Good News About the Connie!!

[gillianrose]

Anyway, this particular cruise has to rate right up there with my top one or two.

 

Thanks! I'm really happy to read this, since we are now looking forward to cruising with Celebrity as soon as possible after the October 1st smoking policy goes into effect, and the Canada/New England cruise is one we've been interested in for some time.

 

Great news, really.:)

[carol459]

we will be on her.......carolyn and chuck are you coming to the cruise critic meeting/

we r n cabin 6107

come by or call us

we have early dinner.will b in london 2 dys before

the review sounds wonderful

excited...next wk at this time at sea

carol and rick

[Parrot Mom]

Sorry you didnt get a chance to explore Bermuda properly..we have been there a dozen times and Ill take that (on NCL) destinaton in a heartbeat over any of the touristy ports in the Carribean..like St. Maartin, Antigua and Barbados.. Bermuda limits the amount of passengers and ships in Bermuda and I hate the fact they will be dredging the harbor and brining in larger ships.

[ISABELLA]

What a great Transatlantic cruise (4-11 to 4-24)!! The Constellation was good on the Sep 07 crossing but on this one, it was amazing! The captain and senior crew were everywhere, talking to pax. They were upstairs in the buffet area everyday at lunchtime chatting with the pax, asking how we were enjoying the cruise, the food, etc. The new menus are AWESOME! Best food we'd ever had on any cruise ship. In the dining room, the lobster tails were huge, tender and sweet. Chateaubriand was fork tender and the best piece of beef I've had in as long as I can remember. In Ocean Liners, the food, especially the lobster bisque, was vastly improved --- there was a ton of lobster back in it again!

The coffee was DRINKABLE - they're spending $1.20 on it rather than the previous $.40, according to the food manager. And they have MUGS, yes mugs, available upstairs for coffee and tea. And the glasses are now bigger. We were all so darn excited about these changes it was almost embarrassing.

They've redone the food layout in the buffet, added a stir-fry station next to the sushi for evening (LOVE that), All kinds of new stations at breakfast, including a breakfast pizza and an asian breakfast station. The salad bar was fantastic! They have containers of dried fruit, nuts, and whatnot to add to the zillion toppings too.

Soups in the dining room were back up to snuff, with slightly changed names (we guessed that that was necessary because of the change in master chefs). They were all delicious.

We had a great table location (on the rail on deck 5), and a truly outstanding waiter (Marius) who'd been with X for 10 years but was leaving after our cruise to be with his family. Fantastic room steward too (Newton).

The crew had to qualify as the happiest group of campers we could imagine! EVERYONE made eye contact with you EVERYWHERE on the ship.

Anyway, this particular cruise has to rate right up there with my top one or two. Still don't care for the Eastbound thing of losing an hour a day but it was nice having a little break in Bermuda. Definitely will have to take a look at the Connie's itineraries for the next few years and book something with her again!

 

So gald you enjoyed your cruise and I am sorry for me that I had to cancel it. but we are going on Connie for Xmas and NY and next April TA. So looking forward to it.

[goodshipmarley]

we will be on her.......carolyn and chuck are you coming to the cruise critic meeting/

we r n cabin 6107

come by or call us

we have early dinner.will b in london 2 dys before

the review sounds wonderful

excited...next wk at this time at sea

carol and rick

Check out our reply in the 5/03/08 Constellation Roll Call Forum. We will also be arriving 2 days early.

[Bobblsc]

I guess they didn't have waffles. :(

 

Ha, Ha! I guess you were answered. And the response was definite. There was no waffling at all. Really, Texas has contributed a lot to our country, particularly all those great Aggie jokes. :D

 

We do appreciate the nice comments about the Constellation. After several Celebrity cruises, our last two have been on Royal Caribbean. While some things, such as the Concierge Lounge, were very nice on RCL, other things were not as good as we remembered from our Celebrity cruises.

 

We now have two Transatlantics booked on Celebrity, the Constellation in September, and the Summit in November. We intend to keep only one, probably the Summit. I have read that the Summit is just out of dry dock after being refurbished, so it appears we can't go wrong with either booking.

 

Thanks to all for your informative comments, even you Texans. :D

 

Bob :rolleyes:

[StephenH]

Well, after 23 cruises I've finally done my first TA. As stated before, Connie is in great shape. The only sign of major wear and tear was the upper level of the pool deck on the starboard side (same side as George the Gorilla!). The flooring was in bad shape.

