On the Constellation now 9/22 to 10/1 Barcelona to Rome!

[Shadow9612]

16 hours ago, countess5 said:

Pleas keep us up to date on your observations of Connie (pics would be great). We will be boarding Oct 1st! We too have a Sky suite 6115. Would like to read your observation of the ship overall. First time on this class of ship through X. We are Elite and love sailing X but just a little concern about this class of ship. It was all about the itinerary that drew us in. 

 

Cheers! 

I had been sailing exclusively on the S Class, and finally tried the constellation. I was worried that I wouldn't enjoy that class of ship. I was pleasantly surprised, and although different than the S-class, it was still a wonderful Cruise. I still felt like "home". I will Sail on Connie again.  Have a great cruise!

[DENIE]

Sailing on the Connie this November 2019 - Italy/Dalmation Coast.  Glad to hear you are enjoying.  We were on the sister-ship Infinity in 2017, so am sure we will enjoy what Connie has to offer.

[trishtoro]

9 hours ago, DENIE said:

Sailing on the Connie this November 2019 - Italy/Dalmation Coast.  Glad to hear you are enjoying.  We were on the sister-ship Infinity in 2017, so am sure we will enjoy what Connie has to offer.

Nice! Enjoy! I love this ship. There is a night life, I don’t personally partake in it as I’ve been exhausted every night after dinner 🙈

 

The only negative and it’s not really a negative just didn’t work for me is the main pool is really really deep (5 ft 6 to 6 ft 2) and extremely cold. I just wasn’t expecting that. The smaller pool is like 4 ft deep and as such a bit warmer.

 

if that’s the only negative thing I can think of, this is a pretty awesome ship!

[trishtoro]

10 hours ago, Shadow9612 said:

I had been sailing exclusively on the S Class, and finally tried the constellation. I was worried that I wouldn't enjoy that class of ship. I was pleasantly surprised, and although different than the S-class, it was still a wonderful Cruise. I still felt like "home". I will Sail on Connie again.  Have a great cruise!

Thank you! What do you feel are the major differences between and S class ship and this class (is this M class?)

[trishtoro]

15 hours ago, ent704 said:

On the Connie December ... Dubai to Singapore but would love to hear about your experiences on your trip on here !!!

How nice! That sounds like an exotic trip!

[trishtoro]

16 hours ago, DeltaJoe15 said:

Make that Dec 2 out of Tampa  On the Equinox 06 June  Sorry

Oops lol

 

Well enjoy! I’m sure every Celebrity ship is just perfect!

[trishtoro]

On 9/24/2019 at 6:33 AM, countess5 said:

This may be a little crazy, but would you ask the maitre d in Luminae if he could find out when chefs table will be on the Oct 1st sailing? I have a group of people that would like to attend.  Thanks in advance! 

 

 

 

 

I asked! He said it’s typically the 2nd night of the cruise, if not it will be the 3rd night

 

Enjoy!

[trishtoro]

19 hours ago, hcat said:

Jan 15 2021..10 night (?)  Eastern Carib

10 nights is lovely! Have a great time

[trishtoro]

20 hours ago, cruisecatmama said:

Weel, if no one else, I would be interested! 😊

Will do then after I get back from our tour today!

[trishtoro]

20 hours ago, Northern Aurora said:

I also am following.  We board the Constellation on October 1st to start a B2B2B series, and will leave the ship in Barcelona -- which is one of my favorite cities.  So looking forward to our time on the ship.

The ship is marvelous you’ll love it!

[trishtoro]

21 hours ago, sportsmum said:

No, jackpot party is one of the slot machines. it's the only slot machine I play. On the ship in December and wondering if I should budget for my jackpot party fun!!

So just clarify what I’m checking for again?

[countess5]

5 hours ago, trishtoro said:

I asked! He said it’s typically the 2nd night of the cruise, if not it will be the 3rd night

 

Enjoy!

 

Thank you for asking, that helps!  Did you try Qsine for dinner or Tuscan Grill?

 

How has the food and service been in Luminae?

 

i know we will have no time to use the pool. We only have one sea day! 😩

 

Cheers! 

[trishtoro]

9 hours ago, countess5 said:

 

Thank you for asking, that helps!  Did you try Qsine for dinner or Tuscan Grill?

 

How has the food and service been in Luminae?

 

i know we will have no time to use the pool. We only have one sea day! 😩

 

Cheers! 

I have not. We tried Blu for breakfast today and were underwhelmed. I plan to just stick with Luminae for the rest of the trip. It’s that good. 

