Live From Celebrity Constellation 3/11-3/23

[jam19872016]

A little late night snack then ik going to bed.

 

 

 

 

Good night. 

[exlondoner]

10 hours ago, jam19872016 said:

Dinner line took about 15 minutes. Pager wait is estimated at 30 minutes. Entrance is far too small for this many people lined up. Constant sound of beeping as people's pager goes off and they fight their way to the front of the crowd.

 

It's not good.

I know the first night is almost the most shambolic, but, given their experience and reputation for quality, you’d think they would be able to organise things so that doesn’t happen, or do they just not care?

[exlondoner]

10 hours ago, jam19872016 said:

Roasted red beets 817.

 

I assume the menus are standardised across the fleet, or at least the US part of it?

 

Also could you print the wine menu, or the cheap end of it, if it is very long? Many thanks.

Edited March 12 by exlondoner

[exlondoner]

8 hours ago, jam19872016 said:

 

Blue- something Shakira 

 

Red- cul0 🎶 (do I need to censor the word when the potty word is not in English?)

 

Green- Fireball 🎶 

 

That's three channels of Latin music apperently 😆 

Given that I don’t like pop music or any sort of disco, I suppose it’s inevitable, but this concept still baffles me. I can see it is good for passers-by, as they don’t have to hear the music, and mildly amusing perhaps for the spectators, for a few minutes, but, like gingerbread villages, my main reaction is why? And I hate wearing headphones. 😀

[jam19872016]

Good morning everyone. 

 

I'm not moving too fast this morning. Part of that is because I refilled my mobile bar and enjoyed too many beverages last night. Part of it is this bed. I've been lucky my last two Celebrity cruises, but this one is what I remember from my first cruises with them. The bed is stiff as wood and the pillows have been coated in teflon and it takes all your body weight to keep them from slipping out from under you. They refuse to be layed on. The bed is definetly smaller than an already small standard cruise bed. Even a hundred pounds lighter than I used to be, when I turn over I am in danger of rolling out of the bed. One of the worst bed situations I've ever encountered.

 

We have gained an hour last night so although my phone says it is almost 10:30, ship time is coming up on 9:30.

 

I will probably skip breakfast and try to hold out until lunch, I can already tell I over ate yesterday. I would like to hunt for that yummy fried bread though.

 

First I'm off to find my mom though and come up with a plan for the day. She said she would be in the library or shops.

[jam19872016]

4 hours ago, exlondoner said:

I know the first night is almost the most shambolic, but, given their experience and reputation for quality, you’d think they would be able to organise things so that doesn’t happen, or do they just not care?

Much like the bed issue, this is sadly what I recall from my early cruises with Celebrity, a chaotic open dining situation. Once I made it in things were wonderful. Very friendly server and prompt service. As you said, the first night is always a bit worse plus many of us probably had the same idea of pushing dinner off until after we sailed under the bridge so hopefully it will be better going forward. It was also peak dining time. 

 

I don't mind waiting truthfully, it is a risk with open dining, I just detest standing in a line and that one was extra uncomfortable due to how small the space was. I wish they would adopt Carnival's system of requesting a table on the app and coming down when a table is ready.
 

4 hours ago, exlondoner said:

I assume the menus are standardised across the fleet, or at least the US part of it?

 

Also could you print the wine menu, or the cheap end of it, if it is very long? Many thanks.

Pretty much standardized I believe. The newer ships have slightly diffrent menus because they do a four MDR concept with each one having a section of menu unique to each venue. 

I will grab a wine menu for you, they have a pretty big selection as well as a sommelier at dinner not just a waiter taking drink orders.
 

[jam19872016]

3 hours ago, exlondoner said:

Given that I don’t like pop music or any sort of disco, I suppose it’s inevitable, but this concept still baffles me. I can see it is good for passers-by, as they don’t have to hear the music, and mildly amusing perhaps for the spectators, for a few minutes, but, like gingerbread villages, my main reaction is why? And I hate wearing headphones. 😀

Such a fun concept and the location was odd in the middle of a busy walk way but it kind of worked because of all the passerby's, so many had big smiles on their faces as no doubt we looked quite silly.

