Celebrity excursions and air

[NCteacherlovescruising]

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

[George C]

We like using celebrity or rccl for airfare . Great ports we did a private tour with roll call members with papillon for Florence best tour we ever did, including skip the line for museum with David. We loved going to Pompeii during Naples stop , also great pizza at Brandi which is close to port and featured on Stanley Tucci show on cnn. Barcelona is a wonderful place to spend a couple days , we stayed at universal Barcelona which was very nice with a rooftop bar and pool with great view of the city.

[NCteacherlovescruising]

13 minutes ago, George C said:

We like using celebrity or rccl for airfare . Great ports we did a private tour with roll call members with papillon for Florence best tour we ever did, including skip the line for museum with David. We loved going to Pompeii during Naples stop , also great pizza at Brandi which is close to port and featured on Stanley Tucci show on cnn. Barcelona is a wonderful place to spend a couple days , we stayed at universal Barcelona which was very nice with a rooftop bar and pool with great view of the city.

 

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?

[mom says]

First, don't feel that you need to limit yourself to ship excursions, even if it's your first time in Europe. Read and research your ports from multiple sources, including your Roll Call and the Ports of Call forum. I strongly recommend getting a copy of the Rick Steves Mediterranean Cruise guidebook. Lots of great suggestions on how to DIY, when ship excursions make sense, and more generally, how things work in Europe that are different than at home.

 

As for air, we prefer to book directly with the airline. Booking thru the cruiseline adds an extra layer of complexity, and if difficulties arise, don't be surprised if you end up ping ponging between the 2 to get a problem resolved. Generally airlines open bookings 330 days in advance; but we rarely book international flights more than 6 months out. If you do book very far out, be prepared for flight changes; perhaps more than once. We sign up for notifications specifically for this so we can react in a timely manner.

[NCteacherlovescruising]

11 minutes ago, mom says said:

First, don't feel that you need to limit yourself to ship excursions, even if it's your first time in Europe. Read and research your ports from multiple sources, including your Roll Call and the Ports of Call forum. I strongly recommend getting a copy of the Rick Steves Mediterranean Cruise guidebook. Lots of great suggestions on how to DIY, when ship excursions make sense, and more generally, how things work in Europe that are different than at home.

 

As for air, we prefer to book directly with the airline. Booking thru the cruiseline adds an extra layer of complexity, and if difficulties arise, don't be surprised if you end up ping ponging between the 2 to get a problem resolved. Generally airlines open bookings 330 days in advance; but we rarely book international flights more than 6 months out. If you do book very far out, be prepared for flight changes; perhaps more than once. We sign up for notifications specifically for this so we can react in a timely manner.

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. 

[Northern Aurora]

7 minutes ago, NCteacherlovescruising said:

...... 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. 

 

While I  never assume that everyone I will encounter in Europe speaks English a great number of Europeans do.  English has become the common language in the hospitality industry and in the business world, which has allowed Americans to become lazy in learning a second language.

 

You will have no problems booking one-way flights into Rome and then one-way flights out of Barcelona.  Barcelona is one of my favorite cities so I would suggest trying to spend several days there.  And so much to see and do in Rome too.

[Jim_Iain]

A really good resource even for seasoned travelers is to join the Roll Call for your particular cruise.   There, there will be discussions of ports and excursions as well as many that will assist you with all your questions.   I've been participating in Roll Calls for 15 years and some of the best excursions were private tours arranged by others on the roll call that were looking for others to fill their excursion. 

 

[mahdnc]

Hi. Congrats on your upcoming European cruise. 
 

I would definitely encourage you to consider booking an independent private shore excursion. There are a lot of advantages including a smaller group size, you have control over the shored itinerary, and it is way more time efficient. 
 

We just finished a wonderful transatlantic cruise that started in Rome. We spent five terrific nights in Rome and I posted our experience in this thread: 

 

We hired Marisa as our private tour guide for two days in Rome which was great. I highly recommend her and there are additional details shared in them Live thread that I posted. Her web page is https://www.romewithmarisa.com/

 

Good luck with your planning!!

[mom says]

5 hours ago, NCteacherlovescruising said:

Is it difficult to book flights into one place and out of another?  I’ve only booked round trip. 

Not at all. Couldn't be easier, and can be done 2 ways. The first is to book 2 one way flights as mentioned above. The other is to book what is termed a multi city ticket into one city (like Barcelona)and out of another (like Rome). Depending on the airline (s), one method may be cheaper than the other.

 

As for flight costs, we usually monitor prices on Google flights for a couple of months to get a feel for variations, before booking when the price is acceptable. You can set up price alert notifications on Google Flights, as well.

