Celebrity Edge - Italy, France, Spain Trip Report

[curmudgeon98]

12 hours ago, TPCRUISER2 said:

Following and Enjoying! Could you please share your car service from airport to hotel? And did you use the same service to the port? Thanks in advance!

As a reference point, we used civitavecchiaport.org for car service from cruise port to our apartment and apartment to airport last month.  Communication and service were excellent.

[dsa181920]

Cruise Day 4 – La Spezia, Italy

This was my favorite day on this cruise.  We arrived in La Spezia early in the morning.  My sister and brother-in-law really wanted to see the Leaning Tower of Pisa.  They took a Celebrity excursion and left early in the morning.  Doug and I wanted to have a more relaxing day and did not want to be in a crowded tourist area.  I had read some reviews from last year and decided to go on the Celebrity Excursion: Tuscan Farmhouse Experience.  This excursion did not leave until 1:15.   We had breakfast and spent some time in the Thermal Suite during the morning.  In the afternoon, we boarded a bus that would take us to the Farmhouse.  It was about an hour drive.  This is a fourth-generation family farm.  We rode on a carriage to the farmhouse.  The granddaughter was our guide on the carriage ride. They grow a variety of crops (grapes, mushrooms, sunflowers, and have beehives for honey).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

When we arrived at the farmhouse, we were seated at large shaded tables outside.  Our table had a couple from Jacksonville, Florida and a family from Norway.  We were served bread with an olive oil dipping sauce and there were two kinds of wine, a red and white.  We had a cheese plate and salami.  Next there were two kinds of pasta.  At the end of lunch, we were served a limoncello which was delicious.

 

 

 

 

We were given time to go through the farmhouse shop and sample more wines.  This was a very relaxing way to spend the day, especially after four days of 8-10 miles of walking.

We met up with Vicki and Jeff at Eden for a pre-dinner drink and shared our experiences for the day. We had dinner in the Cosmopolitan and Jowel had wine waiting for us.

 

 

We did not go to the evening show.  Instead, we spent some time in the casino playing the slot machines.  Our favorite was the Wizard of Ox and Heidi.  The Heidi machine plays a song that gets the crowd excited.  I played $20 and won $210 that evening.

 

 

 

Doug and Jeff were tired and turned in early.  Vicki and I enjoyed a drink and sat on the walkway area of Eden.

[CruiseDad-NYC]

Thanks very much for this report, which I am reading with great interest.  I am doing this journey in September as part of a B2B on the Edge from Barcelona and can't wait.  In La Spezia, I am thinking of taking the boat to the furthest village and then walking between a few and then taking the train or boat back (if it is hot and super crowded, I might not need to see all of them, even though I am really looking forward to going there - I think it depends on the crowds).

 

I am curious to see what you did in Cannes and Palma, as I hit those parts as well (in addition to Valencia, Ibiza, and Portofino).

 

I could use an Aperol Spritz and some fresh pasta now!

 

I hope you have been having a wonderful trip!

[dsa181920]

Found some more cruise pictures from day four.

 

 

Our excursion got back to the ship around 5:30 and our dinner time was 6:00.  We were told they would hold the table for us for 30 minutes.  Vicki and Jeff arrived first and bottles of wine were waiting for us. 

 

Escargot

 

Baked Brie

 

 

Beef Wellington from the Normandie menu.

 

Gnocchi

 

 

Chef's Special - Indian food

 

 

 

The Martini Bar always draws a crowd.   Sometimes from Deck 4, we would see one of the bar tenders practicing behind the bar.

 

[dsa181920]

Day 5 – Cannes, France

Originally, we planned to walk around the port on our own.  A couple of weeks before the cruise, the excursions went on sale.  I had been keeping an eye on the prices and noticed some of the excursions were truly discounted.  We chose to do the Small Group: Wintery Tour in Nice.  This was a full day tour.  Due to the early tour, we had breakfast in the Ocean View Café. There was a wide variety of selections of breakfast items.  After breakfast, we headed to the theatre.   When our group was called, we headed down to the Destination Gateway and boarded the tender.  Upon arriving at Cannes, we met our guide and boarded a small bus.  We drove through Cannes and headed to the Chateau de Cremat in Nice.  The Chateau is at the top of a hill and overlooks Nice.  We toured the grounds, vineyards, and the area where they age the wine barrels. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Notice the double C logo on the door and window of the next group of pictues. This is the same logo used by Coco Channel.  They claim that Coco Channel was a frequent visitor before she became famous.  She loved the Chateau and was inspired to use the double C when she developed her logo. 

