For those planning a 2013 Eastern Med Cruise - yet another trip report!

[lovestx]

Here's another installment, pre-cruise. I am adding a total cost for out of pocket expenses as I tried to keep good records on that so that CC friends might get a sense of what it might cost them. Let me know if you'd like to see the breakdown (lunch vs. dinner vs. snacks, etc.)

 

 

Day 3: A full day in Rome!

We all got a good night’s sleep and awoke excited to visit Ancient Rome. Our hotel offered a typical European continental breakfast which was quick and easy.

 

We set off towards the Campo de Fiori and had some fun with the vendors there.

 

Then it was on the Colosseum where I had purchased tickets in advance on pierreci.it. This tip, from Tripadvisor, saves TONS of time waiting on a line and we basically just walked in. My husband and I used the Rick Steve’s free podcasts to tour the Colosseum and the Forum in 2011 so we each had an Ipod or Iphone loaded with these helpful (though sometimes corny) tours. The kids’ first view of the Colosseum blew them away. Our son was almost giddy with excitement (and, trust me, he is Mr. Chillaxed by design so it was really fun to see him so excited)!

 

 

 

We spent a bit over an hour or so in the Colosseum then spent some time at Palatine Hill since we hadn’t gotten there on the previous trip. I thought it was quite pretty with some lovely flowers blooming but I didn’t think it was “better” than the Forum as some on Tripadvisor believe.

 

 

 

We then entered the Forum and spent another hour touring it. Pretty incredible place.

 

By now we were all hot (temps must have been in the 80s) and ready for lunch. So why is it that you never seem to find just the right spot to eat when you need it?!? We tried a couple of spots but they were too crowded with local guests (a good sign but not when you are hungry and just want to eat). We ended back in Campo de Fiori and found a table at an outdoor café named Maranega which was fun and a godsend.

 

Speaking of God…we hadn’t planned to go to the Vatican on this trip for two reasons: (1) we didn’t think we’d have time and (2) one trip to St. Peter’s for my Jewish husband was all he felt he needed in one lifetime. But I really felt the kids should at least see St. Peter’s as they would certainly hear about it through their lifetimes and the art and architecture is breathtaking. So I oh-so-gently suggested at lunch that we catch a cab over there for a quick trip.

 

Great idea. Poor execution.

Do you see what we are wearing in the photos I’ve posted? Do you know about the dress codes at St. Peter’s? Of course, I totally forgot about all of that until we got out of the car in St. Peter’s Square and a woman starts wagging her finger at us and speaking in fast Italian. It didn’t take me long to figure out that DD’s shorts and both of our tank tops were going to keep us out of the basilica. But smart husband had the brilliant idea that we should simply buy our souvenir tshirts and wear them over our tops. So we headed for a local shop that sold tshirts (that have shrunk so much in the past three months that I may need to give them to a child!) for too much money. But the shopkeeper was a lovely woman who told us that my shorts would probably get in but DD’s would not. Now what?! The shopkeeper suggested that my daughter take her flowy overshirt off and fashion it into a skirt.

 

I regret that we didn’t take a picture of her in this get up…but we did get in. And it was worth it as the kids were quite mesmerized by the size and beauty of the cathedral. And let’s just say that my husband kindly humored me J

 

The kids about fell over laughing as we exited the cathedral. There was a man entering with a tshirt on with the F-word in HUGE letters. We all wondered how he made it through the fashion police!!

 

We walked back home past Castel San’Angelo, got a bit lost (those maps aren’t perfect….or maybe we’re the ones who aren’t perfect!), and got back to the hotel in time for some pre-dinner rest.

 

Dinner was at a local restaurant about a block away that was highly recommended—Osteria del Pegno. The food was good and we had a nice time together as we anticipated what awaited us the next day on the Equinox. We snuck back over to the Piazza Navona for one last look and another tartuffo!

 

Out of Pocket Expenses: 330 Euros (lunch, dinner, tshirts, cab, wine/coke)

Other expenses: Colosseum/Forum tickets purchased online

[suzzek]

Loving your review, and especially your pictures. You have a beautiful family and your pictures are "off the beaten path". Thank you for posting and keep up the good work!! We will be on Equinox in exactly 1 month and the excitement is building enormously!

