This was my 10th cruise and 4th with Celebrity. We have sailed on Royal Caribbean twice, NCL twice, and once each on Princess and Carnival. Celebrity remains our favorite.

We flew into Rome from San Francisco via Frankfurt. Once in Rome, we stayed at Albergo del Senato. I found this hotel after reading high praises on CC. It was the perfect choice for us. It literally sits about 20 yards from the Pantheon, my favorite building from antiquity, and you cannot get more central to all the main attractions. We easily walked to the Trevi Fountain, Spanish Steps, Piazza Navona, Campo de Fiori. The hotel was recently remodeled and the 4 rooms we had were gorgeous. 2 of our rooms faced the Pantheon and Piazza della Rotunda (the square in front of the Pantheon). What a view to wake up to and take in before turning in each night. It can be a bit noisy but none of us minded the trade-off. The included daily breakfast was nicer than I expected, besides pastry, fruit, coffee, milk and juices, it also offered cappuccino, scrambled eggs and ham.

We had 5 kids in our group of 10 and having Piazza della Rotunda as our "front-yard" was a godsend. Due to time difference, my girls and I would wake up at 5 AM and we can go outside and take in the Pantheon when it was just us and the pigeons. Having the piazza there was like having a park for the kids to run around in (until the crowd gets there later in the morning). Read more