Wow

[johncandt]

Before booking our first cruise i read and hopefully digested a whole pile of information from these forums and i still dont know if we have done the right thing! We had booked eastern Med cruise Sept 2014 in Concierge and received a free Classic drinks package , after reading comments about dining in Blu which as a foodie we thought sounded great we upgraded to Aqua in cabin 1621, heaven knows if we have got it right .We are great planners of our trips abroad but have never worked so hard and read so much bumf !! any advice re excursions , dining or any of the other million topics we might need to be aware of these two cruise virgins would be extremely grateful, if your on the same trip we might even buy you a drink !!!! John C and T

[Project_gal]

John C and T

 

Welcome to the world of cruising!

 

First, I suggest that you join your Roll Call. I would have posted the link but you have not given enough details of your cruise. However, if you have found Cruise Critic, I am sure that you can find the Roll Calls.

 

The one disadvantage of booking Aqua Class and eating in Blu is that you are more likely to be seated on your own table rather than sharing with others. You can still share in Blu but you would need to let the maitre d' know that is you preference and hope others want to share as well. Sharing your table on your first cruise is great because you will learn things from your tablemates - all the things that you didn't know to ask about beforehand!

 

As far as excursions are concerned, do a little Internet searching - I usually just put in the port name followed by "cruise port". This will usually bring up information about where you dock and what is available there. I say thsi because you are from the UK and many on your Roll Call will be north Americans. You and they are likely to have a different perspective on Med ports. If you want to see somewhere in particular you have proabably taken a budget flight and spent a weekend there. For many north Americans, it may be their only opportunity to see the area. You may just want to wander close to the port.

 

Hope that is some help.

 

Sue

[MicCanberra]

Welcome to CC and to cruising, as Project gal has said join the roll call and research, research, research, it all makes the planning that much more fun and the cruise more enjoyable. Good luck.:D

[themutis]

Welcome!

 

We love Aqua Class and especially love Blu. I love breakfast at Blu, it's really very nice! We are typically very social at home, so on vacation we take the time to reconnect and Blu allows you the flexibility to eat alone or join others. We will typically eat alone most nights.... that being said, the tables are fairly close and conversations often get started. We have also dined with others we've met during the cruise. So the dinner experience is all about what you are looking for.

 

I enjoy the Persian Gardens (DH does not :)) and we appreciated the water in the room. I know it's a little thing, but I am constantly drinking water so I appreciate it.

 

Please see my review of our Athens to Istanbul trip last Sept (link is in my signature). While we did not take that trip on Celebrity many of the ports are the same and you can see how we occupied our day.

 

Have a great trip - it's a very nice itinerary.

[phoenix_dream]

There is also a ports of call section of these boards where you can find specific information about the ports you are going to see. If you don't see the info you want (in that area or any other), and can't find it by searching, just post a question. There are many of us on these boards who are long-time Celebrity cruisers and there is nothing we enjoy more than talking about it:D

[miched]

It seems as if you worry too much about making your first and one cruise to be "perfect".

 

Relax amd enjoy the whole experience as it comes. Don't rely too much on what other people enjoy or like to do. We have found that chasing after others' to die for or things not to miss were disappointing and many times a waste of time.

 

Our first cruise was because of a commerical that I heard on the radio. It was a 21 day Hawian cruise tour repositioning. There was not much planning other than me calling my wife at work and telling her to ask for weeks weeks off for a cruise. It surprised the *#!%! out of her. We didn't know anything but had such a great time that we booked another cruise 6 months later and have been sailing since.

 

It is OK to plan but don't set anything in stone and remember that you need to leave a little for the next time.

 

There are no bad dining choices. It all depends on what you like. Relax and enjoy your cruise, the classic drink package will surely help but you may want to upgrade for more selectons and you can always do that any time during the cruise.

 

 

Cheers!

 

 

.

 

 

.

[jomf]

Before booking our first cruise i read and hopefully digested a whole pile of information from these forums and i still dont know if we have done the right thing! We had booked eastern Med cruise Sept 2014 in Concierge and received a free Classic drinks package , after reading comments about dining in Blu which as a foodie we thought sounded great we upgraded to Aqua in cabin 1621, heaven knows if we have got it right .We are great planners of our trips abroad but have never worked so hard and read so much bumf !! any advice re excursions , dining or any of the other million topics we might need to be aware of these two cruise virgins would be extremely grateful, if your on the same trip we might even buy you a drink !!!! John C and T

 

We took our first Celebrity ( but not first ) cruise two years ago. We were in a Suite so ate in Blu most nights and for breakfast. The tables are laid out for two mostly, however, as others have said they are very close together so many conversations start! Your dining will be anytime, so you can just go to dinner when you feel like it ( within the opening hours of course!)

It is worth joining your roll call, which you will find from the button above on the right hand side.

 

I would say please don't take everything people say as being completely right. Everyone is different and what works for one may not be good for another person. I research via Google, these boards and by talking to friends etc.

 

The dress code will rear it's head. On formal nights ( two week cruise there are normally 3 formal nights) we found that people wore mostly dress suits/dark suits with a tie for the men. For the women the norm seems to be cocktail type dresses/trousers/sparkly top. As you are dining in Blu the code is smart casual every night, so you can dress less formally. which ever way you decide you won't be alone in that choice.

The other evenings are smart casual, jeans, trousers etc.

Day wear for us is normally shorts and tshirts.

 

If you give us a list of your ports then people will be able to suggest excursions etc.