[pammi44]

How did you negotiate the pierreci.it site? Do you speak Italian? Any suggestions on how to figure out how to get tickets to the Colosseum and Roman Forum would be greatly appreciated. Hope I'm not missing something obvious:confused:

[lovestx]

How did you negotiate the pierreci.it site? Do you speak Italian? Any suggestions on how to figure out how to get tickets to the Colosseum and Roman Forum would be greatly appreciated. Hope I'm not missing something obvious:confused:

 

Hi Pam,

 

This site is difficult but here's a link that may be helpful.

 

http://www.ticketclic.it/

 

The scroll toward the bottom to where it says "Colosseo". Click on "Print Ticket" and it will ask you how many tickets you want for which dates.

 

Hope that works!

 

If not, go over the Tripadvisor Rome Forum and search on piereci. There's a thread that goes on for two years...somewhere in there are the instructions for calling pierreci (which I have also done and had it work).

 

Good luck!

[nojoke]

don't stop now!! I'm loving your review. In Nov. we are going to stay in the same area as you did, so the restaurant names are helpful. Loved your "event" at St. Peters!

Hurry up with more!

[pammi44]

Thanks much!

[dln929]

Thanks for writing and adding photos, too. We like Med cruises so I am really enjoying reading your report. Keep it coming!

[hansolosmom]

I love all the info & the pix. I especially love the brother/sister one & you and your dh are too cute.

 

Really appreciate the hotel info since we're also a family of 4 and quad rooms can be so difficult to find!

 

Also good to know the guys got in with the longer shorts.

Edited October 5, 2012 by hansolosmom

[lovestx]

I love all the info & the pix. I especially love the brother/sister one & you and your dh are too cute.

 

Really appreciate the hotel info since we're also a family of 4 and quad rooms can be so difficult to find!

 

Also good to know the guys got in with the longer shorts.

 

Bet you are wondering how the heck my dh and I have a son who is 6'1"....we can't figure it out either :)

 

Our total cost for the Rome hotel was 1,160 Euros for two rooms for two nights. We had the top floor to ourselves so could leave our doors open to each other when we needed to. Not cheap but I wanted outdoor space (or a roofdeck).

[hansolosmom]

Bet you are wondering how the heck my dh and I have a son who is 6'1"....we can't figure it out either :)

 

Our total cost for the Rome hotel was 1,160 Euros for two rooms for two nights. We had the top floor to ourselves so could leave our doors open to each other when we needed to. Not cheap but I wanted outdoor space (or a roofdeck).

 

That deck is gorgeous!

And thanks for the cost info too. How early did you book that?

Edited October 5, 2012 by hansolosmom

[lovestx]

That deck is gorgeous!

And thanks for the cost info too. How early did you book that?

 

I booked it in January for June.

[Presto2]

Fantastic review so far - can't wait for the next part ! We're off on an Eastern Med / Greek Island cruise next year and have 2 days before hand in Rome so can't wait ! :)

[lovestx]

Day 4: Bon Voyage

My husband and I awoke on the early side this morning and decided to let the kids sleep in. After all, who wants cranky kids on their first day of their first-ever cruise?! So we grabbed breakfast in the hotel and went off for a walk around “the neighborhood”. I am very fond of the Trevi Fountain and wanted to see it a second time (we took the kids there the first day) with less people there. We arrived there to find what seemed an usual sight….they had drained the fountain and were collecting all of the coins! We have no idea how often they do this but it was interesting to see.

 

 

 

 

 

We then walked further up toward the Quirinale as I wanted to check out a hotel that I had considered--the Barocco. It was in a much busier area traffic-wise so I was glad we made the choice we did.

Back to Residenza Canali to get the kids up and check out. Carrying the luggage down five flights of stairs was definitely easier than going up but it was still cumbersome. Here are some pics of the bigger of our two rooms and the kids' terrace (which was smaller than ours):

 

 

 

I debated long and hard (this is a theme here, isn’t it?!?) about what type of transportation to use to get to the port. I had wanted to save some money and go on the train. But my very wise and very generous husband said, “We are spending thousands of dollars to go on this trip. Let’s not take a chance at starting it off lugging luggage and trying to find a train just to save one hundred dollars.” So I arranged with a Roll Call friend to share a Romecab shuttle to the Port with her and her 12 year old son.

