Constellation 26th March 2011 - just back

[excitedofharpenden]

I don’t intend doing a formal review, but here are some random thoughts on this cruise.

 

1. I had a great time.

 

2. An active roll call with friends old and new ensured the ports of call and shipboard socialising was just the best.

 

3. This 14 night itinerary that makes its way down to the A B C islands (Aruba, Bonaire and Curacao) is the best itinerary in the Caribbean I have done. Host Anne’s tip of Ti Kaye resort in St Lucia was a great one. Wonderful massage with great views and a total wind down by the pool. Good food too. I could write all day about what we did on the other islands. There were too many highlights, but the snorkelling in Bonaire, whilst done in somewhat choppy water was the best I have ever done anywhere in the world. Go and have a look at the Woodwind Sail and Snorkel Facebook page to see what I mean.

 

4. The staff were universally friendly and attentive. I saw a few old faces and many new ones. Captain Peppas was the Master as he was for my first ever Celebrity cruise and was very approachable. Family life agrees with him! Hotel Director Bernhard and CD Sue were both excellent.

 

5. They’ve done a really nice job of Solsticizing Connie in my view. Tuscan is a really nice space and the general decor around the ship was attractive. I was worried we may struggle in a smaller Martini Bar, but we did fine. I am left with the feeling that I like Connie better in some ways and the S-Class in others and it’s difficult to decide which I prefer. I missed the Lawn Club and the aft Ocean View bar area from the S-Class and the buffet is better there with the stations. The walking track is better on Connie as is the general navigation around the ship. I like having three banks of elevators too.

 

6. Food is a subjective thing, but I felt the MDR was just not up to the standards I have previously enjoyed. This feeling has been bubbling away for the past couple of cruises. It’s obvious the waiters and assistants have to wait on more tables now and for this reason do not interact as actively as they did. I’m not sure about some of the dishes either. Some were over-salted whilst others like the Beef Wellington were tasteless. Celebrity seem to be concentrating on the revenue earning Specialty restaurants now, but ironically these seemed to be very under-attended on our cruise. Lots of discounts and hawking a little to get you back which I felt diminished the product. Not necessary.

 

7. I didn’t go hungry.

 

8. One evening I did room service because I think my body had said “ENOUGH!”. I had chicken noodle soup, a Celebrity Club sandwich and a slice of apple pie with cookies and milk. It all arrived hot and was delicious.

 

9. I had breakfast on the balcony every morning. I had one of the corner FVs and the view was great, whether in port or at sea. Pantry Maid Maria was just the best. She always brought me what I wanted in good time (within twenty minutes whether I’d put the card out the night before or ordered via the phone in the morning) and she got to know my standing order and the strawberry smoothie would be on the tray even if I’d forgotten to add it. A couple of mornings during the cruise she added a flower to the tray too. Sometimes it is the really small and straightforward things in life that make a difference.

 

10. The weather was excellent the whole time. We had a rainy sailaway and a few spots one morning, but that was it. Tan is holding up ok.

 

11. The average age of the passengers was higher than I thought it might be, but what a nice crowd of people onboard. Very polite and as I’m in the habit of talking to anyone who’ll listen I had some nice chats with others.

 

12. I thought the dress of those onboard in the evening was very smart indeed. I didn’t count or estimate a percentage of tuxes, suits and others, but it was just a very good ambience and one that I enjoyed.

 

13. I booked air and transfers with Celebrity. I only used the airport to hotel at the beginning and hotel to airport at the end and did the others independently. The X transfers were OK, but my preference is to DIY if possible. I have to make mention of my British compatriots on the X transfers here. We had a bus load at the beginning and end. The guy loaded and unloaded the cases off the bus. He was hot, red and sweating whilst the passengers chomped at the bit for their luggage. I didn’t see one person give him a tip. Shameful. I said in a loud voice “I’ll give you a tip”, for all the good it did.

 

14. I’m starting to struggle now as the remnants of jet lag are starting to kick in, but I don’t want to end on a negative.

 

15. I had a great time

 

I’m on Eclipse in three weeks for a quick trip across to Ireland so have swift work to do on the waistline before then, but I’m not complaining.

 

Phil

[cruzeluver]

Thanks for posting your thoughts Phil! I'm planning to get mine out in the next day or so. This was a great cruise, and you're right, the people are what made it great, from the wonderful crew to our fantastic roll call!

 

Hope to see you back on board some day.

