perakcruiser

Oh, I did not know that Uber is allowed now in Barcelona. Good news. Anyway I will use public transport this time.

You will be fine, just be prepared that you will not like the house wines. But Easy Plus also does not give access to the good wines. It may sound strange but for me the main use of the Easy package are the coffees from the good Italian machines instead of the tanks 😄

Wow, this must be a world record, at least in number of inhabitants per Decathlon 😄 But do you really think there are big differences between all these hotels in Viladecans or Sant Boi? Mostly these are all the international chains like Ibis. We were very happy with the Alexandre Hotel FrontAir Congress and landing at 23:00 and knowing a scheduled (!) shuttle to the hotel is ready to take was pretty cool. Sure, I believe you when you say the taxis in Barcelona do not cheat tourists, but I have moved on, I don´t want to use old world taxis anymore, just because stupid governments do not allow Uber, Bolt, Grab....

Putting this here as it is a better place. I saw bus 46 at Plaza Espanya on boarding day, that is why I thought to take it. But the commuter to the airport is also attractive, it is included in the T-casual, right? Where it stops in the town center? Fast or slow is totally unimportant, I have more than enough time to kill 😄

The hotels near the airport usually have a free shuttle service to the airport, but maybe you need to book it directly at arrival as the cars fill fast. And if you booked the hotel in Viladecans, there are excellent last minute shopping options for your girlfriend, the highly recommended Alcampo for example. Don´t know if you have Decathlon in US, we do have in Malaysia 🙂 , there is also one in Viladecans if you want to buy sports stuff. I continue to join the line with a bif thank you for the excellent report. Even it did not include what I hoped for, Garden Kitchen as an option for the Diamond meal 😣

My flight out of Barcelona is in the evening so I have no worries at all. So finally we are planning to learn more about the busses. People told me I should use Bus 46 to the airport as I can be used with my "T-casual" I still have. Another bus I have heard of but never seen is the bus 88/89 at the port. Let´s see if it exists 😄 But only if the waether is great, otherwise the shuttle bus to Plaza Colon.

Actually less than the US companies, but more than some (Northern) European rivals. Still no reason to worry about add on costs on MSC.

Certainly there are! But unfortunately there are some red wines I don´t like. Chianti, Barolo in Italy, Rioja, Tempranillo in Spain for example. Usually not a problem with any white (or rose) wine, except maybe this Beringer White Zinfandel I nipped today at the Celebrity Captains Club party and declared undrinkable😄 You are absolutely right, the duty free prices do not beat the supermarket prices with tax. Just have seen this yesterday in the port duty free with some wines I saw at Alcampo a few hours before. But in this case not need to carry the wine to the ship is also some kind of value. @Stockjock You are really choosing good excursions, your girlfriend should praise you for this 🙂

We bought the wines for our Celebrity cruise that started yesterday in Barcelona at Alcampo next to our hotel. They had a huge selection, but - as usual in Spain - 95 percent Spanish wines (which I am not familiar with). And the selection of wines with no cork was much more limited than in other countries, the Spanish winemakers seem to be more traditional 🙂 As a Sauvignon Blanc drinker, I hope this will not disappoint: https://blume.com.es/en/blume-sauvignon-blanc-wine/

Not happy.

The Udon noodles are also hit and miss in the MDR. On one MSC ship excellent on others I did not like at all. But it may look simple, it is a really difficult dish and certainly no cruise line has chefs from Japan.

Will go on Infinity next week, I expect the food a little bit upscale compared to MSC (but less upscale compared to 10 years before), everything else I think I would prefer MSC. But the route from Barcelona to the Canary Islands is exactly what I want and Celebritys price was right. Last cruise was my first diamond. At check in I got "WELCOME", at GS I got "GOLD" and then finally "DIAMOND" 😄 Mildly annoying is the perfect wording, but as always, I never expect MSC to be perfect.

Even the itinerary is maximum boring, you should consider to visit Cinque Terre from Genoa. It is very relaxed in winter when almost empty. I expect 3000 kids on board next week, but you are prepared for this, not your first cruise during christmas holiday 🙂

It is very important to know that the rules in Dubai and Sharjah are very different. Sharjah is just north of Dubai, the other airport is there. You will not realize when crossing, but Sharjah is dry.

Yes, very few, but they exist. Thankfully.

If you mix up the countries and move your VC account to Finland then you will not be able to enter through your "old" country website and not the new as well. I once had to change because I really moved to another country, what chaos it was to get back access to my booked cruise and the VC account. Old MSC rule, keep things simple as possible, avoid any changes.

This thread make me feel I am a genius. All my MSC cruises I saw big crowds but never when I was at this point. Maybe I should share my secret with you, when there is a long lone for example at the carving station, I don´t go in that line but grab a salad, a slice of pizza, something from the ethnic corner... It is not meant that everyone coming to the buffet joins a long long line that passes all stations. The word "station" says it all 😄

Actually it was planned as a cruise ship and not a private boat for the family. One of Gaddafi sons wanted to start an African Arab cruise line. MSC of cause was very lucky to get a Divina sister ship with a discount after the Libyan Civil War broke out.

The added service charge when booking on board probably kills any daily discounts. If there are any, not predictable. My experience after 10+ cruises and years with MSC, internet,spa,dining, excursions... everything's cheaper when booked in advance. But certainly there also have been some offers on board one could save a few bucks, I just never saw them. So for me booking everything I want in advance is the way to go.

During the last 12 years I missed a lot of ports with MSC, in Europe, in Africa and in Asia 😄 I never got any credit or anything else but "sorry". But if a whole day is getting cut off at the beginning or end of the cruise, a compensation should be paid. At least if it was a booking under EU law.

Easyjet, Eurowings, TUI, ..., actually I did not have a continental flight in Europe where I was not forced to check in online for many years. Except on flight with TAP. But in January I have another one, that is Vueling. When I fly intercontinental Asia/Europe it is different.

There are very few excursions that sell out fast. But of cause these are the most popular, so for example if you want to go on the Aix/Avignon tour from Marseille, you better book before. I would assume that in the Caribbean these excursions are very limited, only thing I remember is that on Grand Cayman there was popular stuff that was sold out.

Are you serious that you live in France? 😉 Almost all European airlines charge a brutal fee for airport checkin for many many years already. This would not be a problem, but sometimes it is because the window for the free online checkin is so tight, for example it opens only 24 hours before the flight and closes 2 hours before. People got used to it.

If you booked with MSC USA or MSC UK you will get free water in the MDR (usually a pitcher, sometimes bottles). No matter where you sail or what your nationality is. Others have to pay, selling water was always a important source of income for MSC.

No, non-Americans (most) would love to get a pitcher of drinking water in the MDR, but it is not possible for them on MSC, they have to buy the water bottles in the MDR.