I worried that our CC friend would be late, etc. but she and I had honest ‘conversations’ by email in advance of the trip stating that we would dump each other if either was late. They were on time and the Romecab driving even drove up our pedestrian only street to pick us up! We immediately bonded with Hilary and Richie and my kids thought Richie was ‘the bomb’. Fun way to start! The ride to the port was probably about an hour (we were picked up at 11:15) and we were so excited to see the Equinox in port when we arrived.

To be honest, our first impression of the Arrival Hall (or whatever it is called) was that of a cattle drive. My heart sunk. Our greatest fear of a cruise had just be realized—we would be one of thousands. The wait for Aqua Class check in was not that long but there were just so many people. We probably spent about 10 minutes in the hall and were happy to get on the other side of the tent and see our home for the next 11 nights.

For those who are new to cruising, I would definitely encourage you to be quite organized with your documents as you are in very cramp quarters checking in and you have to present things like your passports (they take them) and your express check in. I just remember grabbing all kinds of paperwork in a very cramped space.

We boarded the Equinox with quite a crowd and, as such, could not really get ourselves in line for the mimosas that I had heard about, but we were quickly on an elevator. I think we went first to the 5th floor to Bistro to have lunch as our daughter had been salivating over a Nutella crepe ever since I had read about them on CC. She gave them a thumbs up!

 

 

I thought the service was a bit slow at first but the restaurant is worth the $5 just to be seated in lovely chairs with a view with less hustle and bustle. And we were delighted when some Roll Call friends with whom we became very close came up to us and said, “Are you Lovestx, Carol?” I felt I had been unmasked! But these friends had seen our picture online and recognized us. It was a nice way to start the trip.

 

Towards the end of our lunch, they announced that our cabins were ready so off we went with our carryon suitcases to find our Aqua Class Suites. I chose Cabins 1521 and 1523 using the sticky on the CC Celebrity thread. They had sunny balconies and were under the Persian Gardens so no sound from above. My husband and I chose the cabin with the bed towards the door and the kids had the one with the beds at the window. We met our terrific cabin stewards, Jose and Dexter, and asked if they would kindly remove the balcony divider. It made for a great set up for our family of four.

 

One annoying thing (a minor annoyance) was that our sea passes were loaded with the keys that were associated with the rooms as we had registered for them. So since Celebrity makes you have one adult and one child in a room (in other words, I couldn’t register my kids in one room and us in another), my husband and I really only had one key to our room (his seapass) and one key to the kids’ room (my seapass). Same thing for the kids. Only on occasion did I have to go into my kids’ room to get to mine but I wish I could have changed that. Really minor, I know, but thought others might be interested in the detail.

 

We spent some time unpacking and then explored the beautiful Equinox. First thing we learned was that our pronunciation, Ee quinox, was not correct. It is the luxurious Celebrity Ek quinox! And luxurious it is. We were all amazed at all of the different spaces would be able to enjoy and the kids were particularly excited. I felt that I had already been on the ship in a past life since I had enjoyed so many trip reports and picture threads here on CC!! But it did not disappoint.

 

We had our muster drill in the Theatre and then went down to Guest Relations (great group!) to see why on TA offered OBC were not showing up on our account. We were told to wait a day or two to see if they were just delayed in posting and turned around to find our flight friends, Alison and Kevin, from Texas. And now here is where we realized that my hubby’s great, generous thinking on foregoing the train to the port in favor of the more expensive van ride was more than just generous. Here’s Alison and Kevin’s crazy story…

Alison and Kevin were travelling as a couple. So they figured taking the train from Termini to Civitavecchia wouldn’t be that hard. What they didn’t realize was that the trains in Italy wait for no one. As they were getting off the train with Alison first and Kevin handing her their luggage, the train took off with Kevin still on it!!! He was sure that they would stop when they realized that he and another Equinox passenger from Brazil wanted to get off. No dice. So there’s Alison on the platform with all of their luggage and a Brazilian woman who speaks limited English not knowing what to do. They were lucky in that both Alison and Kevin had phones that worked in Europe (we only had one phone that did). So they were able to communicate and realized that Kevin would have to go all the way to Pisa and back (about 2 hours!!!). Thankfully it was only 1:30 or so but they were still panicked. What do you do? Send Alison onto the ship so at least one of them makes it? And I forget who had the passports so that was the issue. And we weren’t arriving in our next port, Santorini, for 48 hours. It all worked out in the end and they were the last people to board the ship at around 4:20 p.m. Kevin looked the worse for wear but all was fine. This experience will make us think twice on our next cruise or international travel about getting two phones that will work and making sure that everyone has his or her own passport on their person.

