celebrity

We flew home from BCN to JFK on a 10:40 am flight 3 years ago with no problems.

Returned this year and stayed an add'l day having Barcelona Day Tours pick us up at the port

for a tour of Montserrat. We loved it and felt more relaxed when we flew out the following day.

Have a great cruise!

I just booked Celebration Reflection for a 10 night Italy and Greece cruise leaving June 2018. So excited I couldn't sleep last night (even though it is so far away) I love to plan trips and prefer to do excursions on my own as I hate the cattle call that the excursions have become on Royal Caribbean. We haven't sailed Celebrity since having our son who will be 14 yo when we go. Any tips for excursions either thru the cruise line or private as well as hotels for pre cruise stay in Rome? This is a bucket list trip that I have been saving for so plan on splurging. Thanks for any help in advance

Congrats!

Celebrity is our favorite cruise line. I highly recommend Romeinlimo for private excursions in Italy. You can opt for a truly private excursion as we did on both our cruises in Italy with just your party in a Mercedes sedan or ask others from your roll call to join you in a shared van.

You will have a customized day based on your wants and needs and see far more than any ship

excursion.

If you go the Italy board here on CC, you will see a running thread for Romeinlimo and read the thousands of 5 star reviews. You can believe the hype..Romeinlimo truly delivers.

If you have any specific questions regarding them, just quote my reply and I will be happy to answer.

Congrats on considering the Med. My two favorite cruises sailed there.

Ditto regarding Rick Steve's Guide to Med. Make sure you fly out several days before your ship sails to enjoy Rome.

If you intend on visiting the Vatican and Coliseum I feel are must sees, reserve your tickets on line or you'll be stuck waiting for hours to enter.

One bit advice that was given to me was to not over plan your trip with all day non stop touring. Pick a port or two where you go with the flow and you won't suffer traveler's burn out.

If you get to Ephesus, secure a private guide to the ancient city and include the Terrace Houses which is an add'l charge. We joined a private tour from our roll call through Ephesus Shuttle. It also included the House of the Virgin Mary, St John's final resting place and lunch.

Mykonos is an easy DIY port and we are so glad we planned it that way.

Read up on the individual ports of call, Trip Advisor, You Tube and ask as many questions that pop up so you can fully enjoy your cruise.

Asking people what they do for a living is not rude. Perhaps they are trying to find common interests. I see people on this board get offended by this a lot and I don't get it. People are trying to make conversation and find out more about you. It's not that it matters, maybe they are just trying to make a connection.

 

I don't usually ask it but I never mind if I get asked. Sometimes I will volunteer it because my profession is "glamorous and exciting" to some people and it often creates conversation and people have fun talking about it. I'm never offended by that.

I agree! Why is that offensive? It's just an ice breaker. I am very chatty and always ask first where are you from, is this your first cruise?

Lost track of number of cruises I've sailed but literally have formed lasting friendships from people across the globe. Fortunately have sailed with a number of them multiple times.

We rented a 2 seater scooter on our honeymoon in 1979. We were young and foolish and fortunate that we didn't have an accident. Unless you are an experienced biker, please don't rent the scooters. You are driving on the opposite side of the road with many rotaries to navigate as well as narrow, hilly roads.

Fast forward 15 years later, my co-worker and her husband were killed on their honeymoon when they collided with a bus head on. :(

Have been back 17 more times and will never rent a scooter again.

Take the bus, take the ferry, take a cab.

OMG! So if it was an old guy and he had hours to live your only thought is "I might not get to go snorkeling tomorrow. How rude of this guy to die during my vacation?" Wow. When someone's life is at stake whether baby, teen, 30s something or old person, how is it EVER right to b*tch because you missed a port of your vacation. Instead you should be saying "there by the grace of God go I" and be thankful it wasn't you, your better half, your mother or your child. Your attitude is the one the PP was talking about. Selfish goes to a whole different level on this one.

