Constellation-11/27 Sailing--The Good and Not So Good

[kitty9]

I thought that I would not do the usual trip report, and do something a little different with my views of our Constellation cruise. So here goes the good and not so good department.

 

The Good and Very Good

 

1. Our waitstaff in the San Marco restaurant was fantastic. Christophe, our waiter and Wayne our assistant waiter were one of the best teams we've ever encountered on X. They aimed to please and became upset if we didn't like part of our meal. Christophe overheard me tell my sister that I missed seeing mangos in the buffet and guess what? I had mangos waiting at our table every evening. Our head waiter, Lorenzo, was also fantastic. He really earned his tip by catering to everyone's needs. BTW, we were at table 526.

 

2. My butler and his staff were unusually great. I've worked with Roderick before on Summit, so I knew he would be wonderful. I was in 6133. Mom and sis had Rasti as their butler. While he was fine, they missed the extraordinary service provided by Rikki on Summit. He's one special man.

 

3. Not one complaint about the service on the entire ship. Everyone was fantastic. No wonder why Constellation gets such high marks for service.

 

4. The ship is in great shape. I didn't see worn carpets or furniture anywhere on the ship. The public bathrooms were constantly being cleaned and no hint of the Noro virus.

 

5. Ocean Liners was absolutely sublime. All our usual favorites were on the menu and we dined there three nights. For all purposes, we probably should have dined there more nights because of the food in the San Marco, but more on that later.

 

5. Entertainment was very good. A great comedian and a wonderful vocalist were on board. The Mozart Duo was fantastic.

 

The Not So Good, and Pretty Darn Bad

 

1. The food in the San Marco was pretty poor. While the soups and rolls/breadsticks were great, along with all the appetizers, the main courses were downright bad. My early experiences with X provided me with overall excellent food, but the last two cruises, I've seen a huge downturn in just about all food aspects. The beef was generally inedible with it being tough, dry and tasteless ( we usually order the beef medium so it wasn't that we wanted it well done). Fish was usually overcooked and not very flavorful. The best entrees were chicken. Done very well and very tasty. I really hope they get rid of the Michael Roux menu and go to something that's less "French" and more flavorful. And beware, like I said in another post, don't eat the beef medallions. Those things almost made me lose my lunch. They are actually "cow cheeks" cooked in some kind of gelatin, and the taste and texture was probably the worst thing I've ever tasted, and I've had some pretty weird food in all my travels. Like I said, they need to dump Roux.

 

2. The party band Vibe. IMHO, they are the worst band I've ever heard on an X ship. They were rather "duddy".

 

3. Stay away from the casino. These machines were the tightest machines I've ever seen in all my cruises. Unless you don't mind donating to X's bottom line, stick with the table games and don't touch the slots. BTW, they have Texas Hold 'Em, but it's not a live dealer game---it's basically a computer-generated game. But the guys seemed to like playing it.

 

If I think of anything else, I'll put it in subsequent posts.

[Andy]

Hi Darcie !

 

Thanks for your comments. I was on Constellation the sailing before you. Overall, we had a pretty good time (other than some terrible weather). We also thought the ship was in excellent condition, and no signs of the dreaded Norovirus.

 

I agree with most of your comments, especially about the party band. They were so bad it was surprising. Most all of their singing was off key. Fortunately, they were virtually invisible for our Cruise, and once we heard them play, we were glad they were not around most of the time.

 

We also were disappointed with the Casino. We thought the slots were very tight, and we rarely won anything. It felt like a lost cause. We didnt see anyone else winning either. As for the electronic Poker table, it was empty most of the nights on our sailing. I think people were intimidated by the technology.

 

The Dining Room food.... we didnt have any major problems. Overall we thought the food was very good, but we did feel the beef was dry on a few occasions. We had a fantastic waiter, and he did his best to keep us very happy.

 

I just finished my review on Century. I hope to write one on Constellation sometime later this week.

[Lsimon]

This is weird, Axis wasn't the party band?

 

We were on the Connie on their first trip to the Caribbean of the season (Oct. 27 sailing from New Jersey) and there was a band from St. Lucia that just got on board - Axis. They were very good - the best we've heard on Celebrity since our first Summit cruise in 2004. The band played a wide variety of music, did great and had tons of energy. They said they were booked through early April - so we figured they would still be around on our upcoming Connie cruise next March 23.

 

For me the party band is a highlight of the cruise - if they are good. And we were really looking forward to another cruise with Axis. I wonder what happened to them.

 

Overall we thought the dining room food was pretty good. Although I have to admit I didn't have the taste for the fish like I usually do - thought it was me but maybe it was just the fish. Also the steaks served as alternate (every night menu) were not very good. Unfortuantely I've found these hit and miss between past cruises, and more tough and so-so they very good. Must depend on the latest source at the ships supply port. It would be nice if this stand by was good.

