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As @BenCoudon said, fresh produces like eggs, milk, veggies are loaded locally. But other stuff including frozen fish and frozen meats are shipped in containers from the US to guarantee the quality. steamboats

I didn´t refer to the Prima itineraries. But actually although you do see a "duty free" shop at the airports in the Schengen terminals it´s not a real duty free. Prices are a bit lower than in regular shops but the real duty free shops you will only find in the Non-Schengen terminals. On the Oasis class ships the duty free shop selling cigarettes, liquor and more are either closed or have other stuff (souvenir, clothing) for the Med cruises out of Barcelona (which are Schengen only). steamboats

As the ship is only a couple of weeks in Europe... And actually as long as the ship is not calling a non Schengen country there is no duty free. steamboats

I don´t think so. They get the provision from the US. And they are all the same for all ships. Would be too much of a thing to change the beer as you have to clean everything for a new brand. steamboats

Very nice!! steamboats

Someone has to clean the Thermal Suite, provide the infused water in the Relaxation Lounge, clean the changing rooms, provide you with towels and robes... steamboats

No, that´s called CVV and it´s only used for online transactions. The four digit PIN code is used for all kind of machines - ATM, paying devices in supermarkets / shops / restaurants... ticket machines and many more. At those kiosks MSC is using you need the PIN (at least with a European card). Here in Europe we also have NFC chips built in our cards and can pay contactless and without PIN up to 50 Euro. Doesn´t matter whether it´s a debit or credit card. steamboats

@Seattle1964 I think I was less focused on food than other activities like an armadillo race 😂! BTW I purchased a Steiff armadillo later... and still have it. But back to the Danube river. There´s is some rain in the forecast but not really much. It may basically help to water the soil but won´t do much for the rivers. I also expect the Pfelling gauge to fall again as the rain which made it rise will only cause a temporarily rise. We´re expecting another heat wave next week. In Saxonia there are large wild fires. The helicopters are taking on water from the Elbe river (and the Elbe is on an extreme low too). The Czechs even opened up their reservoirs to help with some water. The wild fires are also on the Czech side. There are more wild fires in Germany in the state of Brandenburg. Just to show how dry it is and everyone is waiting for rain. The Elbe paddlesteamers are on an emergency plan - only one itinerary is up and sightseeing only. The paddlewheelers of Dresden are the last ones to stop as they have an extreme low draft. steamboats

Yeah, but it´s also not mentioned in the app or on the website (the Soleil Bar is). That made us wondering where it might be. I assume we´re gonna see more pictures today. steamboats

Yes, and we were wondering where it is as it´s not marked in any deck plans 😉. steamboats

@Seattle1964 I once got stuck in Paducah, Kentucky, for three days... Much better to go by bus. My shortest river cruise ever was lasting on for 23 hours from Passau with a stop in Dürnstein and then we ended up in Vienna. When we left Passau I pointed out the place where we had parked the car for unloading our luggage. It was already flooded. So the rest of the cruise was a bus trip to Bratislava, an overnight bus trip to Budapest, more tours in Vienna and finally a bus trip back to Passau. The crew and the captain gave their very best. But that´s part of river cruising - you can´t beat mother nature!! steamboats

Both The Stadium and Bull´s Eye Dart are marked green on the deck plan meaning activity/entertainment while the Speedway Bar is blue meaning bars/lounges. The NCL app doesn´t show a Luna Bar either. On the Encore there was an open area leading to the Speedway with some sort of shop. "Fan Gear" was written over the counters. Maybe that´s The Stadium. So just an entrance area for the Speedway. steamboats

Don´t see any bar there on the renderings. steamboats

Sorry, once again, the current problems are much more complicated. And your answer doesn´t show much competence either. Here in Munich there are no lines at security as security is done by the state. In other German airports you have long lines at security because a private company is doing this. Baggage handling is done by another company (or acutally two here in Munich). Catering is done by different companies. The airport itself is just operating the airport. Services are operated by separate companies (some owned by the airports as well). But the main problem is the staff shortage which is not just limited to airports, but all over the country. And this is not limited to Germany but all over Europe and UK and the US. Maybe it´s better in Japan. And it´s by far not just the German airports... But also Schipol / Amsterdam or airports in London and many more. steamboats who does not work at or for the airport but is just a passenger.

There should be customs at the port of Barcelona and a VAT counter. Actually I´ve never looked for it as I can´t reclaim VAT. steamboats

Yes, you still have. All cards in Europe (credit or debit) do have a 4 digit PIN code. So I assume they only sent out the "regular" information which is basically for their European cruises and don´t have a separate text for US cruises. steamboats

You will hardly find any reports about this ship. It´s owned and operated by Austrian company Lüftner. so basically it´s running on the German speaking market. Here´s more about the ship. It´s pretty new. As you said it´s Smithsonian Journeys it´ll be a full charter cruise. Full charters may have other features than regular cruises (just as an example... included beverages). steamboats

This has nothing to do with the current strike. The reason for long lines at security (especially at Hamburg, Köln/Bonn, Düsseldorf) or left behind baggage is staff shortage. BTW although there are a lot of bags at Munich airport a big part of those bags are just here to be sorted and sent to the owners - the bags came from other airports and Munich is helping out with the sorting and delivery. I just checked the Munich airport website. Almost all LH flights are cancelled. Some single flights are going out. All LH flights to the US are cancelled. UA flights to the US are cancelled too. I only saw two flights by UA which have not been cancelled (one was San Francisco). steamboats

At least we had some more raindrops last night and during the morning. But I doubt that this will help much. It would need a couple of days of rain to get the Danube river significantly up. And I don´t think we want that kind of rain we had in the Ahrtal about a year ago. steamboats

No, Spain also charges the VAT for port stops. We had this way back in 2014 on the Oasis TA with a stop in Malaga. As the drinks are not purchased there is no VAT. The package is purchased online - you can dispute about the place of purchase but actually it should be Miami as headquarter of RCI. So no Spanish VAT on a package as it´s not purchased in Spain. It´s another thing when you purchase it onboard. Then the VAT is added based on the price of the package. steamboats

Usually it´s 7 or 7:30 am when you can disembark. Yes, taxis are waiting outside of the terminal building. steamboats

Baggage handling is not affected by the strike. steamboats

LH just announced that almost all flights out/in FRA and MUC are cancelled for tomorrow. They advise people not to come to the airport. Everyone having LH flights for tomorrow should check their flight status. steamboats

With the drink package you should be fine. I haven´t heard that RCI is charging those extra 10% on a single drink purchased with a package (NCL does). steamboats

You´d be fine as long as you don´t have a connection. The connection might be affected. steamboats