Stephanie Serino's Travel Blog

The long-awaited Marina has set sail on her maiden voyage January 22 for a trans-Atlantic cruise from Barcelona to Miami. 1,250 guests are pampered by a crew of 800. She has ten dining venues, including a Jacques Pepin signature restaurant.  Here's a link to my  Photo Tour . Here is an e-brochure of the  Marina .  There are two new features which really excite me: - Bon Appetit Culinary Center with hands-on cooking school, the first at sea. -La Reserve by Wine Spectator , a wine-tasing center with seminars and tastings by day, and private seven-course wine dinners at night ($75 per guest plus 18% gratuity, maximum of 24 guests) Oceania Cruises is  offering 2-for-1 Cruise Fares with FREE Airfare and up to $1000 Shipboard Credit per stateroom on  Select 2011 Alaska & Europe Voyages .  PLUS, if you book select Europe Voyages by March 31, you'll receive our exclusive amenity package which includes: Prepaid Gratuities,   $100 Shi...

I inspected the Celebrity Constellation in October 2008 and am finally posting the review (click here for slideshow ). The truth is that I liked this ship but didn’t love her. The staterooms were attractive with decent design, the public areas were very nice and the space was well utilized. So why am I lukewarm? It looks like a lot of other cruise ships, and there were no distinctive elements to impress me. In fairness, Celebrity is one my favorite Premium Cruise lines and I loved sailing on the Celebrity Century (before the big stretch and refurbishment in 2006). That ship had a very boutique hotel design with delicious color, space-age furniture, great tile work (especially in the spa) and fabulous carpets. Aesthetically she had a very distinctive personality, which I loved. The Celebrity Constellation was the last of the four “Millennium Class” sisters (Celebrity Millennium, Celebrity Summit, Celebrity Infinity); she began cruising in 2002. Nine hundred and seventy five staterooms ...