basil's mom

My fiancee and I are first-time cruisers. After much consideration, we've mhave decided to take our honeymoon as a 10-night Eastern Mediterranean cruise on the Celebrity Reflection next June. We like this itinerary because it is very focused on Greece, which is where we wanted to be, and 2 sea days will give us more time to relax aboard the ship than the 7-night cruises were initially looking at...

 

So far, we have been very impressed with Celebrity and the Reflection from all the research we've been doing. It seems like it has the offerings of a mega-ship while not feeling too overwhelming or crowded. But, as we continue to plan, and before we book, what do we need to know?

 

A mid-ship balcony is a MUST, but what category? Is it worth the upgrade to Concierge Class? What deck(s) are best for the stateroom?

 

We plan to upgrade to the most comprehensive dining package we can to give ourselves options, but late seating or early seating? (Is flexible seating an option, and should we even consider it?)

 

I'm enjoy drinking, but my fiancee will have 1 or 2 and that's it. For this trip, I don't imagine any heavy drinking on port days (maybe 1 with breakfast and 1-2 with/after dinner), but I plan to have fun on sea days. I'm addicted to regular, brewed coffee (2-3 cups in the morning, easy), we both drink Diet Coke, and and my fiancee is an avid fan of unsweetened iced tea. What's the best beverage package?

 

The ship departs from Rome on a Friday, but we plan to leave NY on Tuesday night to arrive in Rome on Wednesday. The extra few days will let us sightsee there, and also gives us a chance to adjust to the time difference and board the ship relaxed and refreshed. Should we book airfare through Celebrity? What about hotel? Can they help us get from the airport to the hotel, and then the hotel to the port?....And how do we get back to the airport after we disembark?

 

What shore excursion should we do? Should we do them on our own or through the ship? We want to sightsee in each of the ports, but we don't want to break the bank or become so exhausted that we are burnt out and can't enjoy the trip as a whole. We don't want to regret not doing something, but we don't want to do everything to the point that our experience is more about getting from place to place instead of enjoying the places we do so. We are looking, I guess, at a mix of rest/relaxation and sightessing.

 

We are a male gay couple from NYC area in our early 30s. What sort of experience might we expect on the ship? I've heard that the cruise industry is very inclusive of gay couples, but is there anything that Celebrity does or does not do that we should take note of? (Yes, I've posted in gay and lesbian forum as well.)

 

What questions am I not considering?

 

Thanks!

Congratulations. This will be a wonderful honeymoon.

If your fiancé is worried about getting seasick, buy Bonine. It is an over-the-counter medication that won't make you sleepy. We take it on every cruise. When we started cruising, my husband was worried about getting sick and one of the crew told him to eat apples with the skin on. He used the medication and ate the applies and never felt sick.

Have you considered "select" dining? You decide every day what time you want to eat and make a reservation for that time.

Do try the specialty restaurants. Murano is my favorite. The fare is continental, has soft lighting, and is very romantic. If you intend to try all the specialty restaurants, a package is the way to go. You don't need to buy the package prior to the cruise if you don't want to. There will be a table set up on sailing day to purchase the package, and you can use any on-board credit to pay for it, if you like.

If you have never been to Rome, you must see the Vatican. Use a tour service, you will skip the lines to get in and it will be much more informative. We used Dark Rome. The tour guide was an art major, his English was perfect, and we learned a lot from him.

There is a wonderful restaurant outside of Rome, Hostaria Antica Roma. The food is amazing and you can sit outside for dinner. The building itself is about 2,000 years old. We did a pre-cruise dinner for 40 people and everyone loved it.

You can book your hotel and transportation to the port and back to the airport through the ship but we have always done it by ourselves. We have found others through the roll call who want to share a van, and that makes it very affordable. We have always used Rome in Limo and Romecabs. They are both very dependable.

A group of us stayed across from the Pantheon, another group near the Spanish steps, some near the Vatican.

