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Just off the Constellation

kannna

By kannna,
in Celebrity Cruises

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kannna

kannna

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Hi Everyone, We just got off Connie on Monday and I thought I'd leave my first ever review. After reading all the grumbling lately, I was a bit concerned. So I thought I'd throw in our 2cents. A little about us. We are in our 40s. This was our 16th X cruise, but we hadn't cruised since 2017. We bought a house in 2018, covid happened and we live in one of the most beautiful places in the world. People come here to vacation, so we were making do (hehe). Then X sent us a blue chip cruise and how could we say no? All the options were 10-14 days and this one fit in our work schedules. We prefer cruises over 7 days. Seven day cruises are always too short. 

 

Our fellow cruisers were mostly older. There were exactly seven children onboard which is how we like it. We met a lot of career cruisers on B2B or once a month in the winter etc.. There were also quite a few first timers either to cruising or to X. 

 

In general we really had a great time and this cruise reminded us why we love cruising. The crew is fantastic. They really want you to have the best possible time. We saw so many people speak down to them and mistreat them. I wish more guests would treat them like the hard working people they are with a little respect. 

 

To cover some of the more controversial things: 

  • Main Dining - The menus in the Main Dining room have become very creative. I feel like they are in the kitchen with what corporate has found on sale that week like the baskets in that food show. "We will give you a turkey, some celery root and a bag of apples. Make a three course meal." There was a lot of celery root and apples in many different ways. However, we never went hungry and everything we did have was delicious. The bread and choice of dips was always great. We live near the sea and I don't eat frozen lobster so I cannot weigh in on the lobster debate. 
  • Buffet - The buffet always looked plentiful. The pizza was good, waffles fabulous and the ice cream station always had great options. The pizza station is an eggs benedict station in the mornings which I thought was nice. The crew was always cleaning and friendly. The presentation was a little less wow than I remember. Never saw an ice sculpture or much vegetable art. Some root veg flowers was about it. What I was not a fan of was being approached at our table trying to upsell the special restaurants every time we sat down. Once in a while would be fine, but every time is not. 
  • Room Service - It's sad that they do not offer the evening menu to eat on your balcony any longer. One of my fonder cruise memories is sitting on our balcony in Turkeye having dinner after a busy day sightseeing listening to the evening call to prayer. We ordered hot breakfast once and it was a very pleasant experience. They called a little while after it was delivered to make sure we got everything and were happy with it. I don't remember that happening before. Maybe now they have more time to do that. 
  • Drink Packages - Didn't have one. We are Elite+. There are enough perk options for us to be happy. Plus, I've been known to spend a fair share of time in the casino where the drinks are free. If they mess with my perk lattes though, we may have an issue. 😉 
  • Internet - The app is free to use on the ship. It has a messaging feature to reach other passengers which was handy to message the husband. We each received 240 free minutes as our E+ perk. This was plenty to check email and social media. It always worked when I wanted it to and was fairly quick. No problems. 
  • Tampa and the Fog - We had fog on embarkation day delaying docking. The port of Tampa needs to find an acceptable option for somewhere nearby for passengers to relax and wait to board their ship with proper accommodation and communication. Turning people away at the port and having people who flew in wait at the mall with no communication is not acceptable. There were elderly, infirmed people without sweaters or jackets outside standing in line after dark waiting for buses that came one at a time achingly far apart. Never knowing when the next one would come and who would get to go on it. Some were there for 6+ hours. We will think twice about booking a cruise that boards in that port again. 

 

In closing we really had a lovely time. This may be my fourth time on Connie and she looks great. Perfect size. I love the old school promenade deck of the Millenium class with the loungers to feel the breeze and watch the sea while not in the pool deck energy. There is always an option to join in the fun in one lounge or find a quiet nook to read a book, watch the sea or work on your latest knitting project in another. The crew is always always cleaning and spiffing up and it shows how much they care for the ship. Never too busy to say hello though. There was a crew of electricians changing all the lightbulbs throughout the ship while we were there. They were even super friendly. Maybe I just have a penchant for talking to strangers. My mother is to blame.  

 

Hope this was helpful to whoever reads it. Happy to answer any questions. 

 

Oh PS. Thanks to the lady who did the live report in January. The little $10 transfer bus to the airport was so easy and great! Walked out and they were right there. Super tip. 

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mahdnc "Live from...." Rare

mahdnc

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Nice review.  The phone call check after room service delivery is a nice touch.  It allows them to address any issues that otherwise would get mentioned in the survey.

 

What cabin or cabin category were you in?

