American Constellation Review
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Small Ship Cruising Done Poorly
Before I get into my review, here are some disclaimers as well as what I am basing my opinions on.
The cost of this cruise ranged from $5500+ (U.S.) on up. This is key, as the brochures and other written material, as well as conversations with American Cruise Line staff members purported this to be a luxury/high-end cruise experience. Other factors contributing to my review: My five past ocean cruises. Granted, ocean cruises are very different “experiences.” However, the comments I am making apply to all types of cruises, and travel/hospitality in general. My comments are also based on many years working a server, decades as an event planner/organizer where I observing, participated in or running countless events where organizing large groups is key. It’s also based on a number of passenger who were onboard this ship who had done numerous Viking and other cruises. And, of course, 63 years of general life experience, going to events covering the entire continuum of cost and expectation.
Cabin Review
We had a balcony cabin. The cabin itself was nice and quite spacious, as was the balcony. There were plenty of drawers and closet space. I did find that I couldn't open one of the desk drawers until I realized that they had shoved the safe into it. Wow.
The bathroom was good size. Probably too small for two people to be in simultaneously. About the size of a 3/4 bathroom. The shower was bigger than one found on a typical big ship, inside stateroom.
Tip: Since I had never been on a ship like this, I asked in advance if the walls were metal/magnetic. They are, so if you have or want to get those magnetic hooks, they will come in handy.
There was a phone in our room, as well as a DVD player. However, the DVD player is built-in to the back of the TV, so you don't really know it's there. The TV is fairly useless, as the only thing to see is a channel that shows the ship's location and some other random information, and a channel that rotates in short films about some Alaskan subject. That's it. Very disappointing for such an expensive cruise. No other on-demand programming. No other channels. Cheaping out, again.
There is no app to make life easier for keeping track of events, communicating with other passengers, etc. like on the bigger ships. Cheaping out, again.