CruiserFromSC

We’re in a Sky suite so I’m not sure what, if any accommodations, will be made for reservations. Thanks for your reply.

Thank you so much for this information. We couldn’t figure out why we were unable to book anything yet.

Hello everyone, can anyone tell me if there are any special dinners/activities for Christmas cruises? We are traveling on the Ascent over Christmas and are trying to plan some specialty dining but the specialty dining option is not currently open to make reservations. We thought that this option may open about 6 months out. Any insight? Also, we are thinking of Eden or LeVoyage for Christmas Eve or Christmas Day but wondering if there are any special dinners in the main dining rooms or Luminae that we should consider. Any advice or insight would be much appreciated.

Wow, that sounds and looks crazy! I’m glad all was well in the end.

Thank you! I hope your friends enjoy their time on this beautiful ship as much as we have. I would love to try a TA but I’m a little worried about seasickness…even after 20+ cruises. 😂

I’m sure that was such a disappointment! I feel so badly for those that missed Livorno and potentially a once in a lifetime experience.

We are actually booked for the second leg of the cruise at both Le Voyage and Eden. I’m looking forward to it. Thanks for the tip.

We would definitely use Ingrid again. She was lovely and we thoroughly enjoyed our time with her. Good luck getting into Israel. Are you planning on doing a live blog? I’ve always wanted to go there and would love any insights.

So an update since our missed port in Livorno. Our Livorno port day turned into a sea day and we spent it trying to stay out of the wind. We were able to dock in Civitavecchia on Thursday and the rainy day that was forecasted turned in to a partly sunny, warmish day with no rain. We walked around the port town. We had a lovely dinner in Rooftop Grill and the food was very good. My DH said the Branzino was exceptional. The show last night, Elements, was not really our cup of tea nor was “karaoke” style Headline the Band so after a little casino time, we called it a night. We were back on track with our sea day yesterday and that was the first time ever in 20+ cruises that we’ve ever experienced lightning and thunder on ship. Everything was rocking and rolling. Pretty interesting when visibility is probably less than 1/4 mile. Yesterday, we also had our B2B meeting. There are approximately 45 people that are B2Bers. Painless process described for our turnaround day on Monday. Today, we docked in Messina, Sicily. For any of you that happen to be a Godfather movie fan, we took The Godfather tour today from Messina with ItalyTours. As we debarked, we were stopped by the port official that asked for our tickets. All we had was an email confirming our private tour for 6. She asked if we had their phone number. Luckily, I had the number from when they called me about our cancelled port in Livorno. When we called, they had to confirm with ItalyTours that we did in fact have a tour. About that time, our driver, Antonio, arrived and all was well. Just a heads up to be sure and have your confirmation email with you just in case. After that bit of excitement, we made our way to the village of Savoca and visited the bar that Michael met Appolonia’s father and then the church and streets where they got married. Everything is in honor of Francis Ford Coppola in the town. Before the movie, they only had the bar. On the way back down, we purchased fantastic olive oil and then stopped at Bar Vitelli for some lemon granita and a glass of wine (I know, it was only 9:30am but how many times would we have that opportunity 😉). From there, we visited Forza d’Argo. This small village is where a lot of the scenes from Godfather Part III took place. Very quaint village and beautiful views. Lastly, we visited Taormina for a lunch stop and visit to the main pedestrian area. All in all a lovely day that we thoroughly enjoyed.

So, I promised a review on our dinner at Le Petite Chef. I’ve experienced it on two prioir cruises and two different ships…Equinox and Edge. And I loved it. The story/animation was cute and the food (pea soup/crab pasta/filet) were both wonderful. They have changed the menu and the story and, to be honest, I did not enjoy it as much as the two previous visits. The food was good (tomato tart/poached shrimp/short rib) but the evening was not as enjoyable as my earlier visits. Just my opinion. And now a big disappointment for a lot of people today. We were scheduled to dock today and overnight in Livorno. The winds had other ideas. ..40-50 knots caused us to not be able to dock and became a sea day. The captain and crew reacted quickly and worked an opportunity for us to dock in Rome (Civitavecchia) tomorrow and then resume the rest of our cruise. Unfortunately for many, Livorno was their only opportunity to visit Cinque Terre so very unfortunate for them. For us, since we are on a B2B, we rescheduled our visit to Cinque Terra for our return to La Spezia on October 6th. Our tour company ItalyTours called me this morning when they saw we weren’t going to be able to dock and worked with us to make the change for our return trip (original tour was to Florence) and will refund our money for today’s tour without any muss or fuss. Again, I am usually reluctant to recommend tour companies because everyone’s opinions are subjective, but ItalyTours has been very user friendly and have wonderful customer service. We have 3 more tours scheduled with them so I will keep you posted!! 🙂

Exactly. Bummer that we didn’t get into Livorno today. Hopefully, the rest of the cruise goes smoothly.

