Jump to content

LIVE from Celebrity Reflection - 4/27/18 - 10 nt Italy & Greek Isles Cruise


WonderMan3
 Share

Recommended Posts

Hi everyone! My name is Adam and you might remember me from following some of my previous "LIVE from" threads over the past year. Well, I am traveling again and figured I'd share my experiences with you all.

 

Just a little background first for those who hadn't followed my prior threads. I am traveling again with my husband Mike. We live in Provincetown, MA, which is at the very tip of Cape Cod. This will be our 22nd cruise since we started cruising in 2003 and our 8th with Celebrity which has become our preferred cruise line. While we splurged a bit during our last cruise in January with a Royal Suite we are doing a Sky Suite this time around. This was actually a "bonus" cruise for us of sorts. We are members of Celebrity's Blue Chip Club and last May during a cruise on Constellation we earned a certificate for a free 7 night cruise in a Sky Suite based on our play. When I called Blue Chip to set up this cruise I asked if we could use our certificate as value towards the 10 night cruise and pay the difference. They did allow that but the monetary value they offered to us for that free Sky Suite was only $1750 per person, or $3500 total. This Italy & Greece cruise was pricing at close to $10K though for a Sky Suite so that would've left us owing over $6K which was just not in the budget. That's when I asked about applying the incentive we had earned from a prior Eclipse cruise that we had yet to use. Blue Chip had just changed the rules for their program and eliminated the earning of money incentives to use towards future cruises, but if you had already earned one prior to the change then you could still use it. But when I asked about ours they said it was gone because we had accepted perks from the casino onboard Constellation related to our Blue Chip player level. Now I had specifically asked the Casino Manager onboard Constellation about using our incentive and if it conflicted with the new membership perks but he never gave me a clear answer. I was highly annoyed at this point and said that no one had told us if we used the onboard perks (which was $1000 each in free play plus dining/laundry/spa credits) that we would lose our incentive which was between $3-4K. The agent on the phone put me on hold for a bit and then came back with good news. She said she could give me an S2 cabin on this Greece & Italy cruise and we would just have to pay the taxes which amounted to $170 total. I was thrilled and very appreciative that they resolved this issue in a positive way for us. So this is essentially a "free" cruise for us, but of course once we started booking our airfare, private excursions and our post-cruise activities, it has definitely become no longer free!

 

We chose this cruise primarily because we had to take something that left before mid-May when our certificate expired. We did a May cruise on Constellation last year to Italy and Spain and absolutely loved it since the weather was perfect and there were few tourist crowds. We're hoping for the same again with this cruise. We have been to all the ports before save for Rhodes and Messina (although we did do Catania in Sicily last year) but I've still been able to find plenty of things for us to do differently than our previous visits. We are most excited about the Greek Isles as we haven't been there since our first Europe cruise back in 2007; Santorini is the most beautiful place we have ever seen and we have been eager to return. This will be our first sailing on Reflection, although we were on Silhouette in January so this will be pretty similar.

 

We fly out tomorrow night from Newark, New Jersey. This is going to be about a 6 hour drive for us. Normally we fly out of Boston which is two hours away, but the only option for us there to get non-stop to Rome was on Alitalia, and when I booked this last year they had just gone into bankruptcy and travel sites were warning people not to book with them. So we wound up on Norwegian Airlines in their Premium Class for only $1100 per person with non-stops to/from Newark and Rome. This is our first time flying with them but have heard really good things. I especially like that they have the extended recline seats which should make the flight more comfortable.

 

We almost didn't wind up going on this trip up until a week ago due to some medical issues that came up for me. A few weeks back I started getting ringing in my ears. I went to the doctor who said I had a lot of fluid built up behind my eardrums in the eustachian tubes and they were starting to get infected. So after some antibiotics, steroids and antihistamines, the infection went away and the fluid has reduced but I still have some ringing. Doctor said I should be okay to fly now and my eardrums shouldn't burst or anything extreme like that. I am going to pick up some Earplanes ear plugs tomorrow on our way to the airport to help my ears adapt to the air pressure changes during take off and landing. Fingers crossed it goes okay. I've flown before with clogged sinuses and it can be extremely painful and has at times taken hours for my ears to clear after the flight.

