FionaMG

Hi @SarahandNewt, Plugs will mostly be standard North American along with one European. Multi-slot USB adapters are fine. Have a great cruise. 😊

@mleng, my pleasure. Glad to have been of assistance. As an added bonus, the sailaway out of Lisbon, under the 25th of April Bridge is spectacular. 😊

Below is the link to the Union's article about the strikes from 5 days ago. It's in Portuguese; I couldn't find anything in English. Google should be able to translate it but, to summarise for you, it only mentions the dates that @lovetocruise1953 stated in post #5. I can’t find any information about strike dates beyond that although that doesn't necessarily mean there aren't any. https://www.cgtp.pt/accao-e-luta/20536-greve-dos-pilotos-de-barra-e-portos-a-partir-de-16-de-setembro

You could essentially toss a coin. They are both great cities and both are easy to get around. Lisbon Airport is right in the city and Barcelona Airport is very close to the city. I would expect Lisbon to be the cheaper of the two in terms of accommodation and meals, if that matters. You really can't go wrong with either so maybe pick the one that you can get to more easily and/or more cheaply? For Lisbon, TAP Air Portugal have loads of non-stop flights from the NY area (Newark and JFK) and their prices are typically very competitive. They are Star Alliance, like United, if miles are relevant.

I didn’t see anyone else mention it, so I will. DD and I very much enjoyed our dinners at The Real Greek, which is another of the restaurants on the outside of the Westquay Shopping Centre. We found it by chance last year and returned this year.

Oh wow, I must have been walking around in a daze on Anthem last week. I just got off on Sunday and never saw or heard anything like this, although I do remember seeing it reported here beforehand so am not questioning the OP's experience. I am just glad I didn't experience it. Our servers in Izumi and Wonderland, as well as in the MDR, mentioned the survey only once, and briefly at that, and while they explained that 10 was the best score not one of them actually asked us to give them that score. We were also never hounded to book speciality dining. To the one person who approached us on day one I (untruthfully) said we had the dining package. I guess we must have looked like cheapskates as we were never approached by anyone else after that! 😂

@Kelownabccan, given you're from Canada, you may find the sea is actually warm enough for you to swim in. 😂 Note that the stretch of Ocean between the Canaries and Madeira can be bumpy. Take precautions if needed. In Madeira, the cable car up the mountain followed by a wicker basket ride back down is a great way to spend the day. https://madeiracablecar.com/en/ https://www.carreirosdomonte.com/v3/en/index.php

I've just finished my first D+ cruise. I contacted C&A through messenger on their fb page to request my amenity as I didn’t want to have to make an international long distance call. They replied really quickly and the requested amenity (toiletry bag) showed up in my cabin on day 3 or 4. I agree it would be so much easier if we could request online.

It could potentially have been a fam trip for European travel agents.

And also to see luggage out in the corridor for departure and know it's not you (yet). 😄

If it's just a standard mandatory dry dock it's probably about two weeks so I'd guess sailings could start as early as mid-April. I have sailed on Harmony twice in the Med, the first time in 2016, which was the inaugural season (still have the t-shirt! 😂) and the second time was in 2021, one of the very first sailings after Covid with about 1,000 passengers. That was so weird. Guess I should make a habit of it and book for 2026 too. 😁

Harmony should be in Europe in summer 2026 as she is due for dry dock. The transatlantic sailing from Galveston to Barcelona has been on sale for a while now (departs March 16th). If she follows the usual pattern she will be doing the standard 7-night itinerary with embarkation available in Barcelona and Civitavecchia (Rome).

I've only ever done one, about 14 or 15 years ago, and it was on Splendour, which was tiny in comparison.

I sailed on that standard 7-night Med itinerary with just one sea day on Harmony on her inaugural season away back in September 2016. Met two English couples on board who had booked b2b precisely to be able to enjoy the ports and the ship.

A lot of us Europeans do sail on them for the ship. 🙂 But I do agree with you that they're a waste for anyone who's travelling a long way to cruise Europe for the ports.