Great itinerary, ship and service, but they nickel-and-dime you to death

Cruises: 2-3 cruises

Review: 1

Helpful Votes: 71

Review summary

This is a good cruise line but definitely not "all inclusive". They nickel-and-dime you to death. This was dissapointing, so we'll probably try other cruise lines in the future. We had a lovely time with Celebrity Constellation and the ship was modern, beautiful and clean(I give it 5 stars), but in general we felt they were trying to squeeze every penny possible out of the customers. At every turn they were trying to take your picture or sell you into using one of the "selective" restaurants available. Using just the 24 hr. cafeteria would have been fine for both my husband and I since they provided decent food and a lot of variety. The San Marco restaurant for finner dining was very nice and the food was also decent, although we would only give the food in general a 3 or 3.5 stars. We're not big eaters, so this didn't matter to us too much. I feel that any good hotel nowadays should provide free wi-fi to stay in touch with family via your own phones at the very least. The only way to get it on the boat was to pay an excessively expensive fee to use their own computer area. We chose to go without and rely on my husband's work phone only using 3G, which was very spotty while at sea. The technician tending the area, btw, was less than friendly. Maybe he was tired since it was the end of the day. I give this area one star. (Don't count on using the wi-fi cafes in the ports since you'll probably won't have time to spare after the excursions.) If you're a drinker, you should pay the $50+ per person daily fee to drink all you want. If you're not, you're better off not drinking at all. The prices were excessive but the martinis were great. My husband and I limited ourselves to one drink a day, but personally I would have enjoyed wine with my dinners and a couple of drinks later during the show or while we listened to music in one of the bars since we were on vacation. They need to definitely include sodas and bottled water for free in the cafeteria, and the bottle of water in the room should also be included. They only included water, tea, coffee and juices in the cafeteria. I give this area 2 stars. I would have also enjoyed a massage, but the cost was three times what I normally pay for it, so I passed. I felt that everything on the boat was way overpriced, but the merchandise in the stores was worth looking at. They also had a gallery with paintings that I enjoyed. I give this area 2 stars. The activities and entertainment were great. " Alejandsome" was an outstanding Cruise Director, very funny, friendly and articulate both in English and Spanish (he is Argentinian). I give this area 5 stars. The excursions were outstanding but we didn't use the boat's. We used icruise.com and were very satisfied with the limited size of the groups and the expertise of the guides. The excursions were the highlight of our cruise experience. They are worth every penny and you really miss out if you don't take them. In general, Celebrity Constellation's crew was diverse, well trained, friendly, approachable and professional. I give them 5 stars.

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