Connie 5-Day 08 Dec 2014

[tunaman2011]

Greetings

 

Just back off Connie. Thought I would report on some of the CC hot button issues. Before anyone gets their panties in a bunch, these are my observations. You may or may not agree.

 

Our first cruise on an M-Class. Was very happy. Ship was in great shape, everything was spotless. There are areas where she does show some age, some rust stains/rust along the rails and on the outside of the windows, the bath/shower tiles could use fresh grout, some of the cushions were a little worn. But all in all she was fine. We loved the T-Pool, great asset on this class. Also liked the Mid-ship elevators, made getting around much easier. And most venues seemed less crowded than the S-Class. But the buffet did not have near the variety of the S-Class and the layout was lacking when compared to the "station" approach used on the S-Class. You had to circumnavigate the entire buffet to see all the offerings. We also missed the Molecular Bar. Neither of these were deal breakers for us, but I just wanted to point out where we thought the S-Class was better.

 

The crew was great. Could not have asked for better service. And they were always friendly and smiling. The captain must be running a happy ship because the crew seemed happy.

 

We had Select Dining in the MDR every night. A lot of the menu items we had seen many times before, they haven't updated the menus for some time. But every dish we tried was well prepared. Would we like to find higher quality items on the menu? Of course we would. But we know the cost of premium fish and meat has really increased and the current food budgets will not support those cost. We think the chefs do a great job with the items they have to work with.

 

We upgraded to the Premium package. I cannot comment on the selections on the Classic, but there were far fewer Premium Brands than in past cruises. The bartenders said that Celebrity is "narrowing" the total number of items stocked and trying to focus on those items that are most requested. The wines have also increased in price and now there is an even smaller selection included in the package. We usually had Freemark Abbey Cab at dinner. In the past it was a $4.00 (plus tip) upcharge per glass. It is now a $6.50 (plus tip) upcharge per glass. The bars were all busy but service was good everywhere except the pool bar. Now it is a busy bar, but it was just slow. They seemed to have the slowest bartenders assigned to the busiest bar. The Martini bar could also be slow, but that is because they put on a show with almost every drink poured. It is just the nature of the bar.

 

This was a 5-day cruise, so maybe that amplified the situation but formal night was a joke. There was no dress code on formal night (well I didn't see shorts on men). There were many more golf/polo shirts sans jacket than tuxes. There was even a gentleman at the Captain's Table in a golf/polo shirt. My SO commented that some of the ladies looked as if they were going out in the yard to garden and not to the MDR for formal night. There were jeans on men and women and men in t-shirts. Now these were not the casual type with pictures and logos, they were solid colored. But a solid colored t-shirt is still a t-shirt and wearing a thick gold chain with it does not make it formal attire. Every year we cruise it gets less and less dressy.

 

The bottom line is that we had a great cruise. Loved the ship and the crew. Have already booked another cruise on her. We have and will continue to cruise other lines, but Celebrity is our favorite.

 

Good Sailing

Tom

[Aussie Jeep]

Thanks for the post. Sounds great. I can't wait to sail on her in March.

[hcat]

Thanks for the review..we arw booked for 5 day itin for Jan 2015...looking forward to it..

 

Can you please comment on music, shows and other entertainment on board..

 

sorry to hear folks not even attempting to dress well for formal night or dinner. We will be eating in Blu but still enjoy looking dressed up for formal night and dinner. Guess it must be the short itin.....????

[betmust]

Thank you for the review - glad you enjoyed it. We are going in Feruary and are looking forward to it.

 

Could you tell me a little more about the T-pool? What it is, how much to use,etc.

 

Also, what type of cabin did you have and were you happy with it? We are staying in a Concierge class cabin.

 

Thanks.

[albi]

We were also on this cruise. Although we had a good time, there was definitely a difference between the 5 and 7 day experience. We were in Aqua Class 9125. It was the noisiest cabin we ever sailed in! Every morning around 5 AM were were awoken by loud noises and things being dropped in the OceanView Cafe. This went on with no chance of getting back to sleep. Beware of this cabin. Many times on Celebrity and this was a first for us! Our Stewards were wonderful and Blu did not disappoint.

 

 

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[tunaman2011]

Thanks for the review..we arw booked for 5 day itin for Jan 2015...looking forward to it..

 

Can you please comment on music, shows and other entertainment on board..

 

sorry to hear folks not even attempting to dress well for formal night or dinner. We will be eating in Blu but still enjoy looking dressed up for formal night and dinner. Guess it must be the short itin.....????

 

Greetings

 

The only show we attended was a Queen Tribute band. They were ok. There was no comedy show on this particular cruise. The other shows did not interest us. The main pool deck act was a pair of guys, one beat on a pair of bongos and the other played modern techo music off his computer. Some times he would say a few words during the music. Not exactly our style of music, maybe we are too old. There was also a trio of young ladies playing strings that were really good and a single young lady that played guitar that was also pleasant. The "piped in" music was a lot of modern syncopated type music but was not played so loud as to interrupt conversation.