 

Ryan

[portofrome]

Thanks for your thoughts.

[dmk]

Hi Phil:)

We got back from our Connie sailing on March 12th. As you said food is very subjecyive. We were delighted by the food in the MDR (maybe we made lucky choices?)

It was better than the past 6 cruise on X that we have taken in the past 3 years.

I hope everyone would keep in mind that food is very subjective and not to panick about an upcoming cruise, where people have said that they hadn't enjoyed their food.

[swonderoh]

Hi Phil,

 

Great meeting you on the catamaran. Was it Grenada?

 

Enjoy your cruise to Ireland. Hope to run into you again.

 

Steve

[jspirit]

Thanks for posting your thoughts, Phil!

You mentioned the jogging track you feel is better on the Connie than the Solstice-class. Can you tell me why? Is it away from the pool loungers and all the pedestrian traffic?

I just love the Solstice class ships and am worrried of being let down on the Constellation, but she is a favorite of so many people on this board. Since you have been on both , do you have any more comparisons? We even have a CC1 aft waiting for us!

Thanks!

[loves2read]

Thanks for your well-written thoughts. We were on this cruise and agree with everything you wrote.

 

Loved the itinerary! Host Anne's tip of Valley Church Beach in Antigua was a winner. Gorgeous turquoise water and white sand. The prettiest beach I've seen.

 

In Curacao we considered talking a taxi to the beach at a cost of $13pp round trip and beach entry fee. Instead we saw a brightly colored "Samba" bus parked outside the pier which offered a 2 and 1/2 hour tour for $15pp. This was a good choice for us as it included highlights of the area with interesting narration and a 45 min. beach break at Mambo Beach. Also included was unlimited cold bottled water, beer, and soda.

 

In Bonaire, my husband loved the snorkelling with Woodwinds while I enjoyed buying unique, reasonably priced jewelry at the open air market by the pier.

 

Your comments on food in the MDR match our experience. Celebrity is buying less expensive cuts of meat such as lamb shank instead of lamb chops, skirt steak & tough sirloin instead of the tenderloin they used to serve. Many of the desserts did not appeal to me. The upside was no weight gain. The food at dinner was our only disappointment. Like you, we didn't go hungry.

 

The attentive service on Celebrity along with the generous perks for elite keep us coming back. Overall, a wonderful cruise.

[gkm]

It's great to hear you had a good time Phil. How fun that you have another cruise right around the corner!

 

Garry

[bellybutton530]

Great job, Phil. I can hardly wait for our Woo Hoo II cruise on Connie in December.

[Andy]

Hi Phil !

 

As always, Thank You for your excellent comments. I'm happy to hear you had a great time on Constellation. We are sailing on Connie's 4/23 sailing, and getting excited.

 

Are you on the 12/3/11 sailing ? We are booked. Hope to see you there !

[Lois R]

Hi Phil:) welcome back and glad you had a good cruise (you always do:D)

and thanks for sharing some of your experiences with the rest of us:)

[Texed]

Hi Phil. Thanks for posting.

[excitedofharpenden]

Thanks for posting your thoughts Phil! I'm planning to get mine out in the next day or so. This was a great cruise, and you're right, the people are what made it great, from the wonderful crew to our fantastic roll call!

 

Hope to see you back on board some day.

 

Ryan

Ryan, it was great to meet you and Jim. Sorry we didn't have more of a chance to chat onboard, but it was a BIG group. Hope to cruise again with you someday too.

 

Hi Phil,

 

Great meeting you on the catamaran. Was it Grenada?

 

Enjoy your cruise to Ireland. Hope to run into you again.

 

Steve

Hey Steve. Yes, it was Shadowfax in Grenada. The lobster lunch that was grilled chicken for me (and very good it was too). I kept looking out for you again, but never saw you. I hope you and Sherry (sp?) enjoyed the rest of your trip. If it's sunny and 80 degrees in Ireland I'll buy you a beer when I next see you;)

 

Phil

[excitedofharpenden]

Thanks for posting your thoughts, Phil!

You mentioned the jogging track you feel is better on the Connie than the Solstice-class. Can you tell me why? Is it away from the pool loungers and all the pedestrian traffic?

I just love the Solstice class ships and am worrried of being let down on the Constellation, but she is a favorite of so many people on this board. Since you have been on both , do you have any more comparisons? We even have a CC1 aft waiting for us!

