Another Live-ish, this time from the Constellation

[LB_NJ]

Has the norovirus gone away?

 

We board for the next cruise.

[Bluewake]

On 1/11/2024 at 5:54 PM, Jim_Iain said:

Wow.... Abby ---- Just got a message from a friend that is on a B2B on Constellation.   As you probably know by now,  they have a big outbreak of Noro aboard and CDC is coming aboard and a full disinfection campaign is underway.    B2B's had to pack up and leave the ship and were taken to a mall as no passengers can be on the ship.   They had to totally leave their room so it can be disinfected.  

 

Just checked and it is already on the CDC site. 

Yes. We just returned yesterday from the Constellation's Jan 3rd  New Orleans & Western Caribbean cruise.  I heard there 70+ cases of Norovirus but I don't know the actual numbers.  The Captain alerted passengers to the outbreak about 2/3 of the way through the cruise and addressed it a couple of additional times in subsequent announcements, hand sanitizer dispensers popped-up all over the ship, and the buffet switched to where all serving was done by staff members...there were no stations with self-service, including beverages.  It really gets you thinking just how easy it is to touch something that another passenger or crew member just touched such as stairway railings, elevator buttons, drinks handed to you by a waiter, grasping a chair to pull it up to the table, the table itself, menus, etc.  It's impossible  for the crew to disinfect everything before another person comes along!  A friend who was aboard was stricken with Noro - pretty serious symptoms - and had to remain in their cabin for 2 days.  And, it wasn't only Noro.  Two other acquaintances aboard came down with some sort of respiratory virus and had to be treated by the ship medical staff. One said it was covid but the other said it was something different.  We were fortunate and managed to avoid getting ill.  I have to think that is because we were very careful about what we touched, washed and sanitized regularly, and avoided close crowds such as in the casino which looked like a virtual germ distribution center to us!

[Jim_Iain]

6 hours ago, Bluewake said:

Yes. We just returned yesterday from the Constellation's Jan 3rd  New Orleans & Western Caribbean cruise.  I heard there 70+ cases of Norovirus but I don't know the actual numbers.  The Captain alerted passengers to the outbreak about 2/3 of the way through the cruise and addressed it a couple of additional times in subsequent announcements, hand sanitizer dispensers popped-up all over the ship, and the buffet switched to where all serving was done by staff members...there were no stations with self-service, including beverages.  It really gets you thinking just how easy it is to touch something that another passenger or crew member just touched such as stairway railings, elevator buttons, drinks handed to you by a waiter, grasping a chair to pull it up to the table, the table itself, menus, etc.  It's impossible  for the crew to disinfect everything before another person comes along!  A friend who was aboard was stricken with Noro - pretty serious symptoms - and had to remain in their cabin for 2 days.  And, it wasn't only Noro.  Two other acquaintances aboard came down with some sort of respiratory virus and had to be treated by the ship medical staff. One said it was covid but the other said it was something different.  We were fortunate and managed to avoid getting ill.  I have to think that is because we were very careful about what we touched, washed and sanitized regularly, and avoided close crowds such as in the casino which looked like a virtual germ distribution center to us!

Sorry to hear.   We have other friends that are on a B2B and said things are still staff served. 

 

The numbers being reported by Cruise Hive are -

The number of guests onboard for the sailing was 2,056, and 68 reported symptoms of vomiting and diarrhea. This is a total of 3.31% of passengers, well over the 2% threshold when ships are required to report cases to the CDC’s Vessel Sanitation Program (VSP). In addition, 7 of the ship’s 948 crew members (.74%) also reported similar symptoms. 

[abbydancer2003]

We got the letter about Noro, but it did say "last cruise".  They're still serving everything though.  We're only a day in, however.  Washing and sanitizing a lot today.

[abbydancer2003]

Constellation - Day 1 Tampa Departure Friday 1

 

Once again, we got up in time for breakfast.  Because we now aren’t leaving the hotel until noon, we only casually packed as we dressed.

 

We headed up to the lounge, where we found Arie just getting his breakfast.  It was pretty much the same stuff as yesterday, so I just had some egg, toast and fruit.  Soon Cheryl joined us.  We finished breakfast, and then just hung out talked until about 11:50, taking a break to go pack up all our bags.

 

We called for a Lyft XL at about noon, and within 10 minutes our ride was there.  We got all our luggage and all of us in  and headed to the port.

