| Overview
With the launch of Constellation, the final sister in its four-ship Millennium class, Celebrity has, at the same time, come of age and found itself a cruise line in transition. On one hand, Constellation carries forward the hallmarks of the previous Century class: a commitment to fine cuisine, a multi-million-dollar art collection, and ship architecture which unabashedly shows its nautical roots, while, at the same time, offers public rooms in an eclectic pastiche of styles.
But, like the turn of the Millennium itself, the Millennium class of ships represents a border of the traditional counterpointed by the new and evolving. Constellation's art collection, while every bit as prodigious as those of earlier Celebrity launches, lacks some of their in-your-face controversial aspects. Constellation's entry foyer has swapped the contemporary paradigm of the multi-multi-deck atrium, with the more classic two-deck gracious forecourt with a sweeping polished stone staircase at its focal point. In point of fact, much of Constellation's decor hearkens back to the days of the great classic ocean liners.
Passenger flow is excellent; the ship never seemed crowded, and long lines were virtually nonexistent, even at embarkation.
What's interesting about Constellation -- and you really have to include the other vessels in its Millennium family when you talk about its evolution -- is its commitment to re-creating the Celebrity experience via an upgrade of services and amenities that could potentially position them as the Crystal Cruises of the 40-something set. That's fine praise for a cruise line that offered only a slightly better than average mass-market experience in the pre-Millennium era.
Though all is not perfect onboard, we found that the atmosphere did indeed, for the most part, convey a level of gracious, personal service reminiscent of the Crystal experience.
Cabins
What's new is the creation off a new class of cabins -- dubbed "Concierge Class" -- midway between deluxe balcony staterooms and suites. These otherwise standard balcony staterooms have folded in some extra features -- bathrobes, a full-size table on the veranda (and cushioned chairs), special in-stateroom room service menus, a "pillow menu" where you can opt for everything from Isotonic to a body pillow, and a full-power hair dryer. Service-related upgrades include priority embarkation and luggage delivery as well as priority tendering tickets.
Size-wise, cabins range from insides to the Royal Suite, but are smaller than you might expect. Color schemes incorporate tropical blues, oranges and greens. The most popular stateroom is the standard verandah -- these feature twins that convert to a queen, a vanity, three closets and a seating area with a glass-top table. Bathrooms are efficient (though, again, small) with minimal storage. Balconies come with two plastic chairs. While Concierge cabins are the same size, their balconies are equipped with nicer furnishings -- a real table (so eating meals outdoors is a pleasure) and cushioned chairs.
Suites range from just a little bigger to over the top; the big advantage to the Sky Suite, for instance, is just a bit more space, an entertainment center, a walk-in closet and a whirlpool tub. The swankiest suite is the Penthouse. At 1,690 square ft., it features a large living room/dining room combo (with a huge table that could easily seat 12), a flat-screen television, a PC with Internet access (and a printer), and audiovisual entertainment centers. The huge verandah has a hot tub and Stairmaster while the bathroom has a tub set into a bay window. All suite residents are entitled to the services of a butler. All cabins come with an interactive television on which you can order shore excursions and room service, or watch a truly limited channel selection. There are in-stateroom data ports, and stocked mini-fridges (a price sheet is provided).
Constellation has a number of cabins designed to accommodate the needs of the disabled, available in a variety of sizes (inside and outside) and configurations.
Family
Constellation's Fun Factory program is divided into four categories: Shipmates (3 - 6); Cadets (7 - 9), Ensigns (10 - 12) and Admiral T's (13 - 17). Activities for the first three are slated for mornings and afternoons (on port days too) and break for mealtimes (though some feature special kids-only meals). Teens have their own space called The Tower; it doesn't, however, offer much in terms of ambiance or features.
Gratuity
Guidelines recommend $10.50 per person, per day ($5.25 for kids). Gratuities may be charged to shipboard accounts. Fitness and Recreation
Constellation's main pool area, featuring two pools and four whirlpools, is serene and comfortable (no need for stadium style seating), featuring padded lounge chairs.
The ship's 25,000-square-ft. AquaSpa legitimately deserves a rave. We love the tropics-styled thalassotherapy pool area; its teak-like deck chairs and soaring glass ceilings give it a spacious feeling. Here you'll find two larger-than-average whirlpools, the AquaSpa Cafe and lots of tables and chairs for dining in.
The atmosphere in the adjacent AquaSpa itself -- a two deck facility featuring an adequate workout room, exercise class space, spa area, beauty salon and locker rooms -- is strangely cold with all the atmosphere of a big-city bus station, but the services themselves were exceptional. The spa has a Persian Garden, a tiled solarium-style room with different steam rooms and saunas; usage costs $30 a day. A package is available at the beginning of the cruise (and we saw no discounts afterwards).
