Carnevale

We have a couple of full days on Malta before our cruise starts and would really appreciate input on a couple of things: - What's the best way to get from the airport (MLA) to hotels in the central part of Valletta (the old part of the city)? I know it is a short ride but I'm wondering if anyone has used a car service that they recommend or if it is best to get a taxi or Uber. - Any suggestions on hotels? We are booked right now at the Cumberland Hotel in Valletta but would appreciate any feedback from others who have stayed there as well as suggestions for other hotels if there is something that has been a really good experience for you. Thanks in advance for your input!

We were in this port a couple of weeks ago and yes, there was a shuttle. Ships dock right in town but it is a long pier and the ships are at the far end which can be problematic for those with mobility issues (we walked it in about 8mins). Once the ship’s excursions had cleared out after we docked the shuttle started. It goes the length of the pier, loops around a small traffic circle then stops to let people off and on. This was a Princess cruise so I don’t know if the shuttle was specifically arranged by them or if it is done for all cruise lines. We really enjoyed walking around this port on our own. There’s a nice water front walkway with public art, some good local vendor stalls, a small shopping mall, and places to eat.

@Skyrose I am not sure if your classes are listed yet but if you’re looking in excursions you won’t find them. On the website when you go to excursions there are other tabs (dining, hotels, etc.). One of the tabs is called other options. Click on that as that’s where I found the classes for our sailing.

@FetaCheese do you know if doing this will put us at the back of the wait list or if GS will just change the payment for us? Do you know what the time frame is for doing a cancellation? (i.e., how many days in advance it has to be done)? If they do the refund do we then have to use that amount onboard or will it be refunded to the credit card? Thanks so much eveyone!

Did your OBC come from O or from your TA? I think that may make a difference as our OBC is from our TA and doesn't show anywhere (when I tried to book the class the only option was to use a credit card to pay for it). Or, is there a place that TA OBC shows that I haven't found yet?

We would like to book a culinary class using OBC from our TA. When I went to do the booking I didn't see this OBC credit anywhere so I'm hoping someone here can help me understand the ins and outs: - Am I correct in assuming that this OBC will only be available once we are onboard? - If I book and pay for the class now can I cancel it when we are onboard and rebook it using our OBC? - If I can cancel and rebook will doing this put us to the end of a waitlist meaning that we don't get to do the class? (I see that they are popular as one is already sold out and the cruise isn't until mid-April). Many thanks in advance for any help on this!

I heard that food in the Terrace Cafe is not a self-service buffet like so many lines. We never eat when the food is self-service as we’ve seen too many bad behaviours by guests who touch the food (since COVID we’ve gotten a lot more concerned about things like this). We are on Vista in April and really hope that the TC will be an option for us. Can anyone tell us if it is self-serve or staff served? (I don’t mean table service, I’m just hoping that at the buffet there are staff who put the food on plates for guests and not guests using the service utensils themselves).

Good news - From what I have learned, Fountain Duo will still be onboard when you sail on March 18th so you will enjoy dance time with them as they are very talented. But unfortunately the Moondance Duo gets off when we do - they were a real highlight of this cruise for us. I have heard that the duo who will replace them are good for dancing. Hope you have a great cruise! This has been one of the best ever for us!

More great photos Ken! Even though we are on this cruise I look forward to your blog every day. You do an amazing job of capturing the experience. Many thanks!! I will just add one tidbit to what you have mentioned as I know that we do different things in the evenings. We love to dance and have been so pleased with the experience on this sailing every evening so far. There are two duos with the Moondance Duo playing nonstop dance music during their sets and the talented Fountain Duo doing about half dance music and half other things. So if there are any readers who are dancers looking forward to being on Sapphire soon I think you will have a great time.

I did a ton of research before we left but without knowing the route the ship will take I don’t know how I could have discovered this or known the timing. Having information provided onboard seems like a simple request. When we sailed Alaska with HAL there was always a lot of great info in advance so it can be done.

Where did you hear the commentary? We are on deck 10 and any captain’s announcements we hear by opening the stateroom door are very muffled. We heard part of one yesterday but not all of it and didn’t hear any other announcements or see anything in the Patter about the glaciers. As a result we had no idea we were going to sail past them and so we missed seeing them. We are very disappointed as Ken your photos look amazing. We don’t want to miss more and do see information about the scenic cruising tomorrow so we won’t miss that.

I’m on Sapphire right now and can’t say that we have noticed much by way of interior refurbishments so our guess is that the last round probably was 2018 as the Princess website states. In spite of not having anything more recent and parts of the ship showing wear, we really like this ship. It’s a good size and we find the layout very nice (e.g., there is a Piazza but it isn’t as big as the one on Discovery, etc.).

Thanks Cruisebabe63 for this info - that’s great to know both for future medallions as well as other shipments to Canada that use USPS.

Ken, I am wondering if you have had a chance to hear any of the music in the Wheelhouse or Piazza? We are boarding Sapphire on Feb 5 so expect some of them will still be on board. Any standouts for you that we should make sure we hear?

I wouldn’t be too worried about traveling with what you like to drink as long as you are careful. Google “wine travel bag” and you’ll find many options. We always use bags that are bubble wrap shaped like a bottle with a double zip lock leak seal wrapped with an extra layer of bubble wrap. Then we carefully pack them in the center of the suitcase with only clothing around them (nothing hard that might impact them). I have lost track of the number of times we’ve done this and so far it’s always worked even with long haul travel with multiple changes of planes. It’s a little extra effort but seems to do the trick.

Is Vines covered as part Premium or one of the two casual meals on plus? Is there a Vines on Sapphire?

Where in the app do the photos appear? We aren’t onboard yet which might impact this but I don’t see anything in the app that looks like it would have my photos.

Our cruise starts Feb 5 and our medallions arrived today (Jan 23). We are in Canada so the USPS tracking never worked for us.

Many thanks for continuing to share so much great information! We board Sapphire on Feb 5 so I am very interested in everything you are posting @Ken the cruiser. The Cruise Mapper images you posted are interesting so I downloaded the app. So far I can get either the map or the itinerary to show so I will have to play with it for a while to learn how to use it as you are. It’s a great resource as it’s fun to see where one is sailing. Hope the wave action you are experiencing does let up.

I may be wrong, but I think it only applies to the door being opened when at sea. It is like the casino in terms of being a prize based game so cannot be played when docked.

We booked car service from the airport which was cheaper than a taxi but more than the bus. Taxis in the city are not overly expensive but, as has been noted here, Iceland is expensive for everything. We used Get You Guide for a tour to the Blue Lagoon (loved it) and the Golden Circle. The tours were well run, on time, and very enjoyable. We had a few days so we also enjoyed exploring the city on foot. We do a lot of walking and found it very easy to get around. Make sure you see the amazing concert hall.

I haven’t checked my PUP for a while 🫢. Today I see the last ones were in September but I did watch the December video (as far as I know I have done all PUP except the social media ones). I wonder why the points aren’t posted yet.

Is room service breakfast available on disembarkation day on O?

I am not seeing a boarding tab. My cruise starts on February 5. Is it still too early for that to appear or am I just missing something?

Does anyone know if O has a transfer from Trieste to Piazzale Roma? Although we have been to Venice a lot we can’t get enough of it so will be staying close to P. San Marco so the cost of the water taxi will be less if we get to Piazzale Roma rather than Marco Polo. Also, is there info on these transfers on the O website? I don’t see it but imagine I can phone O to book it.