Live from Constellation January 13-23, 2023

[tcmagnum]

13 hours ago, BermudaBound2014 said:

I haven’t seen this mentioned or asked, so I’m going to ask….At the buffet is it server yourself or they serve you?  I understand at the pasta section, they serve you.  But what about at the salad section?  Just curious?

[tcmagnum]

Not sure what happened on my first post…Lol - Too early this morning.

 

I haven’t seen this mentioned or asked, so I’m going to ask….At the buffet is it server yourself or they serve you?  I understand at the pasta section, they serve you.  But what about at the salad section?  Just curious?

[gold1953]

8 minutes ago, tcmagnum said:

Not sure what happened on my first post…Lol - Too early this morning.

 

I haven’t seen this mentioned or asked, so I’m going to ask….At the buffet is it server yourself or they serve you?  I understand at the pasta section, they serve you.  But what about at the salad section?  Just curious?

they went back to self serve months ago

[Mr&MrsBee]

Sorry folks but I do not consider making my own salad a treat to pay for on a cruise.  To each his own

[BermudaBound2014]

Cliff note version: this cruise is fantastic! Definitely the best bar service of any ship I’ve sailed. 
 

blah blah blah- Good morning from the Sunny Caribbean. 
 

We have been sailing parallel to northern Cuba since last night. Woke up to birds swirling outside my balcony which is always a sign we are close to land. So far the port side balcony has been a bit of a dud for views as our sailing direction hasn’t lent itself to direct sunrises and the port side view in tampa is quite industrial. I’ll see what the next 9 days bring. Should get nice sunsets on return so I’ll hold final recommendation.
 

I don’t have much to report from last night. I didn’t do the show. Celebrity isn’t known for its entertainment and I’m a bit spoiled from the big girls. IMO Of the mainstream, NCL does the best job with high quality theatre entertainment on her “Aways”, with the Oasis class not far behind. I do plan to hit the adult comedy show this evening. There is a warning for anyone who is sensitive so it’s bound to be right up my alley. 

 

 I have met sooooo many wonderful people onboard. Twice people asked me to dine with them once they found out I’m solo which is a sweet gesture.  I know this is prejudice, and may seem silly, but in my experience I tend to click really well with Celebrity guests as a whole. I’m 54 and am definitely in the younger demographics, but people are just so darn nice. I think the smaller ships tend to be a bit more personable also. I did listen to the morning show where the cruise director said there are 9 children onboard. I have seen one. Still waiting to get final numbers from someone in more authority than the pool bartender and the lady who did my pedicure (one said 1,500 and the other 1,600).

 

The ship doesn’t feel empty but it’s not full either. I wandered into the solarium at 11am and all the seats were taken but almost all of the shade chairs around the pool are open and the top deck surrounding the pool is free. 
 

I scheduled my pedicure for last night at 7:30. Never dreamed it would be a chic night. Today is another full day at sea and we don’t get into San Juan until 3 tomorrow. I thought for sure tonight would be chic. I must have been a site wandering back to my cabin in disposable flip flops and my trusty LBD (little black dress). The pedicure was just OK. It’s pricey at $84 and I still haven’t figured out which part was fire and which was ice, but I had lots of OBC to burn and I’m sporting pretty blue toes this morning. 
 

Breakfast was a chocolate croissant for the lady who was asking and two Cafe lattes from Al Bacio. What a GrEaT venue that is!! The coffee is excellent and the service fantastic. Shivani is my favorite server onboard (although all  bar service is great). Every vaca i try to read/learn about something new. As mentioned, this cruise it’s Buddhism and Shivani is from India. She’s zen and I’m getting my Zen on, so we resonate. 
 

According to my account I gave the drink package a workout yesterday. 9 drinks total. One was Diet Coke.  I‘ve switched  off the fruity stuff and went straight to a Moscow mule this morning. I did wait until 10am to order, so that’s an improvement. 
 

