Reflection 9-day French & Italian Riviera Barcelona to Rome

[Jazzbo]

This was the September 30, 2023 cruise. On another thread, @hmcrn asked if I had done a review, so I decided to write one.

We cruised with my cousin and her husband; it was their first cruise (my cousin had been on one more than 30 years ago).

 

We flew into Barcelona 2 days early and stayed in a 2br 2ba apartment I booked directly through the Aspasios website. My husband and I had stayed in an Aspasios studio apartment in Barcelona last year for 3 nights before our Reflection TA, booked through 3rd party site (booking.com, maybe).

We were in a great location down the block from Palau Guell. 

[Jazzbo]

We had to be out of the apartment by 10:00 am, so we headed to the port. We stood outside in a line for about 20 minutes until they opened the doors to the cruise terminal. The port staff directed us to seats in the order we arrived, and we browsed the duty free shop. We were onboard by 11:15.

[Jazzbo]

The first port was Marseille. We did the open-top bus tour, which took us to the Notre-Dame de la Garde Basilica. So.many.steps. The views were beautiful, but by the time we got to the top, we had to turn around to get back to the bus. The bus then took us to a cathedral in town, but we opted to walk a few blocks to a cafe for a snack and an Aperol Spritz. I do not recommend this excursion. We booked Celebrity excursions as my cousin planned most of them. 

[Jazzbo]

We were in Concierge Class (we usually do Aqua Class). The MDR was okay. I noticed the cutbacks in the selections and in the quality of the food. Service was mixed; there seemed to be a lot of inexperienced crew. but we did have a good sommelier. We had dinner in Oceanview several nights, which was a first for us. There were some good choices there. My cousin has celiac disease, and Celebrity is quite good about providing a variety of gluten-free food. 
We had dinner at the Lawn Club the first night, and it was fantastic! If you like lamb, the lamb chops there are delicious!

[Jazzbo]

The next day was Villefranche-sur-Mer, our only tender port. My cousin and her husband did a full day excursion to Nice and Monaco. My husband and I walked around the lovely town and then sat at a sidewalk cafe overlooking the water and had some nibbles and Aperol Spritzes.

[Jazzbo]

The next two days were in Livorno. My cousin and her husband went to Florence. They had been before, but had not been able to get into the Accademia, and she wanted to see Michelangelo’s David. Larry and I took the shuttle into town and walked around Livorno for awhile, then went back and enjoyed the ship.

[Jazzbo]

The second day in Livorno we did the Tuscan Farm excursion that @GenerationX wrote about in her live report.
 

We have been to Florence several times; we have hiked in Cinque Terre; we’ve been to Pisa a couple of times (even though it’s a one and done); we visited places throughout Tuscany on a tour; and we spent two weeks in Lucca and explored Tuscany from there, so the farmhouse excursion was perfect for us. It’s easygoing, so it was a nice break for my cousin and her husband. A horse-drawn wagon met our bus and took us to a shady outdoor area with large round tables. The description sounded like we might have some focaccia and cheese, olives, etc. We did start with cheese and honey from the farm, and bread with olive oil, but then we had tomato salad, pasta with a tomato sauce and one with a meat sauce, free-flowing wine, and vin santo with a small cake for dessert. They served gluten-free crackers with the cheese, and gluten-free pasta for my cousin. After that, we wandered around the farm and bought honey and grappa in the store, where you could taste wine, grappa, honey, etc. On the way back to the ship, our tour guide played songs, starting with “When the Moon Hits Your Eye Like a Big Pizza Pie,” and our bus turned into a sing-along! I’m sure the wine had nothing to do with that. 😉

[1Virgo]

Thank you for sharing your trip. 

[Jazzbo]

The next day was Genoa. Genoa was substituted for another port, but I don’t remember what it was. The 4 of us did the excursion to Santa Margherita Ligure and Portofino. It was a long bus ride to Santa Margherita and when we got there, we had about 30 minutes. By then, everyone needed to use the restroom. There was a very long line at the public toilets (and we didn’t have coins — you had to pay). We went to a cafe and I ordered a coffee and pastry while my husband stood in line for the single bathroom. By the time I finished my coffee and pastry, there were only a couple of people left in line, so I was able to use the bathroom just as it was time to go back to the meeting place. That was poorly planned; there should have been an earlier stop.

Then we all boarded a boat to Portofino. The scenery was beautiful.

 

 

 

[Jazzbo]

We arrived in Portofino and had a couple of hours there. Beautiful! 

[Jazzbo]

Our tour guide was wonderful. She was very informative about the history and traditions of the places we saw. She also talked about day to day life and the food in the area. We needed a pharmacy to fill a prescription for my husband’s eye drops. He had run out and his ophthalmologist emailed a prescription. We found one open in Portofino, but the pharmacist would have had to order the eye drops from another pharmacy and she wouldn’t have them until after we had left Portofino. Our guide called a pharmacy in Genoa, had the pharmacist set them aside, confirmed the pharmacy would be open, directed the taxi driver to the pharmacy, came with us, had the taxi driver wait, and made sure we got the prescription! I went to the shorex desk, gave them her name and the name of the tour company, and told them how she went above and beyond.

[Jazzbo]

The air quality was really bad the day we were in port in Genoa. My cousin had an asthma flare and coughed the rest of the trip. You can see how bad it was.

