stones902

Was there any ambient noise from the nightclub during the evening?

Recently, while doing a little research I noticed a newer category of cabin on the Reflection called the Signature Suite.  It's located on deck 14 forward and if memory serves me correctly used to be used as a conference room area.  My concern is noise because the suite is located just outside of the Observation Lounge / Nightclub.  Has anyone every stayed in a Signature Suite and if so did you experience any noise from the club at night?

Thanks in advance for your replies.

There was an upcharge for Decoy on our Constellation cruise Jan 3-12.  It was an extra $2 bucks per glass.

44 minutes ago, go.without.you said:

Well they are about to give us the heave ho and make us walk the plank. This cruise has been amazing!

 

I was worried about being on an older ship when I booked this trip. When I was cruising 20 years ago it was always the better and more senior staff on the newer ships because they would bid on their contracts, but what I've been told the cruise line sends them where needed so that's a win for the passengers. 

 

The only complaint I have, other than this cruise was too short (they are all too short) is the captain's club. I did not receive the list of captain club activities for the week. I was discussing this in Michael's last night with another guest and the concierge overhead me and brought over the paper. Of course it was too late at that point and I should have asked him earlier, so that's on me. I'm not going to blame the cabin steward either because he went above and beyond. I left him a note thanking him again for the use of the charger all week along with extra cash.  If you get Meggan as your steward, you are in good hands. 

 

We considered kidnapping our waiter Royce but then realized it would be an international crime so then we decided against it. Ain't no one got time for that, as the kids say. 

 

So I'm giving this cruise a 10 out of 10 and it almost makes up for last month. Almost, but I'm still pissed at MSC. 

 

And sorry I didn't post the wine list. Zho (pronounced Joe) was the wine steward and each meal I would tell her what I ordered and she would match me with a wine. She would even give us a "road pop" (in FL talk that's a drink for the road). I asked about the upcharge on drinks and wine and was told it was in effect but we never ordered anything above the package or else we were given the better wine on the sly. We had a Chilean pinot that was amazing, highly recommend. 

Thanks for your review.  We're boarding the Connie next week (our 4th time on board) and have one of the Celebrity Suites.  We happen to like Michael's and I will be sure to ask for the list of activities.  I know a couple of the entertainers have done special performances in Michael's in the past and we really enjoyed them.  Definitely would hate to miss those.

One question if you happen to know the answer.  At least during a couple of the dinners on board we enjoy ordering a bottle of Caymus if it's available.  Lately on many Celebrity cruises it's been hit or miss if they have it on board (I know it's not a package wine but we order bottles anyway).  Did you happen to see it anywhere on board?  If not our 2nd choice is Belle Glos by the bottle.  

We board next week.  I think this will be our fourth on the Connie.  Anxiously awaiting more of your review.

Adding to this that smoking is not allowed on the smoking deck area while refueling is underway.  I know it seems obvious but you sometimes don't notice the barge below.

2 hours ago, bguppies said:

We were able to dock in Costa Maya last December but barely.

The ship was slamming into the pier all day. 

Inside the ship you would have thought there were hurricane force winds outside.

But when you left the ship and walked down the pier it felt like a strong breeze at best.

So clearly when they built the additional part of the pier to allow more ships to dock, it must have somehow increased wind force on docked ships.

 

Best of luck docking on your day in Costa Maya.

Interesting!  Thank you for sharing.

23 hours ago, c-leg5 said:

Reports and photos that I have seen this year of Costa Maya region haven’t been nearly as bad as I would have expected, given that this was forecast to be a bad year.
 

The baffles really seem to have helped the bars in the middle of the malecon and understandably, it has been the out of town locations that seem to have suffered most.

 

I agree, it could happen anytime depending on currents but generally November through February have tended to be clearer in our experience. Costa Maya does seem to have had a significant problem with strong winds affecting docking this year. I don’t know if it has anything to do with the alignment of the new extended pier but there seem to have been a significant number of ships that have been unable to dock.

 

I haven’t been to Costa Maya this year but we had several visits last year and were very disappointed with the area and policies since cruising resumed.

It's been a few years since we've visited Costa Maya (maybe 5-6).  The last time we visited the shopping area just off the pier had been expanded significantly.  It's was quite a maze to navigate to get to local taxis.  I was not aware that there are docking issues with some of the ships.  I hope it does not affect ours as I would be disappointed if we missed Costa Maya.  

4 hours ago, c-leg5 said:

Not impossible! but less likely to have sargassum in January.

The sargassum is pretty much a year round problem anymore.  

On 8/31/2023 at 5:45 PM, bguppies said:

What day will you be in Costa Maya?

 

It will help people make recommemdatioms for you. (since many folks favorite Maya Chan, is closed for most of the hurricane season the past few years after Covid.)

We're scheduled to be in Costa Maya Jan 10

It's been a few years since we visited Costa Maya and in doing my research I'm finding that a number of beach clubs have popped up that didn't exist during our prior visits. I would be interesting in hearing any recommendations for a club that you enjoyed.

