Constellation Review February 8 2014

[JimHam4]

You are correct, International Pier is prob the furthest from town and I believe the $8 cab right is correct as some frinds were taking the "Bar Hop" bus tour and had to pick it up at downtown near Carlos and Charlies.

 

:eek: If we were furthest from town and it was as busy as it was then I really can't imagine how much Cozumel has grown up.

 

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[JimHam4]

Just figured out why I love this review so much! You are wearing a UGA shirt in Cozumel!!!! Go Dawgs!! (class of '90)

 

Have to confess I'm born and bred California and got my degree from Oregon State. GO BEAVS!! When I was in high school though our uniforms looked like Georgia's and Herschel Walker was playing then so I became a quasi fan. Had some training in Marietta a few years ago and took the opportunity to buy the family UGA gear. If it makes you feel better though I do own a bulldog. :)

 

 

 

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[Cindy]

You are correct, International Pier is prob the furthest from town and I believe the $8 cab right is correct as some frinds were taking the "Bar Hop" bus tour and had to pick it up at downtown near Carlos and Charlies.

 

The Carnival Corp. pier (Punta Langosta) is a bit further out from town, but very close to the International Pier. You can walk between the two in about 5 minutes. If you have time and no other plans, it's actually worth it to walk over to the other pier -- it's very festive and nicely decorated, and they have more shops. It's laid out much better than International Pier.

 

 

Just looked it up on the port listings. The Carnival boat with no balconies was the Conquest and the ship off on the distance was the NCL Jewel. Other boats that day beside us were the Silhouette and Paradise.

 

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It must have been the Paradise, because the Conquest has plenty of balconies. It's only the older Fantasy Class Carnival ships that have very few balconies.

[bobsfamily]

It must have been the Paradise, because the Conquest has plenty of balconies. It's only the older Fantasy Class Carnival ships that have very few balconies.

 

The original Fantasy is homeported about 15 minutes from my house, we take her every year or so... and the only balconies are "suites" which would be verandah class (or less) on X. There are about 40 cabins near the top of the ship that are mini-suites and are set back with a walkway below them. The "grand" suites are actually cut out of the side of the ship and again are about 20-30 cabins. Some Fantasy class ships have had balconies added to the ship (welded on) and they are not suites, just balconies.

Edited February 28, 2014 by bobsfamily

[JimHam4]

 

It must have been the Paradise, because the Conquest has plenty of balconies. It's only the older Fantasy Class Carnival ships that have very few balconies.

 

 

You're right, it was the Paradise. Should have known better since I've been on a Fantasy class ship.

 

 

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[dgparent]

Great review we are in 1140 in April can't wait, are you still planning on posting the dailes ? THanks

[JimHam4]

Great review we are in 1140 in April can't wait, are you still planning on posting the dailes ? THanks

 

I am. Just finishing up the review itself and will post that when I get home this evening. Will then scan and post what I brought home.

 

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[travelhappy2000]

Great review on the Constellation. We are going on a back to back cruise with her. A TA to Amsterdam and then a Scandinavian/Russian cruise afterwards. We are so looking forward to meeting new people and making new friends.:) Right now it would be great to hook up with people who are going to do excursions on the second half of the cruise.

[Cindy]

Great review on the Constellation. We are going on a back to back cruise with her. A TA to Amsterdam and then a Scandinavian/Russian cruise afterwards. We are so looking forward to meeting new people and making new friends.:) Right now it would be great to hook up with people who are going to do excursions on the second half of the cruise.