Today I have a date with the Dalai Lama and the hydro-lassotherapy pool. Will check back in later if anyone cares 🙂

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited January 15, 2023 by BermudaBound2014

[BermudaBound2014]

@tcmagnum as mentioned above it’s self serve. 
 

@Mr&MrsBee I’m sure if you handed the lovely server behind the station your bowl she would be more than happy to add your specifics, one ingredient at a time. It’s not a hardship for me to put cucumbers and tomatoes on top of lettuce. I’m filled with gratitude and completely satisfied, but I stopped cruising for food decades ago. 
 

It’s 10:30 am. My current situation is poolside, laying on a comfy lounger, soaking up some vitamins D. There is a nice Cool breeze and a wide open sea. The band is playing and the Moscow Mule is tasty. For me, It’s a treat to be here. This is why I cruise.

 

But I do understand everyone has their own expectations of a cruise. If food is high on your priority list you maybe disappointed with Connie. But I don’t have a single disappointed cell in my body. 

[Jim_Iain]

21 hours ago, countess5 said:

Didn't see them in the pic of pastries at Bacio, but if they put out the lemon tarts....................🤯. They are the best. will be enjoying them in two weeks!! 

 

Cheers! 

LOL --  I was looking for the Lemon Tarts, but the pictures so far were in the morning with the pastries. 

[Jim_Iain]

21 hours ago, BermudaBound2014 said:

They had them last night. I got a lemon and chocolate for my dessert. It was very good filling, but too much crust for me. I ended up eating the filling with a spoon :). 

 

 

Thank goodness they didn't cut the Lemon Tart

[cruising in mn]

Hello There. Can you possibly tell us who the captain is? We are sailing on the Connie on 2-13. We know who our CD will be, but not the captain. 

Thank you in advance!

 

[Cruising89143]

21 hours ago, BermudaBound2014 said:

They had them last night. I got a lemon and chocolate for my dessert. It was very good filling, but too much crust for me. I ended up eating the filling with a spoon :). 

Those lemon tarts were very good. Rich but good. The muffins on the Solstice was another story. Small and tasteless. I counted one blueberry in the muffin. Actually it was only one blueberry each  in both muffins. 

[cluso]

Shivani is great!  She served us almost daily on the Oct/Nov TA and she said she will still be onboard when we return in early March.

[RedneckBob]

3 hours ago, BermudaBound2014 said:

Cliff note version: this cruise is fantastic! Definitely the best bar service of any ship I’ve sailed. 
 

blah blah blah- Good morning from the Sunny Caribbean. 
 

We have been sailing parallel to northern Cuba since last night. Woke up to birds swirling outside my balcony which is always a sign we are close to land. So far the port side balcony has been a bit of a dud for views as our sailing direction hasn’t lent itself to direct sunrises and the port side view in tampa is quite industrial. I’ll see what the next 9 days bring. Should get nice sunsets on return so I’ll hold final recommendation.
 

I don’t have much to report from last night. I didn’t do the show. Celebrity isn’t known for its entertainment and I’m a bit spoiled from the big girls. IMO Of the mainstream, NCL does the best job with high quality theatre entertainment on her “Aways”, with the Oasis class not far behind. I do plan to hit the adult comedy show this evening. There is a warning for anyone who is sensitive so it’s bound to be right up my alley. 

 

 I have met sooooo many wonderful people onboard. Twice people asked me to dine with them once they found out I’m solo which is a sweet gesture.  I know this is prejudice, and may seem silly, but in my experience I tend to click really well with Celebrity guests as a whole. I’m 54 and am definitely in the younger demographics, but people are just so darn nice. I think the smaller ships tend to be a bit more personable also. I did listen to the morning show where the cruise director said there are 9 children onboard. I have seen one. Still waiting to get final numbers from someone in more authority than the pool bartender and the lady who did my pedicure (one said 1,500 and the other 1,600).

