Things I Wish I Had Known before my cruise to the Med...

[bevrun]

Hi All,

 

We just returned from the 6/26 Barcelona to Venice sailing on the Millennium and I do plan on writing a review. But in the meantime I thought I'd share some things I wish I had known!

 

1. The cruise terminal in Venice will hold your luggage for 2.50 Euros per bag after you disembark. If you are taking a train, as we did to Florence, they will transport your luggage directly to the train station for 5 Euros per bag! This saved us a lot of time and money. We were then able to walk to the train station from the Rialto Bridge in about 15 minutes.

 

2. Use the Celebrity at Sea e-mail system on board rather than the Internet for keeping in touch. It's just $2.00 to send or receive up to 77 pages of mail each time rather than 75 cents per minute!

 

3. Look for the card advertising the two specials at the Aqua Spa Cafe and order about 15 minutes before. Many people would take what was displayed and miss these specials (not on display). Don't miss the Shrimp and Scallop Kabobs - you will want two per person!

 

4. We bought wine in every port and never had a problem bringing it on board. The corkage in the dining room is $20. Our room steward brought us glasses and a corkscrew and we brought the glasses of wine to the dining room. In our opinion, the wine-by-the-glass on Celebrity was undrinkable.

 

I hope this has helped someone. Feel free to ask any questions!

 

Bev

[Francine]

Thanks, Bev. I really appreciate some of your hints, especially about the wine. We will be on the October 12 voyage.

 

Would you please explain what the Celebrity at Sea e-mail system is?

 

Fran

[bevrun]

Hi Francine,

 

Every guest is given an e-mail address at the start of the cruise. It is your first name and last name with no space then @Millennium.CelebrityatSea.com. Your friends and family can send e-mails to this address at a charge of $2.00 per e-mail. When you are at the Internet Cafe on board, you will see that you have a choice when logging on of internet or non-internet. Choose the non-internet option for the e-mail system. Celebrity will automatically bill you $2.00 each time you send or receive an e-mail. There are signs by each terminal explaining the system, but many people didn't bother to read it and automatically logged on to the Internet. Me, too. That e-mail cost me $12.00! There are also staff members in the cafe to help.

 

You will love this cruise!

 

Bev

[bevrun]

Another thing I worried about before the cruise was whether to choose early or late seating for dinner. We ended up with early seating and thought we would have to eat at the buffet a few nights. Well, no worries. The dining room staff was very accommodating. Even though dinner started at 6:30, we arrived as late as 7:15 with no problems. They never closed the dining room doors and the matre'd told us it was not a problem. If we were very late, they would seat us at the late seating. We really appreciated the flexibility. Kudos, Celebrity!

 

Bev

[missyal]

Bev--Thanks for all the great tips! It's those little insider secrets that are so fun to learn. Which port did you like/dislike the most? Did yo use the spa? We are on the 9/18 sailing and can't wait.

 

Many thanks

Missyal

[bevrun]

Hi Missyal,

 

The itinerary is fabulous, but my favorite ports are Naples and Santorini. In Naples we had a private tour with Salvatore of Driveamalfi to Pompeii and the Amalfi coast. This is one of the most gorgeous places I have ever seen (and I have been to Tahiti!). Salvatore made the day relaxing, interesting, and fun! Plus I felt very safe with him manuevering the van around those steep cliffs.

 

In Santorini we rented a car with another couple and just explored. The views are simply breathtaking and the photos I got are incredible.

 

My least favorite is Athens. We used Rania V. as our private guide and she was wonderful. Her expertise in the Acropolis was fascinating. However, in the afternoon she took us to Cape Sounion and to me that was a big mistake. It was a 2.5 hour drive up in a bus with poor air conditioning on a hot (over 100 degrees) Sunday with heavy traffic to the Poseidon Temple. We stopped here for a half hour, then it was another long, hot 2.5 hour ride back! I do recommend Rania as a guide, but I suggest doing only the half-day tour, then shopping in the Placa.

 

Bev

[Cruise Junky]

 

I do recommend Rania as a guide, but I suggest doing only the half-day tour, then shopping in the Placa.

 

Bev

 

Hi - it's interesting that you suggest that...as I was just checking Celebrities Site to see if they offered anything like that... We were originally thinking about doing all day to the Cape but a friend last night was telling us we have to go to the Plaka!

