Cell phone SIM Cards - Hong Kong

While in Hong Kong, I knew that my husband and I would be split up for at least part of the time, since I was there for a conference. Cell phones were very helpful to us - not only when we were apart, but also so we could contact our local friends, etc. We consulted our friends in Hong Kong and were told not to buy SIM cards in the States (for example, through online retailers that specialized in international SIM cards) but rather to wait until we got to Hong Kong. So, we brought our unlocked phones that take SIM cards (we have T-Mobile here in the States) to Hong Kong. The SIM cards we found were incredibly cheap in Hong Kong, especially since we weren't planning on making many calls anyway, and all of our cars originated in Hong Kong and were to phones in Hong Kong. We went to 7-11 (and in fact, I think most if not all convenience stores carry them) and bought a SIM card for around 68 HKD (approximately US$10)! I don't remember how many minutes were included (maybe 50???), but there were plenty for our modest cell phone usage during our stay in Hong Kong, even though we were charged for both in-coming and out-going calls. With this basic phone card, we could technically call international numbers - but the per minute rate was pretty expensive. If you're planning on making calls mainly to international numbers from Hong Kong, you can purchase a basic IDD card. I think the price for the IDD phone card was 98HKD.

The lesson here? If you're looking to get a SIM card for your phone, do so in Hong Kong. They're readily available and very inexpensive. Just go to a 7-11 or some convenience store.

If I can find our phone card and the information I came with, I'll be sure to upload some pictures.

Costco Travel

I love Costco. I love their products, I love their return policy, I love their food court. If I were to get married again, I'd get my wedding catered by Costco. Heck, maybe I'd get married at Costco.

However, when most people think about Costco, big barrels of pretzels and large sides of beef usually come to mind. Not travel. But I've been using Costco Travel to book my cruises lately, and I've been very happy with my experience. They have great prices (and often have incentives like an added $100 Costco cash card). For example, the price for our Alaska cruise as booked with Costco Travel was at least $300 less than if we had booked through Norwegian Cruise Line directly. And the service has always been stellar.

My one complaint is that when I asked specifics about NCL, the agent with whom I spoke wasn't able to provide many details. She had never cruised NCL and wasn't able to give me much information about the individual staterooms. This wasn't too much of a problem, since I like to research my travel plans on my own, and I was able to get the answers to my questions through CruiseCritic.

In addition, I've also used the Costco Travel website to book rental cars. They have great discounts on rental cars, and their prices are often cheaper than if I booked my rental car elsewhere.

Cruise to Alaska - packing tips

At the beginning of May, we took a cruise to Alaska! We were on the Norwegian Pearl, and we had a fabulous time. I'll slowly get some posts up about our cruise and our experience cruising with a child. In the meantime, here are some packing tips if you're taking a kid on a cruise. These packing tips need not be cruise-to-Alaska-specific. I'll update this list as more ideas come to me.

-Over-the-door shoe organizer. When you travel with kids, you'll have a bunch of little items like sunblock, saline spray, tylenol, etc. In the cabin - whether you're in an inside stateroom or a suite, you'll have limited storage space. So to keep your cabin neat and to quickly and conveniently locate small items, the shoe organizer works perfectly.

-Stroller rain cover. The weather in Alaska can be pretty unpredictable, and they get lots of rain there. You'll need a rain cover for your stroller. While on our cruise, we found the rain cover very convenient for walks on deck - it kept out some of the wind while we made laps around Deck 7, trying to get our son to go to sleep in his stroller.

-Pack n Play Sheet. If you're requesting a crib for your cabin, they'll likely provide you with a pack n play. On our cruise, we got a pack n play, and a full-sized flat sheet. The sheet was a pain to put in the pack n play without being a suffocation hazard. Luckily I brought a Pack n Play sheet with me. Unluckily, my son threw up all over it, so we ended up having to use the flat sheet anyway. So bring 2 Pack n Play sheets!

-Clothespins. You never know when you'll need to clip something. The clothespins came in handy when we tried to stroller our son to sleep around Deck 7. Without the blanket blocking his view of the outside world, he would be too stimulated by all the people and the sites. When we clipped the blanket onto the stroller to block his view, he was more ready to fall asleep. And the blanket keeps in some heat and blocks out some of the wind on the boat and in chilly Alaska.

Stroller Use in Rome?

Like I said in an earlier post, I didn't get to do much sight-seeing in Rome since I was working the whole time. So I didn't get to walk around with my son very much. Nonetheless, we did bring his stroller, and we actually used it! Rome is much less crowded than Hong Kong, so it was markedly easier to maneuver a stroller around the streets than in Hong Kong. (Please note, however, that we stayed mainly in the Piazza Navona area, which is dominated by pedestrian zones.) There were paved sidewalks in addition to cobblestone streets, so if you bring a stroller, make sure it has somewhat sturdy wheels.

