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I just started my photo review of our cruise onboard Marina from Copenhagen via Kiel, Ronne (Bornholm), Visby and Klaipeda to Riga. The cruise is a 10 night cruise but we´ve been only onboard for the first 5 nights. The first part of my review covers the ship (except for restaurants and bars/lounges which are separate entries). The review is in German but photo intensive. So the first part is a deck by deck description. More parts are to follow soon. Enjoy! steamboats

Zeebrugge has been cancelled for Sep 2nd. Norwegian Prima is going directly to Amsterdam with an afternoon arrival on Sep 2nd. steamboats

Clear answer, no. Shops are closed. Restaurants are open. steamboats

I do live in Munich. BTW in the meantime it stopped raining. Anyway this is just a drop on a hot plate. It might raise the river levels but only for a day or two. steamboats

Getting back to the topic of this thread... I saw an IG post by NCLjobs offering a 1,000 Dollar sign-on bonus for people from Guam plus two dates for virtual info sessions. So they are really trying to get more staff for the Pride of America. steamboats

Fincantieri also lists 3,215 passengers... Everyone has different numbers. steamboats

No stars last night... Thunderstorms set in by 9 pm or so. And... the good news... it´s still raining! steamboats

Yeah, the thunderstorms are more South in the Alps... Here it´s still hot and sizzling... steamboats

Nothing so far here in Munich... steamboats

No worries here in Germany. We don´t have any taxes on wins. steamboats

No, we never had this show in Germany. steamboats

Any idea where the teens club is located? According to the website the Splash Academy for the younger ones is somewhere on deck 15 (but not marked in the deck plans). But I haven´t found anything about a teens club. steamboats

Here´s another article... steamboats

Even when you cruise out of Vancouver you do need ESTA as all Alaskan ports are US. Immigration will take place at the port in Vancouver. You also need eTA for Canada. steamboats

Just outdoor cooking in summertime... Chicken kebap and grilled pumpkin. steamboats

We just had a couple of drops... DH was standing at the grill with an umbrella 🤣. steamboats

I bought it at least 10 years ago. steamboats

I bought it here in Munich at Kaufhof - it was on sale 😂. steamboats

So, here are more photos by my husband. steamboats

I totally agree with @lisiamc. American and British Italian food is far away from real Italian food. Even here in Germany you sometimes don´t get the real thing. Our "Spaghetti Bolognese" have nothing to do with a Bologna sauce. I love doing food tours. And yes, you do experience new stuff. I´ve done a food tour in Naples (more here). Although I´ve been to Naples many times for the last 30 years I´ve never heard of Taralli and now I have to buy some each time I´m there. Or I wouldn´t have dared to buy a fried pizza. The food tour gave me the history of this dish and we tried one - now a typical Neapolitan street food. BTW, on this tour we also had a full lunch. This tour wasn´t just a food tour but a combination of food and city tour. The guide told us a lot about the history of Naples and that part of the town. BTW, I´ve also done a food tour in Ibiza or a tapas tour in Barcelona. Another great tour was the old fishing port in Barcelona (including a climb up to the clock tower) which ended with a fish lunch in a nearby restaurant. I do love local food and I am experimental regarding food and try to discover new stuff. But basically, the ship "food" tours are not the real thing. I usually book independent tours for this. Each time we ended up with small groups or - in Ibiza - it was just the two of us. With food tours you get to places you wouldn´t have gone and try food you don´t know it existed. steamboats

I´d say it depends on what you want... American Queen Voyages has paddlewheel style boats only (with the American Queen being a real steamboat). They focus a lot on river history too. American Cruise Line has two steamboat style boats and six modern boats. Hard to say anything about Viking as they don´t cruise yet. But they want to deliver more or less the same product they have on European rivers. If you want the real Mark Twain feeling I´d go with American Queen Voyages. If you don´t care about this then compare the included stuff and the fares. Be aware that regarding the landscape New Orleans to Memphis is not really attractive. Up to Baton Rouge you will see a lot of industrial "architecture" behind the levees. But of course you have nice ports with plantation homes (Oak Alley, Nottaway) and historic towns like Natchez and Vicksburg. steamboats

I haven´t taken a Danube river cruise with VIVA but I have been on the new VIVA One for the christening. VIVA has an all inclusive concept with a nice bar menu. Food is pretty good as well. But you have to be aware that VIVA is basically a German river cruise company although they currently try to get the English speaking market too. So you might mainly find German passengers. The crew of course does speak English too. There was just a media trip on the VIVA One for UK media. I saw a lot of photos on IG. So there should be some English coverage on this ship and VIVA. People here in Germany are raving over VIVA. They deliver a great product. steamboats

Yes, he led the tour. BTW, on the Pride of America it was the Rebellious Fish which came from tap. If my memory serves me well. steamboats

Thought the same... I really like a good cocktail, especially Martinis. But I remember on the Pride of America they had those kind of premixed cocktails at the Ocean Drive Bar (pool bar). steamboats

My DH is still working on his photos and article. But here´s a little treat for you. Don´t worry, he´s not saying anything really important. As for the beer fans... I´m sorry, I don´t have good news (but there´s some hope): Although the Luna Bar has 36 taps it´s not 36 kinds of beer but also premixed cocktails and more. The Soleil Bar has the same 36 taps using the same "tanks" for the taps. Those photos which have been identified as crew bar indeed show the new High Dive Crew Bar on deck 18 forward (on top of the Observation Lounge). steamboats