[katiebeth]

Dear Kitty 9,

 

Glad to hear you enjoyed your cruise. We have sailed on the Constellation a few years back and really loved the ship and service. I am glad to hear you felt that everything was in good shape. We will be in 6137 at the end of June for a Baltics cruise. This past June we sailed on the Millennium on a Med. cruise. We had a terrific time, but did feel the ship was a little tired.

 

I am wondering if the new bedding is in place yet on the Constellation. If not, does anyone know when Constellation is getting the new beds?

 

Thanks and Happy Sailings

 

Nancy

[kitty9]

Nancy, I don't think there was new bedding in my cabin, as the mattress and bed cover seemed a bit worn. I don't know when anything new will be arriving.

[slotaddict]

Thanks for the review, I am a little disappointed with the food review. Is it Michael Roux or is it the head chef. I thought that the menus were just about the same on all of the ships, we just came off the Century and the food was good. We will be on the Constellation for a transatlantic in September. Thanks for the warning about the casino, I spend alot of time there. I would rather play the electronic poker machine than dump money into slots that never pay out. That was pretty much the case on the Century as well, I saw no big winners in the casino.

[Andy]

Hi Lsimon !

 

To try and answer your questions, I just checked the dailies. On the 11/20/06 sailing, the dailies say the Party band was Axis.

[Andy]

I am wondering if the new bedding is in place yet on the Constellation. If not, does anyone know when Constellation is getting the new beds?

 

Thanks and Happy Sailings

 

Nancy

 

Hi Nancy !

 

Constellation definitely does not have the new bedding yet. It should be installed on her next Drydock, in April 2007.

[two rabbits]

I thought that I would not do the usual trip report, and do something a little different with my views of our Constellation cruise. So here goes the good and not so good department.

 

The Good and Very Good

 

1. Our waitstaff in the San Marco restaurant was fantastic. Christophe, our waiter and Wayne our assistant waiter were one of the best teams we've ever encountered on X. They aimed to please and became upset if we didn't like part of our meal. Christophe overheard me tell my sister that I missed seeing mangos in the buffet and guess what? I had mangos waiting at our table every evening. Our head waiter, Lorenzo, was also fantastic. He really earned his tip by catering to everyone's needs. BTW, we were at table 526.

 

2. My butler and his staff were unusually great. I've worked with Roderick before on Summit, so I knew he would be wonderful. I was in 6133. Mom and sis had Rasti as their butler. While he was fine, they missed the extraordinary service provided by Rikki on Summit. He's one special man.

 

3. Not one complaint about the service on the entire ship. Everyone was fantastic. No wonder why Constellation gets such high marks for service.

 

4. The ship is in great shape. I didn't see worn carpets or furniture anywhere on the ship. The public bathrooms were constantly being cleaned and no hint of the Noro virus.

 

5. Ocean Liners was absolutely sublime. All our usual favorites were on the menu and we dined there three nights. For all purposes, we probably should have dined there more nights because of the food in the San Marco, but more on that later.

 

5. Entertainment was very good. A great comedian and a wonderful vocalist were on board. The Mozart Duo was fantastic.

 

The Not So Good, and Pretty Darn Bad

 

1. The food in the San Marco was pretty poor. While the soups and rolls/breadsticks were great, along with all the appetizers, the main courses were downright bad. My early experiences with X provided me with overall excellent food, but the last two cruises, I've seen a huge downturn in just about all food aspects. The beef was generally inedible with it being tough, dry and tasteless ( we usually order the beef medium so it wasn't that we wanted it well done). Fish was usually overcooked and not very flavorful. The best entrees were chicken. Done very well and very tasty. I really hope they get rid of the Michael Roux menu and go to something that's less "French" and more flavorful. And beware, like I said in another post, don't eat the beef medallions. Those things almost made me lose my lunch. They are actually "cow cheeks" cooked in some kind of gelatin, and the taste and texture was probably the worst thing I've ever tasted, and I've had some pretty weird food in all my travels. Like I said, they need to dump Roux.

 

2. The party band Vibe. IMHO, they are the worst band I've ever heard on an X ship. They were rather "duddy".

 

3. Stay away from the casino. These machines were the tightest machines I've ever seen in all my cruises. Unless you don't mind donating to X's bottom line, stick with the table games and don't touch the slots. BTW, they have Texas Hold 'Em, but it's not a live dealer game---it's basically a computer-generated game. But the guys seemed to like playing it.

 

If I think of anything else, I'll put it in subsequent posts.

Darcie,

 

Thanks for your well balanced review. Always nice to hear both the good and the bad.

[Lsimon]

Hi Lsimon !

