Review: 8/4/14 Celebrity Reflection, E. Mediterranean

[General Max]

Thanks for the detailed review. We just finished reading it this afternoon and will be on the September 26, 2014 cruise on the Reflection. We are leaving on Wednesday, September 3, 2014 to spend three weeks in Sicily prior to the cruise and will board in Messina on September 27, 2014.

[Jem 12]

A form will arrive in your cabin about half way through the cruise on which you will select your debarkation plans, i.e. whether you're traveling to the airport independently, staying in the city a few days, doing a cruise-sponsored air/hotel package, etc... Simply check the box that you are traveling independently to the airport and note the flight time of 11:50. Also make a note that you would like a 7:00 am debarkation time, or whatever time you are meeting your transport, if that's the case. There is also a box to check off if you want to carry off your own luggage at 6:30, but it's not necessary. You'll have plenty of time.

 

Enjoy your cruise!:D

 

 

What was Rome airport like for queues etc, I have friends who are cruising with us we were going to get a cab at about 8.50 but their flight is at 11.50 do you think this will be too tight.

 

Thank you

 

Elizabeth

[EagleRocker]

Elizabeth: those who have done it can correct me if I am wrong, but from what I have read on the boards, I think your friends would want to be at FCO close to three hours before their flight, due to the numerous lines you will be going through. If it were me, I would think about an 8:00 am cab.

 

Sunluva, fabulous pictures! Thank you for sharing them.

[PathfinderEss]

Thanks for your nice review and glad to hear you had a good time.

[sunluva7]

Thanks for the detailed review. We just finished reading it this afternoon and will be on the September 26, 2014 cruise on the Reflection. We are leaving on Wednesday, September 3, 2014 to spend three weeks in Sicily prior to the cruise and will board in Messina on September 27, 2014.

 

Three weeks in Sicility ... I can only imagine how amazing that will be. Enjoy your extended vacation, and have a fabulous cruise on Reflection!:)

[sunluva7]

What was Rome airport like for queues etc, I have friends who are cruising with us we were going to get a cab at about 8.50 but their flight is at 11.50 do you think this will be too tight.

 

Thank you

 

Elizabeth

 

Elizabeth, I have to agree with EagleRocker on this. Allowing an hour's ride to the airport will only leave you 2 hours. We were off the ship before 7:00 am and on the road by 7:30 a.m. (had to wait for another family traveling with us) and I am glad we were. The lines at FCO were long and very confusing as to which line went where, as the ticket counter wasn't even open yet. Fortunately, we figured it out early enough, and once we got our luggage on the conveyer, security and the rest went very quickly. Had we left the ship any later, I imagine the lines would have been crazy. My advice is to be off the ship by 7:30 at the latest. Now, our transfer in Dublin was another story ... :(

Edited September 1, 2014 by sunluva7

[balle26]

thanks for the review. Do you know if you can get internet in your stateroom?

[sunluva7]

thanks for the review. Do you know if you can get internet in your stateroom?

 

Yes, I purchased a package, and it worked all over the ship including the cabin. It was painfully slow, at times.

[theopup]

Beautiful pictures

[cruiserhal]

Thanks for the great review. We are taking this trip in August 2015 so we printed your review to keep as a reference.

 

One question if you don't mind. Did you book the hotel directly with them or did you use Celebrity or maybe a third party? We want to stay in Rome a few days before the trip and our travel agent can't get any hotel information from Celebrity for next year so we may have to book our own.

 

Hotel Albergo Del Senato looks like a nice place based on the photos on their web site. I sure hope they are current. :) Also, the location looks good.

 

Also, thanks for the reference to RomeCabs. It looks like they provide full transportation services and tours.

 

You raised our interest a little higher.

 

Hal

[cruiserhal]

While on this cruise, I took over 2,500 photos. I've weeded out the rubbish, gathered up the best of the bunch and put them an album entitled "Best of". I hope you enjoy!:D

 

The Best of our Mediterranean Cruise - 8/4/2014

 

My wife and I just enjoyed your pictures. They gave us some memories of past trips, thanks.

 

Hal

[sunluva7]

Thanks for the great review. We are taking this trip in August 2015 so we printed your review to keep as a reference.

 

One question if you don't mind. Did you book the hotel directly with them or did you use Celebrity or maybe a third party? We want to stay in Rome a few days before the trip and our travel agent can't get any hotel information from Celebrity for next year so we may have to book our own.