[theopup]

That tour guide really did go above and beyond.

 

Thanks for sharing your review and pictures 

[upwarduk]

Personally, I think Portofino is over rated.

I am used to golden sandy beaches found on Gower ( S.Wales).

[Jazzbo]

The next day was our one and only sea day. Hubby & I had breakfast at the Captains Club Coffee Lounge (for Elite & above) in Tuscan. I love watching the wake. We each had the smoked salmon plate and shared a fruit plate.

 

We lazed around by the pool for a few hours.

 

They had chefs grilling fresh fish on the flattop in Oceanview for lunch. Delicious!

 

The four of us had dinner at Murano. My cousin and her husband celebrated their 30th anniversary and we celebrated our 39th in August, and this cruise was a celebration. We knew we didn’t want to do this cruise in August, though. I had the phyllo with Roquefort and Anjou pear starter. Hubby had the scallop starter. My cousin had the risotto and I think her husband had the lobster bisque. Both couples had the Chateaubriand for two. I think we all had Grand Marnier soufflé. Everything was delicious and the service was exceptional.

[Jazzbo]

25 minutes ago, upwarduk said:

Personally, I think Portofino is over rated.

I am used to golden sandy beaches found on Gower ( S.Wales).

We preferred the Amalfi coast, but I thought Portofino was pretty. It’s a one on done for us, though.

[Jazzbo]

The next day was my favorite day of the cruise. We had never been to Sicily. We docked in Messina and did an excursion to Taormina. They took us by bus to Taormina. We stopped at a gas station and store on the way for a restroom break and a little shopping. I mention this because it worked much better than the day we went to Positano. When we got to Taormina, we went on small boats (10-12 passengers) and they took us out to Isola Bella. The hotel where the second season of White Lotus was filmed (we haven’t seen it). 
We went into some caves with beautiful light and colorful coral (not Caribbean colorful). The water was crystal clear. Then we had an opportunity to swim in the beautiful Ionian Sea. After our time in the water, we had some time in town where we had fantastic pizza.

We barely skimmed the surface of Taormina. Now we want to go to Sicily for a week or two.

[hmcrn]

This is great Jazzbo!  Thank you for submitting your review! And your beautiful pictures 

We will be stopping in Santa Margherita on our trip next fall - it sounds like it is a good town to wander around and eat lunch and shop?  I would appreciate your thoughts.  

And i'm looking forward to the rest of your review - thank you agian!

Edited November 12, 2023 by hmcrn
added content

[hcat]

Fabulous review! 

Pictures are outstanding...

Thank you for sharing your artistry and thoughts!

[Jazzbo]

Our last port before disembarking in Rome was Naples. I watched our approach to Naples before dawn, with Mt. Vesuvius in the background. My cousin’s husband woke up with a fever. Fortunately, he was negative for Covid, but he stayed in their stateroom that day and night. He felt much better the next morning when we disembarked in Civvitavechia.

We had booked an Amalfi coast and Capri excursion. My cousin, my husband, and I had an early start. We headed toward Capri by ferry. When we got off at the port, small buses drove us up too close to the Piazzetta. We had about an hour and a half to walk around before we had to meet at the funicular, which we took back to the port. Capri was very crowded, which made sense, because there were 3 cruise ships in port in Naples. From there, we traveled by ferry to Sorrento, then a forced march to another a coach bus to Positano.

[Jazzbo]

1 hour ago, hmcrn said:

This is great Jazzbo!  Thank you for submitting your review! And your beautiful pictures 

We will be stopping in Santa Margherita on our trip next fall - it sounds like it is a good town to wander around and eat lunch and shop?  I would appreciate your thoughts.  

And i'm looking forward to the rest of your review - thank you agian!

You’re very welcome. Thank you for spurring me to relive a fabulous vacation! Santa Margherita looked lovely. Walking, shopping, and having lunch should be great there. The pastry and coffee I had at the cafe were delicious!

[Jazzbo]

1 hour ago, hcat said:

Fabulous review! 

Pictures are outstanding...

Thank you for sharing your artistry and thoughts!

@hcat, thank you! That means a lot coming from such an active Celebrity cruiser and Cruise Critic member. 😊 I took the pictures with my iPhone. The cameras on these smartphones are remarkable. I have a 14 Pro.

Edited November 12, 2023 by Jazzbo

[hcat]

36 minutes ago, Jazzbo said:

@hcat, thank you! That means a lot coming from such an active Celebrity cruiser and Cruise Critic member. 😊 I took the pictures with my iPhone. The cameras on these smartphones are remarkable. I have a 14 Pro.

Thanks for ur recognition..Cruise Critic  is  our go to guide!  I really enjoyed the read. 

 

We did the bus to Taormina..We had some harrowing  hairpin turns..closed my eyes more than once.   Beautiful area..esp looking down to the water where you likely did the boat ride.. 

 

[theopup]

Your pictures are beautiful, thanks for bringing us along with your journey 

 

We are visiting Taormina in September, and will be taking the discover on your own tour. 
 

Looks like we will really enjoy it.

[cruisegirlppp]

I really enjoyed your travels via the beautiful pictures and narration.  You have reminded me that I need to bump Sicily up in my bucket-list queue.