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

[Steppy08]

Amy - had you seen pictures of our Pompeii guide before? Do you remember Taylor's comment? (I didn't post it here) I guess you can see why now, huh?!

 

We never saw you in Pompeii - you must have got there after we left? Since you did Herculaneum first....?

 

Yes, I remember her nickname. It appears to be appropriate ;)

 

Yes, we did Herculaneum first. We didn't get to Pompeii until probably about 11... I think we may have just missed you guys.

[marci22]

Hey...here is a video of Giada...

 

I watched this even though Giada gets on my nerves: it's the Sherri Effect!

 

Stop posting so I can go to sleep lol

[KansCocoa]

If you remember the first few days in Barcelona (okay, that made me laugh. Because, really? I can’t even remember yesterday!!!)…all Mickey wanted was a pair of shoes, as a souvenir. (I still don’t understand it…but oh well.) We’re in our last port, so the pressure is on to find a pair of shoes…and I’m happy to say that we had SUCCESS in Sorrento!

 

Bright turquoise sneakers...what every little girl needs....

 

 

This little shop is right off Piazzo Tasso, the main square in town…the prices were reasonable…the service was outstanding…and the princess is pleased.

 

Paradise...by a shoe store sign....those shoes certainly got the attention of the woman NEXT to Mickey in this photo!

 

 

 

Of course, the male Klingons wouldn’t be caught DEAD in a shoe store if their life depended on it, so they hung out in Piazzo Tasso, doing some people watching:

 

Yup...they blend.

 

 

It was here, in the square, that we ran into Cathy & Ken (which, if you remember, we’ve run into EVERYWHERE. So, of COURSE we would run into them at the square in Sorrento!). Cathy & Ken are headed over to the wooden inlay store, called A. Gargiulo & Jannuzzi – which, I remembered from our 2009 trip here, is a fantastic little treasure. A lot of the big RCI tour buses will stop here, as it’s a fantastic shop filled with wooden inlay puzzles, furniture and chess sets. Lots and lots of interesting chess sets, each with a different theme:

 

 

I've visited this store TWICE now, and have yet to buy a chess set. It's on my bucket list...which means I MUST return to Italy one day, just to do this.

 

 

Its about 12:15, and time to meet back up with Tony. He’s picking us up in Piazzo Tasso, so it’s back there we go. While waiting, we check out some of the scenery around us:

 

What IS it about bunches of flags, flapping in the wind, that we find fascinating?

 

 

A pretty hotel near the Piazza...don't even THINK about walking in, though, unless you're a registered guest. I found this out the hard way back in 2009.

 

 

Tony arrives promptly, and asks, “Are you hungry?”

 

Why, yes. Yes, we are. Little limoncello-filled chocolate balls will only go so far.

 

And now…we’re on to #3 of our goals…pizza. Will it measure up to the hype? We ARE in the birthplace of pizza, remember….

 

 

[KansCocoa]

I watched this even though Giada gets on my nerves: it's the Sherri Effect!

 

Stop posting so I can go to sleep lol

 

Bwahahahaha!

 

Okay. I'm done. Go to sleep.

 

More tomorrow - I hope. When I'm not packing, shopping (it's tax free weekend!), closing up the vacation house, and cleaning. :eek:

[sharpasice]

Sherri, Absolutely love your review..You are naturally funny..I have read reviews where people try to add a little humor but it appears forced..(still good reviews though) none of your humor appears forced, that's what makes your reviews such a good read! I hope you will accept me as a "friend" on FB I will be the Linda with the VERY, VERY long last name! Would like to 'friend' you here on CC if that's ok too..Thanks soooo much for the wonderful reviews..can't wait to read more..

[sbt518]

For those of you wanting tips, tour information, etc for the ports, I will try to post all of this at the end of my review.

 

In the meantime, I had developed a website for our Roll Call that has a lot of this information. If you click on this LINK - you'll find the website.

