Celebrity Istanbul Cruise Reviews

The first thing that made this cruise different is Captain Thasos Kafetzis. He is forever present on the ship. On his daily report, he tells you stories about Greek gods, you see him on TV making jokes with the cruise director. You meet him in the corridors, in photo ops, everywhere. You come to identify him with the operation of the ship and you know that if the ship is parked with the sunset bar ...

Although, I was a little concerned about spending a few days in Istanbul prior to the cruise. I was pleasantly surprised I never felt concerns for safety in this very magical and warm city just the opposite I traveled around like I was home. I didn't chose a hotel suggested by the cruise line, because I felt I could stay at a Hilton type hotel anywhere. I did some research online and found a hotel ...

We arrived in Istanbul airport on day of departure, something we never do. This time we did and were very lucky. No trouble and used Celebrity Choice Air and their transportation to ship. Check-in was a breeze. This trip we had originally booked an aqua class room in one of the new rooms just added. At last minute we saw a better deal and took a suite on deck 6 for the first cruise and then ...

Having just read a review for the Constellation’s Turkey and Greek Isles cruise I felt compelled to put pen to paper (so to speak) as I think I must have been on a different cruise. We came away from the cruise thinking it was one of the best we’ve been on. I base this mainly on the general atmosphere and friendliness on the ship; the fact that the weather was very kind to us; and the ports were ...

My daughter shouted me this cruise from Istanbul to Rome. This was my first time cruising and I absolutely loved it - especially on the Constellation - what a beautiful ship with beautiful staff from all over the world. The ports we visited were amazing, starting in Istanbul (will definitely visit again) and other stand-out ports/cities such as Bodrum, Marmaris, Santorini. Everywhere we docked had ...

If I have my facts straight, our newly promoted Ship's Master, Captain Tasos Kafetzis is but 38 years of age. A "dashing" bachelor and lover of fast cars, powerful motorcycles and even more powerful cruise ships proved to be the hit of the voyage for many if not most of the women and quite a few of the men. Captain Tasos is fond of "donut" maneuvers in tight spaces and handles them superbly. He is ...

I’ve read the three preceding reviews of the Black Sea cruise we just completed, and while I don’t doubt the veracity of those reports or the feelings that prompted them, I’m compelled to present a very different report. In short, we had an excellent experience. Although the delayed boarding was unfortunate, given that Celebrity was doing its best to cleanse the ship of the Norovirus, our ...

We had long anticipated a return visit to Black Sea ports, hoping to see the way Ukraine is moving forward, and to enjoy a repeat of previous good Celebrity experience. We were to be in for a deeply disappointing experience. On early arrival at the port , as advised a few days beforehand, we found long queues, and staff waving pieces of paper advising embarkation would be delayed by at leat 4 ...

We have cruised many times and this is our third Celebrity Cruise and the second on the Constellation. I am surprised by the other reviews of this cruise. Celebritys approach to the Norovirus was correct. Yes, it caused inconvenience but was the correct approach. We chose Aquaclass but obviously for the first time on the Constellation. We choose it simply for the Blu Restaurant. You would never ...

Constellation 10-31-13 Turkey and Greece Monday  Tuesday, October 28 & 29 We were driven by family members to Newark Airport. We had booked the flights through Choice Air and were actually on United tickets, but all flights were on Lufthansa. The check-in process was incredible. We were waved over to first class check in as there were no first class passengers being checked in. The big bags were ...