megr1125

It's an acceptable hotel but there is =NOTHING= around to eat, except the Bistro at the Courtyard. It was the last hotel (Marriott flavor) to reopen after being closed for a long time during the pandemic. You can order delivery but pickings are kinda slim. I stayed there once and really didn't like it and I am a Marriott snob. I thought it was dirty and the staff was not pleasant. I much prefer the Courtyard (either of them actually-the one in Elizabeth, south of EWR or the one adjacent to the SHS) or the Residence Inn Elizabeth. I'm also not a fan of the Fairfield Inn either. The Courtyards both have a lot of flight crews so, IMO they tend to be a little quieter though YMMV based on day of the week. The Courtyard and Residence Inn EWR/Elizabeth at least have the option of the outlet mall across the street, as well as a mediocre iHop and a mediocre Ruby Tuesday. I stayed at the full service Marriott and it was just ok. The restaurant/bar was a nightmare-both staffing, food quality and cleanliness (same for the 'concierge' lounge which is a section of the restaurant. They did comp my meal and remade it for me. Also, there's a Renaissance that was decent. Haven't stayed there in a while. Was due to stay a couple weeks ago after my flight home from Rome but due to a bird strike, and a missed connection, I was rebooked to JFK HTH

Yes, we had to wear masks into Italy a couple weeks ago, but not flying home. However, keep checking as this could change.

Same for me re: Amtrak or NJ Transit to NYC. That said, one tree limb on the catenary or one trespasser and you're SOL. Hence, even though I'm an hour from the port, I'm going a day ahead when I sail from NYC or Cape Liberty.

I had no issues when I booked, I was able to select the flights I wanted and choose my seats so no real problem there. My whole issue is that they really suck at communicating and it needs to be fixed. I only wanted to share my experience here in that the carriers did their job and for that, I'm very happy. I knew what I was buying and I'm impressed that things went smoothly. FCO, BTW was a hot mess express. At least I had fast track but wow, security's a bleep show. A LOT of people missed their flights. I got there about 50 minutes before check in even opened and I am glad I did.

My experience with Flights by Celebrity Yes, I know the ups and downs of booking air through the cruise line. That said, by booking connecting flights through Celebrity, I was able to afford business class between EWR and FCO for my recently completed cruise on Celebrity Reflection. I was due to fly out on May 9th at 5:30 PM on SAS via CPH. At 8:30 AM, I my phone was going crazy with notifications that my flight was cancelled. I do this for a living so I wasn’t TOO crazy (ok, a little. If a client’s plans go south, I’m good. My own? Eh, pass me a glass of wine.) I called SAS on one phone and X on the other. Celebrity’s emergency day of travel department was useless, as was the email they sent me (I pasted it below!) Celebrity still would have me on hold and I’ve been home for a few days. Anyway, SAS said “Oh, Mrs., no problem. The only issue is you now leave 10 minutes later. BUT you get in 5 hours sooner since we moved you to the 5:45 PM nonstop on United to FCO from Newark and you’re still in business class. WHEW! Again, CRICKETS from Celebrity. I was happy to cool my heels in the Polaris lounge at EWR for 5 hours or so since UA allowed me to check in and check bags very early. I also like to arrive at airports ridiculously early but that is just me. (BTW, while I'm not a lounge expert, I thought this one was super nice and the sit-down restaurant a nice touch. The new UA lounge opened last week but I haven't seen it yet.) On my return, my FCO-LHR on BA was delayed around 2 hours or so due to a bird strike when the aircraft landed in Rome. Again, no issue for me, safety first and the crew, gate agents and turnaround supervisor did their best to keep us updated. Of course, there were a LOT of angry people but yelling at those who have no control over birds or weather or whatever is just wrong.) However, due to this delay, I would miss my connection at LHR to EWR. I didn’t find this out until we were in the air to London. Again, Celebrity sends the same vague email and did NOTHING to fix the situation. BA rebooked me into JFK which is a royal pain as it’s hard to get home to central NJ even though it’s only about 75 miles. (I do not understand the phrase “pack light”). I had MAYBE 35 minutes to connect at LHR including getting a new boarding pass, passport control, security and riding the tram to the correct set of gates. They gave me a 10GBP voucher for food that I wasn’t able to use-no time. Thankfully, I was able to eat on the plane. British Airways had a special rep with a stack of boarding passes at the customer service desk and mine was all set for me. Others, who’d missed the last flight out to their destination likely got housed in London. The line was 50 people long. I would rather have been housed in London and given a choice of airports. I would have selected PHL, BWI or even IAD over JFK as I can easily access Amtrak from those to get home. I paid for my own hotel near JFK and asked BA about paying to get me to EWR. Long story short, I got the RIGHT person as they did (even though at first, the voucher was for the wrong amount, and I had to get a new one the next day. That’s another story, I’ll spare you.) The agent who helped me at JFK said that had I not already arranged my hotel, she could probably have gotten it covered for me but I’ll try to get travel insurance to pay (or BA, even though my total delay was a LITTLE under what they consider “late”). Again, I knew what I was buying but I am very lucky that, aside from ending up at JFK, things went fairly smoothly. My issue is directly with Flights by Celebrity. I got this same email for each cancellation and NEVER got my updated info from them. I did send an email, as well as copied what they sent me, to my sales manager who agreed that this is not acceptable. Funny thing is, I’d noticed the outbound SAS flight being cancelled a few times and I made a list of 20 options (there were literally 3 times that many I think) to get me to FCO in time. (I flew in 3 days ahead of a cruise). They put me on the one that was the top of my list, which is funny in hindsight as I said to myself, “there’s no way they’ll send you nonstop if they cancel your flight.” Yet they did. Perhaps it worked out well for me due to EU rules and me being on foreign carriers. I just wanted to share my frustration with the horrible communication from the cruise line. And my advice is knowing your options, get on the phone, be nice, be patient and be flexible. I got the email below one hour after I knew the flight was cancelled, and 45 minutes after SAS told me I was rebooked. Passenger(s): MEGR1125 Flights By Celebrity Record Locator: Scandinavian Airlines Booking Locator: Cruise Booking Confirmation Number(s): Ship Name: REFLECTION Sail Date: 13MAY22 Dear Guest, As part of our commitment to ensure a seamless travel experience, we would like to advise that your itinerary has been affected by an airline schedule change for your upcoming Flights By Celebrity reservation. This change could include anything, but not limited to, flight cancellation, departure/arrival time, aircraft type, or flight number. We are in receipt of this change and will work on it as soon as possible, however due to industry irregularities, we are delayed in meeting our targets for finalizing these revisions. We have prioritized these changes based on travel dates, but rest assured we will action all impacted schedule changes as soon as possible. There is no need to call us as we are currently experiencing extremely high call volumes. We will automatically send the updated flight details to your email once finalized. The timeline below outlines when you can expect to receive your updated flight details: Travel within 30 days – 48 hours turnaround Travel within 60 days – 7 day turnaround Travel greater than 60 days – 30 day turnaround We appreciate your patience and understanding as we continue to work with the airline carriers in accommodating your flights. Sincerely, Flights By Celebrity