LEtue

We sailed RT from Rome on the Serenade in October and returned to the port at 5 AM. We were off the ship and picked up by Rome Cabs about 6:20 AM on a Wednesday and in the airport within an hour. No real traffic.

I found FCO to be really easy and I didn't have to pull anything out since I had TSA precheck - which I was told wouldn't apply for international flights back to the USA. This was US Air to Phily and then home to TPA. We had lots of time to kill until our 10:50 AM flight after we arrived at the gate :)

Your flight time should be fine even if you don't dock until 6 AM. Just make sure you book a private transfer and carry your luggage off. I had organized a group transfer on our roll call thread so if you can do that it will save some $$$.

Enjoy your cruise!

I don't think we are Celebrity folks. Hate to dress up and only do it to get my lobster :D

 

We'll just have a difficult decision to make. If it is a Tuesday embark in Rome they would miss 6 days of school in October with the tentative calendar that is out now. The official one won't be approved until November 2015 for that school year.

Do not eliminate Celebrity for that reason! I have only been on 2 cruises with them and neither was any different that Princess or RCI in that respect. I hate to dress up anymore and I haven't taken formal clothes on a cruise in 10 years or more...

Consider the ship your transporation, hotel and food source only - especially if you find the right itinerary :) On the 2 Med cruises I have been on I didn't even go to the nightly shows because I was too busy getting ready for the next port - so for me that isn't an important critieria either.

(Saturday) April 30th was said to have been the launch date.

It was originally scheduled for February, but was ultimately delayed until April.

Thank you both!

Nothing in April. I think she won't be ready until very late or early May.

 

Rome schedule is:

Wednesday May 11

Tuesday May 17

Tuesday May 31

Tuesday June 7

Tuesday June 14

Tuesday June 28

Tuesday July 5

 

I think Heather covers the rest of July and August in her post.

Thanks for the dates! My grandson will be graduating on June 3, 2016 so I have to work around that.

I'm don't like the idea of cruising on one of the first few sailings and there is always the possibility of changes/cancellations with new ships. So I may have to look at September/October. Drats.....:(

Well, the suspense is killing me!

I need late April and May dates so I hope some info leaks out soon :D

I just sailed the Serenade in October to the Med and she is in great shape! Excellent crew and service all around. The radiance class ships are just perfect! Go and enjoy :D

Further speculation on the 7/7/14 Civitavecchia schedule leads me to wonder about doing alternating Western and Eastern Med and then a combined 14 night. This would let people who can't take as much time off work or want to combine sea/land travel do a 7 night voyage. People who want to cover more on sea or are doing that one special trip could do the longer voyage. We shall see in 3 weeks ;)

Okay, you have my attention again. I am planning to do a land/sea vacation in 2016 and leaving from Rome or Venice works best :)

Do we know that the announcemnet on the 22nd will include itineraries? Hope so!

NCL Jade-February 25, 2015-Mediterranean-East, 10 Days

 

Traveling solo but always meet great people!

Nice! I wonder what the weather is like in February? Going to go look :)

Seems that if you can sail NCL in a suite it makes all the difference - and that isn't in my budget. My one NCL cruise on the Dawn (standard balcony) was definitely not a cruise experience I would want to repeat.

I admit that the Jade in the Med has my attention though and I have read many very good reviews. The Epic doesn't work, because of the bathroom setup for my cruise buddy and I. But since I never base anything on a sample of one - I will probably give NCL another try :)

I am also waiting to hear about Virgin and what they have to offer!

 

I have not tried it and I have no desire to do so. One of the selling Points of a cruise is to not give me the same I can have on land. I don´t want to restaurant hop. I want my table with my wait Team at a fixed time and with a daily changing menu. I know I´m way too Young to expect to experience this for the rest of my life:(, but as Long as I can find traditional Dining I will go there before I saiol on a ship with DD. Once I can´t find traditional on any ship / line anymore I will have to make the decision if cruising is still for me.

Amen!

I don't see why one restaurant can't remain traditional dining. Other cruise lines make is work.

I have no desire to sail the mega ships either so implementing DD on a few of them should offer enough options for all cruise passengers. Now that would be dynamic! :D

I think that would be very tight even though flights within Europe don't require the extra level of security that we had (Rome to Phily).

