Summary: We couldn't be happier with our cruise on the Celebrity Constellation and can't wait to go on another one.

Embarkation and Debarkation - It really couldn't have been smoother. The "illness symptoms I've had in the past week" questionnaire was a bit daunting, but I guess it's required with the recent virus outbreaks on cruise ships (including one the week we traveled). It literally took 5 minutes. Once on the ship, we were handed glasses of champagne and greeted by a white-gloved steward who directed us to our cabin. Arrival and departure in all ports was smooth and effortless, and the cold towels when you return to the ship were a nice touch.

Our Cabin- Since we got such a fantastic deal on this cruise from ourvacationstore.com, we had opted for a deluxe stateroom with a verandah (aka balcony). We also saved $$ by selecting "run of the house" rather than selecting a specific cabin when we made our reservation. We were on deck 6, port side, and somewhat forward/mid ship. The decor was bright and cheery - one whole wall of mirrors and the sliding glass doors to the balcony certainly made it seem larger than it was. I always hear people complaining about the size of staterooms and bathroom facilities - if you are in your stateroom enough to be bothered by these things, there is something wrong with you :) Our cabin steward Cheryll was amazing - we never saw her yet our room was straightened every single time we left. No towels animals though.

The Ship - This was our first time on Celebrity Cruises, and the Constellation is one of their newer ships (only a year old). Highlights of the ship include:

• Main Pool - The saltwater pool was decent sized, and there were two jacuzzi's and a smaller pool (presumably for children). Even on the at-sea day, there was plenty of room in the pool and plenty of chairs and towels available.
• Thalassotherapy Pool - If you haven't been in one of these, I'll try to create a visual since we didn't take any pictures. Think of a nicely cooled two story tall solarium with glass walls and a glass roof. The lounge furniture is dark teak and is surrounded by a lot of green foliage. In addition to the sounds of the bubbling water, there's background music playing sounds of waves and birds. And there are no children - just "like minded adults" (a Celebrity term). There are two salt water hot tubs, and one very large salt water thalassotheray pool. There's a section in the large pool with a built-in lounge chair over the jets. From the spas and pool you can see out the port and starboard side of the ship - providing great views of the water and nearby islands. This place SCREAMED relaxation. It was a very odd sensation to be in the pool while the ship was moving, because the water in the pool was sloshing back and forth as the ship rocked from side to side. As a side note - this ship is so big that we barely felt it move at all - but you could sure feel it in the pool!
• Internet - We were so excited to find that the ship had a 24-hour internet cafe! Even though it was .75/minute, it was well worth the convenience of not having to waste time searching ashore and there was never a wait. The ship even offers Photoshop seminars! Towards the end of the week, we discovered the computer "lab" on Deck 3 - not sure what everyone else used this place for, but we used it to upload pictures. The ship also has three webcams (bridge, internet cafe, and computer lab).
• Neat things we didn't participate in: The library (Words) and music library (Notes) looked ample and would you believe they even rent iPods??

