Constellation Celebration
After a quick check in at the cruise terminal I was ready for the welcome aboard buffet at the seaside café and soon found that everyone else had the same idea! Before we knew it we were being summoned to the muster station for drill and my efficient cabin mate had already checked where we should go. When we were dismissed our luggage was in our cabin and we had plenty of time for a wander before our second sitting dinner at 9pm.
With a ship of this size (just over 2400 passengers) it takes a while to find you way around - but there are deck plans by all the lifts and we find where to eat and meet pretty quickly. The San Marco is our elegant restaurant split through two decks and the food is excellent. We tended to go for a buffet breakfast but with more time for a holiday treat you can have breakfast served in here too.
The first day when we get the chance to jump ship we head for Monte Carlo. The ship is docked in the pretty town of Villefranche but it’s easy to get a train into Cannes or Nice too. For people who don’t venture ashore there is a wine tasting, line dancing, wii fun and casino lessons to name but a few activities! This is the first formal night and it’s lovely to see everyone ‘dressed to impress’!
Monday is Genoa and most passengers are going to Milan or Portofino whilst we’re in the conference sessions. We’re free after lunch and decide to try the Thalassotherapy pool as the sky was pretty ominous! This gives us the best of both worlds as we chat about what we think of the ship and our plans for the next few days.
We manage to squeeze in a visit to Pisa by taking a taxi from the docks in Livorno and our work session in Civitaveccia is scheduled for late in the day so the earlybirds can get into Rome. We all have different ideas for Salerno – Capri, Sorrento, Pompeii, Herculaneum, Vesuvius and the Amalfi coast. In hindsight we should have booked excursions here because the public transport wasn’t running as frequently as we needed at lunchtime to ensure we would be back on board by 6pm!
Our last day was at sea. The ship was full but we still managed to find sunbeds when we ventured out on deck around 4pm. We made the most of our drinks packages on sundowners and when returning to the cabin found that the ‘emporium’ area was full of shoppers stocking up on their duty free purchases.
That evening the Martini Bar was buzzing more than ever and the bartenders were showing off all their tricks.
Overall the Constellation is an elegant ship and there are all the usual facilities – and excellent spa and gym to ward off those extra cruise pounds and a lovely library for all that port research. If you really don’t want to DIY then there are port lectures in advance to advise the best things to see and do or you can tune into the information on the ship’s TV - even on the day of departure you can have a tour en route to the airport!
A place I ventured to often was the Café al Bacio for speciality coffees and delicate ‘afternoon tea’ style snack bites. I promised myself ice cream from the Gelateria and a crepe from the Bistro on Five but seemed to run out of time! In the Tuscan Grille one evening we were offered wonderful service and stunning Italian food – well worth the $25 cover charge. People who ate in the 'Ocean Liners' a la carte restaurant told us it was extra special service and again - worth the extra charge. We didn’t see very much of the entertainment but saw the other passengers coming out of the theatre every night with smiles on their faces. Other people had smiles too as the slots machines in the casino paid out $96,082 during our week on board!
So – do I love my work - and would I go again? Yes & yes!