Ship Highlights

• AquaSpa featuring a hydropool, massage rooms, sauna, and treatments
• The Ocean Liners, a specialty restaurant with demonstration kitchen and dine-in wine cellar
• Conservatory and Magnolia Garden
• Michael's Club, offering hand-rolled cigars, a well-stocked humidor, and aperitifs
• Cova Cafe di Milano and Tearoom
• Platinum Club offering champagne and caviar
• Fine art collection featuring more than 500 museum-quality works
• Basketball court and golf simulator
• Jogging track
• Movie theatre

Overview

With the launch of Constellation, the final sister in its four-ship Millennium class, Celebrity has, at the same time, come of age and found itself a cruise line in transition. On one hand, Constellation carries forward the hallmarks of the previous Century class: a commitment to fine cuisine, a multi-million-dollar art collection, and ship architecture which unabashedly shows its nautical roots, while, at the same time, offers public rooms in an eclectic pastiche of styles.

But, like the turn of the Millennium itself, the Millennium class of ships represents a border of the traditional counterpointed by the new and evolving. Constellation's art collection, while every bit as prodigious as those of earlier Celebrity launches, lacks some of their in-your-face controversial aspects. Constellation's entry foyer has swapped the contemporary paradigm of the multi-multi-deck atrium, with the more classic two-deck gracious forecourt with a sweeping polished stone staircase at its focal point. In point of fact, much of Constellation's decor hearkens back to the days of the great classic ocean liners.

Passenger flow is excellent; the ship never seemed crowded, and long lines were virtually nonexistent, even at embarkation.

What's interesting about Constellation -- and you really have to include the other vessels in its Millennium family when you talk about its evolution -- is its commitment to re-creating the Celebrity experience via an upgrade of services and amenities that could potentially position them as the Crystal Cruises of the 40-something set. That's fine praise for a cruise line that offered only a slightly better than average mass-market experience in the pre-Millennium era.

Though all is not perfect onboard, we found that the atmosphere did indeed, for the most part, convey a level of gracious, personal service reminiscent of the Crystal experience.

Public rooms

Decor in public rooms is whimsical and colorful without feeling obtrusively trendy. The atmosphere varies widely yet not schizophrenically. Michael's Club, for instance, is cozily English country house elegant (and the recent elimination of the bar's cigar theme means more passengers are claiming it), while Cova Cafe Milano, the Milanese-inspired coffee bar, maintains a Venetian carnival theme of black and white harlequin augmented by gold accents.

Most of Constellation's indoor public rooms are centered on Decks 3 through 5, and generally bridge the journey between dining room and theater. Though the lounges are fairly large, spaces are broken up so that there is always a convivial spot to plunk oneself for cocktails and conversation. Rendezvous Lounge serves as the secondary activities lounge venue, as well as a great place to meet for pre-dinner cocktails and music. The nearly mirror image Martini and Champagne Bars sit on opposite sides of the ship, perched on a mezzanine overlooking the Rendezvous, and are within earshot of its musical offerings. On our voyage, Sudi, the bartender at the Martini Bar, was a superstar, drawing nightly crowds -- even non-drinkers -- to watch his mixology showmanship. His tricks with martini shakers made Tom Cruise's antics in "Cocktail" seem positively bush league.

There's a casino, of course, and, as with the other Millennium-class ships, Constellation has a conservatory, which not only boasts floral displays but also offers full florist services -- and even conducts flower-arranging classes. Enrichment can also be found at the ship's computer centers (there are two), where in addition to finding Internet and Email access you can take classes in digital photography, download your photos and learn various software programs (such as Microsoft Word or Adobe Photoshop). Some are complimentary, others are $20. The per-minute rate is in the Internet centers is 75 cents, and packages for more serious users are priced higher than average.

The ship's Emporium shopping area is gorgeously laid out (and features a dedicated art auction space); in addition to the usual cruise ship offerings, shops display unusual amber and larimar jewelry, and there is even a custom tailor, Davanti, who will take measurements for made-to-order shirts and men's suits. Cirque du Soleil, as part of their partnership with Celebrity, has opened a small boutique in the Emporium as well (more about that later).

Decor

Celebrity's designers have created a very elegant, classy ship. Stepping into the lobby is a show-stealer: Seeing the white onyx stairway backlit with yellow neon is like stepping into Oz. Lined with three-story-high mahogany pillars, this stairway is surrounded by long white flowing curtains.

What I love most are the dramatic architectural details found in few other ships -- a warm lightness achieved by acres of glass and beech wood accents surrounding mahogany paneling. Art adorns most walls; it will please some, not all, but never leave you indifferent. The exterior glass elevators provide dramatic sea views; a 15-store shopping emporium features designers like Donna Karan, H. Stern and other high-fashion notables; and the alternative dining rooms are the most elegant I've encountered yet. Throughout Constellation, the silk floral displays of Emilio Robba are strikingly beautiful.

Activities

There is such a large assortment of activities aboard the Celebrity's Constellation; we dare you to conquer them all. Come indulge in a time well spent with us. Name your preferences and we'll satisfy them successfully without conflict. Whether you're swimming a couple laps in one of the 3 swimming pools, basking in a day at the Aqua Spa with Steam rooms, or Catching up on a little reading in our Library. There's no need to worrying about the children; we have them covered also. We provide a kid's pool and a Video Arcade filled with games to keep them occupied while you enjoy your cruise.

