rivendell

We are taking our young adult grandchildren (ages 16 to 24) to Italy and greece with a cruise in between. I would like to eat with us all together while we are on the cruise, but we are on as you please dining (Holland America OOsterdam). Can one request a table in the dining room the day before--I ask this as most days we will be touring and leaving the ship at 8am. Thanks so much--I had fun. reading a bit about traveling with 3 and 6 year-olds. Now that can be hard!!

Thanks so much for this great information. I signed up.

Has anyone taken this tour. I was thinking of taking my adult grandchildren on this tour instead of taking the tour during the day. I thought it could be less crowded and kinda cool to be in the vatican at night. What are your thoughts

the bernie mevs that I like the best are called Charm. I like the red ones

I have three times worn Bernie Mev shoes to greece. They have somewhat stretchy woven uppers so my bunions did not hurt. The bottoms of the ones I wear have thick rubbery soles which were great walking around the stones etc. on the acropolis. They also (I think) look terrific.

thanks--that is just what I was looking for. I would like to see positano, but may have to skip it and swim closer to the port. Exciting!!!

Mary

thanks so much for your help. I did not know about the beach you suggested. We will have a driver. The ship is there from 8:00 an to 6:00 pm. I am wondering if anyone has actually been swimming at a beach on the amalfi coast. Mary

Our ship docks in Salerno and we are taking 6 young adult grandchildren to Pompeii in the morning, having lunch and then perhaps taking time for a swim somewhere on our way back to the ship. If we did this we would be skipping Ravello. What do you think? Mary

We took a taxi (there were 4 of us) He was good--showed us a bit of the countryside. I don't remember the cost, but it was a fixed amount. He was willing to wait for us and afterward he took us to the splendid museum which was in town. A super great day. We walked back to the ship after we toured the museum.. Mary

I agree that diy is possible in Instanbul, but after a 4 day stay following the end of our cruise I have changed my mind. If you can afford it a private guided tour can be terrific. We did two. One was a food tour ---it took us to two continents and we had a huge sampling of very good and different foods. It introduced us to the ferry system and to several different neighborhoods. We loved it. The second tour (walks in Instanbul) was also good. I think a small tour is a wonderful way to learn about a city

we just returned from a 3 day stay after our cruise. We are 79 and 82 and had 2 grandsons with us who were in their 20's. We felt perfectly safe. Our grandsons went out on their own in the evening, we walked and took the ferry and felt safe. My husband missed a step and fell into the busy street and many people came to help us. They took us to a pharmacy where one of the employees cleaned, put antibiotic ointment on his would and then a bandage. They were so very helpful and kind. Many of the streets in the old city are so very crowded---instanbul has had a huge influx of refugees--that it can be a bit overwhelming. On one of our days we did a food tour of the city and found it to be just terrific.

we also went to meteora andhad a wonderful day. We hired a private taxi (taxiinvolus.gr) and it make the trip very doable and fun.