 

For each port, "hover" your cursor over it, and a drop-down menu will appear. There will be information on tours - including private tours, ship excursions (with RCI), and DIY tips. There will also be a link for "Spotlight" - and this will bring up additional books, websites and movies devoted to that port. This is where we got some of the movies that we watched.

You can ignore the events, member information, etc! :D

 

I hope this helps some of you with your planning...or, you can wait until "The End." :)

 

Our Roll Call used this site extensively to help us prepare for our adventure! It was fun building it and maintaining it for my year of "planning"!!!!

 

 

This is fantastic! As far as I'm concerned you don't need to waste your time putting all the movies in one list, I can get them from this website you made.

 

Apparently you have to get to another trip review after this one so I don't want to keep you from your fans when this information is already all put together here.

[KansCocoa]

 

We last left our hungry travelers getting picked up in the square of Sorrento, a charming little village along the Amalfi Coast.

 

After picking us up in Piazza Tasso, Tony drives us a very short distance to a local restaurant, Il Leone Rosso (The Red Lion). This little restaurant is located just a bit off the square, at Via Marziale 25, up a little hill by the train station.

 

 

Following Tony into the restaurant...

 

 

Tony gets us settled, and we eagerly peruse the extensive menu. There are several pages of different pizzas, and we ultimately decide to each choose a different one, so that we can “mix and match.”

 

Look at how reasonably priced the pizzas are! And - they're translated in English, which helped tremendously while ordering....

 

 

 

We started with the local specialty, the Caprese salad, based on Tony’s recommendation. A Caprese salad (which means, “salad in the syle of Capri”), is a simple salad that began in this region of Italy, consisting of fresh mozzarella, tomatoes and basil, seasoned with salt and olive oil.

 

Almost too pretty to eat...almost.

Our verdict? This was as good as it was pretty - definitely one of the best Caprese salads I've ever had. Tony was right to recommend this.

 

 

Our pizzas soon arrive – hot and fresh. Some of the highlights included:

 

An "eruption" of flavors and colors on the plate...this dish lived up to it's name....

This, the Vesuvius, was a delicious calzone-type pizza that Brainy Brad declared a hit.

 

 

 

 

The Parma pizza, that I ordered, was a delicious blend of cheese and Parma ham. I’m not a pizza person by any means, but this was extremely tasty.

 

 

 

And the winner is....

 

The Margherita pizza, so named as it was made for Queen Margherita of Italy back in 1889, is a beautiful pizza reflecting the colors of the Italian flag…with the red tomato, the white mozzarella, and the green basil. Taylor chose this, and the consensus among the family was that THIS pizza was the best. Another 10.0 of pizzas - for sure!

 

 

We annihilated our pizzas. There wasn’t a crumb left when we were done…and we sat there, in the bustling restaurant, filled with both tourists and locals, in a food coma. We had very happy tummies, and we were already thinking that there would be NO WAY we'd be hungry by dinnertime...but there was a surprise waiting for us....

 

[KansCocoa]

Sherri, Absolutely love your review..You are naturally funny..I have read reviews where people try to add a little humor but it appears forced..(still good reviews though) none of your humor appears forced, that's what makes your reviews such a good read! I hope you will accept me as a "friend" on FB I will be the Linda with the VERY, VERY long last name! Would like to 'friend' you here on CC if that's ok too..Thanks soooo much for the wonderful reviews..can't wait to read more..

 

Thanks, Linda! And that IS quite the last name...! I hope the review is helpful - if I can help anyone on a future cruise, then my purpose has been met! :)

[CruisingCaraCat]

Thank you for this wonderful review. You are doing a terrific job of reminding me of some of the ethereal days I have spent in Spain, Italy and Greece. Being a food gourmet (or is that glutton) I must interject by saying that the best thing I ever had in Sorrento was the fresh grilled seafood (actually the best I have had anywhere) and the very best pizza I have ever eaten was in Naples. But I am glad to have your wonderful pictures and descriptions.

