scubamommy!

We also got a price drop on the cruise that I am getting ready to take. Well, we actually did not take the price drop, we upgraded the stateroom instead. :) However, the reason was because the PYP was still being offered at that time. Others that tried to get a price drop, and the promo was not in place, could not get the drop without losing everything.

 

You can change the date and the ship and keep everything, but a price drop for the same cruise would be treated differently unless the 1-2-3 promo was currently being offered at the time of the price drop. Booking onboard may have a different set of rules. I have not read the fine print under the flyer. I'll just ask the FCR while onboard next month. :)

That would be great if you asked. It seems to me that I DID ask the very nice and experienced gentleman that was helping us and he said yes, but then again I didn't get anything in writing so it really does not mean much. I just took his word for it. We'll have to wait and see but I would love to know the response you get as well. Thanks!

Excellent, Good for you and Kudo's also. If he doesn't like it just don't read it!

 

I like a review like this but if I didn't I'd keep my opinion to myself.:rolleyes:

Just one of those people who like to complain that I mentioned in my review. I let it go in one ear and out the other. I won't let one person bring me down, I'm to high up in my happy place! :)

Really? We were told we could change the date or ship or anything and they would stay with us? For our cruise this time we got the lower price when it dropped and the package stayed with us, we didn't have an OBC, so I don't know about that? I hope you are wrong, but you probably know better than I since you have done this a lot more than me.

LOVED HIM. Someone ordered a drink which I thought was pretty (yes that is one of my criteria- so what!) so I asked what it was (Sex on the beach) and what was in it. WHen I found out it had OJ, I said I would not like it, I don't like OJ. He asked what I liked and I said pineapple juice, and he whipped something up for me. Very great. He was my fav bartender. I wish we had discovered him before Thursday.

 

DH and I were also on this cruise. We wanted to book another cruise, but the prices were so high. We are debating whether we want to bring our DD. I want to bring her, but I loved AQ class. So we decided to wait. We are really wanting to do something for our 10 year anniversary, which is next May, which means probably Bermuda and the itinerary was not out yet. But we may do Carribean. The decisions to be made...

We booked for next March on the Reflection ( now I get to research her) and the prices were a bit higher, but my guess is that they will come down at some point. We booked because of the OBC and drink package offered. We would take our kids again in a heartbeat but this next cruise will be kid free for us! ;)

Hi Lisa -

 

Did you have late seating or early? Did you take the kiddos to any of the shows?

 

Thanks

We had the late seating which was at 8:30. Now my kids usually go to bed at 8:30 even on week-ends but I knew the 6:00 seating would cut our days in the sun and fun to short. We grabbed snacks from the buffet around 4 and went back and took naps on some of the days and it all worked out fine for my family. Each family needs to do what is best for them. It is nice to have the different options available.

We took the kids to the early (7:00) magician show which they really enjoyed and the early show on the last night with lots of dancing and cute costumes, the boys enjoyed the pirate part and my DD loved it all. I am sure there were others but those were the only two that fit into their schedules. Hope that helps.

Scubamommy, liking the "autobiography" review, especially since I write that way myself (paints a better picture of life at sea). Keep it up.

 

 

 

Thanks Jimham, I remember enjoying your review VERY much! I loved all the pictures you posted too, wish I could figure that part out but I still don't even have them downloaded to my own laptop yet, they are still on the disk......

Oh no! I would have panicked too! LOL Glad you were "discovered" quickly!

I thought the disembarkation was pretty slow too, especially since I got lucky and was in group 7 to go, and then discovered a missing bag when we got to the car and I had to wait for the entire ship to clear to receive my bag! Totally my fault of coarse but still didn't make it easier. I was told that it was extremely slow and not the norm, plus we were in that other doc 29 instead of the usual one so maybe that was why? Who knows. Hopefully it won't be the same for the future cruisers.

Yeah - I know that you mean:p

Yes he was so incredibly nice, talented and not hard to look at! Do you remember Challas ( pronounced like Holla only with a ch)? He had more hair and they often tag team their tricks. Half way through the cruise he shaved his hair short like Marko's and they could have passed as brothers! Loved them both! If anyone see's them on their upcoming cruise ask them about the pink hat, they will laugh, then you can tell them they are being raved about on these boards, they will get a kick out of it!

Like the end of a cruise, I find myself wishing this review was longer! Not that anything is missing, but I loved reading it so much I don't want it to be over. Counting down until we sail on the Connie on Monday!!! 6 more days!!!!!!

 

 

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Thank you so much for that. You will have soooo much fun! Enjoy!

