Our Constellation Odyssey, Oct 3~Dec 20

[Texed]

Arno,

I know a lot of the crew will be changing for our cruise on 20 December, so if you hear who the Captain's Club Hostess will be, let us know. If, it isn't too much trouble. Thanks! :)

[May B]

Arno, you already thought it was going to be a late/slow process disembarking in San Diego. Now we've heard the ship is "on hold". Please update if you're able, and I hope you are chilling out someplace, not worrying about it.

 

Esp. hope all is well with all cruisers.

 

--May

[C 2 C]

I think Constellation scores are about to have a drastic drop. Today's disembarkation was a disaster. Immigration was slow to process non-Canadians and non-Americans. Our time was over an hour late. The last guest was cleared by officials about 10:30 before anyone was allowed off. Then all the rest were ready to proceed to American immgratin processing ashore. Guests did not start to board till nearly 1:00 pm.

 

It was the disorganized officials who you are not allowed to criticize without fear of recrimination but X will be blamed. Sail away took place about 30 minutes late.

 

More tomorrow when my computer stops protesting to input...

[Ship - Ahoy]

Thanks Arno for your updates, SO glad we changed our flight for next month to day after embarkation. We were to make 11:30 AM flight and airline kept changing time and pushing it earlier, I finally managed to get it changed without cost.

 

Hello to Joanne and those other cruising buddies from Ft. Lauderdale (Trivia team mates) Sorry we are going to be missing you all but I think some of our paths will cross in 2010. When is Capt Paganos coming on?

 

Ginny & Karl

[Texed]

When is Capt Paganos coming on?

Ginny & Karl

 

He is coming on board the 20 December cruise. We are on it. :)

[longduo]

Is Sipra leaving on Dec. 20? Please let us know if you can find out what group is coming aboard and about any other changes those of us boarding that date can anticipate.

Thanks!

[Longboysfan]

The Social Gathering in Michael`s on Wednesday was the best experience during our Odyssey to date.

In addition to a tasting of white and red wine and a port, the Specialty restuarant cheese cart was rolled out

and we experienced a taste of culinary heaven. Celebrity Life can`t get better than this!

 

There was a Captain`s Club Senior officers Cocktail Party at 11:15 am today.

For those who feel uncomfortable having alcohol prior to noon, adjust your watch to

the appropriate time zone and enjoy.

 

 

What a nice touch with the cheeze cart. And the clock adjustment - Now that is funny......

 

Hope you are having a great time.

[Mike M]

Hi Arno,

I know you are quite adept at finding parking bargains. Did you find any in Miami that you are willing to divulge?

As you know, the Elite 4-6 Happy Hour was held in the Reflections Bar at the Edge on the Oct.16th cruise, and that was great. But on the next Oct. 30th cruise, the 4-6 social was held in the Martini Bar, which was so noisy from the Rendez-Vous Lounge below that conversation was very hard. Where were the 4-6 hours held on the rest of your Odyssey cruises?

Mike (of the "Settees")

[Heatherpmk]

Now I'm home again, and reliving our excellent cruise with our pictures and video. I just found your thread! And I recognise you as the couple who were honoured at the Captain's Club gathering for being on your 126th cruise - Wow. And we saw you often dancing to Sipra after dinner - what a great group they are to dance to.

We were very glad we'd planned on spending a day in San Diego before flying back to Canada. While people sat waiting in the lounges we enjoyed relaxing in the sunshine one last time on Deck 10, then strolled off about 10.30 a.m. Checked in to the Sophia Hotel, excellent downtown location, then took the trolley ride around town - what a great tour of all districts of San Diego! I'd recommend it to anyone who enjoys learning a bit of the history of a place.

It was our 3rd Celebrity cruise, and definitely will not be our last. Yes, Carl will be a great loss to the Constellation, and Equinox' gain. As well as thinking up new Trivia, Where in the world is Carl?, teaching dance classes, he made an admirable attempt at directing a choir, which became famous for being a Celebrity first and was supported by about 100 cruisers! Did you catch our performance of OH Ma-ri-a?

 

 

I think Constellation scores are about to have a drastic drop. Today's disembarkation was a disaster. Immigration was slow to process non-Canadians and non-Americans. Our time was over an hour late. The last guest was cleared by officials about 10:30 before anyone was allowed off. Then all the rest were ready to proceed to American immgratin processing ashore. Guests did not start to board till nearly 1:00 pm.

