L
lacycatherine
Guest
Has anyone ever been on the Constellation? What were you favorite and least favorite parts?
I
ironman417
Guest
Been on her twice, two years in a row.
The best is the feeling that the crew gives you. They all seem to care about you and are professional in their attitudes. No matter where you walk, if it's past a person cleaning the glass walls or past one of the ships officers, they will stop what they are doing and ask you how you are doing and how you cruise is . It was the best ship Ive ever been on.
The ship is just beautiful. When you first arrive a person in a tuxedo and white gloves will offer you a glass of champagne and carry you carry-on luggage to your stateroom. Makes you feel special.
The worst part, leaving.
The best is the feeling that the crew gives you. They all seem to care about you and are professional in their attitudes. No matter where you walk, if it's past a person cleaning the glass walls or past one of the ships officers, they will stop what they are doing and ask you how you are doing and how you cruise is . It was the best ship Ive ever been on.
The ship is just beautiful. When you first arrive a person in a tuxedo and white gloves will offer you a glass of champagne and carry you carry-on luggage to your stateroom. Makes you feel special.
The worst part, leaving.
B
BruinSteve
Guest
I haven't been on the Connie YET...
But I have cruised on her sister ships the Millennium and the Summit...
What I love best is how uncrowded they feel...
We've been on 70,000 ton ships with greater passenger capacities...The M-Class ships at 91,000 tons with only 1950 capacity (double occupancy) have among the best size-to-passenger ratios of all mass-marketed cruise ships...Also great crew-to-passenger ratios...
Second thing is how much of the ship is dedicated to elegant public space--bars, lounges, public decks...
The various obnoxious events like bingo and art auctions are still ther for those who want them, but unlike a lot of other ships, they're no held right in the way of everything else...
Service is great, cabins ample...
But I have cruised on her sister ships the Millennium and the Summit...
What I love best is how uncrowded they feel...
We've been on 70,000 ton ships with greater passenger capacities...The M-Class ships at 91,000 tons with only 1950 capacity (double occupancy) have among the best size-to-passenger ratios of all mass-marketed cruise ships...Also great crew-to-passenger ratios...
Second thing is how much of the ship is dedicated to elegant public space--bars, lounges, public decks...
The various obnoxious events like bingo and art auctions are still ther for those who want them, but unlike a lot of other ships, they're no held right in the way of everything else...
Service is great, cabins ample...
P
Petert
Guest
Hi Lacycatherine,
We have sailed on the Millennium and Constellation three times, and are booked for a Baltic Sea cruise on the Constellation in May. I would have to say that the ship itself, the Celebrity service and the entertainment would be our favorite elements of the Constellation cruise experience. As Bruin Steve mentioned, the larger spaces and excellent traffic flow make for an uncrowded and relaxed atmoshere. The ship is beautifully and tastefully decorated and furnished, with lots of light and views of the sea from the dining room, buffet dining area and the atrium. The ship has a very smooth and quiet ride due to the Gas Turbine System (GTS) and electric propulsion pods that eliminate the engine and propeller shaft noise. The two level dining room has glass from floor to ceiling to the rear (which turns to a tapestry look after sunset) and most of two sides, is really a beautiful room. The main showroom has great sound and light facilities, fine sight lines from any of the very comfortable seats, and fabulous entertainment. There are even acts, with the singing and dancing company, that echo the Cirque du Soliel influence. In addition the Celebrity celebrity and lecture program has some very excellent selections on each cruise. We haven't yet seen the new Edge of the Earth club that has been designed for the Cirque du Soliel progam, but it should be really something! There will be a Masked Ball in this room (additional cost, but with a custom mask) on each cruise. The movie theater is rather small but has recent film showings.
One of the things we really enjoy about Celebrity is the little amenties, and extra effort to show that they value your patronage. Your daily bulletin contains all the ships activities information, so thier PA announcements are very limited, and and are usually related to safety and tender availability type information. The sorbet parade at the pool every afternoon, where a group of servers descend on the pool area and pass out sherbert to everyone on the pool deck. Umbrellas in your room or in the lobby area in case of rain during port visits. Ice cold lemonade at the ferry landing for passengers that are waiting for tenders to take them back to the ship after a port visit. Food quality in the main dining room is generally very good to excellent with excellent service. The informally dining area is very clean, bright and well organized with an al fresco dining area on the aft deck of by the pool area forward. For breakfast you have a choice of an omelet station or freshly made waffles, besides the complete buffet. Good soup, salad, sandwich and entre dishes for lunch. Including desert and ice cream selections. Every evening you have a very good, complimentary sushi bar.