 

The ride went well, and at about 12:30 we were pulling up to the port.  There appears to be just one road in, and you drop your luggage there.  We dropped, and saw a line of people.  We thought they were going into the building, and assumed that was the line.  But instead, we were sent up an escalator.  (I still don't know what the people downstairs were doing)At the top, there was another large line of people, that appeared have about 3 switchbacks.  

 

We also saw the retreat waiting area, so since we have a retreat boarding pass, we were told to wait there.  While there we met another couple, also in a sky suite.  We waited for a few minutes, and then a worker came out.  She had a list with her, and when we gave her our room number, she said we weren’t on it, and we should just get in the big line. 

 

We all said we were told to wait there, but she kept on insisting we weren’t on the lis.  Finally, she led us to the security checkpoint in the building.

 

Once inside the terminal, a gentleman told us to get in line to check in, but we noticed a woman with a check in iPad nearby, so we asked her and she told us to wait.  Then another lady led the four of us  towards an area in the corner of the terminal labeled retreat checkin.  When she went to check us off, she noticed we weren’t on her list either.  She however, just wrote the room numbers down.  I then noticed that they probably had the wrong list.  It was the “escort list”, which is just upper suites, not the list of all suite guests for suite access.

 

As we arrived, I was pleased to see that the concierge there was Jiro.  This is the fourth cruise with him and last time we saw him was when he was escorting us off the Infinity last April.  Of course we hugged each other.  We then waited just a few minutes for someone to check us in, and then we quickly boarded.  

 

First stop was going to be our room in the aft of deck 6, to drop the backpacks.  Nope, doors locked, so we went to Michaels Club where we met Penelope, the other concierge.  I’d heard of her before, here on Cruise Critic.  As we were waiting, she gave us a paper with our folio numbers so that we could access the internet, which was appreciated.  We also did the safety briefing.  We also met the main bartender there, who told us he was there for all our drink and light bites needs (something like that).

 

Around 1 pm we decided to go to lunch.  We were able to leaving our backpacks in the lounge, so that was nice.  On the way, we did stop at our muster station in the Rendezvous lounge, where the crew member checking us in reminded us about going there, etc.

 

We met the maitre’d of the dining room from Turkey.  It was busy in there, but he said he had one table left.  We were seated against the wall in the first table.  Our server was Edwin, and we know we’ve met him before.

 

For lunch I had my new usual, Kale salad with Romaine, Steak Frites with Wedge potatoes, and the new Strawberry crumble for dessert.

 

It was good, and even better when I got a bit of ice cream to put on it.

 

Glen had the Kale salad and a pasta dish, and the Chocolate with Dulce de Leche.  Once again, he was surprised it was more chocolate than Dulce de Leche.  

 

I believe he said the same thing about it in April.

 

After lunch we took a quick peek to make sure we could get into the room.  We could, and so we brought our backpacks up.  Room has some really amazing things about it, but storage isn’t one of them.  We did, however, between the desk drawers and the closet, have enough space for everything.  Also, the only card we had was for the retreat concierges, so we have no idea who the head butler is, or our room steward/retreat host  is.  I did notice that some of the exercise equipment (you can request it in an Aqua sky suite) was in fact in the room.  Wasn’t the last couple of times.

 

Soon after that, we got a text from Arie saying they’d found a table at the the Sunset Bar.  In theory, there was a Cruise Critic meet and greet.  Our bags hadn’t come, so we headed up.  We never did find anyone, although we did see a big group of Toyota 4 Runner fans from Oregon.  (Sailed with an RV group once before - same idea I think).

 

We stayed up there until just after sail away.  Here are some of things.

 

Bye-bye Tampa terminal

 

The military ship/museum that seems to be at many ports.

 

 

The other terminal.  A Norwegian ship was there today.  They left before us.

 

 

A regional airport or something.  A small plane is landing.

 

After sailaway we went back to the room, and our luggage was there.  After unpacking I notice the refrigerator was empty, which was good, so I decided to go to the lounge to get some water.  On the way out, I met Rhonda, our steward/host.  She’s new to this area (maybe new to “enhanced” rooms stewarding - I’m not quite sure, so didn’t have cards.  I mentioned that we didn’t have a card for the head butler either.  She was reassuring me that I’d meet him, and then she noticed him down the hall.  

