Middle Aged Drama Queen's Eastern Med Review: Serenade, Pics, Surprises & Fun!

[marci22]

$3000 seems like a crazy price for a balcony! Any cruise Ive ever been on, we'd get a balcony for half that price. For example, this Sunday going on the Navigator and its coming in at about $1600 for two.

 

We did the 12 night Med Greek Isles in 2008 and paid ~$2800pp for E balconies. I think the 3rd was ~$1800. That was a very decent price at the time. The prices on cabins for this summer, after final, were shockingingly low on the 12 nights.

 

Without divulging what you spent, what should one budget for excursions? A med cruise seems to be all about the ports, so if you go that far you want to get the most out of your trip.

Any insight you can provide would be helpful. My first guess would be close to 10,000 for 2 people.

thanks, Jane

 

I will divulge what we spent in 2008, total for 5 people, when it was more expensive euro vs dollar.

 

Total trip price came to about 24k: airfare ~1kpp, E balconies 2800pp, 1800 third person. We did a mix of on your own and private excursions. So excursions came to about 4k for 5 people (probably a bit less). ~1k for other stuff.

 

Tips for excursions: go to Ports of Call boards and research everything. Get a private guide for ports like Rome, Ephesus and Florence to get the most bang for your buck. Barcelona, Cannes, Athens, Santorini, even Naples, can be done on your own for very little $$. Of course it is nice to have a private guide for these places as well, but if you want to save money, you can plan on public transportation and some Rick Steves.

 

Sharing a tour with others helps as they usually charge per vehicle. eg 500 euro for 8 hour tour, van seats 8. You will pay 500 eu whether or not you fill the van, so find some friends. It is not expensive as it seems if you do this, compared to the ship's excursions. (we could have done our private excursions cheaper if we had shared transportation).

 

Private excursions are great but don't feel bad if you have to do some walking and figure things out on your own. You may not see as much, but the memories are priceless.

Edited August 5, 2012 by marci22

[Kellie Poodle]

No. He didn't say a word about it. :mad:

 

I only knew about it because - again - of Brainy Brad.

 

Our "guide" that day, I use the term "guide" loosely - he was more of a driver than a guide. He pointed out the REALLY obvious touristy stuff, but didn't give us much more than that. I realize I didn't give OceanWave Tours a grade at the end of the day on my posting; sorry about that. I would give them a B-. They would have gotten a "C" - but because of the stop at Anna's roadside shop, it bumped the grade up. :)

 

I had an unpleasant experience with them trying to book. I knew we will be the only ship in port the day we arrive, so I was surprised when the proprietor emailed me that they were full that day and gave me the email address of someone who I should contact. I asked that he forward her my email address as I didn't think it appropriate for me to email her or for him to give out her email address. he did and she responded that she was on a Princess cruise 10 days earlier than mine.

 

I began looking at other tours and found one who wanted €50 less. When I emailed him that the person he referred me to was on a different ship and a different day, he apologized. I also told him that since he had told me he was booked, I'd found another company with a "special winter rate" and offered him the opportunity to match it.

 

I got a very terse email in response that said "use the other guy".

 

Now I'm kind of glad i didn't book with them, if that's they way they treat potential customers.

[ollienbertsmum]

Sherri, I have really enjoyed your adventure with your family. I am truly interested in a Med cruise. But, as I research the $$$$ just seem to add up

endlessly. The cruises don't seem too expensive, but the airfare and the excursions are out of sight.

Without divulging what you spent, what should one budget for excursions? A med cruise seems to be all about the ports, so if you go that far you want to get the most out of your trip.

Any insight you can provide would be helpful. My first guess would be close to 10,000 for 2 people.

thanks, Jane

 

Excursions do not have to be really expensive - I know that you want to get the best out of your tour, but you can budget for some ports being cheaper. It was only yesterday that DH reminded me what I paid for our limo tour in Tuscany last year of us to have a trip to San Gimignano, wine tasting and lunch in a winery and a stop in Pisa to go up the tower - this was 650 euro for the 4 of us, and after 4 Med cruises - he thought this was really expensive. I think it was well worth it.

