Constellation - Tell Me Everything

I'm going to be booking a French Riviera cruise on the Constellation. I'm super excited. Almost all the ports (except two) will be new to me :D I've never sailed Celebrity before, but am Diamond on Royal Caribbean. Is there priority check-in, like with RCI?

Any thoughts on the best cabin location for a veranda cabin? I generally like midship. Is Concierge Class worth the extra $? I'll be booking on Friday (payday, lol).

How is the Constellation? I know it's an older ship. How is she holding up? Any favorite spots on the ship to just sit and stare out at the ocean?

What are your favorite specialty restaurants?

How is the food in the MDR, say compared to RCI or Princess?

Does Celebrity have ice cream available by the pool?

I'll probably be back with more questions in the next 18 months. I can't wait for this cruise.

Concierge Class cabins are larger than regular veranda cabins on the M class ships. The other benefits of CC are not significant, excepting the extra Captain's Club points (5 points/night vs 3 points/night) IF you are working your way to a higher Captain's Club level.

There is ice cream in the buffet - free - and candy toppings are also available. Gelato is available on deck 5 (Gelateria is across from Cafe al Bacio). It is delicious but not free.

Cakes, cookies, pastries, croissant, muffins etc at Cafe al Bacio as complimentary. Quite delicious! Coffee drinks are included in the beverage package. My favorite place for coffee on Celebrity ships.

I understand that Constellation has gone through a facelift. If you search the Celebrity forum you will probably find details as to what was done. My cruises to date have been on the S class ships, not the M class ships. I am booked on a cruise on Constellation so I am following this thread. Thanks for starting it.

Enjoy your cruise.

Keep checking closer to the cruise for a family veranda. Trust me. I downgraded from Aqua for it. The view was fantastic. If nobody books it about 2-3 weeks out, they open it up to non-families.

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Constellation is our favorite M class ship. Get a Captains Club number, your Diamond status will get you a Elite status with Celebrity. Do Concierge Cabin, they’re bigger than a regular veranda. We like the MDR, better than Royal. Enjoy your first Celebrity experience

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Check out the dozens and dozens of reviews on Cruise Critic. And be sure to join your Roll Call.

Check out the dozens and dozens of reviews on Cruise Critic. And be sure to join your Roll Call.

FWIW. It’s a little too much to expect/ask to start these, “tell me everything” type threads. As stated above there are a ton of threads, reviews and trip reports about the Constellation. I’d just post specific questions you may have and then folks will gladly chime in and answer your questions. I’d also check out the many YouTube videos of Constellation ship tours.

We enjoy sailing both Royal and Celebrity. It depends on the itinerary and time of year. We generally are looking to avoid a large number of kids on our cruises. You get a slightly upscale older demographic cruise on Celebrity. The M class are older ships (15 years old), that have be updated (Solsticized) within the last 5 years or so, to incorporate newer features of the Solstice class.

Join your Roll Call

Have a great cruise

Cheers

Tom

We were on the Constellation last Oct and will be on her again in April. We did a full review of the ship including lots of photos in our Holy Land review on our website, that is linked to in my signature. I think the review will give you a good idea of what to expect.

The concierge and aqua cabins are larger than the standard veranda ones, so this is the one class that I do try to get a concierge. Unfortunately, the many of the concierge and aqua cabins are in a bad location under the deck 10 overhang,where they are totally covered. On both of our Constellation cruises, we have been able to upgrade to aqua for just a small amount more, which meant that we were able to get the newer cabins on deck 11,that are in a great location.

I didn't see this mentioned, but Connie has an interesting and quirky art and sculpture collection throughout the ship. Check it out in stairwells and hallways. We asked for a tour of it. Sometimes you get lucky and find a knowledgeable crew member. There is a beautiful Dale Gihuilly (spelling?)chandelier on one of the upper decks that shouldn't be missed.

I didn't see this mentioned, but Connie has an interesting and quirky art and sculpture collection throughout the ship. Check it out in stairwells and hallways. We asked for a tour of it. Sometimes you get lucky and find a knowledgeable crew member. There is a beautiful Dale Gihuilly (spelling?)chandelier on one of the upper decks that shouldn't be missed.

