Cruise Review

What was our most memorable part of the cruise? 

Both Marg and myself agree that it would be the trip to Marrakesh.  Marg thought it was memorable but not in a pleasant way.  Although she found it interesting she also felt it was dirty, noisy and generally she did not feel safe.  I found it to be so different from anything that I had experienced before that even having a snake wrapped around my neck really didn't bother me.

Marg really enjoyed the camel ride in Lanzorate in the Canary Islands.   She will remember Paloma. She was our camel.

We also lucked out with our dining room assignment.  You couldn't ask for better dining companions than the people we sat with.

So how does Celebrity compare against other cruise lines we have travelled with.  I won't bother comparing them against Royal Caribbean and Holland America, who we've documented our negative reviews on other blogs.  And you can't compare this type of cruise against a river cruise because of the size differential and the number of passengers involved.  So I'll compare it against Princess which I believe is the best cruise line that we've travelled with up until this trip.

Ship's Condition

The Celebrity Constellation is easily a five star resort.  Everywhere you look there are crews cleaning and maintaining the public areas.  For a vessel that is constantly exposed to salt water and  the traffic generated by 2000 passengers, I did not notice any wear and tear.  Both Marg and myself believe it is the same quality as Princess.

.       Stateroom

The stateroom was a normal size for a modern cruise liner.  What I did find was that their use of mirrors made it seem bigger and brighter.  There was plenty of storage space for both of us.  Both Mary and myself rank it equal to Princess.

.       Facilities

The swimming pools and hot tubs were great.  The outdoor lounging areas were spacious and never crowded.  The gym and spa were modern and well equipped.  The library and the computer facilities were functional and we'll appointed.  The shopping concourse was OK, but then I'm not really a shopper.  Based on the pool area and its hot tubs , both us would give the edge to Celebrity.

.       Entertainment

The main theatre is an excellent facility.  During the day there were several guest lecturers with topics that ranged from ancient history to an intimate look into the daily life at the White House.  In the evening the live shows were generally good and some of the acts were outstanding.

During the sea days that were plenty of activities to keep you occupied and entertained.  We spent a lot of time at the trivia challenges but there were other activities such as the casino and wine tasting to name a few.

Marg points out that on our Princess cruise we were the Brunets and the Rockburnes and participated in a different set of activities and enjoyed other types of entertainment.  Therefore it is hard to compare the classic apples to oranges.

I would give the edge again to Celebrity, but Marg calls it a draw.

.       Bars/Lounges

There are two large lounges and several smaller more intimate bars on board the Constellation.   The service could use a little improvement but generally it was fine.  The bands at these lounges were very good.  They ranged from a dance band to a jazz band to a acoustic guitarist to a classical string trio.  We both would give a small advantage to Princess.

Dining

The food as you would expect on a cruise is outstanding.  The main meals in the San Macro restaurant were delicious and the wine selection terrific. The lunch menu in the restaurant was always interesting and tasty.  The food in the buffet was varied and of excellent quality.  We did not try the speciality restaurants.  If the best restaurant we've ever eaten in scores a 10, then Princess would be a 9 and the Celebrity Constellation would be an 8.5, only because Princess had better desserts.  Marg felt that overall she would give a slight advantage to Princess, but she still enjoyed the Celebrity's food.

Staff

As we've noted in the blog, the captain and his fellow officers are head and shoulders above any other ship that we have travelled on.  Captain Tasos was very involved with his passengers and his positive, friendly attitude infected the rest of his crew making it an outstanding experience.

Our dining room staff on our Princess cruise were outstanding and I believe that they can never be topped.  Our dining room staff on the Constellation were personable and efficient but just seemed to lack that little extra personality that we had on the Princess cruise.  Marg also pointed out that our table on Princess had three staff for six people, where as our table of ten had a crew of three on Celebrity.

Our maitre d' on the Constellation attended our table each night to ensure that we had no complaints about the food and the service.  Although he was friendly enough, he didn't strike us as being someone who added anything special to the cruise.  Marg still raves about the maitre d' on the Princess cruise.  Marg says he looked and sounded like Ricky Ricardo from I Love Lucy and often greeted Marg, Joan and Heather a hug and a kiss when they entered the dining room.

Our stateroom staff were extremely friendly and very thorough.  As the standing joke goes, if you left your room for than 5 minutes, you would come back to find it cleaned.  The other onboard staff were always friendly and smiling.  It just made you feel good and relaxed to be onboard.

We split our vote here.  I would give the advantage to Celebrity and Marg likes Princess better.

Overall we both would recommend either cruise line, but I would give a small edge to Celebrity and Marg would give the advantage to Princess.  Would we do another cross Atlantic cruise.  Yes, in a heartbeat.