 

They had lots of other options for entertainment of course, I just did not make it to any of them 😅
 

[bluewater1298]

I would ask for an egg crate or some sort of mattress topper and different pillows. I know most ships have a selection of pillows if you don't like the ones you have. And I've ask for an egg crate before on Royal and received one. You don't want to spend the next 11 days on an uncomfortable bed. 

[exlondoner]

18 minutes ago, bluewater1298 said:

I would ask for an egg crate or some sort of mattress topper and different pillows. I know most ships have a selection of pillows if you don't like the ones you have. And I've ask for an egg crate before on Royal and received one. You don't want to spend the next 11 days on an uncomfortable bed. 

Yes, surely they can do something about the bed. It’s so basic.

[jam19872016]

Needed some food so grabbed a quick bite.

 

 

Then raced to the theater for a presentation. 

 

 

Only a couple minutes late.

[hcat]

26 minutes ago, exlondoner said:

Yes, surely they can do something about the bed. It’s so basic.

also see the " pillow menu"

[tcmagnum]

17 hours ago, jam19872016 said:

 

We sail on the Connie last year from Tampa and LOVED it.

Liked seeing the bridge in the sunlight.

We went under it at night since we were delayed a LONG time due to fog.

Very pretty all lit up at night.

One way to get away from the chaos on the first night of dinner in main dining room is to book one of the specialty places.  Alot of time there is a discount if you go on the first night.

We loved it so much; they talked us into eating there again but for another discount.

 

Take care of the Connie - She might be small and older but she is special.

 

[riredsox]

16 hours ago, jam19872016 said:

Host said show up between 5-515 or after 830.

 

Or book set dining. I hope it's full since this is clearly overbooked.

They told us that too but we went between 7 and 8.  Got a beeper some of the time, had a cocktail and it the beeper would go off.  

[riredsox]

5 hours ago, exlondoner said:

Given that I don’t like pop music or any sort of disco, I suppose it’s inevitable, but this concept still baffles me. I can see it is good for passers-by, as they don’t have to hear the music, and mildly amusing perhaps for the spectators, for a few minutes, but, like gingerbread villages, my main reaction is why? And I hate wearing headphones. 😀

Because it is one of the most fun things to do!  Try it,  it is called silent ‘disco’ because of the headphones.  Only a handful of disco songs.  

[exlondoner]

11 minutes ago, riredsox said:

Because it is one of the most fun things to do!  Try it,  it is called silent ‘disco’ because of the headphones.  Only a handful of disco songs.  

Sorry, don’t dance. I understand why it is called silent, I just can’t grasp the point of it. It seems like hot ice cream as an oxymoron. And don’t the headphones spoil your hair, for those who have any?

[jam19872016]

That was an interesting presentation. They have another on the 60s on Thursday I will try to catch.

 

After that I took in some sauna and now I'm back in the room to see if mom is ready for lunch soon. Not super hungry yet but there is an Elite gathering at 1.

[exlondoner]

3 minutes ago, jam19872016 said:

That was an interesting presentation. They have another on the 60s on Thursday I will try to catch.

 

After that I took in some sauna and now I'm back in the room to see if mom is ready for lunch soon. Not super hungry yet but there is an Elite gathering at 1.

What shows did they focus on? Or rather what era?

[jam19872016]

1 hour ago, hcat said:

also see the " pillow menu"

Is the pillow menu a thing for us lowly ocean view residents? I wouldn't know what to ask for it, just something not so hard to lay on without it coming out from under you. I need to ask about an egg crate, my last couple cruises had them on already and that did help.
 

 

1 hour ago, tcmagnum said:

We sail on the Connie last year from Tampa and LOVED it.

Liked seeing the bridge in the sunlight.

We went under it at night since we were delayed a LONG time due to fog.

Very pretty all lit up at night.

One way to get away from the chaos on the first night of dinner in main dining room is to book one of the specialty places.  Alot of time there is a discount if you go on the first night.

