May B

Thanks for posting this! My first choice is always a zin. It appears on all three lists! Plus there’s something a tad snazzy about saying, I’d like Francis Ford Coppola, please.

This having been said, I must add that my few experiences with Spain Day Tours have been outstanding. We had a tour booked for October, 2020, and the refund was immediate and accurate. The tour we took in Valencia was wonderful. I wonder if the person who was answering you, CoconutJo, was having a bad day, or reacting to something that had just happened. However you do it, have a blast! Barcelona’s a great city. People report loving the food tours (in a true foodie city!).

We often tour on our own, with a heavy dose of Rick Steves walking tours. I can see now why you’re hesitant to go with Spain Day Tours. Enjoy, whatever you decide!

Bon voyage, joyride! I sure hope that seat H stays blocked, and I agree with you, thank goodness there were still premium economy seats available!

Adrian, Great summary with fascinating updates! Bigosh, how somebody could label you as critical of Azamara defies explanation. Mr B and I will try to take your place on Azamara in 2023. So far, we have nothing booked that year or after. Regards to Elaine. 😃 —May B Muriel

You sound ready! I loved Park Guell. I think I’d call it a must-do, along with Sagrada Familia. Another wonderful place is the Palau de Musica. They offer guided tours in English, which sell out. We had to do that on our second trip, b/c it wasn’t available, the first time. We also booked a performance there, which I wouldn’t hesitate to do again, if we were going to be in Barcelona more than one night. I guess if I had to rank my sightseeing in order of how much I loved them, I’d say Park Guell was #1! Palau de Musica was #2, Sagrada Familia, #3; and Picasso Museum was #4 … and I loved that! We were at three of those places in 2014. Now, I think more has been done at Sagrada Familia, and is there an entrance fee at Park Guell? There wasn’t, when we were there. We went by city bus, so we entered through the side gate and strolled down to the actual entrance. On our way back up, there were those guys selling stuff, all displayed on the ground on a cloth, and evidently they got word of police approaching. In the blink of an eye, they had all their things gathered up into the cloth and they were outta there! There may be more of Park Guell than we saw. I just asked Mr B, and he ranked Sagrada Familia as #1, Park Guell as #2 and Palau de Musica, #3. It certainly helped, that we had a beautiful sunny day for Park Guell. Great city. Great food.

Adrian, very much looking forward to hearing about your chat with the captain. I hope you and Steph and Colin, and She Who Is Not Named in these pages, will have an enjoyable finale to your cruise, and then a safe trip home. And I sure hope the couple who never cruised before, and wanted to sail rather than to cruise, are enjoying, too.

Funny! I’m expecting to embark, the day you disembark. Then, from Thunder Bay … fly home through Toronto!

Congrats on your first post here at Cruise Critic, Jo! When Mr. B and I did Park Guell, he was 69 and I was almost 68. I didn’t think it was strenuous at all. Do you sometimes go out for a one hour walk? Do you often take a few flights of stairs onboard a cruise ship? Then I think you’ll be fine! I’m 75 now and I wouldn’t hesitate to do it.

I believe mentioning one or two or three crew members by name in your evaluation will go a long way in rewarding stellar service.

Adrian, what a beautiful post! Not a surprise, but definitely a treat. Keep enjoying; I’ll keep following. —May B Muriel

My recollection of the library on Quest and the other original Azamara was of the most beautiful room I’ve ever seen on a cruise ship. I hope the beauty will still be there, even if the books aren’t.

Thx for posting this! It amused me somewhat, since I personally happen to adore corned beef hash for breakfast, and I certainly don’t cruise to eat Mexican food. But heck, choice is good, and I expect I’ll find plenty. The ramped up offerings of steak and roast beef at the buffet could take a nice amount of pressure off The Restaurant, each evening, where I hope to dine, six of my seven days on board. Also, despite never ordering steak onboard, I absolutely will expect to have prime rib once per cruise. That relates to my own at-home experiences. With all the hype about a tomahawk steak lately, I might be able to entice Mr B to share that with me one night at the buffet. And I saw a few really neat seats where we can watch the chefs in action. That appeals to me!

I believe, weather permitting, the submersibles did see some use in the Caribbean, although demand exceeded capacity.

I don’t know about you, but I think in all 49 of my previous cruises, I’ve ordered steak … hmmmm … perhaps never! Nor do I enjoy dinner at a buffet. But it’s certainly good to have choices!

Bon voyage, Roy!

Thx for the words of advice! You surely have experienced so much on your 60 days! I hope you’re happily home and back to normal life.

One of my all-time favorite CC posts. Thank you!

What’s the saying … we may have to kiss a bunch of toads before finding a prince. Not that the dry red was prince-like, but better than kissing a toad, at least. I think you’ve picked a great way to get back to cruising! My first one back was a four day on Crystal. 😔

I’ve enjoyed it so far! I hope you’re loving the Great Lakes. Congrats on all the fun trivia wins.

I agree, but I am excited to experience as much as possible, and one way or another, I expect to have a great time. We’ll be getting on when you get off.

I was reading your blog but now I’ve lost it! Can you please post the link? or email me at msa1289 at yahoo dot com

Bon voyage! We’re doing Milwaukee to Thunder Bay mid-July and have never been on Viking!

Thx, boblerm. Here’s hoping you get to reschedule, soon!

… by RSSC, if a guest cancels prior to the sail date?