 

The new menus are great. They have kept a number of the same items but presented in differnet ways. For example, the creme brullee had a chocolate shell on top filled with fruit (nice touch). Other new items included a spinich and artichoke dip as an appetizer, a carrot ginger soup and an awesome asian salad. The buffets had also been kicked up a notch. They are placing the food on black stones covering the ice as opposed to just the ice....looked nice. LOTS of variety on the buffets and also some different items by the pool deck (loaded nachos with cheese and 10 other toppings! yumm!)

 

They introduced a mid week brunch (first time they had done it). It took place on one of the sea days from 10 am - 1pm in the San Marco Restaurant. So there was no traditional breakfast and lunch that day. They had it set up like the grand buffet with ice sculpters and such. There were stations set up around the main level cooking eggs, stirfry and such. Plus a large assortment of breakfast and lunch items. It was VERY well attended and they had to open the upper level towards noon. Great new addition.

 

Another new addition was the chocolate buffet which took place in the bar at the edge of the earth following the newlywed game. They set it up under the gazebos at the front where the beds used to be. Again very well attended. I heard they may do away with the main grand buffet as not alot of people go and much food is wasted.

 

The large new coffee mugs in the buffet are great. The usual duo in the Rondevous Lounge was replaced by a 4 piece band (not the party band) which was great.

 

The new cruise director is John Grantham a former hollywood stunt man. He was just finishing up his first month on board. He was taking over from Nick Wier who was on board till Bermuda. I'd never met Nick before but he looks just like Simon...I had to do a double take! John showed clips of himself on Will and Grace and various movies. On the final night, one of the singers hip tossed John down into the orchestra pit! I've never seen that before! For never having cruised before he did a great job and I think will only get better.

 

We all received certificates in our cabin for completing a transatlantic cruise.

 

Had a blast and can't wait for the next cruise.

[Lois R]

Hi, thank you for that detailed review too:)

 

quote:

"They introduced a mid week brunch (first time they had done it). It took place on one of the sea days from 10 am - 1pm in the San Marco Restaurant. So there was no traditional breakfast and lunch that day. They had it set up like the grand buffet with ice sculpters and such. There were stations set up around the main level cooking eggs, stirfry and such. Plus a large assortment of breakfast and lunch items. It was VERY well attended and they had to open the upper level towards noon. Great new addition."

 

WOW! That sounds fabulous!:D I wonder if they are going to

try this on other itineraries as well!

Did they mention anything about that at all?

 

We had a Chocolate Buffet on Galaxy last month too. But

the area was too small for the amount of people who showed up:eek:

They held it in the Savoy Lounge and I think 90% of the people

on the showed up! The lines started on both entrances and

were never ending!

They should have held it outside.

 

The Bar you had it at is much larger......was it roomy enough

for everyone?

 

Glad you had such a wonderful time.:) I haven't been able

to do a TA yet.....it is on my wish list.

[amanda blake]

What a great Transatlantic cruise (4-11 to 4-24)!! The Constellation was good on the Sep 07 crossing but on this one, it was amazing! The captain and senior crew were everywhere, talking to pax. They were upstairs in the buffet area everyday at lunchtime chatting with the pax, asking how we were enjoying the cruise, the food, etc. The new menus are AWESOME! Best food we'd ever had on any cruise ship. In the dining room, the lobster tails were huge, tender and sweet. Chateaubriand was fork tender and the best piece of beef I've had in as long as I can remember. In Ocean Liners, the food, especially the lobster bisque, was vastly improved --- there was a ton of lobster back in it again!

The coffee was DRINKABLE - they're spending $1.20 on it rather than the previous $.40, according to the food manager. And they have MUGS, yes mugs, available upstairs for coffee and tea. And the glasses are now bigger. We were all so darn excited about these changes it was almost embarrassing.

They've redone the food layout in the buffet, added a stir-fry station next to the sushi for evening (LOVE that), All kinds of new stations at breakfast, including a breakfast pizza and an asian breakfast station. The salad bar was fantastic! They have containers of dried fruit, nuts, and whatnot to add to the zillion toppings too.

Soups in the dining room were back up to snuff, with slightly changed names (we guessed that that was necessary because of the change in master chefs). They were all delicious.

We had a great table location (on the rail on deck 5), and a truly outstanding waiter (Marius) who'd been with X for 10 years but was leaving after our cruise to be with his family. Fantastic room steward too (Newton).

The crew had to qualify as the happiest group of campers we could imagine! EVERYONE made eye contact with you EVERYWHERE on the ship.

Anyway, this particular cruise has to rate right up there with my top one or two. Still don't care for the Eastbound thing of losing an hour a day but it was nice having a little break in Bermuda. Definitely will have to take a look at the Connie's itineraries for the next few years and book something with her again!