 

To try and answer your questions, I just checked the dailies. On the 11/20/06 sailing, the dailies say the Party band was Axis.

 

That would be fine with me, I hope they have the same amount of energy next March - near the end of their contract that they had at the beginning. I wonder why they were not on the following cruise? Did you see them on yours? What did you think?

[osiebosie]

I like your new review style.

 

We sailed the Constellation in October. We enjoyed the food in San Marco, along with the service. And, yes, the food in Ocean Liners was great.

 

Unlike your cruise, we did very well in the casino. I cashed out several hundred dollars on that little penny slot by the door with the miner theme. Of course, I was betting max, so it wasn't a penny slot. But I cashed out several times on that machine, when I could get on it, for quite a bit. I also did very well on another machine, I'm trying to remember the denomination. Quarter, I think. It was X-Factor. I hit the top line. DH did very well in the casino also. The one time I played blackjack, I doubled my money, but my son-in-law lost his. Made me feel bad.

 

If you are a serious gambler, this is the cruise line to try for a good jackpot on a machine. You are not required to pay taxes on any winnings. On Carnival and NCL, you are required to pay taxes if anything over 1200.00 is hit. DH hit one for over 1200.00, and, NO TAXES! It was nice. I also hit for $1,000.00 on a Party Time dollar machine. I don't like that their $5 slots are all bonus machines, but we did okay on those. Nothing major.

 

I agree. The ship was in great shape, and the staff is wonderful. We had a great cruise. I'd love to go again.

 

Shay

[T&KMalone]

Glad to hear the Connie is still a great ship to be on. We was on her during her first 6 months of sailing. As I remember I did not find any bad food the entire week we was on. The biggest difference I guess was the slots that week were not tight, actually won the amount paid for the cruise, which made it basically a free week at sea.

[tbelian]

You are not required to pay taxes on any winnings. On Carnival and NCL, you are required to pay taxes if anything over 1200.00 is hit.

 

Recently there was a thread that touched on this same issue. The thought being, these ships are foreign flagged, and the gambling is taking place in international waters. I believe the consensus as a result of that post was that, if you challenged the idea of the ship's casino collecting taxes from your winnings, you probably would prevail. I know if I was lucky enough to win some big bucks (hasn't happened), and the ship wanted to hold back the taxes, I would certainly question them on that.

 

YMMV

[kitty9]

tblien, when sailing on the QM2, I hit a jackpot of $1600 and they gave me a W2-G form and I had to report my winnings. I did question a number of people on Cunard and they told me they always report winnings over $1199. When I hit a jackpot on Grandeur, no forms. I called my accountant and lawyer and they both said that regardless of where you win gambling money, according to the letter of the IRS law, you must report every win, even if that win is in Monte Carlo or on a cruise ship.

[osiebosie]

Yes, you are supposed to "report" it. But you wouldn't have to fill out the IRS form if you were to win in, say, Canada. So, technically, if you won 1500.00 in Canada, but didn't "report" it, they wouldn't know about it. Now we're going to get ethical, but those are the facts.

 

I have found out that some cruise lines enforce filling out the IRS form, such as Carnival and NCL. Celebrity is one line that doesn't enforce the form. You're not on American soil, and you may not even be American. I wonder what the lines who do have you fill out the form do if you're not American. Hmmm.

 

Shay

[lor74]

I was on the 11/07 sailing, and I agree with most of your review. I wouldn't go as far as saying that the banx Axis and the dinning room food were awful, but the band was the weakest that I have seen to date, and the food was just ok for me, but not bad. The casino was very tight, it was only on the last 2 nights that I heard 2 people on the .25 machines winning a grand each.

[SusieV]

People from other countries certainly don't have the same rules. I'm Canadian, and if the cruise line tried to withhold on my winnings I would be furious. Canadian law says winnings are not taxable unless you do it as a career.

[SusieV]

Sorry double post

[Lsimon]

I was on the 11/07 sailing, and I agree with most of your review. I wouldn't go as far as saying that the banx Axis and the dinning room food were awful, but the band was the weakest that I have seen to date, and the food was just ok for me, but not bad.

 

I wonder if something was up with the band, or if some members had changed as they were great on our cruise - best I've seen in a couple years on Celebrity. Overall food was pretty good too.

[RICCruisers]

Axis was on the 12/8 cruise for the first 4 or 5 days and then disappeared. I agree that they were the best ship's band I have heard. There were lots of rumors about what happened to them, but their replacement was what I would term "Bad Karaoke"

[dkjretired]

Below is a link to the tax rules in the casinos. They usually don't take the taxes out on the spot unless you don't have an SS number or are not an American citizen. They usually will give you the 1099G but as someone stated they don't always do that. You are however required to pay taxes on any winnings you receive.

 

http://www.cruise-casinos.com/jackpots.htm