Celebrity Cruise Line
Constellation Review
Mindy Gilbert
mindy@myvacationlady.com
Itinerary: Exotic Caribbean-
Panama/Costa Rica
Sailing Date: November 10, 2008
Occupation: Vacation & Cruise Specialist
Number of Cruises: 15
Embarkation:
Getting on the ship was pretty uneventful. There were lots
of ships in port including the brand new Solstice. We
arrived at port before noon and had no long lines or issues
getting on. I did hear grumbling from some other guests
about the horrendous lines around 1pm and later.
Cabin:
The cabins were not supposed to be ready until 1 pm but ours
was so we went right up and dropped off our carry on
luggage. Category 2C -cabin 6057, a little bit forward.
Decent sized with a nice balcony but every time I unpack, I
realize how small these cabins are. I might have to upgrade
to a suite at some point. There is ample drawer and closet
space but the night stand drawers were hard to open. There
is a stocked mini bar in the room which can be locked and
there was a $19 bottle of wine sitting on the desk for sale,
which we put away.
The Constellation is a few years old now and is in great
shape but there are little things in the cabin that would
make it better. Larger, flat screen TV would be nice.
Shower with a door not curtain. They had nice in room
bathroom amenities but no shower gel. They do have separate
shampoo and conditioner which is always appreciated since
days at sea really dry out your hair. The wall hair dryer
is from the old days and is in the bathroom. There is only
1 place to dry your hair- standing up in the steamy
bathroom.
There was an issue with the cleanliness of the bathroom upon
arrival. It was taken care of relatively quickly. There was
an imprint burn of an iron on the bed spread. The carpet
near the balcony door was dirty (could have used a
steaming). None of these took away from our cruise
experience.
Ok, now let’s talk bedding. We were in a standard balcony
so we didn’t get a pillow menu but I am a bed snob. My bed
at home is a very soft pillow top. I have severe back
problems and sleep well on soft mattresses. The mattress in
the Courtyard hotel was much better than the one in our
cabin. Yes, there is European bedding covering the very
hard mattress. I did ask for a mattress topper and received
it but even my husband, who can sleep on anything, is
complaining that this mattress it hard.
In all, the cabin was kept clean. I heard that the ship is
going into dry dock in April of 2009 and, hopefully, the
soft goods, etc will be upgraded. Ice was replaced 2x
daily. Extra towels were always put in the cabin, per my
request. No complaints with the cabin steward or his
assistant after the first issue.
Food:
Food is always a big deal on ships and we have always loved
Celebrity’s food. We haven’t sailed Celebrity in a few
years and I noticed a good number of differences.
• Portion sizes seemed to be a bit smaller- but you can
always ask for more
• There were only 3 specialty desserts listed daily
instead of 6
• You had to ask for fresh pepper- it wasn’t brought
around automatically
• Escargot was no longer on the “always available” menu
(per Olman, our waiter, shrimp cocktail was also removed but
was brought back due to an uproar from the guests)
• Fresh berries required a 24 hour notice. When I asked
for them for dessert, Olman said that he would see what he
could do. The next evening, our table mates had escargot
for an appetizer and I had my berries for dessert. Olman’s
motto was to under promise and over deliver- A good motto
for a waiter working on tips!
• The fried potato baskets were no where to be found.
This was always a big part of the Celebrity dinner
presentation.
Now for the food- in general, quality has remained the same
There were a couple of choices that I didn’t love but it was
my fault for ordering fish (which I am not a big fan of) in
the attempt of starting off the cruise on a healthy start.
There were multiple entrees that I would have chosen each
night at dinner, as well as appetizers, soups and salads.
My husband is a fan of Celebrity’s cold soup and had a
different one each night. On our 11 night cruise, the menu
did not repeat itself which again was nice.
We split breakfast between the dining room and buffet and
they were equally good. Table mates of ours said that the
eggs benedict were wonderful. Again, in and attempt to eat
healthy, my breakfasts primarily consisted of oatmeal and
fruit. I did have an omelet, frittata and the waffles. All
were good.
In lieu of a midnight buffet, there was a brunch set up from
10am – 1pm on a sea day. There were a couple of nice ice
sculptures, some beautifully decorated trays, and all the
breakfast and lunch offerings you could want, including a
pancake station. I asked for chocolate chip pancakes.
There were no chocolate chips to be found. The pancake
maker looked at the main chef, who picked up his cell phone
and within 5 minutes 2 huge bowls of chocolate chips
appeared. Now that is what Celebrity is all about.
Lunch at the buffet was a good selection of hot stations,
carvings, salads, freshly made pasta – prepared in front of
you with the ingredients and sauce of your choice, pizza,
sandwiches and paninis. The Asian station was not
particularly to my liking but there were so many other
options, it wasn’t an issue. Burgers, franks and tacos were
available poolside daily as well as a light menu at the
AquaSpa Café during limited hours.
