Just booked 11 Night Eastern Mediterranean Cruise Onboard Celebrity Reflection

[ss0595]

Hi everyone! My fiance and I just booked our honeymoon on the celebrity reflection for an 11 Night Eastern Mediterranean Cruise. We will be leaving from Rome and would love any advice on excursions for the cruise as well as hotels to stay in Rome for a few nights once the cruise has ended. We will be staying in a concierge class room and would love to hear about any extras concierge class does provide in comparison to a regular balcony room. We have opted for select dining because we liked the flexibility and hope to have a table for two. We are also looking into a premium beverage package so we dont need to worry about drinks on the cruise and wanted to see if it was worth it.

We hope to spend our days at sea relaxing by the pool and hope the ship has some entertainment at night:) This is our first time cruising with celebrity so any advice or information you could give us would be great :)

Thanks so much!

 

My ItineraryDayDatePortArriveDepartDay 1 Mon, Aug 19Rome (Civitavecchia), Italy / 5:00 PMDay 2 Tue, Aug 20At Sea Day 3 Wed, Aug 21Santorini, Greece / Tendered 2:00 PM10:00 PMDay 4 Thu, Aug 22At Sea Day 5 Fri, Aug 23Istanbul, Turkey / Docked 7:00 AMDay 6 Sat, Aug 24Istanbul, Turkey / Docked 1:00 PMDay 7 Sun, Aug 25Ephesus (Kusadasi), Turkey / Docked 10:00 AM7:00 PMDay 8 Mon, Aug 26Mykonos, Greece / Tendered 7:00 AM6:00 PMDay 9 Tue, Aug 27Athens (Piraeus), Greece / Docked 6:00 AM6:00 PMDay 10 Wed, Aug 28At Sea Day 11 Thu, Aug 29Naples, Italy / Docked 7:00 AM6:30 PMDay 12 Fri, Aug 30Rome (Civitavecchia), Italy / 5:00 AM

[Andy]

Hi everyone! My fiance and I just booked our honeymoon on the celebrity reflection for an 11 Night Eastern Mediterranean Cruise. We will be leaving from Rome and would love any advice on excursions for the cruise as well as hotels to stay in Rome for a few nights once the cruise has ended. We will be staying in a concierge class room and would love to hear about any extras concierge class does provide in comparison to a regular balcony room. We have opted for select dining because we liked the flexibility and hope to have a table for two. We are also looking into a premium beverage package so we dont need to worry about drinks on the cruise and wanted to see if it was worth it.

We hope to spend our days at sea relaxing by the pool and hope the ship has some entertainment at night:) This is our first time cruising with celebrity so any advice or information you could give us would be great :)

Thanks so much!

 

My ItineraryDayDatePortArriveDepartDay 1 Mon, Aug 19Rome (Civitavecchia), Italy / 5:00 PMDay 2 Tue, Aug 20At Sea Day 3 Wed, Aug 21Santorini, Greece / Tendered 2:00 PM10:00 PMDay 4 Thu, Aug 22At Sea Day 5 Fri, Aug 23Istanbul, Turkey / Docked 7:00 AMDay 6 Sat, Aug 24Istanbul, Turkey / Docked 1:00 PMDay 7 Sun, Aug 25Ephesus (Kusadasi), Turkey / Docked 10:00 AM7:00 PMDay 8 Mon, Aug 26Mykonos, Greece / Tendered 7:00 AM6:00 PMDay 9 Tue, Aug 27Athens (Piraeus), Greece / Docked 6:00 AM6:00 PMDay 10 Wed, Aug 28At Sea Day 11 Thu, Aug 29Naples, Italy / Docked 7:00 AM6:30 PMDay 12 Fri, Aug 30Rome (Civitavecchia), Italy / 5:00 AM

 

Hi ss0595,

 

Welcome to Cruise Critic !

 

Normally, I'd suggest visiting your Roll Call, where you can meet others on your sailing, and discuss Ports & Excursions. However, there isn't a Roll Call for your sailing yet. In the meantime, you may wish to visit the Ports of Call Forums : http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=19 . If you would like me to start a Roll Call for you, please email me by clicking on the link below.