 

Well, it's off to finish packing and then we are on our way tomorrow! If anyone has any questions about Reflection or the places we're visiting I'll try to answer as many as I can along the way. Hope you can follow along with me. :)

26840701_10214918497064216_5525115006375027688_o.jpg.2ff2a4d59ee3392c3fa775c7c950fcfa.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Looking forward to your review we will be on a 10 day Reflection Italy Greece cruise in July (yes i know it's hot and lots of people but its the only time we can leave work) We too are flying Norwegian Premier Class for the first time Oakland non-stop to Rome so i'm looking forward to hearing how that goes.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Looking forward to your review we will be on a 10 day Reflection Italy Greece cruise in July (yes i know it's hot and lots of people but its the only time we can leave work) We too are flying Norwegian Premier Class for the first time Oakland non-stop to Rome so i'm looking forward to hearing how that goes.

 

I think we're probably on your sailing! (20 July?)

 

Yep, I'm a teacher and have to wait until school's out and just deal with the crowds and the heat. On the bright side, there are usually some reviews like this one, earlier in the season, to help me plan and daydream.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hi guys... looking forward to your review... we did the same itinerary last september and loved everything about the ports and the Ship... we’ll be on board just after you... regarding the Norwegian Airlines premium seats, we did it last year for a flight Oslo-San Juan and it was OK... it helped a lot even not being a full business class...

Wish you safe travels and a lot of relaxing-fun time on board..,

J.-

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

Link to comment
Share on other sites

So our drive to Newark was pretty painless. Took us only 7 hours including a couple stops for something to eat and bathroom breaks. Traffic was relatively minimal especially going through New York City. We made a parking reservation at The Parking Spot just outside of Newark Airport. With a AAA discount it was around $15 a day plus tax. They guided us into a spot right as we pulled in and a shuttle was there immediately to take us over to the terminal. We arrived at the Norwegian check-in right as they were opening. Since we have Premium seats there was a separate check-in line with no waiting. Now we’re just relaxing in the El Al lounge, which we get free access to with our ticket. Was pretty crowded in here when we arrived but is slowly starting to empty out. Our boarding time isn’t until 10:30pm so we have a good amount of time to kill. They have a variety of complimentary foods (salad, pasta, fish, potatoes, cookies, etc.) to choose from as well as complimentary beverages including beer, wine and liquor which is a nice perk.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hi guys... looking forward to your review... we did the same itinerary last september and loved everything about the ports and the Ship... we’ll be on board just after you... regarding the Norwegian Airlines premium seats, we did it last year for a flight Oslo-San Juan and it was OK... it helped a lot even not being a full business class...

Wish you safe travels and a lot of relaxing-fun time on board..,

J.-

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

 

 

 

Thanks! I had read reviews and knew it wouldn’t be a full business class experience but it’s definitely better than being crammed into an economy seat for 8-10 hours.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Looking forward to your review we will be on a 10 day Reflection Italy Greece cruise in July (yes i know it's hot and lots of people but its the only time we can leave work) We too are flying Norwegian Premier Class for the first time Oakland non-stop to Rome so i'm looking forward to hearing how that goes.

 

 

 

We did an August departure the last time we did Greek Isles and while we had a great time it did get really hot (100 degrees on a couple days) and the ports like Santorini were really crowded. Now we try to keep our Europe travels to May or September to avoid the crowds and enjoy more comfortable temperatures. It’s a bummer when your schedule doesn’t allow anything but summer travel. I’m sure you’ll still have fun though!

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Following along, we are on this same cruise on June 8th. Have only sailed on Reflection in the Caribbean, love it. Really lucky that we will be in Santorini on our wedding anniversary. Looking forward to your review...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Following along, we are on this same cruise on June 8th. Have only sailed on Reflection in the Caribbean, love it. Really lucky that we will be in Santorini on our wedding anniversary. Looking forward to your review...

On the 8th cruise here also, same as you, subscribed here now.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Did a Eastern Med cruise on the Reflection a few years ago. It's a great ship and agree that Santorini is one of the most beautiful ports in the world. Have a wonderful journey. Will be following your posts wearing green!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Following along. Very jealous, we did the same cruise May 2 years ago. Perfect weather for the first time to Europe, and met some great people which is always a bonus. Have a wonderful time.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

Link to comment
Share on other sites

So we have arrived in Italy! Flight was pretty uneventful. We left the private lounge around 9:45pm as boarding was to start at 10:30pm. Got to security and the line was surprisingly long at such a late hour. Because we were in Premium Class we were able to bypass the first line so that saved us a good 15-20 minutes. The next line only took us less than 10 minutes to get through. Got to the gate with 30 minutes to spare. Boarding wound up being delayed by 30 minutes though due to another flight deplaning. Boarding was quick once it started. Since we were in Premium we got to board in the first group.