 

Have you joined your Roll Call? I'm on the Constellation Baltic cruise right after yours, and people from our Roll Call have planned quite a few excursions together. Here's a direct link: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1865073

Edited February 28, 2014 by Cindy

[JimHam4]

DAY 4 and 5 - Leaving Cozumel and At Sea

 

Tired and a little beat up from our excursion we decide to grab a couple drinks and relax up on deck waiting for the show. Show you ask? What show is there when we’re docked and it’s only late afternoon? Why it’s the “Can we get back to the Silhouette before she leaves show”. I’ve never watched this show before but I have to say it’s pretty hilarious and the reason I do most my drinking ON the ship (so I won’t end up being the star of the show myself!). The Silhouette was set to depart an hour before us and I don’t know if they stayed on ship’s time or port time, but there were plenty of people having a hard time trying to find their way back before she left port. With one gangway pulled up and everything else already put away we see an officer on the dock signal they are still waiting for several passengers. A crowd starts to gather at the railings of both ships with drinks in hand as these hapless souls try to find their way back home. With balloon hats and arms full of trinkets, a few stagger their way down the dock and appear confused by which blue and white boat they belong to; with the help of dock personnel they make their way aboard. The officer on the dock signals they are down to five as the clock hits departure time. Everyone is waiting and cheers erupt as another couple finds their way back to the ship, and everyone wonders how long the Captain will wait for the last three. The minutes tick by and a few of the mooring lines are cast off, could this be it? Will we get to see a last minute sprint down the pier? Finally to thunderous applause from both balconies come three women enjoying a leisurely stroll back from their day in Cozumel, they don’t appear drunk or injured, they just don’t appear to care that they are holding up their fellow passengers (maybe they do and they’re just tired but it’s more fun to write it this way). One crew member grabs a wheelchair and runs back to the women to help them along. They refuse his help and he begins to run back and forth between them teasing them to hurry along; they don’t bother. They finally board to cheers and applause and the Silhouette quickly slides out of her berth.

 

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It’s getting close to showtime and we decide we don’t want to miss the Liar’s Club so it’s time get moving and dress for the evening.

 

The Celebrity Theater is packed for this show and it’s impossible to find a seat but we stand against a wall and enjoy the show. Without giving away too much I will just say the show is hilarious and probably rated PG-13. The staff this entire cruise has been friendly and open and we heard the Captain’s humor before as he came over the PA to announce we should express our condolences to the hotel staff for their volleyball loss to the officers, but this is something else again. The Captain and others on the stage easily take control of the audience and keep us captivated and laughing with their stories, trying to define strange words put on the screen behind them. I will forever use “...is a Greek word” whenever anybody asks me to define something in the future. The rest of the evening is uneventful as we enjoy our routine of Cellar Masters and Blu before losing a bit of cash in the Casino.

Returning to our room for the evening we find our luggage tags and instructions for debarkation. After we get over the crushing depression that sets in I read over the instructions on what we are to do. Our flight doesn’t leave FLL until 4:30pm and we are given group 25, one of the last, for debarkation with a time to wait in the Celebrity Theater on debarkation day. I decide the whole idea is making me sad so I put the information away to worry about later.

 

It’s our last sea day and we’ve decided to have room service with breakfast out on our balcony. We filled out the breakfast menu order form and left it out the night before with the time for delivery. I’m awake early though so I sneak out for a little workout out the gym. Walking out in the open of deck 11 I enjoy the sounds of the ocean and light of an early morning sun. A circuit of weights and it’s time to head back to the cabin for breakfast which should be arriving in about 20 minutes. About 10 minutes before our scheduled time room service gives us a call to let us know they are on their way, and shortly after arrive at our door with our breakfast. The server brings it out onto our balcony, I tip her, and she leaves to let us enjoy our meal.

I will not be doing room service for breakfast again. Sitting on the balcony, soaking in the sun while you eat is nice, and with an aft cabin there is really no wind to worry about while you eat; but our food was cold and incomplete. Admittedly I probably ordered too much food, but it’s a good thing because about half my order is missing, but they’ve added coffee (which I didn’t order). It’s not worth complaining to room service about, we enjoyed our meal and anything extra we want we can hop down to the buffet for. I’m not sure why it wasn’t correct we only ordered things printed on the menu and I wrote in the number of any items we wanted two of, but my bigger complaint is that it was cold; don’t like cold breakfast unless its pizza. If you're an early riser like I am it might be simpler to go to the buffet and pick up the food to take back to your loving spouse (Bonus Points!!)

 

After breakfast we decide to pack and organize some of our things so we can enjoy an uninterrupted day out on the boat without worrying about it later; it’s still early so nothing is really going on yet anyway. This day our only plans are to play the Blackjack tournament and team trivia and spend some time by the pools.

