PTCruizer

Since you asked about our favorite cruise, it would have to be Alaska. We avoided Alaska for 20 years but when we finally did cruise Alaska, we kicked ourselves for waiting so long. It was simply stunning. If you're dead-set against Alaska, I would suggest a Transatlantic with a week or two in Europe if you have the time. Enjoy whatever you choose.

So I have to write this review while it is still fresh in my mind. I’m settling into bed the night before our Med cruise on the Celebrity Edge. In researching where to stay prior to our cruise from Civitavecchia, I saw many posts that were not very complimentary to this port town. While I was concerned, I found some positive reviews that mentioned certain B&B’s and restaurants that gave me encouragement to plan our pre-cruise night in Civitavecchia.

A bit of our experience for your reference. We are in our 50’s and cruise fairly often. Once or twice a year at least. This is our third cruise in the Med. We prefer Celebrity but have never had a bad cruise on any of the lines we’ve sailed. We are adventurous to a fault sometimes. At least I am. My saint of a wife goes along with me despite her reservations. I tend to research the Dickens out of everything before making any commitments and that can be frustrating to my wife at times. Although, she is a planner in her profession. Go figure. 

So for this trip we were flying standby thanks to my son who works for American Airlines. The number one rule of flying standby is to leave early and be flexible. Seeing that we were not going to have any luck getting into Rome, we decided to fly to Milan. We left on a Tuesday for a Saturday sailing. Just to make sure we would make it. We were fortunate and made the first available flight to Milan. Not knowing where or when we would be going, we had no reservations for where we would stay once we got to Italy. So once we were confirmed for Milan, the question was, “where do we stay for three nights pre-cruise? 

Having been to Rome before and wanting to have a quieter stay we decided to forego the city and opted to stay in Lucca. More on Lucca at a later time. However, if you’ve never been before, you have to check into it. We don’t like getting to our port town the day of the cruise so despite the unflattering reviews in generaI for the city, I booked us at the Fuori Dal Porto B&B in Civitavecchia for one night prior to sailing. This B&B had great reviews that are well deserved. We travelled from Lucca to Civitavecchia by train, four hours by the way, and were met at the station by Ugo who drove us to the B&B. 

The Fuori Dal Porto B&B is a modern, well run inn. There are only five rooms so the personal attention is high. Ugo took great care of us and gave us all the necessary information to enjoy our short stay in Civitavecchia. We could not find anything negative about the room at all.  As for the town. We walked down the seafront and dined at Di Vitale. The food was good and reasonably priced. The wine that came with the pre-fix menu was nothing special but it was a good accompaniment to the meal. After dinner we wanted to purchase a couple of bottles of wine to bring on the cruise so we found our way to “Wine Experience Enoteca”. Having already eaten, we decided to sit inside and have a glass of wine before purchasing a couple of bottles to bring back to our room. They were doing a very brisk business outside on the patio. Well one glass turned into a few glasses and we spent a couple of wonderful hours talking with the proprietor Antonio. Both of our children are working in the wine industry so we had a lot in common. Antonio was an absolute pleasure to speak with. He brought us different wines to try and complimented them with different bites from the kitchen. His knowledge of wine and the food pairings was remarkable. At the end of the evening we chose two bottles for our cruise and strolled back to our room very full and extremely satisfied. 

The bottom line is this. We had a wonderful night in Civitavecchia before our cruise. We found a great B&B to stay at and some good food and an awesome wine experience. Do your research and be willing to see the positive in all your experiences. You’ll find that you will be glad you did. Remember, it not always about the destination, but the journey. 

Does anyone have a recent list for the "Premium Wine by the bottle" package on the Edge? I saw a list that wasn't dated and it listed Perrier Jouet as the premium champagne. I'm particularly interested in verifying if that is correct. Thanks. 

