pinkroses

So according to this thread, reports are that passengers seems to be responding well to administered over the counter medication. Does anyone know if this is tylenol and gatorade as mentioned earlier? It would seem a good idea to include whatever has been given to the sick, in your own traveling medical kit.

Santorini is one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen! We were there in June of last year. After taking the cable car to the top we walked a bit and rented a car from Tonys which I had prearranged. It was perfect. We drove to Oia and toured. Then drove to the other side of the island and sat/swam on the beach of black sand. It was truly an unforgettable day. Search for Virtual Rain's DIY Santorini. Lots of excellent information. Do rush to get on the tender. This place is so very worth it!

Only the respective levels (Platinum/Diamond <-> Select/Elite) are recognized. The points on Celebrity do not add to the Royal total, and the points on Royal do not add to the Celebrity total.

Thanks Bob!

I booked a RCI cruise for 23 people a couple of years ago. If you do it yourself, be sure to ask what "perks" are available to you. We ended up with some nice additions. This line was perfect for us, although we did not have any children young enough to use the kids clubs.

So are the Celebrity points and RCL points interchangeable? We are working our way through the C and A levels. Do nights accumulated on one line add to the nights accumulated on the other? Say I need three nights to move to the next level on RCL. I travel those three on Celebrity. Do they still count toward RCL? I know this sounds a little redundant, so I hope it is clear. Thanks!

Originally booking Hotel Jazz, I found a better deal for two rooms at the Catalonia Catedral precruise and loved it! Note that I am one of the obsessive researchers when it comes to trips. With that said. Only taxis are permitted in the street infront of the hotel. It is within short walking distance to the cathedral. There is an ATM just across the cobblestone street. Upon exiting turn left and head up toward the cathedral. My favorite tapas spot is right on the corner on the right. Amble down the street beside the restaurant (no cars here either) Walk to Las Ramblas. Just an awesome area! The desk people are very eager to help you! We had two rooms; one with a huge deck, and the other abutted the pool deck. We were not able to use either as we were just too busy! I highly recommend this hotel! Clean, comfortable, quiet, walking area. We stayed at a bed and breakfast on the return and were extremely sorry we didn't end our trip at the Catalonia Catedral!

We traveled as a family with two young adult children.

Virtual Rain, Thanks so much for all of your descriptions/pictures, and recommendations! We rented a car from Tony's Car Rental a little walk from the cable car. These people treated us like family and wanted to make sure we had a great experience, and we did! First we drove to Oia and happened into the restaurant that you liked, Terpsi en Oia for coffee and baklava, great treat! Plus the view made us want to never leave. We walked through the town and loved it...and then the tourists arrived (I know, we are, too). We then traveled across the island to the black sand beaches so we could take a dip in the Meditterean. Spent a while there and enjoyed a couple of Greek beers on the beach. So beautiful and calm. I loved that you could sit on the beach, view the sea along side a mountain. I hope to return one day!

We sailed the Serenade of the Seas in June. I booked three tours with RIL because it was our first experience as a family in Rome, Florence, and the Amalfi Coast. I can say that this was money extremely well spent! Not only did we see everything we wanted, but we never waited in a line. The temperature outside was hovering in the high 90s so it felt so nice to get into an airconditioned vehicle after each stop. I know we would have not seen as much as we did if we had done this ourselves. In Rome and Florence, we had vans even though there are only four of us but on the Amalfi coast we had a sedan as there were only two of us that day. This may be a little long, but I needed to express how much we enjoyed each of our drivers.

First in Florence, we were picked up at the ship by Clara ! We are in love with her! She made us feel like family making sure to call us all by our names! Our joke is now how many friends she has as we never had to wait in line anywhere. Whenever we mentioned something we might want to see, Clara arranged it! She took us to places where we made memories. Our son has a favorite sandwich place he had visited in Florence and Clara was able to find it so we could enjoy it, too. One of the highlights of our trip was our excursion to the olive oil/wine tasting where the wine was pumped into containers like gas is here. She included our kids, though they are 21 and 23. I cannot rave enough about her! If we ever come to Italy again, we will ask for Clara! Only bad thing is she set the standard so high, it was hard for any other driver/guide to measure up!!!

Rome was Allessio. We enjoyed him as well. He was not quite as talkative as Clara, but as I said, she sets a high standard. He got us everywhere we needed to be. Our wish to have native Italian food for lunch was his command. He took us to a wonderful restaurant and at our invitation, joined us for lunch.

Now, Raffaelle, and the Amalfi Coast. I do not do well with heights and was very apprehensive about this tour to the point that I even emailed Jany, RIL, from the ship. She calmed me and told me just to sit on the side of the car away from the sea. I am so glad I went! It was another memorable day!! Raffaelle drove those twisty roads with such ease that I was not afraid. He gave much history and stopped at interesting places. Lunch was so wonderful that we asked for more time at the restaurant and he was very agreeable. I think the ultimate was when he put Italian music on his radio and sang. He had us singing as well. After a limoncello, I might add. Raffaelle was very personable and a wonderful driver. He should not be missed! Our children chose to climb Mt Vesuvius that day so they did not experience Raffaelle and are very tired of hearing about our wonderful day with him! I think I may want to live in Sorrento for a while!!!!! and just learn to cook!