 

We were in the first row so had no seats in front of us. The seats were an extended recline, not the full flat beds like Business and First Class but still much better than Economy. The only negative is that the foot rest is a bit uncomfortable and I sometimes found myself putting my feet on the wall to stretch them out. They provide you with a blanket and headphones but no pillow. I knew that in advance so Mike and I had bought those neck rest pillows which worked great. The service was pleasant. Since we were in the first row we always got served first. They start you out before take off with a choice of juice, water or champagne. Once in the air they do a drink service with complimentary alcohol options. Mike and I didn’t want to get buzzed for this flight so we opted for water and juices. Next came dinner service which was in a box. There was an entree (choice of beef,chicken or fish) plus a small cheese and tomato salad and 3 macarons for dessert. It was all fine but about on par with the Economy meals I’ve had on international flights. After dinner they dimmed the lights and everyone basically went to sleep. The one negative about being in the first row was that there is a flight tracker screen on the wall that stays on throughout the flight. When the cabin lights dim that stays brightly lit and it was shining right over me. I had to pull my hoodie over my eyes in order to doze off. I never was really able to go to sleep but was able to rest my eyes for a good 2-3 hours of the flight. Mike pretty much slept the whole way though. About 90 minutes before landing they brought the lights up and began a breakfast service which was another box with some mixed fruit, ham, cheese and a roll; nothing special. There is in flight entertainment on a screen that lifts up from your seat but neither of us checked out the options as we wanted to rest during the flight.

 

The flight itself was pretty smooth. This was my first time on one of the Dreamliner planes and it definitely was quieter than other planes. We had a few bumps along the way mainly when crossing the Alps to the point that they closed the bathrooms and asked the crew to sit down, but that only lasted for about 15 minutes. Now my big concern for the flight was my ears and how they would react to the changes in altitude. I tried to use the Earplanes but could not get them to have a good seal inside my ear canals so I just risked it without them. Take off wasn’t bad at all. I just kept swallowing and chewing gum. On the descent though it was more difficult. I had to yawn and swallow constantly and almost couldn’t keep up with the changes. But my ears stayed mainly unclogged and with no pain at all. Now on the ground post-flight they have been ringing a bit louder but hopefully that will quiet down by tomorrow. Overall I think this was worth the price (final verdict after the return flight). It was $1100 round trip for each of us and we definitely saw the value with the reclining seat, pre-flight lounge access and priority access through security. This is probably the most comfortable body-wise that I’ve ever felt after an international flight; normally I’m all knots and feeling very tense and stressed out.

 

We arrived in Rome a few minutes early. On to Passport Control which took about 15 minutes to get through and then waiting around 20-25 minutes for our bags. We hit the ATM to get some Euros as we needed them for the driver we had hired. We used RomeInLimo to transport us from the airport. The driver was right outside baggage claim with a sign waiting for us as we exited. We then had a bit of a walk with him out to the garage where the limo drivers have to park. He didn’t speak much English so we really had no conversation with him. The car was a nice Mercedes in excellent condition. He had bottles of water for us, candies and even chargers for our phones which was great. The ride from the airport to our hotel in Civitavecchia took about 40 minutes as he made excellent time. The cost for the transfer was 160 Euro plus tip. He helped us with our bags into the hotel where the porter took over.90387142bc481d1324643a5cb141b5c0.jpg1cd57d81c94165774ade7760c3aebadc.jpg3a75c3b9ff1673ce670343f7c076a4a4.jpgc3534deb10da84422ad6bdf6a3c91fba.jpg

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Please sign in to comment

You will be able to leave a comment after signing in



Sign In Now
 Share

  • Forum Jump
    • Categories
      • Welcome to Cruise Critic
      • New Cruisers
      • Cruise Lines “A – O”
      • Cruise Lines “P – Z”
      • River Cruising
      • ROLL CALLS
      • Digital Photography & Cruise Technology
      • Special Interest Cruising
      • Cruise Discussion Topics
      • UK Cruising
      • Australia & New Zealand Cruisers
      • Canadian Cruisers
      • North American Homeports
      • Ports of Call
      • Cruise Conversations
×
×
  • Create New...