Chaos on Constellation!!

Just completed a 27 day cruise in Asia originating in Dubai on Azamara Journey. We had five stops in India alone with many different requirements at each port. Everything was handled beautifully by Azamara (under the direction of the amazing Heike Berdos, the hotel manager). While I realize that we were on a much smaller ship and that things can happen in the last minute (as happened on our cruise), we were always well informed and had schedules for appearing for face to face immigration and for picking up our passports. I'm sorry your cruise ended in such disarray.

 

Hope you enjoyed the rest of your cruise. What an intriguing part of the world!

That's so good to hear! I'm anxious to experience Azamara myself.

OP, hang in there. The ship doesn't do this itinerary often. There are bound to be glitches and some lack of communication as things are probably changing quickly for the crew too. Just keep in mind you have seen some amazing sights in a part of the world that I would love to see but may never be able to in my lifetime. Plus, you'll have some great travel stories to tell! ;)

Hi I totally accept your opinion, and know a lot of LGBT people visit these countries. My partner & I would never (our decission) but then I also would never tell someone they were being disrepectful for saying they would not go (not saying that you did) I have only been to a couple of places in the Caribbean, I know they also have anti LGBT laws, and again not overly keen on visiting the Caribbean but I would go, not sure if that makes me a hypocrite? We went to Israel the last 2 years on a land based hoilday and loved it, stayed in Jerusalem, The Golan Heights & Tel Aviv (felt very safe) our last two days in Tel Aviv the gay pride week was starting.

I am not a muslim but think I will be giving the US a miss over the next 4 years.

For me there are still a lot of places I would like to visit and can still give places a miss without feeling I am misisng out. I would never tell someone they are wrong to visit a place which was the whole point of my 1st post if someone feels stongly they don't want to spend their hard earned money in a certain country that is fine with me, it is their decision.

 

I think this shows how people look at things differently , I loved Israel and would love to retire there (not Jewish) for the beauty the weather, culture and the people, but if I fly to Australia I would only book a flight that did not refuel in the middle east. I think it would be incorrect to say I am wrong you may not agree (which is fine) but hopefully you would accept my opinon.

 

Never heard about the rumors of Oman's leader will have to google it out of interest.

Of course we respect your opinion, just have a different one, but understand where you're coming from.

Happy sailing,

Jenna

I was just there with my wife, and a good number of other LGBT members onboard. We (my wife and I) don't share your opinion at all. Of all of the countries in the Middle East, Israel was the one that we felt the LEAST safe.

 

There are rumors that Oman's leader could be gay, and a large and accepted gay community, we had no problems in Jordan and the UAE. Dubai is 80% ex pats and while there may be laws, the reality, like a number of states in the USA don't always match reality. This is not Saudi Arabia where things are much different. While an article was sited on a recent race case, the same things can found, and much worse in the USA.

 

Heck, if I was from a Muslim country in the Middle East I would be afraid to come to the USA. Many trans people are worried about visiting North Carolina and Texas and for good reason. If you want to talk cruise ports, most of the Caribbean islands are very anti LGBT with Jamaica at the top of the list as worst, but many of the people are nice including the staff from Jamaica I met onboard Connie. Id rather go to Oman than Jamaica for being rested well, and respectfully by all citizens.

 

Don't let a few rumors and things you read online stop you from getting the real story and seeing beautiful places, meeting wonderful people and exploring other cultures.

 

Happy sailing,

Jenna

Thank you Jenna! For so many reasons. I thoroughly enjoyed your review of your recent trip, I applaud your balanced and reasoned comments here... we were in Florence in early November on our way to a TA from Rome while you were in Venice on your way to the b2b on Constellation ... I am sorry we didn't cross paths and hope to see you out there again. Our best wishes to Dee for a speedy recovery.

Stan and Meg

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In that part of the world you can get imprisoned, lashed or even beheaded for yor sexual orientation. That for me is a good enough reason to never visit anywhere in the middle east except Israel. Also two weeks ago a women was raped in Dubai she went to the police to report the crime and she was then arrested. If you were black would you have gone to South Africa in the 70's or 80's? I maybe being disrespectful in your eyes but in mine it's called survival.