 

Hope that helps a bit!!

 

Ask any questions, most people on here don't bite!

[suec12]

Over there, have you heard of Rick Steves? He is a US travel "guru" that some folks love but others hate. I've taken alot of trips with Rick, well with his books in hand. He has alot of casual, fun (IMO) travel guides for "travel thru the back door" - not super high end OR budget. Anyways, he recently did a Rick Steves Med. Ports Guide even tho for years he was much more an advocate for train or on your own travel in Europe, NOT cruises. Recently he took several cruises, one on Celebrity, and now has written a very helpful guide for port visits. I think you will find this guide to be super helpful - he is very good at assessing where to spend your limited time in port, detailing logistics if you want to explore on your own, as well as listing local guides if you want to go that route. Between that book and making connections on your roll call, you should be able to plan a near perfect first cruise experience. You've made a good start by booking Celebrity!

[wisteria1019]

Take a deep breath, relax and enjoy your decisions. You are going on your first cruise. It is all magic. Don't overthink, overplan.

 

Enjoy,

Dawn

[TeaBag]

Welcome to Cruise Critic and the wonderful world of cruising. I'm betting this cruise will be the first of many for you. Our first cruise was in the Med and we've done three there since, along with many others. We, too, love Blu and agree with others that you can talk to the people seated beside you or you can just acknowledge them and enjoy your dinner for two.

 

Don't worry about making the perfect decision in all aspects of your cruise. You have already made a good one in choosing Celebrity and Cruise Critic.

[johncandt]

Thank you all for your welcome and your info,Themutis your site is great easy to pick out things we might like to do , we loved the little beach where you had lunch sounded perfect .we have not got any firm plans just a whole lot of maybes! its a holiday so going with the moment is what we sometimes like , we have visited most of the countries in Europe but this will be from a different perspective, as we love all types of food and drink caution will be the word or a trip to the fitness centre every morning!We are particularly looking foward to Sicily as this cruise has replaced a planned 2 week holiday there so we intend to have at least one excursion.We have noticed a number of people doing their own planning as regards excursions so research is required on our part.The roll call seems a great idea and i am sure as it gets nearer the time more people will join in...our itinerary is as follows ...Messina,Athens,Ephesus,Rhodes,Santorini,Mykonos,Naples, Rome

[harrylime]

Our first cruise (and first Celebrity cruise) was to the same ports in June of 2010. Sometimes we booked an excursion and sometimes we mad our own plans. Since it was our first cruise, we booked the excursions through Celebrity. On subsequent trips, we shopped around for excursions that matched our particular interests.

 

In Sicily, we took an excursion to Taormina. This was lovely, but felt rushed. You might be able to find a private tour that allows you more time at your destination.

 

We decided to do Athens on our own and were very happy with the decision. You can walk to a train that will take you firm the port to Athens (about 30 minutes or so), but a taxi to the train would be quicker. When you get off the train, you are close to the ancient agora and the Parthenon. People who took the ship's excursion told us that they felt rushed and didn't have enough time to see what they wanted. We had a leisurely day and saw a lot and had a lovely lunch.

 

At Mykonos, we did the excursion to Delos. You can only get there by boat, so you will need to go with a tour group - private or the ship's. Delos was great, did not feel rushed, and we had plenty of time in the afternoon to explore Mykonos. Still, if you're only there for one day, you can't see everything.

 

On Santorini, we decided to be adventurous --- we rented a car and drove around the island on our own. It wasnt expensive at all. This gave us plenty of time to explore. The ruins were closed during our trip.

 

Rhodes is small enough to see it on your own, if you don't want to purchase an excursion. We explored the back streets, saw some of the major attractions and had a nice lunch.

 

If you want to go to Ephesus, you will need an excursion or some othe way to get there --- it's pretty far from the port at Kusidasi. We booked the excursion to Ephesus, Dydima and Miletis (pardon the spelling). It was wonderful.

 

There are a number of lovely excursions at Naples. We took a boat ride along the Amalfi Coast (to the city of Amalfi) and a visit to Pompeii.

 

This is a wonderful area of the world. There is a lot to do and see --- and, of course, you can't do everything. Choose what you think interests you the most and then enjoy it. You can always come back.

 

Have a wonderful cruise!

[islandchick]

We didn't enjoy Blu. We felt it was very overrated and don't quite understand what all the hype was about. The breakfast is decent but limited. I feel you would be better off spending the extra money on specialty restaurants (although I would skip Qsine). The specialty restaurants are very good and fit for foodies.

[jomf]

We didn't enjoy Blu. We felt it was very overrated and don't quite understand what all the hype was about. The breakfast is decent but limited. I feel you would be better off spending the extra money on specialty restaurants (although I would skip Qsine). The specialty restaurants are very good and fit for foodies.

 

We ate in Qsine twice, loved it both times.

 

I think you should do as we do and try everything you like the look of, then don't go again if you don't like it!

 

As we are all different ( thankfully), so I would suggest you go with an open mind and enjoy.

[emcee207]

We took a fun excursion while in Sicily. We were on a smaller ship, Azamara Quest, so we had Taormina as a port, not Messina. We took the "Godfather" tour which take you to the little mountain town of Savona where some scenes in the Godfather were filmed. The small restaurant/bar where Michael asks the father of Appolonia if he can see her. Lots of fun, gorgeous scenery everywhere. Savona is, I think, north of Taormina so might not be as far from Messina. Do some checking around, you'd enjoy it IMHO.