 

The Blackjack tournament is 7 hands for a $25 buy-in. I came in second in a Blackjack tournament several years ago so my wife thinks I should always join in, even though she enjoys the game much more than I do. Players gathered around the table being used for the tournament and sat down seven at a time with a list of the top seven players being recorded to play the final round. I sat in the second round and had probably played seven of the worst hands I have ever had. I won one hand toward the end and the rest were 15 when dealer has a face card, 19 when he’s got 20 sort of stuff. I licked my wounds and walked quietly away; this was not a week to gamble for me. They allowed re-buys, but I was having none of that at this point. I don’t know how the final payouts were broken down or if the house took a percentage, but the pot had to be about $750.

 

We stop in for the team trivia and take a seat at the bar in the Rendezvous Lounge. A woman asks us to join her team and we join her and her friend along with a gentlemen waiting for his wife (she showed up about question #15). Same rules were laid out as before and once again there is a nice variety of questions....aaanndddd.....once again we come in second by one point and have to make do without the special Celebrity bottle opener.

 

I understand a competitive nature (trust me on that one it gets me into trouble) but when you’re playing for minor prizes against your fellow passengers all on a relaxing trip in the Caribbean, why do people get so emotional about the most trivial of things at the trivia contest? Two things happened during this game that make me wonder: at the end of the contest the crew member accidentally said the question number wrong and got confused when contestants corrected him, and the other when questions were being repeated for those who wanted to hear them again one of my teammates accidentally called out the correct answer thinking we were going over the answers. You would have thought the Captain had run through the lounge naked the way people acted scandalized. I get it, it’s a contest and we all want to win, but relax, it’s just people making a mistake because they’re enjoying the company of fellow passengers and not paying full attention. Nobody is trying to cheat you out of your bottle openers and coasters. All in all though, I still love to play the trivia contests and certain questions will eat at me the rest of the day if I miss them.

 

Lunch time, and we decide to eat at the burger bar by the pool since we’re heading that way anyway. Burgers and dogs fresh off the grill and you can pretty much add anything you want to them. Nothing fancy, but it’s good classic food and there is a little bar there to grab a soda and beer to have with your food. After eating we head over to the Solarium to use the Thalassotherapy pool. There are quite a few people there but we easily find two lounge chairs together and quickly settle in to enjoy our magazines. The pool is nice and warm with a bit of salt to it. A little time under the spigot of warm water before going to recline on the the loungers built into the pool will set your muscles at ease. Getting out though, I quickly realize that the comfortably air conditioned Solarium is bit chilly for someone soaking wet. No problem extra towels can’t take care of and I sit back to enjoy the last of my beer and reading material.

 

We head back to our room to clean up for dinner and find we have a balcony guest. I have no idea how far we are from land but a pigeon has found his way onto our balcony looking exhausted. He has a band on his leg so I wonder if he is a messenger pigeon lost his way. I place a cup of water and some leftover panini out on the table by him and he doesn’t even flinch. After closing the door again he quickly jumps at the chance to take in some water and food. He’s still there when we leave the cabin for the evening.

 

Rather than rush to dinner this evening we go back to the Martini Bar and quickly find two seats at the bar. My wife orders some kind of cherry martini we find terrible and I order a London Club martini. My 16 year old likes to pull my leg and tell me she had a Sapphire martini straight up no veggies whenever she comes back from a date (at least I hope she’s pulling my leg) so this trip I had to try something with Sapphire in it; if you like Mojitos you will approve of the London Club. I strike up a conversation with the two couples next to us (my wife says I talk to strangers too much, but on a boat nobody’s really a stranger). We get to talking about the drink packages and it comes up we upgraded to the premium package. One of the gentlemen gets excited and tells me if I’m on the premium package I have to try the Zacapa rum on the rocks. I find out very quickly he is correct in his assessment as Zacapa has now become my drink of choice for something on the rocks (too bad it’s $60 a bottle at home). We finish our drinks and conversation and head to Blu for dinner. Another great meal with a staff that feel like friends. The food is great as usual and we enjoy our dessert while talking to the couple next to us. The conversation this evening around the boat seems to center around everyone's concerns about getting home through all the storms; for us Californians this is a totally foreign concept and I’m not sure if we should be concerned or not.