 

I can guarantee you that if I was on that ship and someone b*tched at me about having turning around to save someone's life you would have got my opinion and you would have walked away with a different attitude and some tail between your legs. My comments would have been loud and I'm sure many listening would have agreed with me making you an even smaller individual.

 

Thank your lucky stars that you were able to go on a cruise at all. Sorry if the baby dies and that is inconvenient to your vacation :rolleyes:. You are the epitome of me, me, me. Disgusting. I don't care how long you saved, I don't care how important the next port was to you. Someone may lose their life. BooWhoo. Poor you.

 

I once talked to this young kid. He said he never pulled over for fire vehicles or ambulances. He thought it was funny. So I told him that the next time I see one I hope it is his mother, grandmother or sister and I hope they die. He was horrified at my comment. He thought me a horrible person. I said, how is my comment different from yours. You don't care if someone's mother etc dies so why should I care about yours. He paused for a minute and said "I never thought of it that way. You are right. From now on I will always get out of there way."

 

You are no better. So the next time I see an ambulance go by I hope it is someone you love. And I hope they die. After all, I want to get to Best Buy and get the sale items they advertised and they won't be available the next day. I may never get that cheap price again.

Wow..just wow. My Mom always taught me to pull over for police, fire or ambulance and make a sign of the cross because a siren is never good. I do it every time. There but for the grace of God go I.

Mama was a wise and loving woman.

I'm thinking RC Mediterranean in June out of Barcelona, with stops in Provence, Nice, Florence, Rome and Naples. I'm trying to get comfortable with the idea of cruising to Europe and if I stick with cruise excursions (which is $$$) vs. touring on our own.

 

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Highly recommend private tours for a less expensive and far better experience.

Nice is very to do on your own.Florence , Rome and Naples can do done privately and as I mentioned, Romeinlimo is a great company that can take you to all the Italian ports on an incredible tour. Haven't been to Provence.

Barcelona is a great port to embark from with wonderful sites.

Do not miss La Sagrada Familia but be certain to book your tickets online in advance so you can skip the long line.

Romeinlimo is a fabulous tour company. Have used them on 2 cruises and 5 ports.

Check the Italy board here on CC and TripAdvisor.

Thousands of 5 star reviews that are well deserved. I highly recommend securing a private guide through Romeinlimo. It will truly enhance your experience.

First of all, go for it! I was nervous the first time I cruised the Med after my Carib cruises.

Have you selected a ship and itinerary? we can better direct you once you have decided where you want to travel and on what ship.

Obviously, the specific cruise line boards, ports of call that you will be visiting and the roll call for your specific trip will garner lots of info.

I also highly recommend Rick Steve's Guide to Med Cruise ports.

Any questions, please ask away.

Happy New Year to all!

Two things come to mind re memories. Finally got to Venice and sailed in a gondola and as always, the great people we meet along the way.

Have formed many lasting friendships meeting others onboard.

Here's wishing all a healthy, happy year and sail on!

I totally disagree with the previous posters. There will be children on Celebrity. Nothing boring in the least about Bermuda and you wil all have a blast. We did a last. Instead cruise on Summit 2 summers ago and was one of our favorites.

Royal is great but the fares are just too high IMO.

I also loved Ephesus, and would not hesitate to go. We will be in Turkey next summer again.

Good for you!

Happy Holidays Terry!

Loved our visit in September to Dubrovnik. We walked the ancient city walls twice!

Would love to return to some of the smaller villages. Kotor was incredible as well.

Always enjoy your photos and commentary. You really should be a professional travel blogger.

Hope you have some spectacular travel plans set for 2017.

One of my favorite ports of all time. We also used Ephesus Shuttle. So sad that many will miss this opportunity of a lifetime due to ships pulling out or their own fears. I'd go back in a NY minute.

