mking8288

Friends of ours have been to both Lisbon & Barcelona, with high regards for both cities, especially the latter and its airport. LIS has consistently rated among the worst airports in Europe, small & crowded and in need of modernization - think LaGuardia in NYC before its recent multi-year expansion & redevelopment. There are plentiful info, chats & feedback over at Flyertalk forum - very useful & helpful as we did plenty of research prior to booking this TA last minute, knowing that we'll probably need to bit the bitter candy & deal with it ... and allow 3+ hour for doing the connection flying back to the USA (EU flights are okay as pax do not have to go thru passport & security screening again - with the long'ish walks with automated walkways being somewhat & somewhat limited multi-lingual signage & directional info, and virtually zero greeters or helpers for the "confused looked" travelers. That's the airport & gov't operations - one security personnel / TP employee hearing some of the "complaints" claimed these were at the request of TSA with the homebound non-stop flights, and has little or nothing to do with 3-1-1 rules or electronics, rather seizing every opportunity to extract extra bucks or credit card taps to pay for exceptions. Both BCN and LIS has free airport WiFi, unsecured but fairly fast & adequate for non-banking use. TP's hardware are fairly new & overall, maintained to satisfactory good to VG standards as expected, the typical restrooms onboard could be better kept while on long haul flights including sanitation and infection controls in getting periodically wiped, but that's not necessary what FA's are tasked with and/or getting paid for, leaving in for the ground support crew to quickly refresh while on a stopover or turnaround. Cabin temperature was kept to a comfortable level and just about right, and serving a full meal (lunch or dinner service) plus a cold snack pre-arrival on a 8 hour flight ... is probably more than what US carriers are doing these days - give them an A minus for it, as I wish they can serve more than 3 to 4 oz. worth of liquid (water, soda, juice or wine) in a small water-cooler sized paper cup < remembered me of the small cup offered at my dentist's office while doing semi-annual cleaning > Well, just get up & take a short walk, good to stretch & exercise briefly, over to the gallery & ask for whatever's needed, and they cheerfully obliged. TP's ground crew have a tougher job to do and it's probably mandated from their management to find extra revenue opportunity and then to collect on the spot - leave the overall customer services experience below full satisfactory level to some of us. Check carefully & heed the warnings when booking & checking in online. Our ticketing was based on the Economy "Classic" tier and was worth the extra costs - including 1 free check luggage plus carry-on, careful if using the USA-sized 22 x 14 x 9. Rather than using my 10+ years old eBags Mother Lode Convertible Carry-on, I switched to the Convertible Junior that's about 2.5" shorter in height and with compression (internal & external) straps, kept it as a slim & smaller package and almost tipped the 22 lbs. scale. Had my old walking shoes/sneakers that's seen it's better days, set to throw it out or dump it, if weight was a problem. Aloma apparently is the brand / business name of the award-winning bakery with its famous Portugese cream tarts, a bit on the sweeter side & different than the famous egg parts we ate in Macau, China years ago. Well, it's the one and only dessert, 6 to a pack for 11.50 Euros for about 2 or 3 full bites per tart - washed down with wine, beer or expresso/cappuccino. This was the TAP onboard snack - some sort of Brown cake, Portuguese style - not sweet, tasted okay when re-heated or warmed briefly in the mini/microwave oven .... with coffee/tea. Next time in Portugal, we'll check things out further. See comments above for the extra thoughts on Air Portugal we had. TAP's one-way fare was about $415 USD p/p each with a 1-stop connection, about 50% lower than other well-known US legacy/partner carriers when we booked - other carriers flying narrow-bodied new'ish jets across the pond that are ETOP certified, but heck even with B/F class lie-flat products available, over-priced & not worth the extra, plus most require a connection anyway. 7 or 8 hour flight is just medium-haul and not worst than a US transcon routing or West Coast to/from HNL. Online check-in opened up at 24 hours for us, as I recall as we're in BCN by then - wasn't too difficult doing that online, didn't bother using the mobile app as others on Flyertalk reported issues & frozen app, etc. During the final steps before clicking, see if the option $$ to upgrade to priority check-in and gate boarding, etc. is available, definitely worth the extra $6 USD p/p for the BCN segment to LIS. The Recaro-designed seats were nice, width at 17.72" (not 17.2") is good for most EU travelers but not a match for American's bulky built/bottoms - haha - and 31" legroom on par or better than AA, UA & DL's domestic products for sure, unless one is flying E-Plus with 32" to 34" legroom. E plus or Premium offered extra legroom, plus exit rows with extras - only available $$ at the airport when checking in. TP's luggage rules - this section apparently has been revised recently, kindly always check back prior to & upon booking, and review again during online check-in - fairly complicated rules, i.e. low season, high season, origination & destination, etc. https://www.flytap.com/en-pt/baggage/hand-baggage https://www.flytap.com/en-pt/baggage/hold-baggage?ctseg=high-season TP and NCL would make, IMHO, a great partnership in nickels & diming the less informed travelers - for one's in-convenience, of course ... using your/mine taglines, to fly/cruise and sustain. The "problem" that I see is for anyone with mobility issues that connect thru LISbon Airport, not just with TAP but other carriers as there is no way of being assured that the tarmac/stairs are avoidable .... reminded me Dulles (IAD) with the mobile lounger back in the 1980's and 1990's - modified but still in use.