Drinking, Dining, and Entertainment

• Seaside Cafe and Grill - Located on Deck 10, the Seaside Cafe restaurant serves buffet breakfast and lunch, not to mention ice cream all day long. There's also a Seaside Grill which serves hamburgers, hot-dogs, pizza, etc. We were leery of the buffet, because the one on Carnival smelled like mildew and was overrun with "junior cruisers". This was the complete opposite. The buffet food was all decent quality, and there was always someone waiting to carry your tray to the table of your choice. There was plenty of nice air-conditioned seating and the dining room spanned the entire width of the ship offering great views off both sides. Since this deck was at the widest part of the ship, there were neat glass "portholes" placed sporadically near the windows on the floor allowing you to look straight down into the water. Since the Seaside Cafe is at the back of the ship, there is also an outdoor seating area on the aft deck.
• San Marco Dining Room - The two-story San Marco dining room spans decks 4 and 5 in the aft of the ship. We ate here for dinner (main seating) most nights and some breakfasts. We had a table for two by the window :) The food was great, and the service was better. Highlights include 5 nights of 5-course meals including fantastic soups, lobster on Thanksgiving, and baked Alaska (which is neither baked nor from Alaska).
• Ocean Liners - The last night of the cruise we opted to dine at Ocean Liners, which is the specialty restaurant. WOW. The service was quite possibly the best we've ever had. Highlights of the meal include the mobile champagne trolly, lobster soup, rack of lamb en-croute, and a full cheese course. This restaurant is best when paired with the walking track on deck 11 :)
• Michael's Club - the private club where everyone is a member??? I still don't understand this oxymoron-of-a-slogan :) Michael's Club had varying entertainment, including a few pianists and an acapella group. Nice if you're looking for something other than the discotheque.
• Martini and Champagne Bar - The Martini Bar on deck 5 quickly became our favorite hangout. Sudi, the shaker-throwing, magic trick wielding bartender was quite entertaining. He also mixes a MEAN martini, substituting any juice with flavored vodka! The highlight was the Martini tasting event on the first night. For $5 each, we received 5 generous sample sized martinis: gin (yuck), vodka (yuck), lemon (yum), apple (yum), and raspberry (yum). These bars were open to the Rendezvous Lounge on Deck 4. Apres-dinner a band called "Touch of Class" played everything from "Strangers in the Night" to "Tequila".
• Celebrity Theater - The theater spanned decks 4 and 5 in the bow of the ship. The entertainment was definitely better than on Carnival, but was still of the typical shipboard variety - Vegas-style revue, comedian, etc.
• Reflections Nightclub - Located on the 11th floor at the front of the ship, the "disco" on Constellation was either deserted or packed. They alternated between a band (Prodigy, who also played poolside during the day) and a DJ.
• Casino - Granted, we're not gamblers, but we did spend a few hours in the casino. It wasn't as large as the one on the Carnival ship (which is surprising since this ship is three times the size).

Southern Caribbean Itinerary Highlights

• St. Maarten - Note to self: this is the danger of not meticulously researching destinations prior to arrival.
  
  When we arrived in St. Maarten, we stopped at the visitors center at the pier. They provided us with a map, and we noticed a Kodak icon at Orient Beach so we decided to go there. Note #2: we later realized that this meant that Kodak products are SOLD at this location. The taxi system in St. Maarten is very organized - there are signs with the names of various places, and the rates are fixed. Three minutes later we were squished in a cab with a dozen other people headed for Orient Beach. The cab cost <$> to take us from Phillipsburg (on the Dutch side) to Orient Beach (on the French side). The hilly ride took us through the typical island countryside - would have liked to stop and photograph the cows and egrets but the other passengers might have objected.
  
  We arrived at Orient Beach and decided to rent lounges and an umbrella (pretty much in the center of the crescent that is Orient Beach). Once settled, we noticed the...lack of clothing on beachwalkers. Apparently, Orient Beach is home to a "naturist resort" but we thought it was like elsewhere where they stick (no pun intended) to themselves. NOPE - they wander among the rest of us. And much of what we saw can be summed up as "bad naked". But Orient Beach is breathtaking, the sand powdered-sugary, and the water warm and calm. Perfect!
  
  DISCLAIMER: Andy can not confirm or deny any of the previously mentioned events because he "was very interested in the book he was reading".
• St. Lucia-St. Lucia was such a pleasant surprise. We (and two other couples) hired a boat for a day tour from Castries (where the ship docked) south to Soufriere. Highlights include scenic Marigot Bay, beach time at Anse Chastenet resort, and a visit to "the waterfall".
• Barbados - Barbados was a bit of a disappointment. We hired a driver for a half day tour of the island. We went looking for this man that we had seen three years ago (painting boats on the beach) but apparently he had died. Then we went to the wildlife reserve to look for monkeys, but didn't see one single primate! Bathsheba was as beautiful as the last time we visited. Our driver ("fat man") felt bad about the lack of monkeys at the reserve, so he took us this man's (Poison's) house to see his monkeys (we kid you not, he had two monkeys in his front yard).
• Antigua - Supposedly Antigua has 365 beaches, but we didn't see any of them because the weather was bad!
• St. Thomas - We've been to St. Thomas several times and headed for St. John this trip. WOW - what a perfect day. We took the ferry from Red Hook (St. Thomas) to St John, and then spent the day at Cinnamon Beach. Donkeys on the beach