The Novotel at Tower has a decent reputation and Novotels tend to be clean, comfortable and with excellent facilities. This particular hotel is very,very convenient for travel by tube and bus. It is only meters away from Tower Hill station (and Tower Gateway) - you are easily accessible to the Churchill War Rooms being only a few stops from Westminster or St James Park. It's a good area around Tower (it's an area which we know extremely well) and there is lots to see in the vicinity. I would stick with it.

Thank you!

The Churchill War Rooms are in Westminster, which is not particularly close to the Tower which is in the East - closer to the financial/business district, and not really the hub of tourist London. I'm sure it's a fine property, but I personally would be looking at something more central.

Can you recommend a hotel more central?

Overwhelmed with choices for our pre cruise stay in London. We realize that London is spread out but like the idea of being near Tower Bridge and Tower of London. I see that the Churchill War Rooms which is a must for us is not too far away and accessible by the tube.

Any input would be appreciated. TIA.

I've never shut off my water but I will from now on. Correct me if I'm wrong but aren't you also supposed to open the faucets to reduce pressure when you turn the water back on?

We used Rome in Limo Tours for the Amalfi Coast..Diago (sp?) was our guide..he's phenomenal..ate at a restaurant overlooking the coast with breathtaking views and fresh, wonderful food..believe me..you will not regret using Rome in Limo..they are first class in every respect. Enjoy..just remembered - the name of the restaurant is Costantino

I agree! We booked Romeinlimo for Rome and Naoles in 2013 and had such an incredible time that when we were planning our 2016 trip, there was no question that we would book with them again.

This year, we were fortunate to be stopping once again in Rome, Salerno and Florence, all stops

that RIL could accommodate.

I asked Jany to book again Da Costantino for us and a table by the window overlooking

the Bay of Naples was waiting for us!!

If you book multiple ports, you are given a discount and they offer so many options.

We chose both trips as a private tour, but you can also arrange through your roll call a larger group or join their tour sharing option.

Check the thousands of reviews on Tripadvisor and you will see why that are consistently rated

a Certificate of Excellence.

We used Romeinlimo last month on our Brilliance cruise. This was our 2nd trip using them. It was just my husband and myself in a lovely Mercedes sedan with Vittorio as our driver.

He was charming and full of stories. When he mentioned how I love Andrea Boccelli, he put on a CD and we sat back and enjoyed the beauty of the coast.

I emailed Jany at RIL and requested lunch at the same restaurant, Da Costantino and our table

overlooking the Bay of Naples was waiting for us.

We stopped in Ravello, Sorrento and Positano and it was spectacular!

They were also our tour company in Florence and Rome.

First class company.

Never hurts to know all your options. The OP does not say whether they are committed to a pre-cruise stay in London or not. It also may be helpful to other readers. I think most people assume one must fly into a major London airport then travel to Southampton overland.

Thanks to all that responded. Yes, a visit to London pre cruise is a must.

I will weigh my options based upon cost of flight. Thanks all!

I think you may have misunderstood the point: you cannot travel from New York City to Southampton non-stop.

 

So you can either fly to a London airport and connect there to road or other surface transport to Southampton; or you can fly to Dublin and connect there to air transport to Southampton.

 

You have to remember that Southampton is not London. It's a different city which is broadly as far away from London as Philadelphia is from New York City. (And cruise lines continually lie about this.)

I am flying non stop to London a few days prior to our cruise. We will travel to Southampton the morning of the cruise.

Have gone twice in Sept and the weather was wonderful. High 70's and low 80's. I would avoid July and Aug as it is very hot and crowded.

We have stayed several times at the Hotel Jazz. It is only a couple of blocks from the Ramblas. It is a very nice clean business class Hotel with large rooms and large baths. We have always had very good prices when booking here. We totally recommend them to friends visiting Barcelona.

 

 

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Add me to the list of fans of Hotel Jazz.

Stayed there in 2013 and again last month.

Some people find that flying via Dublin, direct to Southampton Airport is a viable option. Both are smaller and more friendly than the big London Airports.

Thanks but I would prefer a non stop.