Review of Constellation 20 May Part One - its going to be a long one!

[uktog]

Hope this is not too long for everyone!

Saturday

Actually, Friday night, our cruise starts with a panic, the boat cannot dock at Dover due to the high winds and we have to go to Harwich. Maybe the one time you wish you had made all your travel plans through X but of course we had not. However, one call to Woodford and excellent service, we can be taken to Harwich by them and it is no problem Well, we could not have had a better trip up to Harwich from Gatwick, it all worked like clockwork and because X had brought their own team up from Dover, the whole boarding process was very smooth indeed. One of my cases was a little late in appearing but it was clear that Wilfred and Menino our butler and stateroom attendants are going to be stars as they deal with this and soon we are reunited with all the luggage. We actually sailed off 2 hours late but it seemed most of the town of Harwich had come to the sea wall – we later discovered the ships diversion to Harwich had been a big item on the local tv and our departure was shown on air. Oops – I was in my bath robe and had come out of the shower with wet hair to watch so I hope they did not film or deck! First night show, an excellent singer with fender guitar Mario D’Andrea – oh dear no 1 CD of the trip has been bought.

Sunday

It is clear our butler Wilfred is going to be one of the best we have had. It was his birthday the day before (33rd) and we had brought on board a box of Edinburgh rock for him and he was so happy to get it. He told us he had started as a public areas cleaner with X 12 years previous – real working your way up then! His specialty is “Madam, I will make you my special fruit salad for breakfast” – we had it this morning and there is no doubting what will be on our menu card every morning from now on. We went on to the CC gathering. Our group had been very active online thanks to Gary’s hard work. Over 70 at the party and 40 of us doing a two day Red October trip (more about that later) Iris had organized a gift exchange (bring a small gift of your home town/state) and that was a hoot.

Off to the mixology class - We had seen Ocho in the Martini bar the night before – he juggles the cocktail shakers and bottles as he is making your cocktails (taught by Sudi). Unfortunately DH is chosen to help and tries to copy. Full credit to the ships laundry for removing the grenadine from his shirt next day. Then on to the first talk by George Jaeger the on board lecturer who was a former senior player in Nato and an expert on Russian and Eastern bloc history and affairs. Suffice it to say, by the last talk of the cruise it was standing room only in the Celebrity Theatre- absolutely fascinating!!

Formal dinner tonight - well dressed affair dress code seems to be being observed. Food is good, table mates (4 others from K and 2 delightful ladies from US) seem to get on well, our only issue is the service. Some chosen words in the ear of the Assistant Maitre D resolved the wine service a few days later, but we never got the level of service we had previously enjoyed from the waiter who never spoke to us other than to take our orders. We had prepaid tips as is often the case for UK guests, so our “recourse” was in having to give the lowest feedback score to an employee we have ever given in 7 cruises (fair – DH said I should have used poor) at the end of the trip

Good show which we had seen before but the staging was different – get the feeling this is the best Celebrity Orchestra we have had (feeling confirmed later) and that Don Fluke I going to be a very competent CD (he was)

Monday

Arrive in Oslo and as we came off the ship it started to rain………….and rain……………and rain. However our excursions, though we got wet, were really excellent. We had booked on this Viking Heritage trip which is a flavour of 4 aspects of the culture of Norway. First sport and the Hammenkolmen Ski jump and the view down to Oslo – well we think it was Oslo in the mist; then Arts and the Vigiland Sculpture Park, which was something that surprised us, the statues are all so clever, about life and they all involve naked men and women of all ages and children. We then went on to see three original Viking longships all of which surprised us at the beauty of the carving of dragonheads on them. Our final stop was a Folk Museum where original buildings had been brought from all over Norway and reconstructed including one of only 20 remaining traditional Stave churches – they look like gingerbread houses and you often see them in Christmas pictures. We returned to the ship to dry off and of course as we sailed away the weather started to brighten up. As we only had until 2pm in port, the excursion was the best way to capture the sights of Oslo and we felt it was one of the better value ones we have had. Like all of Scandinavia Norway is expensive!

Evening show was a cracker - Pearl Kauffman who now must be in her late 70s. She was the main pianist and musical director for most Hollywood films from 1960 to 1990 and still does some work there. Her most famous film, and appropriate for this trip - she was the pianist who did Lara’s theme on Dr Zhivago Pearl did another classical concert next afternoon – which we heard part of before going to the elegant Captains Club tea. Oh and CDs No 2 and 3 have been purchased. By the way, the CC hostess on this tip was Jennifer Pearce from NZ – a really lovely girl, we have sailed with her before She will be on Constellation until September

Tuesday

Tuesday was a busy at sea day – busy and lazy at the same time. We were invited to a Senior Officers event in the morning and the Captains afternoon tea later in the day. George Jaeger did his second talk on all the politics of the cold war and you realize how involved he had been in many major aspects of history in the 60s and 70s and had been part of several “drafting teams” In the evening it was yet another classical extravaganza; Nicola Loud who won UK Young Musician of the Year 8 years ago gave a wonderful violin concert where she played both violin and “fiddle” styles and yes you have guessed it CD No 4 is in the suite now. We had an early night to prepare ourselves for Stockholm.