We loved it so much; they talked us into eating there again but for another discount.

 

Take care of the Connie - She might be small and older but she is special.

 

My mom doesn't really do specialty dining. If I was solo, I would probably do that if I could get a discount. They no longer offer a discount on the planner ahead of time but perhaps they do in person. Full price, meh I think the prices are a bit too steep when you've already paid for a meal in the dining room.

The ole gal is in pretty good shape for her age, just oddly designed with a number of choke points, or maybe we are sailing over capacity. I do like that the ship has three sets of elevators instead of just two like the newer ships.
 

 

[jam19872016]

35 minutes ago, riredsox said:

They told us that too but we went between 7 and 8.  Got a beeper some of the time, had a cocktail and it the beeper would go off.  

I don't mind a beeper, I just don't want to stand in line for fifeteen minutes just to get a beeper. It may be less efficient, but maybe they could also set up the line in a bigger venue. Before Carnival switched to checking in on the app, they had the check in stand in a different location on some of their ships more equipped to handle the crowds than the tiny area in front of the dining room. 
 

 

28 minutes ago, riredsox said:

Because it is one of the most fun things to do!  Try it,  it is called silent ‘disco’ because of the headphones.  Only a handful of disco songs.  

Silent disco isn't for everyone, the same way I never attended ballroom dancing on Cunard, despite it being a crowd favorite, but that is ok, on the bigger ships I've seen them run out of headphones so I don't need it to get any more popular 🙂

 

[jam19872016]

15 minutes ago, exlondoner said:

Sorry, don’t dance. I understand why it is called silent, I just can’t grasp the point of it. It seems like hot ice cream as an oxymoron. And don’t the headphones spoil your hair, for those who have any?

Hot ice cream? Sounds intresting. I'm thinking a gingerbread village flavor (flavour). Yummy
 

9 minutes ago, exlondoner said:

What shows did they focus on? Or rather what era?

The 50's. Touched on the most popular shows of the era as well as how it influenced American culture. It also explained what caused the end of the era known as the "golden age".

 

I was especially fascinated by the piece on Nixon who was the first politician to use TV to get himself out of hot water with the American public all the way back in 1952, long before the Watergate scandal.

[tcmagnum]

3 minutes ago, jam19872016 said:

I don't mind a beeper, I just don't want to stand in line for fifeteen minutes just to get a beeper. It may be less efficient, but maybe they could also set up the line in a bigger venue. Before Carnival switched to checking in on the app, they had the check in stand in a different location on some of their ships more equipped to handle the crowds than the tiny area in front of the dining room. 
 

I agree with you!!  Hated the line to get the beeper. Then trying to fight your way past the people who won't move so you can get seated.  Not very organized or very well thought through!!

[exlondoner]

😀😀Actually I do like ginger ice cream, at least when cold so it might be a goer.

 

so, I am imagining light comedies with perfect teeth and perfect children and even a perfect dog.

 

Television did badly for Nixon when he was running against Kennedy, simply because of his uncouth appearance against Kennedy’s burnished charisma.

[exlondoner]

1 minute ago, exlondoner said:

😀😀Actually I do like ginger ice cream, at least when cold so it might be a goer.

 

so, I am imagining light comedies with perfect teeth and perfect children and even a perfect dog.

 

And houses full of modern conveniences like automatic washing machines, which we in the UK could only dream of.

[Mike981]

18 hours ago, jam19872016 said:

 

 

 

 

 

 

Years ago I booked our family of four on a cruise that left from Tampa. I read about how cool it was to cruise under the bridge and more than one person said you need to get your spot early because it will get crowded. So I made a huge deal out of us getting a good spot right away and then the wait. A very long wait, unfortunately by the time we cruised under the bridge it was anticlimactic and I felt more than a little embarrassed.

Not to say it isn't a neat thing to see, but when you have two young kids and they are ready to go have fun it was a bit of a let down for them. 

[jam19872016]

Mozzarella sticks.

 

 

My mom's salad.