[KansCocoa]

We were stuffed. STUFFED, I tell you. All we needed was our check, and perhaps a dolly/pushcart, to wheel us through the door. As we’re somehow just barely keeping conscious from our food coma, our waiter walks over…with not one, but TWO surprises:

 

 

 

 

…a GIANT slice of heavenly 7-layer chocolate cake….

 

 

 

…and a GIANT slice of real, authentic, Italian tiramisu.

 

 

My first thought was, “Oh my gosh. I have surely died – from eating too much pizza – and I must now be in heaven…where chocolate cake and tiramisu rain down from the sky.”

 

Realizing the ridiculousness of that thought, my second thought was, “Uh oh. We must have had a language issue with our waiter, and he’s mistakenly thought we’ve ordered these.”

 

The waiter must have seen my thoughts on my face, as he reassures us, “A gift from your driver, Tony” – hands us each a fork – and walks off…leaving us all with stunned looks on our faces.

 

Wow. Really? This is….AWESOME!!!!!!!

 

To this day, I can’t explain it. I really don’t know what happened that afternoon – but somehow, someway – we each summoned incredible strength and fortitude and managed – barely – to put those cakes away. Between mouthfuls of moist crumbs and creamy frosting, I THINK I heard Hubby Mike mumble, “This is seriously the BEST chocolate cake EVER.” As for me, sure, the chocolate cake was good, but the tiramisu? To die for. Really. I could have TRULY died – from eating too much pizza and dessert right then – and I would have gone to heaven, with a bit of tiramisu still on my lips.

 

But wait. It’s not over.

 

The waiter then walks over and hands us frosty shots of ice-cold limoncello. OH, STOP THE CLOCK – I WANT THIS MOMENT TO LAST FOREVER!!!!

 

So…as of 1:30 pm in the afternoon, we have met ALL of our family’s goals for that day. We’ve seen Pompeii; we’ve seen (part of) the Amalfi Coast; we’ve had pizza to die for; and we’ve drunk limoncello. Life just doesn’t get much better….

 

…but it does.

 

For as we get back in the van with Tony, and head on to our next stop, Positano, Tony pops a CD in the car and insists that we all sing along. And we do.

 

 

Don’t judge. We are certainly not the VonTrapp family…or the Jackson 5…or any other famous singing families. But…it was fun. (It helped that Tony passed out song sheets with the words.) And can I tell you how secretly thrilled I was, while filming from the back row of the van, at seeing everyone – including the Klingons – participate??

 

Another one of those – STOP THE CLOCK! I WANT THIS MOMENT TO LAST FOREVER!!!

 

But...time does not stop...for anyone. And time was marching on...and we were moving on...to Positano, our next stop that afternoon.... If I'd known what was to happen in Positano, I would have avoided Positano like the plague. One of those heart-stopping, pure panic moments that scares the life out of you...but we'll get to that.

 

[KansCocoa]

Thank you for this wonderful review. You are doing a terrific job of reminding me of some of the ethereal days I have spent in Spain, Italy and Greece. Being a food gourmet (or is that glutton) I must interject by saying that the best thing I ever had in Sorrento was the fresh grilled seafood (actually the best I have had anywhere) and the very best pizza I have ever eaten was in Naples. But I am glad to have your wonderful pictures and descriptions.

 

 

Now, I'll have to go back to Sorrento and have the fresh seafood...! Since we didn't visit Naples on this trip, I didn't get to try Naples pizza...another thing to add to my future to-do list! :)

[mrsfecura]

But...time does not stop...for anyone. And time was marching on...and we were moving on...to Positano, our next stop that afternoon.... If I'd known what was to happen in Positano, I would have avoided Positano like the plague. One of those heart-stopping, pure panic moments that scares the life out of you...but we'll get to that.

 

 

Oh I hope you're not going to leave us in suspense for too long! ;)

[justforkicks]

Sherri,

I have been following this thread since the beginning and normally don't post. However, I must tell you watching the video put the biggest smile on my face! I am so glad you have it and can cherrish it forever!