 

It was the disorganized officials who you are not allowed to criticize without fear of recrimination but X will be blamed. Sail away took place about 30 minutes late.

 

More tomorrow when my computer stops protesting to input...

[C 2 C]

Constellation Panama Cruise:

Back to Back Procedure in San Diego

Whenever we have cruised B2B in other locations the process has been much simpler

than this one in San Diego. When we had our turn-around in Bayonne and Miami, we

gathered in one of the meeting rooms until other guests had departed, normally around

10:00 am. Returning guests were then escorted ashore, through customs and immigration

and after a brief wait for the ship to be cleared, back on board.

In San Diego Canadians and Americans would be processed by officials in the terminal

only after all "foreigners" and "aliens" were cleared by immigration officials on board.

There were over 500 to be processed by 6 agents starting at 8:30 even though

Constellation arrived before 6:00 am. At a minimum of 2 minutes per passenger, the

screening took two hours before anyone else was allowed to disembark. Many

passengers who had booked early flights were doomed by the delay.

In Michael's club social gathering the day before we "foreigners" were chastised by a

"never again Celebrity" cruiser about the delay we would be causing Americans who had the

right to disembark upon arrival. The process was all Celebrity's fault as well as "all the

Canadians and foreigners who all wanted to sneak into the USA."

For anyone cruising to San Diego on a similar itinerary on Constellation or Infinity, I strongly

urge you not to book a flight earlier than 1:00pm.

I feel very sorry as well for the Celebrity wait staff and room attendants. Of the 500 European

guests, nearly 300 removed the automatic tipping option from their accounts. It seems a

common practice for these Europeans to tip $10 cash per family for a 14 day cruise.

Knowing that this occurs again and again when Europeans cruise, it is obvious why staff is

happy when the Brits and the Germans are not in their part of the dining room nor their

hallway. I now have great difficulty mixing with European guests after realizing that 3 out of

every 5 of them are too cheap to tip. This blatant disregard of standard cruising practice by

many seasoned cruisers capable of reading the documents they receive is too prevalent to

blame on "cultural ignorance". For the sake of the hard working employees I hope that

Celebrity removes the ability to opt out of the automatic "tipping" charge. I can't imagine

too many willing to volunteer to work on Eclipse while sailing out of England.

(I'm sorry to use a "shot gun" approach to this topic and I'm sure there are many posters

who follow the tipping guidelines.)

Celebrity Today Monday Dec. 7th. Formal Night

Constellation Live:

Crescendo Verde: Pianist

Eugene Villarino: Guitarist

Paradise String Quartet

Perry Grant: Piano Entertainer

Rhythms of the Night: Rendez-Vous

Splendor: Party Band

Free for All: A Cappella Group

Master: Dimtris Manetas (Captain Pagonis takes over Dec. 20)

HD: Bernard Stacher

CD: John Grantham

Executive Chef: Oswald Harbrecht

Guest Relations Manager: Deneice Seow

Captain's Club Host: Andre Vautero

Since we started our Odyssey on October 3rd, the senior staff rotation

is almost complete.

[C 2 C]

Celebrity Today

Wednesday Dec. 9th : AT SEA

Gatherings:

"We are committed to making every guest

feel welcomed onboard. For scheduled

guest gatherings such as Friends of Dorothy,

Bridge Play and Single & Mingle, please see

the board posted in the Grand Foyer. For

more information on how to schedule your

own guest gatherings please visit or call

Guest Relations."

Activities & Events

(X=Celebrity Life)

X Freshly Squeezed Fitness

Catholic Mass

X Step, Jump and Pump

X Pathway to Yoga $$

Morning Brain Waker

(The term "Trivia" is no longer deemed

"Celebrity Style")

X Heartbeat of the Operation: Galley Tours

X Memories at Sea: Scrapbooking Class

X Eat More to Weigh Less Seminar

X Beyond the Podium: 80 Antique Maps

X Facial Rejuvenation

X Rosetta Stone: French

X Let's Dance: World Dance Class

X Wine Appreciation 101 ($10+15%)

X diglTal: Facebook for Beginners $$

X Group Cycling $$

X Chilates $$

Bingo, Slot Tournaments, Texas Hold'ems

offered for $$$

Starring You Team Challenge

(Former title but without "starring you" fame)

Plus other stuff.... but

Battle of the Sexes, not deemed "Celebrity Style",

has been dropped.

