dlorenzo

I bought the pair Sherri recommended and have been wearing them everyday to break them in....really no need to do so since they are really quite comfy...and they are extremely lightweight as well!

Thanks Sherri!

Bonnie

Yep! I love my Clarks! (Don't worry not the same ones that Sherri had) :)

Diane

Diane,

 

I just purchased a phone from Telestial. I will be using it on my trip leaving 8/8-8/21. I received a US number and a UK number. The phone cost me $29 and I prepaid for $30 worth of time. I will report back how it works. The best thing is I can use the phone with anotherr sim card if it doesnt work out.

 

Kim

Thanks! I appreciate your help!

I have done both, rent and purchase. Purchase is same cost, and you get to keep and program your own phone, also keep same phone # without recurring charges.

I most likely will not be traveling out of the country again in the near future, so thats not a factor. I want the easiest, most reliable way of being able to use a cell phone if I need to and have my family be able to call me if they need to. The Mobal.com phone seems to have a UK # which means when my family calls us they will need to pay for an international call, is this correct? Where with Cellular Abroad I can get a US#. Also if they call me there is not charge. Can you not program numbers into a rental phone?

Thanks for your help!

Diane

Here’s where I’m thankful I had the mobile international phone…and here’s where I’m REALLY thankful I had pre-loaded the telephone numbers of all of our tour operators, including the cab company that was scheduled to pick us up at 3:00 pm later that day. (That I had pre-paid for.) So – if I can put a tip here – PRELOAD your tour/cab telephone numbers before you depart…it will save you lots of time later. (Not to mention, my Binder had been buried at sea…I almost didn’t have the telephone number!!!) I called Barcelona Day Tours to see if they can come get us now, rather than 3:00 pm, and the dispatcher says that unfortunately, all cabs are busy, what with taking other passengers to the airport and such, so it will be at least an hour before they can come get us.

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Hi Sherri,

Can you tell me where you rented your international cell phone? I am looking at http://www.cellularabroad.com. Any suggestions?

Thanks! Diane

Good question! And something we all seem to struggle with!

 

For most of the ports, I wore a pair of Privos by Clark Zylon sandals...here's a link at Zappos. These had good tread (so they didn't slip and slide at the Acropolis, for instance) and they were stylish enough to wear with my sundresses or capris. My left ankle has a tendency to swell as the day goes on, and the straps on these are velcro - so I could adjust them as the day went on.

 

The shoes I have on my feet in the above pictures (in Barcelona) are from a company called Sanuk...and they are the most comfortable shoes, ever! They were my "ship" shoes...good for onboard, but not good for walking on rocks! (Remember...I "thought" I would be spending the day onboard the ship...not walking around Barcelona! All my other shoes were packed up in the giant suitcases!)

 

My other walking/touring shoes (in Santorini) was a pair of Clarks Poster Tulip sandals....HERE. I wore them when I had on my white shorts, capris, or white dress on the ship.

 

ALL of my shoes were a success! I never had trouble with blisters or sore feet, which is AMAZING, considering how much walking we did. I'd try to switch my shoes each day - back and forth - but I ended up wearing the black sandals more than the white ones. I was very happy with my shoe selections!

 

A tip: buy your shoes in advance and DO wear them all day...I had bought a pair of black sandals, and wore them to Brainy Brad's graduation the first week in May. The sandals felt fine the first part of the day, but as the heat increased, and the hours increased, they were KILLING me by the end of the day. I'm SO glad I tried them out before the cruise...I had time to get a different pair (the Clarks) that were much more comfortable.

I'm also going with Clark's - great shoes for our cruise in Sept., also found on zappos.com

Thanks for assisting Yvonne!

 

I would skip the drive and stay longer in Sorrento and Positano. It was a very long drive, and after awhile, it all started looking the same. Blasphemy, I know!! But that's my honest opinion. I didn't know that going in, tho...!

Do you think it would be possible to end the "driving" part of the tour in Positano and take the ferry back to Salerno? It takes the ferry approx 70 minutes - do you remember how long it took by car? This might give us more time taking it all in.

Thanks again!

Diane

Sherri, thank you for taking so much time to put this all together. We are taking the Serenade on the Western Mediterranian in Sept. Your hints on all the ports has been wonderful.

 

I have a concern. It is just my husband and I going. We know nothing about Europe and I am afraid if we book our own tours we will miss out because we will not have a guide with us to tell us what we are looking at. It sounds like you did a lot of research beforehand. Any suggestions?

Hi Yvonne, I think you are on the same cruise as we are(sept 14th). Most of us on our CC board have planned tours with companies such as Rome in Limo, AP tours or others highly recommended on CC or trip advisor. If you are joining any of us on our group tours they should all have guides. If you haven't joined any of the group tours posted go to our board: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?p=34790348#post34790348 and let us know which you still haven't booked so we can help you and see if there are still any openings in the group tours we have found.

Sherri - completely enjoying your review. We are doing the Amalfi coast tour, from your review should we skip the winding roads and just stay in one place like sorrento and positano longer? Or do you have to do the crazy roads in order to get to these places?

Only 36 more days until we leave for Barcelona!!

Diane

This was the funniest thing I've read in the longest time. I could not wait till each new day events were described.

I agree - can't wait until she returns and we get to read the rest. We will be leaving in September for the Barcelona/Venice cruise so this just gets me more excited. Also reminded me to buy tickets ahead of time to some of the places! And to take the panic button out of my purse before we go!! :-)

Diane