Celebrity Beyond Rome to Rome May 7-15, 2023 - A Frugal Review

[perioddrama]

Just some thoughts from a frugal traveler.

 

There are numerous reviews about the Celebrity Beyond ship so no need to rehash it here. Will say that the crew and ship was superb.

 

No packages - just bare bones interior room. More than sufficient space for the two of us.

 

We didn't do MDR or any of the specialty restaurants. Buffet was more than sufficient for us. Grill and pizza were fine too. Free pastries from the Café al Bacio (no need to have a drinks package or order any drinks from there).

 

Shuttle to the airport post cruise. This can be ordered from Guest Services - current price was $71.95 per person. Did not need the more pricier private/shared shuttles from Rome to FCO. Made the 1030 flight (Guest Services says it's at your own risk since they can't guarantee that we'll make it). Walk off with your luggage at 0630 (there was a long line to get off). Don't need to wait for the luggage tag number time since there'll be a line to get off anyway. Make sure you find the bus with the correct number and get on the first bus that's loading (our time and terminal had 3 separate buses). If you don't know your terminal number, Guest Services can look up that information when you order the shuttle. 1 hour from port to FCO. Made with plenty of time to go through security.

 

Recommend paying for the shuttle to Dubrovnik. It's walkable, but there's inclines and slight hills going from the port to the city. Well worth the $12.00 shuttle. Just note, their "all day shuttle pass" just means that you can come back at any time; it is not a multiple back and forth shuttle.

 

Naples - We did a Mondo Shared Tours (Rick Steves). Well organized and worth paying for. Postiano (pricey), Sorrento (2 easily accessible and cheap WCs; cheaper than Postiano for souvenirs), and Pompeii.

 

Temp in the ship was fine. I tend to run cold but no need for a sweater/jacket on the ship.

 

Well worth saving money for the trip.

 

[kwokpot]

18 hours ago, perioddrama said:

Shuttle to the airport post cruise. This can be ordered from Guest Services - current price was $71.95 per person.

First of all thank you for your concise but informative review. With regards to Port to airport transfers I just want to mention that there lower cost options than what you paid. There are private transfer companies that offer shared transfers for less than what the ship charges, and even a private transfer for two is only about $172 so less than $30 for two. If your traveling group is more than two persons than a private shuttle would actually be CHEAPER than taking the ship's transfer service (Ex. for 4 people private transfer is $194 vs $288 for ship's shared service).

I'm just trying to further your take on a frugal cruise experience for other readers of your thread. 

[NutsAboutGolf]

Using Transeero (website and app) was able to get a private transport 100 Euros each way which includes tips; they even had free wifi.  This is same price for one or two people and was only a bit more to add a 3rd person, didn't have a third person so can't specifically recall how much but was cheap.  I'd argue even if you're solo, splurging on your own private ride where they're waiting to greet you while holding a sign with your names is well worth the extra $36 USD (100 Euros = $108 USD) to not be on a bus

Edited May 18, 2023 by NutsAboutGolf

[perioddrama]

4 hours ago, kwokpot said:

First of all thank you for your concise but informative review. With regards to Port to airport transfers I just want to mention that there lower cost options than what you paid. There are private transfer companies that offer shared transfers for less than what the ship charges, and even a private transfer for two is only about $172 so less than $30 for two. If your traveling group is more than two persons than a private shuttle would actually be CHEAPER than taking the ship's transfer service (Ex. for 4 people private transfer is $194 vs $288 for ship's shared service).

I'm just trying to further your take on a frugal cruise experience for other readers of your thread. 

Yes there is that option if your group is larger than 2 but for us, it was only 2. And of course, we could have done more effort to find others to ride share.

 

Also, the ride shares tend to prefer cash. If you do credit card to the driver and/or site, they will take on a certain percentage.

[perioddrama]

3 hours ago, NutsAboutGolf said:

Using Transeero (website and app) was able to get a private transport 100 Euros each way which includes tips; they even had free wifi.  This is same price for one or two people and was only a bit more to add a 3rd person, didn't have a third person so can't specifically recall how much but was cheap.  I'd argue even if you're solo, splurging on your own private ride where they're waiting to greet you while holding a sign with your names is well worth the extra $36 USD (100 Euros = $108 USD) to not be on a bus

Thanks for sharing that Transeero. Never heard of it before but now have so thank you.

 

[Crazy planning mom]

Always glad to hear a budget review!  Thanks for your great review.  We enjoy the MDR for dinner which is complimentary.

[mahdnc]

On 5/17/2023 at 2:51 PM, perioddrama said:

Just some thoughts from a frugal traveler.

 

There are numerous reviews about the Celebrity Beyond ship so no need to rehash it here. Will say that the crew and ship was superb.

 

No packages - just bare bones interior room. More than sufficient space for the two of us.

 

We didn't do MDR or any of the specialty restaurants. Buffet was more than sufficient for us. Grill and pizza were fine too. Free pastries from the Café al Bacio (no need to have a drinks package or order any drinks from there).

 

Shuttle to the airport post cruise. This can be ordered from Guest Services - current price was $71.95 per person. Did not need the more pricier private/shared shuttles from Rome to FCO. Made the 1030 flight (Guest Services says it's at your own risk since they can't guarantee that we'll make it). Walk off with your luggage at 0630 (there was a long line to get off). Don't need to wait for the luggage tag number time since there'll be a line to get off anyway. Make sure you find the bus with the correct number and get on the first bus that's loading (our time and terminal had 3 separate buses). If you don't know your terminal number, Guest Services can look up that information when you order the shuttle. 1 hour from port to FCO. Made with plenty of time to go through security.

 

Recommend paying for the shuttle to Dubrovnik. It's walkable, but there's inclines and slight hills going from the port to the city. Well worth the $12.00 shuttle. Just note, their "all day shuttle pass" just means that you can come back at any time; it is not a multiple back and forth shuttle.

 

Naples - We did a Mondo Shared Tours (Rick Steves). Well organized and worth paying for. Postiano (pricey), Sorrento (2 easily accessible and cheap WCs; cheaper than Postiano for souvenirs), and Pompeii.

 

Temp in the ship was fine. I tend to run cold but no need for a sweater/jacket on the ship.

 

Well worth saving money for the trip.

 

 

Thank you for posting.  We do not get enough of these kinds of reviews.

[RichYak]

22 hours ago, kwokpot said:

There are private transfer companies that offer shared transfers for less than what the ship charges, and even a private transfer for two is only about $172 so less than $30 for two.

Definitely a typo or math error in this sentence, I just don't know which number is incorrect.

[kwokpot]

1 minute ago, RichYak said:

Definitely a typo or math error in this sentence, I just don't know which number is incorrect.

Neither, it's an incomplete statement. I was comparing the prices for two from Civitavecchia to FCO on a private transfer (Romecabs charges 160 Euros or $173) or the ship's transfer which is about $144/2 for a price differential of $30 or $15/pp, which TO ME is worth taking a private transfer. 

[RichYak]

1 hour ago, kwokpot said:

Neither, it's an incomplete statement. I was comparing the prices for two from Civitavecchia to FCO on a private transfer (Romecabs charges 160 Euros or $173) or the ship's transfer which is about $144/2 for a price differential of $30 or $15/pp, which TO ME is worth taking a private transfer. 

Got it. That makes sense now.