Ship left late due to complete sterilization because of norovirus, but the captain made a welcome gesture by giving each passenger $25.00 onboard credit.
Found the newly renovated Constellation to be similar to all other 4-5 star category ships on various cruise lines. All personnel were very friendly and helpful, our cabin stewards gave us excellent service. HOWEVER, being vegetarian I was shocked to find in the Aquaspa health food bar that only one set of tongs was being used to serve the salads, fish and meat. If someone allergic to fish had not noticed this, he could have landed up in hospital, and of course, I was not going to eat there. One night in the main dining room a fish dish had the vegetarian symbol - was told by the waiter that some vegetarians eat fish, which is not correct - if so, how come the other fish dishes did not have the symbol? I complained to the manager of the dining room, who contacted the chefs and came back to me the next day saying it was a mistake - this is not acceptable.
Staterooms with windows or balconies on Baltic cruises in summer need to have black out curtains - it was only dark at night for a couple of hours and a lot of passengers, us included, complained the light coming in from the sea-side disturbed our sleep. It was great that there were hardly any announcements regarding activities and no pushing of tipping, etc. Made for a very quiet and enjoyable cruise. Evening entertainment was plentiful, the dance shows were of a much higher standard than we had expected, and we enjoyed Perry Grant's show as well.
