Just booked July 10th 2015 Eastern Med

[CC71]

Hello, this is my first post in the Celebrity section of Cruise Critic so please be gentle ;).

Just wanted to share my excitement at having booked our first Celebrity cruise on the Reflection for July 2015, we have chosen Concierge Class cabin 1118 and found the sticky about S-class cabins very helpful in making our selection - so thank you to everyone that has contributed to that. This will be our first truly child free holiday in a long time, really looking forward to spending time with my husband. If anyone has any great hints or tips I'd be very glad to read them and I hope to find others who may be on this cruise too as it would be great to chat about our plans.

Thank you once again to all who have contributed so much helpful information, it's fantastic for cruise novices like me!:)

[Waihekean]

Hello and welcome to Cruise Critic:).

Have done the Eastern Med twice. 1st one with my Mum and one last year with DH (dear Hubby). It was his first cruise and he loved it. Both cruises had the same itinerary.

The Solstice class ships are beautiful and have really nice cabins.

 

If you want to meet up with people from your cruise, then go to the Roll Call section, look up your ship and date and introduce yourself. If you get 25 or more Pax (passengers) enrolling for the connections party then Celebrity (X) will put on a coffee morning for the roll callers to Meet & Greet. The roll call is also good for organising your own excursions and transfers.

For example through Cruise Critic (CC) found out that a lot of Pax recommended RomeCabs for either transfers from airport to hotel in Rome and from Rome to Civitavecchia. So, have organised that twice now myself and that has greatly reduced the cost, plus it is fun to share the arrival at the ship with some roll callers.

 

Doing a Med cruise requires a lot of research. Because there is so much to do and see, it is important to be really organised and to know how to get from A to B. Also to be aware that you can not do it all, so need to slot in some relax time. It will also be very hot, so need to be prepared for that.

 

You will find a lot of info and help in the Ports of Call section. If you do not find, just ask. Many will be looking for the same answers.

 

Last, but not least. Try to add extra days on either end of the cruise. Of course Rome would be very popular, but also Venice or Florence.

 

Once you get into the research it is a lot of fun and really exciting. Just start looking up places on youtube and looking at links like Europe for Visitors etc.

[CruisingGatorGirl]

Hello, this is my first post in the Celebrity section of Cruise Critic so please be gentle ;).

Just wanted to share my excitement at having booked our first Celebrity cruise on the Reflection for July 2015, we have chosen Concierge Class cabin 1118 and found the sticky about S-class cabins very helpful in making our selection - so thank you to everyone that has contributed to that. This will be our first truly child free holiday in a long time, really looking forward to spending time with my husband. If anyone has any great hints or tips I'd be very glad to read them and I hope to find others who may be on this cruise too as it would be great to chat about our plans.

Thank you once again to all who have contributed so much helpful information, it's fantastic for cruise novices like me!:)

 

You are going to love Celebrity! We did the Western Med.; we are now hooked on Celebrity. If you have any ports in Italy, I highly suggest you check out Rom in Limo :) We could not have been happier with RIL. I have a review in my signature you can read if interested; we used RIL in 3 ports (Pisa (Florence), ROme, and Naples (Pompeii and Amalfi cost).

[CC71]

Hello and welcome to Cruise Critic:).

Have done the Eastern Med twice. 1st one with my Mum and one last year with DH (dear Hubby). It was his first cruise and he loved it. Both cruises had the same itinerary.

The Solstice class ships are beautiful and have really nice cabins.

 

If you want to meet up with people from your cruise, then go to the Roll Call section, look up your ship and date and introduce yourself. If you get 25 or more Pax (passengers) enrolling for the connections party then Celebrity (X) will put on a coffee morning for the roll callers to Meet & Greet. The roll call is also good for organising your own excursions and transfers.

For example through Cruise Critic (CC) found out that a lot of Pax recommended RomeCabs for either transfers from airport to hotel in Rome and from Rome to Civitavecchia. So, have organised that twice now myself and that has greatly reduced the cost, plus it is fun to share the arrival at the ship with some roll callers.

