Rome or Bacelona, Celebrity or Carnival?

[perthgirl]

Hi - I am a newie so forgive me if I am on the wrong forum but I'd like some advice. We are thinking of doing a European cruise in July. Carnival is cheaper but we have to get to and from the port in Rome which appears really expensive! Alternatively we can do Celebrity and leave from Barcelona and fly home from Venice.

 

Any idea of transport costs of Rome vs Barcelona/Venice? Flights are cheaper on the Barcelona/Venice route and if transportation is also cheaper we may be able to do the more expensive Celebrity cruise for around the same all around price.

 

And anyone done both and have an opinion? We are a 40 something couple with a 10 year old daughter with the only cruise experience being a 4 day Disney cruise one New Year

[europe4fun]

Every cruiseline has it's own personality. Carnival and Celebrity are (almost) polar opposites. Carnival is the "fun" ship - you'll likely have a LOT more people in your age group, and a lot more kids on board. Carnival is much more laid back and casual.

 

My personal preference is Celebrity because it's more refined and I know the level of service and pampering onboard will be what I'm looking for. There are formal nights - that are really formal.

 

Don't get me wrong - you'll find 40somethings on both. But in general, Carnival attracts a younger clientele and a lot of first time cruisers - particularly because of their price points generally being lower.

 

I'm sure a lot of others will chime in. My best advice is to do some research - read reviews of both of the ships you are considering. That will give you a much better sense of the onboard experience.

 

If you are looking for an upscale, refined cruise experience - with some kids but probably not a ton - I'd say go for Celebrity. If you want a casual, fun cruise experience with a family focus and lots of kids - I'd say, go for Carnival.

 

A lot goes into making such a decision when it comes to choosing a cruiseline - and even a particular ship though - so there is no easy, black & white answer.

 

Good luck with your decision!

[tom_uk]

Perthgirl: Is that Perth as in Scotland? What I'm trying to get at here is, are you looking at travelling to/from Spain or Italy from the US or from the UK?

[perthgirl]

Wrong on both counts - Perth Western Australia!

[Maryutah]

Do you mean expensive getting to the port from Rome or to the port from Australia?

 

We chose Carnival because the Freedom is new, and the itinerary was exactly what we wanted, we also got a good discount on the cruise from my time share.

 

Maybe put down both pros and cons, the cost of each and then go from there.

[perthgirl]

It appears it costs quite a bit to get from Rome to the port - I've seen everything from $65 USD per person (which is around $100 of our dollars!) to 300 euro, depending on the taxi/bus service.

 

Carnival seems to fit better from a schooling point of view (my daughter gets 2 weeks off in July - it is our winter - and would only miss a couple of days at the beginning of the new term whereas with Celebrity she would miss over a week.

 

I know I shouldn't penny pinch - after all the trip will cost us around $15,000 Australian (and that is for the cheap cabin) by the time we add airfares etc so what is another few hundred? On the other hand, it pays for an excursion or two if we can find cheaper ways of travelling.

 

I have heard the train to the port isn't too complicated - maybe we should just book Carnival and take a risk on the trains.

[tom_uk]

Ah, I'm clear now!

 

Actually, let me check something else: are you planning to fly into your cruise departure point the same day that the cruise starts? If so, I'm not sure that's a good idea, certainly not from a starting point as far away as Australia. We fly into Rome for our cruises on the day of departure, but we're only coming from the UK (Heathrow, in fact), we're using Celebrity air, and we're on the first suitable flight of the day! If anything goes wrong there's time to take some other action, and of course we're not too tired. However I know that most US-based cruisers fly in to Rome or wherever a couple of days or so in advance. This gives them time to allow for transport difficulties, and also recover from the flight.

 

OK, getting to Civitevecchia. Actually it's easy, and quite cheap. From Leonardo da Vinci airport at Fiumicino you go to the station in the airpot complex and catch the 'Leonardo Express' - this goes to Roma Termini station and takes about 40 minutes. Tickets are about €10 euros. Then at Rome Termini you get a local train to Civitavecchia which is a bit slower - typically takes just over an hour. Then there's a 10-minute walk to the dock gate from where the Port Authority run free shuttle buses to the actual quays (walking by civilians is not allowed within the harbour). You can get detailed explanation (in reverse, actually, but I'm sure it's still useful) here:

http://www.europeportreviews.com/Rome2.htm

 

Let me confuse you still further and throw in a couple of alternative suggestions:-

 

a) Royal Caribbean - they do lots of med cruises, and in 'style' probably occupy a mid-point between Carnival & Celebrity.

 

b) really off-the-wall, this one: for a more European experience (all the cruise lines mentioned above are american), what about MSC? - 7-day western med cruises out of Genoa (including their big new ship Musica) and 7-day eastern med cruises out of Venice (including, later this summer, their really new, equally big ship Orchestra) . Here's a link to their Australian website:

http://global.msccruises.com/home.asp?language_id=7&company_id=116

 

Here are links to reviews of a couple of Med cruises I've done:-

 

http://www.cruisereviews.com/Celebrity/Galaxy45.htm (Celebrity)

 

http://www.cruisereviews.com/MediterraneanShippingCruises/Sinfonia1.htm (MSC)

[Normandie-BCN]

You can embark in many Costa and MSC ships (depending of the itinerary) in Barcelona, stead of Genova or Civittavechia, if you prefer.