Constellation is big into golf; its program features a simulator, lessons from the onboard pro and related shore excursions. There is a walking/jogging track, but it basically veers around lines of lounges so it can become quite congested. Shuffleboard, Ping-Pong and full-court basketball are other options
Fellow Passengers
Demographically, Constellation attracts mostly Americans with a sprinkling of folks from the United Kingdom, France, Germany and Spain. Age-wise, expect a "younger" group -- in the 40-something range. We spotted a lot of multi-generational families and friends traveling in groups. This ship is less appropriate for solo travelers. During Southern Caribbean sailings there are a higher number of Puerto Ricans because the San Juan cruise terminal is a "drive to" for them.
Dining
In another inclusion of contrasting elements, retro and modern, Celebrity still emphasizes the classic format of shipboard dining: two sittings with assigned seating, though they have joined the ranks of lines offering alternate dining in a more formal, personal restaurant (at an extra fee). Ironically, the traditional dining room (San Marco Restaurant) serves the more contemporary, creative cuisine, while the alternate Ocean Liners is more classic in decor and menu selections, consistent with what one might find on the menus of the great liners, to which it pays homage.
San Marco is Constellation's two-deck traditional restaurant. We found service and food preparation to be somewhat inconsistent, especially during breakfasts and lunches, which are open seating. One standout was the seafood offerings; fish choices were universally fresh and moist, coupled with interesting ingredients.
Seaside Cafe is Constellation's huge lido buffet. It stretches from the midship swimming pool all the way back to the aft fantail, seating 670 passengers at a time. Large as it is, it is quite elegant, and, like most of the larger public rooms on the ship, personalized and downsized in feel by having been broken up into smaller spaces by partitions and service islands. Linen napkins and quality flatware are the norm, and stewards are quick to pop to your aid in carrying your tray from serving line to table. In addition to buffet lunches and breakfasts, the cafe also serves a casual sit-down dinner as an alternative to either of the other major dining venues, featuring casual fare (salads, spare ribs, roast chicken). Reservations are required. In the mornings, it features the "usual" -- omelets station, hot dishes, fruit and cereals. Lunches were more intriguing; beyond a great variety of heavy and light fare (from beef and gravy to crust-free tea sandwiches), we especially loved the made-to-order salad of the day. The ship also offered teatime snacks: cookies and sandwiches. Even better, from 6 until 10 p.m., part of the cafe was converted to a sushi bar and featured Japanese-style placemats and table-settings.
For lighter, healthier fare, the Aqua Spa cafe featured herring, yogurts, smoothies, fruit, and bagels with lox for breakfast. At lunchtime (and on through the early-dinner hour) the tiny cafe area, tucked behind the ship's thalassotherapy pool, offered fresh salads, cold salmon and low-fat desserts.
Ocean Liners, Constellation's alternative restaurant -- all dark woods, hushed elegance and candlelight -- is the star in Constellation's dining constellation. Ocean Liners serves only 140, so making reservations as soon as you get onboard is a must. The menu is "traditional continental," with offerings consistent with restaurant or shipboard cuisine of 50 years ago, including such tableside favorites as Caesar salad, and an incomparable steak Diane. There are also some signature contemporary offerings, such as the not-to-be-missed goat cheese and tomato souffle. The wine list is superb. The cheese course offers an excellent selection of domestic and imported cheeses. Ocean Liners is the only restaurant onboard to charge a fee ($30). However, the extra attentive service and the excellent cuisine make it worth every penny.
Other options: The Grill on the pool deck served fast food -- hot dogs, hamburgers, fries and the like, plus a small salad bar. Twenty-four-hour room service featured the usual, such as salads, grilled chicken and pizza. All passengers can also order off lunch and dinner menus during appropriate hours. Breakfast is continental except for those with Concierge-class or suite-level accommodations. For a continental breakfast, don't miss the absolutely decadent pastries at the Cova Cafe Milano.
Entertainment
Constellation's big news is the premiere of Celebrity and Cirque du Soleil's initial co-production. Cirque has taken over Reflections, which was previously the ship's combination daytime observation lounge/nighttime disco. Once an open -- almost austere -- bright space with floor-to-ceiling glass walls forward and on both sides, it has been recreated "the bar at the edge of the Earth," and shrouded with strange soft shapes and drapes, everything having an otherworldly, surreal look.
