Jane2357 Posted January 21, 2013 #1 Share Posted January 21, 2013 We are just back from the very short, 2 night cruise on Constellation and have to report back that I was pleasantly surprised. I was thinking that it might end up being a booze cruise and wouldn't have that classic Celebrity feel. While there were many cruisers new to Celebrity on board - the majority of people that I spoke to were all past Celebrity customers. I did see a few folks who had over enjoyed themselves (all women:eek:) but the entire cruise was pretty tame so NO it was not a booze cruise as some have predicted. There was a Cruise Critic sail away party at the Sunset bar - thanks to those that organized it - we had fun getting to meet many of you! We booked this cruise for just a little weekend get away, I wondered if it would even be worth the bother of packing - well I would totally do it again given the chance (easy when you only have a 2.5 hr drive to port)! The crew was very gracious and welcoming and I thought the ship was sparkling clean and in good shape. The only areas that really need improvement was the balcony flooring is in need of a redo, the balcony furniture is ready to be replaced and the tile in the bathroom is showing its age. We arrived early and were seated with the wedding parties - we ended up being the first on board (a first), we enjoyed lunch in the buffet and then took a walk to explore as I had not been on Connie in many years. We were walking past the closed specialty shops on 5 towards the theater - the hallway was deserted, turned the corner and who did we find doing a walk through - Michael Bayley - President and CEO of Celebrity. He had a few officers with him but no one else, I recognized him from having his picture here on C.C., I wanted to snap a photo but didn't wish to interrupt his business so we just walked on past. The first morning we ordered room service from the Concierge Class breakfast menu and have to say that while it arrived right on the dot of the requested delivery time - the food was not edible. Cold and well just not good. We enjoyed our coffee and o.j. and then after exercising we ate breakfast in the buffet which was very good. We had Select dining with a 7:15 reservation time both evenings, did not try a specialty restaurant. We always were seated immediately as we didn't mind being seated with others. We saw couple after couple that wanted a table for 2 having to wait in Cellar Masters as they had limited space for 2 tops. I had salmon one night that was good but dh had the haddock and hated the grainy seasoning as did another lady at our table. The second night dh had the lamb and he loved it, I had the scrimp scampi - yum. Both nights the service was good until for some reason we would order the dessert and then it took a very long time for it to come and never got my specialty coffee at all . Not sure why, but it happened on both nights to the point that people were almost ready to just leave without it. I'm not sure what improvements Connie will be getting on her upcoming spruce up - but we are booked on her again next January for a short 4 nighter. :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jane2357 Posted January 21, 2013 Author #2 Share Posted January 21, 2013 Forgot to add that the pizza was excellent but the poor man working that station just could not keep up with demand (late afternoon 3:00 ish) - with large crowd just waiting. They should consider adding a second person during peak times. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kaftigr Posted January 21, 2013 #3 Share Posted January 21, 2013 Thanks for your review. DW and I were on this same cruise as well. We were in cabin 9126 Concierge class and we both agree on the balcony and bathroom. We enjoyed our first Celebrity cruise and I plan to book the connie for a 4 day for next January. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dmwnc1959 Posted January 22, 2013 #4 Share Posted January 22, 2013 Thanks for the review! I sooooo wanted to do this short cruise mainly to see the seven cruise ships docked in Miami that day. Had to settle for the web cam. :( Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jane2357 Posted January 22, 2013 Author #5 Share Posted January 22, 2013 I'm reading on our roll-call that others found the service to be lacking on this cruise. We thought our service was good - not the best we've ever had but far from bad. We had no trouble with dis-embarkation - we walked down to deck 4 and lined up in from of the theater - we were off the ship by 7:45 ish. There was a long walk to the garage - but didn't bother us. I guess there were shuttle buses no one was telling us that as we got off the ship. I'm looking for this cruise for next year on the Celebrity website - but I can't find anything for a 2 night. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Texed Posted January 22, 2013 #6 Share Posted January 22, 2013 2357, Thanks for posting. :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Orator Posted January 22, 2013 #7 Share Posted January 22, 2013 Also on this short cruise. There were some problems, but passengers don't always know the full story. One act was deleted from the first show, but back at the second show. There was an equipptment problem that couldn't be remedied until the second show. Some complained that they missed the aerialist without knowing that there was an issue. There was a problem leaving the ship. I was in Michael's Club waiting to leave when I saw a man argue with theCaptain's Club Hostess that he wanted to leave the ship and avoid the lines. He blamed her and the ship for the problem. He did remain fairly calm throughout although he appeared to be ignoring what the Hostess was saying to him. She called the Guest Relations Manager who said that he would get him off the ship. The real problem was lack of staff at Customs and Immigration. Celebrity was responsible for the luggage fiasco! They shouid have given some notice at boarding. I'm a meat eater and found my meals prepared to perfection. I agree that the cabins need some attention and hope that there is a sprucing up when the ship goes into drydock in April. My Waiter was supurb, my cabin attendant a bit below average. It was only a two day cruise so really didn't get an opportunity to get a fair impression. The Captain never made an announcement or welcomed people to the ship. The HD, Guest relations Manager, F&B Manager and CC Hostess were excellent. Chef Jason is the best! Plan to return to Connie in late Feburary or March. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BSinPNS Posted January 22, 2013 #8 Share Posted January 22, 2013 Agree with the previous posters with the following additional comments: - Met some great people at the CC Sailaway party. Special thanks to the organizers and the King Cake provider. - Officers seemed to be in hiding. New master never made an announcement - Crewmembers we interacted with professional, but not as friendly as in the past. I guess they figured we would be onboard for two nights and wouldn’t get any extra tips. - Esperanza displayed amazing energy. Impressive CD. