Just off Constellation- August 9 sailing-questions??

[pattycat1]

My husband and I had a GREAT trip on the Constellation sailing out of Venice on August 9 (ports were Dubrovnik, Mykonos, Corfu, and Kusadasi). I was trying to write a review and it was just crazy too long. Instead, I have decided to just see if anyone has questions. I will try my best to answer!

 

Special thanks to Cruise Critic for all the tips while planning my 50th birthday cruise. Our Cruise Critic roll call party allowed us to enjoy the heliport while cruising into Dubrovnik. Really special-I encourage anyone to sign up for these roll calls. I didn't expect such a treat-ice cold towels and mimosas were part of the party. Very nice! I don't know if this is offered at every roll call, but it was really first class.

 

Patty

[Moksha22]

Your top three dining choices ? How was service and spread in the buffet?

[Moksha22]

Did you try the sushi bar? How did that go?

[warmwinds]

Did you eat in the Tuscan Grill?

[pattycat1]

Your top three dining choices ? How was service and spread in the buffet?

 

We were in a Sky Suite, so I honestly did not eat in the buffet the entire cruise. Loved Luminae (who doesn't?), but also loved Ocean Liners and my breakfast every morning on our balcony.

 

Service throughout the ship was great. We did have a burger one day for the lunch at the grill and it was good.

 

Patty

[pattycat1]

Did you try the sushi bar? How did that go?

 

Did not eat the sushi, but I witnessed others eating the sushi and it looked good!

[pattycat1]

Did you eat in the Tuscan Grill?

 

I did not eat in the Tuscan Grill. Ocean Liners I tried and it was fabulous. We tried to get into Tuscan Grill a few times, but the timing didn't work out. It was available either too early or too late. The specialty restaurants were all busy on this cruise (except Bistro on 5). Didn't see it that busy.

 

Patty

[sasset]

Who are the current entertainment staff?

[MoyCoy]

How does the ship look? Is she in pretty good shape? I too would like to know about the entertainment and music assembles. How was the nightlife and sail away party. Did you sail in a S1 or S2?

[red919]

Wow, I've never been part of a roll call that got to use the helipad or offered mimosas either. That's wonderful!

 

Do you know who the Captain's Club host was?

[pattycat1]

Who are the current entertainment staff?

 

Alejandro from Argentina was the cruise director. He was very funny and he was everywhere. We saw him at many events and he was one of the most visible cruise directors on any cruise I have been on.

 

Peter was the activities manager. I'm sorry I don't remember their last names!

[pattycat1]

How does the ship look? Is she in pretty good shape? I too would like to know about the entertainment and music assembles. How was the nightlife and sail away party. Did you sail in a S1 or S2?

 

The ship was in great shape. The only time I witnessed uncleanliness was the first sea day on the sun decks. Lots of dirty glasses and plates.

 

House band was Front Row. There was a guitarist,very low key, Peter Fisk.

There was also the Celebrity Orchestra who I did not listen to. There was a DJ in the martini bar in the evenings beginning around 10 PM. Very loud!

 

Another band played in Rendez-Vous lounge, Kathleen and the Saints. We probably listened to them the most because that lounge is right outside Luminae.

 

Regarding nightlife, the casino was never busy. Never saw anyone dancing in Rendezvous lounge. Never made it to reflections, but there was a DJ up there starting around 11:30.

 

To my knowledge, there was no sail away party, with a band playing. The sail away was beautiful. We enjoyed a very civilized sail away with a margarita in our hand with approximately 75 other guests at the sunset bar area.

 

We were on the penthouse deck, deck 6 in suite 6124. I think we were s2, but I could be incorrect.

[pattycat1]

Wow, I've never been part of a roll call that got to use the helipad or offered mimosas either. That's wonderful!

 

Do you know who the Captain's Club host was?

 

We met some really nice cruisers at the roll call. We were all excited to visit the helipad.

 

The Captain's Club host was Graeme Kelleher.

[red919]

Thanks!

[Maligator]

Do you recall any of the big production shows? Any exceptional shows or total flops?

 

What did they have on at-sea days, like Heart of the Operation tours?

