It’s often easier to write about things if you can compare them with experiences you and others have already had. So in writing today’s blog on our 5 day Western Caribbean (port calls in Key West and Cozumel) swing aboard Celebrity Constellation, this is what I’ll attempt to do.
Over the past twelve months, we have taken four cruises; three on the ocean and one on the rivers – since these are freshest in my mind, I’ll use the previous three to compare to our fourth.
This has been our shortest cruise – two days shorter than our Mosel/Rhine River cruise aboard Ama Waterways AmaLyra and two days shorter than our Alaska Inland Passage cruise aboard NCL Pearl. Is five days enough time to get away? Most definitely so – especially since we are at sea or in transit three of five days and in Mexico for one of the two ashore days. This helps you get away from cell phones and Facebook for most of the cruise – unless you are willing to pay .79 cents/minute for internet aboard. Yes, I know it seems like you can find free wi-fi ashore just about everywhere world wide these days – we had no problem finding free wi-fi in downtown Cozumel – but we limited our “head down” time since there was so much to see and experience.
Figure 1 - Guys wearing their Sunshine Kids pins at Sail Away
This is our second Celebrity cruise in the past year – and first since we completed our “5 Star” Celebrity Travel Agent training and now proudly wear the lapel pin so designating. It is also our second cruise aboard a Millennium class vessel (our first was aboard Summit – San Diego to Miami – for our honeymoon in 2004). Constellation is the youngest in Celebrity’s Millennium fleet cruising since 2002 and “Solsticized” (upgraded) in 2013. Constellation is a 2000 passenger ship right at the size limit (Pana Max) for transiting the original Panama Canal locks. When we transited the canal aboard Summit, you could barely see the space between the ship’s sides and the locks.
So, Solstice vs Millennium class? Even though Reflection carries almost 50% more passengers (2850 vs 1950) than Constellation, the feeling aboard Reflection was one of open space and “uncrowdedness” as a result of this open space in both interior and external spaces. Of particular note was the after deck extension of the buffet – Reflection’s felt three times as large at Sail Away time as did Constellation’s – and a much better place for sunset cocktails with its included bar.
Figure 2 - Crowded Constellation after deck at Sail Away
From a dinner perspective, Reflection had four specialty restaurants from which to choose vs two for Constellation. Whereas the Tuscan Grill, Qsine, and Murano restaurants all had views of the ocean rushing beside or behind you (and the Lawn Club had real grass), Tuscan Grill aboard Constellation is stashed amidship on deck 11 with no appreciable view. The main dining room aboard Constellation is beautiful – more beautiful than I remember aboard Reflection – and with exceptional service provided by Anthony (from Goa in India) each night. After two disastrous attempts to do dinner in the Blu restaurant (we sailed in Aqua Class aboard Reflection and in Concierge aboard Constellation) – overly crowded, poor window table availability regardless of when you chose to eat, and pedestrian food, we ate every dinner on our 16-day Trans Atlantic in one of Reflection’s specialty restaurants. Aboard Constellation, in addition to superb service, we had very good food in the main dining room – frankly the best I can remember aboard an ocean going cruise ship and almost as good as our main dining experience aboard AmaLyra. I think river cruises have the advantage of receiving fresh food every day and preparing food for less than a tenth the number of passengers to possibility account for my perceptions to date in this regard.
There is no comparison between our main dining experience aboard NCL Pearl and this week’s aboard Constellation. Service aboard Pearl for our party of 8 at 8:30pm seating (we were only given two choices: 5:30 or 8:30 pm) was terrible – most of the staff’s energy each evening was spent stripping and re-doing the tables around us making us feel as if we were an after thought. The food was borderline at best and I can’t remember a single meal that stands out. In contrast, our party of 12 – using Celebrity Select dining – could choose to arrive between 7:30pm and 8:30pm aboard Constellation and receive completely attentive service from Anthony, the sommelier, and his assistant waiters. In addition to our orders each night, we were give the opportunity to sample “for the table” the evening’s best entrees – the pasta’s have been outstanding, the guys at our table order the French onion soup every night, and Valerie devoured almost an entire rack of lamb by herself. We really looked forward to our evening dining experience.