As you have probably noticed we are very pleased with our experiences aboard the Constellation and Millennium cruise ships and looking forward to our next cruise with them. Hope you enjoy the Constellation as much as we have.
Peter
We have sailed on the Millennium and Constellation three times, and are booked for a Baltic Sea cruise on the Constellation in May. I would have to say that the ship itself, the Celebrity service and the entertainment would be our favorite elements of the Constellation cruise experience. As Bruin Steve mentioned, the larger spaces and excellent traffic flow make for an uncrowded and relaxed atmoshere. The ship is beautifully and tastefully decorated and furnished, with lots of light and views of the sea from the dining room, buffet dining area and the atrium. The ship has a very smooth and quiet ride due to the Gas Turbine System (GTS) and electric propulsion pods that eliminate the engine and propeller shaft noise. The two level dining room has glass from floor to ceiling to the rear (which turns to a tapestry look after sunset) and most of two sides, is really a beautiful room. The main showroom has great sound and light facilities, fine sight lines from any of the very comfortable seats, and fabulous entertainment. There are even acts, with the singing and dancing company, that echo the Cirque du Soliel influence. In addition the Celebrity celebrity and lecture program has some very excellent selections on each cruise. We haven't yet seen the new Edge of the Earth club that has been designed for the Cirque du Soliel progam, but it should be really something! There will be a Masked Ball in this room (additional cost, but with a custom mask) on each cruise. The movie theater is rather small but has recent film showings.
One of the things we really enjoy about Celebrity is the little amenties, and extra effort to show that they value your patronage. Your daily bulletin contains all the ships activities information, so thier PA announcements are very limited, and and are usually related to safety and tender availability type information. The sorbet parade at the pool every afternoon, where a group of servers descend on the pool area and pass out sherbert to everyone on the pool deck. Umbrellas in your room or in the lobby area in case of rain during port visits. Ice cold lemonade at the ferry landing for passengers that are waiting for tenders to take them back to the ship after a port visit. Food quality in the main dining room is generally very good to excellent with excellent service. The informally dining area is very clean, bright and well organized with an al fresco dining area on the aft deck of by the pool area forward. For breakfast you have a choice of an omelet station or freshly made waffles, besides the complete buffet. Good soup, salad, sandwich and entre dishes for lunch. Including desert and ice cream selections. Every evening you have a very good, complimentary sushi bar.
As you have probably noticed we are very pleased with our experiences aboard the Constellation and Millennium cruise ships and looking forward to our next cruise with them. Hope you enjoy the Constellation as much as we have.
Peter
H
hct
Guest
Went on an extended New Eng/Canada trip in Sept & loved everything about the ship--even nicer than Summit. Food and service were excellent, entertainment much improved,ship very clean & the staff could not be more helpfull & friendly Would like to sail on her again someday--
B
BSeabob
Guest
What Bruin Steve Said.
T
Tracy
Guest
My husband and two boys and I went on the Constellation two years ago. It is the best vacation we have ever had. We are booked on the Century this March and I only hope it compares to the Connie. You will find staff very helpful, they will try to do anything you request of them and seem happy to do so. The food is great. I wish we had made a reservation in the alternative dining room, since we do not have that option on the Century. We have heard it was was wonderful. Reservations on the at sea days fill up quickly, so reserve early. I echo what has been written so far, and wish you a great holiday.
Tracy
Tracy
T
Tracy
Guest
My husband and two boys and I went on the Constellation two years ago. It is the best vacation we have ever had. We are booked on the Century this March and I only hope it compares to the Connie. You will find staff very helpful, they will try to do anything you request of them and seem happy to do so. The food is great. I wish we had made a reservation in the alternative dining room, since we do not have that option on the Century. We have heard it was was wonderful. Reservations on the at sea days fill up quickly, so reserve early. I echo what has been written so far, and wish you a great holiday.
Tracy
Tracy
D
daliasgrandma
Guest
The Connie was my first Millenium class ship and my favorite out of 3. The staff was outstanding, from the Purser's Desk to my stateroom attendant, they were all fab! I'm booked on her again and look forward to another wonderful adventure.
and then, it was ALL GOOD!!
and then, it was ALL GOOD!!
B
Benjamin Smith
Guest
I sailed her 2 years ago. I also sailed the Century and Galaxy, toured the Mercury, spent afternoons onboard the Zenith and Horizon and toured the Millennium. Celebrity's decor is one of my favorites of the mass market cruise lines.
There's nothing unanimous in life, and you did ask for favorite and not so favorite parts. So, I'll give you my honest assessment of the Constellation. Sorry that it is so long, it is like a mini-review.
