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

Your review is fabulous! Thanks for taking the time to write it and to post the photos. My son is 16 and we will be going on the Summit and I was wondering how he would like it in comparison to NCL and RC, which have been recent cruises. I'm looking forward to the rest of your review. Thanks! :)

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

Thought it was just me,but post #13 shows Constellation's Celebrity Today. So I am still confused

It looks like maybe this cruise was in 2016, not 2017.

Either way I hope she comes back to continue it. She seems like a bright, articulate young lady and I'm enjoying the cruise through her eyes.

It looks like maybe this cruise was in 2016, not 2017.

Either way I hope she comes back to continue it. She seems like a bright, articulate young lady and I'm enjoying the cruise through her eyes.

Mmmmm, Very strange. It looks like you are correct. I wonder why she is writing the review more than a year later. I guess it does not matter, but I think we are all under the impression that this was a recent cruise.

FYI, this review was from my family's cruise from last year. I took notes/blogged each day of the cruise, but lost my pictures. Fortunately, I was able to recover the pictures the other month so I decided to move forward with the review. I sincerely apologize for any confusion!

It looks like maybe this cruise was in 2016, not 2017.

Either way I hope she comes back to continue it. She seems like a bright, articulate young lady and I'm enjoying the cruise through her eyes.

Yes, I just posted about the situation that occurred. Thank you for your positive feedback, I truly appreciate it!

Day 2- Key West- Pictures

Today's Daily

A big buffet breakfast to fuel a busy day

Docked in Key West

Hanging out (literally) waiting for our bikes

View of beautiful Key West from the ship

Day 2- Key West- Pictures (cont.)

Coconuts sold on the street

Posing (sort of) with the Southernmost Point

Kermit's Key West Key Lime Shoppe

Delicious treats from the store

DF and DM after bike riding along the water

Day 2- Key West- Pictures (cont.)

DM and I dressed up for dinner

MDR menu

Bread and butter variety

Ahi tuna- delicious with the avocado

The phenomenal redfish

Day 2- Key West- Pictures (cont.)

Chocolate cake with chai ice cream (LOVED the ice cream)

Pumpkin dessert- perfect if you are a pumpkin/cinnamon/spice fan!

Our dessert spread (including the cheesecake with caramel topping and the creme brulee)

FYI, this review was from my family's cruise from last year. I took notes/blogged each day of the cruise, but lost my pictures. Fortunately, I was able to recover the pictures the other month so I decided to move forward with the review. I sincerely apologize for any confusion!

No apologies needed, it just threw those of us booked on the Connie in the Arabian Sea who have been following her recent cruises, then thinking she had suddenly popped up in the Caribbean;);)

Day 3- At Sea

I woke up around 7:30 to a rockin’ and rollin’ ship. I tried to fall back asleep a few times but was unable to because the ship was really moving back and forth, almost in a disturbing way. I eventually got up and went to the gym around 8:45, and it was mildly crowded, about half of the treadmills were taken. It was quite a challenge to stay balanced while running on the treadmill with the ship rocking so greatly, but we managed. We went to breakfast at the Oceanview Café around 9:30 and it was again, very crowded. There were a few empty tables toward the back, and we snagged one by the window. DM had a full plate of food untouched on the table, along with silverware still wrapped in a napkin, and a full drink, but it was gone by the time she returned after getting a bowl of cereal. This almost happened again later in the day at lunch. We weren’t bothered, as it was a simple misunderstanding, but we think it might be a good idea for Celebrity to put little signs that say “still eating” or “finished” on tables so the staff knows when to clear the tables. The boat was still rocking pretty seriously and many people were seasick. I saw a bunch of people with SeaBands and cans of Ginger Ale, and the staff had placed vomit bags in each bathroom. After a very filling breakfast, we headed back to the room to change into bathing suits and cover-ups. I felt a little seasick after breakfast, but I think this was because I had a huge breakfast and was still digesting my food. I had a piece of my never-failing SeaBands motion sickness ginger gum and was good to go. After breakfast, DF went on the galley tour of the San Marco Restaurant, and he had a fabulous experience. His group was lucky enough to have the head chef as their tour guide.

The weather was pretty cloudy, but with bits of sunshine every once in a while. It was windy, making it cold, on the sides of the top deck, but we found sheltered areas from the wind at the front and back of the top deck, and were still even able to get nice and sunburnt (ouch) even with all of the clouds. We had lunch at the Seaview Café, and enjoyed the healthy options including spinach and quinoa, and a cranberry quinoa salad. We decided to join the High Intensity Dance Class which was poolside. They played popular dance songs like “The Cupid Shuffle,” teaching everyone the moves. People of all ages joined and it was actually a lot of fun! DM went to two back-to-back trivia games which she really enjoyed, and even won one of them! DF spent most of the day in the casino, playing in the various tournaments. Needing to make more room for dinner, DM and I hit the gym again at 4:45 to do a little cardio before the 5:00 flat abs class. We really liked the abs class. It was free and only about 30 minutes, and the instructor was very pleasant and made it an enjoyable experience. I had also gone for a little jog on the top deck jogging track, which was really cool to be able to look out at the water and the horizon from all sides of the ship. Afterwards, we got ready for dinner, as tonight was “Evening Chic” night. Celebrity had advertised this night as more formal than Smart Casual, but not as formal as the former “Formal Night.” We like to dress up to go to dinner, and always have on our past cruises. We always dress especially nice for the “formal” night, DM and I wore fancier black cocktail dresses and DF wore a fancy black suit. We felt that we were some of the most dressed up people on the entire ship, and felt the same way during the other nights as well. This didn’t bother us, of course, for what others wear doesn’t affect us, but was just an observation that stayed the same throughout the cruise. I think we were a little surprised because before the cruise, we were under the impression that Celebrity is a more formal cruise line. This was also the only night that there was a photographer taking pictures at dinner.