 

Doing a Med cruise requires a lot of research. Because there is so much to do and see, it is important to be really organised and to know how to get from A to B. Also to be aware that you can not do it all, so need to slot in some relax time. It will also be very hot, so need to be prepared for that.

 

You will find a lot of info and help in the Ports of Call section. If you do not find, just ask. Many will be looking for the same answers.

 

Last, but not least. Try to add extra days on either end of the cruise. Of course Rome would be very popular, but also Venice or Florence.

 

Once you get into the research it is a lot of fun and really exciting. Just start looking up places on youtube and looking at links like Europe for Visitors etc.

Thanks very much for the information, we plan to add a few days on to our cruise - probably at the beginning, the info re Rome Cabs is really helpful thanks!

No-one has started a roll call, maybe I'll be brave and start one up as it would be great to chat with fellow cruisers!

[TeaBag]

Welcome to Cruise Critic.

 

It is fun talking to others and planning before the cruise, so I hope you get a roll call started if there is none. We really enjoyed the eastern Med on Equinox a few years ago.

Edited July 1, 2014 by YVR cruiser

[CC71]

Welcome to Cruise Critic.

 

Yes, a roll call is started. Here is the link:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1830090

 

It is fun talking to others and planning before the cruise. We really enjoyed the eastern Med on Equinox a few years ago.

 

Thank you for the link for the roll call:). Glad to hear that you enjoyed your Eastern Med cruise, we are really excited for ours:D.

[CC71]

Just checked and there isn't a roll call yet for July 10 2015, so I might just have to be brave and start one!

[CC71]

You are going to love Celebrity! We did the Western Med.; we are now hooked on Celebrity. If you have any ports in Italy, I highly suggest you check out Rom in Limo :) We could not have been happier with RIL. I have a review in my signature you can read if interested; we used RIL in 3 ports (Pisa (Florence), ROme, and Naples (Pompeii and Amalfi cost).

 

Thank you for the recommendation and I'll definitely check out your trip report!

[YoPhilly]

Just checked and there isn't a roll call yet for July 10 2015, so I might just have to be brave and start one!

 

Be brave! Especially for a novice, you'll get real satisfaction from starting the roll call. Let us know.

[CC71]

Be brave! Especially for a novice, you'll get real satisfaction from starting the roll call. Let us know.

 

Well YoPhilly, I put my big girl pants on and started a roll call for our cruise, just not sure I posted it in the correct place as when I searched for it using the 'search tool' I didn't see it there... :o

 

Thanks for the encouragement and hopefully if I've posted it incorrectly some kind soul will put it where it's supposed to be!

[TeaBag]

Just checked and there isn't a roll call yet for July 10 2015, so I might just have to be brave and start one!

You are right. My mistake. You are also very quick and got to my post before I saw my mistake and edited it a few minutes later! We don't need to be gentle with you. You need to be gentle with us, me anyway!!:D

[CC71]

You are right. My mistake. You are also very quick and got to my post before I saw my mistake and edited it a few minutes later! We don't need to be gentle with you. You need to be gentle with us, me anyway!!:D

 

Lol YVR cruiser :). Thanks for the encouragement though, as it's always scary trying new things and joining an established community. I notice that you're in Vancouver, it's somewhere I've always wanted to visit and hope to get there one day!

[TeaBag]

I just checked your itinerary. We have been to most of the ports. Make sure you go to Taormina in Sicily. It is beautiful.

 

The tour in Ephesus among the ruins there is very interesting. We even hauled home a rug from Kusadasi!

 

The town of Oia in Santorini is also very beautiful. Some say to take the ferry there instead of lining up for the cable cars which can have very long lines depending on how many ships are in port.

 

Sorry again for the error. It must have been too early for me, eyes not quite open yet!:o

[royalcruz]

We just did Eastern Med on Reflection and it was great. We used Rome Cabs for all of our transportation and would use them again; they usually show up about 15-20 minutes early, so expect that. We stayed at Albergo Cesari in Rome...the rooms are very basic, but the rooftop lounge is lovely for breakfast (included) and drinks(2 included), and you can walk to many sites from there. We also stayed at the Hotel Mozart in a nice deluxe balcony room...the rooftop lounge there serves great snacks when you order drinks...it's a few blocks from the Spanish Steps.

