Help! Newbie to Celebrity

[Teach2cruise4fun]

Hello all my fellow cruise lovers!

 

My boyfriend and I are taking our first celebrity cruise in December. I have cruised many times (carnival, ncl and princess). We booked an Aqua stateroom and have the classic beverage package. We will be sailing on the constellation and visiting kew west and the Bahamas.

 

Can you please offer any insight on the ship, the aqua class, the classic beverage package, suggestions on hotels in FLL, or anything else we may need to know? I am very type A and am trying to find out as much as I can about this new line since I have never traveled with them. I am a die hard Princess fan so I am trying to be adventurous and give other lines a shot!

 

Thanks so much for any feedback!! :):)

[neverbeenhere]

Not so sure that a 5 nighter on Celebrity Constellation is a fair representation of the Celebrity product, but that's what you choose. If you are a "real" drinker, many people find that the upgrading to the premium drink package makes "cents". We find blu to be a nice place to eat, but not to "die for". Make sure you go to the Persian Gardens early in your cruise to see "if you like it". FLL hotels? How long are you there prior to your cruise?

Edited June 26, 2015 by neverbeenhere

[neverbeenhere]

Celebrity - no MUTS. no Champagne Tower.

[Teach2cruise4fun]

I would have preferred a longer cruise but we wanted to be back with family for the holidays. Thanks so much for your input.

 

We are flying down the day before to ft Lauderdale. I was hoping someone may know of a good hotel for fairly cheap.

[wallie5446]

Congrats on finally finding out about Cruise Critic.

 

Our first Princess was in 1992, and our last was in 2012 on the Ruby. 2013 & 2014 were on Celebrity S-class ships, and booked back on the Equinox again this yr. the on ship product delivered by Celebrity beats the other guys.

 

ps: there are no special hotels in Ft Lauderdale, just depends on how much you are willing to spend.

Edited June 26, 2015 by wallie5446

[neverbeenhere]

try the Florida departures forum. sailed out of fll many times and stayed at many bad hotels.

Edited June 26, 2015 by neverbeenhere

[LabGuy64]

The champagne tower is a major thing to you? Personally, I thought meh, another way to try and sell pictures. MUTS is ok though.....when the screens are working well.....Our last Princess cruise was on the Crown in april and the screen had many dead areas

 

Celebrity - no MUTS. no Champagne Tower.

[Happy Cruiser 6143]

I did a 5-nighter on the Connie last fall and hated it. Zillions of kids and noisy drunks. I hope you don't have the same experience. As another poster said, those are not typical Celebrity cruises. Hope your experience is better.

 

Being able to dine in Blu will be good, it's much smaller and more quiet than the main dining room. Breakfast there is fantastic. I'm not impressed with the persian gardens on the M class ships (Connie is an M class ship). We thought it was dark and sort of dungeon like.

 

[Project_gal]

Not so sure that a 5 nighter on Celebrity Constellation is a fair representation of the Celebrity product, but that's what you choose.

 

I would have preferred a longer cruise but we wanted to be back with family for the holidays. Thanks so much for your input.

 

We are flying down the day before to ft Lauderdale. I was hoping someone may know of a good hotel for fairly cheap.

 

While I appreciate the demands on your vacation time, I have to agree that you really should not judge Celebrity on your 5-night Constellation cruise. A few years ago, we did a Constellation B2B - 15-night TA followed by the 5-night cruise. It was not recognisable as the world following the change-over day.

 

As for Fort Lauderdale hotels. We have only tried one, the Embassy Suites, and have never looked at anything else. After seven stays there and a further stay booked, I think it says everything. Although not a luxurious hotel, it comfortable, has spacious two room and well-equipped suites, is in a good location, has friendly, helpful staff and is geared for cruisers.

[tamariadawn]

We are staying at Quality Inn on Stirling Blvd in Ft Lauderdale. They will pick you up at the airport and get you to the cruise port. They run about $100/night.

[wallie5446]

Hello all my fellow cruise lovers!

 

My boyfriend and I are taking our first celebrity cruise in December. I have cruised many times (carnival, ncl and princess). suggestions on hotels in FLL, ):)

 

Will this be your first cruise leaving from Port Everglades too?

[jelayne]

Be sure to check out the Martini Bar. Although your Classic beverage package doesn't include the large Martinis they serve at that bar, the bar serves other drinks, beer & wine that are covered by your package.

 

Last month in the early evening they did serve 3 smaller size Martinis (Appletini, Cosmo and a traditional martini ) which were covered by the Classic drink package.

[gimletgal]

Hello all my fellow cruise lovers!

 

My boyfriend and I are taking our first celebrity cruise in December. I have cruised many times (carnival, ncl and princess). We booked an Aqua stateroom and have the classic beverage package. We will be sailing on the constellation and visiting kew west and the Bahamas.

 

Can you please offer any insight on the ship, the aqua class, the classic beverage package, suggestions on hotels in FLL, or anything else we may need to know? I am very type A and am trying to find out as much as I can about this new line since I have never traveled with them. I am a die hard Princess fan so I am trying to be adventurous and give other lines a shot!

 

Thanks so much for any feedback!! :):)

 

I would suggest trying the Fairfield Inn, Dania. Reasonable rates, clean hotel, and free parking during your cruise. There is a shuttle offered to the ship but we always found it better to just take a cab.