 

Home is not the only place getting stormy though; all through dinner we saw flashes of lightning lighting up the sky. Lightning is a rarity in California and we decide to head top deck to watch the show. I grab another Zacapa on the rocks and we head outside. Quite a show, but the rain is coming down so we head to the Reflections lounge at the front of the ship. The place is near empty and the lightning isn’t nearly as impressive at the front so we decide to watch the show from our balcony (Mr. Pigeon has decided to roost on the stair railing leading down to the bar). The umbrella is pretty useless with the angle of the rain but the fluffy robes serve to keep us dry. We relax and watch for a while before deciding to finish our packing and retiring for the evening.

 

Next up, trying to get off the ship early and seeing if we can change flights...

[emcee207]

The Silhouette's departure from us and Cozumel was great. We have sailed her just a few years ago and had a bit of "ship envy" when she left. We also enjoyed the horn competition between the two bridges!:D

[topsailgirl]

I think this is the most enjoyable review of a cruise I have read in a very long time. I love the poster's attitude! So positive even though not everything was perfect. I think he also expresses himself well. Great job at describing what he did, what he saw, etc. I wish his cruise was much longer so I could hear more from him.

 

Will be on the Connie in a week on the same itinerary and he has me really excited about the cruise!

 

Thank you for taking the time to write all this down.

[JimHam4]

LAST DAY

 

Our bags were set out the night before so all that's left is our carry on to worry about. I hate leaving my bags out the night before but with two weeks worth of luggage I'm not working with just carry on. We wake up already docked in Fort Lauderdale so our internet is working again and in come the travel alerts. Atlanta (our connection) is closed for now but our flights are scheduled on time still. Since we didn't have to be home right away but didn't want to get stuck either my wife and I decide we'll try to catch an earlier flight through a different airport or see if they're looking for volunteers to be bumped. Right now though no one is leaving the ship yet so we say good bye to our cabin and head down to Blu for our last meal. As usual breakfast is wonderful and, surprisingly, lightly attended; this is the morning they had sticky buns so if you want to try them ask now.

 

Our meeting place for debarkation is the Celebrity Theater but on our way we stop by the gangway area to see if we can leave now to try and get to the airport for a different flight. Unfortunately, even though we're ready our bags aren't and we'll have to wait a bit for them to clear customs. The crew member managing debarkation though tells us to wait nearby and check with her in twenty minutes. I use the time to research our alternatives, it with no definitive time to leave I'm not changing my flights yet. Twenty turns into forty but we are able to leave the boat a little ahead of our scheduled time and head to the luggage area. Our bags are easy to find as the luggage groups are pretty small and we head out officially enter U.S. soil.

 

The line for customs is huge and with only a short window to try and change to an early flight we write off that idea. Turns out though that the line moves fairly quickly. There are four ICE officers working plus another who seems to be handling wheelchairs. There a porters available to help with your luggage but they end up waiting in line just like you. It takes us about a half hour to make it through the line and we head out the front of the terminal. Our original plan was to rent a car for a few hours until our flight left so we decide to stick with that for now since we're receiving word ATL is opening back up and flights are getting g back to normal. Alamo has a free shuttle that picks up at the port, no need to call anyone they come by on a schedule. We end up enjoying a few hours in Fort Lauderdale before catching our scheduled flight home (came close to getting those bump vouchers but no dice).

 

A few thoughts/observations:

 

As first time cruisers on Celebrity I have to say the cruise met all my expectations. I am sure there have been changes over the years that long time cruisers have noticed but if you're a first timer I don't think you should pay attention to all the nay saying about a loss of quality.

There were some families on board, and I would bring my girls (14, 16 & 19) on this trip, but there isn't a lot for them to do at that age. There are kids clubs but they're for the younger set but the teen club looked anemic to what I've seen in the brochures for Royal Caribbean and Carnival. This short trip would work because there are only two sea days.

