First Celebrity Cruise - Constellation June 28, 2017

[woneill63]

My wife and I took our 12 year old son on our first Celebrity cruise, a 10 nighter from Venice to Rome, onboard the Constellation.  We are experienced cruisers, having reached diamond status on Royal Caribbean, and have cruised on Carnival, Princess, and NCL also.  We picked this cruise specifically for the itinerary.  We booked a concierge class room while on board the Allure sixteen months ago.  

Venice - We had visited Venice and Rome a few years ago so we knew where to stay and what to see.  We used zip transfer.com for all our transportation needs, they were very professional, easy to get in touch with, and on time.  Our accommodations for one night were at Hotel Orion, about a block from San Marco Square.  Unlucky for us, Venice was in the middle of a heat wave, temp was in the low nineties with very high humidity, oh well.  We enjoyed a gondola ride and dinner al fresco in San Marco Square.

Boarding - Our boat taxi picked us up at 10:03, took us to our ship, and we walked on at 11:01, quick and painless.  I have never been on a cruise ship that early before, we always have lunch before hand, and then get on around 1 or 2 to avoid the frenzy in the buffet.  Because of our concierge class room, we had lunch in the dining room with full service, this was a great way to start a cruise.

Room 9146 - The room is supposed to be larger than a standard balcony cabin, it probably was but the difference was hardly noticeable.  We chose a ninth deck cabin to be as close to the pool deck as possible, but I didn't know that the tenth deck hung over our balcony by a good 12/15 feet, we soon got used to this as it did provide shade.  Our cabin steward was excellent and very attentive to our needs and phone calls.  The hallway was extremely quiet all during the cruise, day and night.  Location was great, one flight up was the buffet and pool.  

Main Dining Room -  One word, outstanding.  From the food to the service, everything was top notch.  There was no need to dine at the specialty restaurants onboard.  We did have dinner one night at Tuscan Grille, and it was not any better than the main dining room.   

Shore Excursions -  Another outstanding aspect of our cruise.  We booked all our excursions through the Celebrity website, took tours at seven of eight stops, I just could not find anything fun to do in Zadar, Croatia.  Each and every tour was professionally run and worth every penny.  We met in the theater, got our tour tickets and numbers, sat down for a few minutes, and then got up and walked off the ship to a waiting bus or boat.  The tour guides were all very knowledgeable and entertaining.  On all other cruise lines that I have experienced, they have you wait outside in the blazing sun for anywhere from 20 to 30 minutes, and eventually get you on the bus or boat, by then most are over heated and irritable.  We were very happy with all our shore excursions.

Kids Club - Much better than expected.  According to a counsellor, there were about 340 kids on board.  My son really enjoyed their activities and went often.  He enjoyed the freedom of being able to check himself in and out and was there probably 2/3 hours per day.

Shows - We saw just one, a magic show, and it was very good.

Pool Deck - We usually arrived here every day after our excursion and stayed for a few hours late in the afternoon.  It was surprisingly quiet and almost boring.  We are used to how it is done on Royal, with live entertainment by the pool as the ship leaves the port.  On the other hand, we were always able to get loungers right where we wanted.  We also liked having the grill close by for snacks as needed.

Bars and Club -  We liked the martini bar and Reflections lounge a lot.  Every night we would meet our new friends at the Reflections Lounge before dinner for drinks and listen to the live entertainment.  After dinner, we all would go to the martini bar for a nightcap.  Three or four times we went to the club, on deck 11, for fun.  We especially liked the silent disco parties.

Fellow Cruisers - It was a nice mix of fellow passengers, probably about 30 % Americans, 30 % UK, 20 % other Europeans, and the rest from all over the world.  As usual, everybody was very friendly and fun to be around, there is something about a cruise that makes just about everybody happy and friendly.  As expected, the average age was older, given the length of the cruise, 10 days.

The Ship - We knew going in that this ship was older and would not have all the bells and whistles that we are used to on Royal.  That being said, our son still had a great time and really enjoyed himself.  My wife and I appreciated the smaller size and less crowded over all feel.  Even on our one sea day, the pool deck didn't seem that crowded and overwhelmed.  The ship looks good over all and well kept.  The one thing we did notice, however, is that the tables in the buffet and around the pool were not cleaned often enough.  Bottles, glasses, and plates would sit around for 30/40 minutes before eventually getting attention.  We liked that pool towels were freely given out to all, without having to show a room card and all that nonsense.

Disembarkation -  Very well done, in fact, too well done, as we waited for over an hour for our prearranged ride to Rome.  That was my fault, we didn't rush off the boat and still walked off at 9:02 am.  I was unable to get my ride moved up to an earlier time.  Kudos, again, to Celebrity for their efficiency.

Rome - Awesome, as usual.  We stayed for two nights a hotel in the square in front of the Pantheon. 

In Summation - We were very impressed with the service and professionalism that we saw on this cruise, the 10 days flew by.  I would say that before long a majority of our cruises will be on Celebrity, especially when our son goes on to college and it will just be the two of us sailing.  This itinerary would be fantastic in October, everywhere we went was extremely hot and over crowded.  

