This article is Celebration on Celebrity Constellation. It is about celebrating New Years onboard Celebrity Constellation for a six night cruise to Mexico and Grand Cayman. It is a highlight of the things I loved and those that could have been a bit better.
Celebrity Constellation is homeported in Tampa. This was my first time departing from the cruise port as most of my sailings from Florida have been from Fort Lauderdale and Miami!
Poor Booking Experience
I booked this cruise at the last minute in order to spend New Years onboard and it had a cost of approximately $2,200.
For this sailing, I was solo which meant having to deal with the unusual pricing that cruise lines offer.
If I booked it for two people the total was at the $2,200 level. But if I booked it solo, it was pricing $3,500. This is due to the fact that cruise lines charge a single supplement and then they structure their pricing so that the second guest cruise fare is significantly discounted. In this case it was 75% off the second guest.
I understand having to pay for the second guest to cover the room, but it is not fair to charge over the cost of two people. Time and time again when you price cruises for one you see this happen based on the way the promotions work.
So anyway, I booked this as two people and then removed the second guest just prior to sailing. But that caused the price to go up again so I had to go back and fourth with Celebrity to make this right. Overall that was not a good booking experience.
Not to mention, after I returned, Celebrity called me and emailed me saying I owed more for the cruise when I paid in full for two passengers. This further left a bitter feeling.
I am someone that loves Celebrity and to treat a loyal guest this way really does not make sense. I hope this was just an isolated incident. Not to mention, I recommend others to sail on Celebrity and help them book it as a travel agent.
Room
For this sailing on Celebrity Constellation I was in an inside room on Deck 2 in room 2028.
The room was clean but it showed signs of wear on the furniture and walls which makes sense given that the ship is older and has yet to be refurnished in dry dock.
The room featured two beds placed together to form a king size bed.
The room had a small sitting area and desk.
The power was located near the desk and it included two US outlets and one European one.
I recommend a cruise safe extension cord to bring the power to the bed. There were no USB-A or USB-C ports in the room.
Looking from the desk area the rest of the room offered closets with an average amount of storage.
The room was quiet throughout the stay and the bed was comfortable.
The bathroom was small but had space on the cabinet to store personal items.
The shower was on the small side but it had good water pressure and temperature.
Overall the room was clean but it definitely could use a refresh with a more modern color scheme as well as additional power outlets and USB-C/A ones.
Here is a walk through video of room 2028 on Celebrity Constellation:
Good and Bad: What I liked and things that could be improved
Like everything in life, there are good and bad things to consider. While overall this was an awesome trip, there were some things that could have been improved upon. Below are some of the things that I liked and didn’t like about my cruise on Celebrity Constellation.
Good: Amazing New Year’s Eve Deck Party
The purpose of the trip was the celebrate New Year’s 2024 so fortunately, the best thing about the trip was the amazing deck party for New Year’s Eve.
Cruise Director Nate put an an awesome party where everyone onboard came out to the pool deck to celebrate.
Going between the band and DJ, everyone was out dancing and having a good time.
The Captain hosted the Countdown and wished everyone a good New Year at midnight!
The DJ kept the party going until 2 AM following the countdown!
Good: Sailing Under a Bridge
Celebrity Constellation departed from Tampa and after a two hour sail, we came up to the Sunshine Skyway Bridge near St. Petersburg before going into the Gulf of Mexico.
The bridge is lit up with various colors and made for a cool view.
This was my first time getting to sail under a bridge and it was sure an awesome experience.
Have you ever sailed under a bridge on a cruise? It sure was awesome!
Not So Good: Beverage Service in the Main Dining Room
One of the coolest things about Celebrity is that all of the dining rooms have dedicated wine sommelier who serve wine and can recommend good beverages to go with your meal.
In the past, I have had a great experience with the sommelier’s and they have provided excellent service.
On Celebrity Constellation, the sommelier was friendly and polite; however, he may need some additional training on wines as each night I requested Champaign and was always suggested a different sparkling wine even after asking for the French one.
Celebrity offers a Procesco in the basic package for the sparking wine, and a French Champaign for the premium package. It was listed on the menu each day. In addition, there is a California Champaign option as well as additional premium ones you can buy by the glass or bottle.
I do not consider myself to know a lot about wines; however, I do know that officially Champaign can only come from France just like Prosecco can only come from Italy. Champaign is generally dryer and Prosecco is generally sweeter.