 

We upgraded to the premium drink package but I'm not sure we got our money's worth from a financial standpoint. I do feel we got our money's worth though from a peace of mind standpoint in that for $115 we never had to worry about what we were ordering and a bill coming at the end. I'll find it hard to sail without some sort of package in the future.

If you have a large flight look into a car rental. The cost to rent the car for a couple hours was the same as luggage valet and cab to the airport. FLL is not a big airport to hang out in all day, if rather have the option of driving around town for the same cost.

 

Booking onboard is a good idea even if your not sure you want to come back (for us our deposit is fully refundable) but I'm not sure they show all the cabins in their computers. We got the 123go deal plus OBC for our next cruise by booking onboard but they told us cabin 1138 wasn't available on any of the dates surrounding the time frame we wanted. Within a week of getting home I checked the Celebrity website and found 1138 was open on the cruise we wanted next year. It's possible someone had it and cancelled in the three to four days between my time on ship and getting home but I wonder if they have all the cabins available to begin with.

 

I have dailies and some other paperwork I'm going to scan and post over the next few days. I was going to post them separately but with the search function down I'll just attach them here for those who have already subscribed to this thread. I'm sure there is a ton of stuff I missed so if you have questions about something ask, and I'll answer if I can.

 

Thank you to those who liked this review; it was the first time I've done something like this and it was fun to put down what we did over our five nights on the Constellation

 

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[d4m]

LAST DAY

 

We got the 123go deal plus OBC for our next cruise by booking onboard but they told us cabin 1138 wasn't available on any of the dates surrounding the time frame we wanted. Within a week of getting home I checked the Celebrity website and found 1138 was open on the cruise we wanted next year. It's possible someone had it and cancelled in the three to four days between my time on ship and getting home but I wonder if they have all the cabins available to begin with.

 

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Thanks for a terrific review! Hope you were able to switch to 1138 when it became available!

[JimHam4]

Thanks for a terrific review! Hope you were able to switch to 1138 when it became available!

 

We did!

 

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[bobsfamily]

Wonderful review, will be on her in 6 days..

[Cindy]

I really enjoyed this. Thanks for doing it!

[rbsmithpaige]

(we aren’t smokers, but to be honest smoke doesn’t usually bother us and sometimes I enjoy the scent of tobacco).

 

This post does not contain anywhere near the sufficient amount of indignation. Please correct and resubmit. ;)

 

 

 

Great review. :thumbsup:

[kampinguru]

Thanks for the great review. We were on the same cruise as you as a B2B so we stayed on for the following 4 days. I agree with your assessment of the room service. We have found that although the idea of breakfast on the balcony sounds great in theory, the reality is that your breakfast will be cold and, more than likely not, missing something. We have noticed this trend on the last 3 cruises we have been on with Celebrity but it does not diminish our enjoyment of the cruise. The room attendant always brings the missing items pretty quick, but it does show a need for someone to QC the orders before they are delivered.

[kampinguru]

The Carnival Corp. pier (Punta Langosta) is a bit further out from town, but very close to the International Pier. You can walk between the two in about 5 minutes. If you have time and no other plans, it's actually worth it to walk over to the other pier -- it's very festive and nicely decorated, and they have more shops. It's laid out much better than International Pier.

 

 

 

 

It must have been the Paradise, because the Conquest has plenty of balconies. It's only the older Fantasy Class Carnival ships that have very few balconies.

 

Here is the information on the 4 cruise piers in Cozumel.

 

Punta Langosta

 

This pier is located right downtown so you can walk off the ship and into downtown San Miguel. To avoid hawkers, stay on the ocean-side of the avenida or explore some of the streets that are a block back from the waterfront.

 

If you are coming into this pier, you have a perfect opportunity to take a San Miguel Walking Tour. But if you want to fit in and make island friends fast, be sure to check out our article How to Be More than 'Just Another Tourist' .

