Celebrity: Eastern Mediterranean & Rome - Very Detailed - Part 2: Embarkation

[CaribbeanBound]

Part II - Embarkation (Departure) From Rome By Ship

A. Civitavecchia, Italy

We flew into Rome's Leonardo da Vinci–Fiumicino Airport (FCO) four days early to explore Rome (details under "Ports") and help avoid the stress of travel delays. We left our hotel at 11:00 am via Rome-Airport.net Shared Shuttle Transport to the port. Cost was €75 per couple with pickup at your hotel and dropoff at the ship. Check their website for rideshares that need more passengers or start a rideshare yourself. This is one of the most efficient ways to arrive. It's a lot more trouble if you arrive by train (requires walking, shuttles or taxi upon arrival) or by bus (dropoff is outside the port with shuttle service to each ship).

 

B. Security Processing and Boarding at Civitavecchia

We arrived at the pier about 12:45 pm, gave our luggage and a tip to a baggage handler and immediately entered the terminal. Security took 5 minutes and we headed to Celebrity Check-in. Priority lines were set up for Suites, Aqua Class, Concierge, Elites and Select members, and a line for all others. In any case, the lines were minimal. Once in line, we waited until being directed to one of about two dozen Celebrity check-in agents. The agent checked our passports, credit card, and embarkation form. Within 10 minutes we had our Seapass (which is used as your ship ID, ship credit card, and door key).

 

Boarding had begun before we arrived, so we headed straight for the ship. A couple more security checks later, we were on the Reflection. An attendant greeted us with champagne. Cabins were already ready, so we headed straight for our cabin.

 

C. Explore The Cabin

We were in cabin 3111, a category 8 Oceanview Stateroom with about 177 square feet of space in the lowest passenger level of the ship --- Deck 3. We were located slightly forward of midships, port side, close to the Forward elevators. The location was great.

 

The cabin was well laid out. Lots of drawers and enough room in the closets and over the bed for our clothes. The bathroom had a toilet, sink, and a spacious glass-enclosed shower. Hangers and small light robes were provided. The small safe had plenty of room. The desk featured a number of informational brochures including Friday's event newsletter "Celebrity Reflection Today" as well as a note informing us of our 6:00 pm dinner seating and table number. Oh yes, and a good sized window.

 

Being Cruise Critic members, we received an invite to the gathering scheduled for later that day. We asked our cabin attendant for a dozen wire hangers, and asked that our mini-fridge be emptied. All of these items were taken care of promptly by our efficient and friendly cabin attendant, Lucy.

 

Although we were on the "port" (left) side of the ship, that doesn't mean we always had the best view of the port. It all depended upon where our specific pier was located in relation to where the most interesting views of the port were. I don't recall having any bad views though.

 

D. Tour of Ship and Search For Food

The ship is gorgeous, and really well laid out with ample sets of stairwells and elevators. 8 elevators can be found midship with 3 additional elevators forward. We found sustenance in the Oceanview Cafe on the Deck 14 for a buffet lunch.

 

E. Dinner in the Main Dining Room - 6:00 pm "First Seating"

Opus Restaurant is the main dining room (MDR), located on Decks 3 and 4. Passengers with assigned dining times (Early or Late) ate on 3 while passengers with anytime dining at upstairs on 4 (with some accommodated overflow on deck 3). The dining room is beautiful.

 

F. Lifeboat Drill

At 4:15 pm (about an hour prior to leaving port), we participated in the mandatory lifeboat drill at our assigned muster station. We were not required to wear lifejackets. We simply had to get to our muster station, watch a humorous lifejacket demonstration, and listen to announcements from Captain Dimitrios Kafetzis and our muster crew.

 

Complete review, parts 1 -12: http://www.lavasurfer.com/info/eastern-mediterranean.html