A little about us - late 50's early 60's, enjoy tequila but not huge day drinkers, looking for something comfortable rather than a party spot, don't really have a budget but looking for a quality product.

Thanks in advance for any replies.

16 hours ago, m8zenblue said:

So, is there a basic Starlink ?

We have basic Wifi included as part of our everything package, is that Starlink or something else ?

Not really into streaming but I need to check email and Blink cameras daily.

Starlink is simply the means that the ship uses to connect to the internet, whether you have basic Wi-Fi service or premium. Basic service allows one to send and receive emails, download and print a boarding pass, maybe send a text. Premium allows streaming data - watching TV shows or video, listening to Pandora or some other streaming music service. Either way, with Starlink your service should be much better than it has been on this service in the past. We were on the Apex in April and were really pleased with our premium internet quality on board. 

19 hours ago, goofysmom99 said:

Yes, Constellation has Starlink and premium speed is fine for streaming.

Thank you!  That's good to hear.

It’s been a couple of years since we’ve sailed on the Constellation and I recall the WI-FI service at that time wasn’t very good. Does anyone know if the ship has been incorporated into the Starlink system yet?

We’ve found the WI-FI on the Edge and Apex to be excellent. Hoping that the rest of the fleet is also upgraded. 

11 hours ago, ssadie said:

I want to book a 5 hour excursion on my partial Panama canal cruise, but I hear we will have to wait hours in the hot sun waiting for the ship to arrive/ What has been your experience/

Honestly, I wouldn’t do that in Panama. Stick with the ships excursion. You don’t want to hang around the port area in A small group. 

Is there an issue using shareholder credit along with other discounts (such as Elite +)?

9 hours ago, Cruise Gopher said:

Does anyone know if Celebrity has Clase Azul tequila onboard?  If so, would it be included in the premium beverage package or would it be an up charge?

 

I’ve never tried it so I’d be curious to try it out if it’s available onboard. 
 

We are very familiar with that tequila and have done many Celebrity ships.  Have never seen it on board.  The best I have seen on an X ship is Don Julio 1942 in the World Class Bar.

3 hours ago, Cruise a holic said:

We really love the sky suite on the M class ships.  On the S class nice, but not as large.  Never had on the edge class, but from the picture looks smallish.  

 

 

 

 

We enjoy the S class back corner sky suites.  Nice balcony with a side view.  The only drawback (and it is just a slight drawback) is a support pillar located right next to the bed.

4 hours ago, maryannbon said:

When did you hear that your upgrade was accepted?

I submitted for the upgrade approximately a month prior to our sailing in January.  We didn't hear that it had been accepted until 3 days before we sailed.

45 minutes ago, DaKahuna said:

 

 The number given was 1456 so as Randy said - about 50%. 

Thanks so much for that info!

3 hours ago, Schmoe38 said:

Hi Kurt

 

We’re running around 50% capacity.

 

Randy

Thanks Randy. I was figuring 50-60% myself. Don’t know if you caught this on the news but last week Carnival reported the most bookings in one week in the company’s 50 year history. Not that I care about Carnival but I think it speaks to the cruise industry bouncing back. 
 

Regards to you and Connie - Kurt 

I’m sorry if this was asked but I am curious as to the number of passengers on this sailing?  Our January cruise on the Silhouette was around 1/3 capacity. Thx. 

25 minutes ago, maryannbon said:

Good Morning- Has anyone used the Move Up program to bid on upgrades? I am booked on a Veranda stateroom and bid on 6 different cabins, all the suites, in addition to other cabins. Has anyone had success with this? If so, how does it work? If any are accepted, do they just choose one?

I’ve used Move Up as well as booked suites directly. The last cruise we had booked group space and the best accommodation I could directly book with that TA was a Concierge. I used Move Up and bid an extra 1100 per person which was accepted to jump into a Sky Suite. 
 

Of course there are drawbacks. We upgraded our internet and drink packages separately. We didn’t get the Captain Club points normally associated with a Sky Suite.  Normally we travel by our ourselves and always book suites and would have been better off doing that again however as part of a group this was our only option this particular time. Hope this helps. 

2 hours ago, Stockjock said:

In my view, Constellation and Infinity were scheduled to be transferred to Pullmantur, but when Pullmantur dissolved the company, that put the kibosh on that.

Not sure what Celebrity's plans are for Constellation and Infinity.  I would guess they aren't a part of Celebrity's long-term plans, as I would be surprised if they sink a lot of money into those ships after already revolutionizing Summit and Millennium.  Spending many millions on 4 very old ships doesn't make a lot of sense, so at some point I wouldn't be shocked to get rid of them.

It’s difficult to predict their strategy. The Connie mostly sails from Tampa because it’s one of the few ships that can fit under the Sunshine Skyway Bridge. I don’t know what is going to happen with cruises to Cuba in the future but Havana Harbor is pretty small and I know the large ships are way to big for those cruises. We’ve also sailed her to St. Barts which can’t accommodate large ships either. 

No it hasn’t. We sailed her in November.