We found a small grocery store near the hotel and bought some Coke Light (Europe's version of diet coke) and brought the cans on board. We asked our cabin steward to empty the refrigerator and put the cokes in there. That way, we could sit on our balcony and drink soda. We never took the cans outside of our cabin, though.

Bring more euros than you think you will need. You will be surprised at how quickly they disappear. You will even need a few euros for the bathroom attendant (you give them one or two euros, they give you a few squares of toilet paper).

If no one has started a roll call, why not be the first? Once others see it they might want to join the conversation. If you have a lively roll call you feel like you know each other by the time you get on the ship. You can make plans for private tours, transportation, hotels, etc.

We have had several same sex couples on our cruises. I don't think they were treated any differently than any other couples. Some couples wanted to join in our group activities and some didn't, but everyone was welcomed with open arms, as long as they were friendly.

Don't forget to mention to your waiter (if you pick early or late seating), or the person taking your dinner reservation if you pick select, that you are on your honeymoon. They will have a small cake brought to table for the two of you, and will even pack it up so you can take it back to your room.

If you need any more information, just ask. Also, go on the message boards for the different ports. You will get a lot of good information there.

If you call while you are on the ship, the fees are exorbitant because no matter who you carrier is, you are going through the ship's cellular. If you wait to make the call until you are on land, you shouldn't have any trouble with clarity. Check with your carrier to find out what the rates are in Europe, or buy a Sim card for travel overseas.

We have been to Florence three times on cruises. We took a ship's tour the first time and did private tours the other two times. The best, most informative tour was the ship's tour. The guide provided a constant lecture on the history of the city and the sights. On the private tours we got a brief history and then were dropped off to explore on our own.

I do not tip extra based on how far the server travelled to reach the ship, how many hours they work, how poor their country of origin is, how long they are away from their family, how much time they get off the ship, etc.

I choose to tip extra based on the level of service I receive. If the service is excellent, the tip is excellent. If the service is poor, there is no tip.

I do not want to subsidize a lifestyle; I want to encourage and reward good customer service.

Bravo. Worth repeating.

The worst service we have encountered on a ship was on Cunard. True, we were in "steerage" so maybe Princess and Queen level are better.

We love Celebrity but checked out a few other lines for our upcoming cruise with my brother. NCL charges an additional fee for their specialty restaurants and then adds a mandatory tip on top of that.

Just an update for basil's mom..the charge for specialty restaurants is now $45 - $50 per person unless you can get a discount, so now not so much a steal (past pricing I would agree with you). We always leave at least $10 cash to the waiter except on one occasion where the fellow was extremely pompous and seemed very uninterested in serving us.

It is still a bargain at that price. When we go out to a local medium priced restaurant, out bill comes to $75.00 for the two of us. When we go to an upscale restaurant (the equivalent to Murano's), it goes up to around $175.00 plus tip, and that is without wine. The service at the specialty restaurants has always been exceptional and we want to show our appreciation by tipping extra. When I have good service in restaurants on land, I tip above the average there too.

I am lucky enough to live in an area with a lot of great (although expensive) restaurants, so maybe the cost of the specialty restaurants doesn't seem so bad.

We always tip extra. If we went to an equivalent restaurant on land, we would pay at least $75.00 per person, so the $25 - $30 charge is a steal.

Yes, I know we pay for our meals on board, but if we stayed in a hotel and had meals equivalent to what we get on the ship, our vacation would cost a heck of a lot more. On our last cruise we ate in the specialty restaurants more than in the main dining room and still thought it was a bargain.

I tend to over pack but realized I wore the same things over and over.

Bring a few pairs of lightweight slacks or knee-length or longer skirts. I wore sleeveless blouses but took a sweater so no bare arms in the church. Several women wore t-shirts. You will need the slacks/skirts to wear into the churches and into the main dining room. I brought one black cocktail dress and lots of different necklaces and earrings. That changed the look and nobody really paid attention to what I was wearing. One dress meant only one pair of dress shoes. I also brought a good pair of walking shoes. I brought five pairs of underwear and a couple of bras and washed them at night. No need to bring a robe, one will be hanging in the closet for you, so I just brought two nightgowns.