[luvsun22]

18 hours ago, trishtoro said:

I’ve been placing a nightly trip report on Facebook for people that know us. I can simply copy and paste it here 🤷🏻‍♀️ Do you think people would be interested?

Yes please! 

[trishtoro]

10 hours ago, luvsun22 said:

Yes please! 

I’ll do it lol

[DENIE]

8 hours ago, trishtoro said:

Nice! Enjoy! I love this ship. There is a night life, I don’t personally partake in it as I’ve been exhausted every night after dinner 🙈

 

The only negative and it’s not really a negative just didn’t work for me is the main pool is really really deep (5 ft 6 to 6 ft 2) and extremely cold. I just wasn’t expecting that. The smaller pool is like 4 ft deep and as such a bit warmer.

 

if that’s the only negative thing I can think of, this is a pretty awesome ship!

trishtoro - I know what you mean about the main pool.  With Mediterranean temps in November, we probably won't use it.  We loved the adult pool in the solarium, so imagine we will use it on the Connie as well.  We loved that pool!

[sportsmum]

8 hours ago, trishtoro said:

So just clarify what I’m checking for again?

If one of the slot machines is called 'jackpot party'. But only if you are walking through the casino. I know you are now in a port intensive part of your cruise and you will be busy, busy in the best possible way!!! Thanks you for even CONSIDERING this!!

[trishtoro]

1 hour ago, DENIE said:

trishtoro - I know what you mean about the main pool.  With Mediterranean temps in November, we probably won't use it.  We loved the adult pool in the solarium, so imagine we will use it on the Connie as well.  We loved that pool!

Maybe we’ll check out that pool tomorrow 

[trishtoro]

We flew on Thursday September 19 from San Francisco to Paris, to Barcelona in Business Class booked through Celebrity. Our hotel was also booked through Celebrity (Hilton Diagonal Mar) as well as private transfers.

 

Written Saturday September 21...... 

 

 

So last night we taxied over to another part of the city on a restaurant recommendation from a friend in Chicago. I didn’t take many photos as we were walking around because I was just in awe of this neighborhood with tiny alleyways running this way and that (not big enough for cars just scooters zipped through)

We went in and out of a shop or two... I almost started buying but remembered how little space we have left in our 4 suitcases (mostly thanks to me lol)

I did photo a Starbucks. Even in this tiny very cultural area, Starbucks has a presence.

The windows in the photo were an example of what I was looking up at as we meandered through before our dinner reservations.

Speaking of dinner, omg it was incredible. Instead of doing tapas we did a tasting menu with wine pairings. The menu, which I screen shotted, doesn’t do it justice in its description. For example, the ravioli course was a lovely ravioli filled with duck, in a red wine cream sauce, topped with foie gras. It was heavenly. 

The succulent pig course was cooked over 8 hours and the fish of the day was a local sebring with a perfect sear topped with truffle....so good!

The thing here is, restaurants open late for dinner and as we were sitting there nearly 3 hours after our meal began, lively groups were still being seated for 11 PM dinners! We were cross eyed by the time we waddled out of there as we still hadn’t rested but the few hours of sleep on the plane.

Today we have a city tour. A lot of it is walking which is intense enough for me, however it’s supposed to downpour all day 😢

I have umbrellas, Aleve, and a positive attitude so we’ll see how it goes!

Tonight is another 10 course tasting menu! I’ll pass on the pairings this time though.....

Edited September 25, 2019 by trishtoro
To add photos

[trishtoro]

Day 2 in Barcelona was great! It did wind up raining off and on during our full day city tour but for the most part it was manageable....more on that later lol

Our tour began at 9 AM on la Rambla which is a bustling avenue in Barcelona. Not so much early morning though probably because the locals were still eating dinner at midnight the night before lol.

Michael and I met up with Miguel, our guide and friend for the day.  God and Aleve were with me as I managed to keep up with a brisk walking tour of much of the city. Miguel was very well traveled and simply brilliant. He also was a former chef so we were able to talk foods quite a bit in between his narrative of the political, religious and architectural makeup of this interesting city.  

One of the highlights for me was a local food market. It was wonderful to see all the fresh fish, vegetables, meats, cheeses and cured ham and sausages for sale...such a feast for my eyes (and nose lol)

He showed us works from the 3 architects that designed most of the great houses and churches, Gaudi, and 2 others I already forgot even though I loved one more than Gaudi’s works 🙈
And not the Chinese restaurant guy lol

We stopped for cappuccino late morning and the three of us shared lunch at a delicious tapas bar. 

