trinitygirl

the consultant has sent a refund request so hopefully this will not drag on for months...

an update... was just notified that my bid for a suite was accepted (yay) but instead of using the FCC to pay for it, they have charged my card. i am in the live chat queue hoping it can be fixed...

An update; my booking was restored to my original mini suite guarantee and upgraded to the plus package (which used $975 of my FCC). the agent was unable to credit the entire FCC because my account is paid in full, but he has sent a request to the accounts team to see if they can override the system. Fingers crossed...

The online chat people confirmed that I can use the FCC to upgrade but they couldn’t do it for me. They wouldn’t answer the question about if i could use the FCC to overpay my account. So i got in touch with the new Australian PVP person (long story short: princess closed the excellent Australian VP department in January, then someone new started emailing in June so it seems they reopened it) and explained what i wanted to do. Instead of answering my question he sent an updated booking moving me to a suite and asking for an additional $3000 on top of the FCC I wanted to use! I have not heard back to my Hell No reply but hopefully he will undo whatever he did and actually answer my question about upgrading to Plus and transferring the whole FCC to the cruise so I can eventually be refunded the balance post cruise.

I am currently in the online chat queue, waiting to ask!

Thanks for these ideas! Unfortunately I am already in a mini suite and Princess has put a restriction on solo cruisers booking full suites or I would definitely upgrade - I have tried (and the future cruise staff on the Enchanted tried in August) but for some reason they just won’t allow it. I didn’t know you could overpay and refund - if that would work, it would be quite a solution.

Hi everyone, I have searched but the FCC posts are long! and I haven’t found an answer. My account has just been credited with nearly $3000 in future cruise credits for my five days in isolation on the Enchanted in August. It has to be used (booked AND travelled) by September 2024. Unfortunately my current trip ends in January (and is all planned out so I can’t shove in another cruise) and I won’t be able to fit in another holiday until the end of 2024 so i can’t use it for another cruise. I have an upcoming Transatlantic cruise but it is 100% paid for already. I made upgrade bids for that cruise which gave me the option to use FCC if accepted, but obviously that might not work. I was wondering if anyone knows if I could use some of it to upgrade my basic cruise fare to plus or premium? On my personaliser, it does not give me the option to use FCC to pay for it, and I can’t phone to ask as I normally would as I am overseas, so wondering if its worth trying to email? thanks for any advice.

Hi, it was a Princess excursion, the best one we did. We went on a boat that was exclusive to our tour. I can imagine that in rough seas the whole thing would have been tricky, but in August it was perfect.

Yes, they are more expensive on board, because they increase in price as time goes by. Jump and book as early as possible. You can cancel without penalty if your plans change.

Just reading that last post I can see how full of typos it is - my apologies everyone. Herculaneum turned out to be a bust - the driver didn’t turn up! After waiting in the sun for 45 minutes I stomped back to the hotel and put in a refund request to Viator. They processed it very quickly so although they wasted my time and I am super disappointed to have missed it, at least I got my money back. And as I was waiting I realised that Google maps led me on a goose chase yesterday, and my walk back to the station was MUCH easier. I am now sitting under the air con in my accommodation in Bari, Puglia, about to start planning my day tomorrow. I would skip Livornio too, if I ever went back. I have been to Florence many times before so I would never go all that way for just a few hours, so if I couldn’t get a small group cinque Terre trip organised, I would use it as a ship day.

