NCteacherlovescruising

That’s what I’m thinking. I’m going to create a binder of what all I’d like to do pre-cruise, at the various ports, and post cruise, and share it with my husband. He seems perfectly content to let me do all the research and planning. I guess he’ll just have to ok the budget.

We just did a 5 night on the Reflection and it was our sea day, day 3.

Our cruise ends in Rome (June 2024) and we plan on staying there a few days. I don’t know if we’ll ever get back to Europe, because we’ve never taken a vacation with a long flight before. Aruba is the farthest we flown for a vacation. I see we can get to Venice by train in about 4 hours. Should we plan a day trip there or just focus on Rome and the surrounding area? Besides hitting the typical highlights in Rome, I’d also like to visit a beautiful winery. We’re still undecided how many days we will spend there post cruise. It’s nearly impossible for us to figure out a budget this far in advance because it’s too soon to book anything. He hasn’t set a limit yet, I’m sure because he has no idea what things will cost. How many days would we need in Rome to see the major highlights-Vatican, Sistine Chapel, Colosseum, Forum, the fountain and do a winery tour? Or should we do the winey tour while in Florence overnight? We would also possibly add a day in Venice? Or if we add Venice, should we add that to the end and fly out of there? What do you typically plan per day for touring and food there? We need an idea of how much money to exchange before leaving or should we plan to use a credit card for most purchases? So many unknowns! I believe I’ve read that you do not tip in Europe. Is this correct? Will the ship (Celebrity) have their standard food or will it be European since the cruise is in Europe?

What a perfect way to spend your retirement!

How long did it take to get there? What time of year? How much per night? Was it city center?

Don't want to stay somewhere too expensive. The place you linked looks fine. We wouldn't rent a car. lol

That's a big difference! However, we do have all that OBC to use. Good to know language shouldn't be much of an issue. I have heard this before! We wouldn't be able to vacation as much if we had to stay in suites though, at least not until I retire. Being a teacher, we always have to cruise during peak seasons.

I will screenshot that then. It's good to know many restaurants will offer menus in English. You have been a great recourse! Now I see why. I love Italian food so I'm looking forward to experiencing the real thing!! Thanks for the blog suggestion and the info on touring the Vatican.

Was this tour with Marisa? If not, who did you use?

How far is the cruise port feom city center?

The carbonara had something called cheek pork or something like that. I don’t like meatballs or meatloaf’s. If I have meat in pasta, I usually get Italian sausage or chicken, or sometimes bolognese. Our cruise is over a year out, but I will start making reservations when possible. Is amatriciama similar to our red sauces? How does the Roman way differ? I’m thinking of booking a private tour to the Vatican and Sistine Chapel. We have a lunch break but no idea where she will take us.

The restaurant. I looked at their menu and didn't see anything I'd normally order. The second restaurant had things more my taste, like spaghetti carbonara. I don't eat mushrooms, anchovies, or raw meat. I don't recall what else was in their dishes I don't care for. My husband, on the other hand, eats everything! How far in advance should we reserve? Thank you! Will they have English translations or should I screenshot this? By the way, where do you live? I see you either live there or have spend quite a bit of time there. That's not that late. We normally eat around 6:30, but in bed by 9:30. lol I'm sure we'll adjust our schedules while on vacation.

You are the second person to recommend staying overnight in Florence. I told my husband how far from the port it is and he agrees. What part of the city should we book? Marriott properties would be preferred, but not required. I did look at that hotel thread briefly. I need to go back and pay more attention to location. Based on recommendations, I do believe we will overnight in Florence. Again, where should we look? We need to do some ship excursions to utilize some of our OBC. I booked while on the ship so we have $1350. Which ports would you think would be best for ship excursions? We will decide on how many days, once we figure out how much of our budget will be used for accommodations and plane tickets. He hasn't even set a budget yet, which is a good sign! We like lots of wines, especially big, bold reds. More earthy, less fruit forward. We tend to buy more Napa Cabs and French Bordeaux's, but also enjoy some Italian and Spanish wines. If we visit a winery, we would want to go to one that is beautiful. I can drink good wine anywhere, I want the experience of a beautiful winery with a nice glass of wine. We've all been there! lol

I'm sure we will do some ship excursions because we have $1350 in OBC. I do plan on some salon visits for blow-outs, but the rest we could use for excursions. I don't see us booking specialty dining this time because most of our meals will be on land and we booked a suite so I want to dine in Luminae. I've heard such great things about it! IYO, which ports would be the hardest to navigate on our own?

Thank you! This is very helpful, thanks! It sounds like BC will be too expensive. I'd rather save my money to be able to more time in Rome.

