thinking about Celebrity

[trish1c]

An organization I'm involved with is advertising a group cruise on the Constallation next Oct. 2008 for the repo from NJ to FLL. I'm thinking about it. There seem to be a lot of sea days (I hate sea days).

 

I've cruised RCL's Majesty of the Seas as my 1st cruise. I needed to see if I'd like cruising. Does that make me a returning guest for Celebrity since they have the same parent? Can I use my Crown & Anchor & does that get me anything?

 

When I found NCL I have been loyal to that line ever since. I love freestyle b/c I hate being told when to eat & who to eat with. If I go with this big, organzied group, eating with stangers (I know potential friends) is less of an issue. I do enjoy formal night & getting dressed up in general.

 

Will I be happy on this trip? Anybody ever do a repo from NJ to FL before? It doesn't matter if it wasn't this ship as long as it was this line. I couldn't find a formal review. Is it different from return to the same port in terms of services? I don't anticipate it would be / should be.

 

How will Celebrity entertain me? I'm not a big gambler. I don't care all that much about the broadway styleshows per se. I hate the games & noisy CD announcements. While surfing, bowling & ice skating seem to be novel, I don't need them. I'd rather have a better wine list I thought the singing waiters on RCL were ridiculous. They don't have those on Celebrity do they? Is there nightlife? Will there be people dancing in the nightclub or singing along in the piano bar? I don't want to all alone in the ocean listening for the crickets I know I won't hear. :rolleyes:

 

Am I barking up the wrong tree here?

[Karynanne]

Hopefully I can answer a few of your questions.

 

No, you won't hear any announcements by the CD. There is only one per day...usually around noon, and that is customarily done by the Captain. He'll give the nautical location of the ship, and some weather information. None of the hour by hour activity announcements.

 

Celebrity doesn't have any of the rock climbing, bowling or ice skating activities also. Nor do they have singing waiters.

 

Constellation is a beautiful ship. It offers a movie theater, a library, a fantastic Spa, along with a Spa Cafe, and numerous venues to daytime events.

 

The ship does have an all-over adult atmosphere. Even though there are two dinner seatings, if you opt not to go Main Diningroom, there is always the alternative dining venue, the Spa Care, Pizza, Sushi, or Hotdogs and Hamburgers near the pool area. And of course room service available at anytime.

 

Hope this helps!

 

Karyn

[trish1c]

Karyn -- you made me feel better. Thanks.

 

Any other insights?

[jerseygirl3]

If you hate sea days, why would you want to book a sailing that, by your own admission, has a lot of sea days?

 

BTW, is this a large group that will be on this particular sailing? Is it job related? If so, maybe you would feel more comfortable since you may know some of the people.

[trish1c]

I certainly didn't design it. The group is a charity I do a lot of work with & wholeheartedly support. They are generally a great group of fun, (good as opposed to wild) crazy people. So I'm assuming that they will take my mind off the fact that I'm going to be "trapped" on the ship. At this point i am just thinking about it; my dislike of sea days may win out & keep me off this cruise.

[LynandBill]

Just wanted to give my imput, and I know my husband agrees. Constellation was our first time on Celebrity. It was a fantastic experience. Celebrity does not have anytime or freestyle dining, but the dining experience (in our opinion) from the service, to the food was a notch higher then the other cruise lines. It seemed to be more formal then princess and RCI. Celebrity not only has formal nights but semi-formal nights. It was rated best cruise ship in the world overall in December 2005 by Conde Nast Traveler magazine.

We had cruised with RCI-8 times, Celebrity-2 times with a third booked, Princess-2 times with a third booked and our least favorite Carnival once. The cruise that you are looking at we really wanted to book, but we have a wedding to go to at that time. I don't think you can go wrong with Celebrity.

 

Lyn

[trish1c]

Lyn that all sounds marvelous.

 

I guess this is going to come down to whether I can tolerate all the sea days. It's an 11 day trip. Every other day is a sea day -- so it's sea, port etc. I think I could tolerate it. I sailed out of NYC this past past NYE & had to deal with 2 sea days in a row. That was tough for me.