 

this is such good news...we loved the ship...but our experience last fall with the food was awful..just awful..yes we wrote to celebrity extensively...hey maybe they listened...seemed like it...I am glad...

[Daphna101]

We love the Connie,

 

We were very happy with the food back in Nov as well.

 

Daphna

[Ma Bell]

Hi, thank you for that detailed review too:)

 

quote:

"They introduced a mid week brunch (first time they had done it). It took place on one of the sea days from 10 am - 1pm in the San Marco Restaurant. So there was no traditional breakfast and lunch that day. They had it set up like the grand buffet with ice sculpters and such. There were stations set up around the main level cooking eggs, stirfry and such. Plus a large assortment of breakfast and lunch items. It was VERY well attended and they had to open the upper level towards noon. Great new addition."

 

WOW! That sounds fabulous!:D I wonder if they are going to

try this on other itineraries as well!

Did they mention anything about that at all?

 

We had a Chocolate Buffet on Galaxy last month too. But

the area was too small for the amount of people who showed up:eek:

They held it in the Savoy Lounge and I think 90% of the people

on the showed up! The lines started on both entrances and

were never ending!

They should have held it outside.

 

The Bar you had it at is much larger......was it roomy enough

for everyone?

 

Glad you had such a wonderful time.:) I haven't been able

to do a TA yet.....it is on my wish list.

 

Lois,

They did these same things on our Australia-NZ cruise. They did the lunch buffet a couple of times and it was very nice. Lots of new dishes too.

Joanie

[Andy]

Hi Everyone !

 

The lunch buffet in the Main Dining Room, and Chocolate buffets sound like excellent additions. Glad to hear it.

[Lois R]

Lois,

 

They did these same things on our Australia-NZ cruise. They did the lunch buffet a couple of times and it was very nice. Lots of new dishes too.

 

Joanie

 

Hi Joanie:) sounds terrific. I wonder if they will do something

like it on the Alaskan intineraries?

[excitedofharpenden]

Welcome back Ruth. Glad you all had such a great time. Your comments about the food are great to see and I hope they keep that up. It's also good to read that the officers were so visible so that they could take in the feedback first hand and pass it on up the line.

 

Phil

[ISABELLA]

Now I am looking forward my Xmas and TA cruises even more after knowing that chocolate buffet is waiting for me. Can't wait to try the new menu.

Keep cruising, I know I am.

[Lsimon]

Double post, sorry

[Lsimon]

Great to hear about the coffee and all the innovations! Thanks for sharing.

[Cruiser Susie]

Welcome back, Ruth, Stephen H and Dougie cruise,

So nice to hear all the good comments about the Constellation. We have sailed her several times and had a great time. Having the officers out and about on the ship makes a good statement. We noticed that on the Galaxy earlier this month, and were really impressed by the crew and the new menus as well. (and so sad to see that the Galaxy is leaving the fleet. :( )

Really looking forward to being back on the Connie for her reverse TA in September!

LOVED hearing about the improvement in the coffee.... yippee! And the brunch idea in the dining room is a brilliant one; could have used that on the Med cruise last fall... sounds like a lot of new, more innovative ideas are in the works... great to hear that.

Take care,

[Karynanne]

Welcome back, Ruth, Stephen H and Dougie cruise,

So nice to hear all the good comments about the Constellation. We have sailed her several times and had a great time. Having the officers out and about on the ship makes a good statement. We noticed that on the Galaxy earlier this month, and were really impressed by the crew and the new menus as well. (and so sad to see that the Galaxy is leaving the fleet. :( )

Really looking forward to being back on the Connie for her reverse TA in September!

LOVED hearing about the improvement in the coffee.... yippee! And the brunch idea in the dining room is a brilliant one; could have used that on the Med cruise last fall... sounds like a lot of new, more innovative ideas are in the works... great to hear that.

Take care,

 

Susie, we really enjoyed the Brunch in the diningroom. They had the same thing on Mercury, and it was really done very nicely. A great selection of fresh fruits, pastries, omelet and egg stations, carved, hot meats, and a variety of desserts.

 

I felt this was a great addition to the usual daily choices.

 

Karyn

[Luckyladym]

We will be on the Constellation for 24 days, doing NE/Canada back to back with the Coastline/Bermuda cruise ending in FFL.

 

So....I was delighted to read your review and it really got me eager for October to arrive. We have been on all of the other M ships and this will round it out for us.

 

Do you think that John will still be the CD in October? He sounds terrific.