I believe that you are referring to this one.

I believe that you are referring to this one.

 

[/quote

Yep, that's the one. THANKS

Research the ports you are going to, take maps, places to visit etc because we had nothing from reception when we wanted to make our own way rather than using their expensive shore excursions.

I am about to book on this ship for a b2b from Venice in Aug 19, considering a concierge first leg and aqua aft second leg. We are from Australia and have done Solstice 4 times and loved it. The itineraries were only released 2 days ago to us and so many rooms are gone already,was hoping to jump on the sunset aft concierge but not to be. I understand Connie is a smaller ship and M class as well as older.Is she still in good condition? Will miss not having the Asian specialty restaurant Silk Harvest and Murano, I can only see Tuscan Grill on Connie,is this the only specialty restaurant?

Research the ports you are going to, take maps, places to visit etc because we had nothing from reception when we wanted to make our own way rather than using their expensive shore excursions.

Thanks for the advice. I always do that. I also get maps and have gotten some great suggestions from the concierge as well.

I am about to book on this ship for a b2b from Venice in Aug 19, considering a concierge first leg and aqua aft second leg. We are from Australia and have done Solstice 4 times and loved it. The itineraries were only released 2 days ago to us and so many rooms are gone already,was hoping to jump on the sunset aft concierge but not to be. I understand Connie is a smaller ship and M class as well as older.Is she still in good condition? Will miss not having the Asian specialty restaurant Silk Harvest and Murano, I can only see Tuscan Grill on Connie,is this the only specialty restaurant?

We found it old and tired. You can see that they are talking about a complete refit of the cabins and they need it. Shower leeks onto bathroom floor, doors on cupboards and wardrobes hanging off, worn out settee and very noisey A/C for starters. That was an AQ2 cabin.

There is also qsine and Susi on 5l. Check them out here https://www.celebritycruises.co.uk/onboard/food-and-drink/

I sailed her a year or so ago and did not find any major issues at all as regards upkeep. Of course older ships are going to show more wear and tear but I have always found Celebrity to do a very nice job at maintaining their ships (and I have sailed 35 times, on all since the beginning, with the exception of Meridian from years ago). I have never seen more than some minor wear and tear here and there. Expectations vary, and of course sometimes a particular cabin may have more issues than normal (or fewer for that matter!)

Constellation is our favorite M class ship. Get a Captains Club number, your Diamond status will get you a Elite status with Celebrity. Do Concierge Cabin, they’re bigger than a regular veranda. We like the MDR, better than Royal. Enjoy your first Celebrity experience

 

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Thank you. I already called to get a Captains Club number. I'm torn on the Concierge cabin - I definitely love more space, just not sure it's worth the money. The cruise is already pretty pricey. I'm glad you think the MDR is better than on Royal, which has seriously gone downhill fast the last few years.

I didn't see this mentioned, but Connie has an interesting and quirky art and sculpture collection throughout the ship. Check it out in stairwells and hallways. We asked for a tour of it. Sometimes you get lucky and find a knowledgeable crew member. There is a beautiful Dale Gihuilly (spelling?)chandelier on one of the upper decks that shouldn't be missed.

That chandelier looks incredible. I love quirky art. I'm sure I'll be going all over the ship with my camera :)

I started my roll call yesterday. So far, I'm the only one on it. :D

I sailed her a year or so ago and did not find any major issues at all as regards upkeep. Of course older ships are going to show more wear and tear but I have always found Celebrity to do a very nice job at maintaining their ships (and I have sailed 35 times, on all since the beginning, with the exception of Meridian from years ago). I have never seen more than some minor wear and tear here and there. Expectations vary, and of course sometimes a particular cabin may have more issues than normal (or fewer for that matter!)

