Our Constellation Odyssey, Oct 3~Dec 20

[ellbon]

We've cruised on all of Celebrity's ships, in fact Century more than any other.

 

We celebrated our 50th Celebrity cruise on board as well as our 100th cruise at the same time as our 40th anniversary last year.

 

 

i am now lying down in shock:eek: 50 cruises- same line-100 total. i have not hit 40 yet:eek: iti s at least 30 but who really knows.. i do not count them all anymore. did until when i was robbed lsot my cruise cards too and my old NCL ones -who knows!!

congrats on the 40 years. when yuo wrote about comparing.. oh well! safe drive toimorrow and saturday to hot humid FL.

[c-legs]

Thanks C-Legs:

We are on Equinox Jan 4-15, considering a hotel for the 15th, perhaps boarding Century for the 16th, 18th and 23rd, disembark on the 28th Orlando 28th to the 31st and board Constellation fro the 31 to Feb 28th.

 

I'm waiting to see when XcitingDeals on Tuesdays put a real, just-gotta-do-it deal on the Century. I can't keep on praising Constellation without doing a little comparison shopping on the other Class of ships in the fleet.

 

Ouch....that's a tough job, but someone's gotta do the comparison shopping, right ??:rolleyes:

I kind of figured you two would be ''doing laundry'' on CENTURY in between EQUINOX & CONNIE...:D

With RCL's price protection policy, you could actually grab what you want on CENTURY now, and simply watch as the price goes down and get your '' liquid price reduction '' awaiting you when you board. Works like a charm so far, in my experience.

Cheers

;)

[Bobbie John]

Arno, Thank you for posting on the current happenings on Constellation. It is one of our favorite ships! We haven't been on a Celebrity ship for about a year but will be back on the Century on Dec 12. We tried several RCI cruises but were totally disappointed in the food. Their happy hour drinks in the C Lounge did not make up for their poor quality of food. Glad to hear that the Elite Lounge is wonderful.

 

Hope to meet you onboard sometime. Enjoy your cruises.

[Bobbie John]

X, Enjoying your travels on Connie. I am on Nov.9 . I live on Biscayne Bay across form MIA cruiseport, no more car. Have 2 private parking spots I do rent out. 10 minute cab to port. Email me zoncom35@yahoo if interested. Kathy

 

Kathy, I sent you an email. We are on Century from Dec 12 to 21.

[C 2 C]

I'm sitting in the Seaside cafe while docked in St Thomas... and thanks to a Celebrity "oops" computer glitch, temporarily free internet.

 

Embarkation for this cruise was a total mess. We arrived just before 1 pm and witnessed a total disorganized boarding process. This was a busy day for the port and Celebrity was using Carnival's terminal but without changing the lines for the normal X process. We eventually wound up in the Elite line and "sped" through in just under two hours..a bonus however.. our suitcase was outside our cabin before we arrived.

 

So far however that has been the only problem.

The weather has been perfect and the experience wonderful after our cold New England cruises last month.

[CruisingChick]

Hi Arno, thanks for checking in. Sorry to hear about the embarkation nightmare.

 

Glad you're getting some "free" internet time though.

 

Have there been any changes since I got off on 10/30? How many Elites are on board? Are the 4-6 cocktails in Michael's Club or at "The Bar"?

 

Anne Maria

[Host Anne]

Hi Arno ~ glad to hear you "made it" to FL. Please give my best to Andy and to Joanne, too!

 

ENJOY!

[cruisingdelt]

To Arno-We disembarked the Connie the day you boarded in Miami. There were at least 5 ships in port. Connie was great.

 

To CruisingChick-There were so many Elites on the NJ-Miami repo that the 4-6 cocktails were in the adjacent Martini/Chanpagne bars. I think DW and I were the only paying customers. After one more cruise we won't be!

[C 2 C]

There are nearly 300 elites on board and the Bar at the Edge is humming.

 

There is No dress code required other than it's not "clothing optional" yet...

4-6 cocktails include everything from formal to bathing suites & a shirt.