 

As we do not currently have a Roll Call for your sailing, this thread will remain open. Congratulations on your upcoming Wedding, and Enjoy your Cruise !

[ss0595]

Thank you!

[Essiesmom]

Get a copy of Rick Steves' Mediterranean Cruise Ports. He gives good descriptions of what you can see in each port in the time you have. And tells you how to do it on your own. On his website, he has free audio tours for ipod/mp3 (and maps to print out) for Rome and Pompeii. Take the ship's 'transfer only' excursion to Pompeii and do the audio tour at your own pace. EM

[jacketwatch]

Hi everyone! My fiance and I just booked our honeymoon on the celebrity reflection for an 11 Night Eastern Mediterranean Cruise. We will be leaving from Rome and would love any advice on excursions for the cruise as well as hotels to stay in Rome for a few nights once the cruise has ended. We will be staying in a concierge class room and would love to hear about any extras concierge class does provide in comparison to a regular balcony room. We have opted for select dining because we liked the flexibility and hope to have a table for two. We are also looking into a premium beverage package so we dont need to worry about drinks on the cruise and wanted to see if it was worth it.

We hope to spend our days at sea relaxing by the pool and hope the ship has some entertainment at night:) This is our first time cruising with celebrity so any advice or information you could give us would be great :)

Thanks so much!

 

My ItineraryDayDatePortArriveDepartDay 1 Mon, Aug 19Rome (Civitavecchia), Italy / 5:00 PMDay 2 Tue, Aug 20At Sea Day 3 Wed, Aug 21Santorini, Greece / Tendered 2:00 PM10:00 PMDay 4 Thu, Aug 22At Sea Day 5 Fri, Aug 23Istanbul, Turkey / Docked 7:00 AMDay 6 Sat, Aug 24Istanbul, Turkey / Docked 1:00 PMDay 7 Sun, Aug 25Ephesus (Kusadasi), Turkey / Docked 10:00 AM7:00 PMDay 8 Mon, Aug 26Mykonos, Greece / Tendered 7:00 AM6:00 PMDay 9 Tue, Aug 27Athens (Piraeus), Greece / Docked 6:00 AM6:00 PMDay 10 Wed, Aug 28At Sea Day 11 Thu, Aug 29Naples, Italy / Docked 7:00 AM6:30 PMDay 12 Fri, Aug 30Rome (Civitavecchia), Italy / 5:00 AM

 

Congrats!! You sound like you are walking on air as well you should be. :)

 

1. Santorini is doable on your own if you like. We plan that in Oct. when we stop there. Just take the cable car to the town, roam around and perhaps have dinner in a restaurant there overlooking the sea and watch the sunset.

2. I highly recommend "hello Ephesus." We used them last yr. and are using them again this yr. Check their website to review their excursion. There is a fab restaurant nearby called Bizim Ev. Ask the driver to stop there for lunch. It has a Turkish buffet of all fresh, home made style food that had at least 20! selections. $40.00 for 4 of us last yr. Can't beat it.

3. Mykonos is doable on your own. Very easy.

4. Naples has a lot to choose from. Pompei is the main attraction but you can also tour the Amalfi coast or go to the isle of Capri. We did Pompei 10 yrs. ago and in OCt. we will go to Capri and do a boat tour around the island itself.

5. Istanbul is doable on your own. Most of the major attractions are in the Sultanahmet area and are walkable.

6. Athens. So much to see and do. If you want to take it easy take a cab to the Plaka and explore. There is also a greek museum there as well.

 

I would post this on the port boards to get suggestions for private operators as they are usually way less 4 than ship sponsered tours.

 

Enjoy. :) Larry

[ss0595]

Thanks so much for your advice. I was definitly hoping to find some private tours that are reliable. Hello Ephesus sounds great and all of the sights your suggested. I am glad that we will be able to tour some of the ports at are own pace. :D