Royal Caribbean
This ship’s understated decor provides a stylish setting for families
The Ship. Celebrity Constellation is sister to Celebrity Infinity, Celebrity Millennium, and Celebrity Summit. Unfortunately, there is no walk-around promenade deck outdoors.
Inside, the decor is of understated elegance, with high-quality materials, including lots of wood, glass, and marble.
A four-deck-high atrium, with a separately enclosed room for shore excursions, houses the reception desk and financial services. Four glass-walled elevators travel through 10 passenger decks, including the tender stations.
Standout bars include the Martini Bar with frosted countertop, and a Cellar-Masters wine bar.
A cruise aboard a mid-sized ship provides a good range of choices. Travel in one of the suites, and you get better service levels.
Accommodation. There are many price grades from which to choose, depending on your preference for the size and location – and your budget. These range from standard interior (no view) and outside-view cabins (with or without balcony) to spacious suite grades Aqua, Concierge, Royal, Celebrity, and Penthouse. There are also wheelchair-accessible cabins (all with wheel-in showers), positioned close to the elevators.
If you choose a balcony cabin on one of the upper decks, note that it could be shaded under the pool deck, which extends over the ship’s side – and by many balconies (no good for private sunbathing). Some suites have extremely large balconies – check the deck plan before choosing. Note that a charge for room service applies between 11pm and 6am.
Dining. The 1,198-seat San Marco Restaurant is the main dining room. Two decks high, it has a grand connecting staircase and a huge glass wall with aft sea views (electrically operated blinds provide different backdrops). There are two seatings for dinner (open seating for breakfast and lunch), at tables for two to 10. The table settings are good, with quality linen, china, and glassware, but staff training could be better.
The cuisine represents a good range of traditional and modern culinary influences, but overall it’s fairly decent although not inspiring. There are too many sauces and little use of garnishes. For better-quality food, it might be worth paying extra to eat in the specialty venues, where you get better cuts of meat and food cooked to order instead of the standardized batch cooking provided in the main dining room.
The regular (free) coffee is weak and poor. Espresso/cappuccino coffees in the dining room incur a charge, because they are treated as a bar item. For better-quality coffee, it’s worth paying extra in Café al Bacio.
Suite occupants dine in the exclusive Luminae restaurant, with tableside preparation of signature dishes, an eclectic menu, and a choice of over 400 wines.
Blu, located on the port side on upper level entrance of the San Marco dining room, is provided exclusively for occupants of Aqua-class accommodation.
Qsine is an extra-cost, reservations-required, tablecloth-free ‘fun-food’ restaurant, with trendy digital food and wine menus that include cute foodie video snaps. It’s all about quirky multi-flavored, multi-colored, small-bite items that tease the taste buds. The food is presented in many unusual ways – even on sticks – rather like ‘lollipop’ cuisine.
In addition, there’s a Burger Bar just aft of the mast, above the pool deck.
Tuscan Grill is an extra-cost, reservations-required venue for Italian-style cuisine, while QSine (an extra-cost dining venue with iPad menus) has tasty food and quirky presentation.
The Seaside Café & Grill (with around 750 seats) is a casual self-serve buffet area with tablecloths in the evening. Reservations are needed, but there’s no additional charge.
Café al Bacio & Gelateria, on the uppermost (third) level of the atrium lobby, is for (extra-cost) coffees, pastries, cakes, and ice creams.
Sushi on Five features extra-cost sushi and cooked items including noodle and hot pot dishes.
Entertainment. The 900-seat Celebrity Theater is the venue for production shows and major cabaret acts. Spanning three decks, it is located forward, with seating on the main level and two balcony levels.
Spa/Fitness. SpaClub measures 24,219 sq ft (2,250 sq m) and is operated by Canyon Ranch. Facilities include a large thalassotherapy pool under a solarium glass dome, complete with health bar for light breakfast and lunch items and freshly squeezed fruit and vegetable juices.