 

OFFICIAL DISCLAIMER:  Forgive me for any spelling or grammar mistakes, and, as always, this is just my personal opinion, take if for what it is worth.

 

 

[woneill63]

Whoops, wrong year, make that 2019.  Sorry  

[Bo1953]

Well, FWIW, thank you for your review!

 

Glad your son enjoyed his time aboard, as this could have been a break or make for you on this sailing.

 

Did he attend The Camp aboard, as well?

 

bon voyage

[AugustoEverAfter]

34 minutes ago, woneill63 said:

My wife and I took our 12 year old son on our first Celebrity cruise, a 10 nighter from Venice to Rome, onboard the Constellation.  We are experienced cruisers, having reached diamond status on Royal Caribbean, and have cruised on Carnival, Princess, and NCL also.  We picked this cruise specifically for the itinerary.  We booked a concierge class room while on board the Allure sixteen months ago.  

Venice - We had visited Venice and Rome a few years ago so we knew where to stay and what to see.  We used zip transfer.com for all our transportation needs, they were very professional, easy to get in touch with, and on time.  Our accommodations for one night were at Hotel Orion, about a block from San Marco Square.  Unlucky for us, Venice was in the middle of a heat wave, temp was in the low nineties with very high humidity, oh well.  We enjoyed a gondola ride and dinner al fresco in San Marco Square.

Boarding - Our boat taxi picked us up at 10:03, took us to our ship, and we walked on at 11:01, quick and painless.  I have never been on a cruise ship that early before, we always have lunch before hand, and then get on around 1 or 2 to avoid the frenzy in the buffet.  Because of our concierge class room, we had lunch in the dining room with full service, this was a great way to start a cruise.

Room 9146 - The room is supposed to be larger than a standard balcony cabin, it probably was but the difference was hardly noticeable.  We chose a ninth deck cabin to be as close to the pool deck as possible, but I didn't know that the tenth deck hung over our balcony by a good 12/15 feet, we soon got used to this as it did provide shade.  Our cabin steward was excellent and very attentive to our needs and phone calls.  The hallway was extremely quiet all during the cruise, day and night.  Location was great, one flight up was the buffet and pool.  

Main Dining Room -  One word, outstanding.  From the food to the service, everything was top notch.  There was no need to dine at the specialty restaurants onboard.  We did have dinner one night at Tuscan Grille, and it was not any better than the main dining room.   

Shore Excursions -  Another outstanding aspect of our cruise.  We booked all our excursions through the Celebrity website, took tours at seven of eight stops, I just could not find anything fun to do in Zadar, Croatia.  Each and every tour was professionally run and worth every penny.  We met in the theater, got our tour tickets and numbers, sat down for a few minutes, and then got up and walked off the ship to a waiting bus or boat.  The tour guides were all very knowledgeable and entertaining.  On all other cruise lines that I have experienced, they have you wait outside in the blazing sun for anywhere from 20 to 30 minutes, and eventually get you on the bus or boat, by then most are over heated and irritable.  We were very happy with all our shore excursions.

Kids Club - Much better than expected.  According to a counsellor, there were about 340 kids on board.  My son really enjoyed their activities and went often.  He enjoyed the freedom of being able to check himself in and out and was there probably 2/3 hours per day.

Shows - We saw just one, a magic show, and it was very good.

Pool Deck - We usually arrived here every day after our excursion and stayed for a few hours late in the afternoon.  It was surprisingly quiet and almost boring.  We are used to how it is done on Royal, with live entertainment by the pool as the ship leaves the port.  On the other hand, we were always able to get loungers right where we wanted.  We also liked having the grill close by for snacks as needed.

Bars and Club -  We liked the martini bar and Reflections lounge a lot.  Every night we would meet our new friends at the Reflections Lounge before dinner for drinks and listen to the live entertainment.  After dinner, we all would go to the martini bar for a nightcap.  Three or four times we went to the club, on deck 11, for fun.  We especially liked the silent disco parties.

Fellow Cruisers - It was a nice mix of fellow passengers, probably about 30 % Americans, 30 % UK, 20 % other Europeans, and the rest from all over the world.  As usual, everybody was very friendly and fun to be around, there is something about a cruise that makes just about everybody happy and friendly.  As expected, the average age was older, given the length of the cruise, 10 days.

The Ship - We knew going in that this ship was older and would not have all the bells and whistles that we are used to on Royal.  That being said, our son still had a great time and really enjoyed himself.  My wife and I appreciated the smaller size and less crowded over all feel.  Even on our one sea day, the pool deck didn't seem that crowded and overwhelmed.  The ship looks good over all and well kept.  The one thing we did notice, however, is that the tables in the buffet and around the pool were not cleaned often enough.  Bottles, glasses, and plates would sit around for 30/40 minutes before eventually getting attention.  We liked that pool towels were freely given out to all, without having to show a room card and all that nonsense.

Disembarkation -  Very well done, in fact, too well done, as we waited for over an hour for our prearranged ride to Rome.  That was my fault, we didn't rush off the boat and still walked off at 9:02 am.  I was unable to get my ride moved up to an earlier time.  Kudos, again, to Celebrity for their efficiency.