Fellow Cruisers:
This was where the cruise was very different from most of
the Caribbean cruises that we have taken.
There were many more non Americans on this cruise- over 400
Canadians, over 250 British plus a good amount from Germany,
other European countries, as well as a large number of
Spanish speaking guests. Seemed to be about a mix of 60%
Americans and 40% non Americans.
Our table makes were a nice mix. Steve and Kathy are from
England. Elena and Nils and Maryann and Ken were traveling
together from New England and a young Mexican honeymoon
couple was placed at our table as well. It was unfortunate
since they were sitting with people their parents‘ ages and
they spoke little English.
This would have been a great honeymoon cruise since it left
on Monday and lots of days at sea to relax, but I would say
the average age was between 50 and 70 (probably skewing up
closer to 70 than to 50).
There were a few kids on board- mostly younger with parents
and grandparents. There were a couple of honeymooners.
The guests were primarily white with a few black guests, a
few Indian and Asian guests and a number of Latino guests.
On Board Activities:
Mindy= Sushi chef. Yes, you heard it here. If the
travel business slows down, I will be looking for a job as a
sushi chef. I made a California roll and something else
(not a clue) but it was fun and I have pictures because I
know no one will believe me.
Although there were full agendas of activities, many were
not well attended. The poolside games got cancelled because
of no participants. There were trivia games, name that
tune, bingo (of course), computer classes, cooking demos and
more. Since this was a long cruise, and the age of the
guests was on the older side, I wasn’t expecting a loud and
exciting atmosphere. It was quiet and relaxing and just
what we needed.
Art Auctions were a big thing, as was acupuncture. The spa
seemed pretty busy, as was the fitness center. The shops
had the usual assortment of jewelry, clothes and gifts. We
browsed through at the beginning of the cruise and didn’t go
back- even for the sales. We weren’t looking to shop on
this cruise.
Dress Code:
Well, the fashion police were not out in force. Even on
formal night, the attire ranged from Tuxedos and dinner
jackets to tuxedo shirts, bow ties and no jackets, to sport
jackets and the entire gamut. Celebrity is trying to
maintain a dress code but it seems that neat goes more than
dressy. It seemed that the Americans were the ones who were
more casual than the non-Americans. The smart casual nights
have really toned down. It is now- long pants for men-
without rips or holes- so basically, jeans are ok for
dinner. We did see men wearing sneakers for dinner as
well.
Evening Entertainment:
One complaint here was that a number of the shows were
before the late dining. We specifically take the late
dining so that we can relax before going to dinner. The
best entertainment was the comedian and magician/comic. The
production shows were good although we only saw 2 of the 3.
They had a few solo acts including members of the singers
and dancers, orchestra and a very good pianist-who was quite
the showman.
The casino was smoky in the
evening so I rarely ventured in. It was crowded during sea
days and every evening. They did have $3 blackjack tables
as well as $.25 slot machines and those were always busy.
Perry Grant is a singer/comedian/all around entertainer who
draws a huge crowd nightly in Michaels Club.
There is usually standing room only. Apparently he has been
on the Constellation for years and still draws them in. One
evening he appeared with the orchestra in the Rendezvous
Lounge and there was still standing room only. He could
fill the theatre with out difficulty.
The lounges were busy each evening with different acts.
Ocean Liners- Specialty Restaurant:
Price tag is $30 per person or $27 per person for a more
limited menu but paired with wine for every course – at an
additional $31 pp. We chose the standard menu. The food
and service was sensational. It was a 2.5 hours dinner and
worth every penny. I had sea bass and my husband had a
scallops and lobster main course. We started with lobster
bisque, lobster and vegetable salad and ended with a fruit
and cheese plate and dessert. Definitely a must do.
Ports of Call:
GRAND CAYMAN: Always beautiful and even though a
hurricane passed through last week, you would never know
it. Since we had already been there, we decided to visit
some hotels. We saw the Ritz Carlton (my favorite), the
Westin, Sunshine Suites, Grand Cayman Beach Resort and
stopped into the Marriott. We walked miles along 7 mile
beach and there is good reason that it is listed as one of
the best beaches in the world.
CARTEGENA, COLUMBIA: This was a new port of call for
us. We decided to take an excursion through the cruise line
and chose the Deluxe City Tour with Fortress. The tour took
us to both old and new Cartegena, into the Inquisition
Palace, San Pedro Museum and a long visit (and climb) up to
the top of the fortress, with panoramic views of the city.
The tour included 2 shopping stops, both of which I could
have done without but my main issue were the massive amounts
of street vendors and beggars. I would recommend a tour if
you are visiting Cartegena instead of wandering around on
your own.