Good to know! Signage will be in their language though, correct? My husband can only get so much time off work and Italy has always been at the top of my list so I would like to spend more time there. I always join roll calls, both on here and FB. Our cruise is so far out I had to start one myself yesterday. I made some great friends on a roll call right before covid hit. We still keep in touch. One another, I figured out I had went to school with someone on there and we ended up hanging out together the entire cruise. Thanks so much! This is extremely helpful! I will check out your thread and Marisa as well. We will have a few days in Rome and a private tour guide would be perfect! I didn't know about a multi-city ticket. I didn't see it while searching on my phone, but I just looked n my laptop and see that option. We aren't familiar with google flights either. We typically drive to our ports and I've only been on a plane a few times in my life. I'm terrified of heights and flying and have to be medicated. You seem so calm about this. I would think since you booked through Celebrity, they would have to absorb the extra cost. I'm so sorry this happened to you! That's something to consider. My friend does the same. We don't fly much, so I have no idea what FBC and BC are. Can you explain? Is business class the same as first class? I would be willing to pay more to be comfortable enough to sleep on such a long flight. The Ativan I will have to take to fly will make sleeping easier too. $1200 is quite the savings! I always join roll calls. Our cruise isn't until 2024 so I ended up creating one yesterday. I'm planning early. I am going to create a binder with everything I might want to do in each of the ports, so it's all in one place and easy for us to plan.

If you can’t get pepperoni and sausage (that or meat lovers is my go to!), what should someone that likes meat on their pizza order?

I may have a hard time eating at the first place, not sure. However, the second looks really good! What time do they start serving dinner?

I have the book. I will start it after I finish my current one. Is it hard to get around when everything’s in a foreign language? I’d be so scared we’d get lost and not find our way back to the ship. Perhaps it’s much easier than I’m envisioning. Sounds like we should wait about a year to book air. That’s unfortunate because I’m sure it will be expensive. Is it difficult to book flights into one place and out of another? I’ve only booked round trip.

It's too early to book yet, but I think I will go with them when it opens. Is that about 11-12 months in advance? I will check out Papillon, thanks. Pompeii is on our list. Did you book with Celebrity or private?

I have noticed Celebrity excursions don't have user ratings, which is quite frustrating. My husband and I have booked their 9 night Italian Rivera and France cruise for June 2024 to celebrate our 30th anniversary. I realize it's a long way off, but I want to start planning as this will be the biggest vacation of our lives. Can anyone recommend any of their excursions for this cruise? With this being our first time in Europe, I'm a bit hesitant to book private excursions or try to find our way around by ourselves. If you have written a review of this cruise on here, would you please link it for me? We plan to fly into Barcelona 2-3 days prior to our cruise and stay in Rome a few day after. One of my friends likes to use Celebrity air. Which is cheaper, booking through them or direct with the airlines? When should we book flights? Below is the itinerary: Barcelona Depart 5 PM At sea Provence (Marseille) France 7-6 Nice (Villefranche) France 8-7 Santa Margherita, Italy 8-6 Florence/Pisa (Laspezia) Italy - Overnight June 18 7 AM-Jun 19 6 PM * Love that this is overnight At sea Naples, Italy 7-6 Rome, Italy 6AM

I've always wanted to visit Italy and I love cruising, so we booked Celebrity's 9 night Italian Rivera and France cruise. It's in June 2024 and we'll be celebrating our 30th anniversary. This is our Itinerary: Barcelona Depart 5 PM At sea Provence (Marseille) France 7-6 Nice (Villefranche) France 8-7 Santa Margherita, Italy 8-6 Florence/Pisa (Laspezia) Italy - Overnight June 18 7 AM-Jun 19 6 PM * Love that this is overnight At sea Naples, Italy 7-6 Rome, Italy 6AM We plan to go to Barcelona a couple days early, and stay in Rome 3-4 days after. We have never been to Europe so we have no idea what to expect. Will language be an issue for us or will most people speak English? Should we stick to ship excursions? I can't imagine finding our way around when we don't know their language. What are must see's during the cruise? (Not in Barcelona and Rome, I have a good idea of what we'll do there) Should we do Pompeii or Sorrento and the Amalfi coast when in Naples? Since we're overnight in Florence, would it be easy to do Florence and Pisa on a private excursion or better off sticking to the ships? We are into good wines. Where should we do a winery tour? I found one on Viator I like, "Tuscany day trip from Rome including 3 course lunch and wine tasting". Not sure that's our best option. I'd love to see a beautiful winery with excellent red wines. Thinking of staying in a VRBO in Rome, if so what area?

I see this is considered easy to do on your own. However, this will be our first time in Europe so I was considering doing all ship excursions. We typically don't, but with the language barrier I thought I'd feel more comfortable. In my mind I see us lost and confused and missing the ship. Would this be easy for experienced cruisers that have never been to Europe?

We have booked our first suite, a sunset sky suite. With this conflicting information, I won't expect our mini fridge to be included, but it should be, and will be nice if that's the case.

Wow! I've never heard of them doing this before. I can't imagine them getting away with it!