 

Good Sailing

Tom

[Celebrity Cruises]

Greetings

 

The only show we attended was a Queen Tribute band. They were ok. There was no comedy show on this particular cruise. The other shows did not interest us. The main pool deck act was a pair of guys, one beat on a pair of bongos and the other played modern techo music off his computer. Some times he would say a few words during the music. Not exactly our style of music, maybe we are too old. There was also a trio of young ladies playing strings that were really good and a single young lady that played guitar that was also pleasant. The "piped in" music was a lot of modern syncopated type music but was not played so loud as to interrupt conversation.

 

Good Sailing

Tom

 

Hi Tom,

 

We were actually on this cruise as well. Happy to hear that you had a great time. However, wanted to point out that you might have missed the comedy of Bob Marley.

 

We sadly missed the Cruise Critic connection party - one of my goals was to attend, but got stuck in a few meetings at the same time.

[gimletgal]

Hi Tom,

 

We were actually on this cruise as well. Happy to hear that you had a great time. However, wanted to point out that you might have missed the comedy of Bob Marley.

 

We sadly missed the Cruise Critic connection party - one of my goals was to attend, but got stuck in a few meetings at the same time.

 

There are no connections parties on 5 night cruises~ :D

[albi]

We had one. It was even advertised in the Guest a Relations area.

 

 

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[Flafun888]

thank you for taking time to share your experiences...we're doing this 5 day sailing in Feb and it's our first cruise ever, let alone on Celebrity, so these reviews are quite helpful.

[sswv]

Thanks for the review. We are on Connie on the 27th. Any way I can see what comedians are on that trip? I saw Bob Marley on a previous post and we are huge fans. Any chance he is still on?

[Orator]

On Connie now and was on this cruise as well. Met many from Celebrity. Welcomed the opportunity to talk to Lee and Cristy.always a pleasure to see Brian and Cristophe. I detected a highly positive reaction to the new CEO, new builds and the direction that Celebrity is going. Really an interesting cruise for me.

[tunaman2011]

Hi Tom,

 

We were actually on this cruise as well. Happy to hear that you had a great time. However, wanted to point out that you might have missed the comedy of Bob Marley.

 

We sadly missed the Cruise Critic connection party - one of my goals was to attend, but got stuck in a few meetings at the same time.

 

Greetings

 

We met many very nice people from Celebrity on this cruise. A little strange to see people walking around in "business attire" during the day on a cruise, but they were a pleasure to meet and to talk with.

 

I do stand corrected, my SO reminded me of Bob Marley's performance on the first night. The first night was a bit hectic for us and we never managed to escape Cellar Masters in time for his show.

 

Good Sailing

Tom

[betmust]

thank you for taking time to share your experiences...we're doing this 5 day sailing in Feb and it's our first cruise ever, let alone on Celebrity, so these reviews are quite helpful.

 

We are also sailing in February - the 7th. Which one are you on??

 

Looking forward to it...

[S&G1968]

Thanks for the update... I'm going next Saturday over Christmas and I am looking forward to getting away:cool:

 

~Steve

[weregoingcruising]

We are also sailing in February - the 7th. Which one are you on??

 

Looking forward to it...

We're booked on the Connie for a b2b starting Feb. 2 2014. There's a roll call started for them if you would like to join. See u on board.

[need2bespoiled]

 

Could you tell me a little more about the T-pool? What it is, how much to use,etc.

 

Thanks.

 

The "T-Pool" Is the Theseotherapy pool in the enclosed Solarium adults only area. It is a bit like a big hot tub but with unqiue, water features for working aching muscles.

 

Hi Tom,

 

We were actually on this cruise as well. Happy to hear that you had a great time. However, wanted to point out that you might have missed the comedy of Bob Marley.

 

We sadly missed the Cruise Critic connection party - one of my goals was to attend, but got stuck in a few meetings at the same time.

 

Bob Marley, as in the 'famous' Maine comedian? Shirley there can't be more than one? Interesting to know, even he likes to escape our relentless winters!

 

Happy sailing,

Jenna

[hcat]

Thanks for all the info about music and shows...Queen tribute show sounds ok

The bongo banger will be avoided...the one we had on Silho twice was loud and awful...

And sure do wish it was a Bob Marley or other reggae type band.

I'm sure we'll find a nice spot or two to enjoy...hopefully a guitar player and decent party band.

 

We are looking forward to our cruise..glad we are on Connie once more, b/c she won't be doing the short itins for very much longer!

[need2bespoiled]

Thanks for all the info about music and shows...Queen tribute show sounds ok

The bongo banger will be avoided...the one we had on Silho twice was loud and awful...

And sure do wish it was a Bob Marley or other reggae type band.

I'm sure we'll find a nice spot or two to enjoy...hopefully a guitar player and decent party band.

 

We are looking forward to our cruise..glad we are on Connie once more, b/c she won't be doing the short itins for very much longer!

 

It certainly wasn't Bob Marley, the reggae band, as Bob has been dead for years. His band, the Wailers continues to play, but no Bob Marley. His son, Ziggy toured for a while too.

 

The Bob Marley mentioned above is a comedian with the same name.