 

DH and I met our kids at the Sunset Bar for our Sailaway get together with our Roll Call. It was a great place for a party but difficult for us to locate each other. We eventually found several people from our Roll Call but found out later in the cruise that there were many others who were sitting in lounge chairs on the Lawn. Prior to sailing, I thought that calls for beads or like-colored clothing for Roll Call members was a bit tacky. But I get it now…it’s the only real way to find each other.

 

For first-time cruisers, our sailaway from Civitavecchia was full of new sites and great anticipation. We had no idea about the pilot boats or how smoothly the captain would be able to steer the ship from the dock. The view of Civitavecchia was nothing to write home about given that it is very industrial, but it was fun all the same.

 

 

 

Next up was dinner in Blu and our first taste of the attentive service and great food that was to be a highlight of the trip. They had been offering a 20% off deal for Aqua Class guests who wanted to dine in one of the specialty restaurants on the first night (guess they really don’t have room for everyone in Blu at one time), but we wanted to get to know Blu so passed on the offer. We arrived for the early seating (which only applies the first night) and had a delicious dinner. Then it was off to Quasar to check out the DJ party (it wasn’t very exciting but the space is cool), then the Theatre for the Opening Night show (which we liked very much). Here we are in Quasar in their 60s inspired hanging chairs.

 

All in all, a busy, somewhat hectic day but all worked out and we were already loving the cruising lifestyle! Up next: our first sea day.

 

Expenses: 1,150 Euros (Hotel - two rooms for two nights)

130 Euros (RomeCabs to Port; 170 + 30 tip X 2/3)

[DebbieMacG]

Great review many thanks, we sailed on the Equinox last November and will be on her next November :)

 

Good call on the transport!

 

I'm glad you considered the Barocco, it's one of the best hotels I have stayed in, we were there for three nights last year and are going or another three nights next month. The beds are so comfy, the rooms elegant, the service 5 star, it's an oasis of calm on that busy street as they have double double glazing and shutters! :) and a lift ;)

Edited October 6, 2012 by DebbieMacG

[dodger1964]

Great review.

 

For future reference (I think this is correct...never had to do it myself, but have read on these boards about it being done) they can "re key" your seapass cards once onboard for situations like yours.

 

I know it has been discussed in past for "elite benefit" purposes, that if a couple are elite, they can each book a room and extend their elite benefits to another couple.

[sunshine nana]

Great review! We were on the Equinox starting in Rome last May. One question: did you find the bow of the ship caused anyone to be sea sick? The only time I have been sick was when we were in a forward cabin out of NYC to Canada. Since then, I have always booked mid or aft, but many AQ cabins mid ship are under the pool.

[lovestx]

Great review! We were on the Equinox starting in Rome last May. One question: did you find the bow of the ship caused anyone to be sea sick? The only time I have been sick was when we were in a forward cabin out of NYC to Canada. Since then, I have always booked mid or aft, but many AQ cabins mid ship are under the pool.

 

I am not the best person to ask as this was our first cruise and the Med is traditionally calm. I worried a bit about my daughter and I (we get car sick) and brought all kinds of meds in case we had a problem. We both wore those Seabands for the first day on the ship but never felt motion.

 

We did have rough seas two nights (comes later in my report) and you could feel the motion throughout the ship those nights. Nothing awful but we could sense that there could be times on ships that would be tough.

[Jetswdo]

There will be 2 of us with the usual luggage. The price quote was 130E like you. What do you suggest we tip the driver? Thanks so much for your review with details. I really appreciate your information.

[lovestx]

There will be 2 of us with the usual luggage. The price quote was 130E like you. What do you suggest we tip the driver? Thanks so much for your review with details. I really appreciate your information.

 

I didn't explain that well. We were charge 170Euros for a minivan that would transport 6 of us from the Piazza Navona area to the port. We tipped 30 Euros on top of that bringing the total to 200 Euros. But then we split the bill with our friend Hilary and paid 2/3 of the cost as there were 4 of us and 2 of her. Hope that makes sense.