Good morning for the last time from this Live report. The last day of our cruise we called at Livorno. Originally we were booked on a full day small group excursion to Cinque Terre but it was cancelled last week. The alternative was a big Princess tour but having heard that there were at least five buses we were not interested. We opted for a morning tour of Livorno by foot and canal boat. The tour took us by bus to the canals for an hour long cruise around the waterways. To be honest, I thought it was full - Livorno was destroyed in WWII and there is not a lot of interest left, plus the sun was beating down at 9am and there was no shade on the canal boat. Afterwards we stopped for a cold drink at the cafe afterwards, then headed off on the walking tour. This was also pretty uninspiring and after we had been shown where the bus would pick us up later, when we came across a TIM shop (my Italian SIM provider) I ditched the tour and jumped in line to find out why my new phone was not giving me wifi. Turns out that Türkiye is not in the EU and on 9 August I left my phone on while I was sick in my cabin and it ate up the 4 months of credit I had stored. Lesson learned. Account restored and wifi working, I bought myself a celebratory gelato, had a quick tour of the veggie market in the central square and got myself back to the bus stop just in time to meet my tour group and then we were off to the ship. A lovely lazy afternoon on board, last lunch at Gigis, laundry, cashed out the remaking $6 of onboard credit at guest services, did some laundry, had a nap after checking out the pools which were all packed like sardines in a tin, and met my friends for a last drink at Take Five. Dinner was a bit disappointing but it was lovely to spend a few hours with my friends before we said farewell. After packing and putting my case out, I met some CC friends for the farewell variety show in the theatre. A good nights sleep in that comfy bed and it was time to meet my CC transit group at Gigis. Disembarkation was a breeze and our Rome Cabs driver was on time, everyone had exact change, and we were at Termini station by 10.30am. And just like that, it was all over. You all know how it goes. I got myself on and off the fast train to Naples, and despite the INSANE heat and humidity, with the aid of Google maps, dragged my case to my hotel where I spent the rest of the day, a few minutes of which involved filling out the Princess survey. And now I am dressed and ready for my excursion to Herculaneum. This afternoon I have to drag my case back to the station for my onward journey to Bari. The plans we make in winter can kind of suck in summer. Note to self. ok. Emma out!

Good morning everyone, for the last time on this cruise! Yesterday we called in Genoa but I didn't really step foot in the city. I did get to see it on my morning walk up on deck 18, because it took about an hour to come into the port, going very very slowly, and then doing that pivot (which was really disorienting mid walk!). We walked from the ship to a boat that docked next to the ship, and headed off on a day long adventure to explore Camogli, Santa Margherita, and Portofino. It was a really excellent excursion - I would have hated to do it by bus, but the 40 of us had a big boat all to ourselves so plenty of room to spread out, and the ocean breezes made the heat and humidity bearable for the time we were on the water (about an hour to Camogli, 15 minutes to Santa Margherita, 15 minutes back to Portofino, then an hour back to the ship). We had a couple of hours in Camogli, starting with a tasting of focaccia and wine at a beach-front restaurant, a walking tour and some free time. We then had an hour in Santa Margherita to have a delicious lunch (or to go shopping if you preferred) and then an hour in Portofino where we walked up the incredibly steep hill to St George's church for amazing views out over the village. The only thing that would have made it better was if we had known that there were beaches and that we would have had time to go swimming - we would have taken our togs if we had known. We got back to the ship around 4.30pm, and after a much needed shower and change, headed to the platinum lounge for a cocktail and then dinner in the dining room: it was eggplant parmigano night and it was just as good this week as it was last week. yum! in the evening, i met up with some CC friends to watch the 'so you think you can dance' competition in the Piazza and that was great fun. An excellent day all in all. Today we are in Livorno - a last day of cruising adventure. We are going on a walking tour that ends at mid day and then we are going to come back for a last swim on board before I have to pack for disembarkation tomorrow. eeek. Some photos, first of the church, the focaccia, the waterfront and the beach at Camogli: then a convent turned beach club on the way to Santa Margherita, lunch, and Portofino:

