Live from Constellation January 13-23, 2023

[BermudaBound2014]

21 minutes ago, RichYak said:

On nights that you dine in OVC, will you be able to post photos of the actual MDR menu?

I will do my best to post the actual menus even on nights that I do not dine on OVC 🙂

[BermudaBound2014]

20 minutes ago, mnocket said:

The lunch buffet photos were actually encouraging to me.  If more frequent cruisers say there were cutbacks, I believe them, but to be honest if I was eating there I don't think I would have recognized the cutbacks.

 

I'm very much looking forward to the dinner buffet report.  Keeping fingers crossed!

The embarkation lunch was perfectly acceptable. I can’t see how anyone could complain. If the dinner buffet just has fresh made to order items along with the same salad bar selections I will be a very happy cruiser; although I’ll probably be a happy cruiser either way! 🙂 

[oteixeira]

1 hour ago, BermudaBound2014 said:

I was very pleasantly surprised with Tampa. If the day comes when I can no longer winter in Maui, I could be perfectly happy here.

I used to have one of my big customers there.  Would stay at a hotel on the bay, and eat every night at this great open air bar and restaurant right on the water.  It's been 15 years so they are probably gone, but I have great memories of Tampa.

[RedneckBob]

Thanks for your review and pictures. Board the ship in March. Per the daily report, the comedian tonight is very good and usually will have a late night show that was also very good.

[cluso]

We were in #6033 on the TA and in March we will be in #6035.  Love those cabins.  Our loveseat was well worn, but the balconies made up for that!  😉  Unfortunately, in April, those cabins will be reclassified and cost more $$$.

[RedneckBob]

5 hours ago, BermudaBound2014 said:

Tampa as an Embarkation City~ Who knew??

 

Cliff Notes Version (giving it a whirl): Let's get the negative out of the way right now. Tampa gets fog in the winter and it can be cold. Last sailing, the Connie was 8 hours late into port which caused lots of missed flights and a pretty crappy embarkation day. However; if you luck out with weather, this is a fantastic embarkation port!! A solid 9/10.

 

Blah blah blah version: My very first cruise (1987) departed from Tampa. Back in those days we used the cruise line airfare and flew in day of Embarkation. I don't do that anymore unless it can't be avoided. I flew in three days prior to Embarkation to give myself lots of wiggle room for Winter weather. As it turns out, it wasn't weather that caused this weeks flight problems, it was the FAA grounding all airplanes. I narrowly missed that chaos  :).

 

My good luck continued as I was blessed with absolutely Wonderful weather! I have not seen a cloud in the sky in the last three days. Not. One. Cloud. 75 and sunny. Just perfect for exploring the city. I'm a walker and logged 12 miles on Wednesday and 7 miles yesterday. 

 

The Riverwalk is really quite impressive. Lots of historic markers along the way. Very safe. Plenty of spots to stop and rest or grab a bite. I checked out the cruise ports and then jumped on the free trolley to Ybor Town which is a century old city famous for Cuban sandwiches, cigars, and $5 T-shirts. Free trolley back to downtown and reversed course. A very good 12.34 miles logged.

 

I did more Riverwalk day two but also added in the HOHO water taxi. The price nearly doubled on January 1st, but for $35 it's a fun way to spend the day. Rides are unlimited, get on and off as you see fit. Met new friends who will also be on Connie. The southbound route was full of cruise passengers just going for a ride so our pilot took us off course and all they way around Harbor Island to see the house of Tampa Bay Buccaneers owner and Zuckerberg's yacht. It was interesting to see ships in dry dock and we sailed right beside Brilliance of the Seas. I've sailed on Serenade and Radiance and that brought back fond memories. Anytime I see a ship I get happy. I only logged 7.63 miles today due to lazy riding in the water taxi, but did manage to get the December white dusted off my pale skin. 

 

All in all, I really fell in love with Tampa. As an embarkation port this is really quite lovely. If you can get past the excessive cost of downtown hotels and get lucky with weather, everything you could ever want is within walking distance (aquarium, museums, art centers, good eats, etc..). If the day ever comes when I can no longer winter in Maui, I would absolutely consider this area.

 

Riverwalk:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ybor town:

 

 

 

 

 

 

HOHO water taxi

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thanks for the pictures of the Tampa area. Lived in the Bay Area +45 years and rarely go downtown so it was good to see what it looks like 😀

[D. B.]

2 hours ago, BermudaBound2014 said:

Hold the press!!! I did another circle around the buffet looking for soup (didn’t find any), but look what I did find!!! 
 

 

Sorry to see that there is no Carving at Lunch!

[BermudaBound2014]

Sailing was delayed due to port traffic but we are officially on our way the the beautiful Caribbean! Following NCL Dawn 

Edited January 13, 2023 by BermudaBound2014

[D. B.]

15 minutes ago, BermudaBound2014 said:

Sailing was delayed due to port traffic but we are officially on our way the the beautiful Caribbean! Following NCL Dawn 

 

IMG_4695.MOV 10.15 MB · 0 downloads

I like the Historic Victory Ship under the black arrow in you first photo.

 I didn't know they had one in Tampa?

 

[BermudaBound2014]

Just now, D. B. said:

I like the Historic Victory Ship under the black arrow in you first photo.

 I didn't know they had one in Tampa?