 

She called him over, and he, Tony introduced himself, and told me I’d seen him before. We determined that he was one of the other butlers on the Infinity with us.  He also gave me his card, and told me to call him for anything we otherwise would have called the butler for, and did we need coffee every morning?  I said no, but do I call room service, and he said to call him.  Basically call him for anything we would call a butler for, and he’ll do it or have some else do it.  

 

After I told him that I was going to the lounge to get some water, he said he’d do it.  Soon he brought up water and soft drinks.

 

So we’ll see.  

 

After dressing for dinner, we wandered over to the Rendezvous Lounge.  There was a band, but they were very loud so we headed back to Michael’s club.  We ordered drinks, and the bartender made me a very good Sangria.  

 

While there, we passed under Tampa’s Rainbow bridge.  It’s very pretty at night, and I was able to go outside and get some unblurry pictures.

 

While there, the suite manager came by.  I realized that it's Jess, who was the suite manager on the Summit in St. Maarten when my sister and I were on the 3rd cruise.  It was great talking to her, and then to a Norwegian couple near us.

 

We ended up back in room for a bit, so I decided to take some pictures, since it’s kind of a unique room.  It’s a Sky suite, but can also serve as a second bedroom for the penthouse.

 

The most interesting thing - the bathroom.  Two sinks and separate tub and shower.

 

 

The hallway into the room.

 

The bed area, pretty standard there.

 

At about 8, we decided to go to dinner.  I started with the smoked tomato soup and for my main I ordered the prime rib from main dining.

 

 

They had regular horseradish, and I wondered about creamy.  Glen said his salmon appetizer had a “horseradish marshmallow”.  He suggested I try that with the prime rib.  It was kind of sweet, so I mixed it with the regular horseradish.

 

You can see it in the front of the picture.

 

For dessert, Glen had the poached pear, but because it came with a chocolate ganache, I opted for the Dulce de Leche Creme Catalina, which was sort of a Dluce de Leche creme brûlée.

 

After dinner it was back to the room to work on this, and a short paper I have due this week.

 

A successful but not perfect first day in the books.

 

 

 

Edited January 14 by abbydancer

[tjunmin]

OMG! You are staying in our first ever suite on Celebrity, way back in 2009. I love that oversized bathroom and the same wood paneling as the penthouse. Wish you a wonderful cruise!

[abbydancer2003]

Connie Day 2 - Sea Day - Saturday 1

 

Since it’s the beginning of the cruise, we decided to get up for breakfast.  We opted not to order coffee for the room.  

 

I started with a grapefruit half.  Why is that cruise lines can’t order grapefruit utensils?  At least they separate the segments for me.  I also had pancakes and bacon.  Both were good,  but I intended to order two, and forgot, so I had three.  I ate two.

 

After breakfast I wandered into the casino, put in 20.00 and promptly lost 10.  I did much better on the Apex.  I decided not to cash out the ticket yet.

 

Next stop was the pool deck, where I found Arie and Cheryl after their hot tub visit.  We chatted for a while and then agreed to play Catan at 3.

 

On the way back, I ran into Jess and Tony in the hallway.  Tony reiterated that we should call him for any butler needs (except laundry).  Jess also asked if everything was good (so far so good).

 

I next decided to go to Al Baccio for a latte, but it was busy, so I headed to Michaels club instead.  The bartender made me a latte macchiato, which is, I guess, steamed milk with a small shot of espresso.  I prefer regular lattes, as those are more coffee than milk.  But, learn something new everyday.

 

At 11, it was time for the slot pull that a fellow CC member had organized.  It was Ok, but we ended up not doing very well.  We were down to 7.00 each (from 15), and Nino, the organizer, suggested we each to one more max bet.  I didn’t particularly want to, but those who wanted to won, so we did one more bet, and ended with 6.00 each.  Oh well.

 

The Captain’s club welcome event was at 1pm, so we stopped by and sat with our friends.  One of the bands was playing so we danced to a song or two.  We left as the future cruise guy was talking since it’s always at the middle of lunch for some reason.  

 

Since this is the second day, the lunch menu is one I have every time.  I started with the broiled feta salad, and I still have yet to ascertain what exactly is broiled about it.  Next was my modified Luminae burger, and they made it correctly.

 

 

Dessert was the white chocolate mousse.  It’s still one of my favorites.

 

Because we started so late it was almost game time when we finished.  We went back up to the room to get one of the Fluxx games and a magnet that we had for our friends.  (When we did book on board on the Silhouette, they gave us 2 ship magnets, so we are giving them one).

