Celebrity Constellation Review
First cruise; Celebrity and Constellation both were great.
Rating by category
Additional details
Cruised for the first time as a 25th Anniversary present to ourselves, and other than minor (really, really minor) issues, the cruise was great. We live in Orlando, and drove in to port the morning of the cruise, arrived early - and < 30 minutes after stepping from the car we had embarkation mimosas in hand and were looking at the booths on deck 3.
We'd been advised that cross-selling was more prevalent than it used to be, and it did seem that every corner had someone offering a dinner package, a drink package, a spa package, etc, etc; learning to say 'no' came very quickly. We did purchase a dinner package (one dinner at the Tuscan restaurant, 2 at Ocean liners), and we had no complaints or issues at either restaurant, EXCEPT that the MDR food was *almost* as good and no additional cost. Based on the food quality in the MDR, i'd have a hard time justifying the cost for the dinner package on a future cruise.
Almost everyone we spoke with told us how 'brave' we were to make a Trans-Atlantic cruise as our first cruise ever - and we still marvel at that thinking. We had no time for boredom, always something going on; a show, a class, an auction, a drawing, meals...all great fun. Of all things, Bingo was disappointing. I'd be fine only playing 3 games a session if packages were, say, $20/person. But the packages were $40/60/80, and that's a bit pricey to play three games and leave - so that was a one and done experience. We were *slightly* disappointed in the karaoke songs options (lots of older music, which is fine considering the typical clients, some newer music) in that there were few musicals included (as in one - 'My Fair Lady' was the only one I find - no Phantom, no Cats, no Wicked, no other big name, recognizable musicals included; just seemed like an odd omission).
Cabin Review
Inside Stateroom 9
Our room itself (inside cabin 9018) was fine; small as expected, but plenty for two people not spending hours awake in the room. Storage space in the bathroom on inside cabins is pretty much two small corner shelves; the research we did from other cruisers absolutely saved the day as we'd brought the clear plastic shoe rack for the door ($6, Walmart) that easily solved the storage problem. Hallway noise was non-existent, and we never heard anything from other passenger cabins. The cabin IS next to a steward pantry, which apparently has metal stairs in it - you can hear the occasional steps being taken. It's also beneath the spa, and seemed to have drains from the spa area passing the walls, so you had the occasional water feature sounds coming from the walls. We found it relaxing (although it probably encouraged the odd nighttime bathroom trip or two), but I'm sure there are pickier travellers for whom these sounds might be disturbing. We found the mattress to be a bit firmer than we liked - I sleep on my side, and only got a good night's sleep once I put a pillow under my hips.
I also could find no information about the tvs in the rooms, so here: they work great for what they are. BUT they HAVE to use the provided remote (no using a tablet or smartphone as another remote) and you cannot add a portable media drive to the TV (there's only one USB port on the TV, labelled 'Service', and the TV won't respond to the addition of a media drive).
The room is 4/5 floors above the main theater, convenient at night; it's the opposite end of the ship from the MDR and buffet, which is less convenient for breakfast. You do get a chance to walk off your meals though, so the trade off is good. 8-)