Celebrity Constellation Part VII

Service

Perhaps I expected more of a ‘modern luxury’ experience that would far exceed Carnival. I’m not sure if it was my expectation or my actual experience that left me a little jaded. I never received rude or terrible service. I was never spoken to in an ugly way or treated unfairly. I just felt that my overall service was average to slightly above average. I do not feel that I ever experienced anyone going out of their way or putting forth a remarkable effort. The waiter at our table, Hardee, was fantastic. He was attentive and did not hover. I think we all enjoyed him and he certainly stood out as the main exceptional portion of our service experience. When you were on the pool deck or at a bar outside, I always felt there was someone available for drink orders. Café al Bacio was one of my favorite places to go and there was one young woman who often worked. She was always friendly and welcoming, however, the others did not stand out as much as she did. Friends and I decided to all grab a coffee; the person who waited on us was very rushed. Someone asked her about an IGLU with chocolate instead of vanilla and she said ‘I’m really too busy”. I’m an oncology nurse and if one of my patients asked me about their chemo and I dared to respond with how busy I am, let’s just say I would not have a job. I understand we all have busy moments and feel overwhelmed, but really?? That was our only poor experience with service and it only happened once. It did not happen to me, but I did witness the interaction. We were all surprised by it, but you can tell she was overwhelmed and was the only person working the café area. Typically there are 2-3 people behind the café bar and a few waiters working the area. On this particular day, I only remember this one person working the area.

Food

Again, I think I aimed my expectations too high. I’ve read the mediocre reviews all over CC, but I guess I did not want to believe it was true. I do want to explain that I did NOT have a terrible meal. I had some meals that I enjoyed way more than others, but no one meal stood out. I ate in the MDR every night and had lunch in Bistro on Five once. The presentation of the food was around average. All of my food was served at the right temperature; nothing was too hot or too cold. The family at my table who has extensive cruising history said the menus were predictable and the food tasted the same on every cruise. By the 8^th night, I knew exactly what they meant. The menu was unexciting and predictable, but I did enjoy everything I ate. I would not say I had a memorable meal even though it was always enjoyable. I would definitely grade Celebrity’s MDR as a notch above Carnival. I feel they should be much higher than a notch, but it’s my humble opinion.

 I also had sushi from the sushi bar just about every night around 6 before the show. I really liked the sushi. I believe Gambee said in his review that the rice was a little too sweet for his taste… I can see where he is coming from and do agree. I still enjoyed a couple of pieces of each type of sushi. I tried the miso soup one night and was not a fan. I liked the pizza – especially after a little drinking. We couldn’t understand why the pizza closed at 1a and the clubs closed at 3a. This is one thing I do have to applaud Carnival for – they at least had a 24 hour option. If I go to my room and order room service, I would be asleep by the time my food arrived. It would be nice to have a small option for food until at least 3 am.

I did not eat from the buffet often, just breakfast a few morning and lunch once. I thought they had nice options that could appeal to almost anyone. They did have some items already plated – usually prefixed types of salads, etc. I also had a hamburger and fries from the outside grill. It was ok; let’s just say I never had one again. It lacked in taste and flavor, so I didn’t feel the need to repeat that meal.

Dining Experience

We adored our head waiter, Hardee. Our sommelier, Belinda, learned on night one what our wine preferences were and stayed on top of it. There were a couple of people from our table who said she was rude to them and did not refill their glasses. I did witness their difficulty in getting her attention, but I do not know what caused issue. I was very pleased with her service and she was the first one to greet us at the table on some nights.

I did have breakfast in Blu one morning with my friend Kelly. We had really good service and the breakfast was very tasty. It’s hard to judge a restaurant by just breakfast, but we did have very good service. We were a couple of the last people there since we were very chatty. I do not know if this is the dining room for me because it is on the smaller side. I’ve only heard really good remarks on the food in Blu. There were a few people who told me they had issues being seated in Blu and it took a couple of nights to have the kinks worked out. Apparently there was a long wait to be seated because a large number of people showed up all at once. A couple of people opted to eat in the MDR due to this issue the first two nights.

I would also like to note that I was so impressed at the use of hand sanitizer any time you walk into a place serving food. I also noticed this at the Celebrity theater, but mostly at dining places. They have the standing hand sanitizers, but they had people who were there squirting the sanitizer into your hand if you chose to. I really liked that because it forces you to remember to use it. Not sure if all cruise lines are going to this, but this was a plus on Celebrity’s part.

