Our Constellation Odyssey, Oct 3~Dec 20

[hcat]

This is my new favorite thread--where to next?

 

This voyage should make the Cap Club newsletter!

[C 2 C]

We are in PEI today and enjoying a heat wave... almost 60 degrees (14C) but winds of 30 mph with frequent squalls..

 

As many know, we are Perry fans and he put on a wonderful show in the theatre last night. Michael's is full every night with many frequent Constellation repeat cruisers. There are lots of alternatives for people who do not like his sense of humour nor his style of music.

Perry will likely take a two week vacation at the end of January so certain people might wish to change their sailing date.

 

A word of warning for any one planning to attend a cruise critic connections party. Josh Riffe, the cruise director, likes nothing better than to hear himself talk. In our meeting last week he introduced himself and did not stop talking for 45 minutes... despite hand signals from other officers that he should take a breather and turn the meeting over to the guests. If he asks anyone if they would like to introduce themselves, say yes right away and grab the microphone.

Despite have experience on other cruise lines, this is his first contract with Celebrity and he can only improve with time.

 

For anyone who likes to dance this is a great ship!

A few people were seriously complaining about the intolerable weather and how dangerous the ice covered sidewalks were in Quebec. Many were upset that there excursions were not canceled.

 

Quebec:

We ventured out in the evening for a night tour of the city in a limo with fogged up windows (the original called for a buggy tour through old Quebec)..followed by a meal at the Continental... despite the five inches of snow we had a wonderful meal.... except for the turnip soup.

It confirmed our suspicion that you can't hope to have a finer dining experience than in the specialty restaurant on board. Although not always perfect and not up to past experiences (I loved the cheese course of old), it surpassed our Quebec dining in every way.

 

Last week there was a very upset passenger because we did not stop at Sydney Nova Scotia. It seems he booked the wrong cruise and wanted to be reimbursed.:rolleyes:

[Andy]

Hi Arno !

 

Thanks very much for the updates. I look forward to seeing You & Joanne, when Constellation sails to Miami. See you in 2 weeks !

[Happy Cruiser 6143]

 

A word of warning for any one planning to attend a cruise critic connections party. Josh Riffe, the cruise director, likes nothing better than to hear himself talk. In our meeting last week he introduced himself and did not stop talking for 45 minutes... despite hand signals from other officers that he should take a breather and turn the meeting over to the guests. If he asks anyone if they would like to introduce themselves, say yes right away and grab the microphone.

Despite have experience on other cruise lines, this is his first contract with Celebrity and he can only improve with time.

 

 

Good lord! Let's hope the other officers get him straightened out before we board in January. That would definitely be a party killer.

[C 2 C]

I hate threads on dress code but our CD did not bother to wear a tie while he introduced the dining room staff prior to the Alaska parade...

I commented about his appearance in front of all the guests in their finery to the staff captain with whom we had the pleasure to dine.. It seems the CD was wearing his tux at second dining...

 

If I thought he needed some polish before, I now believe that the guy "ain't got no class"!!

 

The afternoon elite gathering continues to be wonderful for meeting and making friends.

[ellbon]

i can not stand it when people do ont dress on formal night. wonder where he was at 530- not getting dressed.

 

as far as the celebrity party now i see another reason not to go. I rather be at the pool reading my book.

[trustee55]

Hi everyone,

We were on the first leg of this cruise that Arno has so aptly described to you all.

However, we had a wonderful Canadian Thanksgiving Dinner, abeit a day late.

We had asked for a traditional Thanksgiving dinner a few days before, both to our waiter, GEDE, and our maitre d' They promised to discuss it with the chef.

On Thanksgiving Day, nothing appeared and all 10 of all stood up and waved our arms, saying, "We Want Turkey! We Want Turkey! Once again, we were told our request would be looked into.

Much to our delight, the next day, we were served a delicious Canadian Thanksgiving dinner...roast turkey, gravy, mashed potatoes, vegetables, dressing, cranberry sauce....and because there was no pumpkin on board....a delicous pecan pie.

Richard and I, the only Candians at our table, made the other eight folks honorary Canadians for the evening.

We love Celebrity!

Also, we would like to mention how much we enjoyed being "Elite" passengers this trip. We loved our free two-hour cocktail hour every day, the special breakfast, our free laundry and dry cleaning, and our 90 minutes of free internet time.

These perks alone, along with the superb service and food, have made Celebrity our favourite cruise line although we have 130 days on HAL. We booked two more cruises for 2010, one with a couple who dined with us.

For those who read there was some kind of meltdown on the Constellation...don't you believe it. We have been on her five times, and we love her.

 

Happy Sailing,

Carol Ann and Richard,

Brantford, Ontario

[Johncn]

Hi,

 

Really enjoying your extended travelogue on this trip, and since my wife and I are boarding when you get off the Constellation, we really appreciate detailed posts such a yours. We are living vicariously, a bit, as you make your way closer to our boarding ;-)

 

Keep it up, and have a wonderful trip!