Hi Scubamommy - enjoyed reading your trip report....and looking forward to your next one. :) Did you notice any sports equipment or sports oriented games at the FF? I thought I read in a previous post that there was basketball - although I can't imagine a ship having space for a court. Just curious as to what types of sports activities they offer as I rather have my son being active rather than sitting playing videos or watching tv...plus he loves playing sports. Thanks in advance!

They often took the kids out as a group for sports oriented events and you will be surprised to learn that the Constellation has just added the largest basketball court on any ship. At least that is what I was told. It did look pretty big and held a lot of kids! :)

I was worried too about the whole video game thing but the activities were VERY well rounded! Enjoy!

Great review! Have never been on this ship but was on Summit last year and leaving on Silhouette Sunday. Anxious to see the cabin difference between M and S class ships.......do have a question tho. You said in your original post that the kids couldn't go on the balcony without you. Was that your rule or the ship rules?

Oh, that was just our own safety rule. They do not have any rules about kids on balconies that I know of. Have a great CRUISE!!!

You said you had to show your passport card in KW. Does that mean we have to take our Passport to show? Don't want to carry it in KW and would need to allot time to go back to the room.

YES! We had to show it at our meeting place/check in point ON THE SHIP. You can then go back and put it back in the safe like we did. No need to carry it ashore. Once on land and To get back on the ship we only had to show our seapass card AND ONE OTHER form of id with picture, drivers license is fine.

If we do this cruise again I will make sure it is the other direction.

In KW we just had to show our seapass and passport card as we walked through The Rendezvous Lounge on the ship and that was it, they asked our kids if we were their parents and we were DONE. The papers we received the night before said that anyone not through customs by 9AM would be fined $3000.00. Everyone received a time to report, ours was 7:30. But in retrospect we probably could have waited till later as long as it was before 9:00.

In FLL we had all our bags and went through the regular procedure on land.

Day Five : Key West

We woke much to early even though we didn’t want to. We HAD to go to customs which only took about 5 minutes tops. It was easy breezy but I would have to say this was the thing that bothered me most. We would have loved to sleep in, maybe have a late breakfast on the balcony, but those plans were not to be had. Ah well, I guess it got us motivated for our day earlier, so I guess that is the glass is half full scenario. We grabbed DH his coffee at Café Bacino and some treats for the kids. I had a most delicious caramel macchiato and knew I would have another one of those later today! Then we headed down to explore Key West. We got tickets to the Hop On Hop Off bus ( kids 12 and under ride free) and enjoyed the tour. We took our picture at the Southern Most point, we explored the outside of the museums and the little city streets. We stopped and grabbed a chocolate key lime pie on a stick at Kermits and did some shopping. Some of the adults wanted to go bar hopping so my friend and I took our kids back to the ship and let the others go have some adult fun. Her and I enjoyed buffet lunch on the sunset bar and took the kids to the pool. We had a drink or two but certainly nothing like the first part of the cruise. The group in KW, on the other hand, were back in full party mode but still made it back to the ship with some time to spare.

We went back to the rooms to pack things up and get ready for dinner and the final show tonight before dinner. The kids and I enjoyed the costumes and dancing on stage. The kids joined us for our last dinner at San Marco mainly because they wanted the escargot and French onion soup one last time. The KW group still were ready to party at dinner so we all had one last fun night at the dinner table with them keeping us in hysterics. We agreed it was great to sail with everyone and would try and arrange our dates to match for the next one. I was tired and really wanted to go back to the room but the kids had begged to go to the FF one last time too. I actually MADE myself go out JUST so they could go say their goodbyes, I only lasted a little more than 1/2 hour at Reflections ( who had the same Comedian that night) before I caved and picked them right back up. The rest of the group were fading fast after partying hard in KW. The kids absolutely loved the FF, earlier that night had the auction to spend their funny money they had won and they all came back with MORE little toys.

Day Six: Debarkation

On the last day we had decided to go the San Marco for our last breakfast together. It was very good and we all had wished we had done this sooner. Not every day but at least more than once. They had our fav crispy hashbrowns and it was nice to be served breakfast while everyone was seated together instead of shifts. We passed out all the pictures and said our goodbyes. We scanned over our statements and found a few discrepancies where we had been charged for drinks when we shouldn’t have. By the last two days it was hard to read the cards and some of the bartenders who we didn’t know us, must have charged us thinking we didn’t have the package. Here is a tip: if your card is starting to wear get the sticker put on it so they all know or just keep getting a new card. We went down to customer service desk and straightened it out . When we got back to the room to finish up packing there was another statement with some of the discrepancies removed and some remained there. I called the desk ( since the line was quite long) and they assured me they would be removed. When we got home my card had been overcharged so I actually just got off the phone with a very pleasant lady who claims they will refund it within 3 days. It wasn’t a whole lot but hey it wasn’t mine to pay! The charge didn’t show up till just today on my card so there is no way to know it will be correct unless you actually get a statement in black and white.