Just off the Silhouette yesterday, Jan 8, 2017 and tried to use mobile passport. But, it would give an error when you hit the submit button saying it could not give a receipt at this time. So, I'm glad I filled out the paper form also on the ship. The customs agent told me sometimes it works, sometimes not.

Also just off the Silhouette and I was unable to use the Mobile Passport. I got a message saying that it wasn't available when I submitted. I didn't notice a special que either. That said, we self assisted and it was very fast

Just returned from the Reflection and wanted to provide an update to my port wine question. I had no trouble bringing on a bottle of Taylor 20 year old port. They just checked the size and waved it through. Thanks for all the replies.

Thank you Sandtrap, I did call and the rep sounded very unsure of himself so I thought I would throw it out to CruiseCritics.

EandJ, I am asking about bringing it on at embarkation. I've been bringing a couple of bottles of wine on when we board for years but have recently discovered port wine. I figure that a bottle of port will last me the entire cruise but I wasn't sure if Celebrity would treat it differently from table wine because of the fortification.

I'm going to bring a bottle and see what happens. Worst case scenario is they hold it until we return. Thanks for all the replies. :)

Has anyone ever had a problem bringing a bottle of port wine onboard at embarkation?

Just tried to book a beach bungalow for our upcomming Thanksgiving cruise and the price was $250 per person! No thanks.

Thanks for the input. I realize that these aren't the best options for Alaska but the price is right. They are both casino offers and the only dates available for Alaska so we'll use this as an intro and plan a better cruise later on. I think that we will go with the NCL and Glacier Bay. Thanks ya'll.

I am looking to choose between these two cruises and would like feedback on which itinerary you would prefer. I know what I need to know about the two lines and ships so I'm really only interested in the itinerary. Thanks.

Celebrity Solstice 7 day Hubbard

PORT/CITY ARRIVAL DEPARTURE

Fri Jun 9 Seattle, Washington 5:00 PM

Sat Jun 10 At Sea

Sun Jun 11 Ketchikan, Alaska 7:00 AM 4:00 PM

Mon Jun 12 Tracy Arm Fjord, Alaska 6:00 AM 10:00 AM

Mon Jun 12 Juneau, Alaska 1:30 PM 10:00 PM

Tue Jun 13 Skagway, Alaska 7:00 AM 6:00 PM

Tue Jun 13 Inside Passage, Alaska 6:30 PM 10:30 PM

Wed Jun 14 At Sea

Thu Jun 15 Victoria, British Columbia 5:30 PM 11:59 PM

Fri Jun 16 Seattle, Washington 6:00 AM

Or

NCL Pearl 7 day Glacier Bay

Sun Seattle, Washington --- 04:00 PM 0

Mon At Sea --- --- 0

Tue Juneau, Alaska 02:00 PM 10:00 PM 0

Wed Skagway, Alaska 07:00 AM 08:15 PM 0

Thu Cruise Glacier Bay --- --- 0

Fri Ketchikan, Alaska 06:00 AM 01:30 PM 0

Sat Victoria, British Columbia 06:00 PM 11:59 PM 0

Sun Seattle, Washington (Flight Departure) 08:00 AM --- 0

But who's counting? 😃

We are currently on the Jewel, in Cozumel berthed next to the Pearl. Last night we had a letter in our cabin explaining that NCL had cancelled Rotan due to the murder of a crew member. The overwhelming response that I have witnessed from passengers has been supportive of this decision. Although Rotàn is our favorite port for snorkeling, we don't fault NCL for their decision. This is a sad tragedy and our support for all the NCL crew members is critical at this time.

Now back to our regularly scheduled margaritas.

Bob and Melissa

We like Grey Goose but the deal on Absolute was to good to pass up. $8.00 a liter. Even with the extra two bucks duty it was a steal. A case will last us until the next cruise.

Bloody Mary's, Martini's, screwdrivers, or all of the above?:D

Since you asked....Martini's :D

We brought back a case of vodka on our last cruise (Don't even go there!)

They charged us a couple bucks per bottle duty. Well worth it.