alwayspretty small in the Reflections Lounge (loved this venue though - much better view than most RCCL Diamond Lounges). Appetizers at the Elite happyhour were pretty weak, IMO the RCCL Diamond Lounge had better offerings. Thefree bags of laundry were fantastic. Also enjoyed the Elite breakfast. Already mentioned our Ambassador who was very visible at the happy hours, etc.

MISCELLANEOUSCOMMENTS

BEDDING- we slept fine but the mattresses could definitelyuse an upgrade. Also, it appears Celebritydoes not use that foam “crack filler” when beds are pushed together?

INTERNET- Absolutely horrible on this cruise. Wecould hardly get into our email, forget about uploading more than one pictureat a time. After complaining at Guest Services, we were sent to talk to the“specialist” in the IT Lounge. Headmitted that on that cruise the bandwith was “not what they had hopedfor”. We ended up getting a 50% refundwhich I thought was fair.

INTERACTIVE TV- How about posting the dining room menushere? Also was able to view my dailyschedule on the newer RCCL ships, missed that here….

FELLOW PASSENGERS- Maybe it was the itinerary, maybe it wasCelebrity – not sure which, but as a whole, we experienced a great group ofsavvy travelers (with the exception of the guy grabbing the buffet food withhis hands – there has to be one on every cruise). Average age was also younger than weexpected.

CONCLUSION

We enjoyed our first Celebrity cruise and would not hesitateto consider this line in the future. Welook at Celebrity as an extension of RCCL,. The better food, better service and new itineraries being extra perks. We will likely sample one of Celebrity's newer ships next. Really wish westill earned RCCL points for Celebrity sailings though!!

Just did a one night pre-cruise stay in Barcelona at the Hotel Granvia. Great place, great location (at the top of Las Ramblas and Barri Gottic on Gran Via).

I had all of the same questions for our recent Med cruise. I ended up booking a "Small Group, Skip the Line Vatican Museum and ST. Peter's Basilica" tour through Viator (on Trip Advisor). I know many people dislike Viator (because they are simply a broker and you don't always know whom your tour is actually booked with). Anyhow, I rolled the dice and we had an excellent experience!!

The tour actually ended up being with City Wonders, our group was approx. 12-15 people. The tour guide, Francesca, was awesome!! She really made the tour, she also did a great job at keeping the group together, keeping us moving through the sometimes difficult crowds. I felt like I got great value on this booking....

I was on Constellation in late July on a Med Cruise out of Barcelona. There was a nice mix of Formal as Well as Resort Casual worn on the Chic nights. I would say that there were less than 10% in Tux and gown. The passenger mix was probably 50% Americans, 30% Spanish and 20% British.

Exactly my experience, I just got off a Constellation Med cruise...

I also saw a passenger in shorts turned away from the dining room and I don't even think it was Chic night....