[Moksha22]

Did not eat the sushi, but I witnessed others eating the sushi and it looked good!

 

 

Thanks

[Moksha22]

We were in a Sky Suite, so I honestly did not eat in the buffet the entire cruise. Loved Luminae (who doesn't?), but also loved Ocean Liners and my breakfast every morning on our balcony.

 

 

 

Service throughout the ship was great. We did have a burger one day for the lunch at the grill and it was good.

 

 

 

Patty

 

 

Thanks

[chemmo]

Glad you are having a great cruise!

 

How have you found Luminae in terms of layout, space between tables etc.?

 

Are you offered the MDR menu as well?

 

Is there really only two lunchtime menus?

[pattycat1]

Do you recall any of the big production shows? Any exceptional shows or total flops?

 

What did they have on at-sea days, like Heart of the Operation tours?

 

The production shows were:

First night (out of Venice) show was vocalist Claude-Eric Brunelle at 8:30 and 10:45. Did not attend, we were exhausted from the overnight flight from U.S. and walking around Venice. So hot and crowded!

Second night (Dubrovnik) production show was iHollywood at 8:30 and 10:45. Description-the songs of some of Hollywoods most beloved musicals come to life on the big stage with Celebrity's singers,dancers, and spectacular aerial artists. Good show.

Third night was first sea day- captains gala toast and show was Jonathan Kane. We met the officers and Captain. Great show-Elton John impersonator. When the curtain rose and he walked on stage, I thought it was Elton John. Dressed, looked and sang just like EJ.

Fourth night was Land of Make Believe. Did not attend. Long day in Ephesus/Kusadasi. My favorite port of the cruise. Great private tour! But the description was "a modern day musical twist on classic fairy tale stories such as Alice in Wonderland, Cinderella and The Wizard of Oz. shown at 7:15 and 9:15. Later that evening there was an adult comedy game show at 10:45. Wanted to attend but we were asleep by then!

Can't find my "celebrity today" sheets for the Greek ports to refresh my memory on the shows for those evenings, but we didn't attend the shows those nights. On the final sea day, the show was "celebrate the World". Description of the show "the stars of the Constellation take you on a whistle stop tour to enjoy some of the best music and dance from around the world". Shown at 7:15 and 9:15.

 

We were disappointed there was no comedian on board!

 

As far as activities on sea days, no movies were shown in the theater the entire cruise. We were also disappointed about that, but there were lots of activities. Dance classes, art auctions, bingo, slot tournaments, destination talks, top chef at sea challenge, crew talent show, fine jewelry auction, wine tours. The first sea day, everyone was outside trying to sunbathe and all the chairs were taken! The last sea day was cloudy, so much calmer outside to enjoy the view.

Sea days seemed to focus more on spending money.

 

I hope this helps!

[pattycat1]

Glad you are having a great cruise!

 

How have you found Luminae in terms of layout, space between tables etc.?

 

Are you offered the MDR menu as well?

 

Is there really only two lunchtime menus?

 

Luminae was a real treat. There were several large tables and a lot of tables for two. We were always sat by the window in the same area (table for 2). Where we sat, it was impossible not to visit with the table beside us (another table for 2). If someone was sitting there, we always introduced ourselves and visited for a while. We're Americans and for some reason, Americans always sat by us-don't know if that was intentional or not. The tables for two are just so close together you really feel that you should visit with the neighboring tables.

 

I was not "offered" the MDR menu, nor did I ask for it. I did not see or hear other guests asking about or eating dishes from the MDR. I did go off menu every night that I ate in Luminae and ask for a salad or vegetables, which they graciously prepared for me. Service was excellent in Luminae. After the first night, the maître d knew our names and suite number. The food was mostly good to very good. It did take a long time, in my opinion, to eat meals there (it is 5 courses for dinner if you order starter, entrée, and dessert). There was always sorbet served and an amuse bouche (apologies if I spelled that incorrectly).