 

ps I have never been to Cozumel

My husband and I (both men) and our married friends (both men) will be boarding the Constellation in Abu Dhabi next week for the India cruise. We are really excited for this exotic itinerary and have no reservations about the cultural shift. I would never say I wouldn't travel somewhere. To each his own and I'm not telling you that your point of view is wrong, but if you avoid places that have questionable human rights practices, you'll miss a lot of incredible history and scenery. Really excited about the overnight in Dubai for NYE :)

Michael

These countries and ports are simply spectacular, but to each his own. Enjoy your 31st stop in Cozumel [emoji849]

 

Sorry, but I just find it disrespectful when someone who has never been dishes an entire county and culture.

 

 

 

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I totally endorse this comment! We have travelled to many parts of the world, including Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Israel, UAE and Egypt. We were treated with far more respect than in some other parts of the world. The Syrians went out of their way to help us and make our stay memorable in the very best way.

To those who dismiss areas of our planet do need to extend their experiences and education beyond their back garden/yard.

My husband and I (both men) and our married friends (both men) will be boarding the Constellation in Abu Dhabi next week for the India cruise. We are really excited for this exotic itinerary and have no reservations about the cultural shift. I would never say I wouldn't travel somewhere. To each his own and I'm not telling you that your point of view is wrong, but if you avoid places that have questionable human rights practices, you'll miss a lot of incredible history and scenery. Really excited about the overnight in Dubai for NYE :)

 

Michael

I hope you have a great cruise and do a review with photos on your return, but for me and my husband (both men) I still do not want to go to that part of the world. I have been to Eygpt, India, Bangladesh, Nepal, South Africa , Botswana, Namibia, Zimbabwe, parts of South America to name a few & lived in the US for 10 years so I have seen a large part of the world, and want to go to China (questionable human rights).

My brother has been to UAE many times for work my parents want to go to Iran to see the architecture, I would never tell them they are wrong or should not go.

I only got started because Mr Click for whatever reason said, not a part of the world they would choose to visit, to me fair enough comment, their personal opinion but florisdekort decided to put Mr Click down with a sarcastic comment about going to Cozumel 31 times to me that comment was uncalled for and spiteful.

At the end of the day I feel I am very lucky to have travelled to the places I have been and am happy for people to disagree with me or other people but there is no need to be out right rude to someone for expressing their opinion.

I would say you and need2bespoiled while you disagree with me were respectful of my views, which is what a forum like this should be all about.

Hope you have a fabulous cruise and bring in the New Year in style in Dubai with your husband and friends.

These countries and ports are simply spectacular, but to each his own. Enjoy your 31st stop in Cozumel [emoji849]

 

Sorry, but I just find it disrespectful when someone who has never been dishes an entire county and culture.

 

 

 

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I didn't find the poster's comment disrespectful at all. You are being overly sensitive. Everyone makes their own decisions for their own reasons, whether you or anyone else thinks their reasons are valid or not. Personally, I traveled the Mediterranean quite a bit and I absolutely did not enjoy my time in Turkey. I felt out of place and threatened in a very non-specific but real way. Do I expect everyone to feel that way? no. Do I feel a need to convince everyone to feel the same way? no. Do I resent it, if you tell me I have no reason to feel that way? Yes, I do. As a result, and for other reasons, have I made some decisions about countries I will not visit? Yes. I have limited time and money for travel and there is a long list of countries I have no wish to travel to, because I prioritize other places higher. Frankly, India is one of them. I am not (and neither was the poster you responded to) saying anything negative about the culture.

Regarding the original topic, this port needs to get their act together because if it fails to do so over time it will lose the cruise business. People simply will not continue to put up with this sort of thing on a routine basis. That is my opinion.

So.... we had to miss our last stop (Oman) this morning due to high winds. Fair enough. We made speedy progress to Abu Dhabi where we were due to dock tomorrow morning. NOT allowed off the ship, but spent a pleasant enough day chilling etc. Tonight at 10.15pm, an announcement was made that ALL passengers were required to have a face to face meeting with immigration THIS EVENING and hand in their passport - which had only just been returned to us.

 

TOTAL CHAOS ensued as the announcement neglected to tell us where to go!!! Eventually, by word of mouth and FINALLY an announcement, we sorted out what to do. Called by deck number, but of course most didn't wait for their deck to be called. HUGE queue to GET OFF (!!!!) the ship and go through immigration to hand in our passports - to add insult to injury, the nice immigration officer greeted everyone with 'Welcome to Abu Dhabi!"