Things you should note, however, are that most of the restaurants and stores are very cramped. So you'll find that it will be difficult to maneuver a stroller in the tiny restaurants and stores. Also, if you plan to take public transportation, a stroller might be difficult. If you're taking the subway, elevators down to the subway platforms are either non-existent or very hard to find. So you'll have to carry the stroller down the steps. Further, the subways and in particular the buses can get very crowded, so you might prefer to have your child close to you in some sort of carrier rather than in a stroller. Best bet? Take both - a carrier and a stroller. Even if you don't end up using the stroller in Rome, it will likely be helpful in the airports. However, make sure you check your airlines for the baggage limits and their policies on strollers. More on this later. (Grr - Air France made me pay for an extra bag because they wouldn't allow me to gate-check my stroller in Rome.)

Accommodations in Rome - apartment rentals

Yes, I know. I've been neglectful of this site lately - but in my defense, we've been busy traveling and otherwise busy with all that baby stuff. I have a whole backlog of posts percolating in my mind. Hopefully little by little, I'll have time to write it all.

So back in March, we took a trip to Rome. We stayed for 8 nights - I was there working, unfortunately, while my husband had most of the childcare duties. Luckily I've visited Rome many times before and have had many opportunities to explore the city and its wonderful sites. So I wasn't *too* sad that I didn't get to do the touristy thing.

I was in Rome organizing a conference. But rather than stay in the conference hotel, we decided to rent an apartment in Rome. Hotels in Rome (and in Europe, for the most part) tend to be small by American standards. And the walls aren't particularly thick. So I was worried that either other people would keep my son awake, or he would keep other people awake and angry. And I figured that he would want some space to roam around. So we decided to rent an apartment for the week - it turned out to be a marvelous plan, and with three adults and 1 baby, my stay in the apartment turned out to be cheaper than getting a hotel room. (Granted, we were staying near Piazza Navona which is prime touristy area, so hotel prices in that area are on the high side to begin with.) I also figured that a full kitchen would be very helpful for preparing meals for my son.

Anyway, the service I used was Sleep in Italy. They offer apartments of all sizes and in all neighborhoods in Rome. Their prices, I think, are quite affordable - and they have apartments at many different budget levels. Dealing with them was incredibly simple. I emailed back and forth with them over the course of months (I wanted to carefully research all my options!) and they were always patient and courteous. They typically responded via email to my inquiries within a couple days. Also, you can arrange to have a crib delivered to the apartment for a small extra fee. (A small complaint - they had told me via email that they would provide a pack-n-play type of crib. But an Ikea-type crib was at the apartment when I arrived, and it was set at the highest setting. We had no tools to modify the position, so we ended up not being able to use the crib at all for safety reasons.)

So here's how my experience with the whole reservation process went - I emailed them for information about their rentals and about specific properties over the course of a few months. They have all their properties, along with pictures and descriptions, on their website. The website also shows the availability of their different properties. They were quick to respond (and at one point, even offered me an unsolicited discount!). When I was ready to book, I completed a form that they sent me via email and sent it back to them. On this form, I was instructed to provide the time at which I would arrive at the apartment so the owner could meet me there and give me the keys. I was then required to pay a deposit. Because I didn't want to send them my credit card details via email, I called them with my credit card number. The person who answered the phone answered it in Italian, but then quickly switched to very good English when she realized I spoke English. The deposit was 20% of the total cost of my reservation; the balance was to be paid in cash upon arrival. After the payment was made, I received a reservation confirmation via email with the name and cell phone number of the owner.

Fast forward to a few months later... when I arrived at the apartment, I buzzed my apartment number, but nobody was there. I waited for 10 minutes. Still nobody. I walked around looking for a pay phone, but pay phones that take coins and not phone cards are very scarce. I started panicking. Luckily, a local shop owner allowed me to use his phone, and I called the apartment owner. The owner met me at at the apartment about 10 minutes later, gave me the keys, a quick tour, information about the area and apartment, etc. I paid him the balance due in cash. Afterwards, he left us in peace to collect our wits and settle in. We had no problems during the duration of our stay.

When we left, we had arranged with the apartment owner that we would leave the keys inside the apartment, since our flight was at 6AM.

Overall, the whole process was sufficiently smooth. The only snafu was when I wandered around, looking for a phone to call the owner. It would have been nice if he had been in the apartment when I rang the doorbell. To avoid this whole mess, either have a cell phone handy, or see if you can make clear to Sleep in Italy that you will have no phone in Rome and ask that the person who is to meet you at the apartment to give you the keys is actually IN the apartment at the specified time. The perks of having a full kitchen and extra space were well-worth the initial troubles

I've also heard good things about Rental in Rome. Although I didn't use their service, I did email them early in my research process, and they were also very courteous and quick to respond to my inquiries via email.

The people who work at these two companies speak very good English, and there are also phone numbers should you wish to contact them via phone.