We went through customs which was SUPER LONG that day, even the porters said it was crazier than normal. We rode the park and go bus to our car (which by the way, was 1/2 the price if you book online prior to the cruise, than the cruise port terminal parking price) when I noticed one bag was missing. Oh No I must have left it in customs. No biggie right? Better now than later when we were on the road for our 12 hour drive back. We loaded up and drove back to the port where I was informed that I could not go back in to get my bag till the ENTIRE SHIP was cleared and EVERYONE was through customs. WHAT? Oh my, it certainly was no ones fault but my own, but what a mistake! Sadly it delayed our departure by almost two hours. We sat and waited with two very exhausted kids till we saw the new guests arriving for the next cruise. Than a gentleman went in and retrieved my bag for me. We were on the road for about 2 minutes before we heard snoring coming from the backseat! DH took the first leg and I looked through all the pictures again and then was fast asleep beside him in no time.

In Short Summary

We LOVED every minute of that cruise and it almost brings tears to my eyes when I think its over. Nice to have a future cruise booked indeed! I learned that in no way whatsoever that what is said on these boards hold true for everyone. I learned a great many things from these boards prior to this cruise and am sooooo grateful to all of you who helped me. There are many happy people wanting nothing to do but help, and I can’t thank you enough for that. But there are a few complaining and wanting to bring you down to their miserable level. Don’t fall for it and don’t believe it! Go and enjoy every minute of your cruise. Make it what you want it to be. The crew and staff on board the Connie were just fabulous and willing to do just about anything they can to make your trip wonderful. If you come across one you don’t care for, then move on to the next place, because they will be better at the next place! If you try something you don’t care for then order something else because it will be better than the last. If you meet someone who is complaining, kindly excuse yourself because why listen to it anyway! Go out and ENJOY! We certainly DID!

DAY FOUR: AT SEA

We ALL slept in on this day. Went to the buffet for breakfast but not before claiming some chairs on deck 11 looking down on the pool. They were disappearing fast again on this second and last Sea day. Had a omelets made to order but couldn’t find those crunchy hasbrowns anywhere. There were several people searching for them with no luck, I heard a lot of people asking about them. The only ones that were to be found that breakfast were soft round potatoes that the kids and I didn’t care for but my DH said did the job. To each his own. After breakfast some went to sun and some went to check out the shops on board, the kids went to FF. They were having a picture scavenger hunt that day that the kids were looking forward to. I actually HAD to drag them out of there later in the afternoon just to get them to come out to the pool.

I went down to gather some of the pictures our group had accumulated. They hold them at the desk for you ( even if you don’t want them to) till the last day, not sure why they insist on this? We had decided to book a future cruise at this point, actually our entire group of 10 did. They were offering an nice OBC plus a pick your perk for future bookings. We decided to do a parents only cruise next time for our 15yr anniversary next year. We would take the kids again in a heartbeat, they are easy and the FF make it REALLY that much MORE easier, but sometimes you just have to do the adult thing. We were convinced to try the Reflection next time. I would have been happy to sail Connie again but we wanted some different ports. We will try our first 7 night that I will continue to enjoy these boards for information on that one. Back to the pool to play some of the games like the football toss, bean bag throw, trivia true and false and watch the volley ball games. My DH went back to the balcony to recline in the chair and take a nap.

On this day at Sea I told everyone we had to try The Aqua Spa Café so we got some smoothies that the kids enjoyed but never made it back for lunch. I had also told the group that we had to go back to try Bistro on 5. After several drinks poolside, the kids at the FF we decided to go check it out. We all ordered two different things (soup, salads, pannini’s and of coarse the crepes) and split them all, I loved the Mexican one and the veggie Panini, the salads were good and some of group raved about the cream of broccoli soup. There were so many ohhs and ahhs and mmmm’s that we would certainly go back there if on a longer cruise. And for only $5 WELL WORTH it! We ordered all 3 dessert crepes and then a couple more of the Dolce Leche one. Ohh how I wish I had one of those RIGHT NOW! I really wanted to try out a specialty restaurant that night for dinner but by the time I FINALLY convinced everyone, there were no reservations left for a group this big. Ah well, something to look forward to next time. But just to note , the reason I was having such a hard time convincing them was because they couldn’t really justify the added cost since we were all enjoying our dinning experience in San Marco so much. Reminder, the menu had some good dishes but really it was the service that made it all even better! The kids decided to do the buffet early tonight and go to the FF and the adults enjoyed a kid free dinner. We were actually wanting some nice wine and a quieter night so we went to the wine bar before dinner on this night, had one glass and decided that the wine bar was just not for us and that we missed our two fav bartenders at the Martini Bar. The wine was just fine, but again service makes ALL the difference. The gentleman behind the bar seemed very bothered by us so it did not give us the “warm fuzzies” we had come to enjoy here on the Constellation. And yes, we did tip him too because that is just what we do. Of coarse he ended up shorting himself because we had no plans to go back there.

