Constellation Rewview 3/4 - 3/11 (Long)

[parrothead1]

This is a review of our Constellation cruise from last week. I know that I am probably missing some things, but if anyone has any questions, please feel free to ask

 

Where to start? This was my 12th cruise of which number 11 on Celebrity and 2nd on Constellation. We arrived in Sunny San Juan the day before (3/3) and met a lot of our Cruise Critic friends who we had been chatting with for almost a year and had a great Meet and Greet at the Marriott Friday night. We got our room through priceline for $100. Can't complain about that at all.

 

We arrived at the pier around 11:30 and handed off our luggage without any problems. We were then escorted to the waiting area where some of our friends were already seated and waiting to board. Celebrity did provide juice and water, although we did not take any as we only waited for about 15 or 20 minutes before they started the boarding process. I felt that this was very orderly and speedy. We had already filled out our Xpress Pass information, so we headed over, handed our paper and passports and given our cards in a matter of 5 minutes. Next stop was the Children's coordinator. She gave our son his Muster wrist band and checked him off the list and also our 9 month old daughter. We did purchase two bottles in the duty free shop and took them aboard with us with no problems.

 

Off to the ship with the picture stop, and the card picture and Champagne!! I still think this is 1st Class by Celebrity no matter what some people may think.

 

Our cabin #9038 CC was ready for us. We dropped our bags, and also found the baby food and formula for the baby waiting in the cabin for us that my wife had ordered only 3 weeks before. We were concerned at first as Customer Service told us they needed 40 days notice to do this order, but they came through as usual. We met our Cabin Attendant Rebecca. She was an absolute doll. She greeted us all by name and did so the entire week. She told us that she was missing her son, and could not do enough for both of our children.

 

Off to grab lunch. I had to grab some pasta and it was very good. The lines were not that long as people were still boarding and service was also very good. We then went to the Fun Factory and got our son all checked in and setup. Two of the counselors were there last year and remembered him and he was set. He stayed for some free play time and had a blast. One of our Cruise Critic friends was staying in one of the Penthouses and was having an open house and cocktails. We went down and checked out this amazing room. I didn't find the Penthouse to be something that I would book if I had the money, but I could have lived all week on their balcony!! I just loved the privacy and space they provide.

 

We hit a few of the bars to relax and prepare for our Martini Bar meet at 7PM. Sudi was again amazing with his show and mixations. We did a small gift exchange from our local areas which was really nice. We opted for late seating for our trip and took the late seating for Saturday as it was open seating. The Muster Drill was at 10:30 right before sailing.

 

Our Waiter Sunil was simple amazing. His service was fantastic, not rushed and he took his time and joked with us and I just can't say anything negative about him. Gustavo our Wine Steward was also amazing. His wine selections were right in line with our tastes and provided excellent service. We ate in Ocean Liners one night and as usual, service impecable. The Steak Diane and Gramd Mariner Souflee was outstanding. My wife was slightly dissapointed in the Prawn dish this year, but still enjoyed our evening.

 

The Childrens program was again very good. There were only about 60 to 65 children on this week so they combined some of the programs which our son did not mind one bit.

 

Captain Papanikalau was all over the ship. He made a point to stop and say hello when he saw not only us, but just about every passanger. He remembered us and our son from last year. He made a point at the Elite Members party to come over and talk with him and again took him up on stage with him during his presentation.

 

The ports were very nice. St. Marten we took a cab ride over to Maho Beach to see the famous Sunset Beach Bar at the airports runway. Amazing seeing 757's and 747's land right over your head. St. Lucia was nice. We just got off right at the pier and did some walking and shopping there. My brother hired a taxi for an island tour and they were charged $40 for two and he actually gave the driver an additional tip for his time. They loved the time they spent, which was about two and half hours stopping at local points of interest. Aruba was AMAZING! Palm Beach is just as I remember it from 12 years ago. Very clean and safe island. We did not get off in Dominica or Margaritta Island, but enjoyed the ships ammenities and non crowded lunches.

 

We were given Yellow tags for disembarkation at 8:50, but opted to stay on the ship until about 10:15 or so. When we got off the ship, our bags were the last 4 left in the Yellow section. Very efficient process and we got a cab to the airport and were checked in at AA by 11:30 for our 2:45 flight home.

 

In summary, we again enjoyed our trip very much. One thing that we noticed was there was a map outside the Cafe for breakfast and lunch letting you know where everything was so you didn't have to stand in lines for things you didn't want to eat. I thought this made the lines move very quickly and I knew where to go and not to go for what I was looking for.

 

Staff - Excellent, no need to say anymore than that.

 

Ship - Excellent - I saw some minor things, but come on, when 2000 people sail each week, there are bound to be some things broken. You are on a ship sailing on water, there are going to some rust spots on the outside from time to time. The only negative I have is the outside elevators. They really need to find a way to get them stop at a floor instead of whizzing by when you want to go in the same direction. Seemed to be a lot of folks saying the same thing.

 

Food - I really enjoyed the new menus. The Lamb Shank, the beat Lamb I have ever had in my life. Some people have said the meals have declined, I don't agree. I found the new choices very, very good.

