Celebrity Summit Review

First time in the Mediterranean

Review for the Eastern Mediterranean Cruise on Celebrity Summit
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Bob & Sandy
First Time Cruiser • Age 60s

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Sail Date: Aug 2008
Cabin: Concierge Class 1

As we live quite a distance from a port, our cruises are almost always preceded by a long flight, so we like a bit of time before we board the ship, to combat jet-lag as well as any airport/flight delays or unexpected occurrences. We landed in Barcelona after an uneventful flight, and following the advice in the Rick Steve's guidebook and the information provided by the hotel we took the Aero bus from the airport to the Plaza de Catalunya for a nominal charge of 4.20. (Taxicabs were readily available and would have been about 45.00 to Plaza de Catalunya from the airport). We spent two days prior to embarkation in Barcelona, and thoroughly enjoyed our time there. We stayed at the Hotel Continental Palacette, in a room that had an enormous sitting area, and a rather cozy bed and bath combination. The hotel boasts a nice 24-hour self-service buffet, and is nicely located within a five-minute walk north of the Plaza de Catalunya. We had no organized tours, but the hop-on, hop-off tourist bus came highly recommended and our hotel clerk, Vivian, was most helpful in providing directions and other questions we had.

The ho-ho bus is 20.00 per day, and that gives you unlimited stops and transfers from all three routes. The Blue and the Red are the major routes and take about two hours and one and a half hours respectively, with the smaller green route clocking in at about fifty minutes. The buses run every fifteen minutes to thirty minutes, depending on the day and the time of year. They provide a set of earplug style headphones with your admission, and this provides a running commentary in eight languages. (I found that they were prone to fall out of your ears, and as they are a standard microphone jack, you may wish to provide your own headphones or ear jacks). We rode all three lines, and began with the cable cars up Mont Juic (so named because of the Jewish cemetery that existed there centuries ago). After exploring the fort, we went to the Cathedral area (Bari Gotic) and toured the Civic history museum. This was interesting, as it is built right on top of the ancient Roman ruins of Barcino (founded in 10 B.C. by the Emperor Augustus). As you board the elevator that takes you to the bottom level the L.E.D. readout at the top reads "2008" and rolls down at ever increasing speed until it reads "-10", and the door opens. The ruins are covered with catwalks and labeled indicating the function of each area. We toured the maritime museum and the Christopher Columbus monument, and both were quite interesting as well.

Embarkation: Although it was only a thirty to forty minute walk down the Ramblas, and a further estimated twenty to thirty minutes from the Columbus monument to the pier (there is a high causeway as you leave land), we took a cab for E11.00. It was quick and we then whisked through the non-existent line (at about 11:30 A.M.). We were in CC cabin 9160 within 20 minutes of entering the terminal - definitely proving the usefulness of online registration!

Cabin Review

Concierge Class 1

Cabin C1
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