Celebrity Constellation Review

Disappointed

Review for Asia Cruise on Celebrity Constellation
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GilaGirl
10+ Cruises • Age 50s

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Sail Date: Apr 2017
Cabin: Concierge Class 3

We have sailed on Celebrity almost exclusively since 2014. This is our first cruise on the Constellation, but we have been on the Soltice (2x), Infinity (3x), Xpedition, Reflection (2x) and Eclipse. Plus 13 other cruises on Princess (5x), Holland America (4x), Carnival (1x), Norwegian (1x) and Royal Caribbean (2x). We are on back to back cruises from Singapore to Rome on the Constellation. The itinerary has been great. Our cabin steward has been great. Our dining room waiter and assistant have been fabulous. Several servers around the ship have been great too. That is where our positive experience ends and delves into the "are you kidding me?" level. Guest relations on this ship is a joke. We spent 20 minutes arguing for a $2.63 bill that was not ours (and it really wasn't!). Spontaneously our gratuities were removed from our bill on the 2nd cruise and guest relations looked at me like I had 3 heads when I told them that we had not requested that this happen. They also separated our billing despite it being together on the first cruise and my assertions that it shouldn't have changed. Whoever is in charge of Guest Relations needs to give their staff a tune up -assume your guests are telling you the truth before you treat them like they are lying. The staff in Cafe el Bacio wouldn't serve us in ceramic cups unless we were seated, and then took forever to serve us when we did sit down. We also lost power in Athens for over an hour and a half upon arrival and guest relations apologized for a "brief loss of power" - completely tone deaf to how difficult it was to get ready in the dark, and how long some of the cabins actually were in the dark without plumbing. We got ready for our excursion in Athens in darkness (and using the public washrooms) and had to wait almost an hour past the scheduled time for the ship to clear customs - which by that time, the power had actually come on, and we could have showered and brushed our teeth in our own cabin instead of hanging out in the theatre. They wouldn't even give us free water to make up for the bottled water we used to get ready! We also discovered that almost everyone we talked to that had dined in Tuscan Grill had gotten 50% off while we paid full price on our anniversary. We also have sent out laundry and asked for two items to be pressed and they were just returned folded and wrinkly with the rest of the laundered items. Our bill has been visible on the TV billing system only periodically. The Captains Club hostess is weak (every freaking day she asks us how we slept) - I asked her a question on day 2 of the second cruise and have never had a response despite seeing her every day since. Room service staff is the least friendly staff we have ever experienced on Celebrity and makes substitutions on orders without prior consultation and inconsistently. Our waitress in Rendez-Vous has made more mistakes with bar orders than I have ever seen before (wrong drinks, no drinks, you name it). The bartender at the Seaside Pool Bar didn't know how to make one of the advertised cocktails (had never heard of it!) despite it being listed on the beverage package sheet. We also were told in Abu Dhabi that the guests staying on for the second cruise could dine in San Marco until 1:30 because the excursion they were pushing for us all to take didn't get back until 1:00 PM. The hostess wouldn't let us in until we complained to guest relations as we arrived at 1:29 and the dining room closed at 1:00. She wouldn't even summon a supervisor when we asked to speak to her manager. No one seems to talk to other departments - they all seem to act in silos. Generally speaking staff seems to preoccupied and not as customer focussed as it has been on other Celebrity ships. All in all, despite the Captain telling us he has the best crew on the sea, I disagree. Free booze doesn't make passengers happy, respect does and it is sorely lacking on the Constellation.

Cabin Review

Concierge Class 3

Cabin C3

Nothing wrong with this room, however the hot water in the shower is sketchy - sometimes works, sometimes not. The shower doesn't drain well either. The bed skirt looks like it has been dragged behind a truck for several days after having been left out in the sun for a couple of years but obviously can be changed. Hopefully when this ship goes into dry dock after the next cruise, they throw out some linens that are past their due date and change out the tv's (there has been a crew re-wiring something the past few weeks).

Port Reviews

Katakolon (Olympia)

We have been to Olympia and the vineyards before. Greece is always a heavy history/mythology experience which is great for history buffs. They should offer experiences besides history, shopping or lying on a beach - maybe some hiking or sailing?

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