We had made a 6:30 dinner reservation the night before, and were seated on the 2nd level of the San Marco. We took some of our own pictures outside the restaurant, then got some posed ones taken by the photographer in front of a backdrop.

I had met a few other older teens by the pool, and we made plans to meet up at the Reflections night club for dancing at midnight. Before that, I met up with my friend and we sat in the Oceanview Café again and had tea until exploring the casino for a little. (I felt cool being able to experience all of the things on cruises I hadn’t been allowed to before turning 18). A little before midnight, we headed up to Reflections. There was a staff member at a podium using an electronic scanner to scan everyone’s card, making sure we were 18 and older. We went into the club, and at first the DJ was playing 50’s, 60’s, then 70’s music, and then he skipped to current popular songs. There were all kinds of strobe and colored lights, and a ton of people (all ages ranging from 18-65) were dancing, having a blast. It was a really fun experience!

We decided to turn in a little after 1, needing to get some sleep before a busy day in Cozumel.

Day 3- At Sea Pictures

Buffet breakfast of a veggie omelet, turkey sausage, muesli cereal and fruit

Found a great spot at the front of the ship to lounge for the day

The ice cream station in the buffet also served low-fat frozen yogurt

Day 3- At Sea Pictures (cont.)

Menu:

Asparagus Salad:

Salmon:

CousCous:

Apple Pastry Dessert:

Day 3 Pictures (cont.)

Strawberry Cake Dessert:

Dining Room:

Dressed up for Formal Night:

Even the views from the treadmill were beautiful

Oooh, pleased to see that the treadmills (and I assume the rest of the gym) are Technogym. I might bring my key along.

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Day 4- Cozumel

I woke up at 7:35 a.m. to a crew member vacuum cleaning the hallway. We’re usually not complainers, but were a little annoyed as this was the second day in a row that this had happened. At least it got us out of bed! I went for a super quick run at the gym around 8:20 (not crowded), and grabbed breakfast shortly after. Breakfast wasn’t as crowded as the previous days which was nice! We went back to the room and changed into bathing suits and coverups before leaving the ship around 9:45 a.m.

On our NCL cruise to Cozumel three years ago, we walked up to a taxi stand and the man there gave us a good deal including transportation to and from Playa Palancar, with snorkeling and kayaking time included. This time we did the same, walking up to a man near the taxi stand, and got a similar deal, this time without the kayaking. After a 15 minute taxi ride, we arrived to Playa Palancar. We noticed that there was a lot less beach than three years ago, probably because of hurricanes and such. They offered a deal where you could get nice cushioned lounge chairs and an umbrella for about $10, or you could opt for simpler chairs for no charge. We decided to just stick with the simple chairs, as we wouldn’t be laying out for more than two hours or so.

The snorkeling was great in terms of the fish. There were all kinds of fish if you swam a bit out, and you could go under the water and swim basically right next to them and they wouldn’t shy away, they just kept on with their swimming. This was really cool because I was able to really get a close look at the fish. Also, we were lucky enough to see a huge live starfish on the ocean floor. I had never seen a live one before! All in all, my parents and I agreed that next time we would prefer to go o a snorkeling site with more reef or maybe some sort of underwater wreck. While the fish were beautiful, after snorkeling on almost all of our past cruises, we really find it neat to see fish as well as wrecks/reefs.

After our snorkel time was up, we went to the chairs and ordered some food and drinks. We ordered shrimp and fish tacos, as well as fresh guacamole, and margaritas. The food, as it was the last time we visited Palancar, was fantastic, and was very reasonably priced.

When our beach time was up, we headed back to our cab- the driver waits at Palancar until you’re done- and were driven back to the port area. We decided to shop around a bit, as we had a few souvenirs we wanted to bargain for. The shopping area we went to was like an outdoor mall with many stores selling basically the same items, but some had better prices than others. We did experience something interesting that we haven’t experienced before. When shopping, a few different times we were approached by salesmen asking if we would like to “view their flea market,” but they just escorted us into a normal store.

My eyes became increasingly swollen, red, and itchy after leaving Palancar, and began to water as we shopped around Cozumel. After a while, I was really in discomfort, and assumed I was having an allergic reaction, so we bought some Benadryl from a general store in the port.

We got back on the ship, and went to the medical center, as my eyes had gotten worse. The nurse was EXTREMELY nice and attentive, and gave me some eye drops. The staff at the medical center were so helpful and made the visit seamless. Afterward, we headed back to our cabin for our afternoon canapes and took a nap, exhausted from the hot beach day. We slept until around 6:45, and weren’t up for dressing up and waiting to get seated at the main dining room, so we got dinner at the buffet, something we have never done on a cruise before. The food was more casual than at the dining rooms, but still featured nice selections such as a meat grill section, fish, and sushi. We enjoyed being able to avoid waiting, and were happy to serve ourselves, especially after a tiring day.