Thank you. I've seen several comments about the ship looking "tired" and mentioning "wear and tear". I see the same types of comments about Royal Caribbean's Radiance class ships, which are my favorites and would never call them "tired", and about the Coral Princess which I also enjoyed very much. I prefer small to medium sized ships rather than the mega ships sailing today. The Allure of the Seas and the Regal Princess were two of my more "blah" cruises. Bigger and newer isn't always better.

We found it old and tired. You can see that they are talking about a complete refit of the cabins and they need it. Shower leeks onto bathroom floor, doors on cupboards and wardrobes hanging off, worn out settee and very noisey A/C for starters. That was an AQ2 cabin.

 

There is also qsine and Susi on 5l. Check them out here https://www.celebritycruises.co.uk/onboard/food-and-drink/

Sounds like all these ships which we enjoyed very much over the years are aging at the same pace. The AC in our AQ, cabin on Infinity conked out several times last few days..shower had terminal.mildew...sewer smells in hallways....

But the ship gets you to the lovely ports and being smaller with fewer pax is a definite plus.

We found it old and tired. You can see that they are talking about a complete refit of the cabins and they need it. Shower leeks onto bathroom floor, doors on cupboards and wardrobes hanging off, worn out settee and very noisey A/C for starters. That was an AQ2 cabin.

 

There is also qsine and Susi on 5l. Check them out here https://www.celebritycruises.co.uk/onboard/food-and-drink/

OMG! Stop beating the horse! It's DEAD!!!! We get it, you had a bad time and hate everything about Celebrity. I sailed on Connie, had a lovely room, a wonderful time and the food was good. The service was outstanding. The concierge even offered me the use of her personal hair dryer when she read my mid cruise comment card suggestion that the onboard hair dryers requiring the button to be continually depressed for airflow might be difficult for those passengers with long, thick hair or dexterity problems! On the day it rained in port, instead of blaming Celebrity for not sheltering me, I had the foresight to bring the umbrella provided in my stateroom for my use. We enjoyed our meals in the specialty restaurants and the dining room (Murano, or should I say Ocean Liners) was still there when we sailed on her. Our AC worked perfectly, the closet doors and cupboards were where they belonged and the shower was lovely. Clearly AnOnymously54350045 wasn't happy, but OP should not worry about Connie being old and tired.

I love Connie. We sailed her last year for my 50th. At first I was disappointed that my ideal itinerary was on a M class and not an S class but my fears were unfounded. Absolutely loved her and found her to be in great shape.

Hi!

We did the same cruise as MVpInBoynton on her.

You can find the full report in my signature.

Here is a preview on the ship (before refurbishment):

I believe that you are referring to this one.

 

[/quote

Yep, that's the one. THANKS

 

If you ever get to Seattle check out Chihuly Garden & Glass. It is next to the Space Needle. The best time to see the Garden is in late afternoon. You want to be outside in the garden when it is dark out. Chihuly Garden & Glass closes at 7pm or 8pm depending on the day you visit.

 

If you ever get to Seattle check out Chihuly Garden & Glass. It is next to the Space Needle. The best time to see the Garden is in late afternoon. You want to be outside in the garden when it is dark out. Chihuly Garden & Glass closes at 7pm or 8pm depending on the day you visit.

 

 

It is definitely on our to do list. We didn’t have time to go when we were there in June.

 

If you ever get to Seattle check out Chihuly Garden & Glass. It is next to the Space Needle. The best time to see the Garden is in late afternoon. You want to be outside in the garden when it is dark out. Chihuly Garden & Glass closes at 7pm or 8pm depending on the day you visit.

 

The glass blowing demonstrations at the Glass Museum are also worth seeing. Reminds me of the Hot Glass shows on Equinox. Stroll across the Bridge of Glass too. Such beautiful glass throughout the museum and on the bridge.

 

The glass blowing demonstrations at the Glass Museum are also worth seeing. Reminds me of the Hot Glass shows on Equinox. Stroll across the Bridge of Glass too. Such beautiful glass throughout the museum and on the bridge.

 

Need to clarify - the Chihuly Glass Museum and Bridge of Glass are in Tacoma.