Oh No!!! Retail Therapy Alert

[new salt]

We are taking our first cruise in a couple of weeks and SWMBO has declared a retail therapy open season:eek:. Our destinations are;

 

La Goulette ( Tunisia)

Malta (no problem we used to live there)

Crete

Mykonos

Santorini

Kusadasi

Athens

Naples

Olbia (Sardinia)

 

Any advice on trustworthy traders (if that is not an oxymoron) would be much appreciated, carpets in Kusadasi have been highlighted and jewelery elsewhere. The jewelery does not present a logistical problem but carpets might prove objectionable to Spanish railways on the way home (unless it is of the magic variety and i can fly it home from Barcelona. In short do these traders reliably ship?

 

Also, our line (Vision Cruceros) is principally Spanish so tours might be better taken privately. One sees the odd recommendation for tour guides but I am not sure how to track them down for each port.

 

Many thanks

 

New Salt

[texancruzer]

Unfortunately the only port I can make some recommendations in is Naples - as that is the only port on your list we have been to (yet ! ;) )

 

We used APTours (www.aptours.it) for our day. They picked us up in a nice new shiny silver van (9 pax) and we went straight to Pompeii. They had arranged for a private guide for us there (well worth the $$) and we spent our morning there. Then to Ravello, Amalfi, Positano and finally Sorrento where we took the ferry back to Naples (and docked right next to our ship) They were professional and kept us on our schedule so we could see all the things we asked - and did it so we didnt feel like we were on a "schedule".

 

They also stop for photo ops....and "retail therapy". There is a wonderful ceramic shop on the coast road across from the Emerald Grotto our driver stopped at. Stunning ceramics from the region....we bought a mosiac picture tile set (think behind a stove-top or on a garden wall) and they wrapped it up in bubble wrap for us (we declined to have it shipped - but they will gladly UPS your purchase for you). I wish I had bought more items here - next time :D

 

Also shops in other villages with lots of interesting items. HINT: Buy more lemoncello than you think you will need.....:p It goes fast after you get home !!!!!

 

Hope this helps for Naples..... this was my favorite day. History, beauty almost too perfect to believe and charming Italian hospitality..... a 10 for sure !!!!

[murphysmum]

Hello...

 

Regarding your question about getting carpets home safely from Kusadasi...

 

Over the years we've sent at least nine shipments, some of multiple rugs, from Kusadasi (and Istanbul) and we've never had a problem. We've often found the rugs at home when we get back or a week or two later. I take pictures of the rugs during the purchasing process and I've always been sent exactly what I paid for.

 

We've also sent back fragile pottery from the factory near Selcuk (sp?) and never had any breakage.

 

Enjoy your shopping! I enjoy all of the other ports as well, but Turkey is probably one of my favorite shopping countries in the world.

 

Have fun!

 

murphysmum;)

[Travel to Ports]

(1) Your group could consider that Turkey is an excellent source of leather goods, and they are sold in upscale boutiques across Europe.

 

(2) Have done considerable background and have recommendations for three of your ports:

 

(a) Naples: Mariano Fiorentino (info@pleasantravel.com)

 

(b) Athens: Paul of Athens by Taxi (athenstaxi@athenstaxi.org)

 

© Kusadasi: Hulya Terzioglu (hulya462002@yahoo.com)

 

My thought is that you are coming to this process quite late. Found that specific guides and specific dates FOR NEXT MAY are already being reserved (good luck).

 

Content you can use, depending on your time window at each (or, at least google, do some reseach): (a) Pompeii is best in the am when you have the energy to walk alot. A private guide is a wise investment. The amalfi coast at least includes the town of Amalfi (visit church) and Ravello. Work with driver to make certain you return to the ship with time to spare. (b) Perhaps Athens will be your city on this cruise, for us as we wanted to see some of the countryside, we organized a direct drive to the Acropolis first (prepared ahead, private guide very expensive), decide between city tour or visit to archeological museum (stuff taken from the Acropolis) and then to Cape Sounion for lunch and visit to Temple of Poseidon (incredible views at lunch). © Turkey as of 1 August has doubled its admission charges, but still acceptible. Hulya llives in Kusadasi and knows Ephesus and also knows shopping.

 

Wonder how you will handle a Spanish-speaking cruise ship? Are you bilingual? The usual way of using these guides or drivers is to go on a Roll Call and recruit a group (total of 6 or 8 for a van; Paul has a new Mercedes mini-bus that holds 10-16 passengers).

 

Hope some of these late-night thoughts prove to be helpful.

David

traveltoports@yahoo.com

[Cruzin Terri]

What does SWMBO stand for?

[NAJNLA]

What does SWMBO stand for?

 

"She Who Must Be Obeyed" :)

[new salt]

You got it in one Nagnla!!

 

Thanks for all your advice, please keep it coming, my wallet feels lighter already:(!

[Wendy The Wanderer]

On the subject of jewellery, sorry I can't recommend specific traders, since I bagged my gold necklace in Napflion. But I can say that there's lots of gold around, and it took two days of wandering from store to store to find the right one at the right price. Santorini would be the best bet for this. I'm sure others can recommend a specific store. Gold in Greece generally seems to be quite high carat--you can get 20 carat if you like. Nice silver too.

 

I can second the recommendation for Paul, if you want to get outside of Athens--he will drive you anywhere you like, but within Athens, i.e., inside the Acropolis,he can't be your guide since he's not licensed--he will leave you at the gate and you can hire an internal guide. But a very reliable guy.