 

I have now been on six 5-night cruises on Celebrity and have enjoyed all of them. One exception could be the one I took in March. That just happened to be spring break and was a little crazy! Still managed to have a great time, however. :) You should be just fine in December!

 

The Classic Bev. Pkg. will cover all of your basic drinks & beers + specialty coffees, soda, and bottled water. Enjoy, and have a great first time Celebrity experience! The staff on the Constellation is exceptional.

[PuddyfromOz]

We are staying at Quality Inn on Stirling Blvd in Ft Lauderdale. They will pick you up at the airport and get you to the cruise port. They run about $100/night.

Please post your experience of this Quality Inn. Stayed next door at the Hampton which had free shuttle from the airport and $10/p shuttle to the cruise port. Quality Inn entrance and pool looked so nice. I'd say even better than the Hampton, but I've read some really negative reviews of this place. So again, could you post a review of this Quality Inn after your stay. It would be greatly appreciated.

[Lois R]

Hi, I agree with the suggestion of checking out the Florida Forum

for hotel/restaurant/transportation information. There are hundreds

(no exaggeration) there are hundreds of threads with all kinds of

information......here is a link:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=672

 

As for "fairly cheap"......Hotwire and/or Priceline is a good way to save

some money but you won't find out what property you get until after

you make your purchase....also, what is your version of "fairly cheap"?

What is cheap and what is not can vary person to person.

[wallie5446]

also, what is your version of "fairly cheap"?

What is cheap and what is not can vary person to person.

 

True! We really like the Hyatt Pier 66, a wonderful property, tho not the lowest price on the strip. We have 12-15 from our roll call staying there pre cruise again this Nov.

[ChiGal1962]

I usually overnight with my aunt in Fort Lauderdale, but did stay at the Hampton Inn (on 12th Street) once last fall. It was fine. Nothing fancy, but clean. They did have a shuttle to the pier (I believe there was a cost, but can't remember). The nicest thing was there is a strip mall across the street with a Big Lots and a Winn Dixie, in case you need anything. I had forgotten my phone charger, so was able to pick up a cheap one at Big Lots. I also picked up some dinner at Winn Dixie, as there was a refrigerator and microwave in the room. Also free internet :)

 

Can't speak to the Connie or a 5-night cruise, as I've never done either. I do think in general Princess and Celebrity are more similar than not, although I personally put Celebrity a notch-and-a-half higher overall.

[WEGL81]

Our first X cruise was also a 5 day on Connie in April of last year. We stayed in Aqua deck 11. Other than the people next door deciding it was ok to smoke on their balcony, it was awesome. We loved Blu, especially breakfast. Tableside muesli is to die for. We loved the Thallassotherapy pool. Princess has nothing like that (nor do S-class X ships either, for some strange reason). Loved the quirky art around the ship. We also did a TA on Connie last year and really liked that. Some people on here don't like the Persian Gardens but we found them very relaxing. But maybe that's because we had never seen anything like that on a ship before. Another thing that I haven't seen mentioned here are the showers in the Aqua rooms. About the only disappointment was the lack of movies, either playing in the theater or available on the in room TV.

[WEGL81]

Oh, we have stayed at the Hampton Inn & Suites with a stay and cruise pkg. This included a free shuttle and 7 days parking. We have stayed at the Rodeway Inn & Suites several times as they have a free shuttle and used to have free parking. We discovered on our last cruise that it was no longer free. We've also stayed at the Hyatt Regency Pier 66. If you can get a tower room the view is awesome. Next cruise we're staying at the Embassy Suites just because we've heard it's nice. It really depends on what you want to spend.

[SNJCruisers]

I would have preferred a longer cruise but we wanted to be back with family for the holidays. Thanks so much for your input.

 

We are flying down the day before to ft Lauderdale. I was hoping someone may know of a good hotel for fairly cheap.

With regards to a cheap hotel pre cruise, a great place to check is LMTClub.com. They currently have a deal using promocode CLUBVIDEO that you sign up and join the club for 10.00 and get 15.00 off your first booking. I inferred through your posting that you're on the Dec 17 four night sailing since you "wanted to be back with family for the holidays." On Dec 16, the best options on the lower end price wise are the Cambria Suites Dania Beach @ 75.97 + tax or 87.78 or the Holiday Inn Express Dania beach for 79.72 + tax or 91.95. And of course you would also get the extra 5 bucks off using the promo code. Both hotels have a free shuttle from the airport, but neither have a free shuttle to the cruise port. The Holiday Inn express also has an included breakfast with their great cinnamon rolls. This is where we're staying prior to our November Equinox cruise. Both hotels are highly rated on tripadvisor as well.

[Cathy p]

We went on the Connie in 2013 and had a wonderful time. We will be going in March (spring break), however, after tuning out kids and grandkids, I can do the same with them. I have many cruises with spring break even on Carnival, never had a problem. Just enjoy and if going with hubby or wife walk hand and hand.

[ClaudiaB]

We've stayed at the Holiday Inn Express several times. When we fly out of FLL we go one night ahead and usually have a late afternoon flight so we get in usually after dark and just need a place to sleep. Quick free breakfast.

We never take a shuttle. There is one offered (for a price) at the hotel, but they have to load everyone and their luggage and it's crowded and takes a lot longer. We have a cab brought around and for just a bit more money we are at the ship in no time.

We stay at the one closest to the port and walk to Walgreen's in the morning if we need something. There is a nice German restaurant down the street as well.