However this year I also had a great tour in Florence doing the ship tour 'Florence on your own' - it was $88 each. Were we to have been in a bigger group it may have been cheaper to find a limo trip, but actually that was our 'expensive' excursion' of the cruise.

 

There are public transport options: rail in Civitavecchia, ferries and rail in Naples, Walking, buses and rail in Cannes and Villefranche. Taxis can get you across Rome - and Rick Steves audio guides can get you around Rome sites.

 

If you can get together a group of 8 Limo tours are the way to go, but you can save $$ by choosing which ports you can do on your own with a guide book and bus ticket.

[luvscruising2007]

I want to thank all of you who responded to my questions about the cost of a Med cruise. Sherri I look forward to your cost breakdown, but it does seem the consensus is about 4 to 5 thousand per person. At least now I know my instincts are correct and if we want to do this, we will have to start planning now.

Thanks again, everyone.

Jane

[alohanails]

Aw, I'm so sorry! I HATED when "All My Children" got cancelled - so I know the feeling! :)

 

I KNEW we had more in common than cruising...I cried the day All My Children last aired....being a military wife and traveling a lot...these people had become my "friends"! No joke...I had been watching since 1972... Well...back to cruising now!

Bonnie

[marci22]

I want to thank all of you who responded to my questions about the cost of a Med cruise. Sherri I look forward to your cost breakdown, but it does seem the consensus is about 4 to 5 thousand per person. At least now I know my instincts are correct and if we want to do this, we will have to start planning now.

Thanks again, everyone.

Jane

 

We went during summer so prices were high. If you go off-season, May or October, (which I would prefer anyway due to the heat, but I had kids in school at the time) you save money on the cabin and on the airfare.

[PCWalton1]

No. He didn't say a word about it. :mad:

 

I only knew about it because - again - of Brainy Brad.

 

Our "guide" that day, I use the term "guide" loosely - he was more of a driver than a guide. He pointed out the REALLY obvious touristy stuff, but didn't give us much more than that. I realize I didn't give OceanWave Tours a grade at the end of the day on my posting; sorry about that. I would give them a B-. They would have gotten a "C" - but because of the stop at Anna's roadside shop, it bumped the grade up. :)

 

I wasn't happy with Private Santorini Tours either as we had both a driver and a guide, but when we went to the dig on the south end (at least we got to go) our guide didn't give much background and then did not even get out of the bus. So we were on our own with limited time. We then got told all the good artifacts were in the museum but we had no time to go there. :(

[Coralc]

I wasn't happy with Private Santorini Tours either as we had both a driver and a guide, but when we went to the dig on the south end (at least we got to go) our guide didn't give much background and then did not even get out of the bus. So we were on our own with limited time. We then got told all the good artifacts were in the museum but we had no time to go there. :(

 

I would tend to look at it a little differently.....they really should embrace it as an archeological discovery. But I wonder if there is some reticence about it being associated with the Atlantis stories?

[KansCocoa]

 

So…we’re up to July 3rd…our last “full day” onboard the beautiful Serenade of the Seas. Today is a sea day – which will allow us to not only enjoy the ship for one more day, but also to…gulp…pack.

 

Having a day to sleep in is awesome. For everyone else, that is. Because…I wake up at the unheard-of hour of 5:45 am – due to an incessant knocking.

 

“Who is knocking on my door at THIS hour?” I grumble, as I get up to go investigate. It had better be a darn good reason…but when I get to the door, there’s no one there. Huh. That was weird. And frustrating.

 

Stumbling back to bed, I hear it again…only to realize that it’s my closet door, banging back and forth…as the ship is rocking…back and forth. We’ve hit some strong winds and strong swells overnight, and this was a lesson learned in making sure your closet door is completely shut before heading to bed. Mine wasn’t. Argh.

 

By 7:30, it was clear that I wasn’t going to fall back asleep, so I conceded defeat and got up for the day. After grabbing breakfast at a nearly-deserted Jammer, I headed out with my camera, determined to take some last-minute photos of the ship with nary a fellow barbarian in sight. (Which are the photos that I posted at the beginning of this very-long epic novel.) When I attempted to go out on the deck to take photos, I about got blown overboard…which could be a problem. No one wants to be blown overboard on their last day of a cruise. Struggling against the wind, I then realized that it was chilly. As in, "Brrrrr....this is CHILLY" chilly.

