This was my fifteenth Celebrity Cruise and my second time on the Constellation. I chose this cruise based on the itinerary and my love of the M-class ships. I was not disappointed in either, but a sequence of events and the fellow passengers made this very different from the typical Celebrity sailing. Embarkation was crowded, but went smoothly. I arrived at the Port by private car at 12:30 and was onboard by 1PM. I knew from previous experience that boarding would not begin until Noon. I was welcomed onboard with the usual glass of sparkling wine and shown to my cabin, which was ready early. I met my cabin steward Willy and we hit if off. I immediately noticed the new bedding and linens, a big improvement over my last time on board. I had booked an inside, as I was traveling solo and paying double fare. I did not miss having a window, and must say I got some of the best sleep I've ever had on a cruise. From there I made my way to the Welcome Aboard buffet, which was standard fare, but offered a good variety of tasty dishes, both hot and cold. Due to a lingering Norovirus from the last cruise, there was no self-service at the buffet and drink stations, and no condiments on the tables. Hand sanitizers were present everywhere. This 'lockdown' continued for four days, and was a minor inconvenience for us, but a major source of extra work for the crew. Fortunately, the effort paid off with no one getting ill and the lockdown was lifted four days later.

Several of our group of over 50 Cruise Critics gathered at the Mast Bar on Deck 11 for sailaway cocktails. The ship sailed on time with a full load of over 2,300 passengers. Our first two days were at sea, as we steamed for St. Thomas. Due to my Elite Status with Celebrity, I had been assigned one of the best tables in the dining room, #401, right next to the Captain's Table. I was thrilled with the table, the waiter, the food, the service and the wine steward. Unfortunately, my table mates were mostly senior citizens and full of complaints. More on that later. Our first day at sea featured much relaxation for everyone. I did notice that the pool deck was mostly populated by snoozing seniors - it reminded me of a floating retirement home. We enjoyed a large gathering of CCer's at the Bar at the Edge of the Earth where CD John Howell welcomed us and gave us a preview of the cruise to come. Kudos to John for remaining upbeat in the face of a cranky group of passengers throughout the cruise. I spent the afternoon relaxing at the Aqua Spa Therapy pool and enjoyed the lean and light lunches offered there daily. I was looking forward to formal night and was hoping to find my table mates in a better mood. Alas, very few opted to dress formally; I was the only one at my table dressed for dinner, and the complaints continued thru dinner. Enough! As I left the dining room that night I put in my request for a table change and informed the Maitre'D that I would be dining in Ocean Liners the following night, but expected to be moved after that.

Our second day at sea we had been invited for a private CC Group tour of the bridge with Captain Papanikolaou. As we were waiting, there was a sudden smell of smoke and an announcement of Code Bravo. A cabin fire had broken out and our tour was cancelled. The affected cabin was on my deck and actually belonged to one of the CC group! After a few scary moments, the fire was contained with no damage done, only some heavy smoke. After another relaxing day at the Spa and Sauna, I thoroughly enjoyed my solo dinner at Ocean Liners, still offering some of the best food and service at sea. That night after dinner, the seas were getting rough. I ran into the Captain and he mentioned 20 foot seas and a developing Tropical Storm, Olga. Most unusual for December. This cruise was getting stranger by the minute! Monday we arrived on time in St. Thomas, despite fighting 45 knot headwinds getting into port. I will not go into detail, but suffice it to say that this was my least favorite port due to crowds and the major activity being shopping. I choose to take a self-tour to Water Island via water taxi. Gusting winds and scattered downpours darkened the day. I returned to the ship to find that I been assigned a new dining table with much more pleasant dining companions. After dinner we all headed down to Michal's Club to enjoy the humor and tunes of Perry Grant. Perry is just too fabulous, as always, and it was a packed house. The following days featured St. Kitts, where we were the only ship in this beautiful port, Barbados which was a mob scene with six ships in port, St. Lucia which is spectacular, but crowded, and St. Maarten, which is always one of my favorites. These islands, the ship and the crew really made the trip worthwhile. The fellow passengers and the presence of a bridge group of over 200 onboard made my trip less than pleasant. I found everything about the Constellation to be shipshape, with food and service as good as ever, but it appears that the passenger base is slipping. Too bad for them. This cruise made me look forward even more to my upcoming World Cruise on the Crystal Serenity.