 

We did the guided tour "Lovely Taormina" but would have preferred to have done "Taormina on Your Own", as it is a great place for lunch and shopping but there wasn't enough time for either...there was no information on the guided tour that I would have been sorry to have missed. Mykonos was my favorite port for wandering around...it is the most adorable little seaside town, and there is lots of walking if you like that. We took the ship's tours to see the ruins of Pompeii, Ephesus, and Athens; a lot of people on our roll call arranged private tours. The line for the cable cars in Santorini looks really long but moves very quickly...you purchase your tickets while in line, so you only have to line up once each way. Have a great trip!:)

[rrmcdonald]

We just got back from Eastern Med on the Reflection (departed Rome May 23). Excellent cruise. I would suggest you get to know people on the roll call; we joined some wonderful people on private tours we met on the roll call.

 

Personally, I would suggest trying to find private tours; ship sponsored tours are not as flexible and are often much more crowded (and more expensive). Private tours can accommodate about 8 people and are run by those with local knowledge.

 

We flew in to Rome a day before and used Rome Cabs, as well. They were great. Visited Rome the day before and the day after the cruise (had to do it that way because of the flights). Had private tour for Athens, Ephesus, and Naples/Sorrento/Positano/Amalfi coast. Our private tour guides knew all of the local restaurants, etc., for lunch and to shop. We took a ship tour in Taormina (I agree with prior poster that it is a great little town).

 

A lot of sightseeing; not like a Caribbean cruise where you just go to a beach and relax! But well worth it!

[macandsea07]

You will love the itinerary and Reflection. We did this cruise last fall and as others have posted it requires planning and organization. We too connected with our roll call and joined existing or organized our own private tours. It was our first time doing this but we met so many great people and had an incredible vacation. Tour operators of note included Joe Banana in Sicily and Sorrento. In Ephesus we used Ephesus Shuttle. A highlight for us was seeing the Terrace Houses- if you use the cruise's tour this section of Ephesus is passed due to the volume of people on the tour. The small, private tours had the flexibility to visit. Similarly we learned that the large tour buses have to bypass Positano while our smaller coach was able to wind its way halfway down and park and then we were able to walk down the winding streets all the way to the waterfront and enjoy the incredible scenery. Santorini was another memorable island. Here however we decided to change it up a bit and organized a rental car. Good luck had us off the ship very early (you tender here) and we were in Oia snapping pics of all the iconic views well ahead of the tour buses.

In the end whatever your plans, I'm sure you will have a wonderful time.

[TLCOhio]

Hello, this is my first post in the Celebrity section of Cruise Critic so please be gentle. This will be our first truly child free holiday in a long time, really looking forward to spending time with my husband. If anyone has any great hints or tips I'd be very glad to read them. Thank you once again to all who have contributed so much helpful information, it's fantastic for cruise novices like me!

 

Welcome to these CC Boards. Lots of great people, info and ideas here. Don't be shy!! The only "dumb" question is the one you don't ask.

 

You have a great group of port stops. This includes Sicily, Athens, Ephesus, Rhodes, Santorini, Mykonos and Naples. Below are some links, visuals, tips and ideas for Athens, Ephesus and Mykonos from our visit there. On my live/blog below, you can find added info and visuals for the amazing Naples/Amalfi Coast and always special Rome.

 

Will you have added time for Rome prior to and/or after your cruise? Great city with so much to see and do. The Med is so much more about the ports and places to see on shore. Floating on the boat is nice, but you've got some great stops. Will want to maximize your port potentials.