After dinner we decided to blow some money in the casino, that didn’t last long, My brother was up $300 at one point when he should have walked away, but of coarse didn’t and ended up $100 in the hole. They had a dance party on the deck that night so we went up there but we were all so wiped out at this point My DH and I called it an early night. The kids were not happy when we showed up early to pick them up from FF. I heard the rest of our group didn’t last long that night either. All the partying was catching up with us old folks! LOL . Plus I knew we had to be up early for customs in Key West. We went back to the room and I read on the balcony while everyone else fell fast asleep.

DAY THREE: Cozumel

knock knock at 7:30 from Francis our room steward. Good Morning he says in a quiet whisper since I am the only one awake to answer the door and tip him. He places our room service on the table and leaves with his usual smile. My son smells food and wakes immediately, my hubby smells coffee and kinda wakes up and my daughter snoozes away. Hubby and DS have their omelets and bacon ( both not cold as warned here on the boards) on the balcony and we all watch as we pull into Cozumel and dock. DD wakes up and we switch chairs for her to enjoy her yogurt, fruit and hot chocolate and me my bagel and juice. It would have been nice to open that connecting balcony so we could all sit together, I will say that, but no complaints as it was still a lovely way to start the day. We pack our bag for the day to go to Chankanaab to swim with the dolphins. We head down to 5th floor to grab some waters for the day and coffee for the hubby ( he had to finish it before we went ashore) before heading off ship.

The kids loved the dolphin push and pull experience, they got to kiss, hold and swim with him and be pushed on a boogie board. After, we reviewed the MUCH TOO expensive prints. Since I had just bought the photo package on the ship I wasn’t going to shell out another couple hundred for this days pics. The kids really wanted to get a picture of themselves with the dolphins so my brother, Uncle Deanie bought the whole disc for them! These kids are spoiled I tell ya! BUT we are on vacation. They got spoiled rotten and now back to reality with no sodas, no candy till Easter and certainly no staying up past midnight!

After the experience we head to the beach to do some snorkeling and boy what colorful ( and BIG) fish we saw! DH and I are scuba divers and DS took his first diving lesson last month but we promised we wouldn’t go family diving till DD was old enough to go with the family. So they snorkeled some more while we sat under the breezy little huts on another beautiful day. We ordered drinks.... and what's that you say? We have to PAY for these!!??!! Well ok IF we have to. We also ordered some wonderful fresh made pico and guac with homemade chips and some very fresh shrimp ceviche. Best fish they had all week! We could have stayed at that park longer, it really is beautiful and even if you don’t do the dolphin gig you should go for a relaxing day on the beach. There is a coupon to download from their website that gives you a discount. After some of them took naps in the hammocks and some of them tried about 30 mini shots at the Tequila factory it is time to head back to the ship for for a dip in the pool, some pizza and sushi munchies at the Sunset bar and more drinks poolside. I tried the lemon ice cream this day and it was really good. The kids had been enjoying a cone a day but today was my first and I have to say I liked it better than the gelato.

We dressed and got ready early so we could see the magician before dinner. Kids enjoyed it more than the adults. It was entertaining but nothing to write home about. The contortionist was impressive and scary at the same time. Martini Bar for a French Martini and some more entertainment and off to dinner. It was another lovely evening. Kids went off to kids club after dinner and adults went to see the late night Comedian. Get there early as spots are limited and I heard many complain the next day that they tried to get in and were turned away. Don’t worry if this happens as it is the same show again on the last night so you will have another chance. The headliner was pretty funny. They mix a burlesque dancer in between acts which many of the guys enjoyed, I actually enjoyed her little show too. What I could have done without was the juggler. I am not a juggler fan. He did about 25 minutes of juggling which I found got old fast, but my husband enjoyed that part. I had a drink in hand and a full belly from dinner so I was just fine. After the show I was EXHAUSTED so we all agreed to sleep in the next day at Sea. Pick up kids from FF. More chocolates on the pillows but no more towel animals.

I love this review and the OP's writing style. Makes me feel like I was onboard with her. :D:D:D

teehee you made me laugh! For those that are reading this, she WAS on board with me!:D

I really love your review. We are sailing on the Connie in a week. I am going to have 3 kids with me. If you could post some feedback from your kids about FF, that would be great! Keep up your posts in the future.