I'm sorry, I like her least of all of the Celebrity ships I've been aboard. She is very pretty. No doubt. She has quality furnishings. But those big, uncrowded areas, while nice, seemed oversized for me. I like large areas, but balanced, with smaller, more intimate ones. Humongous ships like RCI's Voyager class have smaller public areas than the Millennium class, like the pubs they have in their Royal Promenades and their champagne lounge areas. And even larger areas, like their schooner's lounge, are divided nicely into different areas. I've been aboard the Carnival Legend, a similarly sized ship, and while I found her decor beyond ugly and uncomfortable and repetitive, and her ceilings low, I thought she had more variety in both size and layout in her public rooms. Also, the problem with the Millennium ships is that they are all so similar, most people are bound to like some area of the sistership a bit more than the corresponding area of another. I think, compared to Millennium, Connie's not as elegant. Where Millennium has crystal light fixtures Constellation has etched glass, where Millennium has raised carpet details Connie's are flat and patterned, where Millennium has elegant lamps on her side tables near her martini bar, there's none on the side tables of the Connie. That's not to say Connie isn't elegant, she's quite elegant, especially Ocean LIners restaurant, her casino, and, like the other Millennium ships, her Michael's Club. I think things get too busy in her Rendezvous, too many patterns compared to the more soothing treatments on some of her sisterships. I also find her foyer's carpeting jarring.
Staff is variable, we had problems on our Connie cruise but that's not due to the ship, it was luck of the draw. A friend of mine that was on our Connie cruise cruised her again and said everything was impeccable. Service, food, all first rate, way past what we experienced. That's the right way to go
My favorite Celebrity ship is Galaxy. Varied public areas, not crowded yet ship brings pax together, vibrant colors, unique decor not shared by other ships, 13,000 tons smaller than the Constellation but uses her spaces more efficiently. The dining room with large picture windows were first introduced on Century and indeed Galaxy has these. Also, almost all of what was mentioned in service and style is part of all Celebrity ships, not just the newest ones. Only specialty restaurants and Cirque de Soleil on two ships and spa food are unique to the M ships.
I'm just not a fan of the Milllennium ships, to me there are numerous design flaws. Only 2 dance floors on the 91,000 ton ship where there are 3 on the 48,000 ton Zenith, long wings in the dining room were diners in these areas feel apart from the rest of the dining room, H-shaped lounges where people in the "corridor" areas feel apart from those in the middle area (Rendezvous and martini/champagne bar directly above it), lack of different levels in lounges and conversation nooks, observation lounge too large and should be subdivided (and has been to accomodate Cirque de Soleil), way too many shops and space devoted to them, underutilized areas that house meeting rooms (that artiicially inflate its passenger space ratio), plant shops that are sports bar on the Millie and should have stayed sports bar (IMO)--these may be going as they aren't producing the expected revenue, library has no writing tables (mind-boggling oversight). Already, several things have been changed about these ships which I think reveals their design flaws. Michael's Club, originally a cigar smoker's lounge was changed into a piano bar. I feel for 2 reasons. One, she was oversized for the cigar lounge purpose. 2. The ship needed another entertainment venue and one that was moderately sized and not as big as the other lounges. The t-pool turned out to be a fiasco at one time. It was being overrun by unruly children where it was supposed to be a peaceful, relaxing oasis. By making it larger, the jets weren't strong enough to provide the same effect as in the smaller versions on the Century ships. To address the crowding in the area, Celebrity charged for a short time for the area. The feedback wasn't friendly, to put in midly. So now, they are left having to police the area. It isn't a bad area, but I think it pales to what's on the Century class ships, a private, peaceful oasis that you do pay for, but I think it is worth it.
Overall, I trace the problem to this fact, and this may be much more apparent to those that have sailed all classes of Celebrity ships and have been sailing Celebrity for awhile (and to some degree not charmed by the newness and apparent luxury decor of this class of ship). While the Horizon and Century ships were designed for Celebrity by Celebrity for a Celebrity lifestyle, the Millennium ships were designed using Celebrity designers and adapted to a shared RCI hull. Therefore, certain position of rooms had to change, the dining room's galley location was changed, and the design fits a not-as-well-defined Celebrity lifestyle on an adapted-for-Celebrity platform. But it is also true, these ships are fairly popular, and many folks just don't have the problems with them that I have with them.
Something that has been stated that isn't necessarily true is that Millennium ships have the highest PSR in the mass market lines. HAL beats the Millennium ships with their Vista ships. They are 1850 pax, basis 2, and are about 85,000 tons.
There's nothing unanimous in life, and you did ask for favorite and not so favorite parts. So, I'll give you my honest assessment of the Constellation. Sorry that it is so long, it is like a mini-review.