 

Left wondering how we would get them back. About 15 mins ago (at 11pm) a further announcement - our passports would be ready for collection from the Rendez-vous lounge at our convenience from 4am!!!

 

Oh and of course we have to vacate our rooms by 7am in the morning!!!

 

If you are travelling on Celebrity in this part of the world - you have been warned!! More to follow when we get home re the fiasco in Mumbai!!

We were on this cruise too and were extremely disappointed at the lack of information from celebrity .Constantly being told over 12 days this is the first time we have been here .Sorry it,s the company,s job to have done their research and be aware of the potential problems .We have visited UAE 5 times and India 3times and we can honestly say Celebrity was the worst cruise line for information and queue forming lines .etc..We were exiting the dining room as the announcement was made ,we were told to go to the show and then do the immigration ,at that time they had not given us anymore plan .The easiest thing they could have done was put a couple of crew on the theatre doorways when we left telling us where to go ,but no left to us to find out for ourselves ,we had no idea we had to go off the ship .Lets hope we have been the guinea pigs and future cruises are full of happy passengers .

Boarding a week from Monday and will see who causes what problems if any.

I've missed many scheduled ports for many different reasons and problems with immigration both on and off the ship. I don't know if any of the problems were caused by the Crew on the ships. Passengers:yes. Port officials: yes. A non functioning gangway: Yes. Weather: yes.

I understand that some parts of the world have more problems than others, but it's all part of the experience and I expect problems. Let's see if I've underestimated what I'm about to find. Thanks for the warning.

This is why you allow some wiggle room in your itinerary - especially if you are far from home. Hope all works out well -

I totally endorse this comment! We have travelled to many parts of the world, including Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Israel, UAE and Egypt. We were treated with far more respect than in some other parts of the world. The Syrians went out of their way to help us and make our stay memorable in the very best way.

To those who dismiss areas of our planet do need to extend their experiences and education beyond their back garden/yard.

Eileen - love that statement and in total agreement. There are very few places I would not go, but its because I've been there and it was not for me or other considerations such as safety. Fear or misunderstanding should never limit curiosity or adventure. My mantra is to see it and then decide if its for you.

We went on the constellation F1 cruise. Like you it was total chaos. Sold a 3 day F1 ticket, arrived lat Saturday, due to the chaos at the port as you mentioned, we missed the F1 qualifing. So we only got the use of 1 day out of our 3 day F1 ticket. More chaos when we lest the ship to go to the airport. Would strongly recommend anybody considering a cruise with celebrity to book with another company. Only chaos at celebrity.

We went on the constellation F1 cruise. Like you it was total chaos. Sold a 3 day F1 ticket, arrived lat Saturday, due to the chaos at the port as you mentioned, we missed the F1 qualifing. So we only got the use of 1 day out of our 3 day F1 ticket. More chaos when we lest the ship to go to the airport. Would strongly recommend anybody considering a cruise with celebrity to book with another company. Only chaos at celebrity.

If you were sold the three day F1 ticket by Celebrity, you have a very legitimate complaint. The ship was never due in Abu Dhabi on Friday and our scheduled 4 pm arrival made the qualifying session very problematic. The excursion seems to have been mis-sold, but this was pretty obvious.

These issues were discussed on the roll call and at least one person made representations to Celebrity, to no avail.

That said, the first folk were off the ship at 4-16 pm and some did get to the circuit in time (I had a two day ticket bought direct and took an advance decision not to bother with the Saturday). So a minor delay and not what I would describe as chaos.

I had no issues disembarking, other than a short queue to get through the security scanner, which was nothing to do with Celebrity.

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If you were sold the three day F1 ticket by Celebrity, you have a very legitimate complaint. The ship was never due in Abu Dhabi on Friday and our scheduled 4 pm arrival made the qualifying session very problematic. The excursion seems to have been mis-sold, but this was pretty obvious.

 

These issues were discussed on the roll call and at least one person made representations to Celebrity, to no avail.

 

That said, the first folk were off the ship at 4-16 pm and some did get to the circuit in time (I had a two day ticket bought direct and took an advance decision not to bother with the Saturday). So a minor delay and not what I would describe as chaos.

 

I had no issues disembarking, other than a short queue to get through the security scanner, which was nothing to do with Celebrity.

Totally agree. The Celebrity F1 shore excursion never made any sense and I think anyone who paid for it is due at least a partial refund. Apart from that the cruise was well-organised and mostly uneventful.

