Fantastic Experience
Celebrity Constellation Cruise Review to Europe - Mediterranean
Contributor Level:
Third Mate
Cruises: 7+ cruises
Reviews: 3
Helpful Votes: 114
9 Night Dalmatian Coast & Italy (Venice To Rome)
Sail date: May 31, 2019
Ship: Celebrity Constellation
Cabin type: Balcony
Cabin number: 8029
Traveled as: Family (older children)
Reviewed: 5 years ago
Review summary
The 9 night Dalmatian Coast & Italy Cruise on the Constellation was a great one. The ports alone made this ideal but the staff, food & beverage, and entertainment made our time even better. Would recommend Celebrity based on this experience as the entire time onboard ran smoothly (from embarkation to disembarkation and everything in between).Embarkation
Very smooth in Venice. We arrived at the port around 11 having taken a water taxi from our hotel in Venice. There was minimal wait to check-in, have photos taken, before proceeding to security. We were an early boarding number and by 11:30 or so when we got to security numbers beyond ours were already allowed to board. Security was the only slow-down in the process and that wasn’t too long.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
We found plenty to enjoy in the buffet and in the dining room. Tuscan Grill was excellent - took advantage of the first night dining for a discount. Also did the Mediterranean dinner on deck the night we were in Valletta and that too was very good. We thoroughly enjoyed dinner in the dining room as food options were very good and our team was excellent. Drinks from the bar were good as well. Coffee from Cafe al Bacio were quite good (hot or cold!)
Onboard Activities
The pool was fine - easy enough to find a deck chair even on a sea day. The fitness center was good as well with a good number of machines for use.
Entertainment
The acts that were brought in were all incredible . The Celebrity acrobats were fantastic. The house singers/dancers were good. We went to the show every evening and enjoyed ourselves. Plenty of variety.
Service and Staff
The staff was all top-notch. We found everyone we interacted with to be helpful, cheerful, and good at their job.
Ship Quality
While a dry-dock is coming the ship is in good shape and well maintained.
Cabin / Stateroom
The balcony cabin is efficient. There is enough storage room but outlets are at a premium. Bathroom is very tight but gives enough storage space to work just fine for 2 (more than 2 in this cabin would be tight). Our daughters were in adjoining 8025 and when one of them would be in our cabin with us it was difficult to get around one another.
Ship tip
The ship is beautiful and has plenty of amenities and great staff to make for enjoyable cruise.
Thumbs up
0
Ports of call
Starting point. Arrived a day early and toured the city on our own. Would have loved to have had 1 more day to enjoy a bit more of this gem.
We arranged for a private driver to take us to Vintgar Gorge & Bled Lake. Getting out from the port early was key to enjoying our time at Vintgar Gorge as the number of people allowed in on the walk is limited. The views are incredible. Not too far from Vintgar Gorge are Bled Castle & Lake - both are worthwhile stops. From the Castle the views of the Lake are incredible.. We were lucky enough to be there during a Renaissance Festival which added to the interest and also the crowds. The scenery here is breathtaking as you are at the foot of the Alps. A great port stop.
We chose not to leave the ship. However for those that did they reported it was some effort to get to town and because we were there on a Sunday most things were closed.
Getting off the ship early and over to the walls to walk them was key to making this enjoyable. The Constellation was the only ship in port which helped keep crowds manageable. Enjoyed a drink and the view at Buza as well. Gorgeous day and spectacular city.
Had the weather cooperated I think this would have been one of our favorite stops. However the clouds and cold weather in early June made this a bit of a disappointment. We chose not to hike to Kotor Fortress for a couple of reasons. 1) tendering is a pain and were were the further ship from the port. It was a good 25+ minute ride from the Constellation to the dock. 2) it looked like it would rain at any minute. It didn't rain but the sun was hard to come by which made our boat tour of Our Lady of the Rocks and the Blue Cave a bit less enjoyable as we were all trying to stay warm on the boat (our captain was wearing a ski cap as he drove us). The ride, despite this, was great and seeing the submarine tunnels was unexpected and incredibly interesting.
A gorgeous setting, pulling into port is worth getting up early to watch. Visited St. John's Co-Cathedral (gorgeous) but get there early to avoid long lines and lots and lots of people inside the church. Take the steps to the balcony to get a great view of the entire cathedral.
A visit to Taormina and the afternoon on the beach at Giardini Naxos made this an ideal port stop. Arranged through Celebrity it was fantastic. Wish we had a bit more time in Taormina as we couldn't fit in visiting the Greek Theatre.
Arranged a private driver through Visit Amalfi Coast - Mario & Glauco showed us Napoli and my family felt this was the best day of our trip (which is saying something). We started at St. Elmo's and worked our way back to the city center. Toured the underground, ate great pizza, and learned a lot about the city. Most would take off for the Amalfi Coast and while that too is spectacular, don't underestimate how cool Napoli is - especially when you have a great tour guide to show you around.
Stayed 2 days post cruise. We were there when it was incredibly hot & humid which made having a driver even more helpful as walking would have limited what we could see and do. Between 9 & 4:30 we saw most of the highlights of the city including the Appian Way and the Catacombs (which I do not recommend if you take the English tour as too many are part of that group and it's hard to hear the tour guide). He even took us to a friend's restaurant where we had an incredible lunch for a very reasonable price. Pre-purchase your ticket to see the Colosseum to minimize waiting in queue. Also, if budget allows and The Vatican is a place you'd like to tour, book a tour group that can get you in early. We used Italy with Us and our guide was phenomenal in getting us through the crowds and explaining what all we were seeing.
Disembarkation
Easy. We walked off with our luggage when we wanted (my family only packs carry-on so our bags were easy to manage).
Traveler Photos