Feautured Today:

Miracle MicroDerm,

Back Pain Solutions

Port & Shopping Book

Inch of Gold Sale

Want Lusciuos Lips: Restylane

Wine Appreciation 101

Champagne Live Art Auction

Thursday Dec. 10, Acapulco

9:30 Morning Team Challenge

(no consistent name yet but it means trivia not football

nor tug of war etc.)

10:00 X Let's Dance Energy Class

10:15 Famous Logo Challenge

11:00 Pictionary Challenge

Noon: Round the World Darts

1:30 Bean Bag Toss

2:15 Golf Challenge

3:15 Movie Charades

4:30 Afternoon Team Challenge

4:30 X Group Cardio

6:30 X Jameson Irish Whiskey Tasting $$

[C 2 C]

Because X has not made any announcements about improving the perks, together with cutbacks at RCI and rumours of splitting or seling Azamara,

I would not be surprised if our perks were cut. The silence on improvements since the initial announcements is deafening.

[richsea]

Because X has not made any announcements about improving the perks, together with cutbacks at RCI and rumours of splitting or seling Azamara,

 

Hi Arno! Selling Azamara? Perhaps you should rear this http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1101858

 

It seems that the shipboard rumors are the most inaccurate!

[C 2 C]

It seems that the shipboard rumors are the most inaccurate!

 

Azamara will become a distinct entity, crew will no longer be interchangeable.

Points earned on Az will no longer be counted on X and treated as RCI... non cumulative but distinct.

The reason that AZ is changing is because the line is not self sustaining.. ie is not successful as it had been operating.

I think more changes will be coming with the brand.

[GeorgeL]

Azamara will become a distinct entity, crew will no longer be interchangeable.

Points earned on Az will no longer be counted on X and treated as RCI... non cumulative but distinct.

The reason that AZ is changing is because the line is not self sustaining.. ie is not successful as it had been operating.

I think more changes will be coming with the brand.

 

I have read on Azamara boards that Celebrity status/benefits can be transferred to Azamara (even after their big announcement of upcoming changes) Is that no longer the case?

[c-legs]

Azamara will become a distinct entity, crew will no longer be interchangeable.

Points earned on Az will no longer be counted on X and treated as RCI... non cumulative but distinct.

The reason that AZ is changing is because the line is not self sustaining.. ie is not successful as it had been operating.

I think more changes will be coming with the brand.

Hi, Arno

This turn of events comes as no surprise......There is a strong ''whiff'' in various financial circles that RCL is actually readying AZ to be spun-off and Pimentel's appointment was the first move to accomplish that. I suspect RCI can't or won't carry AZ much longer, even as a '' totally independent'' brand. In its proper niche and with a well engineered marketing and operating model, AZ can and should be succesfull...there is room for more'' Oceana''-type brands out there.

What do you think ??

Of note, it's hard to find good longtime ==X== loyalists to work up any type of sentiment towards AZ....Opinions don't seem to develop any traction....

 

Hope Joanne and you are enjoying your odyssey on Connie.

 

Cheers

[swigso]

I feel very sorry as well for the Celebrity wait staff and room attendants. Of the 500 European guests, nearly 300 removed the automatic tipping option from their accounts. It seems a

common practice for these Europeans to tip $10 cash per family for a 14 day cruise.

Knowing that this occurs again and again when Europeans cruise, it is obvious why staff is happy when the Brits and the Germans are not in their part of the dining room nor their hallway. I now have great difficulty mixing with European guests after realizing that 3 out of every 5 of them are too cheap to tip. This blatant disregard of standard cruising practice by many seasoned cruisers capable of reading the documents they receive is too prevalent to blame on "cultural ignorance". For the sake of the hard working employees I hope that Celebrity removes the ability to opt out of the automatic "tipping" charge. (I'm sorry to use a "shot gun" approach to this topic and I'm sure there are many posters who follow the tipping guidelines.)

 

I totally agree with you. It is disgracful that some remove the auto tips from their accounts. However please do not put all us Brits into that category.

We have always had a fantastic time when we have cruised and gladly pay our gratuities to the wonderful staff who have made our trips so good.

Those that remove thier tips should be ashamed of themselves, and please don't give me this culture thing, some people are just plain mean.

[uktog]

I am concerned by what I read here and it may explain why on Celebrity but funnily enough not azamara we have had some quite average service from some staff. We have also watched the same staff be far more accomodating of other guests ie next dining table or next cabin/ suite. This was particularly evident last year on Century where funnily enough Xcellent was at the next table! At the time I put it down to the fact that we were a table where we had all prepaid our tips - indeed I highlighted this in a post when we came back thinking the waitstaff were working harder with those they did not yet have secure tips from although I also knew the info re who had prepaid would not be with all the staff in the early days of the trip.