 

We played one game of Catan and one of Fluxx.  After gaming we went back to the room to watch the sunset from the very nice balcony.  It turns out it’s one of the best things about this room.

 

 

Usually, there’s a officers meet and greet (or Soiree as they call it) on the first formal night.  But looking at the schedule, I noticed there’s one in a couple of days on a regular night.

 

With nothing much to do before dinner, I decided to finish my school paper due Tuesday.  I turned it in, got dressed for dinner, and headed to the Rendezvous lounge.  There was a band, but they were very loud, so we went back to Michaels club for a drink. Somewhere in all of this, I put my ticket back in a slot machine, added another 20, and played 10.  On that one, I broken even plus 23 centers.  So now I'm down 9.78.

 

Next up in the Rendezvous was a duo, so we checked them out, and their volume was fine, so we danced a couple of songs, and then went to dinner.

 

Tonight I started with a cold pear and honey soup from main dining.  For my entree, I asked for the ribeye dinner, but with the 4oz filet instead of the center of the ribeye they usually serve, but the same sides, including the brown butter bearnaise.

 

 

Apparently the brown sauce on the bottom is in fact the béarnaise sauce.   We both finished with the mascarpone cheesecake.

 

After dinner we took a walk around the upper deck, and then called it a night.

 

[DaKahuna]

@abbydancer How do you have them customize your Luminae burger? 

 

[JDPCruisers]

On 1/13/2024 at 11:44 PM, abbydancer said:

Constellation - Day 1 Tampa Departure Friday 1

 

Once again, we got up in time for breakfast.  Because we now aren’t leaving the hotel until noon, we only casually packed as we dressed.

 

We headed up to the lounge, where we found Arie just getting his breakfast.  It was pretty much the same stuff as yesterday, so I just had some egg, toast and fruit.  Soon Cheryl joined us.  We finished breakfast, and then just hung out talked until about 11:50, taking a break to go pack up all our bags.

 

We called for a Lyft XL at about noon, and within 10 minutes our ride was there.  We got all our luggage and all of us in  and headed to the port.

 

The ride went well, and at about 12:30 we were pulling up to the port.  There appears to be just one road in, and you drop your luggage there.  We dropped, and saw a line of people.  We thought they were going into the building, and assumed that was the line.  But instead, we were sent up an escalator.  (I still don't know what the people downstairs were doing)At the top, there was another large line of people, that appeared have about 3 switchbacks.  

 

We also saw the retreat waiting area, so since we have a retreat boarding pass, we were told to wait there.  While there we met another couple, also in a sky suite.  We waited for a few minutes, and then a worker came out.  She had a list with her, and when we gave her our room number, she said we weren’t on it, and we should just get in the big line. 

 

We all said we were told to wait there, but she kept on insisting we weren’t on the lis.  Finally, she led us to the security checkpoint in the building.

 

Once inside the terminal, a gentleman told us to get in line to check in, but we noticed a woman with a check in iPad nearby, so we asked her and she told us to wait.  Then another lady led the four of us  towards an area in the corner of the terminal labeled retreat checkin.  When she went to check us off, she noticed we weren’t on her list either.  She however, just wrote the room numbers down.  I then noticed that they probably had the wrong list.  It was the “escort list”, which is just upper suites, not the list of all suite guests for suite access.

 

As we arrived, I was pleased to see that the concierge there was Jiro.  This is the fourth cruise with him and last time we saw him was when he was escorting us off the Infinity last April.  Of course we hugged each other.  We then waited just a few minutes for someone to check us in, and then we quickly boarded.  

 

First stop was going to be our room in the aft of deck 6, to drop the backpacks.  Nope, doors locked, so we went to Michaels Club where we met Penelope, the other concierge.  I’d heard of her before, here on Cruise Critic.  As we were waiting, she gave us a paper with our folio numbers so that we could access the internet, which was appreciated.  We also did the safety briefing.  We also met the main bartender there, who told us he was there for all our drink and light bites needs (something like that).

 

Around 1 pm we decided to go to lunch.  We were able to leaving our backpacks in the lounge, so that was nice.  On the way, we did stop at our muster station in the Rendezvous lounge, where the crew member checking us in reminded us about going there, etc.

 

We met the maitre’d of the dining room from Turkey.  It was busy in there, but he said he had one table left.  We were seated against the wall in the first table.  Our server was Edwin, and we know we’ve met him before.

