Last month, Celebrity Constellation was brought to Freeport, Bahamas to begin its “Solsticizing” initiative, and we are happy to report that the revitalization is now complete! When passengers boarded the Celebrity Constellation last Sunday, they were the first to see the new additions and the full complement of Solstice Class-inspired features and attributes guests love on the ship’s three Millennium Class sister ships.
The trendy craft beer experience first introduced in Michael’s Club across Celebrity’s Solstice Class fleet is now also offered in Celebrity Constellation’s Michael’s Club. Here you’ll find a wide assortment of over 50 craft beers, with some pictured below.
The hip Celebrity iLounge has also been introduced to the Celebrity Constellation. Here, you’ll find state-of-the-art workstations featuring MacBook Pros and iMacs. You can take a class, check your email, surf the web or print a boarding pass. Certified staff will help you master the latest audio and video products. Learn how to get the most from tech devices, like the iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch, and MacBook Pro. And, if you like, you can purchase some of these items on your cruise.
Along with full wi-fi throughout the ship, premium Reverie mattresses added to every stateroom, and the addition of 107 new AquaClass staterooms, our Mediterranean-themed “Blu” specialty restaurant has also been added (and is has complimentary access for AquaClass stateroom passengers.
To allow guests to share in the celebration of the additional Solsticizing of Celebrity Constellation, Celebrity Cruises has launched an online “Memory Match” game through May 20, 2013, with the opportunity to win a copy of Celebrity’s sleek, hardbound “Excite the Senses” lifestyle book. Visit www.celebritycruises.com/matchgame to enter!
Revealing an addition to its series of premium collaborations, Celebrity Cruises has joined forces with Microsoft’s Xbox to integrate the leading destination of video game entertainment into guests’ modern luxury vacations. Slated to introduce one of the industry’s largest Xbox experiences at sea, Celebrity’s alliance boasts entertaining Xbox-themed spaces across its fleet, offering families interactive Xbox Games experiences for children, teens and even the kid in every adult.
The newly “Solsticized” Celebrity Constellation is the first of Celebrity’s ten ships to introduce the complete onboard Xbox experience when it re-entered service on May 5, 2013, after completing its scheduled drydock - just in time for families planning their summer vacations. The remaining Celebrity ships will offer Xbox 360 and Kinect for Xbox 360 this summer, and will unfold the full Xbox experience by the end of 2013.
Celebrity Cruises has partnered with SPE Certified to expand its healthy dining options with scientifically-grounded, third-party validation of their merits.
More than 60 SPE-certified dishes are now on the menus of Celebrity Cruises’ main restaurants as well as every dish in AquaSpa Cafes.
(video via NBC New York)
Help us wish the Celebrity Eclipse a Happy 3rd Birthday!
Celebrity Cruises recently brought Celebrity Constellation to Freeport, Bahamas to begin its “Solsticizing” initiative. For those keeping track, this is actually the 2nd revitalization since 2010, which will bring more guest-favorites which can be found on Constellation’s sister ships including the Celebrity Infinity, Celebrity Millennium, and Celebrity Summit.
With all passengers fully disembarked on the Constellation on Monday, seven different contracting companies from across the world boarded and immediately started to work on the ship. Giant plastic sheets covered all aspects of the ship, from all floors, to the gym and casino equipment, to every chair in the theater and dining areas.
This was my first dry dock experience, and I got to see a first-hand look at the scene that takes place once the last cruise itinerary has finished. When the Celebrity Constellation left Miami and was headed on its way to Freeport, contractors immediately began work on the ship, protecting all important fixtures by covering them in plastic, or simply moving them out of the way.
When the ship arrives in Freeport, it pulls into a special dock, where the water is drained, and the entire ship is out of the water. This allows crews to work on parts of the ship which are normally below the water line, and allows giant cranes to easily move cargo containers on and off the ship. Work at this point is being done nearly 24/7.
Almost every area on the ship has some work being done, from new carpets and tiling, to completely renovated areas – like adding a new craft beer section into Michael’s Club, or new Reverie mattresses which are being added to every stateroom on the ship.
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As Celebrity’s Senior Traveling Corporate Executive Chef, I have worked with and met fellow culinarians from around the world. Because I have so many friends and colleagues across the globe, I use social media to keep in touch with everyone. I genuinely enjoy sharing photos and stories of my travels because I’m so passionate about my work.
When Huffington Post’s Food Informants asked Celebrity for a chef to give them an insider’s view of working at sea, I knew it was the right assignment for me. I jumped at the opportunity to share details about our onboard environment, processes and service with even more people.
Most people don’t realize just how much goes into creating a modern luxury dining experience at sea. When Tavia from Celebrity’s public relations team asked me to create a “diary” of one of my weeks onboard, I was excited. It was a lot of work, and English isn’t my first language, but together, we created a story that will enable readers to experience this journey with me. Better still, maybe they’ll even be a little bit hungry when they’re done reading, hungry enough to come onboard and taste for themselves how much we care about providing a culinary experience like no other at sea.
To read the Food Informants piece about a week in my life, click here.
My name is Marc Miller, and I am the Manager of Itinerary Planning for Celebrity Cruises and for our sister brand, Royal Caribbean. I have been with the company for almost 10 years, 7 of which have been spent on the itinerary planning team. I love what I do and it is a dream job for me because I love learning about destinations and interacting with people from many ports from around the world. I believe that itinerary planning is one of the most important roles within the company, as the decisions we make have a direct impact on our guests’ satisfaction and the company’s performance.
It’s an exciting area because things are constantly changing and determining where to send our ships is a continual effort. We start planning our itineraries many years in advance, but typically finalize those decisions 18 to 24 months in advance of the sailings. Several factors impact our decisions; most importantly, guest preferences as to where they want to sail, as well as the ever-changing operational costs.
Another fascinating part of my job is learning about the many amazing destinations where we deploy our ships. One of the new destinations we will offer this year is the Black Sea. Starting in September, Celebrity Constellation will offer a series of 12-night itineraries, round-trip from Istanbul, Turkey. One of the highlights of this itinerary is the overnight call in Odessa, Ukraine, which allows guests to explore the city by day, and at night, guests can view a performance at the restored National Opera and Ballet Theatre. In addition, in less than one year, all eyes will be on this region as the 2014 Winter Olympic Games will be held in Sochi, Russia, along the coast of the Black Sea. In the coming weeks, we will announce our new European itineraries, which will include Sochi as a port of call for 2014.
At the end of the day, we have to make difficult tradeoffs, because there are typically more destinations and regions that we would like to offer than we have ships to send. As we finish this round of deployment, we start all over again for next year.
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<a href="http://www.celebritycruises.com/onboard/tabLanding.do?pagename=onboard_dining">Cruise Ship Dining<img src="http://media.celebritycruises.com/celebrity/content/en_US/images/cel_social_media/piror6.6_01.jpg"></a>
Over the centuries, cruise ship dining has changed immensely. Starting with Nordic Vikings transitioning all the way to modern cruise ships, one thing has always been true: a sailor’s gotta eat! Mess hall may aptly describe the conditions aboard some early ships. But things have changed in cruise dining options. While galley slaves probably subsisted on gruel (with garlic cloves thrown in for a treat), today’s high sea diners experience 5-star global cuisine with white glove service and an impressive wine list. Take a look at the progression of maritime chefs and dining over the ages in this infographic. And, remember…calories don’t count at sea!
