Celebrity Constellation

[asalligo]

Good morning, I am thinking about booking the Celebrity Constellation out of Fort Lauderdale in February 2015. This will be my fourth cruise. All of my previous have been Carnival, but I am excited to try someone new. I have a few questions that I hope you can answer.

 

I am considering aqua class simply because everyone seems to be talking about it, but I would most likely never use a spa service, so in effect would I just be paying to eat in Blu or are there other perks worth the extra fee? I see priority embarkation and that is a perk I desire, but to pay that much extra for it would be silly. Am I relegating myself to being a 2nd class cruiser on the ship of I do not buy it?

 

How many paid venues are there on the ship. Carnival often has one paid premium restaurant and a premium coffee shop, but I do not really care for it over the MDR, so I avoid it. What is that scene like on a Celebrity millennium class ship. Can you think of anything that I would be surprised I have to pay for on the ship based on my previous cruises?

 

I am looking for a more upscale cruising experience, I like dressing for dinner and a more mature activity schedule, but I am still hoping for lots to do during the day. My wife often complains that I never sit during a cruise except to eat and that is the way I prefer it. I am not a sit on the deck and relax kind of guy.

 

I really appreciate your insight, thanks.

[asalligo]

Would you also be able to tell me how many formal nights we will have on a 5 night cruise? As I said, I enjoy dressing for dinner.

[Mr.Sunshine]

The M class ships have a lot to offer. I just got off the Constellation yesterday. I prefer the AQua class rooms. Aside from having Blu (which is the best perk ) it's a more personalized dining experience . The spa is great as well with the Persian garden only accessible to AQ guests.So I say try AQ and of your dissatisfied don't do it again, but if your like so

Many others including my self and my wife(12 celebrity cruises and counting) you'll be glad you did

 

 

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[tjncanada]

Would you also be able to tell me how many formal nights we will have on a 5 night cruise? As I said, I enjoy dressing for dinner.

 

 

Only the single formal night on a five night sailing. Celebrity has added a couple more specialty restaurants but I've never tried them. Though you can see things have been trimmed a little since a few years ago I find the MDR just fine and I think their dining is the best of the cruise lines that I have sailed on. The ship is still classy but I found that Celebrity is making adjustments to attract the younger market. For a balance between class and having a little fun you have picked the right ship.

 

 

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[asalligo]

Thanks, what is the Persian Garden? It looks like just a quiet room with a view on the pictures I could find. Is this Celebrities version of the adults only serenity area? Does Celebrity have an adults only above deck area also?

[Mr.Sunshine]

Persian garden is in the aqua spa. It's an area with a Turkish bath, a sauna, and a few other relaxation areas exclusive for AQ guests. There is also a theralassopy(sorry for the spelling)pool

 

 

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[Mr.Sunshine]

Also there is no formal night in blu. Guests are always required to dress for dinner. Slacks and collars shirt. No shorts ever

 

 

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[asalligo]

And all of this is free if I am sailing aqua class, but I would have no access to it otherwise?

 

What about my 17 and 15 yo daughter's that would most likely be sailing in my cabin. Would this extend to them also, or are children not allowed in the Persian Garden?

[Miaminice]

Hi,

 

Persian Garden is a spa with sauna, steam room, heated loungers etc.

I was not to thrilled about it, felt cramped to me and had no windows to the outside.

 

Other than that we loved Constelation! We did the christmas cruise. BLU got us hooked on Aqua Class - on board we booked 2 more cruises, also AQ.

Nice quiet ambiance, stylish but not overdone, nicely presented good food.

 

We dined in Tuscan Grille on night (35$ cover) - excellent.

 

I wrote a review with tons of pics (also of the ship) in a German cruise forum which you might like to look at: http://www.kreuzfahrtinfos.at/kfi-forum/board3-kreuzfahrt-reedereien/board55-celebrity-cruises/board88-reisebericht-celebrity-cruises/4656-reisebericht-celebrity-constellation-karibik-weihnachten-2013/

 

Don't mind the text, enjoy the pics :)

 

Oliver

 

PS: Yes, Persian Garden and BLU are free for (all) AQ guests

Edited March 9, 2014 by Miaminice

[Mr.Sunshine]

I have never sailed with children so I

Don't know but if I had to guess I would say yes everyone is included. That being said I have never seen any children in either blu or the spa

 

 

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[asalligo]

How many paid restaurants are on the ship?