 

For lunch I had my new usual, Kale salad with Romaine, Steak Frites with Wedge potatoes, and the new Strawberry crumble for dessert.

 

It was good, and even better when I got a bit of ice cream to put on it.

 

Glen had the Kale salad and a pasta dish, and the Chocolate with Dulce de Leche.  Once again, he was surprised it was more chocolate than Dulce de Leche.  

 

I believe he said the same thing about it in April.

 

After lunch we took a quick peek to make sure we could get into the room.  We could, and so we brought our backpacks up.  Room has some really amazing things about it, but storage isn’t one of them.  We did, however, between the desk drawers and the closet, have enough space for everything.  Also, the only card we had was for the retreat concierges, so we have no idea who the head butler is, or our room steward/retreat host  is.  I did notice that some of the exercise equipment (you can request it in an Aqua sky suite) was in fact in the room.  Wasn’t the last couple of times.

 

Soon after that, we got a text from Arie saying they’d found a table at the the Sunset Bar.  In theory, there was a Cruise Critic meet and greet.  Our bags hadn’t come, so we headed up.  We never did find anyone, although we did see a big group of Toyota 4 Runner fans from Oregon.  (Sailed with an RV group once before - same idea I think).

 

We stayed up there until just after sail away.  Here are some of things.

 

Bye-bye Tampa terminal

 

The military ship/museum that seems to be at many ports.

 

 

The other terminal.  A Norwegian ship was there today.  They left before us.

 

 

A regional airport or something.  A small plane is landing.

 

After sailaway we went back to the room, and our luggage was there.  After unpacking I notice the refrigerator was empty, which was good, so I decided to go to the lounge to get some water.  On the way out, I met Rhonda, our steward/host.  She’s new to this area (maybe new to “enhanced” rooms stewarding - I’m not quite sure, so didn’t have cards.  I mentioned that we didn’t have a card for the head butler either.  She was reassuring me that I’d meet him, and then she noticed him down the hall.  

 

She called him over, and he, Tony introduced himself, and told me I’d seen him before. We determined that he was one of the other butlers on the Infinity with us.  He also gave me his card, and told me to call him for anything we otherwise would have called the butler for, and did we need coffee every morning?  I said no, but do I call room service, and he said to call him.  Basically call him for anything we would call a butler for, and he’ll do it or have some else do it.  

 

After I told him that I was going to the lounge to get some water, he said he’d do it.  Soon he brought up water and soft drinks.

 

So we’ll see.  

 

After dressing for dinner, we wandered over to the Rendezvous Lounge.  There was a band, but they were very loud so we headed back to Michael’s club.  We ordered drinks, and the bartender made me a very good Sangria.  

 

While there, we passed under Tampa’s Rainbow bridge.  It’s very pretty at night, and I was able to go outside and get some unblurry pictures.

 

While there, the suite manager came by.  I realized that it's Jess, who was the suite manager on the Summit in St. Maarten when my sister and I were on the 3rd cruise.  It was great talking to her, and then to a Norwegian couple near us.

 

We ended up back in room for a bit, so I decided to take some pictures, since it’s kind of a unique room.  It’s a Sky suite, but can also serve as a second bedroom for the penthouse.

 

The most interesting thing - the bathroom.  Two sinks and separate tub and shower.

 

 

The hallway into the room.

 

The bed area, pretty standard there.

 

At about 8, we decided to go to dinner.  I started with the smoked tomato soup and for my main I ordered the prime rib from main dining.

 

 

They had regular horseradish, and I wondered about creamy.  Glen said his salmon appetizer had a “horseradish marshmallow”.  He suggested I try that with the prime rib.  It was kind of sweet, so I mixed it with the regular horseradish.

 

You can see it in the front of the picture.

 

For dessert, Glen had the poached pear, but because it came with a chocolate ganache, I opted for the Dulce de Leche Creme Catalina, which was sort of a Dluce de Leche creme brûlée.

 

After dinner it was back to the room to work on this, and a short paper I have due this week.

 

A successful but not perfect first day in the books.

 

 

 

The maître de should be Arif and the bartender in Michaels is Preshant, he made my wife's Sangria when we were on in Dec. Wow on the SS, ours was nowhere near that and frankly our worse SS we've had on X. Enjoy!! 

[abbydancer2003]

On 1/16/2024 at 5:47 AM, DaKahuna said:

@abbydancer How do you have them customize your Luminae burger? 

