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I think the sign on the deckplan is just a sign but does not show the real location of the connecting door. You never have to move any furniture for the connecting door. It´s always accessible. Here you can see a connecting door in 7066 (the view from the French Balcony into the cabin on the left side after the TV and paintings on the wall). steamboats

Yes, there are cabins to the front and aft which have larger balconies than those cabins in the middle. Anyway, although there is enough space for a lounger you will only find a chair and table on those balconies. Those larger balconies are not limited to deck 9. You can see the size of the balcony here. Although 9130 is a Concierge Solo Stateroom the balcony has the same depth as the regular cabins. You can see only one chair as it´s a solo cabin. steamboats

You may be the first paying passenger in your cabin 😉 - but as there is the christening cruise starting on June 6th in Amsterdam til either June 9th or 10th there might have been someone in your cabin already. steamboats

BTW in the meantime the cruise out of Kiel on June 10th isn´t the first bookable cruise anymore. Now you can book a 2-nighter out of Copenhagen starting June 9th to Kiel and back to Copenhagen. MSC cancelled the 1-nighter from Kiel to Kopenhagen and offered all passengers the 2-nighter out of Copenhagen. steamboats.

Although the promende on deck 6 is accessible on both sides (but no walk around the ship) it is basically for accessing the life boats. It´s too narrow for seating and there are only some spots which aren´t blocked by the life boats. So the answer is no, no seating on deck 6. The Aquamar Spa Terrace is accessible for Concierge Level and up. A daily pass is available for 25 USD. The golf putting green is above the Aquamar Spa Terrace and forward. No seating in that area but a level below on deck 15 facing the pool. There´s an open aft area on the aft sports deck but no seating there either. There you will find the running track, bocce, shuffleboard. The Terrace Café has an aft outdoor area as well. But anyway I think there is plenty of outdoor space on the pool deck and on deck 14 above the pool deck with lot´s of loungers. steamboats

Unfortunately they only opened up an Oceania Suite and a Penthouse Suite for viewing. No other suite categories were open for viewing. steamboats

I thought both the 18under and 65plus were EU citizens only. At least this was the fact for minors under 18 as I did have to provide an EU ID for my daughter back then. steamboats

Starting today the entries are covering the cruise itself... including all food photos ;-). steamboats

@DrKoob, there are three drawers in both nightstands plus the very big ones in the desk (two big ones, one smaller one and one smaller one underneath the desk itself). And there are two shelves in the corner cabinet over the safe. Plus there´s a big drawer underneath the sink. And there´s the corner cabinet in the bathroom with three drawers and three shelves. Compared to other ships I´ve been on recently this is a lot of storing space - especially compared to the Norwegian Prima (as it´s the same "family" although not the same ship size and level of luxury). Todays entry will be the other cabin categories we were allowed to visit. Sorry, the photos are not that good. We had to rush through and make space for others who wanted to see the cabins. steamboats

Here's the direct link to the cabin details. steamboats

I was really surprised by the storing space. Almost 30 hangers in the wardrobe and lots of long hanging space (which I appreciate for my dresses). There´s another bar which can be folded down so you can transform half of the wardrobe to two bars with shirt length hanging space. Plus there are a lot of drawers and more. steamboats

Yes, there´s no card room anymore. The library is still a library. I think they mentioned that the new LYNC Digital Center can be used for board / card games. This consists of 3 rooms which can partly combined as conference rooms too. steamboats

For those who have been waiting for the cabin - the Concierge Level Veranda is online now. steamboats

As mentioned above this is a change in the OLife program which is supposed to come in July. Beer and wine by glas will be then included for lunch and dinner. I assume that the beverage packages then will change too. But we still have to wait for the conditions. It was only an announcement onboard. steamboats

While I have a pretty boring entry today with the extra costs onboard DH has published two parts featuring the restaurants (and food) and the new areas of the ship. And he´s the much better photographer than me ;-). steamboats

We had a Concierge Level Veranda and this will be online tomorrow. All other show cabins we were able to visit will be online on Tuesday. steamboats

Thanks again, @LHT28! @PirateShark, we asked for a priced bar menu and were sent to the Reception who told us to check the TV. We also asked at the media desk... so the end was, ask at each and every single bar. That´s when we gave up on it. Due to event they had no prices on the menus except for the excluded items (like high price spirits or bottles of wine). We were told that they didn´t want to confuse the guests with prices and getting frequent questions whether they have to pay or not... @basor as far as I remember they were saying that you can opt in for the new OLife program when you have booked the old one. They didn´t mention anything about those who booked cruise only fares (@bob brown). We may all have to wait until they officially launch the new program. steamboats

It´s a short walk from the landing in Paducah. Just walk over there. steamboats

Thanks, @LHT28 for jumping in with the date. I totally forgot it. I remember that all guests who booked under the current OLife conditions are able to change to the new one. steamboats

Bars and lounges are online. Tomorrows entry might be a bit boring as I feature the side costs as far as they were available on this special cruise. Wine list and spa menu will be included. Onboard was announced that OLife will change so that you don´t have to chose anymore. Beer, wine and sparkling will be included for lunch and dinner. Not sure how this will change the beverage packages. But they said that everyone can change to the new OLife features. steamboats

The food photos are still to come 😉 - but those will be in the daily review of the cruise itself. So wait for more... steamboats

Restaurants are online - and I´ve also added the video link. Of course the talking in the video is in German but there´s not too much of talking 😉. steamboats

Handover is planned for October 26th according to an article by Christoph Assies. After the handover they will move in the plants and trees into the Central Park. steamboats

Thanks to all for your kind words! Restaurants are going online today. There will be another entry about bars and lounges then follows our cabin and the show cabins. I just added a link to my DHs photo gallery in the first entry. And he was just talking about getting his video online today. So I will add that link too. steamboats

I just started my (German - use any automatic translation) review of the Christening Cruise of the new Vista. The first entry is a deck by deck review with lots of photos. There are more entries to follow but as I made more than 2,700 photos on this trip it will take some time! Enjoy! steamboats