 

This is the original door.  

 

 

 

After exploring the winery, we sat out in a nice, shaded area and tasted five or six wines.  We bought one bottle of wine here.  The day before a man on our Tuscan Farmhouse tour bought some wine and was able to bring it back on the ship.  Doug decided to buy a bottle so we could share it with Vicki and Jeff in the evening.

 

 

 

 

We boarded the bus again and headed down the hill into the city of Nice.  Our guide took us around a square with a fountain and then to a local open-air market.  After exploring the market, we were taken to a restaurant for lunch.  We had a three-course meal for lunch and could choose either a red or white wine. The main course was fish.  If someone didn’t want fish, a meat option was provided.   After lunch, we were given some time to explore before returning to the bus.  We walked around a few shops and then headed to the waterfront.  There were a lot of people on the beach.  We went back to the meeting point and boarded the bus for the trip back to Cannes.

 

Before boarding the tender, we had to go through security.  Unlike the day before, they were not allowing bottles of wine to be brought on board.  They confiscated the wine and told us it would be brought to our cabin on the final day. (We never saw the bottle of wine again.  More about that on day seven).

 

We met up with Vicki and Jeff for a pre-dinner drink at Eden.  We enjoyed another dinner at Cosmopolitan.  The evening activity was the Liar’s Club with Captain Tasos, Phil Tag (Comedian) and Tim (Cruse Director).   Captain Tasos has a very dry sense of humor.  We enjoyed his stories on his daily announcements and were really looking forward to this show.  The three of them did a great job and kept us entertained. 

 

 

[Ciaranaman]

(the suspense for day 7 and the missing bottle is going to kill me!)  Fantastic pics - sounds like a wonderful last-minute-booked tour!

[Agathabumble]

Hi, I’m really enjoying your review thank you.  We are going on the same trip in a couple of weeks and I wondered if you could tell me when you went to portofino if you know what time the first tender was for people who had not booked an excursion through the ship.  We want to kayak there but would have to be in port by 10am latest so wonder if this is doable? many thanks 

[dsa181920]

7 hours ago, Agathabumble said:

 We are going on the same trip in a couple of weeks and I wondered if you could tell me when you went to portofino if you know what time the first tender was for people who had not booked an excursion through the ship.  We want to kayak there but would have to be in port by 10am latest so wonder if this is doable? many thanks 

I'm not sure what time they called for open boarding - maybe a little after 9:00.  You can get a number for the tenders instead of waiting for open boarding.  I think you could get them the night before or early in the morning.  

[Agathabumble]

14 hours ago, dsa181920 said:

I'm not sure what time they called for open boarding - maybe a little after 9:00.  You can get a number for the tenders instead of waiting for open boarding.  I think you could get them the night before or early in the morning.  

Great thank you.  First time I’ve tendered so wasn’t sure what the process was 👍

[dsa181920]

Cruise Day 6 – Sea Day

This was a nice day to relax and enjoy being on the sea.  After a leisurely breakfast, we spent some time in the Thermal Suite.  It was a little busier than on port days; however, there were still some heated tile loungers available.  My favorite things in the Thermal Suite were the sauna, the crystal room, and the hanging chairs. 

 

We met up with Vicki and Jeff for lunch at Le Grand Bistro.  The cost for lunch was $30 which included an appetizer, entrée, and dessert.  It was good and was a nice option to the buffet.  After lunch, Doug and I went to the Premium Wine Tasting which was in the Normandie Restaurant.  We tasted one white wine and four reds.  There were two other couples at our table, and they were all from Florida. We enjoyed the wines and the conversation at our table.

 

This evening was another Evening Chic night.  We met up with Vicki and Jeff at Eden prior to dinner.  We ate at the Cosmopolitan restaurant.  Lobster was on the menu.  You could get one lobster.  If you wanted another order, it was an upcharge.  You could order as many of the other entrees as you wanted. Once again, we had excellent service.