 

“Hey!” I complained…to no one, since I was by myself. Everyone else onboard was smart enough to not go outside and get blown overboard. “What happened to the beautiful, warm Mediterranean sun???!!”

 

That was the bad news…although the sun was definitely visible, it was unseasonably cool that day.

 

The good news…nary a chair hog in sight. The pool deck was pretty deserted.

 

Drat. Cool temperatures forced me to stay inside and begin the agonizing process of…packing. Bleh. Anyone else find that it’s always easier to pack going home than it is to pack at the beginning of an adventure? Seriously, I could care LESS how wrinkled my clothes get going home – so the hours of care spent trying to fold and pack carefully??? Pffffft. Toss it in. Squish it down. Toss it in. Squish it down. There – I’ve shared my secret of packing when going home.

 

Hmmm...this may be the ONLY photo I have of the day...sorry. Pickings are getting slim....

 

 

After awhile, though, it became very apparent that our Super-Important-Stuff that we had brought with us had somehow EXPANDED during our adventure. (Somewhat like our waistlines, but we won’t go into how THAT happened. Go figure.) I had been discarding some things as the trip went on – like room decorations, Mardi Gras beads, the Hometown Gift we’d brought to exchange – but we apparently accumulated more crap than we discarded. Huh. I didn’t THINK we had bought a lot of crap – oops, I mean “beautiful treasures” – on this trip, but it sure piled up. We had two bottles of wine, a bottle of limoncello, gazillions of 8x10 photos from the ship photographers, a couple of t-shirts & baseball hats (gifts from fellow cruisers), and my olive oil lotion from Greece – yikes. Give or take a few things.

 

Houston, we have a problem. Something had to give.

 

In desperation, I began trying to see what could be off-loaded. My first thought was, "The Klingons!" but nah. That wouldn't be right. Anyway, that wouldn't help me with my luggage weight. So...my second thought was, "My Binder."

 

I KNOW! My BINDER!!! Sad, right??! It weighed a ton, though. The good news, I knew that it was all lovingly and carefully backed-up on my laptop…as well as saved on not one, but TWO flash drives. (You can never be too careful with your Binder.) It COULD be re-created down the road, if needed. So…the folders…the papers…even the sheet protectors (don’t laugh) were all unceremoniously dumped into the cabin trash can. A burial at sea, if you will. It was tragic – but I knew it was pretty heavy – and had to go. To make way for that wine. Priorities, people.

 

And….that was about it. That could be off-loaded, I mean. I DID tell Hubby Mike and Mickey to use a HUGE amount of shampoo in the morning, as if that would lesson the weight in our suitcases.

 

As to what we did next, I have to interject an important point here. Keep in mind – we had three Klingons onboard. Klingons themselves don’t often serve any useful purpose – for the most part…but sometimes, they can be VERY helpful. Those of you with Klingons of your own are now shaking your head in disbelief, asking, “Oh, Drama Queen…WHAT possible useful purpose do Klingons offer? Besides offering entertainment value, of course?”

 

Well…I’ll tell you.

 

Intelligence-gathering.

 

Think about it.... Klingons have WONDERFUL ears when it comes to listening (to everyone but their own parents, that is). They LOVE to listen to other adults, especially… because OTHER adults are a million times more fascinating than their parents. Our Klingons were a WEALTH of information to us on this cruise. If there was a gathering somewhere, of other CruiseCritic members, my Klingons were ON it. They could pick up tidbits in the Jammer, on the Sports deck, at the pool, or even the arcade. I had ears EVERYWHERE on this ship.

 

They’d come into our cabin on a regular basis and say, “Hey, did you know?” and then report on a gathering of CruiseCritic members somewhere.

 

So, THIS particular morning, they'd reported in with a “Hey, did you know that there’s a CruiseCritic luncheon today? At 12:30?”

