WeeCountyMan

Interesting. Canadian's recommended Avon's Skin so Soft for the same reason.

Squaddies in the military swear by it !!!

Weecountryman - there shouldn't be any duty free shops within the EU but there are at the European ports and they do have duty free prices.

The one at Palma cruise passenger terminal was not Duty Free going by the prices I saw - compared to the supermarket up the road.

There is no Duty Free within the EU, it's only that in some countries alcohol and cigarettes etc. sell al lower retail prices than elsewhere.

No idea where Brexit will take us on DF come 2019.

That's correct, mine is not surged protected, a standard UK extension is fine.

There is also a decent selection of adaptors with the so called 2 pin "Europlug" which have USB sockets.

I found a rewireable extension and a 2 pin kettle lead for European sockets - cut off the kettle plug end and rewired it into the extension - no need for adaptors - works on most cruise ships and across all the popular Med and Canaries holiday destinations.

Don't wish to be pedantic - but there are no Duty Free shops within the EU, unless you are travelling directly outside of the EU.

The large Carrefour supermarket (walkable from the port area) at Palma is significantly cheaper, and has a much larger selection, than the so called Duty Free outlet on the quayside for passengers boarding cruise ships.

Received a reply from FO customer service - apparently there were a high number of guests on the AI package, therefore by inference, this contributed to the slow service, despite all bars being fully manned.

A rather lame excuse methinks.

The ship's hotel management "must" have known of the AI uptake, and should have taken appropriate measures in the popular/busy bars.

If only one barman on duty is their normal manning level, and he/she cannot cope at busy periods, that begs some obvious questions IMO.

It's basic management - not rocket science.

There's a brand in America - Johnsons Off, which worked well when I used it years ago.

https://off.com/en

Not available here unfortunately, except via Amazon perhaps - but sold in Canada as well as USA.

https://off.ca/en-ca

I find a two gang extension is sufficient, and I found one on Ebay which had 2 USB charging sockets.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2-Way-Gang-Extension-Lead-Cable-3M-with-2-USB-Ports-Individually-Switched-White/302651517509?epid=4015561859&hash=item46776faa45:g:4RkAAOSw5P9bAmiN

Earlier this month it was in an industrial port location as described above, about 3 miles from Ghent centre - return shuttles provided, no charge for Freedom Fares, £5 per person for Anchor Fares.

Really nice place to visit.

We asked in a cafe and a shop and they both said the same its. Bastille day,unless it means something else,

Strange.

Hi Brenda when we went to portimao we docked,you just walk into town along a prom and go left to the shops, the market should have been on but it was Bastille day and a lot of places shut

I'm curious to know why a Portuguese town would celebrate a pivotal date in French history ?

Maybe 14th July was a local holiday there that day ?

Logically it'll be San Miguel working out of Malaga, Mythos is Greek lager (bought over by Scottish & Newcastle, now Carlsberg) which would be supplied for Eastern Med based cruises.

The HoHo bus is a great way to get around Lisbon - there are some stops where the two routes come together and you can switch over.

We got off at the top end of the King Edward VII park and walked down to the bottom where one of these the interchanges was located.

Click on the "more details" link here for downloadable map - https://city-sightseeing.com/en/80/lisbon

Lovely restaurant and outdoor cafe part way down the park where you can have a drink or a meal - has a pond with all types of water fowl, and a black swan when we visited.

Health Warning ref. Gibraltatr - leave hats, handbags and carrier bags etc. in the people carrier / taxi when you get to the top of the rock where the apes hang out, or they may have them off you and leg it in double quick time !!!

Foodstuffs are especially risky - I experienced a wee lad come out of the souvenir shop with a bag of crisps which were liberated from his grasp quicker than the human eye could register !!!

The sockets we had on Spirit were fitted "upside down" so that the earth pin was in the 6 o'clock position - not an issue for polarity when using an adaptor designed for UK plugs.

However there could be a problem if using a device powered with this type of plug.