 

Thank you for your wonderful review!

Paula

[GACRUISER456]

It wasn't San Crispino, was it? Because that's very close to the Pantheon, as well...now you have me wondering...and hungry, as well! :)

 

You might be thinking of Giolitti's! Their lines are out the door every night. So many choices as well.

 

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g187791-d1061568-Reviews-Giolitti-Rome_Lazio.html

[jakesmom04]

Love the video...and I am enjoying every word of this review.

[KansCocoa]

 

The drive from Sorrento to Positano takes about 30 minutes…and it’s one of the most beautiful drives in the world. The only thing I can compare it to is the drive down the Pacific coast in California – through Big Sur. It’s breathtaking.

 

 

 

Along the way, Tony points out various sites to us…he then says, “See that rock way out there in the bay that looks like a woman?”

 

See it??!!

 

 

We all quickly look out the window, and answer, “Yes! Yes! We see it!” – eagerly waiting for the story behind it. Tony replies, drolly, “It’s just a rock.” Oh, aren’t you funny, Tony?!!

 

Before we actually arrive in Positano, we stop at a little fruit market, located on the side of a steep cliff, overlooking the village. Here, we hop out to go take some photos of the views around us.

 

 

 

Tony stands with us and points out various sights in the hills in front of us, including a cemetery way, way up on the side of the cliff. He says that caskets, carrying the deceased, must be hand-carried by the pallbearers up the steep steps to reach the cemetery. As we look on in amazement, he goes on to say that if the deceased is too heavy to carry, they are thrown into the bay for fish food. Our jaws dropped. After a dramatic pause he then says, very seriously, “That’s not true. I make that up.” He had us.

 

 

 

This fruit stand is very popular with other barbarians; it is very crowded, and we don’t stay long…just to get some photos and move on….

 

 

Now, THAT'S a lemonhead!

 

Tony picks up one of the giant lemons and shows it to us, explaining that it is NOT the giant lemons that make up the famous limoncello. These giant lemons are often used cut up in salads, with some salt and olive oil.

 

 

 

Once we arrive in town, Tony gives us a choice…we can:

 

1. Spend additional time in Positano – by shopping, eating, sightseeing, etc

2. Or…we can spend a maximum of 30 minutes in Positano

 

If we choose Option #1, we will take the highway back to the port, which isn’t very scenic. I mean...it's a highway. But, if we choose Option #2, we can continue driving the beautiful Amalfi Coast, which will take us back to Salerno and the port.

 

Hmmm...decisions, decisions...what would YOU choose?

 

We choose Option #2 – as we figure it’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to drive the entire Amalfi Coast…and we want the scenery, more than the shopping. And highways don't excite us.

 

So…Tony gives us 30 minutes in Positano, arranging a meeting point at the “top” of the town. If we play our cards right, we’ll have just enough time to run down the steep stairs in town, take a peek at the beach, and head back up to meet Tony….

 

This is the plan…but we all know how things don’t always go to plan. Especially when you have Klingons who have a mind of their own.

 

 

[fungirl76]

We were stuffed. STUFFED, I tell you. All we needed was our check, and perhaps a dolly/pushcart, to wheel us through the door. As we’re somehow just barely keeping conscious from our food coma, our waiter walks over…with not one, but TWO surprises:

 

 

 

 

…a GIANT slice of heavenly 7-layer chocolate cake….

 

 

 

…and a GIANT slice of real, authentic, Italian tiramisu.

 

 

My first thought was, “Oh my gosh. I have surely died – from eating too much pizza – and I must now be in heaven…where chocolate cake and tiramisu rain down from the sky.”

 

Realizing the ridiculousness of that thought, my second thought was, “Uh oh. We must have had a language issue with our waiter, and he’s mistakenly thought we’ve ordered these.”

 

The waiter must have seen my thoughts on my face, as he reassures us, “A gift from your driver, Tony” – hands us each a fork – and walks off…leaving us all with stunned looks on our faces.

