steamboats

There are some things to consider... 1. You need to fill in your name on the ticket - otherwise it´s not valid!! 2. Not all regional trains (RE) are covered by the ticket! Only those operated by DB Regio but not those operated by DB Fernverkehr. You can only see this when you download the DB app (or on the DB website) and check the details of each train. There it shows up when the 9 Euro ticket is not valid on the train. RE trains are not that frequent on long distances. You might travel to odd times (early in the morning) and you might have to change the trains several times (including the risk to miss your connection). So from Regensburg to Hamburg you need more than 10 hours on 5 different trains starting prior to 7 am. Using the ICE trains it takes you only 5 hours (either direct connection or just one change of trains). As I do have a yearly ticket for public transportation in Munich I will save some money for the next three months. Not sure whether I will try out the regional trains... It´s a bad idea that they started the ticket during the main school summer break months. I expect the trains to be pretty crowded. steamboats

Check the Italy board... Sorrento is highly overrated. For Capri you only have to walk 5 min to the ferry landing and buy a ticket there. The ship tours use the regular ferries too. I love Naples as there is so much to do and explore. Done a food tour, did Naples underground and more. steamboats

@Catlover54 there was a press relase on May 19th about the drop of the mask mandate. No masks anymore inside or outside (and TUI Cruises had the same press release that day). I assume that HL had to "adopt" the TUI Cruises computer system which includes the tip line (and with TUI Cruises tips are included too). steamboats

@Catlover54, 1. By May 19th HL dropped the mask mandate onboard. 2. I could say the same about Americans - I just returned from Hawai´i on Monday. 3. The tip line is common practice with many cruise lines. I don´t remember exactly whether HL had it before but they might have adopted the system from TUI Cruises which has the tip line (as well as RCI or X). I never fill in that line for a single drink or a glass of wine during dinner especially when tips are included in the fare. I do give tips in cash to certain staff but I do not tip for every coke, water or whatever. steamboats

I haven´t seen any press release... steamboats

Back from Hawai´i ... on our last leg from SFO to MUC with LH there was an announcement that masks are still mandatory on this flight to Germany and I saw one flight attendent telling one passenger to put on a mask. The flight attendants did hand out medical masks when boarding the plane to those without a mask or a fabric mask. steamboats

It´s not a EU rule but just a recommendation! And the laws of the courtries are the ones which count. And here in Germany we still have mandatory masks in public transportation. Flying is regarded as public transportation here in Germany. I think I might know my laws better than you 😉 - and BTW that´s what they said in our German TV news too. We still have to wear masks on flights when either flying to Germany or from Germany. steamboats

It depends on the EU country you are flying into. Spain and Italy - you don´t need any masks anymore. But here in Germany we have masks still mandatory in public transportation which includes flights. So when you fly into Munich or Frankfurt for transiting to Italy or Spain or whereever you still need to wear masks. steamboats

I´d say the "next" Oasis class... It may not be the last. steamboats

We were reminded to wear our masks on the transfer bus to the port. But on the way back the bus was fully packed and there were only two people wearing a mask - me and my DH. Onboard I waited an hour in a long line for disembarkation. Again, we were the only ones wearing a mask. I heard some sneezing and coughing during those two nights. I wouldn´t wonder if there are some people testing positive after this event. I can´t imagine that those postive cases after TA were allowed to stay onboard. There were 2 trade cruise with 2 nights each. Even if all of those positive cases had booked the May 8th Med cruise too (which I doubt) it is pretty unlikely that they were allowed to stay onboard. Spain does not have a mandatory isolation anymore. So actually you can roam around as you want (of course you should go into self isolation). So there are no government supervised hotel accomodations for positive tested folks anymore. So you can disembark and go into any hotel you want to. On the first 2 night trade cruise it was said that 800 guests have booked the May 8th cruise too and stayed onboard for those 4 nights inbetween. steamboats

Yes, they used to have testing onboard and the price for the Antigen was 25 Euro. steamboats

I just started my photo extense review of the pre inaugural of the Wonder of the Seas (May 4th - 6th, 2022) out of Barcelona. It´s as usual a deck by deck description (text is in German but automatic translation works pretty well). Restaurants, bars and lounges will have separate entries and are not done yet as we are leaving in two days for another cruise. All finished entries (deck 3 til 18) will go online day by day (with a break after May 17th). The rest will follow when we return. Enjoy! steamboats

As all beverages onboard are toll free... I doubt they pay the US price... And as a German I have to pay the same price onboard for a drink as an American. steamboats

There is no zero count in Europe and Wonder of the Seas does interporting in Barcelona and Civitavecchia. Usually when the ship is in port by 6 am you can leave by 6:30/7 am. Last Friday there were 5 ships in port (4 big ones - MSC Seaview, Wonder of the Seas, AIDAcosma and Costa Toscana plus the "small" Norwegian Gem). Our arrival was delayed and we weren´t docked until 8:30 am. Ship was cleared minutes to 9 am. And there was only one gangway open for the Wonder of the Seas (usually there are two). It was a real mess as we were supposed to get off by 8 am. steamboats

Had them last week on Wonder of the Seas and the week before on Celebrity Beyond. steamboats

12 Euro (= 12.68 USD) in Germany... for the 750 ml bottle. steamboats

There was an art catalogue and sort of postcard pictures in the cabin. steamboats

The christening is a private event only on May 14th - just A-Rosa employees. No media at all. The first cruise would have been the media cruise on May 21st which has been cancelled. Anyway we are not in town so we have to look for a later date to discover this new ship. steamboats

Heard that earlier last week. May 21st would have been a media trip and a friend already told me that this one had been cancelled due to supply issues. steamboats

Last entry went online today. steamboats

The first part of my extensive photo review just went online. It´s a deck by deck review and part 1 covers decks 3 til 5. Tomorrow part 2 covering decks 6 to 17 will follow. Restaurants and bars/lounges get separate entries (which will follow day by day). Although the text is in German you do not really need to read the text. But you can also use an automatic translation. I´m not sure whether I can continue with our cabin and the show cabins as we´re off by Wednesday. But those parts will definitely follow later. So enjoy! steamboats