 

Regards,

 

Johncn

[Texed]

Thanks for posting. :)

[Domina X]

Hello Xellent,

 

I'm sure you're enjoying your time at sea on the beautiful Constellation. Been following all the postings with interest. Last year at this time we were on the Constellation and had a great time despite the cooler weather, but nothing like what you experienced in Quebec City. Thought I'd ask you about our favourite waiter. Not sure if he is still on the Constellation or if he's moved on. He was amazing and certainly made our dinner eXperience something to look forward to every evening. His name is Peter , tall young handsome guy. He was eXcellent at his job, with a great personality and nice on the eyes too !!!!!!!!

 

If he's onboard you may even know who I'm talking about. :)

[sealover155]

I hate threads on dress code but our CD did not bother to wear a tie while he introduced the dining room staff prior to the Alaska parade...

I commented about his appearance in front of all the guests in their finery to the staff captain with whom we had the pleasure to dine.. It seems the CD was wearing his tux at second dining...

 

If I thought he needed some polish before, I now believe that the guy "ain't got no class"!!

 

The afternoon elite gathering continues to be wonderful for meeting and making friends.

 

I love your candor! I'm sure you articulated what everyone else was thinking. He absolutely deserved what he got. He showed sheer laziness by not dressing appropriately for both dinners. Did he change into shorts after the show?

 

Also glad to hear you're enjoying the elite gatherings. I'm in severe Constellation withdrawal reading your posts. Hopefully it will be resolved soon!

[Happy Cruiser 6143]

We had asked for a traditional Thanksgiving dinner a few days before, both to our waiter, GEDE, and our maitre d' They promised to discuss it with the chef.

 

Wonder if this is the same Gede we had as our waiter on the Millie? Cute young guy, he made us napkin animals.

[trustee55]

Hi!

As far as I know, Gede has always been on the Constellation. He was our server on our December, 2008 Southern Caribbean cruise on the Connie.

Gede is always the name of the first son in Indonesia.

We love him and would like to take him home, but he is married and has one child and another on the way!

 

Cheers,

Carol Ann

[CruisingChick]

I hate threads on dress code but our CD did not bother to wear a tie while he introduced the dining room staff prior to the Alaska parade...

 

I commented about his appearance in front of all the guests in their finery to the staff captain with whom we had the pleasure to dine.. It seems the CD was wearing his tux at second dining...

 

If I thought he needed some polish before, I now believe that the guy "ain't got no class"!!

 

I also noticed that he did not have a tie on during some evenings when he was introducing the shows in the Celebrity theater. I mentioned it to our tablemates and they agree he should be dressed properly while he's working. I also agree he loves to hear himself talk.

 

And can anyone understand what Alejandro is saying???

 

They need to re-think their activities staff, although I did like Shawna and Danny.

 

Other than the weather being hit or miss we had a great cruise on Constellation.

 

Anne Maria

[barbels]

Alejandro is so cute you don't need to understand him.

[sailsalot]

I've been reading with interest the ongoing report of the trip, as we were on the first leg of it, from 10/3-16. I'm still putting my thoughts together for a trip review. We were first-timers on Celebrity.

 

I feel compelled to speak up about Alejandro, though, in his defense. While he may have been a little difficult to understand at first, as the days went by, we had no problem understanding him. His lack of perfect English diction, however, was made up for by his outstanding enthusiasm for his job, his ability to make each person feel warm and welcome at his events, his professionalism in dealing with the passengers, and his friendly greetings, calling people by their name, displaying his extraordinary memory for names and faces. I think he has the makings of a great cruise director, and hopefully, he'll succeed in whatever he wants to do in the cruising industry.

 

On the other hand, I, and several others, found the two females, Shawna and I think Stephanie, completely lacking in anything remotely intelligent to say or do, and instead, were just good for pushing around the bingo cart and other menial tasks. Trivia, headed up by Stephanie, was painful, and Shawna acted like she was 18 years old and on her first cruise. They contributed nothing to the activities staff.

 

Anyhow, I hope to be posting my review soon! We loved the cruise and can't wait to be back aboard the Constellation!!

[C 2 C]

We just arrived home after our 600 mile ride from Bayonne.

 

We were off the ship at 8:35, picked up by the car service before 9:00.

Our car was still parked at the hotel where we left it.:D

 

The temperature at home in Southern Ontario is 20 C, nearly 70 F. This is the warmest we've been in 4 weeks!.

 

Looking back I wonder where the time went. A week from now we will be back on the road heading for Miami, probably complaining about the heat.

 

Life on board was not perfect but darn close. More after I enjoy some duty free benefits...;)

[suite_thing]

A word of warning for any one planning to attend a cruise critic connections party. Josh Riffe, the cruise director, likes nothing better than to hear himself talk. In our meeting last week he introduced himself and did not stop talking for 45 minutes... despite hand signals from other officers that he should take a breather and turn the meeting over to the guests. If he asks anyone if they would like to introduce themselves, say yes right away and grab the microphone.