Wednesday

Stockholm – whatever you do make sure you are on deck or on your balcony for around 1-2 hours of the sail in and/or sail away. It is as beautiful (or maybe even more beautiful) than the Inside Passage threading through sun lit islands most of whom are inhabited and the houses are so Scandinavian and in some case so very large. It was breezy but the ship is as steady as anything. We are not doing ships tours here and have decided that the new port shuttle charges are not for us, so we stumble on what becomes a good bargain you can get in Stockholm, Helsinki and Copenhagen – the hop on and off shuttle which includes a 1-2 hour narrated trip around town, unlimited use for the day and includes transport back to the ship. Now the maths – Stockholm as an example – ships shuttle $12 each person per return tip; 24 hour hop on pass payable in kroner or Euro is the equivalent of c$16. We stopped at the Vasa museum, 1690 preserved full warship over 7 floors – fascinating and then back to the town for the Changing of the Guard at 12 noon. Be warned, this last for 45 minutes but worth the watch – if only to see the spikey helmet of the soldiers and their strange jogging in time! We returned via the Tourist Info on the pier who are very happy to sell you stamps (even if you have not bought cards there) and mail cards for you, and we find the card got to the UK in 4 days! Another good production number show tonight

Thursday

Helskinki – and it is a National Holiday. We are not shoppers so this was no issue for us but it did mean as there was no market to wander around we were not fully occupied. Again we used the hop on buses – discover that we could have bought a slightly cheaper combined ticket in Stockholm for both trips but as we still had our previous days tickets, guide discounts it for us anyway – the yellow and purple bus is getting more popular but no problems getting on. Highlights for us were the rock church and the sibelius monument which were both stops on the bus. At the Monument, the driver stopped or 5-10 mins which meant we could get enough pics and move on rather than have to wait for the next bus - nice touch. Tonight we have a Dulcimer player we have seen before so I skip the show as I need to rest for the St Petes marathon 2 days –

…to be continued in the next post later today!!

[daju22]

uktog..........

 

Thank you for the super review so far!!! Can't wait for the next part.

 

Did you notice anyone with a mobility scooter using the Hop on off buses in Stockholm or Helsinki?

 

Thanks for taking so much time post a review! We're getting so excited about our upcoming cruise and your review really helps to plan for it!

[spearmint]

Thanks for your write up... so far. :D I am looking forward to the rest of it! Especially notable are your price comparisons for the ho- on/hop off busses and the ship shuttle. You mention that the HO-Ho bus returns you to the pier, and later you say that you return to the ship via Tourist Info. I am a little confused about this; :confused: what is Tourist Info? Also, was Oslo always your first stop or was it changed? In late August, our first stop is listed as Gdansk, and I was just wondering. I am sure that Iwill have other questions for you later.

[uktog]

Sorry Spearmint did not make it clear Tourist Information is a little kiosk at the quay where the bus dropped us off - all the hop on offs bring you back to the cruise terminal at no extra charge. We had a different itinerary to you as we did not have Gdansk - rumour was it changed (over a year ago ) because the Pope was there.

[uktog]

uktog..........

 

Thank you for the super review so far!!! Can't wait for the next part.

 

Did you notice anyone with a mobility scooter using the Hop on off buses in Stockholm or Helsinki?

 

Thanks for taking so much time post a review! We're getting so excited about our upcoming cruise and your review really helps to plan for it!

 

Judy I did not, but i did see people with baby strollers on them. I have attached a link to their site and as you have time why not drop them an amail to get some clarification?

 

http://www.stockholmsightseeing.com/EN/STOCKHOLM/index.htm

[evoni]

Uktog,

 

Thank you so much for taking the time to write this up. I love long detailed reviews, so you have made my day. Great review and now I'm even more excited about our trip on the 17th!

 

Diana

[daju22]

Judy I did not, but i did see people with baby strollers on them. I have attached a link to their site and as you have time why not drop them an amail to get some clarification?

 

http://www.stockholmsightseeing.com/EN/STOCKHOLM/index.htm

 

Thanks, uktog, but I already did send an email to them this morning. We think alike. We're also taking his small wheelchair. I can fold it and get onto the bus if need be. Just have to push and wanted to avoid that if possible.:)

 

Judy

[Normandie-BCN]

The call at Stockholm was at the city port, at Nynashamn or at Freeport?

[sandyruth]

looking forward to your next excellent [i'm sure]account of st petes we are also going with RO in august and cant wait for your update thanks

[uktog]

We were at the Cityport I think - about 10 mins walk from town in Stockholm

[Andy]

Hi Uktog !

