Cruise Review: Celebrity Constellation

"Duncan Craig" <duncan.donut@cogeco.ca> wrote:

>(Oh, this same assistant maitre d' set off the dining room sprinklers
>on a formal night while preparing a flambe dessert, but that's another
>story.)

That incident alone is worth the price of the trip!

>A big annoyance was the LOUD music in the
>dining room. I don't know how loud it was for diners close to the live music
>(which we found often inappropriate for a formal dining room), but in our
>location, they blasted the music in, obliterating any conversation.

Excessively loud music was also a problem on the Mercury this year,
but not on the Infinity last year. Either the noise policy varies by
ship, or Celebrity has decided to be less upscale.

>Miscellaneous: Check-in was incredibly
>slow, even though we arrived at a good time and had done the on-line
>check-in.

That might be a function of the port rather than the line. At least,
so NCLA said when I complained about the boarding process in Honolulu.
Last year, boarding the Infinity in San Francisco was a breeze, but
reboarding in Vancouver was a disaster. (Seattle did well with the
Mercury.)

On Dec 5, 6:34 pm, "Duncan Craig" <duncan.do...@cogeco.ca> wrote:
> The following is my review of our recent Canada-New England cruise on the
> Constellation.

Thanks for sharing your experience with us!

> Food & Beverages: The food.... well, let's be generous and call it
> HAL, but I was staggered that they did not offer Canadian beer on a
> Canada/New England cruise. They could have at least put the excellent
> Alexander Keith's on their menu, as it is brewed right in Nova Scotia.

I don't think this issue was unique to your cruise or Celebrity as a
whole. This was one of my father's biggest gripes on his European
river cruise last year, that they didn't bring on board any of the
local brews. I just don't think it happens....on any main stream
cruise line, any ship, any itinerary. The quantities they buy, from
their various suppliers - it's hard enough to stock a ship with what
it'll require to feed thousands of people for the duration of a
cruise. I can't imagine the logistical nightmare of ordering
provisions specifically for a ship, based on the itinerary that ship
will be sailing that particular week. If you're looking for that kind
of detail, you'll probably have to look at a much smaller ship. But,
again, even on a European river cruise, the bar offerings were set,
and had variation, depending on countries and ports visited.
Checkout/disembarkation
> was quick, but I found it bizarre that we were assigned a disembarkation
> time of close to 10:30 a.m. when we had our car waiting in the terminal
> parking lot. They corrected it quickly, but what were they thinking?

I'm not sure I understand what you're saying here. Are you thinking
that you should have had an earlier disembarkation time? I think they
try to first disembark passengers with flights to catch. Those
passengers with more flexible travel arrangements, like yourselves,
get a few extra hours of time on the ship to relax, and not have to
fight the crowds at baggage claim, imigration, etc.

Thanks again for the review.

Lee

"LeeNY" <leeschw@campmor.com> wrote in message
news:6619614c-ed7c-4386-ba6e-f0c4a132f387@f3g2000hsg..com...
> On Dec 5, 6:34 pm, "Duncan Craig" <duncan.do...@cogeco.ca> wrote:
>> The following is my review of our recent Canada-New England cruise on the
>> Constellation.
>
> Thanks for sharing your experience with us!
>
>> Food & Beverages: The food.... well, let's be generous and call it
>> HAL, but I was staggered that they did not offer Canadian beer on a
>> Canada/New England cruise. They could have at least put the excellent
>> Alexander Keith's on their menu, as it is brewed right in Nova Scotia.
>
> I don't think this issue was unique to your cruise or Celebrity as a
> whole. This was one of my father's biggest gripes on his European
> river cruise last year, that they didn't bring on board any of the
> local brews. I just don't think it happens....on any main stream
> cruise line, any ship, any itinerary. The quantities they buy, from
> their various suppliers - it's hard enough to stock a ship with what
> it'll require to feed thousands of people for the duration of a
> cruise. I can't imagine the logistical nightmare of ordering
> provisions specifically for a ship, based on the itinerary that ship
> will be sailing that particular week. If you're looking for that kind
> of detail, you'll probably have to look at a much smaller ship. But,
> again, even on a European river cruise, the bar offerings were set,
> and had variation, depending on countries and ports visited.
> Checkout/disembarkation

I understand your point, Lee, but at the same time, with Canadians making up
probably 30% of the passenger list, and with this being a run that they make
a number of times in the fall, it seems to me they could consider stocking
at least one Canadian beer. Same with Caribbean cruising, although less
relationship to the cruise itinerary. We've been on a number of Caribbean
cruises where the percentage of Canadian passengers ranged from 20% up to
one cruise of 40%. I would have thought that stocking at least one Canadian
beer would be a reasonable thing, especially since they stock "foreign"
brands readily.

>> was quick, but I found it bizarre that we were assigned a disembarkation
>> time of close to 10:30 a.m. when we had our car waiting in the terminal
>> parking lot. They corrected it quickly, but what were they thinking?
>
> I'm not sure I understand what you're saying here. Are you thinking
> that you should have had an earlier disembarkation time? I think they
> try to first disembark passengers with flights to catch. Those
> passengers with more flexible travel arrangements, like yourselves,
> get a few extra hours of time on the ship to relax, and not have to
> fight the crowds at baggage claim, imigration, etc.
>
That IS what I was saying, Lee. I always find the waiting around to be the
most painful part of what is already a less than pleasant day (I always want
to stay on for the next cruise!). And we had a 600 mile drive home, so
getting off the ship as early as possible was important to us. For those
who are flying out at reasonable times, there really should be no rush to
get off the ship. After all, the earlier you leave the ship, the longer you
wait in the airport. I should also mention that table-mates who lives in
New Jersey and had driven to the pier were readily given early departure
times, whereas I had to request a change. I found that odd.

In article <ws16j.26369$9F1.13696@read1.cgocable.net>, Duncan Craig
<duncan.donut@cogeco.ca> wrote:

> I should also mention that table-mates who lives in
> New Jersey and had driven to the pier were readily given early departure
> times, whereas I had to request a change. I found that odd.

It is not really odd. If you don't have an early departure either
because of flights of because you are in a suite or a Captains Club
member they assign disembarkation times by deck. Simple and sensible.

--
Charles