 

Why, no. No, we didn’t. But now we do. Thanks to you.

 

It’s not like we weren’t invited. (I think, anyway…???!!) It was always a matter of one CC member setting something up, then trying to get the word spread to everyone else. And Klingons are great spreaders…if you think about it.

 

So anyway…a luncheon at 12:30 gave me the PERFECT excuse to quit the packing (I’m easy like that), and so I did. Quit packing. And headed to the Main Dining Room, where several CC members showed up to have a Farewell Luncheon. The maitre ‘d’s face was priceless when we told her we had a party of twenty. Fine, then. We’ll take three tables and split up. Which we did.

 

A 90-minute lunch ensued, where we all enjoyed sitting and chatting and eating the delicious salad from the salad bar in the MDR (why didn’t I do this EVERY day? Seriously…go to the MDR for lunch on sea days – skip the Jammer.) Even the Klingons had a great time, which is saying a lot.

 

In the afternoon, we had an “Open House”, so to speak, of the Royal Suite. Several friends came by at different times to take another peek of the room…although it now looked worse than after a Level 5 tornado, what with the packing and discarding and tossing and squishing.

 

Around 6:00 pm, I took Mickey to the spa for her very first ever mani/pedi. Mickey had been enthralled with the spa from the minute we’d stepped onboard; she wasn’t sure exactly what took place there, but she knew it was something magical and something relaxing and something that is very special. If I had been a SMART mom, I would have taken my camera and captured the HUGE smile of delight on her face while she was being pampered. She put clear polish on her fingers and black polish on her toes. Strange combo, but who asked me?

 

Dinner that night was bittersweet. It’s always hard to say goodbye to the crew who have become part of your family during the voyage…I’m the type of girl who chokes up when saying goodbye, and tonight was no exception. I could barely get out of the dining room without a full breakdown, as it was so hard to say farewell to Peter and Pascal. They will be missed.

 

There was only ONE show tonight - the Farewell Show - and being that it was at 7:45 pm, pretty much most of the My Time Diners - like us - got screwed and couldn't go. Pretty typical.

 

The Klingons had reported that there was to be a Cruise Critic party at the Champagne Bar that evening at 10:00 pm, where rumor had it that someone would bring a bottle of limoncello to be shared. Well. Count me in. By this time, we had accrued a bottle of champagne (a gift from the ship) that needed to be consumed, as there was no way it was going home in our almost-overweight luggage. When we arrived at the Champagne Bar, however, a crew member was telling our group that the party couldn’t be held there…as RCI frowns on guests consuming alcohol in public places that wasn’t purchased onboard. Imagine that. Anyway, the crew member suggested that we have our party in a cabin. (Keep in mind that any alcohol that had been confiscated by RCI during the cruise has now been delivered to your room so you can pack it and take it home.)

 

You didn’t need to nudge me twice. “To the Royal Suite!!!” I announce, and off we all go. To the Suite. For a last-minute, last-night limoncello & champagne party.

 

And what a party it was. Anyone ever read the children's classic, "Stone Soup"? We had a Stone Soup party...otherwise known as a Pot-Luck party...what with not one, but TWO bottles of limoncello (we threw ours in - one less thing to pack!), leftover cookies from the Barcelona cookie shop, leftover fruit - whatever we could find - it went in to the Party Pot-Luck!

 

The room was full...as we all reminisced about the trip and promised to stay in touch. Our Klingons and their friends were coming in and out, and it was just a truly delightful evening...a wonderful way to cap off the trip.

 

SOMEONE took a group photo of us in the room, but I have YET to see that photo. Hopefully, it will appear one of these days and I’ll have a copy to share. <hint, hint>

 

Eventually, the party broke up - it was about time to off-load our luggage and leave it outside the door.

 

Soon - it was lights out. Tomorrow - Disembarkation. And a disaster.

 

[Travel Writing Mary]

After leaving E.T., we headed over to the port area, where Carlos took the obligatory family photo:

 

All eyes open? Yes? Then it's a GREAT photo of us!

 

 

 

This is where you can hop onto the iconic Port Cable Car, that cuts across Barcelona’s skyline.