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Orator Posted January 22, 2013 #9 Share Posted January 22, 2013 I believe that it is important to note that this two day cruise was wedged between two large charters. That invoved a great deal of crew time to remove decoratations from the first charter and prepare for the next. The large banners from Turner Classic Movies were being installed as we cruised. Anyone who books a two day should be aware that special events before and after can influence their experience. People on these short cruisers for a variety of reasons. Some just want to test the cruising waters, some like to gamble (Casino busy on this cruise), some like to just party and some want the extra points. Should note that there were over 2oo Elites on this cruise. I also met a few who had 8 or 9 points at the start and wanted to become Elite for their next cruise. The sailaway was one of the best I've ever attended! Great job Cruise Critic Members. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mathgeek1978 Posted January 22, 2013 #10 Share Posted January 22, 2013 We were also on this cruise and found both the food and service just as good as our last cruise a few weeks ago. However, the same problem that we encountered last time persisted -- not enough cocktail servers in the casino, and when they were there they didn't circulate to take orders. The bad smell in the cabin bathroom was also there, even though we were in a different cabin this time. Hopefully this will be fixed in April during the next renovation. The demographics were a bit younger and it was a much livelier crowd and it was certainly a lot of fun. People were, in general, very well dressed for dinner in the MDR, in the same proper casual attire you would see in a longer cruise. Overall, we had a great time! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mathgeek1978 Posted January 22, 2013 #11 Share Posted January 22, 2013 Forgot to add that the pizza was excellent but the poor man working that station just could not keep up with demand (late afternoon 3:00 ish) - with large crowd just waiting. They should consider adding a second person during peak times. The same problem occured near the 1AM closing time when there was a large crowd but not enough pizzas, and the poor guy was working super hard to make a lot of pizza quickly -- Kudos to him! A lot of people were expecting a 24-hr pizza kitchen -- I guess they must be regulars from other cruise lines such as Carnival. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mathgeek1978 Posted January 22, 2013 #12 Share Posted January 22, 2013 I'm reading on our roll-call that others found the service to be lacking on this cruise. We thought our service was good - not the best we've ever had but far from bad. We had no trouble with dis-embarkation - we walked down to deck 4 and lined up in from of the theater - we were off the ship by 7:45 ish. There was a long walk to the garage - but didn't bother us. I guess there were shuttle buses no one was telling us that as we got off the ship. I'm looking for this cruise for next year on the Celebrity website - but I can't find anything for a 2 night. Celebrity does not normally do 2-night cruises. This was a special one-time event just to fit the ship between schedules. The last time they had a 2-nighter was maybe 2 years ago in Australia. One time they had a one-nighter in Europe, again just to fit the ship between schedules. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mathgeek1978 Posted January 22, 2013 #13 Share Posted January 22, 2013 I believe that it is important to note that this two day cruise was wedged between two large charters. That invoved a great deal of crew time to remove decoratations from the first charter and prepare for the next. The large banners from Turner Classic Movies were being installed as we cruised. Anyone who books a two day should be aware that special events before and after can influence their experience. People on these short cruisers for a variety of reasons. Some just want to test the cruising waters, some like to gamble (Casino busy on this cruise), some like to just party and some want the extra points. Should note that there were over 2oo Elites on this cruise. I also met a few who had 8 or 9 points at the start and wanted to become Elite for their next cruise. The sailaway was one of the best I've ever attended! Great job Cruise Critic Members. Maybe a lot of Elite members were there to get their 2 points for the long-rumoured higher-tier Elite status (like Diamond Plus in RCL) which might happen some time in the future... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Orator Posted January 22, 2013 #14 Share Posted January 22, 2013 Maybe a lot of Elite members were there to get their 2 points for the long-rumoured higher-tier Elite status (like Diamond Plus in RCL) which might happen some time in the future... Could be correct. People go on any cruise for a variety of reasons. My wife's birthday was on January 18th and our 46th anniversary was on the 21st. Executive. Chef Jason surprised us with a large, heavily decorated heart shaped cake. Could have easily served 20 or more people. It's people like Jason who keep us coming back to Celebrity. Points are good, but Celebrity Staff are great. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jane2357 Posted January 22, 2013 Author #15 Share Posted January 22, 2013 Orator - were you at a table for 2 in the select dining room? I saw a cute couple get this darling heart shaped cake and I swear that 1/2 way through the happy birthday song that they started singing happy anniversary. If that was you - I was lusting for your cake! LOL We'll be celebrating our 20th Anniv. on the 2/8/2014 Eclipse cruise, so I'll be hoping for a small cake but your cake sure was GRAND! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Orator Posted January 22, 2013 #16 Share Posted January 22, 2013 Orator - were you at a table for 2 in the select dining room? I saw a cute couple get this darling heart shaped cake and I swear that 1/2 way through the happy birthday song that they started singing happy anniversary. If that was you - I was lusting for your cake! LOL We'll be celebrating our 20th Anniv. on the 2/8/2014 Eclipse cruise, so I'll be hoping for a small cake but your cake sure was GRAND! It was us. Althought only Cyndee is cute, certainly not me. We each had a small piece and presented the remainder to our servers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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