TwinMamainMN

@Tlbecker1 - Thanks for the explanation. I stand corrected.

That's why I said "as I understand it..." 🙂 I'm glad it worked for you.

From what I understand, A2S allows a deviation of up to 2 days from your sailing date and you have zero say in the flight times, numbers of connections, layover times, etc. We have always booked our own airfare and will when we do a Med cruise next summer too. We plan on spending 4-5 days precruise in Rome and another 4-5 days post cruise in another city. Maybe Florence.

That first sentence is important. We always book refundable fares. 75% off the second guest would be lovely, but the refundable fare is important for us.

While I haven't been to Europe in several years, in Italy (including St. Peter's Basilica) the requirement was only to cover the shoulders and the knees. It didn't matter the type of material. In Vatican City outside St. Peter's there were many vendors selling thin shawls/pashminas for women who came unprepared. A few euros later and they had a solution.

We just sailed on NCL Bliss at the beginning of March to the Mexican Riveria. The only port day photo I recall was on the first port day in Puerto Vallarta. I don't recall them at all in Mazatlan and know for sure they were not in Cabo. Cabo was busy with tender operations and staging areas for all the excursions.

We bring back a t-shirt for each of our kids, but that's about it for gifts. For ourselves we buy a magnet from each port/city we visit for our collection and maybe an ornament for our Christmas tree or a coffee mug. Small things cost less, are easier to pack and weigh less.

We've sailed several times with Royal and just got back from our first NCL cruise. The biggest difference to us was in entertainment. Lots of game shows on NCL during the day. Our sailing had 2 comedians that alternated. Sometimes in the main theater and sometimes in a smaller venue. Jersey Boys was good, but only offered 2 or 3 days of the 7 day sailing. No creative, unique production shows like we have seen on Royal. No aqua shows like on Royal's big ships. Lots of game shows and trivia on NCL. The best entertainment we had on NCL Bliss (2 weeks ago) was The Beatles Experience. It was phenomenal. 4 men from Argentina. When they sang, you'd have no idea they were another nationality. They did a different show every day they performed, and we saw them 3 times. They perform in the main theater and at the smaller Cavern Club where we were lucky enough to sit in the front row. They were best entertainers on board IMO.

Consider your itinerary first before spending the money. For a port intensive cruise with long days, it may not make financial sense for you to have the drink package (cost of the package plus the service charge) and instead you can just order as you wish and put them on your onboard account which gets paid/charged before you disembark.

I will look forward to your review! Truthfully, I don't think we can go wrong either way. We've been on Equinox before but it's been over 10 years. We enjoyed it a lot. It was our first Celebrity cruise and we've wanted to sail with them again ever since.

Good point, and good idea about the excursions. Hubby and I are not “see it from a bus window” people. We like doing excursions on our own where we can be on our own schedule (or no schedule) and/or doing a tour with a guide that gives us some freedom to wander the area or stay awhile in addition to telling us interesting things and history. We are in our mid-upper 40s.

@capriccio - thanks for the recommendation for Bologna. Great food is always a plus and we’ve not been there before.

So many options in the Med it's overwhelming. We have it narrowed down to the following sailings in June 2025: Celebrity Equinox 9 nt Italian Riveria & France depart Rome (Civitavecchia) at 5p Naples, Italy 7a-5p at sea Florence/Pisa (La Spezia), Italy arrive at 7 am *overnight in Florence/Pisa (La Spezia) and depart at 7p Portofino, Italy 7a-6p Cannes, France 7a-7p Provence (Marseille), France 8a-6p at sea disembark in Barcelona, Spain 5a **OR** Celebrity Constellation 10 night Best of Italy & Croatia depart Rome (Civitavecchia) at 5p Florence/Pisa (La Spezia), Italy 7a-7p Portofino, Italy 7a-7p at sea Naples, Italy 7a-6p Sicily (Messina), Italy 7a-4p Brindisi, Italy 10a-7p Kotor, Montenegro 8a-6p Dubrovnik, Croatia 8a-6p Split, Croatia 7a-4p disembark in Ravenna, Italy 5a Cost wise, Constellation itinerary is $747 more, but also one day longer. Both sailings were quoted by our travel agent and are for a standard veranda cabin. We for sure want to spend 4-5 days in Rome either before/after the cruise, and another short stay either somewhere else in Italy if sailing on Constellation (have been to Venice before), or in Barcelona if sailing on Equinox. Which would you choose, and WHY?

So many options in the Med it's overwhelming. We have it narrowed down to the following sailings in June 2025: Celebrity Equinox 9 nt Italian Riveria & France depart Rome (Civitavecchia) at 5p Naples, Italy 7a-5p at sea Florence/Pisa (La Spezia), Italy arrive at 7 am *overnight in Florence/Pisa (La Spezia) and depart at 7p Portofino, Italy 7a-6p Cannes, France 7a-7p Provence (Marseille), France 8a-6p at sea disembark in Barcelona, Spain 5a **OR** Celebrity Constellation 10 night Best of Italy & Croatia depart Rome (Civitavecchia) at 5p Florence/Pisa (La Spezia), Italy 7a-7p Portofino, Italy 7a-7p at sea Naples, Italy 7a-6p Sicily (Messina), Italy 7a-4p Brindisi, Italy 10a-7p Kotor, Montenegro 8a-6p Dubrovnik, Croatia 8a-6p Split, Croatia 7a-4p disembark in Ravenna, Italy 5a Cost wise, Constellation itinerary is $747 more, but also one day longer. Both sailings were quoted by our travel agent and are for a standard veranda cabin. We for sure want to spend 4-5 days in Rome either before/after the cruise, and another short stay either somewhere else in Italy if sailing on Constellation (have been to Venice before), or in Barcelona if sailing on Equinox. Which would you choose, and WHY?

Wow! Thanks everyone for all your help. Lots to consider. I appreciate your kind responses.