 

I just have them cut it in half horizontal.  I think it's 1/2 pound, so I make it 1/4 pound.  The first time I asked for a smaller burger, I asked them to make it with a kids burger, but they said no, because the meat is different, and better on the regular.  So now I do it that way.

[abbydancer2003]

On 1/16/2024 at 6:22 AM, JDPCruisers said:

The maître de should be Arif and the bartender in Michaels is Preshant, he made my wife's Sangria when we were on in Dec. Wow on the SS, ours was nowhere near that and frankly our worse SS we've had on X. Enjoy!! 

Thanks.  Arif and Preshant are both great.  Glen has a drink that was customized from a Chairman of the Board on the Reflection several years ago.  He now gives it to every bartender, and Preshant is doing a great job.  He does make a great Sangria.

[Kteacher]

Thank you for all the great photos of your cabin. We’re doing a TA on the Constellation in an Aqua SS so I’m loving this live review!

[F3rpect]

Which musical groups are onboard presently?

[Brian918]

Hello AD,

Thank you for this report and pictures.  It is very interesting.

 

It appears you are in room 6146?  If so, we have that room reserved for a European cruise later this Fall.  If you have the time, I would be interested in additional pictures or commentary on the room.  Specifically, how is storage, noise level, balcony size / view, location, etc.  Also, as far as outlets / usb ports, are they only on the desk?  Or are there any outlets / usb ports near the bed / nightstands?

 

Thank you in advance.  Have a wonderful cruise.

 

Brian

[abbydancer2003]

8 hours ago, Brian918 said:

Hello AD,

Thank you for this report and pictures.  It is very interesting.

 

It appears you are in room 6146?  If so, we have that room reserved for a European cruise later this Fall.  If you have the time, I would be interested in additional pictures or commentary on the room.  Specifically, how is storage, noise level, balcony size / view, location, etc.  Also, as far as outlets / usb ports, are they only on the desk?  Or are there any outlets / usb ports near the bed / nightstands?

 

Thank you in advance.  Have a wonderful cruise.

 

Brian

I'll try to gather info as I go. but on the desk, there's one Eurpoean on one side, and one American on the other.  There's a European next to the couch, and one next to the door of the penthouse.  That's all we've found so far.

 

[abbydancer2003]

Connie Day 3 Grand Cayman - Sunday 1

 

Today is our first port stop, Grand Cayman.  I was there with my sister several years ago, but it’s Glen’s first time.  During a sale on Shore Excursions, he booked a snorkeling excursion with Arie and Cheryl.  Since I don’t snorkel, I decided not to go.  

 

We woke in time for breakfast, but decided to have coffee in the room.  We called Tony and he passed it to room service.  Then we asked him for beach towels.  Tony with towels and the coffee from room services arrived at the same time.

 

We gathered our first round of laundry, and then headed to breakfast.  I ask for a small omelette and Nolan asked if I wanted a single egg one.  I did, with bacon and what I got was perfect.

 

 

It did take a while, so Glen had to rush to get down to where to meet Arie and Cheryl for their snorkeling adventure.  Rhonda, our very good room attendant, was cleaning, so I grabbed my backpack and sunscreen and headed to the lounge to be escorted to the tenders.  Jiro took me down immediately, and there was no line to get onto the tender, but I sat for about 15 minutes.  

 

As we left, I took a picture of the ship.  On the back on the lowest balcony level our balacoy has the door in the lower left.

 

 

Once on shore, I decided to walk around.  Last time I was here I found a bus stop, and my sister and took a bus around.  I didn’t see anything like that, so I just waked around.  I did see a nice sign.

 

 

The souvenir shops around the port were open, but not much else, since it was Sunday.  At one point I used my Find my app to see where Glen was, turns out he was pretty close to the shore.  (An hour later I learned that their snorkeling excursions were indeed near the shore).   I did buy a couple of small rum cakes from two different brands, since that’s what they seem to sell here. 

 

After I got tired of that, I went back to the port and just waited for them.  Once they showed up at around 12:30 (talking about how close to shore it was), we went back to the ship, since not much was open.  

 

Once onboard, we agreed to meet for lunch.  The buffet was surprisingly crowded, and the food choices were not good at all.  I ended up going to the grill for a hot dog, which wasn’t bad, but the bun fell apart pretty quickly.  I also got a salad.  Because they’re still doing Noro procedures, everything is a hassle.  They did have pineapple upside down cake, so I grabbed some of that, expertly served to me by Hannah, one of our assistant waiters.