The immigration issues in Abu Dhabi were unsurprising but I think the local authorities need to address this if they want to get more cruise ships to visit.

We went on the constellation F1 cruise. Like you it was total chaos. Sold a 3 day F1 ticket, arrived lat Saturday, due to the chaos at the port as you mentioned, we missed the F1 qualifing. So we only got the use of 1 day out of our 3 day F1 ticket. More chaos when we lest the ship to go to the airport. Would strongly recommend anybody considering a cruise with celebrity to book with another company. Only chaos at celebrity.

Why would you buy a 3 day pass given the ships itinerary? You knew you were only docking late on day 2.

Why would you buy a 3 day pass given the ships itinerary? You knew you were only docking late on day 2.

I assume he paid for Celebrity's ridiculously priced F1 shore excursion which included a 3 day pass. It even offered the opportunity to see The Chemical Brothers who were playing when the ship was still 20 hours away in Muscat. This was pointed out to Celebrity but the shore excursion description was never changed.

I assume he paid for Celebrity's ridiculously priced F1 shore excursion which included a 3 day pass. It even offered the opportunity to see The Chemical Brothers who were playing when the ship was still 20 hours away in Muscat. This was pointed out to Celebrity but the shore excursion description was never changed.

But he still didn't have to buy it. A 2 day pass from the source was available.

Depends on which seats you desire. The best seats are only sold by the total weekend.

We visit most F1 races, only on Sunday but always buy a 3-day-ticket for the best view.

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So.... we had to miss our last stop (Oman) this morning due to high winds. Fair enough. We made speedy progress to Abu Dhabi where we were due to dock tomorrow morning. NOT allowed off the ship, but spent a pleasant enough day chilling etc. Tonight at 10.15pm, an announcement was made that ALL passengers were required to have a face to face meeting with immigration THIS EVENING and hand in their passport - which had only just been returned to us.

 

TOTAL CHAOS ensued as the announcement neglected to tell us where to go!!! Eventually, by word of mouth and FINALLY an announcement, we sorted out what to do. Called by deck number, but of course most didn't wait for their deck to be called. HUGE queue to GET OFF (!!!!) the ship and go through immigration to hand in our passports - to add insult to injury, the nice immigration officer greeted everyone with 'Welcome to Abu Dhabi!"

 

Left wondering how we would get them back. About 15 mins ago (at 11pm) a further announcement - our passports would be ready for collection from the Rendez-vous lounge at our convenience from 4am!!!

 

Oh and of course we have to vacate our rooms by 7am in the morning!!!

 

If you are travelling on Celebrity in this part of the world - you have been warned!! More to follow when we get home re the fiasco in Mumbai!!

We were on the cruise before yours and had no problems whatsoever with immigration although the ship collected our passports at embarkation, we got them back after we were in Oman and had to hand them in again on arrival in Abu Dhabi. The face to face immigration process was very smooth and faster than at any American port :cool:. We were also off the ship in no time.

It was a holiday weekend in UAE to celebrate Mohommads Birthday, guess the port authority choose to work overtime Friday night to have Saturday off work. This is a major holiday in UAE and even five star hotels are "dry" out of respect.

I was on this cruise and the officers were devistated with the chaotic Abu Dhabi immigration. We were on deck 9 and not called to disembark until well after midnight, missed the late show which I believe was ultimately cancelled due to constant captains announcements.

Felt sorry for the crew who were dragged out of bed in the early hours and still had to service ad breakfast with a smile and clean the cabins.

Personally, I would never cruise in that part of the world.

Personally, I would never cruise in that part of the world.

Why not ???

Just off Constellation having cruised UAE and Oman, passports were retained at check-in in Abu Dhabi and returned yesterday in Dubai with all the arrival and departure stamps for both the UAE and Oman. There was no hassle at all.

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Just off Constellation having cruised UAE and Oman, passports were retained at check-in in Abu Dhabi and returned yesterday in Dubai with all the arrival and departure stamps for both the UAE and Oman. There was no hassle at all.

 

 

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We were surprised that apart from putting hand luggage through the scanner, there were no passport checks or customs. Just walk straight out.

We were surprised that apart from putting hand luggage through the scanner, there were no passport checks or customs. Just walk straight out.

Passports were checked onboard with UAE entry stamps from Dubai, in fact we have never done such a short cruise that added so many stamps to our passports.

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OMG, we might need to rethink our booking for 2019!!