patrickmoran

Never leave the ship with P owing you OBC (refundable or non-refundable). Go to the casino on the last night and go to one of the tables and get the amount in chips. Play a few hands (or not depending how ballsy you feel). Then cash out and walk off the ship with the money in your pocket.

You can do essentially the same thing using a machine in the casino. I'm just not sure how to set up an account using your medallion.

Just off the Regal and would recommend that ship. I sailed on the V 10+ years ago and felt dated then. 

Just off the Regal yesterday. The Captain described it a spa treatment. I think they may replace the carpets and some furniture in public areas.

Falling behind on my updates. 
Yesterday we docked in Genoa. I took the ship’s tour to Milan. It was Milan and the Last Supper. We had very good weather considering it poured in Genoa. It was a walking tour of center city and a visit to see the Last Supper for about 10 minutes. We did not go inside the Duomo and only walked through the Galleria.  At the end we got a little over an hour of free time. That was enough for lunch but not much else. So it was a taste of Milan. I’d like to go back and do it on my own. 

16 hours ago, Corgidawgga said:

Does anyone know if Canadian citizens need an eVisa for Turkish ports?

 

 

Sorry, no Turkish ports on our sailing. 

On 4/21/2022 at 12:47 AM, wowzz said:

That's strange - it was free on Sky last year.

Not this year. 
Marseilles is $16 round trip. You can pay on the ship or on the pier. 
Livorno is 5 euros round trip paid on the pier

Today we were at Marseille. The weather was cloudy with some showers. The cruise port is 30 minutes from center city. There is a shuttle that’s $16 round trip. I don’t know the frequency. 
I took the ship’s tour to Avignon and Palace of the Popes. I enjoyed it. The palace is a large stone building devoid of any furniture, tapestries, etc. A few frescoes have survived but it is nothing like the Vatican.  Lots of shops and restaurants in Avignon. Lunch was ok. I would have preferred to do it on my own as there were plenty of interesting choices. 
Tomorrow we dock in Genoa. I’m taking a ship’s tour to Milan to see the Last Supper. 

Lido deck if doing Caribbean cruise. Emerald deck if doing lots of touting in the ports. Some people like the sideways cabins as the layout gives you more room. 

I always do both on my phone. I do use her phone to pre-order her internet service. 

9pm

On embarking there will be 2 beers in your mini fridge. Take an unopened beer to any bar and they will exchange it for a colder one. You can only exchange like for like. After the 1st day the beers in the fridge will be very cold 

Food in the MDR for lunch and dinner has been good to excellent. I had the veal scallopini was great. I eat breakfast in Horizon Court and that has been fine. 
I saw the comedian last night and enjoyed him. 
They only offer one show in the theater per night. Last night there were lots of good seats available. 
Entertainment in the Piazza has been lacking. No band plays in the evening for dancing. There has been a group playing in the Vista Lounge but I haven’t heard them yet. 
I would estimate that the ship is maybe half full. Lots of good spots available in the Piazza on a sea day and most evenings. Unheard of pre-Covid. 

20 hours ago, S&DMOM said:

Does this mean the covid cases are going up on board😞

I assume so but no information from P. Mask usage is decreasing as the week progresses. Most venues are “Mask Recommended “. 

I got the app functioning. I logged out and then logged back in. We’ll see if it’s working properly tomorrow. 🤞

Today the forward half of the port side of Emerald Deck has become the quarantine ward. My cabin is close to the exclusion zone but not too close hopefully. 

Today we visited Gibraltar. I took a ship’s excursion, Stroll the Upper Rock. It was an excellent tour. We started early, 7:30 am, and were one of the 1st groups up on the Rock. We took the cable car up and did lots of walking and stairs. We had an excellent guide and was in information overload by the end. The tour lasted longer than advertised so no time for lunch before the dolphin watching tour with Dolphin Adventure that I had booked once it looked like the weather was going to be good. (We had great weather today. ) We saw lots of dolphins and had great views of the Rock. 
I had a great day in Gibraltar and would like to come back. 

23 hours ago, S&DMOM said:

If we do a antigen test here in the USA 48 hours before boarding do we have to retest at the pier?

 

And any information about antigen testing to return to the USA at the end of the cruise would be greatly appreciated 🙂

 

Thank you for taking time to post. 

You will have to be tested at the pier. I’m hoping debarking testing info will be available soon so I know what to expect on our last day when we are in Livorno. 

Nope. On the Regal now and I’d say maybe 60%

Today was a day at sea. The weather was good and the sea calm. I attended the Fine Wine Tasting ($25). We tasted 6 wines and I thought it was a good value. 
The Club Class dining is in the dining room on Deck 5. Pretty dead at 7:30 pm; maybe 2  tables had diners. The MDR on Deck 6 was half empty at 6:30 when I ate. 
The functions in the Medallion app don’t work. I can’t use the Dining My Way function or order any drinks or food. I asked the guy at the Medallion desk tonight but he was clueless. 
Tomorrow we’ll be in Gibraltar. 

Let me add that most of the functions in the Medallion app don’t work. If I had the drink package I’d be pissed. You can’t order anything. I’ve been trying it at different times and it only worked once. I asked a guy at the Medallion desk and he was clueless. 
I think P either did an update that went horribly wrong or got a new vendor/contractor who’s incompetent!

There is at least one guest speaker who did a port presentation this morning. There is an enrichment presentation this afternoon but no speaker listed so I don’t know if it’s live or recorded. 
I don’t know what work will be done after this cruise. 
They will fill all of the seats at the tables if there are players interested. 

I’m on the Regal now in the Med and the internet is so slow. It’s hard to do anything. It is not a satellite/position issue. I’ve been on 3 post-Covid cruises and the internet was great. Fortunately I’m Elite so $5/day for lousy service isn’t too bad but this is not what I would expect from a “premium”cruise line. 

No change to P Live 

15 hours ago, Ken the cruiser said:

With regards to the internet service, did you ever do a speed test? But more importantly were you able to at least send and receive email? Also, were you able to access the cruise critic forums? I know asking about accessing the CC forums sounds a little strange, but it’s a multi-tiered website which needs a little bandwidth, at least around 2 mbps or higher based on my experiences on other cruises this year.

On the Regal now. Can access email and send email. I can access CC forums ok. 

I flew into Barcelona. We sail to Gibraltar, Marseille, Genoa, Livorno and Rome. I’ll fly straight home upon debarking. 
 

N95 masks in cabin. Everyone is masked up. Good compliance so far. I haven’t been to any shows or bars though. 
 

No charge for Covid test. So the 45 minutes was from the start of the process to monitor telling the group that I was in that we good go. Waiting for the release took 30 minutes. We were not given any paperwork with our results. Something was entered into our file so check in took 30 seconds.