Room Service

I ordered room service twice – I just picked up the phone and placed my order. You can order through the TV (the breakfast menu was only available for a few hours after dinner) or through the form you place on your door. Not many options listed on the form, but when you call, you have many more options. My breakfast was always delivered by 20-25 minutes after my order was placed. You do receive an IMMEDIATE follow up phone call. I swear, they just left my room and my phone rang. They want to ensure you received your food and it was what you ordered. I had not received my orange juice on the first round, but I told them it was ok, just wanted to let them know I had not received it. She practically begged me to allow someone to bring it. I reassured her it was definitely ok. I appreciate this – it shows that this department is constantly working on process improvement. I think this should be a service every department practices, but I have no idea how they could implement this to accommodate everyone.

Beverage Package

I have no idea why this is such a talked about topic on CC. The rules and restrictions are black and white. I did upgrade to a premium package for $103.50 and I’m glad I did so. I had many drinks at the martini bar and discovered a Kendall Jackson Pinot that I loved, all over the classic limit. It really just depends on what you like to drink. I personally don’t like limits or keeping a count of how much/how often I am drinking, so it works for me. I also think they should change the rule about the classic package so they can just pay the difference if a drink goes over the limit. I didn’t have to worry about this, but it was nice to know that if I wanted a drink over $13, I could simply pay the difference. Perhaps that’s a way of encouraging people to upgrade. I was also able to get Evian water and I do not think this was available on the classic package.

I got several bottles of water a day – around 3-4 at minimum. I also got 1-2 cups of coffee – either latte, cappuccino, or an IGLU. I had a pina colada, several martinis, glasses of wine at dinner, pre-dinner grey goose with cranberry and lime, and club drinks – usually Captain and Coke. Did I use $60 a day? Definitely not. Is it still worth it to receive the promotion and upgrade? Absolutely! Don’t over think it. Just ask yourself the same questions and you can easily determine if it’s worth it. On day 1 and 2 I tried to keep up with what I drank, I quickly got over it, but I really wanted to see if it would be worth it. I will have to sit down with it to figure that out. I would never pay for this package out of pocket, but I would HAPPILY accept another promotion. J

Pool Area

I can’t speak on this subject in great detail because I did not get into any of the pools or hot tubs. The T-pool as well as the outdoor pool both seemed to be maintained really well. I love the availability of towels – there were several towel stations around all of the pool areas.

Entertainment

I saved all of the dailies so I can list the entertainment. I was not expecting to enjoy the shows just based on the CC reviews and information. I was a little surprised by the nightly entertainment and I really enjoyed each show, but for different reasons. My nap time did run a little long a couple of nights and I missed two of the shows. Just a warning: if you order a drink, don’t expect it until the show has started. The waiters have to take a good bit of orders before they will go to the bar. I finally stopped ordering in here when I realized the bar was just not that great. My mohito had no simple syrup and a glass full of lime – just weird. Here’s a recap:

12/13 Gareth Oliver - ventriloquist

12/14 iHollywood – Hollywood’s musicals come alive

12/15 Jayne Curry – singer/entertainer

12/16 Rondell Sherdian was cancelled since he could not make it on the ship and I think the ship dancers did a replacement show

12/17 The Land of Make Believe – modern day musical twist

12/18 Amy Lee – musician/solosit

12/19 Michael White - magician

12/20 Celebrate the World – music and dance

12/21 Rondell Sheridan – comedy show

Bars/Clubs

I met my dinner mates at the Rendezvous lounge prior to dinner just about every night. In the beginning, I would sit at the martini bar and have a martini around 8 just to kill a little time. The martini bar was not as busy around this time. When I realized my table mates would hang out in Rendezvous prior, I started hanging out with them. I would usually get a grey goose with cranberry and lime (or two). The service was pretty good although you often had to wait a bit for your drink. They had a small dance floor where a little more of the ‘elegant dancing’ occurred. Ballroom, salsa, that type of thing.

Martini bar is fantastic. Probably my favorite bar on the ship. This bar can get very busy, so you really have to time it just right or plan to wait a little. The bartenders here are loaded with personality and definitely know how to have fun while on the job. You have to watch them put on a show at least once, even if you are not a drinker it is worth the watch.