 

Hotel Albergo Del Senato looks like a nice place based on the photos on their web site. I sure hope they are current. :) Also, the location looks good.

 

Also, thanks for the reference to RomeCabs. It looks like they provide full transportation services and tours.

 

You raised our interest a little higher.

 

Hal

 

Hi Hal - We booked the hotel through our travel agent. Albergo del Senato is not one that the cruise lines use, and honestly, with all the great hotels in Rome, I would not recommend a cruise line hotel, as you will most likely pay more and the selection is really limited. I recommend starting with TripAdvisor and read reviews of hotels within the area of Rome you want to stay in. We originally booked a hotel near the Colosseum (Hotel Lancelot), but found that we wanted to be closer to more of the major sights. Since our two major destinations were the Vatican and the Colosseum, Albergo was right in the middle of the two.

 

RomeCabs was wonderful! There are less expensive means of transport, but at this point in our lives, we're willing to pay extra for convenience and comfort.:)

 

You've got nearly a year of planning to look forward to. Feel free to Email me for help.

[cruiserhal]

Hi Hal - We booked the hotel through our travel agent. Albergo del Senato is not one that the cruise lines use, and honestly, with all the great hotels in Rome, I would not recommend a cruise line hotel, as you will most likely pay more and the selection is really limited. I recommend starting with TripAdvisor and read reviews of hotels within the area of Rome you want to stay in. We originally booked a hotel near the Colosseum (Hotel Lancelot), but found that we wanted to be closer to more of the major sights. Since our two major destinations were the Vatican and the Colosseum, Albergo was right in the middle of the two.

 

RomeCabs was wonderful! There are less expensive means of transport, but at this point in our lives, we're willing to pay extra for convenience and comfort.:)

 

You've got nearly a year of planning to look forward to. Feel free to Email me for help.

 

I think you are right about booking outside the cruise line. Last year we did a 5-day pre-cruise in London using Monograms for hotel & tours and then used a transportation service to get to the ship.

 

Like you said, at least we have a year to plan.

 

Hal

[sunluva7]

I think you are right about booking outside the cruise line. Last year we did a 5-day pre-cruise in London using Monograms for hotel & tours and then used a transportation service to get to the ship.

 

Like you said, at least we have a year to plan.

 

Hal

 

Next summer, we will be doing the same in London before our British Isles cruise.:) What hotel did you stay at in London and would you recommend it?

[KellyElisabeth]

Thank you so much for the wonderful review! My husband (we got married just this past weekend!) and I are going on the same cruise (also traveling from Boston to Rome) in 4 weeks and it sounds just lovely. Would love to hear more about the tender and getting around in Mykonos - we are still trying to figure out what we are doing that day. We are planning to do Santorini on our own, and would also love to know if you have heard anything from other passengers about how the tender was for the regular old regulars without an excursion booked.

 

Loved the review and really appreciate all the info! :)

 

Best, Newlyweds Kelly and Bob

[cruiserhal]

[quote name='sunluva7']Next summer, we will be doing the same in London before our British Isles cruise.:) What hotel did you stay at in London and would you recommend it?[/QUOTE]

We stayed at the Park Plaza Westminster Bridge.
[url]http://www.parkplaza.com/london-hotel-gb-se1-7ut/gbwestmi[/url]

The location was fantastic. We could see the Eye from our room, out the front door was the Westminster Bridge with Big Ben, it was a short walk to a lot of the government offices & museums, and you could even walk to the theater district across one of the other bridges. The hotel itself was fine for our needs. Breakfast was very good and the food in the lobby bar (not the official name but I don't remember it) was good. We only ate there one night and had snacks another. A little expensive but good.

One night we ate at a pub near the Eye which is only 5 minutes away even if you walk slowly.

We would stay there again because of the location was perfect for what we wanted to see. Westminster Abby was excellent and I really enjoyed the Winston Churchill museum. We did day trips offered by Globus (Monograms is part of them) - Stonehenge, William Shakespeare's home, and an evening pub dinner for example. The included tour in our package was fantastic. Only 4 people and the guide knew how to get us close to everything including the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace. We could never have gotten that close on our own.

In my opinion the location is not good for shopping but the tube is only 5 minutes away.

Good luck with your trip. We had 5 days of beautiful weather with no rain! I wish you the same.