oscarshep

So I read the table of entry requirements on the Marella website and it clearly states that the fully vaccinated do not need to do pre flight testing for mainland Spain. I believe this is all Spain apart from the Canaries. It was updated on 9th September. Happy to get confirmation from others interpreting from their own reading of the website.

According to posts on Facebook, Marella website now stating that no testing required for Palma sailings from 1st October. Not checked myself yet but hopefully reliable information.

Anyone just back able to say if staff are still masked, they were in May but hoping that it's not the same now.

Hi, Sadly I missed the Europa League final on Explorer 2 in May, gutted! Wasn't shown, some guys tried to get it on WiFi in the coffee lounge with little success. Maybe as we're playing Liverpool there might be enough collective demand for the captain to do the decent thing and arrange to show it on the ship. Here's hoping. Can't complain doing 2 cruises but feel unlucky to miss 2 massive games. Fingers crossed 🤞🤞🤞🤞🤞🤞🤞🤞🤞

We were on Explorer 2 and there were no USB ports in the cabin but there was a smart TV with a USB port which I used as a charging point. As long as the TV is on or in standby you can take power from there. Assuming smart TV's are on all ships you're going to have somewhere to charge from even if you don't take your own adaptors.

Anytime the day before you fly as per Marella website and as RR said. Sometimes reading too many posts from people guessing the rules can leave you with more questions than answers. Have a great cruise.

I agree but the until all the passengers on the TUI flight out have the `day before` LFT test certificates it`s been risky all along. STILL MAKES NO SENSE.

There was a USB on the back of the smart TV in our cabin which I was able use as an extra charging point. Should be one on all of them so could come in handy for anyone in the future. Even charges when the TV is on standby.👍

I`d strongly advise to use one phone for both of you. I don`t think there is a simpler way to do it. The certificates for each of you are emailed to the same Chronomics account if you choose for one person to do it all. One account with Chronomics did us both and the account was set up when I ordered the tests. Once I got the results for both of us I forwarded them to my wife`s email address so we both had both test results to show on two devices (just in case !!). Again, don`t fret too much it really is simple to do and the instructions really are very straightforward.

I can`t remember the exact process with Chronomics in enough detail to accurately describe it here but using my phone for my wife and myself it took less than half an hour from registering the test kits, doing the tests and getting the confirmation of results back. I can only say it was very, very easy and the instructions in the test boxes and the prompts on the phone made it idiot proof. (Just as well for me.) Results came back within a minute. The results can be printed if you wish but I simply kept them on my phone and took it with us that way. I too was a bit apprehensive about it but there really is no need to be. They have to make it easy for it to work after all.

Hi Babby I can confirm that dancing is indeed back in full swing. We were on Explorer 2 last week and the disco was packed. Good times are back. Have a good one.

Yes, we were on explorer 2 last week. Dancing every night. Enjoy your cruise

We have just arrived home today after our first cruise for over 30 months. We have sailed with Marella several times pre pandemic so it was impossible not to compare then with now. This post is obviously our own opinion of our week on `Sail Three Seas` and Explorer 2 was a new ship for us but I`m certain that the Marella experience is pretty consistent across the fleet. We are also mindful that the past 2 years has had effects on Marella as a company and the Marella staff in all of their own roles in ways we couldn`t imagine. So with that in mind it is hard to be overly critical of anything really but as someone who looks for other cruise reviews it`s seems only fair I should offer one too. The one thing that we agreed on was that there were not enough staff to provide the level of service that we had known in the past. They all worked tirelessly of course but long queues at the bar tells it`s own story. Tables in the buffet restaurant remained uncleared way longer than in the past. Again, staff were all busy. The entertainment team were all very slick but the big musical style shows and sets of the past were replaced with more singing and high tech imagery on a big screen behind the stage. It just wasn`t as spectacular as we remembered. There was less live music at the pool deck and it was supplemented with pre-recorded concert style footage shown on the big screen. This was actually quite good.....just a bit different. The amount of quizzes was way up on anything we remember from before. The entertainment team at the pool deck though was pure Marella and always good for a laugh. The choice of drinks on the AI seemed less than before and more cocktails exclusively on the Premium AI package. Food in the MDR was alright but again lack of staff meant service was quite slow. As the cruise went on we saw new crew arriving. Some were coming with zero experience and learning on the job. Hopefully Marella are cranking everything up slowly for safety reasons and if I sailed again in a month it will all be so much better. It`s a learning curve for all of us. Lastly, all of the staff and crew are still masked. Passengers are not. We really felt for them but they don`t complain. They still smile behind the masks. Hopefully they get to remove them at the earliest opportunity. We had a great cruise, so good to be back after so long.

Thanks Jim

Hi vwgolf, The uncertain is becoming more certain almost weekly for travelling so fingers crossed you feel able to travel relatively trouble free very soon. The `faff` around the LFT is actually very straightforward. If you have a mobile phone you will manage fine. Simply buy through the TUI website from whatever supplier you decide. It was my last hurdle before boarding tomorrow at Dubrovnik and I can`t lie ....I`m releived it`s all done now. It took around half an hour tonight to do the 2 tests and upload them to Chronomics. Their instructions were very clear and easy to follow. Our results came back within a minute. Do not be put off cruising for fear of the test as it really is very easy. We`re due to cruise again in October and I hope the test requirement is gone by then. You can view a Chronomics tutorial on YouTube as well if that might help.

According to the UK Government FDO website Croatia requires a PLF but when I go to the EUPLF website to complete one Croatia doesn't come up when I request it? Anyone know the status of Croatia now? Thanks Jim