CFC

I booked the Celebrity Constellation on August 26 sailing at the last minute and thought I had made a mistake after reading about the service cutbacks, downgrades in food/menus, and age/condition of the ship.  I had a great trip and the link to my full review and pictures is below.

I agree that the ship cabins desperately need a remodel,  the main dining room menus are boring, the side dishes are repetitive, and the plating is very school cafeteria-looking, which is such a disservice as it doesn't taste as institutionalized as it looked. Maybe it was bad luck, but the dinner servers and wine service staff in the main dining room were not very good - details in review, but they seemed like they wanted to argue with guests.

I thought the staff all over the ship (except the dinner service in the main dining room) was great. The common areas of the ship seemed to be under constant cleaning, and they did a good job on the pool desk cleaning up after people. The cabin service was excellent and I have no complaints. I really enjoyed the entertainment. They had live music all around the ship, and I liked the headliners, production shows, and thought the entertainment crew was wonderful all around. It was much better than my last cruises on Princess and Royal Caribbean. I was impressed with the quality and variety of the acts, and I think the cruise director Sue is doing a fantastic job. 

Overall, I really enjoyed the ship and would sail again in a second. Just my two cents  - thank you to the Cruise Critic members for always providing insight and lively discussions. 

My review can be found here. 

I know two people who cruise 100+ nights a year. They have high standards on what ports they like; not bothering to get off the ship in ports they don’t like and only visiting the rare new port. They both have their favorite ships but will pick something else when it is a new port or unique/first time itinerary on their respective lines.

While I can’t imagine not getting off the ship, I would at least walk around the port. They are cruise experts and know what works for them.

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I like to prepay tips in order to trick myself from seeing my rather hefty final balance. Also, spreading out the expenses doesn’t hurt as generally pay these several weeks before sailing.

Lastly, my wife doesn’t like cruising, so it’s just the kid and me. She knows that I budget $100 per person per a day, prepaying the tips helps me to disguise one expense and “stay” within budget. It all the same pot of money and I’m fooling nobody, but it makes me feel better.

Happy Travels

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ALWAYS take a copy of the Princess Patter (or applicable daily "newsletter" for your cruise line) with you when you go ashore, especially if you're going on an excursion that is not sponsored by the cruise line. That's because if something happens and you miss the sailing time, the name and contact information for the Port Agent for your cruise line will be printed there and that is the person whom you will want to get in touch with to help you get married up with your ship again. They will also probably have your travel documents should you have left them in the safe in your cabin.

 

 

Tom

I now take a picture of this information with my phone and delete upon return. Not a perfect solution, as I could loose my phone, but I hate carrying extra paper(s) and find this work for me.

I took my son 9 and nephew 11 on the Adventure last summer. The port intensive cruise had us very busy and very little time to do all of the things on the ship. We had a blast, we did go way over budget on excursions but we still talk about all the things we did.

We are taking a different nephew this summer and were considering 1 and 2 as well. We choose 2 again because this nephew has never been to San Juan and it was cheaper.

My pick is 2.

People will be offering you Turtle trips from the beach. You should be able to pay $20 from the beach and they will take you out to the turtles and provide snorkeling gear.

Yes, you can do both. We really liked the Concorde Experience it was really neat to get close to the plane.

I would suggest a cab/driver so that you can leave the Concorde Experience and go straight to the beach.

-Dover Beach at St. Lawrence Gap

-The Boatyard in Bridgetown

-South Coast Boardwalk if you are out of time and want to walk along the coast instead

I lean to Dover Beach as it would be on the way back to the pier and is rated higher.

Have fun!

Sorry that you and your family just missed the boat. A unhappy lesson learned but I hope you will consider cruising in the future. It is a blast with the kids. It is also an important reminder for us all to arrive early and the need to have passports. Hope to see you on a ship someday.

We did the beach break and Segway tour. We had a nice day. The Segway tour only goes up and down a large hill. Great for our first time on a Segway. At the beach portion we climbed to the top of a fort, great views. We didn't want to be on a bus all day and enjoyed this tour.