Thanks!

The jogging track is in a better spot and as you say more away from the loungers. You still run past them, but it's more open. There's also the advantage if you are aft that you can get up to it easily via the aft stairs to deck 11 and through a door on the opposite side to the Teen Club. I hope you won't be let down by Connie. The alterations in general are successful. The addition of Bistro on 5 is great. They've done a good job. Those aft facing cabins can't be beaten on S-Class either, but the bathrooms are better on the newer ships. The Promenade Deck is nicer on Connie because it is less enclosed by lifeboats. That deck is a favourite of mine for sitting and watching the sea pass by and I really enjoyed sitting out there on an M-Class ship again.

 

Hi Phil !

 

As always, Thank You for your excellent comments. I'm happy to hear you had a great time on Constellation. We are sailing on Connie's 4/23 sailing, and getting excited.

 

Are you on the 12/3/11 sailing ? We are booked. Hope to see you there !

Andy, have a great trip. Unfortunately my diary won't work for the 3rd December sailing. Wish it would so that I could meet you at long last and Cheryl and others too.

 

I'm in the process of uploading some cabin shots of FV 9156 which should appear in the picture link in my signature soon.

 

Phil

[jspirit]

Phil , thanks for expanding ! I do love the new bathrooms on the S-class but having a better track as well as Promenade deck will be a big improvement. I love walking on that deck but on the Solstice class so much of the view is hidden by the lifeboats.

If the cabins have all new beds, linens, and carpeting at least it will have the same modern appearance of the what we have become used to !

[C 2 C]

I don’t intend doing a formal review,

 

1. I had a great time.

 

 

7. I didn’t go hungry.

 

 

Phil

 

Hi Phil:

 

Thanks for summarizing our cruises as well....

Now if I could just find a way to avoid the Connie cough...

[hcat]

thanks for the review--lots of good info

 

Did they change out the sofas & chairs, & update the decor of the public lounges? We will be going on Summit post-refurb & hope many of the tired elements will be gone!!! other than that M class is a great style & hope the new dining options will make it even more fun...

[TourDeCruise]

Hi Phil,

 

Glad to hear you had a great time and about the Constellation solsticing improvements. Jack & I were on her for the Baltic in 2004 and will be on her again for the 3 December 2011 Southern Caribbean sailing, the same as Cheryl and Host Andy. We will also be on the Constellation again 3 September 2012 for the repositioning cruise from Amsterdam to Istanbul (Amsterdam, Bruges, Vigo, Malaga, Sardinia, Malta, Athens, Ephesus, Istanbul). Thanks for reporting on the Constellation and itinerary.

 

Have fun on your Ireland cruise.

 

Kathy

[excitedofharpenden]

Hi Phil:

 

Thanks for summarizing our cruises as well....

Now if I could just find a way to avoid the Connie cough...

Arno, it was good to meet you and Joanne at last. Hope you are settling back into life at home number 1 (or is that 2?) and the cough gets better soon.

 

thanks for the review--lots of good info

 

Did they change out the sofas & chairs, & update the decor of the public lounges? We will be going on Summit post-refurb & hope many of the tired elements will be gone!!! other than that M class is a great style & hope the new dining options will make it even more fun...

I think that a lot of the chairs have been recovered (Rendezvous Sq for example) rather than replaced, but they've done a good job on them and they look very smart. There are additional new high back chairs dotted around including Cafe Al Bacio and all the decor in the public spaces has been updated around the ship. It does look very nice.

 

Kathy, wish I could make it with you guys in December. Have a great time!

 

Phil

[Lois R]

Hi Phil, after all these years...hopefully one day we can sail together

too:)

[gentlemancruiser]

Hi Phil !

 

As always, Thank You for your excellent comments. I'm happy to hear you had a great time on Constellation. We are sailing on Connie's 4/23 sailing, and getting excited.

 

Are you on the 12/3/11 sailing ? We are booked. Hope to see you there !

 

Andy - One more week! I'm more excited after reading this review.

[Cruizer Bill]

Phil, thanks so much for your review! DW and I are seriously considering this cruise for Feb/March 2012.

[LMKohler]

Phil,

 

As usual, a great review. Again, it was wonderful meeting you and being your neighbor on board. We need to figure out how to do this again:D

 

Lucy

[excitedofharpenden]

We need to figure out how to do this again:D

 

Lucy

Lucy, indeed we do.

 

 

Phil