Catchum

For ports in Spain, France and Italy you will be in the tourist areas and will be able to get by with English. Though Google translate off line is also your friend. In some ports you can simply walk off the ship and have a wonderful visit, others you will want to travel and may be if you are not comfortable with independent travel in Europe you may consider an independent tour. I would only take a ships tour to a destination a couple of hours away.

Can't comment on connectivity in Mediterranean ports as I connect to local networks. On a TA I would work on the assumption that some days you will not be able access the Internet at all. You may be fortunate and have constant, though slow, access but on our last crossing we had nothing for three days. If your boss is happy with that scenario you will be fine.

Basically Australia is a coastal country, you can see a lot from a cruise ship, far more than in most European countries. The exception is Alice Springs and Uluru which most Australians haven't visited. The Alice was a unique place to spend time in - Uluru is a rock no disrespect. Enjoy your time down under it is a strange and wonderful place.

Applying for an ESTA as a UK citizen is fast, cheap and painless. My next visit to the States is in December and I will apply a couple of weeks before. I always carry a paper copy and on one transatlantic voyage I was required to show it at check in or boarding would have been denied.

My Dad always said that there is no bad wine but some is a lot better than others. The food on a cruise ship is never as good as my DH prepares at home, but I don't bring my own steak!

I have downloaded books on to my Kobo e reader via ships internet on Princess. It is a bit of a pain because it is difficult to log onto the ships wifi as the screen is difficult to navigate - an issue with the e reader not the wifi.

If you are not comfortable being dishabille with your cabin mate then two separate cabins are the way forward. Think of it like sharing a tiny hotel room. No matter what the words say these are for people who are comfortable together. I read a great review of four men in an inside who usually did hunting trips together in a tent. For them it worked great as they considered it a vast improvement on four guys in a tent with no bathroom.

An afternoon "nap" is always fun 😉

The horizon court is not open at midnight they close after dinner 10pm maybe 10.30. Late night options in the island princess are either room service or snacks from your refrigerator that you squirrelled away earlier, the buffet do have good sandwiches and cookies in the afternoon for your foraging pleasure.

I follow some of the Cunard forums for entertainment, they don't pack they have "curated cruise wardrobes" then they post pictures of themselves on formal nights wearing a dress and cardigan I would wear to go grocery shopping in. Plus the drinks package is extortionate.

We have spent the night ashore when the ship was over night in Bangkok, but for picking up the ship at another port I wouldn't do it. A land tour / Nile cruise might be a better alternative if you want an immersive Egypt experience.

If you have a lovely little inside cabin on the Spirit or Jade you will avoid 90% of these problems.

And the ones thrown into the crowd are bean bag fish!

On sea days you kind of develop a routine. Ours is coffee in bed - I'm sent out to forage for DH and some poor soul inthe IC has to deal with me without makeup or contacts. Out the cabin by 10.30ish, walk 3 or 4 miles on the walking track or deck 7 then lunch, find a quite spot for reading, partake in a beverage or three, listen to some live music before changing for dinner - usually in the buffet maybe loose a few pennies in the casino and enjoy another beverage in a bar before bed. Bliss. If there are enrichment talks in the theatre after 10am we attend and reschedule the rest of our activities.

If your wife really wants a balcony then she will cough up the extra cash to have one.

The plus package includes cans of soda.

Just back from Iceland (not NCL) look at what time you arrive in port - many times we arrived at 7am which meant that for sail in much of the scenery had passed before we were awake. We had an ocean view picture window which was nice but if your budget is tight I would go for an inside, put the bridge cam on the TV and enjoy the same view as the captain, before heading out onto the open decks. Iceland is very expensive, 8000 ISK is about $60 so check prices carefully.

I don't enjoy lobster so asked for two steaks - was told yes but there would be a $10 charge so DH got mine.

Only used them in places like Cambodia, Malaysia, Vietnam etc. Where public transportation is not an option at the port. Spain and Portugal have excellent public transport systems, you don't need a tour operator, exception would be Alhambra which is such a distance I would consider a ships tour.

At the international cafe you can get all kinds of coffee, regular, decaf, soy milk, latte, iced, hot chocolate. As my order is always two americano and my DH has a t shirt proclaiming "death before decafe" I can't comment on the other options. I don't believe there is a coffee package anymore. They cost about $3.50 each or are included in the Princess plus package along with most other drinks, tips, wifi and a bunch of stuff we don't use.

On cruise lines where good coffee (the only definition of good is what I like) is available as part of the drinks package, I venture out of our cabin with no make up or contacts, brandishing two thermos cups to forage for coffee for DH. On NCL the coffee maker is a huge plus. Room service and buffet coffee do not meet my requirements. Room service and buffet coffee do not meet my requirements.

I have booked a number of "guaranteed" return to ship independent excursions. If you miss the ship they will get you to the next port. In reality they don't miss the ship.

Also look for don't port don't pay options. There is never a guarantee you will be in a port on the advertised date and you don't want to be out of pocket.

When we sailed Spain, Portugal and New York, last year we had a $50 vat bill on drinks. There was vaguely worded information on the daily saying tax would be charged according to local regulations when not in international waters. It was not possible to find out when the charges were lifted. We were charged VAT on drinks whilst playing in the casino.

May be looking at protective covers for medallions now - guest services were really surprised that anyone would be charged for milk, actually I think we were charged because I ordered milk for DH rather than double merlot and they thought I was being mean to him. It was so he could take his morning protine drink.