[Mr.Sunshine]

2. Bistro on 5 and Tuscan grill

 

 

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[asalligo]

Ok, that is not bad. Thanks

[workingonlytocruise]

Aqua does not allow more than 2 to book a cabin. If your daughters are going to be with you, you will have to book a separate cabin for Aqua and if you put them in a regular balcony or other they will not be able to dine in Blu.

[Lois R]

How many paid restaurants are on the ship?

 

Actually there are 3 pay restaurants....the original is

"OceanLiners"....the 2 newer restaurants are Tuscan Grille and

Bistro on 5.

 

Click on this link and you can read about the restaurant.

 

http://www.celebritycruises.com/onboard/level3Type1.do?pagename=onboard_celebrity_restaurants_cafes_ocean_liners_restaurant&parentpage=onboard_celebrity_restaurants_cafes

Edited March 9, 2014 by Lois R

[asalligo]

Aqua does not allow more than 2 to book a cabin. If your daughters are going to be with you, you will have to book a separate cabin for Aqua and if you put them in a regular balcony or other they will not be able to dine in Blu.

 

Thanks, that is valuable info, no aqua class for me then.

[kampinguru]

The Thelsassotherapy pool on the Connie is free to all guests.

[miched]

The M class ships were not really made for the AQ class. It was added during the Soltilizarion.

 

The big advantage is dining in Blu for breakfast and dinner.

 

AQ and CC class have larger cabins on the M class.

 

The Persian Gardens on the M class is like a dungeon and not anything the pictures you see on the S class that is shown on the website. You wouldn't spend many days or much time in it.

 

Priority checking is really a non perk.

 

No one knows or cares or gives special privileges because you are in AQ.

 

The thermal pool in the solarium is open to all adult passengers.

 

When in AQ we ate breakfast many times in the Aqua Sap Cafe that is adjoining the Thermal Pool. It was faster and more convient for us.

 

There are a few other little perks in AQ but if money is tight and a few extra sq ft in a blacony cabin doesn't mean much than a regular balcony would be just as good as the perks are really not that noticable or would be missed.

 

 

🍸🍻

[miched]

And all of this is free if I am sailing aqua class, but I would have no access to it otherwise?

 

What about my 17 and 15 yo daughter's that would most likely be sailing in my cabin. Would this extend to them also, or are children not allowed in the Persian Garden?

 

Only two passengers are allowed in a AQ cabin. Contrary to what people think children are allowed to dine in Blu. Many families book two AQ cabins to adhere to the policy of two in a cabin.

 

I think that the Persian Gardens is for adults only.

 

🌊🚢🌅

[SnowshoeCat]

The Thelsassotherapy pool on the Connie is free to all guests.

 

And you can buy a pass to the Persian Gardens. I think it was $20/day.

Edited March 10, 2014 by SnowshoeCat

[scubamommy!]

Persian garden is in the aqua spa. It's an area with a Turkish bath, a sauna, and a few other relaxation areas exclusive for AQ guests. There is also a theralassopy(sorry for the spelling)pool

 

 

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What exactly IS a Turkish bath?

[Miaminice]

In a nutshell it is a kind of steam room... you can also call it hamam, roman bath etc.

[lara68]

To me the main advantage to Aqua Class is eating in Blu. There are strong feelings pro and con about Blu. Personally, and I know I might be an exception, we did not care for Blu. While we loved the ambience of smaller tables and casual dining, we didn't care for the food as much as in the main dining room.

 

We love the Persian Gardens but NOT on the M class ships. It does seem like a hole in the middle of the ship with no outside views. The Persian Gardens on the solticse class ships is lovely with their heated loungers and wonderful large windows. The Persian Gardens on all celebrity ships is free for Aqua class but anyone can buy a day or weekly pass which is what we usually do on the S class ship. Hope this helps.

[MattInFLL]

I looked at AQ pretty closely for my upcoming Constellation cruise - decided after a lot of reading here that the perks that would matter on an M class are Blu and a slightly bigger cabin. I decided that wasn't worth the price difference for me.

 

The Persian Garden on an M Class is, like everyone has said, just so so. I will pay for a pass one day out of my trip. The locker rooms on M Class have a dry sauna with a big porthole on the ocean. Those are actually nice. And you don't pay for it.

 

I've only sailed Carnival twice, but I think you will notice a big difference with Celebrity. It is more sedate in some ways, but more so on the later at night activities. You will have plenty to do during the day.