Day-By-Day Review from Older Teen's Perspective: Celebrity Constellation 5-Night

Hello Cruise Critic! In March I sailed the Celebrity Constellation for the first time, and have decided to write a day-by-day review of my trip. I apologize for the length of this review, as I am a very detailed person I have written two reviews before, of my family’s 6/2015 NCL Gem cruise and 3/2013 NCL Dawn cruise.

Some background information: Our cruise was a 5-night sailing on the Celebrity Constellation out of Fort Lauderdale, FL. We traveled to Key West, FL and Cozumel, Mexico with two days at sea. This trip was a combined college spring break trip and birthday celebration, and I sailed with my DM and DF. This was our 6th cruise, but first on Celebrity, and my first being too old for the youth/teen programs. The first two were in 2007 and 2008, when I was in the kids club, on Royal Caribbean (Jewel OTS and Enchantment OTS). The other three were in 2012 on RCI’s Monarch OTS, 2013 on the NCL Dawn, and 2015 on the NCL Gem. We live outside of Philadelphia, PA, but wanted to save money so bit the bullet and drove to Fort Lauderdale instead of flying.

This review will be from an older teen’s perspective. In researching and planning for this cruise, I was disappointed to see that there still is not much cruising information out there for young adults, particularly ones who are college-aged, but are not sailing on a cruise with a large group of college friends. I was apprehensive, for 18 is an awkward age, for you are not allowed to participate in the Teen Club, but are still under the drinking age. I understood that I would have access to the nightclubs and casino, but was apprehensive that there would not be any way for me to find things to do with other older teens in the same situation. Fortunately, my worries were eased and I was able to enjoy a fantastic cruise vacation with my parents.

Thanks for reading, and I hope you enjoy!

I'm looking forward to this review. I'm considering a cruise with my 18 year old son, but I'm really worried he won't have enough to do with young adults on the ship. As you said - in terms of cruising - 18 really is a bit awkward. Thank you for taking time to write.

So far so good! This is great insight for me as I take a 15 year old to see the Baltic capitals this summer. Any tips or ideas you can share that will help make her more comfortable and at ease, I'd be most appreciative as she's shy. I will follow your posts and live vicariously through your recaps. Enjoy every minute!

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Really looking forward to hear your perspective. It is always interesting to see how other's perceive a cruise experience.

So far so good! This is great insight for me as I take a 15 year old to see the Baltic capitals this summer. Any tips or ideas you can share that will help make her more comfortable and at ease, I'd be most appreciative as she's shy. I will follow your posts and live vicariously through your recaps. Enjoy every minute!

 

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We took our then 15 year old DS to the Baltics in 2015 for our first Celebrity cruise. He joined the Teen Club on Embarkation day and enjoyed it, so much he is still friends with some of the other teens he met both via Facebook and in person. He met with one of his cruise friends during Summer 2016 in London for a day of shopping and lunch, so it is possible to form lasting friendships. Our son has Asperger's Syndrome which can make social situations more difficult when he does not know anyone but this did not present an issue on the cruise. He even hosted a movie night with one of his friends in our cabin which they both really enjoyed. I think your daughter should enjoy her cruise. If you have any concerns about her shyness, raise it with the Team Club staff who were very accommodating and ensure our son was not left out.

For the OP, I will be very interested to read your post. Our DS will be 18 when we next cruise Celebrity however because we are in Europe, he can consume alcohol but that said, we are wondering how he will meet others his own age with no Teen Club available.

Hurry up and write;p. I am anxious to read your perspective :D

Sure you were on the Constellation and not the Summit or Infinity. Constellation was in the far east operating out of Singapore.

Day 1

We drove down to Fort Lauderdale from Philly beginning the night before, and arrived at the port around 11, but a little confusing as to how to get to our ship’s station. We unloaded the suitcases, gave them to the porter, and DF drove the car to the long term parking lot right next to the luggage drop-off ($15/day). DF wanted to clean out the car but DM and I wanted to board, so we went ahead, and this wasn’t an issue with the check-in at all, they said they would look DF up on ship manifest (since we had the boarding pass paper with us). The port was nice, had flavored water available before boarding. We got our security picture taken, then the obligatory picture in front of the backdrop taken, then walked right onto the ship and were offered complimentary champagne or mimosas. Went right up to the Oceanview Café for lunch, got a table by the Sunset Bar, outdoor, in the back. It was lots of the same food, but also different stations: salad bar, pizza, ethnic foods, food salads, etc. The ice cream station was served to you, as opposed to self-serve. I have to say, the desserts weren’t too impressive today. At 1:00 there was an announcement that the cabins were ready, so we went and changed into our bathing suits (had brought them in our carry-on bags) and checked out the room. We had cabin 8080 which was a Concierge class balcony. Very nice, very spacious with lots of storage. We received complimentary champagne and fruit. We went to sit out in sun by pool deck, and it started to thunderstorm, so we explored the fitness center (huge and amazing) and the spa, as well as other areas, before heading back to the cabin to hang out. Our cabin steward came in around 3:00 and gave us all kinds of information about the cabin, concierge service, etc. He was VERY friendly and cheerful. The muster drill was at 3:15, was more extensive than those in past. We hung out in room until sailaway at 4:00, as we had a long trip to arrive in FL, and our bags FINALLY arrived a little after. Every other room’s bags had been delivered by 3:15 except about 5 rooms in our hallway ,including ours. We enjoyed the sail away on our balcony (we used to always go to the top deck for the sail away party, but were feeling a little tired) with our free horderves. We really liked the privacy and relaxing feeling of watching the sail away on our own balcony. I unpacked my clothes, then decided to hit the gym to make room for all of the food I would be eating on the cruise. We went to the San Marco restaurant at 7:15 only to find out that we would have a 20 minute wait to get a table. We thought we would have priority seating as Concierge Class members, but apparently this is only true for the specialty restaurants. You live and you learn, for we decided to make reservations after that. If you choose to opt out of an assigned dinner seating (6:00 or 8:15), like we did, you must sit on the 2nd level. We were kind of bummed out because on our last two NCL cruises, My Time dining was the norm, and we were always able to get a table by the windows to watch the ocean. Our waiter was very busy with lots of tables, but our assistant waiter was extremely helpful and friendly. Celebrity had announced that this would not be a dress code night, and it was very apparent, for all levels of dress were accounted for in the restaurant.