Yes, don't expect much. One night no fish (krab, vegetables, and egg) at all and the second night they had some smoked salmon.

OP here, can't quite decided what to do yet. The comments on crowding kinda scared me off. Tried to book a car but none available at this time. Might just hire a cab for the day.

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Actually you are incorrect. ...

Yes, I must be incorrect and apologize for my previous post.:o

...This was an expensive Christmas show. Come on folks... are we really that low class? ...

If the other patrons can afford these "expensive" tickets, then what "class" should they be in?

What the person next to me wears, has zero impact on my enjoyment of any show. Variety is the spice of life, to each his or her own, who am I to judge?

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Very helpful, thank you for taking the time to post these. Appreciate your efforts.

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San Juan cruises generally leave latter in the day, so you will have many non-stop flight before final boarding. I always take the first non-stop flight out (same day) and make sure that the same airline has a few more non-stop flights after mine, that arrive before the final arrival time for the ship. Checking the flight schedules of the same airline is important, some airlines will not transfer tickets to other airlines.

I find Orlando has better prices and more scheduled flights than Tampa.

Have a great trip.

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I updated the columns for page 5. I will take #6.

dstein - thanks for doing this.

I completed page 5, I do have two suggestions.

1 - add a date posted field so the age of the posting is known to the viewer.

2 - add the post number from cc for data consistency - just in case of any mix ups.

Just my two cents, thanks for doing this.

I will take #5.

Thanks all, I booked a car with Coastal this morning and added the GPS. Arriving on Jan 2, 2015 on the RCL Adventure of the Seas.

Travelling with my 9 year old son. If you have any ideas please let me know.

Would like to see Marigot, have a nice lunch, nice beach, Maho, and anything else you can think of.

Thank you all,

Chris

 

 

 

St. John's,, Antigua

 

- looking for a beach

 

 

 

Philipsburg, St. Maarten

 

- going to Maho Beach on our own to see the planes land

 

I sail on AoS in Dec. I also plan to do a beach day for St. John's. I read that Valley Church Beach and Darkwood are nice. Considering Coconut Beach Club at Yupton $50 pp includes drinks and lunch.

In St. Maarteen we plan to take a bus to Mullet Bay and then walk over to Maho Beach around 1 when the big planes land.

Never been on AoS, can't wait to see what she offers. We have booked Giovanni's on the formal nights, hope we enjoy it as much as you did.

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For resort, I like the JW Marriott and Ritz-Carlton at Grande Lakes. It has the most bang for the buck in my book. This is a large hotel so no 5 star or attentive service, but I like the hotels and lazy river.

I would consider the new Four Seasons, if the rate is under $500. I also like the Villas of Grand Cypress, they just finished a remodel and you can use the facilities of the Hyatt Grand Cypress down the road.

I lived in Orlando for years and I don't like any of the hotels near the port. We generally fly in the day of, but if we need a room we stay in Orlando.

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Recommended, required, and more importantly company enforcement --all mean something a bit different. As long as your husband has clean clothes and is not embarrassed by what he is wearing, then let him dress in what he is comfortable wearing.

He will be fine. If not, he can change, go to a speciality restaurant, order room service, or go to the buffet.

Go have a great cruise and don't worry!

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If my parents took just one of my siblings, I would be hurt. Unless it was some master plan where each child gets their own vacation with mom or dad. Otherwise, I would use it against my sibling in the future and leverage 😄 for 'who' will eventually be forced to take of mom.

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I watch prices, track in Excel, and use a price tracking tool. I have not seen any days of the week or time of day patterns for lowering prices. As expected, final payment and 56 days before departure, when 50% kicks in, you see activity.

It is best to check daily and hold a cruise fare as soon as you see a price you are happy with. The good ones can be available for just a few hours.

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Any drink at the pool bar of any ship is perfect at that time for me. My DW loves the lava flow.

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