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@Heartgrove Do you think the vibration is as bad on the higher decks? I haven’t noticed on deck 9 during this sailing.

I have not felt vibration when eating in the main dining room. I have felt the ship rocking because of high waves. I have heard some creaking because of high waves. I agree with @Crew News the only time I have felt vibration was when thrusters were used when docking. I love the sound of the sea. It is early in the morning; I am currently sitting on the quiet aft deck of the Oosterdam. I cannot hear the wake. I don’t ever remember hearing it inside a deck 8 aft cabin.

I love aft cabins. I have never been bothered by the noise. They pick up the pool lounge chairs before you go to bed and set them back up in the morning. It is not like being under the Lido Restaurant with carts rolling early in the morning and late at night.

After 4 days of organized tour, we decided to venture out in Lisbon alone. Told a cabdriver at the port we wanted to go to Museu Nacional do Azulejo, also known as the National Tile Museum. The driver said 25 euros, I said 15, we settled on 20 but I still think it should have been 15. None of the drivers directly outside the port were using a meter. They wanted to take you on a tour and wanted cash. The museum is set in Madre de Deus Convent, founded in 1509 and its collection is a journey through the history of tile, from the 15 century to present day. They have a work shop where the murals are restored. Some our favorites. Afterwards, we took a metered cab to Mercado da Ribera’s Time Out Market Lisboa. Anything you could possible imagine to eat or drink. Unfortunately once again my hunger got the best of me so no food porn. Looking forward to a relaxing sea day and the Meet and Greet tomorrow.

Although our port was Cadiz we decided to take a tour of Seville with Spanish Day Tours; thank you Betsy @BlackJack2 for organizing. The bus ride was about 1.5 hours. First we went to Plaza de Espana near Maria Luisa Park. Beautiful tile murals.This one is Don Quixote.Next up was the Barrio de Santa Cruz-Seville Old Town (Jewish Quarter). The streets were narrow and looking through some of the doorways we could see into the terraces. This lead us to the palace.The stone work, Wood work, Iron work, And especially the tile work was amazing. A quick view of the cathedral and it was as time to board the bus to return to the ship.

Wonderful foodie tour coordinated by @Frontrow with We Love Malaga tours. Our guide Damien was fantastic. Learned a bit about salt cod. Went to the market. Learned about Iberico ham. And olives And spices And produce Now it was time for tapas. We went to three excellent restaurants. Unfortunately, I forgot to take pictures of the food🤨 Here are the restaurants. Delicious olives, eggplant, pork and meatballs. Wonderful pinchos- ham, smoked salmon, shrimp, octopus and fig (?) Mushroom croquettes and cod. Wine and other beverages available at every stop!

No sign of Verifly In Barcelona yesterday.

Today we took a one of our “free” ship tours- Discover Elche: UNESCO World Heritage Site. Although the bus ride was an hour and 20 minutes, it was interesting to see the country side. We selected this tour to see the palm trees and gardens. We were not disappointed. We also had some time in the city.

We are loving our time in Barcelona. Enjoyed our visit to Sagrada Familia this morning. The architecture is great but the food is incredible. Tonight’s dinner at Rao. BURRATA PUGLIESE- Italian burrata with red pesto, fried eggplant LAMB TERRINE with yogurt, mint and cucumber sauce CEVICHE Sea bass marinated in lime juice, red onion, sweet potato chips and celery lime ice cream PAELLA red prawns,squid, clams And IBERIAN PORK CHEEK again-my husband finished it before I could take a picture.

I also look for my restaurants on Trip Advisor. I wanted Catalan Food within walking distance for dinner last night. I picked out two places Xera-# 5 of 8000+ restaurants in Barcelona. I thought we would be ok without reservations if we arrived when they opened at 7, wrong, they were full. The wonderful host walked us across the “street” to their sister restaurant, RAQ, the 2nd restaurant I had previously picked out! Loving the Cava and the delicious tomato rubbed bread served before each meal. I don’t usually take pictures of our food but did remember before the plates were empty: octopus, scallops and pork cheek. Tonight we have a reservation for Xera.