 

The ship doesn’t feel empty but it’s not full either. I wandered into the solarium at 11am and all the seats were taken but almost all of the shade chairs around the pool are open and the top deck surrounding the pool is free. 
 

I scheduled my pedicure for last night at 7:30. Never dreamed it would be a chic night. Today is another full day at sea and we don’t get into San Juan until 3 tomorrow. I thought for sure tonight would be chic. I must have been a site wandering back to my cabin in disposable flip flops and my trusty LBD (little black dress). The pedicure was just OK. It’s pricey at $84 and I still haven’t figured out which part was fire and which was ice, but I had lots of OBC to burn and I’m sporting pretty blue toes this morning. 
 

Breakfast was a chocolate croissant for the lady who was asking and two Cafe lattes from Al Bacio. What a GrEaT venue that is!! The coffee is excellent and the service fantastic. Shivani is my favorite server onboard (although all  bar service is great). Every vaca i try to read/learn about something new. As mentioned, this cruise it’s Buddhism and Shivani is from India. She’s zen and I’m getting my Zen on, so we resonate. 
 

According to my account I gave the drink package a workout yesterday. 9 drinks total. One was Diet Coke.  I‘ve switched  off the fruity stuff and went straight to a Moscow mule this morning. I did wait until 10am to order, so that’s an improvement. 
 

Today I have a date with the Dalai Lama and the hydro-lassotherapy pool. Will check back in later if anyone cares 🙂

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thanks for the continued updates. Look forward to ship in March.

 

Hold on to your hats for the late nite comedy show with Rick. He is funny but can be out of bounds. The funniest thing that happened on the late nite show with him a year ago on the Apex was a 21 year old lady on her smart phone during his performance. Needless to say he picked on her for quite some time and the crowd went crazy.

[WNCtourist]

Just curious about the much-discussed "MDR Dress Code" sign for dinner. If you have a chance,  could you please take a look and see if it's changed? Thanks!

[Canadian Sunset]

My husband and I will be on Connie March 6 -27.  We’ve spent the last 10 years with Viking and loved it.  However, we wanted to spend more than 10 days cruising the Caribbean, something Viking doesn’t do.  We booked back to back cruises from Tampa and are looking forward to the sunshine.   We were on Connie 14 years ago and look forward to it again.  
Being older than Boomers we intend to wear masks around the ship.  Although fully vaccinated, we’ve managed to avoid covid so far and would like to continue.

 

 

[cwayne]

6 hours ago, Mr&MrsBee said:

Sorry folks but I do not consider making my own salad a treat to pay for on a cruise.  To each his own

I very much enjoy making my own! I like to do it a certain way so it works out perfectly for me!

[LMaxwell]

21 hours ago, BermudaBound2014 said:

Tonight’s Chic menu and the offerings in the oceanview buffet (Mexican night). The only fresh to made option was pasta again. I’m full from lunch and don’t feel like a long drawn out dinner to get the steak Diane so it’s a garden salad for me.  I just don’t eat like I used to, but if dh was onboard he would be disappointed. As a pescatarian the only fish is talapia, and he prefers not to eat that. 
 

For some reason the photos didn’t load in order, sorry about that. Someone was asking about tea so I shot a pic of that too.

 

Ill take one for the team and try the vegetable carving station tomorrow 🙂

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I can't believe that's the whole dinner.  Like...waiting for there to be more. This is like a fancy assisted living home, not like my last Celebrity cruise and nothing like the phenomenal HAL dinner buffets each night w different themes. 

[cwayne]

If you don't mind taking another one for the team would you mind trying each of the desserts! 😁 

[cwayne]

3 hours ago, RedneckBob said:

Thanks for the continued updates. Look forward to ship in March.

 

Hold on to your hats for the late nite comedy show with Rick. He is funny but can be out of bounds. The funniest thing that happened on the late nite show with him a year ago on the Apex was a 21 year old lady on her smart phone during his performance. Needless to say he picked on her for quite some time and the crowd went crazy.

We can't wait to hear him!