[hcat]

what was it you did not like abt the sea days? was the sea rough or did you feel trapped or bored? We did 5 sea days (I think it was 5) to hawaii on Summit & after the islands then 5 days back--it was a bit much having them in a row. In general, sea days are nice to relax, use the pool, spa, lounge, read, movies, wine tastings--I think you should think about this because it sounds like even if the charity is a favorite the trip might not be for you...can you take a friend? You will also have an assigned table & time to eat unless the group has one big area where you can change tables each night...

[Cathy Maneri]

I've cruise many long cruises on Celebrity with alot of sea days and personally, I like them.

 

Sea days gives me time to read, go see a movie, etc. You will find that on the sea days it's a good day to sleep in and just enjoy the ship.

 

On Celebrity they have the Cova Cafe, where you can have a nice specialty coffee or wine. Music at the Cova is usually a string quartet, harpist or quitarist/singer.

 

If you don't want to go to the dining room (especially on formal nights) they have a Casual Dining venue where the daytime buffet is on deck 10 in the aft of the ship.

 

It's very nice, the food is good and the waiters and assistants are in training, so they just ask that you leave about a $2 to $5 tip.

 

You should make a reservation and ask for a window seat. It's nice and quiet there and you will find many people take advantage of it.

 

The buffet does not offer a dinner menu, but they do have pasta (made to order), salad, pizza and sushi (which is very good).

 

I don't gamble either and I've seen most of the production shows, so I don't go to them anymore, but you will find with Celebrity they have some great solo performers. You will find pianists, NY and London theatre soloists, comedians, aerialists etc. Don't miss them, they are very good.

 

Please let us know when you return what you thought of this cruise, we would all be curious.

 

Have a great time, I know you will!

[skandls]

If you are considering a cruise with a group they usually have some activities scheduled for the group members. Many times these are on sea days as it does not interfer with shore excursions.

 

Check to see what the group is going to do when on board - they may have many activities you will enjoy on sea days.

[trish1c]

what was it you did not like abt the sea days? was the sea rough or did you feel trapped or bored?

 

I always feel crowded like one of a heard of cattle on sea days. There are just too many people vying for the same limited spaces.

 

Art auctions, bingo, games, lectures, movies, on board shopping & hanging out relaxing in my cabin are not my things on sunny days. I want to be outside in the sun but the pool gets too crowded for me. It's like I have no elbow room.

 

When I go to a beach I will hike across burning sand just so there is no one within 20 yards of me. I like space! I know that's at a premium. In port I can usually find some place with more solitude.

 

If I do this trip I know I will have to get a balcony just so I can hide when I need to. :)

 

At night I like having people around.

 

I expect that the group will have organized events, especially dinner. Part of the organization is that we usually eat dinner together on land so I would expect to eat with them at sea. If I know everybody & it's a party I'm OK with specified dining times. I'm just not crazy about it when my group is smaller; which is why I prefer freestyle cruising. I do love to dress up & the organzation's "uniform" includes tuxedos so I'm sure formal night will be a blast.

[hajekfam]

I've cruised RCL's Majesty of the Seas as my 1st cruise. I needed to see if I'd like cruising. Does that make me a returning guest for Celebrity since they have the same parent? Can I use my Crown & Anchor & does that get me anything?

 

What level are you in Crown and Anchor? If you have only cruised RCL once, and never cruised Celebrity, then you are not a returning guest as you do not have enough cruise credits to get equivalent recognition on Celebrity. In that case, you would be a first time cruiser on Celebrity and eligible to join their past cruisers club after completion of a cruise on them. .

The past cruisers club on both lines offers reciprocal membership only when you reach the over 5 cruise credit level. Also, each line keeps their own count (they are not added together), when you move up a level in one, you also move up to the equivalent level in the other.

[trish1c]

Just one. Found NCL after that. Moved up their ladder. I was just curious about the relationship between RCL & Celebrity; thanks for clarrifying. Obviously, my past guest status is not a huge concern.