 

Wow. Really? This is….AWESOME!!!!!!!

 

To this day, I can’t explain it. I really don’t know what happened that afternoon – but somehow, someway – we each summoned incredible strength and fortitude and managed – barely – to put those cakes away. Between mouthfuls of moist crumbs and creamy frosting, I THINK I heard Hubby Mike mumble, “This is seriously the BEST chocolate cake EVER.” As for me, sure, the chocolate cake was good, but the tiramisu? To die for. Really. I could have TRULY died – from eating too much pizza and dessert right then – and I would have gone to heaven, with a bit of tiramisu still on my lips.

 

But wait. It’s not over.

 

The waiter then walks over and hands us frosty shots of ice-cold limoncello. OH, STOP THE CLOCK – I WANT THIS MOMENT TO LAST FOREVER!!!!

 

So…as of 1:30 pm in the afternoon, we have met ALL of our family’s goals for that day. We’ve seen Pompeii; we’ve seen (part of) the Amalfi Coast; we’ve had pizza to die for; and we’ve drunk limoncello. Life just doesn’t get much better….

 

…but it does.

 

For as we get back in the van with Tony, and head on to our next stop, Positano, Tony pops a CD in the car and insists that we all sing along. And we do.

 

 

Don’t judge. We are certainly not the VonTrapp family…or the Jackson 5…or any other famous singing families. But…it was fun. (It helped that Tony passed out song sheets with the words.) And can I tell you how secretly thrilled I was, while filming from the back row of the van, at seeing everyone – including the Klingons – participate??

 

Another one of those – STOP THE CLOCK! I WANT THIS MOMENT TO LAST FOREVER!!!

 

But...time does not stop...for anyone. And time was marching on...and we were moving on...to Positano, our next stop that afternoon.... If I'd known what was to happen in Positano, I would have avoided Positano like the plague. One of those heart-stopping, pure panic moments that scares the life out of you...but we'll get to that.

 

 

 

I loved the video!!! It's those family moments that we hold on to and keep near and dear to our hearts. I have a 3 year old who started traveling at 8 months. She is going on her first cruise in September and I look forward to making wonderful memories with her.

[EMED2010]

Anxiously awaiting the beach in Positano. Loved this beach - I found some really pretty sea glass there. It was also the beach where Diane Lane kisses "Marcello" in Under the Tuscan Sun.

Singing in the car - one of the best memories of our trip was the ride back from Rome. We were all SO tired and our Rome in Limo driver Salvatore put in a CD and we all sang Arrivaderci Roma. It still gets me teary eyed.

[d4nigirl]

Oh Sherri, your video made me smile! :)

[KansCocoa]

So…we last left our singing troubadours at the top of the steep streets of Positano…we have exactly 30 minutes to explore and meet back up with Tony, if we want to drive the scenic Amalfi Coast back to the ship.

 

 

This much we know: the beach lies somewhere below us. Well – I would imagine it’s at sea level, right? We must traverse down to get to the beach…and if you’ve ever wandered the crazy little streets of Positano, you know just how steep…and how confusing…they are. This village is built on the side of a cliff – so the town isn’t laid out in a traditional “grid” pattern…this is important to know, as it will make what happened later a little more…understandable.

 

We start walking down the main street of Positano, which takes us under a beautiful arch of brilliant bougainvillea…

 

 

There are delightful little art galleries, bakeries, and limoncello shops that could be explored, if we had time…but we’re on a mission. To see the beach. So, we continue on…down and down and down.

 

We eventually reach the beautiful Church of Santa Maria Assunta, where I had remembered reading the legend of the Black Madonna icon that is above the altar. I wanted to see the famous icon, so Hubby Mike and I began walking around the church, to see where the entrance was…not having much luck. Giving up in about 90 seconds (because we knew we didn’t have much time), we look around to get the Klingons gathered back up – and that’s when we noticed…

 

…THE BOY KLINGONS HAD DISAPPEARED!!!!!