Rome - Awesome, as usual.  We stayed for two nights a hotel in the square in front of the Pantheon. 

In Summation - We were very impressed with the service and professionalism that we saw on this cruise, the 10 days flew by.  I would say that before long a majority of our cruises will be on Celebrity, especially when our son goes on to college and it will just be the two of us sailing.  This itinerary would be fantastic in October, everywhere we went was extremely hot and over crowded.  

 

OFFICIAL DISCLAIMER:  Forgive me for any spelling or grammar mistakes, and, as always, this is just my personal opinion, take if for what it is worth.

 

 

I was wondering if you could help me with a little more information regarding zip transfers. We were going to just take the vaparetto but I’m interested In this as well. When I went to book it says sedan and water taxi. Is that what they sent for you? How does that work? Thanks SO much for sharing your review. It’s our first trip with celebrity and we are super excited!

[ghstudio]

we were also on the same cruise.  Our experience was that the tables in the buffet were cleaned almost too fast....as I picked up the last morsel on my fork, there was a hand on plate and a waiter/busboy asking if I was finished.  A slight exaggeration, but I found that tables were cleaned very very quickly and when I looked for a table, I almost never saw one with dirty dishes/glasses on it.  I can't speak to around the pool....too hot to be out there 🙂  

[intandemNV]

Thank you for your review!  I will be a first time Celebrity cruiser on this ship in late September.  Hopefully it will be a bit cooler then!

[DENIE]

Thank you for your review!!  We will be on the 10-night Venice-Rome Connie cruise in November 2019.  Hoping we hit good weather and not too much rain.... 🙂

 

If Celebrity is your new line of choice, you will love the Solstice-class ships.  We were on the Silhouette recently.  We were previously on the Infinity, so know what the Connie will be like this fall.  Can't speak for the Edge-class yet.

Edited July 25, 2019 by DENIE
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[woneill63]

Hey Bo1953, No our son didn't do The Camp, what is that ?  Central Jersey, huh ?  I lived in Middletown NJ during my elementary school years.

 

Hello AugustoEverAfter, One of my sisters has used zip transfers.com for years and strongly recommended I try them.  We used them exclusively for this trip, they picked us up from the Venice airport in a taxi, took us to a pier, where a waiting boat took us to San Marco Square, where we walked the few blocks to our hotel.  Then we used them for the boat taxi to the terminal to get on the Constellation the next day.  We also used them twice later to get to our hotel room in Rome, and then onto the airport a few days later.  You will receive email confirmations after your booking, print them up as you will have to hand it to the driver.  I called their office to change my pick up times twice and they always immediately answered and took care of me.  We arrived early in Venice the first morning, I called them and they sent their driver earlier to get us.  We will use them again while traveling to Europe, they were very professional.

[Bo1953]

12 minutes ago, woneill63 said:

Hey Bo1953, No our son didn't do The Camp, what is that ?  Central Jersey, huh ?  I lived in Middletown NJ during my elementary school years.

 

Hello AugustoEverAfter, One of my sisters has used zip transfers.com for years and strongly recommended I try them.  We used them exclusively for this trip, they picked us up from the Venice airport in a taxi, took us to a pier, where a waiting boat took us to San Marco Square, where we walked the few blocks to our hotel.  Then we used them for the boat taxi to the terminal to get on the Constellation the next day.  We also used them twice later to get to our hotel room in Rome, and then onto the airport a few days later.  You will receive email confirmations after your booking, print them up as you will have to hand it to the driver.  I called their office to change my pick up times twice and they always immediately answered and took care of me.  We arrived early in Venice the first morning, I called them and they sent their driver earlier to get us.  We will use them again while traveling to Europe, they were very professional.

The Camp is the on-board activities center for youth...

 

Middletown! Princeton area here...

 

Where in Ga are you? I have lived there as well...

 

bon voyage

[woneill63]

The Camp, ok, didn't know that was their name for the kid's club.  My son enjoyed it very much, we enabled him to check himself in and out, and he usually was there for 2/3 hours per day at various times.  He made a few friends while there and the counsellors were very kind and attentive.

Princeton brings back good memories, I was there a while back, played  Jasna Polana and had my best round of golf ever.

We live in Lawrenceville Ga, just north of Atlanta to the northeast up 85.  We have been here for 22 years now and will stay until we retire, at least another 6 years.

[Bo1953]

2 minutes ago, woneill63 said:

The Camp, ok, didn't know that was their name for the kid's club.  My son enjoyed it very much, we enabled him to check himself in and out, and he usually was there for 2/3 hours per day at various times.  He made a few friends while there and the counsellors were very kind and attentive.

Princeton brings back good memories, I was there a while back, played  Jasna Polana and had my best round of golf ever.

We live in Lawrenceville Ga, just north of Atlanta to the northeast up 85.  We have been here for 22 years now and will stay until we retire, at least another 6 years.

Roswell and Sandy Springs is where my domiciles were for 17 years before relocating to NJ...

 

Had an office in L'Ville for many years.

 

All the best and bon voyage