Morning everyone! It's too early to be a good morning yet, and I am feeling stiff and sore, so I am trying to get a few chores out of the way so I can head upstairs for a walk to sort myself out. I can't believe this cruise ends in just two more days! So the day before yesterday was a sea day, and a lovely lovely one it was at that. I treated myself to a pedicure to use up the last of my OBC, and then spent the afternoon at the Sanctuary, where we had a really lovely afternoon tea. In the evening, it was greek night in the dining room with that delicious spanakopita being served, and the waiter convincing me to try a banana tart which was scrumptious and nothing like it sounded on the menu. I then joined some cruise critic friends in Princess Live for the We Play, You Say, and Majority Rules game shows - both of them were a lot of fun. Yesterday we were in Marseille, where I have never been before, and wow, what a great day that was. We signed up with A La Francaise for an excursion and it was just fabulous. Emanuelle collected us (there were the three of us, and one other couple from NZ) from the terminal, and took us first for a two hour driving tour of Marseille in his very clean, well air conditioned, spacious mini bus (with good safety belts). We had a number of stops where there are great views out over the city, and he pointed out all the areas of interest, before driving us up to the Basilica Notre-Dame de la Garde, which just blew us away. It was very busy, and by then it was very warm, but it was totally worth the effort. From the Basilica we then headed to Cassis (pronounced Cassie) where we had 2.5 hours of free time. Our group of three first went with Emanuelle to secure tickets for the 1pm boat trip to the Calanques, then had 50 minutes for a delicious lunch in an Italian restaurant up a side alley. The boat trip was EXCELLENT - there was a lovely cool breeze on the water, the water is just beautifully clear because of the absence of sand, and the little ports in the inlets around the coast were picturesque - the hour long trip was perfect for us. When we got back, we had half an hour for gelato and a little bit of shopping - I found a shop selling Provence specialities and bought some biscuits flavoured with orange blossom, anise, and lemon. We finished our tour with a stop at the most amazing lookout, and then were back at the ship before 4pm, very satisfied with our day out. We met up in the Platinum lounge for cocktails and snacks (I had a Deep Sea which is my new favourite) and then off to dinner (where I had a scrumptious Indian veggie curry - I wish they served this more often) and then I finally got to see Rock Opera in the theatre. For the first four numbers I was bored and thinking, do I need to leave? and then the production seemed to turn over a new leaf and I really enjoyed the rest of it. I preferred the Spotlight Bar but I am glad I got a chance to see this one finally. Marseilles started off as five villages, and each village has its own little harbour separate from the Old Town harbour and the now the main habour - there are a lot of boats in Marseilles. there are fortifications dating back a thousand years or more, all over the habour area and into the old town. Cassis is just a beautiful little town - don't miss it. one of the Calanques we visited on the boat tour. and check out the fishies in the water - so clear! a delicious lunch - I had the french version of Salad Caprese - it used burrata instead of mozzarella, and provided a delicious pesto and some sort of spice (not sure if it was sumac? neither is authentic to a caprese salad but it was delicious) so yummy. The biscuit is not short bread, too dense for that. yum. and then here are some ship board photos from recent meals - the spanakopita, banana tart, afternoon tea in the sanctuary, and last night's indian curry. so yum. oh,and some cocktails!

Hello and thank you - for some reason I can not get the name of that show right, even now that I have seen it twice! Spotlight Bar, I will try to remember. And yes, our guide was very good with keeping us clear of the monkeys but it was shocking to see another guide (a Princess tour guide!!) deliberately feeding one family in order to get them to come inside the bus, and then encouraging guests to stand too close for photographs. Considering the huge fines for feeding them, it seemed really poor behaviour.

Deck 17.

If you have cash, they will accept USD or Euros, but we all paid with cards in GBP so I am not sure how good the exchange rate would be. Princess stopped working with the company that does the small group tours to Cinque Terre. They still offer big bus tours but having now been on a few big Princess tours we are not keen. The shore excursion agent told me there were five buses going on that tour. So we decided to stick to Livorno. it is as if COVID Never happened for most passengers. There is a lot of it about - I caught it for the first time 48 hours into the cruise. There are no precautions being taken. But if you test positive and report medical, you go into a five day isolation period in your cabin. I had a mild case and although I was really disappointed to miss Greece and Turkey, there are definitely worse places Trobe sick.

Hi again. It was GREAT. really great. I think it might be because I had low expectations, but this morning blew them out of the water. We headed off the ship around 7.20am when it was still dark and when we got outside we realised it was incredibly foggy. We came across the taxi tours immediately outside the port but it wasn't clear how long we would have to wait so we decided to walk into town and see what happened. However, just a couple of minutes later we came across Lester and his mini-van; he already had 4 people ready to go and with the three of us, his group was set, so we said sure. The cost was 45 GBP ($57 USD/$90 Australian) and that included your nature reserve ticket which included all the attractions. Because it was so foggy, he changed up the structure of the tour; we started at the lighthouse, then went to the Pillars of Hercules, then headed up the Rock where we visited with the monkeys, and then got to St Michael's Cave in time to be first in line. We spent 20 minutes in the cave (which was fabulous and totally worth the time) and then went further up the rock to the glass viewing balcony, and then further up to the feeding platform for the monkeys. By then it was about 10.30am and the other 4 decided to walk down to the castle; we got a ride back to town and spent about 90 minutes walking through town, checking out Marks and Spencer, eating icecream and so on. It was a great tour, we feel like we got a good sense of what Gibraltar is like, and Lester was a great source of information. I think it would definitely depend on your guide - we clicked with him and we were all Australian so on the same page. We got back to the ship just before midday (when the sun briefly came out so we could see the rock and it got really hot all of a sudden) and had the wake pool to ourselves for half an hour before lunch.