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Wineaux007

Wineaux007

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12 hours ago, kannna said:

 

Oh PS. Thanks to the lady who did the live report in January. The little $10 transfer bus to the airport was so easy and great! Walked out and they were right there. Super tip. 

If you are renting a car at the airport, don't take the shuttle transfers they offer or others offer to the airport for a set price.  It drops you off at the airport, and it is a long walk with luggage to catch a tram to the off-site rental car area.  It was a PIA.  Take a taxi from the port to the rental car location.  

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Highlander

Highlander

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Thanks for the review, my wife and I are going on Connie for first time in a long time Feb 24th for 19 days

We used to do a lot on Constellation before we switched to Royal Caribbean where we are close to double Pinnacle. We just thought it was time to try Celebrity again.

We are originally from Scotland but now live just north of Toronto, Ontario in Wasaga Beach

 

Hey Texed,

Great to see you are still cruising Celebrity and posting on Cruise Critic, hi to Jacquie

Cheers

George & Caroline

 

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Texed Holiday Sharing Rare

Texed

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43 minutes ago, Highlander said:

Hey Texed,

Great to see you are still cruising Celebrity and posting on Cruise Critic, hi to Jacquie

Cheers    George & Caroline

So nice to hear from y'all.  Yep, still cruising Celebrity.  😎

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BermudaBound2014 Great Review Rare

BermudaBound2014

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On 2/15/2023 at 12:42 AM, kannna said:

Oh PS. Thanks to the lady who did the live report in January. The little $10 transfer bus to the airport was so easy and great! Walked out and they were right there. Super tip. 

 

Most welcome, glad the shuttle worked out for you too. Also happy to read you enjoyed Connie as much as I did. 

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Djptcp

Djptcp

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Thanks for the review. DH and I booked our first Celebrity cruise the other day - 12 day Ultimate Caribbean cruise in March, 2024. We have read many positive reviews of the Constellation which rid our fears of taking an older ship. We have sailed on 75 cruises,  mostly Holland America and Carnival, and live 50 minutes from the Port of Tampa. The fog can certainly be a pain sometimes.

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kannna

kannna

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7 hours ago, sunonfire said:

Thanks for both responses. Were the waffles at the buffet?

Waffles can be found premade on either side of the buffet

 

BUT

 

The best waffles are waaaay in the back of the buffet at the grill where you can get them fresh out of the waffle maker. They also make fresh toast and eggs there 😉

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sunonfire

sunonfire

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18 minutes ago, kannna said:

Waffles can be found premade on either side of the buffet

 

BUT

 

The best waffles are waaaay in the back of the buffet at the grill where you can get them fresh out of the waffle maker. They also make fresh toast and eggs there 😉

Excellent. The ones on the buffet are too soggy. I make Belgian Waffles at home and they always come out perfectly. I’m spoiled. I’ll definitely try the ones at the grill.

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realnice46

realnice46

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5 hours ago, Djptcp said:

Thanks for the review. DH and I booked our first Celebrity cruise the other day - 12 day Ultimate Caribbean cruise in March, 2024. We have read many positive reviews of the Constellation which rid our fears of taking an older ship. We have sailed on 75 cruises,  mostly Holland America and Carnival, and live 50 minutes from the Port of Tampa. The fog can certainly be a pain sometimes.

We too are booked on 12 Night Ultimate Caribbean March 2024. We haven’t been to Tampa area before and plan to spends a few days pre cruise.  Any suggestions of what are must sees in the area, we will have a car.

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Texed Holiday Sharing Rare

Texed

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1 hour ago, kannna said:

The best waffles are waaaay in the back of the buffet at the grill where you can get them fresh out of the waffle maker. They also make fresh toast and eggs there 😉

 

Sounds wonderful!  😋

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sunonfire

sunonfire

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The aquarium is right next to the port. Amalie Arena is walking distance from the port. Tampa has Ybor City lots of good restaurants . Tampa has a free “trolley” for everyone. You can check TripAdvisor.com for reviews of different places.

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BermudaBound2014 Great Review Rare

BermudaBound2014

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3 hours ago, realnice46 said:

We too are booked on 12 Night Ultimate Caribbean March 2024. We haven’t been to Tampa area before and plan to spends a few days pre cruise.  Any suggestions of what are must sees in the area, we will have a car.


I spent 3 days precruisw in Tampa last month. You may find the first few posts in this link helpful:

 

 

1 hour ago, FeelingCruisy said:

Can you please tell me more about this shuttle for port of Tampa?

 

I believe I wrote about this at the end of the thread I linked above, but it’s a no brainer. $10 airport shuttles waiting for you immediately after customs. Let me know if you have any specific questions.

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