The sockets are located close above the dressing table and (depending on the configuration of adaptor + plug) may foul against this surface and not fit into the adaptor.

That can be avoided by taking a short UK extension lead for connection to the adaptor - it doesn't "know" when/if it's upside down, or not.

Not when sailing from a Spanish port lol. Trafalgar - or any other battle they lost - has been written out of Spanish history books. They don't even refer to the area as Trafalgar!

We visited the naval museum in Cartagena a few cruises back, really worth dropping in - no charge, however they expect a donation for the upkeep, which is not unreasonable.

The curator type staffer mentioned Trafalgar when I was looking at some exhibit or other, I didn't fully follow his comment, but I think it was something that had survived 1805.

I didn't know the Spanish were in the forefront of early submarine development - that was interesting.

21st October is Trafalgar Day - maybe Spirit will get a 21 gun salute !!!

No signing chitties for AI drinks on Balmoral last week.

Suggestion - Google UK cruise travel agents and (hopefully) you will find one that can accept bookings for Marella paid in a currency other than GBP (aka £ Sterling) - the payment issue is clearly the stumbling block.

This is such a simple issue to resolve and it's turning into a drama.

I've just completed and submitted the electronic guest survey - positive comments about all but the bar service.

I clicked unacceptable but made the observation that this was not a criticism of the bar staff or waiters/waitresses but about poor management.

The questionnaire ended with a notice that individual responses would not be forthcoming, so it's obviously a tick the box and flag up the response statistics exercise for FO senior executives etc.

I'm thinking a letter of complaint to the relevant quarter might be appropriate - it would be so easy to resolve this problem.

is it easy to keep track of spending

If you've paid the £200 cash deposit upfront on boarding, rather than register a debit/credit card, they'll let you know as and when you are approaching the time for a top up payment, if appropriate.

Whatever method you choose you'll get a final statement late on the last day.

Now that credit card fees are history I suspect most guests register their plastic.

It is good value, at £15, I know other cruise lines charge more but their inclusive list is much more comprehensive than FO. For eg bottles of beers included, corona, coors, budwiser, and branded spirits and of course cocktails.

Not sure why anybody would want to pay extra for average lagers.

Stell Artois on the FO standard package is superior to all these.

Just my opinion, tastes differ, literally.

We did the Norwegian fjords with Thomson a few years back - it was their hottest summer in 40 years so t-shirt, shorts and sandals were the dress order, with plenty of sun cream applied.

If the weather up there just now is anything like the UK's ongoing conditions I would recommend going prepared in similar manner, and take a suitable hat to protect from the sun.

Flam is the only one of the above ports of call that we visited if memory serves - the railway excursion is a "must do" by organised tour, it's expensive but well worth it - it follows a circular route by coach after the train ride.

It gets cooler up at the top station, so take a light fleece.

Thanks for these observations.

The one drink per alcohol package passenger is the stated ruling and I believe that is standard across all cruise lines. However I can see how this would irritate a "hauf and a hauf" drinker as they say hereabouts. A little common sense should have prevailed when explained.

It seems the slow bar service is a common problem - that's down to poor management, not the bar and/or waiting staff.

I intend to raise it when the feedback questionnaire arrives.

Not long back home from Diamonds, Chocolates & Canals - slow and erratic service in some bars.

Not because of insufficient waiting staff ..........but due to only one barman working the orders.

He was having to pull pints, pour wine from the bottle and prepare cocktails etc. - there should have been another on duty to lighten the workload and speed up the service.

Just wondered if anybody else had similar experience on Balmoral recently - or any other of the three FO ships ?

To answer my own question (how sad am I ?) - Newcastle Brown Ale and Stella on draught in every bar that I frequented, a few also had Heineken, and all on the drinks package.

Yes, you both have to buy the package. I don’t think many people would find £25 per day was worth it.

It's £25 onboard, £15 if you book in advance - if there are still packages available for that cruise at the time of the booking.