When it comes to the buffet experience, I think Constellation is about on par with NCL Pearl – it is ok as a second or third dining choice and offers convenience but that’s about it excepting NCL Pearl’s greater variety of Chinese and Indian offerings. I also found the breakfast buffet aboard NCL more varied and tasty (including the fresh sticky buns each morning) than Constellation’s; breakfast buffet is an NCL strong suit. One thing that sets Celebrity apart from NCL is included fresh sushi each afternoon; aboard Reflection with the really large outside eating area adjacent to the buffet, we looked forward to seeing the sun set each night with a glass of wine and a plate of fresh sushi – a truly sublime experience on a west to east Trans Atlantic crossing as the sun sets on your wake.
From a cabin perspective, we had veranda’s on all three ocean cruises and a French balcony on our river cruise. All were spacious enough although the bed on our river cruise was the most comfortable and had the best linens so far. Constellation has the poorest shower of the bunch – inconsistent water pressure and fluctuating water temperature. Have to applaud Celebrity’s enlightened policy on smoking our your veranda (you won’t) ; we were constantly smoked off our veranda on NCL Pearl by our tobacco loving neighbors – we hear this policy has changed but it will never erase the bad taste we have from our cruise aboard NCL Pearl.
Figure 3 - GoPro View of our Concierge Class Cabin
Our cabin service on Constellation has been great – no one could ever beat Reggie aboard NCL Pearl – but Orlan on Constellation has been perfect and our cabin spic and span each day with little touches (extra wine glasses and towels) that we didn’t need to ask for. This is in sharp contrast to our cabin service on Reflection that occasioned several chats with more senior folks in the house keeping chain of command to get our cabin adequately cleaned each day.
Ports of call? Key West and Cozumel possess a great laid back vibe – perhaps it feels more laid back because we visited during the day – before things got rolling in the bars downtown. Key West is a small port – looks like a one ship at a time port of call. Cozumel in contrast had six ships in simultaneously – 2 Celebrity, 2 Carnival, 1 Disney, and 1 Princess – yet surprisingly, the city, restaurants, and shopping did not seem overwhelmed or crowded in the least. We shuddered when we got off the ship to discover the two Carnival ships next to Constellation and Silhouette – “Oh, boy, downtown is going to be a zoo…” which was before we saw the Disney and Princess ships too. But as noted, we really enjoyed our 3.5 mile walk from International Pier to Cozumel’s central district where we spent about 2 hours walking around looking for t-shirts and hats. One highlight was the main supermarket downtown – WOW – what a store!!! We haven’t seen produce, sea food, or cheese sections as large and well stocked since we left Italy – kind of like a Walmart supercenter on steroids set up to highlight fresh produce for shoppers each day. Really changed our appreciation for how far things have come in Mexico over the past 30 or so years.
Need to make a special note of the “El Cid” hotel if your ship docks at the International Pier in Cozumel. We spent an hour or so in the El Cid restaurant catching up on email and Face Book sipping great draft beer with chips and salsa looking directly across a turquois stretch of water to our ship. Day guests from the hotel were snorkeling and scuba-ing in the beautiful waters, while others were enjoying the two pools (that we could see). If you want to just get off the ship for a few hours or have a beer after an excursion, the 5 minute walk from pier to El Cid is well worth it.
Figure 4 - View from the El Cid
Another special shout out for “Smokin’ Tuna” in Key West. We are aboard Constellation as part of a Sunshine Kids (a great charity benefitting kids with cancer) group cruise. The owner of Smokin’ Tuna donated food and drink for our group of 55+ while we were serenaded by another good Samaritan who is also an accomplished singer-song writer. The food was great – don’t miss the smoked tuna dip appetizer – and proprietors who donate their time and treasure for great causes deserve our appreciation and business.
Figure 5 - Charity Performance at Smokin' Tuna
We are sad to start packing this afternoon – we love being afloat and are finding that with each cruise, we get into cruise mode faster each time we board our next cruise. The relaxation and freedom from daily chores at home starts as soon as we get unpacked and share our first glass of wine.
I think my next blog will be entitled “Trust but Verify” on the subject of having live-in pet sitters watching your fur babies while you are cruising or touring away from home. Have to figure out how we are going to handle having verified bad behavior…
Figure 6 - Beautiful Sail Away Sky in Ft Lauderdale
Figure 7 - Royal Princess leaving in the background - 6 ships sailed within 45 minutes of our departure
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