[BermudaBound2014]

4 hours ago, WNCtourist said:

Just curious about the much-discussed "MDR Dress Code" sign for dinner. If you have a chance,  could you please take a look and see if it's changed? Thanks!

The dress code sign has vanished BUT, the man in front of me tonight was turned away in shorts. He was shocked. I was shocked. His wife was shocked. I take that back, his wife was pissed. She said they intended to eat dinner at the buffet but left because there are such limited choices.
 

Celebrity really should communicate the reduced buffet options considering many rely on it for dinner. This is a bit of a cluster and does not put Celebrity in the best light.
 

Ate in the mdr for dinner tonight because I was actually hungry. Shrimp was fine. Ceasar salad was fine, beef tornadoes were EXCELLENT!! What a pleasant surprise. I could have cut with a butter knife. Best meal I’ve had onboard.
 

Service tonight was also top quality. I had Anne from Kenya. She asked how I wanted to pace myself. The next course was brought promptly. The sommelier was at my table immediately and kept refilling my wine without me having to flag him down. When Anne asked how my beef was I raved about it and she said (quote) “it’s good you have this now because we may not have in the future”. So there you have it, confirmation directly from wait staff that things are still changing.

 

I enjoyed the New York Cheesecake with Litchee topping with some decaf for dessert.  Service slowed for dessert, but was still more than acceptable. Total 4 course meal time was one hour and 15 minutes. I can live with that and appreciate Anne moving the pace along for me. One thing you can not fault is the service. It might be the best I’ve ever had and that include MSC Yacht club where the butlers are formally trained at some special butler school. 

 

At this time, I would be very hesitant to book ANY cruise line much before a few weeks prior. The cost cutting measures still need to shake out on every line (i just read ncl is cutting back entertainment and that’s one of the things ncl does best).
 

If you are already booked and feel like a bait and switch has been pulled I do understand, totally. I felt like it too. But, I’ve adjusted my expectations, accepted that change is happening, and I’m going with the flow. I was able to share my displeasure before the cruise, in one of the surveys left in the cabin, and i will call celebrity when i get back per their request.
 

One thing for certain, most people can still have a wonderful cruise on Connie because the vibe of the ship and the exceptional service go a long way to make up for the recent negative changes. With that said, if you are an evening buffet person, you should probably reconsider unless Celebrity ups their game. 
 

 

Parmesan butter, horseradish butter, and plain whipped butter. What a treat since I don’t normally eat breads 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tonight’s menu was the exact same as the app

Edited January 15, 2023 by BermudaBound2014

[karmamule]

For us a limited selection of food will be ok if what we do get is tasty and enjoyable. It sounds like you've been generally happy with the food you've had so far, is that true? Being first time Celebrity cruisers we won't have past experiences to compare too, so just the mainstream lines we've been on. 

 

In any case, a 'go with the flow' attitude really does help get over the inevitable snags or things lacking here or there as long as it isn't a constant parade of disappointments. Happy to hear you're enjoying things. 🙂

[WNCtourist]

1 hour ago, BermudaBound2014 said:

The dress code sign has vanished BUT, the man in front of me tonight was turned away in shorts. He was shocked. I was shocked. His wife was shocked. I take that back, his wife was pissed. She said they intended to eat dinner at the buffet but left because there are such limited choices.
 

Celebrity really should communicate the reduced buffet options considering many rely on it for dinner. This is a bit of a cluster and does not put Celebrity in the best light.
 

Ate in the mdr for dinner tonight because I was actually hungry. Shrimp was fine. Ceasar salad was fine, beef tornadoes were EXCELLENT!! What a pleasant surprise. I could have cut with a butter knife. Best meal I’ve had onboard.
 

Service tonight was also top quality. I had Anne from Kenya. She asked how I wanted to pace myself. The next course was brought promptly. The sommelier was at my table immediately and kept refilling my wine without me having to flag him down. When Anne asked how my beef was I raved about it and she said (quote) “it’s good you have this now because we may not have in the future”. So there you have it, confirmation directly from wait staff that things are still changing.