 

 

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I can't say enough about the FF! They loved it. They made some friends, the staff was great, they loved the scavenger hunts , the funny money rewards from the contests and the auction at the end. They mostly ate with us for all the meals but if you sign up for the VIP they can eat there at meals and give you some quiet date time for the parents. Mine are easy at dinner and are real foodies so they enjoyed joining us and trying the escargot and frog legs and other things I could never afford or find to get them at regular places. BTW, they also have a kids menu in the main dinning room with chicken fingers, burgers, dogs and what not. Every night at 12:00 they put on a movie, they have bean bags to relax on and some fall asleep, but no worries, they drowsily come out when you come to get them. How old are your kids? Any specific questions?

Hi:)...if you email Host Andy he can update the title of the ship for you.

You have only 15 minutes to edit a post on here.

Thank you I will do that!

Enjoying your review. Too bad you didn't catch the distinction between M class ships (of which Constellation is one) which have plenty of storage space and S class ships which have only 3 drawers in the cabin and thus the collapsible bins come in handy for the over-the-bed storage. Oh well, you'll be prepared when you sail on an S class ship!

AHHAAA, I didn't catch that and good to know, we WILL be sailing again, and probably on S class although I loved every bit of Connie and would not hesitate to do her again and again!- Thanks!

DAY TWO : At Sea

Day two I thought I would be able to sleep in since I was FINALLY ON SHIP! But no such luck, the kids slept a little and the hubby CERTAINLY slept, when I called the other cabins I found out my walking buddy slept in and my brother slept in so I walked by myself that day. I claimed some chairs on deck two above the pool with some towels and flip flops. They were being claimed fast that day. Breakfast in the buffet was no let down. Omelets to order and every kind of eggs benedict you could think of. Tons of meats, cheeses, fruits, pastries, breads and the best crunchy hashbrown squares, pancakes and waffles with several toppings including whipped cream. Tons more, again, name something that wasn’t on it! We took our plates to the Sunset deck which was just so lovely with the breeze and view of the beautiful blue water. It was easy to get refills on our plates since it is so close to the buffet too. We ordered some waters swearing not to start drinking till much later. The coffee there was ok so we made a mental note to stop at Café Bacino before breakfast the next day. After breakfast we went to our chairs. The kids checked into the Fun Factory and we enjoyed some people watching. After a bit of sunning and watching the Zumba class ( my friend participated) on the pool deck I decided to head down to The Photography Shop. They were running a special on the photo package if you bought it the 1st and 2nd day ONLY. I was planning on getting it anyway and I am soooo happy I did. If you have a big group or kids or just like photos I HIGHLY recommend getting this. It is usually around $200 for the 5 day just for the photos but I had a coupon ( thanks to a CC member who MAILED it to me- THANK YOU) combined with the discount and got all pics AND the CD for 179.00. There must be a face recognition aspect or something because it is suppose to be just for your cabin but it included our whole group. We were photo happy the entire cruise and had a great time. Now we have a TON of photos PLUS the CD. GREAT DEAL!

I stopped at Café Bacino on my way back to the pool and got the Affogato: espresso over a scoop of gelato, which is a GREAT TIP I learned on these boards. It is included in the Premium package. The gelato is not, you have to pay for gelato. However with this you can order the espresso on the side and any flavor gelato you would like and its all included. Niiice! I ate the gelato and took the espresso to my still sleeping hubby. He loved it. Back to the pool where some of our group had already ordered adult drinks. Well, if you can’t beat them, join them! The kids came and swam a bit while we sat on the ledge sunning. The pool server named Devon came around and made us laugh as well as kept our glasses full ( again, a small tip of $5 may have helped that situation too) For lunch it was that wonderful pizza, some burgers that we waited WAY to long for in line and a few other things from the buffet. I especially loved the Panini station all the way in the back. Made to order grilled sandwiches with your choice of bread and toppings. Not half as long as the burger line and much better IMO. More sunning/swimming/drinking and before you knew it was time for a nap for the my youngest ( and maybe mom too). Later my hubby grabbed some sushi ( gets put out at 5:30 every day) and a few beers and brought it back to the room so we all enjoyed some on the balcony. BTW, they will only give you one drink at a time per card but you can take as many cards you want to order drinks. We learned to order water every time we headed back to the room and kept it in our cleared out mini fridge. Also learned to ask for that to be cleared out upon arrival from these boards. The fridge kept it nice and cool for whenever we needed it.

