10night Italy and Greece August 2016

We are new to cruising and are planning a trip next year for our 30th wedding anniversary. We have narrowed it down to RCCL on the Rhapsody of the Seas August 5th sailing in a Grand Suite and the Celebrity Reflection on August 19th in a Sky Suite. We like both itineraries and are having a hard time deciding between the 2 cruise lines. We are both in our late 50's if that helps.

Can anyone make suggestions or advise which might be better and why?

Thanks!

SWolf:)

It is probably a toss up. But my preference would be Celebrity. I just did 10 nights from Venice to Rome on Celebrity Constellation. The S class ships are bigger and have more options and that's what I would choose. Plus Rhapsody is an older ship.

Thank you Trainer for your response. What do you think of the shows that Celebrity puts on, also is the fact that the pool is smaller a issue?

I believe you will find that the two pools on Reflection are as large, or larger than those on Rhapsody. The larger one is outdoors, the smaller is in the Solarium, an adults only area, and is covered. You have two sea days on that itinerary, and I hope you spend some time enjoying the other features of the ship, not just the pools.

But comparing itineraries, I would choose Rhapsody, even though I would prefer Reflection. EM

I would go with Celebrity. It will be a bit more upscale with better service, food and an overall more refined cruising experience.

Keith

Just a tip, I would choose a different month, August will be unbearably hot and humid. A lot of Greeks & Italians actually take their holiday in August to get away from it.

Ditto.

I would select Celebrity. We have done four Med cruises on Celebrity. They have all been top notch. The Radiance is a Solstice class ship. In our opinion this is the best designed cruise ship on the market.

I would avoid August. Too hot, too crowded, too everything.

Late Sept or October for us. Or springtime.

Also, consider what you will be doing. Will you be off the boat most days? If so the ship is less important, the itinerary more so.

Also, check to see how much time you have in each port. There are variations by cruise line.

I have done two med cruises with celebrity. I think you would enjoy them.

Thank you to everyone for the suggestions, will check into September sailings if it's that hot and humid in August.

We just returned from 5 weeks in Greece. Aug 30-Oct 5. Normally we would have left 2 or three weeks later.

It was hot in Athens and the Peloponnese for the first week. What we really noticed was that the number of tourists became less as we moved to mid and late September. Not certain if this is the same with cruise ships as we went in early October. It was beach weather until the day we left Crete.

I have to agree with the poster that said pick another month. August will be hot and muggy. I did this cruise on Celebrity (different ship) the end of September and it was still quite warm, but manageable. The cruise was fantastic.

Am checking into September 9th,sailing,I see on Costco Travel that they offer a $615 shipboard credit with the go getter classice beverage package and bonus ship board credit of $300, in a Sky Suite 2 category.

Does anyone have experience booking a cruise with Costco Travel?

Would booking directly with Celebrity be better or would they match the amenities?

We want to get the most value and amenities for our money. Have looked at other websites and they don't offer as much.

Thanks

Cruise Critic guidelines forbid discussing travel agents or agencies. EM

Does anyone have experience booking a cruise with Costco Travel?...

I'm sorry, we are not permitted to name or discuss online travel agents/agencies/websites - Forum Guidelines. Celebrity will not match amenities offered by a travel agency or website.

No one else has mentioned this yet, but Celebrity has no indoor smoking anywhere on the ship. RCI allows indoor smoking and the casino can get very smoky. I wanted to mention this if smoke is troubling for you.

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So sorry I didn't realize, thank you for letting me know.

We just got back from Rhapsody. I would go Celebrity. We had a good cruise because of the ports but the food and entertainment was not great on Rhapsody. The ship is also a little warn out. If those things do not matter and you chose Rhapsody you will still have fun but don't have high expectations.

I also agree with everyone else. Don't go in August. We were in Rome September 20 To 25th and cruised 25th to 4th and the weather was perfect and the crowds were small.

We have been on 10 plus Royal Caribbean cruises and 4 Celebrity. I like both lines, but we prefer Celebrity if pricing is somewhat close to parity. Celebrity pretty much always has some type of package deal promotion that includes a drink package, gratuities or OBC. So that has to be factored in as well for us since we usually purchase the drink package. We are booked on a Greek Isles/Turkey cruise for late August of next year and the drink package and gratuities included sealed the deal for us choosing Celebrity. When we added those options onto the Royal Caribbean fares, we would have ended up paying more for a much shorter cruise. If it was reversed we would have happily gone with Royal Caribbean, but I'm glad it worked out in Celebrity's favor.

Am checking into September 9th,sailing,I see on Costco Travel that they offer a $615 shipboard credit with the go getter classice beverage package and bonus ship board credit of $300, in a Sky Suite 2 category.

 

Does anyone have experience booking a cruise with Costco Travel?

Would booking directly with Celebrity be better or would they match the amenities?

 

We want to get the most value and amenities for our money. Have looked at other websites and they don't offer as much.

 

Thanks

That is an excellent deal, and you will have a great cruise on Celebrity.

Ditto.

 

I would select Celebrity. We have done four Med cruises on Celebrity. They have all been top notch. The Radiance is a Solstice class ship. In our opinion this is the best designed cruise ship on the market.

 

I would avoid August. Too hot, too crowded, too everything.

 

Late Sept or October for us. Or springtime.

 

Also, consider what you will be doing. Will you be off the boat most days? If so the ship is less important, the itinerary more so.

 

Also, check to see how much time you have in each port. There are variations by cruise line.

Question for you Doris! When we go to Rome and Greece in September / October on the Celebrity Silhouette - should we bother with swim suits? Is it too cold to lay about at the end of September? This is an 11 day cruise Sept 24...... We like to pack light as in carry on

Question for you Doris! When we go to Rome and Greece in September / October on the Celebrity Silhouette - should we bother with swim suits? Is it too cold to lay about at the end of September? This is an 11 day cruise Sept 24...... We like to pack light as in carry on

Take your swim suits it will still be hot in the med high70s at least