[taxmantoo]

You can also sail the Western Mediterranean out of Barcelona with the Norwegian Jewel.

[perthgirl]

Thanks for everyone's advice. One of the advantages of Carnival is we would leave Perth Friday and have a couple of days in Rome before the ship leaves. On the conclusion of the tour we would fly straight home and my daughter would have a day off before returning to school for the end of the week. The Celebrity one would have us taking her out of school early, go straight from the plane to the ship with a few days at the end of the trip to explore wherever we disembark.

 

Thanks for all the suggestions - I'll look into the other options. Although the train seems easier all the time and no where near as expensive as taxis etc.

 

With living on the other side of the world to most of you we know the travelling part takes alot out of us but it is worth it. I am American by birth and my father and brother still live in the US. When we visit them it takes us 26 hours because my Dad lives about as far away as us as possible! However he does live in Florida so my daughter doesn't mind visiting (bet you can't imagine why!) We travel alot (within the constraints of school holidays and budget) but haven't done Europe yet. A cruise looks like a way of getting a taste of it and exposing our daughter to some of the countries but without the tiring change of hotels the bus tours requires.

 

Enough of my rambling - thanks again

[Maryutah]

Carnival charges $65 per person for straight transfer from Rome CCL hotel or airport to Citivecchia, and $75 for the "rome at a glance" - which is transfer with extended drive around to see the sights in Rome before heading to the port.

 

We are doing the Rome at a glance from hotel to ship, and the straight transfer from ship to the airport at day of disembarkation.

[Hlitner]

What a well reasoned question for which there is no right answer. We know all the ports on both cruises (Carnival Freedom and Celebrity Millenium) and the 2 ships. The problem is both ships are excellent (Carnival is much better than many folks think) and both itineraries are great. Generally you will find the Celebrity ship a bit more upscale, but the Freedom is a gorgeous new ship and Carnival has excellent facilities and programs for kids. I think you would be fine with either option. You are correct that getting from Rome to the port is a pain, but Tom has laid out the cheapest train option (a bit of a hassle with lots of luggage). Since you seem to be on a budget (aren't we all?) you need to consider a few other issues. If you are taking the Celebrity cruise, you might want to spend 1 night in Venice (hard to go to this fun city without spending extra time) which is not cheap (Venice hotels can be pricy). You also need to do some serious research into the ports because getting from the cruise ports to the places that most people go, can also get expensive...especially if you want to use tours. However, there are generally less costly options (train, rental cars,) than tours. For example, getting from Livorno to Florence will cost about $80 per person on a cruise ship tour or about $25 per person if you take the train. A few days at the end of the Venice cruise would also give you the option of renting a car and exploring part of Italy (if you explore this option you might want to check on the cost of flying home from Milan (Malpensa Airport). I guess Tom and I have given you even more to think about, but the idea of taking your 10 year old on either cruise would be a wonderful way to expand your daughters knowledge of the world. Our daughter (who is now 25) still remembers those kind of trips all the way back to when she was 5.

 

Hank

[perthgirl]

Thanks Hank (and others!) We have 'bitten the bullet' and booked Carnival - mainly because it means our daughter only has to miss 3 days of school whereas with Celebrity it would have been more like 7. And while she will learn more on her trip than going to school 3 days, we don't like to create an environment where it is OK for her to miss school easily.

 

After doing our sums we decided to wait a year so regretably it is July 08 now, (they wanted an extra $2500 for July 07 - must be close to full I guess) which means we have more time to save. I looked at the excursions and yes, they are expensive, but then again when you consider how much it costs us to get there we would be silly to not spend the money and experience it!

 

Just a question for you Hank, are you recommending we don't stay on the ship when we dock in Venice? Looks like we get in at 2pm one night and depart at 5pm the next day, I must admit I hadn't thought of booking a hotel room for the night but now you mention it, I would be interested in your views and those of any other posters.

 

Thanks again - and looks like I will be reading these boards alot over the next year to both learn and keep excited

[Hlitner]

My wife (she is a retired teacher) and I really want to complement your attitude about not letting your daughter miss much school. It certainly sends the right messge to your daughter about priorites. I really did not take a good look at your itinerary and was not aware you get to overnight in Venice. I was thinking about the Celebrity cruise which would end in Venice. You certainly should sleep on the ship when in Venice (decent hotels in Venice would break most budgets). My favorite time is Venice is late afternoon (after 5) when most of the "day trippers" have departed and the city is not so crowded. Its nice walking around St Marks Sq and other streets without fighting the masses. Keep in mind that there are alterntaives to the expensive cruise line excursions and you can certainly do some of the ports on your own (very true for Venice). Your daughter now has a full year to research all the ports and it might be fun to see what she recommends for your ports. When our daughter was 11, she made us a deal that we could stop at cafes for wine or beer whenever we wanted as long as she could have ice cream (gellati is a good enough reason to go to Italy).

 

Hank