 

Thanks for the excellent review. We look forward to hearing more about your cruise.

 

I saw Nicola Loud on Century several months ago, and she was wonderful. She is definately one of Celebrity's best featured entertainers.

[sarahmac]

Thanks, uktog, for your detailed review(s)!

 

A couple of quick questions:

 

- We plan on doing HOHO buses often when we go on the 17th of June. In Stockholm and Helsinki, where did you pick them up? How close were you to the ship?

 

- Why did you choose the HOHO bus in Stockholm rather than the HOHO boat?

 

Thanks in advance,

 

Sarah

[KMK]

Hi! Has anyone stayed in a "Ocean View Family Veranda" on the Constellation? Photos or reviews would be helpfull.

 

Thanks

 

Kathleen

[uktog]

No pictures of verandah cabins sorry. As regards the Ho-Ho buses you cannot miss them - they are almost parked closer than the X shuttles and are purple and yellow. The driver sells the tickets at the door. The boat does not get to all the places the bus does however in Stockholm they do a combined bus/boat ticket which looked good value. We did not do that because of a prior commitment - at the Ice Bar :) but would do the boat trip for a different perspective next time

[sarahmac]

uktog,

 

Do you, by chance, still have the daily activity sheets? There is a Catholic priest over on our roll call who will be on our sailing (June 17th...one week!!) and who is wondering about the daily mass times.

 

If you have that information, it would be greatly appreciated.

 

Here's the link to our roll call:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=178132&page=12

 

Thanks in advance (and thanks again for all your responses thus far),

 

Sarah

[Sky Sweet]

No pictures of verandah cabins sorry. As regards the Ho-Ho buses you cannot miss them - they are almost parked closer than the X shuttles and are purple and yellow. The driver sells the tickets at the door. The boat does not get to all the places the bus does however in Stockholm they do a combined bus/boat ticket which looked good value. We did not do that because of a prior commitment - at the Ice Bar :) but would do the boat trip for a different perspective next time

 

Hi Uktog :)

 

Do you need to have local currency to buy HOHO tickets or do they accept credit cards?

[SF]

Hi Uktog,

 

Great review, can't wait to read the 2nd half.

 

We're also interested in the Ice Bar. Did you make reservations ahead or did you just walk in? Any info in that regards would be appreciated.

[metaphase]

How were passengers notified of the dover/harwich port change? Especially for those traveling from other countries to dover?

 

We are traveling to dover through gatwick the day of departure independently (red eye flight plus train), and I'm having nightmares of getting to dover without knowing they've changed port.

[uktog]

Hi Uktog :)

 

Do you need to have local currency to buy HOHO tickets or do they accept credit cards?

 

In Stockholm I went into the info office on the pier and they did it by credit card but I think the drivers also could do that. Elsewhere I used Euros as they had the trip priced in Euros at every port as well as in local currency. As Euros also seemed to be a popular currency in the shops we went to in Russia it proved to be the most useful currency on the trip

[uktog]

Hi Uktog,

 

Great review, can't wait to read the 2nd half.

 

We're also interested in the Ice Bar. Did you make reservations ahead or did you just walk in? Any info in that regards would be appreciated.

Thanks for your comments on the review. The second half is somewhere down the page there - would not dare to bump it up :)

We did the icebar through the ships excursion, but some of our friends on board just walked in however we believe that was fortunate as it was a quiet time. You do need to watch the timings the bar is open and your sailaway time as it is a bit away from the ship and there can be traffic

[uktog]

How were passengers notified of the dover/harwich port change? Especially for those traveling from other countries to dover?

 

We are traveling to dover through gatwick the day of departure independently (red eye flight plus train), and I'm having nightmares of getting to dover without knowing they've changed port.

 

They called us however when we got to Gatwick there were extra staff on seeking out people with X luggage tags and checking they knew. If you reached Dover on time (ie within 90 mins of departure ) having travelled independently you were OK anyway as they were running buses back up to Harwich. They delayed the departure at Harwich to get all the buses up from Dover so I would not worry. It is also the first time this has ever happened in all the years X has been saiing out of Dover so I doubt you would have a problem anyway

[spearmint]

In Stockholm I went into the info office on the pier and they did it by credit card but I think the drivers also could do that. Elsewhere I used Euros as they had the trip priced in Euros at every port as well as in local currency. As Euros also seemed to be a popular currency in the shops we went to in Russia it proved to be the most useful currency on the trip

 

This is the first time that anyone said that they were able to use Euros in the other countries. That is good to know.

[suzyluvs2cruise]

Looking forward to reading more about your wonderful trip.

[spearmint]

Hello, uktog. I have received my documents for shore excursions, Aug. 26/06, and am re-reading this to refresh my memory of your valuable experince vs ship's excursions. -->I have read your part 2, and wanted to re-read it. Cannot find it. Was it removed from the boards?