Just to wanted to follow-up on this unfinished "tagged" item - tried & gave it my best efforts with everything in the gadget pouch, cables & settings, etc. and short answer, does not work with Pixel 7 Pro but, with DW's Samsung Galaxy S22 Plus, a piece of cake or walk in the park, once I adjust the display/output resolution on the smartphone to match/made it compatible with the Samsung TV's native/default HDMI signal input, running in DeX mode (foreign to most non-SS users/not familiar with Developer's Mode enabled, etc.) I think, with other NCL ships using "Sole" branded monitor/display - connecting thru the default HDMI input will make for a simple & direct connection - as you said, Google disabled, blocked or otherwise does not provide the necessary "drivers" for a proper handshake - to output the display signal. Our next NCL voyage is on the good old "Escape" which I'm very familiar with, that's going to be fun - with both the Pixel, S22+ and the Lenovo Chromebook, all of them should easily take advantage of the larger display output ... and live stream Youtube or Prime Video, etc. while in ports with our own cellular data connectivity in superior ways - and not to wait for & dependent upon any Starlink or equivalent upgrade to the onboard systems / server / portals. Since my devices are otherwise running in native VPN mode, had to disable them temporary to make it compatible with ship's WiFi/data network or else ... I haven't look into XDA-Developers Forum lately to see what's new with the geeks coming up with workaround and/or the added possibilities in rooting the P7P and running custom Rom, etc. - I'll play soon with the Pixel 4a 5G, now that the Pixel 7a is officially out, as of today and will need to decide whether to trade my S22+ for something different, or hold on & keep it (since Samsung pledge to 5 years of firmware/security updates & patches, etc. - Google got to do the same or better vs. 3 years now with their hardware) Footnotes: (unrelated) - NCL's post-cruise surveys have been emailed to us already - going to do that next. Meanwhile, I got notes to pull together on this TA, including some of our "entitled" perks & rewards, or lack of it unless questioned, impression of the overall onboard experience, the ship itself & the crew ... and some of the casual observations & minor items we've noticed. Overall, in short, it was a wonderful TA for us, a first and we embarked with tailored expectations and 15 days/nights just sailed by, off to a slow start & with the 4 full sea days once we left Bermuda (knowing that there's a chance we might skip the port due to weather forecasts & storm systems in the Atlantic, etc.) - the last 8 to 10 days were nearly non-stop and kept us occupied & busy, and sometimes, barely able to get extra nap time to rest ... so much to do, see & explore and so little time or hours of the day/night to try it all. Will try to spell it out with a little more specifics in the next 2 or 3 days while things are still fresh in my/our minds. Now, to catch up on things at home, making sure bills were paid & appointments upcoming are confirmed. Life is short, don't blink and keep that sense of humor, pack & travel with patience and tolerance, respect & courtesy for/with others, and go easy. Time for a little afternoon nap ... to be continued.