Thanks

[clc]

Thanks for the tips. We are on the Aug.1 Millennium cruise - the reverse of yours. Also using Salvatore in Naples/Amalfi. Did you go to Pompeii? Did you need a private guide there? Any tips on purchases from any of the ports? Less than 2 weeks! Very excited.The internet tip was great. Should we just our friends that email address before we leave?

[slgjhg]

Hi Cruise Junky and All,

 

My husband and I did B2B, Venice to Fort Lauderdale last fall on the Millie. It is very easy to get back to the port from the Plaka on the train, people in the shops can direct you, it is also cheap. When you get back to the port there is an internet cafe (upstairs) just outside the train station. We spent some time there catching up with folks back home, etc. This was also very inexpensive, as compared to Celebrity rates. We then caught a taxi and went back to the ship. (It is walkable, approx. 2 mile)

 

On the transatlantic part of the trip I did a personal trainer and spa package which were both wonderful. The spa staff are all capable and friendly, I would do it again in a minute. (Someone earlier in the thread had asked about the spa.) I also second the comment about the spa cafe. We had lunch there often because of my training schedule. The food was just right.

 

Enjoy,

 

Shannon

[missyal]

Thanks Bevrun--I was afraid that trip to the Cape was long. I'm also glad to know Santorini is do-able on our own. What did you do in Dubrovnik?

 

Thanks again

Missyal

[bevrun]

Hi clc,

 

Yes, we did go to Pompeii. I think it is worthwhile to have a guide here. The cost is 100 Euros for two hours and Salvatore can arrange one for your group ahead of time. We actually caravaned with Salvatore and two other vans to Pompeii to share the guide at a cost of 6 Euros each - well worth it.

 

You can give the Celebrity at Sea e-mail to everyone before you leave; it is standard.

 

As far as purchases in the ports, I did not buy too much. However, Limoncello from Amalfi, leather bags from Florence, Murano glass jewelry and masks from Venice are good bets. Also, there is lots of great local artwork. I picked up several watercolors. Be sure to bargain! If you like wine, you can buy a 1997 bottle of Brunello for 35-40 Euros in Italy. This retails for at least twice that in the States.

 

Missyal,

 

Dubrovnik could be the setting for a fairy tale. Hard to believe such a cruel war took place here in 1991. It was very hot the day we were there. I suggest walking the wall very early in the day to avoid the heat and then shopping in the little town inside the walls. Celebrity provides a free shuttle right to the gates of the walled city.

 

Bev

[baltimorebarb]

So, who did you use to get from Naples to Pompeii? For how much? How many people in each car? If you used private transportation, what time were you picked up and what time did you get back to Naples?

 

barbara

[baltimorebarb]

Hi, me again. Did you go to Oia while you were in Santorini? Do you know what time the shops open and close on Santorini? Did you go to any of the wineries?

 

barbara

[tak2]

Bev,

 

Thanks for the e-mail tip, will save $$ for this hunt-and-peck typist.

When do the ship's morning shore excursion leave? I've selected late sitting, but concern about going to bed within a couple of hours of finishing a large meal.

Tak

[bevrun]

Hi Barbara,

 

To answer your question about Pompeii - We used a private driver, Salvatore of driveamalfi.com. He provided an all day tour that included two hours at Pompeii and a drive along the Amalfi coast with stops at Amalfi, Positano, and Ravello. He picked us up at 8:00 am and we were back by 5:30 pm. There were six people in our car for a total cost of 500 Euros. The Pompeii guide was extra. We were originally going to split that cost (100 E) between the six of us, but Salvatore found others to share for that part of the tour.

 

Yes, we did drive to Oia. The shops were all open when we arrived about 10 AM and when we returned to Fira at 6:30 PM, the shops there were still open, too. I'm pretty sure they stayed open much later because the ship is there until 11PM. We also visited the Santos Winery for a wine tasting and the views. For 12 Euros we received 12 glasses (half-filled), 6 white and 6 red of wine, cheese, bread, and olives.

 

Tak,

 

The ship's morning excursions leave at different times, depending on the port. If you can be more specific about which port(s), I will try to answer your question. Regarding, the late seating for dinner and going to bed on a full stomach, that's exactly why we switched to the early seating.

 

Bev