Despite have experience on other cruise lines, this is his first contract with Celebrity and he can only improve with time.

 

This was our first experience on Celebrity and with a cruise critic connections party. We left disappointed since we were deprived of an opportunity to extend our network of cruise loving friends. Thank you for clarifying that being forced to endure the endless pitch was not typical. Based on your status with Celebrity I am sure that someone will listen.

 

 

It was a very great overall cruise experience for us, but Celebrity does need to rethink the first impression offered from Josh's imposing presence.

[CruisingChick]

two females, Shawna and I think Stephanie, completely lacking in anything remotely intelligent to say or do, and instead,

 

I thought Shawna was okay, at least she was nice. I found Stephanie rude and condescending at Karaoke one evening.

[cowboy jim]

dear xellent we would like to hear your opinion about this.

 

We were on the infinity to alaska and loved it especially the indoor pool which was free.

 

We were on the emerald princess to the baltics last summer and loved it but missed the indoor pool that the infinity offerred.

 

We are now debating about 3 different cruises to the fiords.

 

May 9 on the constellation... it goes to oslo and 3 fiord ports...oslo we visited on the emerald so we are down to 3 new ports..it also sails in may which could mean cold weather...but it has the indoor pool....

 

June 21 on the eurodam...they claim to have a roof on the pool otherwise they charge for the hydrotherapy pool...the itinieray is 3 ports in norway and 2 in scotland..

 

July 22 on the westerdam...just to norway...5 ports (2 cruising) only fiords. It has the roof over the pool and charges for hydrotherapy pool...

 

which cruise would you choose. thanks. cowboy jim

[C 2 C]

dear xellent we would like to hear your opinion about this.

 

which cruise would you choose. thanks. cowboy jim

 

We cruised the coast of Norway on Century in August of 2008 and it was our best Celebrity experience.

Asking someone about my choice of cruise or cruise line is like asking me what is my favorite color and hoping that we have the same taste.

Choosing itinerary is more important than choosing a cruise line if the destination is important. Our most memorable cruise took us to Israel and the eastern Mediterranean on NCL's Dream. We have never been back on NCL but we have returned to the Mediterranean.

Each major cruise line offers a slightly different approach to cruising and all of them do it well for their own demographic however it may be defined.

The weather we just experienced on our Celebrity cruise was horrible but that is not Celebrity's fault.

Pick the cruise that offers the ports you wish to visit even if the weather is not the best. Once you have finished your excursions, what is important to you for the rest of the evening?

Food is subjective but we were very happy with the new menu choices even though some people complained about certain menu items that they picked. When we cruised on Westerdam last year, we were very happy with the menu, especially desserts which we found to be better than on X. However we did not like HAL's "their choice dining" nor did we like the live bands as much as on X. We find the layout of Celebrity's M-class much superior to the Vista class. We found Westerdam's lower, dark ceilings to be claustrophobic in comparison.

We have just received a mailer from HAL concerning their Mariner perks and I find nothing of interest in comparison to Celebrity's Captain's Club.

The Westerdam has an interesting layout in the Crow's Nest integrating library, internet and cafe but the "Bar at the Edge" would be less busy for actual Fiord observations on cool days.

I would pick Constellation if the ports are the same and the superior benefits for repeat cruisers.

Good luck in making a decision.

[gracecarmo]

up in the Bar at the Edge, deck 11 (or whatever it is called now)....

 

Is the area back to normal? The rags off the ceiling?

 

We sail in Jan.....

 

Thanks Arno, for all your reports.

[Andy]

Hi Arno !

 

Welcome home. As always, thank you for your updates. I look forward to seeing onboard Constellation a week from Monday. I wish you a smooth trip to Miami !

[C 2 C]

up in the Bar at the Edge, deck 11

 

Is the area back to normal? The rags off the ceiling?

 

The bar "over" the Edge is still rigged for Halloween.;) We're hoping the "decorations" will be removed during dry dock next April.

 

Hi Andy:

 

We're looking forward to it.

[C 2 C]

One of the advantages of cruising with the same cruise line and on the same ship is the family-like relationship that develops over time. The following information is available on Celebrity sailings as part of your information package.

Master: Captain Dimitris Manetas

Staff Captain: Costas Nestoroudis

Hotel Director: Christian Deniel

Cruise Director: Joshua Riffe

Guest Relations Manager: Pearline Morgan

F&B Manager: Michael Bramlett

Executive Chef: Francisco Sagastume

 

Select and Elite Members have an opportunity to meet officers on board at the Senior Officers' Cocktail Party which is, unfortunately, held at 11:15 am in the "Bar at the Edge of the Earth".

Holidays and transfers between ships always causes significant changes in the staff on board.

For example, the Cruise director who has been on board only since September, will soon move to Infinity, the Staff Captain is going on holidays and the Hotel Director will leave soon after the next sailing.