good morning everyone. We are about to dock in Gibraltar - one of the ports on this cruise I have not been to before. We haven't booked a tour, but are going to head out as soon as the gangway opens and take a taxi tour. Our plan is to end the tour in 'town' and then walk back to the ship. Hopefully we can do all of that before it gets too hot and then we will spend the afternoon relaxing back on the ship. Yesterday was delightful - massage, an afternoon at the sanctuary, formal night dinner (we had our photo taken which I've never done before so that was fun) and then we went to see Starlight Bar, which I saw a fortnight ago but my friends had not seen yet - I actually enjoyed it more the second time around and my friends enjoyed it. Chrisclaire - I started cruising with Celebrity in the Caribbean and loved their style, but because they don't sail out of Melbourne I did a couple of cruises with Princess (which do) and I've now completed three with each company. I think they both have good things going for them, but I find it harder to find a decent mid-length cruise on Celebrity and although I would love to do a NZ cruise with them, the fact that they don't do round-trips or sail from Melbourne makes their itineraries less attractive to me. I have a back to back with Celebrity in November in the Carribean (8 days and 6 days on the Reflection) and am looking forward to it. ok, better get myself to breakfast.

Hello everyone, it's a Sea Day, my favourite kind. Yesterday we were in Barcelona - we arrived at 5am and All Aboard was 7pm which made for a nice long day in this beautiful city. It was also a really long day for our poor Stewards, with over 3500 passengers disembarking and an equal number embarking. I headed up to the buffet for breakfast at 6.30am and when I got back at 7am, my room had already been made up; when I got back to my cabin at 9pm, Javier was still working with a smile. I am in awe. I headed out around 7.45am, catching a taxi from outside the terminal. That was easily the most terrifying experience I have had in quite a while - he was driving VERY fast, scooting around other cars, while carrying on a multi-person conversation via speaker phone, and juggling two other phones as he looked for his next job. I felt like I was on a roller coaster and couldn't wait to get out. The journey to Passeig de Gracia took about 15 minutes and cost 21.50 euros. My destination was the meeting place for a 6 hour Walks Complete Gaudi tour. I don't know what I was thinking when I booked it (I booked it in Winter, so I clearly wasn't thinking about heat and humidity) and I gave myself permission to leave at any time, but as it turned out, I made it to the very end. We visited three apartment buildings, Parc Guell and Sagrada Familia, and the tour was very well organised and ran smoothly. There were 7 of us in total, which is a really great size, I think, for a walking tour. The tour officially ended at 2pm inside Sagrada Familia and most people stuck around but by that point I had had more than enough so I headed outside and caught a taxi to the Apple store, which was back near where we started. I was able to obtain a technician appointment in about an hour so I spent that hour upstairs cooling down and resting. The technician determined that my phone was dead in about 10 minutes, and sold me a replacement (minus trade in for my old phone) and I spent another 90 minutes there setting it up (downloading updates, and starting the download of all my old information from iCloud. I probably could have just done it here on board, but I wanted to know there was help available if anything went wrong. Everything is now there, but as I suspected, I can't use any of my banking apps because I don't have access to the SMS codes that would be sent to my Australian phone number. So the rest of my trip will be financially analog, but at least now I have google maps on the go, and access to my family Whatsapp etc. I got back to the ship in time for a quick shower and then met my friends who had embarked just before lunch time - it was so good to see them! We had a long chatty dinner (no photos because my phone was still charging and downloading things up in my cabin) and on our way to the forward lifts we were waylaid by a Massage Sampler show that was going on and sat down on a bench and had an amazing 10 minute shoulder massage. Mine was so good that I booked the therapist and had a massage this morning (still using up my OBC from all those cancelled excursions last week). This morning we met up on deck 18 at 6am for a walk and then a healthy breakfast in the buffet before going to the destination talk on Gibraltar, tomorrow's port. I then headed off to my massage, and am about to head up to the Sanctuary for my afternoon of peace and quiet. This evening, dinner and a show promise. So, another lovely day at sea.