 

After that, I went back to Michaels club to work on this for a while, then up to the Reflections Lounge (Sky lounge on other ships) to have a a drink with Arie and Cheryl.  It’s the first of 3 or 4 “Captain’s Club cocktail hours) that the’ve brought back.  No food, but sill pretty well attended.  

 

After they left for dinner I watched sunset from our balcony.

 

 

 

 

We went down to Michael’s for a while and then just after 7:15, our friends texted that they were at Rendezvous so we met them there.  The acoustic duo was playing and fortunately they weren’t too loud, so we danced for a bit.   They also danced a song, which was nice to see.  They then went to the 9:00 show, and we went to dinner.

 

I started with the almond cruised baked brie, better than Normandy’s on the Apex.  For my main, I wasn’t very hungry, so I tried the lasagna (butternut squash).  I twas good, but I didn’t eat much of it, since I wasn’t hungry.

 

For dessert, I tried what they call citrus, which is orange and lemon puree, an orange sponge , and lemon sorbet.  I liked it.

 

After that, we walked a little and then headed to the room.  Second sea day tomorrow.

 

 

 

 

 

[Kteacher]

5 minutes ago, abbydancer2003 said:

I'll try to gather info as I go. but on the desk, there's one Eurpoean on one side, and one American on the other.  There's a European next to the couch, and one next to the door of the penthouse.  That's all we've found so far.

 

Thank you! We are also in this same cabin for our TA in 2025.

[sofietucker]

On 1/14/2024 at 1:01 AM, tjunmin said:

OMG! You are staying in our first ever suite on Celebrity, way back in 2009. I love that oversized bathroom and the same wood paneling as the penthouse. Wish you a wonderful cruise!

And we stayed in here last winter! Are the 6 large ceramic parrots still perched on the shelves beside the desk mirror? (They told us it would be "revolutionized," which I thought meant install the lighter wood cabinetry, revamp the bathroom, etc.) Watch out for the river running across from the shower to the drain on the other side of the sink vanity... A lil scary with the electrical outlet right there by the floor. We had to put down towels.

[sofietucker]

9 hours ago, Brian918 said:

Hello AD,

Thank you for this report and pictures.  It is very interesting.

 

It appears you are in room 6146?  If so, we have that room reserved for a European cruise later this Fall.  If you have the time, I would be interested in additional pictures or commentary on the room.  Specifically, how is storage, noise level, balcony size / view, location, etc.  Also, as far as outlets / usb ports, are they only on the desk?  Or are there any outlets / usb ports near the bed / nightstands?

 

Thank you in advance.  Have a wonderful cruise.

 

Brian

Brian, the balcony is large, with a full size table and a sofa/lounging couch as well as chairs. You are next to the huge wraparound balcony for the suite next door. In our experience, they stayed on the aft side; never heard them* on the side balcony, except once as their hot tub is on the corner.

The one thing missing for us was actual loungers (like they have by the pool), so I asked our attendant to bring one. No problem.

*They also have a piano in that suite and played it from time to time, not very well, lol. The door at the foot of your bed adjoins that room...

Bring your European converters and you will double the number of your plugs. I have a vague memory that we MIGHT have had USBs by the bed but that may have just been our own chargers plugged in.

There is a huge space below the TV for...snorkel gear? Or other large objects. Decent closet space both hanging and shelves/drawers. Due to the parrots--if still glued in place--the shelving along the desk mirror is unusable.

 

[Brian918]

Abby & Sofie - Thank you.

[grest]

On 1/11/2024 at 5:56 PM, Lena11033 said:

 

Didn't this happen last year too? I could be wrong but I vaguely remember CDC coming on board.

 

I was on that cruise........there was a small outbreak, caught right away, and steps taken right away to make things as safe as possible, and a strong encouragement to see the medical staff at no cost if you had any symptoms.   Well handled, I think.

[abbydancer2003]

On 1/18/2024 at 3:35 PM, sofietucker said:

And we stayed in here last winter! Are the 6 large ceramic parrots still perched on the shelves beside the desk mirror? (They told us it would be "revolutionized," which I thought meant install the lighter wood cabinetry, revamp the bathroom, etc.) Watch out for the river running across from the shower to the drain on the other side of the sink vanity... A lil scary with the electrical outlet right there by the floor. We had to put down towels.

