Review of Constellation 5 night UK cruise 25 April 2007

[iandjm]

Hi,

 

Well I am just back from the 5 night Southampton – Southampton cruise on Constellation. We had a great time. The ship is as good as any of the ‘M’ class ships. The ship was in great condition.

 

The crew were the most polite happy crowd I have ever known. Nothing was too much trouble for them.

 

Cabin – CC grade 9146, I was worried about being near the stern of the ship, and directly blow the Ocean café, but I had no need to worry. The location was great, and we did not hear any noise from above. Thanks to Servio, out cabin steward, for his fantastic service.

 

Food – Fantastic! Our waiter, Justo in the San Marco restaurant was really good. He had a great friendly attitude and was very professional as well.

We dined in the Ocean Liners restaurant on one evening, and as we have always experienced in the Olympic restaurant, on Millennium, the food and service were impeccable. Its always a treat to dine in the speciality restaurant on an ‘M’ class.

 

Lunchtime buffets were typical Celebrity fayre, the Aqua spa café was fantastic and the burgers from the pool grill as tasty as ever.

Sadly there was no grand buffet on this cruise, which was a shame as I had been telling my friends who were along with me on the cruise, all newcomers to Celebrity, how great it was.

 

Entertainment - I was pleased to see 3 production shows being held in the Celebrity theatre on this cruise. All was great, my favourite being spotlight on Broadway (basically the same as Spectacle of Broadway on Millennium, just re- sequenced)

On one evening there was a comedian, Adrian Walsh, who was very funny, and on another evening a guest singer.

 

We called at 3 great ports:

 

Guernsey - Yes we actually managed to tender ashore on this cruise, having missed Guernsey so many times in the past. We had a look around for a couple of hours and headed back to the ship.

 

Cork, a fascinating place. We caught the train form the port of Cobh to Cork, and explored on foot. I really liked it here.

 

Dublin caught the shuttle coach into the city and explored on foot again. I love Dublin; it’s one of my favourite cities. We managed a pint in Temple bar too!

 

The barman at the outside aft bar on deck 10, Carlos, always welcomed us with a smile and our favourite drink. He was a great example of a Celebrity crewmember, always smiling, happy and genuinely friendly.

 

Constellation heads off for her refit this morning, in France. I almost with I could be there too!

 

Over all a fantastic cruise, and a great chance for Celebrity to show off their product to the UK market. I only wish we could have an ‘M’ class doing cruises from Southampton for a summer.

 

Ian :D

[excitedofharpenden]

Ian, welcome home and glad you enjoyed your cruise. I went to Guernsey years ago with my parents and enjoyed it there. I'd like to go back one day. We will be stopping in Dublin and Cork on our Constellation Transatlantic in September. First time in Ireland for me. Amazing really because I love :) Dublin will just be a walk and hop and off the bus and I'm not sure what to do in Cork yet. Need to plan that one soon!

 

Phil

[drk]

Ian...thanks for your review. We will be in Dublin on both the Century in May and the Constellation in Sept. Was the shuttle you caught into the city provided by Celebrity and was there a charge? Thanks.

 

Kevin

[iandjm]

Ian...thanks for your review. We will be in Dublin on both the Century in May and the Constellation in Sept. Was the shuttle you caught into the city provided by Celebrity and was there a charge? Thanks.

 

Kevin

 

Hi,

 

Yes we caught the Celebrity shuttle, it was easy and only cost $12 which was ok. Have a great time in Dublin, you will love it :)

 

Ian :D

[operafan]

Ian,

 

I agree with every word. Cruise was fabulous! Ship, food, & service were perfect. It was nice to meet all the CC'ers too. Going to try and get my body clock back to normal then will post more later!!!! Vicki

[drk]

Thanks for the info on the shuttle into Dublin.

 

Kevin

[dorisday]

It was great to meet everyone on our roll call, finally putting faces to names.

My Mom who is disabled said the Connie was the easiest ship to get around & also the best cruise she has ever taken.

 

The only negative comment I had to make was about the rudeness of Stuart (activity staff).

While enjoying the show on formal night Stuart & another crew member brushed past us to sit at the end of our row. He knocked my glass of red wine all over the female passenger sitting next to me, he looked down at what he had done & turned & left :eek:

The passenger whose formal dress & white jacket was covered in red wine was mortified, I assured her that he had probably gone to get a cloth & would be back shortly to sort it out.

 

15mins later he still hadnt arrived & I was very angry, having worked on cruiseships myself that is no way to handle this situation.

I left my seat & went to find a member of staff, knowing my way around cruiseships I went into the theatre's hidden bar & talked to an assistant F&B manager. He came back with me & apologised on behalf of Stuart, took the ladies details & assured her her outfit would be cleaned free of charge, he also replenished all our drinks & said he would report the matter to the cruise director......All of which Stuart should have done instead of running away :mad:

 

I spoke to Stuart about this incidence on the last day & he just shrugged his shoulders, offered no apology & walked away.

 

I wrote glowing reports about my room stewards, my waiters & the cruise on the comment form, Stuart got slated for his actions

 

In all the cruise was wonderful, my first with Celebrity....my first of many to come

[Host Joe]

Glad to hear that you had a great time, Ian! I love Constellation, too!

[iandjm]

Glad to hear that you had a great time, Ian! I love Constellation, too!

 

Hey Joe,

 

Are you coming back to the Med to join us on Millennium on 21 October? It would be great to see you again

 

Ian :D

[Host Joe]

Hey Joe,

 

Are you coming back to the Med to join us on Millennium on 21 October? It would be great to see you again

 

Ian :D

 

Hey Ian, it would be awesome to see you again, too, however we are doing Hawaii in October. We are doing the Brilliance of the Seas transatlantic from Barcelona in December, though! We will definitely do Millennium again in the fall, maybe 2008? We will have to keep in touch!