 

They were nowhere in sight. I looked at Mickey, and asked, “Where are your brothers?”

 

She shrugs, gives the usual, “I dunno,” with the “I’m not my brothers’ keeper” left unsaid but certainly implied.

 

Hubby Mike and I quickly circle the church, to no avail. No boy Klingons. Where could they have gone? And why did they leave without us??!!! Argh.

 

Well. You can imagine the anxiety that starts building…being a protective Mama Bear, after all, when my cubs go missing – in a foreign country, no less – I have a tendency to start…freaking out. Go figure. Hubby Mike, recognizing the panicked look that has started taking over my face, calmly says, “I’m sure they’ve just headed to the beach. Let’s go there ourselves.” Okay. This sounds like a reasonable plan. They’re at the beach, right? Because that’s where we were all headed, before some of us got distracted at the church. So – to the beach.

 

The three of us head further down a path, and then the unthinkable happens…we hit a “T” in the road. We either have to go left…or go right. But which way is to the beach??? What if we go right – and the boys went left? What if we go left – and the boys went right? You can see our dilemma…and operating under a time crunch has cranked up the pressure just that much more. It almost felt like a game show – where the clock is ticking – “tick, tick, tick, tick” – but this was REAL LIFE. And I had lost my Klingons.

 

What kind of a mother AM I???!!! :eek:

 

They DO drive me crazy...they're somewhat dirty sometimes...as boys tend to be...and they can certainly EAT a lot...as boys tend to do...but still, I DO love them...and I'm of the mind that you go home with the one who brought you, so darn it, they need to go home with ME. But where the heck ARE they??!!

 

So…back to the "T" in the road. Left? Or right? Which way takes us to the beach? Well…logic told ME that the normal person would go right. Right? So right it is. We go right. And THAT’S where we made our mistake, folks. Because I forgot to think like Brainy Brad – who has ALWAYS been a nonconformist. You would think after living with him for almost 23 years, I would remember this. Sigh. We found out later that the boys had apparently gone left. Of course they did.

 

Anyway, we turn to the right, circle around a few more paths that are heading down, down, down, and before we know it, we are at the beach.

 

Well. The good news is – we DID want to see the main beach of Positano. And there it is. We’ve seen it. It’s pretty – from what I can tell – but unfortunately, something else has my interest right now, and that is, “Where are my BOYS???!!!”

 

 

 

The bad news is – the boys are nowhere in sight. Nope. Nada. We DID see some fellow Cruise Critic shipmates hanging out at the beach while their wives shopped, and recognizing the look of total panic on my face, they quickly assured us that if they DID see the boys, they’d tell them to get their butts in gear and get back up to our meeting point asap.

 

Oh…in the middle of my panic, I did think to snap a photo of the Boardwalk. Because every good beach has a Boardwalk, don’t ya’ know?! And this one did make me laugh. A bit.

 

 

 

I’m pretty frantic now, as you can imagine. And these are the thoughts racing through my head at this time: “Great. Now we’re going to be late meeting Tony. Wait. Maybe I shouldn't meet Tony - without the boys. Wait. I SHOULD meet Tony - and tell him we lost the boys. Wait. What if we miss the ship??! OMG. What if we never FIND the boys??! Wait. They don’t have their passports! Wait. They don't have clean underwear!!!!”

 

Of course, Hubby Mike must have had these same thoughts, because out of the blue, he says, “Well. They ARE adults, for the most part. They can get jobs and support themselves. They'll learn the language pretty quick.”

 

Really? I give him the side-eye and tell him to keep looking. We are now heading back up – up, up, up – to the meeting point with Tony. Perhaps the boys have already BEEN to the beach and have left us in their dust? Yeah. That’s it. Right?

 

I should mention that it was now about 100-degrees in the shade, and I’m about ready to pass out…from heat prostration, dehydration, frustration, and exhaustion (there’s a LOT of stairs!). Not a good combination at any time.