Good morning everyone. It's a sea day and I didn't wake up until 6.30am - I was tired and slept well overnight. We just had two excellent but totally exhausting days. On Wednesday we were in Sicily and I headed to the beautiful hill top town of Taormina. Five hours was not long enough to explore all that the town has to offer, but it was a really wonderful afternoon/evening. I also now finally understand the whole Cannoli thing - I had never had one I enjoyed or even finished before, but our tour guide told that Roberto Chemi was the place to go and so later in the day I went and tried it out. It was fabulous - crunchy, crispy, creamy but not sweet, with wonderful house-candied orange and lemon inside the verrrry smooth ricotta filling. Yum. Yesterday we were back in Napoli and I went on a small group tour (13 people) to Pompeii and the National Archeological Museum. This was a really excellent tour. We had 2.5 hours at Pompeii which was nowhere near long enough to see the place but long enough to get me to my last nerve in terms of the heat and crowds. Antonella was awesome at drawing images from ruins and also really great at saying 'remember this specific place, because when we get to the museum you are going to see X'. The museum was incredible and again, 2.5 hours is way over my normal tolerance but the time flew by. I may have lost a few litres of fluid but feel like I gained a lot from the experience too. When we got back to Port, I could see that we were going to be put through the same rigmarole as last time (we had to wait down the end until there was room to drop us off up the other end, and I could see all the poor passengers from earlier buses making their way out where we were waiting in their long trek to the security check in - so I got smart and instead of following directions and heading up the stairs I just turned around and walked back to the security check in and so cut out that whole wasted ten minutes. The last couple of nights have seen amazing delicious vegetarian dishes in the main dining room: on Wednesday night there were eggplant parmigiana cannelloni - strips of grilled eggplant stuffed with a spinach mix, baked in a tomato sauce - it was easily the most delicious thing I have eaten on the cruise for the first ten days. Then last night was another winner - vegetable strudel, which was just chokka with yummy vegetables and surrounded in crispy pastry. Both nights, the dessert was really disappointing - last night i was expecting Crepes Suzette but what I got was a crepe, in some sort of sweet chocolate sauce, not a hint of orange let alone the flambe. Last night I went to 5 Skies, but luckily I was clever and sat myself down the end up the back so that when, after ten minutes, I decided I really didn't want to stay, I could sneak out without disturbing anyone. The lead character sounded really out of tune to me - those ten minutes were pretty painful. I started today off with a two mile work up on deck 18, and once I have the energy to shower and change, I am going to head down to the shore excursions desk to see if there is anything to replace my tour next Friday and then go to the quiz show. This afternoon I will be up in the sanctuary (hilariously on my walk earlier I could see all the people staking out their claims to loungers - I am so glad I don't have to deal with that). Ok, here are some dinner photos for your viewing pleasure (courtesy of my iPad, which I realised I could take to dinner). the amazing eggplant parmiagana cannelloni Really disappointing Trio of 'Italian desserts' Vegetable strudel not-Crepes Suzette amazing Cannoli from Taormia

sorry but my phone is dead so unless i take my camera with me to dinner (not going to happen) no more photos from the dining room, but i can tell you categorically that the menus have not been updated and there is no mention of the charge for dining. the only money mentioned is the $8.50 for the 3 speciality pizzas. the money stuff gets discussed at the desk. i can say that i had lunch there today before my excursion, and i had the soup and a salad and the waiter got a bit stressed about this, saying that the charge applies to one choice from each of the three sections. I pointed out that the charges don't apply to me and I was perfectly happy with two entrees and no main so he gave up ...

There are three pizza on the room service menu, Margherita, pepperoni and vegetarian. They are available 11-11 when Gigis is open. They each cost $8.50. These are NOT the same as the three speciality pizzas on the Gigi restaurant menu. Note that unless your package includes room servide, you also now have a $5 room service delivery charge. I am not sure I would be prepared to pay $13.50 for a half sized version of a pizza (during isolation i ordered from Gigi and noticed it comes in a box so is sized differently than in the restaurant).

There are three pizzas on the speciality menu - they have items such as truffle, burrata and I think some special meats - sorry, no photo of the menu to share and as my phone is dead, so is my access to the app! And because I have not ordered them, it may be that I am incorrect - it may be that if you pay the fee to dine there, the expensive pizzas are included, but somehow I doubt it.