 

I enjoyed the New York Cheesecake with Litchee topping with some decaf for dessert.  Service slowed for dessert, but was still more than acceptable. Total 4 course meal time was one hour and 15 minutes. I can live with that and appreciate Anne moving the pace along for me. One thing you can not fault is the service. It might be the best I’ve ever had and that include MSC Yacht club where the butlers are formally trained at some special butler school. 

 

At this time, I would be very hesitant to book ANY cruise line much before a few weeks prior. The cost cutting measures still need to shake out on every line (i just read ncl is cutting back entertainment and that’s one of the things ncl does best).
 

If you are already booked and feel like a bait and switch has been pulled I do understand, totally. I felt like it too. But, I’ve adjusted my expectations, accepted that change is happening, and I’m going with the flow. I was able to share my displeasure before the cruise, in one of the surveys left in the cabin, and i will call celebrity when i get back per their request.
 

One thing for certain, most people can still have a wonderful cruise on Connie because the vibe of the ship and the exceptional service go a long way to make up for the recent negative changes. With that said, if you are an evening buffet person, you should probably reconsider unless Celebrity ups their game. 
 

 

Parmesan butter, horseradish butter, and plain whipped butter. What a treat since I don’t normally eat breads 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tonight’s menu was the exact same as the app

Thanks so much for the sign update. I feel for the couple turned away -- very annoying to head to the buffet for dinner to discover such limited choices and then be refused admittance to the MDR. Your dinner, however, looks and sounds delicious! Oh, for a couple of shrimp cocktails tonight!

[miched]

If you like Moscow Mules try a Kentucky (bourbon) Mule.  It is made with bourbon instead of Vodka.

 

If you want a drink similar to a mudslide ask for a Bushwacker.   They have their version and I showed the BT mine.  He made it according to my recipe

 

i will also get it at Cafe al Bacio with the addition of a shot of espresso and not blended but over ice.   The employees would call it the kitchen sink after the first time I ordered it.  

 

it is very smooth and goes down easy.  We would get one coming back from a port to take back to the cabin.  Problem was my drink would be empty when we got there.  So I would take my wife’s card and go to a bar to order 2 old fashions.   I needed 2.   One was a traveler and the other would make it to the cabin   🍷🍸🥂🍺 

 

 

Happy cruising 🌊🚢🇺🇸🌅

Edited January 15, 2023 by miched

[breadandbutter]

Loving your review thank you. 

Coild you find out something for me please if you get a chance?

Is it still possible to get a martini, on the classic beverage package, at the martini bar?

Thank you

[Lena11033]

Thanks for the update. I sail in a few weeks, I do have other cruises booked and just trying not to let all the negativity get to me because if you go looking for the worst, you'll find nothing you like.

 

From what I see of other lines there are cuts all over the place so it's go in with the idea things may not be perfect, especially food. Heck a pack of chicken breasts here in store was $40 last week and a beef roast was $70. So I can see a lot of places are having to change things up or charge more (why we don't normally eat out)

[BermudaBound2014]

1 hour ago, karmamule said:

For us a limited selection of food will be ok if what we do get is tasty and enjoyable. It sounds like you've been generally happy with the food you've had so far, is that true? Being first time Celebrity cruisers we won't have past experiences to compare too, so just the mainstream lines we've been on. 

 

In any case, a 'go with the flow' attitude really does help get over the inevitable snags or things lacking here or there as long as it isn't a constant parade of disappointments. Happy to hear you're enjoying things. 🙂

Overall I am generally happy with the food, but I suspect I may consume less than most. Today I had a chocolate croissant from Al Bacio for breakfast and then didn’t eat again until dinner.

 

Tonight’s  dinner was outstanding. 10/10, but there is not a single thing that looks appealing right now on tomorrow nights menu so it’s hit or miss (but that could change if I get hungry lol)