Yup, the parrots are still there, and you can't move them.  Very annoying.

We don't seem to have much water run off, maybe they fixed that?  

And so far, not a peep out of the penthouse next door.

[abbydancer2003]

Connie Day 4 Sea Day 2 - Monday 1

 

Our original plan was to sleep in, but we ended up awake in time for breakfast.  So we went.  I had a single slice of the peach cobbler French toast, and it was good.

 

 

During breakfast we got a text from Arie that we could play Catan this morning and the Captains Club rep had arranged a conference room for us.  We agreed to 11 am, and headed to Michael’s club until then.  When we arrived, there was a small table only there.  The Captain’s Club people were in the process of getting us a desk to play on. (Thanks Josh).  We had a fun game, and I actually won, for only the second time ever.

 

Our plan for the afternoon was to take them to lunch in Luminae.  I’d arranged with Arif to bring them after the rush at 1:15.  So, we agreed to meet at the entrance at 1:15.  We basically wandered around looking at some of the art on the ship until we met them at Luminae at 1:15.

 

We were quickly seated at a table set for 4, which is in fact on this cruise, the only time they’ve had a table for 4 (maybe the last time, too).  Apparently this cruise is all parties of 2.  A couple of gentlemen sitting near us said it was nice that there was a four top, even if only for one meal.

 

We all started with the bib lettuce salad, and enjoyed it.

 

 

For entrees, everyone but me had the halibut, but I had potato leek ravioli.  For dessert, Arie & Cheryl both chose a panna cotta, and Glen and I had poached pear.

 

 

After lunch I went back to the room to work on this.  I wanted to work on the balcony, but it was too sunny.

 

Aft 5, we went up the the Relfections Lounge (not sure why it’s not called the Sky lounge) and met Arie & Cheryl for their pre dinner drink.  

 

Following that, we headed to the first Officers’ Soiree at Michaels club.  We took a seat and were mostly ignored by the officers.  We did meet the marketing and inventory managers.  We did have a nice chat with the suite manager, Jess, on the way out.

 

We next went to the Broadway Caberet show by the singers.  As usual, it was pretty much old stuff and an obscure song from the musical Anastasia.  They did finish with You Can’t Stop the Beat from Hairspray.  They were fine.  They Hairspray song was better on Royal Caribbean.

 

We stopped by Rendezvous to chat with Arie and Cheryl for a while;  The acoustic duo was playing but their songs weren’t as danceable as last night.

 

After that we went to dinner. We both started with a soup - butternut squash for me (not sure if it was man dining or Blu) and Luminae tofu for Glen.  For my main I had the steak and chips from main, but with a filet from Luminae, and it was good.  For dessert I had the Raspberry Hibiscus, which was very pretty.

 

 

 

After dinner we walked around for a bit, and then called it a night.  Tomorrow, we start two days in Columbia.

 

 

 

 

 

[sofietucker]

Thanks; we're on your itinerary in March (but not in the Parrot Suite, lol). Our butler--it was still a Sky Suite last year--said the previous occupants had named the parrots. Look forward to hearing the port reports!

I do have a question regarding children. Just off the Silly and there were babies, kids and young folk, due to schools not fully back in session. We usually cruise during the school year and don't often see children at all on X, HAL and lately Oceania and Azamara. (But I suppose Disney would have kids cruising year round...)

My TA, when I reported back to her after this cruise, asked especially about that and said she's got a number of clients now complaining about so many children on Celebrity. I can only think it's a school-schedule issue, not people bringing infants aboard. What's the current kid status on the Connie?

 

Edited January 21 by sofietucker

[abbydancer2003]

On 1/21/2024 at 1:01 PM, sofietucker said:

T

My TA, when I reported back to her after this cruise, asked especially about that and said she's got a number of clients now complaining about so many children on Celebrity. I can only think it's a school-schedule issue, not people bringing infants aboard. What's the current kid status on the Connie?

 

I don't think there are many on this cruise, as I've seen none.  Our friends report seeing a baby and then a family with a couple of small children.

I think it's a school thing.  Also, you might see more kids on a shorter cruise, but I'd still say December is not typical.

 

On another note - tomorrow is our next full day.  I'll have at least the first port day tomorrow, and then hopefully more quickly.

 

If you have any questions that I can answer on the ship, I'll make a point of trying to get answers tomorrow.