We dressed in our tuxes and formals and went down for some pictures and martinis before dinner. Have I mentioned how much I loved this bar? LOL They even made some fancy N/A drinks for the kids. Dinner was fun for everyone even the kids. We all had a great time dressing up and being waited on by this fine staff! The kids went and changed clothes and off to the Fun Factory. We headed back to the Martini Bar and then found our dancing in Reflections Lounge on deck 11 that night. The DJ was pumping ( yes LOUD) music and we loved dancing till 1:00AM when we had to check the kids out of FF. When we left, the place was still jumping. My brother said they stayed out till after 2.

When we got back to the room we found some towel animals and more chocolates on the pillows. The kids loved it. I filled out the room service request earlier and hung it on the door for breakfast the next morning. We had big plans to swim with the dolphins at Chankanaab the next day in Cozumel. We ALL slept VERY sound that night! zzzzzzzzzzzz

Posting so I can follow your posts. Leave on Connie in 2 weeks.

 

AND can you walk the deck all around the ship. Not the jogging track but the deck?

Deck 11 has a track between the row of deck chairs on the inner side and outside of the ship ( looking down on the pool). I think we figured that ten times around is about one mile.

I walked that so I don't know if there is a deck that goes around the entire ship. Sorry, maybe someone else knows that answer?

Well thanks, if you can tell me how to change my title I will write blow by blow instead of review. :)

You can skip the rest of this thread, because unlike you I enjoyed reading guests blow by blow before my cruise. Hopefully some others will too.

more to come for the other days, but I just noticed I spelled Constellation with only one l. Any way to edit the title?

Thank you to ALL the folks who reviews I read in anticipation of my cruise. I lived vicariously through you all for about 6 months prior to our cruise on The Constellation on March 31st. I learned many tips and secrets that I used throughout our trip. Hopefully this review will help some of you who are yet to board. Our group consisted of me (45) my DH (54) our two kids (DD9 and DS11) our two friends (45) and son (10) and we were meeting my brother and GF who flew in from OH in their early 40’s. They also had two of their friends from Canada in their late 20’s. Below is day one which probably will be longer than any of the other days and I am sorry in advance not to be able to figure how to posts pictures. But if you like to read then this should work:

We arrived in Florida after driving 12 hours through rain in every city we went through. As soon as we arrived it stopped. We checked into our cute little Hotel that hadn’t been mentioned anywhere I could find here on CC. It was a dated 70’s Best Western Plus in Oakdale. It was only $139 a night and this time of year every other hotel was 250++ that I looked into. I figured it was only two nights how bad could it be. Like I said the hotel itself was kinda dated but it had this wonderful little courtyard with a VERY clean pool and tiki hut/bar. The rooms were on the small side but the beds were updated clean and comfy. That night we let the kids blow off some steam in the pool while the adults had a cocktail and ordered some pizza. It was a quiet start to our vacation but just what we had the energy for.

The next day I went for my morning speed walk and found the beach about a mile and 1/2 straight down the street. The sun was rising and it was sure to be a beautiful day. When I came back our group was gathering for our complimentary breakfast at the hotel. It was fine, they had eggs, bacon, waffles, breads, muffins, fruits, juices and coffees. After breakfast we loaded up and went to the beach. It was a perfect sunny day and we found a hotel on the beach that served us some drinks and lunch, can’t remember the name but it was nice to be served on the beach! That night we cleaned up and went to PF Changs for dinner because my husband works there in NC and wanted to stop in and see some friends. It was only a mile from where we stayed and is always so good no matter what state you visit!

Boarding day, My brother ( who flew in) arrived at 10:30 and the place was empty and they could have walked right on, but they waited for us. We drove and there was a lot of construction around the port, we made a few wrong turns which delayed our planned arrival of 11:00. We arrived at 11:30 and the place was starting to get pretty busy. A few lines and many helpful smiles and we were on board by 12:30 with a champagne in hand. Our first stop to avoid the craziness at buffet was to head to Bistro on 5 since someone mentioned this as a good tip/secret. Guess what, the secret is OUT! It was full with many waiting, so we HAD to go to the buffet. It was extremely difficult to find a table and it was packed but we found one and grabbed some lunch. My son had a burger that was very tasty, I had a salad and egg salad sammy on a fabulous seeded artisan bread, my daughter had some pasta salad and some fresh fruits and pizza and my husband had one of everything he could pile on his first and second plates. EVERYTHING on that buffet is top notch, have not seen a better buffet anywhere! Different stations for ethnic centers , a pasta bar with too many choices to even try, great fresh salads and fruits, a Panini station, a burger bar, a pizza station, I am not sure you could name anything that WASN”T on it! And everything we all tried was DELISH!