 

They do and you can tour it. People I met on the HOho water taxi yesterday said it was entirely built by women. They said the tour was interesting.

[BermudaBound2014]

Side note- There are men wearing shorts into the dining room. Witnessed first hand. There is no dress code sign posted. This could be because it is embarkation day. Will update tomorrow.

 

Embarkation dinner buffet. 7/10. There was a fresh pasta station. As always delicious (but I won’t eat pasta nightly so hope it rotates).

 

Yes the buffet is extremely scaled back, but below are photos of food available. Assuming they rotate a bit each night there is enough here to keep me satisfied. A reasonable cost cut IMO...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

No Caesar tonight but the garden salad was nice 

Edited January 13, 2023 by BermudaBound2014

[BermudaBound2014]

For those who don’t think many people eat here, I stopped counting at 100. 6:30 embarkation night. 

 

 

 

 

Edited January 13, 2023 by BermudaBound2014

[Ex-Airbalancer]

Was the stir-fry station open 

[BermudaBound2014]

1 minute ago, Ex-Airbalancer said:

Was the stir-fry station open 

No, and neither was the grill station. The only fresh made-to-order choice was pasta. I can’t eat pasta every night so I’m hoping that the others are in rotation. 

Edited January 13, 2023 by BermudaBound2014

[Oville]

1 minute ago, BermudaBound2014 said:

No, and neither was the grill station. The only fresh made-to-order choice was pasta. I can’t eat pasta every night so I’m hoping that the others are in rotation. 

Thank you.

[Ex-Airbalancer]

3 minutes ago, BermudaBound2014 said:

No, and neither was the grill station. The only fresh made-to-order choice was pasta. I can’t eat pasta every night so I’m hoping that the others are in rotation. 

You would think the grill station should be open very night , as there would be no waste , anything not cook could be made into soup or something else next day 

[BermudaBound2014]

2 minutes ago, Ex-Airbalancer said:

You would think the grill station should be open very night , as there would be no waste , anything not cook could be made into soup or something else next day 

There are cut backs, no doubt about it. But tonight is better than whAt was first reported so I think they are trying to find a happy medium. I am a big fan of grill to order food so I will be on the lookout for this station nightly.

[anniegb]

Thanks for the photographs and taking the time to post.

 

That is better - not in my book.

 

This selection in the OVC is a deal breaker for me and as I eat at least 80% time in OVC, Celebrity is off my preferred cruise line list unless they reverse this decision.

 

Just an observation but the staff don't look happy.

Edited January 14, 2023 by anniegb

[BermudaBound2014]

After dinner saw the comedian. He was another 7/10 as far as cruise ship comedians go. Made lots of fun of old people from Florida, not sure he was reading the audience.  I’ve read he’s great so I’ll give his adult show a whirl.

 

We sailed under the bridge exactly 2 hours and 15 minutes from pulling away from the port. The top deck of the ship is closed due to wind and the cables on the bridge aren’t lit up due to cable maintenance, but she was pretty none the less. 

Edited January 14, 2023 by BermudaBound2014

[BermudaBound2014]

50 minutes ago, anniegb said:

Just an observation but the staff don't look happy.

 I think you maybe reading that wrong. So far my interaction with the staff has been 10/10. There is bar service everywhere. Cafe Biaco service was exceptional and my room steward squeegeed the water off my balcony floor. Absolutely no complaints. Service has been stellar. 

[bikerunner]

7 hours ago, BermudaBound2014 said:

This was tonight’s menu that was posted to the app last night. Originally prime rib was on the menu for night one but that changed a week ago. I will miss it. I don’t notice any other changes to the menu since last night. 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thank you, I think changes are more class specific looking at the menu, also on the app looking.  Enjoy your discourse of your trip, very perceptive writer

[bikerunner]

1 hour ago, BermudaBound2014 said:

 I think you maybe reading that wrong. So far my interaction with the staff has been 10/10. There is bar service everywhere. Cafe Biaco service was exceptional and my room steward squeegeed the water off my balcony floor. Absolutely no complaints. Service has been stellar. 

I enjoy you go "with the flow" type of attitude. I do the same, will everything be perfect, nope, but the imperfect usually are small items when you think of them.   Yes there are changes and understandable overall.  Looking forward to your summary, I was on the Connie on second cruise after start up for her.  One of best trips I have had.  Like you said does room need updating probably but it was clean, relaxing, and plenty of room to store things for us

[Blue Eyes]

Always love reading “live” reports.  Hope you have a great trip. Haven’t cruised as much as we now spend February in Islamorada in the Florida Keys.  I still love a good cruise…enjoy!😎😎😎

[hcat]

glad you had a great sailaway under the bridge...looks so.pretty!

 

if you go to the breakfast buffet, let us know if they still have lox,  bagels, omelettes made to order, eggs benedict, waffles and the usual breakfast meats like bacon, sausage  and ham.

 

it's not all about the food but the breakfast buffet is a great option on port days!

[anniegb]

6 hours ago, BermudaBound2014 said:

 I think you maybe reading that wrong. So far my interaction with the staff has been 10/10. There is bar service everywhere. Cafe Biaco service was exceptional and my room steward squeegeed the water off my balcony floor. Absolutely no complaints. Service has been stellar. 

I was remarking on OVC staff only.  In the pictures, they don't look happy.