One of the most cherished "souvenir" that I picked up while the ladies were shopping for other things in a local gift shop that also sell other inexpensive everyday living items, including slippers, sandals, personal products, and iPhone/Samsung smartphone cases, were a number of electrical adapters & converters - this one, apparently, preferred & popular with off-duty ship crew members when they are in there - fit perfectly in NCL's cabin 220V outlet, fitting 110V dual-voltage devices with USA styled plugs - has an On/Off switch, also does NOT block the other 220V outlet in the stateroom. Now, I "regretted" not buy an extra one or 2, maybe 3 as gift for others - going to "need" to find them online (and, probably pay a lot more for it) or, to take another cruise that stop at Funchal, Portugal while on a TA again, soon ... perhaps. How's that as an "excuse" to plan another cruise ... in 2024 ?? This only cost 2.50 Euros in that store and is very sturdy, going to be in the cruise luggage along with other adapter plug & items. It also worked great in our Barcelona hotel room with the EU style outlets. P.S. Test results are negative thus far (YAY - good) as we heard, while onboard the TA, progressively more "coughing" while out & about, including the few times we're on those shuttle buses by NCL and commonly in the MDR (we mostly tried to avoid the buffet, especially at peak times) ... also while in-flight on the planes coming home. Did a batch of rapid C19 test about 2/3 way thru our TA, which were negative for us ("relief") as I mentioned earlier, saw more N95/equivalent black masks being worn - most/average cruisers usually do "NOT" bring and/or use them on a daily basis, most likely "dispensed" by ship's medical center as a pre-cautionary practice. This morning, did another round of rapid C19 home test again, also "negative" so we are good, fingers crossed ... will repeat this again in 2 or 3 days as a final wrap-up on bringing home any unwanted & unwelcomed micro guests, since we have a very good stockpile of "free" home test kits in cool storage, sitting on a shelf (valid thru mid 2024.) After tomorrow, it will not be as easy to just self-order additional test online from Walgreens ("free" at no cost to us - billed directly to Medicare on our behalf) and pick them up at the nearest store location, 7 to 8 city blocks away.