 

Next week there are only 79 elites on board and the gethering will be in Michael's.

 

There are serious changes coming with "Celebrity Life" including rumors of the end of trivia as we have enjoyed for years, and no more battle of the sexes.

 

The food is fine but there are still frequent "discussions" of the selections offered. The left side options are great because the main menu is sometimes either too imaginative or a total lack there of.

 

The weather has been great and no complaints of being cold!!

The ship is packed and people who have issues with their cabins have no alternatives at all.

 

Look forward to some great sales soon.. I've heard rumors that bookings for next summer are on the slow side.

 

Again.. despite denials new perks are coming for those who are obsessed with cruising..

[ellbon]

Arno

 

Good to have you posting again. how was the long long drive down south. at least there were two of you to drive. looking forward to hearing more stories about the food and the shows.

 

i not into trivia but i enjoy watching game shows- shame they are going away.

[jackdiamond]

i am now lying down in shock:eek: 50 cruises- same line-100 total. i have not hit 40 yet:eek: iti s at least 30 but who really knows.. i do not count them all anymore. did until when i was robbed lsot my cruise cards too and my old NCL ones -who knows!!

 

congrats on the 40 years. when yuo wrote about comparing.. oh well! safe drive toimorrow and saturday to hot humid FL.

By the way, we live in SWFL; and, we spent a beautiful day on the beach today, at Sanibel Island with air temperature at 83 and water temperature at 77.

The humidity was 40. The same scenario will obtain tomorrow and all of next week. We have not used our air conditioning in over a week; and, we open the house every day because of the low humidity. Ergo, it will not be hot and humid until next summer. As a matter of fact, I enoy the humidity since it is good for both the skin and the sinuses. The only downside is that it does seem to encourage dust mites.

[lysolqn]

There are serious changes coming with "Celebrity Life" including rumors of the end of trivia as we have enjoyed for years, and no more battle of the sexes.

 

It appears the most serious change coming with "Celebrity Life" is a move from free activities and enrichment to pay-to-play activities and enrichment.

[Texed]

We celebrated our 50th Celebrity cruise on board as well as our 100th cruise at the same time as our 40th anniversary last year.

 

I thought you had 100 on Celebrity. :)

[C 2 C]

I thought you had 100 on Celebrity. :)

 

 

After this cruise we will be at 124 cruise credits, 129 at the end of our Odyssey.

At the Captain's Club party there was another couple at 111 and another at 94. On Equinox there is now another 100 cruiser and another at 118. The Century Club is growing.

 

ellbon:

The drive down was wonderful and relaxing. Every 100 miles saw another increase in temperature. Acvtual driving time was about 25 hours without any tie ups.. even in Atlanta. The higways there are better controlled than the number of on time flights...;)

[CruisingChick]

After this cruise we will be at 124 cruise credits, 129 at the end of our Odyssey.

At the Captain's Club party there was another couple at 111 and another at 94. On Equinox there is now another 100 cruiser and another at 118. The Century Club is growing.

 

I just gotta hit that Powerball!!!

 

Anne Maria

[C 2 C]

Celebrity has a refundable and a non refundable credit policy. If you get $ 200 for booking on board or owning stock, the money must be spent on board or it evaporates. If your TA gives a credit or you are owed money by Celebrity as a result of a drop in price, the money will be refunded.

 

However if you spend money on board, the amount is subtracted from your refundable money first. Spending is not subtracted from the non-refundable money until the other is gone. In other words, present policy prevents you from getting the OBC (or SBC as some call it) unless you withdraw it from the casino at a discount of 3%.

 

More about this saga later. A friend on board will be getting a credit of $1700 because of a price drop but spending will never free up the non refundable credit. There is a conflict in the January and April policy issued by Miami to the ships. Get your TA to give you a copy of the latest policy.

[ellbon]

Arno

 

I am driving back next week. since i am alone it takes me forever. the 12 hour drive take me 3 days but i play hard in Charleston each way. I got out of the car last dec in FL and almost fainted from the heat after being in the 30 to 50's during the day here.

