di T

Hi tomorrow will be change over day after 9 nights from Barcelona to Civitavecchia. so far we have had lovely weather everyday,the staff have been amazing as always.Food in the MDR has been a bit disappointing, never have I seen so many in the buffet at night! We have had two speciality meals this cruise and enjoyed them.Tried the buffet for dinner last night because the menu in the main dinning room wasn’t to our liking.Well there was lots of choice including a Portuguese themed offerings and plenty of other things,it was so good might go again tonight,because the menu in Opus there wasn’t one thing I would pick.Shame they have cut this back even on the Chic nights .nothing special on them. Good thing was rib of beef was on early in the cruise.Looking forward to the next leg 10 nts towards Greek islands and Malta, then back to Barcelona.Still got 6 Celebrity cruises booked for 2024, but also a couple of other brands booked! Dianne

On Relection at the moment, first part of b2b.MDR food as been ok but less choice than in the past.Staff have been lovely as usual, Fizzy wine was available on embarking in a number of bars complimentary from what I saw. Still having a great time so far.Weather has been glorious and hope it stays that way, entertainment is varied. Dianne

You are so right in my opinion! I cook good quality food at home,I expect at least the food I eat on holiday will be on par but hopefully better!

Have only sailed on Oceania for the first time in June, we were on one of the small ships in a regular balcony.Shower was so cramped and both Hubby and me are slight built! Don’t know how a large person would manage. We had a lovely time though, but for me it’s unusual to not book a future cruise while onboard.

Would agree with your comment on Oceania! We tried them a few months ago and don’t think we will cruise with them again.Entertainment was so old fashioned. Food was good but the price was a good bit more expensive, and that tiny bathroom was the smallest I’ve experienced lol

This was the case Keith on our cruise from Lisbon this March, Only charged the tax in Malaga and Cadiz.Canaries were not taxed.

Yea was never a fan of the sparkling wine,but it was a nice gesture to welcome guests onboard!

For us it’s about the value for money! Up to now we have had the pleasure of ove 50 cruises and have enjoyed ourselves on all,I used to book most with Celebrity and still do enjoy sailing with them but NCL have been good price wise and we have been booking them quite regularly.We prefer to sail in the Mediterranean with short flights and add a few nights at the start and end of the cruise.Long haul flights we have done in the past.But now we are retired and cruising just the two of us.Life is good to be able to travel, BonVoyage,Dianne

Maybe it’s a British thing,but I can afford to cruise often and do so with a number of lines,When I pay in advance for something which I try to do each cruise tips,drinks.etc.I do so so I don’t have extra charges I don’t usually haveOBC.So on a long cruise or b2b for two of us the extra few dollars mount up!NCL in my opinion should just cover this vat in the same way as all the other lines I have traveled on do.Will be very surprised if Celebrity in two weeks charge this vat.This will again be leaving Barcelona as was Oceania.

Wasn’t offered on our last cruises, unless we missed it lol

No sail away bubbly for our last 4 cruises! We get free coffee at Cafe Bacio if we want it as Elite plus.

Wow that’s not good! I was going to book a b2b next year again for the med out of Barcelona 19 nts don’t like the idea of paying extra tax for two of us over the two sailings, might just stick with Celebrity or Royal

If that is the case and the Spanish Vat is only charged in Spanish waters, it would be like my cruises earlier in the year.But I did read that someone had been charged for the full trip.Maybe their cruise ended in Barcelona as well as it being the port the cruise sailed from.Bit confusing but NCLhave been doing this for a while.At least this time they have sent emails to warn folk.

But why is it only NCL charging these taxes? Travelled on a b2b with NCL in Feb/ March we were charged Spanish tax while in Spanish water.Traveled in June on Oceania round trip from Barcelona no extra charge! Will be doing b2b from Barcelona in two weeks with Celebrity in the past we have never been charged.NCLbooked in the Med from Barcelona to Italy in November and looks like we might be charged for the full voyage on all drinks etc.So free at sea is not what we thought we were being sold in the UK

On our Reflection cruise in a couple of weeks Prime Rib is on the last night, In the past it was on first night so we never did the specialty restaurants on boarding day! My husband’s favourite MDR meal.

Thanks for the feed back, we are on Celebrity Reflection soon b2b from Barcelona I will post the experience

This is the same email I received over the weekend!

So were you charged on every drink even if not in Spanish waters? Was this with the free at sea? Thanks,Dianne

Received an email a couple of days ago from NCL We are cruising from Barcelona in November all ports are EU,The email said there would be charges to all applicable purchases while onboard.21% on retail items from the shops, and 10% added to all drink and food bills.Including purchases made on the unlimited open bar and speciality dinning packages.I expect this to apply even on the pre purchased free at sea as we were charged on our last cruise in March on these while in Spanish waters. Strange on Oceania in June we were not charged the extra VAT even though we sailed from Barcelona.

Yes I also thought sail away had no free at sea but it seems it does in the UK, I’ll take the gamble on where we will end up as the stateroom allocated to me wasn’t great! No big deal it’s just a cheeky extra cruise we have added to this years jaunts! Thanks,Dianne

Love it Chemmo! We are young at heart too.3 weeks to our Reflection cruises, can’t wait.I really like a nice mix of ages and think Celebrity do have that. Also like a mix of nationalities, we are all so fortunate to cruise this year we have went a bit daft ( blame covid lockdown) we have sailed 5 times plus 3 to come on 3 totally different lines. Large fun ships small luxury, and of course Celebrity.Not so loyal anymore but just enjoying.

We are on the Dawn in November, booked a gty inside around May.The cabin we were allocated a few weeks ago I did not like.So put a low bid to upgrade to an OV, Today I saw for a wee bit less than the bid I could change to a sail away OV, So back to not knowing what our cabin will be, but still have the free at sea and all my dinning reservations as in the original booking, plus the prepaid gratuities.Never have booked a sail away but hey this is just an extra cruise for us this year and a short one for us(10days) so will hopefully be fine.What are your experiences on sail away? Dianne

So agree I would not use them again!

Hi, I have been in touch with ABTA and received a reply to say they have corresponded with NCL who are a member of ABTA. Will see if this helps. Dianne

Not big meat eaters but could not remember on the last NCL which restaurants we enjoyed! Been on Oceania recently and have a couple of Celebrity cruises soon, but we enjoyed the Norwegian cruises early this year.