We enjoyed that and some drinks while the kids got some cookies and ice cream when we hear the announcement that the rooms were ready. Well that place cleared out in seconds like someone yelled FIRE! We decided to grab a drink back on the Sunset Bar and enjoy the sun and some pina coladas. I like mine topped with Myers Rum. Christopher was bartending and I tipped him an extra $5 and for the rest of the trip every time he saw me he had my Pina Colada with Myers ready. I tipped another $5 here and there for him as well. We had the Premium drink package so I really wanted to try some new drinks but it just seemed like they were very busy, although they kept up fine back there, they didn’t really have the time to chat and make suggestions. That’s ok, there were other bars that did. I had a cold drink every time I wanted one.

Off to the rooms. We were on the 6th Floor in 6086 and 6084. The rooms connected (for our kids) through a door in the middle and the balconies did NOT connect. The kids barely went out on theirs as they were not allowed without us so they would always just come over to ours. It was a small balcony with two chairs and a small table. We enjoyed breakfast one morning and several afternoon snacks and naps in the chairs that reclined. There was PLENTY of space in the closet and plenty of nice wooden hangers. There were 6 drawers PLUS two under each nightstand. I had heard to bring small foldaway boxes because storage was at a minimal but I found it to be MORE than enough for us. Didn’t even use the storage boxes we brought. We also brought on some wine and champagne so our room steward, Francis brought us a bucket for the champagne so we could enjoy mimosas on the balcony the next morning, and by request also a separate ice bucket that both were kept full of ice all trip long. Even though we NEVER opened up that Champagne since every night we had so many drinks at every bar we just came back to the room to sleep and every morning I couldn’t think of drinking so early ( we waited till at least 11 AM despite saying we would wait longer each day). The lifeboats were directly under us but when seated you didn’t even notice them, you just looked out to that big beautiful blue sea every time. When you were standing you could see them and of coarse you couldn’t see directly below you because of them, but if you are booked in these 6th floor rooms, have no fear they will not bother you in the least! We did our unpacking because our bags were starting to arrive already and were ready to explore.

The kids changed into their swimsuits and we were off to check out the pool and the FUN FACTORY. We checked them in to the Fun Factory and thought the room looked small and they were not thrilled with the looks of it. We had intended on signing them up for the VIP package which was $75 per child and let you stay at the Fun Factory any hours you wanted to play. The factory closed between 12-2 and 5-7 for meals and at 10PM. If you were a VIP you could stay through those hours and eat with that group or stay after 10 to play the games till final closing at 1:00AM. You could also pay $6 per hour per child through those hours as well. The VIP package also lets them attend a couple backstage tours and they get a fun back pack bag with some headphones, a t-shirt and other small things. After a while the kids went to the fun factory and fell in love with ALL the fun activities. They REALLY kept them busy playing things like apples to apples, wipeout, scavenger hunts and pillow fights & movies late night. They wanted to join the VIP after spending just an hour there so we did. BEST INVESTMENT PARENTS!!! If you plan on staying out at night this is GREAT! They loved it, we loved it and everyone was SUPER HAPPY! They even had different games and contests you could win “FUNNY MONEY” and on the last night they had an auction to bid on prizes with that money. The final factory pick up time is 1:00 AM. Most nights we lasted for it, but on the two nights I couldn’t keep my eyes open any longer we went to pick them up and they wondered WHY we were there early. The staff was wonderful, I never saw how many kids there were as parents are not allowed past the front door, but you can check on them any time you want. And both mine made fast new friends.

We were suppose to meet our other cruisers from Cruise Critic at Sail Away at The Sunset Bar so off we went after a quick muster drill. I had seen one cruisers picture so I went up to introduce myself and chatted for a bit. She was with her daughters and I was with my group so I figured I would see her later on in the cruise as well, but I never saw her again till we were going through customs on the last day. If anyone else was there from our roll call I did not know it. If you plan on meeting others I suggest name tags or wear beads or have a sign or some kind of better plan than just “lets meet at this place” because who is to know who is who? It’s a shame Celebrity does not offer anything for a 5 day cruise. We had a ton of friends with us but had it been just my husband and I, we would have enjoyed meeting some others. Not that we didn’t meet plenty of great folks throughout the week. It just would have been nice to meet the folks I had been talking to throughout the last couple of months.