Each night Cirque du Soleil puts on an interactive "happening" here; accompanied by special effects, visual projections, music and sound effects, a troupe of strange beings enter the room and interact with the passengers -- meaning they may serve drinks, dance, touch, embrace, play mischievous jokes or otherwise entertain. Since these interactions are largely improvisational, every performance is different. Prospective passengers should be aware that this swirling motif that forms a living background to guests' after-dinner cocktails and conversation is the sum-total of the Cirque du Soleil shipboard experience at the moment; there are no circus acts. There is, however, a once-per-cruise masquerade ball, a party where passengers and Cirque characters enjoy dancing and festivities together. Cirque's boutique in the Deck 5 Emporium shops sells masks for this event, and is also the contact point for getting reservations to the masquerade, attendance rules for which are still evolving from sailing to sailing. The boutique also sells Cirque du Soleil logo merchandise, clothes DVDs and CDs. At 11:30 p.m. the room reverts to a disco.
Celebrity Theater, Constellation's two-deck show lounge, is beautifully laid out. Steeply raked, forward visibility is seldom impaired by any but the tallest of seated guests, and there are very few columns to block sightlines. Offerings here are typical shipboard fare; Broadway, movies and pop music form the basis of three Vegas-style production shows, and the ship has the usual complement of magician, singers and comedians.
Other nighttime shipboard entertainment included a spectrum of soloists and small combos playing in various venues around the ship, and running the gamut from country to classical.
As part of the expansion of enrichment type programs, Celebrity is in its second year of a partnership with "Bon Appetit," highlighting its "Savor the Caribbean" program. This effort to marry the food and drink of the Caribbean with the onboard experience features at-sea programming using cookbook authors and travel writers, and chefs and rum experts, who deliver demonstrations, tastings and lectures. Off-ship, the program is incorporating a variety of shore excursions.
Beyond the "Savor the Caribbean" program, offerings (available on select sailings throughout winter and spring) during the day on Constellation revolved around the usual cruise suspects: art auctions, spa presentations, bingo, pool games, and shuffleboard and ping pong tourneys. There's a small cinema, and not-quite-out-on-DVD flicks are offered most days.
Shore excursions were the same as you'd find on any other cruise line, with the exception of those created for "Savor the Caribbean" though that may well change, on selected itineraries, as Celebrity expands its Xpeditions concept into the shore excursion arena. However, at this time, we found that the shore excursion staff itself was substandard. Specifically, in most cases, shore excursion personnel had no personal experience with the excursions they were selling. When asked about the quality of a particular offering we were told, "It must be okay; I don't think it got any complaints."
Dress Code
Passengers tend to dress in varying levels of country club casual, whether poolside, having lunch in the dining room or at dinner. There are two formal nights and about 30 percent of the men broke out their tuxes.
Public Rooms
Decor in public rooms is whimsical and colorful without feeling obtrusively trendy. The atmosphere varies widely yet not schizophrenically. Michael's Club, for instance, is cozily English country house elegant (and the recent elimination of the bar's cigar theme means more passengers are claiming it), while Cova Cafe Milano, the Milanese-inspired coffee bar, maintains a Venetian carnival theme of black and white harlequin augmented by gold accents.
Most of Constellation's indoor public rooms are centered on Decks 3 through 5, and generally bridge the journey between dining room and theater. Though the lounges are fairly large, spaces are broken up so that there is always a convivial spot to plunk oneself for cocktails and conversation. Rendezvous Lounge serves as the secondary activities lounge venue, as well as a great place to meet for pre-dinner cocktails and music. The nearly mirror image Martini and Champagne Bars sit on opposite sides of the ship, perched on a mezzanine overlooking the Rendezvous, and are within earshot of its musical offerings. On our voyage, Sudi, the bartender at the Martini Bar, was a superstar, drawing nightly crowds -- even non-drinkers -- to watch his mixology showmanship. His tricks with martini shakers made Tom Cruise's antics in "Cocktail" seem positively bush league.
There's a casino, of course, and, as with the other Millennium-class ships, Constellation has a conservatory, which not only boasts floral displays but also offers full florist services -- and even conducts flower-arranging classes. Enrichment can also be found at the ship's computer centers (there are two), where in addition to finding Internet and Email access you can take classes in digital photography, download your photos and learn various software programs (such as Microsoft Word or Adobe Photoshop). Some are complimentary, others are $20. The per-minute rate is in the Internet centers is 75 cents, and packages for more serious users are priced higher than average.
The ship's Emporium shopping area is gorgeously laid out (and features a dedicated art auction space); in addition to the usual cruise ship offerings, shops display unusual amber and larimar jewelry, and there is even a custom tailor, Davanti, who will take measurements for made-to-order shirts and men's suits. Cirque du Soleil, as part of their partnership with Celebrity, has opened a small boutique in the Emporium as well (more about that later).
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