 

 

After dinner, we headed down to the Martini Bar.

 

 

We did not make it to the main show that night which was a vocalist and instrumentalist.  We did enjoy going to The Club and seeing the show Undercover at the Club with the Production Cast Dancers and Aerialists.

 

 

 

[dsa181920]

Cruise Day 7 – Palma de Mallorca, Spain

We began the day with breakfast at the Eden Café.  We had paninis (egg, cheese, and bacon), some pastries, and juice.   The café was not crowded, and the food was good.  It was a little more enjoyable than going up to the buffet.  After breakfast, Doug and I headed to the theatre for our excursion.  We chose the Chef’s Market Discover:  Culinary Secrets of Palma and Private Dinner.   Doug is in the restaurant business and was really looking forward to this excursion.  There were 27 people on the excursion.  One of the chefs from the ship traveled with us into the city.  He was from Palma and shared some information about the city and the things that he would be showing us in the market.   This market had a variety of items, fresh seafood, meats, cheeses, fruits, vegetables, wines, and flowers.  The chef bought some garlic cloves, mushrooms, and some salami.  We were able the salami and some cheese.  After touring the market, the chef left us and returned to the ship.  Our guide took us back outside and down one of the streets to a restaurant.  We had three types of appetizers, a drink, and dessert.  We were given a little time to explore some of the shops and were told to meet back at the market at the meeting time.  Doug wanted to explore the market more, so we headed back and wandered through all of the aisles.  We arrived back to the ship and were told to meet at Café Baccio at 6:00 for the next part of our excursion. 

 

As this was the last day, we used this time between the events to pack our suitcases.  They had to be outside our door between 6:00 and 9:00.  We still had not received the bottle of wine that we purchased from the winery in Nice.  We usually don’t purchase wine so we thought we might get it late that evening or as we left the ship. 

 

A little before six, we went down to Café Baccio and met us with our tour group.  The Chef who took us to the market met us there.  We were served a glass of Champagne while the chef talked about the food he had purchased and some of the dishes he had made for tonight’s dinner.  He then took us for a tour of the galley.  We have had galley tours on previous cruises but never during the dinner hour.  It was interesting to see the organization, efficiency, and cleanliness of the kitchen during this busy time.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After the galley tour, we went to Tuscan where three large tables had been reserved for our private dinner.  The chef came out and described each course.  We started with tapas which included some of the items purchased in the market. There was also a charcuterie platter at each table.   The next course included a soup made with peppers and beans.  The main course was branzino and chateaubriand.  The final course was dessert.  Wine was served throughout the dinner.  There were a total of seven courses and lots of different dishes.  There was a lot of time to savor the food and enjoy some good conversation with the people at our table.  It was a very enjoyable experience and something we would do again.

 

 

 

 

 

After dinner, we met up with Vicki and Jeff in the casino and played a final round on the slot machines.  We did not have much luck this time.  When we returned to our cabin late that night, there was a message on the phone.  It was from someone in another cabin who had mistakenly received our bottle of wine and wanted to get it to us.  Since it was so late, I did not call their cabin.  I think the easiest thing would have been for them to let their cabin steward know that it was delivered to the wrong cabin.  Obviously, our cabin number was on the bottle since they knew which room to call.  We decided not to contact guest relations about the issue since it wasn’t an expensive wine.  I think in the future we will either not purchase a bottle, or we will buy enough to have it shipped home.   

 

It was time to get some rest as we had a disembarkation time of 7:50 a.m.  

Edited August 4, 2023 by dsa181920

[Zebby90210]

What was the earliest time you could disembark and do you know if you could carry your own bags off or was it easy to find them at the port when you got off?  We have a 10:50 flight out of Rome and are trying to figure out how to get there in time so any suggestions or ideas from anybody would be welcome.  Last year we flew out of Bologna and that late flight caused us to miss our Munich to the US flight so we had to spend the night.  It was on the airline however we really needed to be home when we thought we would be there.

