the wandering two

Deck 16 fwd inside in January, not a peep.

Was on Iona in January, ships security couldn't have cared less in Gib or Alicante.

Just off Iona on Saturday,  launderettes open but not sure about gyms. I know for sure that they were shut on embarkation (Jan 3rd) and don't recall reading anything to the contrary during the sailing. 

Hi,

Just off Iona, had a cheap inside fwd on 16 & loved it, same deck as sky dome & buffet, don't know about availability for your sailing though. 

Ours too, we sail 3rd January. I'm guessing Epicurean, Limelight & Sindhu will be the only ones available to pre book.

Hi pennib,

Have been wondering the same. We were on Iona in Sept & could only book onboard, but the offers were good, half price speciality restaurants for the first two nights and of course waiting means being able to use OBC.

Can I ask, with pre booking now available, are there any similar discounts & do you pay the surcharge for a fixed fee such as Epicurean or a deposit for a la carte venues there and then?

We are on Iona again in January & have £440 OBC to get through. 

Beach house menu from Iona. 

2 hours ago, Ardennais said:

Good to remind folks! Mask wearing still required in shops in Wales too.

And here in N Ireland also. 

1 hour ago, Bluemanc100 said:

It was free last month… 

It was available, they just didn't tell anyone......

Re dining,  did overhear people in the walk in queue being asked if they wanted to share, we always pre booked. 
The tables for two are that close you can chat with whoever is on either side easily. 
 

We just walked off this morning, no sign of anyone being checked. 
Re the PLF, we finished our forms mid tour in Cadiz, Tio Pepe Sherry house had very good wifi! 
We had heard from other passengers that the gov.uk site would be available via ships wifi, I had a go on Wednesday (Lisbon day) & it worked. P&O seem to think we’re a bunch of mind readers, never once did I hear any announcement about this, yet people were queuing up in the crows nest to access P&O’s laptops. 
Of course now that you can do the form 21 days before returning it won’t be an issue for most itineraries, but they didn’t make things easy. 

On this sailing too & loving the multiple dining /entertainment options.  Agree about 710 club, managed to get in twice so far. Counted seven different music options one night, so plenty in our view, although a lot overlap. 
Enjoying most of the food, Sindhu such a disappointment under seasoned & no flavour, curries in the buffet better. 
Most adhering to COVID protocols & feel v safe onboard & ashore, most Spanish mask wearing on the street & always indoors. 

Glad you got sorted in the end. 

I note that Lindy used an iPad, same worked for us. Even now if I log in on my android Samsung tablet e ticket & labels are greyed out. 

Hi Technoman, we only got our cabin allocation this morning,  but still couldn't print e ticket or labels.

Just tried on an I pad & all good after disabling pop ups.

Thanks for the tip lindylooellalouise.

Very weird, when logged in on an android tablet the only tab highlighted  was boarding pass. Using an iPad, all three highlighted? 

Hi Latin princess,

Would love to get back on Costa again but somewhat concerned re protocols in ports.

I noticed that Costa's ts&cs note that Passengers from the UK need to be at embarkation 4hrs prior for a PCR test. 

Do we need a separate passenger location form for every port & still  bubble excursions? 

We're on P&O Iona 25th Sept (Spain & Portugal) booked thinking that sailing from/to the UK on a ship where practically everyone is British,  so literally in the same boat re covid protocols would be easier, been organised confusion so far!

Would love to hear how you interpret the current Covid rules & how it all works out in practice. 

Re OBC, we're on Virtuosa later this month,  Bella inside & have 50€ or equivalent each.

Definitely one to pursue MSC on.

Hi Molecrochip, great info on Iona in your postings, looking forward to our sailing on her on Sept 25th Spain & Portugal. 

Any insight into shore excursions,  some of which Include free time on your own , that's the bubble burst surely? 

There's already a MSC vs Costa thread on both companies boards. 

Have a browse at them first. 

PS Costa`s web site, login etc actually works! 

I echo Boxman52 & 8420PR, there was never going to be a free for all after July 19. Reckon that the capacity increase has come about by lobbying from the other cruise lines running fully vaccinated sailings, MSC have had to fall in line or get left with running a mega loss with 1000 people for who knows how long. 

I'd second what Petra75 has posted. Have only sailed Costa once(Med)  but thoroughly enjoyed the all Italian experience. We find MSC, as they spread their market more globally, to becoming  Italian Lite, especially where food is concerned. Who cares about free pizza when you can have this? 

As a good few of you folks have already been onboard what's the live music like in any of the lounges? 

Frequency, duration etc. 

TIA 

Total minefield. We have an existing annual policy with Virgin money that would cover us for covid & other medical on holiday & on a cruise, but crucially not on these UK only sailings. 

Makes no sense that they would cover us if we were on the other side of the world but not in the Channel/Irish sea, have gone for the cover for you single trip option for all it costs.

1 hour ago, Stu UK said:

They give you a couple of masks in the cabin. So bring your own. Packages work in all bars but in Champagne and Starship there are large limitations. 

First off, many thanks for all the Info & menus, you're going above & beyond.

What are the limitations in the Champagne bar re plus package? 

1 hour ago, Couple-Somerset said:

 

Every booking by a customer with a Voyager Club account will show Voyager 5% and it will have been discounted at the start. 

 

Then, there is the 5%+5% Discount from the Voyager Club section. 

 

It is only those bookings that get the £$€ 50 - CRAZY but you are getting a double reward lol

 

Cruises after June 26th are also listed in VC section with 5%+10% discount and the £$€ 50

 

You can ASK them if they will reduce the price of your booking and give the £$€ 50 now its on special offer section. They have done so in the past but you may have to try 2 or 3 agents before one of them does it. 

That's what we did, had already booked before noticing our sailing was a 5%+10% departure. Our travel agent called MSC & got the extra 10% applied, he had to ring twice as the first agent didn't agree.

Worth noting I thought they might have repriced the cruise at the current rate before applying, but got 10% off our original price.