 

I never get use to living in non stop A/C.

 

as far as OBC i have no problem spending all of it on my own.:D

[Texed]

After this cruise we will be at 124 cruise credits, 129 at the end of our Odyssey...;)

 

That's what I thought. :cool:

[jackdiamond]

Arno

 

I am driving back next week. since i am alone it takes me forever. the 12 hour drive take me 3 days but i play hard in Charleston each way. I got out of the car last dec in FL and almost fainted from the heat after being in the 30 to 50's during the day here.

 

I never get use to living in non stop A/C.

 

as far as OBC i have no problem spending all of it on my own.:D

Interesting, as our mean December temperature in south Fl in early December is about 80 or below. Of course, farther north in Sarasota and Tampa, it is about 3 degrees cooler. And the mean temperature in the northern part of the state is about 70-73 degrees in December. The mean daytime temperature for south Fl from the latter part of December through February is about 75.

[Happy Cruiser 6143]

Celebrity has a refundable and a non refundable credit policy. If you get $ 200 for booking on board or owning stock, the money must be spent on board or it evaporates. If your TA gives a credit or you are owed money by Celebrity as a result of a drop in price, the money will be refunded.

 

However if you spend money on board, the amount is subtracted from your refundable money first. Spending is not subtracted from the non-refundable money until the other is gone. In other words, present policy prevents you from getting the OBC (or SBC as some call it) unless you withdraw it from the casino at a discount of 3%.

 

More about this saga later. A friend on board will be getting a credit of $1700 because of a price drop but spending will never free up the non refundable credit. There is a conflict in the January and April policy issued by Miami to the ships. Get your TA to give you a copy of the latest policy.

 

Well, if I were that friend with all the excess OBC, I would certainly withdraw the funds from the casino. So you leave behind $3 for every $100. Lots better than leaving all the hundreds behind!

[ellbon]

Interesting, as our mean December temperature in south Fl in early December is about 80 or below. Of course, farther north in Sarasota and Tampa, it is about 3 degrees cooler. And the mean temperature in the northern part of the state is about 70-73 degrees in December. The mean daytime temperature for south Fl from the latter part of December through February is about 75.

 

 

but it is not 75 it is 80 above daily but for a few cold fronts and they do not last long enough. prefect winter in Fl would be 55 to 70 all the time. right now it is 38 in NC so 70 feels hot which it was last week mid day.

[richsea]

There are serious changes coming with "Celebrity Life" including rumors of the end of trivia as we have enjoyed for years, and no more battle of the sexes.

 

One our Nov 6 Millennium cruise there wasn't a "battle of the sexes" trivia, & in fact there were only 2 or 3 trivia games the entire 10 days. In their place were games like "Deal or No Deal" (talk about a mindless game!), Family Feud, Millionaire, & Catch Phrase. They're also adding more Wii sports games like golf, tennis, & bowling.

 

We were told that Celebrity is looking to change the trivia games in order to keep things fresh.

[Shelley G]

I am really glad to hear that the trivia games will be changing, or gone completely. I really like trivia but those of us who can only cruise once or twice a year have no chance to win the games against the very frequent cruisers.They have heard the same questions many times and have the answers memorized.That was my experience last February on the Constellation.I know that the prizes are no big deal (a pen for example), but it is a keepsake of the cruise. Also, I had wanted to play another trivia game and was by myself. I approached one of these frequent cruisers ( and poster here) and was told rudely to go find another team. It seems I might have spoiled their perfect winning record.This left a very bad taste in my mouth.

Shelley

[jackdiamond]

Sorry Robin,

But in a couple of weeks the mean daytime temperature in south Florida will be about 75; and, that scenario will contine through next February. Since we have been Floridians for years; and, since we exercise in the pool everyday and visit the beach about `100 times per year, I believe we are qualified to make these observations. By the way, millions of snowbirds would be distressed if our weather was as you wish.

[jackdiamond]

Robin,

By the way, it is now 82 in SWFL (1:56PM); and, it will only get cooler as the day progresses.