 

I ate 5 dinners in Luminae, 1 brunch, and 1 lunch. I was told by our server that there was only one lunch and 1 brunch menu but I can not confirm that, because I didn't eat in there more than once for those meals. We tend to eat in port when we are in Europe. We just love their food too much to not indulge while we are in port. We always ate breakfast on our balcony, except on disembarkation day when we tried Blu, which was very good and beautiful. Blu opened half an hour earlier on disembarkation day and we had an 11 AM flight back to Atlanta, so we ate as early as we could so we could head to the airport.

 

There was ample seating in Blu that morning so we did not displace any Aqua class guests, so please don't be angry at us!

 

Patty

[Maligator]

Thank you so much! We saw iHollywood on Summit last fall, but the Elton impersonator sounds great.

 

We only have one sea day. I wonder if they'll cram everything into that day or just offer less. We've learned to avoid the retail madness onboard, so that shouldn't be a concern.

[MoyCoy]

Can you explain how Breakfast and Lunch worked for the suite class. Also are you still allowed to eat in Blu? How does that work? How did you like your Butler? When you boarded the ship, did the higher suites have a different entrance and check in line? Were you escorted to your room? Were there suite only options for embarkation day lunch. Next time would you book a CS or do you find that the sky suite amenities are a better value? And Lastly, were you given special seating by the pool or in the theater?

 

I am just curious how much the suite benefits have been enhanced practically apart from the new restaurant and Michaels Club and tier added benefits.:p

[chemmo]

Thanks for the update on Luminae, Pattycat1. We were on the Equinox just after the suite life started interested in how it's developing.

[groryjm]

Hi Pattycat

 

Great to hear you enjoyed your cruise. We are sailing on Connie next year and would love to see PDFs/scans of the dailies if you still have them:)

[pattycat1]

Can you explain how Breakfast and Lunch worked for the suite class. Also are you still allowed to eat in Blu? How does that work? How did you like your Butler? When you boarded the ship, did the higher suites have a different entrance and check in line? Were you escorted to your room? Were there suite only options for embarkation day lunch. Next time would you book a CS or do you find that the sky suite amenities are a better value? And Lastly, were you given special seating by the pool or in the theater?

 

I am just curious how much the suite benefits have been enhanced practically apart from the new restaurant and Michaels Club and tier added benefits.:p

 

We arrived to the ship really late because we toured Venice prior to checking in at ship. The ship was scheduled to sail at 5:00 and we arrived at 3:30. There was a special line for suite passengers, but arriving that late, there was no wait in any line. We were exhausted so we literally bypassed the mimosas and headed straight for the elevator and up to our cabin. Nobody offered an escort to my cabin. Perhaps that is for higher category suites. We were in a sky suite. We didn't feel slighted as we just wished to rest for an hour or so prior to the lifeboat drill. If there was another entrance onto the ship (which I don't think there is), I was unaware of it. This was our second cruise on Connie, so we just headed to the elevator and our cabin.

 

We loved our butler. He was amazing. We met him and the cabin steward immediately after spotting our cabin. They both introduced themselves, and the butler encouraged us to try Blu. So, yes, we could have eaten at Blu, and we did but only for breakfast on the morning of disembarkation. Luminae opened 30 minutes later than Blu and we were tight on time to make our flight back to Atlanta. We did make a reservation for dinner the nights we ate in Luminae. No wait and never busy. We did not eat breakfast in Luminae as we enjoyed breakfast on our balcony through room service. It was brought by the butler each morning, along with a very large, hot and frothy cappuccino. We just showed up for lunch or brunch. No reservations needed, never a wait and never busy. The restaurant hours are listed in the daily.

 

No special seating by the pool, which was my only complaint on the end of cruise survey. No chairs to be found anywhere. That needs to be changed for all passengers, not just suite guests. There were reserved seats on the first formal night in the theater. Two rows were roped off. I think there were only a handful of suite guests at the show that I attended.

 

We loved the suite, but the sky suite was smaller than I imagined. I would probably go one category up next time to enjoy Michael's Club, which I did not have access to as a sky suite passenger. We definitely thought the sky suite was worth the money we paid, as we felt very special and pampered.

 

Luminae was open for lunch on embarkation day, but we had a great meal in Venice and did not board the ship until 3:30. If you weren't a suite passenger on embarkation day, your dining options were Bistro on Five, the buffet, and grill, to my knowledge.