REVIEW: THE MARTINI BAR ON 'CONSTELLATION'

(All Photos: Gerry)

ABOARD CELEBRITY CONSTELLATION -- It's called The Martini Bar for good reason. They serve martinis. All kinds, all flavors, all brands. It's almost all martinis, all the time. Located on deck four near the casino, it's circular, sleek, contemporary and ... crowded much of the time. Next door is the more intimate Crush Bar, which provides even more limited seating around the same icy motif.

In our ongoing, world-wide quest to find, sample and judge martini excellence, we set aside time to experience this popular watering hole on Constellation.

The first thing everyone notices is the frosty icy surface of the bar itself. The second thing is of course to scrawl your name or some fanciful image into the ice. Like "Kilroy was here and had a drink" or some such.

But the main event is the martinis, prepared by bartenders as entertaining as the drinks they serve. Most of the concoctions are $10, and the portions larger than you'll find at other venues around the ship. The fun part is watching the bartenders at work, shaking and pouring with artistic precision.

The Flight arrives

We opted for the martini "Flight," a sampler of six favorites, including the classic. Since they were slammed, we were told it would come from the bar service, rather than mixed on the spot. Okay, no problem. While we were waiting, another bartender tried to take our order.

"We already ordered a Flight," we said. He seemed to acknowledge we had, then set six glasses in front of us in a mini-pyramid. Then he assembled six shakers and begin filling each with various combinations of ingredients. Interesting, we thought. In the meantime, our Flight arrived on the icy runway in front of us, looking quite delicious.

Customers keep the bartenders hopping

Then, in an amazing show of dexterity and flair, the bartender in front of us joined the six shakers together and expertly filled all six glasses at the same time to create a second Flight of martinis. Applause, applause!! But seriously, 12 martinis? We hated to burst his bubble, or leave those six extra drinks wanting for an owner, but we really had already ordered.

In short, we can give The Martini Bar our Cruising Squared seal of approval. Good drinks, good ambience and good times. The only other suggestion would be devote more service personnel to all the people who couldn't find a seat at the bar and landed in the rows of chairs surrounding it. Maybe that's why "Crush" is part of the name. -- Gerry and Pam