JenMJM

We have a Container Store about 30 minutes from us. Will need to check it out!

I have been on Amazon and eBay, but I haven't yet found what I'm looking for. I'd like to take my coconut oil on our October trip to Europe to use as face and body lotion, so I'd like to put it in a container that can hold several ounces and seal well to prevent leakage. I've had plenty of luck finding small ones that could carry pills and small amounts of cream, but I'd ideally like to find a larger one that screws shut. I have a couple of these that I use for short trips and at home, but the seal isn't that great unless I put the cap over plastic wrap first: http://www.ebay.com/bhp/cream-container

I have also been wracking my brain on what I might already have at home and could repurpose.

Suggestions?

Thanks for the quick reply. My gut was telling me just to choose the Civi one, too.

The schedule is out for Oct 12. We will catch the train at Roma Termini, but the options for the Civi station include the following:

Civitavecchia

Civitavecchia Marritima

Anyone know which one I select?

JenMJM --

 

For an easier to wash top, assuming you do eBay -- search "wicking" in women's clothes. If you wrap these in a towel and press water out before hanging, they really do dry overnight.

"Wicking" it is! Thank YOU!!!!

The number is the same one on the website, 011390639967700. If and when you get through, you just tell the operator that you already have tickets for entry and that you wanted to add on the underground tour.

Thank you kindly. I was a bit overwhelmed reading a bunch of posts and the COOPCulture website yesterday. Appreciate you taking the time!

You can't book underground directly online? From my understanding this is a separate additional charge. With Roma do you get some sort of discount?

This is the post I was referring to from Trip Advisor. We are staying in Rome for three days and are considering the Roma Pass for use on public transportation and entrance into several museums. If we don't get the Roma Pass, then I will just book directly through the website.

Pasted from the TA advisor post I was using as a reference:

***How do I book the tour if I'm using the romapass for free entry?**

You need to call to make a reservation for the underground tour when using the romapass. Just let the operator know that you already have entry tickets and would just like to add on the tour. They will only charge you for the tour. The romapass does not include any tours, it's an entry pass. If using the romapass for entry you also get to visit the forum and palatine hill and have it count as the same entry since they are a combo site. Those under 18 don't need a romapass. See paragraph above for more information.

***Does the romapass or entry tickets that I buy online allow me to bypass the lines?**

Yes, both allow you to bypass the ticket lines that can be very long. Just approach the lines and the attendant will show you which aisle to use. You must still check in for the tour so be sure to show the attendant your tour voucher.

I just read through the first three pages of replies to the trip advisor discussion about booking tickets, and I've checked Coopculture's extraordinarily unorganized and confusing website, but I'm not finding the phone number used to call for the underground reservation if you plan to buy a Roma Pass to use for general admission.

Anyone have that handy?

Ahh, fellow Oenophiles. DW and I never tire of visiting wine areas and vineyards when we travel. So we will mention the wine road (S222) that goes between Florence and Siena and takes one through the beautiful countryside of Chianti. For cruisers, this area is a possibility if you have a day in Livorno. Of course that means ignoring Florence (which is an amazing city)...but life is full of these tough decisions.

 

Hank

Hank, please!!! Shhhhh!

We don't want bus tours going down that road!

I'm definitely coming back to this board when we plan our wine-heavy trip to Europe, which I know will probably be on the books sometime in the next 5 years. I have a feeling, like our first trip to Napa, that this short time in Italy is just going to whet our appetites for further exploration:)

Ditto (two different cruises☺)

Fantastic. This will make booking a train so much easier when the schedule becomes available.

Our ship arrived at the same time as yours arrives, and we were off by 7:15 AM, carried off our own luggage.

Thanks:)

For those of you who have have arrived back to Civitavecchia on your RCCL cruise, how has disembarkation gone? Is it pretty quick? We are on Rhapsody later this year and will be taking a train from port to Venice (via a stopover in Rome). Our ship docks at 5am. Is it a safe assumption that we could be off the ship around 8am if we carry our luggage off? Or does it take longer than that to clear passengers there?

I debated asking this on the Italy board, but was hoping to get some Royal Caribbean-specific responses here.

Am banging my head trying to make it work but my recollection (we have been to that port about 6 or 7 times) is that there is no duty-free shop in the port. We normally buy wine at the COOP market (a small supermarket) located within walking distance from the Piazzale Roma. They have a few shelves of wine (at very good prices) located at the back of the store. There are lots of places to buy wine in Venice including a few places where you can fill your own bottles (they have better wines than you would expect). Here is a cute old article that talks about some of the local wine shops:

http://www.charmingitaly.com/article/the-vinaie-of-venice

 

Hank

Thank you for this article link! We are heading to Napa for our 4th time in June, and the other couple we are going to Italy with is just as much into wine as we are. I was hoping to find places like these during our 3 days in Venice this fall.

Not only that, but the 767-400 does not have Business and First. It has one BusinessFirst. So it's a two-class plane. There are only a couple aircraft types in the UA fleet that have both Business and First.

Just for fun I checked to see what the price would be to upgrade to the "bed" seats. I just laughed. Not gonna happen! So expensive!!! The most we will do is move up to Econ+ for the extra leg room for the trip to Rome.