 

 

It looked intriguing, but Too-Tall Taylor has a phobia of heights. I had already been working/consoling/preparing/bribing him for the cable car that we were going to have to endure in Santorini – so there was NO WAY, JOSE he would step foot in this “floating death trap”, as he called it. The cable car supposedly has a capacity of 20 people – but they must have put 20 of the world’s most anorexic models in there while measuring – because that cable car looked PACKED with a mere 12 people or so. And those 12 people looked...average-size. Between the sardine-factor, as well as the heat-factor – not to mention the fear factor – perhaps Too-Tall Taylor was right on the money with this one.

 

We skipped the Floating Death Trap.

 

 

Perhaps Too-Tall Taylor was looking a bit pale from his Close Encounter with the Cable Car…or perhaps we were all looking a bit green from Carlos’s driving…but for whatever reason, Carlos decided that a trip to a hospital was now necessary.

 

Well. In full disclosure, we went as tourists…not as patients. Carlos took us to the beautiful, ancient Hospital de Santa Creu I de Sant Pau…which began in the 11th century and is still open today. The hospital celebrated its 600th birthday in 2001, and is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

 

 

 

Now. If you’ve been paying attention…you will have realized, at this point, that we are dreadfully missing something – or someone – that is SO important to all-things Barcelonian. As in the famed architect/artist, Antonio Gaudi. Don’t fret, Dear Readers. I have an entire DAY of Gaudi planned for the next day of our adventure, so we had asked Carlos to skip all-things Gaudi…and after he picked himself back up from the floor from his dead-faint and recovered from the shock, he kindly obliged us.

 

To a point.

 

Not being able to resist showing us at least one-thing Gaudi, he took us to something small…something unique…and something that is normally missed in the standard Gaudi tour:

 

 

The famed Iron Dragon Gate at the Guell Pavillions....

 

Hubby Mike and I had been to Barcelona previously, in 2009…and we had never seen this. Wow. This is really a not-to-be-missed attraction if you are a Gaudi aficionado. Seriously - it is way-cool. For both parents and too-cool kids.

 

Speaking of too-cool kids. Each one of the kids had been given their own camera, so that they could record their own memories of this possibly once-in-a-lifetime trip. I had spent months stressing the beautiful art, architecture, and scenery that we would be seeing, and I had emphasized the importance of capturing the memories...the essence...of all things European. Every now and then, I will post a photo (or two) of what my kids took on their own cameras...so that you, Dear Readers, can see the trip through my kids' eyes.

 

So...without further ado...I will now post a couple of photos taken that beautiful afternoon in Barcelona, by Brainy Brad:

 

 

 

 

 

 

And another one:

 

 

 

 

 

Pigeons. Oh, but not just ANY pigeons. These are Barcelonian pigeons.

 

Sigh.

 

 

Eventually, all good things must come to an end…including my energy and ability to stay awake. I had hit the wall – the kids had hit the wall – and it was time to bid farewell to Carlos and head to the apartment.

 

Let’s talk about the apartment. Finding a hotel in Europe is never easy, but the Internet Gods have made it somewhat less of a pain. However – finding a hotel in Europe for FIVE people…with lots of STUFF…is next-to-impossible. This is where I probably spent a good bulk of my time in the planning; researching, price-checking, etc our lodging options. Hotel rooms in Europe are…um…well…dinky. We could have gotten two hotel rooms, but the cost was looking a bit prohibitive.

 

About the time I was ready to throw in the towel and give up, and convince the family that sleeping on a park bench under the stars in Barcelona would be a really-cool adventure that they’d remember their entire lives, inspiration struck. How about renting an apartment??!! We’d have rooms for all of the kids, with perhaps a living room/salon to relax in…and it wouldn’t cost an arm and a leg??!!

 

Voila.

 

Renting apartments for a night or two (or longer) in Europe is easy, convenient and extremely affordable. When I did cost comparisons to reserving hotel rooms, the apartment always came out on the better end of my budget. And – as a concerned mom, it was a load off of my mind to know that all of my chickadees (or should I say, "pigeons"?) would be roosting under the same roof at night…behind ONE locked door.

