Cruise Logs - Constellation New Year 2008 ten day cruise to the Eastern Caribbean, Dec 28, 2007 to Jan 7, 2008 - Our sixteenth cruise.

Constellation New Year 2008 ten day cruise to the Eastern Caribbean, Dec 28, 2007 to Jan 7, 2008 - Our sixteenth cruise.
Posted on : 2009-02-18 by KeithnRita

Cruise Line :	Celebrity Cruises
Cruise Ship :	Celebrity Constellation
Cruise Region :	Caribbean Eastern
Cabin Number :	07-2127
Ports :	Bridgetown, Barbados , Castries, St Lucia , Charlotte Amalie, St Thomas , Philipsburg, St Maarteen , San Juan, Puerto Rico
Days :	10
Departure Date :	12/28/2007
Avg. Price per Pax :	$2,617.00
Tags :	Celebrity Constellation

All and all we would rate this cruise as one of our best yet. We met a great number of folks including the retired Scottish standup comedian/actor, Alex "Happy" Howden and his lovely wife. His last movie role was a bit part as the hangman in Gangs of New York. He even said his lines for us one evening.

One thing we really enjoyed about this ship is the adults only indoor Thalassotherapy Pool. It's just a very large, or should we say big ass hot tub. We went there three or four times. It was very relaxing. It also had a low cal breakfast and lunch buffet, however we did not indulge. We also enjoy the deep swimming pool for stroking a few laps. Don't get to do that in the dead of winter in Indiana. The other outdoor pool was great for families with children. We found a nice hangout on deck eleven to get our winter tan.

How did I book?:
Folz Travel Club - June Folz is our Travel Agent

Did I get a good price?:
New Year cruises are typically more expensive

How was my trip to the port?:
Our trip started at 5:15 AM on Dec 27, 2007 with our trip to the airport. We flew out to Memphis with about and hour and a half layover and then on to FLL. We arrived around 1:30 in the afternoon and after being greeted by RCL staff we were shuttled to the Sheridan Yankee Clipper hotel.

Embarkation/Debarkation:
It was a short bus ride to the pier from our hotel and once we got off the bus it was about 30 or so minutes getting checked in and on the ship drinking our welcome aboard champagne.

The debarkation was typical as we had a late flight and was one of the last groups off the ship.

The ship:
The decor of the Constellation is probably the most appealing of all the ships we've been on. The art, like most ships we've be on, was very interesting and the holiday decorations added to the ambiance. This is a ship we would like to cruise on again.

Cabin:
We had a mid ship port side outside stateroom. The stateroom was similar to size and layout of our previous three Celebrity ships. We were very satisfied. The service we received form our room steward for the duration of the cruise lived up to the standard of our previous cruises.

Dining:
We had late seating and the food in the San Marco Restaurant lived up to our expectations except for the steaks. The ones I had were a little tuff. Our waiter, Crescent and his assistant, Peter gave us great service every night. We come to expect that on our cruises and, so far, have not been disappointed.

The Seaside Cafe had the typical buffet fare as well as the pasta grill and the sandwich grill at the rear. That grill is also used for fresh made waffles and pancakes in the mornings. Yum Yum! We visited it most mornings.

Entertainment:
The Rendez-Vous Lounge became our "hang out" for the duration of the cruise. A four piece band named the Cooler Kings played most nights. Also the party band, Top Secret and a solo guitarist and singer, Charlie Butler, played there. We really enjoyed the music and dancing. We did attend a couple production shows in the Celebrity Theater and they were as good as any we've seen on the high seas. The theme night dance parties were either at the pool side bandstand, outside deck ten, or at the Bar at the Edge of the Earth on deck eleven. They were not well attended, except for New Year Eve on deck ten. It was a wild time! We got to the dance floor at about 11:00 PM and danced almost continuously until 1:00 AM. We have the video to prove it. Since we were in it so much we forked over the $34.95 for the DVD. Afterward we headed to the casino bar to finally sit down and cool off and have a nightcap. Once we finally got to bed we slept until 10:30 AM.

We may have stumbled onto the best entertainer on the high seas, Perry Grant. He plays the piano and sings in Michael's Club. Actually he does more than that, you just have to be there to find out. He packs the place every night and finding a place to sit is a challenge. We usually went in around a quarter to midnight and were able to find chairs and room on the small dance floor area in front of his piano to dance the fox-trot. He played until 12:30. We met folks that have been on the Constellation multiple times just to see him perform. We would rate his singing and piano skills, and his banter with the crowd as A+++!

Ports & Excursions:
We did visit two new ports for us, Bridgetown, Barbados and Castries, St Lucia. Both are very beautiful islands, however we would give St Lucia higher marks. We did not book any tours. In Bridgetown we took a taxi to the town area. We encountered quite a number of street beggars. In Castries we walked to the straw market and to a shopping area and stopped at a little cafe and I had a local beer.

In San Juan our port time was 2:00 to 8:00 PM so we just stayed on the ship. We did some shopping in St Thomas, however we saved our shopping spree for our last port of call, St Maarten, our favorite shopping island. We bought something for my three daughters, the two son-in-laws, and all the grandkids. What I like about shopping there, besides the great prices, is the dollar beers while shopping. The walkway on the beach on both sides is now complete so we just made a left turn and walked all the way to the end and then cut over to the shopping street. On this walk it was a nice sunny day and the topless sunbathers were in abundance. Once we got about half way I took a photo of the ship. When we looked at it later, low and behold was a small pair of "twin peaks" in the photo!

Overall Experience:
The only negative of the cruise, and it was a terrible tragedy, happened at St Maarten. We were the only cruise ship in port that day and a 43 year old woman from our ship passed away while scuba diving. We were told she had a panic attack while under water and shortly after they brought her up she went into cardiac arrest and they were unable to revive her. Her husband returned to the ship and it had to be an agonizing two full days at sea before arriving at Port Everglades. We were also told the body was brought back aboard ship, however we don't know if that was true or not.

Comments

From: uCruiser said: "Great review Keith and Rita!" - 2009-02-18

What a horrible thing to happen on a cruise vacation. I can only imagine how those two days must have been for him on the way home.

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