Celebrity Constellation Review
Rating by category
Additional details
This cruise was on a great promotional offer just over a year ago and the itinerary looked really interesting so we booked. The ship is dated and desperate for a refit which is happening soon we are told - it's really needed. The layout of the Oceanview Cafe is pretty awful but dictated by the ship structure; having to do a large lap of the track to see what's on offer is a bit of a pain - hopefully the refit will improve this. The ship lacks a bit of atmosphere at times, the piped music is mainly aimed at the elderly audience and could do with being more lively. How about playing some Bollywood when at the Indian ports during breakfast?
The places we visited (Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Cochin, New Mangalore, Goa and Mumbai) were all excellent and interesting. Celebrity are relentless in their pursuit of additional sales and crossed the line in my opinion; during the cruise they presented information about ports of call. Part of these made strong suggestions that India was somewhat unsafe and that robbery or being conned was likely; speakers told 'personal stories' of 'anecdotal' accounts in an attempt to scaremonger passengers into booking with Celebrity excursions. For this reason we did not book with Celebrity excursions at all. We used private local tour operators, online booking with great communication and the quality was excellent. They charge less than Celebrity and you see much more with a personal level of service, I really recommend this to enhance your visits to India. We used Magic Tours and Dream Tours Mumbai, both met us at the ship or port gate - really easy, car with driver and an English speaking tour guide. Costs varied from $50 to $115 per person for a group of three depending on what was included; all were private and exclusive to to our group and included private chef cooking on a houseboat trip to a really in depth and intimate tour of Mumbai (Dream Tours Mumbai - check TripAdvisor for review).
Entertainment was hit and miss but there is a lot of live music which is excellent and needs to be maintained please. There were 4 or 5 productions by the onboard team and one or two were very missable and low quality, otherwise acceptable - previous cruises have been better.
Cabin Review
Concierge Class 2
Good position, slightly obstructed by deck overhang from deck 10 but acceptable (avoid deck 9 as the overhang blocks out the sun and daylight). This location is also mid-way between the bulges of the suites and lift shaft that would block out some visibility.
Good size for 2 or 3 people however, the decor and furniture is dated but functional.
Port Reviews
Dubai
A good visit and worth doing once, long lines to enter but efficient.
Dubai
A good way to visit first time but of there are three to four of you then book a taxi tour as it works out expensive on the bus.
Muscat
A bit quiet, visited the souk but the prices are high for tourists. Not a great deal to see.
Kochi (Cochin)
Excellent quality tour and worth the money.
Mangalore
Booked again with Magic Tours and there was a lot to see and do here; the guide was excellent and took us right inside the town and places including markets and eating places that mosts tourists will never see.
Mumbai (Bombay)
Fantastic tour of Mumbai major attractions and some hidden gems that tourists never see normally. Mumbai Dream Tours are well worth a tour.