I spent several nights ending my day at Reflections. Great DJ or band would play, this is where we had the most fun. It is a bit of a younger crowd, but I must say, the dance floor was covered by all ages. They also did the Newylwed game – the place was packed for the game! We fell in love with the two bartenders here; they knew us by name by Friday. So if you want to listen to great music, dance, and have a drink –this is your place. This is really the only ‘club’ styled place. Just beware: if you’ve had too much to drink, no food is open after 1a – room service will be your only option. (And no, I never called room service, only a taxi!)

Spa

I visited the spa three times, all with the same therapist. On Monday, I took advancate of the rainy Labadee weather. I scheduled a tension zone massage and was fortunate enough to have Karine (K) as my therapist. She was AMAZING! We also got along great, so it made my experience even more enjoyable. I scheduled a reflexology foot massage for the next day since we were getting in to San Juan so late. I enjoyed her both times so much that I scheduled a tension zone massage again on Saturday. Now you know you love someone when you are willing to pay full price on a sailing day. The type of massage I like never became available on a ‘daily special’. I can also say this is the only money that was charged to my account – another benefit to having the beverage package. It’s nice to budget out spa time since it was my only expense during the cruise. Canyon Ranch did a very nice job of creating a relaxing and inviting atmosphere. The spa is not for everyone and it can be pricey since 18% gratuity is included. I did not partake in the other areas of the spa, I do know a few people who loved the heated ‘chairs’ and soaking tubs. I cannot attest to that, but I do know they enjoyed the Persian Garden areas very much.

Captain & Cruise Director

I feel that the Captain deserves his own section. He kept us laughing and on our toes the entire cruise. I feel that our ship could not have been commanded by anyone more competent or sociable than Tasos. I appreciated his wit, humor, and accessibility. He even photo bombed a family photo at my dinner table. Anyone who is able to meet him or cruise on his ship will instantly understand.

The Cruise Director Rich was also excellent… he was very personable and seemed to seek people out to have conversations. I found the shows and entertainment to be pretty organized, but I would not be the best judge since I did not attend all of the shows.

Cruise Critic Meet & Greet and Cabin Crawl

I was a little late getting to the party, but it was very well attended. The staff did a very good job of having name tags displayed and making the event happen. I recognized some faces from the Sailaway party, so it was nice to see everyone again. The m&g lasted around 15-20 minutes. Then I announced that anyone attending the cabin crawl could follow suit. I’ve never participated in a cabin crawl much less “lead” one, so I had to apologize many times for not really knowing what to do. I had my list with me that I organized based on cabin location. We started somewhat forward, then all the way forward with my cabin, then midship, and lastly toward the aft. I think we all enjoyed seeing an aqua class balcony, oversized forward facing OV cabin, sky suite, and two family verandas. It was so neat to compare and contrast all of the different types of cabins. I think I was most surprised by the family verandas – the balcony is AMAZING and HUGE!!! The corner family veranda had a balcony that is probably larger than those in suites. Thanks to everyone who opened up their room! I don’t know if I would want to be the organizer of this again because I had no idea what I was doing, but it was a TON of fun.

Disembarkation

I went to Guest Relations (my only visit to the desk) to ask for later passes to exit the ship since my flight was for 3:20p. He happily gave me #31 which means I could exit the ship around 9:15-9:30. I had a knock on my door at 7:30a and it was the female cabin attendant who said “oh I thought you were gone, I will come back”. I have no idea why she thought I was gone. So of course that made me feel rushed and maybe that is what she was going for, not sure. I put my luggage out the door around 11-ish the night before, so the suitcases are not a worry. I did my morning routine and packed what was left in my backpack and headed to the buffet. I must say the area was pretty calm and quiet around 8-815 when I arrived to the buffet. I had breakfast and found the family I had dinner with playing cards. I sat with them until 9; we did have to move a couple of times because they were cleaning. I could tell the staff was tired of us hanging around because they were really trying to start the cleaning process. Finally around 9:20 we exited and grabbed our luggage. There was a line to go through customs, but the line moved quickly. I also found it VERY confusing and overwhelming to figure out where to go once you were outside. I had to ask someone where to go if you paid for Celebrity transfers. Finally made my way alllll the way to the end and found the man with a clipboard. I was the last one on the bus and we headed to the airport. Quick trip (less than 15 minutes) and I tried to check in to my flight. It was too early so I was sent downstairs to check my luggage. Seemed like a lot of unnecessary up and down, but either way, it was all taken care of. I had lunch at Landshark with the family from the dinner table. Our flights left from the same gate area, so we enjoyed each others company until our flights left.