[Lastdance]

5 hours ago, Zebby90210 said:

What was the earliest time you could disembark and do you know if you could carry your own bags off or was it easy to find them at the port when you got off?  We have a 10:50 flight out of Rome and are trying to figure out how to get there in time so any suggestions or ideas from anybody would be welcome.  Last year we flew out of Bologna and that late flight caused us to miss our Munich to the US flight so we had to spend the night.  It was on the airline however we really needed to be home when we thought we would be there.

You may want to keep your bags and walk off ASAP; just remember the elavaters are really crowded, so sometimes you have to go up just to get down.  We have "walked off" with our bags several times and usually around 7:00 AM.

[dsa181920]

7 hours ago, Zebby90210 said:

What was the earliest time you could disembark and do you know if you could carry your own bags off or was it easy to find them at the port when you got off?  We have a 10:50 flight out of Rome and are trying to figure out how to get there in time so any suggestions or ideas from anybody would be welcome. 
 

They wanted everyone out of the rooms by 6:30. I think they called the first groups around 7. The bags are grouped by numbers so easy to find. They also allowed people to walk off with luggage.

[dsa181920]

Disembarkation Day - Barcelona, Spain

We arrived in Barcelona early in the morning.  Guests were asked to be out of the rooms by 6:30.  Earlier in the week, we had chosen our preferred departure time using the Celebrity App.    Our private transfer was supposed to be at the port at 9:00 and would only wait 30 minutes.   We weren’t sure how long it would take to find the luggage and exit the termina, so we chose 7:50 as our time to leave the ship.  This gave us the opportunity to have one last sit-down breakfast in the Cypress Restaurant.  Our time to disembark arrived so we made our way out to the terminal.  The bags were on carousels in different areas based on the disembarkation numbers.  We had number 10 so it was very close to the exit of the terminal.   

Our driver arrived right on time and took us to the Gallery Hotel.  The reception desk let us check all of our luggage so we could spend the day exploring.  We asked about the Hop On/Hop Off bus and were able to buy our tickets at the hotel.  There were two routes – red and green.  The tickets gave us access to both routes.  There was a stop around the corner from the hotel, so it was very convenient for us.  We rode around and enjoyed looking at the beautiful architecture in the city.  We got off near the marina so we could take a harbor tour which was included with the ticket.   We waited in a park area and watched a man leading a group of people in some dance exercises.  This group was very enthusiastic, and the crowd continued to grow.  Most of the people dancing were tourists.  This would have been the perfect opportunity for pickpockets as the tourists were not paying attention to anything but the music and their dance moves.  Some police came through the area.  Shortly after that the music ended and everyone went on their way.   By that time, it was time to board the boat for the harbor tour.  There was a nice breeze when we got out into the harbor.  We were able to have our last views of the Celebrity Edge.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After the harbor tour, we decided to get on the other route for the Hop On/Hop Off bus to see La Sagrada Familia.  It was a brief walk over a bridge to a shopping center.  The bus stop was right next to the shopping center.  La Sagrada Familia is a temple that was designed by the architect Antoni Guadi.  When we arrived at this temple, it was very crowded.  We got off the bus and walked through a nearby park which allowed us to get a good view of the temple.

 

 

 

 

After walking around and taking a few pictures, we looked for a place to have lunch.  We found a sidewalk café that served empanadas.   The beef empanadas were tasty.  I didn’t care for the bacon and cheese one. We got back on the bus and rode back to the stop near our hotel.  Our rooms were ready, so we went and freshened up.  Doug and Jeff both took naps.  Vicki and I went up to the rooftop bar and enjoyed a drink.  They also had a small pool up there.  They closed this area around 6:00 for a private wedding party.  Restaurants did not start serving until later in the evening, so we went down to the hotel bar on the main floor and had a drink.  We went to dinner at a restaurant within a short walking distance of the hotel.  We enjoyed a pizza and were able to sit outside.  After dinner, we were able to go up to the rooftop area on the side that did not have the pool/bar.  Doug was able to smoke a cigar and we enjoyed a bottle of wine that Vicki and Jeff were given on the cruise for their anniversary.  This was a nice way to end our vacation. 