Edited December 29, 2022 by mom says

[scubarn1]

We recently had a bad experience with Celebrity Air and would be hesitant to use them again. Booked our flight to Amsterdam for a July 2023 cruise and got a great deal. Last week noticed our flight home on Delta disappeared. Spoke to Delta and was told Celebrity did not ticket the flight, Celebrity said Delta changed the flight time (this was incorrect). Celebrity offered to rebook both the outgoing and return flights but the cost was going to be $1000 more then we originally paid. They also offered to work with Delta to see if we could get our original return flight back, but there was no guarantee it would be at the same price and would take 5 business days. We ended up cancelling our flights with Celebrity and rebooking directly with the airline for significant less then what Celebrity quoted us to rebook. 
 

[southernbreezes]

I book with Celebrity Air because you do not have to pay until your final cruise payment is due you can also cancel the flight up until that time. But about 6 months before the trip I check for cheaper flights using Kayak if I find a better deal I call and cancel my flights with Celebrity air. Most of the time I find a better flight but not always.

[terrydtx]

15 hours ago, NCteacherlovescruising said:

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?

We book with FBC early and knowing we can cancel or make changes anytime for no penalty until final payment 90 days out from the cruise. Flying overseas we book business class and by booking a decent fare with FBC we know that we will not pay any more than that fare.  We then have plenty of time to look at BC consolidators for better fares as we get closer to departure. FBC is our fail safe back up in case we can't find better deals on our own. We did this for our flights this year to Rome and home from Venice and the BC fare we booked on FBC ended up being $1200pp less than we ever found on our own or with consolidators. I have also found FBC to be better for flights that are multiple cities and or airlines. We booked BC on United to Rome and home from Venice on Delta for our cruise in August this year.

 

We have booked our air for our Apex cruise in September with FBC and so far, it is a lot less than we have found on our own or with a consolidator. We booked the FBC fare in November, but it is $2000pp more than we paid for our trip in August 2022. Air costs have escalated tremendously for 2023 over 2022 and I expect 2024 to be even worse.

Edited December 29, 2022 by terrydtx

[George C]

15 hours ago, NCteacherlovescruising said:

 

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?

Almost all our excursion were private with others from our roll call, I would join your roll call if you haven’t yet . 

[NCteacherlovescruising]

14 hours ago, Northern Aurora said:

 

While I  never assume that everyone I will encounter in Europe speaks English a great number of Europeans do.  English has become the common language in the hospitality industry and in the business world, which has allowed Americans to become lazy in learning a second language.

 

You will have no problems booking one-way flights into Rome and then one-way flights out of Barcelona.  Barcelona is one of my favorite cities so I would suggest trying to spend several days there.  And so much to see and do in Rome too.

 

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.  

 

14 hours ago, Jim_Iain said:

A really good resource even for seasoned travelers is to join the Roll Call for your particular cruise.   There, there will be discussions of ports and excursions as well as many that will assist you with all your questions.   I've been participating in Roll Calls for 15 years and some of the best excursions were private tours arranged by others on the roll call that were looking for others to fill their excursion. 

 

 

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. 

 

 

10 hours ago, mahdnc said:

Hi. Congrats on your upcoming European cruise. 
 

I would definitely encourage you to consider booking an independent private shore excursion. There are a lot of advantages including a smaller group size, you have control over the shored itinerary, and it is way more time efficient. 
 

We just finished a wonderful transatlantic cruise that started in Rome. We spent five terrific nights in Rome and I posted our experience in this thread: 

 

We hired Marisa as our private tour guide for two days in Rome which was great. I highly recommend her and there are additional details shared in them Live thread that I posted. Her web page is https://www.romewithmarisa.com/

 

Good luck with your planning!!

 

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!

 

8 hours ago, mom says said:

Not at all. Couldn't be easier, and can be done 2 ways. The first is to book 2 one way flights as mentioned above. The other is to book what is termed a multi city ticket into one city (like Barcelona)and out of another (like Rome). Depending on the airline (s), one method may be cheaper than the other.

 

As for flight costs, we usually monitor prices on Google flights for a couple of months to get a feel for variations, before booking when the price is acceptable. You can set up price alert notifications on Google Flights, as well.

 

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.  