Entertainment

Constellation's big news is the premiere of Celebrity and Cirque du Soleil's initial co-production. Cirque has taken over Reflections, which was previously the ship's combination daytime observation lounge/nighttime disco. Once an open -- almost austere -- bright space with floor-to-ceiling glass walls forward and on both sides, it has been recreated "the bar at the edge of the Earth," and shrouded with strange soft shapes and drapes, everything having an otherworldly, surreal look.

Each night Cirque du Soleil puts on an interactive "happening" here; accompanied by special effects, visual projections, music and sound effects, a troupe of strange beings enter the room and interact with the passengers -- meaning they may serve drinks, dance, touch, embrace, play mischievous jokes or otherwise entertain. Since these interactions are largely improvisational, every performance is different. Prospective passengers should be aware that this swirling motif that forms a living background to guests' after-dinner cocktails and conversation is the sum-total of the Cirque du Soleil shipboard experience at the moment; there are no circus acts. There is, however, a once-per-cruise masquerade ball, a party where passengers and Cirque characters enjoy dancing and festivities together. Cirque's boutique in the Deck 5 Emporium shops sells masks for this event, and is also the contact point for getting reservations to the masquerade, attendance rules for which are still evolving from sailing to sailing. The boutique also sells Cirque du Soleil logo merchandise, clothes DVDs and CDs. At 11:30 p.m. the room reverts to a disco.

Celebrity Theater, Constellation's two-deck show lounge, is beautifully laid out. Steeply raked, forward visibility is seldom impaired by any but the tallest of seated guests, and there are very few columns to block sightlines. Offerings here are typical shipboard fare; Broadway, movies and pop music form the basis of three Vegas-style production shows, and the ship has the usual complement of magician, singers and comedians.

Other nighttime shipboard entertainment included a spectrum of soloists and small combos playing in various venues around the ship, and running the gamut from country to classical.

As part of the expansion of enrichment type programs, Celebrity is in its second year of a partnership with "Bon Appetit," highlighting its "Savor the Caribbean" program. This effort to marry the food and drink of the Caribbean with the onboard experience features at-sea programming using cookbook authors and travel writers, and chefs and rum experts, who deliver demonstrations, tastings and lectures. Off-ship, the program is incorporating a variety of shore excursions.

Beyond the "Savor the Caribbean" program, offerings (available on select sailings throughout winter and spring) during the day on Constellation revolved around the usual cruise suspects: art auctions, spa presentations, bingo, pool games, and shuffleboard and ping pong tourneys. There's a small cinema, and not-quite-out-on-DVD flicks are offered most days.

Shore excursions were the same as you'd find on any other cruise line, with the exception of those created for "Savor the Caribbean" though that may well change, on selected itineraries, as Celebrity expands its Xpeditions concept into the shore excursion arena. However, at this time, we found that the shore excursion staff itself was substandard. Specifically, in most cases, shore excursion personnel had no personal experience with the excursions they were selling. When asked about the quality of a particular offering we were told, "It must be okay; I don't think it got any complaints."

Fitness and Recreation

Constellation's main pool area, featuring two pools and four whirlpools, is serene and comfortable (no need for stadium style seating), featuring padded lounge chairs.

The ship's 25,000-square-ft. AquaSpa legitimately deserves a rave. We love the tropics-styled thalassotherapy pool area; its teak-like deck chairs and soaring glass ceilings give it a spacious feeling. Here you'll find two larger-than-average whirlpools, the AquaSpa Cafe and lots of tables and chairs for dining in.

The atmosphere in the adjacent AquaSpa itself -- a two deck facility featuring an adequate workout room, exercise class space, spa area, beauty salon and locker rooms -- is strangely cold with all the atmosphere of a big-city bus station, but the services themselves were exceptional. The spa has a Persian Garden, a tiled solarium-style room with different steam rooms and saunas; usage costs $30 a day. A package is available at the beginning of the cruise (and we saw no discounts afterwards).

Constellation is big into golf; its program features a simulator, lessons from the onboard pro and related shore excursions. There is a walking/jogging track, but it basically veers around lines of lounges so it can become quite congested. Shuffleboard, Ping-Pong and full-court basketball are other options.

Family

Constellation's Fun Factory program is divided into four categories: Shipmates (3 - 6); Cadets (7 - 9), Ensigns (10 - 12) and Admiral T's (13 - 17). Activities for the first three are slated for mornings and afternoons (on port days too) and break for mealtimes (though some feature special kids-only meals). Teens have their own space called The Tower; it doesn't, however, offer much in terms of ambiance or features.

Fellow passengers

Demographically, Constellation attracts mostly Americans with a sprinkling of folks from the United Kingdom, France, Germany and Spain. Age-wise, expect a "younger" group -- in the 40-something range. We spotted a lot of multi-generational families and friends traveling in groups. This ship is less appropriate for solo travelers. During Southern Caribbean sailings there are a higher number of Puerto Ricans because the San Juan cruise terminal is a "drive to" for them.

Dress

Passengers tend to dress in varying levels of country club casual, whether poolside, having lunch in the dining room or at dinner. There are two formal nights and about 30 percent of the men broke out their tuxes.

Gratuity

Guidelines recommend $10.50 per person, per day ($5.25 for kids). Gratuities may be charged to shipboard accounts.