I book with a PCC and often receive upsell directly from HA usually beginning about 2 weeks before my cruise. The first offer- $499 pp to upgrade from a verandah to a signature suite. Second offer the following week $ 349 pp. Five days before the cruise $ 149 pp (Neptune was $699 pp) I called the number on the email. It was answered immediately. I told her the area of the ship I would consider. She gave me 5 possible room numbers in that area. We looked at the deck plan. We discussed disadvantages of a connecting room. I booked a signature suite with her assistance for $149 pp for a 2 week sailing.

@ger_77We saw them too. This not how we did field trips at my school! DH is napping. I’m enjoying a Cava on the hotels roof top deck. We have 9 am guided tour tickets for Sagrada tomorrow.

Flight arrived at 8 am and Hotel Jazz had our room ready.😊 In order to stay awake we walked down Rambla. First stop was Boqueria. Although the vendors were still putting food out, it got crowded quickly. My husband sample the meat. I was more interested in the seafood. Next we explored the streets of Barri Gotic. Beautiful area.

@LMaxwell Thank you for your review. I hope you included your comments on HALs post cruise survey too. There are differences when cruising HAL for a shorter cruise but I’m sure that is true on many lines. I strongly agree with your comments about removing the cabanas from the Lido pool area. Also, the Lido should be open later. In fact, I think a small section of the Lido should be open all day. Of course, there should be a night light in the bathroom too. We enjoy the main dining room food and service. We have fixed seating, the waiter quickly learns our likes and dislikes. On a personal note, I like to dress up and I like to see my husband dressed up too. I remind him of the dress code in the MDR and he will put on a pair of khakis and a Hawaiian shirt when we are sailing in the Caribbean. I like the “formal” feeling of the MDR. I feel like if there is a published rule “no shorts” it should be enforced; if not, the rule should be changed.

I believe we all did, sailing from Barcelona on Saturday. But I’m going with cruisers with boots on the ground. The app is a pain, I deleted it in frustration and I’m not downloading it again. Will complete HAL health assessment and carry my vaccination card

You are correct; suite gratuity is $17/day. Internet will be $10-20/day. Are you sure you aren’t going to want a soda or non-alcoholic smoothie while onboard? If you have your heart set on a special excursion, you should book it now.

@Reds4life I book any MUST do excursions ahead of time. FYI- you can use your OBC for Crew Appreciation (formerly known as gratuities). 15.50/day for 2 people for a week is $217.

Anyone have experience using your iPhone’s data on Verizon when out of the country. Best info I could find was it cost $10 a day which includes calling.

My original flight was in FLL because the ship was supposed to dock in Port Everglades. When HAL changed to POM, I changed my Southwest flight to MIA. Many passengers are angry about the port change and are organizing their own transportation back to FLL. (It is a transatlantic cruise so their cars aren’t parked at Port Everglades.). I thought it would be easier to change airports than try to make my 11 am flight at FLL. Thank you for wishing me luck.

Yes. Thank you for this helpful information. Thank you, we will.

The HAL Oosterdam will now be arriving at 6am to the POM instead of Port Everglades on 11/19. We will carry our luggage off asap with the hope of making a 9:55 flight at Miami. What is our quickest transportation option? Are there taxi stands near every ship? Where do Uber and Lyft pick up? TYIA

More families with children, usually the week before or after the Easter holiday.

Frequent traveller who has never encountered bed bugs but always pulls up the sheet to check the mattress before unpacking. If my cabin had bed bugs, I would want to be moved to a different cabin. My understanding is that they are not easy to get rid of and I would not want to sleep in a room that had been fumigated. Nothing more (but I wouldn’t turn down a cabin upgrade).😉

When the Zuiderdam dock in Puerto Quetzal, we decided to take a tour of Antigua which was a 1.5 bus ride from the port. The guide talked about the land and the recent earthquake. We were able to see smoke from the volcano. Our first stop was Casa del Ron where we had a rum tasting at 10 am. I thought I had pictures of the the church and main square but apparently, after drinking rum on an empty stomach, I forgot to take pictures. So I will just tell you that after some time in the square we were taken to a jade museum and store. (I really wish I would have bought that lilac jade pendant.) Finally, a Guatemalan lunch, then back on the bus for the long ride back to the port.

I always screenshot my boarding passes from my Navigator app in case the app is not working when we are boarding.