 

2 hours ago, scubarn1 said:

We recently had a bad experience with Celebrity Air and would be hesitant to use them again. Booked our flight to Amsterdam for a July 2023 cruise and got a great deal. Last week noticed our flight home on Delta disappeared. Spoke to Delta and was told Celebrity did not ticket the flight, Celebrity said Delta changed the flight time (this was incorrect). Celebrity offered to rebook both the outgoing and return flights but the cost was going to be $1000 more then we originally paid. They also offered to work with Delta to see if we could get our original return flight back, but there was no guarantee it would be at the same price and would take 5 business days. We ended up cancelling our flights with Celebrity and rebooking directly with the airline for significant less then what Celebrity quoted us to rebook. 
 

 

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!

 

27 minutes ago, southernbreezes said:

I book with Celebrity Air because you do not have to pay until your final cruise payment is due you can also cancel the flight up until that time. But about 6 months before the trip I check for cheaper flights using Kayak if I find a better deal I call and cancel my flights with Celebrity air. Most of the time I find a better flight but not always.

 

That's something to consider.  My friend does the same.

 

9 minutes ago, terrydtx said:

We book with FBC early and knowing we can cancel or make changes anytime for no penalty until final payment 90 days out from the cruise. Flying overseas we book business class and by booking a decent fare with FBC we know that we will not pay any more than that fare.  We then have plenty of time to look at BC consolidators for better fares as we get closer to departure. FBC is our fail safe back up in case we can't find better deals on our own. We did this for our flights this year to Rome and home from Venice and the BC fare we booked on FBC ended up being $1200pp less than we ever found on our own or with consolidators.

 

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!

 

4 minutes ago, George C said:

Almost all our excursion were private with others from our roll call, I would join your roll call if you haven’t yet . 

 

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.

[hrhdhd]

FBC = Flights by Celebrity 

BC = business class 

 

 

[terrydtx]

7 minutes ago, NCteacherlovescruising said:

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!

FBC is Flights by Celebrity, their airfare booking program. BC is Business class which is the old first class on overseas flights. Most BC seats are now lay flat seats with many nice amenities. There is also a newer flying class, Premium Economy (PE) which is closer to the old business class seating on the 1990's and early 2000's, with wider seats with more recline (not lay flat), free premium drinks, priority boarding and better meals than coach. As a rule of thumb PE is about twice the cost of coach and BC is twice the cost of PE. PE is not available on all airlines or airplane configurations. 

[NCteacherlovescruising]

16 minutes ago, hrhdhd said:

FBC = Flights by Celebrity 

BC = business class 

 

 

 

Thank you!

 

7 minutes ago, terrydtx said:

FBC is Flights by Celebrity, their airfare booking program. BC is Business class which is the old first class on overseas flights. Most BC seats are now lay flat seats with many nice amenities. There is also a newer flying class, Premium Economy (PE) which is closer to the old business class seating on the 1990's and early 2000's, with wider seats with more recline (not lay flat), free premium drinks, priority boarding and better meals than coach. As a rule of thumb PE is about twice the cost of coach and BC is twice the cost of PE. PE is not available on all airlines or airplane configurations. 

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.  

[Jeremiah1212]

You are really limiting yourself by sticking to ship tours. All of these ports are easy to navigate on your own and you have months and months to research. You will save a ton of money, have longer time in port and more flexibility by going at it on your own. It can be a little intimidating at first but it's just really not that difficult.

 

IMO there is nothing worse than being stuck on a big motor coach with an earbud in and a sticker on your shirt as you are hearded around by a tour guide. 

[NCteacherlovescruising]

13 minutes ago, Jeremiah1212 said:

You are really limiting yourself by sticking to ship tours. All of these ports are easy to navigate on your own and you have months and months to research. You will save a ton of money, have longer time in port and more flexibility by going at it on your own. It can be a little intimidating at first but it's just really not that difficult.

 

IMO there is nothing worse than being stuck on a big motor coach with an earbud in and a sticker on your shirt as you are hearded around by a tour guide. 

 

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?  

[terrydtx]

12 minutes ago, Jeremiah1212 said:

You are really limiting yourself by sticking to ship tours. All of these ports are easy to navigate on your own and you have months and months to research. You will save a ton of money, have longer time in port and more flexibility by going at it on your own. It can be a little intimidating at first but it's just really not that difficult.

 

IMO there is nothing worse than being stuck on a big motor coach with an earbud in and a sticker on your shirt as you are hearded around by a tour guide. 

I agree, for example on our Reflection cruise in August we booked a private mini-van tour for 6 hours of the Amalfi coast for $125pp for just the 4 of us. Celebrity had a similar tour for a small group (Max of 12) that was essentially the same at $225pp cost. We saved $400 by booking a private tour. We also got to set our personal itinerary and times to stop for lunch on the tour.