We went to the comedy show straight from dinner, and the comedian was very funny. I saw that there was a gathering for people my age (18-20) at 9:45, so I decided to go and check it out. It was hard to figure out who was the correct age, but I ended up meeting another girl who was also a college freshman and we hit it off. We were both pretty tired, so agreed to meet up the next night, and headed out. I explored the ship for a while before grabbing a cookie at the Oceanview Café before heading to bed.

Thank you for writing your perspective. I am definitely following along. My kids are 15, 17 and 19 and they have mentioned that they are interested in a cruise at some point. I am looking forward to reading more of your first hand account.

Thank you so much for taking the time to share your perspective. I am looking forward to following along!

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Just one of your peeps saying thanks!

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Day 1- Pictures

A nice welcoming touch to embarkation

Greeted with treats in our cabin

Sailaway views

Even the views from the treadmill were beautiful

Day 1- Pictures (cont.)

Daily

Afternoon Canapes

Sushi sampler plate from the buffet

MDR Menu

Day 1- Pictures (cont.)

Belgian Endive-Arugula salad- very good!

Grilled salmon with potatoes and squash- excellent

We all shared the three desserts- the banana crepe was a hit!

Great review so far. :)

I have may missed it, but may I ask if you are a male or female?

And have things changed on the ship regarding the drinking age? When we cruised with our teens (now young adults), and they were 18-20 years of age, they were allowed to drink once we reached International waters. We had to sign a waver, though.

Great review so far. :)

 

I have may missed it, but may I ask if you are a male or female?

 

And have things changed on the ship regarding the drinking age? When we cruised with our teens (now young adults), and they were 18-20 years of age, they were allowed to drink once we reached International waters. We had to sign a waver, though.

Our daughter was allowed to drink when she was 20, as we had signed the waiver. That was in 2010. That only applies, however, to sailings that originate from Europe or South America - at least that was the policy at the time. I thought that it still is the current policy.

Great review, by the way. Our kids were on Celebrity a couple times as older teens and even one as very young teens. They have loved them all, and it's line they prefer.

We just returned on 4/23, In the Celebrity Today where they have the bars listed, it stated that alcohol would only be served to passengers 21 and over. We left out of FLL. One time I accidentally handed the bar server my daughter's card for my drink (we were at sea), he said that card could not purchase wine.

Looking forward to your review. My daughter is 17. She has always enjoyed the clubs and I wonder how she will meet others her age after she "ages out".

You are 18? Wow! You write so eloquently for someone so young and put a lot of us old folks to shame, lol. Your signature says you have been a member since 2011. That would have made you about 11 years old! Your review is wonderful so far and looking forward to more. Thank you!

We live in the Philadelphia area and have thought about driving to the cruise port in Fort Lauderdale. Thus far, we have flown from Phillie to Fort Lauderdale. Please describe how long your drive took, where to stop, etc. From your posting it appears that you drove straight through, without stopping overnight at a hotel along the way. Any suggestions regarding making the drive as easy as possible.

Our daughter was allowed to drink when she was 20, as we had signed the waiver. That was in 2010. That only applies, however, to sailings that originate from Europe or South America - at least that was the policy at the time. I thought that it still is the current policy.

 

Great review, by the way. Our kids were on Celebrity a couple times as older teens and even one as very young teens. They have loved them all, and it's line they prefer.

I took a look at our cruise history. Our oldest daughter was 20 when she took her first cruise. It was 2001. Then our second daughter was 18 when we took a cruise in 2003. Our son was 18 on a cruise in 2005. They were all allowed to drink with our permission, but we had to buy the drink for them... which was seldom. LOL

Nice following your review and photos.

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We live in the Philadelphia area and have thought about driving to the cruise port in Fort Lauderdale. Thus far, we have flown from Phillie to Fort Lauderdale. Please describe how long your drive took, where to stop, etc. From your posting it appears that you drove straight through, without stopping overnight at a hotel along the way. Any suggestions regarding making the drive as easy as possible.

