We expect a lot from Celebrity and they delivered. Connie, as the Constellation is affectionately called by her many afficianados, is well maintained and a pleasure to spend on for multiple days at sea. The Cruise Director's staff did an excellent job with the entertainment and activities, plenty to do for those who wanted to be busy but also many comfortable places for reading and relaxationn. The cuisine is above average for cruise lines; it's not Oceania but well about average, well prepared and varied Let's follow the outlinee:

Getting to the ship: We flew to London a couple days early to reacquaint with that great city. Stayed at a Holiday Inn Express in Earl's Court. Not luxe, but adequate in a very costly city and convenient to the metro and buses. (HIghly recommend the Oyster Pass for transportation). Train from Waterloo to Southhampton is convenient and frequent, make reservations online in advance for best rates. We paid only 6 pounds per person for the trip. Taxi from Southhampton Central Station is only a couple of pounds and readily available. Boarding process was somewhat chaotic. Extensive security screening, long lines and slow. Once beyond security, check-in was not so troublesome. All in, it took about an hour from arrival at the port to boarding. Once on board, about 2 pm, cabins were not ready as the ship was once again doing deep cleaning to guard against recurrence of the norovirus that had reared its ugly head on a couple of prior cruises for Constellation. (Before going on, let me say there was no noro on this cruise to the best of my knowledge. Diligent handwashing and use of sanitizers, as well as "hands-off service at the Buffet and the dining room, seem to have worked.) Shortly after 3, announcement made that cabins were ready for occupancy.

Cabin: We had a veranda (read balcony) cabin on deck 9 directly below the Seaside Cafe (read Buffet). We had seen commentary that these cabins were subject to noise disturbance in the night; we had no such problem and the overhang from the deck above made the veranda quite comfortable and weather proof Cabin seemed smaller that on some lines but was adequate. We were not sure the veranda would be useful on transatlantic but we used it daily for reading or just relaxing. We stayed busy enough that we did not have breakfast on the veranda but are sure it would have been a lovely experience. Shower was spacious, even for a large person like myself. Despite some commentary about Celebrity, shower gel is available but not part of the routine supply in the bathroom, just ask for it. Closet space was fully adequate. Only complaint:beds are hard, not a generous mattress on a hard platform. Potential cruisers looking for some real space might want to look at the Family Veranda cabins on the stern, they are fabulous. Read more