The transportation time of 1 1/2 to close to 2 hours flew by because of the mini stops we made and the information provided by the drivers. Each driver lived in the particular area so when each spoke, we could feel a love of the area. Because of the time constraints at each port and the transporatation to and from the cities, we felt that RIL did everything in their power to make our trips fabulous! and it was indeed.

Hey, great stuff. In any port, I always head to the furthest point I plan to visit first and then work my way back. It's just a wise way to ensure you don't run short of time while far away from the port/tender... so yeah, I would head to Oia first thing... Explore that in the morning and then head back and stop at Mama Thira restaurant for lunch, spending the remainder of the afternoon in Fira.

 

We didn't have or need reservations at the restaurant, it wasn't that busy.

 

Good luck, enjoy!

THANKS! I am afraid I will want to live there!!!!!

Hello Virtual Rain!

At your suggestion, we rented a car in Santorini and will ride the donkeys to the top! So we jump in the car and drive to Oia first ending in Fira? Our ship is in port with another, the Wind Star, from 7:00 am until 6:00 pm. We would like to lunch at the restaurant you did. Did you have reservations, or just went? I copied your maps as well. Is there any other advice you can offer? Thanks so much!

thank you for the information! Where did you stay in the old Gothic section?

I have learned alot from Virtual Rain's post on Athens DIY

We recently visited Santorini as part of our Princess cruise in early October, and I thought I would share some DIY tips and some points-of-interest for photographers wanting to add some of the world-famous Santorini photos to their personal collections.

 

Santorini was by far, one of the highlights of our trip and one of the most exotic locations I’ve ever visited. It’s unique geology and architecture make for a stunning location that is a photographer’s dream.

 

Maps:

 

While there seems to be a lot of hoopla about Apple’s new map app in iOS6, I have to say that Google Maps has nothing on Apple when it comes to Santorini. Not only is there no street view available, but very few businesses are located correctly, if it all, and even the satellite view is terribly over exposed for most of the urban areas of Santorini due to the white buildings.

 

So, I’ve taken some time to mark some points of interest, and a couple of great restaurant stops on Google maps...

 

My Google Map of Santorini

 

If you’d like to take your Google Map with you for offline use on iOS, I highly recommend Cartographer in the app store. It’s a gem for travel. You can plot all your points of interest on Google Maps using your computer and then easily store them for offline use on your iOS device. It’s my essential travel map app.

 

Getting up the cliff

 

 

As most people know, there are only a few ways to get up to Fira from where the tender’s drop you… take the gondola, a donkey, or walk up the same switch-back path as the donkeys.

 

On the day we were in Santorini, we were the first of only two large ships to anchor in the bay, which means crowds were relatlively light compared to what I heard was a high of eight different ships on some days. :eek: As a result there wasn’t much of a line for either the donkeys or the gondola, but we opted for the donkey ride. :D

 

Now, while the animals are universally referred to as donkey’s they are almost certainly mules. They are large animals and equipped with saddles/stirrups and appropriate saddle blankets. I didn’t witness any abuse or mistreatment. The cobble-stone path up is at a modest grade and it takes about 15 minutes.

 

Here’s a pic of my GF on her mule at the base…

 

The mules pretty much make their own way up the path sometimes doddling and sometimes competing with a fellow mule for lead position in the group.

 

Overall, I think it’s a memorable way to get up the cliff for 5-Euro while offering a small taste of history. Having said that, I completely understand the viewpoint of those who don’t want to see the continued use of pack animals here so lets please leave that debate for other threads where the subject has already been discussed at length.

 

Whatever route you take to the top, you’re rewarded with your first of many stunning vistas…

 

 

 

Our plan and itinerary

 

Our objective was to explore Oia (pronounced "Ia") first, then find the famous church in Firostefani on the way back, followed by a visit to Santo Winery for some pictures of the caldera, and then end up back in Fira where we could spend the rest of the day shopping until it was time to head down and back to the ship.

 

Transportation

 

There are basically three ways to get around the island… take a tour, rent an ATV (bike, car, etc.), or take the public bus. Since we wanted the ultimate in flexibility, we opted to rent an ATV from Markos. It cost 20-Euro for the ATV and another 10-Euro in gas. There are several ATV rental options on the main road and just one block west of the main road in Fira. Markos is convenient and affordable. Here’s the website with information on pricing and location…

 

Link to Markos ATV Rentals

 

Parking in Oia and at Santos is plentiful and free. The traffic wasn’t bad and the great thing about an ATV is that’s very easy to pull off if you have impatient traffic behind you or aren’t sure where you’re going.

These pictures are just beautiful...esp the mule and your GF!!! I laughed. Are you able to recommend a car rental in Santorini? Thanks!

Great review on "how to" Capri! Are there any on how to the Almalfi Coast?

Thanks! Kind of like we ride in taxis! "Touching" ---it is a long ride from port to Rome so it would be cozy to say the least. and the two adults are our children! Have you seen the minivans?

Question on vehicle size for RIL. We need a vehicle for four people for touring Rome. I see that the Mercedes sedan is recommended. My husband is 6'3". The other two people are adults as well. Is the sedan going to be comfortable for us or do we need to book the minivan? Thanks!