Now I wonder was the issue the fact we were all Uk/Dutch?

I think X need to firmly remind staff to treat all staff equally and not prejudge by nationality and would hope that all guests do likewise re crew and fellow passengers.

 

We have always used the autotip plus top up for great staff and know many others from the Uk who do likewise

[Andy]

I have read on Azamara boards that Celebrity status/benefits can be transferred to Azamara (even after their big announcement of upcoming changes) Is that no longer the case?

 

Hi George !

 

As of right now, you can enjoy Captains Club benefits on Azamara. The benefits are not identical to Celebrity, but your current Celebrity level carries over. Earlier this week, Azamara made some announcements, including a new Loyalty Club called Le Club Voyage (poor choice of name, IMHO). It's unknown if Captains Club members benefits will be Grandfathered to Azamara's new Club, when they roll out the new program. I've asked the question to Azamara, and it does not seem these decisions have been made yet. As Arno said, I have a feeling they are not going to Grandfather levels, which would be a disappointment, though somewhat understandable, as Azamara clearly seems to be distancing itself from Celebrity.

 

For anyone sailing on Azamara over the next few months, you should be fine. However, the long term plan for Loyalty benefits at Azamara is unknown. Stay Tuned !

[C 2 C]

Dec. 12 at Sea.

 

What a fantastic day.

At 8:00 we were at Michael's Club where I enjoyed a sticky bun and my favorite coffee,

At 8:20 a hot croissant was delivered from cova together with our coffee made to order.

After my smoothie containing all the essential vitamins and calories was delivered we

proceeded to Bar at the Edge for our Wakey Wakey (trivia) Challenge.

At 9:45 I returned to Michael's for my morning dose of vitamins, a V8 fortified with

liquid distilled potato extracts.

We have the good fortune of obtaining stateroom 7206, a CC at the aft. The

temperature today was perfect in the low 80's with a gentle breeze. Watching the wake,

reading a book and luxuriating in the warmth... life cannot be better...

The Captain's Club party was held today from 3:00 to 4:15. Most people were `smartly`

dressed but for some that means putting on shorts over a bathing suit.

This was the first sailing ever with three couples having sailed over the 100 cruise point

level. Based on cruises achieved prior to this sailing there was a family with over 60 cruise

points, another with 66, another single lady with over 78 cruises just on Constellation,

and at the top, 103, 113, and , 126 cruises credits (that`s us).:D

[Happy Cruiser 6143]

Hi, Arno

This turn of events comes as no surprise......There is a strong ''whiff'' in various financial circles that RCL is actually readying AZ to be spun-off and Pimentel's appointment was the first move to accomplish that. I suspect RCI can't or won't carry AZ much longer, even as a '' totally independent'' brand. In its proper niche and with a well engineered marketing and operating model, AZ can and should be succesfull...there is room for more'' Oceana''-type brands out there.

What do you think ??

Of note, it's hard to find good longtime ==X== loyalists to work up any type of sentiment towards AZ....Opinions don't seem to develop any traction....

 

Hope Joanne and you are enjoying your odyssey on Connie.

 

Cheers

 

Well, here's my opinion (haven't cruised Azamara yet and probably won't). Love the small ship idea. Hate the tiny staterooms. With much higher price tags. I'll stick to my nice CC staterooms on M class, thanks.

[Andy]

Hi Arno !

 

Im glad to hear you and Joanne are enjoying your Constellation Odyssey. I look forward to hearing more, when you return home. Please stay in touch, and Enjoy your Cruise !

[2J's]

Have enjoyed reading about your Constellation Odyssey these past few weeks. It has helped us to anticipate our upcoming cruise on the Connie. It is the only M ship that we have not cruised, so far. Coincidentally, we will be in 7206 on Jan 31. We really look forward to meeting you on board, as I seem to remember in an earlier post you indicated you would also be on that cruise.

Judy & Jerry

[Texed]

Arno,

Thanks for the info. We board Constellation on December 20th. :)

[GeorgeL]

Arno,

Thanks for the info. We board Constellation on December 20th. :)

 

I have considered taking a Holiday cruise because it really sounds like it might be a lot of fun.

Have you been on one before and do you know if your upcoming cruise will have lots of children onboard? I know that winter break will have started for many students by then so holiday cruises would appear to attract many more families with children and/or college students.