Older ship very well maintained and with a very friendly and efficient service staff. Food was average to below average except in specialty restaurants. Bar service was bad and beverage package overpriced and unnecessary.
Stage shows and performers were good. Cruise itinerary was good. Excursion management could be improved.
Management by cruise director and any other executive staff regarding disembarkation was abysmal.
Embarkation
4 out of 5
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
2 out of 5
Specialty restaurants were good but not exceptional. All other dining offerings were average going to the poor side. The best part were the service staff, so friendly and efficient.
Onboard Activities
2 out of 5
Spa and pool good. Manuel, the cruise director was obnoxious and completely failed in the disembarkation fiasco.
Entertainment
5 out of 5
Very good performers
Children's Programs
No kids aboard with me
Service and Staff
5 out of 5
The glaring exception to this highly favorable rating is Manuel, the cruise director, and whoever else who “organized “ the disembarkation chaos.
Ship Quality
5 out of 5
Furnishings, deck chairs, mechanical systems, and general condition good. Layout conventional.
Cabin / Stateroom
4 out of 5
Comfortable, clean, no smaller or larger than most cruise staterooms. Flezly, the room steward, was exceptionally good. Electrical outlets were needed at the bedside tables but are not there.
This disembarkation was absolutely the worst I have ever experienced. More than 2500 passengers were allocated into 20 groups. Typically, passengers are called for disembarkation in groups of less than 200. The cruise director summoned more than 1000 people to the gangway processing as groups 1-10, then groups 11-20; ALL AT THE SAME TIME. Such mismanagement resulted in a crush of people crammed like sardines in a tin can into the space at the gangway which might have accommodated 200 people comfortably at best. This was associated with more than a thirty minute delay while being shuffled slowly forward in the press of the crowd. I can only imagine the magnitude of risk for Covid, Flu, and RSV during that time. This mob was discharged into the scramble for luggage into the cruise terminal and then onto another thirty minute crawl through a long serpentine line for customs processing. This disembarkation process by Constellation staff has no rival for being my absolutely worst experience of such in more than two dozen cruises. Worse yet, the disembarkation was the last impression of a 12 day experience and left a lasting bad impression.
So, as far as disembarking, helpful tip, always leave after the final call. My wife and I always wait until after everyone else has left the ship. It's better to wait. We never go by the group thing. Make life so much easier.
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