Reflection: June 30 thoughts

[wineandbeach]

Just arrived home from our June 30 Greek/Italy cruise with extended time post cruise in Assisi, Tuscany, Lake Garda and Milan. Spent 2 days pre-cruise in Rome at the Domus Trevi. Small bed and breakfast just steps away from Trevi Fountain. Seeing the Trevi Fountain in the morning practically by ourselves was just amazing. We attended the Pallium Mass with Pope Francis while in Rome (as a Roman Catholic - we couldn't have had a better start to our vacation) and visited some non crowded churches and attractions and also did a food tour.

This was my 18th Cruise and 4th one on Celebrity. Embarkation and Debarkation were the easiest of any cruise we have been on. Within seconds, I remembered why I love Celebrity (we usually can't cruise them because we are limited to summer and usually cruise in the Caribbean). The small things such as champagne as you step on the ship, ice towels and flavored ice water when boarding after ports and actual hand towels in the bathrooms are just a few of the things that put Celebrity a step above. We were given Sorbet and fruit Kabobs after a hot day in Athens. We had a Concierge room and enjoyed the fruit and snacks each afternoon.

We found the Service very good. We ate late seating in the main dining room and although food is subjective, we found it very good. We ordered a lot of different things and often ordered an extra dish for the table (there were 4 of us) to share. Our Waiter, Asst Waiter and Wine Sommelier were all great. We had the premium package and were able to get Chianti in both the Wine Bar and the Dining room. Our glasses were always full. The buffet was pretty good and you could always get some food, and except for a very short time where you can only get pizza, there was always variety. I liked that I could get an unopen can of soda anytime to bring to my room. We had a balcony and often sat and had a snack on it. We ordered room service for breakfast most days due to the early port days.

We usually went to Wine Masters for a before dinner drink. Never crowded. Didn't use the Martini bar much because it was always crowded. Enjoyed the waiters at the Sunset Bar. It is a small bar and they work very well together, always friendly with laughs and smiles. Blind Vinyl was definitely the best house band we have seen. Usually I pay no attention to the house band but we always made time for this one. Celebrity and Blind Vinyl put on a wonderful party for the USA 4th of July holiday. The Silent disco was something new to me and a bit strange but they always had a nice crowd in the bar and on the dance floor. I wish they had a bit more of a night life such as a piano bar or nice after dinner music in the bars.

The only time I felt a crowd on the ship was of course on Sea Days. Usually, we have a bigger group and have no problem getting seats together as long as we look in areas not near the pool. This ship definitely had too many people for the amount of lounge chairs. If you didn't get there early, you would be very lucky to get two seats. By 1:30 seats started to become available.

We loved the ports and did tours at most of them. We enjoyed every one.

Celebrity is still my favorite line and we booked for next summer in the Caribbean!

Let me know if you have any questions. Most of our trip was planned with the help of Cruise Critic.

[easyboy]

We will also be on a pre-cruise stay in Rome in May 2018. Where was the Pallium mass held? Did you need a reservation?

Thanks for your cruise feedback.

[wineandbeach]

The Pallium Mass, for the first time, was held outside. Pope Francis made this decision the day before so more people could attend. Usually it is inside St Peter's. Tickets are required for Mass unless it is outside. We did have tickets which are quite nice and a cherished keepsake. He also does the Angelus each week (where he comes to the window and prays) No tickets required for that. The schedule is not out for 2018 yet but this site could help you research if you will be there when there is a Mass: http://www.papalaudience.org/schedule You need to fax in your request and they will answer in a couple weeks to let you know if tickets are available then you have to pick them up the day before the Mass.

[easyboy]

Thanks for the response.

[CaribbeanBound]

Please post what you did at each port and what you might do differently given what you know now.

[wineandbeach]

I loved this itinerary and could talk forever about the ports. There were 4 of us and none of us can pick a favorite. It was our first time to all these ports and we had an amazing time at each one.

 

 

Sicily: We did the Godfather tour with Coop. Sicily Life. My husband is a big Godfather fan so we chose this tour but it is great to see the towns even if you aren’t a fan. We went to Savoca (where the famous bar from the movie is), Forza D’Agro (loved wandering this old town) and Taormina which is a little village with stores and good food. Of course we had a Cannoli! Saw some beautiful sites and enjoyed the day.

 

 

Malta: We did on our own. It was a Sunday so we went to a High Mass in St John’s Co Cathedral. (Mass was in Maltese, songs in Latin). Very Ornate cathedral. We visited The Church of St Paul’s Shipwreck. Had the pleasure of going when the locals were finishing their festival of St Paul traditions and putting the statue back which is a process with singing and clapping. The locals invited us to join in. Definitely one of my favorite churches. We explored Valetta and took a cab to explore M’dina. Great Island!

 

 

Mykonos: We did on our own. We took the free shuttle to town and then took a cab to SuperParadise Beach. We got front row loungers 2/40E (with umbrella and towels). They get cheaper as you go back. We had the beach with just a few other people to ourselves for the first hour and half. It started getting crowded in the afternoon. There were nice bathrooms and changing rooms as well as food and drinks. In the afternoon we got a cab to the windmills and had lunch and explored, then walked back to town. It was very windy in town (the waves were coming over the rails) but very calm and beautiful at SuperParadise.

 

 

Rhodes: We did a private tour with Nicholas Rhodes. Manuel was our driver. I corresponded with Nicholas before the tour and gave him thoughts of what I wanted and he planned the tour. We saw some beautiful sites, explored Lindos, visited a working pottery shop, then went for lunch. We had lunch at Argo which had great food and an sat on the deck to eat with amazing scenery. We were given lounge chairs on the beach there and went swimming in what felt like our own private beautiful cove.

 

 

Santorini: We toured with Iliana form Santorini Wine Trails. I wanted to do the wineries but also explore the island so Iliana put together a beautiful day for us. We went to the beach, had coffee at a peaceful beachside cafe, visited the Peak of Mt Prophet Elias, then went to hike around the lighthouse (which I loved - the views were amazing). We went to 2 wineries and had a delicious lunch at the second (highly recommend including lunch if you go. We also went to a vineyard to see the different way wine is made in Santorini. We also had time to explore Oia and Fira.

 

 

Athens: We did a tour with Nikos Loukas. We went to the Acropolis before the crowds. We couldn’t believe the number of people pouring in as we were leaving. We saw the big sites of Athens and went to explore Plaka and have lunch there and roam the ancient Agora.

 

 

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Naples: We did on our own. Headed to the Spaccanapoli area and went to Mass at Gesu Nuovo. We explored that area all day visiting churches, the museum of San Severo to see the “veiled Christ” (definitely worth it to see), and shopping. We had lunch at Sofia Donna. Being from NJ, we believe you can’t get pizza anywhere like ours (at least not in the states) but this was the best pizza I ever had. We spent the entire day just roaming and enjoying the area.

[Clarea]

Interesting feedback, thanks.