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It varies... the traditional starting date is Friday prior to the First of Advent. But many markets now open by mid November. steamboats

Nope, EU does not prohibit the cruise lines from prohibiting this. All bags are scanned and alcoholic liquids are taken in various EU ports. It´s just a matter of enforcement. steamboats

He and his wife were on the MSC Euribia christening cruise. I saw them in the Yacht Club and when they came into the theater for the christening ceremony. And of course he has a team of people contributing to his book. steamboats

@Host Jazzbeau I was more referring to the Europa/Europa 2 rankings ;-). Compare the MSC rankings to those and you come up with "MSC must be a pretty luxurious cruise company". I´m pretty sure that the rankings of Explora I won´t be bad either... steamboats

So did you ever read the rating of the MSC ships??? Looking on those Douglas Ward has never left they Yacht Club and was pampered there... steamboats

Although your ship might dock at 5 am you might not be able to disembark until 7 am. To be on the safe side I´d schedule the tour for 8 am. steamboats

Usually you can simply walk off like in a US port. If your last port has been a Schengen community country you don´t even have a passport control and no customs either. steamboats

Here´s my DH´s ship video (narration is in German but it´s not important and just a little bit): And here are the suites: steamboats

The train station is right next to the cruise terminal. Therefore there is no shuttle needed to the train station. Rostock-Lage is the closest airport but with only a few flights. The next major airport is either Hamburg or Berlin (both are a couple of hours from the port). Warnemünde is mainly an embarkation port for German guest. MSC might have charter flights to Rostock-Lage for Italians or Spaniards. But that´s it. steamboats

They want to be a European luxury cruise company and therefore there are no US wines on the wine list. steamboats

You don´t count in the opening hours which allow each table to have two turns. steamboats

I´ve never had a free shuttle provided by Celebrity. If it was free it was provided by the port/city. Actually I had to pay for a shuttle which was provided for free by the port but RCI charged us (o.k. on that trip there was sort of a passenger riot because of the shuttle rip off). steamboats

They don´t check your ESTA physically but many do ask at check-in. And I had a flight delay due to the fact that another person did have ESTA but had the same name as someone on the no fly list of the US authorities. It did take quite a while to sort this out and then the person was able to fly (and we too). Exactly, the airlines have to transfer the passenger data to the US and then get the o.k. by the US authorities prior to departure. steamboats

Here are more pictures from the pre-inaugural cruise. steamboats

From what I´ve read EES is more an automated passport control which is already used in various EU/Schengen countries. You scan your passport and the machine is comparing your face with the biometric data of your passport photo. There´s always a "back up" with a real officer who can check your passport. Actually I had problems in Spain as both ways the machine didn´t work with my (pretty new EU) passport. steamboats

I read she´s leaving Aug 8th. steamboats

Of course the airlines are liable. But as I said before you won´t even board the plane when you don´t have ESTA (or a visa or a Green Card or are an American citizen) here in Europe as the airlines need to check the data with the US authorities prior to departure. So there´s only a limited number of pushbacks - those who want to travel with ESTA but need a visa for the special purpose of their travel as an example or those who are denied entry although they do have proper documentation including ESTA (which can happen). steamboats

As for EU citizens... when you don´t have ESTA you won´t be allowed to board the plane to the US. The data is sent to the US prior to departure of the plane and the plane can only depart when the US authorities have given their o.k. for departure. Not sure whether ETIAS or UK ETA are working the same way. steamboats

This is the official ETIAS website: ETIAS (europa.eu) It´s not a visa but as ESTA (for US) or eTA (for Canada) and ETA (UK) a visa waiver program where you simply preregister for your entry. Compared to the 21 USD for ESTA now the 7 Euro are a bargain for ETIAS. So far there is still no official start date. steamboats

Boarding with the QR Code did work yesterday - according to my DH. steamboats

Explora I is just docking in Portsmouth. steamboats

The Explora I is just arriving in Barcelona. steamboats

The next ship going into service is the Riverside Ravel in August. steamboats

Explora I is proceeding pretty well... 17 kn North of Sicily right now - close to the Lipari islands. steamboats

John is definitely a travel writer who is writing for several print publications. steamboats