 

 

On Sunday, a buffet breakfast was included with our room.  They had a good variety of selections.  After breakfast, we checked out of our rooms and waited for our private transfer which arrived on time.  We were dropped off at the airport.  Checking the luggage was fairly easy but then we had to wait in a long line to show our passports before we could proceed to the gate.   It was hot in the airport.  The only place to buy some water by our gate was a place which served breakfast and lunch items.  The line was very long.  Finally, it was time to board the plane.  It was a long flight back to Chicago.  None of us were able to sleep as we were still on daytime hours.  The lines for customs/immigration were long in O’Hare airport.  We had several hours before our connecting flight to Orlando.  After clearing customs, we took the tram to another section of the airport.  We were able to eat dinner before boarding the plane.  We arrived in Orlando around 10:45 p.m. 

 

 

 

 

[hcat]

great review!  you did many interesting  tours and on your own explorations. Thank you for sharing...

 

We have been to a number of the same ports but it  was fun to see and read about them  from your perspective

 

The Farm tour and Chef's excursion with dinner at Tuscan ( our fav restaurant on E class) seemed outstanding.

 

Hope you enjoyed the trip!

Edited August 5, 2023 by hcat

[Zebby90210]

Thank you so much for the GREAT daily reviews!  We learned a lot about the ship, things to do/see/eat/drink for when we board the Edge on September 23!

 

[JackE]

Great review and photos! Glad you guys had a good time. We board the Edge next Saturday and can't wait! Cheers!

[dsa181920]

On 8/6/2023 at 7:21 PM, JackE said:

Great review and photos! Glad you guys had a good time. We board the Edge next Saturday and can't wait! Cheers!

Have a wonderful trip!

[txtechmk]

Love all the photos.....brought back a lot of good memories for me!  Thanks for sharing.

[Northern Aurora]

Just a quick "thank you" for such a lovely review.  

 

In 2019 we were on a B2B2B on the Constellation.  We also did the Tuscan Farmhouse Experience (post 52).  From the outside of the stone farmhouse and your other photos it appears to be the same family we visited.  We a great amount of N-OBC and really enjoyed this excursion.  It was a hoot.

[theopup]

Thanks for the wonderful review 

[dsa181920]

On 8/10/2023 at 5:39 PM, Northern Aurora said:

In 2019 we were on a B2B2B on the Constellation.  We also did the Tuscan Farmhouse Experience (post 52).  From the outside of the stone farmhouse and your other photos it appears to be the same family we visited.  We a great amount of N-OBC and really enjoyed this excursion.  It was a hoot.

We really enjoyed this excursion too!  It will be one that we remember.

[MikeMary4449]

On 7/29/2023 at 10:30 PM, dsa181920 said:

I had read some reviews from last year and decided to go on the Celebrity Excursion: Tuscan Farmhouse Experience.  This excursion did not leave until 1:15.   In the afternoon, we boarded a bus that would take us to the Farmhouse.  It was about an hour drive.  This is a fourth-generation family farm.  We rode on a carriage to the farmhouse.  The granddaughter was our guide on the carriage ride. They grow a variety of crops (grapes, mushrooms, sunflowers, and have beehives for honey).

 

When we arrived at the farmhouse, we were seated at large shaded tables outside.  We were served bread with an olive oil dipping sauce and there were two kinds of wine, a red and white.  We had a cheese plate and salami.  Next there were two kinds of pasta.  At the end of lunch, we were served a limoncello which was delicious.

 

We were given time to go through the farmhouse shop and sample more wines.  This was a very relaxing way to spend the day,

Hi Sallie, Thanks to your great review and recommendation, we have booked the "Tuscan Farmhouse Experience" for our day in Livorno in October, 2024.  We have been to Livorno many times before and were looking for something different to do.  This tour sounds perfect for us and we are really looking forward to it.  We appreciate you taking the time to write such a thoughtful review and for sharing so many great photos!

Mike and Mary

[dsa181920]

3 hours ago, MikeMary4449 said:

Hi Sallie, Thanks to your great review and recommendation, we have booked the "Tuscan Farmhouse Experience" for our day in Livorno in October, 2024.  We have been to Livorno many times before and were looking for something different to do. 

I hope you enjoy it as much as we did.  It was a nice way to do something fun, relaxing, and without the large crowds at the tourist sites.