Deciding what to pack seems to be a problem for most cruisers (quite a few of our new friends on board reported paying the overweight baggage fees airlines now charge). My wife and I travel with only one carry-on (regulation airline size of 21x13x8 inches) each and we have a great time whether we are spending a few weeks on land or on sea. The secret is that your fellow cruisers are so interested in what they look like, they pay little attention to what you look like.
Microfiber suits and sports clothes now provide as much style and convenience as any cruiser could want. My wife and I each pack two outfits in addition to the one we wear on our flights. I have a black suit, a sport jacket with dress slacks, a polo shirt and a dress shirt, a pair of nylon pants for adventuring ashore, plus three sets of underwear, a Gore-tex type rain jacket (rarely needed), a swimsuit or two, one pair of black shoes and one pair of Teva type sandals, a sun hat, and a hanging wash kit (the hanging style is great for small cruise ship bathrooms).
My wife carries parallel items. For evening wear she may take a long black dress, but more often takes tuxedo style cocktail slacks with a silk or sequined jacket, a designer jacket for informal wear, and a black sweater and silk type blouse for casual wear. For shore adventures she takes a pair of nylon pants, a pair of shorts, and a bathing suit. She takes one pair of black heels, one pair of joggers, and one pair of Teva type sandals.
We both carry our own snorkels and masks, lycra bodysuits (for sun protection while snorkeling and swimming) and a day pack to hold all of our beach and pool items. I carry my money and documents in a fanny pack (and a money belt for shore excursions) and she uses a small leather shoulder bag which doubles as a purse while onboard.
We do just fine and sometimes even find we have not worn all of the clothes we brought along. The secret is to do a bit of laundry every day or two. Celebrity is one of those cruise lines which do not have self-service laundry rooms on its ships. We simply hand wash items in our cabin sink, wring and rap them in those great fluffy cruise towels, and hang them to dry overnight on plastic hangers which we use in packing anyway. The microfiber or nylon or poly/cotton blend clothes we pack are always ready to wear the next morning, if needed.
When arriving at any cruise port, we generally take a taxi to the cruise ship. The cruise lines all have representatives greeting incoming passengers, and we confirm with them which pier the ship is at so that we can tell our driver. That is the advantage of traveling light – we do not have to wait for baggage claim. If you prefer, you can book transfers from the cruise line.
On this cruise, the ship was docked at the Pan American Pier, which is located about half-way between the SJU airport and the old town. SJU airport taxis are rate-controlled by a dispatcher. Make certain you visit the dispatcher’s curbside booth before getting into any taxi. The dispatcher will give you a multi-copy voucher listing the destination and the price of cab fare, which you then pay the driver on arrival (plus tip of course). In this case the pier was about $17 fare and $3 tip for the two of us and our two bags. You keep a copy of the voucher, which lists the cab’s license number in case there are any problems or you forget something in the cab.
At the pier, a pleasant surprise is the discount liquor store which you can visit after checking in but before boarding. They offered wine at two bottles for $8 US (we got one delicious Chilean Chardonnay and one awful French Sauvignon blanc – it is caveat emptor so choose what you know, if possible). We also got Freixenet brut at $6 US per bottle. The wine can be drunk in your cabin or (for a corkage fee of about $15 US) in the ship’s restaurants. Hard liquor is also available pier-side, but this is more difficult to carry on board unless one has only a very small quantity and is very discreet. Soft drinks are also available at the store, but the cruise line has an unlimited soft drink option for about $5 US per day, which is great for kids or anyone who drinks more than 4 sodas per day. I give kudos to Celebrity and RCCL for providing this great pre-boarding service. I suggest you not abuse it, or it may disappear.
Once on board, my wife and I have favorite locations and dining venues, and I will explore these in the second part of this review. I will close this part of my review with information about Celebrity’s well-advertised new entertainment product.
Page 3 > > Celebrity Constellation Cruise Review > >
