Must start by saying that we have sailed with Celebrity 3 times prior to our sailing on the Constellation and each experience in the past has been fantastic. This was our 4th Celebrity cruise in a 12 month period. Had it been our first it would most likely have also been our last.

We sailed on the Constellation on a quick 2 night-er (January 19 and 20) out of Miami as a follow up to our week on the Reflection (January 12 - 19). The difference in our experience was so drastic we wondered if both ships were operated by the same company (see my review on our Reflection experience on the Reflection reviews page - we love that ship).

Having only sailed on Solstice class ships in the past we expected the Constellation to be an older and 'dated' ship. While the style and layout of the Constellation was not to our taste (lots of dark wood, not a lot of windows in public areas, very low ceilings), this was to be expected for an older ship. However, the maintenance of the ship was something that we felt could use a lot of improvement. It seemed very run down - tears in carpets, ripped and stained bed skirts, lots of rust on balconies and public railings, lumpy and caved in beds, poor quality linens, and sheets that did not fit the full length of the bed were only a few of the things that surprised us. We also found that cleanliness on the ship was not a top priority (when we entered our stateroom for the first time there was old pieces of fruit and red wine stains in the sink, long dark hairs on our bathroom floor, and carpets in public areas didn't seem to be vacuumed often). Read more