Linked below is what I'm planning to take on our trip this October to the same places. We're spending 3 days in Rome before and 3 days in Venice after our 9-night cruise. Thanks to all of the wonderful advice I've read on here, I'm pretty happy that I can fit all of this in a carry-on if I needed to. I tried it, and it worked (including socks, underwear, scarves, and an extra bra), and I still had room for toiletries. I now understand why packing cubes are all the rage - they are amazing!

I still want to find a super comfortable pair of black sneakers - maybe Skechers? And an easier to wash long-sleeve shirt as an alternative to the white one I included on my PP slide.

I failed miserably at trying to upload the photos, so here is the link to my blog post.

For those of you who have done this trip before, any suggestions?

1. You don't name the plane on which you are flying, but exit row seats, will have the most leg room, more then a regular E+ seat. The graphics are not drawn to scale as far as I know. However, you will have more leg room in E+ then regular economy. If you think it's worth it, upgrade.

 

2. No, you can't select seats for an LH flight using UA's webpage. You'll have to get your LH confirmation number (it's listed on your itinerary). You can call LH to try and choose seats in advance, or try to do so on their webpage, but most booking classes now don't allow free advance seat selection until OLCI for the LH flight.

 

I have had a lot of problems with codeshares involving LH/UA. Their computer systems don't play nicely with each other. Keep your eye on your reservation.

Boeing 767-400ER

By keeping my eye on my reservation, do you mean that you've had a flight cancelled from your reservation before?

1) Flying from Washington Dulles to Rome, DH and I have Economy seats next to the window (only two seats in that section). I'm 5'10" and he's 6'3". According to the graphic on United's website, it appears that Economy Plus has leg room equivalent to a normal exit row. Is that the case? If so, we're thinking that $260 total would be worth the move up to Econ Plus.

2) Our flight from Venice with a layover in Frankfurt, Germany back to Orlando is operated by Lufthansa. On the United website, we're unable to select our seats now ("Please see an airport agent during check-in to receive your seat assignment"). My assumption is that we will have to wait to select our seats 24 hours before flying out of Venice. Or does that mean we can select before we leave the US during our first check-in? I was really hoping to get the seat selections early, but I understand that may not happen.

I haven't flown overseas since my trip to Australia ten years ago, so it's been a while since I've had a flight longer than 5 hours. TIA!

Yes, we checked in and then got back off to walk down to CVS. Just be sure to only have the standard 1 bottle per person when you get back on the ship as you would any other embarkation.

Any good restaurants within walking distance from either of the forts? Lunch preferably.

We really enjoyed lunch at Cafe Manolin. The place (tables and counter service) was packed at lunch with a lot of locals. Loved the mofongo. I thought it was actually better than a couple of the non-tourist/non-Old San Juan restaurants we visited with our friends' folks who live in San Juan.

We stayed pre-cruise in Condado (at the La Concha) and ate breakfast at Pinky's across the street both days. Sooooooo good!

I appreciated the responses to my post. Taking your advice, I payed attention to details (and bathroom photos) and found two great places that I booked today. One is in Rome 2 blocks from the Pantheon, and the other is in Venice on a canal in the Dorsoduro neighborhood.

Thanks again!

We're stopping in Martinique in a couple weeks. We're taking a ship tour, but I was thinking it might be a good idea to stop by an ATM for euros for our 2015 Italy and Med cruise trip. Either I get our starter euros at a Martinique ATM or I order some here in the US before we leave next year.

Anyone noticed an ATM close to port?

 

Question #1 - What is the best and closest place to purchase my wine??? We're not fond of what we call "2 Buck Chuck", but don't need a totally upscale selection either. I ask this because I understand there is a CVS and Walgreens there and not knowing what their selection is like I would like to have another option to tell the cab driver.

 

 

Thanks!

You are exactly like us. I will never buy Barefoot - ever. (For those of you that like Barefoot out there in Readerland, I wish I did, too. I blame working in a boutique wine shop and taking 3 trips to Napa.) While we were on our San Juan stop in September, we scoped out the CVS. Yikes! In a few weeks we will be cruising out of there and will be asking our friends to take us to a grocery store. Do not count on CVS!

We had a really yummy lunch at Cafe Manolin downtown. I'd seen it mentioned on here before, and my Puerto Rican friend recommended it. We sat next to two Port Authority workers on one side and a local on the other. Basically, we were the only tourists at our counter. When I walked to the restroom in the back, all of the seats were taken by folks on their lunch breaks. http://www.cafemanolinoldsanjuan.com/menuii/index.html I had the Mofongo with Shrimp and DH had a delicious Churrasco.

Not that this will help you, but maybe someone else: When we are there in a couple weeks, we'll be with a couple borrowing his dad's car. They are planning to take us to all of their favorite places while we're there. I can report back after our trip in November. Most of those places will not likely be downtown OSJ.

We booked guarantee for the first time a couple months ago for our September cruise and ended up in nearly the same room that I would have picked for myself - about 2-3 rooms down. We got really lucky, but I would definitely try it again in the future.