[bobbyleduck]

Dear Trish:

 

It sounds as if you're trying to talk yourself out of going. Don't work so hard. If you've cruised, and it sounds as if you have, then you know what you enjoy. This cruise doesn't sound as if it's for you, at least not yet. My advice is for you to donate money and time to the cause and then go on a cruise that you will enjoy.

 

I have sailed Celebrity once, through the Panama Canal. It was a 14 day cruise, with 6 ports. I thought it was great. In fact, I thought it was so good that I've booked a TA cruise aboard Millenium in December. It has only 5 ports for a 14 day cruise, and it has 5 sea days in a row.

 

If a port every other day doesn't sound appropriate for you, then who knows better than you. I hope everything that everyone has said has helped you, but in the end you can't lose if you go with your instinct.

 

Happy cruising to all!

 

Bob

[Lois R]

Hi Trish:)

 

I was almost going to say the same thing as Bobby just posted.

I know the internet is hard to read sometimes~in terms of tone,

inflection, etc. but after reading your posts it really does sound

like you are almost trying to either talk yourself out of going or

trying to convince yourself to go.....not sure which.

 

I love Celebrity and the product they offer. Very few

announcements, fantastic service and wonderful food.

 

As for sea days and the amount of people I have never

had a problem with either.

I thought the M class ships would be too big for me too

but after sailing one of them I am glad I was wrong;)

and have been on 3 of them.

I really have never felt like I was being herded, then again

I have never had a hard time finding a spot to sit and relax.

 

Anyway, I hope you find what is best for you:)

and as you said, you are planning to get a balcony so you

would have your own space whenever you wanted it.

 

Here's hoping you find whatever will bring you peace of

mind...whichever cruiseline you choose.

[GORDONCHICK]

I have found that if you're cruising with people you like, the time goes by much faster. We've cruise three times, twice being with a group of friends (and Alaska is coming up with them as well). It was fun to see friendly faces. We could get up friendly card games or participate in the trivia games. Just hanging out and talking was more fun. Don't get me wrong - the cruise we did on our own was great, but we just think it's more fun with some people we already know (plus new cc friends from the roll calls). Maybe that will help you not focus on the sea days!

[reesser]

Celebrity is an excellent cruise line, although I have only been on it once in June. We have been on 10 others. Celebrity does not have the daily singing waiters. As I recall they only had one performance and that is when they brought in the baked Alaska. Your Crown and Anchor membership is only worth while if you have the Plantinum membership (5 points) or higher and then it is transferrable to a Select Membership on Celebrity - It gets you in additional parties, backstage tour, galley tour, etc. You have to cal C&A membership line to get your Captain's Club - Select Member number. Celebrity's computer system is a mess. If they do noy recognize your number, when you get on board, go to the Captain's club rep on the shp and they will put a sticker on your sea pass.

Bob

[trish1c]

I've wanted to try celebrity for a while. I love the organziation that is sponsoring this & already do alot for them so even if I don't do this, the charity won't miss out.

The reason you all can't figure out whether I'm trying to talk myself into this or out of it, is b/c I don't know which one I'm doing. :o My hang up is with the # of sea days. Just how crowded will the pool & other sunny areas be?

At this point I also need more info & I need somebody else to buy in. I can't get my BF to commit to a cruise in the short term, never mind next fall but if we go on the trip that's most likely next (March '08), he's going to tell me he can't go on another vacation in 2008. GRrrrrrr . . . but that's a whole different topic having nothing to do with the merits of celebrity.

[warmwinds]

What an interesting cruise. When you said a repo from NJ to FLL I thought it would go down the East Coast, not to Bermuda and the Caribbean.

 

I really like the idea of alternating cruise and port days - gives you a chance to sleep in and relax before the next port, but obviously it's not your cup of tea.

 

But the real reason I'm posting is how do you find other repo cruises? There is no category on the Celebrity website other than "Transatlantic" - any suggestions?

[trish1c]

What an interesting cruise. When you said a repo from NJ to FLL I thought it would go down the East Coast, not to Bermuda and the Caribbean.

 

It is a really cool itinerary & the flight back is dirt cheap.

 

On some of the bigger travel cites there is catagory for repositioning cruises. They usually hide them in a pull down menue somewhere.