 

There's also great shopping downtown -- especially if you get off the main drag and ignore the advice you'll almost surely be fed by your cruise director that you won't be safe and you'll get ripped off if you venture off the waterfront. There is more than a little self-interest in these warnings. The cruise companies want you to shop from their "recommended list" because each and every one of these rec.s kicks back a sizeable commission on their sale to you.

 

Punta Langosta is also a relatively inexpensive, 10 minute taxi ride away from Chankannab National Park and several good snorkeling beaches. And an even less expensive 5 minute ride from Playa Azul, a nice, northern beach club. (See Beaches for more info on this.)

 

If you wish to Rent a Car and Explore on Your Own there are a number of reputable car rental agencies with offices within 5 blocks for the Punta Langosta pier. We recommend Smart Car or Alamo.

 

 

 

The International Pier

 

This is the island's oldest cruiseship pier and is used largely by Norwegian Cruise Lines. You are about 1.5 miles from downtown San Miguel and if you're up for the walk, it's a pretty one along a nice sidewalk with long sections of waterfront promenade. Consider walking into town to explore and shop then flagging a taxi for your return to your ship.

 

TIP: If you flag a passing cab instead of picking one up from a taxi stand, your fare will be less. But it is extremely important to ask what the fare will be BEFORE you get in the cab. All drivers are required to carry a rates card and all speak enough English to understand when you ask to see the rates card to know the registered rate from, say, downtown San Miguel to the International Pier. Don't get in the cab if the driver want show you the rate.

 

From the International pier you can also catch an inexpensive taxi to the close to town beaches and parks discussed in the Beaches section.

 

Puerta Maya

 

This pier and the Disneyesque artifical "Little Cozumel" Carnival Cruise lines has created is only about 1/2 mile south of the International Pier mentioned above.

 

To their credit, Carnival has created an attractive atmosphere. And we can see perhaps having a drink or grabbing a bite at one of the places down by the water.

 

But it should be mentioned that this is a very artificial environment and bears only the most superficial resemblence to the real Cozumel. Kind of like visiting New Orleans and instead of walking the streets of the French Quarter, you settle for a sterile little mini-replica of the real thing. Prices at the stores here are inflated to reflect the commissions the businesses must pay the cruise ships and the fact that, unless you venture out of this compound, you're basically a captive audience.

 

Follow the advice given above for the International Pier and you can easily pop off to catch a tour or activity you've booked in advance for yourself over the internet. (See Tours We Trust).Or you can rent a car or take taxis to Explore on Your Own.

 

Fundeo

 

If you see this on your cruise arrival info it means that you won't be docking at a pier at all on your Cozumel stop. Instead, smaller crafts will tender you to and from shore. All the advice given re the three piers above applies here just as well, however.

 

So let's get going planning a special and very personalized One Day on Cozumel Island!

 

A good place to start is our Things to Do Section. Have fun!

[maryland]

Enjoyed your review. Looking forward to seeing the Dailies - hope you're still planning on posting these.

[JohnSnowGOT]

Good review... even if it had not been good....You had me when you gave food and water to that stranded bird taking refuge on your balcony!

 

There is a special place in heaven for those who care and give aid for anything in need...well done!

Edited March 5, 2014 by JohnSnowGOT

[JimHam4]

Here is a link to Dailies for Days 2 - 5, Sorry can't find the embarkation day Daily. They are PDF files to large for Cruise Critic so I uploaded them to my Google Drive you should be able to view them by clicking on the links.

 

Day 2 Key West - Day_2_Key_West

 

Day 3 At Sea - Day_3_At_Sea

 

Day 4 - Cozumel - Day_4_Cozumel

 

Day 5 - At Sea - Day_5_At_Sea

[JimHam4]

Good review... even if it had not been good....You had me when you gave food and water to that stranded bird taking refuge on your balcony!

 

There is a special place in heaven for those who care and give aid for anything in need...well done!

 

Thanks, personally I kind of hate pigeons (had an infestation in our attic once), but you're right no one and nothing that needs help should ever be passed by. I'd enjoyed that balcony (with food and drink;)) for five days, couldn't deny him a couple of hours.

[atinys]

thanks for your review and the copies of the dallies...