I'm sorry, I like her least of all of the Celebrity ships I've been aboard. She is very pretty. No doubt. She has quality furnishings. But those big, uncrowded areas, while nice, seemed oversized for me. I like large areas, but balanced, with smaller, more intimate ones. Humongous ships like RCI's Voyager class have smaller public areas than the Millennium class, like the pubs they have in their Royal Promenades and their champagne lounge areas. And even larger areas, like their schooner's lounge, are divided nicely into different areas. I've been aboard the Carnival Legend, a similarly sized ship, and while I found her decor beyond ugly and uncomfortable and repetitive, and her ceilings low, I thought she had more variety in both size and layout in her public rooms. Also, the problem with the Millennium ships is that they are all so similar, most people are bound to like some area of the sistership a bit more than the corresponding area of another. I think, compared to Millennium, Connie's not as elegant. Where Millennium has crystal light fixtures Constellation has etched glass, where Millennium has raised carpet details Connie's are flat and patterned, where Millennium has elegant lamps on her side tables near her martini bar, there's none on the side tables of the Connie. That's not to say Connie isn't elegant, she's quite elegant, especially Ocean LIners restaurant, her casino, and, like the other Millennium ships, her Michael's Club. I think things get too busy in her Rendezvous, too many patterns compared to the more soothing treatments on some of her sisterships. I also find her foyer's carpeting jarring.
Staff is variable, we had problems on our Connie cruise but that's not due to the ship, it was luck of the draw. A friend of mine that was on our Connie cruise cruised her again and said everything was impeccable. Service, food, all first rate, way past what we experienced. That's the right way to go
My favorite Celebrity ship is Galaxy. Varied public areas, not crowded yet ship brings pax together, vibrant colors, unique decor not shared by other ships, 13,000 tons smaller than the Constellation but uses her spaces more efficiently. The dining room with large picture windows were first introduced on Century and indeed Galaxy has these. Also, almost all of what was mentioned in service and style is part of all Celebrity ships, not just the newest ones. Only specialty restaurants and Cirque de Soleil on two ships and spa food are unique to the M ships.
I'm just not a fan of the Milllennium ships, to me there are numerous design flaws. Only 2 dance floors on the 91,000 ton ship where there are 3 on the 48,000 ton Zenith, long wings in the dining room were diners in these areas feel apart from the rest of the dining room, H-shaped lounges where people in the "corridor" areas feel apart from those in the middle area (Rendezvous and martini/champagne bar directly above it), lack of different levels in lounges and conversation nooks, observation lounge too large and should be subdivided (and has been to accomodate Cirque de Soleil), way too many shops and space devoted to them, underutilized areas that house meeting rooms (that artiicially inflate its passenger space ratio), plant shops that are sports bar on the Millie and should have stayed sports bar (IMO)--these may be going as they aren't producing the expected revenue, library has no writing tables (mind-boggling oversight). Already, several things have been changed about these ships which I think reveals their design flaws. Michael's Club, originally a cigar smoker's lounge was changed into a piano bar. I feel for 2 reasons. One, she was oversized for the cigar lounge purpose. 2. The ship needed another entertainment venue and one that was moderately sized and not as big as the other lounges. The t-pool turned out to be a fiasco at one time. It was being overrun by unruly children where it was supposed to be a peaceful, relaxing oasis. By making it larger, the jets weren't strong enough to provide the same effect as in the smaller versions on the Century ships. To address the crowding in the area, Celebrity charged for a short time for the area. The feedback wasn't friendly, to put in midly. So now, they are left having to police the area. It isn't a bad area, but I think it pales to what's on the Century class ships, a private, peaceful oasis that you do pay for, but I think it is worth it.
Overall, I trace the problem to this fact, and this may be much more apparent to those that have sailed all classes of Celebrity ships and have been sailing Celebrity for awhile (and to some degree not charmed by the newness and apparent luxury decor of this class of ship). While the Horizon and Century ships were designed for Celebrity by Celebrity for a Celebrity lifestyle, the Millennium ships were designed using Celebrity designers and adapted to a shared RCI hull. Therefore, certain position of rooms had to change, the dining room's galley location was changed, and the design fits a not-as-well-defined Celebrity lifestyle on an adapted-for-Celebrity platform. But it is also true, these ships are fairly popular, and many folks just don't have the problems with them that I have with them.
Something that has been stated that isn't necessarily true is that Millennium ships have the highest PSR in the mass market lines. HAL beats the Millennium ships with their Vista ships. They are 1850 pax, basis 2, and are about 85,000 tons.