[terrydtx]

12 minutes ago, NCteacherlovescruising said:

 

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?  

We did a suite on the Reflection in August, and I agree the Luminae was excellent. We also had $1000 in OBC, part was used for a couple of small group ship excursions and the rest was used in the ship's stores, I bought 3 Tommy Bahama shirts that I love. We left with no unspent OBC.

 

This was our 4th trip to Italy, and Europe, we have never had a problem with language and getting around on our own. We even took the train after our Reflection cruise from Rome to Florence and then to Venice for our second cruise. We spent 3 days in Florence and 3 days in Venice with no problems of being on our own. I do not see any ports you would have problems with.   

 

BTW I must warn you, once you cruise in a suite you will find it very hard to cruise in anything less in the future, this happened to us.

Edited December 29, 2022 by terrydtx

[NCteacherlovescruising]

5 hours ago, terrydtx said:

I agree, for example on our Reflection cruise in August we booked a private mini-van tour for 6 hours of the Amalfi coast for $125pp for just the 4 of us. Celebrity had a similar tour for a small group (Max of 12) that was essentially the same at $225pp cost. We saved $400 by booking a private tour. We also got to set our personal itinerary and times to stop for lunch on the tour.

 

That's a big difference!  However, we do have all that OBC to use.

 

4 hours ago, terrydtx said:

We did a suite on the Reflection in August, and I agree the Luminae was excellent. We also had $1000 in OBC, part was used for a couple of small group ship excursions and the rest was used in the ship's stores, I bought 3 Tommy Bahama shirts that I love. We left with no unspent OBC.

 

This was our 4th trip to Italy, and Europe, we have never had a problem with language and getting around on our own. We even took the train after our Reflection cruise from Rome to Florence and then to Venice for our second cruise. We spent 3 days in Florence and 3 days in Venice with no problems of being on our own. I do not see any ports you would have problems with.   

 

Good to know language shouldn't be much of an issue.  

 

4 hours ago, terrydtx said:

BTW I must warn you, once you cruise in a suite you will find it very hard to cruise in anything less in the future, this happened to us.

 

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.

[terrydtx]

1 hour ago, NCteacherlovescruising said:

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 know, I retired in April 2020 and because of our saving and investing while working we have been able to book suites (Sky Suites) and travel in first class hotels and air fare. We now have time to take much longer trips, 37 days in Italy in Greece this year, 28 days next year and another 30+ days in 2024 in the land down under. We want to enjoy our prime retirement travel years while we can and make sure we have nothing to leave our kids, LOL It is nice to travel any time of the year now.

Edited December 29, 2022 by terrydtx

[NCteacherlovescruising]

1 hour ago, terrydtx said:

I know, I retired in April 2020 and because of our saving and investing while working we have been able to book suites (Sky Suites) and travel in first class hotels and air fare. We now have time to take much longer trips, 37 days in Italy in Greece this year, 28 days next year and another 30+ days in 2024 in the land down under. We want to enjoy our prime retirement travel years while we can and make sure we have nothing to leave our kids, LOL It is nice to travel any time of the year now.

What a perfect way to spend your retirement!

[Lastdance]

 

 

#1   NCteacherlovescruising

• Posted yesterday at 02:54 PM

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 -Montserrat is beautiful, but go early in the morning to beat the crowds.

At sea

Provence (Marseille) France 7-6

Nice (Villefranche) France 8-Santa Margherita - take the ferry to Portofino on your own  Italy 8-6 - Villefranche - Eze

Florence/Pisa (Laspezia) Italy - Overnight June 18 7 AM-Jun 19 6 PM * Love that this is overnight - Cinque Terre -Take the train on your own and...

At sea

Naples, Italy 7-6 - Take the ferry to Capri on your own.

Rome, Italy 6AM

 

• You can do these, on your own, but also with a small group from your roll call.  Most of these are inexpensive to do with a group of 6-8, or on your own, unless you find a small group excursion offered by Celebrity, but it will cost a little more.   Remember, the larger the group, the more time it takes to load and unload buses, so less time to actually experience.  However, I do understand your concern and this being your first time.  No worries, as you will return again and again...
• As far as FBC or booking yourself, I would look at the pros and cons of each and then make your own decision.  Both have good options, but it really depends on what you feel is a good price.  Are having your seats booked ahead of time important, or is that not a big deal?  Lots to consider; I am sure you will do a great job with your research.  I have found that is one of the best parts of the trip because you learn so much from reading, along with the excitement that it brings as you put it all together.

 

Edited December 30, 2022 by Lastdance