ONBOARD: Once onboard we were lucky to have the first day to explore the ship on our own as our grou

GETTING THERE: I flew ex Cork to Amsterdam 0600 hrs flight ( nice and early !!! ) scheduled arrival time in Amsterdam 0845 hrs ( flight took off at 0620hrs but still made it in 1 hr 20 mins ) which was great for all the panicked passengers onboard who had onward connections to the US as we still landed at the scheduled time. I was able to meet up with my travel companion the lovely Miss Tracy McLoughlin very easily as the Dublin flight arrived at the same time so all went very smoothly . Word of warning there are 2 cruise ports in Amsterdam so just make sure you know which one you need to go to and explain well to the taxi driver as they can easily mix them up. Once we got to the terminal it was all very easy to figure out where to go we boarded nice and early as boarding started from 11 am and we got there around 10 am. Lovely hotel right at the port, the Movenpick for people who may want to fly the night before Dublin - Amsterdam and stay at the port as boarding is early on the Constellation as is the departure of the ship is 1630 hrs so for ease and hassle free this is a good choice of hotel. EMBARKING: WOW!, huge terminal with plenty of check in desks, very easy and quick to get through, though we were early which may have helped. I did get talking to other people who arrived later betweem 1 and 2 pm at the terminal and said it was crazy so would definitely advise early arrival if you want to make sure your holiday starts in a relaxing manner.
ONBOARD: Once onboard we were lucky to have the first day to explore the ship on our own as our group were not meeting until the evening. We only had to wait until 1 pm for our cabin to be ready and once we had walked in our lovely cabin steward arrived with our bags so again very efficient. We stayed on Deck 2 in an ocean view stateroom with port hole and I was delighted and surprised at the size and also it was a large port hole plenty of light and really airy would def recommend as it was very comfortable and roomy. I have attached a pic to give you an idea.!!
Muster drill was carried out just before we set sail and then up to Deck 10 to wave goodbye to Amsterdam. Courtesy of Celebrity cruise lines we had a cocktail party in the Rendezvous Lounge Deck 4 on our first evening requirement to be a travel agent with champers and cocktails supplied requirement to be a travel agent by Celebrity /Royal Caribbean and had a welcome talk from our host Leon and really just a chance to meet the other guests lucky enough to be onboard for your 2 day trip, then it was into the lovely formal dining room San Marco where we dined as a group, fabulous food and huge menu, lots of choices for every possible taste. From then on it was plain sailing , excuse the pun :-) We simply kicked back and enjoyed this stunning ship and although our trip was short, we did get to experience all the Celebrity Constellation has to offer, amazing dining, plenty of activities to both old and young happy and a real sense of being in the lap of luxury. DISEMBARKATION: Arrived in Southampon at 4 AM but luckily as we were carrying off our own bags and transfering ourselves to southhampton requirement to be a travel agent airport the last call for passengers to be off the ship was nearly 9.30 am so not too bad as our flight was with FLYBe Southhampton to Dublin at 1420 hrs. so not too long to wait, I d advise anyone taking this cruise to do likewise and avail of that extra bit in bed, you ll thank me for it. A fleet of taxis at southampton port were waiting for us, apparantely it s big business for them so no problems there and 15 mins approx to airport so nice and quick (and cheap). I know Royal Caribbean /Celebrity cruises provide transfers to London Heathrow but if you want to price cheaper flights yourselves, Flybe into and out of Southampton do match up with nearly all the cruises giving plent of time on arrival and also on the return so a good option as an alternative and no real hassle in doing it this way either. ALL IN ALL A MEMORABLE AND FUN 2 DAYS. I d fully recommend this short but ideal cruise across to the Dutch capitol. THANKS A MILLION requirement to be a travel agent Celebrity but most of all Cruise Holidays for making it all happen.