I have long hair and brought something to put it up - it is warm in September in the Mediterranean.

I put together a packing list. You can go through it and cross off things you don't think applies to you.

CRUISE_TRAVEL_ESSENTIALS.doc

The Classic Beverage Package includes beer up to $6.00 per serving, spirits, cocktails, and frozen drinks up to $8.00 per serving, wine by the glass up to $9.00 per serving, all soda selections, fresh squeezed and bottled juices, premium coffee, teas, and non-premium bottled water, and gratuities (amount based upon gratuity guidelines).

The last time we were in Rome and needed to get to the port, Rome in Limo's fees were:

2=€ 130, $91pp

4=€ 150, $52.50pp

6 =€ 170, $39.67pp

8=€ 200, $35 pp

Cash payment at Port (8 people will only accommodate 1 suitcase & 1 carry on pp). The prices may have gone up, but you can check.

We have used Rome in Limo many times. They have a special that will pick you up at the airport (they have a van that will accommodate everyone plus your luggage), give you a sightseeing tour of Rome, and then drop you at the port. Their prices will seem quite inexpensive compared to the $80 per person. If your ship is returning to Rome, you can even arrange for Rome in Limo to meet you at the port and take you back to the airport.

I agree with the others on this thread. Unless you are traveling locally, do not arrive the same day as the cruise leaves. What if there are delays in your flight (these things happen)? You might miss the ship.

I think the confusion is with having a Concierge cabin. I'm not sure why they call it that. You don't have a concierge. What you have is a balcony cabin with hors d'oeuvres and fresh fruit served in your room nightly, and flowers placed in your room upon arrival.

You will have to pick up your own tender tickets or you can avoid the crowd by leaving the ship later. If you ask at the customer service desk, they can tell you when the majority of the people usually leave, and then you can just head for the tender.

We are on the September 20, 2014, cruise on Equinox. This will be our second time doing the Mediterranean on her. The late seating seemed to fill up a lot sooner than early seating, possibly because the ship didn't depart many of the ports until 7:00 p.m. Several of the tours didn't get back to the ship until 5:30 p.m. We met a lot of people who had early seating and decided to just go to the buffet for dinner so they wouldn't have to rush getting ready for dinner.

As a newbee I am doing alot of research for our September 2015 cruise....

On our route is Florence and Rome, I found out so far that a private tour is not cheaper at all. They are starting with 450 Euro for 2 Person, vs. 459 $ for 2 Person on a similar tour with Celebrity in Rome for example...

So far I think private tours saves you money if you are a family or at least more than 2...

Go on the roll call for your cruise and see if you can't get some more people to go on a private tour with you. We are on the 20 September equinox cruise and have set up private tours to both Florence and Rome. Check out Rome in Limo or Rome Cabs.

What I want to know is, how did this 'white rule' start and for heavens sake, why????

The rule of white after Labor Day stems back to the 19th century, when lighter-colored clothing made of airy fabrics like linen and cotton took the place of heavy, heat-absorbing clothing made of dark wool. The social elite in particular adopted white as their uniform at fashionable watering holes like Saratoga and Newport. When the summer season ended on the first weekend in September, they returned to their lives in the city by adopting a heavier, more soberly colored wardrobe. Regulating the wearing of white clothing helped guard the upper classes against upstarts whose lifestyles made wearing easily stained white impractical, as well as against those without the social acumen to recognize the rules.

Without traffic.

No white after Labor Day is a North American thing started by the Astors and the Vanderbilts. Europe and the rest of the world have never practiced that habit. In the 1960's Jackie Kennedy and Coco Chanel started wearing white after Labor Day and the trend started to fade. Now women wear white all year long think "winter white" slacks.

Wear whatever you are comfortable with and what makes you feel good. We are going on a cruise to Europe in September and several of the women have already said they are bringing white slacks.