Good evening everyone, and greetings from my rebooted vacation. Yesterday was my first day of freedom, and it was a sea day and I loved every minute of it. They didn't release me until I rang them at 9.30am so my plan for a morning walk evaporated, but I had a great morning anyway. I went to a general knowledge quiz in Princess Live and did very badly at it (Covid atrophy), then watched a fun game of giant Jenga between crew and passengers in the Piazza. I booked a massage for today, and changed my shore excursion for Thursday - its so much easier to do that those things face to face (as long as you time it when there is not a queue). I spent four delightful hours up in the Sanctuary (I thought it was going to end early because at 2.30 my lounger ran out of shade, but they picked it up and moved it under the main sail area and boom, back in business. I had drinks in the Platinum/Elite lounge with Cruise Critic friends before dinner, and dinner with my pre-isolation dining companions, and then went and watched the champagne waterfall from that little seating area just behind the platform so this time around I could see everything. By then I was wiped out, and when I got back to my cabin it was to discover that we had to put our clocks back an hour overnight, so yay, I got an extra hour to sleep. And sleep I did, the first good nights sleep since I got sick a week ago. This morning I jumped out of bed at 5.30am and headed up to deck 18 for my walk, and just as the Commodore promised last night, the sail into Kotor was gorgeous. I got my 2 miles done by 6.30am by which time we were just arriving and getting positioned. I had breakfast at the World Marketplace (and look mum, not a single hashbrown! go me) and then got changed and ready for my excursion, I was booked to go on a Local Connect Tour, which was supposed to be about meeting a local olive oil producing family and learning about olive oil production. I was super excited about it, and it was a huge let down. they had three buses on the same excursion; at 9.30am we arrived at this old wooden shed which would have been fine if there was just one bus, but with three busloads it was packed to capacity. there was no tour, no explanation of the process, and as far as I could tell, we didn't get to meet the family. There was a long trestle table and eventually (I am not sure if we arrived earlier than they expected but it was a total disorganised mess) they put food and olive oil on it, and it was a total free for all. I excused myself and went and sat on the bus (which had been left wide open without the driver) for the next half hour. And that was that for the olive oil part of the excursion. From there we drove (lots of hair raising hair pin turns on a very narrow road) to Budva where we went to a restaurant which, as the tour guide bluntly said, was only chosen because of its location - high up on a hill with an awesome view down over Budva) for an equally shambolic lunch - they had a buffet but absolutely no organisation, it was just a free for all. Nothing was labelled and other than the tray of meats, nothing was identifiable either, it was total potluck. After about 40 minutes we all got back on the bus and drove down the hill to the old town, where we had 45 minutes of free time. The old town is very quaint - I have been there before and it was cool to see the beach I swam out years ago, from the patio of the restaurant at lunch time. I had a lovely gelato and wandered around until heading back up to the meeting point. We made it back to the port by about 2.15pm (last boat back was 2.30pm, but unlike many of my fellows I wasn't worried because the whole point of a Princess excursion is that you don't have to worry about being left behind). Back on board I went up on deck to take some photos as we sailed away, and listened to Xcite doing their thing - they are a great covers band. They have an 80s theme night in the Piazza in an hour and i am going to go have a listen/boogie. Then i headed down the spa for my massage - port day special, 100 minutes for the price of 75, and I got them to add in my 10% platinum discount as well. So right now i feel well oiled and relaxed. Then I took my phone to the IT man and he was not able to do anything to make it start working. It has been working perfectly; last night I changed the time before I went to bed and left it charging as always. this morning its just dead, nothing doing whatsoever. the IT guy did the same things I did to reset it but no result. So ... no phone until the end of the cruise when hopefully either the Apple shop in Naples will be able to fix it. I have realised that even if I buy a new one, I won't be able to restart the apps because my SIM card does not work over here so I won't be able to go through the security stuff. Damn it. I also went back to shore excursions, because it turns out our excursion to the Cinque Terre from Livorno has been cancelled. So disappointing. Can't book anything until Friday so time to stew over that. And while I was there, I gave them feedback on today's disappointing excursion. And that's my news up to date. Some photos: my new posse at the Sanctuary once they moved me back into the shade: Enjoying the entertainment in the Piazza last night (also, last photo with my phone!!): Sailing and an out of Kotor: View of the Enchanted as we climbed away from the port: Old town Budva:

Hi everyone, I just had dinner in Gigi's what for its worth, and it was delicious. I had the minestrone which is delicious, and I meddled around with the Princess pizza and ended up with more veggies - totally yum. The only thing on the menu that has prices are the speciality pizzas which cost $8.50 on top of the $14.99 dining fee. It turns out that they are charging everyone the fee, and then people like me who are 'grandparented out' (because we started our cruises before 12 August) will (apparently) see the fee magically disappear from our accounts. I have my doubts and will be keeping my eye on my account to make sure. I experienced the new boarding system - our party had all booked the earliest slot and then it disappeared. I also changed from Green Lane to Blue Lane because my medallion had to be collected at the port. We rocked up at the time we had originally planned, and the whole thing was seamless - we had dropped off our luggage, checked in, collected and medallions and made it to the waiting area in less than 10 minutes, and were on board 10 minutes after that. So I wouldn't worry about it, if I were you. They seem to know what they are doing in that regard.