Thank you!!

I am currently on the Beyond doing a similar itinerary and trying to do a live blog. We are 4 days in and have 13 days left to go (B2B) so maybe my blog would help with some ideas. The title on the Celebrity CC boards is “Beyond Live(ish) B2B Barcelona to Rome and Rome to Barcelona, September 24 and October 3, 2022.” Anyway, we did a tour yesterday from Nice (Villefranche) and it was fabulous. Here’s what I wrote: ”So, I don’t usually make recommendations on tours, etc., but I am making an exception in this case. We took a wonderful 8-hour excursion from Villefranche with Ingrid S with Tours by Locals. The name of the tour was “3 Countries in a Day.” This was an exceptional private tour. We drove along the middle and upper coastal roads with photo stops of Nice and Villefranche and the took a guided tour through the village of Eze (only 29 residents). The only way to see the village is on foot though and it is a very steep climb. But, at the top (429 meters/1400 feet), you have spectacular views of the French Riveria. Then we drove into Italy to the Italian Riveria village of Dolceacqua for a lunch stop and a guided walk through a medieval village. Next, we drove to the Principality of Monaco and drove a short way on the Formula 1 race track and visited the port with luxury yachts and the palace in the distance and then an opportunity to visit the casino in Monte Carlo. This was a fantastic tour if you wanted something a little different. Highly recommend.”

Thank you! They are still inflated and attached to the ceiling. One deflated and the cabin attendant took it away. I’m not sure what he did with it. I haven’t noticed any other balloons.

Wow, that’s wonderful. Beautiful memories for that couple…and you!! I’m afraid that mine may go silent as well. 😂 I admire those people that do such a great “live” blog.

Yesterday, was a beautiful day in Nice. We were in Villefranche and tendered in. It took about 20 minutes. So, I don’t usually make recommendations on tours, etc., but I am making an exception in this case. We took a wonderful 8-hour excursion from Villefranche with Ingrid S with Tours by Locals. The name of the tour was “3 Countries in a Day.” This was an exceptional private tour. We drove along the middle and upper coastal roads with photo stops of Nice and Villefranche and the took a guided tour through the village of Eze (only 29 residents). The only way to see the village is on foot though and it is a very steep climb. But, at the top (429 meters/1400 feet), you have spectacular views of the French Riveria. Then we drove into Italy to the Italian Riveria village of Dolceacqua for a lunch stop and a guided walk through a medieval village. Next, we drove to the Principality of Monaco and drove a short way on the Formula 1 race track and visited the port with luxury yachts and the palace in the distance and then an opportunity to visit the casino in Monte Carlo. This was a fantastic tour if you wanted something a little different. Highly recommend. It was a long day so we had a quick dinner in Ocean View and then called it a day. We are in Santa Margherita today and with no planned tours, we plan to take the tender in and walk around for a bit. Dinner tonight is at Le Petite Chef so I’ll report back later tonight. It’s always a wonderful meal so I’m not expecting anything different tonight.

Great. I hope they’re enjoying it as much as we are.

Thanks, Tammy, I’ll try to find you at sail away.

Thank you!

Thank you!

Oh wow, I’m so sorry. That’s a huge disappointment! 😟 I was wondering about the cruise with confidence plan since most of booked so long ago under it. I’m glad they gave you FCC. Hope you have a lovely time in Porto. and Happy Birthday!!

Thank you so much!!

Thank you!! I’m not sure yet. Old age is causing some sciatica issues 😂 so I thought a massage might help. Any information that I can get you?

Quick report tonight regarding our specialty dining in Fine Cut. We were celebrating my 60th bday today so choose Fine Cut. It was excellent! I know some have had different experiences but wanted to share that our evening was lovely and concluded with a small chocolate bday cake to share. The retreat staff also brought me a bottle of champagne to the Retreat Sundeck today and our butler, Reggie, and stateroom attendant, Frankie, decorated our room tonight with balloons and delivered chocolate covered strawberries with lovely notes. Really sweet and thoughtful!! Also, I don’t know how to do a speed test but since Beyond has the new star link satellite, the internet speeds are amazing. No down time to upload photos or post to CC.

Agree, I’ve never understood why I need to choose when I can get on whenever I want. There are several issues that IT should work on.