 

I secured the apartment last June (2011) with a small deposit, and so, we were set. But…would this apartment meet our needs? Had I made a mistake in not going with a hotel? We were soon to find out as we whisked over to pick up our key.

 

Up next: Our apartment in Barcelona…and our wild & crazy evening with wild & crazy Jo….

Question: What kind of camera did you use for your photos? What size files did you upload here? Thanks.

[KansCocoa]

Question: What kind of camera did you use for your photos? What size files did you upload here? Thanks.

 

OMG, you're asking ME a technical question? Remember...I'm the girl that, the only thing I know about a car, is you stick the key in and turn. After that - I'm lost. :)

 

I had to go get my camera and luckily, I still have all the stickers on it. It's a Nikon Coolpix...7xZoom...16.0 Megapixels.

 

As far as size...I don't know. I use Photobucket to upload and then post the link here...???

[CAC104]

I would tend to look at it a little differently.....they really should embrace it as an archeological discovery. But I wonder if there is some reticence about it being associated with the Atlantis stories?

When I went it was on a ship tour around the Island and we were greeted at the dig by a very interesting guide who told the whole story of the civilization, what they are pretty sure happened to cause them to abandon the city, and why they think it might have started the story of Atlantis. It all seemed very believable to us.

[marci22]

In desperation, I began trying to see what could be off-loaded. My first thought was, "The Klingons!" but nah. That wouldn't be right. Anyway, that wouldn't help me with my luggage weight. So...my second thought was, "My Binder."

 

I KNOW! My BINDER!!!

 

Noooooo...not the binder! lol

[sharpasice]

Sherri, I have to tell you, everyday I come back here to read more of your review..it is the best, really the BEST review I have ever read..Thank you soooo much for sharing!

 

PS..anyone know of an easy way to bookmark where you left off the night before? Each day I have to send myself a message saying Post #XXX lol then go find that the next day.

[jaimeandandy]

Sherri I have enjoyed your post so much, I leave in two days on the same cruise and this has really made these last couple weeks go by quickly and taken my excitement level through the roof! Plus, it looks like you may just finish it before I leave, I was worried I would miss out on the ending! You're talk of packing brought up a question for me when you mentioned the couple of bottles of wine you were taking home. I have only sailed Carribbean and since the laws when in place about liquids in carry-ons I have found it easier to just buy my liquor in the airport duty free shops to take on with me since they are still cheaper than home. I wanted to pick up a couple of bottles of wine while in Italy and wondered how you got yours home, did you just wrap them well in your luggage and hope the luggage handlers were gentle that day? Have you, or anyone else reading this blog, shipped home wine or know how much it is to ship? I don't want to end up paying as much to ship the wine as to buy it.

 

Thanks for the help!

Jaime

[KansCocoa]

Sherri, I have to tell you, everyday I come back here to read more of your review..it is the best, really the BEST review I have ever read..Thank you soooo much for sharing!

 

PS..anyone know of an easy way to bookmark where you left off the night before? Each day I have to send myself a message saying Post #XXX lol then go find that the next day.

 

Aw, thank you!

 

I have no idea how to bookmark...I'll be curious, as well, to see if someone knows...it would help me when I read others' long reviews! :)

[KansCocoa]

Sherri I have enjoyed your post so much, I leave in two days on the same cruise and this has really made these last couple weeks go by quickly and taken my excitement level through the roof! Plus, it looks like you may just finish it before I leave, I was worried I would miss out on the ending! You're talk of packing brought up a question for me when you mentioned the couple of bottles of wine you were taking home. I have only sailed Carribbean and since the laws when in place about liquids in carry-ons I have found it easier to just buy my liquor in the airport duty free shops to take on with me since they are still cheaper than home. I wanted to pick up a couple of bottles of wine while in Italy and wondered how you got yours home, did you just wrap them well in your luggage and hope the luggage handlers were gentle that day? Have you, or anyone else reading this blog, shipped home wine or know how much it is to ship? I don't want to end up paying as much to ship the wine as to buy it.

 

Thanks for the help!