Good afternoon, our post-cruise stay (too short ... next time, plan for a longer stay) in Barcelona is now over, done and got home safely. Nice to get a good night sleep, without alarms (unlike the last few days with early morning schedule) in one's own bed, minus a few pampering efforts. Our house plants are doing well, the simple watering "system" from Amazon worked well - green and no yellowish" and they didn't "complaint" or "bark" from being dehydrated and lack of "attention". This sub-report is mostly about our (air) experience with TAP-Air Portugal or TP flight, hard & soft "products" and our thoughts on it - it's not your Lufthansa, British Air or Singapore Airline products but with their LIS(bon) hub - allowing for up to 10 days free layover - and connections to almost everywhere in that region, something to know & consider when booking a cruise ... Feel free to skip over or ask questions, TIA. Our non-stop flight on Airbus A330-neo turned out to be 98% full including many arriving at the airports without seat pre-assignments. We departed almost an hour late but once airborne, made up for the delay and landed almost exactly on time at NY's JFK. The worst part / downside to making a connection or flying thru/in/out of LISbon was/is that the terminals are in need of further development and insufficient gates with jetbridge, thus many passengers/flyers have to board shuttle buses from the "gates" (ours: 45A) after stepping down/out to the tarmac first. We get a free tour of the airport's field & ground operations ... to the other side/aircraft parking area, then, get to climb up the staircase(s) to truly board the aircraft (2 stairs used - Fwd for First/Business/Premium) and Mid for Premium/Coach/the rest) with one's own (heavy) luggage - and some with multiple bags & jacket(s) plus duty-free shopping bags, not fun or easy, especially anyone with mobility issues. Duty-free prices at LIS aren't that good either as DW/SIL strolled thru, price-compared & checked a few, promptly left and came out empty-handed, said "let's go, keep moving" b/c I was watching our luggage. Our BCN-LIS flight was on one of their narrow bodied A320 series, no IFE and meal/beverage services offered as optional service for a nominal fee - for a 90 minutes flight, not a big deal to skip ... legroom was more limited, as expected. We purchased or added priority boarding (Group A) for 6 Euros extra p/p and that was worth it, but did not add to our LIS-JFK segment, sticking to Group B ... which was still reasonable fast & no trouble with overhead bin space at/near our chosen seating area. LIS-JFK on A330 neo: 2 aisle seats plus 1 window seat (A-C and C) which gave us easy access to get up, use the restroom or just to stretch & walk, leg room was fair to good vs. UA, DL or AA legacy products flown typically on these routes, some of the "non-stops" using B737-Max or alike ... yike) Ours have a little seatback recline & good 12"+ interactive touch-TV screen for IFE. Pair of disposable earbuds provided to all pax plus a pillow & light blanket, free. In-flight paid WiFi is available (several plans/options for purchase, 10 Euros for basic web access) - 15 minutes after airborne, until 15 min before landing) for the 7.5 hour flight. Traveling light, we didn't bring our NR wire/less headset - would be perfect to plug into the mini stereo jack under the monitor. USB port provided for charging mobile devices, useful ... as long safeguards & measures are in place, i.e. burner smartphone for travel to minimize cyber security risks (hint: reasons # 8 that I carry at least 1 secondary dual-e/sim smartphone) Dinner services - choice of pasta or meat (beef stew) started about 1 hour after wheels up, after we quickly climb to initial FL 370, then 390 (Flight level 370 as in 37,000 ft.) starting with a beverage service (wine is complimentary for all in Coach) - coffee/tea/water available throughout at the gallery, staffed by FA rotating (others "disappeared" into their secret rest compartment via a "discrete" door near the restroom). LIS additional baggage & security screening and questions asked as well as passport check at Gate 45A - this was/is a TSA requirement conducted pre-departure, after an automated BP check (bar-coded Boarding Pass) just prior to X-Ray screening ... shoes on, but laptops & electronics, laptops & iPads, smartphones, etc. on a tray. TP "gate" "police" at work - caution, they were eyeballing & checking most & nearly all larger "carry-on" sized luggage & personal items permitted for mostly compliance with weight - 10 kg/22 lbs even if it is 22 by 14 by 9 (very easy to exceed that limit, mine routinely at 30 to 35 lbs on domestic flights) I switched to my eBags Mother Lode Junior expandable and it wasn't difficult at all to be in the 25+ lbs range. They also have the "sizer" nearby to check for compliance with carry-on & cabin/personal bag, but apparently weren't concerned with width or depth ... many of the spinners & rollerboards being obvious that they are more than 9" in depth & bulky. Overhead bins on both the A320's and A330 neo that we've flown on, do seem to fit bags depending on they slide in or stored, at the expensive of taking up doubled or even triple spacing for a bag, not good if you are in that last boarding group or had a tight connection & barely ran from the other gate to your plane's gate, with no space remaining & ended up gate-checking. Junior sized backpacks were stored overhead, reducing overall storage space for other flyers. We had our portable digital scale with us and made sure we didn't exceed the limits once the bags were packed & ready to roll - bags "caught" by the gate police are charged $150 USD per bag to be checked into the cargo hold - that's a double ouch. Coach seats have a 17.2" width (narrower than expected - 17.5" to 18" being "better" depending on the airline & aircraft flown, with 31" legroom, not much & better than many ... how I missed the old days of 19" and 32" to 34" legroom in the B747, DC-10 and B767 long-haul days, flying all over & living out of the suitcases plus a garment bag) TP has the apparent advantage of being the national airline for Portugal and from the parking/remote field location, just a short rollout to the taxiway for the runway, to line up for an easy & quick takeoff roll. The view as the A330 roared down the runway & make a fast climb, despite a full plane & heavy load, easily climb to FL 200 in less than 5 minutes FL 300 in about 30 minutes, the views outside our windows were great as we headed straight out west toward the Atlantic toward Canada/US. Two (2) hours before landing, cruising at FL 400 (higher altitudes after fuel/weight is lighter & climbing higher) cabin lights were turned on while crossing from Canada airspace toward the U.S. (over Nova Scotia toward New England & across Long Island) - time for a cold/chilled snack & beverage service. Trash & other disposable items collected with time to use the restrooms before seat belts sign come on again, as we began a fair quick descent down to FL 200 and then FL 100 for nearly a straight in ILS approach toward JFK. Made it thru CBP / immigration-border control with face-to-face passport check in about 20 minutes (Global Entry - no lines, of course) as we're the only international flight that landed at that time - luggage were out in the carousal waiting by the end we got there, and our nephew that worked cargo ops drove from his office, 5 minutes away, pick-up and drove us home, gate to home in about 90 minutes. A long day of travel, which began by 6 am in Barcelona for us - officially ended about 9:45 pm EDT when we walked into our townhouse co-op apartment ... almost 21 hours in total. I could use a cold drink (a beer or glass of wine for most CC'er, perhaps a Pina Colada, Mai Tai or Long Island Ice Tea - a refreshing tall glass of Spirt or iced Cappuccino will do) after hauling all the luggage inside - Susan was tired & exhausted, exclaiming ... see, I hate flying and next time, we will find another cruise to return to NY (do a B2B) - if that's going to be 30 or 35 days, so be it. She promised to pack & bring less, and trim her luggage weight by another 5 to 10 lbs - hence, leave more room to shop & buy new clothes, shoes & handbags, etc. hahaha, LOL.

