At the end on the cruise we decided that the Retreat option wasn’t worth the extra money. The benefits were the Retreat Lounge and Luminae. There is a free bar in The retreat lounge from 5 to 7 but if you are in a drinks package you are not gaining anything. We enjoyed the cruise and the service on board but as seen elsewhere in this review the ship is old and has its limitations.
Embarkation
5 out of 5
We were on a Celebrity pre cruise stay in Rome and were transported to the vessel at 3 o’clock so the embarkation was easy as most passengers had boarded.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
4 out of 5
We were staying in a Retreat suite and I must say the menu was not that inspiring. We ended up ordering off the MDR menu on most nights. On occasions dishes that appeared on the Luminae menu would appear on the MDR menu a few days later. Food in Sushi on 5 and Petite Chef was excellent. Dishes in the buffet seemed to be the same every night.
Onboard Activities
3 out of 5
We usually take part in the trivia contests but this time the questions were so simple it was not worth participating in. Even with the simple questions their answers were wrong on many occasions and the audience wasted no time in pointing these out. The contests were not helped by the fact that the cruise activities staff spoke poor English. We have enjoyed Deal or no Deal on other vessels where it is presented in the theatre. On Constellation it was presented in the lounge by one of the staff and it was perfunctory with no fun. Other activities were same old same old. No originality.
Entertainment
2 out of 5
There was one main production show and this was one we saw 6 years ago. There were two shows by the singers and these were good but lacked proper staging and sets. We saw three of the headline entertainers one of them being the cruise director! Whist his show was quite good we were expecting more professional entertainment. Roy Tan (pianist) and Gabriel (magician) were both excellent. The other acts were tribute acts. One would expect more on a 10 day cruise.
Service and Staff
4 out of 5
Service was excellent always cheery and friendly the only exception being guest services. This is not unique to Celebrity. Why is it that they all seem so miserable.
Ship Quality
3 out of 5
No bones about it Constellation is an old ship and it shows in places. Our recent cruises have been on newer ships and I should probably not compare them. Technology is old with no modern interactive signage through the ship. The common areas were clean and maintained.
Cabin / Stateroom
3 out of 5
We were in a Retreat Celebrity Suite. It looked like the suite had been recently re carpeted however the edges were very poorly finished and threads showing throughout. There were no USB ports at all and not enough power points especially by the beds. Very few programmes to watch on the television during down time. The room however was clean and kept clean by our excellent attendant.
We did not do an excursion but visited the subterranean caves in the old town. These were interesting. If you are planning just to walk around Naples don’t. It is dirty and covered in graffiti.
We spent two nights pre cruise in Rome. It is a beautiful place with plenty to see but unfortunately at the moment lots of the sites are covered in scaffolding. This is in preparation for Rome’s Jubilee next year. In addition the place is over - crowded.
Thank you for your insight on the Retreat. Makes me feel better that I haven't spent the outrageous upcharge for a less than stellar experience. I realize this is only one person's opinion, but it will be considered when booking future cruises.
We find the retreat / suites are woth it on the edge class ships but not on S or M class ships.
We do suites on edge class and aqua class on M or S class.
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