[Gail & Marty sailing away]

Thanks for the info ...

[BABA 7]

I didn't explain that well. We were charge 170Euros for a minivan that would transport 6 of us from the Piazza Navona area to the port. We tipped 30 Euros on top of that bringing the total to 200 Euros. But then we split the bill with our friend Hilary and paid 2/3 of the cost as there were 4 of us and 2 of her. Hope that makes sense.

 

Got it....i'm getting so excited....countdown into the teens...:D

 

Di

[SilverDollarDoll]

Lucky you! We did the following ports in this order: Santorini, Istanbul, Kusadasi/Ephesus, Athens, Crete (substituting for Mykonos) and Naples. I will write more later today and, when time permits, throughout the weekend.

 

And to the others, thanks for the compliments.

 

We will be arriving on the Equinox October 15th...am enjoying all you have written. Thanks for your sharing.

[lovestx]

Day 5: First At Sea Day EVER

We were all looking forward to a leisurely day at sea after several days of travel and sightseeing. As was the case many/mornings, my husband and I enjoyed an early breakfast in Blu while the kids had room service on the balcony whenever they woke up. Hubby and I tried to be relatively “good” while eating our breakfasts on board even though there were other yummy options. We never tried to the famous muesli made at the table but it was a clear favorite for others. One nice thing about eating in Blu with just the two of us was that we would be seated near the windows . The view out those windows on Deck 5 was just incredible and it caused me to pinch myself a few times to remind myself that I was, in fact, sailing on the Mediterranean! This morning we passed through the Straits of Messina (early) and that was interesting, too.

 

Hubby and I tried to get in a workout whenever we could so it was off to the Spa after breakfast. We found that the space was nice, clean and had a good assortment of cardio and weight equipment. And the view could not be beat. They could do a better job of maintaining the cardio equipment because it wasn’t unusual to find a piece that didn’t have audio, couldn’t increase resistance, etc.

 

We spent most of the day lounging on the Solstice Deck which we found offered shade when needed and wasn’t as crowded or loud as the pool deck. In general, I would say that it was not difficult to find lounge chairs (even four together) during our trip. Chair hogging was something I feared but for no reason….at least not on the Eastern Med cruise.

 

Today we tried the Aqua Spa Café for lunch and it was a good choice. We were able to get a table and enjoyed the fresh and lighter fare. We found that we didn’t eat lunch here as often as we would have expected as it was often hard to find a table. And while the Solarium pool and its air conditioning was lovely, we never used it.

 

We did a bit of exploring today—Lawn Club, buffet, poolside activities—and just enjoyed being lazy. The kids loved that they could go wherever they wanted whenever they wanted and they pretty much made their own fun. There was definitely a decent-sized group of tweens and teens onboard who hung out together. But my kids preferred to ‘hang’ with each other and us and that was fine. They are big on people watching so you can imagine that they had a field day on board a ship with almost 3000 people!

 

 

Tonight was our first Formal Night and we had a blast dressing up. My son loves to wear his tuxedo (my husband does not!) so they decided to bring them on the cruise figuring it was either a tuxedo or suit that would have to be packed. And my daughter and I loved the opportunity to dress up so everyone was happy.

 

I would say that we were among the most dressed at Blu on Formal nights but didn’t feel out of place. And there were definitely people onboard who were as dressed as we were.

 

After dinner we went to Quasar to check out the DJ party but it never materialized. But we enjoyed the funky chairs!

 

 

I don’t think we made it to the show that night but we did go up to the Sky Lounge and enjoyed some dancing. Very fun evening!

[mcdkaty]

Thanks you so much for your review-I am truly enjoying it-love your honest take on travel and it is really great that you posted some of the prices. We are talking about possibly doing this cruise in 2014 for our 10th Anniversary-Helps to motivate (not that this is a huge problem-I would be gone in the morning) but to save the $$ to enjoy it:)

[sbt518]

I love how you color coordinated your outfits on formal night! Don't know if that was intentional but it is great, I hope you display that photo in your house somewhere.

 

And I appreciate the review, we are going in June of next year and all the information I can get is much appreciated so thanks very much.