Jaime

 

Bon voyage, Jaime! I wish you a wonderful trip! :)

 

We just wrapped ours very well in our luggage...wrapped and wrapped in clothes and then placed in the center of our luggage...and we then said many prayers. :D

 

I enjoyed a glass of the white wine from the Santos Winery in Santorini last night while writing the last entry...it was delicious! :) (Of course, it could have been better if I was IN Santorini while drinking it, but alas....no such luck!)

[sanderson25032]

Sherri I have enjoyed your post so much, I leave in two days on the same cruise and this has really made these last couple weeks go by quickly and taken my excitement level through the roof! Plus, it looks like you may just finish it before I leave, I was worried I would miss out on the ending! You're talk of packing brought up a question for me when you mentioned the couple of bottles of wine you were taking home. I have only sailed Carribbean and since the laws when in place about liquids in carry-ons I have found it easier to just buy my liquor in the airport duty free shops to take on with me since they are still cheaper than home. I wanted to pick up a couple of bottles of wine while in Italy and wondered how you got yours home, did you just wrap them well in your luggage and hope the luggage handlers were gentle that day? Have you, or anyone else reading this blog, shipped home wine or know how much it is to ship? I don't want to end up paying as much to ship the wine as to buy it.

 

Thanks for the help!

Jaime

 

If you know ahead of time, bring a large roll of bubble-wrap with you and make sure you pack the liquor in the missle of your case surrounded by clothes. Unfortunately if you have a connecting flight back in the US you cant buy at the airport overseas as it will be confiscated in the security check :-(

[Smiley Riley, Mom & Dad]

PS..anyone know of an easy way to bookmark where you left off the night before? Each day I have to send myself a message saying Post #XXX lol then go find that the next day.

 

 

I have no idea how to bookmark...I'll be curious, as well, to see if someone knows...it would help me when I read others' long reviews! :)

 

Hey girls, here's what I do. If you go up to the top -- not the very top -- by the pages numbers you'll see a button that says Thread Tools. From the drop down menu, select Subscribe to this Thread (or something like that). You can then select to be notified instantly, daily and a couple of other choices. I get instant notification so whenever there's a new post on the thread you're following (you can select many) an email is sent to you with a link the new post. Very handy I'd say!

[cruzinlady1947]

I just right click on my mouse and up pops the little screen that says to bookmark this page. I do that every time I go to a new page and then right click again to delete the former page. At least that is how my computer does it. Good luck.

 

Gwen :)

[lemonade-sails]

Sherri,

Thanks so much for taking the time to share your trip. What a wonderful review!!

[teese]

Darn, the story is over.:( Thanks so much for letting me enjoy your cruise vicariously. Now, on to the Freedom review. No pressure. ;)

Edited August 6, 2012 by teese

[rmurray847]

Darn, the story is over.:( Thanks so much for letting me enjoy your cruise vicariously. Now, on to the Freedom review. No pressure. ;)

Not quite...still awaiting "disembarkation disaster" and long ago promised Daily Compasses. THEN come the withdrawals!

[Erex]

If you know ahead of time, bring a large roll of bubble-wrap with you and make sure you pack the liquor in the missle of your case surrounded by clothes. Unfortunately if you have a connecting flight back in the US you cant buy at the airport overseas as it will be confiscated in the security check :-(

 

Can't imagine that there are different rules in US compared to rest of the world.

If you buy before the last leg you just ask the cashier to seal it for you. They have special see-through bags that they put the stuff in and this works fine.

(There are some other rules also. Something related on time between the flight or you leaving the airport or something like that. But I have never bothered to learn those since that has never been applicable for me.

 

Cheers, Atle

[lorrdean]

Hey girls, here's what I do. If you go up to the top -- not the very top -- by the pages numbers you'll see a button that says Thread Tools. From the drop down menu, select Subscribe to this Thread (or something like that). You can then select to be notified instantly, daily and a couple of other choices. I get instant notification so whenever there's a new post on the thread you're following (you can select many) an email is sent to you with a link the new post. Very handy I'd say!

 

thanks for this tip, it works a treat. which I had known about it at the start of Sherri's marvellous adventures