We let the kids hit the pool and discovered there were not to many available chairs ( read: none) around there to sit. Many chairs had towels but no people so instead we sat on this ledge ( plenty big even to lay on) and watched the kids take a dip. We decided that IF we wanted any chairs for tomorrow we had better “claim” them with towels early. I know many of you will scoff but if that is what every one else is doing than how are we to do it any other way. We woke the next day, claimed some chairs on the second deck facing the pool since all the other ones by the pool on the main deck were already claimed at 8AM ! We ate breakfast and would go lay out for a while. Towels were never removed by anyone from anywhere that we saw. If you want those big comfy chairs better get up at 6 to claim them, I never got to even sit in one. But that’s ok, we liked our spot on the upper deck with the nice view. When the kids wanted to swim we would go and sit on those ledges with our feet in the water.

But I’m getting off track, back to dinner. It was time to get ready and head out. We stopped at the much spoke about Martini Bar and met the two best bartenders aboard!!!!! Marko and Challas. They made some suggestions and I was hooked on the French Martini for the rest of the trip. Also liked the White Cosmo and The Sunset . My husband enjoyed a new found fav of Belvedere Intense Black Label with blue cheese olives ( the olives he loves and they didn’t have any that first night however on night two those guys had a WHOLE BC WHEEL just for my hubby for the rest of the cruise) We tipped them several $5’s throughout that night and they took GREAT care of us through the ENTIRE trip. They are entertaining and ON TOP of things! Always doing tricks and ALWAYS have smiles on their faces. I think they would have taken great care of us without the extra tips, but we are used to tipping being in the service industry ourselves. Its always nice to have a little extra. And really, what else are you going to do with the small bills in your purse? Everything is already paid for! LOL. As soon as they saw us coming they would start to make our favs without even asking and reach OVER the CROWD to hand us our drinks. Love them I tell ya!

Time for dinner and everyone piled into the San Marco main dinning room. The only time I really felt like cattle, but after enough martini’s who really cares. We told our kids.....

WAIT: side note for those of you who scoff at drinkers with kids: It is ok to have fun and have a drink when with my kids as long as they are behaving and everyone is still in control, most of the time I am saying things in jest and fun about over drinking so PLEASE do not scold me for drinking around my kids. I AM Catholic after all, we are known for our drinking! LOL

...we told our kids they HAD to eat with us on the first night and formal night ( which was night two) and then they could decide if they wanted to sit through the two hour dinner or go to the kids club. They enjoyed tasting so much of the different dishes and enjoyed the conversation and really the service too, they both choose to eat with us all but one night. The service was excellent. Sarono was the head waiter who was very professional and remembered what everyone liked each night, how they liked it and so forth. I am a vegetarian and he had a special menu waiting for me (different each night). They also were able to adjust some of the regular menu items for me as well. Some of the dishes for the vegetarian menu were on the bland side and a few were pretty good like the pasta the last day, the spring rolls and gnocchi, but over all I would say this is were they could use some improvement, plenty of options, but they could lesson the options and make them a bit more tasty. The assistant was Angela who was a pleasure to talk with and joked with us from time to time. She nicknamed my son James Bond due to his wearing his tux on Formal night and whenever she would see us in the daytime ( she worked in the buffet then) she would stop and talk with us. The dishes that got raves from our table: The escargot, the lamb and a few of the steaks. Most of the fish dishes were less to be desired besides a seafood risotto dish that included shrimp, scallops and calamari. Some fav desserts were the chocolate cake, the crème brulee and the grand mariner soufflé. We ate in the main dinning room every night and although the food was not “the best I ever had” it certainly wasn’t bad at all, I would say most at our table were happy and ALL were full at the end of the meal. We enjoyed the service and the wine at dinner. Our Sommelier Belinda was quiet, made suggestions and ALWAYS kept our glasses full. We tipped all three of these folks extra on the last day. They deserved it!

Also to note: I had read two different things about the guests on Celebrity: 1- they were older and might be too boring and 2- because of the drink package the Spring Breakers might be to rowdy. But we did not see any Spring Breakers ( really at all) getting out of hand and all different ages on board, not just a bunch of boring seniors. There was a great mix of old and young and everything in between plus plenty of kids to boot. And I also read more complaining here on this board than I ever heard on the board the ship! LOL

After dinner we signed the kids into the VIP Fun Factory and went to explore the night life. First back to the martini club for another martini ( or two). Marko and Challas entertained and took care of us again. The Rendezvous lounge had a funny guy playing guitar and cracking jokes. We listened to that a while but were in the mood to dance so we went to the Reflections lounge on the 11th floor. They had a band playing that was not bad, but not great either. Not fitting to our dancing mood. But that was all we could find on that first night so we went back to the Martini Bar to get to know our fav bartenders better. After several more it was time to sign the kids out of the Fun Factory and hit the beds. The kids came out all smiles and when we got to the room we all found nice little chocolates on our pillows. Everyone was happy, full, some a bit tipsy, all exhausted and went to bed with smiles on our faces!

Fini Day ONE.