We were on a time crunch with college classes letting out so driving straight through was our only option! We stopped at one or two rest areas in the Carolinas to sleep for an hour or so, but we had three drivers so we would take shifts.

Day 2- Key West

After sleeping like a rock, I woke up around 7:50, grabbed a banana and glass of water at the Oceanview Café and explored the breakfast options. I hit the gym at 8:30. It wasn’t very crowded and was easy to find a treadmill. We went to breakfast around 9:00, and it was very crowded. The omelet lines were pretty long, and this was a bit annoying as you had to cut between the people in line to get to other foods. An arrival announcement was made at 8:00 but I noticed that we had arrived upon waking up at 7:50. We figured that if we waited until 9:00 to go to breakfast that most people would’ve gotten off the ship by then, but this was not the case.

We have been to Key West twice before, eight and nine years ago. Both times we were there, we rented bikes and did varied touristy attractions; the museum next to the port, going to the local key lime shops, the lighthouse, the Southernmost Point landmark, and Margarhitaville. We feel that Key West has a lot to offer, so we never felt the need to lay on the beach (as days at sea are perfect for lounging). We did the same types of things this time around.

I had gone to the Eaton Bikes website a week or so before our cruise to put a bike reservation in online for the three of us. It cost about $18pp/pd and I selected the time I wanted them dropped off (it was a little hard to predict this a week in advance). They delivered them to us at the Westin valet parking lot, very close to where we got off the ship. The bikes came with free locks, and you could select the bike type when you made your reservation (Cruiser, tricycle, road, etc.).

We rode the bikes around the corner to Harry S. Truman’s Little White House, to purchase tickets for a tour. The tours run about every 25-30 minutes. Adult tickets cost $17 and I got a student rate ticket for $15. The weather forecast predicted thunderstorms later in the day, so we decided to wait until the weather got bad to go on the tour. We rode to the Southernmost Point, hoping to take a picture with the landmark, but the line was down the street and almost around the corner, so my mom snuck a picture of me standing a little bit away from it while people were transitioning. There was a man selling fresh coconut water (you got a coconut with straw) for $3- it was delicious and provided for some fun photo opps. We rode on a sidewalk path along Smathers beach, then out to a pier-type place, which gave us great views of the absolutely gorgeous water. We rode to a shopping area, heading to Kermit’s Key West Lime Shoppe, where we visited on our previous cruises. The shop is really neat, with key lime flavored everything from jellybeans to cookies to salsa. They offer samples of pretty much everything, so we helped ourselves. We bought some pie, limeade, and cookies, all delicious, and some salsa to take home. On the way out we saw a sign saying something about America’s Top 10 Dessert, which was frozen key lime pie dipped in chocolate on a stick, so we got one of those as well. It was also delicious, and tasted a lot like ice cream. We rode our bikes down to Duval St. to shop, and it was very lively and crowded. After purchasing a few souvenirs, we rode back to the Little White House and went on the 45 minute tour. (I apologize for the lack of photos, but no photography was allowed on the tour). We were able to see most of the rooms, and watch an informational film. It was a very interesting tour, and even as an older teen who isn’t a history fanatic, I was entertained the whole time. The tour ended around 4:05 and the last call for passenger boarding was 4:30, so we rode back around the corner to the port area. The Eaton Bikes deliverer said we could just lock the bikes on a certain rack near the Westin and leave the keys with the concierge. This made it very easy since we didn’t have to call the company to book a pick-up time. We locked the bikes up, handed in the keys, and were back on board by 4:15. We set sail around 5:00 and it was pouring rain. I decided to go to the gym for a quick run, because I wanted to be able to sample a few desserts at dinner. We relaxed in the room until about 6:45, went down to the San Marco where we got a pager for a 30-minute wait. We decided to check out the Oceanview Café again, sampling a few of the offerings before our pager buzzed. Once it did, we headed to the San Marco and were seated at the table next to the one we had the night before, with the same head, Valeriano, and assistant, Santano, waiters, who provided excellent service. The menu was Top Chef themed. DF and I got the tuna, and he also ordered Escargo. Valeriano brought another plate of Escargo for my mom and me to try. We loved it, and used the bread from the bread basket to eat with it, which served as a great complement. For our entrée, we all ordered the redfish with bbq shrimp and it was amazing. Valeriano also brought the mushroom over pumpkin puree dish for us to try, which was also very good. For desserts, we decided to order a bunch and share again. We got the crème brulee, pumpkin, chocolate cake with chai ice cream, and cheesecake with caramel topping. Valeriano brought us two more bowls of the chai ice cream, which I loved as I am a big fan of chai lattes. With the exception of the chocolate cake, desserts were all to die for.

I met up with my friend and we had tea at the Oceanview Café until going to the Adult Comedy Show in the theater at 9:45. It was the same comedian as the night before, and this time he was even better! The show was definitely inappropriate for kids, but was absolutely hilarious. Afterwards, we went to bed.

LOVING your review!!!!