Last morning in Spain, quick checkout of our hotel at 7:45 am. Taxis outside just across the street at their stand, 25 minutes later w typical weekday traffic, reached T1 with a fare total of 33 Euros. TAP Portugal opened their check-in counters at 9, our bags checked & paper boarding passes issued. Flight was 99% full & glad we paid 6 Euros extra pp for priority boarding with the A320's Connecting at Lisbon is more challenging, extra security & passport checks AND the weight scale for carry-on & personal items, quite a few got caught. It's a shuttle ride & free tarmac tour around the terminal to the field to climb the ramps up to this wide-body jet. Looks like we should be set to close the doors, cross check & head from the parking area to the taxiways for the runway. Homeward bound.

Lots of walking with Montserrat and lines, plus it's an hour each way from city or cruise port. Park Guell was sold out and long lines, lots of walking & steps, too much for doing both together on a single day. To fully explore & appreciate, need a full day to see Monseratt and 3/4 day at Park Guell ... weekday traffic also slowed us down going from one place to another. If one is flexible, stay for 4 to 5 days pre-cruise or post-cruise here in BCN to explore & enjoy city life here. So, so much to see, do, eat, shop, enjoy and appreciate.

On request, extra pix of our H10 Casanova hotel room for 3, about 250 Euros all taxes & surcharges, city taxes, etc. Breakfast buffet no added (extra costs). Cafe w inexpensive breakfast across the street & around the corners for 5 Euros or less, coffee included. Plus, highlights of our meals today.

Our last day in Barcelona, post-cruise and did a half day, deluxe semi-private tour on City Highlights, by BDT. Look for a full report later this week in the Spain port, link will be added here.

Monseratt - batched photos #2 set - including the cable car to go up to the monastery, and the train from Barcelona ... doable when staying here & can plan, leave early to avoid crowds & lines to see the Black Virgin Mary ( an admission fee & reservation are now required, best to book in advance - done for us by BDT ) Notes: there are plenty more photos from this side trip to Monseratt ... probably best to reach more CC'ers interested in planning a visit, to go to the Spain port section to check it out, and put a cross-reference link to make it easier to find.

We didn't have to go far for dinner, plus there was a bit of light rain ... which Barcelona & Spain badly needed, that "ruined" our plan to walk La Rambla. Well, we still have Monday afternoon or evening. No fresh lobsters, no filet mignon or beef tenderloin or seafood paella - just 2 starters or appetizers, and 3 classics: kung po chicken, salt & pepper shrimps, eggplants in garlic sauce, and sauteed baby bok choy, etc. Bill came to just 60 Euros in total, plus 5 for tips, not expected - chef personally came out to ask & made sure the food was good 👍. There's a sushi place and a burger joint on the same block - McDonald is a much longer walk. Tapas around here start at 3 Euros and average 5 to 6 ... in hindsight, should've skipped them in Ibiza 😀

@bedfordmom - Barcelona Day Tours, as highly recommended by fellow CC'ers on the roll call, excellent & ongoing communications from their team. Going to do a write-up in the Spain ports after we get home & have more time ... (and on TripAdvisors & Google Maps)

Hola, I gave back my basic Spanish from my Bronx high school days too, aside from a few short sentences & phrases. Haven't need to use Google Translate Live yet. Our tour driver/guide today was bilingualy fluent: semi-private tour for 7 was less pricey & more personal than a shared bus tour with 50+ fellow riders ... Benz minivan with leather seats was super comfortable & our luggage securely stored. Have another 1/2 day tour scheduled tomorrow, pick-up in front of our hotel at 8:30 am & ending at Sagrada Familia - unfinished church. DW wishes we had planned for a longer stay post-cruise. I said we will just plan another trip or TA. Sitting in a place called Little Foodie, northern Chinese cuisine - native Spanish worker taking our orders by the numbers ... also very close to our hotel. Inexpensive & very good. It puts NCL's Shanghai Restaurant & Noodles Bar to shame, their corporate head of food operations ought to sample a few places like this to reset their onboard offerings, and bring a few executive chefs along.

The ladies wanted something different for lunch and not tapas, wow - they aren't pricey like tourist traps at Motril or Ibizia. Quick breakfast for 5 Euros, 10 p/p at most - H10 Casanova is another 25 p/p extra, which we excluded. We ended up at Pho Ha Noi, just 2 blocks from our hotel (3 blocks off La Rambla) - tab came to just 61 Euros and 20% isn't added, not customary here nor expected - 5 Euros 👌 🤗 👍 A nice change from MDR and ship's specialty dining 😎 Pre- and post- cruise & staying in Barcelona, this place is worth checking out if your hotel is nearby. We recommend & approve it.