CRISTOBAL PIER/COLON, PANAMA: Directly outside the
ship is a newly built cruise terminal with shops,
restaurants and more that lead to a huge parking garage for
the tour busses. We took the Panama Canal Tour which went
through 3 of the 4 locks. Unfortunately, we had the bad
luck to get a very bad tour guide. She was new to Panama
(recently moved from India), spoke with a very heavy accent
and was very difficult to understand and was very
unknowledgeable about history and culture of Panama. She
also repeated herself several times and said some outright
offensive remarks to many on the tour. The boat was too
small for the group, with bathroom facilities down a very
steep set of stairs. Many times the toilets clogged causing
quite a problem with the 70+ passengers. The only bright
part of the tour was the other tour guide, Roberto, was very
knowledgeable and repeated what he had told the people on
his bus. We got to go through 3 locks. It rained during a
good portion of the trip which did dampen things a bit but
our main purpose was to go through the locks. We, and many
other guests, filed complaints about the tour guide and the
boat and were given a 25% refund on the tour which I did
think was fair.
PUERTO LIMON, COSTA RICA- Our favorite port of call.
We took the Costa Rica Favorites tour and loved it. We
started with a tour of the canals and our guides had eagle
eyes spotting monkeys, sloths, iguanas and birds of all
kinds. Our group was too large to fit on one canal boat so
we took the small boat and were glad we did since we really
were able to see quite a bit more than those on the larger
boat. From the cruise, we took another 1+ hour bus ride
through the banana and pineapple plantations to the aerial
tram. It started pouring during the ride over and the
Aerial Tram company made a fortune selling ponchos to us for
$10 each. If you are going to take this tour, bring a
poncho with you. The lunch provided was good and the tram
was about a 1 hour tour over the tree tops. We saw some
birds but not much else in terms of wildlife. The foliage
was gorgeous. Took an optional ½ hour walk to see some more
and the guide was thrilled to point out tarantula, ant and
bat nests. Interesting and again, beautiful foliage. By
the way, it stopped raining as soon as we got to the tram so
we have 2 very expensive rain ponchos.
COZUMEL- Been there done it, so I made arrangements
to see 4 different hotels. I rarely sell Cozumel since the
airlift from the east coast is not great. We saw the
Presidente, the Occidental Grand, the Iberostar and the
Cozumel Palace. This port came after a day of very high
winds and rough seas. Unfortunately for many of the guests
who booked water based excursions, they were cancelled due
to the rough seas. Cozumel has some of the most beautiful
beaches and great snorkeling and diving but the seas were
just too rough to go in the water.
Noro virus- About ½ way through the cruise, we were
under high alert for the gastro intestinal virus. Some
passengers had fallen ill. The ship went into extra
cleaning protection mode. Passengers who were ill were
quarantined to their cabin for 48 hours. They were brought
water and Gatorade every couple of hours. Their cabin mates
also were required to stay in the cabins. The rest of the
guests were required to Purell their hands at each dining
venue. We were no longer allowed to get our own drinks,
handle any condiments or anything at the buffet lines. Some
guests became quite nasty about the inconveniences but I’m
sure they would be the first to complain if they got sick.
Please realize that this stomach virus is not unique to
cruise ships. This is the same stomach virus that hits
almost every child in the classroom and can be found in
resorts, office buildings, and any other public place. It
will typically start when a guest boards the ship not
feeling terribly well but is not going to cancel their
cruise just because they are not feeling 100% well, or they
many not even know they are sick until a day or 2 into the
ship. If they don’t wash their hands well, they can pass on
the germs every time they touch a hand railing, door knob, a
chair or elevator button. This is the time of year when
many people get this virus at home as well so please don’t
think of this as a cruise ship illness. Just be diligent
about washing your hands and using the Purell dispensers all
over the ship.
Disembarkation- relatively uneventful. We left our
carry on luggage in the cabin and headed to the dining room
for breakfast. We needed to vacate the cabin by 8:30am and
were told to report to the theatre. Our tag # was called by
9:20am and were actually off the ship and getting on to a
shuttle before 10am. We were back at the Fort Lauderdale
airport by 10:30 am.
Overall impression: In general, we really enjoyed
the cruise and the itinerary. We were very happy with the
food and service. I would have no qualms recommending the
ship to my clients as long as they realized that this is not
a party ship. The longer cruises typically have older
passengers so this is not going to be a ship that young
party goers would necessarily enjoy. I have seen a couple
of cost saving measures that Celebrity has put in place but
that is understandable in this economy. I did miss the cold
cloths upon returning to the ship after a shore excursion.
We had it in Grand Cayman but didn’t see it in the other
ports. The Constellation is always ranked among the top 10
large ships by Conde Nast and I can see why.
I look forward to my next Celebrity cruise.
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