Celebrity Constellation Review
Rating by category
Additional details
First of all, let me provide a little background - my wife and I are avid cruisers and have taken several for the two of us over the past few years.
In addition, many of my family cruise several times a year. We are both in our 30's and have two children - ages 10 and 14. Our past cruises have always been with Carnival, which is known as a "party ship" and know for its bargain pricing, so we thought we would try something a little more upscale, since this was our children's first cruise.
I am writing this review as I sit in the airport to fly home, so the information is still very fresh. My hope is to simply to provide future-cruisers like myself more information since it seems that the Celebrity website doesn't do a very good job of this - other than selling their additional products and excursions.
Cabin Review
Aqua Class Balcony
I just wrote a long review and my silly computer "forgot" it when I hit the submit button - now I'm being lazy so here are the highlights:
- Room was surprisingly big enough for 4 of us - myself, my wife, and 2 kids (10 & 14)
- Bunk bed configuration works really well (hard to find a picture but the two bunkbeds are laid out such that one is over each side of the queen mattress which is set with the head just below the (large) porthole window (not sideways like in the pics on the celebrity website).
- Plenty of closet space for all four of us - including two suitcases, two duffels (all stored empty) and all our personal clothing - formal wear, casual wear, swimwear, personal beach-towels (x4), LOTS of shoes - i think there were a total of 3 shelves, 6 drawers, plus storage on either side of
the bed
- Not a bad location even though it is next to the elevator - it was quiet except when sleeping late (after 9 am) when we heard a little noise as people were waiting for the elevators and you could hear the "ding" occassionaly
Port Reviews
Key West
Although we choose not to do a "ship-sponsored" excursion, we did rent bikes from a place called "Island Rentals". We booked online and pre-paid them (via PayPal). Once we got to port, it was easy enough to get off the ship and make our way into the town. From there it was about a 3 minute walk to the bike rental shop.
We were able to quickly pick up our bikes and be on our way. One thing to note - the bikes were somewhat dated and in decent condition, but not great. The tires were all a little low on air, probably due to the heat and the one thing I didn't expect was that the adult bikes didn't have hand-breaks or gears. They are all single speed and you have to pedal backwards to break - no biggie, but not expected.
We made a quick ride down to the "southernmost point" where we stood in a short line and took some photos, then around the block to the lighthouse. We visited the lighthouse museum (about $10/ea. not free like it used to be) and got some beautiful photos from up top. If you have time, it is worth the climb to the top of the lighthouse as you can see the entire island and get a nice panoramic view.
From there, we "cruised" on over to Duval street where there were plenty of shops and restaurants, etc. We ate at a small little restaurant named "Fogartys" which had an incredible mahi sandwich. (You can get it fried if you ask, but they don't offer that as a suggestion on the menu).
After that, we did a little more shopping and headed back to the ship. We returned the bikes and were back onboard by around 4:30. It was also very easy to get back on board and one nice thing was that Celebrity provided juice and a cold-towel as we returned to the ship.