 

We’ve just about reached the top of the village, when to my utter relief, I see the boy Klingons…making their way back down. To find us. They had indeed already been to the beach and back, leaving us in their dust. After I hugged them, I then smacked them – and immediately went into, “What in the WORLD were you thinking???!!! Don’t EVER LEAVE US AGAIN LIKE THAT IN A FOREIGN EUROPEAN CITY!!!”

 

As we hurried back up to meet Tony, we all retraced our steps and figured out where Brainy Brad had zigged, and where we had zagged….

 

Ay yi yi. I could have used another shot of limoncello at this point, but there's no time for frosty libations.

 

All’s well that ends well, and before we knew it, it was 3:00 pm and we were heading back to the port. We have plenty of time, as All-Aboard time isn’t until 6:30 pm…but this will allow us time to sit back and relax and enjoy the Amalfi Coast.

 

[gubby]

Sheri, I have been reading this wonderful review from the beginning, and loving every word of it. We did part of this trip a couple of years ago and will be on the Celebrity Equinox in October '13. I have taken extensive notes and thank you for all that you have gifted us with. Last time I did the Almalfi coast ride using RIL with others from our CC thread and still marvel at the beauty of that drive. My DH could not do it after the drive from Fira to Oia because of his vertigo. I hoped that he would be more amenable this time, but when I broached the subject yesterday, he indicated that it wouldn't happen. However, you have given us different options. We have not done Pompeii and I was thinking of going to Sorrento by train as we dock in Naples. Keep the stories coming. I am impatiently waiting for Monday. ( Need to give you time to catch your breath.)

Ciao,

Nikki

[ShipsandDipper]

I'm really enjoying this review -- thanks so much for taking the incredible amount of time to write it! First it made me want to book a Western Med cruise, and now it's bringing back wonderful memories of our 2010 and 2007 Eastern Med cruises.

[RTcruzer]

Hi Sherri!! Having been a late-comer to our roll call in May before the cruise I didn't get much chance to chat on CC roll call with you before the cruise... however, I am totally enjoying your review and reliving the most AMAZING vacation Jeff and I have ever had to date!! You are just so funny and have such a fun family!

 

I remember eating lunch in the MDR with CC friends and sat with brainy Brad and thought what a smart and pleasant young man he is!! You have raised some very nice Klingons!

 

Jeff and I have already booked the Adriatic cruise next June on Celebrity Silouhette and would LOVE to have you join us!!:) What better way to get over one cruise--right??

 

Thanks again for a great review of our wonderful trip and for alot of belly laughs along the way!!

 

Cheryl

[CAC104]

If you wish to use your Bank of America card (and the cards from many other providers). Go to their website and look for their "one time use" program. It may be called Safe card or SafePay or something similar.

 

You setup a temporary credit card account through the Banks program that assigns you a temporary credit card number that you can use for online purchases, It does not cost you anything, but you can set the length of time before it expires, and the maximum amount that can be charged against that credit card number. If a thief somehow steals the number they cannot run up your main credit card account. You can use the program as many times as you wish, each time getting a new temporary number if you wish.

 

Any amounts that are charged to the temporary account are automatically added to your regular credit card account by your Bank.

I have been banking with Bank of America for years and never knew about this service. Just goes to show you can learn all sorts of things from reading Cruise Critic reports.

So far I am up to page 16 and have been on two cruises that have been to all of the ports so far, with the exception of Turkey, and I think I will have to go back to be sure to see that area. Since I never traveled with my young kiddos, I cruised in Oct. to the Med, and the crowds were smaller and the temperature was really very pleasant. All the guides told us that sightseeing when we were there is about the best. I don't do heat very well, so I know I would not have been able to enjoy those ports in the summer.

[PCWalton1]

Sherri,

Wow, all that stress and you missed going in the church. I had to at least dig out one from there. :) Marie had to cover her head to go in.

Bill