If this issue just happened the first night, it wouldn’t be a big issue, but I was at the same table every night and had the same sommelier, so I had to go through specifically requesting the French one.
In addition, on New Years, I requested a glass of the Yellow Label one, which Celebrity offers for about $10 additional dollars (above the Premium drink plan) for the glass or $100 for a bottle.
The sommelier only offered to get a bottle of it rather than let me pay the difference on the glass.
Yes this is a silly complaint…. but it did take away from the overall experience in the main dining room.
Good: Awesome Entertainment from the Singers and Dancers and Cast
Celebrity is known for having good entertainment and awesome shows.
On Celebrity Constellation on this six-night sailing, the cast performed two shows including Rock City and Soundtrack.
Both shows are performed on several other ships; however, each cast makes it their own.
The shows had everyone singing along and having a good time.
Rock City is filled with Rock and Roll Tunes and the singers and dancers put on an awesome show!
Soundtrack features music from television and movies as anthems.
Both shows were a lot of fun.
The two YouTube Videos show highlights from each of the shows. You won’t want to miss checking them out in person as they are awesome.
Note: the music in the video clips is all copyrighted by the original artists and it was performed by Celebrity Cruises Entertainment.
During the sailing, I even got to go on a backstage tour of the theater and saw the dressing rooms and stage.
Not So Good: Reduced Quality of Food in Main Dining
Having just sailed on Celebrity Ascent in December, I noted a significant decrease in the quality of food in the main dining on Celebrity Constellation.
While I was able to have things that I enjoyed each day, the quality of the food in main dining was noticeably not as good as on Celebrity Ascent and on other Celebrity sailings.
Some of the salads and appetizers and entrees were lacking in taste and presentation on Constellation.
The food was still good and I enjoyed main dining and lunch at the Oceanview Cafe (buffet), but I just couldn’t help notice the difference in quality.
Fortunately, the experience at Cafe al a Bacio was excellent and I enjoyed some awesome coffee with good views!
Good: Fun Activities and Parties
The entertainment staff and cruise director Nate hosted some fun parties and dance classes and other events on the ship.
They had a lot of guests participating in each of them and everyone was having a great time.
The entertainment really made the experience awesome.
During the sailing there was one night of Silent Disco at the Martini Bar.
Silent Disco is probably my favorite cruise activity. It is silly yet so much fun!
Good: Awesome Guest Entertainer Cheaza
During the sailing, Cheaza performed in two shows. The first show focused on Whitney Houston tunes and the other one focused on Tina Turner and Motown Tunes.
The performer was really talented and the audience was fully engaged.
It was a lot of fun learning about the performers growing up and her musical story.
Celebrity Constellation really brought out the fun for the New Year’s Sailing with these two performances.
Good: Cool Artwork and Spaces onboard
Celebrity always has great artwork and fun spaces onboard the ships.
Celebrity Constellation is no exception.
I also liked the way the pool deck was setup to provide a lot of area to enjoy the sunshine around and above the pools.
All throughout the ship, there were cool artwork and decorations that enhanced the experience onboard.
Good: Fun Port Experience in Grand Cayman and Cozumel
Celebrity Constellation sailed to Grand Cayman and Cozumel on the New Year’s Sailing.
Grand Cayman always offers a fun experience going on a tender to capture the ship from the ocean.
It was fun getting to watch the ship from the tender.
I walked around Grand Cayman and got to capture some good views of the ship such as this one.
It was a unique visit with no other ships in port so it made for a more casual experience walking around the island.
Cozumel offered a fun resort day.
The Port of Cozumel is fun to explore to to catch some sunshine at one of the many beach clubs.
There are a lot of fun excursions available in Cozumel and Grand Cayman. I prefer booking them with Shore Excursion Group or Viator as the tours are often smaller than the cruise line organized ones as well as they do not have as a high of a cost.
In addition, Shore Excursion Group has a guarantee similar to the cruise line to get you back in time.
I enjoy going to beach clubs so enjoy the sunshine in ports and I normally start with Resort For a Day for booking the day passes.
Thanks for your support of John the Wanderer by using my links to book your shore excursions!
Sail away from Cozumel came at the perfect time of Sunset and offered an awesome view as we were departing from the port!
What is your favorite thing to do in Grand Cayman and Cozumel?
Celebration on Celebrity Constellation
It was a fun New Year’s Celebration on Celebrity Constellation.
Have you been on a New Year’s Even sailing on a cruise ship? How was your experience?