 

Happy sailing,

Jenna

[gimletgal]

We had one. It was even advertised in the Guest a Relations area.

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Meet & Mingle

Celebrity Cruises

Join Cruise Critic members who have chatted with one another on our Celebrity community prior to their cruise. Your Meet & Mingle will be hosted by Celebrity Cruises on all sailings that are 7 nights or longer in duration, and you'll be able to register to attend approximately one year from your sailing date! Celebrity Cruises will be providing a venue on board to include soft drinks and light refreshments.

 

Search for a Party

 

You may register for Celebrity Cruises/Cruise Critic Connections on any Celebrity Cruises 7-night or longer sailing. Please note you may not have the opportunity to register on board. Only 7 days or longer cruise booking can register CruiseCritic Party.

 

Your sailing must have been an exception due to all the "suits" on board. How were you able to register pre cruise????

 

I think we are talking about two totally different things here! :)

[hcat]

It certainly wasn't Bob Marley, the reggae band, as Bob has been dead for years. His band, the Wailers continues to play, but no Bob Marley. His son, Ziggy toured for a while too.

 

The Bob Marley mentioned above is a comedian with the same name.

 

Happy sailing,

Jenna

 

Yes, I definitely know Bob Marley has passed but his music lives on...just wishing there'd be a reggae/island band on Carib cruises, Would at least like a reggae key board singer or steel drum , The bong banger is awful...,,twice was enuff!

 

A nice Jimmy Buffet guitar player also nice for the Carib....esp since our itin goes to Key West.,,..good news is the bongo banger can only be at one place at a time so there will other choices!

 

Music on our recent Reflection cruise was very good...compared to our Silho cruises w/ Miami D J being the main attraction....

 

Also looking forward to BLU on Connie

[DanishBeauty]

Greetings

 

 

 

Just back off Connie. Thought I would report on some of the CC hot button issues. Before anyone gets their panties in a bunch, these are my observations. You may or may not agree.

 

 

 

Our first cruise on an M-Class. Was very happy. Ship was in great shape, everything was spotless. There are areas where she does show some age, some rust stains/rust along the rails and on the outside of the windows, the bath/shower tiles could use fresh grout, some of the cushions were a little worn. But all in all she was fine. We loved the T-Pool, great asset on this class. Also liked the Mid-ship elevators, made getting around much easier. And most venues seemed less crowded than the S-Class. But the buffet did not have near the variety of the S-Class and the layout was lacking when compared to the "station" approach used on the S-Class. You had to circumnavigate the entire buffet to see all the offerings. We also missed the Molecular Bar. Neither of these were deal breakers for us, but I just wanted to point out where we thought the S-Class was better.

 

 

 

The crew was great. Could not have asked for better service. And they were always friendly and smiling. The captain must be running a happy ship because the crew seemed happy.

 

 

 

We had Select Dining in the MDR every night. A lot of the menu items we had seen many times before, they haven't updated the menus for some time. But every dish we tried was well prepared. Would we like to find higher quality items on the menu? Of course we would. But we know the cost of premium fish and meat has really increased and the current food budgets will not support those cost. We think the chefs do a great job with the items they have to work with.

 

 

 

We upgraded to the Premium package. I cannot comment on the selections on the Classic, but there were far fewer Premium Brands than in past cruises. The bartenders said that Celebrity is "narrowing" the total number of items stocked and trying to focus on those items that are most requested. The wines have also increased in price and now there is an even smaller selection included in the package. We usually had Freemark Abbey Cab at dinner. In the past it was a $4.00 (plus tip) upcharge per glass. It is now a $6.50 (plus tip) upcharge per glass. The bars were all busy but service was good everywhere except the pool bar. Now it is a busy bar, but it was just slow. They seemed to have the slowest bartenders assigned to the busiest bar. The Martini bar could also be slow, but that is because they put on a show with almost every drink poured. It is just the nature of the bar.

 

 

 

This was a 5-day cruise, so maybe that amplified the situation but formal night was a joke. There was no dress code on formal night (well I didn't see shorts on men). There were many more golf/polo shirts sans jacket than tuxes. There was even a gentleman at the Captain's Table in a golf/polo shirt. My SO commented that some of the ladies looked as if they were going out in the yard to garden and not to the MDR for formal night. There were jeans on men and women and men in t-shirts. Now these were not the casual type with pictures and logos, they were solid colored. But a solid colored t-shirt is still a t-shirt and wearing a thick gold chain with it does not make it formal attire. Every year we cruise it gets less and less dressy.

 

 

 

The bottom line is that we had a great cruise. Loved the ship and the crew. Have already booked another cruise on her. We have and will continue to cruise other lines, but Celebrity is our favorite.

 

 

 

Good Sailing

 

Tom

 

I was so disappointed to hear there is no molecular bar on the Connie. I thought it was added when the ship was in drydock and solsticized (sp?)

 

 

 

 

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[gimletgal]

I was so disappointed to hear there is no molecular bar on the Connie. I thought it was added when the ship was in drydock and solsticized (sp?)

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None of the M-Class ships have a Molecular Bar, even after they were all Solsticized. That bar is ONLY on S-Class ships.