 

Thanks again,

Marilyn

[lidstone]

We just returned last night from our TA cruise on the Constellation followed by 4 days in London. I will write a more complete review later this week. We had a wonderful time and it is an experience I will never forget. That said, I have to honestly say that both my fiance and I were disappointed with the food. I had previously sailed on Celebrity and constantly talked about how much better their food was than on other comparably priced cruiselines. I couldn't get over how much the food and the service in the dining room had changed since my last cruise about 7 years ago. Believe me, the food was not terrible, or interfered with our enjoyment of this trip, it just didn't measure up to what it used to be. It was very difficult to get enough vegetables, and the quality of the first couple of dinners was very poor. The soups were extremely salty. For the first week, we constantly needed to ask to have our water glasses refilled and rolls to be replenished. The service was not the wait staff's fault, I just think that there are not the same number of staff per tables as before. Baskets of scrumptious rolls and breadsticks at dinner, have become baskets of a roll, some breadsticks, and sliced white bread. When we asked to have some more rolls and not the bread, we were told that they couldn't do that "because the baskets were already made up". The buffet food was very poor. I do realize that cuts were made to help keep the cruise cost reasonable, but I did miss the quality of the old food Celebrity was known for. They still like the "dress-up and multiple silver ware" of high quality dining experience, they just don't have the food to match the experience. Neverthelass, we loved the cruise, the room, the entertainment, and all of the staff we came in contact with. I just have to be honest about the food. We did eat in Ocean Liners, and the experience was delightful and the food was delicious. This is not an anti-Celebrity post, it is just our opinion about the food.

[Karynanne]

We just returned last night from our TA cruise on the Constellation followed by 4 days in London. I will write a more complete review later this week. We had a wonderful time and it is an experience I will never forget. That said, I have to honestly say that both my fiance and I were disappointed with the food. I had previously sailed on Celebrity and constantly talked about how much better their food was than on other comparably priced cruiselines. I couldn't get over how much the food and the service in the dining room had changed since my last cruise about 7 years ago. Believe me, the food was not terrible, or interfered with our enjoyment of this trip, it just didn't measure up to what it used to be. It was very difficult to get enough vegetables, and the quality of the first couple of dinners was very poor. The soups were extremely salty. For the first week, we constantly needed to ask to have our water glasses refilled and rolls to be replenished. The service was not the wait staff's fault, I just think that there are not the same number of staff per tables as before. Baskets of scrumptious rolls and breadsticks at dinner, have become baskets of a roll, some breadsticks, and sliced white bread. When we asked to have some more rolls and not the bread, we were told that they couldn't do that "because the baskets were already made up". The buffet food was very poor. I do realize that cuts were made to help keep the cruise cost reasonable, but I did miss the quality of the old food Celebrity was known for. They still like the "dress-up and multiple silver ware" of high quality dining experience, they just don't have the food to match the experience. Neverthelass, we loved the cruise, the room, the entertainment, and all of the staff we came in contact with. I just have to be honest about the food. We did eat in Ocean Liners, and the experience was delightful and the food was delicious. This is not an anti-Celebrity post, it is just our opinion about the food.

 

I have found that if you find there aren't enough vegetables or rolls...or for that matter anything...just ask your Waiter. We too, found that the amount of veggies just wasn't enough, so we asked our Waiter for a plate of just vegetables, and every night he brought beautiful, steamed veggies. It was more than we could even eat. The same with breads, etc.

[hcat]

saw the mention of gazebos now being located where the beds were in the upstairs lounge on the ship--can someone describe that --esp as to how it would impact sea views during the day

 

Iam definitely in favor of the grand lunch buffet & the choc buffet--only stayed up late for the grand buffet to take pics--that was probably on one of our first cruises...after that no reason to eat again so late... did the staff mention how difficult it was for them to set up & then change out after the lunch buffet--seems like alot of work...

[goofysmom99]

We also asked for a plate of blue cheese (for our salads) and extra breadsticks every night. And every night we had a plate of blue cheese and a downright silly amount of breadsticks delivered. Now that I think about it, I don't think anyone at our table ate any type of bread except the breadsticks. I've also asked for extra vegetables on many cruises (not just X) and always gotten them. I think all the cruise lines just want us to ask.

[goofysmom99]

saw the mention of gazebos now being located where the beds were in the upstairs lounge on the ship--can someone describe that --esp as to how it would impact sea views during the day

 

 

They just left the 4 posts up that previously had surrounded the beds with drapery. Now there are just the posts with tables with 4 chairs centered. Definitely doesn't impact viewing. There are still some "rags" hanging down from the ceiling over the dance floor and such, but most vestiges of Cirque are disappearing.