LOL, she does look like Blair. After 15 nights with the funky toilet & shower closet on the Epic, it's nice to see a true bathroom with both a deep tub and rainforest shower, towels warmer and a full set of complimentary toiletry items, including shower cap & shoe polish cloth. Soft bathrobes & slippers w/o having to ask or request them. Let's not forget the Krups machine with Nespresso capsules - instead of chatting with one's room attendant at NCL. Complimentary cocktail on the house in the hotel bar being Club H10 member.

Fast forward or skip ahead, driven back to our H10 hotel with luggage and we're able to check in at 2 pm. Just 5 blocks from La Rambla, very convenient, cafe & tapas around the 4 corners plus 24/7 mini marts, large 1.5L bottled water at 1 💶 Euro each. Hotel provides 2 complimentary .5L of mineral water daily and a Welcome mini box of chocolate. NCL ... take a hint 🧐 More pictures from our excellent tour of Monseratt later. Next, after setting up our courtyard looking deluxe room on floor 3 facing the courtyard, time to eat a late lunch.

On our way to see Monseratt in a luxury van with 7 plus driver/guide - photos set #1 - unedited

Bonus - Barcelona cruise terminal area and views of the city

Most luggage tag colors were called by 7:30 am, gangways on deck 6 and 7 and lines to exit into cruise terminal was moving and not long. Going thru Spain immigration was quick & got our passports stamped, then into luggage area to collect our bags - already off the moving carousels, lined up by colors. We're early & paused for restrooms and then headed outside, met our driver & guide - now en route to do the Monseratt tour, a 1 hour drive from the port.

Hola, Barcelona ... Epic has docked early and sun has risen, exodus has begun for disembarkation before 7 am. Tipped our steward last night and said goodbye to Menzi, been with NCL since 2004 doing housekeeping. Packed elevators as usual, 2 of the forward ones used for priority services. Our bags should be inside the terminals, heading out soon with our small carry-on bags. As our tradition, in the MDR for breakfast before we go. 8:30 am - once picked up by the tour outside the terminal, we head to Monseratt for touring.

We are still getting a good cellular signal hugging coastal Palma doing 16 knots, ETA into Barcelona is 3 am, ahead of our scheduled 5:30 arrival in less than 10 hours.

Here's the new virtual farewell wave as shown on giant TV screen projection in the atrium lobby, just as we finished up our 2 hour dinner in Taste. Last sunset on the Epic on this TA as the final evening's curtain will soon be down.

Bye bye, Palma ... we are on the move @ 6:45 pm - leaving 15 minutes early, sitting in Taste MDR and can feel the engines slightly shaking as power increased. Next & final stop for us - Barcelona in the pre-dawn hours of 5:30 am.

Our packing 95% done, going to put priority tags on our 3 24" rollerboards & get them inside the cruise terminal in the morning, instead of doing the express. Our 4th bag of free laundry was waited in our room when we came back earlier - yay, no charge as complimentary - that's over $400 worth of wash & dry if itemized, or $116 worth based on the special rate of $29 per stuffed bag. Now, we get plenty of clean clothes for another 6 to 9 days of travel. Our checked bags now weighted around 40 lbs only, under the 44 lbs limit set by TAP Portugal airline we are using next week. Earlier, we stopped in the Garden Cafe / buffet to check things out ... not impressed, I grade the options & varieties - subjectively, a B minus at most, fewer items offered and the dessert options are plan awful. If you cruise for breaded chicken wings, not the new OSH wings - be prepared to be disappointed. Well, reasons 13 to avoid eating in the buffet for lunch or dinner, IMHO of course. The thin-crested pizza was pretty good. We didn't go hungry and never do on a cruise ...

On the double decker shuttle bus ride back to the ship - NCL charges $15 p/p for this, like yesterday in Ibiza AND the $50 shorex credit is not applicable 😳😤 😠 - ask & spoke with ... "sorry" given 🙄 It's for our (in) convenience as a service. Of course, some pax choose to walk 20+ minutes to exit the port area to find other means of transportation, Uber isn't available or permitted to operate here. This is intended as a FYI post - 🙊

Catedral-Basílica de Santa María de Mallorca Up to 10,000 ship pax from 3 ships plus off-duty crews roaming in town.