 

For those who have not yet visited Greece and Athens, the good news is that the wonderful Plaka is right handy and next door to the famed Acropolis area. That makes things so much easier. On going up the hill, be careful as the stone steps can be slick in areas. And you will be looking up and forgetting to watch where and how you are stepping. It's well worth the effort getting there to the top. It is amazing history and architecture!! Also, we had a private guide to help us on this spectacular site. It's not cheap, but it was well worth it to know more on what you are seeing and why it is so important. Below are a few of my visual sample to get people excited about their upcoming visit and/or re-live those wonderful memories from this historic city.

 

Added questions, reactions? Here are a few visual samples to build the excitement!!

 

For Athens, Greece, check out this posting with many ideas, tips and exciting visuals. Go to:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1101008

There have been over 9,565 views on this posting.

 

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

 

Did a June 7-19, 2011, Celebrity Solstice cruise from Barcelona that had stops in Villefranche, ports near Pisa and Rome, Naples, Kotor, Venice and Dubrovnik. Enjoyed great weather and a wonderful trip. Dozens of nice visuals with key highlights, tips, comments, etc., on these postings. We are now at 176,134 views for this live/blog re-cap on our first sailing with Celebrity and much on wonderful Barcelona. Check these postings and added info at:

http://www.boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1426474

 

 

Looking downhill towards the library and other ruins from when Ephesus, along the Turkish Coast, was Rome's capital of Asia Minor. The history here is real and totally amazing! This Library of Celsus was built in honor of a Roman Senator and completed in 135 AD by his son, a Roman Consul and powerful official. The library was built to store 12,000 scrolls and to serve as a tomb for his father. The interior of the library and all its books were destroyed by fire in an earthquake in 262 AD. Only the facade survived, but was later destroyed by another earthquake. In a restoration during the 1960's and 1970's, the front was restored and serves as a key example of Roman public architecture.:

 

 

 

At Ephesus along the Turkish Coast, here is the famed outdoor theater that hosted Saint Paul preaching, plus rock stars, etc. At this site in the 1st century AD, the Apostle Paul spent over three years in Ephesus preaching the Gospel. This included a sermon condemning pagan worship in this theater:

 

 

 

Here’s a sampling of the narrow, flowered street in Mykonos in the Greek Isles with its many shops. The streets were made so narrow in order to fend off pirate attackers. It is an island with lots of history and legend dating back thousands of years, including connections to ancient Greek mythology. Ionians settled on Mykonos in the early part of the 11th century BC. As Delos developed as a sacred center, Mykonos was under the influences of the different people, including Phoenicians, Macedonians and Athenians. With the rise of Alexander the Great, the fate of Mykonos became a commercial center for agriculture and maritime trade. Mykonos flourished with enormous wealth during Roman occupation during the reign of Augustus Caesar. During the Middle Ages, Mykonos fell under the Venetians and later were victimized by the Saracens and latter the Turks. Starting in the 1950’s, its unique architecture, seclusion and hospitality have made it a haven for the rich and famous.:

 

 

 

This harbor view in Mykonos shows one of the charming windmills. From as early as the 16th century, these are one of the most recognized landmarks of Mykonos. The island is 33 square miles in size and has a population of 9,300, mostly in its main village.:

 

 

 

On Athens’ Acropolis hill with our very knowledgeable private guide we lined up at the site, she helped us appreciate all of the history and architectural details there at this famed site going back 700 years before Christ.:

 

 

 

Outdoor dining in the Plaka in the heart of Athens’ historic area. Lots of music and fun, shopping, music, plus good food. Don't miss this part of Athens!! The Plaka is clustered around the northern and eastern slopes of the Acropolis. It is a labyrinthine of streets and neoclassical architecture. The Plaka is built on top of the residential areas of the ancient town of Athens. It is known as the "Neighborhood of the Gods" due to its proximity to the Acropolis and its many nearby archaeological sites.:

 

[hirobmay]

Just wanted to share my excitement at having booked our first Celebrity cruise on the Reflection for July 2015, :)

 

HI, We are also first timers with celebrity but our Eastern Med cruise departs in a months time! :D

 

If you booked direct with celeb, 'save to favorites' the page with details your cruise and check it regularly as the price might drop, as ours did, then you can call them and they'll update the price for you.

 

I cannot wait to get on that ship...