After lunch we went to Parc Guell and that’s when the rain started to be an issue (as well as my stamina) 

We hurried through there and jumped in a taxi for la Sagrada Familia. It was the most beautiful church I’ve ever seen. So much detail. It even had a nativity side showing details related to the birth of Christ which included a Christmas tree just to give an example of the beauty of this church. 

We made it around each side to view but it was just raining sideways, thunder and lightening at that point so we decided to cut the tour short.  It was ok though as we really needed to put our feet up and also get ready for dinner.

I picked tonight’s restaurant off the Internet a month or so ago and it was incredible. The restaurant Via Veneto, was celebrating their 50th year and we of course had to go with The 5 Decades Tasting Menu. Michael got a wine pairing, I did not. 

I can’t say enough about the quality of the food and service at this restaurant. If we could give them 6 stars in a review we would. I’ve included with our photos the menu that we enjoyed. 

Our reservations were for 8:30 PM which is when they started serving dinner and as the night before it was lively and bustling through the late evening. We taxied back to the hotel and crashed around midnight. 

What a day!

[trishtoro]

Written Sunday September 22

 

Embarkation Day!

We got to the cruise terminal around 11:30 and were on the ship in no time.  We met the concierge representative who helped us set up our WiFi and had our first cocktails some time before noon lol.  We chatted with a couple from Florida whose kids went to the same school as Michael did growing up!

We then went for an amazing lunch (not ten courses or anything though lol) and by the time we were done chatting it up with another couple our stateroom was ready. First impressions were even though the Constellation is an old ship which is going through a head to toe refurbishment in just six months, it’s in fantastic condition. I took some photos of the room before we brought in our luggage and disturbed everything. 

First things first, we couldn’t start our vacation without completely unpacking. It took a good hour or so (yea I brought that much) and we were ready to explore more of the ship.

We started with a couple more cocktails, then the mandatory lifeboat drill and away we went!

Tonight was quiet, we’ve been keeping up with the NFL and just went for a quiet dinner, followed by a visit to the cafe because who doesn’t need espresso at bedtime? 

I’m uploading the few pictures I have from today. Tomorrow is an at sea day so I can’t promise my update will be much more exciting. Honestly Barcelona wore us out so the bit of downtime is ok before our first port day on Tuesday!

Off to bed!

[trishtoro]

Written Monday September 23

 

 

At Sea Day number 1 aka the day Trish drugged Michael.

When the ship took off last night, Michael was feeling the movement a bit. I offered him 2 Bonine which never cause me drowsiness or any side effects.

We slept soundly last night after I updated around nine and woke up at 6 AM.  We got up and went to the fitness center. I don’t want to brag or anything but according to the bike and treadmill it’s possible I burned off 86 calories 💁🏻

Satisfied that that was a good start to my day I came back to the room to get ready for breakfast. Michael came in shortly after and in my infinite wisdom I thought it would be a good idea to give him 2 more Bonine so we could get on a morning schedule with it....

After breakfast he could barely hold his head up and fell asleep in the 30 seconds it took me to brush my teeth.  I had a meet and greet function with people I met off the internet so what was I to do? I wrote him a note, laid it on top of him and went to the party!

After the party I dragged him to the pool where he baked unconscious in the sun (he’s got Mediterranean skin he can handle it) for 3 more hours.  Finally around 2 he started snapping out of it.

We showered again then went to a high tea reception followed by some trivia competitions. He did very well so I knew he was going to be ok!  People were approaching him as the guy whose wife overdosed him on motion sickness meds. He was quite popular lol

After trivia we got ready and went to a Captain’s reception as this was an evening chic night. We met up with friends there and went off together for dinner.

Tomorrow is a reasonably early day so as Michael is off making a donation to the casino, I’m going to check in early. 

Tomorrow is our first stop Cadiz (Seville) We have a small group tour from 10 until 2:30 so I’ll have lots of pictures to post. For now I have sun rise from our balcony and sunset tonight also from our balcony.  Also a photo of the ships location on a map as of this morning.

[tcmagnum]

6 hours ago, luvsun22 said:

Yes please! 

I second the trip report...

Pretty please...

Edited September 25, 2019 by tcmagnum

[trishtoro]

9 hours ago, tcmagnum said:

I second the trip report...

Pretty please...

See above! I started transferring them from FB

[tcmagnum]

4 minutes ago, trishtoro said:

See above! I started transferring them from FB

I just saw the posts!!

I agree with you...While the Connie is getting a little old, she looked great to us!!

We had a blast of her in June.

Hope you guys have a blast...