ConnieTact

Yes, Lindy you need a certificate to say you are Covid negative. “Please note that all Guests over 2 years old will need to follow one of these requirements to be allowed on board.” - Must provide a certificate of a negative RT-PCR or antigen test taken within 48 hours before embarkation. Guests must bring the valid negative test certificate with them to the terminal. Departures to Northern Europe from Southampton: Antigen self-tests are accepted for embarkation ONLY if guests show evidence of negative test results on an official certificate. When we are fully faxed and boosted and cruised with MSC recently to Northern Europe. We got tests from Medicspot https://www.medicspot.co.uk We did tests at home and went through an online procedure that included and uploaded photographs of out results. They then sent us a report to show to MSC on embarkation. I hope this helps.

Can you print the form at home and then fill it out with a pen 6 hours before? This is what we usually do. They just want that information to be up to date not the time the page is printed.

Our experience was a little different. Obviously no issue at Kotor as Montenegro currency is the Euro. When we went to Dubrovnik we could not pay in Euros in bars or shops. Some accepted cards. A worse situation was the public toilets that required Croatian Kuna! We got around this by buying a rather expensive bottle of water in a bar with a card! 😅 The next day in Split the bar we went to insisted on local Currency so I went and withdrew some cash from a cash machine. It was handy to have some cash to give the dressed up folk who I wanted photos with! Lastly, I gave the change to our cabin steward as part of her tip.

We could not buy it in advance but there is plenty of availability on the day. We were undecided whether to go on shuttle or taxi but we’re pleasantly surprised at the $15 credit back on our account. We purchased it at the dockside from a NCL rep, just before boarding the bus. They put little red sticky dots on our cards But we didn’t have to show them on our return. We were initially undecided whether to go on shuttle or taxi but we’re pleasantly surprised at the $15 credit back on our account. When we were in Corfu, we asked a couple if they wanted to share a cab with us and this just cost €10 between us all- so that was good. It seems the taxi drivers have a set fee of €10 each car from centre to the port terminal.

Also Deal or No Deal was cancelled as not enough participants! The ship really is half empty!

This is true throughout the ship even in the speciality restaurants. I had the last bottle of dry rose from La Cuccina last night! Supply of drinks and food is a real issue onboard. In must be a nightmare for those managing this but not great for the customer either! There aren’t many decent beers to chose from, one white wine, two rose (dry and sweet) and a few reds. I was told by one of the managers that it was due to lack of production during the pandemic. So demand outweighs the supply.

When we landed at Marco Polo, there was a shuttle from the airplane to the terminal. This all took around half an hour, including time to wait for full plane to empty. It took us no longer than another half an hour to get through customs. Our case had been checked in the night before using ‘BA twilight check in’ so they were the first cases out. We pre-booked the bus transfer with NCL, as part of our package, and the process was trouble free. We didn’t need to worry about timings as there were plenty of buses going back and forward from the ship. There was a NCL rep, just outside baggage collection, and they took us to a waiting area ready for the next bus. The wait was not many minutes and the bus journey took around an hour and 45 minutes. Hope this helps!

Here’s day 1 & 2

I have the paper copies in the drawer back onboard- will upload day 1 and 2.

I’ve got them! I can post first couple of days of you like!

Had to be done! Payback time! 😂

Maybe take it to a restaurant to see if they charge corkage?

Our sailing was smooth. I really think these newer ships are so much better than the older ones. We sailed similar route on an old crate of Holland America (The Ryndam!) ten years ago, and it actually listed! 🤪 It scared me so much it put me off cruising for a few years! May is meant to be the worst time but obviously nobody can guarantee smooth seas! It was completely calm when cruising the fiords of course. I would return in a heartbeat!

Hi Vacay We did have to show our European Drivers Licences for rental of the Twizzy. It was such fun. Depending on where you’re from….you’d need to show a relevant Drivers licence. Enjoy!!

….and finally……we were amused one night walking past this inside cabin who had evacuated these trainers….unless they were that strong the walked out themselves!! 😂

Rob the robot and his contemporaries!

Thanks Gonzo. I enjoyed it and also good to have a record of this cruise. I found a few more pictures that I didn’t post mostly of chocolate! ☺️

The Carnival Ventura was in port yesterday too….maybe that one?

The friends, who surprised us by coming on the cruise, gave us a lift to their house to pick up our car. Little did we know the plans they had up their sleeves when they had dropped us off the week before! We had arranged to go to a music festival in Bournemouth, so the fun continued and we stayed another night in the New Forest before returning home to Bristol by late afternoon. We will always remember this cruise fondly and are grateful to Robbie and his yacht club team onboard Virtuosa and especially @ziggyuk who gave us such a fabulous surprise! There were some fabulous poppies outside our hotel and I thought these pictures are a good way to finish this live review! Thanks for joining us on our cruise!

After a short wait in the lounge we were escorted off the ship by Anis, right to the lift doors that went down to the hall, where we easily found our cases- right by the exit in the Yacht Club area.

Our amazing butler Anis gave us one last serving of breakfast on our last morning. He truly offered the best service and we will always remember him.

We had one last final jacuzzi before packing final things. The flags were back up on the ship as we were in port.

Last morning’s window views-Arrived at Southampton!

We got four garments pressed without charge in our suite. I’m not sure if anyone is in this laundry list but here it is!

This it just me or does anyone else notice the imprints left ‘behind’ on some seat coverings? 😂 Too many treats perhaps?!