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10-nights 4 countries East Mediterranean on Celebrity Beyond, July 2023

Celebrity Beyond Cruise Review to Europe - Mediterranean

Cruises: 7+ cruises
Review: 1
Helpful Votes: 8

Overall rating:

4 out of 5
Celebrity Beyond

10 Night Italy Croatia & Montenegro (Rome Roundtrip)

Sail date: July 07, 2023

Ship: Celebrity Beyond

Cabin type: Balcony

Cabin number: 12241

Traveled as: Couple

Reviewed: 1 year ago

Review summary

1. The state room: good - hot water comes out quick with good pressure, A/C very quiet and efficient, beds comfortable, minimum people noise 5 doors away from the elevator; Bad: lots of noise at night time from the ship structure - banging sound, like some kind of machine movement; also early morning movement above our deck (we are right below the buffet deck). 2. US dollars are used on board, including casino; exchanged $200 dollar worth of Euro and had 50 Euro left after taxi fare, on shore misc purchases. Some places charge 1 euro for use of bath room, so have some coins ready. 3. stayed at Hilton Garden Inn by the airport. Decent accommodation for catching morning flight out. No 110 outlet. 24 hour free shuttle bus for short hop to the airport. 4. Wifi package highly recommended if stay in touch is essential. One user account can be shared by multiple devices; our T-mobile services worked great for email, text, social apps; wifi calls to the states were excellent at 25 cents per minute. 5. Major tour cities - Rome, Pisa, Vatican, Naples - were extremely crowded even on weekdays. 6. Arrive one or two days before the sail day to account for possible flight delays. It did happen to us and we were 15 minutes away of missing our connecting flight to Rome and the whole cruise. 7. stateroom suggestions: a. mid to back (aft) of ship where main dining and buffets are located unless you enjoy long walks, it is a big and long ship. b. stay out of deck that is one deck below activities (pool, restaurants)

Embarkation

5 out of 5
Big welcome sign at Rome airport, well organized

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

2 out of 5
visited main dining rooms two times and that's enough, four different theme rooms actually share some common dishes, service decent but food not very good and not crowded the two times we were there. Buffets (crowded often) have good varieties but nothing outstanding. Served very tasteful marinated jumbo shrimps, but only on first day of trip. Saw crab claws two times, some fresh some not. Plenty of cocktail shrimps and raw fish, not a fan to begin with so can't tell. Wasted about $500 on non-alcoholic drink package for "premium" water, coffee, and juice when all we needed - water, plain coffee, and juices are available during dining and all day on the buffet deck.

Oceanview Café

4 out of 5

this is the main venue for us, 14th deck aft (back).we came here almost every day for breakfast, lunch, and dinner; always crowded. Varieties of food; good but not excellent; we skipped the main dining rooms altogether, even though it is free style - any time, any rooms, no reservations needed. The food is just not that good.

Café Al Bacio

5 out of 5

cake and desserts, along with beverages. cozy seats with ocean view on one side, and grand plaza activities one the other

Onboard Activities

4 out of 5
Our favorite is Casino; small compared to our 'home course' but it's not crowded so our favorite slots are mostly available and best of all it's non-smoking. Fitness centers are excellent, 180 degrees view straight forward where the ship is going from the top deck.

Entertainment

4 out of 5
Only saw one of the big production shows, excellent.

The Theatre

4 out of 5

attended only the biggest stage show, excellent choreography and visual effects

The Casino

5 out of 5

our favorite activity onboard; not crowded, non-smoking.too bad, maybe good, it is closed at port on shore days, only open at sea. Just don't ask how our luck were.

Children's Programs

no children in party

Service and Staff

5 out of 5
Almost all of the staff in all areas are courteous and friendly. Out of hundreds of interactions during the trip, only one buffet waitress had an attitude.

Ship Quality

5 out of 5
Excellent.

Cabin / Stateroom

5 out of 5
Love the Infinite Veranda. We don't roll down the outer glass window at all and it basically gives us an extra 40 SF of room space and we can still enjoy the beautiful view. There is also the curtain and pull back doors to partition the balcony.

Ship tip

Order one guest, one device Wifi package (one username that can be shared by multiple devices, one active device at a time). The Starlink Wifi is as good as advertised. 5 MBPS download and 2.5 MBPS upload. Available always while on the ship.

Thumbs up

Ports of call

Civitavecchia (Rome), Italy

5 out of 5
Vatican city is a must visit. Amazing preservation of ancient art and culture. Extremely crowded and small tour group is highly recommended because it is very easy to get separated with hundred of groups all jammed in one exhibit site or another.
Thumbs Up

Katakolon (Olympia), Greece

2 out of 5
not worth it. an archeologist might be interested but it is not tourists ready. Country side ruins are only famous for it's link to the ancient history but nothing worth to see compared to, say, the Maya Pyramid sites in Mexico. The Greek folk dance by four middle aged professional dancers are OK and they did invite all guests to participate in the festivities. It's a little fun.
Thumbs Up

Kotor, Montenegro

4 out of 5
Had to pass after purchase this tour due to fatigue and the fact a tender (small ferry boat) ride is needed to get onshore.
Thumbs Up

Naples, Italy

4 out of 5

Livorno (Florence & Pisa), Italy

4 out of 5

Disembarkation

5 out of 5
Took the Vatican tour and city transfer day after cruise. Too hot and too crowded but the art display is out of the world. The taxi service at the train station after the tour was well coordinated under scorching sun.
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