We booked a 10:55 am flight on American and when the merge with US Air happened the flight departure time was moved up to 10:35 am. We booked Rome Cabs for a 6:15 am pickup and hurried off the ship. We were able to get going by 6:25 am and were at the airport in plenty of time (on a Wednesday morning). We probably sat at the gate for about 1 1/2 hours before boarding started.

So if possible, look for a flight a bit later. I was amazed at how many people walked off with luggage (Serenade of the Seas) and there was a long line to get off. It moved fast though once the ship was cleared.

Of course we are still waiting for Vista information in January. We have really been anticipating sailing a brand new ship and we know that it will have more bell's and whistle's for the kids than Spirit (which doesn't have any).

 

If it does not work out price and itinerary-wise then we will most likely go with the June 12 Venice to Barcelona 12 day Grand Mediterranean.

I think I have eliminated the Vista because sailing on a mega ship - especially in Europe doesn't appeal to me at all.

I really enjoyed the Serenade - a lot! So, I hope the Brilliance will be doing a similar itinerary in early 2016. :D

Woot! Itineraries seem to be loaded. Was able to price June/July 2016 Spirit.

Did you pick one?

Prices are too high for me :(

 

Decisions, Decisions.... But everyone should have our problems right;)

Absolutely :D

Just ask DH - I like a bargain, but I also like my comfort - so cabin does matter to me. If you can wait for a last minute, close-out to get you on the ship, and can sleep under any conditions, and not get hit by the airfare, that is wonderful. But for us over planning, bargain hunting, OBC loving, cabin crazy, AAA personality cruises, sooner is better than later:p

 

And if the fare goes down, I can always re-book -but that hasn't happened in a long time:D

Oh, I'm not saying I don't like my comfort or cabin location but....I always find what I like about 6 - 8 months out. Airfare isn't an issue at that point and OBC comes with the deals.

I just don't like to give the cruise lines money 2 years before I cruise since I always find better deals, involving changing cruiseline, ship or sailing week. So, no reason to really hold a cabin.

I have to admit though that the Caribbean doesn't appeal to me anymore and I spend my money on cruises to Europe. So, it all works out for all of us :)

They seem to be rewarding early bookings . Procrastinating won't help .

 

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Only if you have to have a certain cabin on a certain sailing.

Staying flexible and waiting for the prices to drop has been working for me ;)

Interesting how Celebrity is raising prices by adding products/services which may not be wanted by all passengers to book a cabin category.

 

And for those of us that prefer to book inside cabins the prices have increased and come without extra benefits......

Well at this point the prices for the Med 2016 on Celebrity are looking better much better.

Who knew I could sail Celebrity for less :D

I'm kind of curious to know if anyone here has been able to view the European cruise schedule today beyond April of 2016????? Even my PCC can't figure out exactly what's going on today.:confused:

I had the same problem and hope all of the itineraries will be posted by tomorrow :(

I don't see any dates for Europe beyond April 2016. So, I guess I need to wait a bit longer.....

It would be great to see the itineraries sooner :) I really like one of the Celebrity routes but the price is higher than what RCI usually is. We'll see!

Hopefully they will open the bookings by late February. Judging by the first post on the roll calls I checked - that should be about right.....

This is what happened for 15/16 season.

Some Asia sailings were as late as November.

Thanks! I will be looking for April - early June for the Med. No interest in Asia for me :)

I was checking some of the threads for transatlantic and Med sailings leaving in 2015 and the threads started in late February. Does that timeframe sound about right? RCI must release itineraries in mid to late February?

I booked my Serenade 2014 cruise late so I'm not aware of when the 2016 release will be....

I'm not anxious or anything :D

My guess is Quantum will replace Radiance in Alaska/Australia 2016.

Radiance will go to Europe Summer 2016.

Oasis or Navigator will be in Europe Summer 2016.

One will go thru Suez Canal in May 2016 the other in October 2016.

I hope you are right about the Radiance :)

Just finished a Med cruise on the Serenade in October which was awesome! I love the Radiance class ships and they are the perfect for the Med :D

She may stop there, but I have it from a credible source her home port will be in the US. I have said before, either New Orleans or Galveston (and my money is on Galveston).

 

We are planning on doing our first cruise on the Vista in Europe. I would love to have the options of western med, eastern med and Northern Europe to choose from. Can't wait till January 22 for more info, renderings and more.....

 

 

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Well, I hope Carnival publishes some itinerary unformation ahead of time. I am waiting patiently to hear more too. :D