 

Also, let's put a rest to the following false rumours:

Breadsticks - Had them and more. They kept bringing them out all the time. We got a basketfull of them.

Shrimp Cocktail - Had it more than one night when it wasn't on the menu.

 

We loved Constellation so much, we are booked for next March 12 11 Night out of FLL.

[Karynanne]

Thank you for the great review! We'll be on Connie next month, and can't wait...

 

Karyn

[lysolqn]

Thanks for your review. We've sailed on Constellation three times and are packing for our fourth Connie cruise next week. It's definitely one of our all-time favorite ships. Glad to know you enjoyed your cruise!

[cruisePRN]

Did you have your children in the dining room for your late seating or did they go to child care?

[judyfssw]

Great Review. Makes me want to go back. Okay, I will in October.

[thomasale]

enjoyed the review and am anxiously looking forward to my turn

[ecslady]

Thanks for posting the review. It's almost time for me to eat those breadsticks and have shrimp cocktail every night!:)

[parrothead1]

Did you have your children in the dining room for your late seating or did they go to child care?

 

Yes, we took them with us. Our 5 1/2 year old wanted to go to the Fun Factory the last formal night since they were doing an "Alien Night" so we let him go and he had a blast. He ate with us every other night except the night we went to Ocean Liners. This was his 5th cruise and only once did we have to go back to early seating because his schedule was a little off. Our 9 month old was great. They gave her all the puried fruit and vegies she could handle along with my wife breaking up the bread into small managable pieces for her. They are very well behaved children and the waiter and asst waiter were all over them. Other tables around us also stopped by to chat with them.

 

One other thing I did forget to mention, the in cabin babysitting. We used this service the night we went to Ocean Liners for our 9 month old. The girl that came to watch her was from the Phillipines and she was an absolute doll. For the $8.00 per hour, it was well worth it. She gave me her pager and if something was wrong she would have paged back to our cabin. Nothing happend and I even gave her some extra cash for her time. I would recommend this service to anyone if they need to use it.

[freshjive1479]

We were on the Constellation last month and just booked again for the Transatlantic sailing at the end of April. We had a regular outside cabin last time but upgraded to Concierge Class for this trip and we were able to get #9038. I'm pleased to see that you really liked Rebecca. How did you find the room, especially the extra-large balcony?

[bryanwal]

Oh, those breadsticks ... We couldn't get enough of them on our last Celebrity cruise!

[poetic license]

Glad CONSTELLATION is still top of the line! We loved her, and glad you did too. Best crew ALIVE!:):):)

 

Cheers~

[parrothead1]

We were on the Constellation last month and just booked again for the Transatlantic sailing at the end of April. We had a regular outside cabin last time but upgraded to Concierge Class for this trip and we were able to get #9038. I'm pleased to see that you really liked Rebecca. How did you find the room, especially the extra-large balcony?

 

Glad you could get 9038. We found the room very nice. Considering we had 4 people, we really didn't have any issues. The only draw back was having to crawl over the sofa bed when it was pulled out to get to the balcony, but nothing that bothered us at all. The extra large balcony is very nice. We sat three chairs out there (The one from the desk was our 3rd chair) comfortably. You can ask to have a lounge chair placed out there if you want to lounge out of the sun.

 

Enjoy your trip. Hopefully Rebecca is still on board for you.

[darrencantwait]

Hey PH...great review! Only 355 more days till you're back onboard. The Future Cruise Manager said there were rumors that Constellation and Millenium would be switching itineraries in Europe. That mean's we may actually be back on Connie for our 2007 Mediterranean cruise! Just like being back home. :)

[Bob & Sandy]

on Constellation June 3-17! Glad you had a great time!!:D

[Boo's Mom]

Great Review. Makes me want to go back. Okay, I will in October.

 

Judy ~

You made me laugh !

[Boo's Mom]

Parrothead1..... Nice review. Thanks.

 

BTW, did they charge you for the baby formula? No, right....because you paid for the 9 month old to be there?

 

Were you guys at all nervous about bringing a babysitter into your cabin for the 9 month old?

I'm sure it was just fine...but things like that make my little "Mommy Radar" go off.

Was your older child in the cabin, too?

 

Thanks !

[Sandie]

Greetings,

 

We sailed on the Golden Princess the same week that you sailed on Constellation. I took a number of photographs from our ship of Constellation and would be happy to share them with you if you are interested. We have sailed on Millennium, Infinity, and Summit, but not Constellation. Enjoyed your review! Email me at skfitzell@comcast.net

 

Sandie

[Tarheeler]

Were there pool games on sea days? Thanks!

[parrothead1]

Were there pool games on sea days? Thanks!

 

We only had 1 sea day (Friday), and I think that there were some things going on. I really didn't spend too much time around the pool during the day as we were off doing other things around the ship (Slot Tourney/Black Jack Tourney/Packing/etc..) I know that they were doing pool games throughout the week and since we left Margaritta Island at 3PM, I know they did some things that day after we sailed. Again, I wasn't there so I can't give specifics.